This thread "saved" me today! As if the goodies from the potlucks were not bad enough yesterday, today the staff room table was covered with about a million different yummy looking cookies. I almost had myself convinced that I could have just one, when I realized I would have to take a pause day on both of my challenges since the cookie I wanted had chocolate frosting on. I'm so glad now that I made it out of the staff room without eating a cookie! Thank you to you all for being here!!!!!

YAY! So glad to hear that you passed on the cookie Stage - and that this thread is working for you!!

ees -- Yes, that sounds like Vollkorn Brot, what your sister got you..squished grains...yes! :lol: White flour IS wheat flour, it has just been refined. Whole wheat means that the entire grain, including the husk and all, has been ground. That's where a lot of the vitamins and fiber is. Like with rice, they first whisk off the outer parts and then use that (in wheat grain case they grind it up). A lot of people have wheat allergies, thus the interest in nonwheat grains. Also, other grains, such as rye, don't shoot your insulin levels up (lower G1 index), so people like them. Usually if you read labels you will see that whole wheat is only part of the whole, i.e. they're using refined wheat flour along with the whole stuff. Anything that takes your body longer to digest, anything that doesn't get into your bloodstream too quickly helps dieting as it keeps you full and doesn't send blood sugar levels shooting around like crazy.

Here's a link to what the German bread looks like when imported.

http://www.germandeli.com/pemclasryebr.html

Here's some other things that may be of interest.

http://www.ynhh.org/online/nutrition...le_grains.html

http://www.cspinet.org/nah/wwheat.html

Day 1 completed--no sugar/desserts, only: one serving of cereal, one tablespoon of peanut butter

STILL Day 13 SWN and Day 12 WALK. Took my last pause day for both. Too busy to walk and forgot the SWN stuff. DH will be home tonight, so I don' t think I'll have any trouble finding time to walk for the next week. Should finish right on time for X-mas!!!
:wave:Hello everyone!

No Desserts/Treats Day 3
No Chocolate Day 14
*No Soda Day 32 * Challenge Completed* Goal December 25th.

This sounds like a great idea!!
 

This 21 day deal sounds like a great deal. I mean really if you can make it 21 days why go back right. Mind if I join in. One of my biggest probs is drinking cokes. Probably drink 400-500 calories a day of Dr. Pepper. Pretty smart huh? Is it okay to start with just limiting intake to one Dr. Pepper per day. I think that sounds good. So that is my plan. Thanks for the idea.
Trix

Well, here I am again... I keep losing track of you guys as the thread moves so quickly. I have some thinking to do. I am not sure that this 21 day thing is the best thing for me as I keep failing.
: ( I guess I'm going through the blues here....
I am trying the best I can but I keep losing my momentum.
Maybe I need to try a very easy 21 day thing, but it hardly seems worth doing if I make it too easy.
Do I challange myself to just get out of bed each day and go through my day? : ) Hmmm.
I'm not starting day 1 of anything today, I am here becuase I have been doing this 21 day thing off and one and feel I want to be part of things, yet I am not a "winner" in any way.
Maybe I just need Red to come in here and use her BAT on me.... remember that Red?
Linda

laying down the line....
 

Hello Derry! :wave: Where have you been?! :shrug: I DO remember the bat but I never used it. That was a jolly thing, right?

No, I am much too much of a pacifist for bats and things although people are always thinking I am so scary. I really don't understand where this image comes from. I think it's just because I REALLY, REALLY know how to lay down the line! :lol3:

Anyhow, if you keep failing at the challenge then it sounds like you need it. How can it be too easy if you keep failing at it? Huh?!?! ;)

Look, I'm starting up two things today again (just hadn't felt like posting yet but today, Dec. 16 was my Day 1) and they seem easy and are really but I know (because if I don't do a challenge I don't do them consistently) that I need the challenge to make them habits.

I think you need to do something that you want to be a habit, if only for three weeks. Ok? Think of something. My challenge is going to be two-part (but NOT separate). I am reducing my coffee intake to just my morning dose. No more coffee the rest of the day. I can have ONE mug of tea at another time but NO coffee. The other part is to do my ab work every day, 10 sets of 20 reps. I was up to Day 11 on that until I got derailed with food poisoning in HK.

Okay, Linda? Got your thinking cap on?!?! :idea: And look, don't think so much about motivation and all that. Half the time the last thing I feel like doing is whatever thing it is for my challenge. But I do it anyhow and then I just come in here to chat and moan and whine and rant or whatever...anything but the challenge...but I do the challenge...because those are the rules and it's like the entrance fee to all the other stuff I really want to do here (the moan, whine part). So, why don't you do the same. Take your cue from me and carla and Shad (hey guys, it's for a good cause!) and just come in here to UNLOAD! :rofl: We'll sop it up and if we can't handle it all...well, we'll just ignore you..and talk about what day of our challenge we're on, ok? :high:

Hello Everyone! Well!! I did it! Stayed under 1800 again! Everyone proud of me?! :p I'm really bad at keeping up with how many days it's been - lol I'm going to end up tacking on days by accident! Oh well, the more to make a habit of this.

So I think yesterday was day 11! My period should be here in the next three days, and it seems to have gotten a little better over the last two days (my blood sugar), so I may make it! :dance: :hat: :dance:

Linda! . You are SO a winner! I'm going to quote myself talking to CBETA a bit about getting back on the horse and how winner-like that is. Oh! Look at that :p it looks like you were congratulating CBETA on her determination to keep trying. Sowy, just had to point that out! You are probably gaining something EVERY time you try a challenge Linda!! Even (and maybe even more so) when you don't make it... because I believe you gain more character picking yourself back up when you fall, than when you walk without tripping!

Believe me! I know it's rough not doing would you set out to do. Each time I "failed" at quitting smoking, I felt ashamed... embarassed to show my face around people who knew I was trying. But you know what? Each time I tried again I felt more and more proud of myself and I started to feel less ashamed to try again! So KEEP AT IT! Hold your head high for not completely shying from the thread! And look back and see if you have gained anything yet from all of the effort you have put into trying!

Red - you are terrifying :lol3: j/k. Thanks for the links on whole grains!! I really appreciate it! So what would you do for flour? If you want to bake? Do you used different recipes or something?!

Stage - I just wanted to say :dancer: :carrot: WAY TO GO!! :carrot: :cp: 32 days of no soda!! It's so nice to see that the challenge is not just something to get out of the way for you, you really want it to be a change! What an inspiration!!

IDGRL2005 - congrats on day 1!! I dunno what kind of peanutbutter you eat - I just wanted to recommend trying sugar free kind (it's just ground peanuts - roasted or not)... you can get it at health stores and some other stores. The "raw" kind is a bit yucky, but the other kinds are just as good or better than the sugared kind! Just a recommendation - the less refined sugar you eat, the easier it is to stay away from because you'll have less cravings.

Okay!! Going to visit a friend and exchange gifts today. Speaking of staying away from sweets :crossed: this will be rough. I swear I am living through other people with my gifts this year. I bought this friend and another a raspberry tea drink mix and chocolate florentine cookies... and for my dad and boyfriend's parents a HUGE box of nastalga - it's $30 - probably 3 pounds worth of candy from the 1950s. YUM! :devil: <- made me do it, I think I did it so I can excuse myself and have some.

Ees

Day 14 completed, both challenges.

Just a quickie for now, nasty undeserved headache here. :headache:

Ees, I don't know about the others, but I have nothing against WHEAT flour. The point I intended to make was that you might want to avoid WHITE flour. Whole wheat flour is fine unless you have a wheat intolerance. So you don't actually have to subject yourself to yummy lunches of peanut butter on vollkorn bread! Just look at the ingredients, and make sure it's 100% whole grains, only whole wheat or whatever. Multigrain breads CAN be fine, although often a little higher in cals, you just need to check the ingredients list to make sure they're not just wonderbread with birdseed. (And there is the advantage that all that birdseed does provide roughage. :lol: )And I'm pretty sure unground flaxseed just goes right thru you, so no extra cals there. Anyway, I buy 100% stone-ground whole wheat sliced bread, and occasionally a multigrain 100% whole wheat, and they are yummy and easy to find.

Good morning all!
ees- You are right about the less sweets less cravings! I noticed that even after my first day because usually something sweet (even what I thought was my perfect innocent little sugar free hot cocoa) ended up triggering binges. I will definitely look into the sugar free peanut butter. Well I had my cereal and peanut butter dose this morning so I'm done with my "treat" for the day and looking forward to facing Day 2 with no sugar/desserts/SF stuff! I know you guys can all succeed today!!!

Pilates/lifting Day 5 NOT YET completed (3 pause days left), b/c I plan on doing 1-hour pilates when I get home from work instead of teh 20 minutes this morning (the 20 minutes doesn't really give me a burn at all anymore... so I think 1 hour after work will be a nice pick-up.)

Hooray for talking about bread!

Derry: the challenege is not so much about making the 21 days as it is making it thru the days that u have completed... don't look at it as failing... look at what a great job u are doing to make it thru the amount of dyas that you have made it... (umm did that make sense) OK in simple terms

making and starting the challenge (a hard one) is better than doing nothing or just picking an easy challenge that you know you can make it thru??

Day 4 Done
 

Good morning! I squeaked in just under 1500 calories yesterday, and spent 38 minutes at the gym (17 of weights, 21 of running (2 miles)).

I am in a better mood today. The sun is out, and it is a little warmer out than it has been. While I was on the treadmill yesterday I kept telling myself "23 more days, 23 more days" (until my cruise). Then I can be in warm, sunny weather for a whole week:sunny: :sunny: I cannot wait!

Eesabella - it is actually the week after my period. I know all the funky hormones and stuff (hey, i'm a lawyer, not a scientist) will affect my mood. Poor hubby has to put up with it all the time. I think yesterday was just a bad day though. I get really gloomy and sad sometimes. Warm baths definitely help! Shopping helps too, but if I go to the mall right now with all the crazy christmas shoppers, I will probably end up poking someone in the eye:devil:

Stage Mom - that is fantastic that you passed up the cookies! Knowing that you have to "waste" a pause day really helps stay on track, doesn't it!