Wagon Jumpers - May 10 - 16th, 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 1 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 finding its optimum level is between 20 and 25 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. 

Google Group

We have recently added a google group as an option for members, past members, and members on the waiting list. If you would like access to the google group (and are in one of the above categories) send a message to beaglesmuggler (at) roger.com with your username and e-mail address and I will add you to the google group.

Wagon Jumpers Participants

Year 1 - Week 1 Riders:

Supersized  (myself)

Week 49 Riders:

Msmeg1984

Defrog3

Week 45 Riders:

Wenchie58 - extended sick leave

Week 43 Riders:

Raven21 

Week 42 Riders:

Tiegurl

Week 39 Riders:

Kyashiis

Week 36 Riders - Congratulations on 9 Months!:

Unlimitedana

Week 33 Riders:

Nannygabber

Week 29 Riders:

Lam7

Week 26 Riders:

Maureenz

Week 25 Riders:

Cawilder

Week 24 Riders - Congratulations on 6 Months!:

Figurethefat

Week 23 Riders:

Carryonandon

Week 22 Riders:

Constanza

Week 21 Riders:

Germaica

Week 19 Riders:

Jessicaanne2001

Week 6 Riders:

Thesilverstar121

NEW:

Dovelette

Missing In Action:

The_Vitamin_Dominatrix

Missing In Action - 1 Week:

Pelkeyjm

Missing In Action - 2 Weeks:

Current Membership: 21

Current Waiting List: 1

Outstanding Wait List Invites: 1

Bwg514

Jadedonkkkey

12 Week CONSISTENCY GOALS

(as set w/o April 5th, 2009)

By June 27th, I will be...

Msmeg1984 - Maintenance: I will continue to eat less than 1800 cals/day on average New: Exercise at least 3x a week at least 9 of the 12 weeks.

Defrog3 - To continue eating healthfully for me and my little fetus, which means I need to stick to 2,000 balanced calories/day. My NEW goal is to start exercising regularly, meaning moving my butt in some fashion for 30 minutes, 3 days a week.

Cawilder - NEW: Attain a 30 / 30 / 40 food combo 80% of the time. MAINTENANCE: Running @ least 5 hours / week and 2X weight lifting. 

Unlimitedana - Maintenance goal: Eat 1550-1650 cals a day. New Goal Achieve the 40-40-20 at least two days per week.

Raven21 - 1. Exercise at least 3 x a week (maintenance) 2. Average daily calorie intake of 1450-1650 (new)

Figurethefat - For maintenance:  I will continue to complete a minimum of 1,500 exercise minutes per month.  New goal:  I will drink at least 1.5 litres of water per day.

Supersized - MAINTENANCE: Continue to eat at or below 2,000 cal/day average for at least 6 of 12 weeks, and never over 2,500 cal/day average. NEW: start going to the gym (again), and achieve at least 4 weeks where I attend the gym 3x/week. 

Lam7 - NEW GOAL:  Participate in our Navan Walking Club 10 Week Program (Tuesdays) starting April 21-June 26; as well as attend 6 "Spring into Spring" Interval Classes which will run on Thursday evenings starting April 9th, 2009. 

Constanza - (new) Eat an average of 1700 calories/day. (maintenance) Exercise at least twice weekly (calculated by average)

Thesilverstar121 - Excercising at least 3x a week.

Kyashiis - Maintenance goal:Exercise for a minimum of 20 minutes a day 5 days a week. New goal: I will zig-zag on my food intake consistently throughout the week and end up with an average daily calorie count of 1,200 cals. 

Nannygabber - Maintenance goal of doing NROLFW 3x per week with an allowance of two weeks slack for this 12-week session.

Pelkeyjm - Maintenance: Exercise a minimum of 30 minutes at least 3x per week. New Goal: Log ALL food on calorie count.

The_Vitamin_Dominatrix - Maintenance goal - I will continue to eat 1400-1500 calories daily with a ratio of 15% fat, 25% protein, 60% carbohydrates. New goal - Gym or no gym, I will workout 3 to 4 times a week.

Previous Threads:

Wagon Jumpers - May 3 - 9th, 2009

Wagon Jumpers - April 26 - May 2nd, 2009

Wagon Jumpers - April 19 - 25th, 2009

Wagon Jumpers - April 12 - 18th, 2009

Wagon Jumpers - April 5 - April 11th, 2009

Wagon Jumpers - March 29 - April 4th, 2009

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

As always all members are encouraged to tag this thread so that it is easy to find.

THIS WEEK'S TOPIC: EXERCISE, A SOCIAL EXPERIMENT

Maybe it's just me (but I suspect it's not). While exercise can be refreshing personal time, sometimes it's just really hard to work up the motivation to do it. That is when social exercise can often provide that motivation. Whether it's a workout buddy, a team sport or a personal trainer:

Who do you have in your life who will motivate you to stay active? How do they do it? If you haven't recruited anyone, who could you recruit?

Woohoo!  I'm in!  I'm finally in! 

Hi my name is Dove, and I'm a Wagon Jumpers stalker.  I've been following your journey since, well, January, and have been on the wait list that long I believe!  I feel like I already know you guys so this is pretty cool to finally get to post!  Our poor moderator here has had to put up with my comments to the "group" that I haven't been able to post lol.

So a bit about me...

1. I am a WLS patient.  I have surgery 5 years ago, April 20, 2004.  I started at 296lbs, and my lowest weight was 155.  I gained back about 10 lbs and sat there, then went on a 100 day road trip and ate Cheez-its and Sonic Deep Fried Mac and Cheese Squares regularly and gained back to 185+.  I gained/lost 10lbs back and forth because I wasn't really commited as I was moving to Africa with the Peace Corps in a few months (that'll be my second fact).  This January I decided that I'd had enough and started calorie counting.  I only lost a little bit but it was a start.  More on that to come...

2.  I live in Cape Verde, Africa, serving with the Peace Corps.  Cape Verde is a string of island off the coast of Senegal.  I'm on the Northern and Western most island, called Santo Antao.  Although I live in a "city" resources are limited and food is EXPENSIVE.  So you  may hear me gripe about my lack of yummy stuff from time to time.

3.  As a WLS patient I have a different set of "rules" I need to follow than ya'll so please keep an open mind that while I do count calories to a degree I really need to focus on keeping protein UP and carbs WAY down.  Fat is malabsorbed, so I don't really worry about that.  I am currently following Atkins and have moved from my 2 week induction to OWL.  OWL is where you slowly add back in carbs to see what ones your body likes and what ones it doesn't.  My body likes peanuts but not cashews, plain yogurt but not booze, and that's what I figured out so far lol.  In the next month or so I'll be adding beans, fruits and whole grains...except the only whole grain we have in CV is oatmeal, which fortunately is the only one I'm missing. 

Starting at 185+ in January, I lost down to 177 by April.  Since April, I'm now down to 165.6.  My body really doesn't like most carbs lol.  Carbs are the one thing in WLS that are absorbed quickly.  I also have PCOS which makes me carb sensitive too.  I'm hoping to get to around 60 to 100 carbs, 60 on days I don't workout and 100 on days I do.

4.  I tweak my diet a lot, because what works for a lot of people (just calorie counting) doesn't work for me.  I see you guys do the same with your macronutrient breakdowns etc.  I hope this doesn't freak you guys out...I may jump from wagon to wagon but I haven't really fallen off (I maybe slid a little but held on while on vacation lol) since January.

5.  I just started NROLFW.  I've only done Stage 1A and B once, but I'm pretty psyched about it.  Once I get into a rythm I hope to re-start my couch to 5k program.  I did it last year, ran a 5k, moved to africa and forgot my shoes.  Mom mailed them so it's time to get started again.

OK that was long!!

So this week...well I hopefully  have all you guys to keep me motivated.  Also, my skinny beanpole of a husband is an EXCELLENT motivator when it comes to exercise.  He gets up with me at 5 30 to hit the *cough* gym (if you can call it that), when we did JM 30 day shred he kicked my butt to do it, often getting mad at me when I wouldn't.  Food he knows nothing about, he just eats what I cook and is a happy camper. 

Peace,
Dove

My motivation comes from many places - this group, my journal, friends at work and my puppy.

One of my girlfriends and I try to workout together at least once a week - she did the 5k yesterday with me and we were really motivating each other to keep going. We make a good pair of workout buddies!

I'm looking forward to NROL starting up this week, but also thinking about training for a 1/2 marathon with my workout buddy- we talked about it yesterday...hmmm... decisions, decisions...

Welcome to the group Dove!

Welcom to the group Dove!  There was a time in my life when I wanted to join the p.corps.  what kind of work do you do there?

My workout motivation...well, here recently it has comes from three places.  My desire to finally make a change, knowing that I will eventually meet with my trainer(however, its only twice a month), and one of my co-workers who has become my workout buddy.  Last week we went to classes on two diff. days and on Wednesday we even made it to two classes!  My goal last week was to work out 5 days.  I had planned on making today the 5th day but the combination of the TX heat(which is already horrible), my "monthly friend" coming for a visit and a minor cold has already persuaded me to be lazy.  I am ok with that because I havent worked out 4 days in one week since...well...I dont know since.

Have a great weeke everyone!

First of all welcome Dove to the group. I am a new member and I absolutely love it. Everyone here is so supportive.

Thanks Sara for what you said. I know that I really need to not worry about this "fall" but it just seems to be taking me longer than I would have expected to get back on the wagon and that is very discouraging, but thing have been a little better.

This Weeks Topic:

The only person I really count on (if you can call it that) to keep me motivated to excersise is my husband. He doesn't do that great of a job, so I pretty much have to motivate myself, which I have a hard time with. God, I wish there was just a way to do it all. GRRRRR

PS: Congrats MsMeg for reaching your goal on the 5K. That's great!

Welcome aboard Dove and all the best in achieving success no matter what!

Keith, my partner, knows that I want to be at my ideal goal but yet realizes that being "healthy' is priority with me.  However, even though I am 20 lbs. overweight now (creeping back up!!), he keeps saying I look good and that isn't motivating ME to get going cause I know he is being too kind (and loving!). However,  my supervisor at work is now motivating me as I am her.  We both are doing it the right way, exercising more and watching our eating habits, but more than that....we confidants and friends and we watch out for each other.  We take time to discuss our emotional eating habits and why we do what we do....so motivation comes from her as I don't want to let her down OR myself for that matter.

Cheers,

Maureen

Dove Welcome! I think like a lot of members here I'm very interested in what life is like in the Peace Corps. Over the year we have had a bit of a multi-cultural mix, which I consider a success on a fairly US oriented board. We have at least 3 Canadians, I think 2 members from the UK and one from Japan!

The other thing we try to do is keep it non-judgmental. What works for one person doesn't necessarily work for others. This goes right from exercise to diet to how we use the scale (or don't). That being said we're always eager to hear what is working for someone and see if we can try out bits to see what works for ourselves when we are stuck.

MsMeg Kick my butt tomorrow if I don't make it into the gym for NROLFW.

Jessica Great job on getting a 4 day work out in. Glad you have a workout buddy.

AshleyAre you in an urban, suburban or rural area? I've found a few groups on meetup.com and facebook have been helpful for finding workout buddies (in a non-creepy way). 

Maureen I know what you mean about the supportive unsupportive partner, which in reality is quite great, but not great motivation to work out. 

This week's topic

Before I started this group my weight loss attempts were my own dirty little secret. I was scared, or at least nervous about telling anyone. I didn't want to be that lady on the perpetual diet that never gets anywhere. So, when I started telling my friends slowly, I was really happy to discover that most of them had the same secret, and had the same troubles. In the last year we've shared a lot of our frustrations and successes. Some have had some success, some have had some failures, the great thing is that we've all been sympathetic and encouraging.

My closest (geographically) friend and her bf are signing up with me for rowing lessons towards the end of May. I find that when I commit to a workout in person, it's a very powerful thing for me as I don't want to let the other person down or come across as a flake. For me it comes down to respect. If I want these people's support in my journey then I need to deliver on my health and diet promises. It's one thing to try and not succeed it's another thing to be constantly talking about trying but never trying.

Group Size

You may have noticed that I've invited another member for a total of 22.... I know I said I would give it a month before I went from 21 to 22... here is the thing...

Vicky (send her some love) is slowly recovering from transplant. It's a long hard road. She is peaking at the thread when she can but has said she's got a long way to go before she can think about regular daily schedules that include a self monitored diet and exercise program. Soooo she is defacto dropping to the bottom of the waiting list, and we will be a group size less one until Vicki can join us again. So although we will be at 22, we are at 21....

Clear as mud?

Sara.

Original Post by supersized:

I find that when I commit to a workout in person, it's a very powerful thing for me as I don't want to let the other person down or come across as a flake. For me it comes down to respect. If I want these people's support in my journey then I need to deliver on my health and diet promises. It's one thing to try and not succeed it's another thing to be constantly talking about trying but never trying.

Regarding this week's topic, Sara, you said it best!  I too need to commit to a group or another person in order to stick with an exercise regime.  Its very difficult for me to "go solo," so I've had to either join a class or have a trainer to really stick it out.  This group has been a terrific tool for me, too--although its not "active," it keeps me focused on my diet and physical well-being, which has been key for me as I'm going through the pregnancy journey (Little One just sent a kick to the group, by the way!! LOL).

Dove, so cool that you're in Cape Verde--its one of those places I've wanted to get to, one of these days.  If I remember rightly, Christopher Columbus or Magellan (or both??) stopped by these islands on his trans-Atlantic trip in order to resupply?

Anyway, question for you--what does WLS stand for??

Happy week to all!

WLS is Weight Loss Surgery.  I had gastric bypass in 2004.  I started at 296lbs.  My goal is half myself, 148 lol.  Well right now my goal is to increase muscle, decrease fat, and not worry about the scale.

Cape Verde - yes indeed it was a stop by Columbus!  We also would love to have visitors at any time so you have a free place to stay if you make it over to the island of Santo Antao (the best island in my opinion).  You will however have to learn to take a bucket bath.

Peace Corps - I'm currently working in two areas: micro credit and small enterprise development for women, and youth development.  My job is to help design programs that will build capacity among the people I work with, ie pass on my skills so that they can do what I do for themselves.  Its very slow progress, very difficult to see results and very frustrating.  But I believe in the end it will be worth it!

Sara - Tomorrow is supposed to be my gym day too, so i'll be sure to do some butt kicking if necessary :)

Found an interesting 10k training program that adds in days for strength training... thinking about attempting that in my quest to run a half marathon some day :) Baby steps, right?

Meg - do you have a link for that training program? I'm running on a "slightly" broken toe and trying to gain back some of the endurance I have lost while not running on vacation 2 weeks ago and roughly a week before that. Last week was my first week back at running. Congrats on the 5k! That's awesome.  I hope there's one in Sept near me so I can run that as I don't think I'll be ready for anything sooner.

Dove - welcome to the group, glad you've joined us!

Off to the gym, I'll post more later this week and hopefully respond to everyone.

Carrie

http://www.halhigdon.com/10ktraining/10knovic e.htm

He has a big variety of training programs depending on which level you are at or are working towards. 

Welcome to the group Dove..."Wagon Jumper stalker"...Bahahaha...too funny!  I must admit though, my energy and drive when following this forum is quite pumped, so I would have to agree, perhaps I may of have been a closet stalker, while waiting to officially become a member.

Thanks to Sara, for keeping up with the adminstrative duty of keeping this forum alive, and the numerous members who have such interesting information to share, I would have to say that this forum is an inspiration, and that because of you, I have started to achieve my goals.  Thank you.

I am not at my ideal weight yet, and not sure if I will ever get there, but this last round of goal setting has put me on the right path.

As for support, I would have to say my husband Tim.  He knows how important it is for me, and so therefore will work with me to ensure that our schedules do not interfere with my work plan...well to the best of his capability.  He is so supportive in so many ways.  I also have two girlfriends who love to get out and do an aquafitness class, or just go for walks, as they too wish to remain active.  Only thing I have not been successful in doing as of yet is to get them on CC.  They have their excuses, and I will respect them...for now.

Looking so forward to this week's inteval class!!!!

Have a great week everyone, chat soon!

Lee-Anne

Welcome Dove, good luck with the group.

I'm my only motivator, but I don't really "workout" or have a designated exercise routine.  I've come to realise that the only way I'm going to be able to eat what I want, and stay a consistent weight is to be more active in my lifestyle.  So, I've been riding my bike to work, and working in the garden.  I'll walk to the local market and pickup some groceries, or ride my bike to do errands.  If I need to take the car, I'll park and then walk to several locations.  I also do yoga or tai chi or both at least once a week.  By incorporating activity into my lifestyle I feel better and can afford a few indulgences from time to time when it comes to food.  If all else fails and I can always get on my treadmill (and I don't mind doing it).  Depending on others doesn't really work for me, even my dog is getting too old to go out walkies!  Poor old thing.

Thanks for the milestone reminder Sara.  It's been 6 months for me, seems like it's gone by so quickly.  I've lost 16 pounds since I really decided to get serious.  I'm losing the weight much more slowly this time around, and not obsessing over every minute I exercise, how many miles I went, calories burned, eaten, etc.  I do log almost every day, but only calories, usually not activity.  For that I just keep a running total of activity minutes.

Checking in:  I've been disorganized and sloppy about keeping to my goals, but I am doing them.  I'm glad I have a little leeway with the exercising five days a week for at least 20 minutes a day...

I apologize for not getting last week's topic covered...

But, I'm back from a trip to Korea and ready to get organized and un-sloppy about my lifestyle.

On this week's topic:   Who do you have in your life who will motivate you to stay active? 

One of my consistent challenges is to get motivation.  CC+ and myself is pretty much it... (DH is always challenging me to do things which will derail me.  He doesn't like me fat, but he's thin and thinks we should go out drinking and eating to our hearts content.)  Occasionally my DD in the States will say something motivating (by email).  I do have one friend here in Japan who is always supportive, but I don't see her much.  All these things combined mean that I pretty much have to motivate myself.

Being short, just under 5 ft., provides its own peculiar challenge.  In order to lose weight, I need to take in 1,050 cals a day, but as is often mentioned, 1,200 cals a day is a minimum for an adult woman. I zig and zag to have a total of 1,200 a day  throughout the week.  

So, I'm am always trying to find ways to set myself up for exercise that I can't get out of. 

Examples?  planning a hiking trip with others, becoming a guide with scheduled hikes that I am a leader of, walking instead of taking the escalator or elevator...  For eating, I often give myself 300 - 400 cals leeway in the day, so that if DH wants to go out for a drink (there's a large drinking and eating area just down the street from our house and work ends at 10 pm most days) which mainly means eating because we don't drink much. 

It is quite demotivating to go out knowing that I have no cals left over.  Usually I eat very healthy and have an A for the day, so a small glass of wine will not derail me.  Sometimes I have freshly-made lemonade without sweetener (because they serve the sweetener separately here a lot of the time).  Japan has lots of low calorie food like pickles, tofu and so on, so with a little planning, I manage that too.  I feel very satisfied with myself when I meet these kinds of challenges headon and conquer them. 

The Wagon Jumpers is very motivating for me despite or maybe because of the first couple of rounds when I set my goals too high.  I now find it very satisfying to reach my little goals regularly here. 

How do they do it?

On the rare occasions when I get motivation from others, I think it when others respect my way of reaching my goals that motivates me most.  For example, my friend here in Japan doesn't give me fattening food or drinks when I visit her.  She's happy to offer me a glass of water.  I appreciate that.

If you haven't recruited anyone, who could you recruit?

That's a good question.  I have tried to get some of my Japanese acquaintances to share our health goals, but I haven't been too successful.  One of my DD introduced me to CC+, but she doesn't log on much anymore...

In the end, I have to recruit myself.  It's a somewhat lonely journey made oh so much easier with my CC+ friends and the attributes that sustain me in all my endeavors in the following order:

• Persistance
• Patience
• Faith in myself
• Courage

Good week everyone...

OK, so the questions at hand: Who do you have in your life who will motivate you to stay active? That's easy - my husband. He is my toughest critic on how well I am doing. (I started to take my health more seriously for me daughter who was 4 at the time when I was about 260lbs!) 

How do they do it? Before this weekend it was asking me what had I been doing for working out and I would kind of say what I had been doing - well now he is taking it more seriously and is writing me out a training plan. He is a great running trainer but he is lousy at lifting - he thinks that the earth revolves around sit ups! So, I will continue with NROLFW. 

If you haven't recruited anyone, who could you recruit? If I could recruit someone it would be someone who could be a little more compassionate and more positive. 

My week in review: 

Got in a few beautiful runs on the Oregon Coast and also was able to do the trail run between Seaside and Cannon Beach which is up and over the Tillamook Headlands where Lewis and Clark came to watch a whale that had been beached.  It is treacherous and very muddy but so beautiful!  However, now my hip pain is back because there was so much hill climbing - back to the ibuprofen.  I was running a solid 6.5 to 7.0mph which is pretty good for me - I am very much endurance which is why ultras are much better for me. 

I am resolved that I will get my eating better under control. I have started the workbook Beck Diet Solution - again.  I have to chose two diets - part of me agrees with the NROLFW diet philosophy but it is not very detailed - like actual meals and structure that I think I need. Any thoughts from others? 

I am rereading the NROLFW book as well.

I am also signed to run a Forest Park Trail Run - I chose the 20k - I don't think that I am up for the 50K just yet.  It is on May 24th. 

Dove: Welcome to the group and out of the grips of the lurking - I did not realise that people read our stuff except, well, us... I live in Asia when Asia was not very high tech and I thoroughly enjoyed it!! 

MsMeg: Running 1/2 marathon while the distance may seem daunting is really doable and as you go longer in distances it is really a mental game vs. a physical one. On long distances (and wonderful trainer husband taught me this!) go out really really slow - you can always go faster later one but if you run out of gas you are screwed. Also, nutrition and ensuring you have the right energy plan. If there is one reason you run distances in training it is to get the food situation nailed before the race. Sorry, probably MORE info than you were looking to know... I just love running long distances - it feels really good. 

Sara: did you get to the gym? soft kick in the butt applied.... very soft! BTW, I loved rowing when I could do it but now it is such a hassle to get there, etc. But it is another meditative sport in my opinion. 

figurethefat: I think it is great that you incorporate exercise  into literally your daily life. We lived for a few years in a part of Portland where I could walk and ride bikes to everything and it was flat - now it is not possible - I miss it. 

Hey Carol,

thanks for the advice! I've always wanted to do a half... I was talking to my BF about it last night and he was like "Why would you want to do that?" LOL. He is not into exercising at all.

Looking at starting NROLFW today, but also want to run...Not enough time to do both at lunch... I'll have to debate that later. :)

MINI CHECKIN:

On track with diet. The move is monopolizing my time, but determined to do Zumba this evening... first time to the gym this week. I'll make it at least 3 times, hoping for 4. This CANT be one of my "off" weeks, I am sure NEXT week will be one. Which will be the second of the two I allowed myself. I will be having to unpack, and make way to the new gym to sign up, etc....

Dovelette: WELCOME ABOARD!! I felt your presence. I knew we were being watched... LMAO! I am interested also in your Peace Corps involvement, but will have to take more time later to ask.

Sara:  Congrats on one full year! I will apologize now for not participating in the topic to my full potential. I'll just say that who motivates me... are all the gals in WJ! There really is no one else. Other than myself, and my desire and drive to become a better person.

Everyone: I wish I had time to address each one of you, but the tasks of moving aren't accomplishing themselves. There are so many interesting topics and comments this week! I am sitting here wanting to take the time to get involved in the discussions, but can't...

I will go make myself take time to eat lunch, I just realized I missed my snack this morning! ... and my tummy is talkin to me!

So much to do, so little time... LOL!

Have a healthgain week, and I'll be back if I possibly can, otherwise, see you next week!

~Julie

Quick reply to mention that I did in fact make it to the gym today NROLFW workout only today without trying to add HIIT, felt much better, will try to make it tomorrow for HIIT only. Will write more later, late for lunch.

I need t vent!  I am so dissapointed in myself right now.  I am at 1900 calories!  My goal is 1800 and I was doing great.  However, I wanted to use up all of my calories and so I bought one of those warm delights.  Well...the store down the street did not have the mini ones and I told myself that I would only eat half. Ya, right, it was silly of me to think that was realistic.  And my trainer wants to know why I havent lost any weight.  Go figure!AHHHHHHHHHHHH!