I developed a point system to earn rewards as I go. I am not going to share exactly what they are because some are quite personal, but all are related to my health, both mental and physical. I can earn points for positive behaviors and lose points for negative ones. Every day, I will post the percentage of points earned (based on how many I could have earned). There are penalties and rewards based on those percentages.
Daily penalties:
below 50% - no computer except for posting my fitness blog update
below 60% - 30 extra push ups
Weekly penalties:
below 50% - yard work
below 60% - extra cardio on rest day
Weekly rewards:
above 70% - extra coffee on Sunday
above 80% - a few hours to myself to read a book & listen to music
I want to have a different reward for each month, if I reach 70% or better.
April - $20 gift card at Kitchen Collection
May - buy new dress for step-daughter's graduation
June - pair of 25 pound weight plates
July - something related to my trip to see my friend Jenn
August - go see Eclipse
September - Richmond Science Museum
October - My Chemical Romance album
If I get 70% or better for the whole shebang, I can buy my Turbo Fire program.
Showing posts with label motivation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label motivation. Show all posts
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Monday, January 5, 2009
Sign up for the Pound For Pound Challenge
http://www.pfpchallenge.com/
For every pound you lose during the Pound For Pound Challenge, we will donate 10¢ to Feeding America™ - enough to provide one pound of groceries to a local food bank. $500,000 maximum donation. $100,000 guaranteed minimum donation.
Do not participate if you’re pregnant or if weight loss is not appropriate for you. Always contact your doctor before starting any weight loss program. Even if some weight loss is appropriate for you, please do not engage in excessive weight loss. The maximum number of pounds that can be pledged and ultimately counted toward the Pound For Pound Challenge donation is capped at two pounds per week from your chosen start date (no earlier than December 15) through the date you report your weight loss. Again, make sure your doctor agrees with your weight loss plan.
Pledges accepted through April 27, 2009. Come back to report your final weight loss between April 1 - May 5, 2009.
This is with The Biggest Loser.
For every pound you lose during the Pound For Pound Challenge, we will donate 10¢ to Feeding America™ - enough to provide one pound of groceries to a local food bank. $500,000 maximum donation. $100,000 guaranteed minimum donation.
Do not participate if you’re pregnant or if weight loss is not appropriate for you. Always contact your doctor before starting any weight loss program. Even if some weight loss is appropriate for you, please do not engage in excessive weight loss. The maximum number of pounds that can be pledged and ultimately counted toward the Pound For Pound Challenge donation is capped at two pounds per week from your chosen start date (no earlier than December 15) through the date you report your weight loss. Again, make sure your doctor agrees with your weight loss plan.
Pledges accepted through April 27, 2009. Come back to report your final weight loss between April 1 - May 5, 2009.
This is with The Biggest Loser.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Goodbye, Week 7
No loss this week, and I'm fairly certain part of the problem is the sliced turkey. There is a lot of sodium in that crap, so no more. From now on, I will stick to fresh meat, and my husband is even going to make a run to Virginia to buy 100 pounds of chicken from the butcher. No more paying beach prices.
I'm really not happy with the lack of progress lately, but it really is my fault for over-indulging on things I shouldn't have. And things I can have, in some cases. I know I keep saying I'm going to refocus and do things differently, but as usual my planning sucks. Fortunately, I'm out of lunch meat, English muffins and bagels (even though these bread were whole wheat/multigrain). I do have eggs, egg substitute, apples, fresh and frozen vegetables, cheese, beans, and brown rice. Oh, and cottage cheese and chicken/turkey and lean beef. I should stick to that. My grocery store had winter squash on sale, so I have six squashes - spaghetti (YUM!!!), acorn, and butternut.
Regarding exercise, I'm a bit frustrated. I love my strength training, but I really wonder if I'm doing it properly. I'm confident that my form is good, but I sometimes feel I'm not pushing myself hard enough, even though I feel like my limbs are going to separate from my body by the time I finish. I always wonder if I could do just one more rep. Since I have been adding weight to my strength training exercises every few weeks, I an disturbed that I may not actually be getting stronger, but just not working up to my potential to begin with. But like everything else in this challenge, it's practice for the next one.
Public Service Announcement: If you don't have a digital food scale, get one!! I got one a few weeks ago and it's so much better than the crappy analog scale I was using. Much more accurate and it helps me track better.
I'm really not happy with the lack of progress lately, but it really is my fault for over-indulging on things I shouldn't have. And things I can have, in some cases. I know I keep saying I'm going to refocus and do things differently, but as usual my planning sucks. Fortunately, I'm out of lunch meat, English muffins and bagels (even though these bread were whole wheat/multigrain). I do have eggs, egg substitute, apples, fresh and frozen vegetables, cheese, beans, and brown rice. Oh, and cottage cheese and chicken/turkey and lean beef. I should stick to that. My grocery store had winter squash on sale, so I have six squashes - spaghetti (YUM!!!), acorn, and butternut.
Regarding exercise, I'm a bit frustrated. I love my strength training, but I really wonder if I'm doing it properly. I'm confident that my form is good, but I sometimes feel I'm not pushing myself hard enough, even though I feel like my limbs are going to separate from my body by the time I finish. I always wonder if I could do just one more rep. Since I have been adding weight to my strength training exercises every few weeks, I an disturbed that I may not actually be getting stronger, but just not working up to my potential to begin with. But like everything else in this challenge, it's practice for the next one.
Public Service Announcement: If you don't have a digital food scale, get one!! I got one a few weeks ago and it's so much better than the crappy analog scale I was using. Much more accurate and it helps me track better.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Week 6 is history (THANK GOODNESS!!!!!!!)
It's been a horrible week. I couldn't control my eating, my workouts were half-hearted at best, and I've been incredibly unmotivated. At the halfway point, I'm down 7.5 pounds, since I was up 2.5 pounds at this morning's weigh in. And I think my math was wrong last week, saying I was down 8 pounds in 5 weeks. I was actually down 10 pounds in 5 weeks, but that's down the drain. So, officially: 7.5 pounds lost in 6 weeks. Still, not bad, but shame on my for knowing better and dismissing that knowledge in favor of 3 seconds of chocolaty heaven.
Today, I ate crap - candy, bagels and cream cheese by the boatload, and cereal. Sure, I feel guilty, but I don't freaking care. I'll care tomorrow, because tomorrow I'm starting the second half of this challenge. I have a new cardio machine so I don't have to dread the elliptical any more. I gave the treadmill a test run today, and it's going to kick my butt, I just know it. Good. I need a butt kicking.
I've also decided to alter my nutrition plan a bit. The number of carbs I've been eating cause cravings. So, I'm going to do an even split among carbs, protein, and fat. I have fewer cravings on lower carb, so I'm going to slowly work myself back. The new ranges:
1560-1860 calories
130-155 carbs
130-155 protein
57-68 fat
Per meal (at 5 meals per day):
312-372 calories
26-31 carbs
26-31 protein
11-13 fat
I feel like my math is wrong somewhere, but I'm too tired to go back and recalculate. I should probably just forget about numbers altogether and just use common sense. But I feel out of control if I can't quantify everything. Not that I'm in any kind of control now, as this week's binges show.
A big "thank you" must go out to someone who posted on my SparkPeople blog. She posted a number of suggestions for dealing with the cravings. She was absolutely right in that I need to have things prepared for situations like those, including "legal" snacks and physical distractions.
As mad as I am at myself, I'm also motivated to do better on this leg of the journey. There are only 6 weeks left in the challenge, and I've already made it through 6 weeks. I'll start sticking to my free meal on Sundays, I'll work out with every ounce of oomph I have, and I will see results. I have a new exercise routine (including different exercises and higher weights), a new playlist, and a new desire to transform. And a request from my husband to buy some thongs.
Today, I ate crap - candy, bagels and cream cheese by the boatload, and cereal. Sure, I feel guilty, but I don't freaking care. I'll care tomorrow, because tomorrow I'm starting the second half of this challenge. I have a new cardio machine so I don't have to dread the elliptical any more. I gave the treadmill a test run today, and it's going to kick my butt, I just know it. Good. I need a butt kicking.
I've also decided to alter my nutrition plan a bit. The number of carbs I've been eating cause cravings. So, I'm going to do an even split among carbs, protein, and fat. I have fewer cravings on lower carb, so I'm going to slowly work myself back. The new ranges:
1560-1860 calories
130-155 carbs
130-155 protein
57-68 fat
Per meal (at 5 meals per day):
312-372 calories
26-31 carbs
26-31 protein
11-13 fat
I feel like my math is wrong somewhere, but I'm too tired to go back and recalculate. I should probably just forget about numbers altogether and just use common sense. But I feel out of control if I can't quantify everything. Not that I'm in any kind of control now, as this week's binges show.
A big "thank you" must go out to someone who posted on my SparkPeople blog. She posted a number of suggestions for dealing with the cravings. She was absolutely right in that I need to have things prepared for situations like those, including "legal" snacks and physical distractions.
As mad as I am at myself, I'm also motivated to do better on this leg of the journey. There are only 6 weeks left in the challenge, and I've already made it through 6 weeks. I'll start sticking to my free meal on Sundays, I'll work out with every ounce of oomph I have, and I will see results. I have a new exercise routine (including different exercises and higher weights), a new playlist, and a new desire to transform. And a request from my husband to buy some thongs.
Friday, September 7, 2007
There is nothing more UNmotivating than...
Reading "expert" opinions that your cardio equipment of choice is a worthless piece of crap.
Since I began this quest for muscle maintenance (and maybe small gains), I have been reading on some of the more popular body building boards. That, of course, is the problem. I'm not interested in body building, certainly not in the same way most of the posters on those board are. Frankly, I think a lot of muscle is gross looking, especially on a woman. That comment is probably offensive, but hey, it's my blog!
Anyway, various boards (and one in particular) really stress me out. There is a lot of great information on those boards, which is why I read, but I occasionally run across a discussion that just makes me feel like everything I've done this year has been useless.
The problem is, everyone acts like their way is right, and it's not. That's when I get pissy. People who aren't experts act like authorities. My way isn't right, your way isn't right, for everyone else. It's right for me. It's right for you. That's why I try not to give advice, so I don't come off as sounding like an omniscient, condescending prick. And that's exactly what one guy on one of the boards sounds like.
Don't get me wrong - there are some people who give great advice without sounding like assholes. It's usually the women. Does testosterone trigger some sort of dick head area of the brain?
Unfortunately, I'll have to either stay off those boards and miss out on valuable information, or take the good with the bad. You really find this situation on every type of board. The Drama Queen in me can't stay away from some places, and I think that's also the part of me that gets so cranky over other things.
But really, it pisses me of and makes me feel like shit when someone says I'm doing [whatever] wrong.
I need to add that part of my frustration may be due to not knowing exactly what I want. For now, I want to maintain the muscle mass I do have and shed body fat. I still have 45 pounds to lose, so I'm a lot way off from body building physique, even if I wanted it. My goals certainly don't match those of the people I'm reading on the other boards.
Since I began this quest for muscle maintenance (and maybe small gains), I have been reading on some of the more popular body building boards. That, of course, is the problem. I'm not interested in body building, certainly not in the same way most of the posters on those board are. Frankly, I think a lot of muscle is gross looking, especially on a woman. That comment is probably offensive, but hey, it's my blog!
Anyway, various boards (and one in particular) really stress me out. There is a lot of great information on those boards, which is why I read, but I occasionally run across a discussion that just makes me feel like everything I've done this year has been useless.
The problem is, everyone acts like their way is right, and it's not. That's when I get pissy. People who aren't experts act like authorities. My way isn't right, your way isn't right, for everyone else. It's right for me. It's right for you. That's why I try not to give advice, so I don't come off as sounding like an omniscient, condescending prick. And that's exactly what one guy on one of the boards sounds like.
Don't get me wrong - there are some people who give great advice without sounding like assholes. It's usually the women. Does testosterone trigger some sort of dick head area of the brain?
Unfortunately, I'll have to either stay off those boards and miss out on valuable information, or take the good with the bad. You really find this situation on every type of board. The Drama Queen in me can't stay away from some places, and I think that's also the part of me that gets so cranky over other things.
But really, it pisses me of and makes me feel like shit when someone says I'm doing [whatever] wrong.
I need to add that part of my frustration may be due to not knowing exactly what I want. For now, I want to maintain the muscle mass I do have and shed body fat. I still have 45 pounds to lose, so I'm a lot way off from body building physique, even if I wanted it. My goals certainly don't match those of the people I'm reading on the other boards.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
There is nothing more motivating than...
Finding pictures of yourself in a bathing suit or bra and underwear when you're at your all time high. Holy fat, batman! I'm certainly no skinny minnie yet, but jeez, the difference is certainly nice to see. I am thoroughly embarrassed to look at the pictures from December 2005 and August 2006. I think I was 190-195 in those pictures. I didn't realize at the time just how bad it was. I want to cry. Ok, not really because I've lost 30 pounds since then, and that's great! But I am never going to be that person again.
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