STOP THE INSANITY! Weekly Challenge #1
 

Happy Monday!
 

Although this is already January 2 - this is the first day for the rest of our lives. How do you like the new theme for the thread "STOP THE INSANITY!" ??? Thanks to carla for this brilliant idea! Hope it gets you going.

Please note the slight change to the purpose of the thread -do it for a week or more until it stops working. Then change it, increase it, add something else to it but do something different - never be satisfied with the status quo. The description of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I ask that we each pledge to be taskmasters of each other in "STOPPING THE INSANITY" when we become complacent. This is really about pushing the boundaries especially when we reach those dreaded plateaus.

Today I am reporting my starting weight as 237. My goals this week are to drink 64 oz min., do at least 15 minutes of exercise a day. My bonus goal (not counting in this week's challenge) is to track my WW points and attend a meeting.

Looking to hear from everyone today!

A new year started, and new opportunities for success in all things.

The first official weigh-in of the year, and less damage than I feared: up about a pound instead of the 3 or 4 I thought. :carrot: Once again, proof that it actually takes sustained excess to really keep gaining! And proof too that it pays to nip those bad behaviours in the bud asap. (I found it interesting how quickly I started to crave sweets and other goodies again - it really is like a form of insanity! :crazy: ) Who knew! :dunno:

This week's challenges: 1) To be in bed, TV and computer off by midnight; 2) No eating after 8 pm EXCEPT for veggies and/or one decaf skim cappucino.

TOGETHER WE CAN SUCCEED!

What a great idea, I'd love to join you ladies.

I've had alot of health problems these last few months, including a flirt with what turned out to not be rheumatoid arthritis but very close to it. My doctor has put me on a diet and exercise program which is crucial to me now more than ever.

My starting weight is (ummm do I HAVE to tell? :o :o) 242.

My goals for the next 7 days are to stick to the food program and track my carbs like I am supposed to. 3 bottles of water a day - at least 50 oz and 30 minutes of exercise. It might seem like alot all at once but I've been prepping for this for the last 2 weeks. I didn't get completely into it as I was out of town for the Christmas holidays and cut myself some slack. New Year now, no more excuses.

It's 67 glorious degrees out here (highly unusual) - so I think a walk out in the fresh air with a bottle of water is in order - see 2 out of 3 goals in one pop.

I wish you all success - I promise to be here for you if you need a hug, encouragement or some old fashioned :nono: and I hope you'll do the same for me.

Thanks for starting the thread MsCat, c'mon girls, let's do the hussle!

Hello ladies..

ready to start off the new year....Made it thruogh new years weekend with a 1/2 lb down..surprised after drinking sat night..
So I'm starting this week off at 188.5

I'm getting my exercise bike that I ordered in on thursday so my challenge is to exercise for a min of 15 minutes thurs-sun and to drink 60oz of water..thats up 20oz from where I've been at..

Good luck everyone

Hi gals,

I would love to get in on this challenge. It sounds like just what I have been looking for. My goal is to get in at least 64oz. of H20 or more per day and do my 3-mile walk away the lbs. dvd everyday. Right now my weight is 228 but my weigh in day is Tuesday so I will start my challenge tomorrow and also check back in w/ my updated weight.

By the way has anyone read the book "Stop the Insanity" by Susan Powter. I would highly recommend it, it's great.

MJ

Goodnight
 

:welcome2: emjay! Sounds like you are in the right place at the right time!

:welcome: happy2bme - we are happy to have you aboard too!

Ok ladies - got my 64 oz plus in and did a 20 minute bellydance workout with my daughter. Tracked my weight watchers (over 2 points!) All in all a good start Didn't get to bed on time (another bonus goal) - had to work on math homework with DH on DD's Christmas assignment which we found out about today!

Bonnie - I thought we could weigh in on Monday :goodscale: when the thread changes unless anyone has another suggestion. I am open. BTW -Don't feel bad - I am up 6 pounds too!

See ya all tomorrow!

Hi ladies, thanks for the warm welcome. :D

Weigh in Mondays sound great to me too - keeps me from overdoing it on the weekend.

Water was good, food was good and all was tracked and within the guidelines of the diet today. I didn't do so hot on the exercise. Started to go for a walk but this cold is knocking the stuffing out of me. I got weak and out of breath quickly and then went into fits of wracking coughs so I turned around and came home. Maybe I'll just be limited to stretches and some weights for the next few days until I can beat this cold out of me.

Didn't get to bed at a reasonable time either - don't feel bad MsCat - at least you have an honorable excuse! There always seems to be one more thing to do, doesn't there?

Hi Mscat, Carla, Bonnie and everyone else! :cb: :grouphug:

I love the new idea behind the weekly challenge! :cheer: And I'm ready to jump on the wagon, too. :) I'm starting at 138 lbs - 2 pounds down despite Christmas and New Year's!!! :cheer: And since my mid-January goal is around the corner (hopefully), my next one will be to be at 133 lbs or below by Valentine's. :crossed:

It's the evening of Tuesday, Jan 3rd here. I've been focusing on getting back on track. I've resumed my paused 21-day challenges, but haven't really thought up a new weekly challenge, so I'll just stick with the old stuff - I do know it WORKS! :lol: It seems like today will be a success. :)

My challenge for this week:
- 3 to 4 bottles of water and no food after 7 pm (late light dinner ok if necessary, but no munching!)
- light off and ready to sleep by 10:30 pm
bonus: to do 10 min on the stationary bike in the mornings (part of my 21-day challenge)

Good luck everyone! :goodvibes

Monday's challenges complete: TV and laptop off at midnight, and no eating after 8. Both were imperfect, however. I got home from spinning at 8 pm, ravenous, and did have a protein shake, which I think I'll allow under the terms of my contract with myself (it would have been insane NOT to eat something...) And somehow I forgot my nighttime cappucino was supposed to be decaf :doh: , and made it half-caf. So although the lights were out soon after 12, it must have been at least 2 when I finally dropped off. Woke up at 5:30 STARVING. :hungry: Lots of fine-tuning needed here! But a welcome sight on the scale this morning - no ticker change, since it'll just go right back once I eat, but I'll take it anyway. :D

Happy, Pebbles: :welcome: to our merry little crew.

Hello All-

YAY!! It's a new week!!:D I must say this weekend was HARD...I visited family so of course the focus of all things was what to eat, so needless to say not eating after 7pm went down the drain..I must have more willpower!

So...challenge for the week I will do my exercise tape everyday!! It's a 30 min dance dvd that's not even that rough of a workout, but at least it will keep me moving!

:welcome2: to all the people who are joining with the new year!!!

Okay, just quickly :)
Tuesday was a success, looking forward to today. :)
I'm going to change my Valentine's goal to 132 lbs - because that's easier to measure with my metric scale.

Good luck everybody!

Ok, my official weight for the week is 227. Thanks.

Ok, it helped to read the previous posts, should have done that first. My new official weigh-in day will be Monday as well. Thanks for the warm welcome.

mj

Evening Report!
 

Hi Ladies - I am working hard today although I am still sick - went to work and coughed my fool head off all day. Got my 64+ oz of water in, getting ready to track my points - I know I am still under :cb: I don't know if I am going to get my exercise in - coughing too much. We'll see if I can get some crunches in at least.

happy :cheer: for your success today! I agree with you - there are not enough hours in the day and having a cold makes it really tough to get in the desired exercise.

Sushi :woo: :woo: for your 2lbs down! and :cheer: for meeting your goals today. Your weekly goals are so awe-inspiring. Good luck on your next 21 day challenge.

carla :cheer: for your Monday goals met! :no: more half caf for you at night young lady!

phatpanda - you are going to kick some butt:kickcan: this week with your workout tape!

Bonnie :woo: :woo: :woo: for your 3lbs! I bet you will be in onderland again by next Monday.

emjay :thanks: for weighing in and for joining our little group.

I am heading for the Nyquil bottle and bed a few crunches. Have a great evening ladies - we are off to a rockin' start.

Hi ladies
Well I did manage to get my 60 oz of water down today along with a few crunches..how is everyone else doing?
mscat get well soon you've been sick too long

Mscat, take care of that cold! You SHOULD take a few days off exercise (at least treadmill) until your lungs are clear.

Yesterday was another challengeful day: no eating after 8pm (gotta change that next week - I seem to be getting in late and missing or rushing dinner) and in bed lights off by midnight. I'm hoping soon I'll get back to falling asleep quickly, but maybe that will only work when I stay up until I'm ready to drop. Maybe I need a two-hour-nap-at-5pm challenge... As a bonus challenge, I'm also trying for 3 veg and 3 fruits per day, which has been pretty good, although I don't necessarily finish my fruits in time to respect the no-evening-eating challenge.

Bonnie, congrats on seeing the scale move. It will probably move more in the next few days - mine did!

Hump Day Report!
 

Good Evening my Lovely Ladies!

You all are soooo awesome and inspiring - even in my illness, I am anxious to read your posts and see what progress you are all making toward your goals. I have a simple message for today - I applaud :cp: each one of you who have taken this challenge on and given it more than lip service - by taking ACTION. Wanting to lose weight does not make it happen. DOING the things you know will make a difference makes weight loss happen. When you stop just wanting and start Doing, you change who you are Being - and who you are Being is phenomenal weight and health minded Women of Wonder - WOW. Let's continue the fight to "STOP THE INSANITY" of wanting and trying by taking ACTION and DOING whatever it takes to BE who we are. :bravo:

My doc is waiting for the xray to see if I have bronchitis or pneumonia! So no more exercise for me until I stop coughing and my chest is clear. I am tracking my food and getting my water in but taking a break from exercise.

dg :cheer: for that water and crunches.

Bonnie :cheer: for all that walking - I know it's not as gratifying as your yoga, but any amount of walking is better than sitting on your butt! Good for you!

carla :cheer: for working so hard on getting your meals in and bedtime. I am going to take that challenge on next. Eating before it's late is a real challenge for me and even when I am sick - early bed is like torture for me.

Have a great night ladies.

I'm ready for this!!!
 

My start/highest weight is 215.2 lbs. I'd love to weigh in on Mondays.. I'm so excited!!!

My goal is to continue the workouts... I've done the elliptical for 45 minutes Tue and Wed (today) I want to go Thur- racquet ball and a 30 minute elliptical and Fri- elliptical 45 min.

Sat and Sun= Windsor Pillates Power in 20 workout.

mscat you have a great way with words....You always motivate me everytime I read your posts..Thank you:hug:
Hope you get well soon

well i got in 60oz of water again today...Also my stationary bike arrived today so I did 20 mins and 4.10 miles....hoping to get in some crunches tonight before bed but I don't know ..it's been a long day and I'm tired...

Evenin' ladies and welcome to all the new folks who have joined up!

mscat, I seemed to have picked up the midwest Christmas cold that circulates round your part of the country when I went back home to Chicago for the holidays. That's the cold germs that frequent the malls when we're all busy trying to get our shopping done and really DON'T need to be sidetracked by being sick. I tried to tough it out for a week but when I was meeting the nutrionist for my check in today, I asked to see the doctor to have her take a look at me. Lots of inflamation and bad stuff going on inside me. She gave me a shot in the butt :eek: (haven't had one of those since I was a kid) along with 3 different prescriptions. Moral is, this is a nasty one and you are wise to take it easy. Make other compromises and eat good, nourishing food to get you healthy and drink buckets of water. And if you can't get to bed early on your own, then take a nice warm tub soak. Jump in bed while you are still warm and can breath through your nose from the steam and the residual body warmth should help you nod out.

:carrot: Way to go dgpebbles and acire on the workouts

Carla I hear you on the evening fruit servings. Sometimes after dinner I just don't want it. Maybe get some fruit in with breakfast and save the other serving for an afternoon snack.

:D Happy Day on the downward scale slide Bonnie.

Apologies that I won't be able to address everyone always but I will try to cycle through. One of my bad habits is spending too much time on the computer, particularly at 3FC. So first things first - attention to the diet and exercise and it means cutting back on the PC time.

I did have a Stop the Insanity Moment yesterday. It's so easy to forget your resolution after a few days and slowly slide back into bad habits. (Stop the Insanity to me sometimes means doing the same things over and over - usually not so good for me things and then expecting different results - positive results for doing bad things :dizzy:) I'm still sick so I'm laying low on the exercise until I can breathe again. But I found myself sitting on the couch in the evening, wasting over an hour and a half channel surfing, watching bits of movies I've already seen and shows I don't care about. I decided this was insane. So I got up and promised myself I'd invest 15 minutes to tidy up the house. You can actually get alot done in 15 minutes when you put your mind to it. I wound up spending 30 minutes but got the sink and kitchen counters all cleaned, threw out some old, stale stuff in the cabinets that I didn't need anyway and got a load of laundry in the washer. So instead of going to bed feeling like a slug because I wasted the entire night in front of the TV, I went to be feeling like I accomplished something - every little bit helps. I pressed the Stop the Insanity button and won!

Hello Ladies~

Sorry I've been so MIA these past few days...BUT the good news is that I've done my workout tape EVERY NIGHT so far!! woohoo :D Hopefully I will make it through till the end of the week...

Wow...i really like the phrase stop the insanity...mscat you really summarized what I've been trying to put together these last couple of days...i really want my diet this time not to just be about wanting to lose weight but really just putting things into ACTION! hope you feel better soon and it's nothing too serious:o

happy2bme - i'm totally in the same boat on wasting time on the internet...sometimes i think if i only exercised the amount of time i spend reading 3fc entries but i like this community and it gives me support that i need :hug:

dgpebbles and acire - way to go on the workouts!!! :carrot: :cb:

Well, that's it for now...i'm going to try to not look at the scale for the rest of the week and see what happens on Monday...but will definitely exercise exercise exercise :ebike:

Thursday Morning check-in!
 

Hi Y'all!

:welcome: acire - You are joining this group as one of our frontrunners! :cheer: :cheer: for your accomplishments on Tues and Wednesday and good luck on your workouts for the rest of the week. It's great to have a plan and you are definitely challenging yourself by varying your workouts. That is totally in the spirit of "STOP THE INSANITY" by doing something different.

pepples :cheer: for your Wednesday accomplishments!

phatpanda :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: for being in action everyday this week so far!

Happy - I believe I have the same cooties! I have 3 prescriptions from the doc and I also received a shot in the butt. Although I feel better, I am staying home another day to rest and pushing the fluids. Your definition of insanity is exactly the one we used for the theme of this thread. I love your idea of the "STOP THE INSANITY" button! :thanks:

I suggest we all make red paper buttons that say "STOP THE INSANITY" and post them in places where we are tempted to do or not do the actions that interfere or motivate us toward our weight loss goals. Post one on the refrigerator, the pantry, the cookie jar (if you are so bold to own one), the bag of chips, etc. so you can press it when tempted to turn to that devilish goodie or extra helping. Put one in the car so you can press it when McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts, or a Baskin and Robbin's is in sight. Put one on your lounge chair, the tv to remind you that spending too much time with them lulls you into non-activity. Put one on your treadmill, elliptical, stairmaster, exercise tape to remind you they are more than dust collectors.

Gotta run (actually walk real slow) to make some "STOP THE INSANITY" buttons. Anyone else interested in playing this game?

Originally Posted by mscat816:
Gotta run (actually walk real slow) to make some "STOP THE INSANITY" buttons. Anyone else interested in playing this game?

I think it's a fantastic idea. I need visuals to keep me honest and that will surely make me stop and think. :thanks: for suggesting it!

I'm not sure if I'll make any Insanity buttons, as that would involve putting down the laptop and getting out of the comfy chair in front of the tv... (That would have been funny if I were kidding) :shrug: I already have a fridge magnet shaped like one of those little tags you hang on the hotel room door, and it says "already disturbed"...

Well, I did all right yesterday with the no late food challenge, but got busy puttering and stayed up VERY late... And yes, Happy, I would have confessed even if you hadn't outed me. :o Maybe the early to bed idea will be more realistic once I'm working again. Right now I'm still enjoying the "retired" part of semi-retired, back at work for a longish stretch from the 16th. Actually, since I walk to work, I'll get more exercise too. My big problem is getting started.

Toodles!

I hear you Carla. I was saying the same thing myself. Had 2 weeks off for Christmas vacation - and just loved being able to do what I wanted, when I wanted to. Didn't take long before I was hitting the sack at 2am and sleeping in until 9. Then reality hit on Tuesday. :p :(

And by the way - the little "egg light" is down below your avatar on the bottom left side of your post. It shows a little yellow "yolk" in the egg when the person is online. I don't usually go looking for people but if I'm on really late at night I might notice and chuckle at night owls like myself ;)

Thanks happy2beme, phatpanda and mscat816. You are great inspirations.

Hey everyone! How are you all? Hope your week is going well. Wanted to stop in for a sec and say mine is going very well so far. Starting on the first, I've kept my calories in check, averaging about 1200 or less per day, 15-25 gms of fat per day, water is ok too, and have met my goal of 10,000 steps per day. Yay! I hope this will give me a good start for the year. :D

On the first, I was only at 7000 steps by 11pm. I went walking outside til I hit my 10K mark. I refused to not hit my goal the first day! That's how it would go the rest of the year, right?? So I went and did it! And I've done it every day since too. So far, so good. Takes lots of determination, doesn't it? It can be done though. I know. I'm going to put the link to my article, if any of you want to read it over. I still read it to remind myself how I can get my steps in when it's hectic. LOL.

Please cut and paste, if this doesn't show as an active link on here. Thanks.

http://walking.about.com/od/holiday/a/busyholidays.htm

Looking forward to this year! Hope you all are too.

Big hugsssss, Selina :-)

That's a great article Selina, thanks for sharing it with us. It just goes to show you that with some ingenuity you CAN push it a little farther - even for those people who say I have no time to do anything.

Congrats Selina you've done fantastic so far on your weight loss goals! :carrot:

I am feeling a little better today so I spent some time marching in place in front of the TV along with stretches and crunches. Food was good, I need 2 chug 2 bottles of water in the next hour and a half to keep my goal. In one minute I will start my "half hour of power" where I go and do good things around the house for the next 30 minutes.

selina - congrats on getting in all them steps..It makes me tired just thinking about it....keep up that motivation..your doing great...how is eating under 1200 calories doing for you?

I'm still trying to figure out what i should be eating.....What is everyone trying to stay under?

Can I jump in?
 

This seems to be a good way to start...small. I have been here at 3FC in the past...New Year, New Name, New Body, New Life. This will be my year for success!!

I am Cindi, mom to 7, and Home Daycare Provider! I am diabetic and hypothyroid, but can always lose weight when I really put an effort into it. I haven't been good with my eating and exercise in a long time, and I have decided that I HAVE to make some lifestyle changes before I suffer some of the bad side effects of my illnesses. My doc said the diabetes IS reversible if I lost weight and still continued to exercise. So that's what I want to do...my biggest focus to start with will be the exercise, if I get that in check, everything else will fall into place. I automatically want to eat better and drink water if I am exercising properly. The thing I have to remind myself is that even if I can't get to the gym, I can do some sort of exercise at home...anything is better than nothing!

I am looking forward to getting to know all of you better.

My goal for this week is 3 days of exercise at the gym. I did one! The rest of the week I have suffered from a migraine, so maybe tomorrow will be day 2!

I can do this and so can you!!

Hi Cindi, welcome to the group :wave: I'm hypothyroid myself. Good for you on getting to the gym with 7 children to watch over. You're an inspiration for those who say their day is too full to find time for themselves.

Good going on the weights Bonnie :strong: :jig: :wl:

DG in regards to your question which I assume is about calories - I just went to the doctor who put me on a supervised diet and gave me lots of info. I see alot of people shooting for 1200 or so calories a day. I was looking at the chart my doctor gave me for weight loss. According to that it looks like they figured 13 calories per pound to maintain your existing weight. So if you were 150 pounds it would take roughly 1950 calories a day to maintain your weight - taking in more would cause a weight gain, cutting back would theoretically cause a loss. Now you don't want to cut your calories too much lest your body go into starvation mode and your metabolism will slow down and block your efforts. Since a pound is worth 3500 calories, you'd cut 500 calories a day (7 days x 500 calories) to lose a pound a week or 1000 calories a day to lose 2 pounds a week. The nutritionist said I should cut an additional 300 calories from the days that I don't exercise. Right now I get LOTS of calories even with cutting back but that would also explain why it gets so much harder when you're down to those last 20 pounds or so.

So it would seem that you should multiply your weight by 13 and then subtract 500 to 1000 calories per day depending on a goal of 1 to 2 pounds loss per week. No, you can't and shouldn't go faster than that if you want to maintain your loss.

I just started seriously tracking this week. So far I don't feel deprived all tho I do have to look for better carb choices. I used to feel that 2 pounds was so slow but then I realized that if I had focused on 2 pounds a week or so last new year's I'd be at goal now. Sometimes I feel like the fat is glued on me until I start charting my food intake and then I see how I sneak in calories I didn't even realize.

:woo: :hat: Yabadabadoo!

The scale loves me this morning - even after I moved it to several different places, it still insisted I was at 189.9!! So mild euphoria going on around here, tempered by the fact I've been invited to a cocktail party tonight that I can't avoid. So that number will go back up, but not for long.

As for the challenges: okay for the no late eating (hmmm... maybe that's the difference?), but I was 20 minutes late getting into bed. No good excuses, apart from my Zen attempting catricide (new word) on Lily - hard to leave the lights off with yowls and hisses of outrage coming from the corner of the room. I guess I shouldn't have overstimulated them with a chase toy so late at night. :doh:

Happy, I'm pretty sure I've been told 12 calories per pound, but I like yours better - extra food. :lol: Anyway, if you multiply your GOAL weight by 12, and eat at that level, you'll eventually get to your goal. To go faster, eat under the goal weight. My diet doctor (NOT Dr. B******** - my asterisks - for those of you who know his semi-starvation diet) has me on approximately 1200 cal per day, but it's not precise, just a certain number of carb, protein, fruit etc servings per day. It is lowish carb.. I'm pretty sure I'm eating more than 1200 most days, but want to develop good eating habits, so I'm trying to make good choices that I can live with long term, using the diet as a guideline. For me, I think the biggest thing has been making sweets and alcohol a rare treat instead of a nightly event. And, much as I hate to admit it, ading extra water this week seems to be doing something...

My apologies for the overly chatty post - I know this isn't meant to be a stream of consciousness verbal diarrhea :blah: :blah: :blah: thread... I'll try to behave next time. ;)