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"Every-Day" 21-Day Challenge -- Do it till you've got it!!

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#1

redballoon , 12-13-2005 06:26 PM

Okay, everyone, as is the tradition, I start a new thread when I personally start a new challenge.

Below is a short explanation of how this challenge works so all you newcomers can take a look and decide if you're game or not! I hope you are! Hop aboard and enjoy the ride. We've got a great bunch of supportive people, so I hope you'll give us a try. A lot of people try for a while and then disappear.. I hope some of you will keep trying. There is NO shame in starting over. Remember, it's not over till you give up. And our motto around here is:

NEVER GIVE UP!!...Just start OVER!!

EXPLANATION:

It works like this: you decide you'll do something for 21 days straight, every single day, so keep it doable. Then you count ....one through 21.....and if you flub it, you MUST go back to zero and start over again. Everyone will be on different days. You can start anytime. At the beginning of the challenge you declare what level it is -- Level 1, 2, or 3. Level 1 means you feel it's a relatively easy challenge for you and means you only give yourself ONE pause day (see explanation of pause days below). Level 2 would give you two pause days and so on...

With a pause day you pause in your counting and continue the next day with the number you left off with. Pause days are NOT substitutes for days, i.e. Day 12 -- Day 13 -- Pause Day -- Day 14..... I suggest taking a pause day late in the game (better to go back to Day 1 early on) if you need a break or screw up when you're well into the challenge, meaning, when you're on Day 15 or something like that.

In any case, the trick is to keep going. The momentum builds and it's great incentive to stick to your guns, cause if you don't.........back to START you go. And the really great thing about this challenge is that you are forming new habits that will wipe out the old! AND, you get to do it with a great bunch of really supportive people to whom you are accountable!

Please join us!!

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#2

redballoon , 12-13-2005 06:35 PM

Okay, people! I'm starting my new challenge today...more on that later...maybe just another crunchie...and here's the new thread. Will write more later.

Fish -- Thanks. The food poisoning was awful. It still is. I still have stomach pains but only sometimes. I was still very weak yesterday but ate, even though a lot of it was junk, and feel a lot stronger today. I am determined to get out and there and to the gym today, if only for a bit of light movement and jogging perhaps AND I am going to put only GOOD things into my mouth. Yesterday when I was walking past a vegetable shop and seeing how cheap the veggies were I was thinking, damn! I could save so much money AND lose weight AND do great things for my body and skin if I would just concentrate on eating fresh vegetables. The money I p'ss away on garbage food, prepared foods...ugh!! This is going to stop!! Well, Fish, I'm glad to see you're setting out on a new challenge. I was typing on the old one and when I realized you were starting a new challenge too I thought, okay, time for a new thread. So here it is! Good luck!

Apple -- Stay away from CBETA's pasta!

ees -- Thanks for the welcome back! I sure can use it. Feeling very beaten down.... But I WILL prevail!! More later!

I'll be back!!

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#3

Shad , 12-13-2005 07:08 PM

Morning Red, thanks for the new home. I'm sure we will fill it soon enough.
Bad news about that food poisoning but did you enjoy HK while you were there?

I hope you do go on the veg dash. It is so easy and so good for you. I thought veg in Japan were very reasonably priced.

I'm on day 9 of my no bread challenge and to be honest I am not missing it much now. I'm still doing abs/ crunches but not on a challenge. I have to think up some harder ones now. These are getting so easy I'm doing 30 or 40 of them on reps. Pity there is little change in gut. Still we keep plugging away.

Okay, time to dash. Gotta love it when you're busy.

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#4

curlylocks , 12-13-2005 07:22 PM

hey red hope u are feelin better!

day 9 >>>> 1287 calories

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#5

eesabella , 12-13-2005 07:28 PM

I'm with you Apple - CBETA's cheesy pasta sounds soooo good! And I just ate so a lot of this extra hunger I've been having lately has GOT to be emotional/false hunger.

I took your advice Fish and had a nice big salad with my sandwhich at lunch today, and it really seemed to help! I lasted a lot longer between lunch and my afternoon snack than I did between breakfast and my morning snack Yay! Thanks!

I'm thinking it has been emotional hunger maybe I'm thinking maybe it is a lack of grains in my diet - not lack of, but not enough. So tomorrow I'm going to have more grain schtuff.

One thing that I am not crazy about as far as dieting goes, is that I think about food SOOOO much more than I normally do. I am much more productive about it this time around though! When I think about food, I read articles on calorieking.com or hungry-girl.com, look up recipes and try to come up with new foods to buy when I go grocery shopping next so that I keep it interesting. It is not all that bad to think about food a lot - at least my health is a higher priority than it used to be!

Nice to read you Red I've never had food poisoning, in addition to the pain and sickness, it sounds frustrating - not being able to work out. Hope you were able to do it!!

Alt - as far as the substitution of carbs... I'm not sure if I do that!! I first started cutting out refined sugars a while ago. I still have them from time to time, but it's been a while since I went from a lot to none so I can't remember what my first reaction to it was. A few things come to mind though. First, since you are losing sugars - maybe the carbs in whatever you have been eating are a natural substitute to your body. Whatever it liked getting from the soda and chocolate maybe, it can kind of get from the stuff you have been substituting it with? That's not really helpful, is it? When I cut down my sugars, I purposely tried to eat extra fruit. I made 'pretend' desserts for myself so that I would have a treat to look forward too. Strawberries in sugar free yogurt or cottage cheese, farina (made with milk, hmmm creamy) with cinnamon and banana, apples and sugar free peanut butter - or even better, sugar free almond butter. That stuff is divine! As far as soda, I cut that out a while ago as well as fruit juice. I LOVE the stuff! If I want a soda, I drink seltzer - flavored or I add a tiny bit of fruit juice, Seneca Falls apple juice I believe is sugar free, if you are concerned :P... Anyway, I don't know if you are looking for substitutions for your substitutions - hope this helps! How long ago did you quit smoking?! Congratulations!! I am also an ex-smoker, 4 1/2 months

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#6

redballoon , 12-13-2005 07:29 PM

Shad -- Hello there. You're very welcome. Figured I should start a new thread even though I hadn't finished my last challenge. It got derailed. I had every intention of finishing it and was doing great but the illness won. Still, it's hardly a loss. My abs are much stronger. You really can't see much difference because there still is too much fat on top of them but I do see how my upper midsection is more raised and pulled-together looking nonetheless.

To do the veggie thing I think I will have to find some sort of base that I really like, into which I can throw just about any vegetable and have it taste good to me. It has to be easy, so just boiling or microwaving....nothing like a zapped sweet potato with a bit of butter...yum!!

You're doing great with your challenges. Sorry to hear work and things are a real problem these days for you. Sure hope things get a bit better for you. People are losing any sort of Xmas spirit, aren't they? It's all irrelevant here, even if there are decorations out. Fine with me. The 25th is a work day, big race here and I prefer not to even think of Christmas. Makes me sad for old times....

As for Hong Kong, I would say, no, I didn't enjoy it much. It's hard for me to enjoy a place where I don't speak the language and am not expected to and not encouraged to. I don't know what HK was like before the handover but I think I would have liked it even less. I am not an Anglo-Saxon fan, I must admit. Something cliqueish, something pretentious, false, cold, I don't know...and this time in HK I had a lot more contact with the expat crowd and it left me feeling very unpleasant. I mean, we're all foreigners and supposedly have things in common, but I felt I had very, very little in common with them and was actually put off by the entire scene, this feeling of "looking down on the natives." Unlike Japan, where foreigners actually do learn Japanese, the expats in HK don't and the Chinese don't seem to want or expect them to. I found myself wanting to speak Chinese but realize Cantonese is extremely hard to learn....which makes me want to learn it all the more. Getting sick really ticked me off. I don't like places where things are just so iffy and people aren't caring about hygiene. Of course, it may have been the water. The one thing that was nice were the stores. There were clothes that fit me, unlike Japan, where there is nothing. I wish I had had money to buy things. It was perfect. Big enough sizes, yet petite, which is what this short, stocky one needs. I don't think HK is at all for me though. Being vegetarian means I can't eat the food. And the smell of the spices they use was actually making me ill. There is something...I don't know what it is...that you smell everywhere and I hate it. I was glad to be back in Tokyo. Still, I wish I knew Cantonese....

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#7

Shad , 12-13-2005 07:59 PM

Thick vege stews with a spice or two or soups. I loved that soup that you get everywhere in Japan with a bit of tofu and a bit of veg in it. It was good and filling. As for the kumara (sorry sweet potato) with butter, try it with a natural set low fat yoghurt and see how you like it. (I think it is better than sour cream). I add a bit of fresh (but I suppose a little dried stuff would do) mint, tarragon and/ or oregano to mine. I could happily live on that.

I found HK to be noisy, smelly and choked. And I was only there a short while. I can sort of understand where you are coming from with the Anglo Saxon colonisation type thing. Japan never had it - apart from Okinawa I guess) and has therefore stayed essentially Japanese. Hong Kong doesn't quite know where it fits. Certainly the Brits were not the best settlers in the world - great explorers and colonisers - everywhere they colonised in Asia says the same thing. Indians I have spoken to talk about the British Raj and give the impression they would like to spit at the same time.

Oh good, some more work has landed on my desk. Time to do something.

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#8

redballoon , 12-13-2005 08:20 PM

Shad -- You're talking about miso soup. I don't enjoy it much anymore. I eat it and it is very good for you but I am tired of the dashi (fish-based) stock that's usually used (this is in Kanto, not Kansai). But you reminded me that I love miso itself and it makes an excellent base, adds a lot of body and flavor and requires no cooking in like spices do. Thanks for the reminder!

"Doesn't quite know where it fits"....yes! that's the feeling exactly. All these Chinese with English names and British accents who still have a hard time understanding English...er, American...though I don't have much of an accent and I do speak very clearly...

The noise and choked feeling of HK I can take I suppose. Coming from Tokyo it seemed quite empty actually. Still, I only know it at the best time of year. The smells do get to me though as I have a very sensitive nose.

The racing scene as well, the riding I saw there was horrible, the conditions of the stables and training were horrendous, so unnatural, and I know nearly every horse is killed as there is no breeding. I did enjoy speaking to the foreign jocks, mostly the French and South Africans. Was down at Happy Valley and the place was packed with Brits and Aussies. Again, the Aussies seemed a lot more fun. The Brits came across as total stuffed shirts, looked so incongruous in their fancy suits with beer guts and pints in their hands. I don't know. I guess it's an American thing with me..... need things a bit more scruffy, laidback and straightforward. Australians, Kiwis I tend to enjoy. Oops. I better shut up.

Oh well, HK is bizarre. I wish I could enjoy it more but I know I won't unless I can get a feel for the lingo. It was the same in India. The weird not-English, not-Indian feeling I had from the city people. I preferred the country folk, but then I was conversational in Bengali and that was the key I think. Anyhow.....

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#9

redballoon , 12-13-2005 09:06 PM

Okay, trying to get a bit caught up here. Feel a LOT better today. Have some power back. I was just so run down yesterday. Guess it came from not having eaten much. Amazing how a couple days without food can really deplete you.

curly -- Thanks for the get well wishes. You are doing amazing things again. I understand your wanting to bomb the scale. How can it not be moving? I don't understand that at all. If I were eating as little as you I would be losing weight like crazy. What goes?

alteon -- I am really against all this no-carb stuff. We NEED carbohydrates. It's as simple as that. Most people are simply confusing the processed foods and empty carbs for the real thing. Yes, get rid of those but keep the others. Wheat bread and oatmeal, unless it's whole-grain and totally whole grain, which is very hard to find outside of Europe, and unless it's steelcut oats, also hard to find, are still processed. Go for real foods, meaning foods that have not been changed by man's hand. Eat vegetables and fruit. Eat brown rice. These things can be found in natural food shops, which can be hard to find too depending where you live. I don't think it would be easy in Wisconsin. But it's probably easier than Tokyo (it's only recently that you can get brown rice here easily) and mailorder works fine. I would first worry about changing the KIND of food you eat and then worry about cutting down on carbs and really this is only another means of cutting down on calories, which is the only way you're going to lose fat.

ees- The same goes for you and the PMS eating. Read alteon's part above. You've got to get away from anything processed. It's a waste of calories and not filling and that is what your body wants. You can easily get by on 1800 if you cut out the processed food.

stage -- You're doing great. Good luck on your new challenge!

Phys -- You too. Keep it going!

CBETA -- You sound to be doing well. You'll have to give us some reminders on just what your letter challenges are. And we're glad to have you here.

swimming -- You're still there with us! Enjoy your trainer. I have one with my racer on it. It works very well.

Sushi -- How's it going with you? Oh, and a belated congrats on completing your running challenge! Way to go!!! Anything on the burner?

marble -- So, are you on a challenge right now? Yes, now I see, you are. What is it exactly? I've been so out of it. I'm glad to hear you're feeling better and are able to move more. Please take care and don't have any more accidents!!

chai -- How about you? Are you still with us?

carla -- Where are you!?!??! Come back and give us a shout or two!

Phoe -- Are you feeling ok? Back spasms? What were they about?!??! I think you should set yourself a challenge that is more doable, like me with the crunches, something that can give you some confidence. Don't give up, ok? We want you here!

Ok, anyone I missed?! I hope not, but if so, get in here and tell me about it! Newbies, lurkers! Come out and give us a holler! Everyone is welcome!

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#10

alteaon , 12-13-2005 10:56 PM

Medicinal Cookies
I am pleased with myself today. I gave blood for the first time today. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I also managed to avoid chocolate. They gave me cookies to get my sugars up. I opted for the peanut butter. I knew that there would be cookies there, and I used that as part of going and doing this. Now that I've done it, I'd like to do it again eventually, with out "bribing" myself with cookies. I have low blood pressure as a rule, so I almost passed out.

Today is day 15 for the soda and day 11 for the chocolate. To whoever asked me when I quit smoking, I quit 4 years ago....that was nothing compared to me trying to lose weight.

Last night I had Chinese food for supper. Naughty, yeah...but good. I did not have fried rice, however.

As far as my carb issue. I am beginning to think it's not the type of carbs but how many I eat. I just think I need to vary my food choices more than I have been. I ate the cookies with out guilt because they served a purpose. Shockingly, they kept me full for a long time. As for whole foods, there aren't that many stores around here. I live in town of maybe ten thousand if you count the out lying areas...there's one store that has some stuff...like rices and things. My husband and I have switched to brown rice and wheat products, and have started to get racist about our food. No more white stuff. We ditched the peanut butter about three weeks ago. I almost had a heart attack, but now I'm okay with it. Lately, apple sauce has been my poison of choice. I suppose it could be worse. One thing I redeem myself with is that when I do eat carbs or "carby" things, like Raisins and Carrots, there are worse things I could be eating.

Thanks to all for answering my carb question. Advice, opinions, they all help. I'd love to go to Tokyo. There's a huge optical fair there. I'd be in heaven to go there. Other cultures fascinate me, especially Eastern cultures.

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#11

stagemomx3 , 12-14-2005 02:42 AM

No Desserts/Treats Day 1
No Chocolate Day 12
*No Soda Day 30 * Challenge Completed* Goal December 25th.

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#12

curlylocks , 12-14-2005 08:08 AM

i think going thru menapause has an effect on weight loss Red........ LMAO must pause everything!

And i have been at this since march so i think my body is fightin back!

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#13

PhysDom , 12-14-2005 08:47 AM

Pilates / Lifting Day 3 = complete!

I was on auto-pilot this morning. I woke up, I did pilates, I ate breakfast, I went to work... and here I am. Nice.

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#14

alteaon , 12-14-2005 11:22 AM

Today has just begun, but I am not overly worried about it. We're getting a snow storm all day today, so work should be slow.

I was thinking of everyone who is doing a challenge involving exersize. I'm already on day 16 w/ no soda, and it's gone by really fast. Also, you must get some good results w/ doing it for atleast 21 days. I know that my problem is keeping up with it. That's a great challenge to take on, and I applaud everyone who is doing a challenge, but especially the exersize related ones.

In a moment of guilt, I realized that although I post on this site, ask a lot of questions, I don't really show the support I feel for everyone, and I'm sorry for that. I don't want anyone to think I don't care about any of you. Just at times I am bad with words.

Thursday and Friday I am going out to eat. Normally I wouldn't do this, but it's been very long standing invites. However, since I got to choose were we eat, I have chosen places with a decent variety of healthier foods. I am debating about the possibility of taco salad. I just put lettuce, mild sauce and meat on mine. No great shakes.

Well, I have to go shovel. I'm happy I didn't give blood from my right arm, as my left one's a bit sore yet.

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#15

FishWoman , 12-14-2005 11:26 AM

Day Two Done
Yesterday was day 2. I went crazy at the gym - lifted weights for 15 minutes and then ran on the treadmill. I was going to do only 2 miles (which would have put me at 35 minutes of total exercise for the day) but went ahead and ran 4 miles instead. So I ended up working out for almost an hour total I think today I will just do yoga to try and stretch out from the lifting and running.

Work is slow, I am cold and grumpy and am SO looking forward to my cruise and warmer weather. Only 24 days away - and I still want to lose 4 pounds before then! I suppose I should have a few more crazy days at the gym!

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