Sunday, March 21, 2010

DAY 224 The Spring Challenge Has Begun!


Hello Journal & Friends,

Today I thought I would give a condensed version of the new Spring Challenge.



It officially started yesterday, March 20th, the first day of Spring... and runs up til the first day of Summer, which is June 21 st. That gives us 13 weeks together.

Anyone is welcome to jump right in! 

For the longer version, and what started it all, the original post is (HERE). 
Here is the short version of this new challenge:




I'm calling it my Spring Challenge, and my mascot is Tigger, springing around on his bouncy tail!



**My daring goal: to exercise EVERY SINGLE DAY for the whole 13 weeks. 

**Don't worry, I'm not nutso. I actually am building in balance, moderation. There will be "light" days, and regular days, and double days! I plan to be flexible, and work it around my schedule. But I will do SOMETHING every day, and will count it a bonus day when I do TWO routines in one day. I  will make a game of it, sort of competing with myself, and have fun with it. I might even belly-dance once or twice! ha ha

**Oh, and just to show you how masochistic I really am... LOL... I will also have a GREEN SMOOTHIE every single day for the challenge. Wow, that was actually harder to commit to than the exercise!!!! I wonder what THAT says about my eating habits!

**I will check in every Saturday, since I am starting on a Saturday.

**I will tell one thing each week that I like about myself (thank you Mary, for that). I already know that one will be a challenge... I am embarrassed just to type that!

**And in addition to the health benefits, I will put some money away each of the 13 weeks, and at the end, when I have made my two goals (13 straight weeks of Exercise and Greenies) I will buy myself something totally fun! I haven't decided what yet... probably connected with either my art or exercise toys. 


There you have it: my Spring Challenge

1. Every day for the next 13 weeks, do some kind of Exercise.
2. Every day for the next 13 weeks, drink a Greenie.
3. Check in every Saturday.
4. Tell one thing each week that I like about myself.
5. Save up to buy myself a Reward at the end for making my goals.


By the way, if anyone else would like to join me...  you can choose your own goals (behaviors, not a number on the scale!), check-in day, and reward. And feel free to swipe a copy of Tigger, too. 

Mary, at Wistful Nebulae, has generously offered a prize to someone that stuck it out to the end! We will have a random drawing of anyone still alive an' kicking (perfection NOT required, just participation!!!) and she will send the winner an exercise DVD. How cool is that!!! To be eligible for the random drawing, let's pick a "join up" date of no later than: April 1st. So, start the challenge by April 1st, and you're in!


If you are interested, I'd appreciate it if you mentioned it on your blog, since I didn't give much/any notice on this. It was sort of a last minute thing... sorry about that! Feel free to check in here on Saturdays and leave a link to your update (whatever day it is) and so we can cheer each other on. (I'll try to post around 11am, Pacific time, USA every Saturday)

Thanks to Dayne, at Coach Your Mind, I am finally asking the right question. Instead of moaning about what IS, about what I can't do.... I am now asking: what CAN I do to help myself??

Mary, at Wistful Nebulae,  told me my focus was wrong... and that I needed an attitude adjustment. Oh, she was so right!! After my check-up-from-the-neck-up, I feel so much better and motivated to DO something, rather than sit around feeling sorry for myself. To focus on the things I am doing right. Thank you, my Friend Mary.


Let's Enjoy the Journey,

Loretta
=^..^=

14 comments:

antgirl said...

OK, I posted up on Chronicles, the challenge.

I think I also have an extra yoga mat somewhere. Maybe I should go find that before saying I have it. LOL

I'll report on my goals to you every week. In your comments.

Can't wait to read all those those things you all like about yourselves. :D

Anonymous said...

We're springing into action, yes we are!

Did you realize that Monday, June 21 is actually 13 weeks and 2 days from March 20th? That means that if someone joins by Monday, they will still have the full 13 weeks in. I think that is very cool.

I think this challenge is cool, too.

I narrowed down my fat goal, by the way. After looking on SparkPeople and calculating my calories/fat grams to get the percentage--I'm shooting for 40 grams of fat a day.

SparkPeople has my range from 32 to 56, so if I fall in there, I'll consider it a success. (40 grams gives me the coveted 30% of cals for fat if I eat 1200 cals a day.) My version of the challenge is on my sidebar under the "SpringBreak" picture.

Wahoo, Loretta!!!

I'm excited.

Deb

P.S. Just to be scrupulously and annoyingly honest, I am not counting fat grams for Sunday lunch.

We eat out at a little hole in the wall hometown restaurant after church and it is impossible to count anything.

Trust me on this. the best I cuold do was to ask how many ounces the piece os liver was. lol. The look on the waitress's face was photo worthy. lol. She leaned over the table and said, wasn't it big enough? (Oh, for goodness sakes! hahaha)

Fortunately, I've been eating there for 50 years, sowas able to convince her that I loved the food and the size was more than sufficient and that I was just trying to keep track of calories. Which prompted an, "Ohhhhh, are you on a diiieeetttt?" Oh, just shoot me now.

She obliged by going back to the kitchen and asking for me. Apparently, no one had ever asked such a thing. lololol. (It was 5 ounces, by the way.)

Life in a small town, gotta love it. I can't stop chuckling.

Christine said...

I keep thinking I commented but I didn't.
Okay, that looks like a great challenge loretta.
I won't be joining because I kinda got my own thing going...but I will be following along to see how it goes for you.
Rooting for you as always.

Dayne Gingrich said...

There's NO DOUBT you'll accomplish what you want and need for yourself.

Here's my challenge TO you:

13 wks is a relatively long time, making it easy for our minds to "wander." We perform at our best (no matter what the event) when we keep our focus on this moment only.

Your 13 wks is your motivation... your daily actions to attain that 13 wk. challenge are your goals. Focus on ONE GOAL AT A TIME, rather than counting down. I've found, through years of research, that "counting down" makes it easier for our minds to get too far into the future, and look too far behind (both not what we want).

Making it all about THIS MOMENT takes a lot of self discipline... but that's o.k., and what we want. This discipline is what will take the pressure of the challenge, and help wrap your arms around it. This discipline is what will allow you to wake up every morning, especially when you're tired, and find that exercise you promised yourself.

This day... this hour... THIS MOMENT!!

You're awesome and a huge inspiration. Can't wait to follow your progress. I'll be the one screaming at you from the sidelines ;-)

(Also, thank you kindly for the mention about 'questions' - I'm humbled)

Dayne

Scarlet Simple said...

I posted my challenge post: http://scarletsimple.blogspot.com/

Is it okay?

I'm so glad you posted a challenge Retta! It was exactly what I needed to build a motivational fire under my tush!

Retta said...

MARY: Oh, it might be cool to pair up the yoga DVD with the yoga mat. A little incense... some flute music... some chanting... oops, got carried away. ;-)

DEB: I laughed right out loud at that liver story. :-D

DAYNE: At first, I wasn't sure how to integrate what you were suggesting with the idea of a 13 week challenge and it's goals... then I realized that I had sort of done a similar idea already, without realizing it.

I made a chart, and laid out the daily behaviors, so I could stay focused on each day, since they are not identical as to the exercise activities. This way, I just focus on each day. I think I will add to the top of my chart: This day... this hour...THIS MOMENT.

Thanks for your support, I appreciate that!

Loretta
=^..^=

South Beach Steve said...

Loretta, it looks like some great goals for your Spring Challenge. I wish you the best with it!

PJ Geek said...

Yeah! Good for you for turning it around. I think your goals are awesome. I do think daily exercise might be the key. Definitely, varying intensity and time so you can get it done daily. This challenge is a great idea. I can't seem to get what my goals would be..I'm working on that and will let you know if I join up.

PJ Geek said...

ok , I'm in . I added my Spring challenge post to my site.

The Pretty In Me said...

I learned of your challenge from my sweet friend Deb, who I met on Twitter... I'm in on the challenge. I'll be posting my decisions soon.
So grateful to have found this community. We need each other - God is good!

The Pretty In Me said...

OH and Deb: that's AN AWESOME story, LOL
Guess what happened to me? Was at a fellowship outing with some new friends from my new chuch since I moved here to Dallas. All the girls in my church are drop-dead gorgeous thin, tan girls with tons of gorgeous hair. ( i have thinning hair at 30 ) so I've been struggling with my self-esteem up here and working on a bible study called "Do You Think I'm Beautiful?" by Angela Thomas - amazing book.
ANYWAY, we had to go out to eat and only of the beautiful model-like friends of mine knew I was back on Weight Watchers and even doing anything about my weight... and in front of EVERY ONE and the guys from our church said, "I picked this cause I figured this was the best way for your diet. I know how hard it is to diet and how hard it is for you to be temped with food." Of course she's never been more than 5 lbs over weight. I almost died of embarrassment and just siled and thanked her... I could telle veryone else winced with pity for me and kinda shocked that she said anything... OH WELL. LOL
Gotta learn to laugh at this stuff....

Retta said...

VERO TASTES VICTORY: Hello, and welcome! I'm glad you found us, and decided to join the challenge. We can root for each other along the way.

And yep, we just gotta laugh at the attempt's to "help" us that others make!!

Glad to have you along,
Loretta
=^..^=

financecupcake said...

Oh, I'm in, I'm in!!!

I'll be posting the details on my blog soon!!!!

Also, I'd like to offer a prize pack compliments of myself, Larabar, and Cascadian Farm. Is that cool?

Retta said...

CHRISTINA: Wow, that's a fun idea for a prize, thanks! Now there are 9 of us in our merry band of Challengers!

Feel free to put a copy of the Tigger logo (the one with the words Spring Challenge on it) for the challenge into your sidebar. OR, if you are a rascally rebel like Alan ;-) then feel free to make one of your own and surprise us.

Loretta
=^..^=

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