April FLOUNDERS Bring May MOTIVATION

I think we all figured out that my April was NOT up to par. I would be on plan for like 3 or 4 days then go off the wagon - so to speak - for three or four days. There was no rhyme or reason to what I was doing. I let my will power take a vacation to some warm tropical location, while I ran around like someone who has their issues with food under control. THANKFULLY you all kept me more on track than I would've been. I thank you for being there while I fought to get back on track ... and failed.

Overall in April, I had a BLAST. Lots of time with good friends, good beers and good food ... but, I ended up gaining just under 2 lbs.

NOT what I had planned.

But, this is the time to buckle down and figure out how to be on plan, while being social.

I am using the month of May as a time to get "BACK TO ME" - time to focus on my needs, my health and for now, the number on the scale.

I seem to work better when having a goal or challenge in mind - I think back to how I kicked BUTT in December because of my Dynamic December challenge.

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So here is what I am looking to accomplish during #MarvelousMay:

1) #plankaday - This has been life changing for me. I am not one for crunches, especially with my back injury, so this is a great way to get some core work in without sitting and doing a bunch of crunches - I don't want to do - on the floor.

This program was started by Dr. Sherry Pagoto (@drsherrypagoto) and is open to interpretation. For me, I started with doing a 60 second forearm plank every day for a week. The next week I upped it by 5 seconds and did 65 second forearms planks every day for a week. I did 5 second increments until I could hold a forearm plank for 4 minutes - yes! I can hold a plank for 4 minutes. Ahhh, I never thought that was possible.

Once, I hit that goal I switched up my planks. Last week, I did one 2 minute forearm plank and a 1 minute side plank on both sides every day. I like to keep my core guessing each day what I will do. :)

I am going to continue to do my #plankaday every day. I am enjoying the versatility and loving the #plankaday community.

2) #back2basics - I think this is a great challenge and timely for me as I am trying to get back into the swing after flip flopping back and forth in April. I also like this challenge (started by Colleen - @tryn2bfit) because it again leaves the choice of what you focus on up to the individual. I think that is a great way to keep people's attention and driven when they are working on something extremely personal.

For me, I will be focusing on hitting all 6 of the Weight Watchers Healthy Guidelines. Every day of the month I will be sure to have my required amounts of liquids (water), fruits/veggies, vitamins, dairy, healthy oils & exercise. I am pumped.

3) #30daychip - I owe a lot of success to the man that created the #7daychip/#30daychip program: Brad Gansberg (@bradgansberg). He has been a great motivator and has gotten me back on track more times than I can count.

This is yet another great challenge that you set for yourself. I have done a few different #7daychip topics, which you can see here.

The basic premise is to do something healthy for seven consecutive days ... or if you are feeling like you want a real challenge you can go for 30 or 100 days.

For this, #30daychip (which would be my second) I am looking to track my food every day. That means: log it into Weight Watchers eTools, write it up as a food log post on my blog and Facebook/Tweet it out.

4) #100ozchallenge – This is actually the first challenge that I started on my own! I have had at times upwards of 50 people participating. Woo! I feel wicked cool. Okay, that wasn’t cool. Dammit!

Anyway, this is a pretty simple challenge: drink at least 100oz water a day. That’s it. Keep yourself hydrated during the winter months. I just saw on twitter today that “Dehydration can cause ageing & can slow down metabolism as much as 3%” – I am here to not let that happen! Stay hydrated!!

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So today is Day One, I am refocusing and getting back to my Number One Priority: ME!

What will you be doing to make May the best month of 2012 thus far and rock your own #MarvelousMe challenge?

Bye Bye Truth Tuesdays ... Hello Face It Fridays!

Well, the time has come to finally change my weigh-in day! Truth Tuesday treated me well, but it is time to welcome Face It Friday to the game.

Tuesday was a great weigh-in day for me in Chicago. When I started Weight Watchers in November 2009, I was a Monday night weigher-in. Rough! I didn't really like night weigh-ins because I would eat/wear the same thing all day Monday to make it consistent and I had to watch how I was over the weekends.

So when my Monday night meeting closed, I made the switch to Tuesday night since my Monday night crew transferred over there and the Leader Lisa was AWESOME!!

Well unfortunately, I missed most of the meetings on Tuesday nights in 2010 because we would have a ton of games that night if the Cubs were home and if we were on the road - sometimes I was too. So my attendance in 2010 suffered from February-September and it showed on the scale. In 2010, as a whole I only lost 9.8 lbs - that means I did a lot of up and down during that time and a LOT of missed weigh-ins.

So in 2011 after chatting with a friend who had WW at work, I convinced the Cubs to offer the same program to employees. Okay, originally the plan was totally selfish so I could stay on plan, but it ended up benefiting my coworkers as well. :)

The at work meeting also ocurred on Tuesdays, but at 11/11:30am. Yay! That meant I only had to keep the morning consistent and the rest of the day could vary. I also started bringing in my pre-determined "weigh-in" outfit to change in to just before hitting the scale.

So the Tuesday weigh-in continued to be a success. Towards the end of my time in Chicago, I started weighing-in at 8am on Tuesdays. It happened one time when the office was closed thus cancelling our at work meeting for the week so I had to go somewhere else.

From that point on (December 27, 2011), I kept with the 8am weigh-in on Tuesday morning at a WW center then I would attend my regular at work WW meeting at 11:30.

But, as soon as I got to Boston, I realized there was no Tuesday morning meeting close to me or  even a WW store with open hours. So I had to come up with plan B. This was when I originally toyed with the Friday morning weigh-in idea, but I was stuck on Tuesdays.

So, for the past two months, I have been taking the train in to the Boston store, weighing in at 8am, taking the train back home and then attending my normal Tuesday 10am meeting.

I didn't mind it really, but it was getting to be a bit of a pain to commute all that way for what amounts to what a 45 second weigh-in.

Yes, obvious thing would be to loosen the reigns and change my weigh-in time ... but c'mon now - do we think my OCD tendencies could handle that? ;)

Plus, I just really like having my weigh-in in the morning. Get it out of the way and go about my day.

I thankfully know there is a 8am meeting near my house at the WW in Malden, where I can pop in and weigh-in anytime between 7:30 and 8am - right on my normal schedule and only 1 mile from my house. Win-win! :)

This concludes Part One of "Why I am switching to Friday weigh-ins?"

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Part Two of "Why I am switching to Friday weigh-in?" is easy ... I looked at my social calendar - I know, I have one of those now :P - and realized I was using a lot of my weekly points plus values Friday-Sunday. This wasn't boding well because sometimes I would use them during the week thinking I was banking enough for the weekends - only to realize by Saturday night - that I wasn't.

I think I would feel more comfortable going in to the weekend with all 49 weekly points plus values then being able to adjust the week (Monday-Thursday) accordingly. Plus, I am always more diligent during the week.

Also, after seeing the damage from the weekend, I have four days to kick up the activity before the weigh-in.

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As I was chatting with another Weight Watchers Leader in New York, Melanie, on Twitter. She reminded me how we need to mold the plan as our lives changes and what will help us succeed for the long term.

So that is what I am doing. Giving a new game plan a try to see if that helps me maintain the weight loss I have worked so hard for.

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How do you pick your weigh-in day? Has it changed as your journey progresses?

I'm Honored...

I was completely honored when Dr. Sherry Pagoto, creator of my favorite twitter challenge - plankaday, asked me to be part of her "Real Life Biggest Losers" series. Wow!

I still don't see myself as someone deserving of such a cool title, but I was eager to chat with her so I could share my journey with others. Because if I help one person with something I have gone through and shared then I have completed my mission.

She entitled the piece "From Weight Watchers client to employee" and I love it. I really have come so far through this journey ... which will never end.

I am along for the ride and loving it.

So in case you missed the link on Facebook or Twitter, here it is again:

Check it out

Hi Ho Hi Ho It's Off To Fitbloggin I Go...

I am beyond excited to be attending Fitbloggin this year - September 20-23, 2012 in Baltimore!! I know I only started blogging in May, but the community is so inviting, engaging and encouraging that I feel like I have been a part of it for years. For those of you who don't know, I am leaving my current job in Chicago and moving to Boston on January 29. In my current job, I wouldn't have been able to attend Fitbloggin so I am super excited that with the big life change I can attend.

I remember seeing everyone's pictures, tweets and blog posts from last year's event that I knew I wanted to attend. There are so many fit bloggers that I interact with on a daily basis that I would love to meet in person ... and now I have the chance!

I also am looking forward to learning from these people. There are some amazing bloggers out there that I know will make me a better blogger - and person - as well. Big props to Roni who puts this whole conference on.

I'm pretty stoked to be hitching a ride from Boston to Baltimore with Tara and Meegan - two of my favorite twitter friends - and rooming with the only and only Jan - who has been a motivator of mine for awhile.

I am pumped and thank my wife for letting me spend the $$$ to go. :)

Additionally, I am proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and attending an event!! I technically will not have met any of these people in person before and that can be scary. But, the information we have shared together through tweets, blog, Facebook and e-mail, make me more comfortable with them than some people in my everyday life!

Oh ... there is also a 5k where I believe people where some kick ass outfits. I will need to start planning mine now...

Will anyone else be attending Fitbloggin '12? I cannot wait to meet and connect with all of you!