Bree said something to me in my 100 day challenge thread that sparked an idea.  She said

But think how great we’ll look for Christmas! And that’s when everyone else has just added pounds. Muahahahahaha.

Why not do the opposite of what I do every year in the fall and during the holiday season?  Lose weight instead of gain.  What better gift to myself than a smaller, healthier me?

This made me think that this would be a good time to start a new kind of challenge for myself.  When I finished my first 100 day exercise challenge I was so excited that I actually did it that I was pumped up and ready for another 100 days.  Once I finished my 200th day I was ready for something different.  I have made exercise a regular activity in my life.  I’ve been able to do things that I never would have dreamed I could do a year ago but I’m still left with extra fat that I want to get rid of. 

I find it fairly easy to exercise but I’m terrible at consistently eating properly.  I go along good for a few days and then something happens...if I’m stressed, upset, tempted, I give in.  So my challenge is to not give in or give up.  I would like to lose 25 lbs by Christmas.  That averages to a little over a pound a week, which is do-able.

So, here it goes!!

Sweetea - 08 August 2007 09:39 PM

So my challenge is to not give in or give up.  I would like to lose 25 lbs by Christmas.  That averages to a little over a pound a week, which is do-able.

So, here it goes!!

What a great gift to give yourself!  You can do it Carrie!  You have done 200 days of exercise you can do 25 weeks of this.

Way to go Carrie!

What a great gift to yourself.  I’m sure that with the motivation you have from this community, and the fact that you want it “really bad” that you will succeed. 

We will need to have a Florida MTM reunion during the holidays.  I usually get to Florida sometime around Christmas - just in time to see the new you. 

Great idear Carrie… and welcome to the “Journal of Your Journey” portion of the forum.

With a goal of a one pound loss per week, there is certainly room for an occassional indulgence here and there… just make sure your indulgences are “controlled indulgences”.

I’m sure you can do it Carrie, a little more gator wrestling(code for cardio?) and you’ll do great!

Thanks for the encouragement M.  I’m sure I’ll need a lot of it.

It would be so nice to meet you Paula.  If you do come down, let me know. 

Geez Tim, if I could control my indulgences I wouldn’t be in the shape I’m in today. I think I’ll just stay away from them, at least for the first couple weeks until I detox from the sugar.  It’s like crack to me.  If I need any advce, I’ll ask you since you’ve lost so much.

Shawn, I’ve contacted Gatorland.  They won’t accept the liability risk so I’ll just have to find my own gators.  Maybe I’ll just have to ask Jonathan to teach Eddie and I how to do cario fetch instead.

Carrie,
That sounds like such a wonderful gift to yourself!! I know that you will have great success in getting that goal!!!  What a fun present to unwrap for the holidays!! Please keep us posted on the progress.  We are all rooting for you on this one!!!  Here is to a new healthy and well toned you!!! Now go out there and get that body of your dreams.  I know you will do it!!!

Scooby

Yay, Carrie! You can so do this. My goal for Christmas is roughly the same, we can do this together! And on this forum, I’m far better at keeping up with what’s going on in all the threads, so I’ll be here in a matter of posts.

So now that you have the goal, what’s the plan? Time to kick some cardio butt!

Bree

Sweetea - 09 August 2007 02:21 PM

Geez Tim, if I could control my indulgences I wouldn’t be in the shape I’m in today. I think I’ll just stay away from them, at least for the first couple weeks until I detox from the sugar.  It’s like crack to me.  If I need any advce, I’ll ask you since you’ve lost so much.

My crack is light beer… so I know where you are coming from, Carrie. Let me know if you need any advice… but I know that giving up your addiction entirely is probably out of the cards… limiting the addiction may be the way to go. And cardio… lot and lot of cardio!!

Tim, I think everyone has an addiction of some kind to deal with.  I think I know what my trigger foods are and I know I have to stay away from them or I’ll just fall right back into my old habits.  This will be the hardest part for me.

Bree, I’m glad to hear that you have the same goal.  It’s good to know I’m not alone in this fight. 

Thanks Scooby!! Your a fantastic cheerleader.  Your support and encouragement is greatly appreciated. I’m excited about it.


Bree, you asked about my goals...I talked it over with my trainer Monday and he is thrilled that I’ve finally decided to get serious about my diet.  He always tells me “I can get you to where you need to be in here (the gym) but you have to do the work here (as he points to my mouth).” For some reason I couldn’t change everything in my life all at once.  I started with working out and now I think I’m ready to add a healthy diet to the mix.  He has bumped up my weight training to add muscle to burn more fat.  I do cardio on my own but try to keep it a LSB so I don’t lose the muscle I’m working so hard to build.  I might post my workouts in my 100 day challenge thread because I’m so excited about what I was able to do this week.

As for the eating, I have been good all week but officially started the diet today.  I’m recording what I eat on http://www.myfooddiary.com.  I like it because it has lots of charts and graphs to show my progress along the way.

One question - How Much do you Want It?????

Make a sign and post it right on the refrigerator. 

Forget the sign, I’ll just print up a picture of myself now and put THAT on the frig.  That’ll scare anyone away.

How much do I want it?  I want to lose more than that but I’m being realistic.  I wouldn’t have posted it here if I wasn’t serious because I know from the 100 day challenge if I don’t keep it up you’ll all come down on me hard.  So in a way, I guess I’m using you all to push me along. 

I’ve been eating properly all week even though I didn’t officially start tracking what I was eating until the 9th.  I weighed this morning and have already lost one pound, 24 more to go!

Hey Carrie,

You are so inspiring to me with your 200+ days of exercising. You go girl!

I totally feel your pain about keeping up the good eating habits. I crumble so easily when I’m stressed, bored, tired, <insert any excuse>....

I’ve heard Scott say this and it’s something I’ve known to be true. You can’t give up something and not have a replacement for it. So, if you are using food as stress relief, it’s going to stink if you get rid of the junky food and are still stressed. Yikes! Right?

So, what could we do instead of eat? Any ideas? It’s funny because I think exercise eventually can be that stress relief. Though do you have to go to a gym or “go somewhere” to exercise? Or can you just start walking right when you leave your front door? My boyfriend lives in a completely sidewalked neighborhood. I have to drive somewhere. Obviously the fridge is much closer. Hee hee.

So, what could be better stress relief?

-Kayll

Thanks Kayll.  Wow, it’s nice to hear that I inspire you.  You can do it too and you’ll be amazed after 100 days have gone by so quickly.  Yes, you CAN start by just walking out your front door.  You can even march in place in your living room, do jumping jacks or dance.  You don’t need any fancy equipment, just move around.

I agree that the de-stressing with food habit has to be replaced.  I do find that the nights that I do get in a good workout my stress is completely extinguished but it’s hard to exercise every time we’re stressed. We need to find a quick fix to that problem that we can do anywhere.  Others on this board have suggested breathing exercises, drinking a glass of water, walking away for a moment to take a quick break.  Those are all helpful.  At work, I find if I take a piece of paper, write out my feelings or the things that are stressing me out at that moment then take them over to the shredder, I get a quick sense of satisfaction that I’ve gotten rid of the problem.  The symbolism of grinding up the problem seems to help.

In the evening, I like to find a quiet place to read.  This is usually in my bathroom because it’s the only place to get away from the kids.  I’ll go in there, lock the door and sit on the edge of the tub just for a few minutes of peace & quiet.  Taking a walk outside also helps me.  For some reason, being outside helps clear my mind.  At night, if the frig is calling your name, go take a relaxing bubble bath.  Try different things out and you’ll find what works for you. 

All that said, I still have a problem with food.  Whether it’s learned or genetic, it’s a struggle every day for me.  But I was able to go from a couch potato to someone who exercises regularly and enjoys it in a mere 100 days so certainly I can get control of this too.  So can you. 

You know Carrie, if you can make time for exercise even though you have kids, then no one has an excuse. You rock!

I like journaling to help with stress, but it’s something I need to do consistently. I also like using oracle cards, like Sonia Choquette’s Trust Your Vibes. They help you tune into your higher self and advise you on what to do. Those are fun. Sometimes they say things like “sleep on it” or “play more”.

That’s so funny that you read in your bathroom! The only room with a lock on the door right?

Keep up the good work. Glad to know too that you don’t have to do anything fancy for your 100 days of exercise. That makes me feel better too.

Thanks!
Kayll

Just read that you dropped a pound Carrie way to go!