Which brings me to the QOTD for Monday, January 28, 2013: What tip or strategy would you suggest to someone who feels like their motivation is not where they want it to be?
First I think we need to figure out WHY the motivation is slipping. Are you feeling deprived? Craving something that you now consider "off limits?" Struggling with calorie counting or exercise? Tired of tracking? Not seeing the results on the scale that you expect?
What is the stumbling block?? Figure that out and go from there. If you are feeling deprived or having cravings, find a way to feel "treated" and enjoy something that feels indulgent. Figure out the PointsPlus/calories in a treat, plan it into your plan, track it, enjoy it and move on!!
Having trouble keeping up with calorie counting? Develop your own "system" to make it easier. Maybe you create some menus with the calories written in and use those faithfully for your meals for a few weeks. Or, if you are doing WW, grab a sharpie and write the PointPlus value for each food on the package!
Tired of tracking.... see the above idea. Or start pre-planning your food for the day/week. Do all of the tracking at once, BEFORE you eat the foods for that day.
Exercise a problem? Try something new! Get some new music for your walk/run/bike. Try a group class or something fun/silly like an Aerial class or a Zumba dance class!
I try very hard to set my goals to be about what I can control. I don't have a goal of losing x number of pounds because I don't have any control over what the scale shows. But I can control what I eat and how often I exercise so those are where my goals are. I strive to exercise 4 times a week and stay on plan at least 5 days a week.
Great idea! It is too easy to get caught up in the "number" each week and let it dictate your mood!
I don't have an answer for this one...I'm the one whose motivation isn't where it needs to be. So I'll be ready everyone else's answers.
Just being here with us and participating shows that you have some level of motivation working for you!
Hi. Feeling pretty bloated...
Had the oatmeal again for b-fast, an orange and a hot chocolate for lunch, but dinner was a home made jambalaya thing...I had procured some jennio turkey sausages marked down, had some black beans at home and tomatoes. Thought I'd try out my new rice cooker and of course it took me a long time to figure it out even though it's really simple. So I didn't get started until pretty late, then it was too late to go work out. The rice cooker is completely awesome though-- it cooked 4 cups of rice in less than a 1/2 hour perfectly. but the thing I made was too good-- ate a lot. I put vegetable bouillon in the rice added the tomatoes (vine) to the sausages at the end of their cooking and mixed the whole thing together with a cajun seasoning.
I'm going to try to stay active tonight doing laundry, dishes etc. And I'll work out tomorrow. I'm pretty sure I'll stay full the rest of the night though...
Just gotta say this and then I'll go away..... the reason you probably ate too much of that yummy dinner was because your breakfast and lunch look like it they are really lacking. Little to no protein, no veggies, and too much sugar. And breakfast of oatmeal is okay, but not great.... especially depending on the type of oatmeal... steel cut oats are best.... instant oats, not so much. And I don't see any vegetables in your entire day other than the can of tomatoes with dinner. Your body was starving by dinner time and you were on a slippery slope leading to overeating. I hate to sound harsh, but you set yourself up for this by not eating well during the day. Please don't take offense.... I realize it sounds "preachy" and I really just want to be helpful. The dinner sounds delicious. But you need to eat better earlier in the day.
.... Now I'll go away.
Sorry that I have been away for so long... Weekend was very busy with social events. So not great for weight loss. I know that there are strategies on how to stay within in your limits and I try to not overeat. However, I still ate more than I should have. Some strategies did work, I told my friend who was hosting a brunch for her birthday that I am at the moment trying to lose weight and when she served the food, I could see that my plate had a smaller portion than the other plates.
I am also rather disappointed that my weight loss has more or less stalled despite tracking the food and exercising. I even gained a little bit back, so I am at the moment not at my January goal. I am still hoping that in the next two days the scale will once again jump downwards so that I can finish the January with my goal reached. I keep telling my that even if I don't reach my goal, I am still lighter than I was on January 1st. And I know that the only way to reach my goal is to just continue in February. So I am trying to be excited about starting a new month - and I am glad that I signed up for coaching in the second week as knowing that soon people will count on me does help me keeping focused.
So - for the last three days of January the plan is to stay on track and then start over with a lot of new motivation on February 1st!
Sounds like you have a great attitude right now! That will help you keep going onto a successful February!!
I started c25k a few years ago with the goal of a disney half marathon, and it is a great program. I weight 215 at the time, and ended up adding walk breaks when the run intervals got too long. A disney marathon is an amazing goal, and not to sound crazy, though I am a bit, but they just had the 20th anniversary, and a little disney nut in the back of my head is saying, I should do the 25th anniversary. I've got 5 years to train, right? Maybe I'll see you there.
Great long-term plan!
Good morning everyone else!! Hello Pamela, Lisa, Rose, Buffy, CC, tracey and everyone else I've missed.
Hello to you too! You've been missed. I should have texted you to check up, but kept forgetting. Glad you are doing well.
I haven't been here much, and am almost 1 month down with ww, but am at the point, where I can see things will get more challenging as my weight loss slows, and am going to try and post here more next month because I know how much better I can do when I am more a part of this group.
We look forward to seeing you more!
Try to remember how good it feels when you are losing the weight, or moving more and getting some exercise. Everyone has their ups and downs, and that is a part of life, but you can do what you want to do and reach your goals, so if you want to move more, just get out for a 5 min walk around the block, and if the scale is not moving but you have been on track, think about the non-scale victories you have achieved, maybe you can run a 5k, maybe you're not as short of breath climbing up a flight of stairs as you used to be, or maybe those pants are a little less tight. Falling off track is a part of all of our lives, and getting in back on track, and back in the proverbial wagon, no matter how many times you need to do that, is what will make the difference between those who succeed and those who don't. You can do this!! Believe in yourself and never, ever, give up!!
Gotta get the dog out in the snow. Yay! Thank you to everyone who posts here, I've been lurking and getting inspired and motivated by all your posts this month, and I hope you all are celebrating all your hard work and success this month.
Let's end this month strong!!!
Is Poko enjoying this snow? We got a coating of fresh stuff last night. Pretty to look at but a PITA to drive in.
Great advise about the yoga!
Thanks. I used to belong to a gym and used their equipment for strength training but now I am solely on my own at home. Any exercises you would suggest that I can do at home? I am more pear shaped so I am wanting to target stomach, butt and thighs but sadly the first place I always lose is the last place I want to, if you know what I mean. I have tried doing sit ups and push ups and such but I can't even manage one. That is how out of shape I am. :-(
There is SO MUCH strength training you can do at home without equipment! And it is a workout... don't let anyone tell you otherwise! Push-ups, crunches, planks (and all of the variations of them), wall-sits, lunges, tricept dips, squats, punches, side lunges, calf raises, step-ups... so many! If you can only do one of something, so be it! Do the one today... and keep trying! I was at a point a few years ago that I was able to do 10 real push-ups! And I was so happy about that because when I started, despite being in decent cardio shape, I had NO muscle tone!
Thanks. Impatience is a big one for me too. I have done yoga in the past at a health and wellness center. When we adopted our son from Russia he came with lots of anxiety and he was referred to a chiropractor whose wife ran the health and wellness so we did yoga and meditation for a year. Then his anxiety improved and we stopped. Might have to get back into it though. I know our local YMCA has classes. I have always feared their classes because it is so embarrassing how out of shape I am.
Maybe they have a beginner class you could try?
That's exactly what I needed to hear this morning. Going for my first couch to 5k now, wish me luck!
And sorry for all the posts, can't figure out how to quote multiple people on the iPad.
WOOHOO on your first C25K workout!
Which brings me to the QOTD for Tuesday, January 29, 2013: Do you feel that your weight loss expectations are realistic? How do you think your expectations could be changed to help your success on this journey?
I have to think back to when I last re-started this journey in 2008. My initial goal was NOT long-term weight loss or anything so "grand" as that. I just didn't want to be any fatter in my WDW vacation photos than I had been the previous visit!
And in order to achieve that I had 15 week to lose about 30 pounds. Was my expectation realistic at that time? Probably not... but I had HUGE determination and managed to lose a bit over 33 pounds.
When I returned from that trip (with just a small gain) and got BACK on plan, my initial goal was just to hit about 150. I was 168.4 on my post-vacation weigh-in and hitting 150 seemed like a big deal. But I hit it and kept going... down to my wedding weight of about 140. And then reset my goal AGAIN to 129. I must say, that I have not been able to maintain that last goal. It has become an unrealistically low number for me. (But I did hit it once!)
Anyhow.... I kept "nibbling away" at my weight. I didn't start day #1 with a goal of losing 90 pounds in 6 months or anything like that. I kept working on small goals. When I would achieve them I would take a bit of time to reevaluate and then reset them. It worked so well, although it wasn't something I really "planned" in the beginning. But I would definitely recommend it for others!
Finished day 1 couch to 5k. Took longer than the intended 30 min because I had to stop twice in order to stop my heart from pounding out of my chest. That's how out of shape I am but I am not going to dwell on it. Today I am just going to focus on the fact that I DID IT!
Positives only!! YOU DID IT! That is all you need to think about right now! You COMPLETED the intervals and achieved your exercise goal for the day!!
As for the QOTD
I think my goals were not realistic but now I think I am coming around to more realistic goals. I am going to see a nutritionist too because my eating habits are not the best. I stay under my calorie allocation but some days I eat only one meal in order to do so. Yesterday was a great example, ate a banana and that was it so I could enjoy dinner out with dh.
Alll I can say is .....
****************
Okay friends! This read/reply and answering the QOTD has taken far too long! I need to get some laundry folded before picking up the kids and diving into my busy evening!
Bible study was nice this morning. I really enjoy the whole group of ladies.
Vertigo was there again this morning.
I will call the chiropractor today and if it isn't better after a visit to him, I will call my PCP.
Exercise will be squeezed in somewhere today.... not quite sure where/when yet. I am taking DD to the local Y for a workout, since she will be missing her club swim practice again today due to a schedule conflict, but I really should buy some groceries while she is swimming... fruit and veggie bin is alarmingly low! Maybe I can do a short workout and a quick run to the store for just a few basics.
Okay.... gotta dash! TTYL..................P