Biggest Loser 10 Fall Challenge -- for losers and maintainers :)

[Rose&Mike]

Bree--sounds like you had a blast at the concert!

As for me, I am thrilled to report that before I left my office after 7 pm, I packed a lean cuisine panini and an apple. I went to the gym right from work. I did 40 minutes on the elliptical and burned 350 calories. I ate the apple and panini after my workout so that I wouldn't arrive home voracioius. My second WW weigh in is tomorrow. It may not be pretty due to my lack of discipline over the weekend, but at least I've been back on track for 2 full days now and feel like I am in control again.

Great job yesterday!

Jude--I'm staying at BWV. The transportation will be a pain, but at least we're on points. How about you all? Hope the AFPT goes well!

HI all,

You guys are amazing, I love all the support.

I had a great week end, but was very bad in the eating and drinking! We went to Panama City Beach. My DS # 2 came home from San Antonio and some of his friends from FSU met him there. Needless to say we ate and drank too much.

So I am restarting today. So far good food choices and one step class!!

He goes back to Germany saturday so we don't know when we will see him again. We were going to go for Christmas but now he tells me the girlfriend wants to go, so we shall see.

Sounds like a great weekend. Those darn girlfriends! I love it when we are "girlfriend free."

Had a good day today! Did 35 minutes on the elipticle this morning and just finished up an hour of Zumba at the Y. Ate well and now I just need to go to bed without a snack!

Finished W1D2 of C25K yesterday. Will have to see what the weather brings tomorrow to see if it is day 3. I now have my husband and my neighbor doing it with me, though my husband is jumping ahead even though they say not to. I do enjoy working out with someone else. It makes it more tolerable.

That's great that you have someone to run with!

Lindsey--I'll be looking for you new clippie on Friday.

Jen--hope the subbing went well! And if compression socks come in pink, I definitely need to get some!

Taryn--just wanted to say hi! Glad the puppy is doing well and I hope you are doing ok. That poor little boy. Hope he is doing better.

Connie--your run sounds like it was so fun! I love clouds. I keep telling Mike I want to take a class to learn more about clouds!

Yup Im suffering from portion distortion. That is an area I totally need help in. If anyone knows of any good sites to learn about it, I would totally appreciate it. I tried asking my nutritionist once and she wasnt really into showing me. She just showed me the portion for chicken. Weird.

Anyways. These past two days have been hectic. Because so many things keep coming up, I cant stick to my plan of exercise and food. Ive been subsituting my exercise plans with the elliptical. Ive managed to get my salad a day, unfortunately fried food also seems to sneak in there. Im just so overwhelmed by school. I will not let me gain weight again.

Who is standing in your way?

Something we were withholding made us weak, until we found it was ourselves. - Robert Frost

Imagine someone regularly tying small weights around your ankles as you try to climb a mountain. Doesn't sound fair, does it? But that's exactly what you can do to yourself, a little bit at a time, if you don't watch out. When you think of who and what is standing in the way of your dreams, it's easy to forget your own responsibility. Even the best of us can be guilty of unknowingly hurting our own progress. Procrastination, lateness, being disorganized, pessimism, not being honest with yourself, severe self-criticism, downplaying achievements, focusing only on weaknesses while ignoring strengths, keeping goals a secret, demanding perfection, giving up after a small setback--these are all ways you can make it tough to be (and do) your best. Smart systems, the right attitude, and a promise to keep going no matter what will make a world of difference.

QOTD: Who is standing in your way?

Have a great day all!

severe self-criticism, downplaying achievements, focusing only on weaknesses while ignoring strengths
These are the three things I really need to work on. On the other hand, I am now able to list all the things I've accomplished in the past year, and feel proud, so I am making progress.

Life is crazy, and I have finally made the time to sit down, read some posts and post myself! So...I'll start by intriducing myself...

My name is Gayle and I have been married for 27 years to my soul mate, Larry. We have three children, twins Alison & Jennifer (almost 26) and Dan (23). All three are married and Alison has blessed us with 2 grandchildren, Theo(4) and Lylia(5 mos). She and her husband and kids lived with us for the last 18 mos, but have moved out and Dan & his wife, Shannon, now live here. She works in a bakery and is consistently bringing home "goodies" which doesn't help my weight loss efforts.

My goal for this challenge is 15lbs in 15 weeks. I believe this is very doable, I just have to make wiser choices. I lost 20lbs last summer and through the course of the year have gained it all back. I am frustrated with myself for doing that, but I can't let it get to me. I will do it again! I am horrible at exercising, but am slowly making the time. I work 12:30pm-9pm, sit at a computer the whole time, so I have mornings. There's no excuse.

QOTD: Who is standing in your way? ME!!! I have always been my worst enemy and have sabotaged myself all my life. It would be easy for me to say it's my Mother's fault since she always told me I was fat and now I believe it, but that's a cop out. It's my own fault and my future to change. I have 2 years before I turn 50, and my goal is to be 160lbs when I do. Thanks to this group, I am on my way!!!

Thanks for "listening". I look forward to getting to know you all better!

Welcome Gayle. I think 15 pounds in 15 weeks is very doable. I ran with a woman this weekend who was 51, and she was in amazing shape. It was very motivational to me to realize that just because I'm getting older, it doesn't mean I can't take care of myself and be as fit as possible.

Pamela--hope you are feeling better!

Cam--loved hearing abour your furbaby.

I'm in mt own way. I don't take time or make myself a priority. I'm aware and working on it, but it is still an issue.


The job hunt is not going well. I'd hoped to be working full time by now. I had no idea how bad the job market was until I entered it. Stressful and not good for self esteem. Today is my first day subbing for this year. Full day so that's good. I'm waitressing tonight too

Ann--I could not see the tatoo! So what is it?

Vija--welcome. I'm so sorry you had to go through that awful health scare. And I agree--it's all about baby steps.

The fact is, sometimes circumstances make it very, very hard to be successful at losing weight. Sometimes the people in your life make it harder, usually without intending to, though not always. I can't even say that these things can always be overcome, but I do think that in order to lose weight, I had to (and still have to) figure out to navigate these more challenging relationships.

Corinna--I really identified with this. Thanks for sharing.

Bad start to the day. I woke up feeling TERRIBLE! I sent my DS off to school and went back to bed. I slept until 11:30. I ate lunch, but didn't overdo it. Luckily I work from home and can get away with postponing my work and finished up what was pending, but now I'm getting hungry for a snack. Thinking apple and PB or a Luna bar.

I'm hoping that my allergies are my problem. I don't really want to be sick and unable to workout. Today, I probably will not be able to workout. It might set me back. I still feel completely drained even after 3 extra hours of sleep and an allergy pill. Bad omen!

Feel better. Ragweed has been terrible here.

Rose, Ann and anyone else who might be up for a Holiday World meet - that would be fun!! It's such a fun park and so amazingly clean! I'm in!


It's a good day even though we're sick...I got a code from SW for $25 off/flight and it wasn't woring...I used it today, it worked, and the flights were $125 LESS than they were a few days ago when I priced but didn't book! I'm now grateful that code didn't work for a few days. Everything happens for a reason, we just don't always know why at the time right? So now I feel like our October trip is really on. My cousins are coming over from Scotland and we're staying at SSR. We had to shorten our trip because dd's first cheer competition is that Sunday - doesn't it figure? We fly down Monday and home Sunday. I still have to write our note to school, fingers crossed they don't turn us over to the prosecutor!

So glad you found cheaper tickets!
So I assume we are talking next summer for HW. I think we should talk Tony and Katrina into coming.

 

[Rose&Mike]

Long day today. I got up and ran before work--very slowly. I only worked for 5.5 hours, but my brain was in a fog the whole time, so I'm not sure what I accomplished. If Mike makes it home in a reasonable time we are going to $beer night for the playoffs. It will probably be our last game for the year.

I am down another pound today. I'm working on it. It's just hard to convince my brain that eating a little more is ok, but part of the reason I'm feeling so sluggish today could be because I'm not eating enough.

I will probably not check in tomorrow until the evening. I'm going to strength class at 9 and then going into work for a couple of hours.

Have a good evening. Hope everyone sees good numbers in the morning.

 

[Connie96]

When I'm "on," I measure and track and look up info for foods I don't know. When I'm "off" I still know what the portion sizes are, but I try not to think about any of it too much. Knowledge isn't really the cure for that. The only cure for that problem is an attitude adjustment.

OMG. This cracked me up. That is so ME!

Connie – I feel ya! I’ve been in a little mini funk myself as far as the house goes – needs to be cleaned, really cleaned, and organized but I have better things to do (like talk with my policeman friend !) and too little energy so I’ve been slacking and it’s starting to get on my nerves. Vicious cycle! I think we need another one of those “Let’s do this!” competitions – but this time it should be a “get on top of our stuff” competition !

Well, that's not a bad idea. I have a few tasks that I have been putting off WAY too long. I need to clean out the "guest" room which is covered in all of DD's out-grown toys and clothes. I need to clean out DD's closet/dresser/toybox and add those things to the out-grown toys and clothes. I am just dreading all of it. These things will take several days to accomplish and I just don't want to do it!!!

One time, I actually scheduled my entire evening down to 10 minute segments. For instance: 5:50 arrive home, 6:00 make dinner, 6:20 eat dinner, 6:40 change clothes, 6:50 start laundry, 7:00 DD bath, 7:30 run, 8:45 shower & get ready for bed, 9:20 clean kitchen. Okay that's more detail than you needed, but what I learned is that there is literally not enough time in a day to do all the things that NEED doing and there's certainly not enough time for anything "extra" - like cleaning out the back bedroom. And if that is true, that means I have to do that stuff on the weekends and, well, I always find something better to do. (And, yes, taking a nap would definitely qualify!)

Anyway... I think I should ask pjlla to move in with me for a month and create plans to keep my butt on track!! I also keep thinking that there HAS to be an app for my EVO to organize my life, but I haven't found one yet. HEY... maybe I should design one, get filthy rich and hire a housekeeper!

Connie--your run sounds like it was so fun! I love clouds. I keep telling Mike I want to take a class to learn more about clouds!

It WAS a lot of fun, which really surprised me since I didn't really want to do it in the first place. I never talk that much when I run, but I guess I just had a lot to say. The sky was very weird. I kept stopping mid-sentence and pointing. We saw the weirdest little rainbow. There was this great big gray cloud with a small bright part sticking up at the top with maybe a 10-degree chunk of a rainbow "projected" across that part. I know that's a strange way to describe it, but it's the best I can do, considering it was, you know, strange.

 

[brinalyn530]

First I must say - I Jimmy Buffett!!!

DH does P90x and LOVES it. He loves the feel of a hard workout. He absolutely cannot do it all, but Tony Horton says do what you can, just keep pressing play every day. Can you borrow your brothers for a week? I have a friend who has done Insanity and he prefers P90x - more muscle work in P90x, more aerobics in Insanity. Both are pretty long (over an hour) workouts. I have done the Power 90, which is 30 minutes or so 6 times/week. It's a good workout. P90x does scare me, but I tend not to push myself because I'm afraid I'll get hurt (part of the reason I'm on this thread! lol). There's a good thread on the Wish about P90x, do a search on it. I should add dh couldn't raise his arms over his head the first 1 1/2 weeks.

I love JB too! We're already making plans for the concert next year - he's always here around Labor Day, the problem is getting tickets!

Thanks so much for that Jen! My brother and his friends somehow got a hold of a bootlegged copy which I don't really want to have anything to do with, to be honest! I'm really looking for something that is different enough to keep me from getting bored, but hard enough that I can do it for awhile before I feel like I've gotten all I can get out of it. What do you think of the Power 90 - is it a pretty varied workout (different workout each day kind of thing)? I gotta tell you, 30 Day Shred has me bored to tears - I've been through the levels maybe four or five times since I've had it (over a year now) and the thought of doing the exact same workout for ten days is just so tedious to me now. I'll do a search for that p90x thread, thanks again !

Bree

 

[corinnak]

I just finished 3 over the weekend. dd read 1 for school either last year or the year before. I really liked it but it's a little disturbing! I was glad Katniss ended up with Peeta though. How bout you?

Agreed on the disturbing. My 11 year old really is tempted to read them as it seems many of his friends and classmates (and now his mom) have and he feels out of the loop a bit. He's a sensitive soul, though, and I am concerned that they might be too upsetting. I was weeping a bit myself during book 1.

I am also Team Peeta. Gale is fine, but Peeta reminds me so much of my own DH. Very sweet. Very humane. Very devoted. Except for that one part - not his fault!

I got back on track on Tuesday and Wednesday and even went to the gym last night and burned ~350 calories on the elliptical. I did that specifically to earn enough activity points so that I didn't end up in the negative for the week. My journal is pretty ugly, though. LOL! I used all of my daily points every day except one, used my entire weekly points allowance AND all my activity points. I figured things would NOT go well at my weigh in this morning.

OK - the fact that you journaled all of it and knew how many AP you needed to get to stay out of the red is just AMAZING to me. When things go awry, it is soooo easy not to journal it and to just say "I'll start fresh tomorrow - or next week - or next month." The small gain is really not bad at all in the grand scheme.

Neat plan your WW group has to have a communal journal. I hope it's a great journaling week for you!!!

Corinna – You look great too! Seeing all you skinny Minnie racers is very motivating!

Bree - thank you - I am not feeling as slim as I once was, but it's still good to be within the healthy weight range.

I also have to say (Having just been to a Disney race) that there are a lot of very inspiring racers out there who are well outside their healthy weight range. And as many of you know I used to be in that group as well. At the risk of seeming like a broken record, I'm going to post my "before" picture again because it is a new challenge and more than my little WISH clippie, I think this photo of me shows far more clearly where I've been and what I've done since January 2009:

It's the same shirt I was wearing this weekend, BTW. Here's one more Disneyland photo...just for comparing and contrasting. This one is with my good friend Jen - we had a great time running together!

 

[keenercam]

Corinna - You look FABULOUS!! Same amazing HUGE smile I remember but the rest of you is positively tiny! You should be so proud of yourself!! Oh, and I totally forgot that Jen B. was going to be out there. What a fun time the two of you must have had!

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

Corinna, wow do you look good! Very inspiring photo, thanks for posting!

I am reading everyone's posts, but I am so sorry that I can't really reply back to everyone, my right arm is supposed to be used minimally, so you can imagine my keyboarding takes a long time. Oh well, baby steps.

 

[tigger813]

I finally did it! I registered for my first 5K!!!!! DD1 is going to do the 1 mile fun run!!!!! I'm really excited now and really need to stick with the training! I'll try and do several miles on the elliptical tomorrow during the day. I can do 3 miles but not at a super big pace! I do need to get some new sneakers! I think I'll use my Kohl's gift card to buy them! I'll go next week to get them!

I've had a good day eating wise. I made homemade open faced chicken parmesan sandwiches. I had a WW lunch and a small bag of chips totaling 410 calories. For b'fast I had a luna bar. I had a peppermint pattie this afternoon for a snack. I've been drinking my water. I had my one can of soda. Glad I've cut down on my caffeine again. I only did the 2 miles this morning but gave one massage and have one more to go tonight. I may try to do a small workout when I get home from work whether it be a WATP or Bob or maybe I'll do the 30 day shred with weights!

Tomorrow will be cleaning day. I will have the whole house to myself from 8:30-3!!!! I will get in a few workouts! I have to since we're going out to supper tomorrow night and it's a b'day dinner for me from our church friends. I'll probably watch some movies and listen to the podcasts from this week. I wasn't able to get an appt for my hair so I will have to try again next week! I would hold off on my weigh in but I will be eating and drinking too much tomorrow night. MY stomach has felt bloated for 2 days. I haven't weighed myself all week so it will be interesting to see how things are in the morning.

Time to get ready to go back to work. DD2 wants to play some Webkinz now.

QOTD: I hold myself back. DH has been very supportive and i love that he is starting to walk with me at the track. I also feel held back when my mom is here. She is a major stress eater and that gets to me. When they come next month it's only for about 2 weeks so I won't let it get to me and I will be working.

Here's hoping that everyone sees good numbers tomorrow!

Redwalker plans on signing up tomorrow! The new puppy and painting in her house has been keeping her busy! I talked to her earlier today and I said many of you were asking about her! We're meeting Monday for our weekly walk!!!!

 

[lisah0711]

I've been meaning to post...I read an interesting fact the other day, the average person burns 30 calories sitting on the couch watching tv in 30 minutes. Same person stretching for 30 minutes burns 95 calories, and 100 doing light household chores. For what it's worth.

Interesting facts, jenn! I think housework definitely counts as activity time!

Long day today. I got up and ran before work--very slowly. I only worked for 5.5 hours, but my brain was in a fog the whole time, so I'm not sure what I accomplished. If Mike makes it home in a reasonable time we are going to $beer night for the playoffs. It will probably be our last game for the year.

I am down another pound today. I'm working on it. It's just hard to convince my brain that eating a little more is ok, but part of the reason I'm feeling so sluggish today could be because I'm not eating enough.

I will probably not check in tomorrow until the evening. I'm going to strength class at 9 and then going into work for a couple of hours.

Have a good evening. Hope everyone sees good numbers in the morning.

Enjoy your night out, Rose! Can you add a lean little protein for yourself, i.e. yogurt, milk? Maybe that would help you feel better. It's harder to find a balance than people would think.

Well, that's not a bad idea. I have a few tasks that I have been putting off WAY too long. I need to clean out the "guest" room which is covered in all of DD's out-grown toys and clothes. I need to clean out DD's closet/dresser/toybox and add those things to the out-grown toys and clothes. I am just dreading all of it. These things will take several days to accomplish and I just don't want to do it!!!

Can you break some of these tasks down into smaller chunks? I have an attic storeroom to clean out and I just periodically take down a bag of trash or a bag for charity and nip away at it a little at a time. This is pretty much the only thing that works for me with my age-related ADHD running at an all time high now!

I gotta tell you, 30 Day Shred has me bored to tears - I've been through the levels maybe four or five times since I've had it (over a year now) and the thought of doing the exact same workout for ten days is just so tedious to me now. I'll do a search for that p90x thread, thanks again !

ITA, Bree! Doing the same workout over and over is boring, not to mention that your body adapts and it can lose its effectiveness. You definitely want to mix it up.

Corinna, I'm so glad that you shared your pictures. I thought about asking you to post them again but chickened out. You should be so proud of yourself and all your accomplishments!

 

[Connie96]

Can you break some of these tasks down into smaller chunks? I have an attic storeroom to clean out and I just periodically take down a bag of trash or a bag for charity and nip away at it a little at a time. This is pretty much the only thing that works for me with my age-related ADHD running at an all time high now!

My problem is that I want to sort all the clothes in to different sizes and seasons so I can give them to the people who can use them best. So, it's one of those things that is going to take making an even bigger mess in order to clean it up. I would just bag it up and give it to one person for them to sort thru, use what they can and pass on the rest, but then I might accidentally give away something that I wanted to keep.

This reminds me of the QOTD... Who's standing in my way??? Well, lets imagine for a moment that I have many split personalities... It's the CRAZY OCD one that can't start until there is time to finish.

 

[Octoberbride03]

Alright, I am 10 pages behind and for some reason having trouble getting back on the exercise wagon as well as this thread wagon. Don't know what's going on with me

But to get back on the right track I'm going back to page 24 and getting caught up. So stay tuned for the novel that's obviously coming

 

[dvccruiser76]

I'll be interested to see how my weigh in goes tomorrow. I ate really bad last weekend, but did well the rest of the week.

I had the BEST side of veggies today with my lunch. I ordered grilled chicken and the side dish was butternut squash. It was prepared better than I've ever had before. It was cooked in cubes instead of mashed and they put a little brown sugar in the bottom of the baking pan. I know it doesn't sound the best for you, but it was soooo good. I once got mashed butternut squash at Legal's and they made it with craisins and cinnamon in it and that was incredible too.

Can you tell I'm still hungry?????

keenercam - I loved reading your VR thread. Your dream wedding looked awesome. My DH and I have only been together fo 4 years, but hopefully we'll do a renewal some year too. I was originally thinking the Polynesian resort since we honeymooned in Hawaii, but now with the new Disney resort is Oahu, I may have to do it there.

corinnak - Great pictures! You look great and your work has paid off

 

[Octoberbride03]

Originally Posted by lisah0711 View Post
QOTD Sunday: If you were at DL (Disneyland) or WDW (Walt Disney World) right now what would you be doing?

I'd be waiting for wishes or conking out at CSR depending on how much we did during the day. If I'm conked out then it was a great day

Originally Posted by lisah0711 View Post
So the QOTD is do you think tracking food is an important part of weight loss?
* Yes, definitely
* Maybe, it depends on the person
* No, I don't think it's necessary

I'm always on the fence about this. Maybe its because I don't really measure out dinner portions? I measure out breakfast and lunch, but haven't really figured out how to do supper once its cooked

Taryn: You got a puppy I am loving having a dog. I think down the road we'll do some puppy raising, but that is so sweet of your DH. Definite shoe in for dad of the year

Rose: The phone would have driven me nuts too. I have the most basic phone on the planet at this point, and the only way I'll toy with getting a fancier 1 is if we become a cell phone only house. Which we've actually mentioned but not really talked about yet.

Jen: I feel the same way about my program. I'm off track because of a bunch of little things and was stressing about my job. Once I pulled my hip last month it set off a little wave and I can't seem to get the ride finished. My eating is not too bad, I'm a little off but Aunt Flo is visiting so that's not a big deal. But I'm really finding it hard to get back on the exercise routine. Maybe I should write down my plans for working out and check it off like I do with my chores on the laundry room board

Lisa: I KNEW I forgot something. I forgot the WIN portion. Didn't get my measurements done and tallied. I really should because even though i do them, I don't measure at a set interval. Too late to join in for that?

As for the shoes, I've come to the conclusion that the shoes are fine. Its my work schedule that's overworking my hip. There's no rhyme or reason to it anymore because its all "automated" The computer does it all based on how much sales we're projected to do that week. Well that may keep the payroll down but it does nothing for actually getting the work done in the store I've gone from every other weekend off to 1 day every weekend, but next weekend I have all of it off, Can't count on anything anymore. 1 of many reasons i hope to be looking for a new job shortly.

Cam: I will definitely post a pic of Onslow with his new cut. Need to upload them into the computer. He really is a character, and just a loveable little guy.

Cupcaker: Your parties sound like so much fun. I wish i had people down here to party with. I'd get advice from you

Welcome Holly

We have a lot of fun in here and You'll find it a great help.

Julie: Goodness your day seems like my year. It seems like its always something. I just want 1 month of nothing! It all adds up and makes me want to just run for hills. Just gotta believe it'll turn around soon.

OK, I'm stopping here for now, Because I have to get ready for work tomorrow. Will be back tomorrow and if it takes me all weekend to get caught up then so be it.

My new rule is no more community board until I've checked in here first.

Goodnight everybody

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

School stinks right now. They decided a child that was in 1st wasn't ready, and sent him back to K, and gave him to me. Tues. was his first day w/me, and he did NOT adjust. I was against the move to begin with. Anyway, I had to pull him off mom screaming, he wouldn't work or answer, and alternated that with acting out. On the playground, he was getting on higher equipment than we let our kids on saying "I should be in 1st grade, and 1st graders can do this". Then, he cried before lunch "I don't want my friends to see me back in K". My heart broke for him. When the principal asked how the day went, I told her. She CALLED HIS MOTHER to tell her he'd better get his act together. HELLO??? HE is a 5 year old child that's just been demoted. You get YOUR act together. He had a better day yesterday, thankfully. Both the principal and asst. came in to observe him, and me, too.

Taryn, sounds horrible what the poor kid is going through but Im sure with time and having a great teacher like you he will eventually get transitioned. for you getting everything done and feeling good about things. Im fighting the same demons. If I can just have a day where I can get things done but the rest of the world freezes it would be good. I have the constant feeling of falling behind and just not enough time to get it all done. I hope things get easier for you.

My plan for the day is a busy one (don't know how much I will be online today). I have to get the kids off to school, get in a quick run, pick up some groceries, get the laundry changed, I have a substitute teaching job , have to get DS to dance after school, there is Open House at the high school tonight for DD and I am sure I will try to shove more in the day! Plans are on paper for eating so I should be good again today. Have a happy and healthy day everyone!
Jen

Boy do you have a busy day planned. I hope subbing went well for you. Glad you were able to get back into the classroom. I bet once the other teachers meet you they will be requesting you often. You are such an up beat person how can they not.

Just a quick hello. 'm going to have to give up my criminal minds tonight and catch up here instead. I had time for a quick run/walk this morning and did 2 miles and it felt great. I was nervous since i hadn't run in almost 2 weeks, that it would kill me, but I think knowing it was going to be a short run, pumped me up to push harder.

Good job on getting the run in. Short but sweet. Isnt it funny now that 2 or 3 miles seem short to us now

QOTD: I am definitely my biggest obstacle (no pun intended ) Sometimes I can't see the trees for the forest, I get so overwhelmed with how much I need to lose.

I dont know how much you have to loose but I totally agree with you. My goal starting out was 60lbs. Prior to kids I always went up and down but usually the most I had to loose was 15 or 20. I am not just about at 30 and I feel so accomplished but still have so much more to go.

My goal for this challenge is 15lbs in 15 weeks. I believe this is very doable, I just have to make wiser choices. I lost 20lbs last summer and through the course of the year have gained it all back. I am frustrated with myself for doing that, but I can't let it get to me. I will do it again! I am horrible at exercising, but am slowly making the time. I work 12:30pm-9pm, sit at a computer the whole time, so I have mornings. There's no excuse.

Hi Gayle and welcome. 15lbs is very doable. Good luck on your journey and you have come to the right place for motivation. I look forward to get to know more about you too.

I just realized I have a whole new motivation for sticking to this plan to lose weight -- We have decided we are definitely going on the Disney 10-night Mediterranean cruise next summer.

Wow that is some motivation. I will be here to cheer you on. The cruise sounds amazing.

She also famously said to me when I was talking about running the WDW Half in 2009: "But....you don't have a runner's body!!!" Needless to say, I did not invite her along to cheer for me!!

Just a funny story to share about my mom. She has always been my biggest supporter in anything Ive chosen to do. Whether I was good at it or bad she would only give me praise. In 8th grade I decided I wanted to try out for the pop chorus at school. She listened to my songs and allowed me to get up in front of all of my friends and try out. I was horrible.....I mean I cant carry a tune what so ever....realized it a little late. My classmates who I wont call friends made so much fun of me. I was mortified. Luckily my good friends stuck up for me and told them to shut up.
So years later (a few months ago) I tell my mom I want to run a half marathon and ask if she wants to go to cheer me on. A girls trip to disney! Her response was....you will never be able to run that far.

Now why the heck would you tell me I was a great singer...something I clearly was not and then when I want to do something that is obtainable she tells me I cant do it.

So I held back my anger and basically said I will show you....and thats what I am doing. Taking her with me to be there to cheer and to see for her own eyes that I can do it.!!!!

Sorry my story got lengthy but your moms comment reminded me of my mom.



QOTD- I feel like life sometimes gets in the way. I guess ultimately it falls on me to not let it to. Its just sometimes things get so busy and crazy that emotionally I cant worry about 1 more thing. Luckily these days are getting fewer and farther in between. So I feel like I am starting to conquer my issues.

HH part 2- Just realized I never answered this. I buy a huge container of spring water to keep in the fridge. This helps me keep the water intake good at home. At work we have a water cooler. I also use my disney refillable mug to inspire me to keep on drinking.

I did good eating most of the day. I peeked at the scale and I only have .2 to loose to hit the 30lbs. I ate mcdonalds tonight the kids were bugging for happy meals and they had done so well in school this week so I gave in. Instead of coming back home and making myself something I decided just to get a hamburger and a sm fry. I hope it doesnt mess with my scale number tomorrow. I really want the new clippie so bad. It will mark hitting the half way there mark of my overall weight loss goal.

Dh went out with his friend tonight to watch opening night of football. I got the kids to bed and have spent the rest of the night catching up on the thread. At least I did it without interruptions. Good luck to everyone weighing in tomorrow.

Nighty Night!

 

[Connie96]

Lisa: I KNEW I forgot something. I forgot the WIN portion. Didn't get my measurements done and tallied. I really should because even though i do them, I don't measure at a set interval. Too late to join in for that?

I will be posting about our initial WIN! tallies tomorrow at noon. If you can get it to me before then, your numbers will be included. Even if you can't get them in before that, it is still NOT TOO LATE to join us! I will keep adding people no matter when I receive their numbers. It will affect how much time you have or don't have between this and the Sept 24 WIN! report, but you are all still very welcome to join in at any time.

 

[jenanderson]

This is going to be a random and quick post because I am exhausted but have things I need to get down.

Subbing went great and I am so excited to report...I have a FULL DAY sub job for tomorrow at a different school. This means I will not be online chatting with all of you all day!

I am feeling really positive about tomorrow. I have been working so hard with my exercising, following the healthy habits, journaling and not doing any stress eating - this is a huge success for me. I am hoping to give myself back my 45 pound clippie that I had to take away...it will be close.

Thanks to Lisa for getting us started with this new challenge and being our coach this week! It is amazing how much work you do for all of us to organize something that changes lives in such a positive way.

Okay - I am exhausted from a busy day and rambling so I will just finish with a quick reminder...

Healthy Habits Week One Reminders -

Part 1 was to drink water and to exercise. Don't forget to send me a PM with your points for each of them. For anyone who is new...there is no such thing as too few points to report your efforts!!! If you tried it, send it to me and get credit for your hard work.

Part 2 was to post about what you do (or what you plan to do) to be sure you get your 6-8 glasses of water each day. All you have to do to get credit for this part is simply post and write about what you did to drink your water.

You can do just part 1 or just part 2 or do both parts...just do it! Finally, you are welcome to join in the Healthy Habits challenge every week or just do the weeks you want. It is all for fun but might help you establish some great habits that help in your weight loss journey.

Night everyone!
Jen

 

[goldcupmom]

About to crash, but I tallied my walking and with 6.22 miles today, I crossed the 700 mile mark - 702.27!! Which leaves me 47.73 to reach my goal for the year of 750 miles.

Now if only I could get my eating under control and count my points, I would lose weight. Food is the problem....stress is the fuel for the problem.......I MUST SUCCEED!!!!

 

[mikamah]

Okay I charged up my poor neglected bodybugg (I tossed Bob aside about 5 weeks ago when I slipped back into my unhealthy ways). I'm wearing Bob today, journaling what I eat. I also am going to sign up on the monthly exercise goal thread, that really focuses me. Finally - back to my p90 and walking. Vija your "commitment to myself" comment has really struck a chord with me - thanks for posting that!

It's a good day even though we're sick...I got a code from SW for $25 off/flight and it wasn't woring...I used it today, it worked, and the flights were $125 LESS than they were a few days ago when I priced but didn't book! I'm now grateful that code didn't work for a few days. Everything happens for a reason, we just don't always know why at the time right? So now I feel like our October trip is really on. My cousins are coming over from Scotland and we're staying at SSR. We had to shorten our trip because dd's first cheer competition is that Sunday - doesn't it figure? We fly down Monday and home Sunday. I still have to write our note to school, fingers crossed they don't turn us over to the prosecutor!

Awesome, Jen, getting putting BOB back to work for you and journalling again. You are on girl, and are going to rock this challenge. Congrats on your airfare and your trip next month!!! So exciting!!

Add me to the list of the folks who didn't sleep well last night. I feel like zombie woman today. I will go for a little walk before I pick up DS. I should run but my body aches too much from working with my trainer. She kicked my tail! But I asked for it. Let's just say, it was painfully obvious that cross training is really needed.

Hope you're feeling better, Lisa. Those aches and pains from a hard workout do make you feel good though, don't they. Once you can move again.

I am down another pound today. I'm working on it. It's just hard to convince my brain that eating a little more is ok, but part of the reason I'm feeling so sluggish today could be because I'm not eating enough.

I would think that your body would really settle itself out, and the weight would stop coming off when it's where you should be. If you go with the "eat when you're hungry" rule of thumb, and you do that, I can't imagine it will keep coming off. Maybe a few extra 1$ beers would help. Congrats on registering for the princess.

Well, that's not a bad idea. I have a few tasks that I have been putting off WAY too long. I need to clean out the "guest" room which is covered in all of DD's out-grown toys and clothes. I need to clean out DD's closet/dresser/toybox and add those things to the out-grown toys and clothes. I am just dreading all of it. These things will take several days to accomplish and I just don't want to do it!!!

I need to do the same thing. All the clean school clothes are in a laundry basket until I go through all his drawers and closet and clean out. It does take some time though. I hope to get motivated this weekend and get it all done. Maybe we can have a biggest loser weekend cleaning frenzy.

I also have to say (Having just been to a Disney race) that there are a lot of very inspiring racers out there who are well outside their healthy weight range. And as many of you know I used to be in that group as well. At the risk of seeming like a broken record, I'm going to post my "before" picture again because it is a new challenge and more than my little WISH clippie, I think this photo of me shows far more clearly where I've been and what I've done since January 2009:

It's the same shirt I was wearing this weekend, BTW. Here's one more Disneyland photo...just for comparing and contrasting. This one is with my good friend Jen - we had a great time running together!

Corinna- I am always so motivated and inspired by you and love seeint that picture- you look so happy and proud.

I finally did it! I registered for my first 5K!!!!! DD1 is going to do the 1 mile fun run!!!!

Whoo hoo!! Go Tracey!!!

I just got back from Vegas last night, I left the day the challenge started so I'm starting today. I just sent Shannon (Luvbaloo) a PM, so I'll do my WI today and go till next Friday.

Welcome back!! Weren't you in Vegas at the beginning of the last challenge too?

I just realized I have a whole new motivation for sticking to this plan to lose weight -- We have decided we are definitely going on the Disney 10-night Mediterranean cruise next summer. We booked it while we were on board in December but weren't sure we'd actually go through with it, but we decided as a family on Monday night that it's a "go!" I would LOVE to be happy with the pictures we take during our "European Adventure" in less than 10 months.

Whoo hoo!! Congrats on your cruise plans. It sounds heavenly. I'm glad you're doing better today and back on track.

QOTD: Who is standing in your way?

I'm definintely my own worst enemy, though I do find that I have a little more self control on the whole lately than I have in the past.

I feel great, the kids are happy and we feel so much more energized coming home. I have to continue to look at how to make my whole life healthy, trying out new things that I want to do and stay on this path because I like this me and I like this life so much better. Even when it is hard...it is still a better life.
Jen

I love this, Jen. It is so much better when we are on a healthier track, and though we stray off many times, as long as we keep coming back we will be ok.

Thanks for the well wishes for dd! She's home again today, so my plans for walking the trails won't happen. Sorry - don't mean to sound selfish! Not sure if I would have made it anyway, my chest is hurting.

Hope dd is feeling better, and i hope your chest pain is muscular, not anything more serious. Take care of yourself.

My goal for this challenge is 15lbs in 15 weeks. I believe this is very doable, I just have to make wiser choices. I lost 20lbs last summer and through the course of the year have gained it all back. I am frustrated with myself for doing that, but I can't let it get to me. I will do it again! I am horrible at exercising, but am slowly making the time. I work 12:30pm-9pm, sit at a computer the whole time, so I have mornings. There's no excuse.

15 pounds in 15 weeks is doable, and that's my goal too. We just need to stay focused and even though we'll have those difficult days, don't ever give up.

Good morning friends! Sorry I haven't been around the last few days. I was right out straight doing housework and painting over the long weekend. And then I caught DS's cold... and I actually had to WORK the last two days!! Anyhow, I don't have time right now to read what I've missed, but I will try to get back on tonight or tomorrow.

I felt really lousy yesterday and skipped my scheduled run... the thought of pounding the pavement for 5 miles with a splitting headache and sore throats was none too appealing. Trying not to feel too guilty about it, but honestly, my workouts have been really lame lately. Sadly, that will probably effect tomorrow's weigh-in... but I'll try not to lament. I've been plenty busy with other things.... cleaning, painting, etc etc.
P

Sounds like another crazy busy life. Hope you're feeling better today pamela.

I have to tell you about our wonderful “family dog”, Cali. In October 2000 I finally talked my husband into buying a dog because we had been checking the shelters for 2 ½ months and only found pit bull mix dogs and other breeds that were not a good match. I did a lot of research on breeds and then found a breeder of Westies. However, when we saw how stained their faces and feet could get and worried about being able to take good enough care of the puppy, the breeder suggest a Cairn Terrier (very similar but not white), so we started holding the ones he had. The little girl wrapped her paws around Howard’s hand and licked him and nestled into his chest. We were in love. The breeder said this breed is not a single person dog, but very generous in their love and loyal to a family as opposed to likely to attach to only one person, and that they are really good at “reading people”. He was so right. Cali is definitely a family dog, even 10 years later – she is Jenn’s “baby girl” or “princess puppy mutt”. When Andrew was little she’d run after him and tug on his jeans to get him to interact with her, or if he was sitting still, she’d tug on his shoelaces. With me, she acts like I’m the best thing in the world and greets me with so much affection when I get home. Howard plays rough and tumble with her and she’ll act all ferocious as she plays tug of war with him. Right from the beginning we all handled her and interacted with her and she has grown up so attached to all of us. I really hope that you find that Beamer has a relationship with each of you. It is so enriching.

Now it's stories like this one that make me want to get a dog. This and when I see michael with my brothers dog, and how cute they are together playing.

The job hunt is not going well. I'd hoped to be working full time by now. I had no idea how bad the job market was until I entered it. Stressful and not good for self esteem. Today is my first day subbing for this year. Full day so that's good. I'm waitressing tonight too

So sorry its been tough for you. It is so hard.

I am scheduled to take my Army physical fitness test (APFT) on Saturday. It consists of a 2 mile run, 2 minutes times sit ups and 2 minutes timed push ups and...the dreaded weigh in. I'm not worried about the run, pushups or sit ups but the weigh in is more of an issue for me. I've NEVER been able to just "make weight" and always end up having my measurements taken to make sure that my BMI is within Army limits. Just once, I want to make weight!!! I am about 2 pounds away right now and am almost afraid to hope I can make it by Saturday...

Good luck saturday. That doesn't sound like fun. How often do you have the fitness test? Thank you for your service to our country.

mikamah - We are neighbors We live over on Ash street. My DH and I walk in your neighborhood a lot. We head downtown, left on Essex, right on Cherry, right on Maple, left on Central, right on Franklin, straight across Chase street all the way down to Bay View ave, follow that to High, take a left then a right at Purchase and another right onto Ash to get home. It's usually me, my DH and our DS in his stroller. What a small world!

It is a small world. I usually go down ash street during my run/walks. I come out to high st, down gould/by the florist to ash and purchase is one mile, and depending on how long, I'll go to the police station, right on sylan and back to ash for a 3 mile loop, or I go up to mckinnons and cross over pine and come by the Y. I like to stay off the busier streets if I can, though since I've been running since feb I've come a long way in not feeling embarrassed to be seen. Maybe we could meet for a walk some time. My son loves to scooter to the skate park.

Back for another whine!

B]With all the craziness, haven't run since Sun. [/B] Yesterday it was raining, and I took the kids to the gym and we ran for 5 minutes, walked 2, ran 5. They were worn out! I told them I was an old lady in high heeled sandals, if I could do it, so could they. Thinking about taking my old running shoes and incorporating this into my daily plan.

I have so much for class to do, and no time that I can focus on it. It's all due Monday, and we are heading to VT for a game all day Saturday.

Life is spiraling out of control, and I have no grasp. I got up at 4, just to catch up here and on laundry, and have a few minutes alone. Crazy... just crazy.

Taryn

You have so much on your plate. So hard, I'm sure to try and take it one day at a time, and let some of the little things slide. I hope thing calm down soon for you. I'm glad Beamer is doing well. Sounds like a wonderful addition to your family.
I laughed when you said you were jealous of my 2 hours alone, and just so you're not too jealous, it's only 2 morning/week. My sisters kids just started pre school and kindergarten, on in the am , on in the afternoon, so three days a week, she has 15 minutes to herself between dropoff and pickup. She doesn't know what she is going to do with herself. It's tough when they are little, and with you being a teacher, and having the same schedule as them, you get no break. That poor boy in your class. It must be heartbreaking for you to see. Hang in there.

I did it! I successfully completed Week 1 Day 1 of the C25K!!!

Whoo hoo!! way to go!!!

I would like to join as a loser! I don't know how well I can do, but at least I don't want to gain!

Some of you may have read my post about being lucky to be alive, but I truly am. I almost died last week from blood clots in my lungs and arm.

It has given me another lease on life and I am soooo lucky right now. It also makes me realize how much I need to get going on my overall health and finally loose the weight.

I am limited with the exercise I can do right now. I can't use my right arm, and I am only walking a couple of blocks now. Considering I was getting ready to test for black belt, this decrease in exercise has been hard, but I can only do what my body/ lungs feel like doing.

Wishing all of the losers lots of luck and lots of health!

I'm glad you are doing better. What an awful scare for you to go through. Take it slow, Vija, and just do what you can do. It's great to see you back.

[Who are you? You are an active and healthy person! Doesn't it feel great?

Thanks Jen. It does feel great. Amazing.

This was day 4 on track, wrote every bite down, and even though I only had 4 days I used all 35 flex points up. At work several people asked when we were going back to disney, since that's my thing, and I started to share that I am training for the princess and planning to go in february, and it felt great to get that out there, and I really think I am going to be able to do it.

Lindsay- did you say you're registering for the princess soon!!!!!???!!!! How exciting. Have you decided where you will stay yet? My sil will be out next weekend, and I'm hoping we will book then. We'll be at one of the all stars.

Lisa- thank you for coaching this week!! Your questions are always so thought provoking and introspective, and I love the links to the articles.

Welcome and thank you to CC as next weeks coach!!

Good luck to everyone tomorrow when you get on that scale.

 

[ireland_nicole]

oops- things have been so insane with work, I honestly forgot to come and post; so I'm running a bit behind- I did read everything, and promise to stay on track from here on out.

QOTD: I don't think anyone is standing in my way right now, except me and my distractability- life seems to get in the way, but really if I make my health a priority, then the rest will fall in line behind it...

I have been doing the Medifast plan for 2 months and have lost 44 lbs so far; for me this plan works because it takes the thinking out of eating for me. I realized that I really do have an addiction to food; with this plan, I only have to think about one meal per day and that is only protein and veg, so no "comfort food". Sure, I miss it sometimes, but it is so freeing to plan my day, or think about rewards, and not have food come into it. I've also been doing some counseling work, getting to the core of why I eat, not just what I eat. For me, that's a big piece of the puzzle.

Goals: For the fall challenge, my goals are to:
1.drink 64 ozs of water per day (plain water, other stuff extra over that)
2.build up to 1 mile at a time on the elliptical (did I mention I'm a "little" out of shape?)
3.complete a 5k (walk, not run- but it will still be a challenge; I have an autoimmune disease and for a while, just getting to and from the car was as far as I could manage). I still can't believe that I'm starting to jog up the stairs- a few months ago I sometimes had to slide up on my bottom because it hurt so bad)

OK, that's enough of the boring novel- see y'all tomorrow!

 

[Cupcaker]

QOTD: Who is standing in your way?

Why thats me. Its me thinking that other things are priorities, not me. Its me thinking that I will never get below 140. But I think that's changing. Coworkers or family compliment me on my weight loss, but to me its not enough. Im not throwing in the towel, I want to achieve more, be healthier, and active. I want to be an outdoorsy person, a runner, and look cute in outfits. I just have to focus on that and try to not let things like school stop me.

It's on the top of my foot and hurt like crazy... much more than the other 3 I have... but I was soooooooooooooooo worth it.

I heard the top of the foot is one of the hardest places to get tatooed.

This weekend may be interesting as we may be taking a last minute trip to DL if not this weekend maybe next. My brother really wants to go but may decided he'd rather do Six Flags.

I hope you have a good time, and hopefully at DL. Im sure it will be just so tempting to go since you will be so close.

The fact is, sometimes circumstances make it very, very hard to be successful at losing weight. Sometimes the people in your life make it harder, usually without intending to, though not always. I can't even say that these things can always be overcome, but I do think that in order to lose weight, I had to (and still have to) figure out to navigate these more challenging relationships.

So true! It takes so much more will power when people around you, for example, eat fatty not so healthy stuff that you know tastes good.

One last thing - I have to mention that I tried the 1 point WW red velvet cake mini-treat today and it was beyond delicious. And certainly sweet enough that I didn't feel the urge to splurge on another after I finished that one. Delicious!

OMG i looooove red velvet. I am going to have to find me some of those cakes!

Cupcaker: Your parties sound like so much fun. I wish i had people down here to party with. I'd get advice from you

With or without people, I would do the pumpkin carving and gingerbread houses. You should do them too. Its always fun to do some crafts, especially ones that smell good and you can nibble on

So I held back my anger and basically said I will show you....and thats what I am doing. Taking her with me to be there to cheer and to see for her own eyes that I can do it.!!!!

Good for you!

I found a Panera Bread on my way home today...yum. I had their black bean soup, which was yummy. Why did I say it was ok to include the french roll in my order. I ate half of it and sacrificed 90 calories. Well at least I didnt eat all of it Im going to do the elliptical tonight and some hiking tomorrow morning before work. Today I felt more in control of everything. I just need to get my but in high gear to accomplish all the things I need to do. Ive been kind of sad that I havent done any running lately. Since things keep on popping up after work that I have to do and sun down is getting earlier every day, Im going to suck it up and run during lunch. Im just sitting at my desk during lunch anyways eating. At least this will break up my day. Just have to figure out how to look presentable afterwards given there are no shower facilities

Hope everyone has a restful night.

Jeanette