Red and Diyana, your recent posts are so inspiring to read. I love your enthusiasm and progress! Great job!!
My new challenges are as follows: (starting tomorrow)
1. Exercise Daily
2. Eat 1300 calories or less
3. NO eating past 7pm
4. NO desserts
**I give myself 3 pauses for each, and all are separate challenges**
Red - I knew you were just jokin'. I just thought I'd play along. I do own a leather biker jacket with fringe. It's just gorgeous. I got it during a Harley Davidson anniversary celebration (since Milwaukee is home to HD). It was a great price and I couldn't pass it up even though it was a size 14 and was very tight back then and I've weigh more now. Hopefully I'll fit into it soon though.
Saramommy - Those are great challenges! Good luck, girlfriend!
Great poem I stole from someone in the 100 lb club who stole from someone else who stole it from someone else. Don't know who the original author is.
When you've eaten too much and you can't write it down,
And you feel like the biggest failure in town.
When you want to give up just because you gave in,
and forget all about being healthy and thin.
So What! You went over your calories a bit,
It's your next move that counts...So don't you quit!
It's a moment of truth, it's an attitude change.
It's learning the skills to get back in your range.
It's telling yourself, "You've done great up till now.
You can take on this challenge and beat it somehow."
It's part of your journey toward reaching your goal.
You're still gonna make it, just stay in control.
To stumble and fall is not a disgrace,
If you summon the will to get back in the race.
But, often the struggle's, when loosing the grip,
Just throw in the towel and continue to slip.
And learn too late when the damage is done,
that the race wasn't over...they still could have won.
Lifestyle change can be awkward and slow,
but facing each challenge will help you grow.
Success is failure turned inside out,
the silver tint in a cloud of doubt.
When you're pushing to the brink, just refuse to submit,
If you bite it, you write it....But don't you quit!
I rushed to the gym yesterday and only had time to work up a good sweat with a 30-min jog/walk workout on the treadmill. Better than nothing. I got a LOT of walking in after that as well. Feeling a bit ill now. Gotta take a rest I think before I overdo it. That's my downfall. Push, push, push, until I collapse.
I was rushing off to a piano lesson, my first since my teenage days. I think I insulted the teacher by repeatedly exclaiming how nice classical music could sound. She was giving me insights into the emotion of what to me had looked like a totally, totally mind-boggling boring piece of useless, repetitious finger exercises. She is a classic pianist, not jazz and I really wanted to learn jazz but I figured anything was OK for now. By awakening to what a good classical pianist can do I was really kind of saying, "well, I thought all along that this was totally boring stuff, but it's not??!?!" To me it seemed a nice thing to say, but on second thought, not really.
Didn't have the best day on food choice, well, yes and no, a bit of junk snacking, so I'm calling it a standstill on that since I still have the days. Sugar is the hard one now with all my pauses used up. Another week on that?
Good foods challenge -- Day 15 completed 2 pauses taken
No sugar! -- Day 14 completed 3 pauses taken
No alcohol (second round, first round completed with 1 pause) -- Day 3 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking (2nd round) -- Day 2 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking challenge complete!! I did take three pauses though.
Journal (2nd round) -- Day 5 completed
Caffeine Cut (Round 3!) -- Day 12 completed 0 pauses taken
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diyana -- Love the poem, diyana. Sure glad you didn't believe I was into S&M! There was no way to know if you were kidding or not. A biker jacket? Hmm....my recent beer belly (thankfully disappearing along with the hated office) would have gone well with that. I do like leather but as a vegetarian, I don't feel comfortable wearing much leather. Just as well. There's nothing that looks worse, I think, than leather clothes on an overweight, aging woman (or man for that matter). Don't tell any bikers that, OK?
Sara -- Thanks for the words, but "inspiring," me? Don't know about that, but, well, glad to be of help.
Three new challenges! Uh-oh, another ultra-low calorie person. Maybe I should give this a try.....nah, then I might actually lose weight! Of course, just kidding. But did you ever have the feeling that you don't want to lose what has been part of you for so long? I do. And I truly think it is behind my sabotage whenever I start to see real progress. It's not a fear of success. It's more a fear of change or just an anxiety surrounding it, I think. Gotta get past that with some other way of looking at it, right? Perspective, again. Heck, there was a time when I was thinner, so why don't I feel worried about having lost that?!
Hey Red - Good for you for all the exercise AND the piano lessons! I prefer jazz to classical as well, but I do like Ode to Joy and stuff like that. I am also one that has to constantly hold back the reigns on myself. I push, push, push and either collapse or get injured. You can do another week without sugar! And keep up with the good foods too! I can't do ultra low calorie diets. For my weight, WW allows me between 27 and 34 pts a day, which is approx. 1400-1700 calories. FitDay says I should get more based on my activity/exercise...but I'm following WW right now. Of course, with all the exercise points I'm earning, if I need a few extra pts in a day, I don't feel bad taking it. As for the biker jacket, it doesn't look good on me YET...but hopefully in about 20 or 25 lbs it'll fit and look good. I don't own anything else that's leather or suede, except for a couple pairs of shoes. As for the times when I was thinner....I think about when I weighed 130 and thought I was soooo fat. Now, even though WW says I should get down to the hgih 120s or low 130s for goal, I'll be thrilled when I finally get to 140 or 150. Heck, I'll be thrilled when I get to 199 or lower (hopefully by Christmas this year).
aargh - just not getting in here as often as I used to. Life gets pretty hectic for the non-working, non-caring-about-not-working person.
Day 7 and 8 are done. Although the exercise has been unorthodox and the fluid hasn't been pure H20 rather coffee, tea or juice flavoured. Other than that going all okay and the weather is getting hotter which is not good for the summer which is coming.
Shad - I know you're busy with your DIY projects and your gardening. Glad to hear you're still doing well on your challenges.
Red, Saramommy, and everyone - I hope you're all doing really well!
Quick post for me today...super busy at work. I'm going to take a break from the gym tonight...gonna be getting home later than usual due to a department team building meeting, so I think I'll just play with the dogs in the backyard or maybe take them for a walk. Besides yesterday I did 1/2 hour walk during lunch, plus 1/2 hour cardio and 20 min. strength training at the gym. A day off (but just one) will do me good.
Journal and Stay within points - 3 pauses - Day 7 completed
Cardio (Gym or walk) at least 30 minutes - 3 pauses - Day 7 completed
Crunches (really engaging my abs and stabilizing my back) 25+ per day - 1 pause taken - 2 pauses left - Day 6 completed
Planks (total of 2 minutes per day) - 1 pause taken - 2 pauses left - Day 6 completed
Shad - I apologize in advance that you may be seeing this twice as I posted this on the Worldlies thread.
I'm sitting here at my desk after WW weigh in trying, unsuccessfully, to hold back the tears. I ate within my points EVERY DAY. I worked out at a high level of intensity EVERY DAY! and I'm up 1.8 lbs.
I'm noticing the difference in how my face looks and how my pants feel (they are looser), but I'm going up on the scale. I want to get to 199 by Christmas and I just wish the scale would reflect all the positive changes I'm making and all my hard work! My WW leader said it's just muscles retaining water from all the exercise, but dang it! I expected a 1 to 2 lb loss because of all my hard work not a nearly 2 lb gain! Heck, I'm staying within my points and exercising so much, I've been having low blood sugar episodes the past couple days...so how am I supposed to eat less and exercise more to get the scale to move in the right direction?!
I don't know why I give a stupid piece of electronic equipment so much power to allow it to bring me close to tears.
Thanks for listening to my rant. I'm sure I'll be my usual upbeat cheery self by tomorrow...or maybe even later today. But right now, I'm frustrated and p**sed off!
Any thoughts, suggestions, advice are greatly appreciated.
Hey Michelle - I've said it before and I'll say it again. THE SCALE IS NOT YOUR FRIEND (MORE LIKE A FIEND).
It could be any one of a number of reasons. Like...
1. Your period is due. We always retain at this time. I used to get so constipated I would be in pain for days.
2. Eating something with a little more than the normal salt in it. And combined with the above - instant weight gain.
3. You've built more muscle, but it has not yet eaten the fat.
4. Hot humid weather can do it.
5. More than normal fluid intake.
It is very annoying, but it maybe that next weeks weighin will show a bigger loss. If it continues next week then it is time to take a look at the calories and points. Let's think about where you were and what you ate last week. Is there something you ate at the fair which was at the very least a bit over the top. Or could the food intake need an adjustment? As we lose weight the body adjusts to the intake and every so often needs a bit of a shake up.
You are doing all the right things, it just is a small hiccup in the scheme of things. Annoying, dastardly, horrible hiccup, but it is there and the fight between your body and your brain is not going to stop just because of 1.8lb IS IT?
Day 9 is done. Had to chase after the rubbish truck this morning - can I count that as exercise?
Yeah, the cold has hit. Not badly, but enough for me to feel dead. I was dragging yesterday, bizarrely so and I was wondering what the heck could be wrong. But, I guess I am a bit sick from blowing the fan on me at night. It's so hot I have to and it doesn't allow me to sleep until it cools off a bit outside. By then I'm asleep and probably get a bit chilled.
Anyhow, I thought I could fill in my food journal afterward but realize I can't so I'm sitting out two days (well, I mean, I can't remember them). Instead of giving some half-A'd account of what I ate, I'm just going to skip them. I didn't have anything bad anyhow. I realize I have to keep the notebook handy at all times or I forget what I had.
Good foods challenge -- Day 16 completed 2 pauses taken
No sugar! -- Day 15 completed 3 pauses taken
No alcohol (round 2, 1 pause on round 1) -- Day 4 completed 0 pauses taken
No smoking (round 2, 3 pauses on round 1) -- Day 3 completed 0 pauses taken
Journal (2nd round) -- Day 4 completed 2 pauses taken
Caffeine Cut (Round 3!) -- Day 13 completed 0 pauses taken
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diyana -- Well, I think Shad has just given you all the points and possibilities so I won't add the same.I don't know whether to be tough or tender because now you know exactly how I feel most of the time. It's an ugly mix of emotions, isn't it? And most of it means absolutely nothing because it is about absolutely nothing. You said it yourself, your face looks thinner, your clothes are looser, so get your head out of the dark place and see the light, kiddo!! You HAVE lost weight and the scale just hasn't registered it. Where do you think the fat goes when your body burns it? Into thin air? No, it does all kinds of things on its way out of the body but it always involves fluid, fluid that weighs a lot and often, for any number of reasons (such as Shad has mentioned) builds up a bit more before it is whooshed away. So, just wait a bit longer before you have a fit, because having a fit at this point is really, really stupid!
How do you think I feel? I've been beating myself into the ground nearly every day and the scale barely reflects it. Sure, I am enraged, but what's the point of a useless tantrum? Especially when it's not called for. Just take your mind off things and see if you're really made of the stuff you talk about when you're feeling good. Because unless you can do it now, at a time where it's about faith and perseverance, you're NOT made of it. You're going to see a LOT more of this the closer you get to goal. Two pounds is absolutely nothing. I weigh every day for this very reason. The weekly difference doesn't mean too much except over maybe three weeks. My weight can change as much as FOUR pounds in a day, even though I try to maintain the same factors at weigh-in.
So, don't you DARE go off your diet plan!! If anything, you absolutely must stick with it until you see a loss.
Shad -- thanks for the support for diyana. For once, I've taken on the mean persona!
Yeah, Shad, I think I did pretty good. We might really scare 'em away though. Ah, heck, if they can't take it....oops, there (you) go again.
I usually cringe when I see a post from you after I've been whining, but sometimes you turn out to be really nice and I think, "oh, heck, you can't let me go on like a stupid A there." Other times, you'll be so straight and I'll be like..."oh, mean, mean Shad!" Yeah, let's keep 'em guessing! Poor diyana.....
MrsVegan -- Hi there! Sorry, I forgot about you with the diyana incident and all. Welcome! Your last challenges doesn't really fit the parameters of this challenge and though people have cheated in the past, the real strength of this particular challenge is doing something EVERY, SINGLE day. So please just consider that a Extra Curricular and then ignore me, OK?
I know, I'm being tough. But I'm mad at diyana, because I'm mad at ME and the damn scale and the heat, and the fact that I have eaten myself into a blob and the fact that a girl at the riding club is starving herself to lose 2 more kilos and there is NO fat on her, and the fact that I have no clothes to wear and the fact that I feel that I will never have the body I want and the fact that ......oops, sorry about that!
Good luck, Vegan!!! Are you one, by the way?
I've put more info on the other thread. The scale is never your friend. Try measurements as well. Yep we are BIG girls. You are skinnier than me since you are in the 160s and I am not. But, I came to terms with my bone structure and body shape years back. I will never be skinny. However exercise makes us lose inches and not weight. Eat well, but don't neglect the exercise. Regardless of how many calories we take in, exercise will change the shape of the body with toning of the muscles. You can eat nothing but the exercise might guarantee the same weight because muscles weigh.
I can understand the frustration of the little Japanese lady who wants to lose 2 k she doesn't look like she has. I well remember the first time I went to a Japanese bathhouse. I was the biggest one there and it had nothing to do with height. But she is not you Red. Nothing that you can do to look like her - the genetics are all different. We each have to come to terms with our genetics.
Okay - time to get this show on the road. See ya all.
I was just joking!!!! 
running down....
Don't tell any bikers that, OK? 
still here....and tired of the slog...
You HAVE lost weight and the scale just hasn't registered it. Where do you think the fat goes when your body burns it? Into thin air? No, it does all kinds of things on its way out of the body but it always involves fluid, fluid that weighs a lot and often, for any number of reasons (such as Shad has mentioned) builds up a bit more before it is whooshed away. So, just wait a bit longer before you have a fit, because having a fit at this point is really, really stupid!
rant, rant...
Your last challenges doesn't really fit the parameters of this challenge and though people have cheated in the past, the real strength of this particular challenge is doing something EVERY, SINGLE day. So please just consider that a Extra Curricular and then ignore me, OK? 