Between the BLs (Biggest Loser) Summer Challenge 2010 Part 1

[pjlla]

My name is Pamela and I am your coach for the next 7 days! Most of you know me, but I'll give you newbies a brief bio....

I am a married,mid-40's mostly SAHM to two kids (DD 15 and DS 12). I love to scrapbook and read about Disney (and of course, visit Disney). I struggled with my weight most of my teen and adult life. I first tried Weight Watchers in about 1978 or so (in high school) and lost about 20-30 pounds. I kept that weight off through high school and most of college. But then the real struggle began.

I remember feeling really fat when I met my DH in 1986 (in college)... I probably weighed in the 150's. And it went up from there. The pressure of wearing a wedding dress in 1992 got me back in line and I got married at a pleasant, if not super thin, 139-ish. And I ballooned after that. By our first anniversary I was about 180.

I struggled for years with the weight at that point. And two pregnancies, nursing, and staying at home certainly didn't help.

From about 1993 through 2008 I lost and regained significant amounts of weight over and over (mostly on Weight Watchers, once on Jenny Craig, and a few of those crazy things like the cabbage soup diet! ) I finally ended up at about 219 pounds in early 2003. At that point we were planning a return trip to WDW in 2004 and I didn't want to hate the pictures again, like I did in 2002. I spent most of 2003 on WW and lost 40 pounds. I did return to WDW slimmer than my previous trip, but not at my goal (I was at about 173). Sadly, after the trip I lost my momentum and slowly regained more than 20 of those lost pounds to end up at an even 200 pounds as of January 2008. With yet another WDW trip on the horizon, I VOWED I would not return to Disney fatter than the previous trip. I hit the gym, renewed my pledge to WW (but did it on my own this time.... no meetings, no $$) and managed to hit about 165 for our trip in April! And you know what.... I made a PLAN and kept going after the trip!! I didn't lose all of my momentum!

Anyhow, here I am, more than two years later, still at it! Now, I will say, that since I keep changing my goal weight, I haven't "officially" hit my goal yet! But I'm trying hard not to worry too much about it. As long as I stay in the low 130's, I am pretty happy with myself.

Well... that wasn't so brief, was it?! I just want you all to know that no matter WHERE you are in your weight loss journey (or maintenance journey), I've probably been there!!


I recently read a pretty good book about someone's weight loss journey. The book is called "The Incredible Shrinking Critic... My excellent adventure in weight loss. 75 Pounds and counting..." by Jami Bernard (she is a film critic). While most of the book was pretty standard, as far as weight loss stories go, it did have some great insights. Here is one of them....

"Now a word about 'willpower'. Remove it from your vocabulary. Losing serious weight has nothing to do with that all-purpose buzzword that implies you're fat because you're a degenerate good-for-nothing. People hurl that word like a gauntlet....

It doesn't mean you are absolved of complicity in your weight gain. You opened your mouth, you chewed, you swallowed. But medical research and consensus of experts refutes the 'willpower' theory: Lasting weight loss is about strategy, not willpower."

So today's QOTD is...

We all read about strategies to use at big holiday meals and events... but those usually only happen a few times a year....

What STRATEGY have you come up with to use on a DAILY basis to help keep you from diving into the chips/ice cream/cookies that we all encounter?

I'll answer the question later and I'll tell you what the book said about it later. Just want to hear your answers first.

Well... I'm off to do a bit of exercise and go back to school shopping with DD. Have a super day! Don't forget to weigh in and send the numbers to Shannon!................P

 

[jenanderson]

Morning Everyone! I need a few minutes to get caught up and then I need to post the COW. I meant to be on yesterday but we kept losing the power at our house. We had some extreme heat in Minnesota yesterday so I am thinking that the power loss was due to all the power being used to keep cool. Anyways...we have power again this morning so I am happy and I will now get caught up.

 

[jenanderson]

Week 10 COW Results

Please know that you do not have to participate but the COW is here to help you build good habits and have fun as you focus on your health and fitness for the challenge.

I also feel I need to state that please let me know if I make any mistakes. I am only human and it is a bunch of data to keep organized. I try my hardest to be sure I accurately record all the postings and PM messages.

Statistics:
We had 11 people try the COW this week.
6 people reported their points for Part I (water, vegetables & exercising)
10 people reported about their ideas for the COW in Part II

Here are the top numbers for the COW

23 points
flipflopmom

25 points
jenanderson

28 points
connie96


A big congratulations to everyone on the list and thanks to everyone who sent in their numbers!

New to the COW….PRIZES!
Now, I printed out all the names of those who participated and drew one name from Part 1 (reporting your points) and one name from Part 2 (chatting about your new exercise). If your name is selected as the winner for one of our prizes, please send me a PM with your address information so I can send your prize!

PART 1 WINNER = lisah0711
PART 2 WINNER = wofriedoodles

Again, congratulations to everyone who participated in the COW last week. I hope to see some of you give the COW a chance again this upcoming week. Remember...you don't have to do all of it or participate every week to try it out this week.

Stay tuned for the COW Week 12 to be posted!

 

[lisah0711]

Good morning all!

Thanks for all your nice comments about my coaching this week! I felt like I had kind of lost my mojo since I came back from vacation and coaching helped to get me back on track. I lost 3 pounds too! Hoping for a new decade before this challenge ends.

A big, BL happy birthday to Tracey (tigger813) today!

And a big welcome to our new coach this week, pjlla!

Please PM those weight to LuvBaloo and COW numbers to jenanderson today.

I totally suck at housekeeping so I've googled many times for "methods" or some kind of bare bones checklist/schedule type thing, but never found anything that I liked. I will check out both of these. The mere thought of implementing a system should put DH over the moon! Score points for me!!!

It is going to get easier, Connie, as your daughter gets a little older! I did way too much myself when DS was younger because it was "easier" and "faster" -- I should have done a better job teaching him how to reliably pick up after himself so now I just shut the door!

Well I was going to organize pictures in my photobucket today and seeing pictures of myself heavy and where I am now motivate me ;-)

I think that you might have accidentally deleted your signature photos! You look marvelous -- you should feel motivated everytime you see yourself in the mirror!

Yep, I am totally standing in my own way! I'm on track so far today, now I just have to get through this evening without eating too much. What am I going to do about it? Well, I guess I'm going to try to plan my evenings better, because that's where the downfall comes. I need to eat smaller amounts in the evening, and get back to getting to bed early so I can get up early to do my workouts! As for this week...the arrival of TOM helped me realize why I've been so hungry... I did end up with 2.5 hrs of brisk walking today between going places, etc., so I may consider that my exercise and let myself go to bed early, with the condition I don't go back to the kitchen after dinner!

After work is my downfall, too, so I will be interested to hear what works for you, Maria!

Good evening everyone!! It's funny, I haven't been on here much this week, and i have't been eating very well. Such a big correlation between the two. I got called in to work early this am because we had some sick calls, so we didn't get our run/walk in til after work. Michael was a little tired and we ran through a cemetary where he got off his scooter to jump over some streams and fell and hurt his leg, not bad, but overtired bad. Then on the way back he fell off the scooter accidently, onto his elbow, but luckily there was no blood, so he was fine. I mapmyrun-ed and we actually did just over 3 miles, which was pretty good with the drama. When we got back, I lit the grill and made a big salad with grilled chicken and sat out while the chicken cooked and read an article I printed out in february on motivation by Jeff Galloway.
I hadn't seen todays qotd yet, but it goes right along with it. I tried to find a link because it was a good article, but I think I had to subscribe to his newsletter, which I did, and it was emailed to me.
http://www.jeffgalloway.com/resources/index.html This is the link to that if anyone is interested. The article was very positive, and made some good points. One I liked is the difference between a dream and a vision and one thing you should do to keep motivated is to have a goal or a vision that is realistic and we should write it on our calendars. The princess half is a dream for me, and I am making that my vision.

My goal is to finish this next week strong. I am going to journal every single day, and get out on my bike twice, run/walk 3 times, and head into my vacation on the right foot. I've been slacking this week, and almost getting into the old vacation eating mode, but this year, I'm not going to go completely off track.

I'm so proud of you with your getting right back on track, not getting too far into vacation mode, and your training! I think that we should have confidence in ourselves and register for the Princess -- we can do this! Thanks for the link to the Galloway stuff!

I wrote my resume today and applied for 2 jobs. That's a good start for me. Hopefully I'll feel less stress now that I'm getting things done.

Good luck in your job search!

I'm slightly scared this week. I am exhausted from the stress of being back at school, and I know this will only get worse as gymnastics ramps back up, a new class starts, and we are approaching the 1 year anniversary of Daddy's death. I've had some bad habits sneaking back in. A few brownies last night. No journaling at all this week. Too tired to worry about a dinner, so mindless tv eating. Tonight, it was a turkey breast. Not terribly unhealthy, I know, but the sheer quantity of turkey I ate scares me.

I know I feel less stressed to lose, and that's not all bad. I am pretty sure I'll have a maintain this week. Since I met my goal for the challenge, I would love to hit it really hard next week and eek out a pound or two more.

Recognizing that I am backsliding, knowing why, should help. If I can get a meal plan for the rest of the week, and see what I can do at night to get it going would help. If it were cooler, I'd do more crockpot dinners. But all my crockpot meals are what I consider to be "cool weather meals".

Sorry for the book, but I have been a little introspective and thoughtful this week. I feel like I lost the momemtum this week.

, Taryn, back to school is already a stressful time of year, then you add that you are teacher, DH's schedule and coming up on the first anniversary of when you lost your Daddy -- it's more than the triple whammy. Be kind to yourself and take care of yourself during this stressful time.

Good morning everyone.

Finally finished the course. I am glad that that is done for now. Have somethings to do for the fall and spring but I don't have to think about those now.

Don't have much time this morning. Dh is insisting that we do something together. He wants to drive to the Cape May zoo. I love the place because it is small and easy to see the animals but I really don't want to do the drive. I have been in a car or sitting for the last 2 weeks but we are going and I know I will have a good time once we get there.

Just wanted to check in and say hello.

Ds has not heard about the job yet so please send as much PD as possible. It would be great for him.

Have a great day.

for your son, donac! Enjoy your day with your DH!

Almost forgot to do my COW part 2 this week. Just yesterday I received this email from sparkpeople.com. Here is a little excerpt:

The Key to Weight Loss Success
It's Write In Front of You-- By Rebecca Pratt, SparkPeople Contributor

Finally-- here it is. You have been waiting to hear these words for years...or at least as long the zipper on your skinny jeans hasn't budged. The key to weight loss success! It's not a shake, a supplement, or an exercise gizmo. You have it already, right at your finger tips.

"I feel the most important action one can take when trying to lose weight is to keep a food diary," says SparkPeople dietitian Becky Hand. "Yes, it takes time to write down everything consumed during the day, but this in itself can curtail overeating and be vital for self-assessment and monitoring.

Here's the link to the whole article: http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=394

I know that when I am faithfully journalling that I do so much better than when I just track things in my head. So I am going to cart my spiral notebook with me everywhere I go and really put things on paper and see how I do.

Have a great day all!

 

[jenanderson]

Welcome to the Challenge of the Week – COW 12

Please know that you do not have to participate but the COW is here to help you build good habits and have fun as you focus on your health and fitness for the challenge.

It is summertime and that means it might be time to mix it up a bit with our Challenge of the Week (COW)! Here is how our new COW will work.

PART ONE: The first part of the COW will be based off the wonderful work of Donac who taught me that if I do something for 30 days, it will become a habit. Each week I will post two to four habit suggestions for you and at the end of the week, you report your points to me.

NEW and EXCITING: If you report your points, you will be eligible for wonderful prizes! I will randomly select one person each week to win a fabulous prize (maybe not fabulous but it will at least be a bit fun)!

PART TWO: The second part of the COW will be a fun task for you to complete during the week and then post about your experience here on our thread. Again, there will be FUN and FABULOUS prizes (for one randomly selected poster each week).

COW 12

PART ONE
Drink 6-8 oz of water each day (1 point for each day) ( 1 cup of coffee or tea counts)
Eat 3 servings of fruits & vegetables each day (1 point for each day)
Exercise 25 minutes each day (1 point for each day)
Brush and floss your teeth each day (1 point for each day) - a healthy mouth is key to a healthy body!

When you send me your points please post your total in your RE and then in the main part of the pm list your points as follows:

XX days drinking water
XX eating 2 veggies
XX days of exercising for 20 minutes
XX days of brushing and flossing

This challenge runs from Friday, August 13, 2010 to Thursday August 19, 2010. On Friday August 20, 2010 PM me your points for the week. The COW results will be posted the same day the weekly totals are posted.


PART TWO
Since we have had a drop in people participating in the COW...I am going to try to inspire you to give it a try again with at least the 2nd part! I recently came across this quote:

Hard things take time to do. Impossible things take a little longer.

For part 2 of the COW this week, share with us something that you thought would be impossible to do but is now a reality. It can be about your weight, body size, exercise, something new you do now that you never thought you could do...whatever!

 

[lisah0711]

Thanks again, Pamela, for coaching this week!

So today's QOTD is...

We all read about strategies to use at big holiday meals and events... but those usually only happen a few times a year....

What STRATEGY have you come up with to use on a DAILY basis to help keep you from diving into the chips/ice cream/cookies that we all encounter?

I really love this QOTD because it goes hand in glove with what I figured out that I needed to do to get my mojo back and get back on track.

My STRATEGY to use on a DAILY basis to keep me on track is:
-- don't bring the bad stuff into the house
-- just say no to other people in the house who brought in bad stuff and want me to serve it, even though I am not going to eat it
-- cart my journal around everywhere and faithfully write down every single thing that goes in my mouth
-- use that dangerous time after work to review my journal and take care of any action item, ie, exercise that hasn't been done yet
-- do this day after day no matter how hard it is, how boring it is or how busy I am

This week-end I am going to map out my exercising and eating plan for the week as well as my training plan for the Princess. I can't just WISH my way to success here -- it's up to me to make sure it happens. ('cause I can't let myself stand in my way! )

Great question, Pamela! Can't wait to see what else you guys come up with so I can add to my list!

Here are the top numbers for the COW

23 points
flipflopmom

25 points
jenanderson

28 points
connie96


A big congratulations to everyone on the list and thanks to everyone who sent in their numbers!

New to the COW….PRIZES!
Now, I printed out all the names of those who participated and drew one name from Part 1 (reporting your points) and one name from Part 2 (chatting about your new exercise). If your name is selected as the winner for one of our prizes, please send me a PM with your address information so I can send your prize!

PART 1 WINNER = lisah0711
PART 2 WINNER = wofriedoodles

Again, congratulations to everyone who participated in the COW last week. I hope to see some of you give the COW a chance again this upcoming week. Remember...you don't have to do all of it or participate every week to try it out this week.

Stay tuned for the COW Week 12 to be posted!

I'm a winner! Congrats to all our winners and thank you, jenanderson, for all that you do for us as COW keeper!

Have a great Friday!

 

[jenanderson]

Missed my run this morning because we are still having some interesting weather. Major thunderstorms this morning, then it cleared up again and now it is really dark again. I did run 5 miles yesterday so today might need to be a day off.

I will be working on painting again today. Yesterday we finished all the touch-up painting in DD's room, painted a dresser for her and painted DS's room. We still need to paint his shelf units and 2 dressers for him. I am so tired of remodeling their bedrooms but it was time and they are looking nice.

The good thing about painting yesterday was that I was really busy all day so I did not have a chance to eat too much or snack. Then, when we lost power, I didn't day open the fridge much and I couldn't really cook anything. This kept me on track as well!

Flylady is someone who has developed a system of cleaning your home, as well as other things. The website is www.flylady.com I tried "flying," as they call it, for awhile but it was too much for me. I use something now called Daily Hotel Clean http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Shelter/Organizing-Cleaning/Countdown-to-Clean.html
It seems to work better for me. But I think the whole keeping a home issue is like the journey to good health -- it is a matter of finding what works for you and your family.

Thanks for sharing these! Cleaning is a major issue in my house. We clean the house and then it becomes a disaster again. Then we clean again and then it looks like a bomb went off! We just keep repeating the cycles. I need to have a system to help me get better at maintaining my house.

I totally suck at housekeeping so I've googled many times for "methods" or some kind of bare bones checklist/schedule type thing, but never found anything that I liked. I will check out both of these. The mere thought of implementing a system should put DH over the moon! Score points for me!!!

We might be related!

Well I was going to organize pictures in my photobucket today and seeing pictures of myself heavy and where I am now motivate me ;-)

I bet that is motivating! I have been surprised when I look at photos of myself now and compare them to when I was heavy.

Hi Everyone!
Thanks for all the great suggestions! I am going to start small and make my goal for the week to pack something for snack. It's so hard to accept and admit, but with me, I have to start small. I made my own behavior charts my senior year of high school. I may have to go back to do that to help me on my journal to a much, much healthier lifestyle.

COW Part 2: I am reading a book based on the "Potatoes Not Prozac" diet. It is designed to help decrease sugar cravings (I wonder why this book appealed to me ) and improve one's mood. So far, the biggest tip I picked up is that milk is not protein, at least not on this diet. Another good thing about this plan is that you start small. Again, . I am working on the "have protein with breakfast" step. I'm not particularly thrilled with the idea of having a potato every night before bed, but rest of the plan really jives with me and I see it having high potential for really helping me.

CC - There is nothing wrong with having small goals and I love the idea of a behavior checklist. I know there are weeks where I could really use that idea to help me out!

Thanks for sharing your book. It sounds really interesting. I have huge sugar cravings and know that I should work at cutting some sugar out of my diet.

Good evening everyone!! It's funny, I haven't been on here much this week, and i have't been eating very well. Such a big correlation between the two.

When we got back, I lit the grill and made a big salad with grilled chicken and sat out while the chicken cooked and read an article I printed out in february on motivation by Jeff Galloway.
I hadn't seen todays qotd yet, but it goes right along with it. I tried to find a link because it was a good article, but I think I had to subscribe to his newsletter, which I did, and it was emailed to me.
http://www.jeffgalloway.com/resources/index.html This is the link to that if anyone is interested. The article was very positive, and made some good points. One I liked is the difference between a dream and a vision and one thing you should do to keep motivated is to have a goal or a vision that is realistic and we should write it on our calendars. The princess half is a dream for me, and I am making that my vision.

The relationship between success for me and visiting this thread is huge. I think it has so much to do with keeping my mind on the task at hand.

I really like what you shared from your article! I am going to read it because I think that it is so important to learn how to turn your dreams into visions that happen. I used to be better about writing things on my calendar and I need to get back at it. Thanks for sharing!

I wrote my resume today and applied for 2 jobs. That's a good start for me. Hopefully I'll feel less stress now that I'm getting things done.

GOOD LUCK! I keep working on applying for jobs and I know how much work it takes to apply.

I'm slightly scared this week. I am exhausted from the stress of being back at school, and I know this will only get worse as gymnastics ramps back up, a new class starts, and we are approaching the 1 year anniversary of Daddy's death. I've had some bad habits sneaking back in. A few brownies last night. No journaling at all this week. Too tired to worry about a dinner, so mindless tv eating. Tonight, it was a turkey breast. Not terribly unhealthy, I know, but the sheer quantity of turkey I ate scares me.

Taryn - We all know the stress and energy of the first week of school. I hope that you give yourself a bit of a break before you get too worried about how things are going. As I have told you....you are STRONG and you can do this. It is not going to be easy but take a deep breath and think of all you have been doing that may have seemed impossible when you started this healthy journey. Now you are faced with a new set of "impossibles". I think it is going to take time for you to figure it all out but you can do it!

Finally finished the course. I am glad that that is done for now. Have somethings to do for the fall and spring but I don't have to think about those now.

Dona - Glad your class is done! Enjoy the rest of the summer before you have to start back to school!

I recently read a pretty good book about someone's weight loss journey. The book is called "The Incredible Shrinking Critic... My excellent adventure in weight loss. 75 Pounds and counting..." by Jami Bernard (she is a film critic). While most of the book was pretty standard, as far as weight loss stories go, it did have some great insights. Here is one of them....

"Now a word about 'willpower'. Remove it from your vocabulary. Losing serious weight has nothing to do with that all-purpose buzzword that implies you're fat because you're a degenerate good-for-nothing. People hurl that word like a gauntlet....

It doesn't mean you are absolved of complicity in your weight gain. You opened your mouth, you chewed, you swallowed. But medical research and consensus of experts refutes the 'willpower' theory: Lasting weight loss is about strategy, not willpower."

Thanks for sharing this book with us. I know you chose it for the QOTD..but I am going to record it for the COW part 2 as well! It is a really interesting idea because I think willpower a lot but having strategies is really the answer when I stop and think about things.

Bree – How is your running going? It sounds like you have been doing really well lately and I bet your race will go great when the day comes!

Tigger813 - Happy Birthday Tracey!

 

[Connie96]

Well, I've got a little loss this week and I'm glad of that. I was hoping for better because I was REALLY good this week. Even when I didn't wanna be. I do not, in any way, expect to see my name in the Top 10 list this week. And, while I think it was really sweet of some of you to hang back so I can get all encouraged by being on the list, it's time to turn it up a notch - you have what it takes to knock me off that list permanently if you so choose.

 

[tigger813]

Thanks, guys!

Woke up at 5:17 this morning! Couldn't go back to sleep! Should've just gone on my walk! Ended up watching some tv and then got back in bed and started watching The Bucket List with DH! Then the girls came in! We had bacon and egg biscuits for breakfast and will have lunch a little bit later than usual and try out the new British Beer Co. that opened yesterday in the next town. Can't wait! Everything sounds yummy so not sure what I'll have! We also have to go to the Chinese restaurant later and give our order for tomorrow. I also hope to go and get my Build A Bear gift. DH and I are getting a new camera/camcorder for each other so we have it for our December trip. I told him I wanted iTunes gift cards from the girls!

Waiting for the appraiser to come to finish up everything for the refinancing we are doing right now. I think we're pretty organized for the party. Just have to put some beer in the fridge and we'll have to get the ice, cake and Chinese food right before the party!

 

[my3princes]

Happy Birthday Tracey

 

[tigger813]

Happy Birthday Tracey

How sweet!!!! I love it! I will have to print that out and look at it when I need a happy boost to my day!!!!!

 

[brinalyn530]

Happy Birthday Tracey!

CC – Always glad to help!

I definitely am putting the running ahead of housework this summer.

You’re not the only one, Kathy! I’m declaring Sunday “no cell phone day” (no facebook, no texting, no calls unless someone is bleeding!) so I can top to bottom clean. I was so on track last month, but this month I’ve been seriously slacking on the cleaning !

Thank you Lisa and Pamela for being our coaches and to Shannon and Jen too for everything you guys do !

Friday’s QOTD : What STRATEGY have you come up with to use on a DAILY basis to help keep you from diving into the chips/ice cream/cookies that we all encounter?
I try to keep them out of the house and I try to keep myself busy. I realize that if they are there and I let myself get bored I will eat them. However, if I can concentrate on something else between dinner and bedtime, then I’m less likely to go back to the kitchen even if the snacks are there. Also, since I started the C25K I haven’t really thought about having a snack in the evening – I think I’m just so beat I don’t have the energy to think about eating, or more accurately, I don’t have the energy to walk back into the kitchen to get anything else to eat!

, Taryn, back to school is already a stressful time of year, then you add that you are teacher, DH's schedule and coming up on the first anniversary of when you lost your Daddy -- it's more than the triple whammy. Be kind to yourself and take care of yourself during this stressful time.

Taryn – ITA with everything Lisa said, and thought it deserved to be repeated !

Jen – The C25K is going great! I’m really excited for the 5k and getting kind of excited for the MCM10k (thank you Lindsay!). I need to play with mapmyrun though since I have no idea how far I’m going when doing the C25K – it would probably be helpful to know that right ?

My parents’ anniversary is today and my DMom’s birthday was Wednesday, so tonight we are having Outback for dinner and birthday cake afterwards . My tummy already hurts thinking about it – they put so much salt on everything! I think I’m going to stick with a salad and my all time favorite drink, the Wallaby Darned . I’ll have a small piece of cake and hope that my stomach doesn’t keep me up all night like it did last week with Applebee’s! Then it’s C25K 4-1 and the minor league baseball game tomorrow which I’m pretty excited about! Then cleaning on Sunday – which I am not at all excited about, but it needs to be done.

I hope to be able to check back in here this afternoon before I leave since I know I won’t be on again until Monday.

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Bree

 

[Connie96]

What STRATEGY have you come up with to use on a DAILY basis to help keep you from diving into the chips/ice cream/cookies that we all encounter?

I have found that I have to make a conscious choice before I am presented with the temptation. If I'm feeling wishy washy about my choice, having a bottle of water in my hand or a piece of gum in my mouth keeps me from doing any unintentional damage. The gum strategy really saved me at the movie theater on Wednesday. If I hadn't kept that piece of gum in my mouth from the time I got out of the car to the time I got back into the car, I would have eaten tons of popcorn - possibly without even knowing it. Another good at-home strategy is to only eat while seated at the table, even if I'm sitting there alone - no grazing while walking around the kitchen or munching in front of the TV. I do break this one occasionally, but I do believe that it is a good and helpful strategy.


~~~ This is my first challenge, so I'm curious... Is it always this dead nearing the end of the challenge?? It's weigh-in day, for Pete's sake, and exactly 9 people have posted in this thread today. I'm pretty sure I can hear crickets chirping in here...

Dona, Lisa, Pamela, Deb, Tracey, Bree, Jen and Taryn - I consider myself privileged to still be here and hangin' in with you guys today. I know there are others who will be here later and some faithfuls are out of pocket, but I was so surprised that we didn't hear from more folks this morning that I wanted to send y'all a special shout-out.

And, speaking of special shout-outs... Tracey! Hope it's a great one.

(I feel bad that I haven't wished each of our birthday girls a Happy Bday. Some days I guess I just wasn't paying close enough attention, so I belatedly and very sincerely wish them each happiness for their special day.)

 

[tigger813]

QOTD: I don't have a strategy to avoid diving in! I just try and limit myself to a certain amount.

That being said, I haven't been using this strategy over the last 2 weeks but plan on getting back to it next week after my celebrations this weekend.

Had a wonderful lunch with DH and the girls at a new restaurant. I had fish and chips and onion rings. They brought me a small cake. We also had some chicken fingers for an appetizer.

Having a great day! We are watching Project Runway right now and then we are planning on playing some Lego HP and Wii Sports Resort and hopefully watching a movie later. We ordered our Chinese food for tomorrow. We'll have to pick that up at 1 and also pick up ice and the cake in the morning. DD1 insisted that I have a Carvel ice cream cake tonight so that will be supper!

 

[brinalyn530]

Connie - Thanks for the shout out ! I was kind of wondering the same thing about it dying down near the end. Oh well, we'll keep each other company I guess!

I'm about to leave work so I wanted to wish everyone a happy, healthy weekend!

See you guys Monday!

Bree

 

[mikamah]

I'm about to leave work so I wanted to wish everyone a happy, healthy weekend!

See you guys Monday!

Bree

Have a wonderful weekend!!

The gum strategy really saved me at the movie theater on Wednesday. If I hadn't kept that piece of gum in my mouth from the time I got out of the car to the time I got back into the car, I would have eaten tons of popcorn - possibly without even knowing it. Another good at-home strategy is to only eat while seated at the table, even if I'm sitting there alone - no grazing while walking around the kitchen or munching in front of the TV. I do break this one occasionally, but I do believe that it is a good and helpful strategy.


~~~ This is my first challenge, so I'm curious... Is it always this dead nearing the end of the challenge?? It's weigh-in day, for Pete's sake, and exactly 9 people have posted in this thread today. I'm pretty sure I can hear crickets chirping in here...

Dona, Lisa, Pamela, Deb, Tracey, Bree, Jen and Taryn - I consider myself privileged to still be here and hangin' in with you guys today. I know there are others who will be here later and some faithfuls are out of pocket, but I was so surprised that we didn't hear from more folks this morning that I wanted to send y'all a special shout-out.

Nice job on the gum at the movies. That is a big accomplishment in my book. I try to sneak in a low fat bag of microwave popcorn for me.
on the crickets. I think in most of the challenges, it does quiet down gradually, but the summer seems moreso, just with vacations and the crazy busy lives of so many of us. And some of us can't post from work, and are very jealous of those who can.

You’re not the only one, Kathy! I’m declaring Sunday “no cell phone day” (no facebook, no texting, no calls unless someone is bleeding!) so I can top to bottom clean. I was so on track last month, but this month I’ve been seriously slacking on the cleaning !

The C25K is going great! I’m really excited for the 5k and getting kind of excited for the MCM10k (thank you Lindsay!). I need to play with mapmyrun though since I have no idea how far I’m going when doing the C25K – it would probably be helpful to know that right ?

Happy cleaning sunday!! I'm so happy you are enjoying the couch to 5K. I found it to be such a great program, and workable. Funny, I didn't really think about how far I was going until the longer runs toward the last few weeks. I just stuck with the times of the program, so officially never got to the full 5k, but did the 30 min, more like 2miles.

Happy Birthday Tracey

This is so fun!!

Happy 40th Tracey!!!Have a fabulous night and party tomorrow!!!

Well, I've got a little loss this week and I'm glad of that. I was hoping for better because I was REALLY good this week. Even when I didn't wanna be. I do not, in any way, expect to see my name in the Top 10 list this week. And, while I think it was really sweet of some of you to hang back so I can get all encouraged by being on the list, it's time to turn it up a notch - you have what it takes to knock me off that list permanently if you so choose.

Nice job on the loss, what is this 4 weeks in a row now? Maybe it's time for me to beat you next week!! Keep up the great work, Connie.

Missed my run this morning because we are still having some interesting weather. Major thunderstorms this morning, then it cleared up again and now it is really dark again. I did run 5 miles yesterday so today might need to be a day off.

I will be working on painting again today. Yesterday we finished all the touch-up painting in DD's room, painted a dresser for her and painted DS's room. We still need to paint his shelf units and 2 dressers for him. I am so tired of remodeling their bedrooms but it was time and they are looking nice.

The good thing about painting yesterday was that I was really busy all day so I did not have a chance to eat too much or snack. Then, when we lost power, I didn't day open the fridge much and I couldn't really cook anything. This kept me on track as well!

I thought of you and Jennz when I saw there were tornados in minnesota. How scary. Hope the storms are all behind you now. Nice job on the 5 miles, and not opening the fridge. You are always so positive, and I love the positive attitude about the loss of power being good to keeping you on track.

My STRATEGY to use on a DAILY basis to keep me on track is:
-- don't bring the bad stuff into the house
-- just say no to other people in the house who brought in bad stuff and want me to serve it, even though I am not going to eat it
-- cart my journal around everywhere and faithfully write down every single thing that goes in my mouth
-- use that dangerous time after work to review my journal and take care of any action item, ie, exercise that hasn't been done yet
-- do this day after day no matter how hard it is, how boring it is or how busy I am

This week-end I am going to map out my exercising and eating plan for the week as well as my training plan for the Princess. I can't just WISH my way to success here -- it's up to me to make sure it happens. ('cause I can't let myself stand in my way! )

Love your list. You are right, we can't just wish our way's there, it does take hard work and dedication, but it will be so rewarding when we reach our goals. I think about showing off that princess medal next february.

I wrote my resume today and applied for 2 jobs. That's a good start for me. Hopefully I'll feel less stress now that I'm getting things done.

Good luck.

I'm slightly scared this week. I am exhausted from the stress of being back at school, and I know this will only get worse as gymnastics ramps back up, a new class starts, and we are approaching the 1 year anniversary of Daddy's death. I've had some bad habits sneaking back in. A few brownies last night. No journaling at all this week. Too tired to worry about a dinner, so mindless tv eating. Tonight, it was a turkey breast. Not terribly unhealthy, I know, but the sheer quantity of turkey I ate scares me.

I know I feel less stressed to lose, and that's not all bad. I am pretty sure I'll have a maintain this week. Since I met my goal for the challenge, I would love to hit it really hard next week and eek out a pound or two more.

Recognizing that I am backsliding, knowing why, should help. If I can get a meal plan for the rest of the week, and see what I can do at night to get it going would help. If it were cooler, I'd do more crockpot dinners. But all my crockpot meals are what I consider to be "cool weather meals".

Sorry for the book, but I have been a little introspective and thoughtful this week. I feel like I lost the momemtum this week.

Hang in there, Taryn. You have so much going on, and aknowledging that and knowing why you might be having a hard time is so important. I know as my mom's anniversary approached, I did cut myself some slack, and made it a point to get my exercise in which definintely help with the emotions some days, but other days the memories of the year before would just bubble up from nowhere, and I'd find myself crying but other days, I could talk about the good times we shared. I hope the good memories of you daddy will bring you some laughter as his anniversary approaches.

Finally finished the course. I am glad that that is done for now. Have somethings to do for the fall and spring but I don't have to think about those now.

Yay!! Glad your course is done!!!

"Now a word about 'willpower'. Remove it from your vocabulary. Losing serious weight has nothing to do with that all-purpose buzzword that implies you're fat because you're a degenerate good-for-nothing. People hurl that word like a gauntlet....

It doesn't mean you are absolved of complicity in your weight gain. You opened your mouth, you chewed, you swallowed. But medical research and consensus of experts refutes the 'willpower' theory: Lasting weight loss is about strategy, not willpower."


What STRATEGY have you come up with to use on a DAILY basis to help keep you from diving into the chips/ice cream/cookies that we all encounter?

Journalling my food is the biggest strategy I've used to keep me on track, and reign me in as I start to snowball. I know I eat way healthier when I write it faithfully. I don't do it faithfully, but it is definitely my best strategy.

23 points
flipflopmom

25 points
jenanderson

28 points
connie96


A big congratulations to everyone on the list and thanks to everyone who sent in their numbers!

PART 1 WINNER = lisah0711
PART 2 WINNER = wofriedoodles!

Congrats all to all the cow particiapnts and the prize winners!!!!

I lost 3 pounds too! Hoping for a new decade before this challenge ends.

AI'm so proud of you with your getting right back on track, not getting too far into vacation mode, and your training! I think that we should have confidence in ourselves and register for the Princess -- we can do this! Thanks for the link to the Galloway stuff!


Here's the link to the whole article: http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=394

I know that when I am faithfully journalling that I do so much better than when I just track things in my head. So I am going to cart my spiral notebook with me everywhere I go and really put things on paper and see how I do!

Whoo hoo on the 3 pounds gone!!!! Nice way to get back in the wagon!! Thanks for the journalling article. It's something I know really helps me to be successful, yet I don't do it. This week I am on it for sure. Maybe we'll be in the top 10 next week!
I like the idea of registering for the princess, and making it real. We definitely can do this.

[Since we have had a drop in people participating in the COW...I am going to try to inspire you to give it a try again with at least the 2nd part! I recently came across this quote:

Hard things take time to do. Impossible things take a little longer.

For part 2 of the COW this week, share with us something that you thought would be impossible to do but is now a reality. It can be about your weight, body size, exercise, something new you do now that you never thought you could do...whatever!

For me, it's running. I have never liked to run, and as an adult, never ran until this past february. People here started talking about he c25k, and I knew how regular exercise could help boost the mind and help with depression, and I had been feeling pretty down after the holidays, so I started the c25k and actually am running still. It was hard, I felt like I was going to die many days, the first day, I couldn't run a full minute, but I perservered and am still doing it, and when I think I am actually planning to run/walk a half marathon, it still amazes me. I've taken is slow, and still am, but have a plan to slowly add a mile each month to my longer runs, and I will be able to do 13.1 in feb. I guess I should thank whoever here on the dis recommended the Enell running bra. I would not be running today without it. Best 60 bucks ever spent.

I"ve tracked my food all day, and am off to make dinner, and then we'll take a bike ride tonight. I've been good about getting my 3 runs a week in, but the past few weeks, I haven't done much else, so I want to change that. I was up .6 today, back to 210.2, and almost was going to reweigh tomorrow, but I accepted it, realized it could have been worse, and will see 209 next week, hopefully 208.

Enjoy your friday evening everyone.

 

[flipflopmom]

Hey everyone! I just finished my nap!

Happy birthday Tracey!!! I hope this weekend is AWESOME for you!!!!


Posting from my iPod touch on the couch, NO WAY I'm going to attempt quoting and smilies, so I'm just going to check in and reply later!

Woke up at 4:30this am. Couldn't sleep! Started cleaning our cabinets in the kitchen. I got 9 done before I had to get ready! We have a lot of cabinets, so I am still less than halfway there! By the time I thought about weigning, I'd had half a pot of coffee!! I'm going to wait until tomorrow.

Stayed at work until 5 everyday this week, or later, and I have been there by 7:45!!! I'll be glad when things settle in!

 

[Dahly]

Happy 40th Tracey!!!Have a great birthday weekend!

What a long Friday...work was brutal today, but it is over and it the weekend!


QOTD - i try to keep my temptation foods out of the house, namely vanilla ice cream, but DS and DH both want it, so I do get it for them. I have found some good WW ice cream bars, 1 and 2 points worth, that I like, so I have one of those while they enjoy the full fat stuff. I am not too much of sweets eater, other than a good piece of chocolate every once in a while. Chips can be a problem, my fav is ruffles and sour cream/onion dip, so I don't even go down the snack aisle at the store..i make DS or DH go get what they need.

Going to the Nature Center for a hike in the morning, hopefully it won't be too hot. No other plans for the weekend, but like many of you..I need to clean house!! That should be on the agenda for Sunday afternoon.

Happy Friday everyone!

 

[cclovesdis]

Hi Everyone,

No idea where to start with this post. I guess I'll attempt to answer the QOTD. Well, I've tried the keeping it out of the house strategy, but I'm not the only person who shops so that isn't so helpful. Plus, I'm notorious for actually going out specifically to buy something sugary and fat-filled. I really need to stop that. Anyone want to guess what I just did?

Ok, so what does work? Journaling, when I do it. Also, eating more slowly and talking through meals. You can't eat and talk at the same time.

Today was a mixed day. I started off really well and did great through dinner. I fell apart post-dinner. I am determined to make tomorrow a better day. I know I will spend a good amount of time in the pool tomorrow so that will help. We're having visitors for dinner tomorrow night and I have no idea what's on the menu except for corn on the cob. Tomorrow seems like a good day to take it one minute at a time, maybe even one bite at a time.

JenA-I think I'm going to make a chart for the next challenge. I am not usually one so motivated by extrinsic things, but ended BL 9 up about 10 pounds and it's looking like I'm going to end the summer challenge up close to 10 again. I need to take control of the situation and this might just be what I need. I know what to do; I just need to do it/them.

My big goal, in addition to losing weight, is to do the C25K outside and not just on the treadmill. I need to start walking outside and work my way up to Week 1 of the C25K.

Sorry for the vent.

Good news for the day: I maintained for the week. I will take it considering dinner last night was at the Cheesecake Factory. I love the food, but my weight loss efforts don't.

Happy Birthday Tracey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a great night everyone!

 

[pinkle]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRACEY!

I maintained again this week. I am 7lbs off my goal and it is soooo hard. I run 3 to 5 km , 5 days a week and very careful what I put in my mouth...no fried foods, rarely dessert and only good carbs!!! It's a journey that's for sure.
It looks like a will have to join the fall challenge as a loser not a maintainer!!!!