The Me I Want To Be - week of August 17

[Chefzhat]

Happy Sunday, all! We are back from camping and now I'm neck deep in laundry and storing stuff away for the season. We were so far out of touch that I didn't know about the Great Power Failure until Saturday morning! Wow - unbelievable.

It's the end of the summer season - a season where every one of us were working hard on improving our bodies, health and "numbers". Seems there's been lots of successes this season and this weeks topic is going to be Celebrate the little things - the little successes you see in your body and mind that maybe not everyone else will see or notice. Let's point them out to each other and celebrate their existance - a great way I think to finish the season and be in an upbeat mood to start the fall.

I would like to celebrate:

1. Muscle definition in my shoulders.
2. Collarbones.
3. Knee socks that actually go up to my knee, instead of being stretched around the widest part of my calf.
4. My rings are loose. And I have wristbones.
5. A general feeling of being comfortable in my skin.

There's probably more, but I'm looking forward to hearing from you all. Take a look at yourself and see the things that make you smile every day - your little improvements that are worth their weight in gold!

Here's to a successful week!

Debie

[ebobbitt]

Hey! I want to celebrate that I've finally lost enough that people are beginning to notice, I can wear my jeans and breathe and I'm a little happier with myself. Everyone have a really good week.

[Jessica]

I am starting to see a little cut in my arms :) And, my buddha has shrunk just a tiny bit.

Best of all, I am gradually learning how to maintain weight loss and while the scale bounces, I am no longer taking one step forward and two back.

[greysangel]

Good morning everyone!

Ah yes...celebrating the little things. Well here goes!

1)Major NSV (nonscale victory) - no "indulgence/succumbing" eating due to the black out.
2)lifting weights despite twisted ankle
3)changes in body shape despite no scale movement! I see some muscle and I see some skin tightening!

The latest piccies (4 weeks into new challenge)
http://www.greysangel.com/wwjeanne/jbfl2.html

J

[pbutterfly]

What a great, postive topic! Just what I need right now, since I am fighting all sorts of frustrations....

JeAnne - The new pics are GREAT. I notice the biggest changes in this set in your lower body (smaller buddha, definate changes in your hips and thighs!. YAY!!!! :)

My small celebrations for the summer:
1. Feeling really connected to my body - and missing exercise when I can't do it.
2. Getting to a new "noticable" point - people who hadn't noticed for a while (or ever) have started to comment.
3. Collarbones.
4. Seeing changes in my body - places where the skin hangs/fits differently.
5. My rings are consistently loose.
6. Realizing that limitations (like my current back problems) teach me things about anatomy and my body - and realizing overall how lucky I am to have the things I do healthwise - and the opportunities to improve myself!

I'll be thinking of more throughout the week.

:)
lynne

[heide]

Great pics Jeanne! I definitely see some changes! Congratulations!

Oh, the little things to celebrate:
my rings are loose too!
my clothes are all too big.
people are starting to notice.
my attitude is so much better than any time I've ever tried to lose weight before.

Okay, this is the biggie: About four years ago, my mom bought me some jeans when I was living in Kazakhstan because I told her I had lost some weight and my jeans were too big. So the jeans she sent me were size 10 Calvin Klein. They didn't fit. Ever. So the other day, my regular jeans were hanging so loose that they looked really bad. I'm going to give them away (yay!), so I tried on those size 10 Calvins that my mom sent me that time, and you know what?! I could zip them! They're tight, but I could button and zip them without any problems. Amazing. A few more pounds and they'll be in regular rotation in my wardrobe. I can't believe it. I still think I've got about 35 pounds to go, but I can get into size 10 Calvin Klein jeans. Wow. :cool:

[Peggy C.]

You don't have to answer that, I know you'll let me come back and that's why I love you guys.

Let me get back in the swing of things and I'll volunteer to start a thread in a few weeks. Ok?

Debie good topic, it is so easy to just focus on the negative.

I have noticed a difference in my legs. They are definitely slimmer and fitter looking than they have been in ages.

[greysangel]

we lobb you Peggy!

:D

J

[Chefzhat]

Yes, we do!!

[pbutterfly]

Wow, size 10 Calvins!! :) Way to go, Heide!

Peggy - good to see you here. :)

[Jessica]

Welcome, Peggy.

Heide, you are on your way to replacing Brooke Shields :) Remember her old Calvin Klein commercials?? "Nothing comes between me and my Calvins."

JeAnne--Your photos look great and I so admire your ability to mark progress.

I am still struggling with the sugar thing. I got so frustrated with myself yesterday and I decided to make my goals just a little smaller for now. I am trying for no sweets today. Just today. So far, so good--I had Kashi and milk for breakfast and have a healthy lunch in the fridge with watermelon for dessert.

[Chefzhat]

Yea Heide on the jeans!!

JeAnne - your pics look sooooooooo good!

Jessica - the sugar thing is very hard. Little goals might be the best way to go. My difficult time is 10:00 at night - so I'm figuring that I should just go to bed then instead of adding another meal time to the day:p But it's so hard to stay away from sweets and processed carbs.

Does it seem to everyone else that healthy eating, obesity, processed foods have been in the news a lot lately, and that in retaliation the fast food industry has increased their advertising? And that they've changed their wording in their ads to emphasize "lean, white meat, fresh salads" while ignoring the fact that their lean white meat is coated in breading, and their salads have croutons, bacon bits, cheese, and fried thingies dumped all over them?

Ladies - let's be super sleuths and informed consumers this week! No corporate hamburglers sabotaging our healthy eating!

Debie

[greysangel]

Yes it is all over the papers along with more advertisements for low carb products with the south beach craze. I saw an ad for low carb beer :rolleyes: I like to think I have grown fairly intelligent when it comes to nutrition and exercise etc.. and even at that I get confused and angry with the mis information. Have y'all seen the commercials for "Nouriche"? This supposedly "healthier" yogurt? Well this fabulous health drink has 290 cals and 46 grams of sugar!! 46!!! May as well have a snickers for breakfast. :mad: Even on my "free meals" I'm trying to stay away from processed snacks. If I want a cookie, I make my own...at least I know what's in it.

I found this on a body building board and I like it so I'll share it here.

Keys to Success
Persistence:
This is perhaps the greatest key to success that there is! Even if you do everything right, train right, eat right and sleep enough, you won't get the results that you want... right away that is at least. Why? Well, because to build a great physique it takes time! You must to do everything right, over periods of months and even years!

Determination:
You can hit the gym consistently for 2 years straight, eat right and trail well, but without determination, you won't continue to make gains. In all likelihood, you will have plateaued after only 4-6 months of training, and have been making little to no gains ever since! What a waste of time! You have to be determined in your actions. You have to know what you are aiming for, and you have to WANT IT BAD! It's hard enough to make gains, and if you aren't 100% determined, you won't achieve them!

Goals:
You NEED to have goals! If your goal is to simply go to the gym 4 days a week, you won't make any progress! Your goals have to be specific. Like, add muscle to your legs, grow your calves, or increase your bench by 50 lbs. If you don't know what your specific goals are, how the hell are you going to achieve them?

Training Journal:
Many people will tell you that you NEED to keep a training journal. This is a record in tabular form which keeps track of exercises performed, # of sets and # of reps. Many people believe that this allows and forces you to make and recognise gains. This is because you are always trying to "beat" last time. This may be so and it is worth a try. I however have never used one, and I don't think I need to! My rationale is that I change my routine every time I'm in the gym, that it doesn't really show anything. Is 235 on incline better or worse than 275 on decline? See my point?

However, it is possible to go for 4-8 months, and get caught in a rut, and make no gains. You just go into the gym, do your thing for an hour, and then leave; another workout down the drain! I know, I've done it. In this respect, a training journal can help to accent this and catch this before it's too late.

Re-evaluation:
This is also essential to achieve success. You must look back at where you are heading, and where you eventually want to be. You should do this often. A good idea is to train in cycles and thus, you should know what you are doing on your current cycle, and how you want to train for the next cycle. You should re-evaluate at the end of every cycle, to see how successful it was, and also half way through, so that you re-assure yourself that you are on the right track.

Re-evaluation will ensure that you don't spend months training blindly without making progress. As is the Natural Bodybuilding way: Onward and Upward!

[greysangel]

ps...though it's exercise focused, the same applies to food goals/motivation/desire/tracking progress etc.



JeAnne

[Jessica]

I have noticed more articles on obesity and more fast-food ads claiming their food is healthy. I am an obsessive label-reader and my DH is learning to read labels, too. We've cleared much of the processed food out of our house, although we still eat breakfast cereal and some other items. It does make a difference.

[pattiarl]

Welcome back, Peggy.

Great article, JeAnne. I know I am jsut "punching the clock" when I go to the gym and I need to figure out how to get out of the rut. At least I went this morning. It was Step, but a different teacher, so I feel like a got a good workout.

I made brownies last night and manage to only lick the bowl rather than eat a whole row before bringing them in. And now they are in my office and THEY NEED TO BE GONE.

Good day.

Patti O.

[Hkgall]

I am glad to
#1 - fit into clothes that I enjoy
#2 - see differences in my arms. I <3 Body Pump!
#3 - enjoy eating well - and especially the way it makes me feel.

As far as the gym goes - I am finally fully aware that if I don't either "change it up" frequently, or have a race I am training for then I don't go. No more excuses!

Peggy - welcome back :)!

I think everyone who has volunteered to lead has had a chance(except Peggy), so I'll take next week, unless there's anyone else out there who would like to!! I don't know about ya'll, but I am enjoying hearing from someone new each week. (No offense, JeAnne! ;) )

Happy Tuesday!

Holly

[Chefzhat]

Confession time - I had birthday cake tonight . . .

:) But it was soooo good!!

Debie

[Jessica]

I did it!!! No sweets yesterday. I am pretty proud of myself...baby steps are the key for me, I think.

I try to change my workouts or at least add new exercises so I don't fall into a rut. I get bored easily. But I am not sure I am working as hard as I could be in the cardio department. Thanks for the reminder, JeAnne.

[donnamp14]

I am new to CL and these boards, and this one looks great! I have been on WW and have just hit the 30 pound mark! Hooray for me, but it's so darn slow! I guess good things don't come easy. You people are an inspiration to me! Have a good day, and stay strong in the face of sugar;)

[greysangel]

Welcome Donna!!! And congrats on your 30 lb mark! Slow and steady wins the race :D

Jessica - YAY! I have found that doing some interval stuff when doing cardio really helps make it more fun for me. I'm not sure which machine you use, but I try to do 1 min sprints with 2 minute recoveries or 30 sec sprints with 1 minute recoveries. I find it to be a lot more intense and effective for a shorter duration and the 20-35 minutes goes by much faster that way!


Yumm yumm debie...was it your birthday? HAPPY BDAY! If not, than I hope you enjoyed every bite. I personally have some frozen oatmeal dough in my freezer that is just waiting for Friday or Saturday where I can enjoy 1 or 2 :D

I'm bummed a little today because my foot is playing up. I had twisted my ankle last week in the famous black out and my ankle feels better but now the top part of my foot towards the smaller toes are bothering me...like I pulled some tendon or something. It doesn't affect my workouts,but it's hurting when I'm walking on it. :( Anyhoo...I'm rebelling against heels and wearing my sneaks today.

Take care everyone and have a great day!

JeAnne

[pattiarl]

Welcome Donna and congrats on the 30 pound loss. JeAnne is right--slow and steady wins the race.

JeAnne, my foot is hurting, too. I think I twisted it last week--it hurt when I was on the treadmill and today it hurt when I did my lunges during BodyPump.

I need to be strong, ladies. I am going to the Orioles game tonight and then tomorrow I leave for Mackinac Island for the weekend--lunch and breakfast is included. I am feeling much better about my body even though the scale is still a little higher than I would like it to be--hooray for strenght training.

If I don't check in before I leave, good weekend to all. I am so sad that summer is almost over.

Patti O.

[pbutterfly]

Donna - Welcome! Congrats on the 30 pounds -- that's GREAT!!! Don't worry about going slowly, that's better than it not going at all. Remember, it's not a race. (I have to remind myself of that all the time!)

Patti - Have fun on Mackinac Island. At least, since there are no cars allowed, you'll have lots of chances to get activity - walking or renting a bike! (Or taking the horse-carriages, when you're tired.)

Jessica -- YAYAYAYAY!!!!! on the successful no-sugar day!!!! It's HARD, especially the first few days, but it does get easier as you go. Really. I swear. How's today going? Just remember that you've done it once, you can do another day. :)

JeAnne - Take care of your foot/ankle! Ow! That's a great article. Determination. Goals. Journal. Re-evaluation. All things that are important, but sometimes get forgotten when we're living day by day. I like having set times when I'm going to check-in and re-evaluate, like you're doing with your BFL challenges. I'm interested to hear how everyone else deals with this aspect of it - do you have certain times of the week/month/year that you sit down and look at where you've been, where you are, and where you're going (and how?)?

Holly - Can't wait to see what topic you come up with. I think that the rotating leader idea is working really well, and I'm finding it interesting hearing from different people as well.

Debie - I hope that the cake was good, that it fit into your program, and that you've moved forward! :)


lynne

[greysangel]

Morning ladies! I have a great article for y'all!

Eliminate Self-Sabotage!
-June 25, 2001
by Mark P. Gelato Senior Writer


When I talk to people about attaining their goal weight I many times hear, ”I always seem to get great results and then all of a sudden I just mess things up. Just when I’m about to really make things happen, everything falls apart.” Sabotaging only comes from one reason and only ONE REASON. And we’re going to say this over and over because it’s the foundation to understanding human behavior. If we are sabotaging ourselves it means we’re stopping ourselves from following through.

Now why would we do that? Want to take a guess? We associate more pain to following through and succeeding. We are sabotaging ourselves as a way to stopping ourselves from doing something that we think on some level is going to create a lot of pain in our life. Some of us think succeeding is going to create pain. It is going to make us feel alone or separate from other people. So as we start to get close to succeeding at our goals all of a sudden “wham” we sabotage. Why because our brain notices if we succeed people around use do not seem that excited about it. When we fail people say come here let me talk about it and they comfort us. With this kind of conditioning it is no wonder why we sabotage.

In our lives we many times sabotage ourselves because we have mixed nero-associations towards our goals. On one side when we lose weight and attain our goals there will be incredible pleasure with how we will look and feel. On the other hand what will everyone think about us, will they be talking behind our back, will our friends be jealous and end up avoiding us thus creating a pain association in our minds. So what tends to happen is we start to lose weight and all of a sudden our brain gets these mixed sensations. Is it going to be pain or is it going to pleasure? When our brain does not know it stops everything. It tries to stop the process of progress. We hope this is making sense.

We have to take control back. We do that by changing the association to the thing we sabotage. Human beings no matter what we do we do for positive intent. Our brain is trying to do something positive for us. Free yourself from self-sabotage right now by getting excited and realizing that our brain is doing a great job of trying to create pleasure and avoid pain. Please take sometime right now. Not later, or tomorrow, but NOW and answer the following questions and eliminate self-sabotage forever. You might want to print the sheet or get a piece of paper.

1. Identify the behavior. (At what point do you find yourself sabotaging your goal?) Write it down.

_____________________________________________.


2. Ask yourself what is the positive intent your brain is trying to give you?

_______________________________________ Write it down.


3. Get leverage on yourself. Create a carrot and stick approach for yourself. Write down all the pain you will create by not achieving you goals and write down all the pleasure you will receive from attaining them. Be very specific.


Pain _______________________________


Pleasure____________________________


That’s it. Also we want you to recognize some of the most successful people in the world have had self-sabotage. Just identify it and realize it is our brain trying to help us. Our brain is a muscle is can must be trained to do what we ask of it.

[pbutterfly]

JeAnne - While you're always a source of great articles, this one is, to me, one of the best yet!! This is a lot of what I was trying to get at last week, but much better said and better steps to help you reframe things so that your mind works all together towards the bigger goal without self-sabotage. There are a lot of reasons, when I sit down and think about it, that there is part of me that is afraid to succeed in the weight-loss journey. For one, the unknown is a lot scarier than the known. Remembering that it can also be much BETTER than the known helps to counter-act that fear.

And the bit about how people around you react more kindly when you fail than when you succeed - so very true. Comfort is easier to find than support.... which is why I'm grateful to have places like this board!

:)
lynne

[greysangel]

Lynne;

Try not to be scared of the unknown or change. This morning I was pulling pictures out of photo albums for the discovery channel thing. I started crying because though I knew I had gone up and down so many times depending on emotional events in my life, there was nothing like seeing it in chronological order. Though there are so many good memories growing up and high school/college, there is twice as much pain. I flashbacked to vivid detail to specific events/people etc. No matter how much I agonize over the little details now...they are just that. Little details. You could not pay me to go back to that place before. Even if it wasn't obvious by my body weight, you can see it in my eyes. You think things are great now, they will only continue to get better as you grow to honor your body more and more which is the temple of your spirit.

JeAnne

[Peggy C.]

Thanks for all the greetings guys. I really appreciate it.

Jeanne also thank for all the great articles. You find such great and helpful stuff.

I'm struggling this week, but I think just stopping by here is helping.:D

[JanetJ]

Oh my goodness!! I can't believe I've been MIA from this thread for a couple of weeks. I've got some catching up to do. I've been a workout diva the past 3 weeks, getting 5-6 hardcore Firm workouts in per week. Unfortunately, this week I ate like food was about to be removed from the face of the earth so I gained in spite of all my efforts on the exercise front. But, my birthday is officially over and the carrot cake is officially gone and life will continue. I'm trying on my wedding gown sample again on Monday and was really hoping to be a little smaller than the first time, but oh well...

My celebrations:

1. Arm definition! - this is definitely a result of the Firm tapes...they kick my butt, but they are working.
2. Muscle tone in my upper thighs!
3. Several comments that I - especially in my face - look thinner.
4. The desire to want to get up at 445am and exercise.

Looking forward to being involved again!

Janet

[Chefzhat]

Just returned from a day at the beach swimming with the kids and body surfing in the huge waves - a great workout! I packed a lunch for all of us (me, 2 boys, best friend, her daughter) that was yummy and healthy so we ate lite and good as well! Then I blew it all with a Corona w/lime (but it was soooo good!):D

Thanks for the article JeAnne! Let us know when your Disc. Channel program gets taped so we can all watch it!

I'm off to shower the lake off me and slather on lotion to moisten up the great tan I got today!

Happy weekend everyone!

Debie

[pbutterfly]

Debie - One Corona with lime does NOT mean "blowing it"!! :) Don't let one small unplanned thing ruin your pats-on-the-back for all the good things you've done. Chalk it up to experience, learn what you can (like, perhaps, that you need to plan in small treats - like a Corona! - now and then), and smile! :)


Janet - I bet the dress will still look great, and at least fit the same. Sounds like you know very clearly where your challenges are....and you're doing something about them (no more carrot cake in the house!). Happy belated birthday!

JeAnne - Thanks for your words. They really hit me and got me a little teary-eyed here at work, even! (No one else is here, thankfully!) Looking at you - and visiting your website to see the progression - is one thing that I use to remind myself that it only gets better from here! Thank you.

I started physical therapy yesterday, which seems to be doing some good already. (I'm a little more sore today, but it's different and more specific - in one 'knot' - so I feel like it's progress, actually). I got clearance to resume some things at the gym (elliptical, pool), so I'm excited to actually start USING my Y membership! I still have to wait on going back to that dance class that I love, but it's a carrot in front of me to keep me doing my back exercises several times a day.

Speaking of which, it's time to go do them now!
:)
lynne