Ultimate Accountability Challenge November 2021

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November 23

Mrs_Hoffer
Mrs_Hoffer Posts: 5,194 Member
in Social Groups
Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes?
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day?
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank?
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Replies

  • mmcram
    mmcram Posts: 61 Member
    Exercise -walked 40 min
    Under calorie budget (1650)? Yes 1593
    Tracked everything I ate and drank? Yes
  • BMcC9
    BMcC9 Posts: 4,364 Member
    edited November 2021
    @biketheworld

    Re #2 ( Once I hit 4 pass days, continuing to adhere to the 3 principles of the UAC )

    @Mrs_Hoffer opened Nov 3 with what making the Champion's list is all about. I threw in a followup from Back In The Day before the idea of the Champion's list had been inaugurated. (see spoiler)

    Mrs_Hoffer wrote: »
    na5chd7oxndd.jpg

    I can't stress enough how important it is to stick to your goals and the 3 foundational pillars of the UAC even after you've used up your 3 Pass Days for the month! It not only helps to keep you in the habit of tracking and logging every single day, but also keeps the idea of exercising, tracking and staying under your calorie goal in the front of your mind - even after you feel like you've "failed" and feel like giving up for the month.

    No matter how many Pass Days we end up using, it's better to keep working at it than to give up, drop out, or just "take the remainder of the month off!"

    We need to not think of it so much that we've "failed"... yes, we may not qualify to be in the Winner's Circle, but we are a CHAMPION if we continue logging every day through to the end of the month! I think that sticking around and being a CHAMPION is often just as difficult (if not more difficult!) than staying under 4 Pass Days! (just my opinion!) :wink:

    So without any further rambling..... here's our list of amazing CHAMPIONS for October!

    @ashleycarole86
    @biketheworld
    @bookieNJ
    @Caroline_slowandsteady
    @_JeffreyD_
    @jjjcat
    @Katiecan2021
    @Mrs_Hoffer
    @seilidhe
    @slimtastesbetter
    @stella7x7
    @tdrjustus3
    @WhatMeRunning
    @znaoiec


    n3dztzs4w2fo.jpg

    BMcC9 wrote: »
    Mrs_Hoffer wrote: »
    BMcC9 wrote: »
    I intend to see my name there too, on the Nov Champs list (I always thought of it as "aim for Winners' Circle - but if Life Happens (even in the first week of the month) - the rest of the month is "pre-season practice for the NEXT month's Winners' Circle. " Habit building is habit building. If you are going to build something, you have to keep assembling until it is done.

    @BMcC9 THIS!!! Very well said. I might even have to use this next month!! ;)

    Be my guest! (it dates back to even before UAC started a secondary "Champions List" - and you could add "Keep aiming for one-or-more-fewer passes than the month before until the Winners Circle actually happens" (like the one who included previous-month pass totals, as visual self encouragement that progress in habit forming was happening, even if not quite WC yet)

  • BMcC9
    BMcC9 Posts: 4,364 Member
    On Nov 2, @victorious55 had these words of welcome and encouragement for new and returning members (and reminded us about sea otters, who hold hands as they sleep out on the ocean, to keep from drifting off away from mutual support)
    victorious55 wrote: »
    Welcome new and old members.

    Welcome November, 2021!
    For those of us in the northmost part of the northern hemisphere, we celebrated our Thanksgiving last month. Therefore, we are over the Thanksgiving "weight gain" :)
    For those of you in the Southern hemisphere, I hope you are enjoying your warmer weather :)

    The UAC challenge has only 3 rules.
    1. Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes?
    2. Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day?
    3. Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank?

    At first glance, they look very simple. From my experience these rules are applicable to anyone at any stage of this health journey (I called it "health journey" not "diet"). Whether you are just beginning this health journey, advanced in this process or just maintaining. (BTW, I've being in maintenance for the past 11 years).

    I have come to realized that these are the only things that nobody in this life will do for me. Nobody can eat for me/you, exercise for me/you or track what I/you eat, lick or bite in this world. This is all about me/you, my/your health, and my usefulness to those around me! If I don't take care of my health then I cannot take care of anybody. (You are always advised to put on your mask when there is low pressure in the plane before helping your child/anybody, else both of you will/may die :()

    Does it mean that I will not fail? No, it is not about being perfect! But it about forming a habit. A habit that will bless me and move me forward in life, it will also bless those around me.

    Therefore, as you join us in this month's UAC, you do not have to be perfect. We are not :) There is nothing you are going through that no one in this group has not experienced. You are not the only one out there! This is a very supportive group. We will support you as you learn these habits. Come by everyday, read encouraging, funny, and realistic posts, and post something.

    If you have at most 3 pass days (pass day is a day where you could not say "Yes" to any of these 3 rules). Then you are in Winner's circle.

    If you have more than 3 pass day but you were here everyday, you are in the Champion's circle.

    Welcome, let's hold unto one another like the Sea Otters. Let's each other hands through this month!
    "Otter groups are called rafts, and the animals famously hold hands to keep from drifting apart." (https://animals.net/sea-otter/)
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
    edited November 2021
    Very early reply for me, but I felt compelled to just reply right away as this is a topic of immediate concern for me presently.

    I'll get to bingeing later.

    First I wanted to cover "pass days becoming go hog-wild days" as well as "adhering to UAC principles after hitting 4 pass days" which is in this spoiler right down here ⤵️
    As much as ❤️ I LOVE UAC ❤️ the truth is MY GOALS are NOT to win UAC. UAC just so happens to align perfectly with the activities I must do to achieve MY GOALS, and the challenge format presents a fun way to track those as well as provide a swell group of folks with oodles of insights and experience helping me learn so much more than I could by simply doing all this tracking on my own. UAC is frankly one of the best tools (actually THE BEST) I've found to help keep me on track with MY GOALS

    MY GOALS are (off the top of my head)
    1. Get fit. As in become as fully functional of a human being as I reasonably can so I can do things when I need or want to do them.
    2. Get to a healthy weight (current target is ideal BMI weight but subject to change).
    3. Make the changes as permanent as possible and don't stop trying to keep up with as much as possible until I'm dead and no longer need to worry about quality of life any more.
    4. That probably covers everything but just in case...
    5. I have 4 and 5 to fill in at any other point should I like...
    6. And this one for good measure with optional sublists below it should the fancy strike me.

    There is no winners circle or champions there. Only the joy of participating. I won't even get a medal or even a t-shirt out of it.

    So for me if I have a pass day in UAC, it should hopefully mean I have not given up on my real goals. I've done that before and still regret it, and not just because of the stupid freaking scale or size of my pants or self image....I have literal pain and unhealth which I very well earned by being a stupid moron for so long who casually tossed aside their health for some fleeting gluttony or laziness, or whatever. So even after 17 consecutive pass days I'm still trying overall to stick to my true goals. In the grand scheme of my health goals and desire to live a pleasant and healthier life, UAC is but a fun blip that I look forward to each day (you are all just that freaking super awesomely cool... seriously, I'm not joking). It's a big blip though since I spend so much time here, and do spoilers like this so much...

    I can already hear it...But wait, if there's no rewards (no medal or even a t-shirt), why bother?

    The reward is life, more specifically quality of that life. I took that for granted far too much. That's easy to do when it doesn't hurt to be carefree about health, and for some fortunate people they never have to do anything more than simply enjoy themselves however they see fit while still living relatively long, quality lives. I wish everyone could do that. I can't. My quality of life will forever have growing negative aspects which are only alleviated by being the healthier version of me. The healthier, the better. I get to see and enjoy so much more in life while being healthy and active than the alternative, where life is only more challenging (what else could one expect?).

    I promised I would get to bingeing...
    Tough subject.

    I have been an emotional eater. That can be brought under control with mindfulness (not as simple as just that word, but that's how I tackle it). I don't have easy answers here for that. But if you have this, you must address it like your life depends on it (most likely it does).

    I have issues when my blood sugars start cycling up and down from eating high carb foods, be they sugary (the worst triggers) or even just starchy. I can't control myself, I WILL find the sweets even if I have to go get them from far away. And it only results in a vicious circle, repeating over and over.

    I'm NOT HERE to villify carbs! But they ARE MY NEMESIS with no doubt about it, no wiggle room, nothing. I am only successful in preventing that when on medication like Metformin (along with healthy habits/exercise) or when maintaining a very low carb diet. Without medication carbs will eventually result in that ridiculous cycle of highs and lows. I enjoy being low carb with no medication, it is working extremely well for me.

    So why bring up the carbs, do you ask???

    Well...

    Do you feel you have an uncontrollable urge to go for something sweet, and in the absence of that get something loaded with starchy carbs to get by? Does it keep happening?

    Are you good at maintaining a healthy dietary routine until some slip up? Did that slip up contain a fair amount of carbs? Did it trigger a lot more carb intake?

    I'll stop. Probably not helping at all. Again, carbs aren't the problem. A wrecked metabolism could be the case causing carbs to be bad for YOU specifically, at least in your current state.

    Everyone has to figure themselves out. Tracking helps to show what worked and what didn't. Use that to help guide you. Find out what you ate in the prior 36 hours before you "lost your mind and lost control". Something may have triggered it.
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
    edited November 2021
    About "carbs" in my prior post...
    ...again, not intending to villify them...

    ...but (just for fun, not so much being serious, despite it being 100% fact)...
    1. There are essential proteins (the essential amino acids required in our diet).
    2. There are essential fats (the essential fatty acids required in our diet).
    3. There are no essential carbs. None.
    4. Although you might find you wish you had more fiber in your diet 😂
  • biketheworld
    biketheworld Posts: 2,237 Member
    @BMcC9 - thanks for finding those references. Those are spot on and very helpful. And @WhatMeRunning - I always appreciate your input!

    So much to process. This is proof that right about when I think I have it all together and am contentedly plugging along, wham, I’m thrown for a loop and questioning what I’m doing.
  • Slimpossible007
    Slimpossible007 Posts: 16,202 Member
    Tue Nov 23rd

    ✅ tracking - yes
    ✅ calories - Under
    ✅ exercise - 10 mins yoga flow, 10 mins booty workout , over 20 mins of stretches, and some squats and I plan to do 7 miles on my bike later

  • Slimpossible007
    Slimpossible007 Posts: 16,202 Member
    biketheworld wrote: »
    I’d like to revisit something that comes up periodically. I remember @MadisonMolly2017 had some powerful comments about this earlier this month, but with the new format, I couldn’t find them. I’m counting on you for words of wisdom!

    I need help (and I know others do too) with managing two things that are really wreaking havoc on my progress:
    1. Not letting a “pass day” become a “go hog wild day” and
    2. Once I hit 4 pass days, continuing to adhere to the 3 principles of the UAC

    My binging is nowhere near as bad as the past few decades, but it’s also not completely under control. And once I’ve gone past my limits, controlling myself becomes really difficult. Suggestions?


    [*] Not letting a “pass day” become a “go hog wild day”

    My method
    never plan a pass day let it be an accident and only log as a pass in the evening before bed, I may well know my calories are going to be over but it doesn't stop me trying to keep them close to goal as least

    [*] Once I hit 4 pass days, continuing to adhere to the 3 principles of the UAC

    My method
    Always try to beat my previous months passes or workout a little more than I did the previous month.

    My major issue is movement I am pretty lazy,
    For calories and logging, well I have been logging my food daily for about 5 years now and the only days I take off is around xmas and the new year .. I do occasionally go over but never by much
  • MadisonMolly2017
    MadisonMolly2017 Posts: 10,963 Member
    biketheworld wrote: »
    I’d like to revisit something that comes up periodically. I remember @MadisonMolly2017 had some powerful comments about this earlier this month, but with the new format, I couldn’t find them. I’m counting on you for words of wisdom!

    I need help (and I know others do too) with managing two things that are really wreaking havoc on my progress:
    1. Not letting a “pass day” become a “go hog wild day” and
    2. Once I hit 4 pass days, continuing to adhere to the 3 principles of the UAC

    My binging is nowhere near as bad as the past few decades, but it’s also not completely under control. And once I’ve gone past my limits, controlling myself becomes really difficult. Suggestions?

    @biketheworld
    Are you in weight loss mode or maintenance? (sorry can’t remember) because I handled pass days differently in both of those.

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