This challenge is to help those of us having a rough time getting started in the new year, those of us starting for the first time , and those of us who just need a little structure and motivation to jumpstart the new year . The challenge will run for about a month and will end on Feb 14th, Valentine's Day, so set yourself a reasonable, attainable weight loss goal to get to by that day. It's that easy! We will have Weekly Thread Chats, starting every Monday until the end of the challenge... I'm going to do it this way so we don't have to go through so many pages of posts.
Everyone is welcome and encouraged to check in as often as they
like, to share whatever they like, and to give support and get support.

Here we'll use word "WADE" as a mnemonic device to set and/or report daily goals, hopefully this will make it easier to remind ourselves there's more to losing than just counting calories - we want to improve the quality of our lives as we develop our out hotness.

The WADE into fitness challenge has 4 daily checks:
W (water)
A (affirmation)
D (diet)
E (exercise)

WATER - Set a daily goal for how much water you're going to drink. Water contains no calories, fat, or cholesterol and is low in sodium. It is nature's appetite suppressant, and it helps the body to metabolize fat. One of the easiest and most effective ways to help your diet is to drink water so why not make it a priority goal!

AFFIRMATION (or Awesomeness as I like to think of this one...) -This is an
opportunity to say something good and positive about yourself. It doesn't even have to be weight-loss related! Sometimes, when we fall short - and we ALL do sometime - we we tend to get negative about ourselves and our abilities and that can lead us away from our goals and work against our overall progress toward what we truly want. Although it's good to recognize when we don't reach our goals, it's also good to remind ourselves of the awesome parts of ourselves.

DIET - That's why we're here right? Seriously though, seeing that we all have
different eating plans and weight loss philosophies, this is sort of a wild card.
But seeing as this mnemonic is to help you with your own daily check you'll use this one to set an appropriate goal for the day. Don't forget to make it specific so you can celebrate your success! Choose something you are struggling with or need to pay more attention to so that you can get the most out of your eating plan.

EXERCISE - We all know it's good for us and it can help to move weight loss along. I'm not saying you have to plan a biggest loser style 4 hour gym routine to your day, but even picking small changes can add up to big results. Set yourself a goal, even if it's small.

So this your chance to join a quickie challenge - don't be shy, just WADE on in!

I guess since it's my challenge I should start off -
MY Goals For Sunday :

W - what's that? No, seriously in additon to my regular water, I'm going to do 1:1 with any diet sodas (for every oz of soda I'll have to drink that much water before I can have any more soda)
A - I know I can finish that stupid term paper -grad school- bah!
D - I will continue eating on plan & avoiding "diet sweets" that just lead me down the road to ruin.
E - I will take my pink basketball over to the park and play with my kids (I know those guys snickering in over by the other hoop are just super jealous of my cool gear and wicked skills!)

Count me in.... I been looking for something to join since I just joined and everyone seems already into the swing of things.. its almost intimidating !!!

Heres my short term goal! 8 pounds by 2/14/09

W (water) ~ I love water and drink about 2 gallons a day@@!!

A (affirmation) ~ That I can do this regardless to what the voices are saying!!

D (diet) ~ Stick to my low carb regime@

E (exercise)~ wALK AT LEAST 15-30 MINS A DAY

Hi Val and Donitta,

I'M READY!!! 2009 MUST be the last year I yo-yo diet and end up heavier than when I started.

My goals for this week:

Water - I drink 6 glasses a day (48 oz) but can aim for 64.
Affirmation - I am totally worth this!
Diet - I am using WW and stick to 20-22 points per day.
Exercise - I would like to accumulate 60 minutes per day between elliptical, treadmill, rowing machine and weights.

Thanks for the challenge -- I'm ready to kick some butt!

I'm in . . .

My goal is 10 lbs by Valentines Day which would put me at 203.

W: 96 oz . . . I get close to that most days, but I'm gonna track it this time
A: I am strong enough to kick up my workouts this next week
D: Keep doing my weight watchers points and try not to use any of my flex points.
E: At least workouts a day . . . which is 40-60 min six days a week.

You can count me in as well my goal is to lose 10 lbs


W=To drink at least 8 glasses a day which is a major change for me i only drink maybe one a day if that now.

A= I can do this even if i have a little slip up just gotta keep going

D= I am joining weight watchers tuesday and going to my first meeting.

E= I joined the YMCA and i want to workout at least 3 days a week to start off.

Hey Val, that's nice and concise and should be very helpful. I'd like to lose 10 pounds by Valentine Day.

W- 8 glasses per day.
A- at least one in the morning before I start my day and one at the end
D- log my intake daily
E- at least 30 minutes a day

I just realized I didn't put my goal down -um hello, I suppose it would be helpful to know what I'm working toward (I find with to crazy kids around I have to write these long term things out somewhere or I tend to lose focus on the "me" projects...) ANYWAY - my goal by Valentine's day is to lose 9lbs which would take me to 189 - because it was a long hard fight to finally get back under the 200 mark so I'd like to put some distance between me and 200+ lbs. before the temptation of chocolate presented in the guise of "a gift because I love you" comes into the picture.

Count me in too Val!!! =]
My goal for Valentine's Day is 199, which would be a weight loss of 13 pounds for me!!

W~Going to shoot for 4-8 bottled waters a day. (68-136oz)
A~Whatever I set my mind to, I can accomplish!
D~Starting this week I plan to calorie cycle, next week I want to try the Sacred Heart Diet, and then rotate back to calorie cycling, back to Sacred Heart Diet, etc...until Valentine's Day <3
E~Gym twice a week. Dancing with my son every night that I don't go to the gym. Crunches, crunches, crunches!!

Let's do this buddies=]

sunday:

W - drink another 1.5 litres today. (i already drank some, but dont really count what i drank in the gym)

A - i can achieve more than i think i can! i proved this to myself today by finishing the first workout on the couch to 5k program. i never thought i could finish even the first workout, but i did. even if i felt like i couldnt do it by 20 minutes, i carried on and stuck at it till the end of the workout.

D - to eat breakfast

E - as i mentionned above i did the week1 / day1 of the couch to 5k program. then i stayed in the gym and did 5 mins cycling and 1000m on the rower