SUMMER SHAPE UP... CONTRACT

So on the Weight Watchers message boards, there are always people doing "challenges". These range from something as simple as drinking six, eight ounce glasses of water a day, every day, to running 5k every day. I haven't really joined any of the challenges on the message boards because I haven't found one yet that really appeals to me.

The other day, someone wrote on the boards that ivillage is starting a challenge called the "Summer Shape Up", and that you sign up on their site and you get weekly emails giving you your "assignments" and by doing the challenge you get entered into contests for some cool prizes. I saw the post last Thursday, and the challenge didn't start until today, so I figured that it was fate that it would be starting soon, and I signed up.

I got my first email for the Summer Shape Up today. There are a couple of prerequisites I have to complete before I can begin the program... I have to get a journal and I have to determine what I want to do for the cardio exercising the program requires. I figured that I'd use this blog as my journal because the potential for having others read it will keep me honest, and I'll continue with running/walking/elliptical machines for my cardio.

The last thing that I have to do for the prerequisites is complete their commitment contract. I'm supposed to do this in my journal. So here goes....

Summer Shape Up Commitment Contract

(I) Make a list of the three things you like most about your body.

1. I really enjoy my legs. Not the very top of my legs, really yet, but the rest of my legs are quite enjoyable. I've begun to embrace my tallness and I realize that I'm really lucky for having long legs. I've got very nicely developed calves. When I point my toes there's a very nice, very noticeable definition in my calves. I'm also lucky because my thighs (except for the very tops) are pretty thin. I've got long, thin, but muscular legs and I love them.

2. I like my chest a lot. I mean, the girls aren't as firm as they could be and there are some stretch marks, but that's what I get for letting myself balloon up like I did. And since I lost weight, they've gotten a little smaller, but they're still a very nice size. :) And it's not just the girls that I like. My actual chest area above the girls is very nice. Alex pointed out the other day that you can tell that I've been working my chest at the gym, that there's definition ("like Sharon Stone," he said). So that rocks.

3. I have to admit that it was kind of hard to come up with a third body part I really like. So I'm taking the easy route and going with my eyes. I mean, I really do love my eyes, but in a discussion about a challenge where I'm supposed to be working to change my body, my eyes are going to remain constant. But whatever. I like the color of my eyes (a grayish blue) and the size and shape of my eyes. Yes, they're very nice.


(II) Make a list of the three things you like least about your body.

1. Hah! An easy one! Ok. I hate my upper arms. Ew. I've been working them and still they are large (and not really in a muscular way) and when I reach up and back (like, to play with my hair) they do this disgusting thing where the flab like folds or something and it looks horrible. I would like to build muscle and tone up my upper arms so that, at least, they don't look disgusting and flabby when I raise them above my head.

2. I also hate my abdomen/hips area. Large. And mushy. And just highly unattractive (ugh, stretch marks). Whenever people tell me that I don't need to lose any more weight I immediately think of that area. I know there's nothing that I can do about the stretch marks (other than to prevent them from happening anymore), but I want to lose that flab and tighten up that area. I'd like to be able to wear string bikini underwear (or, gasp, a bikini) and not have the string disappear into a fold of flab.

3. I severely dislike my upper thighs. They touch when I stand with my feet hip width apart. I have to admit that they don't touch as much as they used to, but they still touch. And I think I look nasty in a swim suit because of it... my hips/thighs sort of roll out of the bottom of the suit and look so very gross.


(III) Make a list of three things that you are denying yourself by not being fitter and having a body you can be happy in.

1. I'm denying myself the confidence to wear a swim suit without feeling the need to put shorts on or wrap a towel around myself. (Can you tell that summer is coming and I've got the whole swim suit issue on the brain right now?)

2. I'm denying myself the ability to pass the physical exam for the State Police. If I get called back, I want to be ready. And right now I'm severely lacking in arm strength, so that needs to be corrected.

3. I'm denying myself the pride in knowing that I'm the best that I can be. God, that sounds cheesy, doesn't it? What I mean is, I've done the weight loss thing before, but it was half-assed in that I stopped before I got to my goal. Now that I'm back to losing weight and I'm incorporating weight training and endurance into my routine, I don't want to let myself stop before I've reached my goals.


(IV) Make a list of three things you could do right now that would make a difference today.

1. Refuse to be seduced by the Pop-Tarts! Just about every day at work, I go on break in the morning and I end up at the Mobil down the street. I can pretty much avoid buying most of the really bad for you things there, but a lot of the time I get seduced by the Pop-Tarts. They're so very good! But they're so very bad points-wise. Two Pop-Tarts are 9 points!

2. Commit to sticking with my points range during the week and not using any flex-points until the weekend. Saving up my flex-points for the weekend just works better for me. So I need to be realistic and stop using those points during the week when I don't really "need" to.

3. Incorporate some sort of activity into every day. I already go to the gym on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, and I usually get to the gym one weekend day and go walking the other, but I'd like to make sure that I do something active every day. So even if it's just a half hour walk during my lunches on Tuesday and Thursdays, I'd like to make sure that happens.


(V) Actual contract "gibberish"...

I, Ali, promise to commit fully to this program by being willing to look honestly at my behavior and feelings, no matter what they are, and to record them accurately in my journal.

I, Ali, promise that before I break any of the promises I've made for this Community Challenge® or shirk any of the assignments, I will sit down and reread this contract in its entirety.

I, Ali, promise not to let toxic influences -- including well-meaning friends -- interfere with my resolve to complete this program.

I, Ali, promise always to keep in mind the reasons I'm doing this program in the first place, especially when I am tempted to stop doing it.

I, Ali, promise to recognize the inevitable negative thinking and doubts that will certainly come up for me during the Community Challenge. But, while recognizing and honoring them as my feelings, I will not empower them by allowing them to stop me. I will remember that feelings are not facts.

I, Ali, promise to keep my commitment to myself and the group, and I will make my word law in the universe. I will not drop out without discussing this with at least one other person. I will not hide from any issues that come up for me, and I will find opportunity in everything that occurs, no matter how much I may feel like giving up. I will succeed!


Ok. That last part was kind of really gay. Oh well. The words were stupid, but the feelings behind it were true. So now it's time to find out what my assignments for this week are...