Week 10 of Fire Up for Fall

Update time!  It is hard to believe that it has been 10 weeks since this challenge first began. Nevertheless, it has been 2 1/2 months and now it is time to recap my goals and summarize the results of the challenge.  
Before I begin, I would be remiss if I didn't give a big thanks to Rebecca at Weight Wars who organized this challenge and encouraged many along the way. 


Be accountable by participating in Challenge and blog weekly 
Being a part of a challenge kept my mind focused during the week on my goals.  Knowing that I was going to have to report helped me stay accouintable.  I enjoyed being a part of the group and I "virtually met" many fellow weight loss friends.  I think it helps people to know that there are others out there who are going through some of the same things that you are.

Decrease weight by 10 pounds
I failed miserably with this goal.  Midway through the Challenge I had a week where I gained a lot of weight. I never recovered from that weight gain.  I spent the rest of the challenge working to wittle off the pounds gained that week.   I am disappointed, but it reminds me how fast we can gain if we don't maintain our diligence and how slow it is to lose. 

Pay attention to body signals. Eat when hungry  
I did pretty well with recognizing my body signals.  What was harder for me was to eat only when hungry.  I am an emotional eater and I find myself craving things to eat sometimes and I allow that feeling to overpower my mind that tells me I am not hungry.  Rather than beat myself up too much on this, yet not use it as a crutch- I realize that I am in the midst of a stressful transition this season and I cut myself a little slack.  It will just prolong my journey to my ultimate goal weight.

Exercise at least four times a week 
I definitely got in 3 formal exercise times a week and often hit my 4 times a week goal.  I want and need to make the gym a 5 times a week habit--especially during this holiday season. Finding the time is the hardest. 

Sleep at least 7 hours a night
I have done pretty well with this one.  To help me accomplish this better I need to impose an electronic curfew upon myself.  I sit down at the end of the day and can lose hours on the computer.  If I set myself a curfew for anything electronic--including phone-- then my brain won't be inundated with so much information.  It'll have time to just have some quiet peaceful time. 

Have a food plan and keep right food on hand
This is the goal that I dropped midway through the challenge.  I think tracking food eaten is so important and I still try to do it, but I think managing all six goals got to be too much for me and I let this slip.  In my ideal world, I would make a menu plan, buy all the right foods, eat healthy then write down everything I eat.   My world is not ideal yet.  :)


Thanks to everyone who participated in this challenge.  I have enjoyed reading about your journy and wish you continued success along your way. You are inspiring to me.  And thanks to all of you who have read my blog along the way.  You motivate me. 

  

Hungry or something

Why are there some days when you just want to eat? 
You are not hungry necessarily, but you just want to be eating.  I'm having one of these days.  On days like this I need to just keep myself so busy and occupied that I haven't got the time to eat. 

I think maybe I am lacking in certain nutrients and that makes me have this faux hunger.  I need to get batter about eating balanced nutritious meals so that I will go searching.

But for today, I'm crossing my fingers and making a long "to-do" list.

Week 8 & 9 of Fire Up for Fall

It's been a busy couple of weeks and so I've decided to combine week 8 and week 9 updates.   Sometimes life is just like that ~    This week's positive picture is the innocence this photo shows.  It also just brings me joy when I look at it.

What have you done this week towards your goals?   

• Be accountable by participating in Challenge and Blog weekly - this past two weeks I haven't been posting or reading blogs much, but better late than never ! 
• Decrease weight by 10 pounds - I am still chipping away
• Pay attention to body signals. Eat when hungry-- I'm doing pretty good at being aware of whether or not I am hungry or not , the problem lies in my choosing to go ahead and eat when not hungry
• Exercise at least 4 times a week-- I've gone to the gym 3 times a week the last two weeks and I have done some exercising at home in the off days 
•  Sleep at least 7 hours a night - on average I am snoozing well

What have you done to make yourself feel fabulous?
I've been traveling and have criss-crossed the state.  I was on the west side of Missouri in Kansas City for awhile and was able to see my 14 year old niece perform in her school play.  Later it was to the east side of Missouri to St. Louis.  I was with a friend at an education conference.

St. Louis is the home of Baseball's 2011 World Series champions The Cardinals.  We stopped and ate at a restaurant called Pujols which is one of the Cardinals well known players. A statue of Albert Pujols sits in front of the restaurant to greet the hungry customers.

How important is a social life to you? Are you a loner or a butterfly or somewhere in between?
Relative to others, I am closer at being somewhere in between a butterfly and a loner.  I am more introverted than not and I need my alone time to refresh my energy.  However, I have my circle of friends and among them I like to flit like a butterfly at times. 

How do you balance life outside your home with healthy living?  
Most of my friends are at an age when we all have to start paying attention to our health habits, so it is not so difficult to balance.  My mantra is always...moderation..


What do you like to do for fun?
I enjoy going to the theater or seeing other live performance events.  I also just like to gather with a few friends and hang out to visit.  There never seems to be enough time to just sit and enjoy time together anymore. 

What's the most positive thing you've taken away from this challenge?
This challenge helped motivate me to have a routine and be accountable to my goals.

It's the last week, the run to the finish.  What is your priority?
My priority as this challenge finishes, is to continue with healthy habits over the holiday season.  I hope to stay the course until after Christmas then set new goals for the new year.

Fun Stuff. Desert Island, you can take 1 person, 1 famous person and 3 items besides food and water. Who and what do you take?
To the Desert Island I would take a friend--and if I could trade the famous person for another friend I would.   I would rather go with 2 people I know, than with someone famous.    The three items I would take with me would be an air conditioner/fan; a yacht, and my computer with wireless Internet.

Next week is the Round up week.... what a fast 10 weeks!