Introduction & Set Up for Newbies- What's this All About?????

This Ten in Six blog is a free support group environment for ladies looking to lose 10 lbs in 6 weeks.  We are from all across the country and challenge our own individual excuses every day to live a healthier, active lifestyle.  The only rule for participation in this blog is that you've got to try your darndest to be positive and uplifting.  Over time, you'll get to know each other a little, cheer & be cheered, uplift & be uplifted, inspire & be inspired.  Weight loss and lifestyle renovating take time- it's a marathon and not a sprint.  This awesome group of gals will help you on your journey, whether your just starting out, if you're almost to your goal, or even if you're aiming to maintain.  No fad diets, just honestly trying our hardest to make overall changes for the better in our habits.

There are a few keys to this blog's success:  First, everyone's holding you accountable, in a positive and fun way, to whatever goal you've set for yourself.  No nagging, but just encouragement, girls excited to hear how you're doing.  Second, we have awesome tools for tracking calories burned & calories consumed with the My Fitness Pal free online profile, and awesome tips & tricks for healthy lifestyles from all the girls participating in this blog.  And third, we keep healthy living at the forefront of your thoughts each day by either emailing you the post each weekday or emailing you every time another challenger comments.

Regarding the subject matter of the posts, Mondays are typically check-in days, Tuesdays & Fridays motivation days, Wednesdays recipe/snack sharing days, & Thursdays workout sharing days.  Check it out by scrolling through our older posts over the last few months.  You can also click on any topic that interests you in the cloud of topics on the left side of the blog and it will pull up all posts with that particular topic as the label.

So, are you in?  We hope so!  If you are, follow these steps to get all set up on the program.  This next Ten in Six challenge will begin with weigh-in & measurements on Monday morning January 11th and will conclude with weigh-in & measurements on Monday morning February 22nd. 

1. Create a free personal profile on the My Fitness Pal website. This is what you'll use to enter in your goals, weight, measurements, calories consumed, calories burned, etc. If you already have a profile, zero it out by deleting the past weight measurements (Click "Home, "Click "Check in," Click "Edit Past Entries," at bottom, delete all old entries).
2. When you're in the My Fitness Pal profile, click on the tab that's called "Tools." Then click on the link in the middle of the page that says "Get Your Personalized Weight Loss Badge Now." Then the second badge on the left down from the top, copy & paste that code to me in an email.

3. Email me (sarah.a.weight at hotmail dot com) your first name (or screen name if you want to stay anonymous), badge code, and what you want in your little bio on the right side bar. I'd love to see what your favorite workout is, what your favorite healthy snack is, what your goal for this challenge is, and what your reward will be when you succeed (massage, manicure/pedicure, new pair of jeans, new pair of shoes, new workout outfit, new swimsuit, new iPod, weekend getaway, new healthy kitchen gadget, new bra, new make-up, new CD/iTunes album, etc.). Also let me know if you want your email address added to the blog so that whenever another challenger posts, it goes straight into your email inbox. I am however limited to 10 email addresses, so first come first serve. The other option is to just be emailed once per day when I make a daily post, again limited to 10 email addresses.  And of course you could choose to not be emailed at all.
4. On the morning of Monday, January 11th, log into your My Fitness Pal profile and enter your starting weight and all the starting measurements you want to (read the instructions "How to Accurately Weight & Measure Yourself"). Start tracking calories consumed & calories burned through workouts. Check in daily to the blog here to let us know how it's going, what you're up to, share your successes & encouragement, etc. I'll ask for specific things in the posts for you to add your comment on or to check-in on, too.

Other things to note: Weights will be private (unless you want to share) b/c we'll just be reporting how much weight and how many inches we drop; no one will know the starting #s. No references to last names for security purposes please, or neighborhoods you live in, or which trail you're going to be running on at a specific time in the future, etc. Just be smart. I don't want to have to go private with the blog. Let me know your favorite songs on your workout playlist and I'll add them to the workout playlist playing at the bottom of the blog. I will also be doing 2 side challenges (one the second week and one the fourth week) for fun prizes.
If you were on the last Ten in Six Challenge and want to continue, just remember to zero out your info & send me any updates you want to your bio and what your new reward is going to be :)

If you were on the last Ten in Six Challenge and DON'T want to continue, just let me know and I'll delete off your bio, badge, & email address.

So go out and get all your girlfriends, moms, sisters, etc. to jump on the challenge here and decide now to challenge their excuses and reach the fitness goals they want to hit! I am so excited for this to start up a fresh round :) Let me know if something's unclear in the instructions above.

Monday Morning Check-In

Good morning, ladies!  I can’t believe that this six week challenge has already drawn to a close!  Thank you so much to those of you who participated.  You’ll never know how much your uplifting comments, tips, tricks, and encouragement inspired me.  It excites me every day!  I love this blog and this group of ladies.  It fills my heart & helps fulfill me.  I am EXTRA impressed that you all did this challenge during the most challenging season of the year, chock full with THREE+ holidays!  Wow!  Even if you didn’t hit what you want to hit, you should be so thrilled and proud of yourself that you even attempted a fitness and weight loss regime during this time.  You balk in the face of challenges- GO YOU, girl! 

I am very excited to hear how you all have done!  Let us know the total change #’s over this 6 weeks.  How much is your weight different?  How many inches did you shed & from where?  Do you feel any different?

GREAT JOB, EVERYONE!

Next challenge will start in one week, on Monday January 11^th, so grab your girls & get them on board :)  I will post an explanatory intro post for new folks this week.

Dr. Robert K. Cooper: Spend 10% of your time on feed back (what went right or what went wrong?) and 90% of your time on feed forward (from this moment on, what am I going to do?).  Focus on the present & focus on the forward! 

Tips for a Positive New Year from Jon Gordon (I picked & chose my favorites for you gals):

·         Stay Positive. You can listen to the cynics and doubters and believe that success is impossible or you can know that with faith and an optimistic attitude all things are possible.

·         Take a morning walk of gratitude. It will create a fertile mind ready for success.

·         Transform adversity into success by deciding that change is not your enemy but your friend. In the challenge discover the opportunity.

·         Make a difference in the lives of others.

·         Believe that everything happens for a reason and expect good things to come out of challenging experiences.

·         Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

·         Mentor someone and be mentored by someone.

·         Live with the 3 E's. Energy, Enthusiasm, Empathy.

·         Remember there’s no substitute for hard work.

·         Instead of complaining focus on solutions. It’s the key to innovation.

·         Learn from mistakes and let them teach you to make positive changes.

·         Focus on “Get to” vs “Have to.” Each day focus on what you get to do, not what you have to do. Life is a gift not an obligation.

·         Smile and laugh more. They are natural anti-depressants.

·         Enjoy the ride. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy it.