"Every-Day" 21-Day Challenge -- It's about acCOUNTability!!
Okay, everyone, as is the tradition, I start a new thread when I personally start a new challenge.
Below is a short explanation of how this challenge works so all you newcomers can take a look and decide if you're game or not! I hope you are! Hop aboard and enjoy the ride. We've got a great bunch of supportive people, so I hope you'll give us a try. A lot of people try for a while and then disappear.. I hope some of you will keep trying. There is NO shame in starting over. Remember, it's not over till you give up. And our motto around here is:
NEVER GIVE UP!!...Just start OVER!! EXPLANATION AND RULES:
It works like this: you decide you'll do something for 21 days straight, every single day, so keep it doable. Then you count ....one through 21.....and if you flub it, you MUST go back to zero and start over again. Everyone will be on different days. You can start anytime. At the beginning of the challenge you declare what level it is -- Level 1, 2, or 3. Level 1 means you feel it's a relatively easy challenge for you and means you only give yourself ONE pause day (see explanation of pause days below). Level 2 would give you two pause days and so on...
And taking NO pause days is what I'm going to call "aceing a challenge," as in "I'm aiming on aceing this one!" Yowzah!!
With a pause day you pause in your counting and continue the next day with the number you left off with. Pause days are NOT substitutes for days, i.e. Day 12 -- Day 13 -- Pause Day -- Day 14..... I suggest taking a pause day late in the game (better to go back to Day 1 early on) if you need a break or screw up when you're well into the challenge, meaning, when you're on Day 15 or something like that.
In any case, the trick is to keep going. The momentum builds and it's great incentive to stick to your guns, cause if you don't.........back to START you go. And the really great thing about this challenge is that you are forming new habits that will wipe out the old! AND, you get to do it with a great bunch of really supportive people to whom you are accountable! THREAD GUIDELINES:
In the interest of maintaining structure, a sense of solidarity and facilitating support I ask anyone who wishes to join this thread to please strive to follow the following guidelines while participating in this challenge and in posting.
1. Although this is a fabulous support group, the focus is to be on your CHALLENGE/S and/or other people's challenge/s AND weight loss, whether your challenge is about it or not. Please keep the challenge a priority, although we welcome chattiness! This means tell us what day you're on when you post and it's a good idea to make regular mention of just what your challenge is. This an action-based thread. Our members are ON a challenge, RESTARTING a challenge, or just in between and looking to start up again REAL SOON. We also welcome posts from admirers, encouragers, and old friends!
2. Please refrain from posting food logs or recipes, except where you are really looking for help and advice on your eating. If journaling is your challenge, please keep the journaling off the thread and in a notebook or blog and just tell us if you've done what you set out to do. We have ALL types of dieters here, low-carb, high-carb, low-fat, high-fat, vegetarians, meat-lovers...please use simple mentions if you have something you want to share and then links and/or private messages to do so.
3. Please do NOT go into glowing accounts of any slipups, food indulgences or binges, what we here call "food porn." Simple mentions are fine, but use of smilies etc. as substitutes where possible is encouraged.
4. Please keep this a secular thread. Of course, passing references to your beliefs, a bit of introduction about your beliefs, brief faith-related words of encouragement are fine.
5. Please show support, support, support! This is key. You can waffle on about yourself but please, at least occasionally,come up and look around at others and what they are doing and MENTION it with words of encouragement and/or praise or sympathy. We understand "busy," poor computer connections, and bouts of self-pity and life problems where the focus turns to "me" and dealing with those problems, but these should be temporary, not a habit! ('cept in the computer case.)
In conclusion, let me say, the above are just that, GUIDELINES. Please realize that these guidelines have been added in an attempt to keep this a supportive and beneficial thread, at the LEAST, to those who need it MOST, those for whom weight loss is the hardest and, more often than not, the most crucial as well as for those who still, perhaps despite great success, know all too well that the road they walk will always be a slippery one.
The guidelines are also meant to cultivate an atmosphere of consideration and concern for ALL, not individually, but AS A GROUP.
Day 3 5 minutes of intentional exercise - pause day Day 2 Record everything on www.fitday.com - done!!
I ended up spending hourds at the emergency room with one of my client, culminating in a 13 hour shift, so no extra exercise for me here. However, I have an extremely physically demanding job, so it's not a total loss.
Heh all. I'm mid pigout right now, pigout as in a few days of a sugar splurge etc. Going to put an end to it real soon before the damage is too great! I'll be in with a slew of challenges and this time I'm going to get really tough! I'm sick of being where I am, sick of seeing the fat in the riding arena mirrors. Yeah, OK, OK, I know you gotta be a stick to look good on a horse, but still, I need to get this weight down!
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sweet pea -- I'm so very sorry to hear about your cat. That must have been sickening to find her dead. I hope she wasn't too bad. It's my worst nightmare, to find one of my babies dead on the road. I did find one once but he had no signs of outer injury so I really don't know what happened. Another one of mine I found bloody and dead in the entranceway when I got home, but that was sickness I think. Another I found dead in the room, maybe a heart attack. Anyhow, I'm just saying, it's such a shock when you're not expecting it. I know how bad you must feel. The ones that go, I always try to think of them as still being with me, watching me in spirit. Maybe that would help you to think of that. In any case, a warm, consoling hug to you.
Well, I don't have time to write now...I'm beat and going to turn in. Catch up later. Rhia, welcome aboard!
Day 18 - 4 servings of fruit/vegetables per day - good - 1 pause left
Day 18 - No smoking - good - no pauses allowed!
Day 8 - Calories under 1800 - good - 2 pauses left
Just had a moment to report in. Got to run already this morning! Have a great day everyone.
Ok, everyone, I'm starting up 7, yes 7!!!, new challenges. Here they are. I've even added the dreaded calorie count. Sunday, Feb. 11 is Day 1!!
No sugar -- Day 0 completed/3 pauses left No alcohol -- Day 0 completed/3 pauses left No processed foods -- Day 0 completed/3 pauses left Fresh vegetable juice -- Day 1 completed/3 pauses left Food/Exercise Journal -- Day 0 completed/3 pauses left Calories counted/aim 2,000 -- Day 0 completed/3 pauses left Crunches -- Day 0 completed/3 pauses left
Last edited by redballoon; 02-11-2007 at 12:04 AM.
Calories - <1500, day 7, 1 pause taken
Vege/fruit - at least 5 servings per day, day 8, no pauses taken
Food log every day, day 8, no pauses taken
Exercise - 30 minutes per day, day 8, no pauses taken
I like the first day when Red starts a new thread. Feels like a fresh start, even though we're all in various stages of our challenges.
Red - 7 challenges???? And several of them look very difficult to me. You're an inspiration!
Rhia - I keep looking at fitday, but it seems to complication, so I'm just using an Excel spreadsheet. Is it difficult once you get started?
DJ - you're doing well. Hope it's warmed out out there now.
Ashley103 - I thought fitday looked too complicated at first too until I realized how easy it is once you get going. I have all the foods I eat regularly added to my custom food list so i just click on that food and it adds everything for me! That way I don't have to enter in the number of calories every time i eat that food :O
well, I have to try and remember where I left off with this hmmm No Alcohol(Level 1) COMPLETE (1 pause used)
Count calories(Level 1) COMPLETE (0/1 pauses used) 15 min exercise(Level 3) ON DAY 17 (3/3 pauses used)
64 oz water(Level 3) ON DAY 1 (0/3 pauses used)
I have to start over the water one :/ For some reason this is like my hardest one! I can go 21 days counting everything I eat and drinking no alcohol but i cant drink a few cups of water lol. Ive had my 64 oz today though
Hey guys...love the challenge idea. I'm starting off with 4 challenges beginning Sunday February 11
1. getting in at least 64 oz. each day
2. logging in all my points for WW
3. 1,000 crunches each day
4. writing in my journal
*NO PAUSES ALLOWED*
Ashley103 I've found it really easy to use, with the click down menu functions, but user-interface preferences are so personal. Just take your time, oor kep using excel, whatever works.
Day 4 record everything on fitday, no pauses taken
I'm going to have to start again with the intentional exercise thing, I'll have to see how the day goes. I've just been really overwhelmed/unmotivated these last couple of days.
Awesome thread! I know I have a lot but they realy are ones I am currently working on that are really important to me!
Day 0Calories 1200 -1400 1 pause left Day 0Daily Chores 2 paused left Day 0 IRON PILL #1 no pauses allowed Day 0IRON PILL #2 no pauses allowed Day 0 Home School Schedule 2 pauses allowed Day 0 Power 90 video - no pauses allowed since it has pauses already!
Calories - <1500, day 8, 1 pause taken
Vege/fruit - at least 5 servings per day, day 9, no pauses taken
Food log every day, day 9, no pauses taken
Exercise - 30 minutes per day, day 9, no pauses taken
Elle - Welcome to the challenge. I have to ask - 1,000 crunches per day??? Wow!!!
Susisam - Welcome to you also. What is "home school schedule?" Are you a student or the teacher?
Rab - I never put drinking water as a challenge because I guzzle it constantly. For some reason, drinking sufficiently is easy. Eating 5 vege/fruit per day continues to be my biggest challenge. Some days I get to 8:00 and have to force myself to eat 3 servings.
No sugar -- Day 1 completed/3 pauses left
No alcohol -- Day 0 completed/3 pauses left
No processed foods -- Day 0 completed/3 pauses left
Fresh vegetable juice -- Day 1 completed/3 pauses left
Food Journal w/cal. estimate -- Day 0 completed/3 pauses left
Crunches -- Day 1 completed/3 pauses left
Ok, I'm revising the calorie thing. I'm just not ready for a count yet because I just don't have the time to be spending trying to figure it out, but as a starter (and I do plan on getting there in the next round or so) I am going to combine the food journal and a calorie estimate each day!
I am having to restart the alcohol and no processed foods and the latter will not have liftoff till tomorrow at that. BUT, sugar, alcohol, veg juice, journal AND crunches are getting a day notched TODAY!!
Sushi -- Good to see you back with us! Go ahead, you can say what you're staying off. I think it starts with a "ch" and ends with a "te" and has three syllables, no? It's OK to say it, just don't give us too much detail, kind of a la fantasy! And no coffee?! Wow. Aren't you going through severe withdrawal? How much were you drinking. I get withdrawal headaches if I miss my morning dose by a few hours. I know. It's bad. I am going to try to cut back again. It's been creeping up again, the amount I have daily. Well, good luck!
Ashley -- You're looking good. Thanks for the kind words about the new thread and my challenges. You can see, I chickened out on the hardest one, the one I most need to do, but I'm still trying to aim toward that, just with a nudging-in kind of challenge. I'm like you with water, love to guzzle it. I always have a bottle within reach.
sumi -- Welcome aboard! Glad you like the thread! You've got some tough challenges there! Such a low calorie count! Are you sure that's OK? Also, I'm wondering by the looks of your photo just where you are going to find the weight to lose?! Ok, it's a head shot but you look pretty thin to me! By the way, I see one of your daughters has a Japanese name and your handle sounds Japanese too. What's up? As you can see, I live in Tokyo, am American but have been here for years and years!
Rhia -- Good work on the food recording. Sorry to hear you're feeling out of sorts with the exercise, but come on, you can do some intentional exercise! You can! You can! Just do some floor exercises or something.
Elle -- Welcome to our thread! Yes, 1,000 crunches! Yowzah! I do 200 and think that's so-so. I could double it easily enough but five times that??? Don't think so. Well, good luck!
Rab -- You did it!! On both alcohol and calories! Hoorah for you! Three cheers! And you're close on the exercise! Amazing stuff, you!!!
dj -- Where are you? Everything going OK out there? Getting real close on those two challenges! Best of luck!
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Heh others, come in and post! Shad, Apple, we didn't lose you on the old thread, did we? sweet pea, jolly? Don't desert us!
Turning in on Sunday...here's where I stand..didn't do the journal. Going to start that up with the no processed foods tomorrow. You betcha!
No sugar -- Day 2 completed/3 pauses left
No alcohol -- Day 1 completed/3 pauses left
No processed foods -- Day 0 completed/3 pauses left
Fresh vegetable juice -- Day 2 completed/3 pauses left
Food Journal w/cal. estimate -- Day 0 completed/3 pauses left
Crunches -- Day2 completed/3 pauses left
"Every-Day" 21-Day Challenge -- It's about acCOUNTability!!
And the really great thing about this challenge is that you are forming new habits that will wipe out the old! AND, you get to do it with a great bunch of really supportive people to whom you are accountable! 
This means tell us what day you're on when you post and it's a good idea to make regular mention of just what your challenge is. This an action-based thread. Our members are ON a challenge, RESTARTING a challenge, or just in between and looking to start up again REAL SOON. 
We also welcome posts from admirers, encouragers, and old friends!
etc. as substitutes where possible is encouraged. 
the party's almost over!!
I'll be in with a slew of challenges and this time I'm going to get really tough! 
I'm sick of being where I am, sick of seeing the fat in the riding arena mirrors. Yeah, OK, OK, I know you gotta be a stick to look good on a horse, but still, I need to get this weight down! 
do or die!
taking it down a notch....
but as a starter (and I do plan on getting there in the next round or so) I am going to combine the food journal and a calorie estimate each day!
welcome newbies!
Go ahead, you can say what you're staying off. I think it starts with a "ch" and ends with a "te" and has three syllables, no? 
And no coffee?! Wow. Aren't you going through severe withdrawal? How much were you drinking. I get withdrawal headaches if I miss my morning dose by a few hours. I know. It's bad. I am going to try to cut back again. It's been creeping up again, the amount I have daily. Well, good luck! 
Glad you like the thread! 
You've got some tough challenges there! Such a low calorie count! Are you sure that's OK? Also, I'm wondering by the looks of your photo just where you are going to find the weight to lose?! 
Ok, it's a head shot but you look pretty thin to me! 
Just do some floor exercises or something.
Yes, 1,000 crunches! Yowzah! I do 200 and think that's so-so. I could double it easily enough but five times that??? 
Don't think so. Well, good luck! 
Everything going OK out there? Getting real close on those two challenges! Best of luck! 