Abu's AWESOME August 2015 - W.I.S.H. Weight Loss Challenge! Any & All Welcome to Join!

[ThistleMae]

QOTD - I ran 3.14 miles last night at the gym! That is my longest distance yet.

Woohoo!

 

[ThistleMae]

This Whoohoo is from yesterday...but I think it counts. I had guests over for lunch. There was homemade fudge, blueberry squares, macaroni salad, quiche, stuffed mushrooms, broccoli salad, homemade pumpkin pie and sandwich wraps. I ate several stuffed mushrooms and that was it! And I didn't have any wine either! I did eyeball that fudge...but stayed strong!

 

[DisPup75]

QOTD - Wednesday, August 12, 2015

What's making you WOOHOO today?

UPS just dropped off a package for me. With shoes in it. Shoes that you are apparently supposed to RUN in!

QOTD - I ran 3.14 miles last night at the gym! That is my longest distance yet.

WOOHOO!

This Whoohoo is from yesterday...but I think it counts. I had guests over for lunch. There was homemade fudge, blueberry squares, macaroni salad, quiche, stuffed mushrooms, broccoli salad, homemade pumpkin pie and sandwich wraps. I ate several stuffed mushrooms and that was it! And I didn't have any wine either! I did eyeball that fudge...but stayed strong!

That's awesome! Great job!!

 

[JacknSally]

I'm loving everybody's WOOHOOS today! I have to admit, I'm not feeling very woohoo. UPS & FedEx are dropping off some things today, so I'm definitely looking forward to my presents waiting for me when I get home! But overall just not very woohoo. Work is just really sucking lately.

Vent session ahead:

I just started this job in October, and while I knew it wasn't going to be a "Forever" job (I sit in a cubicle in the corner and process invoices all day. Every day. Thousands of pieces of paper. All day. Every day.) I didn't expect to be looking for something new less than a year from when I started. But I ended up taking a pay cut coming here (technically, it was $0.75 more per hour, but because I'm not getting any overtime here compared to 15-20 hours of overtime every check at my last job, it's a pretty noticeable loss) and when I told my boss in April that I was going to need to find a 2nd job, she told me that she was going to work to get me a raise, and that I could work as much overtime as I wanted. Technically I wasn't eligible for a raise, because right before I started, the company was bought out by a new company, and the new company's policy was you had to be employed for a full year prior to the first of the year that you'd be getting a raise. So I would've had to work her Jan. 1, 2014 to Dec. 31, 2014 in order to be eligible for a raise in 2015. But she was going to push for me to get one, because I'm a good employee. She promised I'd have one in June. Here I am in August with still no raise. I asked about it once a week in June, but every time I did, it "just wasn't the right time to bring it up" to her boss. I finally gave up because 1) I felt really annoying and 2) I found out it was only a $0.10 increase and that really wasn't worth anyone losing any sleep over it. Hey, I can still work overtime, right? So that's something! Except I did a half a week of overtime and was told I couldn't do it anymore because my boss's boss was really on her case about our hours. UGH. So no raise, no overtime, and no time to look for and hopefully get a 2nd job for it to really make a difference. Plus the people are really rude and I really just hate being here. I can count on both hands the number of times my coworkers have spoken to me since I started in October 2014. I gave up saying good morning when I came in because I either got ignored or grunted at.

Now we've had some personnel changes and they've decided to restructure a few of the departments, because my boss gained two extra departments. We've got an "efficiency expert" monitoring and analyzing us for the next 2 weeks so he can get an idea of what isn't working and what will "make our daily operations more efficient." AKA which employees are and aren't necessary. No one will say it, but that's what it means. So now I'm feeling a lot of pressure to find another job - but I really want it to be a long term job this time. Something I will love, because coming in every week and counting the minutes until Friday is KILLING me. But I really would rather not have to deal with this 2 months out from my wedding, when I've got a billion other things going on.

WHEW. Thanks for letting me get that out there. I've been sitting on it for a while now and it's been eating at me.

Plus, I'm wondering if I made a mistake with my "lenient weekend". I weighed in up 6lbs on Monday, but down 3lbs today, for a net gain of 3lbs since my weekend weigh-in. UGGGHHHH. Here's seriously hoping I didn't just wreck everything!

Focusing on the presents waiting for me when I get home (another pair of Chacos, because the first ones ended up being too big; some clothes that may or may not work out; and my bachelorette party invitations!) and the fact that it's almost Friday and that 2 weeks from today I get to make my FP+ reservations! And that it feels like fall here today!

 

[courtneybeth]

Vent session ahead!

Oh no - I am so sorry to hear that your work is stressing you out. And when you stress you stress eat and/or gain weight - which isn't healthy for mind, body, or soul. For your peace of mind, it may not be a bad idea to throw resumes out there. And new jobs are totally okay with you taking vacation time when you start because you've already had it planned. Especially for a wedding, which is so important. You don't want to be in a similar situation I was in: I was laid off from my job the day I got back from my honeymoon. The company knew they were going to do it but wanted me to enjoy my wedding and honeymoon so they waited until we got back... and spent a ton of money.

 

[courtneybeth]

What's making you WOOHOO today?​

After tonight's class, I only have 1 more week left and the "summer class from hell" is over! And we're going to Disneyland tomorrow for our walking free-for-all, so I think that's really making me happy. Truthfully I am exhausted and stressed and just ready for the month of August to be over!

 

[JacknSally]

Oh no - I am so sorry to hear that your work is stressing you out. And when you stress you stress eat and/or gain weight - which isn't healthy for mind, body, or soul. For your peace of mind, it may not be a bad idea to throw resumes out there. And new jobs are totally okay with you taking vacation time when you start because you've already had it planned. Especially for a wedding, which is so important. You don't want to be in a similar situation I was in: I was laid off from my job the day I got back from my honeymoon. The company knew they were going to do it but wanted me to enjoy my wedding and honeymoon so they waited until we got back... and spent a ton of money.

I'm afraid of something like that happening! Honestly I wish they'd just lay me off now so I dont even have to deal with work between now and the wedding. I hate that I feel like that. What makes it worse is I've been trying to hold out until one of my coworkers gets through her 90 days. I referred her for the position, so if she makes it past 90 days, I get a referral bonus. My boss said its $2,000. That's pretty much the only way we'll be able to take our honeymoon. But since I couldn't even get an extra 10 cents from them, I don't fully believe that I'll get $2,000 from them. She has 39 days left but I just don't know if it's worth sticking it out that long. Of course, I'm not in any position to just up and walk out, either, lol

 

[ThistleMae]

I'm loving everybody's WOOHOOS today! I have to admit, I'm not feeling very woohoo. UPS & FedEx are dropping off some things today, so I'm definitely looking forward to my presents waiting for me when I get home! But overall just not very woohoo. Work is just really sucking lately.

Vent session ahead:

I just started this job in October, and while I knew it wasn't going to be a "Forever" job (I sit in a cubicle in the corner and process invoices all day. Every day. Thousands of pieces of paper. All day. Every day.) I didn't expect to be looking for something new less than a year from when I started. But I ended up taking a pay cut coming here (technically, it was $0.75 more per hour, but because I'm not getting any overtime here compared to 15-20 hours of overtime every check at my last job, it's a pretty noticeable loss) and when I told my boss in April that I was going to need to find a 2nd job, she told me that she was going to work to get me a raise, and that I could work as much overtime as I wanted. Technically I wasn't eligible for a raise, because right before I started, the company was bought out by a new company, and the new company's policy was you had to be employed for a full year prior to the first of the year that you'd be getting a raise. So I would've had to work her Jan. 1, 2014 to Dec. 31, 2014 in order to be eligible for a raise in 2015. But she was going to push for me to get one, because I'm a good employee. She promised I'd have one in June. Here I am in August with still no raise. I asked about it once a week in June, but every time I did, it "just wasn't the right time to bring it up" to her boss. I finally gave up because 1) I felt really annoying and 2) I found out it was only a $0.10 increase and that really wasn't worth anyone losing any sleep over it. Hey, I can still work overtime, right? So that's something! Except I did a half a week of overtime and was told I couldn't do it anymore because my boss's boss was really on her case about our hours. UGH. So no raise, no overtime, and no time to look for and hopefully get a 2nd job for it to really make a difference. Plus the people are really rude and I really just hate being here. I can count on both hands the number of times my coworkers have spoken to me since I started in October 2014. I gave up saying good morning when I came in because I either got ignored or grunted at.

Now we've had some personnel changes and they've decided to restructure a few of the departments, because my boss gained two extra departments. We've got an "efficiency expert" monitoring and analyzing us for the next 2 weeks so he can get an idea of what isn't working and what will "make our daily operations more efficient." AKA which employees are and aren't necessary. No one will say it, but that's what it means. So now I'm feeling a lot of pressure to find another job - but I really want it to be a long term job this time. Something I will love, because coming in every week and counting the minutes until Friday is KILLING me. But I really would rather not have to deal with this 2 months out from my wedding, when I've got a billion other things going on.

WHEW. Thanks for letting me get that out there. I've been sitting on it for a while now and it's been eating at me.

Plus, I'm wondering if I made a mistake with my "lenient weekend". I weighed in up 6lbs on Monday, but down 3lbs today, for a net gain of 3lbs since my weekend weigh-in. UGGGHHHH. Here's seriously hoping I didn't just wreck everything!

Focusing on the presents waiting for me when I get home (another pair of Chacos, because the first ones ended up being too big; some clothes that may or may not work out; and my bachelorette party invitations!) and the fact that it's almost Friday and that 2 weeks from today I get to make my FP+ reservations! And that it feels like fall here today!

So sorry to hear about your struggles! But as you pointed out...FP+ is coming, so that should help a little, I hope. The job thing sucks! I would start looking elsewhere for sure.

 

[ThistleMae]

Had a good workout today! Increased some of my weights. It has only been two weeks and I can already feel the difference. I only joined the gym for one month, to see if I could do the exercises and not be hurting any worse than I am now. I have a lot of lower back and neck pain. So far, so good, I'm going slow....with very small amounts of weights. I'm hoping I can strengthen my muscles so I can reduce my pain. So far I'm okay.

 

[SarahDisney]

If a genie came to you and told you he would grant you THREE wishes, what would they be? Typical genie rules apply! Can't make anyone fall in love, can't bring anyone back from the dead, and no wishing for unlimited wishes!

Okay, I'm not a wishing person, but here's what I'm going with:
1 - I wish for everyone else on this thread's wishes to come true
2 - I wish for my sister to do really well in school and get into grad school
3 - I for Genie to be free (poor guy deserves it)

What's making you WOOHOO today?​

Today was the first day in a few weeks when I got to just sit in front of the TV. Some days I do work in front of the TV, but the past few weeks I've been too busy to even do much of that, so it was nice that today I got a few hours to sit in front of the TV with no work, no interruptions, just a chance to relax.

QOTD - I ran 3.14 miles last night at the gym! That is my longest distance yet.

That is awesome! You're officially past the 5K distance!

This Whoohoo is from yesterday...but I think it counts. I had guests over for lunch. There was homemade fudge, blueberry squares, macaroni salad, quiche, stuffed mushrooms, broccoli salad, homemade pumpkin pie and sandwich wraps. I ate several stuffed mushrooms and that was it! And I didn't have any wine either! I did eyeball that fudge...but stayed strong!

Great job! Homemade fudge is always tempting ... but kudos to you for resisting and sticking with the healthier food!

UPS just dropped off a package for me. With shoes in it. Shoes that you are apparently supposed to RUN in!

Shoes are the best ... and running shoes are the best kind of shoes!!

Vent session ahead:

Sorry to hear about the rough work situation. It's always hard when things are not fun at work and then they get worse. I hope you can find another job soon - hopefully one where you love going in every morning and love your coworkers!

 

[JacknSally]

Thanks for the kind words, gang! Sorry to just unload all of that on y'all. It's been a long few weeks! You're all wonderful teammates, though.

On the bright side, I did get to woohoo today! My Chacos came in and they are perrrrrrrrrfect! Can't wait to wear them in the parks in 73 days! And my bachelorette party invites are addressed and ready to go as soon as I go get stamps. It's going to be a Gatsby themed event - "Paint & Prohibition". We're going to a painting class, and then downtown to a speakeasy themed bar, which I didn't even know we had! But the most exciting part is that we're dressing up in 1920's costumes - give this Halloween-loving theatre major a reason to dress up and I AM THERE! LOL

Hope everyone was able to WOOHOO all night long!

@DisPup75 , how did your new running shoes work out??

@courtneybeth congratulations on just one more week of class!! you're SO CLOSE!!

@ThistleMae woohoo! what weights exercises are you doing?

@SarahDisney I'm excited for you for your relaxing TV night! Haha. I spend too much time in front of the tv, I'll admit. Best decision we ever made, though, was not putting one in the bedroom when we moved. I'm so bad about binge watching things, having one in the bedroom meant I spent all my free time in bed watching TV. Hope you watched something stupid!

 

[SarahDisney]

On the bright side, I did get to woohoo today! My Chacos came in and they are perrrrrrrrrfect! Can't wait to wear them in the parks in 73 days! And my bachelorette party invites are addressed and ready to go as soon as I go get stamps. It's going to be a Gatsby themed event - "Paint & Prohibition". We're going to a painting class, and then downtown to a speakeasy themed bar, which I didn't even know we had! But the most exciting part is that we're dressing up in 1920's costumes - give this Halloween-loving theatre major a reason to dress up and I AM THERE! LOL

Lots of WooHoo for you - yay! And that bachelorette party sounds really cool!

@SarahDisney I'm excited for you for your relaxing TV night! Haha. I spend too much time in front of the tv, I'll admit. Best decision we ever made, though, was not putting one in the bedroom when we moved. I'm so bad about binge watching things, having one in the bedroom meant I spent all my free time in bed watching TV. Hope you watched something stupid!

I'm the only person in my family who doesn't have a TV in their bedroom. My closest TV is a few feet away in a different room on the same floor. It makes it easier to stay away from the TV when I should be sleeping/doing work, but also easy to carry all of my stuff over to the TV room if I want to have the TV on in the background while I'm working. I can't imagine having one in my bedroom ... I'd never sleep or do anything else. Having a computer in here is bad enough!
(And yes, I was watching something very stupid!)

 

[courtneybeth]

A last-minute whoohoo to add on this Wednesday evening (hey, it's 11:14pm in California, it still counts!): My professor gave us a study guide that has all of the questions for the final exam. Now I just have to memorize 225 questions before Wednesday. No pressure right?

 

[stacy~**]

I've been lurking around the WISH boards the last few months and read through this thread last night and I was hoping it was ok if I decided to jump in.

Quick version of my story....a few years ago I adapted a much healthier eating lifestyle and lost about 30 pounds over the course of 1.5 years but this last year I have seen about 10 of those pounds creep back. I really need to get back to where I was!

So my goal for the rest of August would be to lose 3 pounds. That is a pretty challenging goal for me because I don't tend to lose weight quickly but hoping I can pull it off. Here is my plan:

• NO late night snacking (my absolute downfall)
• Go to bed before midnight during the week (should help with above goal and also help with the tired afternoon snacking that can happen when you need that "pick me up")
• At least 60 oz of water a day.
• No desserts. At all

Thanks for letting me join. I am hoping to be active in the thread and support as many others as possible!!

 

[ThistleMae]

I've been lurking around the WISH boards the last few months and read through this thread last night and I was hoping it was ok if I decided to jump in.

Quick version of my story....a few years ago I adapted a much healthier eating lifestyle and lost about 30 pounds over the course of 1.5 years but this last year I have seen about 10 of those pounds creep back. I really need to get back to where I was!

So my goal for the rest of August would be to lose 3 pounds. That is a pretty challenging goal for me because I don't tend to lose weight quickly but hoping I can pull it off. Here is my plan:

• NO late night snacking (my absolute downfall)
• Go to bed before midnight during the week (should help with above goal and also help with the tired afternoon snacking that can happen when you need that "pick me up")
• At least 60 oz of water a day.
• No desserts. At all

Thanks for letting me join. I am hoping to be active in the thread and support as many others as possible!!

Welcome! Glad you joined in! It's nice to have the support when you are struggling...but also to celebrate successes! Everyone in here knows how hard it is to stop the snacking.....just eating for the taste and not necessarily for the hunger. I suffer every night....have to do the self talk. "Just think how good you'll feel tomorrow....resist....resist....resist!" Great goal you've set...very realistic. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[JacknSally]

I've been lurking around the WISH boards the last few months and read through this thread last night and I was hoping it was ok if I decided to jump in.

Quick version of my story....a few years ago I adapted a much healthier eating lifestyle and lost about 30 pounds over the course of 1.5 years but this last year I have seen about 10 of those pounds creep back. I really need to get back to where I was!

So my goal for the rest of August would be to lose 3 pounds. That is a pretty challenging goal for me because I don't tend to lose weight quickly but hoping I can pull it off. Here is my plan:

• NO late night snacking (my absolute downfall)
• Go to bed before midnight during the week (should help with above goal and also help with the tired afternoon snacking that can happen when you need that "pick me up")
• At least 60 oz of water a day.
• No desserts. At all

Thanks for letting me join. I am hoping to be active in the thread and support as many others as possible!!

@stacy~** ! As August host, it's my pleasure to have you along for our ride! I'm thrilled to see a new face and looking forward to having you participate. Feel free to participate in the results update this weekend or wait until next weekend - whichever you prefer. There is still PLENTY of time for you to kick those 3lbs this month. I hope this thread will help!

 

[JacknSally]

Happy Almost Friday, everyone! Can you all believe we're almost halfway through August already?? I feel like this year is just flying by. On the one hand, I'm ok with it, because I love September - December, but on the other hand, SLOWWWW DOWWWWNNN!!! Haha.

Today's QOTD stems from current personal struggles, but I think it can apply to everyone in this group.



Now, I know I took a big step backwards with my "lenient diet" over the weekend. It majorly backfired on me. I put on more weight than I anticipated, and it isn't just melting off like it did in July. On the bright side, I learned that I, personally, really can't cheat on my diet. I've got to really stick to it if I'm going to make any progress. But, the whole reason I took a small break is because I was stuck in a plateau.

The important thing to remember is that, no matter how frustrating that plateau may be, it's a part of the weight loss journey. We just can't lose every day, or every week, or every month - no matter how badly we want to. Our bodies are crazy smart and adaptive, and they become accustomed to routine SO easily. If you exercise on the same day every week, doing the same routine, and eating the same diet day in and day out, there will come a point when your body stops responding to those methods.

Look at where you are in your weight loss, not just for this month, but overall. Have you achieved as much progress as you'd hoped?

I want everyone to really analyze their execution of their plans. I know we all laid out these great plans for August - but are we really sticking to them? I will be the first to admit that, despite all my plans, I have not tracked every day, I haven't gone for a single walk since August 1st, and I haven't touched the weight set in my garage. I have a million excuses why I haven't, but those don't really matter. What matters is that I haven't done it. But even knowing all of that, I get frustrated that the numbers on my scale haven't gone down.

Now, I know a lot of us in this thread have done much better than I have, and I commend each and every one of you for that! But for those of us who are frustrated because the numbers aren't changing or we don't feel any differently, look at your plan, and then look at the execution of your plan. Are you causing your plateau by not doing anything to change it?

In that same breath, if you ARE actively executing your plan, but still find yourself in a plateau, or not seeing the results you'd hoped to see, take a look at your plan and see if there's anything you can change. Have you been walking the same amount at the same speed every time you go out? Are you only focusing on cardio, with no efforts toward strength training? Have you done the same weights routines with the same weights every time? Are you eating the same foods every week because you know you like them and you know they're on your diet, so they've become quick and easy? Did you stop measuring your portions or tracking your food because you already "know" what you're eating?


QOTD, August 13, 2015:
Are you currently, or have you been, stuck in a weight loss plateau? If so, what are you doing/going to do, or what did you do in the past, to break through that plateau?

​

 

[dsnyfn1022]

I did eyeball that fudge...but stayed strong!

Way to go! It can be hard to resist the fudge.

 

[courtneybeth]

QOTD, August 13, 2015:
Are you currently, or have you been, stuck in a weight loss plateau? If so, what are you doing/going to do, or what did you do in the past, to break through that plateau?

Oh no - it's the dreaded "p-word".

It's the one thing that I fear on my journey to a healthier me and frankly I know it's going to creep up on me soon. So I haven't yet experienced it, but I heard that changing the food eaten and changing up exercise patterns will definitely help get me past that point when it comes.

 

[SarahDisney]

I've been lurking around the WISH boards the last few months and read through this thread last night and I was hoping it was ok if I decided to jump in.

Quick version of my story....a few years ago I adapted a much healthier eating lifestyle and lost about 30 pounds over the course of 1.5 years but this last year I have seen about 10 of those pounds creep back. I really need to get back to where I was!

So my goal for the rest of August would be to lose 3 pounds. That is a pretty challenging goal for me because I don't tend to lose weight quickly but hoping I can pull it off. Here is my plan:

• NO late night snacking (my absolute downfall)
• Go to bed before midnight during the week (should help with above goal and also help with the tired afternoon snacking that can happen when you need that "pick me up")
• At least 60 oz of water a day.
• No desserts. At all

Thanks for letting me join. I am hoping to be active in the thread and support as many others as possible!!

Hi Stacy! So nice to see you here!
I like your plan - late night snacks can be rough, as can desserts, so doing whatever you can to avoid them is a great idea!

QOTD, August 13, 2015:
Are you currently, or have you been, stuck in a weight loss plateau? If so, what are you doing/going to do, or what did you do in the past, to break through that plateau?

I hate plateaus. They've been way too common for me lately.
Whenever I reach a plateau, I like to switch it up - try a new diet, change my exercise routine, something like that. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I just have to keep trying until something works.

Happy Thursday, folks!
I ate a little bit too much at & after dinner yesterday, which was pretty disappointing. And then I had a big breakfast this morning. But apparently the big breakfast was worth it, because I haven't really been hungry since, and the only snack I've had was a handful of blueberries. Hey, I'll take any victory I can get! Lunch should be coming up soon - the plan is a veggie burger, which hopefully will fill me up enough to last until afternoon snack. But it definitely looks like I'm back on track so far, which is good.
Plus, I got a run in this morning, #3 of the week, so I'm pretty on track with my exercise too!
How's everyone else's Thursday going?