Feel Good Friday

Goooooooooood morning!  It's so sunny here that the brightness is infectious :)  Hope you all can smile at the sun sometime today in your crazy schedules.  There's a light at the end of this winter tunnel!

Today I wanted to share two back-to-back weekly motivational messages from Vanessa Kennon, one on action and one on persistence:

ACTION

"It's been said that we should never leave the site of setting a goal without doing something toward its attainment. No matter how small the act may seem we must do something: write an email, place a phone call, buy a book about the subject matter of your goal, set the stage and prepare but get moving in the direction of your dream! The idea is to do anything that sets in motion the intention of accomplishing the goal.

I've had people say to me "stop talking and SHOW me." What they really were telling me was "take action" to show me you're serious! My mother has always said "action speaks louder than words," oh how this rings true.....nothing is worse than saying you're going to do something and then never doing anything.

What act(s) have you done this week toward the accomplishment of your goals? Remember the size of the action makes no difference. Because if all you ever do are small acts, eventually all those little acts add up to something bigger.

Know that every single step may not produce the outcome you hoped for. That's OK! Because now you know what doesn't work, and knowledge of what does not work is just as important as what does. When it came to the light bulb, Thomas Edison knew 3,000+ acts that didn't work before he learned what DID.

The first step is usually the hardest but once you take it, build on its momentum and take another."

PERSISTENCE

"Some of you may have guessed this topic would follow last week's newsletter that focused on taking "Action". Consistent and PERSISTENT Action must be applied to reach your full potential and achieve the goals you are striving toward. One cannot throw action at a goal every once in awhile; something must be done each and every day!

In watching the Winter Olympics over the last couple of weeks, I was continually impressed at how much hard work, dedication, and Persistence these incredible athletes had given to their chosen sport. Many of them, since they were young children, had practiced and perfected their sport for many hours every day for years on end. Even more impressive were those that had encountered numerous and sometimes devastating set-backs, yet they persisted and overcame.

The truth is this: any dream worth chasing is absolutely going to have roadblocks. The testament to your commitment and desire to achieve will be cultivated in those moments. Actually, I believe they are even a necessary part of the process. It is through those difficult times that we are developed personally enough to handle the position of having achieved our lofty dream. Anything big enough worth "dreaming" about has to be worth the glory of achieving it, and without the set-backs we may not be truly appreciative of its attainment.

Never, never give up! We must press on and overcome any obstacle that should fall in our path. Jack Canfield writes in his book The Success Principles, "Persistence is probably the single most common quality of high achievers. They simply refuse to give up." One of my favorite quotes on this subject is by B.C Forbes, Founder of Forbes magazine: "History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats."

Go forth claiming your dream and be PERSISTENT in its achievement. Eventually you will meet with SUCCESS."

So what do you ladies think of those messages?  "Never, never give up" echoes from Meghan's message yesterday!   I had to highlight my favorite part there in the last one.  Anything worth dreaming is GOING to have obstacles.  Just accept that it's part of the long journey.  You're going to battle those obstacles and if you decide to do something about it, I KNOW you'll find a way around them, through them, or over them, :)  My favorite part is "GO FORTH IN CLAIMING YOUR DREAM!"  So make it a phenomenal weekend, girls!

Feel the Burn Thursday

Good morning, shrinking ladies!   Before talking about exercise, consider this:

"Believe" Author unknown

"You are worthy of reaching for the greatest accomplishments…And you are worthy of achieving them, no matter what other people think of you, no matter what you have done up to this point in life. You are worthy of the best.


You are unique, you are special. You are creative and effective. You have much value to offer, regardless of what anyone has told you. And no one can express that value but you. You are the person who deserves to live your dream. You are the only one who has what it takes to reach that dream.


If you can see it, if you can imagine it, if you can dream it, you are worthy of reaching it. And it is possible. No one will hand it to you. In fact, you’ll strive day and night to reach it. When you give the best you have, when you refuse to be stopped by the obstacles in your way, when you do what must be done, you’ll get what you deserve—a full, rich life that is like no other. Each day, with your thoughts and actions, live up to the fact that you are the best."

Just a little reminder for how awesome you are :) and of course I had to higlight my favorite parts of it.  You are the only one who has what it takes to reach your particular dream.  Everyday is going to be hard work, but love yourself through the journey and take joy in each day's little successes, like Kim so perfectly put yesterday. 

On to exercise!  What exercises have you done so far this week?  What's on the docket for this weekend?  Share with us and be specific so we can all get great ideas for ourselves.  "Refuse to be stopped by the obstacles in your way!"

Whatcha Eatin' Wednesday

Good morning, gals!   Hope the first 2 days have gone stellar.  Sounds like it from all your comments, all your water-drinking, all your workouts :) Makes me blubber a little I'm so excited.

So a little Eating 101 for us.  I like that this article says to put some of your dinner calories in your breakfast, and to split your meals in half to spread them out more, doing mini-meals. 

Obviously if you're brand new to MFP or to counting calories, it can be a bit daunting.  To keep myself from becoming overly consumed by the counting aspect of it, I just log in to MFP each morning, enter in what I've got planned for the day ahead of me, and then I'm done.  You don't want to become obsessed or fixated on the counting aspect of it.  Just relax and plan ahead if you can.  Something else to note as you gain more experience w/ counting calories & MFP, you'll start to notice that some foods just tend to make you feel fuller longer, or some "stay with you more."  For instance, a yummy and healthy granola pear homemade muffin (even made w/ wheat flour) for breakfast at 230 calories only stays w/ me for an hour and isn't that filling.  On the other hand, a 200 calorie breakfast scramble of 6 egg whites, 1 cup spinach, & a little tomato basil crumbled feta will fill me up and satisfy me for 3-4 hours.  It's going to be a matter of trial and error with your body.  You'll find foods that mentally and physically fill and satisfy more.  Hey, I understand, sometimes you are willing to take the hit and your whole lunch will consist of a Snicker's candy bar, but if it keeps home murders from happening, I definitely am a proponent.  That's what's cool about the MFP.  Nothing is really off limits.  But, the point of this rambling, is to urge you to hang in there, experiment with lots of different foods and lots of different meals.  Eventually, you'll find a good repertoire of foods that you LOVE and that really fill you up and satisfy you, that give you the energy you need to tackle your excuses.  The more wholesome and the less processed you go, the more full & energizing it should be.  Let me know your thoughts on that! 

I love what Marin said yesterday, that if you fall off the bandwagon for one meal or one day, you jump right back on the bandwagon & the whole thing's not shot, you can recover from it if you DECIDE to.  Choose to be resilient, determined, and courageous. 

Although I am not a Miggy fan, on Biggest Loser last night, I did like what Miggy said in that the biggest change for her in being at the ranch has been learning a more positive attitude and how that has made all the difference in the world.  I also like how she spoke of the real, inner self inside of each of us that is coming forth.  We spoke a lot about that a couple challenges ago.  Inside of you, the fit, trim, healthy, happy, energized you is just rearin' to be let out!  So let's get to opening that door!

Wednesdays are the days we share food ideas, nutrition ideas, recipes, snacks, etc.  So what have you been eating?  Share!  This is the favorite day of so many of us :)

Tuesday Motivation

Good morning, beautiful ladies! How did the first full day go?  Are you feeling pretty proud of yourselves?  You should!  Just a few little reminders to consider today:

• Are you drinking enough water?  You could aim for the old addage of 8 glasses of 8 ounces of water.  Something I prefer b/c it's more realistic for a water-liking-challenged person like me is this fun calculator that takes into effect your gender & body size: http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-302--5382-0,00.html
• Are you eating enough?  You shouldn't ever get to the ravenously starving stage.  Eat something light every few hours.  Your metabolism will keep revving along steadily and you'll feel more fulfilled.  Have you tried mini-meals or smaller meals w/ more snacks?  Make sure you're eating those calories you're burning, too, to stay at your net caloric goal and keep your energy up.  If you're at a net calorie for the day LOWER than what MFP says you should be at, you might start feeling low-energy, really fatigued, and your body could go into "starvation mode" meaning it won't burn much and it will store everything you eat instead of burning it for fuel b/c it senses it has no idea when or if its next meal will come.  All bad stuff, right?!  So make sure you're eating ENOUGH! :)
• Are you getting enough sleep?  Being sleep deprived really affects not just your ability to work out, but also your metabolism and mood.  Adults should aim for 8 hours a night if possible (and if not possible, then all you can do is the best you can and that's awesome).  Athletes should aim for 10 hours a night. WHOA!  So depending on how incredible you're doing at your workouts this challenge, you might want to increase your sleep habits a little bit so you don't start draggin' and feeling burnt out.

Onto today's message, which I LOVE!  I know the Olympics are over, but this is just really cool, something I came across that motivated me into action.  It's a motivational newsletter from inside my company, from a really great guy named Harry Hoopis out of Chicago.  The message is a bit lengthy, but pretty cool.  Comment on this post & let us all know your thoughts on it and how it pertains to us and this particular Ten in Six Challenge!:

WHY I LOVE THE OLYMPICS

Whether it’s the Summer or Winter Olympics, I love them. I have thought about this a great deal and have come to the conclusion that it’s not just my Greek heritage that makes me feel this way. In fact, while I am very proud of it, I know that it’s not about heritage, but instead, the significant statement that the Olympic Games make. The first Olympiad was held in 776BC and was held initially as a religious festival to honor the supreme god of gods, Zeus. The games lasted for 1170 years until 393 AD when they were abolished by the Christian Roman Emperor Theodosius.

The Greeks loved the Olympics because they put great emphasis on fitness and athletics and its importance to a good mind. Because being an Olympic Champion was so significant, the athletes competed for honor, not material goods. A simple wreath made from a sacred olive tree was the symbol of their accomplishment. After an absence of 1500 years the Olympics were brought back by a Frenchmen who shared the thinking that a strong body was important for a strong mind. Thus Baron Pierre de Coubertin is credited with bringing back the Olympics as International Games in 1896. I am personally grateful he did this for the world.

So as I thought about the games this week, I couldn’t help but think of the lessons that they teach, if we are willing to look below the hype and the competition itself. For while we have only three medals, Bronze, Silver and Gold; each and every one of these athletes are champions. They are champions for what it has taken for them to make it to Vancouver this winter. So today I would like to make some comparisons to what it takes to be an Olympic athlete and what it takes for you to win your greatest personal victory. And that victory is, as Aristotle told us 2300 years ago when he said this,” the greatest of victories is the victory over Self”. Imagine 2300 years ago and Greeks were writing self help books! :)

So here is how I will summarize my thoughts on your personal greatness and the Olympic champions.

The Five P’s

Preparation,

Perseverance,

Patience,

Persistence

Performance

First think about the preparation that it takes for an Olympian to make it to the Games? The hours and hours of training, practice and disappointment, all with nothing more than the dream of a medal. When, I wonder, does someone see the possibility that they can qualify for the Olympics? When do they finally believe in themselves enough to begin the arduous task of working toward that dream?

So the first P, Preparation, is about creating a dream, believing in yourself more than anyone else probably does and then taking the steps to get there. This will include a good coach and a commitment to excellence. You too, need a dream and like the Olympians of the Ancient games, you need to do it for honor, not material things. Honor, to me, is doing the right things for your family, religious beliefs and community.

The second P, Perseverance, is what it takes to get from the dream to the reality of just how hard this is going to be. How many kids talk about being a Navy Seal, a Doctor, and Astronaut, only to abandon their dream at the first sign of hard work? Do you think an Olympian ever has days when things didn’t go well? Do you think they ever consider quitting? My guess, everyone of them will tell you they thought of quitting numerous times. Do you think about quitting your dream? Do you play hurt like so many Olympians, or do you call in sick with a sniffle?

The third P, Patience is about your staying power. It’s about endurance and your ability to allow skills to catch up with dreams. Being realistic about the time it will take to make it to the top. The great athletes of the Olympics know this well. How many did we hear about this week, who had to wait four more years for their next chance? How many had a bad break, an injury, a fall and still came back, four years later? The dream never dies!

The fourth P, Persistence is what all champions have. My mentor, Don Clifton always said a winner “increases his/her persistence in the face of resistance.” Your ability to persist is a skill, not just a feeling. No one achieves without persistence.

The fifth P, Performance is what we have after we have done all the rest. Our performance is simply the culmination of our preparation, perseverance, patience and persistence. This is the payoff for the practice, the hours and hours of practice. Is your practice in alignment with your desired level of achievement? If you were in front of the judges for the Olympics of Life, how would they rate your performance?

So as we watch the Olympics come to a close this weekend, don’t let the memory of great achievement fade. Don’t let the emotion you felt as you watched an Olympic performance leave you. Decide now that you too can win the greatest victory of all, victory over Self!

So why do I love the Olympics? I love the Olympics because it is the greatest manifestation of Human ability. It’s about ordinary people, doing extraordinary things. Remember, anything you ardently desire and earnestly work toward will eventually come to pass.

(alright, and this cake is just funny :) )

Make it a great day, girls!

First Day of the New Challenge

Good morning, weight loss wonder women! Hope you’re feeling great this morning- excited, refreshed, and rejuvenated for a fantastic 6 weeks ahead of us. For those who are brand new- Amy F., Carla, Isolde, Marnie, & Marin (the original creator of this blog now back post-baby)-WELCOME! Can’t wait to get to know you better & hear all you have to contribute to this great group of ladies. For the rest of us who are continuing on from previous challenges- let’s ramp it up a level to really bring it this time around!

To all of us, we have our own individual excuses for falling out of fitness or for gaining that extra weight over the years or for not getting our sneakers on or for not finding the time to work out or for not having the energy to plan healthy eating. Only you can determine what your excuses are, and chances are you know them better than you’d like to know them- you’re intimate bosom buddies w/ those dang excuses. Many are going to be unique to just you and your psyche or just you and your current living dynamics. But whatever those excuses are, determine today that you’re going to do your darndest to challenge them! Sever the umbilical cord to those excuses that kept you plump and sedated. Adios, excuses! It’s a daily choice to challenge them- it’s not a once at the beginning of this challenge. For many of us, it’s multiple times every day even AFTER you think you have a habit established. And speaking of habits, it takes at LEAST a good 6 weeks to develop a habit, so give yourself the full 6 weeks of trying really hard to live a healthy lifestyle. Show your body who is boss. Mind over matter. Daily decisions on our attitude. Feel GREAT again!

This morning you should have weighed in and taken your body measurements (whatever areas you want to track: I like tracking a ton of areas like waist, hips, bum, thighs, calves, ribcage, bust, neck, upper arm, etc. Gosh darn it, I’m gonna see a millimeter loss somewhere :) You also should have entered these measurements into your My Fitness Pal profile and made sure that today’s starting weight is the only weight that shows up in there so that your badge on the ride side of this blog starts at ZERO lbs lost. For instructions on that, see the last post, or let me know and I can walk you through it.

Starting today, you're going to begin tracking everything you eat or drink in MFP and tracking every calorie you burn in MFP.  Whatever you entered in for your goals, MFP will determine a daily net calorie value that you should aim for.  If you workout and burn x number of calories, then you eat the calories you burn to get to that net calorie value.  Make sense?  You'll should get it when you play around w/ it enough, but let me know what questions you have & I can help you walk through it.

Alright, blog housekeeping out of the way, how are you all feeling today????!!!! Browse all the side bar names, bios, and rewards. Comment on today’s post by clicking “Challengers Check-in” underneath the post. You may have to log in w/ your Google/Blogger account (free to create one if you don’t have one already) or you can also just make it an anonymous comment, but tell us who you so we know. Introduce yourselves, welcome the new gals, and share w/ everybody (even if you did before) exactly WHY you’re going to lose this weight. I love this part!  Hearing everyone's reasons is motivating for all of us!