Hey all!!! I'm just about to start going through my PMs for all of your weigh-ins! I'm very excited
I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD NEXT MONTH!!!
Bring on the Disney magic!!!
ASHLEY. THIS. IS. AWESOME.
1) Keep up my running after I get home from my trip. I don't want to give it up just because I don't have a Disney race to train for...although it does give me a *really* good excuse to run
I 2nd what Lisa said... try signing up for another local race for when you get home!
3) Track my food intake better- currently, I probably only track about 4/7 days
I use it as an excuse to go off-plan, and when I do that, I have gaining weeks. No more!
Oh gosh, I do this too. Especially when I eat out and don't know EXACTLY what I'm eating. Let's get better at this consistency!!!
So for my trip, I'm going with two friends (that have yet to meet each other!) and haven't been in years. I've been named the tour guide, and I want to make sure I don't overwhelm them. Any suggestions on keeping it low-key? I've never been much of a commando-style guest, but I may have a skewed opinion of myself
All our ADR's are made, and I don't really have hardcore plans. As far as rides, we'll get on whatever we can when the lines are short. I have "two" days at DHS- one of which is the half-day we arrive and the other is the night of the race when the park is open til
4AM!!!! 
That doesn't sound too bad to me, but I just wanted to see if this was reasonable to anyone else. Thanks guys!!
That does sound good--I've heard DHS is especially beautiful at night. When I went with Matt for his first time at WDW, I had to work really hard to keep it low-key. I think what worked best for me was to 1) let him sleep in, because most normal non-WDW-crazies apparently like to sleep in on vacation??
This was very tough for me, but I busied myself by going out for a walk and bringing him breakfast in bed to ease the eventual waking up. 2) make sure I only brought him on rides and attractions that I really thought he'd enjoy (or to make sure there was a good balance). We were at dinner with a couple a few weekends ago who had been in an opposite position and he'd dragged her through Country Bear Jamboree, It's a Small World, Hall of Presidents... she had a really miserable time! I think that there are some attractions that we can have a serious nostalgia for (I love all of those attractions!), but for new-ish guests they kind of can feel dragged around if their interest level is lower. 3) I will say, don't underestimate what having a plan in your head can do, even if you don't voice it out loud... it's one thing to kind of go where the wind takes you, but people ARE usually really happy when "where the wind has taken them" allows them to see a lot of really cool stuff without having to wait in a lot of lines. I kept the trip with Matt really low-key, and yet we somehow did end up just about everywhere I thought we would, on the days I thought we'd end up there... IMHO, that's good (and sneaky!) planning....
Hi,
My goals for the challenge are
1. walk everyday
2. keep up with the challenge (I was a drop out before!)
3. eat a healthy breakfast
So far so good! We are getting a family YMCA membership so I hope that will help with the walking. They have an indoor track
Small steps for me, Tracy
Those are such great, achievable, everyday goals!
Those of you who did the Summer Challenge may be wondering if we are going on the same trip to Disney that we did in June. The answer is no. Like any good return trip to Disney we will visit old favorites and try a new place of two. 
Hold your head Up High...Christopher!
I'm back too and failed the last 3 I started
But Not This Time
We already had some success we're back!
So Now I've had it! I have a Big Birthday Coming up in April
and the best birthday present that I can give myself is to get in shape and stay there.
Yes! You guys can definitely do it, we'll be rooting for you!
I love this idea--taking care of yourself is such a great way to do something NICE for yourself!
3) To continue to make vegetarian choices but try to make better ones. I love Morningstar products but rely on them too much.
I hear that! I have been there. Do you cook with tofu much? Learning how to prepare tofu in a few different ways has been the BEST thing for me.
I'm glad to see another vegetarian runner on here! Maybe we could share some menu/meal ideas and possibly some recipes. I never use any meat substitutes (but thinking maybe I should). I just never have tried them. I ear what my family eats, just without meat. My diet is way too carb heavy (cheese pizza, pasta). I rely too heavily, when dieting, on Lean Cuisines. Too much sodium. Because of running and working out (and for weight loss) I need more protein, but from WHERE? Thars my biggest concert right now.
Well, when people ask where I get my protein from as a vegan, I explain that I try to get my protein during the week spanning across all 4 of my major protein sources: soy (tofu and tempeh), seitan (wheat gluten), beans and pulses (like lentils), and quinoa. I would definitely recommend learning how to cook tofu in a few ways that you REALLY enjoy. One of the keys to doing it is to make sure you set it aside to press for at least 15 minutes between plates and paper towels under a couple cans to weigh it down before you start almost any recipe. These are a couple of my favorite tofu recipes:
1)
Pomegranate-Glazed Tofu: I know the picture looks grey, but this is really a nice jewel-tone in real life... very pretty! I like to cut it in ~3/4" cubes. It's great with couscous and roasted cauliflower.
2)
Chimichurri Tofu: This recipe is baked, and the leftovers are delicious over salad with black beans, avocado and sweet corn! if you want more traditional measurements, PM me, I had a hard time finding this recipe online.
3)
Lettuce Wraps with Hoisin Tofu: This is my favorite tofu recipe, and the dry sautee is a great way to prepare tofu and get it nice and chewy! Even my omnivore friends REALLY love this recipe, it's worth sourcing hoisin and mirin for.
1. Diet. I've been eating a non-processed diet. I don't count calories, but every meal consists of a protein (fish) with veggies and fruits, nuts, etc. I cut out wheat and sugar completely. I don't even miss it. With those things out, weight has come off slowly and steadily. I still have a coffee with cream every morning, and no way I'm giving that up.
2. Exercise. In addition to my running schedule, I'm going to add some body weight resistance to the program on my non-running days. Push ups, sit ups, lunges and squats to begin. I've noticed that I still need to tone up. I also figure skate once or twice a week, but that's a very light calorie burning thing. But I'm certainly not quitting that. In fact, I want to stretch more regularly to get those advanced positions.
Some other things I've planned to tackle the dreaded "last ten pounds":
1. Brush and FLOSS teeth right after dinner every night. I am a late night snacker, but if I've put in the flossing effort then I won't want to ruin it. I've gotten on a health kick lately and with almost all sugar out of my diet now, I've been thinking about my poor teeth. So this will be a win-win for me, stopping the late night nibbles and better dental habits.
2. Keep hydrated. I am really bad at this. I am going to keep one of my running bottles filled with water or unsweetened ice tea with me at all times and drink from it. I think this will go a long way with both my fitness and weight.
I'm ready to start the challenge and I can't wait to track everyone's progress here. I hope it's a good motivator.
Welcome Elle!! Ice skating? That sounds so glamorous! I like your specific goals of flossing and carrying a water bottle with you... Very achievable steps. I love keeping unsweetened iced tea in the fridge--I go through it so quickly that I often make a pitcher of herbal and a pitcher of caffeinated and mix them during the day depending on what time it is...
Most Important Goal for this challenge is
To learn to set myself up for success not failure.
I LOVE this. I was actually watching early Julia Child episodes the other day, and she was talking about making a pastry crust (NOT HEALTHY
) but she was talking about how eventually you can cut some corners, but when you're starting out and learning how to do it, you should "give yourself every opportunity." And I kept thinking to myself, wow, what a smart lady. Too bad she's enabled all of us by giving us such delicious, buttery food!!!
I worry about protein a lot. One thing I want to try is quinoa. I know that would be a great source of protein.
Quinoa is a good source of protein, but when I put it in My Fitness Pal it is often pretty high in calories for the protein I actually get from it. If I'm having a quinoa meal, I try to make sure I'm also cooking lots of higher-protein, low-calorie vegetables, too, like kale or other leafy greens, broccoli or cauliflower, just to round it out. Quinoa is a complete protein, so it's a great source, but if you try to get a whole meal's worth of protein out of it you can go over your calories pretty quickly without realizing it.
Just remembered that we were starting sometime soon and I had signed up. My brain is fried!
My new job (Middle School secretary/receptionist) is INSANE! I was expecting crazy but this is beyond that. I was told that this week was crazier than usual and that the first day was the worse one in years. Of course having a new gal there that is clueless probably didn't help! But we got to Friday and the school is still standing and all the teachers and kids are accounted for so I guess we can count that as a success. As I learn more and get it figured out hopefully it will get easier. This morning I got confused and started the morning announcements 5 minutes early. I got all the way to "Please stand and join me for the Pledge of" when I realized why the other secretaries were waving their hands like maniacs and mouthing "STOP!". OOPPS!!!
Hopefully I gave the teachers a good Friday morning laugh.
I was told that every Friday is "order out for lunch" day, and so far we have had bagels, monkey bread and today gourmet cupcakes in the office! When I subbed in the Guidance office it was easy to avoid but now it is right there. I am doing okay though.
Your story about starting the announcements early had me cracking up! Totally sounds like something I would do. That sounds like a
really tough environment to be in and still eat healthy, but I'm sure you can do it! I bet there are others in the office who would be happy to have some lower-calorie stuff around, too-- maybe when life has calmed down a little, you could bring in some lower calorie treats every once in a while? Maybe people will kind of slowly catch on to how unhealthy all of those other treats are. I think people bring stuff into work very often so they can have an excuse to eat it! But a lot of people do want to eat healthier, and I bet you'll set a really great example and get people thinking.
Everything is great and surreal. If I could only get that last 10lbs off! 
