Pushing through to make your goals

The funny thing about making and achieving goals, is that they can start to change, day by day, as you get stronger, believe in yourself and believe in what you can do.  Losing weight and all the ways to get there constantly changes.  I, for one, don't think I can do it alone.  At this point in my life, I need the support of my friends, the gamer friends, to keep me motivated and accountable.

This week was a bit monumental for me with my goals.  I have never really loved to run...and this story will not end with me falling in love with running.  I LOVE to dance Zumba-style...even if I look ridiculous.  I want to learn to Salsa with my husband, and hopefully, by the end of the summer, using a Groupon we purchased, we will do just that.  I played basketball as a kid.  But I never enjoyed the act of running.

Running has always been something my husband has done.  He enjoyed it; he ran long distances; he felt good afterwards.  He loved to run.  I tried to do it with him a couple of times in the 24 years we have been together...and, I didn't like it.  I walked and I would do other things, but running...no thank you.

With this game, you do things you never thought you would do.  Some friends, NEVER drank water...ever.  Now, to have less than 100 ounces a day is unreal!  Some, never exercised.  Some, never lost weight.  Or didn't keep it off.  Or felt so deprived, they couldn't continue.  Like I said, many of us are doing things right now that we have never done before.  And, here, is where running came in for me.

I have "interval" trained.  Run a little, walk some more, run a little, walk some more, run a little, take a swig of water, oh good, times up.  One of my closest friends, who has weight loss journeyed with me through several yo-yo cycles (she too, has participated in the "let's try this one, this week!" plan) has been a "runner."  She doesn't head out for a 6 miler every day, but she is in good shape, and has lost a lot of weight in the past 10 months and has been with me all of the way.  She walked me through what she thought I was missing to run more than an interval. 

I will admit, my brain was pretty sure that I could not do it.  I could run 1/4 of a mile in the neighborhood or on the treadmill, but then would walk.  My friend's advice was a bit like this:
1.  Hold your arms looser...takes more energy to hold them to your sides stiffly...kind of let them go.
2.  After your warm-up walk, start your run slower than your interval runs (which were not super fast, but too fast to maintain for me right now), but so that you are still breathing properly and could talk if someone was running with you.
3.  As you are running your slow pace, with your arms a bit floppy, push through the first time you feel the need to stop.  It is not painful, you are breathing okay, and you will be done faster, if you JUST, KEEP, RUNNING.

And I did.  The following day.  That very thing.  And I ran 1.1 miles without stopping.  And the morning after that, I ran 1.0 miles on the treadmill.  And then, today, two days after the second day, I ran almost a 1 1/2 miles (downhill, but that still counts, right...and it was a faster pace because I was with long legged friends and proving to myself I could keep up).

These runs have put me in a really good place.  I feel great about what is in front of me...  I can't do this by myself right now.  I need the support and accountability of my friends.  And, thank goodness, I have it!

GOALS and getting to them.

I am SO excited for this next game...this next game, and probably the game after, which could very well take me to my goal.  I did that.  Me.  No pills, no surgery.  The basics...everyday.  Except days off.  And meals off.  And when we were Game Off.  But still, it was ME.

And it was probably YOU for those of you who are reading right now.  I think most people who are following my blog, and people who have jumped on this train and have NO INTENTIONS of jumping off are in the same boat.  We are excited, psyched, pumped, and ready to go.   We KNOW this works.  We KNOW that supporting each other, patting each other on the back, teasing each other and helping each other WORKS.  We are a community within a community that stretches from the Pacific to the Atlantic (yes, literally).

So, here we are.  9 hours away from the WEIGH IN right before summer vacation starts.  We have NEWBIES in our midst again and we LOVE NEWBIES!!  Because the new folks remind us WHY we continue.  One friend told me tonight that she was jumping on this train because "you look great and I can tell you feel great and I want to too."  Yes, that made me feel good, but what makes me feel better is that this "virus" of feeling great, is trickling down to other people.  They are trying to believe that if I can do it, so can they--and they CAN!!

The poster above is perfect.  Not the model, although those abs would look very nice on me :)...but YOU can be your biggest obstacle to making your goal.  YOU are the reason you are who you are.  YOU control what you become.  YOU decide if you are going to make this happen or not.  YOU have to believe in YOU.  I believe in you because, it is possible, for all of us, and for me, it is happening in June of 2012!!!

Let's PLAY!

Mind/body game

For the first time since I started playing this game of weight loss, 10 months ago, I finished an eight week game with no real break.  I did this WITH another 30 plus women and men...It was tough, but we were trying to simulate real life...because, in the real world, if we are without each other, there is no "ONE WEEK GAME OFF."  In real life, we are always Game ON.

So, officially, right now, we are Game OFF, right now.  We stepped on the scale after a quick run to the bathroom this morning, and for some of us, a happy dance occured.  My Gaming Friend, M.D., did a happy naked dance...she is almost 100 pounds down, and an inspiration to ALL OF US!!  She is just a few pounds from her goal weight, and an example of great attitude, great commitment and great perserverance.  She showed us before/after pics, and they are, mind-blowing.  I am so VERY proud to watch her succeed.

Which leaves me with everyone else.  We are on Game Off.  Some of us may be confused about how we feel right now.  The major bonus of this group of incredibly supportive people, is that we are, indeed, incredibly supportive.  We may feel a little down that this month wasn't month one with 10 pounds down, but even at 2.8 pounds, we are better, healthier and truly, probably, happier because of this whole game.

So, no downers, please.  Look at the photo above and remember exactly what it says.  Your body is listening to your mind...don't be down on you...even if you MAINTAINED, you didn't GAIN or even if you GAINED a little, it wasn't alot.  And, if you lost, and lost alot, don't blow this week...blowing a month of success in a week, is worse on your psyche than maintaining for a month...I know what I am talking about...I have done it... :)

Keep positive, keep going.  Enjoy your weekend, but don't throw it all to the wind.  Your body is listening to your mind...keep telling it the right things...food is to nourish, and enjoy...but one doesn't have to eat alot of it to enjoy it fully...enjoy your week off, but come back ready to be focused and lose...summer survival is around the corner my friends...and we are heading toward it POSITIVELY feeling better...because that picture above is MY FUTURE!!  (well, close anyway!!)


xxxx, Barb

Mother's Day and ending a game...

We are about to end another "game."  Fifty or so folks working together, supporting each other, helping, laughing, joking, answering questions for each other.  Some folks may be "done" after this game...I have a few observations from what is now, my 9th game.

1. Some people don't like how this works.  The food is not "it" for them.  The posting daily on Facebook, doesn't work for them.  They don't want to exercise, or drink the water, or change because, maybe they are not where we have been.
2. Some people LOVE how this works.  The comraderie of exchanging recipes, motivating through suggestions, leaning on each other for support, encouragement, and oftentimes, just sympathy or empathy...Misery loves company?? Well, sometimes, particularly, week 2.  But, what I have seen more often than not, is that happiness LOVES to be shared.  Favorite quotes of this week:   "I think I need to go shopping.  My last year shorts are getting really baggy!"  "It is amazing how differently you look at food after you play this game."  "I am so glad that I am so aware of what I eat and feel so good about it!!"  "No movement on the scale, better move my tale..."  "Went to my nephew's 1st Communion today.  Wore a dress I found in the back of my closet I forgot I even owned.  Was surprised to find out it fit."


In a group like ours, mostly moms, mostly juggling a million things at once, mostly crazy busy, we have found time to put ourselves in the front of our the family pack.  We may be getting up a bit earlier, leaving work a tad earlier or arriving a tad later, passing the buck for dinner to be cooked by a spouse, or getting ourselves a bit more organized so that we have the time to work out, fix our "good" meals, get our sleep...but all of us are getting healthier, better, and losing weight.

Ending a game to me is ALWAYS bittersweet.  The time off we take between games, even just a week, helps center many of us...jumping off the wagon a bit, is normal...but one week away is usually enough for most of us to want to jump back on again...And to those of us who really did the two 4 week games in a row, I say BRAVO...enjoy Mother's Day, enjoy the week off, don't go overboard because getting back on the wagon for everything is TOUGH...but we deserve it...Happy Mother's Day...you already have the best gift you can have....a better feeling you.