Wagon Jumpers - August 2 - 8, 2009 (1 spot on waiting list available)
Welcome
(I keep the waiting list capped at 4 people as it can be a 16 week wait with that length, if you are interested in spot 4, read below and contact me.)
Welcome to the Wagon Jumpers weekly thread. We are a group of CC members who have identified that one of our main challenges with achieving our weight loss, maintenance or general health goals is consistency.
This thread is designed to encourage long term commitment to our goals by publicly declaring them and asking the other members of this thread to hold us accountable. The primary focus of wagon jumpers is not how much weight you have lost, or need to loose, but what you need to do on a daily basis to meet your long term goals.
There are two rules for Wagon Jumpers:
1. All members must post once per week between Sunday and Friday.
2. All members must check the thread for members who have not posted by Saturday (a short list is posted on Thursday) or are on the MIA list on Sunday and send them a polite and positive message to stay involved in the group and on track with their goals.
If you would like to be a member of this thread please see the guidelines below and send me a PM if you are still interested (there may be a waiting list).
Medium Size Group = Some Time Commitment
The original idea of Wagon Jumpers was to create a close community where participants could get to know each other and hopefully form virtual-life and perhaps even physical-life bonds to create a support network as they attempted long term weight loss.
We quickly discovered that this was impossible with an 'always open' group as there were too many people coming and going. For this reason the group is finding its optimum level is between 20 and 25 participants.
A medium sized group means that we have an active thread that produces between 30 - 45 posts per week. Members do not need to read / respond to every post every week. I do notice that those who respond regularly do tend to keep their goals top of mind, and have a better chance to achieve them. I estimate the average time spent by an active member on Wagon Jumpers to be between 1-2 hours per week.
If you are looking for an always open group on CC there are several that operate by different weight criteria, similar motivational patterns etc... There are also many small groups that cap their numbers between 4-10 people to keep the group more intimate, and easier for members to keep up with.
Interested in Joining?
General Guidelines for Joining
1. Are you a wagon jumper?
Do you know how to loose weight, you often have success but then you find yourself loosing interest in your plan, or sabotaging your plan. It's not the "how" to loose weight that is the problem, it's the "how" to stay motivated.
2. Do you have a long way to go?
This group is designed so that members can get to know each other and support each other. Ideally you are planning to be a CC member and part of this forum for at least 6 months or more to achieve your goals and hopefully stay in motivation for a further 6 months or more.
Yes. This is, a long term plan.
3. Do you have the time?
This is a medium sized group, the thread does move fairly quickly each week. If you do not have regular internet access this is likely not the group for you.
Still interested?
Send Supersized a PM. (Please do not reply on the thread)
An overview will be sent to you, you will have a chance to ask questions and an invitation will be sent to you once a spot is open.
Google Group
We have recently added a google group as an option for members, past members, and members on the waiting list. If you would like access to the google group (and are in one of the above categories) send a message to beaglesmuggler (at) roger.com with your username and e-mail address and I will add you to the google group.
Wagon Jumpers Participants
Year 1 - Week 13 Riders:
Supersized 
(myself)
Year 1 - Week 9 Riders:
Defrog3 - Maternity Leave to October 31, 2009
Year 1 - Week 5 Riders:
Year 1 - Week 3 Riders:
Raven21 - Vacation Aug 5 - 9, 2009
Week 50 Riders:
Week 45 Riders:
Week 41 Riders:
Lam7 - Vacation Aug 2 - 8, 1009
Week 37 Riders:
Week 35 Riders:
Week 33 Riders:
Week 12 Riders - Congratulations on 3 Months!:
Dovelette - vacation July 30 - Aug 11
Week 8 Riders:
Week 2 Riders:
NEW:
Missing In Action:
Missing In Action - 1 Week:
Missing In Action - 2 Weeks:
Current Membership: 22
Current Waiting List: 3
Outstanding Wait List Invites: 0
12 Week CONSISTENCY GOALS
(as set w/o June 28th, 2009)
By September 19th, I will be...
Msmeg1984 - NEW: eating a weekly average of 2,000 cal/day and, MAINTENANCE: exercising 3x/week for at least 9 of the 12 weeks.
Dovelette - NEW: NROLFW 3x week for 9 out of 12 weeks.
Merimeriqcontrary - NEW: 3 times/week exercise for at least 9 out of the 12 weeks.
Wenchie58 - NEW: Logging my food intake of <1500 cals per day at least 5 days per week.
Figurethefat - NEW: to run/walk a minimum of six 5ks per month. MAINTENANCE:to continue doing a minimum of 1,500 exercise minutes per month.
Kyashiis - NEW: Run a minimum of 3 kilos 12 times over the 12-week period. MAINTENANCE:I will zig-zag on my food intake consistently throughout each week and end up with an average daily calorie count of 1,100 cals.
Raven21 - NEW: Eat all my yummy, healthy meals (3) and snacks (2) before 9pm for 12 weeks, with no more than 12 days missed. MAINTENANCE:Exercise at least 3 times a week
Supersized - NEW: Go to gym 3x/week for 6 of 12 weeks. MAINTENANCE: Log all food for 9 of 12 weeks.
Cawilder - NEW: Log my food 85% of the time. MAINTENANCE: Running at least 5 hrs/week and lifting 2x/week.
Lam7 - NEW: Consistently log all calories 5 of 7 days a week. MAINTENANCE: Exercise at least once a week.
Nannygabber - MAINTENANCE: Strength training 3x/week for 9 of 12 weeks. Macronutrient ratio of 40/30/30 (carb/fat/protein) for 9 of 12 weeks.
Germaica - NEW: Exercise at least 3x/week for at least 30 min for 9 of 12 weeks. MAINTENANCE: Continue to eat 1 portion of high iron food at least 4 times per week.
Jessicaanne2001 - NEW: Keep calories under 2,000 checking by logging food 4x/week. MAINTENANCE: workout at the gym 4x/week
Carryonandon - NEW: Exercise 3x weekly MAINTENANCE: 300-500 calorie deficit daily.
Constanza - NEW: For the next 12 weeks, less twelve days I will follow this meal plan: 3 meals, 1 snack and 1 dessert per day, no more than 7 alcoholic drinks per week. MAINTENANCE: exercise an average of 2x/week.
Jnielsen006 - NEW: exercise at least 2 days a week for 45 minutes at least 9 of 12 weeks.
Previous Threads:
Wagon Jumpers - July 26 - Aug 1, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - July 19 - 25, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - July 12 - 18th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - July 5 - 11th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - June 28 - July 4, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - June 21 - 27th, 2009
Wagon Jumper - June 14 - 20th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - June 7 - 13th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers May 31 - June 6th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers May 24 - 30th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - May 17 - 23rd, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - May 10 - 16th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - May 3 - 9th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - April 26 - May 2nd, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - April 19 - 25th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - April 12 - 18th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - April 5 - April 11th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - March 29 - April 4th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - March 22 - 28th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - March 15 - 21st, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - March 8 - 14th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - March 1 - 7th, 2009
As always all members are encouraged to tag this thread so that it is easy to find.
Hi Everyone, hope your week is going well!
HOMEWORK:
I'd like to introduce you all to our good friend Meg, also known as msmeg1984. I failed to ask you one curious question I've had since I first saw you here. Is 1984 the year you were born? If so, that means you're.... at least 24! WOW, you could almost be my daughter. Hehehe!
Anyway, someone make me stay on topic... LOL! - Meg was born in St. Louis, Missouri and still lives in the general area because she really loves it there! She lives in the rural outskirts of the metro area.
Meg works for a city government, planning large festivals and events. I would so very much love to have your job! I've done some event planning, and the thrill when it all goes off is so amazing.
She lives with her boyfriend and they've been dating for 8 1/2 years. I really hope her dream will someday soon come true, she hopes he'll finally propose to her! I'm rooting for you, girl! Meg hasn't had any children thus far, but her female golden retriever named Harley who is 9 months old is full of energy and keeps her busy.
Meg's favorite dinner recipe is one that she has suggested on here many times! Its Carribean Jerk Chicken Skewers. Its a delish recipe and she really enjoys grilling in the summertime, they usually grill out 2-3 nights a week when the weather is nice. I don't blame you for that!
Her healthgain journey started in January 2008. She lost about 20 lbs between January and June, then plateaued until about October. She started NROLFW at that time and then in November, she injured her foot and was unable to workout for about a month. At about that time, the puppy came into her life, and she couldn't get to the gym as she had in the past, and it took some time for her to get through that phase. I am sure it helped that the puppy eventually grew and she was able to find more time as a result.
Her biggest event of the year is July 4th, which the craziness involved with it finally came to pass. This meant she would be able to recommit herself to getting in shape... I really like her attitude, to her it didn't necessarily mean losing "x" number of lbs, but in her words, she "just wants to have a nice body!" She plans to continue with the weights in order to gain some nice muscles, and I know she can do it!
I really appreciate her insight through this life truth... "Life is what you make of it! Nothing happens if you just sit by and watch. You need to take an interest in the outcome and steer the results the way you want them!" I could not agree more!
It's so nice to get to know you Meg! I hope everyone here has a chance to do this, because it really is such a warm-fuzzy feeling to get a little glimpse of who people really are.
Hope everyone has a healthgain evening!
~Julie
Quick Update
I'm finding myself in that place where I feel like I'm walking on a floor full of marbles, I'm through the tough stuff, but now my mind feels very disorganized, I'm staring down a dozen deadlines that I'm not sure where they came from and I'm not sure where to start.
The sad part is that I've actually stayed on top of all this stuff through the move, and it's only after the move that I feel like it's all about to collapse. I know I need to get back to my lists, my goals and just take it one step at a time.
There is something about getting to a milestone that makes me look at the big picture and feel overwhelmed instead of proud. I really need to fix that.
The good news is that I am down a couple of pounds from the move, I am eating breakfast again, I am making my lunches and I have a call scheduled with a nutritionist this afternoon. I also made it to the gym on Tuesday and plan to do so today as well.
For the record, yes 1984 was the year I was born. So I'm a whopping 25 years young! :)
Thanks for the wonderful intro Julie, It was great to get to know you on this exercise.
Sara, you can make it through this sister! I know the feeling you are going through - happened to me many times!
Introducing Germaica - Caroline
I would like to take a moment to introduce everyone to Germaica aka Caroline! Caroline like me hails from Canada, together we are a couple of crazy canucks.
Quick Canadian Facts: Quebec is Canada's primary French speaking province, although most of Canada is bilingual and there are significant French as first language communities in Ontario, the prairies (Saskatchewan, Manitoba) and the Maritimes (Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI). Quebec French is now thought to be the closest to 14-16th Century French (when French was the official Academic language of the world) since Quebec has preserved it's language through (increasingly accepted) language laws.
I have found tht it's hard to be happy when your health is suffering
Caroline explains as she tells me about her start for a healthier and happier life. She is now in her mid-30's, recently married and working as a graphic designer. When she discovered a year ago that she wasn't able to do or find pleasure in her favourite activities she decided it was time to change things.
When someone would ask me how I was doing, what I was up to, all I could say was that I watched a lot of TV. I didn't even read.
Almost a year later things are beginning to change:
I'm just now feeling like my old self of about 7 years ago. It's not just about the weight, it's the energy, strength, drive and having a vision for myself and my life
Thank you Caroline, that last bit certainly sums up much of what I think this journey is about.
Miscellaneous fun facts: Caroline is a Sci-Fi geek (Shiny!), loves to read, knit, walk, garden, travel and knows a fair bit about artisnal cheeses (Quebec has Canada's best artisnal cheeses!). She hopes to visit Europe, especially Italy and France in the future.
Thank you again for sharing!
Sara.
TWO DAY REMINDERS
Here is a list of our members who have yet to check in this week. Please send them a polite and positive message reminding them to stay on track with their goals and involved in the group.
Missing In Action:
Weekly update:
I am eating well, but I am definitely having trouble getting up early enough to work out. And early is definitely the only time I can work out most of the time.
WJ exercise:
Hello, everyone! I'd like to introduce you to Peera! She's a 24 year old who runs her boyfriend's family's hotel business, and the mother of a 5 month old son! She is an only child, but she has three bearded dragons as pets, who are considered part of the family.
Peera classifies herself as a "freak" since she loves body modification and has eclectic tastes. She collects everything from My Little Pony toys to corsets and loves turn-based strategy games. Her favorite music genre is late 70's early 80's pop/rock. She also still has one of her baby teeth!
Woops! Thanks for the message Sara! This week has just passed so fast!
Check-in:
This week has actually been great, I've worked out 3 times and I'm in the process of joining a "Surf and Sand Bootcamp" for Tuesdays & Thursdays. I'm not sure how long it'll last, since they work out on the beach "rain or shine" and, well... Not happening. Not. Happening. lol. I'll stay inside where it's nice and dry, thank you kindly. I'm looking forward to 2 whole hours without the baby 2 times a week though! Now that he's eating some solids I don't have to worry about pumping enough to tide him over if he decides he's hungry when I'm not there. My diet's been so-so. Still eating too much at night, but what I'm eating isn't horrible.
Exercise:
I'd like to introduce you all to Sarah, aka the_vitamin_dominatrix!
Sarah likes just about all kinds of music, from opera to techno, with the exceptions of rap, hip hop, R&B, and country.
She's a big nerd (I do mean that in the nicest way possible!) who loves video games, pen and paper RPG's, anime & manga, and the Lord of the Rings. She also enjoys singing but has yet to find a local choir, so wish her luck!
She's the oldest of 4 children, 2 girls and 2 boys. She is getting married to her first boyfriend this September the 26th, and they just celebrated our 7th anniversary! She also has a pet rat named Habit.
She's also way to practical for questions like "What would you want if you were stranded on a desert island?" ;)
Julie I made it to the gym on Tuesday, now I need to get myself there today and tomorrow! Thank you for the introduction to MsMeg She has truly demonstrated to this group that the journey continues after reaching your goals, it is about lifestyle and adopting health habits that will serve you body and mind for a lifetime.
Terry - WELCOME TO THE GROUP! Vicki (Wenchie) is a great person to talk to. One of the things I love about this group is we have people with very diverse health goals. Vicki has shared her journey through a kidney transplat with us and the dietary and fitness challenges that has brought up for her.
Meri I've got a picture of you polka-dotted with paint about now. Romanina sounds unbeliveably beautiful, I've never actually seen a Pelican, I think we have them in our maritimes, but I've not been out there. I can relate to the needing a vacation from the vacation, I'm also usually the one running around organizing things and I have yet to manage to stay on track with calories for camping, I find the grazing always gets me. Have a great week and enjoy the kids.
MsMeg Great introduction of Julie She is my inspiration to get through my mental obstacles.
Denise Hi Denise, I've put you on maternity leave, we will hopefully see you back in November 2009. Have a healthy baby, get some sleep (eventually) and we wish you all the best!
Carry Good job on getting through the move and popping in, I'm sure we'll hear more from you later as you get your life out of boxes and back into liveable condition. I'm still working on that last bit.
Sarah Thank you for the introduction to Peera I think if we want to we can turn Wagon Jumpers into our own little freak/geek clique (I'll try not to do that). I have a few corsets of my own (burlesque is really big here in Toronto - I don't know exactly why, but we love it).
I'm also a pen and paper RPG'er myself although not D&D, I'm running some of hte RPG and Board gaming portion of Toronto's FanExpo this year. What systems are you into, have you tried any of the indy's (IAWA, Psi-Run, Dogs in the Vineyard)
Peera Strategy based turn games - tried Settlers of Catan or Agricola (those are my entry point ones, if you have great! If not, try them, and I'll have more suggestions).
Thank you for your introduction of Sarah I'm not sure if it's the practicality of Sarah or the RPGer inside that makes the desert island question not as fun...
What would I want if I were stranded on a desert island? tough choice between water and food or devices to check for traps ;P
Oops double post
I'm checking in: I got a jog/walk in this week. I have done five since the new period started. I am zigging and zagging, but my calories are way too high I think. I can feel that I have gained weight. I feel like I want to detox or something. Has anybody ever tried that?
It seems like several of you have moved. That has to be my least favorite thing. When I was a kid we moved a lot. I actually went to ten schools by the time I was in primary third grade. I even lived in the Northwest Territories for a year in Fort Smith. The worst problem with moving is that even though it is a time to clear out un-needed things, I have always been too busy just getting through the move. Japanese people seldom move. We live about 500 meters from where DH was born.
Sara - I feel for you. I have that marbles underfoot - look out, feeling right now. I am like you in the sense that I make it through tough things with flying colors, and then get so worn out, I can't keep things together afterwards. I sure get scattered. But, it does pass. It helps me to keep a list on my Google email account, so I can wittle things down little by little. If you figure out how to fix that, let me know what it is that works. It might work for me too... LOL
Sara - thanks for introducing Caroline. It's very perseptive of her to think holistically about "feeling her old self." I bet there are quite a few of us who would like to feel that way. I know I do...
Peera - your life sounds wild and varied. I live in resort hotel country - it looks like the French Riviera where I live with all the hotels and vacation homes along the beaches. So many people are working in the hotel industry. I have several friends who have 400-year-old hotels. Really. This area has been known for hot springs for more than a thousand years as a "destination." All in all though, it's a difficult industry which depends so much on the economy. I've been to Westport many years ago. One of my daughters lives just down the coast in Oregon in Nehalem.
kyashiis, it's hard enough to maintain a 50 year old motel, I shudder to even think about the repair bill on a 400 year old one! We've managed to stay afloat by turning most of our units into monthly rentals, that's one place where being an older motel has really helped, apparently in the 50's-60's they thought your motel room should be an apartment away from home, and the majority of our rooms have kitchens & living rooms seperate from the bedrooms. Westport has really come down from it's heyday, unfortunatly, and it's all I can do to keep our few nightly rooms filled even on weekends with "big" events.
Sara, thank you for the suggestions! I actually don't think we have either of those, which is borderline amazing. We also (try) to run an ebay business on the side, and one of the things we specialize in is board games, so our game room is somewhat ridiculous (I've never measured, but I think it's about 10x15, and it is FULL.)
Sara, Thanks so much for the kind words. I'm just trying to motivate everyone as much as I would like to be motivated. Its hard sometimes and life gets in the way, but this is a lifelong journey that i've committed to!
I have good news to report! After having a mostly blah week, I had one good day yesterday and this morning woke up 2 lbs lighter! Yay!
Have a great day everyone!
Check In: I'm here and doing ok. I have been doing great on calorie intake and notsomuch on logging. It's tough to have the time. For the past four weeks I have been responsible for my two grandchildren ages 4 and 7...so the workout thing is built in. Were 4 year olds this ambitious 25 years ago? Whew!
Homework: I'll get to that....I promise! :)
I would like to introduce Wenchie.
Wenchie is really her name. Such a cool name! It makes me think of historical romance novel's cool names...
Wenchie lives in Upstate New York in a very rural area.
I could really identify with where Wenchie lives since I guide in the mountains where there it is peaceful and often there are no power lines or even cell phone reception. All that green is so good for the soul and renewing. She has no neighbors and lives alone with her dog on three acres in the woods on a mountainside. She loves the peace and quiet and being alone with nature.
She has always struggled with weight issues and has never been thin in her life - or even of normal weight.
I asked her what her biggest challenge to getting healthy would be.
She had a kidney transplant in October 2008, so part of the challenge has been for her to become healthy. She feels so much better since the transplant, but there are many restrictions on her diet, and she must take medication. In particular, Wenchie can't eat the amount of fruits and vegetables she would like. Taking steroids makes weight loss nearly impossible, too. Learning about this made me realize just how healthy most of us are, and also how lucky we are to not have any restrictions on food or have to take any medications. (Well, actually, I think most of us need to restrict the AMOUNT of food... 
)
So, I wondered how in the world Wenchie motivates herself when she is struggling. She admits that "motivation" is a problem for her, and she has trouble staying motivated for more than a couple of weeks at a time. Like me, she is goal-oriented, but she also has a hard time seeing the forest through the trees.
With a variety of things to balance in her weight loss / health gain journey, she said that she lives with the thought that "Everything has a silver lining." I believe that there is a good side to absolutely everything, some times we must look very hard to find it.
I would have to agree. I even think that this weight loss/health gain journey we are experiencing is something we need to get through as a kind of spiritual awakening to the unique person hiding (the silver lining) within each of us.
Wenchie... maybe we need to form a special 2-week goal club... so we can keep that motivation ball rolling.
Introducing Sara (aka supersized)
I'd like to introduce Sara, the creator and original Wagon Jumper. She, like me is Canadian and lives in Toronto, Ontario with her partner Chris. They share their home with a beagle, a sheppard and 3 cats. She works in communications.
Canadian fun facts: Ontario is one of the two largest provinces in the country (Quebec being the other one). It is the business and political hub of the country. The southern part has a warmer climate and therefore has many farms and wineries. Toronto is the largest city of the country and is a bustling multi-cultural metropolis.
Sara wanted to create a group with a sense of community and accountability. Many large groups lack this, people discuss mostly stats (lost xlb). And many small groups, based on weight, gender, location, couldn't keep their memberships up and fizzled after a few months. She wanted to create a group where people keep coming back. She hoped the group would last 6 months, well here we are 1 year later and going strong. More people wanted to join the original WJs and she struggled to find the right balance of members. I think she has found it, and I think this is what keeps attracting people to it. In Sara's words: "There are always going to be some members who leave, I am humbled that some members have stayed with the group over a year. That is truly amazing to me. Even more humbling is that we now have past members asking to return. That makes me feel like I am beginning to create a safe place for us to really engage with and overcome the challenges that often become obstacles to our goals, weight loss and otherwise."
Titbits: She's a geek like me and loves Science Fiction, Joss Whedon is a household icon (head writer of Buffy, creator of Angel, Firefly and Dollhouse). Loves politics and is running the leadership contest for the Green Party of her province. Passions include communications, networking and "finding ways for people to build traditional and non-traditional communities and hopefully link the two." No wonder Wagon Jumpers is such a success!
Long term goals include stop wagon jumping. Her weight loss would give her an exterior representation of this inner change. She is happy with her current success, but still has a way to go. So Sara should be around for another year. Let's see what this year shall bring.
Thanks for sharing some of your story with us.
Caroline
THIS THREAD IS CLOSED, PLEASE POST ON OUR NEW WEEKLY THREAD:
