Biggest Loser--SUMMER 2011 Challenge for Losers & Maintainers!

[SettinSail]

Thanks for playing along everyone

Routine day here. Work 7-2, work on the house, gym, cook dinner, clean kitchen, now relaxing with some NFL Got 4 loads of laundry done and some badly needed vacuuming. So frustruating to have the house in such a mess but still need to clean around the clutter I'm going to do 90 minutes a day until everything is put in a place!

Shawn moved to Germany for a few years, which would be way out of my comfort zone! She moved back to the US this summer and has made more progress on unpacking the 171+ boxes that arrived at her house than most people would! She has also been a great coach this week.

Aw, thanks Gretchen

shawn - how is your DS adjusting to his new school? i remember there were some issues - getting any better?



thought that 8,000 beers a week was totally ok

He's doing fine, thanks He had a little awkwardness finding his place at first but he seems content now. And, I have no idea how it all worked out and probably never will. Teenagers, oye!

Yep, I was right there with the 8,000 beers and LOTS of other bad eating habits. I graduted HS weighing 117 and graduated college weighing 138.
Of course I would love to weigh 138 now

Pam and Lisa, for all of us with BOYS! We will just have to keep at it. Repeating, repeating, repeating


ugh, have to go , family needs laptop

see you all at the FALL challenge tomorrow!

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Following up on my post from last week about de-cluttering my closet.

Here’s what I’ve done in that time:

I went through my summer clothes and put aside anything I hadn’t worn all season. I figured if I didn’t wear it, I’m not going to. AND I hope that they will be tooooo big next summer.

Up next – Fall/Winter clothes. I tried on EVERY piece of clothing from last year and put aside anything that was too big. In doing so, I found a bunch of things that I had bought on clearance at the end of the winter in anticipation of losing weight.

Looks like I am starting out the Fall/Winter season with about 5 hoodies, 3 sweaters, 3 long-sleeved tees, 2 pairs of jeans and 1 pair of black dress pants. Not too bad, huh? Since I’m currently not working, it looks like I can pretty much hold off on buying anything for a while. Those things can get me through for a while. I am taking my niece to the Old Navy Outlet next week, so I can always pick up a few things there if anything catches my eye. Also, last night I ordered a simple black faux wrap dress from Old Navy Online.

The only thing that “hurt” was coming across my interview clothes. When I lost my job, I spent good money at Macy’s on three high-end pieces – blazer, pants, and skirt. They are absolutely swimming on me. I don’t really have the money right now to replace them, and don’t want to spend $$ on tailoring since I hope to lose more weight. My plan – should I wrangle any interviews - is to wear the black dress pants that I found in my closet and carry the blazer as if I just took it off that second.

I also went through all of my miscellaneous clothes – and tried to whittle my lounging/sleeping clothes, underwear, bras, socks, etc. down to a manageable quantity. I went through my shoes and did the same thing.

When all was said and done, I had 4 big Hefty bags of stuff to donate.

I also have quite a bit that I put aside and was thinking about trying to sell on Craigslist. These are items that were never worn (still have tags), or barely worn. I was thinking about selling them in lots – one lot of 1X/18W-20W, and another lot of 2X/22W-24W. I’ve never sold anything on CL before – have any of you had any luck?

All in all, I was happy with the results. I’m not going to focus on the $$$ wasted – but rather focus on how organized everything looks now. It is also a nice feeling knowing that everything in my closet fits – I will no longer buy anything that doesn’t fit yet. That’s a bad habit I have.

Wow – that one was long post.

- Laura

Oops! We missed Laura! -- Laura is decluttering pounds and clothes -- and setting a great example for us all. She's focusing on the future rather than worry about the past, and she is going to look great in all her clothes that fit perfectly!

Maria

 

[Rose&Mike]

I'm a 40C and would love to be a 40B. You must feel so much better!

Seriously, I would kill to be a c or b. I'm so jealous! At least I can now wear most normal clothes, before losing not so much.

Shawn--thanks so much for coaching this week and doing such a great job finishing out the challenge.

Kaiti--thanks so much for the nice things you said.

****
I feel like I have not been a 100percent here this summer, but you all have been very gracious and let me muddle through.

Thanks for making it such a fun and active challenge.

 

[my3princes]

Rose. She is at her goal and has been for a while. I am totally jealous of her ablility to run and that she has done several 5 K's. I also admire her determination to go GF and that she feels better. All and all I aspire to be like her one day

 

[my3princes]

I didn't accomplish much at work today. It was an odds and ends day with several meetings mixed in. At least I feel like I accomplished a lot the other 2 days I picked up the last prescription that I was waiting on tonight and got Colby a white T-shirt for their tie dye project tomorrow. Came home, made dinner then headed out to our shop and cut out the fabric for the street rod top. Not sure why, but once it was cut and sewn it was smaller than it should have been. Ended up ripping out 2 very long seams. Hopefully I can make it work tomorrow. Very frustrating as I outlined it on the street rod and gave myself a seam allowance Either I'll make it work or order more fabric and use the one I made tonight as a template.

Tomorrow I'm picking up donations at school and bringing them to the homeless shelter. I promised my mother that I would do a bunch of data entry for her at work as she is behind. I also want to finish the street rod top and sort through clothes to donate. Not sure there are enough hours in the day.

 

[trinaweena]

So i guess tomorrow we close this challenge and head to the new one. i went the gym tonight despite coming home and sitting on the couch and being SO TIRED. I actualy ran two miles and it felt really easy, i didn't even notice the first mile! After when i was showering I did alot of thinking. I've improved this summer but i still have a long way to go. I have some goals this fall which i'll probably post on the fall challenge but i have to try not to let the fact that i still feel far away from my goals diminish the fact that i have accomplished so much. I keep telling myself:

YOU ARE PRETTY, YOU ARE SMART, YOU ARE NICE, YOU ARE WORTH IT!

Thank you to everyone on this challenge, you have all been a huge inspiration to me and i will think of you all whenever im having a discouraging day. hope to see you all on the new challenge!

 

[mackeysmom]

Oops! We missed Laura! -- Laura is decluttering pounds and clothes -- and setting a great example for us all. She's focusing on the future rather than worry about the past, and she is going to look great in all her clothes that fit perfectly!

Maria

Thank you so much for the kind words.

One of my goals for the Fall Challenge is to be a more active poster - I sort of hung out on the fringes for this (my first) challenge. However, I did read the board every day and learned so much from each and every one of you.

Were the final WIN results ever posted? I looked back to the bookmark on Page One, but didn't see anything past July.

- Laura

 

[bellebookworm9]

YOU ARE PRETTY, YOU ARE SMART, YOU ARE NICE, YOU ARE WORTH IT!

I like this mantra. Thinking I'm going to adopt it for myself.

Were the final WIN results ever posted? I looked back to the bookmark on Page One, but didn't see anything past July.

- Laura

No, I don't think they were. I recall someone (Rose?) saying she would PM Connie to see if the results were available, but I don't know what came of that.

Nancy, thanks for the kind words. They made me smile.

Shawn, excellent question for the day. We can all use that little self esteem boost every once in a while!

See everyone on the new thread tomorrow-I'm off to make my HH chart.

 

[donac]

Good morning everyone

Time to move to the new thread. See you there

 

[Rose&Mike]

YOU ARE PRETTY, YOU ARE SMART, YOU ARE NICE, YOU ARE WORTH IT!

Definitely worth repeating.

Were the final WIN results ever posted? I looked back to the bookmark on Page One, but didn't see anything past July.

- Laura

No, I'm really sorry. I have not heard from Connie. I hope everything is ok and she is just really, really busy.

See you all on the new thread.

 

[pjlla]

AWE!!!! I love my Pjlla!!!!

I'm gonna print and hang this above my treadmill!!

You just made my day!!!

Glad to make you smile.

Following up on my post from last week about de-cluttering my closet.

Here’s what I’ve done in that time:

I went through my summer clothes and put aside anything I hadn’t worn all season. I figured if I didn’t wear it, I’m not going to. AND I hope that they will be tooooo big next summer.

Up next – Fall/Winter clothes. I tried on EVERY piece of clothing from last year and put aside anything that was too big. In doing so, I found a bunch of things that I had bought on clearance at the end of the winter in anticipation of losing weight.

Looks like I am starting out the Fall/Winter season with about 5 hoodies, 3 sweaters, 3 long-sleeved tees, 2 pairs of jeans and 1 pair of black dress pants. Not too bad, huh? Since I’m currently not working, it looks like I can pretty much hold off on buying anything for a while. Those things can get me through for a while. I am taking my niece to the Old Navy Outlet next week, so I can always pick up a few things there if anything catches my eye. Also, last night I ordered a simple black faux wrap dress from Old Navy Online.

The only thing that “hurt” was coming across my interview clothes. When I lost my job, I spent good money at Macy’s on three high-end pieces – blazer, pants, and skirt. They are absolutely swimming on me. I don’t really have the money right now to replace them, and don’t want to spend $$ on tailoring since I hope to lose more weight. My plan – should I wrangle any interviews - is to wear the black dress pants that I found in my closet and carry the blazer as if I just took it off that second.

I also went through all of my miscellaneous clothes – and tried to whittle my lounging/sleeping clothes, underwear, bras, socks, etc. down to a manageable quantity. I went through my shoes and did the same thing.

When all was said and done, I had 4 big Hefty bags of stuff to donate.

I also have quite a bit that I put aside and was thinking about trying to sell on Craigslist. These are items that were never worn (still have tags), or barely worn. I was thinking about selling them in lots – one lot of 1X/18W-20W, and another lot of 2X/22W-24W. I’ve never sold anything on CL before – have any of you had any luck?

All in all, I was happy with the results. I’m not going to focus on the $$$ wasted – but rather focus on how organized everything looks now. It is also a nice feeling knowing that everything in my closet fits – I will no longer buy anything that doesn’t fit yet. That’s a bad habit I have.

Wow – that one was long post.

- Laura

Honestly, I'm not real sure how things like this will sell on CL. You might end up lucky. I tried to GIVE away some really nice, barely worn clothes here on a previous BL challenge as my size was going down..... I even offered to pay the postage, but I ended up taking them to the GW.

DH cleaned out his suits a few days ago and found TWO brand new suits that are too big. I would love to make a few $$ back on them and may give CL a try, but I'm not holding out much hope. And none of the consignments shops around here want men's clothes.....:

Keep one good "interview" outfit handy and then worry about more good clothes when you get the job. Basic black works for everything..... and good idea about carrying the jacket!

Tracey is a dedicated mom to her beautiful angels, and is the energizer bunny with the exercise when she is on!! She will be on this fall challenge, that's for sure!!

Thanks for this qotd. I didn't go back a page, so I don't even know who's coach today. Is it still Shawn? love this one.

We're back from michael's appt and eeg. It was a long day. He did great with the EEG, and the np and md we saw were both very good. They were gearing toward the mildest form of seizure that wouldn't need treatment, but the eeg ended up coming back with more activity/irritability than they expected so they diagnosed him with simple partial seizures, and recommend we treat him to prevent seizures with Keppra. He's scheduled for his mri in the morning, and it will be nice to have that done.

I'm pooped. I go back to work tomorrow, and hope to just be a few minutes late since his appt should end at 8:30. It will be another early morning though, so we'll get to bed early tonight.

Thanks for all the well wishes. I, of course feel sorry for myself and ds, but when I think of all the kids I saw being pushed around the hospital in wheelchairs with such serious issues, I do count my blessings and am so grateful he is as healthy as he is.

New challenge tomorrow!! I'm ready to get right on it!!!

See you over there over the weekend!!

I popped on here yesterday just to see if you had a chance to update us about Michael. What exactly does the "seizure" dx do for him as far as school and football and other extracurricular activities? Hopefully the MRI will bring good news. It sounds like you are keeping a positive outlook.... good job Mom!

Thanks for playing along everyone

Routine day here. Work 7-2, work on the house, gym, cook dinner, clean kitchen, now relaxing with some NFL Got 4 loads of laundry done and some badly needed vacuuming. So frustruating to have the house in such a mess but still need to clean around the clutter I'm going to do 90 minutes a day until everything is put in a place!

Slow and steady will get you through!

Pam and Lisa, for all of us with BOYS! We will just have to keep at it. Repeating, repeating, repeating

Boys.... gotta love 'em but OY!!

I didn't accomplish much at work today. It was an odds and ends day with several meetings mixed in. At least I feel like I accomplished a lot the other 2 days I picked up the last prescription that I was waiting on tonight and got Colby a white T-shirt for their tie dye project tomorrow. Came home, made dinner then headed out to our shop and cut out the fabric for the street rod top. Not sure why, but once it was cut and sewn it was smaller than it should have been. Ended up ripping out 2 very long seams. Hopefully I can make it work tomorrow. Very frustrating as I outlined it on the street rod and gave myself a seam allowance Either I'll make it work or order more fabric and use the one I made tonight as a template.

Tomorrow I'm picking up donations at school and bringing them to the homeless shelter. I promised my mother that I would do a bunch of data entry for her at work as she is behind. I also want to finish the street rod top and sort through clothes to donate. Not sure there are enough hours in the day.

Things got mixed up and you didn't get included in Thursday's QOTD, so here goes.......

I could say SO MUCH about Deb. She is BEAUTIFUL! Her DH and DSs are absolutely adorable! She has amazing energy.... helping with lacrosse, working full time, helping with storm clean-up, organizing donations, and keeping up with three busy boys.

She has amazing strength that has gotten her through some news that would DEMOLISH a lesser woman.

But most of all..... she is an amazing friend. She (and her Dh and boys) took the time during a holiday weekend to be with a friend in need she had never met IRL. She provided comfort in so many ways..... through love, food (yup, sometimes food DOES equal LOVE!! ), helpful advise, and a much needed hug. And this BL person will never forget all that.


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

Happy Saturday friends! I'm so sorry I didn't have time to come over and chat yesterday. Parents came to visit yesterday, so the morning was spent cleaning and the afternoon was spent with robotics team meeting and cooking, etc.

I'll say good-bye to our summer challenge now. It was a GREAT one, even though I'm not ending where I'd like to be (weight-wise). I look forward to seeing you ALL on the Fall challenge where we will make lots of new friends!
TTYL.....................P

 

[mikamah]

Hi Pamela,

Thank you for all the love and support. His seizure diagnosis shouldn't stop him from doing any activity including football. I feel better about the football now knowing that his MRI was normal, but I've been doing a lot of reading, and really there are no restrictions, but the main issue would be with swimming, never swimming alone, having someone else with him who would be aware of his dx in case of a seizure. At his age, he's not ever really alone anywhere, so it's a little easier than if he was a teenager. I'm trying not to look too far ahead, since there is a good chance it will be a childhood disorder, and he will outgrow it. Trying to be positive, and I don't really think he has a clue as to how worried and what a mess I really was.

I also want to thank Rose, Dona, CC, Connie and Lisa for all you did to keep this challenge running this summer. I definitely was not as present as I'd like to have been, and it shows on the scale. The fall challenge is booming already, so looks to be a great success.

 

[Connie96]

FINAL RESULTS...

Collectively, since the beginning of this challenge, we have:

• Lost a total of 74 2/3 inches
• Lost an average of 5 inches
• Lost an average of 3.03%
  

Our TOP TEN WINners for this Summer are:
10) -0.97% - buzz5985
9) -2.59% - JacksLilWench
8) -2.66% - Zhoen
7) -3.42% - mommyof2Pirates
6) -3.55% - glss1/2fll
5) -4.15% - Connie96
4) -4.78% - Worfiedoodles
3) -5.59% - mackeysmom
2) -7.99% - satorifound
And (drumroll) our Number One WINner is:
1) -8.29% - bellebookworm9

Congratulations to Gretchen, Sacha, Laura, Maria, Linda, Lindsay, Joan, Kaiti, Janis and ALL of our WINners!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the WIN challenge and I hope to see everyone WINning again this Fall!

 

[jaelless]

Summer challenge was great.