Wagon Jumpers - July 27 - August 2nd, 2008 (Closed, Waiting List Available)
Welcome
(Sorry we're closed to new members until the group is less than 30 members)
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 12 Riders - Congratulations on 3 Months!:
Supersized (myself)
JCR - Traveling to August 12th, 2008
Karenie - Bad weather may not be able to post
FantasyFlight - Away until September 1st, 2008
Week 11 Riders:
Week 10 Riders:
Week 9 Riders:
Rwbsmom - traveling to August 16, 2008
Ld1984 - Traveling to August 1, 2008
Week 8 Riders - Congratulations on 2 Months!:
Week 7 Riders:
Week 6 Riders:
Week 5 Riders:
Week 3 Riders:
Unlimitedana - Traveling to August 15, 2008
momof2funykds - Away until August 22nd, 2008
Missing In Action
Missing In Action - 1 Week:
Missing In Action - 2 Weeks:
Current Membership: 36
Current Waiting List: 5
12 WEEK CONSISTENCY GOALS
By October 19th, I will be...
2/3 of the way through phase II of my plan. That is have 4 weeks left until I can say that I have been eating at 1500 cal & exercising 4x/week at 2hrs/day for 12 consecutive weeks.
Drinking 100oz fluid daily, at least 3 trips a week to the gym and 2 trips will include strength training!
Running 3 times a week consistently. I will also be drinking 4 500ml bottles of water every day in 12 weeks.
Doing 30+ minutes of cardio 3-4x a week and weights 2-3x and not hating it or ending up sore every single day. I'm also going to try to be drinking 64-100oz of water or crystal light daily. Last but not least, I'm going to save up for a new pair of workout shoes and some new comfy exercise socks, which I will hopefully be using by then.
Consistent with working out 3 times a week, drinking 69oz of water everyday (including weekends).
20 weeks pregnant, so hopefully I'll be feeling a lot better. My goals by then are to be eating the whole 2300 I need per day, and taking a 30 minute walk at least 3 times a week.
Or be on course to meet each of my monthly biking goals (August 240 miles, September 350 miles, and October 280 miles), and I will have done the 60 mile course of the NYC MS Bike Tour on 10/5/08, despite the nasty 2 mile hill that's right in the middle of the course!
Getting my 64 ounces of water/non-caloric drink in everyday, will do my cardio exercise 2x/wk (M, W) and my pilates 2x/wk (F, Sun).
Sure I make time to take my walk.
Going to the gym for 1 1/2 hours 5x per week. Cardio for 45 min and strength training for 45 min.
I plan to have made going to the gym 3 times a week a habit.
Sticking with this thread, maintain a regular 3-4 times/week workout schedule, and eat at least one serving of raw veggies with my dinner every night.
Have eating at McD's in the mornings for breakfast down to a maximum of 1 time a week. I also will have kept my eating out at lunches down to 1 time per week.
Posting on wagon jumpers at least 10/12 weeks. In 12 weeks I will be eating 1400-1500 cal/day and I will have successfully done this for at least 9 weeks of the 12.
I will be working out 3 evenings a week.
Working out 5 days a week.
Journaling my food intake daily and drinking a quart of water a day.
I will update my logs accurately and consistently, and exercise regularly; cardio 3x/week and strength training 3x/week
Working out 5x week. These exercise will include biking, running, dance lessons, weights, etc. I will be eating 24 grams of fiber consistent 1500-2000.
Previous Threads:
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
I'm trying something a bit different for this week. As always the topic is voluntary, but I hope that it's helpful.
We're going to try a goal setting exercise. The catch with this goal is that it must be a consistency NOT a number goal. For example we all have goals that look like I want to by ___ lbs and I want to be _____ size. What we often aren't so good at is keeping the consistent motivation to get there.
So here is the idea, set a 12 week goal that is something you have control of. What are you not doing now, that you will be doing in 12 weeks time to improve your chances of meeting your weight loss, healthy eating, maintenance goals.
Example: In 12 weeks I will consistently be drinking 1L of water a day, In 12 Weeks I will consistently be going to the gym 3x / week.
I'm planning on posting any goals underneath your name, so that we can ask you about them again in 12 weeks.
Cool Link
Jburgin who used to participate in this group was always great about finding some really useful links. This is his latest. It's one I'll be saving for sure.
http://lifehacker.com/398994/the-best-tech-to ols-and-fitness%20-plans-to-get-in-shape
Weekly Check In
I did much better this week on my health goals. I am really excited to say that I ate at 1700 calories and went to the gym four days this week. Which means that this week I am trying for 1600 calories and going to the gym also for four days. If I do this then I am finished Phase I of my plan! That means I've successfully weened myself down from 3,000 calories per day on average to a place where I'll be trying to maintain a 12 week plan of 1500 calories per day. I'm really excited about this!
My biggest challenge with the 1600 (and then 1500) seems not to be the hunger factor. I think slowly bringing down my calories helped with that. It's the little bites. I'm still really bad at estimating how many calories are in what. Especially when I'm eating out.
The not so good news is that getting back on track on health & diet came at the cost of some life balance, and I almost completely neglected my financial and career goals this week. I'm way behind in my reading for my book club this coming week. I also didn't do very well with keeping up with housework. If this lifestyle change is really going to be a lifestyle change then I need to be able to do it within the scope of my life. That is good diet & exercise + keep good job + keep up with bank account + don't let home fall apart around me + still see friends and be social.
This Week's Topic
There's a part of me that want's to be ambitious and say that in 12 weeks I will be one week away from completing phase II but realistically it's taken me 22 weeks to reach one week away from completing phase I.
My 12 week goal is to be 2/3 of the way through phase II of my plan. That is have 4 weeks left until I can say that I have been eating at 1500 cal & exercising 4x/week at 2hrs/day for 12 consecutive weeks.
My progress lately has kinda stalled (as i've mentioned before). I gained back 2 inches since the beginning of this month since i got super busy and slacked off at the gym :-(
But, in 12 weeks i plan on getting my hydration back to where it was before. I was drinking about 100oz of 0cal fluids each day. I need to get back to that... I also will do at least 3 workouts a week - and not just cardio - i really need to do some strength training - so i need to add that in at least 2x a week.
So here's the breakdown -
by week 12 - 100oz fluid daily, at least 3 trips a week to the gym and 2 trips will include strength training!
This is a great topic! I find it really helps to keep me in line when i set long term and short term goals for myself.
I like this 12 weeks consistency thing. I wonder if that will help me on the dreaded weekends 
. As you can probably tell this weekend really wasn't much better than the past weekends. I was really good until I got home around 5pm on Sunday when everything went to hell for some reason.
So for me, in 12 weeks I will be running 3 times a week consistently. I will also be drinking 4 500ml bottles of water every day in 12 weeks.
I feel like there are so many other things I need to do besides these 2 things and that they are very big goals, however I'm afraid if I pick anything any "harder" or "bigger" I won't meet them so these are my 2 goals for the next 12 weeks.
Raven21, I also have weekend issues. I went to the Fair and a Street Festival this weekend, and I ate a little too much food . . . sigh. And, it seems like so few people are around on CC over the weekends . . . maybe we can touch base with each other and kept motivated . . .
12 weeks, huh? So, that would be end of October, right? I'm just hoping, honestly, to be doing 30+ minutes of cardio 3-4x a week and weights 2-3x and not hating it or ending up sore every single day. I did my 4x cardio and 3x weights last week, and felt like a train wreck--super sore and creaky, and I'm in my 30s, so that was depressing. I'm also going to try to be drinking 64-100oz of water or crystal light daily (so far, I've only messed this up on the weekends, when I tend to drift towards diet coke). Last but not least, I'm going to save up for a new pair of workout shoes and some new comfy exercise socks, which I will hopefully be using by then. The ones I have now are kinda worn out, and I suspect that may be why I've had knee and back aches. Unfortunately, since I'm a teacher on 10-month contract, we don't have the extra to get those for a bit, so I'll keep hanging on. :D
Good job with the goals, everyone! Have a great day!! :)
MsMeg I have to admit that I was not big on goal setting until I tried to set some simple long term goals. Well, okay maybe they're middle range goals. I've come to a startling realization on how hard it actually is to do something consistently over a given period of time that is more than a few days. I really do believe it helps.
Raven21 I agree this isn't about picking something "harder" or "bigger". The focus should be something achievable that you know you should do and can do. Heck, if I'm successful this week I will have just spent 23 weeks bringing my food intake down to a normal diet level. In the past I just would have dropped it, but I've never succeeded in the past and likely not for 23 weeks straight. So, it's a very little thing... bring calories down to 1500, but it's been tough to keep it coming down consistently and I'm under no illusions that it's going to be equally tough keeping it down.
Writestuff I wish I had better suggestions for you and Raven for the weekends. I struggle a lot to keep my calories down Sat / Sun. This is one reason that I average my calories across the week. I tend to find I have a few days that hover above 1000 calories during the week, but weekends I struggle to keep it not more than 2000 calories, so when I average out I an usually be okay, but if I go too overboard on the weekends, or have one weekday that is really overboard that will throw the whole week.
Didn't do great this weekend, but also didn't do terribly. I went slightly over cal on Sunday but I think that will even out during the rest of the week (hopefully). The big thing I have to watch out for this week is a lot of evenings out. Bookclub tonight & thursday, games night on wednesday, girls night on Friday and big festival on Saturday. If I make it through this week and on cal then I think I really need to think up something special for myself.
Hi everyone! I totally agree with the weekend struggle! That is always my worst time.
I did awful last week with exercise and food wasn't much better, but I'm back on track this week. OK...12 week goal.....
By 12 weeks I want to be consistent with working out 3 times a week, drinking 69oz of water everyday (including weekends) and eating healthy meals and snacks (approx 1500 cal.) atleast 6 days a week.
If I did that...WOW I would buy myself a pony! LOL!!! Seriously, between work and school as of August plus my family....I will be really proud of myself if I do that! 
I think all you guys should be proud of yourself! Just being in this group is a step in the right direction! Way to go! 
Writestuff - if you are looking for support on weeknights and weekends, checkout this thread - http://caloriecount.about.com/forums/post/818 85.html.
Its pretty much 3-4 of us on there pretty consistently. I have found those girls to be lifesavers!
The weekends are sometimes hard for me - though i do enjoy sleeping in - therefore i end up sleeping through breakfast and morning snack and by the time i get up and ready to eat something its lunchtime.
I am really trying hard to get going back in the right direction- especially with exercise - i am a bit stressed out so i went for a run at lunchtime - went about 3 miles.
I feel much better!
Just got back from the gym, to a long lunch today. Worked out well. I really do want to make an effort to get to the gym earlier in the week, because I always feel bad or obligated later in the week where if I have one day that falls apart I'll miss my weekly goals. Monday mornings have not been happening for me but I think I can sneak the occasional long lunch in, and I rarely (this Monday being an exception) schedule evening events on Monday's.
I'm also slowly going to try to get in a Sunday morning work out, I finally went to a new farmers market that opened near us, but it's only 9am - 2pm on Sundays. Since my partner works swing shift he usually is sleeping till 1pm and I while away my time on the computer, so I can use that time better to go to the gym and stroll through the organic farmers market getting lots of healthy goodies for a healthy sunday dinner.
Hurley_Mom Looks like you have set the trifecta of weight loss goals: exercise, water & calories. Part of me wants to say WAY TO GO! But in your next sentence you seem to be really skeptical of your ability to achieve this trifecta of goals. I have to admit that myself I'm not yet going for the trifecta. I strongly encourage you to make sure that you really really really think you can achieve your goals. Setting the bar too high could be very discouraging.
If you are not really close to getting anyone of the trifecta spot on, then pick your top one, and set that bar high, and your second maybe you scale back what the achievement level needs to be and leave the third one to the next 12 week cycle.
If you are close to getting the trifecta humming along, Congratulations, go for gold and let us know how you are doing it!
MsMeg 3 mile run at lunch?! You are my hero!
It was a good run, i didn't think about anything, just ran and listened to my ipod. I need to start getting more active at lunch time- Makes me feel better for the rest of the day.
My stress didn't completely disappear though, people continue to share info with me, which makes it pop back up and my eating has gone completely off track this afternoon... UGH!
Hi Supersize! I guess the one I am closest to reaching is the working out. I generally make it atleast 2 x's a week so, I would love to succeed at 3x's a week. I guess my top ones would be the working out and the water.
msmeg1984: You go girl!!!!!
This week's topic:
Hm, October 19th I will be... 20 weeks pregnant, so hopefully I'll be feeling a lot better. My goals by then are to be eating the whole 2300 I need per day, and taking a 30 minute walk at least 3 times a week.
MsMeg Sorry about the rough afternoon, hope this one is better.
Hurley_Mom I've edited your goal. I don't want to discourage you from trying all three, but I also want to make sure you are confident that your goal is achievable. Sounds like the exercise will happen in the next couple of weeks and then you'll need to focus on bringing the water into the routine.
Peera I love that you've stayed with the group. I think hearing your goals while you are pregnant is a reminder that as much as weight loss / get in shape goals do have to be self-motivated, that we are not doing them exclusively for ourselves. Our health does impact our quality of life with our friends and family and nothing exemplifies that more than working for a healthy pregnancy.
I made it to the gym this morning 2 days down 2 days to go, feels good to say that on a Tuesday. My feet found the floor at 6:24 am... improvement. Today I'm having my mum over for dinner & Buffy watching, this should be the easiest of my days to control my calories as I can cook for both of us.
I did a good job yesterday. I actually ended up around 1300 calories, even while visiting the dessert place with the bookclub, I had a fresh fruit crepe and logged the calories before hand to make sure that I wouldn't go overboard. I left some extra room in case the Perrier was not enough and I wanted something like a latte, but it worked out and I didn't need them.
I ended up letting the stress get the best of me and i ate way too much. my 4 oz of steak and 14 shrimp (only 70 calories of shrimp!) turned into an 8oz t-bone, 14 shrimp, corn on the cob, a large helping of mashed potatoes with cheese and fat free sour cream, and a bowl of ice cream... sigh...
Today we have a birthday lunch at work, so i am sure my cals are going to reach maintenance level again - at least.
But i am headed to the gym after work to combat those calories and to keep from becoming a total train wreck again!
Hi, everyone, I'm still happily on the wagon, but retaining water this week *ugh*, so my numbers aren't really going down at all. But I do not despair!
Because, I'm still consistent. I have biked 196 miles this month; I expect that I will have done 225 before Friday. My goal for July was to ride 200 total miles, so I'm on track! August's mileage (240 total) will be a challenge, though--I'm going to Nantucket for a week, so I'll have to make up the miles in some other way. Hrm...
On the eating front, I've been OK. I ate out a lot this weekend (went out to dinner w/friends, had a luxurious lunch with another friend on Sunday, a salad by the seaside yesterday), but I've tried to be healthy: blueberry goat cheese salad, a whole roasted fish with mesculn salad and roasted potatos, tapas with lots of veggies... And, to make up for my eating excesses, I've been on the bike more.
What I love about the riding is that my HRM has me burning calories like a banshee. This makes me feel that I can then eat back a little of what I burn on those days, but I don't try to eat back too much--I might go to a total of 2,500 calories on a day when my HRM has me burning 2,500 from the bike ride (my BMR is ~1,900/day, per CC).
One thing that I am very proud of is that last Thursday I was on the treadmill at my gym for 45 minutes, alternating jogging and walking, for 2.75 miles. I was STRONG in my stride and I felt AMAZING--I would jog for one song (eg, the "Gonna Fly Now" theme from "Rocky"), then walk for the next (eg, Gorillaz's "Clint Eastwood"). I used to jog 16 miles a week, so getting back to it just felt wonderful. The only problem is that my knee has now started bothering me again, so I think I need to lay off until I lose some more weight. I think I might try again in a month or so, but I'm psyched!
Another high-point: my BF% has dropped from 44% in April to 32% last week. Whoah! Happy happy dance...
Supersized: I try to pre-log items, too. I find it really helpful on days when I think I might be borderline on the intake... Great idea about the farmer's market. I've recently joined a local farmer's co-op, where I get a bushel of fresh yummy veggies and fruits every 2 weeks. My DH and I are trying to eat vegetarian dinners at least 3 times/week, and so far its working wonderfully well--I see that you've posted on the vegetarian food forum, too!
12 week goal: In 12 weeks I will want to have met or be on course to meet each of my monthly biking goals (August 240 miles, September 350 miles, and October 280 miles), and I will have done the 60 mile course of the NYC MS Bike Tour on 10/5/08, despite the nasty 2 mile hill that's right in the middle of the course!
If I am consistent, I will treat myself to a deep tissue massage in August and October.
Okay--gotta' go to the mall now. My interview suit is at the tailors (being shrunk!) and I just got a call for an interview tomorrow!! Yippee for me!
Supersize: I didn't feel like you were discouraging me at all! I appreciate the honesty. That's part of the reason I'm here! Thanks again!
MsMeg How's that gym plan going?
Defrog3 There are a couple of people here (yourself included) who are just amazing runners / cyclists in my opinion. I think I shy away from the running and cycling for the moment as I don't "feel" fit enough to do them. I think part of that is that I've never been a runner or a cyclist, just wasn't every part of my life. So although I want to be, it's a big leap for me. After I've done my consistency checks with 12 weeks, eating & exercising, and 12 weeks eating, exercising & weighing, I'll likely be trying to add something like in addition to the gym go for a run, bike ride, swim at least once / week. I'll definitely be looking for pointers then. Knowing that you can achieve that level of cycling though is truly inspiring.
I try to post recipes on the vegetarian forum frequently. I don't know how much people use it and I have to admit I can't be bothered to use a recipe unless it's already in the calorie-counter. I find that eating basically a vegan diet, there are a lot of recipes that taste like sawdust, but when I find a cookbook that gets it right I want to share. I was raised a vegetarian so it's never been too much of a challenge for me (besides the occasional seafood temptation) and I prefer the taste of vegetarian food to meat food, as meat tastes much too salty, fatty and heavy to me. Congratulations on the body fat drop as well!
Hurley_Mom Good, good, I'm still getting my sea-legs on when I should and should not attempt to give advice.
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New forum message 5 minute oat clusters that taste like cake! by liney_line 10:41 |
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New journal post Thanksgiving day Half - up early by bobev 10:03 |