Need to Lose 100 LBS -Robins Thread !
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Hi everyone, it's been a long time since I posted and sorry I missed so much, still have 2 pages to get through, but wanted to let you know I'm still here, albeit have had to start over. Our team decided rather than have a traditional Christmas luncheon, everyone would take a day and bring a snack for the team. Do you hear me groaning? It wouldn't have been so bad, but instead of doing snacks, the first person brought a full meal, and it just continued that way even to today, Dec 29th. A full meal every day, including snacks and all kinds of not-low-calorie food every day for 3 weeks. 8 feet from my desk. Needless to say, I did not do well, and finally stopped logging altogether, even though I know better. I lost my 324 day streak and have now started over. I've probably gained back 10 lbs (that's what it feels like, anyway), and with no exercise either, I just feel yucky.
Well, I know what you are all saying - get back on the horse, start over, forget the past, and move on. That's the plan, but I can't help kicking myself for falling off the wagon. I missed you all. Take care and I hope everyone has a fun New Years Eve.
Tracy0 -
Just thinking ahead toward the new year. This was copied in whole from the site, policypillars.com
Before I paste it, I am proposing, for the New Year, that we all consider, The Ulysses Contract.
A Ulysses pact or Ulysses contract is a freely made decision that is designed and intended to bind oneself in the future.
Consider it for Ourselves. Read the following. See if it will inspire you to go searching Wikipedia to read the whole story, then look at your own temptations as you try to lose weight. Think about these ancient stories past down to us. Were we listening only half-heartedly? Were we really supposed to apply some of these lessons to our personal life when confronted with temptation?
Well, it seems, the sirens call to us from all around. Our friends want to meet for coffee and the pastries call to us. We need to tie ourselves to the mast, so we can enjoy the scent of the pastry, yet keep our back bolt upright against the mast sailing straight forward to our destination.
I'm a believer. January 1, 2016, I'm going to turn my efforts towards The Ulysses Contract I make with myself.
Now, as promised, a brief background on this:
In Book VII of The Odyssey by Homer, the goddess Circe gives Ulysses the option to hear the beautiful but deadly Sirens. The Sirens were dangerous creatures, aquatic seductresses who lured sailors with songs of enchantment to shipwreck off the rocky coast of their island. He (Ulysses) wanted to hear the Sirens' song but knew that doing so would render him incapable of rational thought. Ulysses wanted to hear the songs, and survive.
To do this he had his men tie him to the ship’s mast and then put wax in their own ears so they could row but not hear. He ordered them not to change course under any circumstances and to put their swords upon him should he break free of his bonds.
Upon hearing the Sirens' song, Ulysses was driven temporarily insane and struggled with all of his might to break free. He begged his crew to release him. With every stroke the oarsmen helped Ulysses move past temptation. The pact held. After having rowed beyond the Sirens, the crew members removed the wax and freed a grateful Ulysses.
Ulysses rigged the game for success by knowing his limits, then creating a plan to work within them. The plan he made to row past the sirens is the same design for contracts we can make with ourselves to row past temptations.
So, am I just impressed with this concept cuz its the first time I've come across it - I see its used everywhere - business, psychology etc.
Its certainly personal, and would definitely be a challenge.
To Newcomers - Last January - each of us adopted a word or phrase we wanted to think about every day and most regular has kept that up. That is another option. Like Grandma Kayes Slogan "Onward and Downward"
So lets get the discusssion started -0 -
@Newbies welcome to each and every one of you - I read so fast I missed your names but I'm so proud your on the bandwagon!
@BohemianCoast - ALLISON - WOOT - always happy when you come around ! sorry if you've had some rough weather Oh Dear! Glad both children are doing well in school if I understood correctly ! Keep hanging out with us.
@Laurie - great, tangible goals and good ideas for newcomers and us older, un-focused people as well. I do like it. Could be our Goals for the New Year! What does Everyone Think?
@Bathmats - haha! After using alone for 2 days the guilt set in. I measured the drying time of the mats and it was fairly quick, but I did demote 2 towels to lay on top of them when I shower - what causes that impulse?
@GOINS - good to see you too!
@Niki - can't imagine you having trouble in the kitchen - hope you get it figured out!
Well Now is NEW YEARS EVE. I live uptown and there will be fireworks downtown. But if I go to the party room, if its not in use, I can sit there and watch and have a grand view.!0 -
The end of another year. This time of year brings reflection to most of us. Time to look back at our goals and aspirations. Have we worked on them? What we have achieved. Plan our goals for the new year and how we may get there.
At the end of last year I chose the word "Gratified". I would try to live my life so I would feel gratified. In many ways I have done this. In some ways not.
There have been many changes in my life. Yet, I am still the same person. Sometimes feeling confident, other times close to panic. I do feel that I am moving toward my goals. Some are arriving more quickly than others.
One thing I have worked on this year is to enjoy the ride. Trusting that I am where I am supposed to be. To look around and see what is going on right now instead of trying to see over the next hill. Part of feeling "Gratified".
This was a year for the record books. I turned 55. I did two tri-athlons and two other races. I ran 5 miles for the first time in my life. I actually took some days off and stayed away from my store. I drove from Wisconsin to Denver and back - alone. I met some wonderful people and developed some incredible friendships. I celebrated 30 years of sobriety. I separated from my husband of 35 years. I sent one son to rehab.
Beyond all I found inner strength I did not know I had. Along with a peace in knowing I have what I need and that is enough.
My goals for the new year are in many ways the same as last years, I am adding a few refinements.
Health/Fitness:
Lose 20 pounds
Run 10K
Run 1/2 marathon (knees permitting)
Olympic length triathlon (knees permitting)
70 mile bike race
Personal:
Take a week long vacation without going to my store
Clean/sort/organize all my closets
Continue with my meditation/journaling
My 2 cents on the goals for the thread. I am up for anything. I like the monthly challenges. I like the idea of the Ulysses Contract. Laurie's idea is a great one. I do think we are more successful when we have group goals, but that my be just my perception.
One final note in a long missive. It is wonderful to see so many newlings, I am so very glad so many of you are sticking around. It is good to see some of the oldtimers checking in when they can. As always it is amazing to see such dedication from so many who post regularly. I love this group and it has been key to my success. I thank you all.
Love to all,
Lori
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Good Morning.
The tornado assessment continued through yesterday, with a total of 9 tornadoes hitting us on Saturday evening (that makes 74 for the year--a record we didn't need to break
); they’re tallying up the damage such that we can get federal assistance for clean-up and rebuilding. There are still 4 people unaccounted for and many pets that haven’t been reunited with their owners. In one area there are over 250 homes that are uninhabitable. 
@Holly~ Happy New Year, I’m so happy to see you post. I have thought of you often and am glad to hear that you and your sister have restored your relationship. I’m sorry the job didn’t work out, I’m confident you’ll find a job with the right fit soon.
@Zoe~ I’m sorry for your illness over the holiday, definitely sounds like you need an antibiotic to kick that to the curb. Sending healing vibes.
@Karen~ Did you get more snow yesterday? If so, hope you were still able to get out and do some things.
@Niki~ There was an arrest yesterday for looters. There were pics on the news about a guy a few towns over, pacing in front of his tornado-torn house carrying a shotgun—saying he’d shoot first and ask questions later. Only in Texas!
@Laurie~ I know about that sit & rise test, something the trainers have you do during an assessment at my gym when you first join. Very hard.
@Tracy~ Ugh on office temptations—it’s been like a bakery around here, luckily I have decent willpower for most sugary things. How is your husband, have you been able to get some help around the house?
@Robin~ I must have missed the bathmat discussion?
I don’t have rugs in either bathroom and have a bathmat type towel that I lay on the floor when I shower—when I’m done I hang it over the tub and close the shower curtain. I’m kind of a neat-freak, can’t stand stuff on the floor. Interesting about Ulysses contract.
AFM~This year has flown by. Where does the time go? In many ways I’ve been reflecting on 2015, which turned out to be a rough year.
That Achilles tendon injury turned out to be the bane of my existence and just benched me from the things I love to do for far too long, thus putting a damper on my weight loss success for most of the year. 
I remember back in January, my slogan for the year being “don’t sweat the small stuff,” I feel like I’ve been a lot more tolerant at work and in life and really tried not to feel beat down with my injury and subsequent surgery. I’m healing well and even though I still have a few months of rehabilitation, I know that I will be able to return to my active lifestyle (except running is forever off the table). For now, I’m just taking it one day at a time.
I do not make New Year’s Resolutions; however, I do set goals to try new things and make promises to myself.
Goals for 2016:
Health & Fitness Goals:
Join the cycle club at my gym (when doc gives the ok)
Re-join Yoga classes at my gym (when doc gives the ok)
I’m not setting a weight loss goal. It’s doable for me to reach my goal weight by the second-half of the year but my goal is just to continue living a healthy lifestyle and making healthy choices—weight loss should occur naturally if I’m consistent.
Personal Goals:
Finish my grad classes and pass my certification exam in May
Continue to search for career advancement opportunities
Meet with financial advisor to plan retirement goals (put this off far too long)
Take time for me
So “me time” to end the year is I decided to take tomorrow off of work. Overtime is mandatory in January and it’s highly stressful with month-end, year-end and the annual audit—taking a mental health day tomorrow so I can have a long weekend and relaxing start to the New Year. Except for possibly meeting a friend in the afternoon for lunch/movie, not much planned to ring in the New Year—I’m not one to be out on the streets.
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Good morning everyone and a belated Merry Christmas to you all. I had a very nice holiday with my family. We all gathered at my moms for food presents and fun. The job is going well though at the moment I only have one client one day a week because my husband needs the truck to get to Seattle for work. Its the push time to get the boat ready to go back up to alaska on jan 10th. My food and exercise have been all over the place for well over a month now. I am reigning it back in now though still not perfect. I am going to update my weight on the site on Jan 1st and just move forward from there. I do know that I stayed within a 10 pound range this whole time so not to much damage done. I think I am going to spend some money I dont really have today. I have been having a sore back and some pretty bad headaches the last couple of weeks and I think my bed is the culprit. I cant afford a new mattress right now but i am going to pick up one of those thick memory foam toppers and see if that might help out at least for awhile. I cant believe the weather we have going on right now across the country. Thank goodness all of you have managed to stay safe through it all. Our weather has been a little off for us but nothing drastic. We are just normally a little more mild but this year we have had record rain and snow in the mountains. Let me tell you record rain in mucky Washington is a lot of rain lol. I will check back later or tomorrow and try to get some personals done then. Take care and stay safe my friends and have a great day 0
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Wednesday Wish ... that we all have a really grand and cheerful entry of 2016 and that the coming year will be a successful in the goals we set for ourselves.
Holly, Tracy, and Tammy, it was good to see you popping in here.
Laurie, Robin, Lori, and Kelley ... I'm up for a group challenge but don't really have any suggestions for the group.
It sounds like a few of us already know what we want to work on in 2016, including myself. Thus, pretty much anything nutrition/calorie, or exercise related would be something I could incorporate into my scheme.
Lori, your reflections have put me into that mood also, but I'll save that for Thursday Truth!
@bassistcat ... you must have looked at page 1 to know that Tuesday is 'goals' reporting day! Welcome.
Zoe ... hope you find some bright spot in your day.
Everyone ... the one thing that really stuck with me throughout 2015 were the motto's we chose to follow throughout the year. Mine was 'follow-through' because I am such a proctastinator ... and I did follow through on some of my plans and promises. I'm going to keep a motto for 2016 also ... just need to decide if I'll keep the same one because it's still a work in progress, or if I'll change it to something like 'move it to lose it' or something else. Yes, it's more than one word ... I am very verbose (maybe I should choose the word succinct?
Follow-through
Niki0 -
I can't believe I didn't check in yet today. I guess my Wednesday Wish this time is that this nasty congestion somehow breaks up soon so my head can quit pounding. I just took a nap, and it helped but not much. As for the unity thing, I'm okay with whatever the others want but, if I had to choose, I guess I'd cast a vote for the Ulysses Contract thingie.0
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Hi, everyone, back again. For awhile, my work computer was blocking me from accessing the community page, which is the main reason I stopped posting - it's just too darn hard to post using my cell phone and I don't get much computer time at home.
My DH is doing ok, he was at the emergency room about 2 weeks ago with COPD Exacerbation but they just gave him a breathing treatment and sent him home with prednisone and a Z-pack. He's doing better and had a pretty good Christmas, and I expect he will still be feeling well tomorrow for New Years Eve.
My son graduated from ACC on 12/10, it was the first graduation I've gotten to go to for him since kindergarten so I was so proud to be there and get to share it with him. He got a Associates of Applied Science in Computer Aided Design, isn't that a mouthful? Ron wasn't able to attend but he got a ringside seat because the college broadcast(?) it on the internet, actually he had a better view than I did, since we were far from the stage.
I'm well, but gained back 5 lbs with all the ridiculousness at work and lack of exercise. I agree that a group goal would be good for all of us, and I like the Ulysses Contract idea but not sure how to put it into play in my own life. I do thing I will choose a motto for myself for 2016 - Something to do with determination, strength, and taking care of myself as well as others. I will think on it and come up with something.
Glad to see everyone, I don't have time to do any personals but I have read back about 15 pages and am glad to see everyone seems to be doing fairly well. I am proud of those of you who have been going through such difficult times and are still persevering and staying positive. It's difficult especially during the holidays (everyone is so darn cheerful, and can't understand why you don't seem to be in the "spirit" of things). Stay strong and keep moving on..... hey! maybe I can use that for 2016? I like it!
Tracy (TX)
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Oh ho ... I logged in under my old profile-id to retrieve some data for my stats and couldn't help but pop back in here to the community page ... there were 50 pages between now and the last time I signed on as NK1112 back in September.
I'm thinking I need to focus on ... oops, a senior-moment took the thought and blew it away.
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I definitely am up for some group challenges. I did much better when I was accountable to the group for more, and had something to focus on.
I don't like the way my year has gone. Our family reunion and 50th anniversary party were definitely a highlight, but the rest of year was kind of bad. DH's fall and other health issues have been pretty heavy, as well as the passing of my father, glaucoma diagnosis, etc. I weigh almost 20# more than I did last year. That has to go!
@Holly and @Alison welcome back to both of you. I love seeing old friends pop in and report.
Onward and downward. Kaye0 -
Ok. I have updated my profile and my goals. I know what works. Now I just have to do it.
Enjoy your New Year's Eve. My tree is coming down today so I'll have room to have a game day at my house tomorrow. Cathy would have it at her house, but I don't think I can tear DH away from his bowl games and she doesn't have network TV.
Onward and downward. Kaye0 -
Seems like its been an up-and-down year for many of us....Kaye, and of course, and I think Holly had to suffer the most devestating blow of all. Glad to see we are bolstering each other along.
@Holly - I didn't mention that I was rather proud to see you quit that job. Now has been tough, and if they are not sensitive to your issues, its a great time to sell your attributes around the city. I'm positive you'll find another, better position.
About the Ulysses Contract - It Can't work as a monthly goal, it can only work as a mental program running in your mind in the background. Something to be pulled up by you to shore up your backbone when you know you are going to be tempted. Just something to have at your "beck and call". I suggested it so we could have moments to practice it.
@Niki - I agree with you, having a phrase to capture your goals is so helpful. I never got behind mine last year. I would just get so frustrated I changned it several times. If its to work for me, I have to have something that really strikes at my weaknesses - and yes, there are several running around in my head. I like your "Follow through" and Kayes "Onward and downward"
Probably more tailored to my lacking is "Plan Ahead"
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Happy New Years Eve! Slept in, then did some running around--vitamin store, Bed Bath & Beyond for new pressure cooker & then grocery store & finally redbox. Grocery store was packed! Tonight I'm making cauliflower crust pizza then tomorrow making sausage, kale, shrimp & black-eyed pea soup in pressure cooker--hopefully the black-eyed peas get year off to the right start!
I'm definitely up for returning to our challenges, just won't be able to join in physical challenges for awhile yet.
Have a safe & happy New Years!0 -
And the New Year Ball is getting set to drop in just a bit over 6 hours from now. Happy New Year everyone.0 -
Thursday Truth ... Let's just call this 'The State of the Niki'. I've finished my statistical shenanigans for 2015, I've set a couple of goals, I've chosen a new moniker for 2016 that perhaps should be added to the one I had this year.
Check-on on the recent goals I'd set for myself ...
Calories within 100 calories lower/higher of MFP goal ... 11 days out of 24
exercise calories expended (cumulative) 3700 in 24 days
Thoughout the year the combined daily averages are:
calories 1906
carbs 217 grams
protein 85 grams
fat 81 grams
My BMR is about 1710 calories without any activity whatsoever (to maintain my current body). Obviously an average intake of only 200 calories more for everyday activity and digestion suggests that I should have lost weight, but I have not. Therefore, either my nutrition reporting has been way off track or my metabolism is much slower than the average for a person my age, height, weight, and sex. I suspect it's a combination of the two because, mismeasurements of portions is common, databases don't always match the exact food, and reporting inaccuracies are also common. Metabolism slows with age and also with innactivity/loss of muscle mass. At 70 years of age, with decades of extreme calorie deficits and splurges, and with an exceptionally sedentary lifestyle ... well, how can anyone expect a perfectly revved-up engine?
One more factor that frequently causes an upsurge in weight is an elevated carbohydrate intake. And my carbs have been higher than usual the past couple of months. Extra carbs are great to get when the muscles have been taxed hard with strong physical activity or heavy weight-lifting, and every extra carb brings with it a retention of extra water ... that's why people have to urinate so frequently when they cut their calories to lose weight ... usually the calories that are cut are carb calories so the body gets less of them and doesn't need to hold on to the extra fluids.
Follow-Through accomplishments this year ...
1 ... I no longer rely on restaurant food or prepared meals but cook my food myself.
2 ... I sleep in my bed instead of the couch
3 ... I use my Cpap machine nightly
4 ... The kitchen sink is clean every day ... at least once! Which means the dishes are not piling up anywhere.
5 ... The house is half decluttered, so there is still more to do, however the win-win is that I am no longer embarrassed to have someone come inside the house.
Weightloss accomplishments ... The overall year saw a gain of 4 pounds from 12/31/14 to 12/31/15 weigh-ins. There were fluctuation swings that arose concerns within me of declining metabolism and attempts at finding a balance for daily calories to be consistent ... which, as attested by the last 24 days, I'm only successful at doing about 50% of the time.
Fittness accomplishements .. This part has lost ground in 2015. As the Osteoarthritis has flared up more often, in more places, and for longer flares I have shied away from physical exertion which has made my waist and hip measurement expand from where they were 1 year ago. Also, my morning fasting blood glucose reading are reflective of the added weight and lack of physical activity. Along about mid April I started seeing pretty high morning blood glucose readings and that trend has continued throughout the rest of the year, especially so the past month.
2016 Planning and Goals ...
I am still looking to reach my goal weight by my 72nd birthday, so I have 15 months in which to lose 75 pounds. That sounds like it can be done if I can maintain a steady 5 pound a month loss ... and that is a huge momentum to achieve and maintain. Suffice to say, I'll be very pleased to come within 10% of my goal.
2016 Motto ... Follow through on Consistent Focus.
Consitent and Focus are the two terms that are my "Ulysses Contract" for the year. They come from 2 sources ...and I quote them ...
Focus. I quote Jameas Clear .. who writes about science-based ideas for mastering habits and living an optimal life.
"I rarely see failures of willpower, but I have seen thousands of people fail to stay focused. New habits take effort, but that effort is wasted if you are scattering it across too many desired behaviors. Want to run a marathon and lose weight? Too much. Want to change your diet and start going to the gym? Too much. My clients work on one habit at a time until they master it. That’s it. But man, do they add up… “The goal is to keep the goal the goal.” – Dan John "
Consistent. I quote from a blog from the EM2WL group
"The diet that allows you to be consistent is always the diet that wins, period. The perfect diet that you do in spurts, is never going to outweigh the imperfect diet that you do consistently. So find something that you can do consistently, even if it just means that you’re taking baby steps (start with ONE habit, and run that sucker into the ground until it’s second nature)."
The Follow-Through has to stay with me because I am still working this statement from 2015 ... My goal for 2016 is to accomplish the goals of 2014 which I should have done in 2013 because I made a promise in 2012 & planned in 2011. ...
What I promise to do in 2016
1 ... get outside to walk every day, be it for 10 feet or 10 miles that day ... walking outside every day is a GOAL.
2 ... continue to cook my meals instead of buying them already made for me.
3 ... continue to log my food and exercise into MFP and into my spreadsheet file so I can keep track.
Nuff said from this verbose person.
F-T on Consistent Focus
Niki0 -
Thursday Truth: I'm excited for the year ahead and pray for a much better time than 2015 was. I shall list my main resolutions for this year, and check in daily regarding each of them. You guys are more than welcome to hold me accountable to them, and I'd be glad to do the same for any of you who want to post resolutions. Here they are:
-Lose remaining extra weight if needed-must check in with my nutritionist to establish a renewed weight ASAP. I'l give an update if and when I can do so.
-Be more organized-need to learn better balance of life and time management.
-Develop a healthy sense of humor-I don't currently HATE joking/irony but don't gravitate to it or easily understand either, nor am I great socially.
-Take better care of my body-dealing with a large wound that could easily come back if I don't watch it!
-Eliminate stress-I can crack if you look at me just right. Not good!
-Find a better balance in life-I wear so many hats in life, that I end up dropping one every. Single. Year. Without fail. Argh!
-Think positive-My "glass is (usually) half-full," unless you're talking about a bad health situation or a challenge on campus. I want to be "half-full" all the time.
-Be more assertive-I really need to practice standing up for myself and what's right for me. If someone wants to do something other than what I want/need, unless they've confessed a direct wish to kill me, I surrender to that person/plan each time. Something tells me that's not healthy! Furthermore, if I can't do that for myself, how am I supposed to help a client stand up for his/her needs as a disability lawyer?
-Work past irrational fears-I'm currently terrified of some pretty silly things (tests, storms, something happening to a loved one or me, unknown large dogs [if I don't know whether they're trained to be nice to strangers], and, in a small way, the dark).
-Grow closer to God-I'm currently in the habit of daily prayer, worship and Bible study, and know that we'll never get any closer to Him than in Heaven, but still need and desire a chance to draw nearer to Him.0 -
Thursday Truth:
I am determined to be stronger and more focused on my needs and goals. This year has seen me start strong, but about June or early July my husband's health problems took my focus completely off myself, and it's shown on the scale and on my self-esteem. My original goal was to be down at least 60 lbs by Christmas, but instead I am again at just 44 lbs down (the same as I was in June of this year), having gained back 5 lbs in the last month. So my health focus for 2016 is this:
1) Walk every work day (M-F) 2X @10 minutes each, either inside or outside the building, weather permitting.
2) Work out at lunch (30 min lunch) at least 3X during the workweek at the Omni Hotel gym.
3) Work out at least 1x on the weekends, walking at least a couple of miles. I have been very consistent in
2015 just sitting on my butt at home all weekend, and that's not going to work if I want to meet my goals
for 2016.
4) Log my food, ALL of it, even the late night snacks, every single day. Log it as I eat it so I don't forget anything.
And stay within 200 calories of my basic allowance, and make at least an extra 200 burn over that.
5) Complete the 30-day squat challenge by May, the 30 day plank challenge by my birthday in July, and
couch-2-5k by Thanksgiving (I want to participate in the annual Schlotzsky's Bun Run in 2016).
6) Start a weight training regimen to strengthen my body, improve my posture, and tone my muscles.
7) Reach my interim goal of 175 lbs by Memorial Day (18 lbs) , next goal of 150 by my birthday 7/31 (15 lbs),
and 135 (another 15 lbs) by NYE 2016.
In looking at the above goals, I see that I don't have any personal goals other than health related listed. So here are some things I would like to work on for 2016:
1) Be more assertive with my husband, and not let him push my buttons. He uses the "I'm sick" stick often, and expects me to just shut up and let him run roughshod over me to keep him from getting stressed and having a breathing episode, but that has to stop. He thinks everything is about him, everyone should just do what he wants when he wants it, and stand around and wait on him the rest of the time, but that's just not how life works in anybody's world but his. Just because he's sick doesn't mean the world revolves around him, and I need to be more assertive with him and let him know that unless he's literally dying or choking or falling, it can wait 2 minutes while I finish what I'm doing! Same thing goes for his caregivers and his son.
2) Invest more in my retirement. I never saved earlier in life, and now I'm 55 with little retirement savings. I've been paying into it since I started working here in 2007 but with the stock market crash in 2008 I'm still not anywhere near where I should be. I want to retire while I'm still healthy enough to enjoy it, but I don't want to be destitute!
3) Quit using my largest balance credit card and get it paid off. That's $6k. If I get that one paid off, the rest will
much easier to pay off. Pay cash for everything I can and don't buy anything if I don't have cash.
Well, that's a lot to aim for in one year, but I will be focused, consistent, and determined in my pursuit of these goals.
I will.... "Stay strong and keep moving on".
Tracy, TX0 -
Happy New Year. Wishing you the best in 2016.
My motto in 2015 was consistency and determination. This has served me well even when I wanted to stop but I kept going. I will most likely continue with this in 2016 along with just 15 min. As I have learned, if I can get moving for 15 then I am more likely to keep going and get a workout in. For me, 15 minutes of activity is better than doing nothing.
My goal for 2016 is to deal with the changes that come my way and see where the future leads. I will post goals later.
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Hi everyone! Happy New Year!! We still have an hour to go here in Chicago, but it's 2016 already on the east coast.
I just caught up on posts. Love all of the suggestions for group challenges, mottoes, and contracts. I agree with everyone else: I do much better when I have a focus each month and am accountable for checking in here. I personally need to work on both nutrition and fitness goals.
Fitness:
1. Continue with the weight lifting I started again just a few weeks ago.
2. Run more often and build endurance for longer distances again. The couple of months I was sidelined really took a toll on my ability to run more than a couple of miles. I need to build back up to 5 miles--would like to be able to run that distance by April for our Shamrock Shuffle.
3. Suck it up and walk gunner even when it's bitterly cold. Layers are my friend.
Nutrition:
1. Drink more water. Not something I usually struggle with, but I've been less that stellar at this lately.
2. Get more protein. A lot more. My intake has been abysmal
3. Less eating out; more making healthy meals at home.
In addition, I want to achieve some personal goals for 2016:
1. Focus on paying off debt. Now that DH is working full time and his benefits kick in January 1st, I can take him off my insurance. The additional income should make it easier to pay cash for anything we need and pay off credit card debt we've already accumulated.
2. Get more (and better) sleep.
3. Continue to de-clutter the house, and finish redecorating some of the areas I started in 2015. Some of this will require some new pieces of furniture, so I need to balance this goal with goal #1. Unless I win the lottery.
I need to think about my motto.
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Resolutions update: I really need to read more as well. Will work on/refine that as I go.0
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Happy New Year to all of you.
As I read the above posts I am thinking about my own goals for this year.
The first is to refine my food plan. I watched a great show on PBS about nutrition called "In Defense of Food". So in light of that new information my new plan is very simple: Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.
To me this is eating more foods without labels, shopping the perimeter of the grocery store, preparing my own food. Simple, concise and for me achievable.
The second is fitness related. I have big aspirations for this year: Shamrock Shuffle, 10K, 1/2 marathon, olympic tri
As I said these are big aspirations, I will have to listen to my body and see what I can do vs. what I want to do.
@skinnyjeanzbound - Congrats on the job/benefits for DH! I have no doubt you will get far in your debt reduction. Also I just want to throw in that I have been pretty successful at scoring some deals on great furniture on Craigslist and a couple of "Used but Nice" consignment stores. I got a teak dining set with a table that expands to seat 8 for $250.00, I found one similar but new and was listed for over $2K. I had to recover the chair seats but I love the set.
@Lauriek70 - If I recall correctly your 15 minutes has done you well indeed, good for you!
@GOINSTD12 - Taking into account all the challenges you had in 2015 you have done remarkably well. I have confidence you can reach every one of those goals. Your determination and dedication are admirable.
@zcb94 - You are an incredible person, I do have one "trick" I started using this year to reduce the stress in my life and it has done me very well. It is a 2 minute meditation on youtube, I do this most days and for a while I was doing it up to 10 times a day. I hope you try it and it works as well for you. It took a few days to "get it" but now I can do it without listening to it. It brings me back to what is going on right now. I can focus on what I have to do and stop living in the past or dreading what will happen next.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1EZ_hpnhDM
@Nikion901 - Your self awareness is amazing. I do admire so much your accomplishments and how in tune you are with your life, habits and your surroundings. I do love reading your posts. I have tried several of your cooking hints and recipes. Thank you for your dedication to this thread. Congrats on your achievements in 2015!
@RobinsEgg - I am so very glad you are back. I did miss you while you were gone. You are another one who is so very self aware. So glad you got through the bath remodel. I hope your health challenges go your way this year.
This is all I have time for today. I must get going. I want to go the the gym today then I have to buy a bed, hubby took that with him when he left. Since losing the last 50 or so pounds it has been uncomfortable for me to sleep on anyway so I can now buy one that is comfy for me. There is a sale on today so I think I can get one for under $500.00.
Love to all,
Lori
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I received an email this morning from a friend and wanted to share the link to an article about a book entitled One Word Can Change Your Life. The idea is a step-by-step process to discover one word that can provide a year's worth of inspiration and motivation--about picking a word that gives you meaning, mission, passion and purpose. Research shows that 9 out of 10 people fail with their resolutions, but one word is easy to remember.
http://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/how-one-word-can-change-your-life-in-2016.html?cid=sf01001&sr_share=twitter0 -
@kelley-- I will have to take a look at that website to figure out my word.
@lori-- Yes, I already joined a couple of local "garage sale" facebook groups so I can keep an eye out for used pieces. The two main pieces I need are some sort of console stand for the TV in the living room, and a bed. I think the TV stand will be the easier of the 2 b/c it could be almost anything-- a small dresser, shelving unit, buffet,-- the right size. The bed will be more difficult b/c I'm very picky about what I want-- it needs to be a platform bed with storage drawers underneath in a dark wood finish. I also want the headboard to be lower in height than a lot I've seen throughout my search. I will need to be patient and just keep looking until I find what I want for the right price. I really like your nutrition goals. Looks like we will both be working toward that Shamrock Shuffle for the next couple of months.
@zoe-- I also need to read more. To clarify, I need to read more for myself vs. reading and re-reading what I'm teaching in my literature classes. I do plenty of reading for work, but I want to read more for the love of reading.
@laurie-- the "just 15 minutes" motto worked well for me until school resumed in August. Then I kind of lost momentum. I will definitely try to incorporate that idea into the new year as well.
@tracy-- I love your goal to be more assertive with the DH. It must be so hard to balance caring for him and yourself. I know it will be a struggle to say no to him without upsetting him, but you need to find a way to do that for your own well-being. Part of my financial goals have been spurred by thoughts of retirement as well. I still have 16 years before I'm eligible for full benefits, but I know that will sneak up on my before I know it. One of my DH's benefits is a 401k that his employers will match 50% of the first 6%. so I had him sign up for the 6% contribution to max out that matching benefit. One I get through this school year, I also plan to increase my contributions into my 403b; it's been a few years since I've done so. But the immediate goal is to pay down that credit card debt.
@niki-- love your new profile picture! Also, I like how you broke down all of your stats. One of my goals is going to be to log meticulously this whole year so I can do the same for 2016.
@holly-- it's great to see you pop in. I hope 2016 is a year of healing and new beginnings for you.
AFM-- I got off to a good start with the sleep goal by sleeping in this morning. Even after waking I was tired and had a headache, so I lounged most of the morning watching TV. I still have a bit of a headache which I think is just the result of several nights of not-so-great sleep earlier in the week.
Tomorrow I need to take my car in for an oil change and tire rotation. It's been on my list for all of winter break and it keeps getting bumped for other appointments and activities. I know it will probably take longer on a Saturday than if I had gone during the week, but the good news is I will be stuck in the waiting room with nothing to do but grade essays. Silver lining.
Sunday I have a hair appointment in the afternoon, so I will try to get my gym visit in tomorrow afternoon. I like laurie's suggestion for the smart goals. I've already decided on some running goals:
Running Goals for the month of January:
I will run 3x/week and at least one 5k/week.
I will run a 5k start to finish with no walking breaks.
I will run an 8k twice.
Have we decided on the January challenge?
One challenge for the year that I joined is a 1000k challenge on mapmyrun. You create an account and join the group. After each run, you log it using the mapmyrun app or through your website account. As long as you track at least one run per week, you are eligible for monthly prizes. If anyone is interested, here is the link:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/underarmour/youvstheyear/#/challenge
Grading Goals:
3. 5/40 AP essays
4. 1/1 colleague rec letter DONE
Exercise Goals:
Sat-- walk gunner + gym
Sun-- rest day
Mon-- walk gunner
Tues-- walk gunner + gym
Wed-- walk gunner
Thurs-- walk gunner + gym
Fri-- walk gunner
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Good morning everyone. It looks like we are all setting some nice consistent goals for the year. I am going to weigh in on Monday and record whatever it says. I have bouncing up and down 5-8 pounds for a couple months with my inconsistancys. My immediate goals are to get back to the consistent logging I was doing the first half of last year when I was losing steadily and then to walk the dogs and get to the gym at least 2 to 3 days a week to do light strength training and work on my running. If I get there more it will be great but those are the minimums I want to get back to. Eating should be easier for awhile since one of my biggest issues is boredom eating. I have just agreed to help out my dad who is a contractor and be his putty girl for a big job he just got. This will be around my part time job I already have. My mom always did this before but her breathing has made job sites not a very good spot for her with all the dirt and dust. The other bonus is lots of moving stairs and bending up and down. Those will be great workout days lol. Well Hubby and I meet with the bank on Tuesday to find out exactly where we are in relation to getting a home and what if anything else we need to do to qualify. I know we have the credit score minimums now after working on that for the last year or so but we might need to pay down a little more debt first. We will just have to wait and see
@Holly it was good to see you. I have complete faith you will quickly find a job that will work much better. I hope this is a year that will bring you some of the peace and serenity that you deserve.
@Robin it is good to see you back again. We all missed you
@Kaye Your Christmas sounded wonderful. Good for you finding ways to get your walking in. I slid back a little the last part of this year as well but the difference is now we see it happening and put on the brakes before we are bak to square one.
@Laurie. I loved the pics of your christmas decorations. I tried that sit and rise test and actually found it easier then I expected only because I didnt think I could do it all and managed after much struggling lol.
@Lori I was totally envious of your peaceful weekend in the woods. You have had such a roller coaster year that ending it with a little peacful you time was much deserved.
@kah I am happy to hear your leg is healing up. I almost got the doggies stocking this year but then just bought them a big thing of their favorite treats instead. I dont buy treats for the cats cause they wont any I have tried. As far as toys go the only thing they ever play with is the little laser pointer and then over christmas I bought a soft plush snowball the you could throw at people and it would do flashing lights on contact. That quickly became a cat toy as loki stole it from every spot I put it.
@ Well For Everyone else Happy New Year and I will try to get more personals done next time. Know I read all of the posts and am thankful for all of you letting me into little bits of your lives and helping me to always see the personal sides of this journey arent just problems for me alone.0 -
Saturday Success ... Well, this day is not yet done, so I will relate a success from yesterday. I went for my first outside walk of the year ... I was able to make it to the fire hydrant down the block and then had to turn back because of the pain in my feet, hips and legs ... however, I had managed to count 500 steps on that walk!. Also, I was within my calories for the day.
In this mornings emails I had one from MFP's Healthy Blog about a 30-day walking challeng. It's designed for people to end up walking 10,000 steps by day 30 and has a couple of levels of effort. The one suggested for 'couch potatoes' was to start with 2000 steps a day. That made me laugh out-loud. Still ... as this fits in with my stated goal for 2016, I decided to adapt it to myself. I figured if I was able to walk 1/4 of the first day's challenge then I could use that as my starting point and give myself a longer length of time to reach that 10K benchmark. After that, it will be another challenge to keep the goal going and growing. I want to be walking 10K steps (6 days with the 7th as a Rest Day) by my birthday in mid-March.
And, since we have not yet settled on a group challenge ... I challenge you all to a walking challenge that fits into your activity level as well.
I'll report how I'm doing on this challenge with my weekly Check-in post.
Karen .. thanks. Good luck on your goal to log this whole year. I had to transfer the information from the MFP daily totals into a spreadsheet to be able to do the averages, however you can recapture your food record easily through a report function. Let me know if you need any assistance. Must say, your detailed daily goals inspire me.
Lori ... thanks. It is so very easy for me to be as self-centered as I am ... I live alone (well with not another human), I have no nearby relatives, I've pretty cash poor so I stick close to home, and most of my friends have passed-over or our ships have sailed past each other on the sea of life. Oh, there are people in my life, like those on this and other social media, email/phone calls/Face-Time, and at church or when I go to the senior center ... but they are not in my life on a daily basis. I have done volunteer work in the past, but am not exactly healthy enough to continue those endeavors. So, what else have I got to do except be self-absorbed to a degree not available to many others.
Well ... enough talk! I am so impressed by each and everyone with how you all keep up with oneanother and keep on the positive side of this journey to weight loss and better physical health. That's why I keep coming back to read and post, you keep me going!
Follow-through on Consistent Focus
Niki0 -
@Nikion901, I can't walk at all, but can help cheer others on and can handle any flexibility challenges that may be offered.
I never shared anything about Friday Fitness, but didn't move much due to head/chest congestion. As a Saturday Success...well...I haven't gone bonkers yet, how about that? That'll have to do for now.0 -
@nikion901 Niki, I like the walking challenge. I haven't been wearing my pedometer lately.....something about the day I was on my feet all day and registered something like 380 steps....I suspect it is not the best instrument out there! To that end I don't know how much I walked today, but I was all over this house a zillion times cleaning it for a gathering tomorrow. Reward is the house is in good order and I got exercise!
@skinnyjeanzbound Karen, I also think your idea of journaling calories EVERY day is good. I tend to quit when I know I am going over. Think I too should incorporate that one, if just for information's sake. I am sure that such information is helpful at keeping one's self on track. I abhor it when the number gets too far above what it should be.
AFM: As I said I worked on the house all day. The tree is down and decorations are put away for another year. Yeah I hate the "undo" job. The cupboards are pretty bare so when I go to the store I will stock up on the healthy stuff...there are no cookies or Christmas treats around to play havoc so that is good. Soon it will be a regular work week and I will again know the day of the week...I have really gotten out of sync. I am ready to get back to "real life".
Belated Happy New Year everyone. May we all do great things and lose all those pounds that are weighing us all down.
Barb0 -
@Nikion901, I can't walk at all, but can help cheer others on and can handle any flexibility challenges that may be offered.
I never shared anything about Friday Fitness, but didn't move much due to head/chest congestion. As a Saturday Success...well...I haven't gone bonkers yet, how about that? That'll have to do for now.
Yes, I know Zoe that you are wheel chair bound and in delicate health.
However, you can still do something active ... like ride your wheelchair outside every day for some minutes ... that would be really good for your arms if you have a wheel chair that you push the wheels to make move. If not that, then you might be able to take up a paddle ball and practice hitting the ball with the paddle ... I never could do that! ... And I'm just trying for a bit of humor here.
Peace
Niki
PS ... congratulations about keeping out of Bonker-Ville.0
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