Wagon Jumpers - May 18 - 24, 2008
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, either leave a note here and I will add you, or send me a PM.
Wagon Jumpers Participants
Week 2 Riders:
Supersized (myself)
Week 1 Riders:
New:
Previous Threads:
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.
Congratulations everyone for making it through your first or second week! I know it's been a rough one for some of us. Thank you to everyone who has had a rough week for sticking with it. I hope the simple act of posting here at least once a week keeps the goal of weight loss, maintenance or healthy living in your mind and not abandon by the side of the road.
I know we had a few people who mentioned in the early threads that they were 2 week jumpers, on again, off again. I've also noticed the usual posting about some people being frustrated that they are not reaching their designated goal weights as quickly as they would like either for unknown reasons or slipping from the wagon. When the numbers are slipping or aren't where they ought to be that is (I sense from our convo's) the easiest time to abandon the wagon. So, lets spend this week taking a look at how we build our goals and plans and how we can incorporate consistency into our planning.
This Week's Topic
Most of us are great at devising plans to meet our final weight loss goals and mini-goals until we get there. How can we incorporate our good goal planning into building a plan for consistency? What goals can you set to keep yourself motivated to change your eating / exercise habits when the scale is not going down?
Most of the wagon jumpers who were with us from May 4 - 11, 2008 have heard my answer to this question before. Sorry for the repeat performance.
Consistency is THE issue for me. I'm great at planning, making a plan that works and sticking with it for 3-6 months. Then I loose interest. I used to think that the scale kept me motivated, but when I'm having trouble sticking to the plan, then I don't see the results on the scale, I loose interest, and fall off.
So my plan this time is built entirely around consistency. I am refusing to look at the scale or set a deadline for my weight loss. My plan is focused entirely around how long I can stay on track with healthy eating and healthy living hoping that weight loss will be a by-product of this consistency.
So far I have three phases:
Phase I: Get on track
I'm currently in this phase. I started by measuring how many calories I was eating on average per week (3000! OMG!) and then decided to decrease the average calories per week by 100. I've had a few stumbles along the way, but this past week my goal was to eat an average of 2400 cal/day and I met it by eating an average of 2176 cal/day. My goal for this week is to eat 2300 cal/day. The end goal is to be eating an average of 1500 cal/day.
I also realized I was doing no planned exercise. I began by going for 30 min once per week to the gym. Each week I increased the number of days I went until I was going 4 days per week. Then I increased the time I was spending at the gym until I was going 4 days per week for 2 hours per day. I achieved this goal for the first time this past week. I will not be increasing the days / week or time / day at the gym because I think this is what I could manage if my life become busier (when I usually jump off the wagon).
To finish this phase I need at least 9 more weeks to reach an average of 1500 cal/week. I also need to maintain my exercise level.
During this phase I have locked my scale in the closet and am not using it.
If I am on track I will complete this phase on Saturday July 19th, 2008
Phase II: Stay On Track
Once I've reached my calorie and exercise goals then what I think will be the hardest part of the plan for me is a simple consistency count down. I want to know I can follow the plan for a period of time.
I've assigned myself a 12 week countdown. If I slip up during the 12 weeks then I need to deduct half the weeks that I have finished so far. For example, if on week 6 I over eat then I would move the countdown back to week 3. I am hoping this will give me enough motivation to stay on track, but also not too much of a penalty that I feel like I'm back at square one.
At the end of this phase I get to look at the scale for the first time. I began Phase I 12 weeks ago so this will be my first look at a scale in 34 weeks!
If I am on track I will complete this phase on Saturday October 11th, 2008 and get my first weight in on Sunday October 12th, 2008
Phase III: Measuring the Track
The last part of the plan (if I get this far I'll need to add a "next part") is to measure how well it's working. Once I've weighted myself for the first time I'll be really happy (hopefully) because there will be a fairly significant drop in my weight. I am guessing that since I am 2 dress sizes larger than my heaviest weight when I started this that I was starting likely around 220 - 230 lbs.
As I get to weight myself each week the weight loss will not be as dramatic, so I need to focus on staying on plan for another 12 weeks while weighing in. This means, not adding another day of exercise to the requirements (if I exercise another day / week that's fine, I just can't add it to the plan that I must exercise 5, 6 or 7 days per week) or further lowering my calories.
I'll need to judge if I think the plan is working over a 12 week period, and then think of next steps.
If I am on track I will complete this phase on Saturday January 2nd, 2009.
I have a new challenge for myself. I'm going to see how many days I can go without falling off the wagon. I'm going to be a little more lenient with myself than I have in the past - I'm trying to get past the "all or nothing" mentality. So, for right now, staying on the wagon means:
1. Keeping a daily (without fail!) written log of my calories/WW points
2. Not going over my points/calories for that week. (However, I can have two days at "maintenance" calories each week (no more!) and I can use my 35 WW bonus points in a week (only if I really need them.) I know this approach will slow my progress down, but I'm really trying to make permanent changes.
3. If I blow it one day, then I have to start with Day 1 the next day. The idea is to get a certain number of days in a row (maybe 10?), decided on some sort of reward for those days, and then start on the next set of 10.
4. For right now, I'm not weighing. I'm going to do this for a few weeks and then weigh. I'm really afraid of discouraging myself.
I also plan to incorporate some light exercise in each day, but I'm not adding that to the challenge until I have the eating under control. Maybe in a couple weeks I can do that.
Today was DAY 4 of success in my plan, so tomorrow starts day 5. Yippee!
Good luck, everyone!
Original Post by supersized:
Most of us are great at devising plans to meet our final weight loss goals and mini-goals until we get there. How can we incorporate our good goal planning into building a plan for consistency? What goals can you set to keep yourself motivated to change your eating / exercise habits when the scale is not going down?
I haven't developed a plan to keep myself on-track. I think this is part of the reason why I haven't been successful at maintaining momentum. If exercise and calorie counting fit into my life, then I do it; once stress and other outside influences start coming in, then I focus my attention to them and let the exercise and calorie counting slide.
Supersized, I really like your plan for staying on-track. I'm just such a numbers geek (I work in finance), I don't think I could go that long w/o weighing or measuring myself (or my progress/lack thereof).
I'll be lurking this week to see what plans other people have devised!
Last week (as everyone knows) the exercising part was never done with all the craziness with the Ice Show going on. Unfortunately that craziness caused me to cheat all weekend on the food part since i wasn't home very often to eat right. I know, that's just an excuse but i did slip from the wagon a little. But i am back on track today and since my schedule is back to normal....i can get back to exercising today. It's also going to be nice today so i will be taking my dog's for a walk (any exercise counts...right!?!?!).
Hope everyone has a great week and sticks to their goals!
Good Luck!!
This Week's Topic
Most of us are great at devising plans to meet our final weight loss goals and mini-goals until we get there. How can we incorporate our good goal planning into building a plan for consistency? What goals can you set to keep yourself motivated to change your eating / exercise habits when the scale is not going down?
Consistency. My problem too! haha I think my goal is to make myself keep tracking and logging. It's so easy for me to go two or 3 weeks of doing really well....and then thinking I can just 'eyeball' it. But, as most people do, I underestimate the calories I'm eating, and over estimate my calories burned. I end up missing more workouts than I plan....and before you know it, I'm off the wagon all together.
My plan:
Log every day: food and workouts.
Track: weight and workout plans. Currently I am doing this one weight plan for about 6 weeks. I'm on week 3. I am doing HIIT training for 8 weeks. Track them for the FULL 6 and 8 weeks!
Calorie count: make sure I'm keeping up on Wagon Jumpers and usuing the awesome community here. Maknig sure I hold myself accountable to everyone.
New activities: making sure I am doing other activites besides just my workouts...I want to get into biking, and do more volley ball and softball w friends and walks and hiking.
and NO ESTIMATING for me!
...but I'll also be checking everyone out....maybe 'stealing' ideas from their plans to help me make mine better when/if needed!
The "all or nothing" approach has been my downfall more times than I care to count. I'll be going along just fine, doing everything I am supposed to be doing, I'll slip up and instead of just shaking it off and keep going, I give up thinking I've ruined it. NO MORE!
As I mentioned earlier, I had an appointment to see a Dr who takes a different approach to weight loss than most. Healing your body from the inside out to achieve weight loss. I went and was very impressed. I'm also happy to report that I now have an official plan:)
Phase I: 4 week purification program. Basically eating a vegetarian diet for the next four weeks along with some really wonderful whole food supplements. The idea is to detox your body with the hopes of getting it to a state where it no longer needs to hold on to the excess weight. It's going to be rough as I am a carb/meat/junk food lover! But I can and will do this!
Phase II: I'll have a second BioMeridian scan to assess where my body it at health-wise. The Dr. will advise an exercise and eating plan specific to the needs of my body. This in part is based on a complete body composition assessment, measuring the muscle/body fat % of each body part(arms, legs, etc.) I will continue to go in monthly for both assessments to determine my progress. I will stay on this phase until I have reached my weight loss/health goals.
For now I am putting the scale away. I tend to let it dictate my mood and often find if the scale isn't being friendly, I'll use it as an excuse to abandon ship(or should I say wagon). I am going to focus more on how I feel than on how much I weigh for the next while. We'll see if that makes a difference in my long term success!
Good luck this week everyone!:p
I need to keep my plans simple, or I tend to stress/obsess -- which doesn't make me happier or healthier, even if I lose weight a little faster. So, my plan is just to work out at the gym 3x this week, take a good long walk every other day (weather permitting), and to keep between 1400-1700 cals/day at least 5 days this week, allowing one or two cheat meals if I go out with friends this weekend. And that's that. It's TTOM for me, so I won't be going near the scale for the next week and a half -- I always gain a few pounds water weight, which drops back away at the end of it, so weighing myself now would be both discouraging and inaccurate.
Have a great week!
Day ONE back on the Wagon. Man, it's been a scary ride. THIS WEEK's plan for me is:
- Keep the routine going. By eating within a routine, I don't have to think about my meals. That sort of removes the decision-making process from my food selections. I'm less susceptible to making bad choices that way.
- Coming up with a plan to deal with stress. I discovered this when I first started CC.com, but after last week, I am amazed at how potent food is as a physical stress reliever. Eating until I'm stuffed beyond capacity is an instant soother for me, and last week was very, very stressful. I at a lot of cheese, crackers, chips, and chocolate.
This (lack of consistency) is definitely my problem. I've come to the conclusion that most diet plans (other than fad ones, of course) will work, but the key is consistency. That's been my downfall for a very long time. This note is my dedication to consistency. Thanks for posting and offering the opportunity for me to join in.
Hi everyone and congrats on another week!
My plan is a "if you do the crime, do the time" approach. So when I am at work or wherever else and tempted to jump off the wagon (if I cheat "a little" it turns into a complete jump) I remind myself that whatever it is Im about to eat=x time on the elliptical or an extra swim practice and have had success this week rethinking whether I really needed the snickers bar etc. If I don't have a choice, I just make sure to account for it in the next day's workout.
oh GAAAAAAWD I really need a group like this one.
I managed to lose 42lbs between Jan-Sep last year (woo hoo)!
Then the weather turned crappy, Christmas came and my momentum kinda went the way of the dodo bird.
35lbs have found their way back to me 
The proof of this was a lovely picture my hubby took of me and my youngest daughter walking on the beach -- I was horrified at how much weight I've packed back on after swearing I was going to look after myself and nurture myself and never do this again to myself!
my plan:
* log my damn food the night before + keep my menu + food with me.
* drink 10-12 glasses of water a day
* 45-60mins activity (elliptical or walking or pilates) 5 days a week
I am totally here for each and every one of you!
Tammy
So today begins Day 1 of my new resolve.
Why do I do this self-sabotage?
Part of my job involves creating annual strategic plans for business associations. One of the interesting parts about group creations of strategic plans is the process of discussing what is a strategy and what is a tactic. I think this becomes relevant to this discussion of how we are planning to loose weight and stay motivated to do so.
In this case the objective is: to loose weight.
My strategy is to: design a plan to encourage consistency in the implementation of the tactics that will facilitate weight loss.
My tactics are to: eat right and exercise on a manageable and achievable schedule that will provide ongoing motivational boosts by meeting time sensitive goals.
I'm going over the strategy / tactics because while I'm sure a number of you have dealt with them in your professional lives it sounds like a lot of people are on the tactics and not the strategy. This is not meant as a criticism, but as a challenge to ask if the tactics are enough to keep you motivated.
JCR Sounds like a great plan, I love the short manageable reward period and giving yourself something to look forward to after you met your goal. How did Day 5 go? Have you thought of your first reward? Sandal season is almost here in Canada, do you like pedicures?
DeFrog3 I know completely what you mean about being a number geek. I call myself a dataphile. Last time when I was on CC (and every weight loss attempt previous to this) I had not only the chart with trend line here but I had created an entire excel program measuring short and long trends (the trend line on here is 10 days so I added an overall, a 30 day and a 7 day) I also did the same for all my body measurements..... It had a wide variety of data sets, sleek line graphs, and even pivot tables..... Uh, no I'm not kidding!
This is kind of why I have put away the scale today. While I would have argued heart in hand that having the data at my fingertips motivated me because even if my weight didn't go down I had charts on body fat, total body water and sizes and something would have gone down. What became apparent to me is that while I was great while I was on plan I was too embarrased to pull them up if I fell off the wagon. It was painful to see that line go up, and I'd use that as a crutch not to be on plan.
Not seeing the scale everyday is a huge struggle for me, but that's why it's a long term reward, and even then I have to manage how I use the data, how frequently I collect etc....
I think my challenge to you would be to take a hard look and assess if having the data really is a motivator to you, or not. If it is congratulations! If not, think about loosing it.
Hopeful31 Yes any exercise counts, and as a dog owner with 2 dogs, the dog walk definitely counts! Keep reading and see what other people devise as plans, we may keep this as a two week topic.
Vicki8seekers Sounds like you have identified how you fall off the wagon (estimating) and set in place some great best practices tactics for keeping yourself accountable. My suggestion would be figuring out why you start to estimate, is the logging too much? Then figure out how to reward yourself for staying with your best practices.
Got2getthin Looks like you and me are doing something similar with some weekly phases and then moving onto another phase. BTW I'm a vegan so if you're looking for some tasty veggie recipes I've got lots (also check out the veggie thread). Have you thought of some rewards or reasons to stay on plan?
Kaydeefalls Also sounds like you've got the best practices for yourself in place, as someone who also stresses / obsesses about the progress I have or have not made, I know I need more than demanding that I meet the best practices, I need a reason to stick with them even when I think they may not be working.
Tally-Ho Good job on identifying your trigger as stress and starting to think of a plan to get there. I think the routine eating can work in the short term to avoid poor choices, my guess would be that it is very hard to sustain for a few reasons: hard to do at restaurants / when out with friends, it gets boring, it does not support long term eating. Can you set yourself a deadline to have a stress plan in place and to allow yourself to integrate healthy eating as a daily choice beyond routine eating? Doesn't have to be next week, could be a month or two, but something that lets you not get bored and frustrated with what you are eating.
Mpscarlet Welcome to the group. Drop in and introduce yourself!
Newsjunkie1 Sounds like you're waving a stick at yourself (which can be good at times, sometimes we all need the kick in the butt), do you have a carrot as well? What will you do for yourself if you do eat on plan and exercise well? Why will that be a positive experience for you as you are loosing and maintaining your loss?
Tamji Welcome to the group! Good best practices again. Similar to what I have asked others, how will you motivate yourself to stay on track with them? How can you make it a positive integrated experience?
Original Post by jcr:
Confession. Fell off the wagon last night. Thud!
So today begins Day 1 of my new resolve.
Why do I do this self-sabotage?
Maybe give yourself a reward for 5 days instead of 10 since you know you can make it to 4 days, you just need to go 1 day longer this time. Then increase from there.
Also, are you leaving any room for human error? To err is human.
Hello all! I'm not responding on the question yet, because I haven't had time to think about it.
Suffice to say, i'm mostly on the wagon this week, feel that I have done ok. I need to make more time to exercise though. Kinda rough without it.
Anyhoo, I thought I would drop this link down to you all, maybe you could benefit from this. Lifehacker does it again it seems. Definitely worth a ready.
http://lifehacker.com/391974/kick-a-fast-food -addiction-with-a-ziploc-bag
Enjoy.
I'm not really sure why I self-sabotage, so, like jburgin, I have to give it some more thought! Congrats on staying on the wagon this week, Jburgin!
I'm a vegetarian (I was raised as one) and for the past two days I've tried a vegan diet. I realize that creamy things have become my weakness, so I'm giving this a shot. We'll see how it goes...
My friend is getting married in August and I'm in the wedding party. I'm scared since I know I've gained weight and I have to get a dress fitting in a couple of weeks. I kind of lied (eek, bad idea) about my measurements too, which I know was an awful thing to do. I'm dreading the fitting.
I'm really trying to stay on the wagon this week, this month, this year....
When I first read this week's topic yesterday, I thought, oh, how easy! Of course I have a plan! But then I started typing, and I realized...my plan was vague, lacked specific goals and incentives, and probably lacked the time constraints needed to keep me on track. So I've been thinking and thinking (don't tell my employer!) for the past 2 days, and I blabbered in my journal a little, and I think I've formed my initial plan. It will probably be altered as I go along and hear new brilliant ideas from cc-ers, but here it is:
My plan is to lose weight and get healthy by doing the following: a) eat lots of veggies! b) drink lots of water! c) use portion control, and just make "good decisions" when it comes to meals by planning meals in advance (as much as possible) and d) exercise regularly (minimum of 30min/day, 5 days/week; aiming for 45-60 min most days)
To track my progress, I will weigh myself once a week beginning on June 4 - Wednesdays seem to be good weigh-in days for me. I am waiting a little while because I don't want to discourage myself by weighing in too soon, but I know that I need the accountability of regular weigh-ins. I tend to avoid the scale when I start jumping off the wagon, so it is very important that I stick to my scheduled weigh-ins. I also plan to check in with y'all weekly (or more) and be honest about my progress.
My goals: like most people, I do have lots of looks-related goals such as looking good in a bathing suit this summer, feeling more confident at my cousin's wedding in August, fitting into all of my clothes again, etc. I've realized, though, that those goals are not enough to keep me on track...if they were, I never would've fallen off the wagon and gained the weight back in the first place! So I am setting some fitness-related goals that are attainable and time sensitive. First, I want to get in good enough running condition to run a 5K with my cousin on June 21 and not be too embarassed by my time or my exhaustion at the finish line. Second, I want to continue to improve my fitness so that I can run a 10K with friends on July 26. Third, I want to run a half marathon at the end of October with a friend who will be in Australia until then. We ran it in 2007, and I cannot believe how out of shape I have gotten since then. She wants to start training for a marathon after that, and though I'm not sure yet if that's really a goal of mine, I would at least like to feel that it's an option.
Sorry my plan is so long! Thanks for posing such an important question and providing such insight! I feel very confident that we can all stick to our plans and achieve lots of success in the coming weeks/months/years. :)
This group is great. we share the same problems and we are in the same boat. However, I don't think anyone here has this problem like I do.
everytime, I start my healthy diet, I buy a lot of healthy food, I try to go to the gym but then in a day or two.. I feel down and blue, usually by the end of the day, when I finish work ... say by 5 pm.. I feel very down, then I start buying junk and stuff my face. a binge eposide could last several days..then I start again..
anyone has any suggestions? thanks in advance.
super-I guess i didnt mention that this plan was in addition to the things I have already been doing. Every goal hit is rewarded (2 weeks ago I finally got my hair cut and it looks great!). I always eat veggies (carrots included.. probably too many of em!) but usually run into problems with what I eat in addition to them lol (for instance, it is a primary day and i work in news. There is pizza and bags of chocolate sitting at every corner (and middle desk) of the newsroom! So far today.. still on track :-) ) So though it may seem like waving a finger in a way that's exactly what it's supposed to be I think. I went out for breakfast today and this famously wonderful breakfast place and almost ordered the same thing I used to (that they were also getting which includes belgian french toast biscuits and cranberry sauce potatoes, eggs bacon and sausage.. in ONE MEAL. Opted for an turkey bacon omlett w/ egg whites fruit instead of the potatos and held off on the french toast.. just because I kept thinking how long it would take to work it off.. if I wanted it badly enough I would have done it.. but really, I was just hungry and anything sounded good)
Safina-I used to (and occasionally still) end up doing the same thing. What I did was take a look at how many cals I was cutting, sleep habits, and hydration. Between swimming (im a competitive swimmer.. er used to be now I am more of a wannabe lol) and trying to keep cals low (and not eating any of tthe ones worked off back) I was at a good 1000 pt deficit.. my body consequently did not have enough fuel for the energy needed to get beyond the workday.. So I up-ed my cals (which i was afraid to do), made sure to get (almost) enough sleep, and kept hydrated. Now the "diet dumps" are not as frequent or bad nor are the cravings. Usually when the urges pop up, it's a sign that your body is not getting something it needs..figure out the missing link and you're in the clear!
Sometimes it's OK totext in a restaurant.
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