Wagon Jumper - November 9 - 15th, 2008 (Closed, Waiting List Available)
Welcome
(We are currently at 30 members. If you are interested in being on the waiting list please read below and e-mail 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.
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).
Why is the participation capped?
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.
Over the first few weeks we experimented with an "open to all" concept and found that the thread became too long and confusing and as a result no one got to know each other and it became too much work for many members.
With a mid sized group (30) I am hoping to maintain the community and supportive goals of the original thread, and have enough people that if we are not all daily posters (as the only requirement is a weekly post) that the thread is still motivational and has new content day to day.
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.
Still interested? Send Supersized a PM.
Wagon Jumpers Participants
Week 27 Riders:
Supersized (myself)
Week 25 riders:
Week 24 Riders:
Week 23 Riders:
Week 20 Riders - Congratulations on 5 Months!:
Wenchie58 - recovery to December 6th, 2008
Week 19 Riders:
Week 18 Riders:
Week 15 Riders:
Week 12 Riders - Congratulations on 3 Months!:
Week 11 Riders:
Week 10 Riders:
Week 9 Riders:
Week 8 Riders - Congratulations on 2 Months!:
Week 7 Riders:
Week 6 Riders:
Amber1l - away to November 22nd, 2008
Week 4 Riders - Congratulations on 1 Month!:
Week 3 Riders:
Week 2 Riders:
Week 1 Riders:
New:
Missing In Action:
Missing In Action - 1 Week:
Missing In Action - 2 Weeks:
Current Membership: 30
Current Waiting List: 1
Outstanding Wait List Invites: 0
12 Week CONSISTENCY GOALS
(as set w/o October 19th, 2008)
By January 11th, I will be...
At least 8 weeks successful on my 12-week consistency plan. That is 8 weeks at an average of 1500 cal/day (weekly avg) and gym 4x/week 2 hrs/session.
Working out 5x week. I will be eating 1500-2000 calories a day dependng on exercise.
Sticking with the NROL nutrition (40%-30%-30%) and working out 3x/week. This should have me almost complete with stage 4 of the program.
Consistently drinking 4 500 ml bottles of water per day and working out 3 times a week, this can include running, weights, etc...
Maintaining walking 10,000 - 12,000 steps a day and adding both Wii Fit exercise 2-3 times per week, while achieving a calorie deficit of 500 cal/day.
Exercising 5 days/week (cardio + strength) and eating 1500 calories on exercise days and 1200 on rest days.
Be eating 1450 cal/day, except on non-exercise days (1300) and exercising 6 days/week on a stationary bike, increasing the distance each week by 1/2 mile with a goal to reach 10 miles/session by the end of 12 weeks.
Journaling my food on CC everyday, and getting 30 min of exercise 2-3 times per week.
Adding interval training - Fartleks - to my running to reach a goal of running a 5K at 6 min/km. While maintaining a 600 cal/day deficit.
Eating 5-6 fruits and vegetables a day, and working out 5 days a week.
Drinking 2L of water everyday, and eating at a 500 calorie deficit everyday.
Eating at an average deficit of 500 cal/day 6-7 days/week, and exercising 5 times/week for at least 20 min/session.
Eat an average of 1700 cal/day and exercise 4x per week, according to my plan
Eating at 1600 cal/day and walking for 1 hour 3 days/week.
Drinking 2 mugs and 1 glass of water per day and logging my food everyday.
Exercising two times a week for 60 minutes at the gym or at home, and logging all of my food.
Exercising 2 times a week.
Maintaining a complete food log on the CC website daily to remain on track. Exercising 2x a week for minimum of 45 minutes.
Going to the gym 4 times per week (maintenance). Drinking ATLEAST 2 litres of water per day.
Exercising at least 30 min every day. Logging my calories on CC every day.
Exercising for 30 min 3 times per week. Eating vegetables with 2 meals per week.
Previous Threads:
Wagon Jumpers - November 9 - 15th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - October 26 - November 1st, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - October 19 - 25th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - October 12 - 18th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - October 5 - 11th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - September 28 - October 4th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - September 21 - 27th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers September 14-20th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers September 7-13th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers August 31 - September 6th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers August 24 - 30th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers August 17 - 23rd, 2008
Wagon Jumpers August 10 - 16th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers August 2 - 9th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers July 27 - August 2nd, 2008
Wagon Jumpers July 20 - 26th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers July 6 - July 21st, 2008 (another, two week special!)
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.
THIS WEEK'S TOPIC(S)
There are two topics this week, one for goal setters and one for everyone.
1. Goal Setters: 1/4 Way Check-In
Okay goal setters, last week was the completion of week 3 of 12, which puts us 1/4 of the way towards our goals.
How are you doing at the 1/4 way mark? Are you on target? Exceeding? Or, if not, what do you need to do over the next 9 weeks to meet your goal?
2. Everyone: Wagon Jumping - What Does It Mean To You?
Noni, wrote an interesting summary of how the term "wagon jumping" resonates for her. Yes, this is an exercise in semantics. I think exercises in meaning and how we use our words are very powerful for wagon jumpers. We often make excuses, construct elaborate plans. We are the semantics experts in many cases. So, looking at how we frame our choices with our words is, I think, an interesting exercise.
Here is a link to Noni's post: Click Here
Weekly Check-In
My building management is conspiring against me making it to the gym this morning. I got up early enough (on a Sunday morning) to get my laundry in at 8:00 am, but they did not open the laundry room until after 8:30 am, which means I am now behind schedule. It's okay. The gym was a 'nice to do' this morning not a 'need to do'.
1. Goal Setters
I'm really happy to stay that I got to the gym all that I needed to last week and ate well. This means that I am on track to meet my 12-week goal.
This is really important to me because last time I tried this 12-week goal it was during the first quarter that I completely fell off the wagon, which means that I could have caught up in the next 9 weeks, but I pretty much needed to be 100%, needless to say that didn't happen. So, being ahead of the game this time, and already being on track when I reach the 1/4 mark is putting me in a very positive frame of mind to make it on track to the 1/2 way point (and beyond!).
Wagon Jumping - What Does It Mean To You?
As some of you know I work in communications, political communications... which means that I like words, perhaps a bit more than I should. So when I chose a name for this group there was some purpose behind it. That being said, I don't necessarily think that everyone should have the same interpretation I do. I firmly believe that the success of a book is in how others derive meaning from the reading, not necessarily the authors original intention.
As Noni mentioned a definite purpose in the naming was the idea of getting back onto the wagon. It was this idea of "Jumping on the Band Wagon", this being the health, wellness and fitness band wagon. Certainly one I want to be a part of. This also brought out the idea of 'joining' to me. I find that changing our diets and exercise habits can often be a lonely process, so to know that there are others on the same journey, going through the same things, facing the same road blocks and overcoming them is a powerful image for me.
I did however also choose the wagon analogy also for the "falling off the wagon" saying. I wanted to stay away from the term "falling" for the reasons that Noni mentioned the lack of blame.
Although, I should say I don't want to phrase it in terms of blame. There are lots of reasons we leave the wagon, sometimes it is a slow progression, and sometimes it's a head long dive. Sometimes we feel pushed. Sometimes we simply wake up in the ditch and wonder how we got there.
I think the jumping does have to come back into the analogy for getting off the wagon as well as getting on. Life is about change. Our lives will always change. We will have relationship, career, family and friends changes all of our lives. These things are not going to go away. Often when we feel pushed, or wake up in the ditch it's because we did not feel in control of our lives. In control of our bodies. In control of our habits.
And that, is what being on the wagon is about. It's about recognizing when we choose to jump off and why. What are our individual triggers, is it stress, boredom, change of scene, change of pace, all or some of the above and more? Being on the band wagon is only going to work if it can work all of the time. This brings us back around to last week's topic about all or nothing. We're never going to be able to go all out on our health and fitness goals all of the time. It's great when we can dedicate some extra time to it. But our "on the wagon" mentality needs to be one that is above all achievable and successful, even when life is crazy. If it is not, then we are choosing to set ourselves up for a fall/push/jump from the wagon.
So, while it is not about blame, it is about taking responsibility for our actions. Getting to know ourselves, our patterns and our tendencies. Choosing when we jump on and off the wagon and recognizing the implications of those choices.
For me, being "on the wagon" is about setting achievable targets and meeting them. I am "off the wagon" when I don't bother to set my targets, or I make conscious choices that result in me not meeting them. It's a different thing all together if I am setting goals and not attaining them. If that is the case, then I need to ask myself if I am setting the bar too high, and what I need to do to get there, what are the smaller steps that will make the big one.
This idea of flexible goals gives me the permission needed to be able to change how much I am trying to do in a given time frame. For example, during the summer when things were not quite as hectic for me I would set 3 daily health & fitness goals, leading to 2 weekly health & fitness goals. Now, during the fall, as career and family are much busier for me I set 1 daily health and fitness goal and 1 weekly health and fitness goal. These goals are also much more modest than during the summer.
This does not mean I am "off the wagon" in the fall, it means I am finding a way that works for me to stay "on the wagon" rather than say "screw it, I can't do what I was doing in the summer, so I'm not going to do anything!".
I think how I define on and off the wagon for me has a lot to do with how I manage my all or nothing mentality.
There we go, nice segue to last week.
Sara.
Weekly Check-in:
Even though my eating habits weren't optimal this week, i still kept my calories within range. I wasn't as great about hitting my 40-30-30 splits, but i still was close had an overall good week.
1. Goals - I am almost effortlessly sticking with my goals. I look forward to getting to the gym :) I've finished stage 1 of New Rules of Lifting and I am on the suggested rest week before moving on to stage two. I'm excited about this stage, because it adds cardio back into my plan. I usually hate cardio, but these are just 15 minute sessions every other workout... Totally do-able!
My body feels amazing - tighter arms, abs and i'm actually proud of my backside for the first time in my life! In stage 1, I lost about 2.5 inches overall, and I'm easily maintaining.
2. I don't want to sound like a pessimist compared to Noni's nice illustration, but I don't fall off the wagon. I literally choose to take a flying leap off the darn thing! I make one mistake and throw it all away... "All or Nothing" Right?
After a horrendous jump of the wagon, i certainly don't jump back on, its a slow painful climb back on... and the wagon usually drags me a few miles before i get a good hold and climb on again.
Part of staying on the wagon, as I talked about last week, was finding a program that fit me - my likes, dislikes, habits etc.
Happily, i have not jumped off the wagon for at least 6 weeks! Yay for me!
Hi all,
Well I seem to have survived my week of eating more. It was a bit scary, worrying how much I would gain before things leveled out and how long it would take till the weight started to go down again. But it was not too bad. After a week of a bit of up and down the down seems to be winning out.
The other thing I did was increase my exercise, I have been taking long walks when ever I find and excuse... daughter needs to go to physio - great lets walk there! (45 min each way)
What I have noticed is that I am hungrier now. Just before I stoped losing weight, I was thinking, gee, no matter how little I eat, I don't feel hungry. I now know that is a very, very bad sign!
As for wagon jumpers: I did really like Noni's look at the name. And yes, it is always easy to "fall off", but it takes a conscious effort to jump back on. Sadly it can sometimes take years to get back on.
When I first lost a lot of weight, it was great - took a long time, yet was steady and fun. But when I got knocked off the wagon by a Xmas stocking full of good german chocolates. I was too discouraged to jump back on. Of the 60 lbs I lost I had gained back 10, then it was 15, then more, up to nearly 50 of those pound back at the worst point.
Now that I am at it again, I find myself thinking - good golly, woman! why did you not do something about it right away! when it was only 10 lbs!!!!!
And the 10 lbs only put me one pound over my max healthy weight! It was nothing yet it left me in an ever deepening ditch for about 6-7 years!!!
So not only do I need to make a conscious effort to get a seat on the wagon, I need to plan for a seat belt and some guard rails so I don't fall off so easily. So after talking to an acquaintance, who coincidentally had lost weight and was keeping it off via weight watchers, I decided to join. Not so much for the actual weight losing, I'm pretty sure I can pull that off (she says....) but for the maintenance after, I love the idea of getting something for free rather than paying full price and I like the idea of working at keeping the weight low so I don't have to pay for meetings.... Of course I could just quit that too, but now that I have paid for it, I want my money's worth!
I seem to be going on a bit, bye for now,
Lalie
~ There is always blue sky above the clouds. ~ Me.
MsMeg Congratulations on finding a great fit for you. I think one of the big lessons that we can see from your example is you are maintaining your weight while loosing size. This is one of my goals when I get closer to the weight / size I want to be. I know I'm going to go through a phase where I will use the scale again, but, when I am close to where I think I want to be, other than checking that I am not putting on too much weight in a bad way I know my focus will need to be on size, how I feel, and how fit I am.
I'm a wallower, weather I take the slow slide off the wagon, or choose the flying leap, it's wallowing in the ditch before trying to drag myself back on that gets me, and it always takes me a couple of attempts to really be back with it.
To be continued..... meeting
CHECKIN:
Repeating week 4 again. I am beyond frustrated now. I think I am actually angry with myself. Sometimes that's what it takes.
I have been using the "ease into it" theory as an excuse. Saying to myself such things as "I don't want to over do it.." "It's ok, I'm allowed to have this, I still have a fairly high calorie goal, I'll just not eat heavy later..." "My next workout will give me the deficit I need to compensate, I'll be ok."
NOT!! While I made goal with exercise this week, I flunked on calories... supposedly my strong point. I can't seem to manage simultaneous success.
It's true there is some added stress this week, my BF left last night for a weeklong trip, which will be every single week for the next 6 months or so. I will see him on weekends, but it's a huge change from being together 24/7. We were actually working together, but he took another job. One that keeps him travelling. ... and no.. I'm not happy about it. BUT... that's just another excuse.
In effect, this has all left me feeling a bit phliosophical, so the weekly topic is a great springboard for me!
************
WEEKLY TOPIC:
I have thought about the weekly topic similarly to Noni. I had to process that cycle in my own mind when I first joined, and realized that jumping is the actual getting on. I also think its fascinating as well to compare the Wagon to the symbolic vehicle of our life. It's not necessarily a jointly shared vehicle, but it is essentially our very own. One that takes us down the roads we individually travel. Yes, at times we are dragged... (LOL Sara!), and other times, we walk behind, clamor up the sides, slip off the other side, etc... sometimes too we are in the driver's seat. We are in control of where it takes us, how fast we get there, the condition of the wagon. I like to think of the wagon as my Plan. Whether it is in good repair, with a charted destiny, or whether it is lacking a few needed parts, and unsure of the road ahead. While the terrain or the weather... outside conditions (life) are not things I can control, and contributing factors are greatly varied and even moreso... the wagon never stops... with or without me it keeps moving.... YET, I CAN control it... While it rolls on and on, sometimes it is running on only 3 wheels, bumping along on the rear corner, I can fix that!... (My own personal wagon has 4 wheels, yours may be different) However, I can't change the fact that sometimes it is grinding over rough rocky roads. Sometimes it is bogged down with extra baggage. And even sometimes it is gliding lightly over smooth glassy blue waters. I ask myself, what am I doing about it... with it... for it... ? Am I on it? Am I driving it? Am I stumbling behind it? Does the wagon itself need attention? What course has been charted for my wagon? Will I secure myself tightly enough so that when the winds heave at the sides, I will stay on? Or will I slip off the other edge? Will it leave me behind, in that infamous ditch, or will I be driving it victoriously as I exit the storm? ... and let's not even talk about horses... LOL!
Happy Healthgain to all,
~Julie
1. Goal Setters: 1/4 Check-In
Since I have been gone on vacation, I have missed all of the first part of this goal session - so I will be a 9 weeker! Okay - water has been good (Gatorade actually) sinceI caught the plague in SE Asia and have been wicked ill. Gatorade (yellow) fixes everything and was all I have been able to ingest for the last week! So my grunge helped me keep a goal up!
Now that I am back in front of a computer I will start logging.
2. Everyone: Wagon Jumping - What Does It Mean To You?
I like jumping versus falling because I hate passive control of life or the indication that there is another being controlling my life. My food decision are clearly marked on my hips and thighs - I didn't fall off the wagon, I hopped off at the sandwich store and got fries with veggie grill. nothing passive there. The nice thing about hopping off, it is as easy to hop back on. Okay, maybe not JUST as easy - but the same decision, nonetheless. Just have to decide to not get that sandwich or the fries.
I am sure I have much more to think about on this, but I wanted to catch up a little here on CC and WJ while I had a moment.
Lalie I've struggled on both ends of the weight health and fitness bit. I've done the eating disorder from the anorexic side and the over eating side. It's safe to say that my relationship with food has always been a rocky one. I'm also a champion starver, recently it's been more about starving then bingeing.... but starving myself does interesting things to my body signals. One of my biggest accomplishments in the last ten months has been to get some of my digestive signals back. Actually feeling something that says 'stop, you're full' or 'eat you're hungry!'. The best part is that I now get the 'eat, you're hungry!' signal in the morning. For many MANY years I was a no breakfast person, in fact thinking about eating in the mornings made me feel ill. I'm happy to say that has now changed.
That's actually quite a brilliant idea on weight watchers for maintenance. I know over the last 5 years of yo-yo dieting I've learned almost everything I can know about how I should loose weight properly. What I haven't looked into at all is how to maintain weight loss.
Julie Ah, consistency+. I'm sure a lot of people wonder about me when I try to limit people to two goals, but that's the big reason why. Even once one is under control when you add the second it's not only about adding the second but keeping the first. I'm now, after ten months getting about 70% with both exercise and calorie range. I know that even once I'm getting 100% and starting to add water, that I'll be back down below 50% for a while until I really do get a handle on it.
Anger works sometimes, but be careful of the frustration check yourself to see if it is motivating you or wearing you down and making you want to dive off the wagon. You are easing into it in a way, make sure you are giving yourself goals you can meet, easily, in busy stressful times (warning: holidays ahead) so that you can feel successful and use that as a motivational tool.
Great description on the wagon. Is there some creative writing in your work?
On the BF and traveling bit. I know it sucks. My partner took a job 3 years ago that is a swing shift job. While we are still "living together" day to day, the routine is such that when I get up and go to work he's dead asleep, when I come home he's at work, when he comes home I'm dead asleep, when he goes to work it's before I get home. In other words we literally don't see each other conscious for the entire week. Originally we thought this may work out because we could wake each other up for some 'us' time, but with the schedule the way they are I'm a nasty nasty person in the morning and it's safer for him to let me have those couple of hours of deep REM sleep that I'm in when he gets home, and about the time I'm waking up well that's where he is. The job was supposed to be temporary.... it's not. It really bothered me at first, especially since we both volunteer a lot, family obligations... blah, blah, blah... we see each other less now than we did when we lived apart.
There is an up side though... since we don't see each other a lot, we do go to more effort now to make time for each other on the weekends than most of our coupled friends do, and we put a fair bit of effort into date nights, every weekend. In the long run I think it's actually made us a stronger couple as we really can't get on each other's nerves, and the little things mean a lot more to us when we are together. Good luck though, I do remember how angry I was the first few months of it.
Kcerveny Welcome back. I hope you don't mean the actual plague... If you did I'm a little concerned about drinking Gatorade now if it's a cure for the plague, part of me thinks 'best drink ever!' and part of me thinks 'eeegawds! what's in it then?!'
I'm definitely on the side of jumping off is a conscious decision and we need to take responsibility for it, but it is interesting to read all the different images.
Sara.
I actually woke up at 6:30 am.... on a Monday morning... and.... got my butt out of bed and went to the gym! It wasn't until I was all ready that I realized I had a morning meeting, which would normally have been my excuse to put the gym off until later in case I was running late. But, I knew I was prepped for the meeting and had enough time for the work out so, off I went. I love getting the work outs out of the way early in the week, it makes me feel like I've purchased free time at the end of the week.
I went grocery shopping while hungry this afternoon after my meeting, never a good choice. But, I did have a bit of a realization. My mother gave us, as kids, very good eating habits / snacks. Now when I'm in groceries I crave a lot of the snacks she brought us up on.... they're not big crowd pleasers, and my partners is always worried I'm pregnant because of my weird cravings... but as winter goes my favourites are: rice cakes, dried spiced seaweed and mustard pickles... sometimes together. Yeah, I can hear the ewwww. Oh well, it's all low cal. I got he pickles today.
Sara.
Uh-oh, has everyone buried their heads in the sand after I asked about goal progress?
Well today is remembrance day, for anyone who is interested here is my blog on my thoughts as someone who has been part of the Canadian Forces and who identifies as an anti-war protestor.
Today has gone well so far, I've made it to the gym again - yay 2 down 2 more to go. I'm a bit off track on my calories, but I can pull it back in line without feeling like I need to starve myself. So, must go out and get more stuff to cook today. Low cal stuff.
I hope you are all well out there in cyber-land.
Cheers,
Sara.
Hi! I have off from work today for Veteran's Day, so I'm able to actually post!
I've been quite good with my exercise goal--I've been getting to a gym or a yoga studio 3x a week, all while working! Hooray!!
On the food logging, though, I don't know how it will be possible for me to achieve this. My computer activities are monitored at work, and I just can't see myself putting the effort into keeping a manual diary for entry into the system later (there's just not enough hours in the day for it all!!).
So I've been thinking. Its too much effort to track daily consumption, but I know that if I start eating like a banshee, my measurements will increase with any weight gain. Therefore, I'm thinking that an acceptable substitute goal is for me to track my measurements weekly, to ensure that they do not increase (and if they do, then I'll need to either cut back eating or step up exercising).
Super, will please adjust my goal to: exercising at least 2x a week for an hour, and keep a weekly log of my measurements, in order to not let them get out of control?
Check in:
1. Goal Setters: 1/4 Way Check-In
So far I am 100% on target and exceeding my goal for water intake. The first quarter for exercise has been rocky but I started off this week well. Also, the gym at my work opens a week from today and I have high hopes to actually make it most days of the week, so that would have me exceeding in exercise as well, however I do know how busy I can get at work as well so I'm not going to up my goal from 3xweek just yet.
2. Everyone: Wagon Jumping - What Does It Mean To You?
Wagon Jumping, well I have to agree with msmeg I also leap off the wagon. And then the all or nothing mentality sets in. I think I am making great progress on this though and my jumps off the wagon do not last as long and I don't fall as far as I used to (with the whole all or nothing attitude).
I have also started tracking what I eat again. This is 2 fold:
1. I am trying to figure out what foods I may have a sensitivity to.
2. I am considering going back to see a naturopath as I seem to be having a much harder time losing weight then previously. I do realize I could be exercising more, but honestly there maybe an issue with the types of foods I eat (although healthy they may not be digesting properly etc) and I want to have as much information ready for her as possible prior to my appointment.
Well I must get back to work now. I opted to work on the holiday and take Friday off instead.
Sara - I enjoyed your blog entry today. Very insightful. I would have to agree with you on your comments. I know most of my friends and family also agree, I wonder sometimes if most of Canada also agrees why are we in the situation we are currently.
msmeg - congrats on finding weight lifting, everything I read says it's the optimal exercise, better overall than cardio alone. I live in a very small town so I haven't been able to find NROL for women. I will look at Chapters when I am back in the city again (hopefully in a couple weeks), if not I might just order offline. Do you have to have access to a gym to complete the program?
Lalie - I joined weight watchers here at work (compay actually paid for 1/2 the cost), however for whatever reason it really didn't work for me (I don't like tracking and I found I was very tired and cranky being able to eat only 22 points worth of food each day). However I know a lot of people who have been very successful and they call chalk it up to the support and accountability. Congratulations on finding innovative ways to fit exercise into your day!
kcerveny - hope you're fully recouped, being sick sucks.
Julie - Just remember absence makes the heart grow fonder. I know probably have heard that enough that it makes you want to tear your hair out. I had a similiar situation a few years ago. My then bf, now husband worked 8am-5pm, I worked 3pm-12am (actually more like 2pm to 1am because I have to drive 1hr to work each way), anyway, we really only saw each other for about 20-30 minutes a day, generally he was waiting up for me at the carpool spot (unless it was my turn to drive of course) and we would see each other while I drove him back to his place. Sometimes he was sleeping in the car when I got there so he was a little groggy conversation wise. This lasted for about 1 yr and then I got a better shift. So hopefully this is a temporary thing (I know you said it wasn't but maybe it's like a longer temporary that will only last several months).
defrog - I can't imagine being watched that closely at work. However I am sure they have their reasons. Congrats on sticking to your exercise goals!
Well my lunch is almost over so I should log off and start working again.
- Raven
Hey guys don't want to do a rushed check in so I will be out of town till November 20.......I won't be able to check in........but I will catch up when I come back....
I haven't been doing so great. I'll have a few good days and then I just totally blow everything. During the past three weeks, I have only gained weight. It's gross. I'm so inconsistent. I can do well for a little while and then I'm like eh screw it, it's not worth it. Blargh, it gets very frustrating.
To me, wagon jumpers has two meanings; both climbing on the wagon and falling off. I find it is much much easier to fall off than to get back on. I'm sure most people would agree. Literally, because of gravity, which pulls us down to the ground, we just have to let go of the wagon and we will fall off. But to get back on, we must exert a force against the strong pull of gravity and have a lot of willpower to get back on. This struggle of falling off and getting back on is part of a very familiar cycle to me. Recently I have been having so much trouble and it makes me nervous that I'm just going to keep gaining weight for a while until I am obese. I'm pretty small right now and never had that much weight to lose (5'2", 108 lbs) but it's still so frustratingg. You think it would be easier knowing that I don't have to lose that much, but it has been soo freakin hard. I want to take on this challenge. I'm hard working and I know I can do it, I just have to prove it to myself. Having the potential to do something but never using that potential is stupid. It's like me in school. I'm a hardworking student who has the potential to get all A's, but I've been lazy and haven't worked up to full potential and therefore I get some B's. Now a B isn't bad for most people, but I know I can do better. The difference between having the potential to do something and not using it and just not having the potential in the first place but working very hard is in the way you feel. If you don't use your potential, you feel like crap and worthless because you can't seem to accomplish anything that you know you should be able to. Ugh, that is how I feel. I know I can do it, but that doesn't mean anything unless I actually do it and see the result.
Whoops I just totally ranted. But I am so frustrated with myself and I feel helpless. I know that leading a healthy lifestyle is all about a gradual process and taking little baby steps, but it still just seems so hard. Argh.
Good morning everyone!
I'm suffering from a bit of a cold this week which is helping on the calorie intake side, and as you can see, I'm try to look at it positively.
As far as this week's topics. . . Goal meeting - I'm sitting in the driver's seat driving this wagon! Calories are on, I'm exercising, my first 8k is this weekend, and my water intake is way up if not at the 100 oz a day. I may not be meeting 3 strength/4 cardio and the 100 oz. exactly but its so close that I'm more proud of where I am than where I'm not...i hope that makes sense.
As far as Wagon Jumping..... while I read Noni's description in depth... my own particular spin on my wagon jumping is that often I say I've fell off but in reality its always a jump.... it's always a conscience choice.... exercise or not.... eat those empty calories or not...... we all have a choice. Some of us have underlying reasons why we don't make good decisions (I tend to be an emotional eater).... but for me, I find I jump on and I jump off...... I'd like to say I fell but I realize now that's an excuse.... and if I hold myself accountable more, whether or not I'm on or off, I feel more in control of me and my choices.
I'm totally siked and totally petrified about the 8k (5 mi) run this weekend. While technically a race, I just want to be able to run it. Which for me is about an hour of running.... 4 months ago I started Couch to 5k and couldn't even run the 1 min without being winded.....................anyone interested in cardio health I highly recommend the Couch to 5k........ After this, I move on to a 10k (6 miles)....
For those of you who want to run to lose weight.... forget about it. Did the running program for a solid month without a change......Can't tell you what it did for measurements because I hadn't taken them..... added weight training in there and BAMMM!!!! the inches and pounds started coming off. I run for conditioning and I lift for weight loss and increased metabolism..It's funny how the two coincide... I can run better because I lift and I can lift longer because I run.
Hope everyone is doing well heading into this holiday season!
~Susan
Sarah1090 - getting back on is the toughest. But once you're on, focus your energies to stay on. Keeping balance, and sticking to the Plan. To heck with the rough terrain! Fasten your seatbelt, and get to driving, Girl... LOL!
Susan - I AM SO PROUD OF YOU! - I hope the very best for you in this run... you are a true example of what we all need to do... lol!
GOAL SETTING:
I am considering revamping my entire plan. I am in my 3rd try for accomplishing Week 4. 2 months of no results. 2 months and still at the beginning of my Plan, because I am flunking on consistency. While I FEEL successful, for the most part, and I FEEL like I should be seeing results, I am not.... (just trying to sort out my frustration here... lol!)
* I like to run.
* I like yoga.
* I like weight lifting.
I don't like the elliptical so much, or the stair stepper. Treadmill I can do, I can watch TV... LOL!. Weights I def can do, I like the burn. I still need to get ROLFW, just need a structured plan for the weights. Yoga... the gym offers it free 4x a week. Yes, today I am restructuring my plan, to take advantage of yoga, and to include more running (Thank you Susan!), I mean, I can already run for 17 minutes.... I just need to do it more often. And with cold weather here, I may as well decide I will be at the gym a lot more. Runnig, lifting, stretching.
I still aim to be meeting the Jan 11 goals I set; exercising 4x/wk, and eating 1700 cals average, and I'll go as far as to add here... with consistency.
OR.... is this just my psych-y way of getting out of what I planned to do? (am I just guilting myself with this thought?)
..... *sigh* I don't really think so, I will still be meeting the goals, right? Just with different exercises. I guess maybe I am bored already. My plan should allow for changing it up a bit. Yes. This is ok... I'm going to do it.
LOL! Sorry for thinking out loud here...
Hope Everyone is having a great day!
Happy Healthgain,
~Julie
DeFrog I can't imagine being monitored that closely at work. Well I can, but I refuse to work for those places. I figure as a communications person that does a lot of writing if I can take my attention to another place for 10 min. I'll bang my head against a wall for 3 hours with no results. I'm definitely more productive when I can manage my own time. Sorry that's my little rant about 'big brother' corporations (and I wonder why I'm not having success finding a more corporate position... eek)...
Anyways, I'm going to have to disappoint you and not change your goal. I am sticking to my once it's up, it's up policy because otherwise I do it for one, then I need to do it for all.... yada, yada, yada. The good news is that you are the only one who declares success or failure on your goal at the end of 12 weeks. So, if at the end of 12 weeks you feel you changed it early enough, and you feel you have been successful in your intent then I tell me you succeeded and I'm not going to question that.
As for the logging, I know that I go completely off track if I don't log. I also can't for the life of me keep a paper diary. So I've found 2 solutions for conferences, all day meetings and generally my day to day as I tend not to post my food until the next morning. First I have all of my recipes in the recipe finder. That way if I know what I had for breakfast (I'm not too imaginative in that department), if I cooked a dish that I'm bringing for lunch regularly it's easy to enter, and I cook dinner at home. This works mainly because I'm not a snacker. If you find yourself snacking a lot during the day this will likely not work. The other saving grace I have found when I'm out at the bar / friends house / buffet business lunch is cc's mobile (cell phone) access to enter foods. That's worked wonders for me.
Raven BC gets remembrance day off? No fair! Ontario sucks. Great job with your goals. I find that I have a hard time leaving work to do a work out. But, with the gym right there (including showers) you may want to consider going early and showering before work, or going after work.
Are you doing an elimination diet? I had to do one of those before and it was a nightmare, good luck both on the elimination and on finding out what irks your tummy.
Amber I have marked you away until the end of next week.
Sarah meet MsMeg, MsMeg meet Sarah. I really think you two should talk. MsMeg was falling off the wagon and having one hell of a time staying on track in the summer. She was really close to her goal, and was really focused on those last few pounds but couldn't seem to get there.... THEN.... she discovered 2 things:
1. That she cared more about how she felt about her body than the number on the scale.
2. That weight lifting was fun for her, and gave her the results she wanted for her body.
If you are really close to your weight goal, which it sounds like you are, but you are having trouble staying on track it may be because you need to move into maintenance instead of weight loss. In that 5-10 lbs to loose range, lets face it, it's not so much about the pounds (no one besides you can really 'see' the difference those pounds are going to make), it's about how you feel about your body. If you are feeling 'gross' about your body then ask what it is that you want to achieve with a 5-10 lb loss. Realistically, I had to say it but 5-10 lbs is not going to make a world of difference to how you look now. What may help to change your attitude towards your body is to be honest about how you feel about it. Are you not as physically fit as you think you can be? Are you not as toned as you want to be? Chances are then you need to consider weights. The good news is you do get to eat more, making it much easier to stay on plan. And, if we trust MsMeg you'll have lots more energy and feel much more positive.
Susan I've heard that about running as well. Great for your cardiovascular system but don't bank on it to loose weight. Loosing weight is about loosing fat (reduce calories) and increasing your burn rate (build muscle).
Julie Here is what I'm hearing:
- I feel successful, I feel like I am getting results.
- The scale is making me feel unsuccessful.
Seriously, even if you change your plan now (and you should always looks for what works for you) throw out the scale. Not for a week, not for a month... try 2-3-4 months. Yes a long time. It really does sound like you are trying to build the consistency that you need to get long term results and then you see the results are not satisfied and go into a funk and possibly sabotage yourself. Ditch the scale.
Focus on:
1. Get consistency. Be honest with yourself on what you will consider to be consistent.
3. Maintain consistency. Think about how long you want to wait once you have gotten to the point you want to be at before you think you should see results. Most trainers in this area throw around 3 months time frame for women. Men see results faster.
4. Focus on things you cannot measure during this time. How is your energy. Do you see small differences in your body. Are you needing to increase weights you are using or intensity levels on equipment you are using.
Then bring back the scale and look at long term differences.
Sara.
TIME OFF?
I haven't posted this one in a while, so for our new members:
If you need to take some time off, family troubles, traveling, adjusting to a new job. Whatever the reason if you want to take a few weeks and not be counted out of the group. Please feel free to send me a message, just let me know when you will be back with us. I will put a note beside your name and you will not go on the MIA list during that time.
Please do try to send me the message as I may not catch references to being away when they are posted on the thread, sometimes I do, I just don't guarantee it.
Sara.
I made it to the gym again this morning. This morning was hard. I'm not sure why. I was in bed early enough. My work out clothes have gotten very loose on me, and the jeans that I bought a month back and gave me a slight muffin top now fit well, but not loose yet. I know I need to get more than a couple of weeks consistency again before I can expect results like that. I've been bouncing around with 2 weeks on 2 weeks off for months now, but I'm feeling like I'm on track this time. Not the overzealous inertia of over planning mania that I get, but just an acceptance of going the distance this time.
Sara.
So you can keep track of what you eat - which enables you to analyze your foods and receive the following:
- Health Score of your overall diet
- Warning when you approach your daily calorie limit
- Overview of the good and bad nutrients