8 Days A Week - Chat Thread
 

This is the official chat thread for the 8 Days A Week personal challenge.

The tracking thread can be found here: http://3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=154205

This really is a great idea. I sometimes slip into the habit of slacking off right after my weigh in day as well. I'm looking forward to keeping track with everyone!

I NEED CONSTANT motivation as well so this is a good idea for me too. I just NEED TO STICK WITH IT!!! I end up weighing in everyday and when it is something I don't like, I usually go eat something I shouldn't because I feel like "what's the point?" So hopefully this will help me along with all the other stuff I'm trying!

This is great. Thanks for starting this up!

I need to feel accountable.

Question: Maybe you went over this and I missed it, but what do we do on a new week? Delete the previous week and start over or do we continue on?

Welcome wrdfrog, JamieJo and raw23! :welcome:

raw23, sorry if I didn't explain that well enough. Since this is an ongoing thing you may update your goals and accomplishments as often as you like. What I would recommend is to set your goals for the week: either daily, weekly or both. At the "end" of the week (I don't like to say "end" since we're trying to keep things moving but for the sake of explaining it, it may help clear things up) so at the "end" of the week post what you accomplished for that week in the "weekly accomplishments" section as a reminder that you got something done. (Leave your past week's accomplishments until the next week.) If you have daily goals you may post what you accomplished in the "daily accomplishments" section on a daily basis (no need to be restricted by weeks here as daily = ongoing.)

What might help make this challenging for ourselves is to push ourselves. If this week we did 30 minutes of exercise on Tuesday, maybe next Tuesday we'll aim for 35 minutes. Or if just getting up the energy to exercise at all is an accomplishment is reason to celebrate, then by all means celebrate it in your accomplishments section and challenge yourself to maybe do it again tomorrow.

It's really up to you how to use this space but the general idea is to just stick with it. That's the whole reason behind "8 days a week" as opposed to 7 days. I tend to get totally off plan on the weekEND (after all, I've been good all week) so if we get ourselves thinking that there is no end but only renewed commitment and take it in baby steps, with daily and weekly goals, hopefully "falling off the wagon" will happen less and less (or not at all).

I hope that helps. :)

(PS. I updated the wording on my format from "Daily Accomplishments This Week" to "Daily Accomplishments" to hopefully clear things up a bit.)

I also added some instructions to the format on my post under each section.

How is everybody doing today? So far it's been pretty good for me. Getting some goals accomplished today and staying on plan. Getting ready to get my treadmill work out in in just a few minutes. I think I've actually made it thru Friday ... just so long as I don't get the munchies before bedtime. (Unless they're triggered by a growling stomach, that I don't mind since I'm following Intuitive Eating.

Have a great evening everyone! :sunny: <--- (Need a moon smilie for nite time!)

This sound like a wonderful idea. I hope you don't mind me joining in. I always eat right all week long but on the weekends I lose it with my eating. I also don't workout on the weekend except for just walking the streets of NYC.

Hey everyone! So far so good with keeping myself good on the weekends. I haven't accomplished the goal I've set for today yet, but I've got a lot of other things done so I'm happy! I'm going to get to it later on this evening though.

I hope everyone is having a happy and healthy weekend!

Originally Posted by shawnee66:
I hope you don't mind me joining in.

:welcome: shawnee66! Don't mind at all! :) I hope you find this helpful! It's my first weekend of really trying to stay committed and it's going well so far.

Originally Posted by wrdfrog:
Hey everyone! So far so good with keeping myself good on the weekends. I haven't accomplished the goal I've set for today yet, but I've got a lot of other things done so I'm happy! I'm going to get to it later on this evening though.

Good job wrdfrog!

I'm having a pretty good weekend myself. I made it thru Friday without a binge and got several goals accomplished yesterday. Been too busy today to set any goals but my eating is on track.

Have a great one everyone! :sunny:

I just joined! This is a great idea. I know it will help me a lot. I seem to do well unless I get sick or go out to eat. I've been trying to cut back on going out to eat. But when my mom or grandma want to it's hard for me.

I hope everyone is having a good Saturday!!! :carrot:

Eh... doing ok. Friday and Saturdays are a bit more lax.

Hi barbarajean2605, :welcome: I know what you mean about eating out, especially when others want to have something you don't. Since starting IE (intuitive eating) I am learning how to get along with food again so eating out is going better for me as nothing is off limits anymore. I'm learning more and more that the battle of the bulge is truly mind over matter.

raw23, hang in there and just stick with it! I think the more natural eating on the weekends become to us the easier it will be. Perhaps, if we learn to treat Friday, Saturday and Sunday just as Tuesday or Wednesday, it will all fall into place. Every day is a chance to get it right! :)

Hey guys - Sorry I've been gone a couple days. It was a drill weekend and I completely FELL off the WAGON! From Friday night through last night it was another free for all. I don't know why I do that because this morning when I got on the scale I still expected to be down (not sure why) and was very discouraged that I was up two pounds. Hopefully it's some water weight. I just really wanted to see under 160 this morning. :( Oh well, on my way to the goals page to update.

:hug: Hang in there JamieJo! If you think you're going to have an off weekend, try pulling out all the tricks you know to help you thru ... drink a full glass of water just before a meal to help you eat less, keep gum handy when the craving to eat hits, eat lots of fiber to help you feel full ... you may not have a picture perfect weekend, but you could help control it a bit with little things. Best of luck to you!

I planned on pulling out my tricks for this weekend. I went to drill Sat morning with food prepared to have throughout the day like I would on a normal day but a gal in my section game with with a box of the soft batch cookies. My favorite. Everyone else was eating them. I just couldn't say no. Geez.... So then the rest of the day was kind of that mind frame that I already screwed up so whatever....but I did run that day. Then Sunday came and I didn't have a chance to eat until about 2PM. We were doing stuff that I couldn't even sneak in something healthy. So, by the time we were done everyone wanted Burger King...yeah....so that's where I ate too. :( BAD BAD BAD! Oh well... I'll just keep trucking!

What is that saying? "The best-laid plans ..."

Originally Posted by JamieJo:
but I did run that day ... I'll just keep trucking!

Good for you, focus on the positive, you did run! And you have a positive attitude to keep on trucking!

I'm in :) Sunday is my downfall. I do well during the week and Saturday is usually OK since Sunday morning is my weigh-in so I tend to behave. Hubby and I lost a bunch of weight a few years ago and I have gained it all back in the past two years. He has maintained. Sunday is our treat day. But lately it has become a no-holds-barred kinka eating day for me. Anything that was off-limits all week is fair game on Sunday - if it runs away I'll chase it down and eat it :devil:

I have posted my plans for the week in the other thread. I will be travelling out of town for three days (leave Thursday morning and will be back Saturday night). I'm not sure what the eating plans are yet as we are travelling in a group. I plan to keep my head about me and will try to eat sensible. Maybe I should just smarten up and follow hubby's lead and eat as he does...

I'm off to a good start today - 20 oz of water in so far. I had a light breakfast (one egg on an english muffin with cheese for 275 calories). I think I'll have a bowl of soup for lunch. I had an apple for a snack and will have another apple this afternoon (I have a half bushel bag of Gala apples in my office)

Hey econ nerd! Just saw you joined the 5LB challange too! Awesome!

Traveling is always hard for me too when it comes to eating. I would have to say my all time fav food is fried chicken strips dipped in ranch dressing. YUM YUM. So everytime I'm out to eat or traveling, I seem to think I "deserve" a plate of them...

HI everyone~ I am new here, and am so glad to find this challenge. I have lost 30 pounds but am struggling now to get myself back to exercising. I have hit a big plateau of my own doing, and am ready to move on and start losing more again.

I identify with this challenge because my weigh in day has always been binge day I want to correct that :)

Hi Mama! Since to see you on another thread!

Originally Posted by econ nerd:
Anything that was off-limits all week is fair game on Sunday - if it runs away I'll chase it down and eat it :devil:

Maybe I should just smarten up and follow hubby's lead and eat as he does...

:welcome: eco nerd! I totally understand about eating everything "off limits" on those down days. Just curious, is your hubby doing anything special to maintain? I'm following a plan called IE (intuitive eating) where nothing is off limits and am rebuilding my relationship with food. It has been bumpy at first, but is getting better. Best of luck to you and enjoy your trip!

Originally Posted by MamaGettinFit:
HI everyone~ I am new here, and am so glad to find this challenge. I have lost 30 pounds but am struggling now to get myself back to exercising. I have hit a big plateau of my own doing, and am ready to move on and start losing more again.

I identify with this challenge because my weigh in day has always been binge day I want to correct that :)

:welcome2: Hello MamaGettinFit! I can relate! I was binging all weekend long starting Friday morning after I got off the scale. This weekend I had my first success, stayed on plan! I hope you'll find this thread helpful too! Way to go on the 30 pounds lost!

:welcome: to jahjah1223 and Kati, I see you joined the tracking thread. Nice to have you both along!

Congrats Blue for staying on plan this weekend! I don't think I told you that yet!

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone. So far so good today, though I haven't gotten a chance to workout yet. I used to exercise all the time and loved it, but I got out of the habit and it's so hard to get going again. I do crave it though and remember how good I felt when I was doing it daily. I have to get back there again somehow!

Hey, Mama, I kwym about the exercise. But I hate it with a passion. So I am pretty much dragging my rear on the treadmill every time I do it. lol As a matter of fact I just added a little reminder to my signature about exercise. lol Motivation, ya know?

Blue, have you tried different things to maybe find something you do enjoy a little more? I started out hating it, but finally found some DVDs that I really enjoyed and it got me into it more and more. There are so many different things out there to try now!

I too hate exercise with a passion. Right now I'm using Leslie Sansone's dvd's and for once it's going well. I exercise almost every day. I think I just needed to find the right thing for me. It's hard when you don't like it. I would look at the clock every few minutes wanting it to move forward when it seemed it was going backward.

Barbara--those DVDs were the first ones I liked as well! They did get boring kind of fast, but I do those movements while watching regular TV now and get just as good of a workout watching my own shows instead of her!

I know some of her old ones do get boring to me. She has some faster pace ones that I really like. I'm trying to switch things up a little too. I'm actually going to try Couch 2 5K. I've never been a runner but it sounds like a good program.

Originally Posted by MamaGettinFit:
Blue, have you tried different things to maybe find something you do enjoy a little more? I started out hating it, but finally found some DVDs that I really enjoyed and it got me into it more and more. There are so many different things out there to try now!

Hello MamaGettinFit, I've tried some different videos but really don't like them. Eons ago I did Richard Simmons Sweatin to the Oldies (which I actually kinda liked, lol) But I just prefer the treadmill. I know it's boring but I can watch TV and it's convenient for me. I'm thinking about looking into a mini trampoline. :yes: I'll bet that's fun!

Barbara--I have wanted to do c25k for a long time, but I am too chicken to run in front of others and keep thinking people will stare at me at the track. Maybe if you do it i will get brave and join you. I am just overly self-conscious and always worry what others think...even though most of the people there are little old ladies anyway :lol:

Blue--mini trampoline does sound fun! Go for it.

I did not meet any of my goals yesterday, though I did stop a binge last night, and having this committment here is what helped me to do it. I just kep thinking I didn't get in my exercise or my water, the least I could do for my health was not stuff down a bunch of food in an emotional panic. I managed not to do it, so at least that is something, right? I am about to go exercise right now, not leaving it to the evening again.

Hey Mama - Don't be too chicken! I usually do the treadmill just because its usually so cold in Wisconsin but when it's nice I try to get outside. I've had others in my neighborhood come up to me wishing "they were more like me" and had the motivation to do it! So, don't be shy! :)

Originally Posted by Blue Serenity:
:welcome: eco nerd! I totally understand about eating everything "off limits" on those down days. Just curious, is your hubby doing anything special to maintain? I'm following a plan called IE (intuitive eating) where nothing is off limits and am rebuilding my relationship with food. It has been bumpy at first, but is getting better. Best of luck to you and enjoy your trip!

My hubby is very cautious about his weight. He is careful about what he eats, he exercises regularly and weighs in every morning. He has stayed at his goal of not going over 170# on a Sunday morning weigh in for two and a half years. I really should follow his example, I know I should, but it's tough...

Thanks econ, I was curious as to whether or not he was just eating normally (as in how naturally thin people eat). I am finding that the more I relax around food the better off I am. I'm just paying really close attention to true hunger and satisfaction and eating accordingly.

mama- I know what you mean. It's hard for me to run/exercise in front of people. I'm trying not to let it bother me and get out there and do it. Try and not let it bother you. But I totally understand.

I met my goals for today. I do have a few hours left before bed, but my nights seem to be getting better at snacking.

Hope everyone is having a good night.

Way to go on meeting your goals barbarajean! :yay:

I accomplished a lot today but didn't do everything I set out to do. Hope to get on track tomorrow. Have a great evening everyone!

fell off the wagon for a little bit last night! :( We have boxes of chips in our house (long story on why) and I ate two 3 point bags...and had ice cream. BAD BAD BAD. I was going to bring the boxes of chips to work today for the guys to eat, but FORGOT. :(

Hello everyone! :sunny:

JamieJo, Hang in there. :hug:

One thing I want to stress in this challenge is that it is OK to have an off day or an off moment, otherwise we may run into "burn out" and feelings of defeat. Accept that things come up from time to time that take our eyes off of what we are striving to do but the idea is to get back into the game! Don't give up on your goals!

It hasn't been a complete 8-day cycle for me yet but I am already feeling better about getting things done. I've put off chores a couple of days, which is an area I really slack in, but will keep plucking away at them. One thing I am noticing is that I am anxious for my new week to get started to see what else I can accomplish. In the past I have been anxious to get my weigh-in over with so I could slack off. I think that's progress!

I hope everyone is having a great day! :sunny:

JamieJo, that would be horribly difficult for me as well! Can you put them out in the garage, or in the trunk of your car or something? Just getting them out of sight out of mind might work, but making them difficult to get to if you do break down is even better. Maybe seal them with heavy tape and put them out of the house somewhere?

I am still having trouble getting the exercise going. i don't know why I am fighting it, I loved doing it just a month ago. I just feel blah and down these days, finding it hard to do what I need to do. I have no excuses other than I need to somehow get my head back in losing weight and stop being so content with where I am right now.