21-day challenge (Ongoing--join any time)
 

I'm stealing this idea from the main "challenges" forum. The idea is to give yourself one or more specific challenges and then count your days of success, aiming for 21... but if you don't meet your challenge on a given day, you start your counting over.

And of course, no matter how many times you have to start over, the goal is to keep getting back on the horse until you successfully complete 21 days straight of achieving your goal.

Each of us can be on different days for our challenges. You can start as many or as few challenges for yourself as you want. You can be on different days for different challenges yourself. The idea is just to have some accountability and support as we work on developing new and better habits.

Since it's fine to be on different days, this is meant to be an on-going thread.... so feel free to join any time.

Angela's First Challenge
 

I'm going to start with the only habit I think I can reasonably start working on while I'm at my mother's house: water. My goal for this first challenge is to drink 6 8-oz. glasses of water a day. Today is only "Day 0" for this challenge, since I'm starting too late in the day to do this today. Next week when I'm back at my own place I'll set myself some additional challenges.

Anybody game to join me with your own goals?

This is a great idea! I always think of water in terms of litres, how much is 8 oz? Can everyone post back and say how they're going?

My specifics are too much to get into, but basically it involves me trying to replace my main 'bad' habits with something better for me. For example:

- going to the gym every day after work, even if just for 15 mins. this isn't cause I expect to become a massive gym buff in 3 weeks, but it will keep me focused on the bigger picture and hopefully break the habit of 5pm munchies!
- get up for work half an hour earlier to do some light exercise (walk round the block or stretching). This will eliminate the 'no time for brekkie' thing and force me to go to bed earlier (another of my vices!)

Just some examples! I'm on day 8 and want to meet the 21 day challenge, cause I'm feeling great so far!

Angela this is a great idea, I am in, though I do pretty well with water I am making my goal a little higher because I am not as consistent as I would like to be. So I am going to aim for about 80 ounces a day or 10 eight ounce glasses. I also have 5 in for the day as that is the first thing I now grab for in the morning before my coffee. weird huh?

I may try the gym on the next challenge though I am nervous about going, having other people around kind of makes me feel really self conscious so I am dragging in the exercise bike into the house today and have a gazelle already. Too much snow to walk outside in the winter especially when it all freezes and is so slippery.
Have a great day ladies. and thanks again for starting this thread.
Anna

Welcome, Anna, Senorita! Feel free to start or restart a challenge any time you want.

Day 1 of my water challenge was successful.

I realize there's one other habit I can start working on before I get back home, so tomorrow I'll start a "take all my medications as prescribed" challenge.

Anna, the bike and the gazelle sound like a great start.

Senorita, those both sound like challenges I should take sometime soon. Feel free to start counting any day you want.

New habits, here we come!

Hey Angela, Okay all my water in for the day, not floating but I know exactly where the bathroom is now :) heehee. and I WI'd today and lost a pound this week so I feel pretty good about that. I had the flu last week and lost the first part of the weight and was worried I would gain some of it back. guess not.
didn't get the bike in as the BF wanted his recliner in the living room instead so we are going to try and make room in the den for the bike but the gazelle still fits in the living room when I want to work out as soon as I dust it off. Feels so good to be back on track. Congrats Angela on meeting day one.
well got to get ready for work now. I also went shopping today and decided to go auburn insted of sandy blonde. Kind of weird looking in the mirror now. New look new year, new resolutions to be healthy.
Anna

Day 2 since I work nights I drank all my water last night and day 2 completed, time for bed now, have a great day and good luck with your challenges ladies
Anna

WTG Anna!

So Angela how did you do for the day with your 2 goals? HOw is your trip going ?
Seniorita How's it going? Anything new at the gym today?
Anna

Water challenge--Day 2--success!
Medications challenge--Day 1--success!

Alas, I was wrong that I would have internet access throughout my trip... I'll probably be offline until about Wednesday. So good luck on your challenges... I'll be keeping count offline and I'll catch up when I can.

Good luck Anna, Senorita, and anyone else who joins us!

:carrot: day three, 80 ounces and counting in for water. YEAH:dance:

heehee i found the smilies, sorry you won't be here until possibly wednesday , will miss you until then. Good luck and keep it up.
oh another happy note, i lost 3 pounds this week.

Hey Anna...

Both my challenges are restarting today! Yesterday we ran out of seltzer at my mom's house... and it's well water in the tap and it just smells so much of sulphur that I couldn't make myself drink it. And I failed to take one of my meds (the one that's always a problem). So today is day 1 again. That puts you far in the lead! I'll have to get someone new in here after New Year's!

Hope things are going well. WTG on last week's loss!

Happy New Years Angela.
I made a few resolutions for myself and here is the synopsis of them
Lose 85 pounds this years, I really want to see myself below 200 by next year
pay off half my bills hmm this will take some work
be at the gym 3x a week by the end of january. and finally enjoy the ride, cuz this is gonna take me awhile.
I am on day 2 again as I blew it on the 30th. day off a work and no plan yet for those days. though i found out i average 4 miles a day or more when i do work for waking, bought myself a pedometer, what a neat little invention :)
Hope your stay is going well and sorry to hear about the water. I have well water and personally think it is fabulous to drink though Iknow not everyone's is. Yesterday went to gram's house and there's tastes so much like chlorine that I have to bring bottled water so I can drink something. crystal light doesn't even mask the taste.
Good luck today and will catch up with you later.
Anna

Sound like great resolutions, Anna. How goes your water?

I'm back on day 1 with my water... only one glass down so far today, but I'll check in again by the end of the day, with luck to report success.

I've made it 2 days in a row taking my meds, so this is day 3 for my meds challenge.

I'm also starting one new challenge today: to do one flight of stairs, up and down again, NOT taking one step at a time, each day.

Hope your new year is off to a great start.

Water Challenge -- Day 1 -- successful
Meds Challenge -- Day 3 -- successful
Stairs Challenge -- Day 1 -- successful

Oh boy, this will be a hard one since I'm trying to get back on track again. I have so many Christmas cookie crumbs coursing thru my veins, begging for more sugar-company, that I could start a factory. Ah well, every successful story starts with day one, and I originally started by telling myself I could do ANYthing for 14 days, so this 21 day deal sounds like a good kick in the pants.

OK, a successful day will be to drink my water, eat NO refined sugars, exercise in some form, and stay under my calorie allowence. That's a tall order, especially now, but I know I can do it. I'll keep trying until I succeed.

Another good idea, Angela. Not easy, but very good. Tomorrow, Thursday 1/4 will be day 1 for me.

Hey there you 2, okay i am on day 5 though feeling a bit water logged between my shakes and water intake, Loving the challenge and need to step it up a notch with reminder to take my blasted vitamins, i am so terrible i even carry some in my purse and still forget for days at a time, so I am stealing your idea and starting this one also, I have to wait a bit before i can exercise everyday. I am picking up a ton of hours at work in the next 2 weeks so walking won't be an issue but still need energy to work between 10 - 12 hour shifts. ghastly I know. Have a great day all and hope to hear about your success's tonight
Anna

Day One is actually behind me. I was actually successful, much to my own surprise. I drank about 100 oz of water, didn't have any candy & such, did some crunches, weights and leg lifts, and my cals weren't as low as I would have really liked, but they were within an acceptable range. For a first day when I've been having trouble getting started, I'll take it! BUt there's still room to improve tomorrow... like getting in more cardio.

Anyway, I've at least got my feet back on the path. Knowing I wanted to report here was a great incentive. I SO didn't want to log on and report that I hadn't even made it one day. It was a struggle at times, but every day gets easier, doesn't it?

YAY Valerie on a great day 1! I'm so glad you joined us. How did day 2 go?

Anna, sounds like work is keeping you VERY busy. Any chance that will ease up any time soon? I'm glad you're still making your water challenge... have you taken those vitamins today?

I didn't get to check in yesterday, but I managed to fit all my tasks in yesterday and today.

Water Challenge -- Day 3 -- successful
Meds Challenge -- Day 5 -- successful
Stairs Challenge -- Day 3 -- successful

Day 2 started great but finished weak. I walked the halls on my lunch break, including several trips up the stairs. Fortunately, it's a pretty big maze of a building and I don't even have to go outside in cold weather. I wish I'd gotten a little more water down, but I still drank lots more than I used to. I ate a bit too much at the end of the day, too, because I came home and had my veggie-chili for dinner, then went to dinner and a movie with a friend. We had one order of lasagna between us, and most of that came home in a box - I only had a couple bites. However, I did eat 3 pieces of garlic bread. My cals for the day before that were really low, so I'm not it TOO much trouble, but I wish I hadn't done it anyway. At least there was no popcorn with the movie.

It boils down to:
No sugar - 100% on track
Drinking Water - 50 %
Calories - 90 %
Exercise - 100%

Once again, it wasn't a flawless day, but it was far from the miserable failure that the whole month of December was. I'm not sure if I should really count it, or start over at day one. Maybe I should break it out by task like you did Angela, but that seems like a lot of work. (And heaven knows we don't want to have to actually WORK at this, do we? - yes, a little sarcasm there.)

Well, I better start drinking and get with the program, cuz GUESS what happened to that left over lasagna at breakfast.

I'm jumping on the 21 day band wagon
 

Hi everyone,

New to this so bear with me. I've been drinking my water and doing crunches everyday, so far. Can I start on day 5 since I've been doing it all for 5 days??? I think I'm going to add one thing each week on day 8 and 15 until I'm starting to get in shape and then go from there.

I've never really dieted, never been a reason, but now . . . UGH!!! We need to get going. Any advice for the virgin dieter???

Thanks

Diane

:dust:

I'll need some of this!!!

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple of days, long days at work though I can log in that I have stayed on plan, evening through the dreaded chocolate cravings of yesterday. Take care all and I will write more later
Anna

One more thing
 

Okay, I want one of those charts at the bottom to mark my weight loss progression . . . so how do I get it into my messages. Any help???

Thanks
S. Diane

WELCOME S.DIANE!

I think it sounds fine if you're already on day 5, even before you signed on to the list! Keep up the great work!!!

To get a weight tracker, you need to start at the "USER CP" which can be found in two places. At the top of this page it's at the far left on the purple bar, OR at the very bottom of the page is the "Forum Jump" Pull down menu, scroll up to the very top of that menu. Once you've clicked "USER CP" there's an option for "Edit Signature" on the left side. The Tracker stuff is there. After you create it, highlight & copy it, go back into the "Edit Sig" location and paste it where you want it. There are directions in there, too. Have fun with it!

Bravo for you, taking this control of your life. What you'll learn I believe, is that none of us is perfect. Having off days is part of the process. It's the Never-Give-Up part that will help you maintain better health for the whole rest of your life.

Everyone, have a vigorous day!

Hello All! Congratulations on the hard work you have done so far! I am a first time poster here and I thought I would jump in here as well. I have started drinking water as to me the last time I lost weight that seemed to be the key for me to unlock the weight loss. So more more more water for me! I will try this challenge also. Thanks and God bless!

Renee/cluckcluck

Good morning all;

Well day 6 is over and done with. I drank all my water and did my crunches and ate healthy. Yes, I had some M&M's, 12 :m: to be exact for about 50 calories, yes all sugar and all fat, but they were a nice treat. Today I am going to start exercising, UGH!! :ebike: 30 minutes is the goal. My apartment complex has a gym, :woops: :trampo: :strong: :tread: :bike2: :swim: the whole nine yards . . . so now it's time I start taking advantage of it.
Then I plan to go sit in the hot tub and soak my aching body.

OK, completely off the subject. I think a :spid: had a snack: my toes. They were swollen and red with obvious bite marks. They hurt really bad yesterday. I put some afterbite on them and they seem to be quite a bit better today, maybe it's time to clean the corners.

Renee

:welcome2:

I too am a newbie, day 2, I guess we all need to start somewhere. I think that it's great you already know what works for you. Maybe it will help me also.

Good luck everyone on your day and goals

This is a cool thread. I'm glad you started it. I'm gonna join this challenge. I gotta say, my biggest thing at the moment has to be water. Why is it so hard to drink enough to be really healthy????
I feel I'm doing well on caloric intake, I'm thrilled to death about my exercise for the month, so, my 21 day challenge will be drinking 64+ ounces a day.
Someone asked how much 8 oz are? It's 1 cup. ( i worked with a german chef back in the 90's at the university, and he insisted we learn cups, ounces, pints, quarts, gallon, teaspoons and tablespoon stuff)
I think I'm also gonna give my self a reward for doing 21 days of water.
Something little, like a special coffee drink.

Welcome, Sandy, Diane, Renee!

Valerie, Of course, keep track however you like. I like the idea of separating mine out so I have a good idea of where I'm making progress in changing habits and which ones are really giving me the most trouble (as you'll see below, lol).

Yoo hoo, Anna, where are you? Hope things are going well, and if not, all the more reason to check in!

Here's where I am as of yesterday:

Water Challenge -- Day 4 -- successful
Meds Challenge -- Day 6 -- successful
Stairs Challenge -- ZONK! Time to start over.

For everyone working on water, here's an additional incentive: I was just reading an article on preventing blood clots, and keeping hydrated was one of the recommended steps. Since I know I'm at risk, this is making me much more enthusiastic about all these trips to the lady's room.

Still didn't make my stairs challenge today. So:

Water Challenge -- Day 5 -- successful
Meds Challenge -- Day 7 -- successful
Stairs Challenge -- Day 0... tomorrow will be day 1 again...

Oh, that makes sense. Keeping the days of success separate to track areas needing most improvement, that is. Good idea.

Well, GUESS what tomorrow is. G'head. Guess.

Yup. Tomorrow is Day Numero Uno. I've flubbed two days in a row on my exercise, although today I was very active, rode one horse and gave several lessons, but that's not technically "exercise" for the list as I see it. OK, and water? Well, I was down to about 35 oz yesterday, but today I was down to about 20. I took a bottle in the car with me, but forgot to drink any of it. Eating was great today... until I had those chips with cream cheese and salsa. In my defense, I let the dogs finish the stuff, but when I looked at the package after it was too late, I realized I'd just eaten 350 calories BEFORE I even counted the dreaded chips!

SO. Tomorrow is day one again. Dad-gummit! I'm gonna have a beautiful, healthy, thin day tomorrow!!!

Good luck with those stairs tomorrow Angela. Don't do as I do... SUCCEED INSTEAD! YOU CAN DO IT!

SANDY & RENEE, Water is a challenge for me, too. Fortunately, once I'm back at work tomorrow, I have a huge cup next to me all day and a water drinking buddy to remind me. Tomorrow will be a better day because I set myself up for success. Yes, why is it so hard to do that all the time???

Lost BOMBERA - You're doing GREAT! Where you lead, we'll follow. Keep up the great work and setting such a great example!!

For now, I'm going to start my great tomorrow by getting a good night's sleep tonight. yaaaaaawn. Night-night!

Good night everyone;

Hope everyone had a good nights sleep (I say this because you all probably won't read this until the am. Valerie, hmmmm not sure about leading I'm struggling to keep myself moving, but for some odd reason, it's . . . comforting to come on here and make myself accountable. But if you all want to follow I can help pull, maybe it'll burn a few extra calories. Angela don't fret the stairs that's a tough one. I've been thinking about doing the stairs in my apt complex, but I'm a chicken, :turkey: <----- I know it's a turkey, kind of a very big chicken. I did 30 minutes on the eliptical machine this morning, plus a 5 minute cool down that the machine added and I didn't know about, hmmmmm. I made it, but I just stood there after I was done because I was afraid if I tried to walk my wobbly legs wouldn't hold me.

I want to weigh myself tomorrow, but I am afraid . . . that maybe I didn't lose any weight, that would be sooooooo disheartening. I figured out I can eat 14 :m: for only 50 calories. Yes, I LOVE my chocolate. I sometimes think I cannot survive without it. Of course I think I am lucky I can go weeks even months without eating chips, my body just doesn't want them, they want CHOCOLATE . . . but I'm trying to at least slow way down, although it's not on my list, yet.

Water - Day 7 - :)
Crunches - Day 7 - :D:
Eat healthy - Day 7 - :spin:
30 min exercise - Day 1 - :dizzy:

Everyone have a great Monday, drink that H2O, eat celery, climb stairs, just keep moving!!

Hugs to everyone.

S. Diane

Hello Ladies,

Congrats on the successes and on those that didnt meet their challenge, keep on keepin on. YOU CAN DO THIS! I BELIEVE IN YOU! Water challenge today was successful. Even through this dreaded cold I am fighting off! So please be a praying about that. I hope ya'll succeed in all that you set out to do!

>huggles< Renee

Day 1 water challenge CHECK!

I would like to join this with two challenges for myself.

Eat five fruits or veggies a day
Not eating out (this should be good for my bank account and my waist band)
I need one more veggie to count today as day one for the veggie challenge.
Today is day two for not eating at resturants...
Ayanna

Hey trhere ladies, Glad to se some more faces welcome.
Well I think I am on day 9 opf my water challenge and suck at taking my vitamins. wheat is it about those things, if they were covered in chocolate I would have them downin a minute :)
Just read the latest book in the inheritance trilogy "Eldest" so good, I lost my self in it for 2 fays. Well back to work tonight. Both of my jobs keep tryig to give me more hours and I already average about 60 hours a week. ah the delimnas of paying off my bills . :)
Talk more tomorrow Anna

Welcome, Ayanna!

Valerie--Hope you had a beautiful day like you planned!

Everybody's doing great... when some of us get close to 21 this could get exciting.

I zonked out on the stairs yet again. But drank my water and took my meds. So:

Water Challenge -- Day 6 -- successful
Meds Challenge -- Day 8 -- successful
Stairs Challenge -- Day 0... tomorrow will be day 1 again...

Hi ladies,

Anna, I'm right there with you and those chocolate covered vitamins, mmmmm
Ayanna, great challenges, that will surely be light on your bank account and your waistline!!!!
Sandy and Anna, great job on the water, keep it up


Not many checking in today. A bit of a hard day for me. I expected to be sore when I woke up but my legs felt pretty good. Then . . . I went to do the eliptical and at 2 minutes I was ready to give up, my legs went to jello . . . I made my 30 minutes, but I had to tell myself, just one more minute you can do one more minute . . . i just hope I can do it again tomorrow . . .

Water - Day 8 - :)
Crunches - Day 8 - :)
Eat healthy - Day 8 - :)
30 min exercise - Day 2 - :)

Stay positive, we can do this . . . we are strong determined women who are taking control of our lives!!!

Everyone have a great night and face those challenges head on!!!!

S. Diane

:nono: Day 2 didn't make it :frypan: :kickbutt: :(
Today is a new day one. Almost there. :)

S. Diane: Don't injure yourself! Maybe you need to start with a lower time, or every other day. Be careful!

Keep drinking, Sandy!

I don't seem to be fitting these stairs in at all. But the meds and water are going good, although I know that checking in here is half the reason I'm getting it done :) Maybe by day 21 they'll really be habits, huh?

Water Challenge -- Day 7 -- successful
Meds Challenge -- Day 9 -- successful
Stairs Challenge -- Day 0... tomorrow will be day 1 again...

Hmmmm. My last post evaporated. But I gotta go to bed! I'll catch up tomorrow.

Be good chickies!