12 (16?) -Week Challenge (Read: another chance to get really excited at the beginning and not see it through.)

I'm not just being hard on myself (though I'm told I do this far too easily) - it really is the truth!

The last time I tried this, it didn't last long. It was part of a competition, and I even took "before" pics to go along with it.

*Note* These pictures show me at a lower weight than I'm at now.

Then I petered out... Yeah. So. I'm hesitant to try something like this again. The hubs would never rat me out, but it's possible that I do this kind of thing ALL the time: Get all excited about something, take FOREVER to process verbally and in writing, take EVEN longer to come up with the "perfect" plan, and then go REALLY strong... for about 3 days. 

Gotta love the cycle.

However, Kevin and I will be going on a cruise to Alaska in June with my parents, and I would really love to be down in weight by then! This would be a HUGE help.

My friend Jessica, over at http://blondeambition4fitness.blogspot.com/, is doing her own 12-Week Challenge; she inspired a mutual friend, Jackee, to start a 12-Week Challenge, and now they have urged me into joining.

It's hard to know where to start... My routine is barely working as it is... 

Well, what about this:

My 12-Week Challenge could begin March 3rd (which is a Monday, which is when my new "week" begins for my Weight Watchers weigh-in and calculations) and end May 26th...

Or... if I wanted to finish out 3 months, and not just 12 weeks, I could extend it to June 2nd...

Or... if I wanted to extend this to line up with our June vacation, I could end it June 23rd, which is the day before we leave. This would then be 16 weeks...

Hmm.

What would that 16-Week Challenge look like?

1) Tracking my Weight Watchers points everyday (no exceptions!)

2) Using part or all of my Weekly (extra) points, but no more than that

3) Avoiding the list of trigger foods that I created recently (see below), except for per-determined vacations/outings (also see below)

4) Walking on the treadmill 4 times a week for 35 minutes at a time
 

Trigger foods I'm attempting to avoid (because they make me want to eat everything in sight...):

• Bread, pasta, rice, pizza
• Cake, cupcakes, brownies, candy, chocolate, ice cream
  
• Potatoes, tortillas, chips
• Basically junk food

The exceptions to the trigger foods (because I can't be perfect all the time):

• Special occasions
• Vacations

Now, part of me wants to add a few things to this list, like: weight training, specific pounds lost, measurements, etc. But if I could stick to the 4 goals above, that, in and of itself, would be a major accomplishment for me. If I have the energy and motivation to add in weight training, that would be great! At this point, I don't want that to determine my 'success'.

When I add in something like home remodeling, which we are doing right now, that may even increase my activity some! And I have some helpful checkpoints in the future (look for these soon!) that could help motivate and track my progress. 

Ever a work in progress. I'm willing to give this a-go. 

March 3rd, 2014 will be day 1 of this 16-Week Challenge. Hopefully I will remember to update you (thank you for still reading!) with my weekly progress.

Now to avoid the evil little devil on my shoulder telling me to eat like crazy on March 2nd.........


Question: How do you keep motivated? Do you yo-yo like I do? Is it just me?