the slog continues...
 

Daily Exercise Day 6
Level 3
Exercise? Check!
Stats? 30 minutes on the elliptical – 5.10 miles – 186 calories burned (according to the machine anyway)

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redballoon - You definitely ARE making progress. Look at all of those completed challenges under your belt. Those are MAJOR! And your weight is down again - be proud of yourself. Three, count 'em, three challenges down, and your "fat gauge" pants are looser than before. And one calorie rich day will not undo all of the marvelous success you've had. You've done so great, and we all have faith that you will keep doing great. :hug: P.S. Your job sounds like it keeps you crazy busy, but it sure does sound fascinating. I would love to write/edit for a living once I get school behind me once and for all in May.

miriam101 - I used to be the EXACT same way about exercising. Getting myself to do it was the absolute hardest part. As of now, I'm doing very well at getting myself in there on that machine. It's staying on it that is tough as nails. But so far so good, even though it hurts like you know what. I have to give myself pep talks from time to time while I'm exercising. It seems to be working so far. :D WTG on your challenge!!

Keep up the great work ladies! :yay:

Wow, just read through this thread and it looks like exactly what I need right now. I just finished reading Mindless Eating and am deciding on my three goals to start and I've been having trouble staying focused for weeks. This could be just what I need if you all don't mind my joining you :)

My challenges:
#1 - stretches & weights for 15 minutes a day, Level 3 - I think I've done these once a month the last three months :( I need to get back on track because these include the exercises that keep my back pain at bay and keep me moving!

#2 - No chocolate, sugar free or otherwise, Level 1 - I would prefer to do this with no pauses but I'm not sure that's realistic this close to the holidays. If I allow myself to pick one that might actually make me stop and really think about which 100 calorie treat will give me the most yum for the buck. I've been having some issues with sugar free chocolate lately so need to get off those. I'm not wasting my 1 pause on a mediocre treat.

#3 - I'm going to eat 7 servings of veggies/fruits a day, no pauses. I know I do better when I get my veggies in so it's time to get back to basics.

Hope I did this right! Thanks for the idea and thanks for letting me jump in :)

Day 8!
 

Finished Day 8 yesterday, doing Day 9 today in another hour or so. Munched all day Thanksgiving because we made most of the food. Thought that would prevent me from overeating at dinner. I didn't overeat but I think all the munching throughout the day was probably the equivalent of starving during the day + overeating at dinner. :( Oh well, minor setback. I went for 6 miles yesterday to atone for Thursday. :)

Should be back to normal by tomorrow. :D

:hug: to everyone. I love this thread for getting me back to exercise!

great saves today!
 

Hiya all...

Day 5 is done - and when I finish eating today - day 6 will be in the bag, too!

Red - skirts are my religious attire. And I don't fit so well in the 12's yet - more comfy still in the 14's. I have a rotten body shape and ooze with envy when I see people post pictures at weights higher than me and many sizes smaller. grrr. I DO have a small frame and light bones and have always weighed less than I look.

WTG on withstanding the temptation of the roll! What is it about riding that upsets you? I haven't been in NY for 2 years - and then - it was only for a couple of days. Looking forward! I wanna go ice skating!!!

Cyndi - welcome and good luck on those challenges!

Sunni - 6 miles!! Woohoo!!!

Shmalger - you're doing great and look at that ticker!! :)

Thanks for the welcome :)

Hey Red - That's quite a list of challenges you have there yourself! Congratulations on the smoking. I quit 12 years ago and I can honestly say it's the best thing I ever did for myself. Sounds like you really keep yourself on track even when you don't want to. It's too bad that your teacher is spoiling something you enjoy so much though. Is she good enough to make it worth the stress?

Sunni - Wow, 6 miles!

Miriam - Thanks :) Aren't women's clothes crazy? I will never understand sizes. Now that I'm more able to be flexible about my clothes I've got 3 different sizes of jeans and they all fit. How can that be? Two are even made by the same company. I think they are trying to keep us crazy about our bodies!

No chocolate - Day 2 about to be successfully completed
7 veggies/fruits - I'm at 6 before dinner so can safely say I will complete Day 2
Stretches/weights - I plan to do this after dinner which will be Day 1. If I don't I will update tonight (that should keep me from weaseling out!).

I'm working to keep that weight from coming back. 5 lbs showed up when I wasn't paying attention so it's back to the drawing board for me.

:welcome2: Cyndi! Good challenges you've picked! You will do fine, as Red said you have already won by losing an enormous amount! Congrats on that!

Miriam--Sans-car, haha! Shows you what I know--I don't even think that way, never having lived in an actual big city....

Red--why is the riding not a joy anymore? I think that is NOT the purpose, i.e., maybe you need to re-think your trainer/coach? I wouldn't stay with anyone who makes me feel bad time and time again about showing up. I understand about wanting to be better, but there is a fine line between constructive criticism and discouragement....Sometimes I do think we don't trust someone's judgement/skill unless they are pointing out all that we do wrong. Why is that?

Sunni--WTG on the 6 miles! I wogged on T-day about 3 miles in the AM, and did fairly well with the eating, not OVERSTUFFED as usual and more turkey and veggies than other stuff......

Schmalger--I am more sore this week also--not exactly sure why, maybe because I am doing different things at the gym, pushing it again. I went for a WO on Wed. and Friday with weights and some tm, ran outside Thursday, and today swam 90 minutes--even though I could barely walk when I got up this morning. The swim helped some, but still sore. I will swim tomorrow again and not do weights and run until MONDAY. I am tired of yo-yoing between 183-185. I really want to get out of the 180's!!!!

CyndiM--just saw your post. Great minds think alike, hmmm?

Sorry--forgot to add--Working On Day 11.......

long day ahead...
 

Ok, morning here. I had quite a sleep-in, and feel pretty good. I resisted eating after coming home last night. That was pretty cool. Usually I eat things just before I go to bed, just as, I guess, some sort of mental cap to the day. Too bad the calories aren't mental.

Oh, I must tell you about my dream last night. I had a dream within in a dream, where I was pigging out on all sorts of sugar. I woke up (in the dream) and was so relieved to realize it was a dream and I hadn't broken my challenge. Then I woke up for real, I think... :?: (Life, what is it but a dream..." Lewis Caroll) Thank God, I was still on track. I hear that alcoholics when they go sober have dreams of drinking. See what a sugarholic I was?

On a similar note, and nothing weight-related, I had this super cool dream the other night in which I was handed ¥1.7 million (about $18,000). I was at some bingo or something and the card I was given was unreadable so I asked for another one. Apparently, if you got an unreadable card, the host company felt you deserved to win. I was handed a pack of ¥10,000 notes. I just took it and nothing had sunk in yet. Then I went outside and showed it to my friend and it sunk in that I had just gotten so much money. I was gasping for air, I was so happy. The tears were rolling down my face and I couldn't breathe. The funny thing about the whole thing is that I had asthma that night and I guess this was the way I was interpreting my inability to get enough air. Wow, great dream. If asthma does that, then bring it on! I didn't even wake up. Again, in the dream, I knew I was dreaming, but it went on for so long and felt SO good, that I said, it's OK! Neat, eh?

Today's a big race day so I must get out. Normally I'd be drinking tonight but I have already decided I am going to walk the long way to another station to avoid going past the bar that always forces alcohol on me (there are people cooking outside so they'll see me if I walk by...)

And, I will bring a bag of mandarin oranges to avoid the blood-sugar lows from foods on offer for free at the track that tend to set me off. All in all, I've just got to learn to handle these traps.

Just uncovered more weight charts from the past and it gets so tiring seeing I have maintained the same general weight for years. Well, it could be worse, but years of not quite there, not good enough, mediocrity...hmm..reminds me of a poem.
I've posted this here before but will again...

"Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours."
-- Ayn Rand

Anyhow, must run. Wish me luck.
Just weighed myself.:goodscale Weight is lowest recorded since the end of August! :dance:

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miriam -- Well, if you do have a small frame and light bones, then that's your answer. Nothing to be envious about. I have big bones (big feet, hands and head), yet am only 5 feet 1.5 inches. It is really annoying trying to find shoes and boots are a problem because my legs are short compared to the size of my foot.
Riding is mostly because I have a difficult horse and also because this is Japan and I am at a serious stable where everything is about being good, not about having fun. There are such few choices here that I can't just move and get what I want, improvement while enjoying it. I think I just have to change my mindset. Riding to me is more a therapy, an escape from the city life and the stresses of my work. It's probably not right to expect to have that AND be in a serious environment. Anyhow, it's a bit complicated and I won't go into it. Thanks for asking though.
Yes, ice-skating in Rockefeller Center. I guess they still have it. I never did it, just watched. It looks like fun but I am too lousy a skater to do it in front of all those people. :lol:

Cyndi -- Yeah, I try to keep on track and not drinking is helping a lot. I quit smoking too about 20 years ago but started again this year. Now, I've quit again. I never thought I'd smoke again after all that time, but I did, mostly when I was drinking. It has been an extremely stressful year. That said, I did it all very consciously, drinking till dawn in the myriad bars that never sleep in Tokyo, chain smoking, enjoying talk and music all night. I was saying, this is how I'll find my way back to myself, though this too can be part of me. And that's exactly what I've done. Allowed myself anything and then made the choice to go with what's more important...having a lean, healthy body, being clear-headed and with enough energy to do the things I truly prefer, like getting up to ride, instead of sleeping off a horrible hangover. Sure, the night was fun, but it means sacrificing the things I truly love. Have to make a choice of what to sacrifice. Guess that holds with everything in life in a way.
With riding, as I said to Miriam, I don't have many choices over here, so I take what I can get, and believe me, I've been all over. I am constantly wondering why I can't seem to get out of this situation or wondering if I should at all. It makes for constant questioning with no answers, a very unpleasant situation.

mod -- You're over the hump on your challenge. Great job! :cp: Funny that lives revolve around cars in the States, or rather, that they don't in other places. I haven't driven a car in over 25 years, close to 30. I used to have dreams where I'd be in the States and driving without a license. Having a car in Tokyo is not practical. Still, I wish at times that I did. It gives you an entirely different freedom.
Riding is tough because of my sitaution. Getting up at 4:30 to travel miles to the stable for a lesson and then back into the city to work and trying to keep up with the huge costs is very tough work. But, my dream has always been to ride well and that's something that only time in the saddle can give you, so I'm trying not to lose the time. I hope I can eventually be in a situation where things will be easier. :^: As I said to the others, there are extremely few choices here and I think I've found the best when you take everything into consideration. I keep thinking and questioning though and perhaps there will come a time when circumstances allow me to make a change that will be for the better.
Sounds like you are having a good time at the gym. Good for you for pushing yourself and doing different things. I did that too recently and I think it helped kickstart my weight loss and changes in my body. Well, something's got to give, eh? I had forgotten how working out gives me more and more energy the more I do. In the beginning it is so hard. People always think they have no energy to work out and it's true, but it only gets better the more you do.
I SO understand how you feel about being sick of being stuck around a certain weight. I have been between 68 and 73 kgs for years and I am utterly disgusted with it. So, how about I go up to the 80s or even go for 90? :lol3: Nah, I think that's the wrong direction. Might not be that easy either. I want to be firmly in the 60s and eventually see the 50s. Wow, to be there would be freaky. I'd be like jockey weight, which is what I wanted to be when I was a kid. Now, at the track, people often think I'm a retired jockey. Retired is right! :rofl:

Daily Exercise Day 7
Level 3
Exercise? Check!
Stats? 30 minutes on the elliptical – 4.38 miles – *not keeping track of cals anymore - nobody agrees on how many are actually being burned because of all of the variables. The point is to keep trudging forward and to keep pushing harder.
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Y'all. That was such a feat for me today. My head is killing me - I struggle with chronic daily headaches (have for as long as I can remember) - and today was one of the worst in a while. I seriously considered using a pause, but decided to at least give it a shot. So anyway. I didn't do one of the programs, which are more high intensity and have serious alternating inclines, and instead just did it "straight." I could feel the difference in intensity, but for me, it was a huge step to at least do something if I could. (It's always been far too easy for me to use - or even manufacture - every possible excuse. So this was a big step for me.) Ugh. Enough of that!

CyndiM - Welcome! You've got some serious challenges, there, and you can so do it. I'll tell you what. Having this here has helped me sooo much. Knowing that I have to update every day really influences my decision to exercise. Congrats on the successful challenges today. WTG!!

Sunnigummi - Great job on the 6 miles! Wow! I should say that made up for your Thanksgiving munchies. Keep it up!

redballoon - Thanks for the kind words, and I'm glad my words were of some use to you. :) You all mean so much to me, too. It is absolutely remarkable how much of a difference the kind comments and accountability make in me on a day to day basis. And I'm oh so sorry about your crappy instructor. I really hope things get better soon or that it's at least worth it for you to put up with. You have done such a fantastic job on all of your challenges, and look at you getting all crazy at the gym! You rocked the exercise yesterday! I hope you enjoy your run today, and major kudos on the low weight. (Loved the poem, btw. And I enjoy reading your long posts and about your dreams.)

miriam101 - Thanks for the encouragement! It works wonders, I'm telling you. WTG on 6 days behind you now! You're rocking it! WOOHOO!!

modcat44 - Day 11! You go on with your bad self! lol And I am still so jealous of swimming. Are you doing hard core structured laps, specific styles, etc.? And you will get out of the 180s and into the 170s before you know it. I'll bet you make it before the new year. Keep it up!

I think I've talked to everybody now. All of this scrolling up and down makes me nervous that I've left someone out. WTG everybody. Keep up the GREAT work! :carrot:

Thanks redballoon! I needed that after this terrible day. :) Yay!! I hope you have a fantastic day, and keep up the GREAT work! Remember, YOU ROCK. (I'm hoping DH gets me this awesome poetry book for Christmas - Norton's Anthology, or something like that. I've been dying to really read/study poetry, but haven't been able to juggling school and work. But May graduation is coming soon, and I'm looking forward to doing it then.)

Hello All,

Sorry I haven't posted in so long, I just haven't been on the computer in a few days.

Challenge 1 - Writing it all down (level 3): Day 6 complete, Day 7 in progress
Challenge 2 - Face Care (level 2): Starting over (or maybe just starting)

Everyone is doing so well I am so impressed. And it a little easier sticking to the challenge when you know you have to report it out to someone.

Red - It sounds like you need to take it a little easy and love yourself a little more. You are making huge strides towards a healthier you and the leaner part is sure to follow, try not to beat yourself up so. And thanks for this tread and helping the rest of us keep on track :D.

Schmalger - :yay: you didn't make excuses and got on that machine :yay: Pretty impressive.

ModCat - Day 11 almost over the hump. I'm with you on the crazy sizes. I just don't get it. I also am big framed, but I'm tall no one ever guesses my weight, cause I carry it everywhere.

Cyndi - that weight always shows up when we aren't looking doesn't it. Great challenges.

Miriam - Sounds like you'll have a fun trip. I haven't been ice skating in years but man does that sound fun. I may have to do that this year. And again everyone is different a shape, I might fit in a twelve when I get down to goal, I've never worn smaller than a ten and at my heaviest (+100 lbs) I still was only a 20.

Sunni - 6 miles :eek: That may not totally make up for damage but it's sure a good start.

Well I should get moving. Have a great day everyone.

-Tech