Wagon Jumpers - July 6 to 19th, 2008 (another, two week special!)
Welcome (Sorry we're closed to new members until the group is smaller)
Edited for Week 2: July 13 - 19
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.
Each member on this thread (listed below) has agreed to check into the thread at least once per week. If any member does not check in by the end of the week, we ask all members to politely and positively PM that member and encourage them to make a post and stay on track (or get back on track).
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).
Managing Motivation
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.
The good news is the idea caught quickly. The bad news is that it became more of a list group and less of a community.
With one organizer and many posters, I felt overwhelmed trying to send out so many reminders, and; members felt overwhelmed trying to read so many posts, no one was really getting to know each other so the purpose of the group was lost.
I was hoping that some extra hands could help manage the first problem, but now I realize that doesn't address the second problem of members staring down a 100+ post thread that they feel too tired to read... and really... that's not motivating.
New Structure - July 7th, 2008
Effective this week I am reducing the "official" participation in Wagon Jumpers to 30 people. I was stretched at 50 people and I think 30 will be a good number. I think this will also encourage people to think though why they want to be part of this group, what they hope to get from the group and give to the group and for us all to learn these things about each other.
No one will be deleted now unless they have requested that I do that. The scary numbers have gone. I will still keep an MIA list for 3 weeks (as we all need forgiveness) and I will keep a waiting list. Once the group drops below 30 members I will ask people on the waiting list if they are still interested in joining the group.
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.
Still interested? Send Supersized a PM.
Wagon Jumpers Participants
Week 10 Riders:
Supersized (myself)
Karenie - Bad weather may not be able to post
Kaydeefalls - Traveling to July 25th, 2008
Week 9 Riders:
Week 8 Riders - Congratulations on 2 Months!:
Healthfirst - Traveling to July 23rd, 2008
Week 7 Riders:
Rwbsmom - traveling to August 16, 2008
Writestuff - Iowa, sever weather, may not be able to post
Week 6 Riders:
Week 5 Riders:
Hurley_Mom - away to July 21, 2008
Week 4 Riders - Congratulations on one Month!:
Ka2007 - traveling to July 19, 2008
Week 3 Riders:
Week 1 Riders:
Missing In Action
Missing In Action - 1 Week:
Missing In Action - 2 Weeks:
Current Membership: 42
Current Waiting List: 3
Previous Threads:
Wagon Jumpers June 22 - July 5th, 2008 (two week special!)
Wagon Jumpers June 15-21, 2008
Wagon Jumpers May 25 - 31, 2008
Wagon Jumpers May 18 - 24, 2008
Wagon Jumpers Week 1 (May 4 - 10)
Wagon Jumpers - Anyone Need a Lift? (initial thread)
As always all members are encouraged to tag this thread so that it is easy to find.
hi everyone, just a quick check-in after having spent several days in germany and packing for another short trip toorrow morning.
neither a lorr nor a gain in germany, but loved my stay (lots of museums, old churches and such). hopefully being on the road to weight loss again...
just a quick check in as well... Im currently on my second week of a six week study trip so computers are hard to find...
Im down to 232, so as of this day Ive lost 11 pounds!!! Which is a big deal because I never lost this much weight by myself and w/o pills or hard diets!!!
take everyone!
So today I'm feeling a little more rested and hopefully will be able to get back on track tomorrow. On the positive side, I've faithfully logged all my calories yesterday and stayed within my limits. I'm almost caught up with the wash and housework from being away. Now to get some gym time in...
unlimitedana - congratulations! that is great news, keep up the great work!
supersized - I can totally relate to the lack of energy. I have felt that way many many times. I am thankfully out of that funk for a few weeks now. I make sure to get up every morning at 5:30 to walk the dog, I find the fresh air and the quiet time with my thoughts helps energize me for the day (maybe morning exercise is an idea instead of waiting until the evening???). I don't always want to get out of bed and it would be easy to just get up, let the dog out and go back to bed for awhile but I'm always glad I headed out for the walk and when I don't keep this routine on the weekends I find I'm MORE tired that if I just got up.
Also, thanks for the tip on reading tiegurl link. I have also started wearing a bracelet that reminds me to think of my goals before grabbing the candy. I find if I have something "tangible" that I can hold and it helps to remind me more of what my goals are and stop and think first. I also went to the grocery store and bought some yogourt and fruit, which I had sworn off for the first phase of south beach. I found it too resricting (it's supposed to help curb sugar cravings) and I think with naturally sweet foods around I'll be better at staying away from empty calories.
Thanks again everyone for the feedback on your progress it definitely is helping (I just realized I don't check cc on the weekends, maybe a quick checkin would help keep me on track as well????)
Ka2007 Maintenance is good while traveling, welcome back!
Unlimitedana Congratulations on the 11 lbs! CC does work! I find it works really really well when I am motivated to stay with it. Let me know if you need me to put a traveling note by your name for the next 4 weeks.
JCR I don't even want to think about the laundry, I was pro-active enough to do it same day the first time, and at least to unpack so stuff doesn't get moldy after rafting, but I haven't gotten the get up and go to do the actual laundry (I hate laundry). I am staying with the logging which I think is preventing an all out falling off the wagon.
Raven21 Oh yes morning exercise is a definite must for me. I do feel MUCH much better when I do it. I'm kicking myself because I had it going for 3 weeks and then got sick after camping and now need to get back into it. It took me a full 2 months to get to the morning exercise before. So I think the priority for me right now is to make it to the gym. 2nd priority is to make it to the gym in the morning.
(((Peera))) -- I hope you start feeling better soon, but I suspect it will be some weeks yet.
I'm still off the wagon. Behaving like a rebellious child, I am. 
I need to have a serious talk with myself and stop this.
Anyway, just checking in to save Supersized & crew the trouble of chasing after me. I'm still here and working on climbing back atop that wagon. Hold it steady, gang!
I found a new way to get onto and hopefully stay on the wagon.... Zumba with friends :) I've only gone once but plan on going again on Thursday. Hanging in there and holding on!!!!!!!!!! HOpe all are well....
hmmm ... I also need to figure out a reward to staying on plan?... supersized sure does keep track of all of this so well (thx!!).
When I get to 160-- I'll get a spa pedicure -- when I get to 155 I get a spa pedicure/manicure -- when I get to 150 -- I'll go out and buy new clothes as I'll be at my goal weight! When I'm able to maintain 150 x 6 months I'll plan a trip out of town... maybe to fam/friends in Phoenix :)
Sounds motivating to me... and it's me who it has to motivate so that's good.
I didn't eat my calories today. It's almost 9 and I've eaten only 910 cals! I have no appetite. None whatsoever! It's only one day, so it won't kill me, I suppose. I hope I'm not coming down with something.
Went to the mall today and while the kids ate salty pretzels and cheese I got a strawberry smoothie for 90 calories. So much better than a pretzel!
Have a nice night everyone!
Peera Oh that sucks! I'm sure this will all be worth it in a few months though.
Jilly_Bean Thanks for saving me & crew the work, it is appreciated. Hopefully and more importantly it keeps your goals top of mind for you. Have that talk with your bad self.
Ciosa What is Zumba? Sounds like you've got some good rewards there! You're gonna kill me, but also try to think of rewards in terms of staying on track. The last 10 lbs can be really hard to loose and you don't want to stop trying because it's taking "too long". So make sure to reward yourself for sticking with it. Maybe since you're down to your last few, give yourself the rewards after every 5 week (1 lb per week) give them to yourself regardless of what the scale says. And the 6 months of sticking to maintenance sounds great!
momof2funnykids I have those days, one of the reasons I average my daily calories across a week. Generally I try to hit above the 1000 mark, but hey, catch up tomorrow. No biggie if it's one day.
Well I didn't make it to the gym today, work just got too busy. But I did make it to Tennis with my friend, and we got a nice long walk in as well since the first courts we went to were super busy, and the second were small and busy we walked about 40 minutes down to the waterfront and a ways along it and then back after out game (waterfront courts were open).
I also got a chance to show her our new sports waterway under full use of the dragon boaters and rowers. I've always wanted to try that. Dragon boating is a possibility but rowing you need to be as a woman max 172 lbs. So I'm going to hope to be there for March (that would be a bit over a 50 lbs loss since December when I think I hit 225 lbs based on clothing size). If I do we're both signing up for rowing next year.
Tennis went well and I'm now very tired, I've got my veggie burger and dairy free ice cream for dinner, and I'm still well under cal.
supersized- I have 4 kids ages 7, 8, 11, 12, so they are older and dont need to have me home ALL the time! I work 40 hours a week from 12 noon-8pm so I have to go to the gym in the morning, I just leave my younger ones under the charge of my 12 yr old. I work from home so that makes being a working mom easier on all of us!
I really need some suggestions! I am not loosing much weight I have been at the same weight for 2 weeks! I have been sticking to around 1300 calories I am 5' 2' and I am at 140 right now with a goal of 120. My biggest problem is that I am on a heart medication that as a side affect lowers your metabolism! So since this inhibits weight loss Im really not sure what to do! This is very frustrating for me since really want to get back to looking like me! Any ideas?
I know how frustrating it is to have health inhibit your efforts. Mine being back and leg pain. Try to vary your calories from day to day (zigzagging) to average your calorie intake at 1300. Maybe your body has gotten use to the 1300/day. What about exercise? What can you do? Walking might help. Just shake it up alittle. Do you eat basically the same things all the time? That can cause you to stall too. Just some ideas for you.
Here's my weekly check-in. I fell off the wagon on Saturday and am just climbing back aboard today. *sigh* Weel you only truly fail when you fail to get back up, right? No beating myself up, no pity parties, just shrugging it off and moving on.
m_saluone I know this is not the answer you want to hear, but 2 weeks, to put it in perspective is not a very long time. There is a large chance that if you have been exercising and eating right that your body is simply adjusting, perhaps adding some muscle. The first thing I suggest to anyone who is using the scale as a measurement is to make sure you have a second measurement. Are you taking body measurements with a measuring tape? Do you have a set of "too small" and "just right" clothes that you can try on once a week to see if you fit into them easier, or looser?
Once you are not relying on the scale and scale alone the suggestions given by momof2funykds are really good ones, our bodies adjust to routines, shake it up a bit, try some different exercises. Add some more cardio if you are doing mainly weights, or weights if you are doing mainly cardio. Try some new foods and don't eat exactly 1300 cal every single day try to mix it up across the week for an average of 1300 calories per day.
The Vitamin Dominatrix Yes, cliche but true you only truly fail if you fail to get back up. Keeping your goals in sight and top of mind is the first kind of success that you need to master to succeed in the longer journey. (how zen of me! LOL).
I made it to the gym this morning! Yay!
The Tennis last night really helped. Well the tennis and walking by the waterfront and remembering how much I wanted to get into rowing when I first saw that it was open to the public, and then how frustrated I was with myself when I figured out I was too overweight to apply to join.
So I kicked myself out of bed with the help of a friend today at 6:30 am. A real accomplishment since my body was fighting me not only with sleepiness but also a screaming headache.
Once I got to the gym though I felt a lot better. I had energy by the 2nd cardio work out and was back to my "can do" attitude by the time I hit the weights. I'm feeling really positive and energized for the first time since I got sick after camping. Amazing what a little work out can do. Now I just need to repeat, repeat, repeat.
Some more good news, indulging in a bit of vanity yesterday I decided that I didn't want to wear my scrubby black gym clothes to play tennis. I justified it because they were black and black on a hot tennis court in the sun would be awful. So I headed out to by some "tennis" clothes. Specifically a light pair of shorts & t-shirt (not full on tennis dress - I barely know how to play!).
I went to my regular plus sized store (Addition-Elle) and I am definitely down from a size 2x to a size 1x!!!! I really had no idea what that meant since I don't really know how plus sizes relate to number sizes so I asked the sales girl. A 2x is roughly a size 18-20 and a 1x is roughly a size 14-16. The size 20 clothes my friend had hand-me-down to me are now literally falling off me (so this made sense) and I was able to fit into a 1x with no tightness or panty lines or sucking in and they felt a bit loose (which is how I like my clothes). So I think I'm confident in saying I'm officially down to a size 16. This likely now puts me back at my highest measured weight around 205 lbs, since I was guessing I was 225 lbs when I hit a size 20. YAY!
I'm still do really good so far this week with my eating and water intake. Unfortunately not doing good with exercising. I hurt my back over the weekend which is not fun. I'm going to try working out tonight even if it's just walking. I also want to do some yard work...nothing crazy but enough to keep me active. That's my biggest downfall....staying active. I'll admit i'm extremely lazy. That's one of my main goals....to break the lazy habit which will help me in the long run.
LOL< yeah I KNOW supersized!! Im just feeling frustrated because I used to be one of those freaks of nature that could eat what ever I wanted and not gain a ounce!! It was my last baby and these meds that I am on that have done me in. I havent given up I know I can do this, I will just have to work harder. I do mix it up I mean I average around 1300 calories a day, and as far as the work outs go, that is always diffrent. I dont get to the gym on the same day each week and running around with the kids is never the same. Really though thanks for the advise, I really do need to look at the long run!!
