Add-on to Losing Steam...

I think there are very few people in this world that exercise comes naturally and easy too. I think for most of us natural non-athletes, our brain will always veer toward the path of least resistance. Really - how many times have we opted not to go to for a walk or out to the gym or engage in any type of physical activity because staying home on the couch sounded better after a long day? Because it's easier. Thousands of Americans every day do the exact same thing and opt for non activity on a daily basis because of being busy and tired. I'm there too. It takes hard work to keep up a healthy active lifestyle. And lets face it, it's taken most of us 30 + years to get to where we are today. Nothing will magically change overnight and it takes time. Bad habits are tough to break but they can be broken.

We all will miss our 4 days once in awhile and that's ok. It's when you give up every week and settle for less of yourself is when you really lose this game. Don't get caught up in the downward spiral of missing week after week. This is about our lives and our health. We're all here for each other to succeed.

-Vic

Weeks 9 -12 Results

Here are the tallies for weeks 9 - 12, please be sure I've got it right:
Vic 4 tickets
Shan 4 tickets
Kelli 1 ticket (owes $10.50)
Judy 4 tickets
Cheryl 3 tickets (owes $3.50)
Nancy 1 ticket (owes $10.50)
Beth 2 tickets (owes $7)
Michelle 3 tickets (owes $3.50)
Rusty 0 tickets (owes $14)

I'll do a drawing tomorrow, so make sure I added everything up right. I'm hoping to get the totals tallied sooner for weeks 13 - 16, since we are are already in week 16 make sure you report your tallies ASAP. Good luck ticket holders!!

This Month

Ok, so I totally suck at this game! So sorry for my lack of participation, but I do have a few pointers. If you want to find a reason to walk more... get a puppy! I'd like you to meet Carlton. He is a labrador retriever and golden retriever mix. He is now 15 weeks old. He contributes to my chances of coffee!

Also, the weather is getting nice over here!! So sorry for all those on the east coast:( A very fun, healthy, low cost activity is going hiking. I found some easy dog friendly trails near the Sacramento area by googling "northern california hiking trails". The other doggie in the picture is Lacy. We took them on a hiking trip to Codfish Falls for Lacy's 5th birthday!! She is a heeler mix. They had a doggone good time! hehe!- Michelle

Are we losing steam?

Please make sure all your tallies are up to date...Thanks! It's the start of a new week, so let's commit to making our four for this week!

Weeks 11 & 12 need tallies

Hello Everyone! EFC's third set of 4 weeks are complete and we need just a few people to update their tallies so we can have our results posted and have our new winner selected. Please post any missing tallies ASAP!

Fifty Fifty

I just wanted to let you all know we now have pictures of half our EFC group on the slide show. If you're part of the 50% who isn't on the blog, and you'd like to have your picture up on the blog, send me a full length picture of yourself to my email.

Has it become habit yet?

In response to Vic's last blog about losing momentum, I was wondering how everyone is doing with exercising regularly. Has it become a habit yet? Is it still hard to find the time? Are you having to force yourself? To my amazement, it has become habit for me, and I don't like it if I don't get in some exercise everyday. And I'm please with the results!

At one of my recent Weight Watchers meetings, my instructor said something that stuck. She asked if we ever say "I'll try to....(insert whatever it is here, exercise, track what I eat, etc)" rather than committing to whatever it is and saying "I will do (insert here)". I got to thinking about it and realized that I wanted to commit myself to exercise daily. So that weekend I told myself "Next week I will exercise everyday." I didn't commit myself to something I knew was impossible to do, such as "I will exercise everyday for the rest of my life." I figured I would commit for a week and go from there. And guess what....it worked! I got in some sort of exercise everyday. I re-committed myself for this week, and so far so good!

Don't TRY but DO! Make the committment to yourself and let exercise become a habit that you are proud to have!

Losing The Momentum

As we enter month#3 of 2009, I'm sure many of us are feeling tired as we endure the months of the post-holiday, bad weather, soon to be day-light savings (spring forward, ugh) time of year that seems to wear all of us down a bit. It's too easy now to throw out an excuse here and there for missing a workout. And let me say the Girl Scouts touting their evil cookies are too much temptation for any poor soul to avoid. It's a tough time of year...

This is the time when we need to mix up our workouts / activities a bit so we don't fall into the proverbial rut. I just tried the rowing machine at the gym and absolutely loved it (I think the last time I used a rowing machine was circa 1992, but it still works!), and am incorporating a yoga DVD into my weekly routine. I'd suggest to everyone try a class or activity they've always wanted to do but haven't yet. Spring is just around the corner and gardening is an excellent physical activity. Lets get creative in our quest to stay active (Cheryl, remember Nordic walking?).

And most important, lets continue to stay with the blog to help support each other through the tougher times. To know that everyone feels your pain can be a wonderful source of support. If you get frustrated, tired or burned out on working out, just blog it here and let all of us provide our input. It's not easy maintaining an active lifestyle by any means, but we have a good group here that can help.

-Vic