Wagon Jumpers - November 8-14, 2009 (Closed)
Welcome
(I keep the waiting list capped at 4 people as it can be a 16 week wait with that length. We currently have 4 people on the waiting and are not taking any more names. Please check back later as spots do open up regularly)
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 30 - 45 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
Year 1 - Week 27 Riders:
Supersized 
(myself)
Year 1 - Week 23 Riders:
Year 1 - Week 22 Riders:
Year 1 - Week 17 Riders:
Year 1 - Week 16 Riders - Congratulations on 1 Year & 4 Months!:
Raven21 - Away to Nov 14, 2009
Year 1 - Week 11 Riders:
Year 1 - Week 6 Riders:
Week 51 Riders:
Week 49 Riders:
Week 44 Riders - Congratulations on 11 Months!:
Week 23 Riders:
Week 18 Riders:
Week 16 Riders - Congratulations on 4 Months!:
Week 14 Riders:
Bleedtoblue - vacation to November 15, 2009
Week 13 Riders:
Week 12 Riders - Congratulations on 3 Months!:
Week 11 Riders:
Opanci - sick leave to Dec 12, 2009
Week 8 Riders - Congratulations on 2 Months!:
Week 6 Riders:
Week 5 Riders:
Week 4 Riders - Congratulations on 1 Month!:
Week 3 Riders:
NEW:
Missing In Action:
Missing In Action - 1 Week:
Missing In Action - 2 Weeks:
Current Membership: 25
Current Waiting List: 4
Outstanding Wait List Invites: 0
12 Week CONSISTENCY GOALS
(as set w/o September 20, 2009)
By December 12th, I will be...
Supersized - NEW: Go to the Gym and or Walk/Bike to work at least 3 days a week for 9 of 12 weeks.
Laura42 - NEW:Stay on nutrition plan 3 out of 4 weekends each month. MAINTENANCE:Lift weights three times a week.
Figurethefat - NEW:Eat 5 serves of fruit or vegetables everyday. MAINTENANCE:1500 exercise minutes a month
Merimeriqcontrary - NEW:Hover around 1200 calories(non-workout days) and around 1400-1500 calories on workout days, 6 days/week. (at least 9 out of 12 weeks). MAINTENANCE:Work out at least 4 times/week for at least 10 out of the 12 weeks.
Carryonandon - NEW:Follow this meal plan: Prepare homemade dinners (or eat leftovers) 5 out of 7 days per week. Have at least one fresh fruit or vegetable daily Mon - Fri. MAINTENANCE:workout 3x per week
Msmeg1984 - MAINTENANCE:Excercise at least 3 days a week for 9 of 12 weeks and average calorie intake of 2,000 cals per week.
White_Sakura - NEW:maintain any deficit for 5/7 days of the week. MAINTENANCE:to burn 2500 calories a week.
Raven21 - NEW: Eat 5 servings of fruit and/or vegetables daily. MAINTENANCE:run 4 days a week minimum, increasing speed and distance over the course of the 12 weeks.
BigBitty - NEW: to log my calories from the day I have the baby. MAINTENANCE: to continue drinking 2.5 litres of water per day.
Ncurlee - NEW:To achieve a 500 caloric deficit (or 500 calories below your burn rate) 5 of 7 days a week.
Cawilder - NEW:80% of the time I will seat sitting down and put down my fork/spoon/food in between bites. MAINTENANCE:Do, 5 hours of cardio / week + 2 weight lifting sessions / week
Bleedtoblue - NEW: to log my calories at least five days a week for the next twelve weeks.
The_Vitamin_Dominatrix - NEW:I will record all my calories at least six days every week. MAINTENANCE:I will continue to drink at least 2+ liters of water each day.
Opanci - NEW:By December 12th, I will be accurately logging all my intake 6 of 7 days. MAINTENANCE:Get outside 6 of 7 days.
Kyashiis - NEW:log my calories daily by midnight 6 days a week. MAINTENANCE:run a minimum of 3 kilos 12 times over the 12-week period.
Nannygabber - MAINTENANCE:Exercise: Cardio 3x/wk MAINTENANCE:Eating: 150 grams of protein 5 days per week
Wenchie58 - NEW:With my new pedometer to walk 10,000 steps at least 4 days a week for 10 out of the 12 weeks. MAINTENANCE:To continue to eat between 1400-1500 calories a day.
Dovelette - NEW:NROLFW or NROL minimum of 2x/week for 8 out of 12 weeks.
Vcruicky - NEW: To eat completely vegetarian meals 4 days a week.
Previous Threads:
Wagon Jumpers - November 1 - 7, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - October 25 - 31, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - October 18 - 24, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - October 11 - 17, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - October 4 - 10, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - September 27 - October 3, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - September 20 - 26, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - September 13 - 19, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - September 6 - 12, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - August 30 - September 5, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - August 23 - 29, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - August 15 - 22, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - August 9 - 15, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - August 2 - 8, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - July 26 - Aug 1, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - July 19 - 25, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - July 12 - 18th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - July 5 - 11th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - June 28 - July 4, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - June 21 - 27th, 2009
Wagon Jumper - June 14 - 20th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - June 7 - 13th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers May 31 - June 6th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers May 24 - 30th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - May 17 - 23rd, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - May 10 - 16th, 2009
As always all members are encouraged to tag this thread so that it is easy to find.
Weekly Topic: Getting To Know You
One thing we all have in common as wagon jumpers is letting our personal goals slide. We do this for a variety of reasons. Pick someone in the wagon jumpers group, ask them to share with you why they think they fall off the wagon, what does this teach you about them and about yourself, how can you both be accountable for staying on the wagon.
NOTE: please don't wait to post until you have received a reply, I don't want people to end up on the MIA list because the person they have chosen has not replied. If you don't get a reply by Wednesday please feel free to stay who you are waiting for a reply from. This thread, after all is about accountability to each other.
If you do not want to participate in this week's topic please post this fact early so that members are not waiting for a reply from you
With things so busy at work and home this week, I'm going to bow out of this weeks topic.
However, I do know why I fall off the wagon - no results. If I am getting results then its easy to keep with what I am doing, but each time i go a month with nothing to show for it... I'm off again.
With running, its easy to see results, each time I run three miles it gets easier, therefore making it easier for me to add miles at the same time. I wish I could make eating healthy that simple for me.
The reason its so hard for me to stay on the food wagon is because I love food too much. So I have to work on changing my mindset to make that aspect of it work.
hello all,
it doesn't feel to well to wear the dunce's cap and be on the MIA list.
Check in:
It hasn't been too well this past week. I've let all my goals slide, I've been constantly over eating, not sleeping and generally spent it all in this unending funk. I don't know exactly what happened first, it was my mom's birthday, pigged out, went out of control and the week ahead is just a blur of being busy and tired.
I need to get back in the saddle, but I'm not very sure how to do it.
I might pass on this week's assignment because I'm still unbelievably busy.
But here's why I fall off the wagon:
1. I commit food sin once and can't convince myself to stop perpetuating the act. This is where WJ usually comes in.
2. When I'm terribly busy I lose sight of my self, obsess a lot over what I have to do and ignore any sign my body might be trying to convey. Taking it slowly and not making a big deal out of things at hand doesn't come easy to me, but alas that's prolly what I need to do.
3. When I don't work out, I don't eat right, that's a fact. Wish this wasn't such a scarce money year...
Meg The results thing is certainly the kicker for me. I think you have the right idea, when it's harder to see pounds and inches come off, looking for increased strength and speed is a good place to start.
Meri I think we all have those weeks, one of the patters seems to be the "super motivation" that most wagon jumpers have at one point, it's accompanied by detailed planning and lots of enthusiasm. Then other stuff happens and we get distracted, demotivated and discouraged. Our plans seem too much to fit into a day and it just seems easier to tell ourselves we'll got back to the drawing board next week, or maybe the week after. I find that's a really good reason to use the 12-week goals. While they seem very simplistic at first, they really do show us what it takes to be consistent, even on the little things.
Check In
I've been much more consistent with my nutrition plan since I met with her a second time two weeks ago. I've also started doing the walking that she recommended, as well as changed my gym routine. The good news is that it seems to be paying off. Too early to really declare it a success, but enough to motivate me to keep going.
In 2008 I dropped around 40 lbs (maybe more hard to tell). I went from a size 20 - probably a size 22, I had some serious muffin top issues down to a size 14. This year, since January I've been struggling with the same 4 lbs, up and down and up and down the whole bloody year trying to find my motivation. And, slowly I could see it creeping back.... up 5lbs, down 4lbs, up 5.5 lbs, down 4 lbs...it was getting very discouraging that although I had successfully kept most of the weight off I could see it slowly sneaking back in there, so if I didn't keep a good eye on it not only would I achieve the rest of my goal, I'd also know that I'd put it back on in a year or two (or less if I didn't watch).
This week, my goal was to get to 213.2 lbs (I know so precise) - which was exactly what I weighed at new years 2009 after the initial weight loss. I'm very happy to say I made it to 211!!! Yay! Also happily this is the first week that all of my measurements are tracking smaller. My next weight goal is 210 lbs... just for the round number.
Good for you Sara! Seems like you've had quite a few changes to deal with in 2009, changing jobs, moving, etc. Those things can interfere with routine, and cause all kinds of barriers to the best laid plans. Keep up the good work, and look forward to a great 2010.
Myself, although I got into an acceptable weight range a few months ago, I've been struggling the past month. One, I haven't been logging, I'm burned out on logging and it really doesn't help these days because I know full well the right foods to eat. And I know what foods I should not be eating: cheese and crackers -- always a deal breaker for me, same with chocolate, and also alcohol and ice cream. If I ban these things and don't log I'm sure I'll lose weight :P
Exercise is going well so that's a major plus! I've love my routine because it fits right in, no room for excuses. First thing, 30 minutes of yoga, later 30 minutes walking the dog, then another 30 minutes or more on the bike. It's easy, and it works for me.
Sara, Congrats on your progress!
Laura, Congrats on the exercise success! I also stuggle with someof the same food items you mentioned. Though, it's been goldfish doing me in lately. Sure, in a serving size they're not so bad, but if you eat half the bag...
Meri & Meg - hang in there!
Last week ended up being crazy busy with job interviews - we'll see if something pans out. I know they liked me, but I'm not sure how I'll stack up to someone with years of industry experience for the position I'm really hoping for. There will still be yet another round of interviews to pass to get the job, though.
Despite the busy-ness, I managed to eat well and keep up with the exercising. I did get a few more fruits and veggies in, but still not up to the 5 a week goal.
Julie - thanks for the salmon tip from last week. It seems like a delicious, easy way to make the fish. Last week, I flaked out on making it, but *will* do it this week. :-)
I'm getting the impression that the getting to know you topics aren't going to be very popular when I re-do the "topic of the week" selections in a few months.
I think I'm going to have to pass on this week's topic as well, I don't anticipate being on the computer much this week. Boyfriend's birthday is Friday and then I'm heading to my mother's for the holidays. She lives in the dark ages without internet, so I'll be on hiatus here till the 1st. Packing the baby and myself in the next 3 days sounds about as tempting as cooking dinner for a small country at the moment. And doing all the cleanup since I know nothing will get touched while we're gone and the last thing I need to come home to is a mold colony in the sink!
Why do I fall off the wagon? The results thing is a downfall for me as well, although getting results sometimes trips me up to, since "I did so good last week, this week I can cheat a little". I also have issues with keeping track of time, so even though I "just" worked out, it's been 4-5 days.
Check In:
Eh, not really going over my calories every day, but I am still doing regular maintenance. I'm thinking maybe I should have more of a tangible goal in terms of weight to get myself back on track. I like to see on the scale that I'm dropping, and that proves to me that everything is working. Maintenance goal going smoothly as usual.
Challenge:
I interviewed kyashiis for this week! Interestingly enough, she has the opposite problem as me; I tend to go downhill when I'm bored, but she goes downhill when she gets busy and falls off the wagon when she loses track of everything she eats. Also, she is affected a lot by her husband's eating habits. She gets back on track when she gets enough time again to track everything, and then also from all the support she receives from CC and Wagon Jumpers =]
In other news, congrats Sara! I think changing around the routine always helps kick-start more weight loss, especially with people who aren't extremely active. Plus I keep hearing from other people as well that it keeps them from being bored. Anyway, keep up the good work!
meg, I can relate! I can totally do exercise - I could run several miles, and then want to add and add until an hour is past xD; But food - don't even get me started! How do you structure your meals/snacks, if you don't mind me asking?
meri I have been in the same funk for the past month, so I can totally relate. I can't really offer any solutions since I have the same problem, but I just want to let you know that I'm here if you need to talk =]
figurethefat I know exactly what you mean by the cheese and alcohol. They're just too good-tasting... It's a good thing we don't live in France! haha
Check in: I have not done well the last 10 days. I guess I have fallen off the wagon to some extent. I haven't been logging at all and I haven't gotten any runs in in the last two weeks. A week ago, I got sick with a flu bug and just didn't feel well enough to take care of logging and jogging... I didn't overeat I am sure, and I did get some exercise in through hiking. Luckily the days I was guiding, I was in better shape. I have run 10 kilometers and walked a total of about 30 kilometers over the last ten days. Some of the hiking was over very rugged terrain, so even though I have fallen off the wagon all is not lost I guess.
This week's topic is a tough topic for me....
I would like to tell you what white_sakura (meaning white cherry in Japanese) has to say about her tendencies. She has trouble when she has more free time. And, once she falls off the wagon, things tend to spiral out of control. She often sets the lapse off by eating some foods like chocolate or nuts. It can take weeks for her to recover from such an episode. Then, at some point she gets all the temptation out of the house and avoids buying tempting foods. In addition, she tries to keep herself super busy.
I myself have noticed that I sometimes prepare for a fall off the wagon by stocking up on inappropriate foods as I cruise down the supermarket aisles. I wonder what tips the scales to not caring and passing by the tempting foods, or the opposite of actually going out of my way to stock up.
I have to get someone to report on, but i will soon. as far as the goals I have been eating well and writing it all down, and i had a few bad water days, but I have fixed that up too, I actually feel hydrated again, now i just need to sleep.
Getting To Know You - A Better Way?
I initially brought in the "getting to know you" topics in the hopes of trying to meet what I saw as a larger objective of this group. I started this group with one difference from most other groups on the site (at the time), that was that when someone didn't post for awhile we would actively reach out to them to encourage them to come back. This would provide a level of accountability and comfort in returning that I felt didn't really exist in other groups.
My eventual hope was/is that as we got to know each other as people (rather than avatars on a forum) that people within the group would find one or two individuals they are comfortable with and want to do things like exchange real life e-mails (rather than through the CC system where they are easy to ignore), phone numbers and maybe even meet.
The assumption here is that most of us do not have an overwhelming amount of support for our health and fitness goals in 'real life' which is why we've come to a support network on the internet. At the same time it's been proven many times that in person support for health and fitness goals is much more successful than any other type of support.
The problem seems to be with this exercise that (as became evident) the possibility of people double contacting, double posting, not responding leaves people feeling much more stressed out about this activity than positive about it.
One suggestion is to pose a generic or general question that we could then all answer. I'm inclined away from this option because this feels too much to me like what we do on other weeks and I notice that while some people to reach out to connect with members, many don't. So there is no incentive to build group cohesion and personal connections.
Thank you to those who have already sent some thoughts on this topic. It would be great to hear from the group on how the "getting to know you" activity could encourage enhanced personal support in a way that is constructive for people who participate.
Cheers,
Sara.
Sara - I want to preface my suggestion by stating that you do a wonderful job in the area of organizing WJ, and this is in no way a criticism of the effort you put into this group.
The inherent problem with the getting to know you exercise seem to be getting the people who want to participate in the exercise together. The duplicate posts thing is obviously a simple misunderstanding that would be alleviated by better coordination of the exercise.
However, that introduces the problem of how to do the coordination, and who would be responsible for it. Obviously, you spend a lot of time coordinating us already.
You have already suggested that people not wanting to participate opt-out, but what if there was some way to opt-in? Maybe the week prior to the interview results?
Another idea could be to just pair people up in advance, and between the two of them they could decide whether to participate or not. Rotating the pairs would probably ensure that people wanting to participate would eventually be paired with someone else who wanted to. Also, maybe only those who opted into the rotations would be included.
Just some brainstorming...
I like that idea, I'd likely lean towards the randomizing pairs and letting the pair decide if they participate or not. This is less co-ordination for me as I could just e-mail a question and the list of pairs to everyone and leave the decision on opting in or out in peoples hands... if I collect opt in's or opt outs there is always the chance of human error, and it means me being quick on my feet with coordinating and following up with folks who reply late.
What do others think?
White_Sakura - I eat a pretty standard breakfast - 2 egg omelet with a slice of cheese in the middle and one or two pieces of toast or i have a ham, egg and cheese sandwich
I have carrots, granola bars, yogurt and special k or a piece of fruit for my snacks and lunch is a big variety. Dinner is usually mostly protein (im a big meat eater) and I'm bad about getting enough veggies...
Adding more structure to my meals might help me stick to it though, how do you do it?
Sara - i like the idea about randomizing pairs. Life is busy for me at the moment, as i have a holiday event that opens the week of thanksgiving and runs through the end of december.
My apologies that I haven't been participating much lately, but I'm working getting my life back on track so i don't feel so overwhelmed anymore.
meg - when I had standard meals (right now it's a lot of snacking due to laziness and the "oh! I just ate, so let's just eat another something that's light") I found it really easy to stay on track because I cooked and appreciated things more, and ate at the table the proper meals instead of the snacks at the computer. My good day would typically look like this:
Breakfast: Always milk and oats with some flaxseed and a hard boiled egg
Lunch: Rice, about 2-3 servings of steamed vegetable, a protein, and some milk
Dinner: I would usually be really creative about this, but sometimes it would be beef soup, a small sandwich, and a yogurt
Intermittently I would have snacks of nuts and seeds in between to ensure I got enough fats.
CHECKIN:
I did so well last week. It seems to be happening again though. This up and down roller coaster is really getting old. I apologize that I am not very participatory lately. I do think though, after reading how others think about our assignment, that if I was purposely paired, it may generate a little more motivation for me to do it. I will check back in later.
~Julie
Well, having just checked in at the moment, makes it difficult to reach out to someone. Sara, earlier this year, before I left the forum for a brief period of time (never do that again), I can honestly say that I was getting to know the members. Truly reading everyone's check-in on a weekly basis was informative, encouraging and supportive.
I totally relate to the accountability thing though, because in my own case, I was going to Aquafit with three other friends, and lately, it is just I who keeps returning. Kind of lonely at times. I love the idea of having at least one person to confide with, because it would give me that one added edge of support. It is very easy to fall off the wagon when you are only accountable to yourself. Who is going to give me heck? Myself? Yeah, twist my arm to stay away from those potato chips, or sit like a couch potato to watch a favourite program instead of moving to the great fitness room downstairs in lower level of house and work out at same time because t.v. with same channels is down there.
I keep sabotaging myself lately. Why? Pressure, just wrote another exam, Mom was rushed to hospital on Monday, and that was just this week. Why do I always push what is very important to me, for me, aside? As much as I have great support by my husband, he also knows not to push me, because that will backfire. I have to want this, and I know I do, but for some reason, I keep telling myself tomorrow is a new day. Exercise 1 day a week, just is not enough, and as a result, weight is not coming off. I need to get back to seeing results. Yes, yes, I am preaching to myself here...and will stop.
All to say, this week, I have fallen.
Meri - I can so relate.
Sara - Congrats to you as you truly are accountable, and you know what you want.
Julie - I guess it is okay if you take a break this week, but not too often, okay? I love your informative check-ins.
et all, looking so forward to getting to know each and everyone one of you more.
Enjoy the rest of the week.
Lee-Anne
Check In Reminder
Hello everyone, sorry I completely missed Thursday, here are our members who have not yet checked in. Please send them a polite and positive reminder to stay on track with their goals and involved in the group.
Missing In Action:
Next Week's Thread Will Be Late
I am attending a conference this weekend, I will likely not get the new thread posted until Monday. If you are used to posting on Sunday to be counted please check later in the evening or on Monday. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Can you recommend a workout for sore muscles?
The soreness you describe is delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). It is felt 12-48 hours after a dramatic increase in the duration... Read more