Biggest Loser "No Excuses" 2012 Team Challenge for Losers and Maintainers!!!

[dumbo_buddy]

Good morning everyone. We are in Disney now but I just had to pop in to congratulate Kayla on a fantastic half marathon!!!!

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Are you interested in me incorporating this into Healthy Habits? I am taking a different/new approach with HH for the summer and this would be perfect. However, I will only do it with your permission.
!

Sure if you want!
PM me your email address and I'll email you what Rose and I worked on during the last challenge.

I'm going to try and be more consistant with my quotes. I know a few people really liked them.

Good morning everyone. We are in Disney now.........

Ugh! I'm jealous!!!!!
I hope you have a fantabulous time!!!

 

[::Snow_White::]

Thanks everybody!! I'm still on that runner's high a day later! It is so mindblowing to me that I actually did it. I found a training plan for a marathon that I can't wait to get started on after I am able to run a half pretty easy. I can't believe how addicting it is after just 2 small races and a big one. It was such a peaceful (challenging) experience, just myself and the road. Nobody to push me but me!!

Today has been pretty painful though! Just sitting around, icing. It's driving me crazy just doing nothing. I have pink boxing gloves my mother bought as a gift that I want to use but I cannot exercise. *sigh*

 

[lisah0711]

Kayla, a big, BIG congratulations to you on finishing your first half marathon! That was a great time! It is a wonderful feeling when you can do something that you never dreamed possible! Do you have a marathon in mind?

Pamela, I got a chuckle out of your idea of a not too busy Saturday.

Dona, sounds like a fun time at the quilt show!

Linda, congrats on finishing the challenge with a loss! Hope that you enjoyed the nice weather while it was here.

Kristina, congratulations to you on finishing the challenge down, too. You are moving in the right direction and that is what counts!

CC, glad that you have an appointment and can get some guidance on your nutrition restrictions. It sounds very challenging!

Nancy, hope that you are having a wonderful time at WDW!

It is a rainy Monday morning in my neck of the woods. Hoping that the rain goes away for my half on Sunday. I'm not a big running in the rain person.

 

[MelindaRuns]

*drumroll*

I MADE IT!!

Here is a recap of the race for a first-timer:
Woke up at 4 and my bff and I rolled out around 5:15. The race started at 6:30, I pretty much nervously talked my bff to death, we fist bumped across the barriers as soon as the race started and I was off. First 4 miles flew by, I'm pretty sure I ran nearly all the time. By mile 6 I started to get a little tired, the pain was slowly rising. I was going strong past the 7 and 8th mile, taking more walk breaks. By the time I got to 11, I was walking most of the way. Made it to mile 12 and about 12.5 miles someone taps my shoulder. It's a girl about my age and said I was doing a great job for my first half. (Our bibs had that info on it) I asked her about her races as we jogged a bit and then we parted. We kept passing each other as we'd run and walk. Around 13 miles she came up beside me again and said "It's all adrenaline, it's only .3 more miles!! Come on!" We ended up running with each other to the finish line and high-fived at the end. I finished in about 2:40 or so and got my medal!! My bff was there cheering me on. I originally told my family to be there about 3 hours in because I figured I'd finish a little after, but I called my mom to tell her I already done and my family stopped by to take photos.

Honestly, it was NOT as bad as I was anticipating. Around mile 8 the pain was fairly bad, but it was also a bit numbing in my legs so it was pretty easy to take a light jog without walking. I got some nice size blisters on the side of my feet and my calves were really cramping near the end. I was very very thankful to the nice young woman who talked to me that I finished with. I have to say I thought I was going to be sick right after I crossed the finish line, just because I was so tired. It happened at my last 5k too. Got some animal crackers and water and I was ready to sit down.

I am SO proud of myself and really shocked at how well I did. I didn't really sweat very much, my side never hurt, the only cramping was in my calves and I didn't really have to talk myself into running. The route was great and beautiful. It took us through some wooded areas and kept us out of most traffic and the weather was absolutely PERFECT! It was probably 60-70 degrees the entire time, very enjoyable. It is mindblowing to me that my first 5k was actually much worse than this race. I think I knew to take it slow and just do my best so I didn't overexert myself quickly.

Well, I think that about sums it up. I am incredibly sore and I can barely stand, so I think I will definitely be resting up before WDW! They decided to train me for my job on Monday so I could work a bit Tuesday. They're probably going to be looking strangely while I limp all day.

Thank you for all your encouraging words!!

Wow! congratulations! Do you realize how well you did? That is an amazing time for a seasoned half marathoner! To go out your first time and nail a 2:40----ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL! way to go! Are you planning to do a full now?

----------------------
lisah0711 a huge thank you for how helpful, kind, and supportive you have been to me this whole challenge! I love that you are a half marathoner! Go get 'em in Coeur d'Alene! I know you will rock it!

I ran the Fargo Half Marathon this past weekend, along with my DS14. My DD17 and DD15 came along to be spectators. ROAD TRIP!

It was about a 6 hour drive there. Got to Fargo kind of late (7:00 pm)- went to the expo. It was super hard to get to because the 5k was going on and it started from the same place the expo was. We finally made it and went inside to the expo. It was pretty big- reminded me of Disney race expos. We got my packet and shopped for the last minute stuff we needed. Then we went to our hotel and got checked in and waited on Zach's race packet to be delivered. He just found out someone he knew (a girl) was running this race two days before and decided he wanted to run it (don't you just love teenagers?). I found him a bib on Craigslist. We got the bib, then headed to Old Chicago to carb load. By the time we were back to our room it was 10:30 at least. We laid out our race stuff and went to bed.

We got up at 5:30 for a 7:30 start. I noticed from the race guide that there were shuttles running from a nearby grocery store. Judging from how difficult it was to make it to the start area the previous day when they were running the 5k I just drove to the shuttle and had my DD17 and DD15 take the car and meet us later at the finish line. They were able to chill at IHOP, and they were thankful for that. The shuttle was fine, but it took FOREVER to get us there. Traffic was crazy. We barely made it to the start in time. A lot of people must have started late. Good thing your time doesn't start until you cross the start line.

I really liked the course. It was pretty flat and had bands at every mile. We went through a lot of residential areas. Some bands were literally "garage bands" playing at their houses. It was so cool! I kept listening to my RunKeeper and judging the time/distance left against how I felt. I changed shoes from my Nike Run Free to a pair of New Balance. The Run Free might have been just too minimal for me. My it band still hurt some, but not nearly as bad as the race 3 weeks ago. I persevered, and thanks to a text from my DD17 that said "if you're walking right now start running. " I kept at it. I took about 4 or 5 one minute walk breaks through the whole thing and she caught me at one of those times. I'm so glad. I also walked through the Powerade stations. I havent mastered drinking and running at the same time but a lot of people do it.

I finished in 2:59:51. It's the first time I ever finished under 3 hours. I'm so thrilled with my time!!


My DS14 finished in 1:47:34, which is just phenomenal! If he had been running under his own name/age group and not gotten his bib on Craigslist, he would have gotten 8th in his age group, which isn't too shabby considering nearly 7,000 people ran the half marathon.

Good luck everyone running and exercising! I cant wait to start the new challenge with you! We are headed to WDW May 27-June5. Then DD13 and DD12 and I are headed to Ireland June 14-26.

Have a great day, everyone!

Melinda

 

[cclovesdis]

Unbelievably, I don't have much to say tonight.

Today was okay. I tracked what I ate so I'm calling it a decent day. Today's MFP log is definitely a good one to bring to my nutritionist. I also drank plenty of water. Of course, I still feel dehydrated. That is another thing I should mention to her. I've called my gastro about it, but I can't make it past his medical assistant. She seems to have this "I know everything" attitude that isn't helping. I wonder if my gastro and nutritionist have every worked together as they are affiliate's with the same hospital. Just thinking out loud here. That would be a good thing however. I'm an expert at signing HIPPA releases.

I think I'm going to do some yoga now.

Have a great, OP day tomorrow everyone!

to all of our teachers as they tackle the end of the school year!

 

[mikamah]

Congratulations, Kayla on your first half marathon!! I am so excited for you, and you should be so proud of how far you have come in such a short time. You have proved you can set your mind to it, work hard at it, and accomplish anything you want. So happy for you.

Congrats Melinda on breaking the 3 hour mark on your half this weekend. That must feel so good to see improvement. You and LisaH are the half marathon queens around here.

CC, Janis, Sue- thank you so much for all the time and effort you put into running this challenge. And a big thank you to everyone here supporting and inspiring everyone else.

Pamela-How's the school year winding down? Did I hear mention of dd going to prom? I bet she was just beautiful. I hope all is well, though I went away from Onederland, I'm heading back towards it again. We'll get together for that lunch one day.

Karen-Been sitting on the porch a lot lately, and always think of you. Summer is coming.

Hello to everyone else. It's been busy around here, baseball, my nieces graduation scrap book, and I just don't seem to make it over here.

Congratulations to all who have lost on this challenge, all those maintaining, and big hugs to those who have gained, but stuck it out, and worked hard at it. Some times life just gets in the way of our weight loss goals, but as long as we keep our minds in it, and never give up, we will reach them one day.

Have a wonderful night!

 

[dvccruiser76]

Hi everyone,
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I took my weight tracker spreadsheet on vacation, but silly DH's laptop doesn't have excel, so I won't be able to post the results until I get back on Friday.

Sorry.

Sue,

 

[ChelleyB]

Hi everyone,
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I took my weight tracker spreadsheet on vacation, but silly DH's laptop doesn't have excel, so I won't be able to post the results until I get back on Friday.

Sorry.

Sue,

No prob! Hope you're having an awesome vacation!

 

[Mary•Poppins]

Congrats Kayla and Melinda on your running this weekend. I am hoping to run a 1/2 marathon someday.

CC ... thank you for the kind words!

Hi everyone,
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I took my weight tracker spreadsheet on vacation, but silly DH's laptop doesn't have excel, so I won't be able to post the results until I get back on Friday.

Sorry.

Sue,

Thank you Sue for all your work!

 

[buzz5985]

Hi everyone,
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I took my weight tracker spreadsheet on vacation, but silly DH's laptop doesn't have excel, so I won't be able to post the results until I get back on Friday.

Sorry.

Sue,

Have a wonderful trip!!!!

Janis

 

[buzz5985]

As the No Excuses challenge comes to a close - I was wondering - does anyone have any suggestions for making the challenge's more interesting?? Any suggestions on improving the challenges would be appreciated. Do you find something missing?? I was wondering if there was anything that we could do to help retain participants through the challenge. Any thoughts on how to get more people to come out of lurking status and post??

OK everyone - put your thinking caps on.

Janis

 

[MelindaRuns]

Hi everyone,
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I took my weight tracker spreadsheet on vacation, but silly DH's laptop doesn't have excel, so I won't be able to post the results until I get back on Friday.

Sorry.

Sue,

No problem at all! It just gives us more time to enjoy this thread before the summer challenge starts. Enjoy your vacation!

Melinda

 

[MelindaRuns]

Thank you Kathy and MaryPoppins for your kind words. You ladies are so supportive! I love it! Thank you!!

Melinda

 

[lisah0711]

Melinda, congratulations on your Fargo half! And your PR! That is amazing especially considering how hot it was when you first arrived. You have had an absolutely fabulous running year this year!

I want to be sure and meet you at the W&D this fall since I missed you at the Tinker Bell.

I'm looking foward to the Coeur d'Alene Half. It will be the one year anniversary of finishing my first half so I am excited. I'm also going to break below the 4 hour mark.

I always enjoy your posts because you are so helpful and encouraging to everyone.

Congratulations to all who have lost on this challenge, all those maintaining, and big hugs to those who have gained, but stuck it out, and worked hard at it. Some times life just gets in the way of our weight loss goals, but as long as we keep our minds in it, and never give up, we will reach them one day.

Hear, hear!

Nice to see you, Kathy!

Hi everyone,
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I took my weight tracker spreadsheet on vacation, but silly DH's laptop doesn't have excel, so I won't be able to post the results until I get back on Friday.

No worries, Sue! You are such an awesome weightkeeper to think of us on your vacation!

Hopefully some of our new challenge participants will venture over here to chat while we are waiting for the results. Don't be shy! Say hello!

At the beginning of the week I will post a warm up question on the new thread in anticipation of my starting coaching gig . . . . stay tuned for something a bit different for the first week of the challenge . . . it might involve a bit of

 

[pjlla]

I'm going to try and be more consistant with my quotes. I know a few people really liked them.

I loved them! No pressure, but I'd love a quote every once in a while!

I ran the Fargo Half Marathon this past weekend, along with my DS14. My DD17 and DD15 came along to be spectators. ROAD TRIP!

It was about a 6 hour drive there. Got to Fargo kind of late (7:00 pm)- went to the expo. It was super hard to get to because the 5k was going on and it started from the same place the expo was. We finally made it and went inside to the expo. It was pretty big- reminded me of Disney race expos. We got my packet and shopped for the last minute stuff we needed. Then we went to our hotel and got checked in and waited on Zach's race packet to be delivered. He just found out someone he knew (a girl) was running this race two days before and decided he wanted to run it (don't you just love teenagers?). I found him a bib on Craigslist. We got the bib, then headed to Old Chicago to carb load. By the time we were back to our room it was 10:30 at least. We laid out our race stuff and went to bed.

We got up at 5:30 for a 7:30 start. I noticed from the race guide that there were shuttles running from a nearby grocery store. Judging from how difficult it was to make it to the start area the previous day when they were running the 5k I just drove to the shuttle and had my DD17 and DD15 take the car and meet us later at the finish line. They were able to chill at IHOP, and they were thankful for that. The shuttle was fine, but it took FOREVER to get us there. Traffic was crazy. We barely made it to the start in time. A lot of people must have started late. Good thing your time doesn't start until you cross the start line.

I really liked the course. It was pretty flat and had bands at every mile. We went through a lot of residential areas. Some bands were literally "garage bands" playing at their houses. It was so cool! I kept listening to my RunKeeper and judging the time/distance left against how I felt. I changed shoes from my Nike Run Free to a pair of New Balance. The Run Free might have been just too minimal for me. My it band still hurt some, but not nearly as bad as the race 3 weeks ago. I persevered, and thanks to a text from my DD17 that said "if you're walking right now start running. " I kept at it. I took about 4 or 5 one minute walk breaks through the whole thing and she caught me at one of those times. I'm so glad. I also walked through the Powerade stations. I havent mastered drinking and running at the same time but a lot of people do it.

I finished in 2:59:51. It's the first time I ever finished under 3 hours. I'm so thrilled with my time!!


My DS14 finished in 1:47:34, which is just phenomenal! If he had been running under his own name/age group and not gotten his bib on Craigslist, he would have gotten 8th in his age group, which isn't too shabby considering nearly 7,000 people ran the half marathon.

Good luck everyone running and exercising! I cant wait to start the new challenge with you! We are headed to WDW May 27-June5. Then DD13 and DD12 and I are headed to Ireland June 14-26.

Have a great day, everyone!

Melinda

EXCELLENT job on the half Melinda! And to your DS!

I'm super jealous of your two upcoming trips! They sound phenomenal!

Pamela-How's the school year winding down? Did I hear mention of dd going to prom? I bet she was just beautiful. I hope all is well, though I went away from Onederland, I'm heading back towards it again. We'll get together for that lunch one day.

Hello to everyone else. It's been busy around here, baseball, my nieces graduation scrap book, and I just don't seem to make it over here.

Congratulations to all who have lost on this challenge, all those maintaining, and big hugs to those who have gained, but stuck it out, and worked hard at it. Some times life just gets in the way of our weight loss goals, but as long as we keep our minds in it, and never give up, we will reach them one day.

Have a wonderful night!

Hey friend! You've been missed. Keep at it.... ONE-derland will be there for you when you get there! I know you'll never give up. And maybe we should have lunch sooner, rather than later! Life is short!

I can totally appreciate the busy season. DS is playing b.ball this year (first time since about 2nd grade) and I can't believe how stinkin' long the games are! His first game was 3 hours. Now, I KNOW about sitting at long events.... DD's swim meets are usually 4+ hours (including warm-ups, etc), but (and I'm sorry to all you baseball fans), but b. ball is SO boring!!!!!

I'm also scrapping my heart out trying to catch up on DD's swim book AND get moving on the book for DMIL. They WILL get done, come heck or high water!!

Hi everyone,
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I took my weight tracker spreadsheet on vacation, but silly DH's laptop doesn't have excel, so I won't be able to post the results until I get back on Friday.

Sorry.

Sue,

No worries! Relax and enjoy your vacation!! We'll see them on Friday.

As the No Excuses challenge comes to a close - I was wondering - does anyone have any suggestions for making the challenge's more interesting?? Any suggestions on improving the challenges would be appreciated. Do you find something missing?? I was wondering if there was anything that we could do to help retain participants through the challenge. Any thoughts on how to get more people to come out of lurking status and post??

OK everyone - put your thinking caps on.

Janis

Thinking cap is on and buzzing. I'll let you know if I come up with anything. My initial thoughts include some sort of buddy system.... pairing some of more experienced BL folks with the newbies. You could be PM buddies, Facebook friends, or even snail mail pals.... something that would keep at least ONE person in closer contact with you than just relying on the group. THat way, if someone was really having a struggle and feeling like they can't return the group, at least someone would have a way of contacting them and encouraging them to return to the flock or "hop back in the wagon" as it were.


Thanks for ALL you do for the challenges here! You can't imagine how much it is appreciated.

Hopefully some of our new challenge participants will venture over here to chat while we are waiting for the results. Don't be shy! Say hello!

At the beginning of the week I will post a warm up question on the new thread in anticipation of my starting coaching gig . . . . stay tuned for something a bit different for the first week of the challenge . . . it might involve a bit of

Looking forward to the warm-up!! Thanks for keeping us organized.

************

Happy Tuesday friends! Sorry I didn't get on here yesterday. I got called to work at the high school and didn't have computer access all day. Then got home and had to feed the kids before dashing out to swim. Did two fast errands after dropping DD and then raced back to the Y for a swim parents meeting (which I nearly forgot about), then ran BACK out for gas (favorite gas station is a few miles from the Y) and then back to the Y to grab DD and then home for "supper: Part II" and the homework/shower/bedtime routine.

This morning was DS out the door, then load the stuff into the car for a trip to the transfer station.... then a stop at the middle school on my way to drop off DD (to bring DS the homework he left behind ), drop DD and then get the smelly icky trash to the transfer station.

On my way home from the trash run I took a chance and called DSIL at home (my brother's wife). We used to be very close, but as life got busier we really stopped talking on any regular basis (they are in southern PA) and that makes me sad. So I decided to see if she was home and lo and behold, she was! We got to talk for about 40 minutes (mostly about the kids, of course) and I got to hear more about her recent mission trip to Guatemala and such.

It was nice to catch up, but of course, sitting in the car in town (because there is no cell signal here at home) really threw my usual morning routine off track, so now I am behind my usual schedule. Beds aren't made yet, no laundry going, no exercise done (although I have emptied the dishwasher and dish drainer plus the trash run). I really need to finish chatting here and get my day moving along.

I'm off to check in with the summer challenge to be sure I"m not missing anything important, then a quick check with my scrapping peeps and off to make beds! TTYL.........................P

 

[ChelleyB]

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

We are headed to WDW in December. Both DH and I are in the midst of losing weight and are wondering your thoughts on the DDP and losing weight/maintaining weight. We are torn about whether we would be tempted to each too much or if it would be good to have so many choices. Does anyone have any thoughts and/or experience? We'd really appreciate any feedback - thanks!

 

[buzz5985]

II can totally appreciate the busy season. DS is playing b.ball this year (first time since about 2nd grade) and I can't believe how stinkin' long the games are! His first game was 3 hours. Now, I KNOW about sitting at long events.... DD's swim meets are usually 4+ hours (including warm-ups, etc), but (and I'm sorry to all you baseball fans), but b. ball is SO boring!!!!!

Thinking cap is on and buzzing. I'll let you know if I come up with anything. My initial thoughts include some sort of buddy system.... pairing some of more experienced BL folks with the newbies. You could be PM buddies, Facebook friends, or even snail mail pals.... something that would keep at least ONE person in closer contact with you than just relying on the group. THat way, if someone was really having a struggle and feeling like they can't return the group, at least someone would have a way of contacting them and encouraging them to return to the folk or "hop back in the wagon" as it were.


Thanks for ALL you do for the challenges here! You can't imagine how much it is appreciated.P

I hear you about baseball. It was a happy day in my life when my son didn't want to play anymore. He now plays lacrosse in the spring - 1 hour and done.

That's a good idea for the challenge I will post it on the new thread when we get started, see if there is any interest.

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

We are headed to WDW in December. Both DH and I are in the midst of losing weight and are wondering your thoughts on the DDP and losing weight/maintaining weight. We are torn about whether we would be tempted to each too much or if it would be good to have so many choices. Does anyone have any thoughts and/or experience? We'd really appreciate any feedback - thanks!

It's really a personal decision. I know for my family the DDP just isn't worth it anymore. When we started going to WDW, we were on what was called the Gold Key Plan. It included your room, all meals (appetizer/meal/dessert/beverage), all recreation (boats, golf carts, etc.), all taxes and tips. Since then - they have been chipping away at the benefits of the plan. The plan in place now - we normally never eat dessert, only on special occasions (birthday, etc.), so we were getting it just to get our monies worth. Go and look at all the menu's - figure out what and where you want to eat. Compare the prices.

If you like the idea of a prepaid plan - and I do, buy Disney gift cards. I have been buying a $50 card every time I get paid (also have a Target Visa - so I go to Target and get 5% off for using the card - not much but every dollar counts.) Planning is half the fun!!!

Janis

 

[cclovesdis]

Healthy Habits Results: The Finale-Soarin' and Soarin' over California

Congratulations to our participants! They were:
cclovesdis
glass1/2fll
::Snow_White::

Congratulations to ::Snow_White:: for earning 22/30 points!

The "finale" prize winner is glass1/2fll! Please PM your address (I don't save them.) and I will send out your prize. I would love for you to have it in time for the next challenge.



Thank you to everyone who participated in Healthy Habits during the WISH BL "No Excuses" Challenge!

 

[cclovesdis]

If you like the idea of a prepaid plan - and I do, buy Disney gift cards. I have been buying a $50 card every time I get paid (also have a Target Visa - so I go to Target and get 5% off for using the card - not much but every dollar counts.) Planning is half the fun!!!

Janis

Janis: This is a great idea! I was just thinking about doing something like this as a way of saving for when I move out. I am thinking about buying gift certificates for places like grocery stores, CVS, JCPenney, Target, Wal-Mart, etc. now while I'm not paying rent so I can pay for things when I am. It's much easier for me to spend cash (even with how cheap I am ) than it is for me to spend a gift certificate. I'm also thinking of taking a shoe box and cutting a small hole in its lid and then duct tapping the lid to the box so that gift certificates and loose change can go in but not out. I figure any trick I can use to save/plan is worthwhile.

Chelley: Last I knew, you could buy a Disney gift certificate at Walgreens in any amount you want. Well, I should say, I believe it has to be between $5 and $500. Not sure where you live, but some grocery stores offer gas points when you buy gift certificates there. I know the one by me occasionally runs a promotion where you get double gas points when you buy gift certificates.