Baby Steps Brigade *NEW*
 

Do you constantly start new challenges, new diets, new exercise programs only to quit? Join the club. No, seriously, join this club ... because you're exactly who I'm making it for to be in it.

Why? Because there's a REASON why you're failing, why I'm failing, and it's "too much, too fast" without a real commitment. This isn't something I came up with, but what most major fitness/weight loss experts believe -- the all or nothing attitude DOESN'T work. It actually is the formula for failure.

Here's why: It takes 21 days of doing something to create a habit out of it. You're more apt to stick to it, if isn't a drastic change. (Examples - a 20 minute walk 4x a week instead of one hour of kickboxing daily. Not eating after 8 o'clock at night instead of ONLY eating 1,200 calories a day. Not eating donuts instead of giving up all sugar.)

I want any woman who joins this challenge to list three new habits they'd like to create. Just three. Remember less is more and slow as you go. Complete tortoise logic. No hares here.

YOU pick when you want to start. After 21 days of committing to the group and your 3 new habits, YOU pick if you want to add another healthy habit OR work on one or all three 21 days longer.

The only thing I demand from each and every one of you, including myself, is you must check-in. Daily. This is not optional. Don't make excuses. Hold yourself accountable. Don't allow yourself to hide away, lie to the group, and more importantly, to yourself. Each little lie is a little failure that leads to binges, laying on the couch, and depression. You deserve better. I deserve better.

If you need support, are willing to really give it, and want to change your life slowly but surely, join this group. What do you have to lose? Pounds? Inches? Excuses? Bad habits? I think it's worth it.

My own start date is this Thursday, September 6th, when my children go back to school. I will start another post with my three goals ... and only three goals. I hope I have convinced some of you to join me. If not, I won't stop coming to this thread. I'll post daily. I'll commit to having a better life and doing something about the weight and the mess I've created. Time to mend my life.

~ Bee

On September 6th, Thursday, I begin my 3 things -
I will walk 30 minutes daily.
I will not eat after 8 o'clock at night.
I will drink at least 6 servings of water.

I'll be back, and then daily once Thursday hits. Even if I'm going this alone.

Still doing this thing. Just checking in to repeat myself.

Have my big water bottle now -- holds 6 servings. Emotionally preparing for Thursday. If I don't get any "takers" by Thursday, I may switch this to the blog.

Hi Bee ... You've got your first "taker"!:)

I first joined 3fatchicks many years ago (athough I haven't been around for a while!) and I'm still in the same postion now that I was then. I've yo-yo'd up and down over the years ... always trying to run before I can walk ... setting myself challenges and goals that I know, realistically, I won't be able to keep. I know deep down that the only way I'm going to achieve what I want to achieve is by taking "Baby Steps".

I started back to work this week after the long summer holidays (I work in a school), during which time I said I was going to lose weight before I returned ... I didn't! However, a few of my colleagues have and it's made me feel like a failure! I know I shouldn't compare myself to others ... we all have different reasons for losing, or wanting to lose weight. Seeing them has made me realise that it is possible, but no one else is going to do it for me ... I have to do it myself.

So, I promise that I will post every day (weekends may sometimes be difficult, but I'll try!) ... just as long as you do! So many of these threads seem to fizzle out after the initial interest has died down, but I'm determined to keep it going if you are!:)

I'm going to start right away ... Here's my 3 things:

1. Drink 1.5 litres of water daily.
2. Eat required servings of fruit/veg daily.
3. No alcohol during weekdays!:o

21 days from now will be 26 September ... I'll look back and see how I did!

Good luck to you and I look forward to checking in with you daily!

I'm joining too. If I have to check in daily, I think it'll make me do what I say I'll do. Thanks so much for this thread!
I'm starting tomorrow, September 6th.
I will...
1. Walk my dog for 30 minutes before work (healthy for me and for him)
2. Swim (at least?) 20 laps in the pool in the evening :swim:
3. Eat healthy snacks like fruit, veggies, or yogurt. (instead of the chips and candy I want) :carrot: :cb: :broc:

Nichola, your words really resonated with me -- about people expecting things from you. For me, that would be my husband. He's the type that says, "You've done it before, you should be able to do it now." Meanwhile, he's skin and bones. Ugh. I love your first three goals, nice and easy. I will definitely check in with you daily. I will be here daily. 21 days!

Quiet Ballerina, I'll be walking my dog too! I'm hoping that's what keeps me motivated. I know she needs daily walks ... and so do I!

Here's to daily accountability!

CrawlWalkRun, the vet wants my dog to lose some weight so hopefully this will help both of us. :) What kind of dog do you have? Mine's a schnauzer.

Nichola Maybe you could try using others as part of your motivation. One of my best friends has been losing weight steadily with WW, so I'm in the "if she can do it, so can I!" mindset.

There wasn't anything good on TV tonight (haha what a reason, eh?) so I decided to get started on the swimming.

Accomplished:
20 laps +
10 laps w/ kick board

Hello again:D

Welcome to Quiet Ballerina:welcome2:

Well, I managed to stick to my '3 things' yesterday, hope you both manage to do the same today.

QB - I will certainly be using one of my friends as motivation, in fact she's encouraging me to go along with her to the gym (not sure whether I'm quite ready for that yet though - baby steps remember;)). Although I do plan to start walking more ... she's also offered to meet up with me to do it together, problem is we live quite a way from each other. However, I do also have a dog who needs lots of exercise ... the walks are mostly left up to my husband and my two teenage kids ... but my son is off to start university next week in the UK so I guess now it's my turn to take over his share of the dog walks!!:o We have a Weimaraner ... you know those big silver grey dogs with long floppy ears? Her name is Brodie and she's almost 8 years old ... although some people still think she's only about 1-2 years old ... she's very energetic and playful!

Speak to you girls again tomorrow!

Update on my day so far:
Woke up (okay okay...dragged myself out of bed) :) and went to get my dog. First leash I tried seemed broken, so I got the other leash and we went outside. I didn't have a very good grip on the leash though, so when Dodger jerked, I dropped the leash and we played a short game of chase (didn't even go to the end of the driveway, but ended with me having the grass equivilent of carpet burn on one knee). So then we started our walk and I discovered that the leash I was using is also broken.
addition to my to-do list for today: buy new leash.
In short, we walked for 15 minutes instead of the full 30, and he laid down on the cool tile inside the moment we walked in the door. I think I'll finish the last 15 minutes later on today solo.

I did my walk. 30 minutes with dog on bike path right after I dropped the kids off at school. 1/21 done! Half of water gone. Replies:

Quiet, mine is a pug. She's not overweight, but she's not getting any exercise ... just like her hairless mommy. lol Great job on the swimming!

Nichola, awesome job on completing your 3 things! I'm halfway there now. :)

I'm back for my last update of the evening.

So far I did my exercise AND drank all my water. I usually don't eat after 8pm so this shouldn't be a problem, but I'll definitely tell you gals tomorrow if I was successful or not.

I'm not looking forward to my morning walk, but knowing I have some to "report to" is really helping me. At home, I'm the only one fighting this battle. It's nice to not have to do it alone.

checking in.
finished the rest of my walk and swam my laps.
I got a harness today for my dog at Walmart, and he is *so* much better behaved when we're walking now. When I just used his collar he'd always pull and choke himself. :( Now he just walks along, happy as can be.

doing pretty good on the snacking, but it helps that there aren't any chips in the house right now. :)

crawlwalkrun I completely agree. I did not want to finish the rest of my walk this evening, but I didn't want to come back tonight and say "well....I didn't exactly get to the rest of my walk..." So thanks you two!

Well, day 2 of the walking for 30 minutes is complete! Once again, I had this 2 minute discussion in my head of how not to do it and then thought of posting that I didn't do it ... that I need the full 21 days, on and on. So, I would have quit already if not for this.

Quiet, there's been a HUGE dog on both of my walks that is trying to kill my little dog and the owner has almost no control. Maybe I should tell her about the harness because dear God, it beared its teeth today and wow, it could swallow my dog whole. So far she's just been giving it treats to get its mind off of others, but it eats it, then lunges.

Oh, and I stopped eating last night before 8pm, as promised.

So far:

30 minutes of walking: 2/21
6 servings of water: 1/21
No eating after 8pm: 1/21

The harness gives better control than just a collar, so I'd recommend it. And they aren't expensive. You can pick them up at Walmart. For an XL dog I think it'd still be less than $20 (mine for a medium dog was $10)

congrats on completing your goals so far!
We had a bad rainstorm this morning so I'm going to be walking tonight instead.

Well, I drank all my water, did the exercise, and have no intention of eating. My last meal was dinner, no snack, but it's so hot here my stomach's a bit "off" of food.

Quiet, thanks for the info. I think if I can get my bravery up, I'm going to recommend that to the woman being dragged by the beast. :)

Nichola, where are you?

Walked my dog (who enjoyed walking through every single puddle along the way)
Swam my 20 laps (plus an extra 20 w/ the kickboard)
and I've done ok w/ the snacking today.

I second you Crawl, where is Nichola? I thought maybe w/ the time difference...?

GREAT JOB, Quiet!

Yesterday I did all my goals and today too! Woohoo! Had to let you know that. Hopefully Nichola shows up soon.

Great job to you too!!
Walked 60 minutes today (cause I wasn't the best when I was snacking) and swam 30 laps. Since tomorrow's Sunday, I'm going to try and swim longer and maybe go for another long walk too.

Nichola had mentioned it might be hard for her to log on on the weekends...maybe that's why she isn't posting?

Good thinking, Quiet. I hope that's it.

I didn't get my walk in yet. It's about 5:30pm here and still raining. I was planning on push mowing for an hour today and using that as my walk time, but I can't due to the rain. I might have to modify my habits for the weekend.

Like maybe walk 5x a week - Monday - Friday, and then no eating after 8pm during the week, 9pm on the weekends. Last night I ate at about 8:20pm, but I was hungry. Everything is different on the weekends. We eat our dinner early (around 3-4pm) so I'm wanting to eat after dinner unlike during the week ... dinner's at 6 and I don't want to eat afterwards.

I think I'll change it to make it more workable. Maybe on the weekends I could still take the dog for a short walk, but not drive right to the bike path.

All my water is in.

I'm going to have to declare Sunday as a day of rest from my outdoor exercises. I was very very good on the snacking today though. Hopefully I'll be good tomorrow too.

I am so thrilled. I have Monday as my official "weigh-in" day, and as of this morning I've reached the five pound mark.

Congratulations on your loss. Due to not being able to walk yesterday, I did about 2 hours of housework. The heavy, yucky stuff. Today it's pouring again so I'm going to do more cleaning -- at least two hours -- and will check in tonight. What a bummer with the rain. We needed it, but wow, not this much.

I'm not weighing in until the three weeks are up. :)

I just went for a walk with my dog (or tried....I have to work tonight so I was trying to do a mid-day walk during my break). He only walked with me for about 7 minutes before laying down in the shade. Guess the heat's too much for him. At least we still had the walk back so I got in a 15 minute walk so far.

Edit: Just swam my laps for the day. woo hoo!
and I've done well (or is it good?) on the snacking today too (so far anyway)

I'm doing great. Did my walk in the drizzle this morning with dog. 30 minutes. Didn't eat last night. I'm doing well. On track.

I'm surprised more people don't want to try baby steps.

Wonder why we haven't heard from Nichola?

I had to work in the evening today so I missed the outdoor exercise (but I did great w/ the snacking). I'm making up for it tomorrow.

I didn't eat after 8pm lastnight, did my morning walk with my dog for 30 grueling minutes in the wind/drizzle, and have 4 waters down so far.

I think Nichola already gave up. I hope not, but I think that must be the case, which is sad. Even one goal and showing up can cause a LOT of positive spirit.

I just finished swimming my laps for yesterday and today.

Going to walk in a couple of hours when it's cooler outside.

did very good on the snacking today.

Did my 30 minute walk with dog this morning. I'm really going as fast as possible, pumping those arms. I must look like a freak.

No eating last night. Got all my waters in. So far ... so good!

Couldn't get to this thread. Wasn't in my subscribed threads for some reason. Confused by that.

Didn't eat after 8pm last night and I drank all my water. Today in lieu of a 30 minute walk, I HAVE to push mow. I've not been able to do it due to rain/drizzle and today should looks pretty clear.

If I'm not back today (errands day), I'll update tomorrow. Hope you're doing well, Quiet!

Uh oh, hope I'm not alone again. I was kind of bummed. I weighed in today and haven't lost a pound. I would have thought drinking water, not eating at night, and exercising would have at least had some affect on my weight. Really bums me out.

I haven't been doing very well with my goals the past couple of days. which sucks...but I don't have much of a reason. Going to try and get back on track tomorrow.

Sorry that things aren't going as well as you'd hoped. Don't give up though!

I'm not giving up. Yesterday I did the 6 waters, but since it was a weekend, my cut off eating time was 9pm. In lieu of walking, I gardened (cleaned up for fall) for an hour. I'll be mowing today.

Quiet, I hope I'm not losing you too. I did mow today and take care of the weeds. It was a long, hard job! Not eating after 8.

I'm in limbo. Finding it hard to find motivation (if only I could wish myself thin).

I don't have many friends where I am right now, and it just makes me feel bad. I work most days, and then I just run a few errands before going home. Boring. and it makes me have pity parties.

I'm Back!!
 

Hi to both of you!

First of all, let me apologise for abandoning you! The past week has not been a good one for me. My son (my first born, my little boy, my baby ...) has gone off to university in the UK (we live in Hong Kong) ... it's been so stressful for me (not him!) and very emotional (again, not for him!), that I simply haven't been able to focus on anything else other than making sure that he had got everything he needed, bank accounts set up in the UK, forms to be completed etc. My hubby has taken him back as I work in a school and taking time off during term-time is very difficult, especially when the term has only just started, and I also have a younger daughter so it would have been too difficult for me to go (hubby works long hours!). Consequently, I'm also feeling guilty for not going with him, although it's probably for the best that my hubby took him because I know I would have been an emotional wreck when it came to leaving him there!!:cry: I was in floods of tears when they left on Wednesday morning ... and have been very tearful ever since!

Anyway, the good news is that hubby dropped him off at the university campus yesterday and all is well ... my son called me today when I got home from work ... it was only 7am in the UK, very unusual for him to be awake at that time ... especially with it being freshers week ... he and his flat mates had a late night out last night by all accounts ... and they had a fire alarm drill at 7am this morning!! ... They were all out in the cold in their underwear!! That'll teach them! I feel a lot happier now after talking with him ... he's seems to be happy and has already made friends with many of the other students so I think he's going to have a great time ... I just hope he realises that he has to do some work as well as enjoy himself!!

So, I'm back and I'm here to stay ... promise.

Managed to stay pretty much on track ... although I must confess to having had a few glasses of wine over the past week ... just to calm my nerves you understand!:o I hope this little discrepancy can be overlooked under the circumstances:^:

Good to see that you are both still here. Bee ~ you're doing great!:) QB ~ keep at it, you can do it!

See you both again tomorrow.

I understand that, Quiet. I have a family, but they offer no help for my weight loss and they're all extremely thin. I started this thread for company on the journey. I know you probably hate hearing this, but your weight isn't fat at all. I'm only 5'3". I'd love to be your size! Either way, even if you're not doing a thing, make sure to check-in. I think it'll help you in the long wrong to keep some focus on what you want and why you want it. I'm sure your situation will change. The more you concentrate on positive changes, the more positive people you'll bring to yourself.

Nichola, it's so good too see you here again. I have a son and daughter as well. My daughter is 4 years off from going away to school and I believe I'll be as wreck as well. That's just because you're a caring mother. I'm glad all worked out for the best and that you've come back to us. Have you always been a resident of Hong Kong? Sounds much more exciting than NY in the US.

I did my 30 minute walk this morning. It was a little over 40 degrees out. Brrr. I was the only person on the bike path, which was a definite plus, but wow ... hope it doesn't get much colder. :)

Hi Bee ~ It's good to be back!:)

I tell you, as a mother, finally 'letting go' is the most awful thing ... and I've got to do it all again in 3 years time when my daughter goes to uni!

We've been in Hong Kong for almost 7 years due to hubby's job. Prior to that we did a 3 year stint in Brunei (tiny country on the tip of Borneo in South East Asia). From there, we returned to the UK for 2 years, but we couldn't settle back there, we had 'itchy feet' ... which brought us out to HK ... I think we're probably destined to be lifetime expats! We still have a home in the UK but only return for holidays to see family/friends about once a year. We've always got lots of family & friends coming out to visit us here so I never really feel homesick.

So, you're in NY ... one of my best friends here in HK is actually from NY ... she's been here for about 12 years now. I doubt HK is more exciting that NY ... just different.:) So, it's only 40 degrees there now? I can't wait for the cooler weather ... it's still around 90 degrees here in HK and the humidity is still unbearable ... I hate it!! I can't wait for the cooler months ... I might actually feel like getting out there and doing something then!

Welcome back Nichola! we've missed you!

Crawl I completely understand about the family. My mom has always been a very petite woman, and my dad can stop eating dessert for a week and lose any extra pounds he put on (he's been the same weight since college). My younger brother is very very athletic, and I've just never really been into sports. I've also tended to be more curvy growing up. I don't ever remember being stick thin. It just gets frustrating at times. My sister struggles with her weight too, so sometimes I can moan to her about my issues....but I don't want to bother her too much because she has things going on in her life too.

I know they have good intentions, but for a while my parents were constantly on me about my weight. They aren't as much lately, which is nice. All their criticism just made me want to eat more. I didn't want to lose weight and have them think that by saying rude comments or nagging me that they'd 'encouraged' me to finally lose it.

Ah well. Here's to hoping I can get myself back on track.