Wagon Jumpers - March 29 - April 4th, 2009 (Closed, Waiting List Available)
Welcome
(If you are interested in being on the waiting list, please read below and e-mail me. We currently have a waiting list of 4 people.)
Welcome to the Wagon Jumpers weekly thread. We are a group of CC members who have identified that one of our main challenges with achieving our weight loss, maintenance or general health goals is consistency.
This thread is designed to encourage long term commitment to our goals by publicly declaring them and asking the other members of this thread to hold us accountable. The primary focus of wagon jumpers is not how much weight you have lost, or need to loose, but what you need to do on a daily basis to meet your long term goals.
There are two rules for Wagon Jumpers:
1. All members must post once per week between Sunday and Friday.
2. All members must check the thread for members who have not posted by Saturday (a short list is posted on Thursday) or are on the MIA list on Sunday and send them a polite and positive message to stay involved in the group and on track with their goals.
If you would like to be a member of this thread please see the guidelines below and send me a PM if you are still interested (there may be a waiting list).
Medium Size Group = Some Time Commitment
The original idea of Wagon Jumpers was to create a close community where participants could get to know each other and hopefully form virtual-life and perhaps even physical-life bonds to create a support network as they attempted long term weight loss.
We quickly discovered that this was impossible with an 'always open' group as there were too many people coming and going. For this reason the group is capped at 30 participants.
A medium sized group means that we have an active thread that produces between 40 - 60 posts per week. Members do not need to read / respond to every post every week. I do notice that those who respond regularly do tend to keep their goals top of mind, and have a better chance to achieve them. I estimate the average time spent by an active member on Wagon Jumpers to be between 1-2 hours per week.
If you are looking for an always open group on CC there are several that operate by different weight criteria, similar motivational patterns etc... There are also many small groups that cap their numbers between 4-10 people to keep the group more intimate, and easier for members to keep up with.
Interested in Joining?
General Guidelines for Joining
1. Are you a wagon jumper?
Do you know how to loose weight, you often have success but then you find yourself loosing interest in your plan, or sabotaging your plan. It's not the "how" to loose weight that is the problem, it's the "how" to stay motivated.
2. Do you have a long way to go?
This group is designed so that members can get to know each other and support each other. Ideally you are planning to be a CC member and part of this forum for at least 6 months or more to achieve your goals and hopefully stay in motivation for a further 6 months or more.
Yes. This is, a long term plan.
3. Do you have the time?
This is a medium sized group, the thread does move fairly quickly each week. If you do not have regular internet access this is likely not the group for you.
Still interested?
Send Supersized a PM. (Please do not reply on the thread)
An overview will be sent to you, you will have a chance to ask questions and an invitation will be sent to you once a spot is open.
Wagon Jumpers Participants
Week 47 Riders:
Supersized (myself)
Week 43 Riders:
Week 39 Riders:
Wenchie58 - away April 11th, 2009
Week 37 Riders:
Raven21 - Vacation April 17-28th, 2009
Week 36 Riders:
Week 33 Riders:
Week 32 Riders - Congratulations on 8 Months!:
Week 27 Riders:
Week 23 Riders:
Week 21 Riders:
Week 19 Riders:
Week 18 Riders:
Week 17 Riders:
Week 16 Riders - Congratulations on 4 Months!:
Week 15 Riders:
Week 14 Riders:
Week 2 Riders:
Thesilverstar121 - Vacation April 9 - 19th, 2009
Missing In Action:
Missing In Action - 1 Week:
Missing In Action - 2 Weeks:
Current Membership: 20
Current Waiting List: 4
Outstanding Wait List Invites: 0
12 Week CONSISTENCY GOALS
(as set w/o January 11th, 2009)
By April 4th, I will be...
Jessicaanne2001 - 
No
exercising 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes, and logging my food daily.
Supersized - 
SUCCESS!
logging all of my daily calories and eating in a calorie range of no more than 2,000 cal/day and no less than 1,500 cal/day (calculated by weekly averages).
Figurethefat - SUCCESS!
exercising a minimum of 1,500 minutes each month, and I will restrict using the scale to two weigh-ins per week on Monday and Friday.
Unlimitedana - No
eating between 1,500 - 1,600 cal/day and exercising three time a week.
Cawilder - 
70%
maintaining a 500 - 1,000 calorie deficit on a daily basis measured by my food log and, working out 5 to 6X per week combo of cardio and lifting.
Carryonandon - 60-70%
maintaining 300 - 500 calorie deficit daily and, exercising 3x per week.
Raven21 - SUCCESS!
drinking a minimum of 4 bottles (2L) of water daily and, exercising a minimum of 3X per week.
Nannygabber - SUCCESS!
doing the NROLFW program 3 times per week, and I will establish a 40/30/30 (Carb/Fat/Protein) macronutrient pattern on a weekly average for a minimum of 5 weeks of the next 12.
Germaica - 62-75%
exercising 3 times a week and logging my food for at least 4 days per week.
Pelkeyjm - 70%
logging my food daily and exercising at least 3x per week for at least 30 minutes.
The_Vitamin_Dominatrix - logging my caloric intake on calorie count at least six days every week and, exercising in the gym at least 3 days each week.
Tiegurl - No
eating 1,500 - 2,000 calories and exercising 5x a week.
Kyashiis - 30 - 90%
running 20 kilometers a week and making progress on the number of repetitions in my calisthenic exercises (starting at: 20 push ups, 30 sit ups, 0 chin ups, 2x 30 sec plank, 20-30 jump rope)
Lam7 - No
Logging all daily calories at least 6 times a week and, exercising minimum 40 minutes 3x per week.
Msmeg1984 - No
Following the 40-30-30 diet guidelines in NROLFW and working out 3 a week NROLFW plan.
Constanza - 50-86.9%
using the CC food log every day and, exercising an average of 4 times per week across the 12 weeks.
Defrog3 - 50%
eating with improved nutritional quality of food, specifically ensuring that I am getting enough daily protein and carbs and, walking six miles a week weather permitting.
Wenchie58 - keeping my calorie intake between 1,400 - 1,500 a day and, drinking at least 2 liters of water daily.
Previous Threads:
Wagon Jumpers - March 22 - 28th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - March 15 - 21st, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - March 8 - 14th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - March 1 - 7th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - February 22 - 28th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - February 15 - 21st, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - February 8 - 14th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - February 1 - 7th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - January 25 - 31st, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - January 18 - 24th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - January 11 - 17th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - January 4 - 10th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - December 28 - January 3rd, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - December 21 - 27th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - December 14 - 20th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - December 7 - 13th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - November 30 - December 6th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - November 23 - 29th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - November 15 - 22nd, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - November 9 - 15th, 2008
As always all members are encouraged to tag this thread so that it is easy to find.
THIS WEEK'S TOPICS:
PART 1: GOAL EVALUATION
12 weeks ago this week we set our consistency goals, how did you do? Did you achieve your goal?
If so, what helped you to achieve it?
If not, why not? What can you do to make your goal achievable next time?
PART 2: PREPARING FOR NEXT ROUND
Most of you (TheSilverStar excepted) have now been through this once or twice. The purpose of the 12 week goal is to teach us to develop consistent habits across time, to foster a sense of achievement and build on our successes.
I'm going to make the starting goal a bit harder in the development stage. I don't see a lot of people jumping up and down saying they got 100% of their goal in the previous rounds, so we are going to focus a bit more on prioritization.
I know the number one complaint about the goals are that we would all like to have 10... but, I will remind everyone, there is nothing stopping you from having 10 personal goals that you are going to work towards you will simply need to pick one that you will grade yourself on here. You can still talk to us / post about the others but only one will be up on the grading block...
So, here are the rules for this round:
1. Goals must be posted on next week's thread (April 5 - 11th, 2009)
Please feel free to post ideas for goals on this week's thread to see if they would make it, but they must be posted on next week's thread to make it into the introduction post.
2. Goals must be consistency goals
I know that a lot of us have goals about weight and size, the purpose of this exercise is to develop habits. Goals must focus on what you can do, not what you can be. That is, goals which read "I will be ____ lbs by ____ date" or "I will loose _____ lbs" will not be posted.
3. Goals must be measurable
At the end of 12 weeks it is almost impossible to determine if you succeeded without a measurement. Measurements that say I will exercise more, or I will eat less are too subjective to measure and will be governed by your emotions of the day. Your goal must have a measurement like: I will be exercising 4 times a week, or I will exercise 4 times a week for at least 8 weeks.
4. Limit: 1 new goal + 1 maintenance goal, or 1 new goal.
This is the prioritization we talked about earlier, in the past we've done 2 new goals and one maintenance. If you are posting a maintenance goal you must specify that it is a maintenance goal. You can do this by saying "I will maintaing eating at / exercising at _____" or "I will continue to eat at / exercise at _____."
As mentioned above this will be the hardest choice, I know a lot of us prefer not to make these choices, however it looks like most of us do better when we focus. Please always feel free to have multiple goals in your personal life, and to talk to us about them, but you will only put one new goal up for a 12 week pass/fail grade here.
If multiple goals are posted I will ask you to choose which you want me to post. I will not choose for people with multiple posted goals.
5. Have fun / make it achievable
Remember the real goal at the end of this is to give yourself a boost in confidence to say that you achieved something. One of the classic pit falls of wagon jumping is self sabotage via goal setting. We shoot for the moon, we aim for it all, and then when we don't do it all or get as far as we aimed for we throw in the towel. Be modest, be easy on yourself. If you set your goal, then I'd recommend cutting it in half and then posting it. Leave room for error. Make it fool proof. Set yourself up for success.
PART 3: MOTIVATIONAL GURU
Just a reminder that I have a small prize for the person who at the end of the month has received the most nods as a motivational person to get people who have not posted or are on the MIA list to post.
Weekly Check In
This week went well. I told myself to stop self-sabotaging and I listened, I got myself under 2,000 calories, and I did so while still being able to eat well. I cooked a lot more and have lots of tasty food in the fridge that is also healthy. I never did manage to fit in the exercise, but I did manage to make and exercise plan, so I really have no excuses now.
I've also got good news on the job front, I've been offered a very exciting 15 month government contract. While I was hoping to get a permanent placement this is nothing to sneeze at (especially in the current economy) and it will open many doors for me. I'm still on pins and needles a bit as all the paper work has not been signed away, I'm following up with them this week on that, but I have officially verbally been offered the position.
Goal Evaluation
I am very happy to say that for the first time in 3 times I have run the 12 week challenge I actually achieved the goal I set. This was done by lower the bar a bit, I've learned a few times not to set the bar too high. I have logged every last chip, bite, dip for the last 12 weeks, which has made me hyper aware of how much the extra little bites here and there add up. I also managed to make it under 2,000 calories per day on a weekly average this week.
Preparing for the next round
Maintenance: I will continue to eat less than 2,000 cal/day on a weekly average.
New: I will add exercise into the regular routine, and aim to be exercising 3 times a week in the gym, by the end of this challenge.
Cheers,
Sara.
Congratulations on that job offer Sara, it sounds great, and although it's not permanent 15 months is quite a long time.
I've actually been very successful in meeting my 12 week goals. Once I had to weigh in on a different day, so perhaps I was too restrictive nominating Monday and Friday -- I didn't think I might not be at home on one of those days... The exercise goal has been exceeded.
Sorry to say I'm confused about the goals setting. This is only my 2nd time. Last time we were asked to choose 2 specific goals. I don't remember doing 2 goals and a maintenance goal... So this time I read that we either set just one new goal, or one new goal plus a maintenance goal. The 2nd part doing something we've already been doing and would like to continue to do?
For example I regularly log my calories, so the maintenance part for me might be to continue to log my calories on a daily basis. For my new goal, I would say drink a minimum of 1.5 litres of water every day. Feedback?
This is a bit weird sinceI just logged on for last week just yesterday. I am going to really look at my goals for last time and examine what it was that made them not work for me. Was it my personal motivation? My schedule? Not putting in enough effort? I really want/need to succeed and know that I can because I have done it in the past. I see my parents struggle with unhealthy decisions and now that they are in there late 50's their bodies are starting to show wear and tare. I realize that if I dont get into a consitant routine regarding my health choices now when I am in my 20's it will just be more and more difficult later.
Hi,
Well, I was not the first one this week. But, at least it is a Sunday.
I give myself a 70% on this last 12 week. I can't believe how sick I got for 3 weeks. It was terrible. So I am not sure if I should be giving myself a buy out for feeling ill but I have decided not too. There were plenty of times when I was sick and I could have chosen food better and I chose the "comfort food" route.
My goals for the next go around.
NEW: Attain a 30 / 30 / 40 food combo 80% of the time. I think I need to up my protein to feel better. A very long time ago I was diagnosed with PCOS but honestly I never really thought much of it - I exercised alot more and I lost 70lbs. Well, now I have been reading about it and hmmm... the whole carb thing seems to be playing in this. Let's try this.
MAINTENANCE: Running @ least 5 hours / week and 2X weight lifting. I will, of course, continue to run and do weights and report on that. I have had a serious dent in my plans for an ultra marathon this spring but hey - there is always summer racing season. Doing an Ultra is something that I really want to do so I know that I can do it.
Sara: Congrats on the job. Hey, a journey begins with a single step...
Jessica: You know in my 20's I was all over the place. so it is great to get it settled now.
:(. Didn't make my goal. I got the eating down but the exercising not so much. I'm not making a goal this time around.
Carol, Congrats on the new dog! I have a Golden Retriever who is about 5 months old and she is sweet as pie! They do require a lot of attention, so i would assume that is why someone gave her up.
My Harley loves to run, but we havent completely mastered the leash yet. And my running isn't that great yet... So thats a work in progress.. Congrats on the new addition. I'm sure you will LOVE her!
12 week goals...I failed this... Completely. My 40-30-30 looked more like 46-28-26. I also dropped NROLFW temporarily for a few reasons.... 1- i need to focus on my eating and getting into a routine... 2- the gym is so blasted busy that I can't get into the weight area.
I have actually been thinking about my goals for a week or two and they are pretty similar to Sara's.
Maintenance: I will continue to eat less than 1800 cals/day on average
New: Exercise at least 3x a week.
I think these would be attainable for me. 12 weeks will put me into a very busy time of the year for my job. That is when its easiest for me to get run off track, so I really hope I can stay the course. I would like to finally get a 100% on my goals.
Well, I came to about 60-70% at meeting my goals and have actually been shedding a few pounds lately because of meeting the 300-500 calorie deficit pretty efficiently. Now, if I can really ramp up and get that exercise piece in place over the next 12 weeks, that will be great. It will probably mean needing to think about what to do in winter and summer weather *and* how to motivate myself in a way that works. Sara gave a few suggestions for that last week, and I still need to spend more time thinking about it.
I will probably keep my same goals as last time, but put more emphasis on the fitness side.
Sara - CONGRATULATIONS on the government contract. That is fantastic, and quite impressive (especially given the state of the economy - at least here in the US).
As far as the motivational stuff goes, the bottom line is that it is one of the 2 things we promised to do when joining the group. I've been thinking about how to put it up there with my other priorities and things to remember, etc. So, I added it to my calendar as a weekly to-do this morning - right next to papers/projects due, etc.
I've personally benefitted a lot from this group, and I appreciate the effort that Sara puts into it every week. The least I can do is increasingly elevate this on my priority list. So, if you have a late posting week, expect to hear from me from now on!
Laura I started the goals (before you joined) with 3 goals, it was quickly evident that no one was meeting any goals at 3, last time for members who had run goals before we did 2 goals + a maintenance goal and I strongly encouraged members who had not done goal setting previously to stick to only 2 new goals...
Basically what I've seen over my time doing this is that the people who are most successful at achieving their goals set moderate simple goals. Where people seem to fall off track is adding too many new things at once. So my theory (and this is all theoretical) is that if we limit the things we put on the pass / fail block then we can increase the pass / fail success, boost self esteem by achieving our goals and graduate from lower level to higher level goals over the course of time.
The goal you posted works, so feel free to use it.
If you would like another example you could draw on the goals you already achieved this round and say something like "I will continue to exercise a minimum of 1,500 minutes each month and will now add drinking 1.5 liters of water every day to my goal." Notice I dropped the scale because you can only pick one maintenance and one new, theoretically you would make a choice on which of the goals you most recently achieved is the most likely to fall by the wayside when you add a new goal. If you think your food logging is the most likely candidate then stick with that when you add the water goal.
Clear as mud?
Jessica I think you had two of the most challenging goals, you had challenged yourself to exercise every single day (except weekends) and consistently log all of your food. Both of these are very time consuming and high energy goals with very little room for error. I would think it may have been too much change too fast that became too overwhelming.
Do you have a sense of what you did achieve? For example, did you manage to exercise for, 2,3 or 4 days per week... or did you manage to exercise 3X/week for 5 weeks?
If you have a measurement like this on what you have already achieved you could aim slightly higher. For example lets say that on average you managed to exercise 3X/week when you were focused on your goals, but you were only focused on your goals for 4 of the 12 weeks meaning that during the last 12 weeks you exercised 3X/week for 4 weeks. Then you could set a goal that says you will try to exercise 3X/week for 6 weeks (or 8 weeks or another number).
The idea with the measurements is to figure out what you did do, use that as a benchmark for what you can achieve and then set the bar slightly higher so you end up with an achievable goal.
Carol 70% is a good achievement, I have trouble letting myself off the hook even when I'm sick as well, and I don't feel I should because I know when I'm sick I eat chocolate and chips rather than the healthy stuff that would make me get better faster.
Your goal looks great, achievable, measurable and with some slack in it.
Tiegurl How are you doing? Are you giving any kudos to any motivational folks around here?
MsMeg I don't know that those ratio's are a complete fail, but ultimately you are your own judge. Your goals look good, will you be able to do the 3X per week even when you are super busy? Do you want to let yourself have any slack on those weeks, i.e. 3X/week for at least 9 of 12 weeks?
Sara.
Carry Looks like we posted at the same time. 60-70% is a good achievement, I don't think most of us hit that on our first round of goal setting. It should also be to your benefit to keep working on the same goals until you achieve them. Thanks for calendar idea on the group reminders, I'm a calendar nut myself, I choose to think of it as a productive use of my OCD.
Thanks Sara! I've got it. I think I will go with your suggestion and do the maintaining thing with the 1,500 exercise minutes a month, and add the 1.5 litres water a day as the new. The weighing isn't so much an issue now that I'm firmly in the healthy eating mode. When I first start a healthy regime it's easy for me to get derailed if I don't see a result on the scale every day. Logging is fine, but I think I'd feel way too overburdened if I set it as a 12 week goal... Thanks so much for your help :)
Thanks, Sara. Thats a good suggestion. I think aiming for exercise 3x a week for at least 9 of my 12 weeks is a great idea. That also will allow for any sickness (since I usually get some serious allergy attacks in the spring/early summer).
True, those ratio's aren't a complete fail, but at one point, I stopped even trying to hit the ratio's just so I could get my eating under control. I felt like calories were more important than ratio's at that time.
So, we'll shoot for exercise 3x a week for at least 9 of 12 weeks. :)
Ok, here we go...
I have been on track with my exercise and with the macronutrients with the exception of 2 weeks. One when I was sick, and the other was the crisis week. And even then, although I didn't track what I was eating during those two weeks, I feel the macronutrients were on target, because when I was sick, I hardly ate a thing, except for maybe chicken broth and yogurt. (Edit: And oh yeah... those pancakes... LMAO!) Then during the crisis week, I know for sure I was on target, because I ate protein bars, juices, yogurt, eggs, and lots of coffee and water, fat and calories down, and protein up... SO... LOL... the macronutrients were on target, and the exercise was missed by two weeks, not by choice or laziness. Which is why I guess it is important to have some slack allowed. Which in stating my goal, I did not. So, I don't know if to give myself the 100% score. Either way, I'm ecstatic about my results.
Here's why - these are actual results from my excel spreadsheet:
Average calories for the 90 days: 1619.41
Average Carbs: 158 g
Average Fat: 55g
Average Protein: 112 g
Average deficit for the 90 days: -692
In relation to goal of 40/30/30 - It comes out to 39/31/27/3 - I have to presume that the 3% is alcohol, I do enjoy a glass of wine... or three about every weekend. 3% low on the protein, but it did reach the average 112g for the 1500 goal. (see below) I know... that's probably confusing, I am sure... I tend to do that to people... hahah - BUT - Its so darned close, how can I complain!?!?
I had made a concerted effort to bring my calories down from the 1800 maintenance that NROLFW had suggested down to 1600. I felt this was why I was not losing fat. I managed to get my macronutrients regulated. Even in such a way that I feel I don't really need to log my foods any more, but will continue to do so at least through the next 12 weeks.
Here's how I set myself up for success in this area:
Calorie target: 1500 (I always aim lower.. lol)
Macronutrient ratio target: 40Carb/30Fat/30Protein
Carbs have 4 calories per gram, Fats have 9, and Protein has 4 also.
Here are my gram goals on the macronutrients based on 1500 calories at the stated percentages of 40/30/30
Carbs: 150g
Fat: 50g (less is better)
Protein: 112g
Yes, I was very anal about it too! I focused on the fats and proteins. If carbs were a little up on a given day, it probably meant that I had come in a lot lower on the fats, which was ok with me, I'd rather have an extra carb calorie than an extra fat calorie in me. (Primarily because I know my carb cals are not coming from cake or lollipops or soda, but from something like wheat bread or fruits/veg) Make sense? But on the protein, I made sure to get the 112 or more, always. Never less.
I did begin taking a quality multivitamin, and a fish oil supplement. This was to ensure that I am also getting the other necessary nutrition. I am pretty sure I was low on iron.
If anyone needs help figuring out the grams for your calorie target, I would be happy to help, if you don't happen to be good with numbers. WHICH I have never been able to claim I am... LMAO! - BUT when something is important to me, I make myself figure it out, and THIS... I have down to an artform... LOL. Let me help you paint your picture... HAHA - sorry, I am full of myself today, I am excited about reaching my goals. There is more to tell you!
I was utterly successful in keeping my commitment to exercising 3x per week. Some weeks I did it more often, and with the exception of my two down weeks, I was perfect with it. I stuck with the NROLFW to a T, and I added a cardio session, sometimes two. I feel this is my greatest accomplishment so far! For those who knew me from the day I got here, you know that I had hated excercise in my BEFORE life. And that I must say is so far in the distant past, I don't remember it. Even though it was only just over 6 months ago. I can't imagine my life without exercise now. Point being, the deficit I have managed to create since Jan 1, by reducing calories, and staying on point with workouts, I averaged a 692 calorie deficit. Multiplied out by 90 days that's 62280 calories BURNED (yay!), and at 3500 calories per lb... that's 17 lbs.
You guys. I have not been concerned about stepping on the scale. I have just focused on what I need to do with all this. Made efforts to stay consistent. You just won't believe this, because I don't. I got on the scale yesterday. I am down to 179 lbs. I started at 196. That's 17 lbs. And having just now run the numbers, I only moments ago learned it's an exact match.
I am so amazed that this is like a chemistry experiment. I kept protocol, and it worked out to be exact. I am still sitting here with my chin in my lap. If you do it, it will happen. I am living proof. And if *I* (me... the prepackaged couch potato girl) can do this.... anyone can.
I'll tell you the three things I focused on. Fat grams, protein grams, and working out. All the rest just seems to balance out if those three things are in line.
WHAT I HAVE LEARNED:
* Targeting macronutrient grams on a daily basis helped me reach my calorie goal.
* Actually putting my workouts into my written schedule made me more aware of the time it required, and more committed to doing them.
* A goal of attaining macronutrient balance will change your diet, digestive tract, and your life dramatically.
* If you do it, it will happen.
I will get back to you later this week on the next round of goals. I have some life changing disruptions about to occur, and have to plan for them, as well as accomodate my healthgain plan.
I am so happy to see that so many of us are reaching our goals!! It is exciting to know that small successes are being implemented to achieve the greater ones. I hope to see more of this!
Sara, thanks once again for hosting this group. You do a phenomenal job at it, and without it... I would not have gotten this far. I truly from deep within, thank you. Also, congrats on the contract!
Carol - dogs are so great to have, I wish my husky could control herself enough to run with me. LOL. She is SOOO hyper! She has pulled my shoulder out of place before. ugh.
And WELCOME to SilverStar.... I hope you achieve MUCH through being a part of us here at WJ!
Hope your day is healthgain,
~Julie
Julie I very rarely usurp anyone's right to declare their own level of success on a goal, but you didn't put it in black and white and it sounds like such a success that I made it official. I think I may be happier for your 17 lb loss than I was for my own! I may be coming to you for that macronutrient breakdown / math not in this next 12 weeks but in the one following. Do you have it on excel? I think you said in your post you do... YAY!! I am so happy that you have finally seen some of the loss you've been looking for, and more importantly that you seem to be feeling confident, together and ready to handle some stress that is obviously coming your way.
Well...unfortunately, I was less successful this round than the last. I just stopped logging my foods all together, and did no keep track of measurable exercise.
As stated two weeks ago "Therefore, I believe I need to work to reword my goals as to maintain enough proper deficiency between calorie intake and log all forms of exercise so that overall progress report for next round is positive."
I will be starting a 10 week program with our Community Walking Club starting April 21 until June 26, as well as 6 Interval Classes starting April 9 until May 28th. These will allow me to properly measure because they are scheduled paid sessions. So for next week's goal writing, I will work to word my exercise goal accordingly.
Also, I really do need to loose some weight, so I must work with another goal to get me to continue to log my daily intake of calories, so that I can properly maintain a deficiency between my eat and burn meters.
Can anyone remind me what a safe and successful defiency would be to loose weight?
Sara - Congrats on the job! I know my turn will come soon too!
Lee-Anne
Sara - I just wanted to hear you say it... LMAO! Kidding. Truly, again... thank you.
Lee-Ann: Lou Schuler mentioned it in one of his emails to me.... You should not aim for more than a 500 calorie deficit to be doing it healthy and safe. This is one thing I am going to try to regulate in the next session. I do believe that too fast, will be harder to maintain, and maintenance is my ultimate goal.
*skipping away back into the clouds....*
~Julie
Julie, thanks for your prompt reply!!! More importantly, congrats to the moon and back on your success this past round! It is very obvious that you have done your homework, and aced it in the end! Well done girl!!!
Lee-Anne You were one of our members (with Jessica) that had fairly ambitious goals one with no room for error. I realize I had the same goal of logging all calories daily and I didn't give myself error on that one. Something I always look at when setting a goal is past success. I know that logging for me is an 'easy win' the only time I don't log is when I'm really and truly off the wagon, so telling myself that I must log is a safety net for me...
In other words, I know we had this debate late time, but I'll go there again. Consider limiting yourself on this thread to one thing you are going to measure on a pass / fail basis. If you didn't meet either of your goals this time consider focusing on only one that you will grade while leaving the other in the wings. This doesn't mean that you won't be working on it, just that you won't be grading it.
For example, if you put your exercise on the pass / fail and your goal here is only the exercise for this 12 weeks, then you know you have a reasonable chance of achieving it especially since it's paid. You don't put the deficit on the pass / fail because it would also be a new goal, but you do work on it in the 12 weeks finding out what works, what doesn't, how you log your food / activities so that the deficit is easy to figure out.
Hopefully at the end of 12 weeks you have the exercise well under hand and are confident enough in your ability to calculate, log and track deficits that you will then put that on pass / fail while maintaining your exercise.
It's not about what you do and do not try in this perspective, during the 12 weeks you should try as much as you possibly can to keep yourself engaged if nothing else, you are only limiting what you are going to grade.
Sara.
Well, I was trying to post the excel chart I have with macronutrient breakdown.... but apparently CC doesnt like excel sheets. I can email it to anyone interested, just PM me your email address.
~Julie
Sara - makes alot of sense, but that does not surprise me coming from you. Think I just will have to execute on that advise. Thanks a bunch.
Nannygabber - my email is on its way.
Lee-Anne
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