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.
Hello all!
Goodness - is it Thursday already?? I've definitely been thinking about this all week (thanks MsMeg and Sara for the reminders!) even if I've been putting off actually posting because then I'd have to confront my expiring goals 
First, I really appreciate the motivational reminders, and I'm glad they're a part of being in this forum. I kind of wish I could have motivational reminders for my logging! Hey - is that an option on calorie counters, could I have a calorie counting/logging buddy? Anybody want to team up? I'm great at keeping other people on track! I just need somebody to be an equally stern taskmaster for me :) lol. I'm going to start with the weekly topic and then go to the last set of goals. I'll probably do that in two posts.
On goals for the next 12-weeks:
Having reviewed my goals, my successes/not successes, and the events of the last period, I think I have an idea of how to proceed, but I'm not quite sure. I definitely need to give myself slack for the unforeseen events - I think maybe I might build in 'slacker' days, but try to moderate them somehow - maybe I can have one slacker day a week (with a limit on how 'slacker' it can be), but only after I've achieved something else. I figure this will have to be my personal deal with myself, rather than the actual goal. I'm also not sure which I should make the pass/fail goal and which the maintenance goal. Is the pass/fail the thing that I expect to be harder, Sara? Hmm... Things I've learned about myself in this period:
* I have to schedule exercise - in the form of classes, group activities, or something. If there's a commitment like pre-paid sessions, or other people expecting me to be there, I do it. The thing is, I already knew this about myself. But every now and then I get really diligent about ad hoc exercising, and I decide that I can do it long term, or I decide that I'm going to learn to be disciplined about it, but I never do... That said, some situations are better for me than others, for example when I'm visiting my in-laws I go for long walks regularly, because they live really near a great trail.
* If I'm not logging my calories and planning my meals in advance, I over-calorie, and I gain. Sigh. I've definitely gone back up a few pounds in the weeks since getting back home, even though I've been logging - because my logging hasn't been comprehensive or complete, and because I haven't been planning my day's nutrition in advance.
* I'm okay at sticking to my plan, but everything goes out the window when friends show up.
friend: "You want a mojito, Danielle?"
me: "umm..." (quick calculation of calories. does that fit my count today? no. no it does not.)
me: "yeah." curses! Thing is, I get together with my friends relatively rarely, so when I see them I feel like we/I should seize the moment - this usually happens in the form of food and drink.
*When I'm eating at a deficit, I lose weight. Surprise.
*I have no idea what my maintenance range is. I'd like to figure that out someday. I think it's somewhere between 1900-2200
Take away lesson? I need to schedule my exercise and be veeerryy diligent about logging/restricting calories to make things happen - nothing groundbreaking really.
So I'm thinking my goals should be (assuming we make the harder one the pass/fail)
1. Log an average of 1700 calories a day (p/f)
2. Exercise an average of twice a week (maintenance)
Hey Everyone!!!
Sorry I'm so late posting...this week I had a printmaking project and a sociology exam....that's over and now I have some free time. Thanks MsMeg for reminding me to get to it this week!!!!
Goal Evaluation: I feel that I had a rocky start but in the end I completed my goals about 70%. My food logging is horendous but I AM conscious of what goes into my mouth about 84% of the time. My exercise has improved immensely. I have been doing at least 30 minutes of cardio at least 3 or 4x per week consistently for the last 2 1/2 weeks and it feels great. I've started running because our new neighborhood is right near the downtown area and a bike trail. It feels really good and instead of loafing in the afternoon I make myself either go to the gym or run. I'm very serious about incoprorating these types of behaviors into my regular life without having to make myself. I need to work on my eating habits now and I think that is what I'm going to focus on for the next 12 weeks.
I'm very happy with my progress despite not completing my goal 100%. This thread has been a big part of changing my mindset and I'd just like to say thanks to everyone for the support and motivation!!!
New Goal: I will prepare my own meals and if it is necessary to catch a quick bite on the run I will make the healthiest choice possible. NO MORE EXCUSES AND NO MORE CHEATING WITH DISGUSTING FAST FOOD!!! Hahaa.
This is a big problem for me. I am at school and on the run being a single mom and all that jazz, I often find that I am eating out and making bad choices. I should pack my lunch more and this is something I'd like to work on, not only to get healthy but to also help save money.
Maintenance Goal: I will continue to exercise 3x per week for at least 30 minutes but this time I will allow for things like finals week coming up and my brother's Wedding where I will be super busy and say that this should be achieved at least 10 of the 12 weeks!!!
I've had great success with this goal, especially in the last 2 weeks or so. I am excited that I'm actually doing it and making strides each time I run or hit the elliptical. Each time I'm less out of breath or I can go further jogging without needing to stop. I just have to keep going.
Also If anyone has any suggestion on some sites or books to read regarding diets and things like that I'd really appreciate it. I'd like to find something that will work for me.
Hope Everyone has a GREAT DAY!!!!!!!
JEN
And now the check-in:
grrr.. well, my previous plan was to be using the CC food log every day and, exercising an average of 4 times per week across the 12 weeks Part of the reason I'd been putting off evaluating is that I had a lot of back-log (so to speak) from when I was on vacation and had no access to the internet. I was really good about writing down my intake, but I've been avoiding actually entering it in to CC.
I managed to exercise an average of 2.25 times a week - let's call it two times a week and say I made 50%.
Counting the days I only have a written log for, I missed 11 of the 84 days of the goal period, which puts me at 86.9%. I did have that goal as a pass/fail, though, so I didn't meet it.
I got a high percentage, but I really wanted to make it compulsory for myself - the slack I built in was that I didn't have to log every single thing, but I did have to log something for every day, regardless of whether the logging happened on the actual day. Looking back at the records, I'm impressed with how diligent I was before the vacation - not only did I log everything, but it made me pretty good at keeping a deficit. My average intake was 1817/day. It was rally hard for me to get back on track; even though I planned for the vacation, the habit was broken and then getting sick after it completely threw me. I think over the long term I should start thinking about how to maintain habits over disruptive periods, and find easier ways to get back on track when I'm interrupted.
As far as the new goals, I think the calorie logging goal is going to be harder, mostly because I'm not quite back into the habit yet. I made it an average to give myself some leeway, and hopefully a little space for slacker days. The calorie goal is a little strict given how I've been eating (about 2100 avg), but I was actually much better in the last period when I was aiming for a low goal - more diligent about logging and maintaining that deficit. I'm with Germaica - the looser goal was I think a little too loose for me - I had enough space to procrastinate and fail to catch up. My thought is this somewhat stricter goal will help me get back to being diligent, since I can't know what my intake is without logging it! The exercise seems very achievable, particularly because that's what I averaged last period even with serious interruptions. I don't foresee any interruptions this 12 weeks (no vacays planned), so I'm hoping I can surpass it, or at least meet it if something comes up, like a cold or whatever else.
Jessicaann - I hear you on wanting to preempt the problems the parents are facing. Both my parents are overweight, and even though my Dad exercises fairly regularly and doesn't really overindulge in major ways, he had a heart attack in his 60s (he was a smoker though, he quit not long before). According to my latest physical I'm ridiculously healthy, if overweight, which defies the imagination. Cholesterol low, blood pressure low, everything low low low but the damn scale! I figure I'm fighting some serious DNA so I better start early.
Julie - you are my discipline hero! Congrats on staying on top of it all and reaping the rewards!
And finally, I really enjoyed the posts this week. I think when everybody's soul-searching I learn a lot! Incidentally, I signed up to book mooch as soon as I read Sara's post, and the books that have been sitting on the 'get rid of' shelf for months are flying out the door! Great! Looking forward to the next 12 weeks and hearing about everybody's journey!
Thanks Sara and MsMeg for the reminder to check in.
April 1st..NEW GOAL started which is to stay under 1700 calories per day; exercise 5 x weekly but incorporate more FUN in my life. Laughing I hear burns off a lot of calories, acting like a kid in a playground sounds great and planning on enjoying my free time to benefit ME healthwise is ONE big goal I plan on doing. I'm trying it out for the month of April and then for each month, I'll think of something else to add.
I'm going through "food withdrawal" at the moment from overindulging on my holiday but so far i've lost 4 of the 8 I had gained. The weather has been bad but have to stop allowing that as an excuse to eat and not exercise.
Thanks to all and good luck!
Cheers,
Maureen
Mareenz, your post reminded me of the value of laughing and simple exercises that make you smile.
I teach little kids and end the classes with a Head and Toes routine that I do twice. It really keeps me limber - and smiling. I can't believe I am doing Head & Toes and approaching 60 years young!
Defrog Oops I had you on the not posted list we must have posted at the same time. Great job on the goal considering the big life change!
Cawilder Hunger can be this very bizarre drug for me. I've had weight struggles on both ends of the scale. I'm trying to loose the weight now, but when I was a teenager I was the same height I am now (5'10") and weighed 88lbs. Safe to say I've never had a great relationship with food / hunger. I used to let myself get so hungry I would feel light headed, euphoric, like being high. Now I have to watch that I don't do that and then binge. My over indulgences have less to do in my case with emotions and more to do with under indulgences... well maybe that is emotional too. My MO is that I'll drop myself into work for an entire day and emerge at 8pm wondering why I'm so hungry and then eat the entire chinese food menu.
It's difficult to say what goes on with an individual person. In your daughters case is there other high calorie foods you can get into her? I know I especially dislike Milk, even the smell makes me a bit queezy. In the boy's case it's too hard to know, maybe food was a reward early on and now it has positive connotations, maybe it's a thyroid problem. I can imagine it's much harder with kids who are still developing their critical thinking skills and may not be able to self identify root problems. For the rest of us I think a healthy curiosity about our habits and patterns and then plans of action to change them are the key. Eat before you shop... find a low cal food that you can indulge on when you want to binge (cherry tomatoes, salted seaweed, or cucumbers in vinegar are some of my favourites).
Constanza Ideally I'd like people to be able to find mutual motivational buddies on here for what they need. I'll admit that I'm not very good at tracking even myself on a day to day basis other than what is on my list.
I think the key with the maintenance goal is not easy vs. hard, it's achieved vs. introducing. For me, I've figured out that I need to get my food under control before I add exercise. When I add exercise first, then I am hungry all the time, I never bring my calories down because I feel like I never have time to cook. Conversely if I get the cooking into my life and then add the exercise I have a better chance of maintaining the food based goals and improving upon them than if I start everything or exercise first.
I should maybe at this point mention that both the new goal and the maintenance goal are up for a pass/fail evaluation. I think your maintenance goal is a good choice since you have already achieved it what you are saying is that you are going to try to maintain at least that level of activity while you work on a new goal. In this way if you succeed at the new goal, but drop the exercise to 1 day or no days this would still only be a partial pass (or fail) on the exercise goal.
For the food goal, I'm assuming what you mean is consume (or eat) an average of 1,700 cal/day... I can log 1,700 cal/day on average, but that doesn't mean it's what I ate. I'm mainly clarifying as we both had goals around the limited task of logging rather than eating last round. If you want to simply get yourself in the habit of logging still so that you know you must log at least 1,700 cal worth of food in a day to keep yourself in practice that is fine too, just let me know.
Jen It's great that you managed to catch up your goal to 70% despite the rocky start and the exams at the end. It shows you can really set yourself as a priority in your life which must be difficult with the single mom + student responsibilities.
On the new goals I think we need to work on how to make those measurable and realistic for your life. There are also potentially multiple goals in here:
1. Prepare your own meals: how many meals / day is this (3,4,5?) do you mean all of them or the majority? Do you want to set reasonable slack for busy periods. (i.e. I will make at least 2 meals (of 3) at home each day 5 days a week).
2. Healthiest choice possible: this one is very hard to define, as each time you are faced with an 'away from home' choice it is a very qualitative analysis on if you evaluated all the available choices and then made the healthiest one.
3. No more fast food: I actually have a friend who is celebrating 20 years without McDonalds this weekend, there's a big party with organic veggie burgers and clowns. This one could be easier to measure, simply state what fast food is (i.e. is it limited to big fast food chains, does it include convenience food like chocolate bars, does it include pre-packaged foods like the pre-made dinners at super markets) and then figure out if you need to give yourself a decline or go cold turkey.
Looks like the maintenance goal is inline so think about the above, pick one, and add a measurement to it so you can really know if you succeeded.
Maureen Remember to post the goal on next week's thread if you are participating in the 12 week challenge. We will be beginning the 12 weeks from April 5th, 2009. Looks like you have 3 goals:
1. Eat under 1,700 cal per day
2. Exercise 5x per week
3. Incorporate more "FUN" in your life.
Is one of them a maintenance goal? I am limiting goals this round to one new goal and one maintenance, to encourage focus and setting achievable targets. The third goal is difficult to quantify. You could perhaps (if you want to include it as a pass/fail goal) decide on a particular "FUN" challenge or activity you'd like to try each week (or other time measurement).
I know you haven't set goals with us in the past, remember regardless of what you set with us (or don't) always feel free to focus on more than what you put on the pass/fail block.
Cheers,
Sara
Google Groups
I have officially started a google groups thread for wagon jumpers
http://groups.google.ca/group/wagon-jumpers?h l=en
I believe you will need me to send you an invitation by e-mail. If you would like me to send you an invitation send an e-mail to beaglesmuggler (at) rogers.com
What's this group about?
It's a place where we can have more targeted discussions, for example do you want to have a thread that is totally about how to calculate your macronutrients? I'm sure Julie would help.
It's also a place we can store files. Ever wonder how different people track their body weight / measurements / calories? Now people can post their personal spreadsheets (or other documents) for people to view.
Finally, it's a place where I can share how the group is operated, ever wonder what topic is coming up next week? Or who is ahead in the motivational guru nominations? Now you can find out, take a look at my files online.
Do I have to join this group?
No, this is completely optional for those people who would like an additional dose of wagon jumpers.
Will this increase the amount of e-mails I get
Likely, in fact very likely. Google groups tends to e-mail all members of the group every original post. I have set the google groups e-mail settings so that the people replying to the posts can select who they reply to (all, the thread, only online). Please be responsible with this function.
I would however suggest that you set up some rules for your e-mail (all e-mails are a bit different for Mac they can be set up in the preference pane) so that the e-mails get dumped into one folder which you can look at when you have time and don't feel inundated.
Who has access to this google group?
This is up for discussion. Immediately all current members of this thread who send me an e-mail can have access to this group.
Additionally I would like to invite any people who are currently on the waiting list. I think this is a good way for those people who are waiting in the wings to be able to get some value from the group before they are able to join.
Totally up for debate are:
1. Allowing past members access, I would lean toward yes for two reasons: first, for those past members who were simply unable to keep the once per week commitment this is a no pressure place they could come and still interact with the group. Second, I don't think we will receive overwhelming requests. Let me know what you think.
2. Allowing access to people to 'request to join'. I get a few e-mails a week form people who would like to join. I send them back a rather long e-mail (which most of you are familiar with) which outlines the purpose, rules and responsibilities of the group. I don't hear back from 90% of these people, a few select to join the waiting list. I'm on the fence about letting all requests in especially as it could really clutter the e-mail. However, if the majority of the group wants it to be completely open, I'm open to suggestions. Let me know what you think.
I will also post this in next week's thread for those who may miss it at the end of this week, and then in the introduction thread.
Cheers,
Sara.
I'm up to joining the google group! My email is on the way! So excited!
It has been a long week. My dad finally got off to return to the States. I think I am having empty nest feelings in reverse. My life will become more simplerthough, and that is truly welcome.
Sara - thanks for the post on Bookmooch. I registered for it. I'm a book "nut." I can't pass up books most of the time. They are such a precious commodity for people living outside English speaking countries. Now, to find the time to decide what books to list...
I am curious about the Googe.doc thing. I will send my email address.
I hope you all had a great week. I really enjoyed reading all of your comments. Thanks to Sara and Raven for the motivation. I'm very happy about the results, considering I would not have achieved even half that much without WJ and the 12 week challenge. Costanza, I'm with you on being careful not to make a goal too easy, otherwise I just loose interest. Kyashiis, I just loved your motivation list. I think I may have to draw one up and post it in my journal, so I can read and re-read on a daily basis. I will probably list a top 5 on the thread.
New goal: I will exercise 3 times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes with an intensity level of 6 to 7. (See the exercise corner of cc for a description of intensity level: Perceived exertion scale). I will allow myself 3 weeks off, so I will grade myself on 9 weeks instead of 12. This will be my only goal on pass/fail.
I will work on reducing my calorie intake from 2700 average to 2000. Maybe do it the way Sara has done it. By reducing gradually in 100 cal increments. But this will not be on a pass/fail basis. I just want to learn more about the process before I commit to it in a challenge. With the up-coming wedding, vegetable gardening season starting, painting our apartment... I have too much going on to do more that one goal. It's not realistic for me, so I will put all my focus on just one.
Have a great weekend everyone!
MsMeg I'll need help thinking of what to do with that site so that it remains relevant.
Kathy I love the bookmooch site, and lots of people (well not many in the US) are willing to send books pretty much anywhere in the world. I'm Beaglesmuggler on the site. It's also a great way to get rid of the books you don't want to keep forever without having to basically throw them out. I love sending a book to someone who actually wants it.
Germaica Looks like you have a good goal there. The first time I did the calorie reduction I didn't put it on the pass fail basis either it just gave me an idea of what intake level I was comfortable aiming for.
Sara.
You're right Sara! I'm going to get a bit more specific about my NO FAST FOOD goal. I think that I will prepare 2 meals per day at home 5x per week and allow for 2 meals per week either at a restaurant or on the go. This will allow me to not feel guilty if we go out to dinner with friends or if I forget my lunch at home, etc. Maybe I'll limit the restaurant part of the goal to only allowing myself to eat half of the portion served, as restaurants often give you waaaay more than you need. Looks like I've got some thinking to do. Thanks sara for helping focus my new goal.
Kyashii- I just read your posts from earlier this week and it too made me realize that I have developed a lot of motivators that keep me going. Like Nannygabber I noticed that many of yours do revolve around positive self talk. It made me think of my own motivators and I realized that I do this. Instead of being so negative about my body I've become my own advocate for success. I don't let myself get depressed or hopeless... Thanks for helping me realize this step in the right direction mentally!!!
I hope everyone had a GREAT week!!!
Jen
I totally understand. I'm trying to find a way to post my bi-weekly meal plans so that when you click on the food, it will tak you to the recipe, but i haven't had time to work on it yet.
Thanks for the thanks. And, thanks for pointing it out that many of my motivators are self talk.
I'm adding another self-motivator that is also self talk.
I'm laying in bed before I get up or before drifting off to sleep when I notice that I can feel definition in the area between my hips and under chest - my muscles are hugging my ribs, my love handles are disappearing, everything is going in instead of out.
That really motivates me to keep exercising the core areas. Those plank exercises are amazing. I can do a one-minute plank now, and when I do it, I feel how strong the core area of my body has become. The planks combined with crunches (which aren't hard for me) and the pushups (couldn't even do one four months ago and can do 13 +12 for one set now - it won't be long before I can do 25 at a time).
Summarizing: 1 min of planks, 25 to 75 crunches, and 25 to 50 pushups 5 days a week bring amazing results to the midriff section. I'm motivated to get that area in shape because the efforts pay off fast.
THIS THREAD IS NOW CLOSED, PLEASE POST ON OUR NEW WEEKLY THREAD:
Want to be a leader?Start your own group!
