Week at a Time Challenge #5
 

The object of this thread is to take on at least one challenge related to your weight loss goals for 7 days straight. Choose whatever inspires you - a certain amount of water intake, no sugar, 30 minute walks, etc.

I will award accolades for each day you maintain your goal(s) and 7 day winner awards and pounds down at the end of the week. We will begin each challenge on Monday - you can choose a new challenge or repeat any challenge for extra mileage. If you would like to stretch yourself, take on more than one challenge.

We will support each other keeping in mind to stay focussed on our successes and/or challenges of the day and week related to our weight loss. There are plenty of threads where a lot of time is spent on personal stories, so let's try to keep that to a minimum.

mscat-
All that we have is right now.
Yesterday is gone, Tomorrow is not promised, and Someday is not a day of the week!

Looking back to Jump Start us into the New!
 

Last week was so great - everyone accomplished something! We may not have made all our goals everyday - but we hung in there and kept raising the bar. Let's keep up our efforts and go for the gold again!

Applause for each day Our Shining Stars were in the spotlight last week . . .

Sushi Penquin :cp: :cp:
Bonniebell :cp: :cp: :cp:
carla :cp: :cp: :cp: :cp:
Bev :cp: :cp: :cp: :cp: :cp: :cp:
haleys :cp: :cp: :cp: :cp: :cp: :cp:
squiggly :cp: :cp: :cp: :cp: :cp: :cp: :cp: :bravo:
and mscat (me) :cp: :cp: :cp: :cp: :cp: :cp: :bravo:

mscat-
All that we have is right now.
Yesterday is gone, Tomorrow is not promised, and Someday is not a day of the week!

I always forget you start a new thread every week, mscat, oops! Good job everyone on this last week.

My goals for the week are to exercise 5 days this week (at least an hour each time) and to make sure I'm drinking my 8 glasses of water a day.

My goals for this week:
- drink at least 2 litres of water everyday and don't eat after 7 pm
- exercise daily and work on fixing my sleep schedule (and post what time I went to bed and got up in this thread as an additional motivator)

Good luck to everyone! :)

Good Monday Night!
 

It's late Monday evening and I don't know where everyone is - I hope it's just the change of thread. Anyway I forgot to give cheers for the ladies who lost pounds (and inches) last week!

Haleys :cb:
Bonniebell :cb:
squiggle :cb:
carla :cb:
and I lost 5 inches! :cb:

My goals for the week is to complete my WW tracker, stay within my point allowance, and get my water in everyday - my bonus goal is to continue moving everyday. Today I am within points, drinking last 24 oz of water now, and got a 35 minute walk in at lunchtime!

I wish everyone :goodluck: with their goals this week!

Wow, 5 inches, congrats! :)

Just reporting on my progress so far... :)

Monday :) --> food (had an apple at 6:55 pm and that's it till breakfast!), water (2 litres) and exercise (Aquafit) accomplished; I'm on the phone with the bank right now (and have been on hold for ages...), but I'm jumping into bed as soon as that's out of the way...

which is NOW, that is 3 mins later, at 11:15 pm :)

So far, so good. No wine or chocolate, and no bonus goal.

Too tired to talk more tonight.
Carla

Water goal met. Didn't exercise but I still have 6 days to get in 5 days of working out so it's all good. Feeling down about myself right now. Ugh.

My goals this week will be 1/2 hour walking every day and breakfast every day by 8 a.m. Will continue tracking my water.

Monday - Walked 35 minutes and ate cereal at 7:45 so made my Monday goal. I did drink 60 oz of water and 12 oz Crystal Light.

Good luck to everyone on their goals this week - I know we all can do it! Haleys - hope you feel better this a.m.

Bev

Tuesday's Inspiration
 

Happy Tuesday Ladies - here is an exerpt from Ralph Marston's inspirational message that I think we can all relate to!

". . .Are you hesitant to move forward because there's the possibility of a setback? Then consider that every short-term disappointment can serve to build a stronger foundation for long-term achievement.

Even when you're not getting the results you want, you're making progress. Every experience, whether successful or not, can teach you how to do it better. So go ahead, step forward, and travel confidently in the direction of your dreams.

For even though the setbacks and disappointments will come, you surely have nothing to fear. And, even more importantly, you have everything to gain."
-- Ralph Marston

Every little step we take, every goal we accomplish, whether it's one day or seven, whether it's all goals or some - is one goal closer than we were before! Keep on keeping on and never give up!

Tuesday early evening check-in :)

I was in bed by 11:30 pm yesterday, and woke up at 4:30 am today :lol: (I couldn't sleep more, I was too hungry :lol:, but 2 glasses of milk, medium-sized orange, 2 glasses of water and a 2-egg-mushroom-scramble later, I got another hour of sleep. I'm expecting my eyes to close early tonigh. :lol:

I had my last cherry before 7 pm, and I'm just going to drink a bit more water, just for the heck of it - I met the 2 litres goal earlier today. This is getting so much better already - I'm actually feeling thirsty and/or dehydrated if I don't drink all this water, and I observed a noticeable decrease in the number of bathroom trips. So I'm actually going to try to stretch my goal. :)

No exercise as of yet today, but I spent the afternoon running errands, and I'm going to cound that as part of the exercise because I've been quite sedentary the past 2 weeks. Alas, I acquired blisters on my feet, which might limit me to stretching only, but I'm going to try to skip me some rope anyway. :)


PS: Mscat, I forgot to congratulate you upon completing the 21-day challenge. :o So Congratulations! :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: And thank you for posting the inspirational/motivational message. :) It's so right, progress is the most important thing. :)

mscat, that message is awesome!

I just finished an hour on the elliptical and 30 minutes of strength training. Dinner time!!

Goodnight!
 

Our Monday Super Achievers are
Sushi :cheer:
carla :cheer:
haleys :cheer:
Bev :cheer:
and me :cheer:

Have a great evening ladies.

mscat

Tuesday: goals met, but no other achievements. Glad I set easy goals!

Morning!
 

Good morning ladies! It's hump day - so stand strong in your commitments.

Tuesday's report for me - WW tracked - barely made my points maximum :fr: Got 96 oz of water in too! Bonus goal acheived with 30 minute treadmill workout in the a.m. and walked an extra 15 minutes on campus and I resisted peaking at the scale.

Tuesday Shining Stars . . .

carla :cheer:
haleys :cheer:
Sushi :cheer:
and me :cheer:

Have an extraordinary Wednesday!

mscat-
All that we have is right now.
Yesterday is gone, Tomorrow is not promised, and Someday is not a day of the week!

Just realized I forgot to post Tuesday -- walked 35 minutes and breakfast at 7:45 - cereal, milk & 1 teas sugar.

Wednesday - walked 50 minutes this morning! Yeah!! Had to carry my lazy puppy for a little ways as he flopped over on his side and refused to walk one more step. What a little rascal - he was ready to turn around and come home. Breakfast was 1/2 hr late as I slept later than usual this morning. Had 2 over-easy eggs, 2 pcs toast and orange juice at 8:30. Have not been sleeping well because of the thunderstorms and it felt so good to get a good night's sleep.

Everyone have a super hump-day ... Bev

Checkin in again :)

I fell asleep around 10:40 pm yesterday and was up around 9 am today. I smell trouble tonight though... anyone has tips for falling asleep? :)

Food is good, but only got half of my water in so far, need to speed up :lol: (it's always harder on a day when I don't work!). And we're going to the park to play badminton soon.

Tomorrow is a busy day for me, so I might not check in until Friday.
Good luck to everyone and talk to you soon! :)

No tips for sleep, sushi, I am prescribed sleeping pills--don't know what I'd do without them!

I did an hour on the elliptical today and drank tons of water!

signing off
 

Wednesday Report - I tracked on WW, drank water, and got a bonus workout in.

Sushi - I used to be an insominiac - here are my tips for sleep:

1. Do a little exercise late in the day - short walk outside.

2. Warm milk - if you can tolerate it, or decaf tea.

3. Read a book or magazine.

4. Quiet and darken the entire house before bed - get mentally ready for bed - don't watch news or shows that may be disturbing before bed -try a little soft night music.

5. Meditate before bed.

6. Warm bath or foot soak.

Or you can do what changed my sleep patterns once and for all - have a baby! Ok that is a little drastic. Hope you have a good night.

mscat

I'm sorry. I've got behind lately. Our week started out in a heat wave so here's the stats for each day using the goals from last week.
Sunday-no exercise, got my water in
Monday-10 minutes of exercise, got my water in, no pop
Tuesday-10 minutes of exercise, got my water in, no pop
Wednesday-30 min of exercise, water in

It was way to hot to exercise in the beginning of the week. I have no A/C.
I'm glad to hear that you are all doing well.

Thursday report - walked 45 minutes and just had breakfast (7:45) - yogurt, Kashi Crunch, honey & fresh peach.

Am really focused today - yesterday was just a "strange" day for me. Got up late to start with and just had no ambition! I did take a long walk but other than that accomplished nothing. Plus I used 4 flex points which I rarely do -- and on a Schwanns Lemon Freeze - 5 pts and absolutely no food value!! Didn't even track my water but know I didn't drink nearly enough. That's probably why I had the munchies.

I think that my stupid brain was telling me "you don't have to work so hard on this now - after all you were 2# down when you weighed this morning" -- so much for listening to that little voice!

So am counting yesterday as a learning experience - and am back on track!!! Bev

Thursday Check-in
 

Afternoon Ladies -

I missed Tuesday Shining Stars
Bev :cheer:
squiggly :cheer:

And to our Wednesday Women of Wonder . . .
Bev :cheer:
haleys :cheer:
squiggly :cheer:
and me :cheer:

We are having such an extraordinary week! We are Wonder Women!

mscat

Oops. I forgot to check in yesterday. Both yesterday and today I'm on target. But next week I think it will be time to move to another exercise goal. By then I'll probably have milked the whole cat adoption as much as I can - no more toys to buy, and I think they really don't need me around ALL the time... :)

Here I am... :) Just got back from the park, pleasantly sweaty ;) after playing badminton. :)

I made myself a chart in Excel to keep track of my challenges and see how I did each day and week. :) Let me copy a summary for this week.

Monday: water & no food afer 7 pm goals met; Aquafit; bed time 11:15 pm
Tuesday: water goal exceeded, no food goal met; counting errands as exercise; up at 4 am or so, bedtime 10:40 pm
Wednesday: water slightly below goal, no food goal met; exercise so-so - went to play badminton but got awful stitches after 10 mins :(; up at 9 am, bedtime 10:20, but not sure if it counts because I couldn't fall asleep (blame the afternoon nap... :( ), got up and went on the computer in the middle of the night...
Thursday: water goal exceeded, food goal met; lots of badminton for exercise; up at 10 am :o , getting ready for bed now (10:10 pm)


Carla, I want your kitties! :) :p :D
Mscat, thank you for the sleep tips :) - I think I'm going to try to drink warm milk (love milk, hate warm milk), only it doesn't go with no food after 7 pm...
Squiggly, you have my full understanding with the AC situation (my place was unbearable when my window unit broke down), and you probably ended up sweating more than during/after a heavy workout!
Bev, keep up the good work, ignore what the Schwanns Lemon says ("Have me, eat me, I'm sooo tasty!), and congratulations on the pounds lost!
Haleys, congrats on the water and the exercise. :)


Oh oh - I forgot to mention that my pants are feeling looser today!!! :cheer:

Thursday Night Sign Off
 

It's Thursday night and I am having a tough time. I was over points again today except my bonus workout save my butt again! I am going to have to take on maintaining my points not counting activity points next week :fr: It's time to stretch my goal!
squiggly - yay! for Today and :cheer: on the loose pants - isn't that a great feeling? Who cares what the scale says when you can see and feel it!
carla :cheer: for Wednesday and :cheer; today! I agree with Sushi - your stories about the kitties makes me yearn for the time when my girl was a kitten and I had 3 of her siblings in the house at one time. You are doing magnificently this week!

Bev - I feel the same way about using my activity points - taking it easy every now and then is okay as long as you don't go on a binge! You are doing great and you are losing weight too! :woo:

Have a great Friday everyone!

mscat-
All that we have is right now.
Yesterday is gone, Tomorrow is not promised, and Someday is not a day of the week!

mscat, I forgot to post my exercise when I got home yesterday (Thursday). I did an hour on the elliptical, 20 minutes of strength training and drank all my water!

I am sure my German spelling is not correct! It's TGIF -Thank Goodness it's Friday :cb: :cb:
Bonniebelle - vacations can be trying on our weightloss routines and yours especially so. Be proud that despite all that happened, you are taking steps to reclaim your power - being in the right now moment and starting today with your walk and calorie watch. What a triumph! You could have easily said "I'll just start again on Monday." What an incredible example you are for all of us :bravo:
haleys :cheer: for your Thursday accomplishment - Good for you and thanks for letting us know!
Have a Great Friday Everyone!

Just checking in quickly on my way to bed... :) All goals met today! :)
I got an unusual kind of exercise - cleaning :lol: Usually it's my boyfriend who cleans our apartment, but I was on a roll after we finished the 5 loads of laundry. :lol:

Have a nice weekend, everybody, hopefully you're not stuck at work like I am. :)

Still no wine or choc bars.

I'm very impressed how many posters on this site do a lot of housework. I decided to reduce my standards instead... :lol: But I'm very good at collecting whatever is lying around into boxes I never look at again.

Report for Friday - Walked for 40 minutes and had toast & juice @ 7:00 am. Have already missed my breakfast goal today as it's already 8:25 but I'm off to take my walk before I eat -- I know I'll eat eventually!! But if I stall on taking my walk, just may not get it done.

Bonnie - So glad to have you back from vacation. I'm digging deep for the determination right now -- seems to be a struggle. I stay within my points, but am eating too many things that really aren't very good for me. So let's both do some "diggin" this week-end and all next week!!!!

Carla - my housekeeping method sounds just like yours. Just pick it up and stash it out of sight!!! I truly detest housework. I think it's a generational thing - my mom is a fussy housekeeper, skipped me and all except one of my sisters, and the granddaughters are all clones of my mom! So I quit worrying about it and figure it's the way things are.

Everyone have a great Saturday -- off to pound the pavement. May be a short one this morning as I have a sore on one of my toes, but we'll see. Bev

Friday & Saturday update :^:


Monday: water & no food afer 7 pm goals met; Aquafit; bed time 11:15 pm
Tuesday: water goal exceeded, no food goal met; counting errands as exercise; up at 4 am or so, bedtime 10:40 pm
Wednesday: water slightly below goal, no food goal met; exercise so-so - went to play badminton but got awful stitches after 10 mins :(; up at 9 am, bedtime 10:20, but not sure if it counts because I couldn't fall asleep (blame the afternoon nap... :( ), got up and went on the computer in the middle of the night...
Thursday: water goal exceeded, food goal met; lots of badminton for exercise; up at 10 am :o , getting ready for bed now (10:10 pm)

Friday: water & food goals met; about 1 hr 40 mins of hard-core cleaning counted as exercise; up at around 9 am, bed around 10:15 pm

Saturday: water goal exceeded, food goal met; it was kind of late when we got to the park today, but we still played badminton for about 20 mins and then I skipped rope for another 10 or 15, until moskitos chased us away; up at 8:10 am, not sure what time I'll be going to bed tonight (more on that tomorrow).

(hope it's ok to post things this way, it's easier for me to keep track)

Mscat, we're missing you. :dizzy: ;)
Bonnie, great to have you back! I actually forgot you were away... I knew someone was "missing" this week, but I couldn't figure out who it was! We all struggle with motivation sometimes, and it often takes a bit of time to re-adjust and be back on track (better to do it in phases I think). I hope the stressful aspects of your life clear out soon.
Bev, 8:25 am isn't too late for breakfast. :)
Carla, I deposit stuff into boxes/folders/containers as well - anything but clutter please. :lol: I probably never look into most of them after that, but my quirk is to have them perfectly organized, I can spot clutter in boxes/drawers/closets/coupboards from the outside. But please don't make me vaccuum, dust, mop and so on. :lol:

Saturday report - Walked 45 minutes but missed my 8:00 breakfast goal by about 2 hours!

MsCat - I know what you mean about having a tough time right now. I just am not "working the program" at all! I have been staying within my points (I never count APs) and rarely use more than a few Flex points per week - but I am just eating junk. I know that in theory a point is a point, but my body can tell the difference between a "veggie/fruit point" and a "junk food point" and it really lets me know it. Read over my journal for the past few days ... pretty scary!

So I am newly committed and am going to change my goals a bit -- still doing the 1/2 hr walk daily and breakfast by 8:00 a.m. But am going to add drinking at least 60 oz of water and being able to say at the end of the day that my points were worth eating. Let's see how determined I really am ..... Bev

Bonnie - PLEASE don't even think of giving up on us! Even when we don't quite live up to our expectations, it's much better than doing nothing at all. Just think how much exercise you'll get next week keeping up with your granddaughter!!! Just keep up the good fight - I really appreciate all your support and we NEED you here. I saw something on another post to the effect "I will be so glad 3 months from now that I stuck with this" and that's my new mantra. My magic date is Oct 28 - just one day and one week at a time.

Sunday report - walked 40 minutes and have eaten a good breakfast (tomato juice, 2 toast with peanut butter and an ounce of string cheese) -- it's going to be a good day! Oh, and already drank the 1st glass of water. Bev

Bonnie, don't leave us! Maybe for the new week you could pick goals that you know are achievable. It would give you the feeling of success you need, and you can always ramp it up the week after. It worked for me so far: I thought my goals were pretty easy, but now that I've met them, I'm going to add deliberate exercise, which seems to be my downfall right now, and which I think I'm ready to try. Good luck!

Sushi, the inside of my boxes and folders is totally random and totally messed up. They are created when I'm expecting guests and I swoop thru the house piling everything in sight into containers to hide the chaos. Pens, notepads, grocery coupons, articles clipped from mags, doodads, whatsises, thingamajigs... They are also created when I try to tidy a drawer - they're full of the things I didn't want to turf but couldn't find a place for "right now". On the rare occasions I go thru them, I usually find 98% of the stuff can go straight in the trash... On the plus side, I rarely lose anything: it's in there somewhere!


This week I've maintained my goals (no wine or chocolate bars), and MY TICKER MAY HAVE MOVED!!!! I seem to be down a pound, but my scale is no longer in the same place, so it COULD be that. I'm taking the credit anyway. Only 4 pounds to my Labour Day goal - I might just make it to onederland!

My Dear Weeklies - Please forgive me for being absent. I have been thinking about all of you and just too involved in my own drama to post.
First of all - let me be honest and say I fell off the wagon! :fr: Blew my points on Thursday with a going away party at work. Didn't realize until Friday when I recalculated my points. I was not upset about that because I have had 3 weeks of being OP and I am proud of it. As as I have said on numerous occasions , it's not about what you didn't do - it's about what you do.

Then today, although I said I would not look at the scale until weigh-in day, I took a peak and I had not lost a pound. Went for a 2 mile walk to think about that and came to the conclusion, everything is still okay. I am proud of my accomplishment - Exercising everyday for almost 4 weeks straight, being OP for 3 weeks in a row, and keeping up with posting on this site and my other site. I have lost 7 inches, I feel great, my stomach is flatter, and I know I am buliding muscle which weighs more than fat. I am still here!

carla Friday :cheer: Saturday :cheer: you are hanging tough and :woo: for pounds down! Take credit for your ticker! :thanks: for supporting the group - your advise to Bonnie is right on!
Bev Friday :cheer: Saturday :cheer: and Sunday :cheer: You and I are kindred spirits - I am going to stop using my AP to balance off going over my points. My goal for this week is to stay at or under daily points and without counting AP's! The point system works better when we use it to get plenty of the right food in - so let's take on the challenge of ticking off those fruit and veggie servings too! :thanks: also to you for supporting the group and Bonnie!
Bonnie - We are here for you :grouphug: whether you make your goals or not. Remember this is a Week at a Time Challenge, but we are each reaching for our goals and helping each other make it ONE DAY AT A TIME! Stay with us please - There is no way many of us would be where we are without this thread. The sharing of others helps us know we are not alone in our struggles or our joys. Forget about beating yourself over 3 days of not being OP - rejoice that despite all of that - YOU WENT FOR A 2 MILE WALK TODAY! :cheer: That is an accomplishment!
Sushi Friday :cheer: Saturday :cheer: Post however you can, whenever you can! I appreciate you getting me caught up so I can give you your cudos for each day you make it and at the end of the week! You are doing so great

Thanks for all the notes of concern - I missed you too!
mscat
All we have is Right Now - Yesterday is gone, Tomorrow is not promised, and Someday is not a day of the week!

Time for my end of the week check-in :D

Monday: water & no food afer 7 pm goals met; Aquafit; bed time 11:15 pm
Tuesday: water goal exceeded, no food goal met; counting errands as exercise; up at 4 am or so, bedtime 10:40 pm
Wednesday: water slightly below goal, no food goal met; exercise so-so - went to play badminton but got awful stitches after 10 mins :( ; up at 9 am, bedtime 10:20, but not sure if it counts because I couldn't fall asleep (blame the afternoon nap... :( ), got up and went on the computer in the middle of the night...
Thursday: water goal exceeded, food goal met; lots of badminton for exercise; up at 10 am :o , getting ready for bed now (10:10 pm)
Friday: water & food goals met; about 1 hr 40 mins of hard-core cleaning counted as exercise; up at around 9 am, bed around 10:15 pm
Saturday: water goal exceeded, food goal met; it was kind of late when we got to the park today, but we still played badminton for about 20 mins and then I skipped rope for another 10 or 15, until moskitos chased us away; up at 8:10 am.

Because of the unpleasant adventure I had yesterday, we ended up not going to bed until 3:30 am. I woke up around 1:30-2 pm, but didn't get up until after 3 pm.

Sunday: water goal slightly exceeded; no food after 7 pm goal met; a 20-minute walk outside was the only thing I did today other than sitting at the computer desk or staying in bed, so although it's not really exercise, at least I did move a bit;

Overall, it was a good week.
I drank my water and didn't eat after 7 pm. Both of those goals ended up being a pleasure to meet. I felt great emotionally because of having met them. They also contributed to my physical well-being and progressed my weight loss.
The other day I mentioned that my pants were feeling looser. Yesterday I noticed that a top which had been too small for months also fits better now. It seems like I lost some pounds, or at least some inches. The pounds I can't verify until I visit the gym (no scale at home). My clothes are the measure of inches lost, as I never do tape measurements - don't want end up stressed by the numbers, and don't have a tape anyway.
Exercise acceptable, but I'm going to be even more specific with my future challenges in this area. I did post my get up and bed times, and put genuine effort into fixing my sleep schedule.


I'm very upset with myself and am generally feeling really bad today, :(the "adventure" I mentioned yesterday being the cause. To keep a long story short, I let myself get scammed. The loss of $43 upsets me less than my failure to think logically. :mad:

I'm sorry, but I don't feel up to addressing others tonight, I'm just too upset with myself. I need to do some beating up in a corner. Don't worry - just in my head. And please don't dissuade me - I need it and it should help.

I'll be back tomorrow with my goals for next week, but not sure what time I'll check in (I'm hoping to go on an outing).