And we're off!

It's the first day of September and the first day of the challenge. Motivation is high, goals are fresh, and we've made our plans. Let's get off to a good start and get that momentum going, to help carry us through the month.

I'm actually writing this on Tuesday evening, but I can tell you the Clif Bars are gone from the house (DS helped) and there's plenty of fruit to snack on. I'm ready to run tomorrow morning before rowing practice, before it gets too hot (predicted 90 degrees). I am set up for success!

How is your first day going?

This is a wonderful post about the goals and motivations. Motivation is literally the desire to do things. It's the difference between waking up before dawn to pound the pavement and lazing around the house all day.

Sivananda yoga

I had some challenges on my first day, mostly due to my schedule.

I had watermelon after lunch instead of a cookie or a Dove Promise. On goal.

My dinner got way postponed because I had a live tutor session from 6 to 6:50 p.m. (I'm learning Spanish via Rosetta Stone software) and I was walking the dog and reviewing my lesson before that. After that, a friend came over from 7 to 8 p.m. to help me with dog training. She originally was coming at 6 until I remembered I had the tutor session. This was NOT a normal evening for me, so I don't think this will be an ongoing problem, though I will continue to have live tutoring sessions perhaps once every few weeks.

Since dinner was so late and I wasn't super hungry, I just had an ear of fresh sweet corn that my boss had given me with some Smart Balance spread. After, I did have dessert, a single-serving ice cream with a few almonds.

Since dinner was so late, I unfortunately did not get my dessert eaten before 8 p.m.

I did fairly well today for most of today. After I picked up dd, I made cookies and ate some of the batter standing up. Overall, I improved on sitting while eating most of the day, but gave in to my WANT while I was scooping cookie dough.

My plan is the same for tomorrow- sit for my meals and follow my food plan.

quote:

Originally posted by iz:]

and i really feel the wiring is weaker now. i cannot say it is altered totally. but weaker. and much of it has to do with my just being more balanced and content.

hanks again

I think this is a very, very, very great thing! I have the same experience around certain parts of my life and some of my behaviors. The "old ruts" are not as deep and I have made good progress with new patterns of thought and behavior.

One of the best parts of my teacher training was an ed. psych course where the professor talked about being able to change our patterns of thought and behavior simply by acting differently. The brain changes itself as we change our patterns. The professor was very much into medical evidence- to know that the brain changes physically and creates new pathways as we do new things was very helpful for me- it gave me hope that I could change behavior and did not need to be stuck in old, painful, harmful patterns.

I need a solid night's rest too otherwise everything else is thrown off so I vote for more sleep over getting up to workout too.

As for my day today I did OK until dd came home from school and pulled out the salty snacks. I had 1/2 a portion so I cut out my bread with dinner. It was a wash calorie wise but I need to exercise my saying "no" muscle!

I did mow today too on top of my run and yoga so I did get in a bit of extra exercise which was good.

Tomorrow I just say 'no' to the salty crackers!

thanks for the boost sandy. honestly, i am thinking less and less about food and exercise. it feels more automatic now. i plan, i do it, i don't think about it.

i was really thinking about this today. for such a long time, i was wired (i mean, strong connection) to eat and overeat when i got depress, stressed, tired, you name it. and i really feel the wiring is weaker now. i cannot say it is altered totally. but weaker. and much of it has to do with my just being more balanced and content.

my question is very much about where i am at. when i get 6 hours of sleep, i tend to still get up and work out. then i regret it because i needed rest. i usually make it up by the following day but i realize i should just stay in bed. and i am one of those people, like you, who needs 8 hours. i run around all day long, so 8 hours is crucial.
thanks again

Good job, everyone. Sounds like we're off to a good start.

I did get in a 30-minute treadmill run before practice, then I spent about an hour on the water, rowing in a double. It's a beautiful, clear day, not quite as hot as predicted, since there is a nice breeze blowing.

Because I was in a boat mid-morning, I did not have a morning snack. I stuck to my plan for lunch, but now there is a long afternoon stretching out in front of me. I may be in white-knuckle mode till about 4 o'clock when I'll have a snack (nectarine and a piece of cheese). DS and I won't have dinner till after 6:30 when his karate class ends. Well, that's why we call it a challenge, right? I'll walk to get DS from school, help him with homework, cook dinner, just generally stay busy.

quote:

Originally posted by iz:
so what do you think?

if you were to get about 6 hours of sleep (not the best sleep but not the worst) and woke up a bit tired...would you go back to bed for more rest, or get into your workout clothes and head to the gym? What is better for your health?

Iz,
More and more I put my rest before workouts. I do make sure that I get at least 5 hours of exercise per week, but I can pretty easily morph the days and times that I work out. As I get older I find that my sleep and rest at super critical to my good health.

After a stressful couple of days, I often shorten my workouts or simply walk for an hour after dinner rather than hit a more hard-core gym class.

I happen to be a person who needs at least 8.5 hours of sleep per night. I know there are people who show up at my gum for 5.30AM classes. I just can't see that fitting into a healthy lifestyle for me. I'd need to be asleep by 8.30PM and that's rough for me to do.

BTW, congrats on the size 2 dress. You must be doing A LOT right with food and workouts : ) I also thought it was super cool that when you are getting your mental health and emotional needs met, your food falls into place. Even in my most zen states I need to really be careful as I tend to want to overeat.

so what do you think?

if you were to get about 6 hours of sleep (not the best sleep but not the worst) and woke up a bit tired...would you go back to bed for more rest, or get into your workout clothes and head to the gym? What is better for your health?

My emphasis is stress management (fear management, fatigue, etc) I have found that when I am ok in that area, the food and exercise really falls into place (like ano brainer). I also find that No Deprivation works well for me. I do eat chocolate almost every day. I do eat brownies and enjoy them. I do eat small portions,without feeling deprived. I got into a size 2 dress (I was about to donate to the trhift shop) a few weeks ago and was totally surprised. I have not been focused on weight loss. I was at the beach and eating out, but active. so I was kind of surprised --now i have one more dress i can wear to work--good!

for me, the challenge is --rest, relax, chill out, manage all that life brings. not a natural thing for me, but totally tied into the eating and exercise lifestyle.

My inner toddler (who hasn't really been that much of a pain lately) torpedoed me big time today sugarwise. Chocolate pound cake... I was in such a coma I was almost sleeping standing up, even while walking.

I don't know how I could eat that much cake when I was younger. Scary how it made me feel today. This is the first real binge I've had in a long time.

Today I have written my food plan, So far, so good...

I have also read Beck. I am on Day 3- Eat Sitting Down. I have done this at times and then stopped. My will around eating can be HUGE. (I hear you, Sheri and Brie.) Beck suggests that I sit down for everything I eat. This requires major discipline for me. For instance, I wanted to grab an extra handful of cereal this morning- would have if I was not committed to sitting while I eat.

My past pattern with sitting and eating is that I don't want to do it and I tend to rationalize it away. So far, I am good today.

I've been thinking about sitting. More and more I think that it is almost a cornerstone of my ability to eat on plan and stay thin. It's just that I resist it. So... here's me fresh, new attempt.

Here's my food plan:
B: cereal, juice
L: large entree salad
S: skim milk
D: white rice with veggies

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Sheri in Reho:
It's as if my subconscious (or my Inner Toddler! LOL) knew I was about to start this challenge...yesterday, I ate easily twice the sweets I usually eat in a day. I kept telling myself "What are you doing?" but I did it anyway. [QUOTE]


Right there with you Sheri - I had a glass of wine with dinner last night and salty snacks for my mid-day snack. To compensate, I'm not going to drink on Friday night!

Plan for today:

E: Run and yoga (and maybe mow the lawn but that may wait until tomorrow afternoon)
B: Whole grain english muffin with light cream cheese
L: Salad with grilled zucchini and tomato
S: ff yogurt and fruit
D: one chicken sausage, bell peppers and 1 slice of bread

Beverage: Water, water and more water!

It's as if my subconscious (or my Inner Toddler! LOL) knew I was about to start this challenge...yesterday, I ate easily twice the sweets I usually eat in a day. I kept telling myself "What are you doing?" but I did it anyway.

I chunked up a sugar baby watermelon yesterday and made chicken fajitas for the week, so it will help to have lunches already made (I've been falling down on that job for months) and a sweet but light snack/dessert at the ready.

Today is the start of my winter swimming season (outdoors). Dd is nursing a wicked cold and I hope I don't get it.

My September challenge would be to get back into the habit of eating balanced, healthy meals instead of snacking.

There's more, but that's one big thing right now.