Wagon Jumpers: May 7 - 13, 2012
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 lose, but what you need to do on a daily basis to meet your long term goals.
The idea of Wagon Jumpers was to create a close community where participants could get to know each other, creating a virtual support network as they attempt long term weight management.
This is impossible with an 'always open' group as there would be too many people coming and going. For this reason we have capped group membership numbers to 20 participants.
If you would like to be a member of this group please contact our wait list manager: Sarah_ann_artist
There are two rules for Wagon Jumpers:
1. All members must post once per week between Monday and Sunday.
2. All members must check the thread for members who have not posted by Saturday (a short list is posted at the end of the week) 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.
Wagon Jumpers Participants: 20
12 Week CONSISTENCY GOALS - April 2 - June 25:
- beccaanic - Not participating in this round of goals.
- Bleedtoblue (Blue) - Maintenance: Exercise 3/week for 9 of 12 weeks.
- Claire314 (Claire, Co-Moderator) - New: Log food 4/7 days a week. Maintenance: Exercise 1000 mins/month.
- crazigerl (Lorea) - Not participating in this round.
- Defrog3 (Denise) - Maintenance: Get to my trainer 2x/week, and go to the gym 1x/week on my own. Working out 3x/week will also be success.
- ezrod - Not participating in this round.
- Feljones (Debbie) - Maintenance: Log a calorie deficit 4 days/week. New: Eat an all-veggie dinner 3 times/week.
- Figurethefat (Laura) - Not participating in this round of goals.
- hoggy509 (Cindy) - Not participating in this round of goals.
- Islandscribe (Val, Co-Moderator) - Maintenance: Exercising the equivalent of 5 days/week - catch up or double-up days count towards goal. Maintenance: Log meals 4 days/week.
- kenright1008 (Kathy) - Not participating in this round of goals.
- Kyashiis (Kathy) - New: Log a deficit of 2,500 calories a week for 11 of 12 weeks. Maintenance: Do 10 - 30 minutes of yoga four days a week for 12 weeks.
- mhNYC (Mari) - Maintenance: Complete all of my Calorie Camp goals for 12 weeks.
- nekko_cat (Linda) - New: Keep a food log four days/week for 9 of 12 weeks. Maintenance: Exercise 750 minutes/month for 12 weeks.
- Ranchobernardo (John) - Not participating in this round of goals.
- Sarah_ann_artist (Sarah, Co-Moderator) - Maintenance: Workout 1000 minutes/month for the next 12 weeks. New: Log 4 days/week for 12 weeks.
- the_dragon (Hilary, Co-Moderator) - Maintenance: Log food 5 days/week. New: Exercise five minutes three times/week for 12 weeks.
- tiegurl (Tierra) - Not participating in this round of goals.
- travs_girl (Ashley) - New: Jog six miles/week for 12 weeks.
- twindaze (Jenny) - Not participating in this round of goals.
MIA one week:
- None
MIA two weeks:
- twindaze (Jenny)
MIA three weeks:
- None
Missing in action three weeks & will be removed from the list if there is no contact by the end of this week:
Wagon Jumpers on Hiatus:
Waiting List:
Wagon Jumper threads now have a separate host for each week, as listed below:
- 1st Sunday in month: Sarah_Ann_Artist (Sarah)
- 2nd Monday in month: Sarah_Ann_Artist (Sarah)
- 3rd Monday in month: Claire314
- 4th Monday in month: Islandscribe (Val)
- 5th Monday in month: the_dragon (Hilary)
- Mid-Week Reminders: Claire314
- Waitlist Management: Sarah_Ann_Artist
- Thread Issues: If there are any issues with a thread, first contact should be the thread host for that week.
Previous Threads
I will only say I am humbled by the postings of success, passion and struggles.
Keep fighting the fight, winning the war and thank you so much for sharing.
My name is Ashley. I'm 25 years old. I'm married and we have a little boy who will be turning 6 in just a couple of weeks. We live in Eastern Kentucky 10 miles out from a small town, up a long country road. I guess you could say I live out in the hills. We live in a mobile home right now on my grandparents farm and are so ready to get out of it! We did get 5.5 acres this past spring just a couple miles up the road from where we are now. My husband has been busy clearing off the land and plans on building us a road soon. It may be awhile before we can build, maybe even 2 years, but it's something to look forward too. We are both working hard to save up as much as we can for a down payment to start building.
I work for a telecommunications company. It's much nicer than it sounds because my parents own it so I have a pretty laid back job. My Dad stays on the road alot as our company works mostly in the other states. My Mom, myself, and my Sister work in the office doing all of the paperwork, job, tracking, etc. My husband, bless his heart, works his tail off. He is a heavy equipment operator for the Highway Department. He does plumbing & home improvements on the side during evenings & weekends. Plus he is a volunteer fire fighter and on call 24/7. He is great and I really feel blessed to have him.
My little boy Austin is the best kid in the world, lol. He is about to graduate from kindergarten. He is only 5 but he has a huge personality. He loves to hunt & fish, he's extrememly artistic, and he has a huge passion for animals.
My hobbies are pretty random. I love to run as of late as it has helped me lose a ton of weight and discover my healthy side. Crochet is my favorite indoor activity. I can crochet any pattern in front of me and here of late have made up some of my own. Fishing is my favorite outdoor acvtivity. I'm sure all of you have different types of fish where you live. Here in order, starting with my favorite type of fishing, is crappie, bass, catfish. Of course fish is also one of my favorite foods to eat. I love animals of all sorts. My husband complains alot about this one but I think I was just born with a sensitivity toward animals. If I see a sick or hungry animal on the side of the road it goes home with me. I have racked up some pretty good sized vet bills on my animlas over the years and not telling how much money in animal food. I currently have a doberman who will be 4 June 30th. We've had him from a pup. We have a chihuahua who will be 1 July 4th. We have a cat that is around 6. We have 2 mallard ducks and 2 hermit crabs. I do plan on getting some chickens shortly also. A few years ago I raised Rhode Island Reds, White Leghorns, & Jersey Black Giants.
I have lost 27.5lbs since last July. I quit smoking almost 10 months ago. I run about 6 miles a week now. I feel like I'm finally getting it together.
Original Post by twindaze:I can't believe I missed 2 weeks, I knew about one, I last posted on 4/27, that's 11 days. Anyway, about myself.
Sorry about that. For some reason you were posted on the MIA one week list in last weeks header, and I use that as a reference when determining the new thread.
I think dragon saw that Claire posted you as MIA last week and put you on the One Week MIA list, which is incorrect. You were just MIA last week.
Wow! I can't believe I made it to Thurs before posting. I started to read the thread earlier this week and was thinking about what to post and then all slipped from my mind. So about me... many of these things I have in my profile....
I'm Claire, an independent kitchen and bath designer near Boston. I love it when I'm doing it. Took a break this past year to buy and move into a 2 family house and then renovated the rental apartment. The renovations, etc., took me about 5-6 months to get completed and rented and then I've been lagging in getting back to work, finding jobs in my new town, etc. Finally decided I need to get my act together. I was working on my website this morning. Which brings me to... I used to be a programmer in my past life. I did tech support and programming and customer service all rolled into 1 for 13 years. Dropped that when I had my first baby and went back to school for the design stuff. And it works well for me now to take jobs, working for myself, because I can set my own hours to better manage the family life. I strive to only work part time but it tends to feel more like working full time for 2-3 weeks at a time when I have a client and then nothing for a few weeks until then next job. Family life is that I'm a single mother with 2 kids, age 9 and 7. I have awesome kids, that are sweet, smart, funny and all around wonderful. :)
I joined WJ as a support group. I expected to use it to talk/learn about tips and ideas to change my diet and lifestyle, particularly exercise, and was happily surprised that the goal setting function of the group taught me so much more about myself than anything else. I learned that in the past I set unrealistic goals, set myself up to fail and that usually resulted in my falling off the wagon. So for a online group that I wasn't sure was going to help me because it's lacking that "in real life" connection, I feel like I hit the jackpot! :) The group has also evolved so much in the past year with our new co-moderator approach which I really like. The second part of WJs that I like to emphasize when it's my turn to moderate/post the thread is thinking about and investigating new ways or ideas that help me change my lifestyle. After 3-4 years of working at this, though I'm losing weight rather slowly and have had setbacks, I know that with the tools here on CC everything else is all in my head. I need to change how I think and that's not always easy. So I'm always looking for new ideas or ways to think differently.
Welcome Ezrod!! And it's great to read about the other newer members and be refreshed on the histories of my old buddies.
John, I know you've mentioned that you were once in the 300's but I too forget that! You're just so matter of fact and consistent in your new lifestyle and approach that it's hard to imagine what you were like before.
Cindy, Do not worry about us judging you for having surgery! We're all in the same place, working hard to change our ways. We often take different paths to get there and you should do what works for you. If someone posts that they're on a crazy restrictive diet or taking pills or something that endangers their health, I admit I will probably get nosy, ask questions and express my concerns but we certainly wouldn't ostracize anyone. We're here to talk about our problems and hopefully help each other resolve them, not be judgy. :)
I am on track for this week with exercise, but I am still not doing well with logging my food. That is partly because I was logging onto a different site for food for a while, and I haven't gotten back into doing it here. Time to get my actions aligned with my goals... The story of my life.
I have been using this wonderful CC site for five years this coming June. I have lost about 50 lbs. It has been slow going with lots of ups and downs. I have been a member of WJ for over four years, and I have learned a lot about nutrition, motivation, exercise and different approaches to getting to a healthy lifestyle. I appreciate all the WJ people who keep trying and don't give up while we muddle through reaching our goals together.
I just turned 61 a couple of weeks ago. I find that I have to be careful with exercise. I am definitely prone to overdoing it and then having to contend with injuries that set me back from achieving my aims.
I have a nice Japanese husband, four grown kids and eight grand kids scattered around the northwest of the USA and Japan where I make my home. I have an English school, am a business woman and a teacher, and I sometimes am asked to be a speaker at events (in Japanese, of course).
My diet (as in the kinds of food I eat) is very different from a north American one. I had a hard time logging food for a long time, but the data base for foods of CC has increased and includes a lot of Asian foods these days.
I am a certified guide for a World Heritage pilgrimage route called the Kumano Kodo. Hiking through the pristine forests and mountains in my region gave me the impetus to start my weight loss and return to fitness.
Up until I was in my mid thirties, I was pretty fit and at a good weight for my 5-foot frame. Then I started piling on the weight. I was close to 200 lbs when I first started training to become a hiking guide. No doubt, the people around me thought I was crazy to attempt some of the remote hiking areas and guiding - but, knowing that others think I will fail at something kind of gives me the drive to prove them wrong...
I practice yoga on my own using books and apps as resources most days of the week as my main source of exercise.
Through CC, I realized that one of my bad habits has been to divide our food at meals up evenly (despite the fact that my hubby is several inches taller than I) when setting the table as foods are dished up in the kitchen in lots of little dishes in Japanese cuisine. Dishes are not passed around. I now give my husband proportionally more than I put on my own dishes. I weigh most of my food every day whether I log it or not. I have internalized amounts of foods and calorie counts for most things I eat, but weighing keeps me from nibbling (one of my worst cooking habits).
Welcome to our newest members, and thanks for sharing aspects of your lives in your introductions. We have a very interesting group here.
My self-justifying made-up excuse for not exercising when I was a couch potato was that your lifespan is a certain number of heartbeats and exercising just makes you use them up faster. After all elephants' pulse rates are around 25 and they live 70 years but a hummingbird's pulse rate is around 1260 and they live 3-4 years! I know it's nonsense, but you will tell yourself anything when you are justifying an unhealthy choice.
Oooooh, good idea for a future topic! My most outrageous excuses. 
sounds logical to me!!
I love this topic :-) Thanks, Sarah.
I'm Laura, 55 yr old single woman with 2 kids, one lives with me in NZ, the other is going to UC Berkeley. I've been on CC for 5 years now and on WJ for a long time, um, not sure how long, not as long as Denise :-) Over that time my weight has gone up and down within a 20 pound range. Right now I'm on the higher rather than the lower side of that range. Definitely need to get back on the wagon!
Right now I'm living in New Zealand. For the first 8 months I didn't have a job so keeping fit was easy. But now I'm working I haven't been making time to go to the gym and eating has been less than stellar. Never the less I'm happy to have the job. I'm a medical typist for the Renal department of a huge hospital. I love what I do although this is the first time I've worked in the medical field. Before it was always Financial Services. I feel like a much more productive member of society in my new job.
Welcome to Ezrod.
Congrats on the job figurethefat/Laura! It is so much easier to lose weight and keep it off without the temptations of the office kitchen and with flexible time to exercise.
How did you end up in NZ?
And it's Saturday morning again and here I am with MIA list. Please send out gentle reminders to the following Jumpers:
- beccaanic
- Islandscribe (Val, Co-Moderator)
- kenright1008 (Kathy)
And Jenny, sorry about the confusion last week. I noticed that the list in the thread was incorrect but I didn't notify Hillary, I thought by correcting in my MIA posting it would get ironed out. Obviously I need to work on better communication with my co-moderators.
Original Post by claire314:
And it's Saturday morning again and here I am with MIA list. Please send out gentle reminders to the following Jumpers:
- beccaanic
- Islandscribe (Val, Co-Moderator)
- kenright1008 (Kathy)
And Jenny, sorry about the confusion last week. I noticed that the list in the thread was incorrect but I didn't notify Hillary, I thought by correcting in my MIA posting it would get ironed out. Obviously I need to work on better communication with my co-moderators.
I think we can blame me for getting it wrong!
Can someone explain how to send a group message to the MIA list? I've been doing each individually, and I don't always have the time to do it. Thx!
It's really easy to send out a group message if you have everyone as a "supporter" or friend on CC. You got to your mail, choose Compose and you should see all of the friends/supporters you have on CC. When you click on each person a check mark is added next to their name and their username is added in the To: field. If you add someone by mistake there's a X out option next to their name in the To: field after you've added them. Then whatever you type into the message will send to everyone you added like normal email. The only things that's different is that it looks like it's a single message to the receiver. They don't see who else the msg was sent to and can't do a reply all.
So the big thing is to add everyone in the WJ group as supporters first. :)
Here I be - very belatedly posting. I'm certainly in making appointments to breathe mode.
Let's see - quick bio: I'm 56 and only very belatedly getting healthier after a lifetime of battling weight. This is the first time I've lost a significant amount of weight (fluctuating between 60 - 70 pounds) and kept it off for more than a year.
I have a very creative but frequently high stress deadline-driven job as the Director of Marketing and Communications for a company that just keeps growing 'n growing 'n growing... In these days of layoffs etc., I consider that a GOOD thing but it does sometimes play havoc with my personal life. Overall, I really like my job, which is varied and includes writing, DTP, computer graphics, website development/maintenance etc. I'm a one-person dept. and usually work from a home office.
Hobbies - when I have time - are dog agility, dabbling in letterpress, a bit of SCA, synchronized swimming (currently on hiatus), various crafts, and doing silly things to the inside of my home - like transforming a 70s bi-level into something quasi-Victorian/Edwardian. I call it my 'beer budget reno.'
I also do stuff in the gym, which I regard as a necessary evil as opposed to a hobby. Maybe - some day - I will reach a level of fitness enlightenment where I will actually enjoy going to the gym...
And thank you EVERYONE for all the reminders. Gosh...
Keep well,
Val
thanks for the tip. I don't claim to be computer savy, How do i get this group to show up on my groups tab?
I've really enjoyed learning more about everyone on here. For me, I'm 49, live north of Boston, a mom of 2 grown daughters. Software test engineer for a telecom company for 27 years. I love my job.
I joined CC in October 2011 and WJ soon after. Since October I've lost 40 pounds...very slow but consistently. I work out 6 days a week right now. That in itself amazes me...I was a couch potato for 30 years. I was probably on the track for an early death but now I feel so much younger then I did 2 years ago. I have a long way to go but I'm no longer thinking about that number...this is my life now and I expect my body to decide when it gets to the weight it should be.
