Did you weigh-in?

Hi Team ORANGE.

Several of us missed the weigh-in on Sunday - Yikes!  What's going on?  What can I do?

Please contact Cyndi today to report your weight.  Even if it's not what you were hoping for, it is what it is.  There's no beating ourselves up or giving up.  It's all about seeing what worked and what didn't and what we can tweak as we hope for greater success for the next weigh-in.

I leave you with the task to reflect back on what motivated you to join this challenge in the first place.  Are those reasons still valid?  Than you still need to keep trying.  Failure is really not an option.  You know how to get where you are, you already got there.  It's time to figure out how to get where you want to be.  Doing nothing won't get you there.  Giving up won't get you there.  Sticking with it WILL.  Maybe not as fast as you want but it WILL. Science is on our side -I've said it before.  Eventually eating less and moving more will result in weight loss.  And moving less and eating more will result is weight gain.  Those are truths that cannot be justified or excused away.  So - go back to your reasons for starting this challenge to help you accept these truths and decide which one will rule your life.

Something worth sharing...

Six Keys to Changing Almost Anything

(I have highlighted what I think is particularly relevant to the Fitness challenge)

Change is hard. As you consider what you want to do for Lent, you may keep the following ideas in mind as they may help you be more successful; in creating an environment where you can get closer to God. At The Energy Project, they have developed a way of making changes that has proved remarkably powerful and enduring.

Not surprising, their method is grounded in the recognition that human being are creatures of habit. Fully 95 percent of our behaviors are habitual, or occur in response to a strong external stimulus. Only 5 percent of our choices are consciously self-selected. Therefore the more one’s behaviors are ritualized and routinized — in the form of a deliberate practice — the less energy they require to launch, and the more they recur automatically

What follows are six key steps to making change that lasts:
.

1.       Be Highly Precise and Specific. Researchers call those "implementation intentions" (http://dccps.nci.nih.gov/BRP/constructs/implementation_intentions/goal_intent_attain.pdf)  and they dramatically increase your odds of success

2.      Take on one new challenge at a time. Computers can run several programs simultaneously. Human beings operate best when we take on one thing at a time, sequentially.

3.      Not too much, not too little. The most obvious mistake we make when we try to change something in our lives is that we bite off more than it turns out we can chew. sessions. It's also easy to go to the other extreme, and take on too little.
The only way to truly grow is to challenge your current comfort zone. The trick is finding a middle ground — pushing yourself hard enough that you get some real gain, but not too much that you find yourself unwilling to stay at it.

4.      What we resist persists. The only reasonable answer is to avoid the temptation. With email, the more effective practice is turn it off entirely at designated times, and then answer it in chunks at others. The less you have to think about what to do, the more successful you're likely to be.

5.      Competing Commitments. We all derive a sense of comfort and safety from doing what we've always done, even if it isn't ultimately serving us well. Researchers Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey call this "immunity to change." (http://hbr.org/2001/11/the-real-reason-people-wont-change/ar/1)  Even the most passionate commitment to change, they've shown, is invariably counterbalanced by an equally powerful but often unseen "competing" commitment not to change.

Here's a very simple way to surface your competing commitment. Think about a change you really want to make. Now ask yourself what you're currently doing or not doing to undermine that primary commitment. If you are trying to get more focused on important priorities, for example, your competing commitment might be the desire to be highly responsive and available to those emailing you.

For any change effort you launch, it's key to surface your competing commitment and then ask yourself "How can I design this practice so I get the desired benefits but also minimize the costs I fear it will prompt?"

6. Keep the faith. Change is hard. It is painful. And you will experience failure at times.     The average person launches a change effort six separate times before it finally takes.

You can read the complete article at http://www.theenergyproject.com/blog/six-keys-changing-almost-anything.

Where does the time go?

Did you notice anything different on the blog today?

Turns out my trusty Countdown Widget wasn't working quite right...  Yesterday the countdown said we had 71 days left but really, we have less than 50!  We just lost 3 weeks!  Come on Team ORANGE, it's time to get it in gear and get moving and losing!

How are things for you today?  Does the rain slow you down?  Does it invite you to sit on the couch, cuddled up with a movie and movie snacks?  Maybe even a fire in the hearth?  NO!  Rain should remind you that it's nearly SPRING and then comes SUMMER and shorts and swim suits and sleeveless tops and lots of outdoor activities that require you to be able to keep up with the young whipper-snappers.  These dreary days are your opportunity to get off the couch and prepare to welcome Spring.

Timothy 2 1:7

"For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power and of love and self-control." (Tim2 1:7)

I love this Bible verse.  It's one of the few I have actually memorized and it has pulled me through many a situation.  Whatever my fear - speaking in public, confronting a person I disagree with, setting a goal for myself - this verse reminds me that I am not alone.  I am not made to be timid or afraid.  When I set my sights on that which God wants from me, I know I have "a spirit of POWER and of LOVE and SELF-CONTROL."  It sometimes seems hard to believe, but I know it to be true.  For me, it's the first step of acknowledging my fear that helps me find the place where I set aside the fear and put my trust in God and His Spirit working within me.  There has been some talk of the fears people are discovering in this journey to Mind-Body-Spirit wellness.  Can you give your fears to God and trust in the Spirit He has given you?

I am reminded that I have a spirit of LOVE.  That I need to approach all situations and challenges with Love in my heart, not anger or even righteousness.  This applies to ourselves as well!  We must LOVE OURSELVES as we journey to wellness.  We must resist temptation out of love for ourselves and the body God gave us.  We must love ourselves enough to want what is best, not just what is easiest or most delicious.  LOVE leads us right into Self-Control.  When Self-Control comes from love it comes a little bit easier than when it comes from shame or guilt. 

Have you hit the wall?

The following is from an email sent by Vic Hubbuch the Red Team Leader (underlining and highlighting emphasis mine):

Some of you are beginning to "hit a wall". It is the way our bodies are made. Here is why. I learned about the General Adaptation Principal. When you get in a routine, working out, work, or just about anything, your body begins to adapt to the stress we put on it. After about 4-6 weeks, your body is accustomed to the the stress. It performs the task more efficiently and burns fewer calories in the process. We call it different names. Hitting a wall. Reaching a plateau. I hit the wall in the first challenge at about 6 weeks in. Some will hit one earlier some later. Now the good news. You can beat it. By changing your routine or the intensity of your routine, your body will not be able to adjust. If you are walking 3 miles a day, push yourself harder and see how fast you can walk 2. Maybe throw in a short jog to get the heart rate up, then walk until you think you can do it again. Add an exercise to your workout. Start to carry small weights when you walk to give those arms a workout. Give yourself some variety.

After talking to some of you, it appears that you may not be taking in enough calories. If you do not get enough calories and proper nutrition, your body will go into survival mode and hang onto every pound it can. Proper nutrition and exercise is the key to losing the weight you want to lose.

Keep it up guys and girls,

Vic

I want to expand slightly on Vic's last remark.  You must eat enough calories to convince your body that you will continue to nourish it.  Everything I've read points to needing AT A MINIMUM 1250 net calories a day.  Just to breathe and digest food and sit and sleep.  This is where keeping that food journal becomes important, it shows you not only when you eat too many calories but also when you eat too few.  I've added a few new links to our list (to the right of this blog).  These are the sites Cyndi shared that are excellent resources for determinig how many calories you need and what your target should be each day as you are trying to lose weight in a healthy and effective manner.  Check them out and see if you need to make some adjustments...

Seen and Heard...

Excellent workout on Saturday...if we are lucky, we will have more opportunities for Peggy's classes in the near future, stay tuned for more information.

In some of the email traffic and overheard at the weigh-in:

"...called the cable company and had all the extra's removed.  My bill will be going down $52 a month.  I will squeeze a little out of the budget and start going to the Y."

"I just wish that as long as I'm eating right and working out that I could get immediate results..."

"...if you do nothing but stand in a one spot while watching a tv show and march...move your arms from your side to over your head and keep doing that, it will get your heart rate up, you have to get your heart rate up to burn fat, and it helps you work up a sweat, i know its hard to work out everyday but the more you do it the more you want it eventually..."

"Thought I'd pass on what I've been trying to do to squeeze in a few extra steps.  March in place while drying your hair ladies - I've counted before and I can usually get up to around 400+ extra steps in."

"Well, I misread the back of the bag – and I thought there were only 7 g of carbs in a 1 CUP serving, it’s actually 7g of carbs in a 1 OUNCE serving.  So – I’ve been messing up all the good I did (and I was getting very frustrated in the process)."

"The stories are probablay similar for all of you.  They were for me too.   It took months for me.  I know no one wants to hear that, but it was true.  THE GOOD NEWS is that in the first few months although it was slow and not so steady  - it was progress.   That's the most important thing.     You need to look at the progress and not the failures. "

"I keep trying to remind myself that this is not a sprint, it's a marathon.  I'm not just in this to "win", I just really need to look and feel better.  Even if I keep losing at this slow pace, at least I won't have gained and eventually the numbers will start to add up to significant weight loss." 

"I only gained one pound this week, which, consdering the week I've had, is pretty good!"

There is so much positive energy around this Fitness challenge.  When you are feeling down or unmotivated, read through the emails, hop on Facebook or here at Team ORANGE.  Everyone feels like quitting at times.  Everyone wishes it were easier and faster and more fun and less time consuming.  We can admit to all that, but it comes down to ...  so what? 

It is what it is and EVERYONE in this challenge knows what needs to be done.  We all know in our heads that sometimes it takes a slow start to really see a change, or that we will hit a plateau or that our weight will fluctuate sometimes up instead of down.  We know it in our heads, but our hearts get discouraged all the same.  Lean on each other and keep pushing through.  Science is on our side...EVENTUALLY, eating less and moving more WILL pay off.  YOU JUST HAVE TO KEEP AT IT!  YOU CAN DO IT!

Betsy

Work-out Opportunity this Saturday!

Hi team!
Don't forget about this Saturday's opportunity to work-out at St. Gabriel:

Saturday, Feb. 12th

9:00 - 10:00 am

St. Gabriel Cafeteria

SPECIAL ST. GABRIEL FITNESS CHALLENGE WORKOUT (FOR BOTH GUYS AND GALS)

WITH LIFE CHRISTIAN AEROBICS

BRING WATER AND MAT OR TOWEL FOR FLOOR.

I'll be there, will you???