AND IT'S ON! The Christmas Dress Countdown Challenge...starts...TODAY: My Initial Post with Starting Weight, Goals, and Action Plan...and Why I Went Ahead And Started It On Nine-Eleven.

Okay, so here we go. Fourteen weeks to a smaller sized dress for the holidays.

All challengers should go link up at the challenge blog linky-up post.

STARTING WEIGHT:

184.2

THAT IS A GAIN. NOT HAPPY! THOSE BLASTED POUNDS ARE GONNA DIE!

Um, okay, I just got up and am a tad cranky.



THE DRESS--ie, visual motivator, goal size:

The image on the right is my dress. It's actually a size 14, and yes, it does NOT fit. I have worn various size 14 dresses for a spell now, but this is a designer who sizes small, so I went by the comments I saw from buyers who said go a size UP from what you wear.

I originally planned to get a size 12...but I sized up to 14. It arrived early today and, indeed, does not fit. It's a really smaaaalllll 14. I think I'd need to lose at least 15 pounds, if not more to fit. I hope to lose at least a pound a week, for a total of 14 pounds.

I'll be looking for a red dress in the coming weeks. :) I still have a dream of killer red.

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The Calories:

I'm aiming for a range between 1200 and 1400, ideally sticking to the lower end.

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The Fluid:

I'm aiming for a minimum of 12 glasses of fluids a day, mostly water, then decaf. That strategy began working well for me end of 2010, and I want to continue to maintain it.

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The Exercise:

3x a week minimum, but I will want to aim for 5x a week: 2 strengthening, 3 cardio.

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The Book(s):

I am actually going to work through 2 books that helped me before and 2 new books that I think can help me not just stay on track, but open a wider, better road for my journey. I figured the books that helped and inspired me in the last year of my journey should be able to reinforce and aid me again as I learn new things and work to lose the last 2 dozen or so pounds that will take me to the next phase--maintenance.

Rereading:
The End of Overeating
Switch

Reading New:
Made To Crave
The Power of Self-Coaching


I'm hoping to be 14 pounds or more closer to my goal weight by December 18. I wish all the challengers well. Please, remember: DO NOT QUIT. Work through it. Good or bad, work through it. Post the Sunday (or Saturday, or Friday early) update, link up, support the other challengers as you are able, and DO NOT QUIT. Keep looking at that dress or dress image and imagine yourself fitting into that smaller size. DO NOT GIVE UP! DO NOT DROP OUT!


I almost chose another day to start this challenge. I didn't want to wait too long after the end of Slimmer This Summer. But I kept looking at 9/11. Wow.
Nine-Eleven: fraught with memories, not good ones. Depression. Unbelief. Horror. Grief. Tears. More Tears. More dark thoughts. Fury. Malice. More Grief. It was a bad, bad day, week, weeks, months. I remember being on the couch unwilling to let go of the remote as I toggled through the cable news channels day after day. Someone changed our national day....out of hate. Lives ended. Out of hate.


Well, I changed my mind and decided to start it on 9/11 because we have to remember we are ALIVE and value that life. The ones who died that day were not given the time they should have had with loved ones.


When we abuse our bodies with poor nutrition and sedentary ways, we are, essentially, terrorizing our own bodies, and killing our time bit by bit. It's not sudden. It's gradual. But it's still a form of self-hate and destruction.

Allan, our former Fearless Leader, often talked about fat as a "cancer", this disease we have to fight like it's life or death. Cause it is. I think of it as self-terrorism. And we have to learn to be loving and merciful to ourselves by DOING WHAT IT TAKES to prove that we value our bodies and lives. Our time.
This 9/11, value your life for the sake of those who lost it in the towers, in service protecting it. People have died protecting your life and liberties. Don't waste it overeating. I don't want to do that anymore.

So, that's why I decided to go ahead and start it today.

Treasure this day and all your days. Celebrate your life. I'm gonna celebrate mine by taking care of myself. And be well...