Congratulations to both of you tc747 & CST1008 on your 5K's! Heading to the gym this am.

Thanks Louis - hope you had a nice cruise.  I would so love to have a mini holiday, a few days without the kids seems like heaven at the moment.

Gosh it is quiet on here at the moment, hope you are all busy working out & eating clean.  I have had a hard week, my head has been in the negative zone, have gotten obsessed with the scale, one of my goals was to lose 7kg, so I have been giving myself a hard time that I haven't lost enough etc... had a good talk with my hubby who pointed out that I can only control what I eat & my activity levels & results will come (and have come) if I work the programme.  Hope for a better frame of mind for the next coming week.  

Take care

TC

You're welcome. I like your hubby's thinking. I can't imagine doing this 12 week program with kids to take care of too! That's an awesome effort, and you're doing it!

Louis

Come on folks, only TWO Saturdays left in the challenge, lock it in and push hard for the finish.

Everything I've read about the 12 week journey talks about the last 2 weeks as a place where a major shift happens, go for it everybody!

Cheatday

Hi to those who are left in this group - tc, CST, Louis, cheatday.  It looks like it has been two weeks since I last posted here.  Unlike someone who shall remain nameless, I do feel the "NEED" for the discussion board just as much now as I did in the beginning.  I "NEED" that support and feel I "NEED" to be accountable, so it was "TOTALLY" my decision to find another group that didn't have someone who shall remain nameless discouraging everyone from sharing and posting and "NEED"ing support.  I'm not even sure what "AGAIN... this is Body for LIFE" means.  I think we're all aware of the fact that this is Body for Life.  It's interesting to read a statement like, "Do NOT feel like you NEED to be accountable here," when the real Body for Life people tell us that being accountable to others is a good motivator.  I propose we listen to the real Body for Lifers and not posers who seek to discourage us from communicating with and supporting dedicated others.

Anyway, with tc, CST, Louis, cheatday, and yours truly, it looks like tc was right about the ninety per cent drop-out rate.  It's looking like that in my other group, as well, the group I found that encourages others to post and be accountable and communicate with and support each other.  It's also interesting to note that it appears as though those who take the time to post and seek support and offer support are the ones who find some measure of success.  She who shall remain nameless hasn't been here for a while seeking or offering support, so I'm guessing she's one of the ninety per cent drop-outs.

Have a great day everyone, and remember, "AGAIN... this is Body for LIFE," so don't blink and suddenly get confused about where you are and why you're doing this.

Monscal thanks for the write... I have missed this groups emails and I think that one forum post discouraged a lot of us. I also find accountability a huge part of the program. I was surprised by the email but just tried to carry on. I am still doing the program but have fallen off the wagon a lot. Workouts have changed and I haven't seen success lately. I have lost a lot of motivation and I know a lot of that is cause I am within 5-7 lbs of my goal so I have eaten more junk and missed some workouts. I need to find that drive to stay on track more. Just throwing in extra snacks here and there. What forum did you find? I also follow a forum from the July group but they are finishing up now. Thanks for taking the time to write.

How is everyone else doing?

CST - I sent you a private message under "start a conversation," but I can't tell if it actually sent.  Let me know.  If not, I'll try again.

Hi guys

Monscal - Sorry to hear you didn't feel supported on this thread, I know need the support from a group of like minded people.  I don't know about you but most of my family & friends are couch potato's who eat rubbish processed food most of the time, so going against the grain is really hard (but very worth it).   I agree getting & offering support is a big part of BFL program, it would be so cool to think I inspired others to keep going with their health goals, just as others have inspired me.

So who is up for another challenge? I know cheatday is keen, I am going to take a two week break & get back into it November 6th, I have a 5k booked in to kick it off!  

Yay only 12 days to go for me, the finish line seems so close it's like I can almost see it!

Keep rocking

TC

First off - I'd like to apologize to anyone who found my post demotivating or negative in any way. As you all know, I've been heavily involved in several threads in the past. Recently we had an issue where a member was alienating people for neglecting to post daily. Now THAT was demotivating. I wanted to make sure that everyone felt comfortable with using this forum however they needed it- or didn't need it. I think its important for people to find their own way instead of conforming to others. THAT is where you will find utlimate success.

That being said - Monscal - I do not appreciate you bashing me in this thread or on this forum. Especially when you don't have the common decency to approach me directly with your issues. Quite honestly it is immature and rude. This forum allows for thoughts and opinions to be shared. I have done nothing wrong. You, on the other hand, are putting people down, bringing negativity to the forum, and being extremely immature. If you've got a problem with me or the way I handle myself, take it up with me, and don't bring everyone else on this thread down with your controlling and negative statements.

Also, do not assume that you have the right to say ANYTHING about my not being here to support or seek support. You know nothing about me or my life and judging by the way you have carried yourself recently I would not want you to. If you MUST know, almost a month ago now my mother was killed and brother injured very badly in a car accident. So no, I haven't been here to post or read posts to offer support much lately. I've been too busy planning a funeral and moving my brother in so that he is taken care of. I hope you feel really good about being so hurtful and judgemental. I do sincerely thank you, though, for sharing your true character with everyone here.

Just poking my head in quick. I'm actually still going strong, though I haven't been big on posting. I'm not really that kind of person, but it doesn't mean I'm not still chugging along with everyone else :) My BFL spirit is still with everyone. That being said, I hope that everyone, despite the tension, realizes that we're all different types of people with different types of motivation. I'm glad so many of you are good about posting and helping keep people on track, because I'm not good at that sort of thing. I get in my zone when I'm trying to accomplish something and need that focus. But coming on here every now and again and seeing people going strong and posting about it makes me feel like I'm not alone.

Thanks. To all of you.

Stephinator - What makes you think I was talking about you?  As far as "bashing" goes, I think that's what you just did.  I didn't put anyone down, but you just did.  I didn't bring any negativity to the forum, but you just did.  How old are you?  If I "MUST" know?  I didn't ask, but thanks for sharing.  I didn't assume "ANYTHING," but I do now.  Thanks for clarifying.  If there was any confusion before, there isn't now.  It's a good thing we have you to  help us find our way here, instead of conforming to others.  It's a good thing we have you to tell us how to be comfortable using this forum.  "THAT" would be really sad if all the grownups here suddenly found they couldn't think for themselves, suddenly found themselves conforming, or didn't know how to comfortably use this forum.  Did you see something identifiable in yourself in my post?  Is that why you're apologizing?  You say this forum allows for thoughts and opinions to be shared.  I had a thought and I shared it.  I had an opinion of someone who remained nameless and I shared it.  Immature?  Rude?  Good job, Stephinator.  I think you just outed yourself.

tc - You inspire me.  For the last ten weeks I always knew there would be a post from you to look forward to reading.  The fact that you can run a 5K is amazing!  And I love the photo you posted with all the toys in the background!  What fun!  It was only the one post that didn't feel like-minded.  Well, two posts now, but she shall remain nameless.  Oh, too late.  I think she just announced loud and clear who she is.

Alright all August 1sters... ummmm lets just have a little "check in"?

We're getting down to it now, I'm up in Canada and this was our Thanksgiving weekend. I made it through with the perfect amount of turkey, vegetables, two tiny potatoes and a tiny bit of stuffing... no wine, no booze... totally clean! I did eat a small bag of chips last night and drank two large glasses of vodka 7, but that is all I allow myself for my cheat treat.

Tomorrow is the official count down to the end of our August 1st challenge.

Tomorrow will be 14 days to day ZERO.

If you are still with us, lets hear from you.

If you want to take a little break after this challenge ends and then move on to a new 12 week challenge like TC747 suggests November 7th, lets get ready to line it up. I think taking a two week break is fine, although for me personally, I won't be stopping anything, I'm locked into this program for the next year. The 12 week thing is how I am taking my one year commitment to my lifestyle change and breaking it into smaller reachable goals, I'm doing it one 12 week chunk at a time... Yup, I'm going for 4 back to back 12 week challenges folks. I guess by the end of the second one I'll pretty much be just living the BFL way period. YA I KNOW... I'm a bit extreme about this stuff right now.

Here's the last standing August 1st team as I see it in the recent posts in our room:

TC747, CST, Louis, Stephinator, Monscal, Hooligan, BBrahma, Toots0328, Lindylou, FBA, Cheatday

If you're still with us and not on this list lets hear from you. Just copy the above list of names and paste it into your post adding your name to the list. We'll be able to see how many of the 45 subscribers are still with us.

Are you into moving on to a C2 (challenge #2)?

Come on everybody, we're almost there!

Cheatday

ps: my heart goes out to you Stephinator and I hope you can move through this fragile time with speed and grace.

I chose this challenge to completely transform myself with the end result including my ability to also run a half marathon in January. I have not succeeded in the transformation, but I did run a 10k this weekend in preparation for my scheduled half marathon.

My successes are that I am reshaping the way we eat quite nicely with fresh, healthy choices in correct quantities; I've identified my weaknesses and strengths through journaling; I've learned I must listen to this 54 year old body and work appropriately - I cannot do things the same as when I was younger and that's okay; and most importantly - I've begun putting myself first in scheduling the time to work out.

I admit that I started out with more gusto than I showed in the middle. I have reached a point of equilibrium that feels like a good fit for life, and now feel compelled to ramp that up once more for a grand finish. I am going to continue my improvement with running and have confidence I will be on track for the race, and intend to keep running for fitness.

The total transformation did not occur -- yet. I am on board for the second round. It appears this first one was a good warm up.

I would point out that everyone has made progress, change, and has experienced success determined by their own personal metric. Congratulations to each of you. Let's focus on those successes -- what were yours?

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the majority of you for allowing me to learn from you and for being a big part of this hugely successful challenge of mine. As I stated before, I have done challenges in the past. Coming to a close on this one, I feel as though I have definitely found my beat. I have established a routine that will work for me for a very long time, if not the rest of my life. I did that by taking bits that I admired from each of you that has been a positive influence along the way. I honestly cannot thank you enough.

As I'm sure you've all noticed, there's some tension in this thread. You do not need to be put in the middle of that and quite frankly I don't need to explain myself to anyone. So to aleviate that from all of you, I'm going to stop following this thread and this will be my last post.

Thank you again for all of your insight and encouragement. This has been an amazing journey for me. Maybe I'll see some of you around in other threads. Ciao for now! :)