What is the 2009 weight loss challenge?

The holidays are upon us along with all the festive get-togethers complete with rich snacks that call our names and then betray us by sticking to our hips, stomachs and thighs.
Whether you’re currently dieting, are trying to make healthier choices, or want to add exercise to your lifestyle, the New Year is not too far away. It’s the perfect time to get serious about eating healthy and getting in shape. One of the things that can help is accountability. And that’s what we’ll have right here.
This challenge won’t be based on a spur of the moment New Year’s “wish” but on goals set by you. Your overall goal(s) will be set at the first of the year, but each month you’ll set monthly goals to help attain your New Year’s goal. Each person who picks up the challenge will check in at least once a week to report how they’re doing and to encourage others along the way.
Are you ready to get serious about losing weight? Getting in shape? Eating healthy? Here’s the place.

I am absolutely ready for a challenge! I’m down to my last 20 pounds and I have to lose them by my birthday in May. I think that’s quite doable. I’ll set more specific goals as we approach New Years, but for now my goals are to:

1. Exercise, whether with a DVD, bike, or walk, it doesn’t matter as long as I’m MOVING everyday

2. Eat more fruits and veggies and less junk

3. Lose the all or nothing mentality. If I make a mistake, it isn’t the end of the world. I’ll just get it right at the very next meal.

The problem with “resolutions” is that they seem so cut and dried, so black and white, so all or nothing. Once you’ve messed up, your resolution is broken and you have permission to give up. Not this time. This time, I’m making a plan to be healthy and not a resolution to lose weight.

How about you?

Okay—me too.  I’m ready for a challenge.    I have the hardest time finding time to move every day.  Especially when the weather is yucky!!!

Ok, I’m in.

I’m in and even thought I’m on a diet I’m going to focus on exercise! Debbie got me thinking about this. I notice that I get very anxious when I focus on food. Right now I feel pressure to succeed on the Flat Belly Diet. I stopped losing weight after the initial 6 pounds. The anxiety is building and I’m nibbling.

Maybe focusing on moving rather than eating is a better approach for me. I feel better when I exercise so why not look forward to taking a walk rather than having a handful of chocolate chips?

This is good because I can’t “diet.” To me, that’s really a four-letter word. I want to be healthy my whole life, not just fit into a size 4 dress for a specific event. I always try to eat well, but I don’t always succeed—I do like a piece of chocolate every now and then. My main thing is to fit in time to exercise. I can sit at my desk most of the day and forget to move!

Count me in! Even though it’s still December, I decided to get a start on my goal for 2009: getting to my healthy weight. I signed up for a personal 30-day health coaching package and would love to have this challenge to motivate me.

My goal: to attain my healthy weight by the end of 2009.  To add more exercise to my life and to eliminate, as much as possible, unhealthy eating habits.

Go me! Go everyone!

I spent the weekend cleaning out my “safe” clothes. You know the ones, they are the bigger ones, “just in case”.

I also started a grocery service, pre-made meals, that delivers to my house so there is not as much risk in “compulsive snack or bad choice food buying” since I won’t be visiting the grocery store as much.

I know I have to change that behavior and can’t avoid grocery stores forever, but for now, I think it will help.

A few more lifestyle adjustments and I’ll be ready for the 2009 challenge. For me, it’s not a diet, it’s a total lifestyle change as far as eating and shopping are concerned.

Next on the list, Wii. My kids got a Wii with Wii Fit and it really gives you a workout. Can’t do a lot of walking around here in the winter, an exer-cycle is too big for my house…so a Wii it will be. :D

Well, on the “good” side, I asked Santa for a Wii fit for Christmas… on the “naughty” side, I had cookies for lunch today. And, for snack.

Hi all! Glad to report that I had my first “health coaching” session this week and have set a weight loss goal of 20 pounds by March 18, 2008.  That’s reasonable, since there are approximately 12 weeks until that date, and that would mean a weight loss of a little less than two pounds a week on average. I’m really excited! The diet the coach gave me is very heavy on fruits and vegetables, which sounds healthy.  Today we are cleaning up the area in the basement we set aside for exercise. I’ve asked my husband to re-assemble the weight bench. It’s been sitting in the corner in pieces since we moved in 2007.  With a little rug so I can go back to doing yoga, that fitness area is going to be ready. Look out 2009, here I come!

That’s great Jeanne! Sounds like a very reasonable goal.

Groceries were delivered yesterday. I had a barbeque chicken pizza (300 calories) and a salad for dinner. Was really good.

On the hunt for a Wii console at a reasonable price…not such an easy task.

And, with all the snow shoveling I’m doing I ought to be good for exercise until I find one. :D

That sounds like a very reasonable goal, Jeanne. Good luck!

We got a Wii Fit for Christmas and we LOVE it. It has all kinds of different activities on it, from strength training (using your own body’s resistance) to Yoga to jogging in place. It’s been really fun to do with my kids. You can set goals on it under your Mii (your character), so I set a goal of losing 2 pounds within the next 2 weeks (yes, it weighs you, too!).

I’m going to try to start going to the gym again every day. It was easier when it was warmer and I’d put my daughter in a stroller and walk around the path there, but now I have a deadline because of their childcare hours. I can do it, though…it’s just that the 4-hour childcare gap they have in the middle of the day is the best time for me to actually GO. LOL

Another thing I need to do is cut out the junk food. And maybe cut back on the coffee again, but one thing at a time.

I like walking with the little one in the stroller, but sometimes, he wants to get out and push, which messes up my entire rhythm!

I don’t know if I could give up coffee, Crystal. And if I did, I’d have to do it at a time when I’m NOT giving up anything else. I keep looking into detox options, but they all want you to give up caffeine and I’m like, how can I cope without it? LOL

Sort of off topic, but I gave up caffeine for a couple years… long enough to feel the effects, get over any mental dependency and so on.

I was talking to my dr. about why I was so tired a lot, had trouble getting energy to work out and have a real “lag” in my energy mid-day… We’d ruled out or dealt with health issues/physical causes and were talking about caffeine. (She was wondering if I was drinking too much of it late in the day and messing with my sleep)

She was surprised to hear I’d gone caffeine free and suggested I try just 1 a day in the morning - it made a HUGE difference in how I felt around lunchtime (as well as in the morning). I am much higher energy throughout the day from having 1 cup of coffee or tea in the morning.

Another health professional I spoke with suggested it has been harder for people she’s known to lose weight if they’ve given up caffeine.

Now, I don’t want to go back to where I used to be (lots and lots of caffeinated drinks in one day) but I think I’m happy drinking one big latte in the morning…

I’m in.  My husband gets a free membership to 24 Hour Fitness through his work and I get a membership at a reduced rate. They opened one that is five minutes from our house so now we’re both members and I’ve been working out there 5 days a week for the last two weeks.  I became a non-smoker on December 4, 2008 and I’m doing great. I’ve cut back on red meats and I’m drinking more water.  I need to give up my cafe mochas, but frankly—they are going to be waiting a while. I’m pretty committed and I haven’t felt this good in a long time.

The last couple of years have been pretty hard on me health wise, but I’m psyched about getting back to speed. In two weeks, I’ll start a spin class three times a week. Right now, I’m going for straight calorie burn. When I drop that first 25 pounds, I’ll change it up again.

5 days of Cardio at 45 minutes a day (Spin or Elliptical)
Weight Training Four Days a week (Upper Body and Core)
Nothing to eat after 7 p.m.
Quit Smoking (Check)
Sleeping better with CPAP (Check)
Lost 4 pounds. (Check)

Averaging 2 pounds per week. :D

Heather