Biggest Loser 9 Spring challenge -- Part 2! HERE WE ARE! :)

[LuvBaloo]

Jumping on to get caught up on the QOTD:

Thursday QOTD: People who are more active just in their daily lives can burn hundreds of more calories than their sedentary counterparts. What can you do to increase your non-exercise activity

I do get a lot of steps in on work days, but there's definitely room for improvement. I need to get more active in the evening and get back to doing stepping more often and sitting on the exercise ball sometimes instead of just sitting on the recliner.

QOTD FRIDAY APRIL 2: With Easter and Passover upon us, what is your favorite holiday treat? This treat can be from any holiday not just Easter and Passover!

At Easter, I really enjoy the Reese's peanut butter eggs! and I'll be enjoying a couple, but it will be in control.

Thanks for coaching last week PrincessBride! And congrats on reaching goal!

Thanks for coaching again this week Tigger!

and unfortunately I gained 0.5lbs this week, but I know why - some bad food moments and not enough exercise. Next week will be better! I will lose some weight this week. In the next 2 weeks, I will get back down to where I was before I went on vacation.

 

[jbm02]

As for me:
I have reached Goal. WAHOO!!!!!!
After weeks (months?) of chipping away at the last few pounds just a few tenths at a time, I had a relatively big loss this week and overshot my goal by almost a pound. I know it's only a little under, but I'm already concerned about maintaining a number that may be just a little too low. Is it weird to be trying to maintain a number a pound higher than I am today? I have to get back to the day job, but I'll be back later to post some before and after pics.

Congratulations!!! What a huge accomplishment!!

As for me, I am down .5 this week. I am not going to beat myself up over it. I know I've been working hard - I just have to wait til it catches up with me on the scale!!

Beautiful day here in upstate NY. I went out for a run at lunchtime and it felt really, really good. I only planned to go 3 miles but it was so nice out I did almost 5.5. It's my first outside run in quite a while. I'm happy.

Have a great night everyone!!!

 

[Nicole786]

Congratulations!!! What a huge accomplishment!!

As for me, I am down .5 this week. I am not going to beat myself up over it. I know I've been working hard - I just have to wait til it catches up with me on the scale!!

Beautiful day here in upstate NY. I went out for a run at lunchtime and it felt really, really good. I only planned to go 3 miles but it was so nice out I did almost 5.5. It's my first outside run in quite a while. I'm happy.

Have a great night everyone!!!

Same with me, but i'm also not beating myself up about it because I splurged at Passover earlier in the week. I'll have to step up my game next week!

 

[tigger813]

Another busy day tomorrow so I'm posting Saturday's QOTD early (also, it just popped in my head so before I forget it)!

Saturday April 3- QOTD: Tell us about your first trip to Disney (WDW or DL or any other Disney parks). How did you find out about the trip, how did you feel at first glance of the castle or park icon, anything you want to share! If you haven't yet experienced Disney when are you hoping to go and what are you hoping to do while there.

My first trip was in June 1997. DH (DBF at the time, then DF) gave me the trip as a gift for our first Valentine's Day together. My parents had just been for the first time and said we should think about going. So DH surprised me on Valentine's Day with a Mickey Mouse Valentine card and inside it said, "Surprise, We're going to DISNEY WORLD!" We got engaged at the end of the next month on Easter Sunday (just hit 13 years of getting engaged). A lot of our friends thought he would've proposed at Disney but he couldn't wait!

That particular year was when the castle was a cake(UGH! Really hated that!) But still it was magical. We loved every minute! Loved eating at Rose and Crown! AK was in the making so I remember seeing the scale models of it! We couldn't wait to go back. (We went 2 years later with our friends.) We remember getting stuck on Horizons. We also got stuck on the sky ride right over Indy Speedway (DH doesn't remember). Test Track was being built! We are coming up on trip number 9 for me and trip number 10 for DH (he took DD1 to Star Wars Weekend last June for her birthday) We also did the Richard Petty driving experience! We are both Nascar fans so it was a great experience for both of us!

DH and I spent almost 3 hours putting together our new grill tonight and didn't even use it! Tomorrow night we are going to grill some swordfish on it! We ended up having the last of the fish tenders I had in the freezer and had a lovely Raspberry White Russian with it! It must be FRIDAY!

Have a good night all!

 

[Nicole786]

Saturday April 3- QOTD: Tell us about your first trip to Disney (WDW or DL or any other Disney parks). How did you find out about the trip, how did you feel at first glance of the castle or park icon, anything you want to share! If you haven't yet experienced Disney when are you hoping to go and what are you hoping to do while there.

My first trip was when I was 4, and I don't remember much about it, except that for the longest time I thought Disney World was in the sky because you had to take a plane to get there. My favorite character was Figment, and I had an autograph book which I referred to as a Notebook with Figment and Mickey!! A lot of my memories come from my home videos which i've always gone back to as I get older. I'm very fortunate that I grew up in the time of technology when Camcorders existed. I can't believe how I complain these days about carrying my pocket sized camera and my dad lugged around this huge camera! This was in 1991!

 

[flipflopmom]

Saturday's QOTD: - tigger! I was there just before you, on my honeymoon, in December 1996. I planned it . I'd never been, and told DH that's where I wanted to go. I HATED that cake. CRIED when I saw it. I'd waited 21 years to see the castle, and it looked like pepto and life savers had been shot onto it. I took lots of pictures from behind! Stayed at Wilderness Lodge - . Was there the week between Christmas and New Year's. We had a wonderful dinner at Artist Point that I will never forget, as well as a very expensive in room dining pizza! Told Mickey I had waited my whole life to meet him! NYE fireworks at Epcot were fantastic! Cried when we got there, cried when we left. Some things never change.

I really, really liked the oral surgeon I met with today. The bad news is that 3 teeth need to be cut out, they are just too brittle to try to pull. He said I would have to take pain meds every 3 hours, set my alarm and wake up to take them, and pretty much be baby sat for 2 days, then it should get better. 2 days of being waited on hand and foot, ice packs on my face, pain, swelling, bruising.... Sounds like a blast! He was very gentle, calm, and reassuring, so that helped. Going to have it done on Thurs, April 22nd... so a few more weeks!

We are going to the NC zoo tomorrow, about a 2 hour trip. Leaving early, so I probably won't check in tomorrow. I got my run in today, and ran 5K in 36 1/2 miles, with a 11:41 pace! Moving closer to my 10 min mile goal! Asked the surgeon how long it would be afterwards before I could run. I can't believe the changes in my attitude and thought processes!

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Thanks for all of the support. Our school district does mainstream most kids who are in special ed. My students are not learning disabled. Most of them have a cognitive disability (aka MR). One has Down Syndrome. Due to a combination of their disability and behavior, mainstreaming does not work for them. Most of my kids cannot attend for more than a minute or two without a redirection. They also do not do well in large groups. We tried sending them to specials with their grade levels at the beginning of the year, and aside from me not having my required break, it was also too difficult for my kids to be in that big of a group.

It is very rare that I am alone with my students. What happened Wednesday was due to them not being able to find a last minute sub. We had a sub for him on Thursday (turns out he has kidney stones, poor thing.) Things weren't as bad on Thursday, and I think I was just in a better place mentally to deal with it. I did have to leave my lucnh break early to rescue the sub because the kids were too wound up. I ended up dumping over half of my lunch, but at least it's helping me on my diet!

I've been working with our social worker and counselor on some strategies for this particular student. We're going to tackle recess and lunch first since that seems to be when his day starts going down hill. We're not going to be able to fix everything at once, so we're going to do a little bit at a time.

 

[LuvBaloo]

Another busy day tomorrow so I'm posting Saturday's QOTD early (also, it just popped in my head so before I forget it)!

Saturday April 3- QOTD: Tell us about your first trip to Disney (WDW or DL or any other Disney parks). How did you find out about the trip, how did you feel at first glance of the castle or park icon, anything you want to share! If you haven't yet experienced Disney when are you hoping to go and what are you hoping to do while there.

Great question!
First Disney trip for me was to DL in 1995 for DL's 40th. DH (Dbf at that time) and I were in college and planned to drive to DL (19hours drive from where we were). Ended up the his dad, and kid sister (5 at that time) and dad's girlfriend decided to join us. So we all drove down together in a 5 seater car, and drove straight there. It was not fun trying to sleep in the car, but it was so great when we arrived early in the morning and checked in and headed to the park. We had put lots of effort into planning it, and knew that the first thing we were going to do was to take the train around the park. We've kept that as our first "ride" for all trips to DL or WDW.
Everything was exciting heading into the park. DH had been as a child, so he was really focused on it being great for me. Dsil was a shy child, so I ended up taking her up to get pictures with all the characters. It was fun feeling like a kid and yet being a grownup.
Loved the "40 years of adventure" theme. Indiana Jones ride was still in construction, and our last day in the park, they were running it for test runs. We ended up waiting in line to try it out. It kept breaking down while we were in line, and they'd announce that it was broken and they weren't sure when it would start up again, but people were welcome to stay in line and wait. Ended up spending over 3hours in line, but it was a great experience to ride a ride before it was open

First trip to WDW was in 1997 for the 25th DH & I drove from BC Canada, making it a great road trip. He was still just a Dbf at the beginning of the trip, but he proposed in ToonTown when we were getting our picture with Mickey Mouse, so my first congratulations hug was from MM

Our first trip with our kids was for DL's 50th, and it was magical to see it through oldest DD's eyes (she was 3).

We like to make first trips in anniversary years for the parks

flipflopmom - make sure you've got some food you can eat available for whey you're ready to eat after the dental surgury. My Sis had all 4 wisdom teeth out at once via surgury, and she was so puffy at first, but healed quickly. She just didn't want to have to chew anything for a few days and lived on popsicles and apple sauce. Have a great trip tomorrow!

Eeyore's B - happy to hear you sounding more positive!

Really enjoying reading everybody's post. Its neat that already 3 of us had our first WDW trip when the castle was the cake. Its truly a Small World

 

[mikamah]

Thank you princessbride for coaching last week, and a huge congratulations on making goal!!! What an awesome feeling you must have.

Welcome Tracey and thanks for coaching this week.

My first disney trip was to wdw in the early 90s with a boyfriend and we did it his way, which was to rush from ride to ride and not enjoy the magic or ambiance. I don't really count that trip.

My first trip with my son was the trip I "got it" and fell in love with the place in dec 2006. We went for his 5th birthday, and he was fearful of most rides- wouldn't get on a horse on the carousel but sat in the carriage, and wouldn't go on small world, but he absolutely beamed from ear to ear whenever he met a character. Our first day there we met chip and dale on the way into MK, and they were teasing him and poking his head, and he loved it. We did his party at Crystal Palace and Tigger brought him his cake, and it was awesome. It was so fun to be there at Christmastime too. We went with my brother, dsil and niece who is the same age as michael, and it was wonderful. We lucked out with record breaking high temps too, never wore a sweatshirt.

Love reading about everyone's trips. It is so fun.

Well, I'm waiting for the specials for end of august-september, so I'll check the codes and rates board once more before bed. We on the dis are an obsessive bunch.

Have a nice weekend, everyone, and if you're celebrating Easter, have a lovely holiday. Hope there's sunshine and warmth wherever you are this weekend.

 

[princessbride6205]

First, a huge thanks to everyone for the cheers. It's awesome having this group to share it with!

As for me, I am down .5 this week. I am not going to beat myself up over it. I know I've been working hard - I just have to wait til it catches up with me on the scale!!

Beautiful day here in upstate NY. I went out for a run at lunchtime and it felt really, really good. I only planned to go 3 miles but it was so nice out I did almost 5.5. It's my first outside run in quite a while. I'm happy.

You're so right about weight sometimes catching up with you on the scale. Sometimes I'll notice the weight loss a week after I expect it.

My first trip was when I was 4, and I don't remember much about it, except that for the longest time I thought Disney World was in the sky because you had to take a plane to get there. My favorite character was Figment, and I had an autograph book which I referred to as a Notebook with Figment and Mickey!! A lot of my memories come from my home videos which i've always gone back to as I get older. I'm very fortunate that I grew up in the time of technology when Camcorders existed. I can't believe how I complain these days about carrying my pocket sized camera and my dad lugged around this huge camera! This was in 1991!

That is adorable! And welcome to our challenge!

Thanks for all of the support. Our school district does mainstream most kids who are in special ed. My students are not learning disabled. Most of them have a cognitive disability (aka MR). One has Down Syndrome. Due to a combination of their disability and behavior, mainstreaming does not work for them. Most of my kids cannot attend for more than a minute or two without a redirection. They also do not do well in large groups. We tried sending them to specials with their grade levels at the beginning of the year, and aside from me not having my required break, it was also too difficult for my kids to be in that big of a group.

It is very rare that I am alone with my students. What happened Wednesday was due to them not being able to find a last minute sub. We had a sub for him on Thursday (turns out he has kidney stones, poor thing.) Things weren't as bad on Thursday, and I think I was just in a better place mentally to deal with it. I did have to leave my lucnh break early to rescue the sub because the kids were too wound up. I ended up dumping over half of my lunch, but at least it's helping me on my diet!

I've been working with our social worker and counselor on some strategies for this particular student. We're going to tackle recess and lunch first since that seems to be when his day starts going down hill. We're not going to be able to fix everything at once, so we're going to do a little bit at a time.

I'm glad you are feeling better about your class, and this student in particular. It's so helpful to feel like you have a plan to make progress.


As promised, here are my before and after pics...
Just a little mini-background first - I had never been overweight as a child or teen, though there were times when I gained more than I should have in my teens. After marriage in 2005, the scale kept creeping up - I was 1 pound under an overweight BMI when I got pregnant with DD in Fall 2006. I didn't give myself a free pass on food and I did keep up with at least light to moderate exercise, but by the 9th month I stopped counting how much weight I'd gained. However, I was thrilled that the weight came off in a few months. Conveniently forgetting that even pre-baby weight was teetering on the edge of overweight. Amazingly, it was after DD turned one that I started gaining. I lost the baby weight but gained toddler weight? Anywho, that leads me to the "before" pic...

This photo is the reason why I started my weight loss journey. Photo was taken Christmas 2008, when I was officially "overweight" by BMI standards.

Seeing this was hard for me - I'd never been a size 0 or anything, but I'd always been relatively fit or at least okay with how I looked. This photo changed all that. It was the biggest I'd ever been (not counting pregnancy) and the first time I hated my appearance. (At this time I also developed pretty bad lower back pain from being so sedentary.) I set out to lose 20-25 pounds and be physically fit again. I started exercising 4-6x a week February 2009, started counting calories and joined the DIS Biggest Loser in May 2009.

And here is me a few weeks ago at the Princess Half Marathon:

 

[mikamah]

I'm sure that the torte will be terrific! And I'm glad that you have something you can all laugh about! Take the time to share some stories about your Mom... make sure the kids are involved too. I'm sure you will be missing your Mom this Easter, but she will definitely be there in your hearts!

(BTW, we always laugh about how my MIL always makes too many baked potatoes... doesn't sound funny here, but has become an ongoing family joke. I'm sure we will laugh about it when she is gone too!).................P

Thanks pamela. I know she will be there with us. The funny family jokes don't always sound so funny when retelling them, but they are what makes us all a family. My siblings and I often will quote our mom when we're talking to each other, the funny things she said, many of which were irritating at the time, but we'd give so much for to hear her say them again. It's so funny, there's five of us, and when we look back, she affected all of us in such a deep and loving way. Have a wonderful Easter, and i hope you have lots of potatoes.

 

[tigger813]

Saturday's QOTD: - tigger! I was there just before you, on my honeymoon, in December 1996. I planned it . I'd never been, and told DH that's where I wanted to go. I HATED that cake. CRIED when I saw it. I'd waited 21 years to see the castle, and it looked like pepto and life savers had been shot onto it. I took lots of pictures from behind! Stayed at Wilderness Lodge - . Was there the week between Christmas and New Year's. We had a wonderful dinner at Artist Point that I will never forget, as well as a very expensive in room dining pizza! Told Mickey I had waited my whole life to meet him! NYE fireworks at Epcot were fantastic! Cried when we got there, cried when we left. Some things never change.

I really, really liked the oral surgeon I met with today. The bad news is that 3 teeth need to be cut out, they are just too brittle to try to pull. He said I would have to take pain meds every 3 hours, set my alarm and wake up to take them, and pretty much be baby sat for 2 days, then it should get better. 2 days of being waited on hand and foot, ice packs on my face, pain, swelling, bruising.... Sounds like a blast! He was very gentle, calm, and reassuring, so that helped. Going to have it done on Thurs, April 22nd... so a few more weeks!

We are going to the NC zoo tomorrow, about a 2 hour trip. Leaving early, so I probably won't check in tomorrow. I got my run in today, and ran 5K in 36 1/2 miles, with a 11:41 pace! Moving closer to my 10 min mile goal! Asked the surgeon how long it would be afterwards before I could run. I can't believe the changes in my attitude and thought processes!

We actually didn't go to Disney until the end of June that year as I was a teaching assistant at the time.

LOVE the NC Zoo! My parents and sister and her family live in NC so we have taken day trips there. Lat time I was there it wasn't completely open as it was off season. Took DD1 when she was about 2 when visiting my sister! I hope to go there again!

DD2 isn't feeling well this morning. She's stuffy and coughing! Quite whiny as well (lucky me). Her only plans for the day are to get her soccer photo taken with her team and her solo shot so I hope she can smile for that. Going to give her a nice bath after DH gets out of the shower. May put some eucalyptus in the water to help with her sinuses. Glad I brought some home from work!

Plan on working out later. Going to use our new grill to make swordfish. Think I'll marinate it now with teriyaki sauce. Having chicken yellow curry on cornbread stuffing for lunch. I prefer my bigger meal earlier in the day if possible. DD1 has her soccer photos at 1:30 and then we have to go to church at 2:30 for jr choir rehearsal.

Gotta run, DD2 is really whining now! UGH!

 

[pjlla]

Well went to ww this morning and had a gain of 0.2. I'm okay with it, to me that's basically maintaining for the week. I made a lot of changes to my diet this week. I cut out artificial sweeteners and increased my milks. I stayed within my points but used all my extra 35 plus my workout points. I know for me to lose I have to use only half the 35 and no workout points. Next week will be better.

I agree that .2 is the same as a maintain. That .2 could be the difference in what you are wearing or the difference between a full or empty bladder!

Good job working on cutting out the chemicals and increasing the calcium and D. Your bones will appreciate it later!

I had a gain of .4 this week. My scale went up .4 last Sunday and hasn't budged since. I haven't been eating well this week. I am proud to say I've still tracked all my foods, but we ate out quite a bit this week and some foods at restuarants (like the bistro down the street with the arugula, goat cheese, truffle oil pizza) are really hard to calucuate. At least I only ate two slices. The funny thing is, even though I ate over my allotted calories every day, my calorie range is set for losing two pounds a week. I ate over by about 3500 over for the week, so that should have set me up for losing a pound, not gaining a 1/2 pound. I may have miscalculated the calories or the restuarant foods may have saturated me with salt. I've been BAD about drinking my water this week. Coffee, I've had that in abundance. Water, not so much.

The part I'm most bummed about? I lost my 30 pound clippie. I'm at 218.2 and I need to be at 218 to have that clippie. I made my own personal deal with myself that even if I weigh in every day (which I have been), my Friday morning weigh in would be my official weigh in day. That gives me less angst when the scale bounces a little during the week or doesn't budge at all. And I also decided that my clippies would go along with the Friday morning weigh ins.

I really want to keep dropping weight before our trip to Monterey in July. If it weren't for that, I almost would think that it might be a good time to adjust and just maintain for a month while I get used to having dropped the weight I have so far. But I miss that good feeling of having the excitement of a Friday morning loss.

I agree that it is so hard to estimate restaurant calories. I have tested myself a few times by trying to estimate the points/calories of specific foods before looking them up and I usually underestimate. If you ate out several times, it would be easy to have underestimated your calories by several hundred. Keep on track and you will have your clippie back in no time!

I have a major nasty cold, head and chest. Thanks to dd for sharing. I just got out of bed today and am going to fold clothes, walk around the block, make dinner and get back in bed. At least I was scheduled off work today.

Feel better soon!........

Another busy day tomorrow so I'm posting Saturday's QOTD early (also, it just popped in my head so before I forget it)!

Saturday April 3- QOTD: Tell us about your first trip to Disney (WDW or DL or any other Disney parks). How did you find out about the trip, how did you feel at first glance of the castle or park icon, anything you want to share! If you haven't yet experienced Disney when are you hoping to go and what are you hoping to do while there.

My first trip was in June 1997. DH (DBF at the time, then DF) gave me the trip as a gift for our first Valentine's Day together. My parents had just been for the first time and said we should think about going. So DH surprised me on Valentine's Day with a Mickey Mouse Valentine card and inside it said, "Surprise, We're going to DISNEY WORLD!" We got engaged at the end of the next month on Easter Sunday (just hit 13 years of getting engaged). A lot of our friends thought he would've proposed at Disney but he couldn't wait!

That particular year was when the castle was a cake(UGH! Really hated that!) But still it was magical. We loved every minute! Loved eating at Rose and Crown! AK was in the making so I remember seeing the scale models of it! We couldn't wait to go back. (We went 2 years later with our friends.) We remember getting stuck on Horizons. We also got stuck on the sky ride right over Indy Speedway (DH doesn't remember). Test Track was being built! We are coming up on trip number 9 for me and trip number 10 for DH (he took DD1 to Star Wars Weekend last June for her birthday) We also did the Richard Petty driving experience! We are both Nascar fans so it was a great experience for both of us!

DH and I spent almost 3 hours putting together our new grill tonight and didn't even use it! Tomorrow night we are going to grill some swordfish on it! We ended up having the last of the fish tenders I had in the freezer and had a lovely Raspberry White Russian with it! It must be FRIDAY!

Have a good night all!

Great QOTD! We all love talking about Disney, so this is perfect. And it is nice to not concentrate on the eating/exercise for a bit!

My first trip to WDW was in 1974 when I was 10 years old. I went with my brother, my parents, and my grandparent (the only ones who had been previously). It was the first week of December. I remember being so excited the night before that I couldn't sleep all night.... I lay awake watching the minutes tick by on my green Disney alarm clock.

As a set up, I will tell you that our family NEVER did big things like this. For us, driving an hour was a HUGE DEAL. Our once-a-year family vacations were never more than a 2 hour drive away. So to be FLYING on a plane to another STATE was ENORMOUS! We had also never stayed in a hotel before (my brother and I), so that was an adventure!

The only park open at that time was Magic Kingdom. I know that we spent at least one night at the Contemporary... probably two nights, because we also spent a day at Sea World.

The memories that really stick out are riding the Monorail, how SHORT Mickey Mouse was, and the fact that there wasn't any attraction inside Cinderella Castle (that was probably my biggest disappointment). I couldn't believe that there was this HUGE, BEAUTIFUL castle... with nothing inside it. (I didn't even KNOW that there was a restaurant in there until I went with my kids in 2002!!)

I also remember riding the Skyway (and seeing the nearly finished Space Mountain which was scheduled to open the next month) and being TERRIFIED in the stretching room of the Haunted Mansion when it went dark and I lost track of my Mom!

I am SO fortunate that my parents actually brought along a MOVIE CAMERA!! So I have movies of that first trip (which my Mom had transferred to VHS in about 1990). They are not terrific and they are silent movies, but they are cherished. Especially because my parents were stingy about taking photographs, probably because of the cost. I have a handful of pictures from that trip and for the most part they aren't very good!

Because my grandparents had been to WDW on a few previous trips to FL, my brother and I had extra ride tickets to use on that trip! That was super exciting. I remember my grandparents have a bunch of partially used ticket books in their junk drawer for years! I'm sure they got thrown away at some point in time.... what I wouldn't give to have them now!!!!

I didn't get to go back to WDW again until 1983 (with my brother and parents... we went to the newly opened EPCOT Center for one very rainy day... not sure if we even went to MK that trip). And then another almost 10years went by before I returned to WDW in 1992 for my honeymoon. At that time MGM was the "new" park and we had 5 days to explore the 3 parks.

And then, sticking with the "10 years between visits" schedule, we took our kids in 2002 for the first time (mostly because DH had some free airline tickets to use up, so we planned it kind of last minute). Since then we have returned WDW twice again as a family and have visited DL once. I'd love to go once a year, but there are just too many other places to spend/save our money.

Thanks for asking this question! I LOVED reading everyone's responses and I LOVED sharing my story!!

As promised, here are my before and after pics...
Just a little mini-background first - I had never been overweight as a child or teen, though there were times when I gained more than I should have in my teens. After marriage in 2005, the scale kept creeping up - I was 1 pound under an overweight BMI when I got pregnant with DD in Fall 2006. I didn't give myself a free pass on food and I did keep up with at least light to moderate exercise, but by the 9th month I stopped counting how much weight I'd gained. However, I was thrilled that the weight came off in a few months. Conveniently forgetting that even pre-baby weight was teetering on the edge of overweight. Amazingly, it was after DD turned one that I started gaining. I lost the baby weight but gained toddler weight? Anywho, that leads me to the "before" pic...

This photo is the reason why I started my weight loss journey. Photo was taken Christmas 2008, when I was officially "overweight" by BMI standards.

Seeing this was hard for me - I'd never been a size 0 or anything, but I'd always been relatively fit or at least okay with how I looked. This photo changed all that. It was the biggest I'd ever been (not counting pregnancy) and the first time I hated my appearance. (At this time I also developed pretty bad lower back pain from being so sedentary.) I set out to lose 20-25 pounds and be physically fit again. I started exercising 4-6x a week February 2009, started counting calories and joined the DIS Biggest Loser in May 2009.

And here is me a few weeks ago at the Princess Half Marathon:

Thanks for sharing those pictures~! You look terrific (and young!). It is hard to post those "before" pictures, isn't it?? We spend so much time hating the way we look in them and trying to avoid them... then we go ahead and kind of "bare our souls" by putting them out there in public. DIfficult.


Well.... happy sunny Saturday morning to everyone! Happy Easter weekend! (And a belated happy Passover to those of you who celebrate!)

I am ecstatic to report that I am down 4.3 pounds today!! Admittedly, that is according to my new scale.... but since I have nothing else to base it on, I have to go with that number. I had both of my kids use the scale to test its accuracy before I stepped on and their numbers were right on track.

It makes me wonder if my old scale was starting to kind of die over the past few weeks and if that was why my number wasn't really moving.

Whatever the case, I actually teared up when I saw the number on the scale this morning!! I have worked SO hard and been SO frustrated over the past few weeks, but it now all seems worth it!! I am just 3.3 pounds away from goal now and I finally feel like I WILL make it!!!! And that new number on the scale will definitely keep me motivated to eat really well tomorrow!!

Time to get moving on my busy day today. I'll try to find the time to hop back on later today.........................P

 

[donac]

Good morning everyone. I just typed a long post and it is gone.

Been pretty busy since I got off on Tuesday afternoon.

Wed I put a quilt top together. It was started a while ago and by Thursday morning I had it finished. I spent Thursday afternoon basting the quilt. Basting puts the three layers of a quilt together. It involves a lot of walking and bending over to put pins in to keep the layers together. I got that together and then went to yoga. Yoga was very difficcult on Thursday. we never really stood but she killed our core.

Friday dh and I went shopping for cauliflower. We got white, orange and purple. We are making roasted cauliflower at my mom's on Easter. Then we went for a walk for an hour. It was quite cool when we left but as we walked we got a lot warmer and got stuck with the sweatshirts.

I am very achy again this morning but as I move around it should get better.

I need to do taxes today and cook an orange chiffon cake to bring with us tomorrow.

Have a great day everyone. Happy Easter.

 

[tigger813]

I'm afraid the tummy bug has finally hit our house! DD2 got sick about 10 seconds after I posted my reply. SHe felt better right after so I gave her a bath with some eucalyptus essential oil added. She was really congested. Then she came out and promptly got sick again. Poor thing doesn't have anything in her stomach so it's dry heaves at this point. She feels so lousy but there's no fever that I can tell. Poor thing is going to miss soccer pictures GOtta call her coach in awhile to let him know.

Time to shower so DD1 and I can head out to the store for last minute Easter things. And try to keep them away from each other! Need to buy her some saltines!

 

[lisah0711]

It has been such an odd week for me. I've been sick a couple of days, but kept up with my workouts. I was eating really well, then I had an accident with some twizzlers last night...my house is a mess (my grandmother is rolling in her grave, I think generations of our family have been told the house has to be clean for Easter), the great flood has finally stopped I started a new big project at work. It's just been a weird week. I've got great motivation to keep going with BL, now I just need to do it. On the bright side, I did lose 8 lbs last month overall, which makes me very happy! I think that's the best I've done, ever. I am committed to losing another five for April.

Great job on losing 8 pounds in March, Maria! And you never know, maybe Grandma would tell you now don't worry about the house! Have fun -- dye some Easter eggs!

I hope that all of your weigh-ins are peaceful and not surprising. Best of luck as we begin a new week--may yours be filled with lots of good times, good and healthy foods, good exercise and good memories--especially if you celebrate Easter. It's spring and a time for renewal and new beginnings. Enjoy watching things grow as you shrink

Wonderful sentiment, Liz, and great job on losing over 30 pounds so far this year!

As for me:
I have reached Goal. WAHOO!!!!!!
After weeks (months?) of chipping away at the last few pounds just a few tenths at a time, I had a relatively big loss this week and overshot my goal by almost a pound. I know it's only a little under, but I'm already concerned about maintaining a number that may be just a little too low. Is it weird to be trying to maintain a number a pound higher than I am today? I have to get back to the day job, but I'll be back later to post some before and after pics.

Lisa & Shannon - please move me to the maintainer team.

A big, BIG congratulations to you, PrincessBride6205 for reaching goal! What a great accomplishment!

Thanks for sharing the before and after pictures. I didn't think you looked bad in the before pic but now -- wow!

You are now officially on the maintainer team. I think that you will have a couple more people joining you and the rest of our maintainers soon!

The part I'm most bummed about? I lost my 30 pound clippie. I'm at 218.2 and I need to be at 218 to have that clippie. I made my own personal deal with myself that even if I weigh in every day (which I have been), my Friday morning weigh in would be my official weigh in day. That gives me less angst when the scale bounces a little during the week or doesn't budge at all. And I also decided that my clippies would go along with the Friday morning weigh ins.

That is a bummer about your clippie but with all your hard work I know that you'll have it back in no time!

Hope that you are feeling better soon, jennz!

Same with me, but i'm also not beating myself up about it because I splurged at Passover earlier in the week. I'll have to step up my game next week!

This is a great attitude!

Another busy day tomorrow so I'm posting Saturday's QOTD early (also, it just popped in my head so before I forget it)!

Saturday April 3- QOTD: Tell us about your first trip to Disney (WDW or DL or any other Disney parks). How did you find out about the trip, how did you feel at first glance of the castle or park icon, anything you want to share! If you haven't yet experienced Disney when are you hoping to go and what are you hoping to do while there.

This is a great question, Tracey!

My first trip to Disney was to Disneyland in 1962 for my 2nd birthday. Sorry, I don't remember a thing about it! But it did start me on my lifelong love affair with Disneyland and all things Disney and even to a job when I started college.

My first trip to WDW was in 2004 with DH and DS who was four. DS loved all of the rides, especially Goofy's Barnstormer. That started our love affair with the Wilderness Lodge and Jiko. It was so wonderful to be part of the magic for a whole week!

A lot of my memories come from my home videos which i've always gone back to as I get older. I'm very fortunate that I grew up in the time of technology when Camcorders existed. I can't believe how I complain these days about carrying my pocket sized camera and my dad lugged around this huge camera! This was in 1991!

You're lucky you didn't grow up in the 60's -- then your dad would have had a big bunch of bright lights that blinded you every time he wanted to take a movie -- no sound, of course.

flipflopmom, sending good thoughts for your upcoming surgery. I love how you asked how soon you could run again! That's when you know that you've made the lifestyle change!

Great question!
First Disney trip for me was to DL in 1995 for DL's 40th. DH (Dbf at that time) and I were in college and planned to drive to DL (19hours drive from where we were). Ended up the his dad, and kid sister (5 at that time) and dad's girlfriend decided to join us. So we all drove down together in a 5 seater car, and drove straight there. It was not fun trying to sleep in the car, but it was so great when we arrived early in the morning and checked in and headed to the park.

Wow! What a trooper, Shannon! That was probably when DH knew that you were the one if you could survive that trip.

jessi, glad that things are looking up for you. Some day you will look back with nostalgia at your first year of teaching.

Well, I'm waiting for the specials for end of august-september, so I'll check the codes and rates board once more before bed. We on the dis are an obsessive bunch.

Have a nice weekend, everyone, and if you're celebrating Easter, have a lovely holiday. Hope there's sunshine and warmth wherever you are this weekend.

You, too, Kathy! And I hope that the Easter Bunny brought you a great code in your basket!

I am ecstatic to report that I am down 4.3 pounds today!! Admittedly, that is according to my new scale.... but since I have nothing else to base it on, I have to go with that number. I had both of my kids use the scale to test its accuracy before I stepped on and their numbers were right on track.

It makes me wonder if my old scale was starting to kind of die over the past few weeks and if that was why my number wasn't really moving.

Whatever the case, I actually teared up when I saw the number on the scale this morning!! I have worked SO hard and been SO frustrated over the past few weeks, but it now all seems worth it!! I am just 3.3 pounds away from goal now and I finally feel like I WILL make it!!!! And that new number on the scale will definitely keep me motivated to eat really well tomorrow!!

Time to get moving on my busy day today. I'll try to find the time to hop back on later today.........................P

, pjlla, I am so happy for you! That is amazing to lose so much this close to goal!

Tracey, I hope your DD is feeling better soon!

Have a wonderful, safe and happy Easter all of my BL friends!

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Saturday QOTD: I planned my first trip to WDW, although looking back now, I use the term lightly. My dh and I went to FL and stayed with a cousin in a wing of his house for our honeymoon in 1993. Every day we planned to visit a different attraction. This was my first trip to FL, so I wanted to see everything! The extent of my planning was which park we were visiting on which day. I was pretty ecstatic anyway, but seeing the castle in the Magic Kingdom put me over the top. I couldn't wait to ride Space Mountain. And this was the culmination of all those Sunday nights watching Disney shows -- I was finally at the promised land! I remember we made a reservation for dinner when we walked into Epcot. I can't imagine doing that now! I also can't imagine not staying onsite. This was also the first time I had flown. So many new experiences -- it was an incredible trip, and I was already looking forward to coming back, someday.

I got up and did 6M this am, which felt ok even with my super sore throat. I think there may be a nap in my future this afternoon. My ILs are not going to make it tomorrow, so I'm putting the housecleaning off...I have my honeybaked ham, so I guess I'm good to go. Just have to see if I can fit into the Easter dress. It's actually a summer dress I bought a size smaller, so it may not work yet. It will definitely work by the time it's really warm, so I'm not going to stress and just wear a skirt and sweater that fit now if I need to. DH is picking up two pairs of pants I had altered from the dry cleaner. I am getting smaller, though it seems to go slower than I thought it would...slow and steady...

Pamela -- So glad you have a new scale and it is working for you! Fantastic loss after so much waiting!

Dona -- I'm swinging by your house for dessert! Orange chiffon cake sounds delicious!

Nicole -- So very proud of you for reaching goal! The photos are fantastic, I'm so glad you are happy with yourself and feeling strong and healthy!

Tracey -- Sorry the sick fairy is visiting your house. Hopefully it will pass quickly!

Kathy -- I'm glad you have your siblings to share memories with and keep boosting you. Holidays are hard the first few years, and you seem to do better with each passing one!

Lisa -- We took my ds to WDW for the first time when he was 4, too! It was a great age, and we have so many amazing memories -- although truthfully I think he liked the hotel pool as much as the parks!

Maria

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Saturday QOTD: I first went on a school trips through Educational Field Services called Star Quest. We did a half day at Epcot and a half day at MK. At MK we got to ride Space Mountain before the park opened with the pavilion lights on, and then with them off to talk about how special effects affect the ride experience. We did gravity experiments on Big Thunder, and got to go behind the scenes of Haunted Mansion to see how the special effects are done. At Epcot, we did both Future World and World Showcase. (We also went to Kennedy Space Center on that trip.) I do wish we had had more time at Disney. It was all such a whirl wind.

I weighed in today and... I am down two pounds! I'm very excited.

 

[tigger813]

Knock on wood, DD2 seems to be feeling better. She's had a few saltines and some water and has been sick free for over 2 hours. She has actually asked for food. We've heard from people that they feel better and then it hits them again so we will just have to keep an eye on her. We just watched Bolt and now she wants to play Disney DVD Bingo. DH and DD1 are about to head off for soccer photos and then DD1 and I have to run to church for jr choir practice.

I'm in the mood to bake a cake for some reason. Maybe I can make a chocolate bunny cake. I have a special book on how to make cut away cakes. Maybe I'll try it in a while. Hoping DD2 will nap but it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

Loving everyone's responses to the question of the day! I was feeling a bit sentimental last night when I thought of it! I'm less than 8 months away from my next trip so I guess the excitement is setting in!!!!! I may pull out some Disney planning DVDs or Treasures this weekend! I really can't wait until December 1!!!!!

 

[50sjayne]

Sorry, have been missing in action. Have been on the main Disneyland boards a lot and on Mice chat because my trip is getting closer. Can't miss anything lol. Also leaving to go to Palm springs tomorrow, my Mom, stepdad, daughter and son in law will all be there. Need to find pants as I have a bunch of really cute shirts I've picked up but no summer pants or shorts...I've heard the thrift shops are great in Palm springs.

QUOTD:

Honestly don't remember my first trip at all- think I was about 4. I vaguely remember seeing the Robinhood character and that may very well have had something to do with a crush I had on him (yes the disney fox) around that time or maybe a few years later.

Been happily maintaining. Watched Kirstie Alley's show on on demand and noted she gained all her weight back in 2 years. She said how it all came back on so fast...I am thankful for this board to keep me on track.
Anyways Happy Easter, I'll catch up when I get back