June 1 - It's Time To Be Accountable

Good Morning..... Well, it's June 1st and it's the first day of our 30 day accountability challenge.  This challenge is to get us back on track and away from the nasty habits that creep  in on us. Since it takes 30 days to create a habit, the hopes of this challenege is to take the next 30 days to reverse the bad habit and replace it with a more positive one.   As an individual, you will determine what you r goal will be for the next 30 days.  So, if you are having trouble getting in your water, this challenege, for you, would be to set a goal of how many ounces you will be taking in each day, what steps you will take to get in your water, and then....be accountable each day to whether youa re getting it in or not. As a team, we will provide the support to each individual to help them be successful and break the habit.  If you see a team member struggling with their habit, offer them a tip that works for you.  We will not make the person feel guilty if they were not successful the day before, but as a team we should offer support and guidence. If you did not do well the day before, its ok...be accountable.  That's how we learn.  Just own up to the fact that you did not do well, and make it a point to do well the next day. So....let the challenge begin.......... This morning will be easy.  We are going to follow the "Top 10 Strategies for Success" (full article can be found at http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/motivation_articles.asp? id=518). 1.  Start Small - When determining what your goal is for the next 30 days, start small.  Rome as not built in a day. And do not make your goal to be "I want to lose XX number of pounds in 30 days".  We have a tool that if used properly will allow us to lose weight, and weightloss is really out of our control.  BUT...doing the things that generate weight loss is something that we can control and should be the area of focus in our goal setting.  And, you can't set a goal without setting a reward.  So, what will your reward be for meeting your goal??  Just make sure that it is non-food related and something that you would enjoy for working hard. 2.  Write It Down - Ok, now that you have decided on what your goal will be for the next 30 days, write it down.  This makes you accountable to it.  And of course, write down your non-food related goal. 3.  Make a Plan - What do I need to do each day to meet my goal?  This is basically making a plan for success.  What tricks or tips can you think of that will get you to where you want to be??  Include your reward.  It should be part of the plan and should be in the forfront like your goal. 4.  Always See your Goal - You want to keep your goal and reward, in the forfront of your everyday life in order to be successful.  I will be using sticky notes and putting them on the bathroom mirror, the fridge and at my desk at work.  I want to constantly be reminded of what my goal is.  I also plan to post here daily. 5.  Be Consistent - You want to make sure that you are consisten with how you approach your goal, and to stay focused to that goal.  Flip flopping around will make it more challenging and more frustrating.  So, stay focused and consistent. 6.  Never Stop Learning - Look for ways that can help you meet your goal, motivate you, and make you successful.  Learning also helps keep us from becoming complacient. 7.  Come Out of Seclusion - This is a great one.  It takes a village to rais e child, so why wouldn't it take a team to help us lose weight?  Come out each day to be with the team.  Who knows what might happend...maybe you'll get some great tips over the next 30 days and meet your goal. 8.  Allow for Setbacks - I hate to say this, but failure may happend.  We are human.  But, how we react to the failure will detemine our level of success.  Let's plan for the setbacks to happen, and also plan to be positive and learn something from them when they do happen.  Let's all promise to let the setback determine our day, or week.  We will not throw our hands up in the air AND we will be honest about them when they happen.  Our teammates may have some advice to offer to get us through it. 9.  Trust Your Plan - Your plan may not be perfect, but it's the plan that YOU have devloped to get you to your goal.  You may need to tweek it along the way - that's ok.  Just trust the plan and trust that you will be successful. 10.  Have Fun!!!  - Ok...there is nothing in the rule book that says that losing weight and developing a healthy life style has to be boring.  Have fun with it.  If your goal is to make better snack choices, have fun looking for ideas on the Internet, or doing some baking.  Make a day of it.  If your goal is to change your physical activity, have fun trying some new things, or try going on a hike.  Heck, have fun here posting!  And don't forget your reward!!! So....let's get started.......I'll get the ball rolling..... I have 4 goals that I want to work on this month - 1.  Goal 1:  Journalling      Goal 2:  Reduce Snacking/Make better choices      Goal 3:  Challenge my physical activity      Goal 4:  Get more scrapbooking done 2.  My plan is to journal my food 3 times a day and to be more accountable to it - including all of the bites here and there.  By journalling it several times a day, I should be able to better monitor my intake, and put snacking in the forfront, which will help me in making better choices.  I plan to chane up my physical activity quite a bit this month and incorporate things that are different than what I have been doing, and giving it my all when working out at home to provide more challenge to my body. Not letting the mind take over and talking me into stopping or slowing down below my capability.   As for my scrapbooking, I suspect that when everything else falls into place, this too will fall into place and it will be my time to wind down.  I plan to work on it for 1 hour each evening, at least 4 days a week. 3.    My reward - Well, since I have 4 goals, I will set up 4 different rewards.  This way, if I do not accomplish one, I can still be rewarded for meeting another.  So...if I journal for the next 30 days (good journalling or bad journalling, I will reward myself with a new necklace that I want ($30.00 limit).  If I make better food choices and control my snacking, I will reward myself with the matching earrings to the necklace ($20.00 limit).  If I challenge myself and work really hard at my physical activity, I will reward myself with a well deserved massage ($40.00 limit) and if meet my scrapbooking challnge (ok...actual scrapbooking, not just sitting there), I will reward myself with some new supplies ($25.00 limit), and if I meet ALL of the goals, I will give myself an extra bonus reward of having an ultra pedicure done at the spa ($60.00 limit). Ok...now YOUR turn.......Remember...your rewards do not have to cost money.  But, they should be enticing enough for you to want to do work towards the goal. So...until tomorrow....IT'S DAY ONE OF OUR JUNE ACCOUNTABILITY CHALLENGE!!!!

Good pm Jill, This is a wonderful post. I need some time to think about it. I do have some goals I'd like to reach in these next 30 days but I'm not at a point where I can think of what the rewards should be. So, I'm going to take today and think things over and I plan to post tomorrow (hopefully) what my June goals/rewards might be. Hugs to you...........

Okay  - I have 3 goals I want to accomplish this month......... Goal 1 - I want to stop snacking in the evening............even though some are planned I want to stop them because planned ones taste so good I feel like I deserve another one... Goal 2 - I want to up my exercise from one hour a day to 2 hours a day - 5 days a week... Goal 3 - I want to plan on reducing some of my portion sizes........ Here is how I will accomplish them: My plan for Goal 1 is to write down what I plan to eat each day and stick to it. No additional snacks! the snacking I know is just a habit - not because I am hungry.... My plan for Goal 2 is to go to the gym every morning and then during the day in between meetings use my home gym to walk, run and do more cardio. I don't like cardio but I know I do need it... So after my usual gym cardio and weights this is what I plan to do - Monday will be treadmill and video exercise Tae Bo,  Tuesday Stair stepper and Abs Video, Wednesday bicycle and Richard Simmons Video, Thursday  Treadmill again plus Zumba dance, Friday Hip Hop Abs and if I have any strength left I will do my Bowflex exerciser.......... My plan for Goal 3  is to get back to weighing out my portions and see if I can eat a little less than I usually do .... My reward for getting each goal accomplished is to be leaner, more toned and go to Chico's to get myself some more cute clothes! Jackie

Ok girls Ive been a a funk for a while and my goal for the next 30 days is to get off the 12 pounds Ive gained do to whatever no need for excuses. So I know I need to up the water intake and get in my 3 meals a day plus healthy snacks as well as some kind of exercise everyday which will be either walking or my bike. And my reward not sure yet Ill have to think about that. Im more wanting to get back to the basics and  get the weight off. And be accountable for what Im doing . I also need to get back into journaling again. 

OK Well on the 30th I have my surgery so here are my goals until than. Goal 1 To write in my journel my meal plan for the day and stick to it. Goal 2 Exercise 3 times at Curves a week and walk 2 times a week. Goal 3 To get my kitchen cabinets in order. I really want to be accountable for everything I do and  so it will be very rewarding for me to  get into a habit of sticking to my meal plan and exercising. My reward is my surgery  at the end of the month.  To have a organized kitchen so I know where everything is. This is time to do things for myself and not feel it is a job but a reward to looking and feeling better each day. Gwen