The 21 Day Challenge was originally posted by Katrina, from an EDiets forum.(Thanks, Katrina! ) This thread is based on that idea, but is more generic: YOU decide what behavior you want to focus on (you might want to follow WW or some variation, or may just want to commit to a certain amount of exercise -- whatever behavior you would like to make a habit) and commit to that for 21 Days. Then you might continue on for another block of the same, or you may want to add another behavior. The idea is that it tales 21 days to form a new habit. Sometimes it takes a lot of starts before you get through the first block of 21 days but if you persevere, you WILL make it. And it gets much easier as you go along, until - YES! - healthy behavior becomes a habit!
21 DAY CHALLENGE
1. Your 21 days must be CONSECUTIVE days! That is the whole point in forming new habits.
2. This works on the "honor" system...no one will monitor you...if you "mess-up", you are only cheating yourself by not beginning again! The importance behind this challenge is to have 21 consecutive days of self control!!
3. What do the numbers mean that you see by peoples' names?? They stand for DAY/POUNDS LOST/BLOCK. 1/0/1 is Day 1, 0 pounds lost, Block 1.
4. Once you have finished block #1 (the first 21 days) you will progress to block #2...
5. For each block, you should state your rules and follow them for 21 days... repeat this as many times as necessary until you are at your goal. Your rules may be as specific or vague as you want: for example, I've considered just at the end of each day, asking myself whether my behavior would lead to better health (and weightloss) and counting myself on track if it did. Or you can stipulate as many rules as you'd like - if you want to change your plan, simply start over with a new Day 1.
Good luck to you as you complete your journey! YOU CAN DO THIS!!! It all starts with a single step... and following with a new one each day!!
Well. All that being said, I've had some difficulty deciding what to do for my challenge on this block. I was very thrilled to finish a block of 21 Days yesterday, although my weight loss for the block was a whopping four (4) pounds, due to yoyoing.
My 21 DAY CHALLENGE
1. 3L water a day.
2. Between 25 and 40 points a day, aiming toward the low - to - mid-range, depending on exercise.
3. At least 7 fruits or veggies a day, aiming for nine
4. At least 3 X weekly each:
30 minute circuit training sessions
30 minutes high intensity exercise (probably step class or elliptical trainer)
45 minute walks
30-45 mins yoga session
30 - 60 mins Tai Chi
4. meditate (not stipulating a time just yet)
5. No eating when I'm not hungry or eating other than at the table when I'm alone. No entertainment other than radio or music while i eat.
Okay. I can see how this block could be pretty effective. I'm going to give it a shot.
Blockette Crone here! Thanks for posting this new version, Blockette Babette! I'd like to participate in this block party. I've been on what I call The Azure Initiative since Sunday (I name them pretty much from the color of my journals and then make up a fantasy to motivate myself ... it's all a game). My goal is to lose 29.5 pounds from Sunday's weigh-in of 164.5. I used to weigh in the neighborhood of 247 and probably more, got down to the neighborhood of the low '40s but am now drifting up again ... probably because of less exercise since some health problems and a bad fall slowed me down. It IS a health measure for me to lose this weight as I believe I will feel much better, plus my sore knees will thank me.
My "initiatives" (a more fun word than program or plan or rules) consist of average calorie goals for each week and total exercise calories burned, which I keep track of on spreadsheets. This initiative consists of a weekly average of 1750 daily calories and a total of 1750 burned in exercise. The averaging allows me to have "splurges" but that is really not in the spirit of this block party, so I'm going to declare more specific goals for THE BLOCK and I'm going to say doing THE BLOCK is part of my Azure Initiative!!! A city block usually has four sides facing four streets, but in my neighborhood there aren't any square blocks, just gently rounded curves, so there are only two streets to stroll around:
Street One is calorie control ... under 2000 (e.g., the calorie police put up a barricade at 1999 and it's impossible to go around it to so I go back to Day One).
Street Two is exercise ... just one session of anything counts for the block, even a mental health stroll.
It is my belief that the above two items are the most important in weight loss/weight maintenance for me. So there it is: To paraphrase Confucious:A journey of one block begins with a single step.
1/0/1
Last edited by Amarantha2; 06-11-2002 at 11:45 AM.
1 day down, 20 to go I haven't been in a great frame of mind today, feel a bit under the weather, tired and a little depressed as a consequence. Nevertheless, I had a successful day. Remining myself that I don't have to be into it to do it. And it is easier after having gotten through the 1st block. I found that I felt more compelled to do well today because of making the commitments for the block. For example, I actually went to a step class at lunchtime today (my first ever -- WOW am I a klutz! ) and did about 40 minutes worth of Tai Chi. I had nine fruit/veg servings and more than 3L water, ate 30 points and exercised 8.
On to Day 2!!
I'm just squeaking by those calorie police with 1985 calories but I have the exercise well in hand ... a half hour walk this afternoon and a half hour of weights p.m. ... extremely pleasant workouts both of them.
I know I'll make it to Day 2.
Babette: We WILL have fun!!! (I always have fun ... I love this game of weight loss.) It'd be really something if I could get around that block right off the bat!!! Time will tell.
Hope there are more Blockettes posting tomorrow!
Thanks again for calling out the Blockwatch!
1/0/1
Last edited by Amarantha2; 06-12-2002 at 12:25 AM.
Last night's calorie total held, so here I am at the second day!!! Already had a wimpy 10-minute walk, will probably do Leslie Sansone later today. I'm planning on stuffed flounder for lunch, a mere 250 calories and I need to use up some of my frozen fruit for a smoothie, so think I can hang today also. This challenge is really helping me focus!!! Thanks to Babette for posting the new version and to Katrina for bringing the concept here in the first place.
Have to go as Old Dog wants to roll in the dirt after her bath, which drives me bananas!
P.S. May I plug the "10 Things You Love About Yourself" thread? Please, please, please add your 10 things to the list!!!! I'd love to see everyone post something there, just for fun and self-liberation!!!
Day 2/0 Pounds Lost/Block 1
Last edited by Amarantha2; 06-12-2002 at 01:04 PM.
Believe it or not, I've made it to Day 4, and loving it! Instead of formally counting calories or fat grams I've decided to stop fritzing around and take my considerable knowledge of nutrition and eat like a healthy human being. How's that for a revolutionary idea? Still writing it all down; that really helps to keep me in line.
Working out: walking 3-4 miles at least 6 days a week and I keep up a very spritely pace too! [I may do a step video instead occasionally.]
Dumbell routine every other day and a Pilates or lower body workout on alternating days.
Yoga at least 6 days a week--and I really have to start using my library of yoga videos. Gotta keep it fresh!
Babette, I see you're onto Block 2. Good for you!
Hi Crone! Always a pleasure!
I think that the three of us must have been posting at the same time!
Eydie, glad you're still here! Your plan sounds eminently sensible. I really go back and forth on whether counting points or whatever is good for me or not (as Crone probably remembers from some of our debates ) Still not too sure, but I really am finding it seems at this point to be leading me to healthier eating and I foresee a good weight loss next week as a consequence. I know you'll do fabulously on your plan too.
Crone, I just had to pop in re: Old Dog and her dirt predilection. I once stayed at a cottage for a few weeks with a couple of dogs. It was idyllic! Every day we would start off with a peaceful hike down the long lane to the country roads. While we wandered around the countryside, a farm wagon came up that same lane, bearing an overflowing load of --- can you guess what delightful substance? Yes, it was manure, plopped liberally all along the long lane that we had to walk to return to the cottage. And Hermann, the elder pup, would writhe in ecstasy and manure repeatedly all the long way home. Which led to another daily ritual, the shower with an intensely smelly dog, followed by another shower without one. I used to tell Hermie that i suspected it was the showers he was after all the time... oh that takes me back... we used to go for a lot of nice walks. Dogs are such wonderful companions. Thanks for the memories, Crone! Okay, I do recall it was frustrating at the time...
xo
babette
* 30 points eaten
* 7 points worked off (45 min walk, half-hour yoga, 30 mins circuit training)
* over 3L water
* meditated (albeit briefly)
* 7 fruits/veggies
I hardly have to think about not eating anywhere but the table when I'm alone any more. And although I've had a few impulses for food when I haven't been hungry, they haven't been overwhelming. So far so good...
Weighed in today the same as last week, but since I actually lost 4 pounds last week, that's not too surprising. Next week will be a good one! I'm determined to get back to Onederland for my birthday (July 18th). I can do it!
Well, inspired by babette's successful completion of Block 1, I've decided to try this approach again! I like what you've done with the "rules," each blockette should decide upon her own goals and follow that plan.
With that in mind, I intend to state my daily goals here:
*Daily exercise of one form or another
*1 gallon of water daily
* Food as per "Fit for LIfe" combinations, ie: fruits alone, either protein w/vegs or carbs w/ vegs, no mixing of proteins and carbs. (I'm still reading the book, but it's theories are very interesting!)
That's it for now, I'm keeping this one simple. It's great to be back, feeling "re-inspired!" Thanks, babette! AND crone...I always love reading your posts, glad to see you here too!
Calorie police haven't noticed me as I slip past them at 1970 ... a bit less than yesterday ... pretty sure I can make it hang for the rest of the night. I'm drinking water now and will do Leslie tape in a bit and am ostensibly working on an essay, but am posting here instead. (Water needs to be ingested 60 minutes prior to exercising in the heat.)
Babette: I am picturing you shepherding pups out of manure piles! I gave Old Dog another bath and just kept her with me all day so she'll at least stay clean until tomorrow! Dogs are weird (cats, too)! Congratulations on a good weigh-in! I know you'll make it to Onederland by your birthday! You made it around an entire Block and last week lost four pounds ... you can do what you set out to do... No question.
Eydie: Congratulations on Day 4!!! You have an interesting plan ... I love Pilates, too, and as a matter of fact had just vowed to add two sessions back into my rotation, as I've been away from it for awhile. It is always healing for me, just as ballet is.
On to Day 3!!!
2/0/1
Last edited by Amarantha2; 06-12-2002 at 10:22 PM.
I'm bact at WW, and lost 3.6lbs this week. I want to keep motivated and continue to journal and plan, celebrating success along the way. I know there will ups as well as downs, but right now I'm riding this wave's crest for as long as I can!
Will post more on my plan tomorrow. Blurry eyes are a sure sign it's time to sleep.
The inevitability of the thing is staggering, but soon after I posted that I'd essentially made it through Day Two, a whole bunch more calories disguised as several skim milkshakes and a tiny little snack cake opened the fridge (from the inside, can you imagine?) and attacked me! So I'm back to Day One, but I'm not unhappy because the milk at least was healthy (milkshakes made with no-cal syrup) and my total for day of approximately 2690 was MUCH lower than the over-3000 mark I'd been reaching on previous weeks. The Azure Initiative's desired average of 1750 is probably not doable, but the initiative itself goes on and so does the Block Party!!! Last night's Leslie session was an inspiring 40 minutes, giving me a total 50 minutes of exercise for the day. Woo-hoo!!! WE CAN DO!!!!
I've asked the local Calorie Police Department to remove its presence from my block. I LOVE the calorie police, but feel their image is a little too negative for this block as I believe in having only POSITIVE thoughts in my head if at all possible (it's not, but I pretend). Anyhow, those calorie police officers all have 2 percent bodyfat and weigh 110 pounds and wear designer jeans over their rippling muscles. They simply don't relate to the folks on MY block. So the calorie police have obligingly bowed out to be replaced by (wait for it) WILLPOWER and SELF-CONTROL as the folks (me) on MY block stroll around the neighborhood.
I've stolen this before from a little book I had but don't remember the name or author of, so hope that person doesn't mind and doesn't read 3FC and doesn't sue me: "Mirror, mirror on the wall, my willpower is growing, encompassing all!" Woo-hoo!
Hi, Wildfire!!!! WTG on the 3.6 pounds ... RIDE THAT WAVE!!! I'm going back to bed, too! Life is beautiful when we can go back to bed! Good luck on your challenge.
1/0/1
Last edited by Amarantha2; 06-13-2002 at 10:16 AM.
21 Day Challenge: Better Every Day
) This thread is based on that idea, but is more generic: YOU decide what behavior you want to focus on (you might want to follow WW or some variation, or may just want to commit to a certain amount of exercise -- whatever behavior you would like to make a habit) and commit to that for 21 Days. Then you might continue on for another block of the same, or you may want to add another behavior. The idea is that it tales 21 days to form a new habit. Sometimes it takes a lot of starts before you get through the first block of 21 days 
but if you persevere, you WILL make it. And it gets much easier as you go along, until - YES! - healthy behavior becomes a habit!
YOU CAN DO THIS!!! It all starts with a single step... and following with a new one each day!! 
21 Day Challenge: Better Every Day
to finish a block of 21 Days yesterday, although my weight loss for the block was a whopping four (4) pounds, due to yoyoing. 
Ok, then ...
Thanks for posting this new version, Blockette Babette! I'd like to participate in this block party. I've been on what I call The Azure Initiative since Sunday (I name them pretty much from the color of my journals and then make up a fantasy to motivate myself ... it's all a game). My goal is to lose 29.5 pounds from Sunday's weigh-in of 164.5. I used to weigh in the neighborhood of 247 and probably more, got down to the neighborhood of the low '40s but am now drifting up again ... probably because of less exercise since some health problems and a bad fall slowed me down. It IS a health measure for me to lose this weight as I believe I will feel much better, plus my sore knees will thank me.
I'm so excited!
Day 1 on Block 2
) and did about 40 minutes worth of Tai Chi. I had nine fruit/veg servings and more than 3L water, ate 30 points and exercised 8. 
