"Every-Day" 21-Day Challenge -- We've got your number!!
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.
Well, all's said. Please join us!!
Last edited by redballoon; 11-23-2007 at 06:34 AM.
OK. I took a pause today on the workout - had a bad night's sleep, then to be honest just didn't feel like it after work. I hadn't packed a bag as I thought I had to work a second shift, so just didn't go. My bad.
So, I am on day 9 on daily posting and daily 3 sets of abs, and day 8 on following menu and daily workouts.
Have a good weekend everyone. I am having a bunch of folks over tomorrow for a chili dinner. Should be fun!
Jolly
Nothing wrong with a little break every now and then. I had to go in and see the doc about my knee today. She said doing these exercises 7 days a week is not good. I need to take a couple of days off a week. Wish I knew that before I made my challenge lol. This is day 5 and I don't want to have to do 5 days over again lol.
Day 5
Met all challenges. It is cold in my den and I am done typing for the night lol.
Hi there. Glad to see some of you found your way over to the new thread. As it happened, I was not able to start any new challenges yesterday. Just as I was setting up the new thread and going to think on things, an unexpected visitor turned up, so there went the evening. Yesterday, at the races, it's impossible to do much of anything but grab whatever food is around at odd times. Ugh. It'll be a repeat of yesteday today. At least I steered clear of all alcohol yesterday. Sure, I could start some challenge that wouldn't mean too much but what's the point? I'm doing those kind of things already. The REAL challenge will be one that actually gets down and hits the nitty gritty, the core of my problem, still eating too much to lose weight, and perhaps more crucial, being inconsistent because of my crazy lifestyle/hours. Let me think some more....
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dj -- good to see you here. But you had been posting, right? At least I remember seeing you, though not as much as before perhaps. Yes, definitely come in here and help out. I need you!
Shy -- Too bad about the knee. Why don't you just try changing the exercises a bit or rotating the ones that hit your knee. You can do upper body only one day, then lower body, or just lay off the knee ones for a while until your knee is better.
jolly -- Yeah, don't fret the pause day. That's what they're there for. The dinner sounds fun. Hope you can keep it to moderation.
Day 6 and 7
Met all challenges. If the knee bothers me I just ease up on that part of the videos. Seems to not be hurting again. One day it is great; another day it is bothering me. Driveing me nuts. lol
Hey all. Shy, what I did to keep my challenge and allow for no exercise days was to do a workout plan, and my challenge was to follow the plan. That way, if your doctor says to only workout 3 days a week, then that is the plan. Just an idea.
I did take a pause on my menu today. Just bad eating choices all around. But I did make it to the gym, AND did the two mile walk with the pup. Not too bad.
Day 11 - daily posting and daily abs (3 sets)
Day 10 - daily workout
Day 9 - follow menu
Jolly
That is a great idea. To bad I didn't think of it 7 days ago lol. I did stick to my challenges just modified them a bit for the knee. Didn't push the knee hard like i normally would when it hurts.
Hi people. The weekend of racing is over, but I have a story to write now. Ugh. Just want to get it all past me so I can spend sometime with ME alone! I really, really need it.
I am still horribly bloated feeling and around my eyes is puffy. I've never had this for so long and it is really making me look awful. Don't know what's wrong as I don't think I've been taking in any more sodium than usual. Very strange. And it's REALLY bugging me. I have thrown all efforts to lose weight to the wind, I am so disgusted. This I KNOW is NOT a good thing to do and I am trying to stop it, but it is hard with the stress of these rashes and horribly dry, itching skin. I lather on cream all the time and it helps a little, but come on, what goes? The humidity is very low, in the 30 percent range for days now. It's always like this in the winter here, but other years didn't bother me. Oh well, just got to keep plugging away. I SURE hope I can stop retaining water real soon.
So, just what am I going to do for challenges???? I don't really know. I tend to go to either extreme, too little or too much. The former leaves me unsatisfied. The latter is a boost for a while and then it becomes too much and I break out and go hog wild. However, I cannot handle moderation well with certain things, namely alcohol and sugar, sugar better than the pints though. The drinking is a social thing with me and I think that's what I seek more than the buzz. It's the only way I really hunker down with people is over the brew. Anyhow, it's not good and it's a heck of a lot of calories. Better to go for some abstinence from both. The empty calories of both alcohol and sugar are not doing my health any good either, so I'm thinking I should do a HEALTH NUT CHALLENGE, a total kind of thing involving what I put in my mouth, including cigarettes and coffee and tea. Yes, unbelievably, after some 15 years of nonsmoking I've been lighting up a tad when I'm drinking. Now THAT is going to stop!!!
OK, truth and consequence session over...here goes my declaration.
My challenge, starting today, Monday, Nov. 26, will be to answer the following questions, all of them together, not separately, EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!! I will allow for three pauses.
1) Did I record everything I put in my mouth?
2) Did I steer clear of processed foods, sugar and alcohol and cigarettes (allowing a bit of honey on morning oatmeal)?
3) Did I allow myself only morning coffee and one tea in the afternoon?
4) Did I eat healthy foods, whole grains, fruit, vegetables, brown rice and get adequate protein?
5) Did I get in exercise of some kind, either riding, the gym or "intentional walking?"
6) Did I weigh myself in the morning?
7) Did I give myself numerous pats on the back and words of praise at my efforts?
8) Did I keep largely to a 6-meal pattern of about 400-100-400-100-400-100 calories spaced out evenly over the day?
That's it!!! I'm going to list these questions every day and answer them! Now this is the ultimate challenge for me. Wish me luck!!!
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jolly -- Good going! Yeah, I hear you on the challenge suggestion and I know people have been doing that, but it kind of defeats the purpose. It's not a 21-day every day challenge then. I think we should call these kind of challenges, and I DO understand the need for them, something like extracurricular challenges so that we can still follow them here ALONG with our every-day things, enjoying the support of familiar faces and all. So, how about I make a note of that in the guidelines?
Shy -- Hope those knees get better. Good work on the challenges! Btw, please note what I'm suggesting about non everyday challenges. If you can only do something three days a week then it doesn't work as a 21-day everyday challenge, which is the idea of this thread. One day off a week is why we started pause days in part. So, let's say we have our every-day challenges and then add in supplementary ones or such. Sound good?
Last edited by redballoon; 11-25-2007 at 09:26 PM.
Day 1 was Monday, Nov. 26
Today was Monday, Nov. 26
1) Did I record everything I put in my mouth? Yes!
2) Did I steer clear of processed foods, sugar and alcohol? Yes!
3) Did I allow myself only morning coffee and one tea in the afternoon? Yes!
4) Did I eat healthy foods, whole grains, fruit, vegetables, brown rice and get adequate protein? Yes!
5) Did I get in exercise of some kind, either riding, the gym or "intentional walking?" Yes! Went to the gym. It's a 50-min. walk there and back. Did weights there.
6) Did I weigh myself in the morning? Yes! I was 71.2 kgs.
7) Did I give myself numerous pats on the back and words of praise at my efforts? Yes! It was hard but I kept reminding myself to do it, saying...you're doing fine, you're putting in the effort, you're doing fine.... It felt verrry weird.
8) Did I keep largely to a 6-meal pattern of about 400-100-400-100-400-100 calories spaced out evenly over the day? Yes! I'm allowing myself some leeway here, but the idea is there and I generally stick to it. I think I need a lot more than 1500 calories when I'm exercising a lot. I did it earlier this month and think I was losing too fast....she says....it's NEVER fast enough!
8 out of 8??? YES!!
Day No. 1 is completed. Yowzah!!!
Last edited by redballoon; 11-26-2007 at 02:59 PM.
red
Sounds like an allergy. Maybe see a doc to find out what is causing it. Oh don't throw everything to the wind. You will hate yourself for that. Just step back a bit and get thing into perspective again. Your challenges are way to extrema for me lol NO sugar I would just die, I could never do them. I have to do things everyday, or I don't stick with them. Have found, for me, just taking it a bit easier on the knee and shoulder is working. I don't do the knee lifts or the lunges as low or as high or as hard as I was when the knee is bothering me. I don't lift the little weights I am using over my head as high when the shoulder is bothering me. Knee is doing pretty good again. I have a routine that would drive most crazy. Scrub floors on Monday, sweep and dust on Tuesday, water plants and clean out drawers and closets on Wednesdays lol. I am very task oriented because I am such a slobola. I have to keep on things. Exercise and how I eat is the same way. Everyday is pretty much the same, nice routine that I can live with. Keeps the panic attacks away and keeps me in a nice steady pace. Today is Monday which means poultry. Nice I have left over turkey won't have to cook. Tomorrow is Tuesday which means beef. Already thinking on what I am going to make for dinner. lol I think your idea of losts of praise to yourself is a good one. We have to love ourself in what ever stage we are in of taking these extra lbs off and we have to understand it isn't always easy. We do without sometimes and we have to let our selfs know we are proud when we do that. Ok I don't do without much lol but I am proud every time I find I have taken off a lb. The people at the docs office have to think I am a nut. I do the " I LOST ANOTHER 2LBS DANCE" every two weeks when I do my weigh in lol.
Once at the docs office and I was doing my dance and someone said. You are sure proud of 2 little lbs, in a snotty voice. I said 2 little lbs every two weeks. I know have ( at that time ) 26lbs less to lose than I did a few short months ago and it did it 1lb at a time.
I'm still here and reading everyones posts, just not sure exactly what I want to do yet for challenges. I promise to really think about that today and get going again.
Had lots of fun exercise yesterday. Went hiking with 2 friends and had a really good time. As much as I exercise everyday, I can still feel the after-effects of that hike! After the hike, we went geo-caching, which I'd never done before and that was fun too. We found 3 caches that were nearby before calling it a day. Since the weather is changing, we're talking about going cross country skiing soon. I've never tried it, but I used to downhill ski and loved it until it got too hard on the knees. We'll see how the x-country skiing does for me.
Red - So glad to see you back at it! You sure do pick some tough challenges. I will admit though, you tend to do really well with those tough ones! Maybe you should go to the doctor and find out what's wrong. Shy might be right and you have some kind of allergy. They say you can develop them at any time in your life.
Shy - You just keep doing that little celebration dance of yours! 2 pounds at a time is nothing to sneeze at.
I FINALLY made it back home. Thank you all for the condolences. Honestly, I’ve never been to a more amazing funeral in my life. I know that sounds strange, but my cousin was apparently the hometown hero. He was a volunteer firefighter and EMT. He worked at the local service station/garage and restored cars. During the funeral service, there wasn’t enough room for everyone in the church, people kept rotating in and out. At the processional to the cemetery we were in line behind huge (& small) tow trucks from his company, All kinds of fire trucks, ambulances, state troopers and local sheriffs – then the family. As we drove the few miles through town – the highway was completely shut down. People came out of the business – I mean everyone, the customers and the employees to pay respect. It was almost like being in a very sad parade. As we were caravanning, a helicopter flew in to escort us. This was TN’s version of med-star, who had been friends with Jeff & were actually the ones who transported him when he’d been shot. The entire ceremony was touching and full of symbolism. It was strange though – I guess part of me still doesn’t believe he’s gone. Even as he lay there before me in the coffin, I kept expecting him to come bouncing around the corner. He was the most amazing, happy-go-lucky and full of life person I’ve ever known. You couldn’t possibly be unhappy around him. He’s going to be dearly missed.
As for sticking with my plan. It was challenging! I did well until I got there, then it was a struggle! As I looked around at my family, I realized that every single relative I have, with the exception of my parents is overweight, if not obese. It was tough to turn down the piles of food that do-gooders were bringing around as comfort food. I did pretty well, without actually offending anyone! I could’ve done better, but I also could’ve done a whole lot worse. Yesterday was spent with friends and went pretty well. I gained a pound while I was away, I’m not happy about – but considering I didn’t get much exercise in – I’ll accept that and get rid of it this week! I didn’t have much time or access to anything, so I took advantage of being in the mountains and walked/ran a bit while I was there.
Good news – when I walked into the church most of my family didn’t recognize me (because of my weight loss), I had to speak to my sister before she even realized it was me standing in front of her! I bought a dress today in a size 14 (I was in size 20’s, 6 weeks ago). Yaay!
I’m glad to be home! I’m very glad to be getting back on track. I have a lot of posts to catch up on!! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I'll be back later to catch up and list my new challenge
"Every-Day" 21-Day Challenge -- We've got your number!!
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. 
I'm starting new challenges tomorrow! Hurrah!! Fill you in later. Gotta run..... 
pondering....
OK....here's what I'll try...
I'm going to list these questions every day and answer them! Now this is the ultimate challenge for me. Wish me luck!!! 
Yeah, I hear you on the challenge suggestion and I know people have been doing that, but it kind of defeats the purpose. It's not a 21-day every day challenge then. I think we should call these kind of challenges, and I DO understand the need for them, something like extracurricular challenges so that we can still follow them here ALONG with our every-day things, enjoying the support of familiar faces and all. So, how about I make a note of that in the guidelines?
off the launch pad!!!
It felt verrry weird. 
