WISH Wellness Awesome October Challenge

[lisah0711]

Welcome to the WISH Wellness Awesome October Challenge!

It's always been an option that the monthly hostess can run the challenge as they choose. This is a test of a possible new challenge format since it is the last month for our monthly weight loss challenges formerly known as the Biggest Loser Challenge and WISH Away the Pounds. As many of you know, those formats have run their course. I don't know what a new challenge format might look like but I want to discuss the future of these challenges this month.

How this month's challenge works:
The goal of this month's challenge is to promote healthy living through improving daily habits regardless of whether you are trying to lose weight, or maintain, or simply improve your healthy lifestyle. This month you get to measure your success without reference to an arbitrary number on a scale and instead you are rewarded for using common sense and accountability and support to help you to establish healthy habits and foster an attitude of living well instead of living without.

Each Wednesday, starting October 1st, I will post a new healthy habit for the week. You can earn one point a day for each day you meet the healthy habit goal for a maximum of 7 points a week for following through with the healthy habit. At the end of the week your post your success by stating the number of days you were able to do the habit and I will post the weekly results based on the following:
1/7 Blue
2/7 Magenta
3/7 Dark Orchid
4/7 Orange
5/7 Turquoise
6/7 Red
7/7 WISH lime green

I will also post a discussion question about the weekly habit. If someone wants to volunteer to post another question that week that is Disney related or on some other topic that would be great!

The next week we will have a new healthy habit to work on. For October 2014 there will be five habits. Each week stands alone. Hopefully you will build on your healthy habits but as far as the challenge is concerned each week is a new start.

Challenge results will be updated once a week. If you miss sending in your number, no big deal, just send an update when you can but be understanding about how quickly the results are updated. Please understand that this is a volunteer job and the hostess will only be updating about once a week.

Good luck! I look forward to seeing everyone meet their healthy living goals!

 

[lisah0711]

Participants:

BernardandMissBianca
camnhan
donac
Flossbolna
JennStars9
lisah0711
OZMom
pjlla
Rose&Mike
SarahDisney
Zoesmama03

Weekly challenge results Week 1 (fruit/veggies):
Flossbolna
JennStars9
lisah0711
SarahDisney
Zoesmama03

Weekly challenge results Week2 (dairy/calcium)
Flossbolna
JennStars9
lisah0711
OhMom
pjlla
SarahDisney

Weekly challenge results Week3 (exercise)
Flossbolna
JennStars9
lisah0711
pjlla
SarahDisney

Weekly challenge results Week4 (tracking)
Flossbolna
lisah0711
SarahDisney

 

[lisah0711]

This challenges starts on October 1st! I will give you a hint about the first week's healthy habit -- be sure you have plenty of fruits and vegetables on hand.

 

[lisah0711]

One discussion topic will be posted on Wednesday with the habit for the week and another question will be posted on Saturday. I will take care of the Wednesday question but need some help for the Saturday question.

And remember our ongoing discussion topic for the month is what future challenges might look like.

Additional question schedule -- any volunteers?

October 4 lisah0711
October 11lisah0711
October 18 Flossbolna
October 25 pjlla

Future challenge hosts:

November 2014
December 2014
January 2015
February 2015

These challenges are "run" by volunteers and it takes everyone participating to make a successful challenge. Unfortunately they may be ending soon if we don't get some more folks to participate so don't be shy and step up if you value these challenges!

 

[Flossbolna]

I am in!!

I am happy to help with additional questions! Is there any schedule for those?

I really like the other format! It will be interesting to try it out. It seems that my question on goals was able to spark some of your creativity with coming up with a different format to try out. I like that it is designed to motivate by setting goals outside of the weight loss.

I know that we went over to the new format because the Biggest Loser format was failing as well, but I did recently wonder whether the competitive nature was not a good thing to have. Since my sister and BIL got fitbits and we compete against each other, it made me put in more effort. But then weight loss is so subjective and everyone has different starting points, so it seems such an unfair competition...

 

[SarahDisney]

I'm here!

Unfortunately I can't help with the questions this month because I'm never available on Saturdays, but ... if you decide that you need any help with the Wednesday questions, I can help with those!

I'm interested to see how this new format works out - I hope it gets people very involved!

 

[Rose&Mike]

I am in.

Probably will not be around much for the next several days, but starting next week I should have a little more time.

I definitely need to revisit some healthy habits!

 

[Flossbolna]

I am in.

Probably will not be around much for the next several days, but starting next week I should have a little more time.

I definitely need to revisit some healthy habits!

Rose, great to see you back here!! I was just wondering how you were doing yesterday. I hope your life has not been too stressful!!

 

[JennStars9]

I am up for a new challenge. I have been frustrated with my weigh-ins, but I am trying not to let it get to me. I am looking forward to trying this new format. Maybe if I stop focusing so much on the numbers on the scale, I can make some progress.

 

[lisah0711]

Good morning all! Welcome to the WISH Wellness Awesome October Challenge!

We are changing our focus this month and ditching the scale and using other things to measure our success.

And just in time is a little article that showed up in my FB feed from myfitnesspal.com

The Only Goal-Getting Tip You’ll Ever Need

I like to think of goals as Point B—that place you want to get to from here (Point A). And, obviously, you want to find the path that gets you from Point A to Point B the most quickly. This idea is simple enough, but it can be surprisingly hard to execute.

We all struggle to get to Point B. And staying focused on it without losing hope that we can ever get there is tough—it’s far too easy to become distracted and to beat ourselves up for not making progress. But when I was a young Marine Corps Officer Candidate, I learned a great tip that has proven to be the only tip I’ve ever needed to reach my goals.

Every morning, I went to the Berkeley Marine Corps Officer Selection Office to workout with the other candidates. These workouts were led by a Master Sergeant with 22 years in uniform and 5 tours of duty under his belt. His biceps were so large the Marine Corps made special shirts for him, and his smile was even bigger. Every day after physical training, the Master Sergeant would ask us one question about the rest of our day: “What are you going to do to make your life better today?”

I answered this question countless times during my 14 months of officer candidacy, and it slowly dawned on me that the most important word in that question was all the way at the end of the sentence: today.

The Master Sergeant didn’t ask us what we did yesterday, or so far that day—that was the past, and didn’t matter anymore. And he didn’t want us to make promises or predictions about distant days in the future, either. He cared about how we were going to use that day—today—to reach our goals.

We knew we would be seeing him again tomorrow, so it was clear that we couldn’t get away with the same answer for long. But he never judged the answer as long as we were being realistic about what were we going to do to make the world a little better between that moment and when our heads hit our pillows.

I took that lesson to my clients as my slogan, “Have the courage to aim low, but often.”

Many of us tell ourselves that our Point B is “six pack abs,” “to weigh what I did in college,” or even “lose 30 pounds.” These are Big Goals that take months and years to accomplish. So big, in fact, that it’s easy to get tripped up trying to plan, strategize, out think, and power through. But all you really need to do to make progress TODAY is to remember that you can. You can make your life better today by making choices that eventually add up to that Big Goal.

There are many goal-achievement tips out there, and none of them are wrong. This one is just easier.

So what can you do to get closer to your goal today?

Here is the link to the entire article:
- See more at: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/2014/0...=mfp&utm_medium=Facebook#sthash.zW4hJwUk.dpuf

The format for the month goes along with this philosophy of concentrating on small changes that can add up to big results and build a healthy lifestyle.

Some of you who are veterans of the Biggest Loser Challenges will recall the Healthy Habits component that was used for quite a long time.

BRB with this week's Healthy Habit!

 

[lisah0711]

This week's healthy habit is eat FIVE servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

You get one point for each day you hit 5 servings. This challenge starts on Wednesday, October 1st and end Tuesday, October 7th. Report your results by posting on Tuesday or Wednesday. There will be new habit for the following week.

How do you get your 5 a day and how much is a serving you ask? Well, here is a bit of help from our friends at sparkpeople.com

Easy Ways to Get 5 a Day

"Eat your fruits and vegetables." We've heard it all of our lives. If only it were so simple.

Our bodies crave fruits and vegetables more than just about any other food because we tend to get far fewer of them than we need. We often think we'd survive just fine on 2-3 servings a day – or less. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the USDA both recommend at least 5 servings per day! What you’re missing could be the difference between just surviving and all out thriving.

With just a little thought and a tiny bit of effort in snack preparation, you can make these nutritious foods more convenient and accessible.

Tips and Tricks

Add fruit to your cereal, oatmeal, waffles or pancakes at breakfast.

Create your own yogurt flavors with plain yogurt and different combinations of fresh fruit.

Snack on raw vegetables or fruits instead of chips or pretzels. Keep sugar snap peas, raisins or carrot sticks in your car, your office or your backpack.

Use chunky salsa instead of thick, creamy snack dips.

Add frozen veggies to any pasta dish. It's an easy way to get in another serving of the good stuff.

Keep fruits and vegetables in line of sight. Grapes, oranges, bananas, and apples make a colorful bowl arrangement on the table. If you see them, you will eat them.

When cooking vegetables, makes 2-3 times more than you need and immdiately store the extra away for tomorrow. It'll save you time later on.

Add your own beans and vegetables (tomatoes, spinach, peppers, cabbage) to canned and quick-serve soups.

If you have pizza, load on extra veggies and pineapple instead of fatty meats and extra cheese.

Try berries, melons or dates for a naturally sweet dessert rather than the usual candy bar, cookie, or ice cream sandwich.

Frozen fruit and veggies are nearly as healthy as the fresh stuff, and only take minutes to prepare.

Combine fruit with your main meal courses. Raisins, apples and tangerine slices add sweet, crunchy variety to a salad. Apples complement pork, pineapple is great with fish, and orange slices are perfect with chicken.

Besides being packed full of nutrients, fruits and vegetables can also be quite filling. They may even ward off any empty calorie snacking that might follow! Don’t be discouraged by the recommended 5 servings a day. The guide below shows that one serving is less than what you might think.

One serving equals:
1 medium piece of fruit
1/2 cup fruit (raw, canned, or frozen)
1/2 cup cooked vegetables (canned or frozen)
1 cup raw vegetables
1/4 cup dried fruit
4-6 oz. of 100% juice (serving size depends on the type of juice)
1/2 cup cooked peas or beans

Here is a link to the entire article http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=161

WISH Musing, October 1, 2014: Do you get five servings of fruits and vegetables in every day? Share you favorite ways to add fruits and veggies to your meals and tell us how what you are eating this week.

 

[lisah0711]

I am in!!

I am happy to help with additional questions! Is there any schedule for those?

I really like the other format! It will be interesting to try it out. It seems that my question on goals was able to spark some of your creativity with coming up with a different format to try out. I like that it is designed to motivate by setting goals outside of the weight loss.

I know that we went over to the new format because the Biggest Loser format was failing as well, but I did recently wonder whether the competitive nature was not a good thing to have. Since my sister and BIL got fitbits and we compete against each other, it made me put in more effort. But then weight loss is so subjective and everyone has different starting points, so it seems such an unfair competition...

Yes, our goal discussion was a good way to think about other ways to measure success. I have seen several articles recently about concentrating on the process instead of being tied to the scale so it seemed like a good fit for something new. We will see how it goes.

I'm here!

Unfortunately I can't help with the questions this month because I'm never available on Saturdays, but ... if you decide that you need any help with the Wednesday questions, I can help with those!

I'm interested to see how this new format works out - I hope it gets people very involved!

Thanks for volunteering to help with a Wednesday question, Sarah! I'll send you a PM so we can pick a day and so you'll have a heads up about the habit for that week. Thanks!

I put a schedule for the Saturday question volunteers. We are also going to need volunteers for hostessing for future months if we are going to continue.

I am in.

Probably will not be around much for the next several days, but starting next week I should have a little more time.

I definitely need to revisit some healthy habits!

So nice to see you, Rose!

I am up for a new challenge. I have been frustrated with my weigh-ins, but I am trying not to let it get to me. I am looking forward to trying this new format. Maybe if I stop focusing so much on the numbers on the scale, I can make some progress.

Jenn! I think we are all suffering a bit from scale fatigue.

 

[lisah0711]

I am adding a link from the CDC website regarding what a serving of fruits and vegetables looks like.

http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/fruitsvegetables/index.html?s_cid=tw_ob191

I noticed the sparkpeople article included beans and peas and there is different treatment for those items under the USDA guidelines and most eating plans that wasn't addressed in the article.

For the challenge it's up to you what you call a serving of fruits and vegetables -- these are simply guidelines.

 

[Flossbolna]

WISH Musing, October 1, 2014: Do you get five servings of fruits and vegetables in every day? Share you favorite ways to add fruits and veggies to your meals and tell us how what you are eating this week.

Great first challenge! I tend to think that I am quite good with eating my vegetables and fruit. I usually have fruit in my morning oats (apple or berries) and another fruit snack while I am at work (usually banana or apple, sometimes both). I am looking forward to the orange and tangerine season though! I try to have some veggies with both lunch and dinner. Often those meals are very vegetable based. One of my favourite easy dinners is oven roasted vegetables. I am trying at the moment to cut out more and more carbs and focus more on getting full from lean protein and vegetables. I think I am making progress in that regard.

It will be great to actually make an effort to watch what I am doing and track it! I already found out that my fruit portions most likely are more 3/4 of a cup than a full cup as I tend to buy smaller fruits.

 

[camnhan]

But I am in for some new challenges Have missed you all! Can't wait to get back in the swing of things

 

[OZMom]

I'm in!!

 

[camnhan]

WOW look at those signature tickers
I need a new one for a trip or something.....

 

[pjlla]

I'm in for October, of course! No time right now to read and chat, as I am off to work.... but I wanted to be sure that my seat was reserved!...........P

 

[Zoesmama03]

I'm in for October, of course. So close to my mini goal. Hope to reach it by November.

This challenges starts on October 1st! I will give you a hint about the first week's healthy habit -- be sure you have plenty of fruits and vegetables on hand.

Yay!! I'm going to start with my aim at 5 servings of veggies but my goal is 10 servings veggies a day by end of month. Can be difficult but I'll have to plan our menus carefully. I'm work on methods from The Calorie Myth book. Hormonally we have to be balanced to really see it work right. So most is in the kitchen and getting enough protein and 10 servings of non-starchy veggies will be interesting. I love veggies just cost that scares me.

I am in!!

I am happy to help with additional questions! Is there any schedule for those?

I really like the other format! It will be interesting to try it out. It seems that my question on goals was able to spark some of your creativity with coming up with a different format to try out. I like that it is designed to motivate by setting goals outside of the weight loss.

I know that we went over to the new format because the Biggest Loser format was failing as well, but I did recently wonder whether the competitive nature was not a good thing to have. Since my sister and BIL got fitbits and we compete against each other, it made me put in more effort. But then weight loss is so subjective and everyone has different starting points, so it seems such an unfair competition...

Yep everyone has a different path and slow and steady is even better than competing to have the highest in so many ways. I'll be willing to take a Saturday question too if a schedule is set up. I've never done this but sure I can find something.

I am up for a new challenge. I have been frustrated with my weigh-ins, but I am trying not to let it get to me. I am looking forward to trying this new format. Maybe if I stop focusing so much on the numbers on the scale, I can make some progress.

I've been frustrated with my scale I think its just plain worn out. I'm ready to focus on some menu planning and food I eat more.

Good morning all! Welcome to the WISH Wellness Awesome October Challenge!

We are changing our focus this month and ditching the scale and using other things to measure our success.

And just in time is a little article that showed up in my FB feed from myfitnesspal.com

The Only Goal-Getting Tip You’ll Ever Need

I like to think of goals as Point B—that place you want to get to from here (Point A). And, obviously, you want to find the path that gets you from Point A to Point B the most quickly. This idea is simple enough, but it can be surprisingly hard to execute.

We all struggle to get to Point B. And staying focused on it without losing hope that we can ever get there is tough—it’s far too easy to become distracted and to beat ourselves up for not making progress. But when I was a young Marine Corps Officer Candidate, I learned a great tip that has proven to be the only tip I’ve ever needed to reach my goals.

Every morning, I went to the Berkeley Marine Corps Officer Selection Office to workout with the other candidates. These workouts were led by a Master Sergeant with 22 years in uniform and 5 tours of duty under his belt. His biceps were so large the Marine Corps made special shirts for him, and his smile was even bigger. Every day after physical training, the Master Sergeant would ask us one question about the rest of our day: “What are you going to do to make your life better today?”

I answered this question countless times during my 14 months of officer candidacy, and it slowly dawned on me that the most important word in that question was all the way at the end of the sentence: today.

The Master Sergeant didn’t ask us what we did yesterday, or so far that day—that was the past, and didn’t matter anymore. And he didn’t want us to make promises or predictions about distant days in the future, either. He cared about how we were going to use that day—today—to reach our goals.

We knew we would be seeing him again tomorrow, so it was clear that we couldn’t get away with the same answer for long. But he never judged the answer as long as we were being realistic about what were we going to do to make the world a little better between that moment and when our heads hit our pillows.

I took that lesson to my clients as my slogan, “Have the courage to aim low, but often.”

Many of us tell ourselves that our Point B is “six pack abs,” “to weigh what I did in college,” or even “lose 30 pounds.” These are Big Goals that take months and years to accomplish. So big, in fact, that it’s easy to get tripped up trying to plan, strategize, out think, and power through. But all you really need to do to make progress TODAY is to remember that you can. You can make your life better today by making choices that eventually add up to that Big Goal.

There are many goal-achievement tips out there, and none of them are wrong. This one is just easier.

So what can you do to get closer to your goal today?

Here is the link to the entire article:
- See more at: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/2014/0...=mfp&utm_medium=Facebook#sthash.zW4hJwUk.dpuf

The format for the month goes along with this philosophy of concentrating on small changes that can add up to big results and build a healthy lifestyle.

Some of you who are veterans of the Biggest Loser Challenges will recall the Healthy Habits component that was used for quite a long time.

BRB with this week's Healthy Habit!

This week's healthy habit is eat FIVE servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

You get one point for each day you hit 5 servings. This challenge starts on Wednesday, October 1st and end Tuesday, October 7th. Report your results by posting on Tuesday or Wednesday. There will be new habit for the following week.

How do you get your 5 a day and how much is a serving you ask? Well, here is a bit of help from our friends at sparkpeople.com

Easy Ways to Get 5 a Day

"Eat your fruits and vegetables." We've heard it all of our lives. If only it were so simple.

Our bodies crave fruits and vegetables more than just about any other food because we tend to get far fewer of them than we need. We often think we'd survive just fine on 2-3 servings a day – or less. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the USDA both recommend at least 5 servings per day! What you’re missing could be the difference between just surviving and all out thriving.

With just a little thought and a tiny bit of effort in snack preparation, you can make these nutritious foods more convenient and accessible.

Tips and Tricks

Add fruit to your cereal, oatmeal, waffles or pancakes at breakfast.

Create your own yogurt flavors with plain yogurt and different combinations of fresh fruit.

Snack on raw vegetables or fruits instead of chips or pretzels. Keep sugar snap peas, raisins or carrot sticks in your car, your office or your backpack.

Use chunky salsa instead of thick, creamy snack dips.

Add frozen veggies to any pasta dish. It's an easy way to get in another serving of the good stuff.

Keep fruits and vegetables in line of sight. Grapes, oranges, bananas, and apples make a colorful bowl arrangement on the table. If you see them, you will eat them.

When cooking vegetables, makes 2-3 times more than you need and immdiately store the extra away for tomorrow. It'll save you time later on.

Add your own beans and vegetables (tomatoes, spinach, peppers, cabbage) to canned and quick-serve soups.

If you have pizza, load on extra veggies and pineapple instead of fatty meats and extra cheese.

Try berries, melons or dates for a naturally sweet dessert rather than the usual candy bar, cookie, or ice cream sandwich.

Frozen fruit and veggies are nearly as healthy as the fresh stuff, and only take minutes to prepare.

Combine fruit with your main meal courses. Raisins, apples and tangerine slices add sweet, crunchy variety to a salad. Apples complement pork, pineapple is great with fish, and orange slices are perfect with chicken.

Besides being packed full of nutrients, fruits and vegetables can also be quite filling. They may even ward off any empty calorie snacking that might follow! Don’t be discouraged by the recommended 5 servings a day. The guide below shows that one serving is less than what you might think.

One serving equals:
1 medium piece of fruit
1/2 cup fruit (raw, canned, or frozen)
1/2 cup cooked vegetables (canned or frozen)
1 cup raw vegetables
1/4 cup dried fruit
4-6 oz. of 100% juice (serving size depends on the type of juice)
1/2 cup cooked peas or beans

Here is a link to the entire article http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=161

WISH Musing, October 1, 2014: Do you get five servings of fruits and vegetables in every day? Share you favorite ways to add fruits and veggies to your meals and tell us how what you are eating this week.

Early in months I usually get 5 or more yes but lack of planning and not shopping from a list sometimes leads me to lack of budget to keep it up the whole month.

I am adding a link from the CDC website regarding what a serving of fruits and vegetables looks like.

http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/fruitsvegetables/index.html?s_cid=tw_ob191

I noticed the sparkpeople article included beans and peas and there is different treatment for those items under the USDA guidelines and most eating plans that wasn't addressed in the article.

For the challenge it's up to you what you call a serving of fruits and vegetables -- these are simply guidelines.

Thanks for link I'll be referring to this a little later as I start my meal planning for Oct.

WOW look at those signature tickers
I need a new one for a trip or something.....

I want one to show my next trip but it's not planned. I know we are going to work really hard to get to Florida to see family and of course WDW sometime in 2015. I'd love to get to Disneyland and California Adventures this year but not sure I can make it. Wanted to try for Oct but just not happening. Maybe in spring while Florida would be Oct 2015 or so.

 

[SarahDisney]

WISH Musing, October 1, 2014: Do you get five servings of fruits and vegetables in every day? Share you favorite ways to add fruits and veggies to your meals and tell us how what you are eating this week.

If by "every day" you mean "every 2 days" ... then yes. I'm terrible with fruits and vegetables. I don't know why, because I love a lot of fruits and vegetables ... I just don't seem to eat them much. I do have a peach/banana smoothie planned for breakfast tomorrow (smoothie is already made, but it's a little thick so I'll add something to thin it out a bit tomorrow, and maybe have some toast or something with it).
I know that I have to make an effort to get in my 5 servings ... hopefully for the next week I can do it (and hopefully I can do it beyond the next week, too!)

WOW look at those signature tickers
I need a new one for a trip or something.....

I know the feeling ... that time between when a trip ends and when I plan the next trip is super sad for me.

Hello to everyone (both people I know from previous months and people I don't know yet)! I'm really looking forward to this challenge and I hope we all have a great October.