**CLOSED**October Shredders MiniChallenge 10/18/11**

boncharlie

Hello Shredders,

As some of you know I have a bit of a tough day yesterday... I have lots of things going on in my life and yesterday it felt like the whole world had collided and dumped every single problem possible onto my shoulders... I just wanted to throw the towel in.

So that got me thinking about coping strategies and that led me to the mini challenge.

We have all made the decision to loose weight and we all made the decision to do the 30day shred. But what keeps us determined? What keeps YOU going?

Today's mini challenge is to stop and have a think about what it is that keeps you strong and stops you from throwing in the towel when it gets too much. That way if it ever does get too much, hopefully you will remember why you are doing this...

xx

laddiniho

I set myself a mini Challenge this month as three years ago I dropped three stone, and unfortunatly I was re-aqunainted with fast food and chocholate and was finding it hard to get off the rubbish food. I had lost all enthusiasm for the gym.

I got to my birthday last month and some of my clothes were starting to get tight and I wasn't very happy at all. So first plan to kill the food habbits, then at the begining of October I embarked on my weight loss mission, fitting in two gym sessions a day using the fat burn programme for an hour and a half a day and also a 10 mins jog.

Food wise having used myfitnesspal app, it means I could track everything and see exactly what food was not as good as I thought, and realised I needed to cut down on sugars.

This morning I weighed myself only half way through the month and i've dropped 10lbs in total, and will continue to keep going now until I dropped back to a comfortable weight. I feel great and I know the next few months will be hard as I start to burn the stubborn fat.. but if I can look good for my Christmas meal come December then I'll be a happier person.

MittenKitten1219

I haven't been seeing as much progress as I thought I would with as much work as I had been doing and I had a break down this weekend that involved giving Jillian a big FU and eating all the sweets I had in my cupboard (not much) and then started crying when I realized what I had done... I'll let you know when I find out how to keep going with this. I know how disappointed I will be in myself if I don't...

dietfree2012

MY GOAL...i fall short weekly at times and then i remember my long term goal...if i give up i quit..and how embarassing would it be for me to just quit? i would have to tell my friends, family, and mfp family that i quit. nope, not doing it...plus ive come too far to just stop short due to setbacks! we got this! good days bad days are what makes this one of the hardest journeys of our lives..this is why it will be one of our greatest accomplishments as well.

SweetPea482

This may sound a little silly... but my drive comes from those people I dont see very often. Whether it is friends you only see once in a while, family you only see on holidays (...or in some cases, old flames).

I like shock factor. I like to see in their eyes ''DAMN... what's SHE been up to?!''

Meghan0116

This is a great mini challenge Debbie. First I have to ask, how much does a stone weigh? I have seen it posted before and assume it is a UK term but I am a dumb American, so I have no idea. lol

Oh Lord, I could talk about this for hours, coping mechanisms, defense mechanisms, compartmentalizing, etc. The truth is, I have no idea how I got so fat. No I didn't eat great but looking back it wasn't that bad. I guess it just packed on over time and I would say, well at least I can still wear an 18. That's not so bad. Or at least I am not bigger than so and so. Whatever it took not to make me look at myself. And those times that I would actually look at myself, oh holy God I freaked and started this I am going to workout every single day and eat better, blah blah blah. I would do it for a week then quit. I guess I didn't feel like I was worth the effort.

I am not entirely sure what has done it this time but I can guarantee that it has a lot to do with the October Shredders. I feel different this time, more empowered. I really want to do this and ya'll help me tremendously. I also know that I don't want to be the fat mom. I want to be the humpable mom. lmao I want Donovan to be proud that he chose me. I want to have tons of pictures with he and I together and right now, we don't. It's pathetic. I don't want to be pathetic any more. I want to be strong and capable. I want to feel good about who I am for the first time in years. That is what keeps me going.

nixickle

This is a great challenge!

Meghan: 1 stone is 14lbs it is indeed a UK term and your not being dumb at all! Many UK residents do not know this!

I'm with SweetPea! I also like the shock factor and it does help to keep me motivated!

My recent motivation was seeing nice dresses and tops in shops, and telling myself I could have them when I'm one size down, that worked for me :-)

I also remind myself that it's ok to have crappy days...we all have them! But I also tell myself once I have the crappy day out of my system to get back on track (sometimes my crappy days can last a couple of days and sometimes I have to give myself a stern talk!)

I try to allow myself food treats on a regular basis (but still within my cal range) so I don't feel deprived (and this even means a burger king once a month!) it allows me something to look forward to whilst still keeping me focused.

Keep up the hard work everyone and don't be so hard on yourselves if a few crappy days creep in, just try to get back on track when you can

berv0009

The shock factor is a good one! It is crazy how good it feels to see someone you haven't seen in forever and they are like "WOW YOU LOOK GREAT!" And if you aren't there yet -- YOU WILL GET THERE!!!!!

I also think for me, it is how far I have come. As of right now I have lost 40lbs since I started my weightloss journey. 40 lbs!!! So right now -- I just have to remember that I CAN DO IT! If I just stick to my routine and continue on I will lose last these last 10 lbs and be at my goal.

AND OF COURSE! MFP!!!! I don't know what I would do without this site! I love all of you and the inspiration I get from this site. I only know a couple MFP people personally ( for real) but it doesn't matter! This community of love and support through the ups and downs is what keeps me going. We all have bad days and we all have good days! It is great to realize that you are not alone!!! WE CAN DO IT TOGETHER!!!

Leola2011

Good challenge.

Like many of us, I've started and stopped more times than I care to remember. And I had to do a lot of looking in the proverbial mirror and get honest with myself about WHY I gained the weight. What went wrong?

I was never overweight growing up. I was very fit and a talented sprinter in track. I was a cheerleader and I loved to ski. But I lost myself. And now that I've figured out what went wrong--how I lost myself--I can be more aware of those moments I feel myself slipping.

I've had to ask myself many times, "Why do you want to eat this? What are you feeling? What's going on at this moment that is triggering this craving?" Stuff like that. I talk to myself quite a bit about my food challenges because I recognize that overeating is my go-to drug to fill a void or cope with powerful emotions. My problem was, I never knew when I was full.

So, the answer to the question for me is this:

Honesty keeps be going. Being honest with myself has been a huge thing in this journey.

I'm also going to say something else that may rub a lot of people the wrong way.....I believe I have a God-given destiny. I believe I have a responsibility to honor the One who created me with all my heart and all my soul. And that means treating this body with love and respect. I believe in being a LIVING sacrifice, not a DEAD sacrifice. It's the least I could do, considering all that has been done for me.

There are those who will scoff at my position, but whatever. I keep going because I have to.

Le_Joy

I'm also going to say something else that may rub a lot of people the wrong way.....I believe I have a God-given destiny. I believe I have a responsibility to honor the One who created me with all my heart and all my soul. And that means treating this body with love and respect. I believe in being a LIVING sacrifice, not a DEAD sacrifice. It's the least I could do, considering all that has been done for me.

I agree! I believe that trying to take better care of our bodies is a way to show appreciation for them.