30 Day Challenges

[Julie]

Ha ha Erin ... you're right!! And you can poke fun at me any time .... way to call me on the procrastination - I'm clearly an expert! That said, I did force myself to complete two errands today that I had been putting off too long, and I walked two miles.

Feels good to get back on track ... great to 'see' you all with such positive energy!!

[Millie]

Day 2 done, thanks to puppy guilting me into a walk. . Oh no Erin, I hope my reappearance didn't sabotage you. Lol. Or, perhaps, you are just trying to motivate my inner Richard Simmons. Now that you are just one day behind me, we can motivate each other like old times. I can't believe we are closing in on a year since we started this thread. I would like to see some real progress under my belt by the anniversary date. Weigh-in is tomorrow on diet. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Glad to see everyone on here. There is definitely strength/motivation in numbers.

[Millie]

Ok, I just checked and anniversary is August 16, so I (we all) have a little over three months to really kick it in gear.

By the way Erin, I think 53 days of exercise in a row is freaking awesome!!!

[ToddE]

Hello everyone,

I think Julie is right. Lots of positive energy floating around here. Great to see all the posts.

30 min on the bike (moderate pace). several little non-procrastination items checked off, including sewing a button back on a pair of pants. that was pretty easy actually. going to walk the dog now.

[Millie]

Good morning

My weigh in was this morning and I've lost 2.5 pounds since last Wednesday (6.5 since diet start on April 30).
On april 30, I weighed 169. Today-162.5. I was looking back through forum posts and noticed that I mentioned I weighed 155 on 9/20 of last year. I am mad at myself for almost gaining 15 pounds since then, but glad I am finally motivated to get it back off, plus bunches more. I am 5'4" and need to get down to at least 145 to be in healthy BMI range, but ideally would like to get under 135. I haven't been under 150 for at least 10 years, so this will be a true challenge and take serious commitment. So, in addition to the 30 day exercise challenge, I am adding the challenge to lose an additional 9 lbs by end of that challenge and a total of 28 lbs by August 16. Ultimate goal: 134.5.

Thanks for letting me bore you all with this, but I wanted to get this goal down here so you all can help keep me accountable.

While walking this week and other quiet times, I've repeated over and over in my head: I will exercise, I will eat right and I will not drink. I think this helps keep me on track.

P.s I just realized 28lb= 2 stones. I look forward to throwing those stones off. Lol

[Midwest Sue]

Millie,
Congratulations on the weight loss success! I am lucky to see a 1 lb loss per week, but I admit that I'm not being super serious about diet. Since you're being specific, I will be also. I'm down 8.8 lbs since the first of the year - 154.8 now, and I'm 5' 6". I told myself that I need to be 145 before my duathlon in September, so that's less than 10 lbs to go. When I add running to my biking, and quit rewarding myself with Klondike ice cream bars, I should be able to make it. My ultimate goal is 140.

This morning I slept late and didn't want to bike to work but I did anyway. What a fabulous ride I had. I spend those 40 minutes thinking positive thoughts. It's hard for me to be down when I'm on a bike. Many of those thoughts are about you all on this forum. So much inspiration here!

Anti-procrastination day two: yesterday I sorted through and discarded paperwork on/in my desk. Today I will do more of the same and pay my electric bill. Yikes!

[Millie]

Midwest Sue, I think it is cool that you have event planned for September. I have entered in fun walk/run events, just walking, but never a run (or bike) event. Perhaps I need to add a 5 k as a challenge at some point...hmmmmm. I think for this month, I will also add goal to be able to run/jog one mile without walking on the treadmill. That would also be big deal for me. .

[Julie]

Hey all .... great to see you back here Millie! Great job on the weight loss..... you too Sue. You know, when I quit drinking I expected the fat on my body to melt away - figured eliminating all of those empty calories would somehow translate into weight loss. Nope. At my age I think it's going to take constant vigilance, exercise and awareness of everything that goes into my mouth ... dang.

So I did exercise today, AND crossed some stuff off my 'to do' list..... feels good. ToddE - I have a lot of 'easy' stuff -on my list like sewing a button on - that's the kind of stuff I love to procrastinate with though. Doesn't affect the bottom line, no one is hurt, etc .... piles up on me and now's the time to clean up my list. Thanks for the challenge!!

Keep it up Erin & Sylvane ..... you're helping to motivate me too!

[Millie]

Got exercise in, but barely. Goodnignt

[Midwest Sue]

Another great bike ride to work today, which makes 7 of the last 7 work days!

Now to tackle the no-procrastination challenge for today... where to start?

Have a great day!

[Millie]

Sylvane, i am On a low-carb diet and am finding the atkins bars and shakes helpful. One bar, the chocolate caramel nut roll reminds me of a snickers, so i don't feel too carb deprived. In addition to the atkins products, I've had more grilled chicken salads the last week or so than i've probably had in the last year. Lol. Good luck.

P.s. I also recommend A nice hot cup of sleepytime tea at night to relax to, in place of a drink.

[Julie]

Sounds like everyone is doing good ... keep it up! You can do it Sylvane .... we'll have your back here, so just check in if you feel like the anxiety/loneliness/hunger is getting the better of you. Take that huge dog out for a walk and work those arm muscles. And you're right, drinking just makes it easier to choose the 'bad' foods that aren't good for us. i've really changed my diet and like how I feel - I remind myself of that fact when I feel like taking a drink or eating crap - kind of the same struggle for me, strangely.

Julie2, that was a hysterical SNL episode - hope you enjoyed the book! And another biker - good for you! You and Sue are inspiring me to give it another try - I just hate the helmet hair though.

So, got some exercise today with the dog, and I cleaned off the top of my dresser .... not a huge job, but kind of like sewing on that button - languishing on the To Do list.

Anyone heard from Fiona? or John?

[Julie]

What ... I commit and everyone else drops out?? Hope everyone is out and about enjoying this beautiful Mother's Day weekend ....

Good job getting up the hill Sylvane ....

Having a good day here - getting some stuff done that needs doing ... go me! No one is home, so the music is loud and i'm dancing around while cleaning dust bunnies .... good thing you guys don't know me well enough to envision that!!

[Midwest Sue]

I am here, Julie! My husband and I went for a 12 mile bike ride today. The weather was glorious and the scenery lovely. We congratulated ourselves on how easy biking is this year since we both got sober.

Yesterday I spent an hour or more moving from one cubicle to another at work and I count that as a workout!

[Midwest Sue]

Had a 45 minute bike ride yesterday morning. Today I plan a one hour walk at lunchtime. Have a great Monday!

[ToddE]

Hi everyone, just checking in quickly. Been busy lately and I am also down to just an iPad at the moment, so bit of a pain to type on for me anyway. Glad to see all the good workouts. I've been doing good on my non-procrastination routine. Should have new computer in Wednesday.

Take care, Todd

[ToddE]

Have a computer set back up (mostly) in my office now. Picked up an Elliptical machine today, that I bought off of craigslist. I had been wanting one for sometime, so I can check that off my not procrastinating item for today. Got a nice little workout in on it too.

Hope everyone is doing well.

[Julie]

Morning everyone! Sylvane?? Where are you?

WW43 - I've done two Atkins based 'diets' and lost weight both times, very quickly actually. I used the ketosis testing strategy and did find that I lost weight when in 'the zone' and it wasn't too hard. Unfortunately the weight comes back on just about as quickly when I end the 'diet', for me at least. This time around I'm focusing on eating more fresh veggies and lean proteins, eliminating sugar (other than naturally occurring in fruit), and avoiding white flour. Slowly but surely the lbs are dropping and I'm feeling a lot better. Another upside is that if I don't eat sugar, I don't seem to crave it either. Good luck to you on your eating plan!

ToddE - I'd love to hear how your new elliptical works out. I've been thinking of getting one for home use, but very expensive. What model/brand did you get and how did you determine that it was in good working order?

Sue - great job being so consistent! You'll be in great shape for your fall event, right? Go .....

I'll be walking again today, and following ToddE's lead by replacing several buttons on shirts that have been languishing in my pile. Also going to attack the mismatched sock basket, which is overflowing. Go me ....

Hope you all are good today ....

[Midwest Sue]

Did my one hour walk on Monday, 40 minute bike ride Tues, 80 min bike commute plus 2 mile walk Wednesday. Today I may start running and see how it goes. At work I now have an adjustable desk so I can stand for part of the work day. I'm excited about that!

[Ken1]

Hello everyone, just wanted to tell you all that you are doing great and your progress is definitely inspirational! Since I did the 30 day challenge, I have been jogging with my dog at least 1 mile a day and often times 2 miles if I'm feeling it, rain or shine, 7 days a week. The 30 day challenge really is a great thing to start a new habit of exercise.

I read somewhere that it takes 28 days to form a new habit, so this is perfect for lots of things I want to change. I think I'm going to start some personal 30 day challenges in those other areas. I'll make out my list this weekend.

Thanks again everyone and have a great day!