Hi ladies -

I kinda fell apart over the weekend....was having too much fun and didn't plan ahead for getting veggies/water in....so here's where I'm at.

Day 10 (Friday)
3 servings of veggies daily - done 2 pauses left
60 ounces of water daily - done 2 pauses left
Physical Therapy exercises daily - done 2 pauses left

Day 11 (Saturday)
3 servings of veggies daily - nope 1 pause left
60 ounces of water daily - nope 1 pause left
Physical Therapy exercises daily - done 2 pauses left

Day 12 (Sunday)
3 servings of veggies daily - nope 0 pauses left
60 ounces of water daily - done 1 pause left
Physical Therapy exercises daily - done 2 pauses left

I'm going to do better today and for the next 9 days!

Day 13- Water challenge not completed - 3 pauses taken

Day 10 - No snacking done - 1 pause taken

Day 1 - 50 Crunches done - no pauses taken.

Hang in there, Red. We've all been there....we've all felt the frustration. I'm at my highest weight ever...and I just keep telling myself that I lost 40 pounds last year (only to put it back on when I was laid up sick for 3+ months with pneumonia/bronchitis, followed by back pain), but since I lost that much weight once and found ONE-derland, I can do it again.

These accountability challenges are REALLY helping me.

Here are Monday's results:
Day 12 - 3 servings of veggies daily - Done 3 pauses taken
Day 12 - 60 ounces of water daily - done 2 pauses taken
Day 12 - Physical Therapy exercises daily - done 1 pause taken

Here are Tuesday's results:
Day 13 - 3 servings of veggies daily - Done 3 pauses taken
Day 13 - 60 ounces of water daily - done 2 pauses taken
Day 13 - Physical Therapy exercises daily - done 1 pause taken

Day 14- Water challenge not completed - 3 pauses taken

Day 10 - No snacking done - 2 pause taken

Day 2 - 50 Crunches done - no pauses taken.

So, Shad, what is happening with the water challenge? Does that mean you just took your last pauses, or have you crashed? I hope it's the former. You are doing so well on the no snacking!

I am extremely depressed, probably the worst in a long time and am having a very hard time finding the right amount of pressure (self-applied) that will force me to make the changes that will break the vicious cycle of feeling terribly blue. The stealth challenge was working (that is why I was stealthing, because I wasn't strong enough to feel so "forced" to do something) but then it too fell to the anxieties and utter grayness of my life. Today I blew off riding (a very bad sign) and now I'm going to blow off work as well. I try too hard and then cave in, but can't seem to find that fine line between sloth and Sparta I can walk to find my way out of this darkness. Time to myself with no place I "should" be helps a lot. I just haven't had enough of this. And a lot of the things I think are for myself actually work against me, such as drinking and smoking and staying out, eating poorly and not exercising. Depression seems to be all around me, at the stable, at work. It's one of the reasons I felt I had to leave the company. Well, here's hoping a day stolen for myself will help. It usually does.

Haven't given it away, just don't have any pauses left. It will probably crash.
No snacking is having a few problems as well.

I just don't like winter and Sydney and together they make me feel a bit depressed.

I wish I had some sage words of wisdom, advice or consolation I could offer you both. I think I need coffee before "sage"-dom kicks in. to you both. Hang in there. The situations you both are in will improve soon.

Here are Wednesday's results:

Day 14 - 3 servings of veggies daily - Done 3 pauses taken
Day 14 - 60 ounces of water daily - done 2 pauses taken
Day 14 - Physical Therapy exercises daily - done 1 pause taken

And I'm starting a new challenge today, and it's a VERY difficult one for me:
Daily journaling AND staying within allowed calorie/point range, 3 pauses allowed.


Red - I hope the "stolen" day for yourself helps.

Shad - I hope things in Sydney improve a lot.

Hugs,

Well, it's about time to declare a challenge. I still don't really know what to do and am leery of the usual black and white challenges I usually do.

Today, I spent some time looking at the reasons I give for being unable to lose weight and/or get the body I want. The reasons I gave I then analyzed for self-limiting beliefs, which is what I read were the main reason for failure, that the subconscious is listening to those often unspoken beliefs, but they are nonetheless in the psyche and constantly affecting the mind. It's because of them that the conscious efforts and goals don't work.

Well, I came up with some pretty sad ones, ones that basically said all is hopeless and that I will never succeed. Damn, if I'm actually saying that then I am surely setting myself up for failure almost intentionally. Wow.

Ok, so I'm going to make a challenge that looks at my beliefs and every day many times a day I will look at the arguments to those falsehoods. So, I'll call today a start because I was doing it all day. I even sent a list to my cell phone and looked at that whenever i could outside.

I'll call it..The Truth Challenge -- Day 1 completed no pauses allowed...this is for YOU!! (me)

**************

diyana -- Thanks for your support. I think the day helped somewhat, though I didn't accomplish all that much, I did do something. And the start of a new challenge is significant.
That IS a hard challenge you've picked. All the best of luck to you!!

Shad -- Come on, you can do it!

Everything has now crashed. Will begin again after the weekend.

Hi guys,

Red and Shad - wowzers. We all need to get it together. Good luck on the truth challenge, Red. Certainly I maintain that weight loss is tenfold more emotional than physical...

i turned down teaching summer school this year.. It's great money 9certainly needed here) but I'm feeling very very overwhelmed and juggling yet another responsibility seems too much fr me at present.

The headaches I'm suffering from are terrible and I feel awful all of the time. I need to do some more blood work and hopefully that will give me some more answers. I wouldn't have thought that eliminating gluten would have me feeling great by now, but it's been 2 and a half months and I'm actually feeling worse!!

I can't even think of a good challenge for me. Maybe to go to sleep earlier.

Diyana - I'm glad someone is doing great!!!

Red - Good for you for being so introspective and recognizing your self-limiting beliefs. I have so many of them too. I'm listening the audiobook version of Dr. Phil's Ultimate Weight Loss Challenge and self-limiting beliefs are just one of the many things he talks about. He says we need to recognize the self-limiting beliefs for the lies that they are and begin being real and truthful with ourselves. I'm not a big Dr. Phil fan, but so far, I'm liking what he has to say, and I like the audiobook version so I can listen on my way to and from work. I'm SOOOO proud of you for having the guts to take the Truth Challenge! You rock! As for not accomplishing much on your day...you accomplished a helluva lot! Sheesh....you've done in a day what it's taking me years (and counting) to do!

Shad - Sorry to hear that everything has crashed...but you've been under a helluva lot of stress. Are you back home for the weekend so you can find time to relax and decompress in your garden? Or if you're in Sydney, can you find other ways to "get away" from the crap you've been dealing with?

Miriam - So sorry to hear about the headaches. They are truly awful! I went through a several year period in my life where I was getting migraines 4 or 5 days a week, so I kinda know what you might be going through. I was on beta blockers and other meds for prevention purposes. I haven't had hardly any migraines for the past 3 or so years. I don't even take prevention meds anymore, haven't for years. Occasionally, I'll still get one around that TOM. I made a couple life changes, including changing jobs and not demanding perfection from myself in other areas of my life. I used to berate myself because I was overweight, had a messy house, had credit card debt, etc., which put a ton of pressure on me. Now I just do what I can do and take pride in the small, baby steps I can accomplish. Also, when I'm hit with a stressful situation, I try and remember the Serenity Prayer, and determine if this is something in my control or out of my control, and if it's in my control...what can I do (again baby steps) to alleviate the stress. Also, getting enough sleep and staying hydrated were big keys to fending off migraines. As I said, I haven't had hardly any migraines in the last few years. Good luck! I hope you find out the cause.

Here are my results for yesterday:

Day 15 - 3 servings of veggies daily - Done 3 pauses taken
Day 15 - 60 ounces of water daily - done 2 pauses taken
Day 15 - Physical Therapy exercises daily - done 1 pause taken

Day 1 - Journal AND stay within calorie/point range - done No pauses taken

I apologize for being so long winded today. I hope everyone has a great day/weekend!