Marching Our Way to a Healthy Lifestyle ~ March 2016 WISH Challenge

[JacknSally]

Since we're talking holidays, thought I'd share these two YouTube videos! The first is an acapella version of Grim Grinning Ghosts. The second is the Hallowishes soundtrack!

 

[donac]

Wildcard Weekend – Friday March 25th:

This weekend we’re celebrating the holidays with Walt Disney World’s Christmas Parade – Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime Parade.

This parade runs regularly during November and December as part of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Starting shortly before Christmas, this parade will run once or twice during the day, replacing the regular 3:00 PM parade.

The parade features Disney characters in their Christmas best, fun and festive holiday music, and lots of special Disney touches!

Since we’re talking about the Christmas parade (and it also happens to be Good Friday), let’s talk holidays:

What is your favorite holiday? If you’re not a big holiday person, is there a day of the year that is extra special to you (birthday, anniversary, kid’s birthday, etc)?
How do you make Disney part of your holiday (and non-holiday) celebrations?​

The last couple of years has been hard on holidays since we have lost my father, my fil, and just recently mil. For many holidays I have been making food and bringing it down to mil's house since she couldn't travel. It has been very resentful since my dh has 3 sisters but none of them cook. WIth the passing of my mil dh has my back and told me that he will not let me cook for everyone for every holiday. So for Easter we are having dinner with my mother and his sisters are going out to brunch (now they do something). But I digress.

I love Christmas. Dh starts pulling things out of the Christmas stash right after Thanksgiving. I may be away for a few hours and can come home and find little things all around the house. We bought an artificial tree a couple of years ago so that we could put it up earlier than a live one and have it up later. Many of my ornaments are from our trips, especially Disney. We have several nice Disney pieces that we put out every year.

Now if you were to ask dh he would probably be torn between Christmas and Halloween. We have several Halloween table runners that I have made and many Haunted Mansion things that get put our for Halloweeen

Have a happy and healthy Easter everyone.

 

[4Mickeys]

What is your favorite holiday? If you’re not a big holiday person, is there a day of the year that is extra special to you (birthday, anniversary, kid’s birthday, etc)?
How do you make Disney part of your holiday (and non-holiday) celebrations?

Such a tough question - I like the relaxed feel of Easter that we do - its a 4 day weekend here in Australia attached to school holidays also. We haven't gone away but its more of a chill out holiday (many people make use of the 4 days to head off camping). Its already Sunday morning here and the Easter Bunny has been and he left so many little eggs all over the floor throughout the house as a trail of where he had been! He even left me some eggs (I must have been good lol). There is a local free festival with music, kids activities and food stalls happening and we are going to visit there with my parents for the first time this year to see what it is like. That will be it for us Easter done - no big meal planning.

We also do Birthdays pretty good at our house - when the Birthday person has gone to bed the night before the rest of us decorate the house with signs, balloons, streamers, banners etc - I started it when the kids were little and they love waking up to their birthday decorations - when they got old enough they started sending me to bed early so they could decorate for me.

If anyone's interested in the food lists as far as WHAT to eat, or what to eat with what, let me know and I'll post them or PM them to you. @dsnyfn1022 she lists a lot of things to eat for breakfast that aren't your typical eggs-pancakes-bacon-sausage type of foods!

I'll have a copy if that's ok - I need all the help I can get.

I am going to vent since my head is about to explode. I HATE holidays as of this minute. My mom is going to drive me mental! She obsesses over the food part which just makes me mad. I don't think a holiday and get together has to have the "perfect" foods and so much of it. I am so happy I am going away for Christmas this year. I love everything about Christmas but the family gatherings. I know it is not a good thing but I would be happy to be anywhere doing anything on hoildays with my DH and 3 kids. I sure hope I can calm down before tomorrow or I am going to flip out if she talks to me one more time about food!

Aaahh families. I hope you make it through Easter and then you can look forward to a relaxed Christmas.

The last couple of years has been hard on holidays since we have lost my father, my fil, and just recently mil. For many holidays I have been making food and bringing it down to mil's house since she couldn't travel. It has been very resentful since my dh has 3 sisters but none of them cook. WIth the passing of my mil dh has my back and told me that he will not let me cook for everyone for every holiday. So for Easter we are having dinner with my mother and his sisters are going out to brunch (now they do something). But I digress.

I love Christmas. Dh starts pulling things out of the Christmas stash right after Thanksgiving. I may be away for a few hours and can come home and find little things all around the house. We bought an artificial tree a couple of years ago so that we could put it up earlier than a live one and have it up later. Many of my ornaments are from our trips, especially Disney. We have several nice Disney pieces that we put out every year.

Now if you were to ask dh he would probably be torn between Christmas and Halloween. We have several Halloween table runners that I have made and many Haunted Mansion things that get put our for Halloweeen

Have a happy and healthy Easter everyone.

Holidays are hard when they are no longer how they have always been and people we love are no longer there .

I struggled with Christmas for a lot of years - I always make it the best I can for the kids and they really wouldn't have known how depressed I actually was feeling on the inside because my little family was not what it was supposed to be. I think this past 2 Christmases I have been better and letting go of things.

Happy Easter everyone

 

[SarahDisney]

Hey guys!
I know I'm really far behind ... yesterday I woke up sleepy and never really recovered, and then I wasn't on the computer today. I'll try to catch up tonight and tomorrow, but we'll see how far I get.
I love that the thread is active ... but sometimes its hard to keep up!

 

[SarahDisney]

1. Drinking soft drink, chocolate so much chocolate, take-out way too often, thinking I am going to do heaps of things over the holidays only to end up sleeping a lot or lay on the couch watching tv/dvds.
2. Limit how much soft drink I buy, make some ready to go meals to have in the freezer over these holidays, try to make some plans with other people so that I am more likely to get up and get going over the holidays.
3. I want to keep being more active especially the morning paddling - although the time of year for me here is starting to interfere with that as the days are getting shorter and it is darker for longer - my paddling buddy and I don't want to be on the water at feeding time lol. I want to keep going and get better at breakfast choices - as well as other meals as well but especially breakfast so I can fuel for the day like @JacknSally has taught us this week.

Great ideas. I think that having ready to go meals in the freezer makes it a lot easier to have healthy food even when you're low on time.
And definitely limit the amount of soft drinks that you buy - I'm very specific about what soft drinks I will drink, and when we stopped buying the stuff I like, that made a huge difference to me. It seems like such a small thing, but it can have an impact.

I think I have a Costco shopping trip coming up this week as the sleepover plans for the kids kicks off next week starting at my house with for my daughter and her friends - no doubt the boys will follow suit - need lots of kid friendly food to get us through the next 2 weeks without breaking the bank - healthy options will also be factored in.

We haven't done a Costco run in forever! I'm sure the inventory is different in different places (especially different countries...), but I've found that the one near me has some good healthy options, and the prices are great.

First, I decided to step on the scale this morning. I haven't weighed myself in 10 days or even more. I was just frustrated with my eating and non exercise while it took me three weeks to get over a simple cold. Well, it seems while I felt that I struggled, I did not really do as badly as I thought as I was down over two pounds since my last scale visit!!!

So, I can report that I am at 85% for the month! And there is still nearly a week to go, so I do have a realistic chance to make it to goal!! Which would be fabulous!

Yay! Awesome progress!!

I also made good use with the holiday so far and went out for a nice run (in the drizzling rain, but such small hurdles don't keep me in!) and more importantly did a nice stretching session afterwards. I incorporated one of the yoga stretches that I learned in my yoga/foam rolling class at work. So, I feel great and energized and it is only 11:30 am!!

It's always nice when you can start off the morning right! Awesome!

What is your favorite holiday? If you’re not a big holiday person, is there a day of the year that is extra special to you (birthday, anniversary, kid’s birthday, etc)?
How do you make Disney part of your holiday (and non-holiday) celebrations?

I'm really not a holiday person at all. There used to be some holidays I liked, but over the years things have happened that kinda dampened them. My favorite day of the year is actually sports-related ... it's the day that pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, which is basically the unofficial start of baseball season. I love baseball (I love other sports too, but baseball is my favorite).
No Disney involved in that one, though. I was actually at Disney on pitchers and catchers day for a race last year, and since the race expo was at Wide World of Sports (where the Atlanta Braves play Spring Training) I was hoping I would see some Braves players, but no luck.

Christmas!! I looooove Christmas. It's my absolute favorite holiday. Last year and this year we did the MVMCP and it was perfect. And we did a tour of different resorts and looked at the Christmas trees and the gingerbread houses. It's just so festive and fun.

Christmas is definitely a popular holiday. I would love to tour the resorts around that time ... I've seen some of the decorations but not everything (I've been in November and January), and Disney really does an amazing job decorating!

Weekly Check-in:

Weight Goal: 194
Actual Weight: 192... 101% of goal!

Step Goal: 125 miles
Actual Miles: 130.53... 104% of goal!

I know the month isn't over yet, but I wanted to hit both goals by the end of this week, before vacation starts, so Woohoo!

WooHoo! Awesome job!!

I feel like I read lots this morning/yesterday about meal planning so I'm planning this morning. I'm trying to space my points out in a more healthy way. And I'm also trying eating "regular" food for breakfast because I just don't love breakfast food. so I'm hoping that eating meatballs for breakfast will feel more satisfying LOL.

Putting aside the fact that you don't like breakfast foods (how is that possible??), I think it's definitely important to find a breakfast that works for you! The whole reason for eating breakfast is to keep you full and energized for the morning, and feeling good is more important than sticking to "breakfast foods"!

Favorite Holiday... hmmm... I usually end up hosting Thanksgiving and/or Christmas so that's a lot of work to get ready and then the family that comes over is my same old family so that's kind of blah and anti-climatic. I've gone to WDW the first week of December twice now and have to say I don't love going at that time of year because it throws the holiday countdown off so much. Plus it is strange on the body to go from cold-dark-hibernation-mode back in to hot-and-sunny. This past December I had a lot of after-hours activities which were in the dark after sunset, so that actually helped. At home I'm not real big on Halloween but I do love to travel to WDW in October, which I've also now done twice, partly for F&W and partly for MNSSHP. Riding BTMRR in the dark in a tutu was one of the funnest/silliest things I've ever done and it still makes me giggle just to think about it. I'll be there in October again this year for a group get-together, and am really glad that they have adjusted the adult costume rules as I do like to wear a little something special, but not go over board.

October at WDW is awesome! And I love that you rode BTMRR in a tutu ... so awesome!

This year is the BIG 60 bday for me, so I should do something special but haven't really thought about it yet.

Yes! Do something special! 60 is a big birthday, and it's the perfect opportunity to celebrate you!

QOTD: Christmas is seriously the best! I'm a pretty good gift giver (some people completely stump me, though!) and always shop head of time so I don't have to deal with the craziness that is last-minute shopping. I don't really even care about birthdays much or anniversaries (unmarried so maybe my thoughts on this will change in the future, but dating anniversaries are not really celebrated much - we can't decide on which date is our anniversary anyway!). I'm not a Disney fanatic so I really don't incorporate it into my life much but since I've been planning this coming trip, I've become determined to know everything I can about WDW and make the best vacation I can for my friend and her boys. It's been both stressful, and a blast!

Being a good gift giver is an awesome skill to have! I'm terrible with gifts, so I'm pretty jealous.
And Disney planning is definitely stressful sometimes, but a lot of fun! Hopefully the planning will make the trip awesome!

It used to be Christmas, but I have found that in my adult years I enjoyed it less and less. I read an article last Christmas that one of the reasons why people have so many fights/disagreements over Christmas is that everyone wants to be a child again, do old patterns of behaviour come out and couples cannot agree on how to celebrate because everyone needs their own family's traditions. That kind of hit me and I tried to go into Christmas not trying to hang onto old things and it turned out a lovely celebration. But that might also have been due to other circumstances.

I think it's definitely hard when people try to cling too much to old traditions on the holidays. It's hard to balance what you loved growing up and what works best for you now.

The holiday I like most from the general idea is one that isn't even celebrated here in Germany: American Thanksgiving. But maybe my view of it is so more positive because it is free from any personal history. I just love the idea of reflecting on what you can be thankful for and that it is so inclusive. Religion or heritage don't matter (not sure though what the Native Americans make of it, though?).

I love this! It's nice to have a time to just reflect on and appreciate what you have, and it's great that there's a holiday intended for just that.

My favorite holiday is Halloween. I love fall and dressing up and it's just a fun day. There's no stress to be anywhere or make sure you see certain people or stay long enough before you rush off to the next house or give the right gifts or anything that goes along with Thanksgiving and Christmas (at least in my family). I love Christmas decorations and some of the things that go along with Christmas, but it isn't my favorite.

I totally get what you're saying about Halloween - it's nice to have a holiday with minimal pressure!
And Christmas decorations are awesome. Even I love Christmas decorations, and I don't celebrate Christmas!

Hey friends..... Here at DS's robotics tournament and DD is in Boston at an interview, so you'll forgive me for being too distracted to do read/replies right now. Just wanted to say hello! I "think" this morning's weigh-in showed a small loss, but i forgot to record it and check for a change (it was very early this morning) so I'll double check when I get home late tonight and report in tomorrow.

Have a great Good Friday! ...........P

I hope the robtics tournament and interview both went well!

Christmas is my favorite but I love them all. Just spending time with family is great. Christmas lasts a week for us. My parents have been divorced since I was a baby and my mom has been remarried since I was little and my dad on and off has been marriedoing so that means lots of family to visit. Then you need to add in my husband family. Each side gets a separate day. My husband and I always takes the two weeks off too. Easter and thanksgiving are harder. My husband comes from a small family and he wants to go to only one house, I am used to several in our example day so we tend to have some arguments around those holidays.

Balancing familes at the holidays is always hard! But it's great that you can see the positive and enjoy spending time with family!

A follow-up from yesterday. I got my workout in but did not complete my steps. I was only lyrics 400 short though. I also ate good and stayed away from snacking. I stayed in my calories and had one treat at night.

Great job sticking with the healthy eating and getting in the workout. Even thought you didn't get in all your steps, you still did a pretty awesome job getting close!

---

Okay, bedtime for Sarah. I'll be back after my run tomorrow for more catching up.

 

[pjlla]

Just a quick pop on to say Happy Easter! Still no time for read/reply as i need to get ready for church. Sorry that i've been unable to do more than just fly-by lately! ..........P

 

[SarahDisney]

• So much of this is psychological. Take your serving of food and put it on a giant plate. Take the same serving and put it on a smaller plate. See how much bigger it looks on the smaller plate? It's the same amount - it's just all in your head.

• Eat throughout the day.

• Keep your foods simple. If there are ingredients on the box that you can't pronounce, it's probably not the best for you.

• It's ok to eat the "bad" foods every once in a while.

• The 51 day thing? The more fast food or highly processed foods you're eating, the longer it takes to leave your body, and the less likely it becomes that it will leave your body completely.

• Harsh cleanses, juice cleanses, salt water cleanses, etc. might make you feel good that day or the next day, but it basically shocks your system. It's not jump-starting anything. If you want to cleanse healthily, incorporate lots more fiber and lots more leafy, green things into your day. Every day.

• Meats like fish take roughly 20 minutes for your body to process. Red meat can take up to 6 hours to process.

• The glycemic index is super important. If you're going to eat something with a high glycemic index (like rice or other heavy carbs), then you want to pair it with something with a low glycemic index (like spinach or kale or something along those lines) to avoid the sugar spike and the subsequent crash. 55 is the magic glycemic index number - foods that are under 55 make you feel fuller longer and makes you "less hungry" through the day.

• The low-glycemic foods are also anti-inflammatory foods, so you might notice that increasing the intake of those foods helps with joint pain or swelling, or especially headaches.

• You shouldn't eat high carb foods after 4pm because of how your body processes them. Not sleeping well at night? It might be because you're eating too many high carbs too late in the day. Also, when you eat high carb foods, make sure to eat them WITH a low carb food to help balance those carbs.

• Green beans have more calcium than milk.

• Spices are your friends. Cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, cloves, rosemary, and thyme are big in antioxidants and are anti-inflammatory.

• You. Need. Good. Fats. Don't be afraid of things like coconut oil, peanut butter, chia seeds, flax seeds, olive oil, walnuts, avocado... you need those fats. You just don't need a ton of them. Roughly 30-35g per day, but keep it to 5g per serving.

• Did you know a banana is really 2 servings? You should only eat half of it at a time because it's so high in carbs. Eat half, set the other aside for 20-30 minutes, then eat the other half. You'll feel fuller longer and you avoid the blood sugar spike.

This is really amazing information - thanks for sharing!
Pretty much all of this is exactly the opposite of what I do (for example, I had a whole banana in my oatmeal today), so it's definitely going to be hard for me to incorporate some of it into my life. But it's good information to have, and I'll have to see what I can do.

Love love love Halloween - but the cutesy parts of Halloween. Wearing fun costumes, the candy, pumpkin carving, and all the other parts. Horror movies are not my thing and I don't like scary Halloween celebrations, like Knott's Scary Farm or Universal Halloween Horror Nights.

I feel like Halloween can be divided into two parts - the horror (which some people love and others really do not) and the cute/fun stuff. It's like two different sides of the same holiday, and sometimes I think it would be more fun if they were separate holidays.

We have done an annual December trip to WDW and we love the Candlelight Processional! We've had Trace Atkins, Edward James Olmos, Isasbella Rosalini, and Daniel Dae Kim read for us and each year it gets better and better. it just puts me into the Christmas spirit for the year and I love that feeling. This will be the first year we go to the Christmas party too!

I've done Disneyland in December, but never WDW. Sounds like you guys really enjoy it, and I think going to MVMCP will be awesome!

Favorite holidays by far are Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Both excellent holidays!

I love this picture - you guys look so happy! (Also, your kids are adorable!)
And imagine how much thinner you will look when you get a chance to recreate this picture - it will be awesome!

This year it's December 9-16 -- but the last two years we have had to go Christmas week because of finals weeks. I love going when we do because it's the lull between Thanksgiving and the Christmas crowd showing up as we bounce. Christmas week is HORRIBLE. Anything after the 16th is death and you want to cry as to how crowded it is. You're literally walking shoulder to shoulder on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Always book the dining package! We go off the schedule from the last year and put 3 days between when we wanted to see the announcers so that as they're announced we can pick the better of the two. This year we're doing Tutto Italia Ristorante for the package, but in the past have done Tokyo Dining, Marakesh, and Coral Reef. All options are delicious with plenty of food. I think the 4:30 time put us perfect for the second show, which allowed us to do some character meet and greets and be back in time to our favorite viewing area for Illuminations with a Croque Glace!

Our Candle days this year are December 12 and December 15. Identical touring schedules planned until we get the announcers. Standard dinners will be at 6:30 with the Candle dinners at 4:30 (which ressies for these open in August).

Awesome expert advice. I hope you get a good choice of narrators!

Favorite Holiday is a tough one for me now. I don't really get excited about them much any more. Maybe Easter because of the meaning and the songs.

I definitely understand not getting excited about holidays. Somehow they seem like so much more fun when you're a kid.

I do love my Disney Christmas ornaments though. I have a bunch and especially a lot of Pooh Bear ones. My Mom has bought me a new one for Christmas each year since I was little and I still get really excited when I get it.

Pooh Christmas ornaments are definitely awesome! (Anything Pooh is pretty awesome)

My favorite holiday is Christmas - I just love the whole season. They can't put Christmas music on the radio too early for me. @Flossbolna - your comment about everyone wanting to keep their childhood traditions is so interesting to me. There is only one small part of our Christmas celebration that bothers me and it's the one tiny piece that is unlike how I celebrated as a child! When I was a child, we used to open presents from our family (brothers, sisters, mom & dad -- basically anything not from Santa) on Christmas Eve. I loved it. It was a quiet evening at home and made those presents more special because they weren't part of Christmas chaos. My husband disagreed and said all presents should be opened on Christmas since they are Christmas presents. Since he had no traditions (he's Jewish), I figured I'd give him that one little concession, but even though we've done it this way for 13 years, it still bothers me!

It definitely sounds like Christmas is a popular holiday with this group!
I have to say, I don't celebrate Christmas, so I don't know if there's a right or wrong time to open presents ... but it seems kinda weird that your husband chose that one tradition. Compromise is definitely important, though ... and maybe you'll get used to it eventually?

Two days ago, on a whim, I changed the measurement page of MFP to "all" instead of "1 month" and I realized that I took a measurement of my waist when I started on my journey to lose weight. I had completely forgotten that I had done that. Now remember, I sill have 60+ pounds to lose before I even reach a healthy BMI, but I realized that, since I started on this, I've lost 9.8 inches in my waist - a 20.4% reduction. I was so excited to see that. I AM making progress! So, while this isn't what healthy looks like, to me this is what represents the long road to healthy for me. Someday soon, I will see the number 34 or maybe 33.75 on this progress page and THAT, to me, means healthy

!

I love this!!
When we still have further to go, sometimes it's hard to remember how much progress we've made over time. But a 20.4% reduction in your waist is amazing, and it's awesome that you got that visual reminder of your progress!!

2 years ago I was 215 pounds. Today I am at 145 and working every day to further tone and condition my body so that I won't get to that point again.

It IS possible. It's a lot of work but YOU ALL CAN DO IT TOO.

(Pic is from last weekend's terrible race in Dallas - in pain but I don't care. Poor shoes RIP.)

View attachment 158245

This is awesome! 2 years ago you probably couldn't have even imagined that picture ... but you've put in so much hard work and made so much progress, and it's amazing to see the results and to see what a difference it has made for you!

Healthy to me is freedom of movement, sustained level of energy, youthfulness, happiness... And being able to wear cute clothing!

We took a group picture at work yesterday, the first pic I've had since losing weight. I definitely look smaller, and the top I was wearing is another one for the recycle bin, as it obviously doesn't fit any longer.

It's always nice when you can see the difference in pictures!

I got my one-derland reward yesterday... Didn't think one syringe of filler was going to be enough but man what a difference. 10years and a perpetually cranky face gone in minutes. I'm currently waiting for my flight, my super early in the morning flight, and the start of one and a half weeks of not weighting and being in a totally different eating environment. I'd like to stay even, but would also be OK with just a couple pounds gain.

Enjoy your trip!

Check in today - lost .5 pounds this week which puts me at 85% to goal. Im happy that I lost anything to be honest. It was a really really bad weekend

Any progress is great progress - especially if it's unexpected!

I'm committed to making this weekend successful! I've planned out breakfasts, lunches, and dinners and snacks and I'm not allowing us to eat out. The only "splurge" meal I have is going to be Easter dinner. I'm going to stay within my weeklies and not go over. I want to end this month at 100% and I can't do that if I spend the majority of the week losing what I'd gained over the weekend!

I love this approach - you can do it!!

My check in: I lost 1.7lbs this week. That puts me at 8.2lbs total and 82% of the goal.

Yay! Awesome progress!

So last night I signed DH & myself up for a 5k in June! It's the Color Buzz 5k... I don't think it's a real 5k like we need to be super concerned about times or anything, and there's no medal, but it looked like a lot of fun and there is a t-shirt so. The photos make it look like it's basically a giant walking rave there's black-light paint and foam and stuff like that. It just sounded fun, and I figured fun would be good for a first 5k.

OMG YAY!!!
I know a few people who have done color races and really love them - hopefully you guys will love it too!

The Harry Potter Running Club's Umbridge run!

http://www.active.com/hogsmeade-ga/...bridge-run-13k-or-until-it-sinks-in-2016?int=

I knowwwww but I don't want a pink medal!

Hogwarts Running Club usually has a few fun-themed events every year, so check their website (http://www.hogwartsrunningclub.org/) to see when they have something new. Plus, all of their events benefit various charities, which is always nice!

Weekly check-in:

I lost 4 lbs this week which puts me at 13 for the month. My goal was 14 this month, so I'm at 93% of my goal. Almost there!

Awesome progress! You can do it!

I am going to vent since my head is about to explode. I HATE holidays as of this minute. My mom is going to drive me mental! She obsesses over the food part which just makes me mad. I don't think a holiday and get together has to have the "perfect" foods and so much of it. I am so happy I am going away for Christmas this year. I love everything about Christmas but the family gatherings. I know it is not a good thing but I would be happy to be anywhere doing anything on hoildays with my DH and 3 kids. I sure hope I can calm down before tomorrow or I am going to flip out if she talks to me one more time about food!

Family can be so difficult sometimes ... just breathe and hope it's over soon!

---

Almost all caught up ... hopefully I can catch up more a little bit later.

 

[tortilla24]

Happy Easter!

Checking in on my weight loss progress. I can't remember what the difference is between this week and last but...

Total weight loss: 4.2/5
Progress: 84%

I've gotta say, I'm pretty stunned! I ate fries 3 times this week (my weakness!!) and only worked out once. Looking back at my instagram account to see what I've been eating, I realized that while I maybe didn't eat the best, my snacking was kept to a minimum. Seriously, I didn't snack!

 

[SarahDisney]

Since we're talking holidays, thought I'd share these two YouTube videos! The first is an acapella version of Grim Grinning Ghosts. The second is the Hallowishes soundtrack!

Awesome way to get us all in the holiday spirit! Thanks for sharing!

The last couple of years has been hard on holidays since we have lost my father, my fil, and just recently mil. For many holidays I have been making food and bringing it down to mil's house since she couldn't travel. It has been very resentful since my dh has 3 sisters but none of them cook. WIth the passing of my mil dh has my back and told me that he will not let me cook for everyone for every holiday. So for Easter we are having dinner with my mother and his sisters are going out to brunch (now they do something). But I digress.

Holidays can definitely be hard when you lose family members. But I'm glad your DH stood up for you and gave you a break on the cooking!

I love Christmas. Dh starts pulling things out of the Christmas stash right after Thanksgiving. I may be away for a few hours and can come home and find little things all around the house. We bought an artificial tree a couple of years ago so that we could put it up earlier than a live one and have it up later. Many of my ornaments are from our trips, especially Disney. We have several nice Disney pieces that we put out every year.

I love the idea of having an artificial tree so that you can have it for longer!
I've seen some great artificial trees that look pretty real - it's pretty amazing!

Such a tough question - I like the relaxed feel of Easter that we do - its a 4 day weekend here in Australia attached to school holidays also. We haven't gone away but its more of a chill out holiday (many people make use of the 4 days to head off camping). Its already Sunday morning here and the Easter Bunny has been and he left so many little eggs all over the floor throughout the house as a trail of where he had been! He even left me some eggs (I must have been good lol). There is a local free festival with music, kids activities and food stalls happening and we are going to visit there with my parents for the first time this year to see what it is like. That will be it for us Easter done - no big meal planning.

Yay for the Easter bunny leaving some good treats! That festival sounds really cool - I hope you enjoyed!

We also do Birthdays pretty good at our house - when the Birthday person has gone to bed the night before the rest of us decorate the house with signs, balloons, streamers, banners etc - I started it when the kids were little and they love waking up to their birthday decorations - when they got old enough they started sending me to bed early so they could decorate for me.

That. Is. Awesome.
Seriously, that sounds amazing!

Just a quick pop on to say Happy Easter! Still no time for read/reply as i need to get ready for church. Sorry that i've been unable to do more than just fly-by lately! ..........P

We understand that you're busy ... but I hope you're having fun and staying healthy!

Happy Easter!

Checking in on my weight loss progress. I can't remember what the difference is between this week and last but...

Total weight loss: 4.2/5
Progress: 84%

I've gotta say, I'm pretty stunned! I ate fries 3 times this week (my weakness!!) and only worked out once. Looking back at my instagram account to see what I've been eating, I realized that while I maybe didn't eat the best, my snacking was kept to a minimum. Seriously, I didn't snack!

Awesome progress! It's definitely hard to stay away from snacks, but it's awesome that you did such a great job!

---

I'm finally all caught up!

Good morning, all! I don't celebrate Easter, so today is just like any other Sunday for me ... mostly. During the week I make myself a daily to-do list & schedule, and I used to not do it on weekends, but I did it for today. Hopefully that will keep me busy and away from the snacks!

I started off my morning with a decent run (although my knee is bothering me again ), then had instant oatmeal and banana for breakfast ... not my best breakfast ever, but not bad, and it's kept me full until now, which is good. Lunch will probably be salad, and I'm still not entirely sure what my snacks will be (I have cheese stick and fruit scheduled, but I'm not in the mood for cheese stick, so we'll see if I want something else instead).
I made my meal plan for the week and it looks okay, but I think I'm going to work on some "alternate ideas" in case I decide one day that I don't want what I have scheduled. Usually when that happens I just ignore the plans and end up with something not so great ... so I'm trying to prevent that.

I'll be back in a little bit with this week's Summing it Up Sunday!

 

[SarahDisney]

Summing It Up Sunday – Sunday, March 27th:

Since this is a Christmas parade, one thing that is featured heavily is gingerbread! Making a gingerbread house is a time-honored tradition in some families, and it’s something that requires a lot of creativity.

Sticking to your healthy lifestyle goals can require a lot of creativity as well. Let’s think about how creativity helped us stay healthy this week.

How did your creativity help you deal with any speedbumps that came up this week? Did you try any creative new meals to help you stop eating the same thing every day? Did you try any new exercises to break out of your fitness rut?
What creative ideas did you have that helped you make this week a success?

Don’t forget – progress updates are due by 5 AM (Disney World time) tomorrow. If you haven’t already posted or sent me your progress update, please get it in by then. Thank you!​

 

[SarahDisney]

How did your creativity help you deal with any speedbumps that came up this week? Did you try any creative new meals to help you stop eating the same thing every day? Did you try any new exercises to break out of your fitness rut?
What creative ideas did you have that helped you make this week a success?

I have to say ... I didn't feel very creative this week. My week involved a lot of sticking to the same things I've always done ... but unfortunately, not always very successfully. It wasn't the best week, and I do think that if I had been a little more creative with my meals and with my exercise options, it could have been a better week.
I am going to try to be more creative this coming week and hopefully end the month on an awesome note!

 

[5xdisneyfans]

As of todays walk I am at 65.2k / 60k making me past pass my goal and the month isn't over. Did a long walk today to help with Easter dinner tonight.

 

[Kiren]

Oh wow. Not only did I fall off the bandwagon, I made sure it was going at light speed before it did! Well I'm out of the running for this month but I would like to start up again in April! Is that okay?

 

[JacknSally]

Oh wow. Not only did I fall off the bandwagon, I made sure it was going at light speed before it did! Well I'm out of the running for this month but I would like to start up again in April! Is that okay?

Totally ok! Come and go as you like no worries!

 

[4Mickeys]

How did your creativity help you deal with any speedbumps that came up this week? Did you try any creative new meals to help you stop eating the same thing every day? Did you try any new exercises to break out of your fitness rut?
What creative ideas did you have that helped you make this week a success?

I with you @SarahDisney - I am all out of creativity - it has been a long month and I am glad it almost done. Hoping for a better April.

Oh wow. Not only did I fall off the bandwagon, I made sure it was going at light speed before it did! Well I'm out of the running for this month but I would like to start up again in April! Is that okay?

Well if you are going to do something you might as well be all in! You are not alone in struggling - I decided it was Easter and I was having a break from worrying about my food. A new start for all of us is only days away

 

[JacknSally]

Went grocery shopping this morning then spent the rest of the day cutting and portioning and prepping. I'm exhausted! Lol

 

[5xdisneyfans]

Anyone else feel sick from Easter dinner? I hardly ate that much. Small portions and counted it all but I think it was what the food was. My body isn't use to it anymore. I also had a coke zero which I have not had a soda this year. Not because I said I wasn't just trying to cut things back or out that have no nutritional value to them. My stomach feels yucky. Just made a herbal tea to see if that helps. In the past I would have ate double what I did and had a little of every dessert.

 

[courtneybeth]

Week 4 Results
Number of days: 5/5
Percentage of Goal: 100%

I'm really glad that this challenge was going on because my knee has been a problem this week, but I've persevered through it over the last few days and made sure to get in at least 30 minutes of exercise each of the days to count.

Thank you for holding me accountable.

 

[courtneybeth]

How did your creativity help you deal with any speedbumps that came up this week? Did you try any creative new meals to help you stop eating the same thing every day? Did you try any new exercises to break out of your fitness rut?
What creative ideas did you have that helped you make this week a success?

I actually did some different maneuvers this week to help with my knee! The trainer did some new things to make sure I wasn't too impacted but also didn't baby the uncomfortable-ness. It was arm day for sure!

This week will be more creative and I'm going to get back to it -- Yoga tomorrow, training Tuesday and Thursday and then the Carlsbad 5000 race for a 1 mile free for all on Saturday and the 5K on Sunday. the logistics for the 20K do not make sense to me, so we'll probably be skipping that challenge.

 

[SarahDisney]

As of todays walk I am at 65.2k / 60k making me past pass my goal and the month isn't over. Did a long walk today to help with Easter dinner tonight.

Awesome job!!

Oh wow. Not only did I fall off the bandwagon, I made sure it was going at light speed before it did! Well I'm out of the running for this month but I would like to start up again in April! Is that okay?

Come back and join us whenever you're ready.
I hope you're healing okay!

I with you @SarahDisney - I am all out of creativity - it has been a long month and I am glad it almost done. Hoping for a better April.

Yeah, sometimes the end of the month is rough. April is only a few days away, but you still have a chance to finish the month strong!

Went grocery shopping this morning then spent the rest of the day cutting and portioning and prepping. I'm exhausted! Lol

Healthy eating can be super exhausting!

Anyone else feel sick from Easter dinner? I hardly ate that much. Small portions and counted it all but I think it was what the food was. My body isn't use to it anymore. I also had a coke zero which I have not had a soda this year. Not because I said I wasn't just trying to cut things back or out that have no nutritional value to them. My stomach feels yucky. Just made a herbal tea to see if that helps. In the past I would have ate double what I did and had a little of every dessert.

I'm sorry to hear that dinner did not agree with you. I hope the tea helps!

Week 4 Results
Number of days: 5/5
Percentage of Goal: 100%

I'm really glad that this challenge was going on because my knee has been a problem this week, but I've persevered through it over the last few days and made sure to get in at least 30 minutes of exercise each of the days to count.

Thank you for holding me accountable.

Awesome job! I'm glad we were able to help you stay on track!

I actually did some different maneuvers this week to help with my knee! The trainer did some new things to make sure I wasn't too impacted but also didn't baby the uncomfortable-ness. It was arm day for sure!

It's always great when trying something new helps you out!

This week will be more creative and I'm going to get back to it -- Yoga tomorrow, training Tuesday and Thursday and then the Carlsbad 5000 race for a 1 mile free for all on Saturday and the 5K on Sunday. the logistics for the 20K do not make sense to me, so we'll probably be skipping that challenge.

1 mile and then 5K definitely sounds a little less intense than the challenge you did in Dallas last week ... I think you'll rock this one!

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Hey guys! Checking in at 843/875 non-running minutes for a percentage of 96.34%!

Nothing else too exciting going on here. I think I'm going to have some non-dairy Ben & Jerry's ice cream soon ... I haven't had ice cream in a while, so I think I'm due for a treat!
I probably won't be checking in again until I post the QOTD tomorrow, so have a great night everyone!