[Nada]

Checking back in. I cut out the after dinner nibbling and I have day 13 completed, having used both my pauses. I have to finish this by Dec 23rd because of a family tradition. (hot chocolate on Christmas eve while watching a Xmas movie).

I really feel I have gotten it under control, though. And I think I can keep it up after I start a new challenge. I do best with one thing at a time and then keep that up. I admire those of you who have several challenges going at different points. You must have it on your calendars--I'd get so mixed up.

[redballoon]

Still am challengeless. I am not doing well but must fight and get through this very bad period in my life. I will not go into the details.
Yesterday, after going to the unemployment office, I felt ugly and awful, called the hair salon and was taken on the spur of the moment. Got a nice haircut and came home eventually, deciding to forego the gym, even though I had my gear.
However, when I got home and had a cup of strong tea, I felt a lot better and forced myself to go to the gym. So, that was a major save.
In Hong Kong (in the beginning at least) I for once felt pretty good about my body. I could see how tight my body was even if there was a lot of fat still. Of course, after five days that was not the case so I see the importance of regular hard exercise.
The food I ate there was nothing to speak of. It was more I didn't know what to eat or where to get it since it is very hard for a vegetarian in Hong Kong and when I can get something it usually wasn't to my liking.
Anyhow, I will try to get back on track and feeling better. I don't think it will be easy. In fact, maybe I have to just figure I'm NOT going to feel good except for the little things I force myself to do. Good feelings are only going to be the result of hard work.
Ok, sorry for the ramble.

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

Shad -- It was decent in HK. I did NOT get sick and that was a first in recent years. I was used to the chaos and actually starting to feel at home in it. It was a much-needed time away.

diyana -- You certainly have a lot of challenges. Amazing at this time of year. You are an inspiration. May I take my cue.

nada -- That's amazing that the after-dinner nibbling is being conquered. Good for you! It sounds like a nice tradition with the hot chocolate and film. I guess you could take a pause, no? The multiple challenges (when I'm doing them ) are not that hard if you post every day. I just copy and paste the previous day's challenge status and change the numbers. Must get back into it....I'm just really tired and depressed now....

[diyana]

Nada - Good for you with your success on cutting out the after dinner nibbling!

Red - A nice haircut always improves the mood. Good for you for getting to the gym!! I'm finding it difficult to get there when it's soooo cold and all I want to do is stay indoors. I think forcing ourselves to get and stay on track is not a bad thing....in fact, I need to do more of that. Then if we can keep it up for 3 weeks, maybe our bodies will miss it if we slack off ?? I don't know....I'm just trying to force myself to get back on track. Maybe I need more realistic goals/expectations for the next week or so.

****************
Today is another WW weigh in...and I'm not looking forward to it. I haven't done well in my portion control, and my exercise has mostly consisted of the Wii Fit and a little snow shoveling here and there. But all the Christmas gifts are bought, and the ones that needed to be shipped to California are all wrapped and sent. And I got the Christmas cards out. Now I can focus on other things...portion control, regular exercise, relaxing and enjoying the holidays.


Portion Control, Journal and stay within WW points - Day 0 completed
Drink 64 ounces of water - 3 pauses left- Day 6 completed
5 servings of fruits and veg - 3 pauses left - Day 6 completed
1/2 hour of cardio - 2 pauses taken, 1 pause left - Day 4 completed
50 crunches - 3 pauses taken, 0 pauses left - Day 3 completed

[Shad]

30 minutes vigorous exercise - 2 pauses Day 5 done

I've cut out all challenges except this one. I just can't seem to focus on all of them, get my head around work and try to eat well at the same time.

I'll get back to it

[redballoon]

Shad -- I'm having similar issues. Good for you for sticking with it. I am in the midst of boiling up a vegetable curry. Figured the vegetable strategy is an all-round winner.

diyana -- I didn't get to the gym today but was happy about yesterday. I did ride today though and am feeling sore from exercise in general because of my days off in Hong Kong. Yes, I agree. It's got to be tough sometimes. Indulgence can always happen, but it's just an excuse in the end. Sure, we're all no doubt juggling tons of things, not just eating related but if we're here to see weight loss, then it's one thing that's going to have to be taken into hand. But, my God, look at you, you've got everything done. Hurrah!

[diyana]

Shad - I'm feeling like you....like I need to drop some of these challenges until after Christmas. Good for you for keeping up with the exercise!

Red - I'll bet your horse missed you a lot while you were in HK. Good for you for going riding. I'm getting just about everything done, but my perfectionist attitude toward weight loss has definitely slided. I'm just trying to do the best I can...that's my goal for the next week.

************
By some weird fluke that I have no idea how to explain....I lost 4.2 lbs this week! I have no idea why. I did a little snow shoveling, but not much other exercise - certainly not intense exercise. And my eating has been far less than stellar. I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth though! I'm thrilled about the weight loss!

Anyway, here's where I'm at...

Portion Control, Journal and stay within WW points - Day 0 completed
Drink 64 ounces of water - 3 pauses left- Day 7 completed
5 servings of fruits and veg - 3 pauses left - Day 7 completed
1/2 hour of cardio - 3 pauses taken, 0 pauses left - Day 4 completed
50 crunches - starting over - Day 0 completed

[inthemidst]

Hi Chickies,
Struggling with the challenge. Managed 5 and 6 days. Then failed one day then gave up. familiar pattern.

So I am back again. down to two manageable goals.

Water - 48 oz - 3 pauses
3 servings fruits and veggies per day - 3 pauses

[Shad]

Day 6 done - exercise

Exercise yesterday was shopping. Believe me I walked miles, got a workout trying to move around, past, over or under people. I hated every minute of it.
Got lunch at the Japanese place and had okonomiyaki (SP??). I'd had them in Japan and they were delicious. Here you pressed on the pancake and the oil oozed out. Bit of a disappointment. I had to stop them from covering it with bbq sauce and mayo. I mean what!!!!!! A bit of soy might have been nice but heck - I don't like the manufactured sauces much anyway. I want sauce - I make it myself.

Enough of the rant. Out for todays exercise. See you

[MoveMoveMove]

Hello ladies.

I've been reading bits and pieces of this thread off and on for a bit and would like to join.

My first challenge may have come from here - I don't remember but I know I saw it on this site somewhere.

For 21 days, I will look in a mirror at some point during the day and say " I Love You."

Not loving myself is one of the reasons I got up to my highest weight of 334 pounds. We'll see if this helps.

I'll start today but won't be able to post every day between now and 1-4-10. I don't have the internet at home and I work for a school. Officially we are closed until the 4th but I'm working on the yearly audit and will have to come in some over the Christmas holiday.

Thanks for the idea.

[redballoon]

Ok, the B.S. has got to stop. I've had 10 days now of anything goes. I have 10 days to undo the damage and be at least back where I was for the new year.
Starting some challenges today. Will post in a while.

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

MoveMoveMove -- Welcome to our humble thread! Yes, there was once many threads ago when I suggested such a challenge. I'm glad you saw it and are taking it up. It's so easy to get bummed out and dragged down in self-hate and all sorts of ugly, negative, good-for-nothing feelings. And I am feeling very self-loathing myself recently. Wondering so many things, why I have to be such an idiot and not just do things the easy way, why I have to always be looking for a challenge (not here though...), why I can't just be "normal," etc. etc. I hope you can look in the mirror and say "I love you!" many times a day. AND, what's perhaps more important is that when little voices pop up saying otherwise, you SHOUT them down with force! Best of luck!

Shad -- You got the spelling right. Okonomiyaki means literally, grilled to your liking. "Yaki" is "grilled" and "okonomi" is "to your liking" with an honorific "o." It's because you get to choose the contents of the "pancakes." It sounds like it wasn't to your liking though. That's a shame. Sauce (though more like worcester, not bbq, and mayonnaise is the usual way of eating okonomiyaki, not soy sauce, so that was authentic. Also, bonito fish flakes and/or dried seaweed flakes. Don't know why there was any oil in it though. That's not usual. Anyhow, good work on your challenge! Oh, and speaking of rants, am I the only one who hates that moving ad I keep seeing EVERYWHERE, the one with the drawing of a woman in the bikini who keeps getting thinner and fatter?!?!?!? It REALLY annoys the bejeezus out of me.

inthemidst -- I am struggling too but feel a slight hint of resolve and energy coming my way. Let's hang in there!

diyana -- Don't know if my horse missed me but she surely missed the goodies I bring her. This past week was incredibly hard for me. I think it was pms.
That's amazing news with your weight loss. Wow! Congratulations!! That should give you a boost for the rest of the year!!

[Shad]

I don't actually remember getting a sauce with the one we had at Mizunami, although there may have been one but it wasn't spiralled all over the pancake, that much I do know for sure. I watched the lady make the pancake. Not much point in asking me what I wanted in it, I don't know all the vege names. I do remember shaking my head at something. Chris would probably remember as the lady was one of her friends there. I think she was in one of her English classes. It was yummy. This one wasn't so I won't bother with another one for a while. Actually I might just learn how to make them properly. I like vegetarian a couple of times a week and it's nice to find something new to add to the recipe base.
Actually come to think of it, this one wasn't made to order. They were made in advance for the lunch trade.

Anyway, I am calling todays challenge done - although with what I ate today, I should have done twice as much. Tomorrow is another day

Day 7 - exercise is done.

[MoveMoveMove]

Originally Posted by redballoon

Ok, the B.S. has got to stop. I've had 10 days now of anything goes. I have 10 days to undo the damage and be at least back where I was for the new year.
Starting some challenges today. Will post in a while.

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

MoveMoveMove -- Welcome to our humble thread! Yes, there was once many threads ago when I suggested such a challenge. I'm glad you saw it and are taking it up. It's so easy to get bummed out and dragged down in self-hate and all sorts of ugly, negative, good-for-nothing feelings. And I am feeling very self-loathing myself recently. Wondering so many things, why I have to be such an idiot and not just do things the easy way, why I have to always be looking for a challenge (not here though...), why I can't just be "normal," etc. etc. I hope you can look in the mirror and say "I love you!" many times a day. AND, what's perhaps more important is that when little voices pop up saying otherwise, you SHOUT them down with force! Best of luck!

Thanks RedBalloon.

I think I know what you mean on the challenges thing. I am a major procrastinator and this creates all kinds of challenges for me. It's why I'm at work today when our two week holiday began on Friday. But I have to get the audit data to the auditor tomorrow. Every year I promise myself I won't be back in the same perdicament next year - maybe I'll keep that promise for 2010.


Stop the B.S. and get your 10 days knocked out.

Have a great day everybody.

Day one and two - done

[diyana]

Happy Monday ladies -

The weekends always go so fast. I got a lot of stuff done, but not as much website work done as I wanted. I'm looking forward to being able to go to the gym again at the end of this week. The infection in my eye is too contagious and my doc wants me to avoid the gym for a bit longer. So I've been using the Wii Fit, which is fun but not as intense a workout as I get at the gym. Of course, I'm still learning the Wii Fit...so hopefully I can find some more intense cardio workouts on it. I gotta say though that the balance exercises/games are TOUGH!

Portion Control, Journal and stay within WW points - Day 0 completed
Drink 64 ounces of water - 3 pauses left- Day 10 completed
5 servings of fruits and veg - 3 pauses left - Day 10 completed
1/2 hour of cardio - 3 pauses taken, 0 pauses left - Day 7 completed
50 crunches - starting over - Day 0 completed

******************
Inthemidst - This is a difficult time of year for challenges. Hang in there and keep perservering (sp?).

Shad - I absolutely hate shopping in crowds. Good on ya' for keeping up with the exercise.

MoveMoveMove - Welcome!! That's a great challenge! I think self-love is a key component to successful weight loss. So say "I Love You" to yourself and mean it!

Red - I'm being gentle on myself until after Christmas. I will do the best I can at eating and moving....but being super critical and hard on myself only leads me to eat more. I know I need to do better and I will. My initial goal is to be under 220 by 12/31, so I can say I Lost Weight over the holidays! I'm not familiar with a moving add of a drawing of a woman in a bikini who keeps getting thinner and fatter, but that would annoy me too.


I gotta say I like the sentiment of stopping the B.S. and knocking the next ten days out! I can do this! We all can!

[redballoon]

Well, I did it. I made it through TWO days without sugar so I'm going to declare a No Sugar Challenge. It is SO hard. The first day was extremely hard and I didn't think I would manage it but I got mad at myself and said, I just have to and I certainly can if I set my mind to it. So, I did. Hurrah!
No time now. Gotta run.

No Sugar Challenge Day 2 completed 0 pauses taken

[Shad]

Well done Red. Yeahhhhhhh

Day 8 - exercise is done.

Eating is by inclination at the moment. I have no food at the motel apart from breakfast so I have to go out to eat. I hope I am doing okay.