Discover the Wild (and Healthy) Side!! – WISH May Lifestyle/Weight Challenge

[Flossbolna]

I have to admit that I chose today's question because Pandora opening reminds me of meeting my now BF for the first time. We are both huge Disney fans and just before we met for the very first time they announced Pandora coming to the AK. So, obviously, this was a huge topic for us!! I was very much against it as I thought it was a bad fit for AK and he kept telling me that despite it being based on a movie, it is going to be amazing with Joe Rohde and James Cameron attached to the project. So, in those 6 years we moved from acquaintances to friends to being a couple. Definitely the one major positive development for me.

Otherwise, my life has not changed much over the last 6 years, same town, same job. Even the same weight for most of the time. The one aspect that has changed is that I have gained far more consistency making healthy choices. I often have times when I stop exercising, stop tracking, buy candy at the supermarket, make bad food choices when eating out. But those are getting less and less. I can see this quite well in the weight tracking app I have on my phone. When I fall of the bandwaggon like this, I stop stepping on the scale. The times when I have no weight associated with are getting less and less in the course of the last 6 years. And my recorded runs have more consistency as well.

The next 6 years: I just hope to continue my path to more consistency in healthy living. And if I manage to just lose 4 pounds a year then I would be at my dream weight at the end of those 6 years.

 

[HappyGrape]

After Todler phase comes acceptance phase.

"Logically, I knew all this when I was losing the weight, and I even stated it out loud when I was talking with others. But there’s a difference between saying it before it happens and what you feel when the moment arrives.

It’s like having a dress rehearsal versus a fully packed house on opening night of a theatrical performance. You know your lines; you practiced your songs; you imagined what you would do on opening night. But then it really happens, and you react in a way that’s not what you imagined. Or think of it like a birthday party. Someone has thrown you a beautiful birthday party, and everything looks great and is decorated the way you like, but you’re told you can’t have any cake or open any presents. It looks great on the outside, but inside you feel a level of frustration with the situation. There’s a stirring, down deep in your stomach, of restlessness and just wanting to tear into everything without a care in the world. Acceptance, for me, was being OK with just looking at the gifts and not feeling upset because I couldn’t open them. It was making peace with getting joy from the moment without needing more. I had to find new ways to enjoy the party. I would have to be selective and pick a gift or a treat every once in a while and allow that to be enough.

That’s the phase I’m in now. I accept the rules that go along with the party of maintaining weight loss. I get to have the gift of a healthy body, but I have to be willing to pass on things from time to time. I have to be willing to have personal guidelines and restrictions. I have to be willing to do the work without an immediate payoff. I had to have a real sit-down moment with myself where I asked, what do I want more? To be like “everyone else” and eat without a thought of the outcome, or to have a healthy life and future, which means always having to be aware and mindful of my choices?

A strange thing happened when I decided to accept not getting to have everything, all of the time. When I can only have one gift every once in a while, I really appreciate it. I never did before. I was either eating whatever I wanted all the time or seriously restricting. That harmonious balance of having a little and leaving some behind was new to me, and it feels good now that I have become more used to it."





I think this was what was different last year. Before I never really truly reached acceptance phase. I never really thought that I will go at a dessert buffet and I won't have as much cake as I can handle! While doing on and off diets, I was holding on to lets eat as much as I can behavior. And unless I start enjoying my "on" more and give up the "off" completely I would go back to that moment in 2015 when I reached my highest weight and this number will keep getting higher and higher after every off.

That's what I want in the next 6 years too. To remain in acceptance phase.

 

[Oneanne]

How has your life changed in the last 6 years? Tell us one thing for you personally that has improved since 2011. And which aspect of your life do you most want to work for changing between now and 6 years in the future?

Six years ago was when I got serious about my career. I felt like a complete fake, like I was the least technical person in IT and decided I either had to go to school and get some solid technical skills or needed to go in another direction... I chose the other direction which was leadership. It was a fairly bumpy road, which surprised me as historically I'd always had opportunities come to me, and I was already fulfilling a team leadership role without the actual job title. I've grown immensely, and my income has steadily increased as well to the point where I'm finally not living pay check to pay check. Health/weight wise I've been up and down a few times but mostly heavy.

Six years from now I will more than likely be retired, from a conventional corporate career at least. My vision of what that is going to look like changes on a fairly regular basis. I do know I need to get healthy, because I want another 20+ years of active life style.

Looking forward to exploring Pandora in November, it will be fun to have something totally new to check out.

 

[katmu]

How has your life changed in the last 6 years? Tell us one thing for you personally that has improved since 2011. And which aspect of your life do you most want to work for changing between now and 6 years in the future?

In 2011, I was about a year post-divorce, my kids were both just out of HS, and I was laid off from my previous employer. I worked as a consultant for a few months before taking a position with the company where I work now. I have since been promoted to a management position, and am continuing to work on advancing my career. My kids are both now out of the house so it's just me and my 2 very spoiled Labs at home.

Six years from now, I would say the one thing I most want to work on is finding a stable long term relationship with a genuinely nice man. I had been with my ex for 21 years before the divorce and I have to say I'm a bit surprised how hard dating has been at this age.

In terms of my health, my weight is down about 20 pounds from my highest which was right after the divorce, but since then I seem to keep gaining and losing the same 10 pounds so I'm really trying to find a way to stick with it for the long term.

I will be exploring Pandora next week and I'm so excited but a little nervous about the crowds. I will try to post a bit of a trip report, even if it's mostly pictures.

 

[Lady Marie]

. So, while AK grew a new land in that time frame, how has your life changed in the last 6 years? Tell us one thing for you personally that has improved since 2011. And which aspect of your life do you most want to work for changing between now and 6 years in the future?

Interesting and a little timely of a question for me. This time 6 years ago, I was doing Maymester so I could graduate.... I only needed one credit that I had been putting off and putting off. Any guesses on what classes that was??? Physical Education Haha! But to get my scholarship money, I had to be at least a part time student. So I had to supplement that one PE class with two other classes. The only things available that fit my schedule and were mildly interesting to me was a theatrical movement class (intense stuff called Contact Improv) and dancing as relevant to the learning process. So I was basically moving from 9am to 4pm all day everyday. When I finished and graduated I was THIN! And probably in the best shape I've ever been in just from that one intense month.

But so many things have happened -- gotten married, had a few jobs, traveled a lot (definitely the best thing that has improved over the past 6 years!), and A LOT of Disney trips and celebratory eating. I did the math the other day-- we have been passholders for almost 4 years averaging a weekend trip about 8 times a year. I was eating like I was on vacation for all of those weekend trips and not doing a darn thing to make up for it when I got home... so gaining about 1-2 lbs each month 8 months per year for 2-3 years (before I started trying to get myself together...) well there's the the 30 lbs that I couldn't figure out!!! I mean I was not making great choices anyway, and I'm not blaming Disney at all, because there have been other trips in there too where I ate my way around some country or region Haha! But I was in "vacation mode" for almost 3 years. I am undoing that mindset.

This is what I want to work towards for the next 6 years. Maintaining healthy habits all year round. Not even having a "vacation mode" vs "healthy mode" -- I just want a sustainable balance that allows for indulgences and also keeps me on track year round no matter where I am or what I am doing.

"What I’ve found is that it’s less about being motivated than it is about being conditioned with your habits — having the keystone habits in place that will keep you doing those things even when motivation is waning, which it will. One of the biggest misconceptions is that you have to feel motivated in order to do the behaviors necessary to keep you at your goal weight. I have found just the opposite to be true; if you do the behaviors, you then receive motivation. You feel better. Those behaviors bring on a determination to do more healthy, positive things"

This resonates with me right now. I have never had the motivation to do the work. But by doing the work and seeing the results, I am now motivated by results and feeling good about myself. There is still no motivation to do the work, and I don't even know if that will ever exist for me. It's a huge mindset change because I used to tell myself it will all fall into place when I find something I like to do that organically motivates me. However, making the habits keep me going, and it's the principles and standards I've set for myself, that's what gets me to the gym-- that's what's making my progress this time.

 

[Flossbolna]

Wow, I love reading everyone's answers! A lot of you really have had some amazing challenges that you conquered in those 6 years.

 

[sweetpeama]

Is there anything you can do that supports your health and fitness but also bring you some happiness this weekend? Nice walk with a friend, good meal, a silly dance? What can you do to have some fun while moving towards the goals you have

I would like to find the time in my busy schedule to go swimming.

Will you be doing some planning for next weeks to make it easier for you to move towards your healthy and fitness goals? Shopping list for your food? Meal plan or ideas? Exercise - when, what and how long? Special occasions - have you thought how will you manage them, enjoy them and still remain on track

For me it is figuring out when I can get some exercise that includes getting to the pool.

How did you get on last week? Would you like to report progress towards your goal? Last week is now gone, if you have made progress towards your goal - well done, lets repeat it all again! If you have not, is there something you can do differently? Would you like to set up new weekly goal for this week?

Last week I have no idea what happened I watched what I ate, got in some exercise and drank plenty of water and still gained weight though since I can see the pattern of my crocks that I wear around the house in my feet I know this is water weight. The sudden warm weather has not helped me which is another big reason that I need to get to the pool. I need to check the pool schedules at places near me and figure out how to get there at least 3 days a week.

how has your life changed in the last 6 years? Tell us one thing for you personally that has improved since 2011. And which aspect of your life do you most want to work for changing between now and 6 years in the future?

6 years ago it had only been 16 months since we left for our Disneyworld trip and the 1 year anniversary of my younger daughter being officially diagnosed with apraxia was approaching. I had just about been persuaded by the school system and the agency I was working with that I could not teach my special girl and that more in likely I could not even teach my older girl who is special in her own way beyond kindergarten or 1st grade. Yesterday sitting beside me my special girl got over 90% of her math questions comparing numbers correct on the first try. While she is behind where she should be finding a program that worked for her not being able to speak or easily write answers that we could afford the price. I was 25-30 pounds lighter though still majorly over where I should be. The past few years I have gained and loss the same 10-15 pounds multiple times. A little over 2 years ago I became an independent consultant with Jamberry. In the next 6 years I would like to loose at least half a pound a week which while I would still be overweight I would be at a much lower weight than I am know. I would like to make at least one Disney Trip in that time.

 

[HappyGrape]

Six years ago was when I got serious about my career. I felt like a complete fake, like I was the least technical person in IT and decided I either had to go to school and get some solid technical skills or needed to go in another direction... I chose the other direction which was leadership. It was a fairly bumpy road, which surprised me as historically I'd always had opportunities come to me, and I was already fulfilling a team leadership role without the actual job title. I've grown immensely, and my income has steadily increased as well to the point where I'm finally not living pay check to pay check. Health/weight wise I've been up and down a few times but mostly heavy.

.

This is inspiring read as most of my team is way more technical than me. I need to figure out my next step and it has been eating me in the last year I have to say as I reached as far as I can unless I up my game/add to my skills

 

[HappyGrape]

Drinking my coffee and reflecting on the month so far. I love having behaviour goals, but wish I measure my bf% at start of the month. Years ago I decided that I won't go into that many numbers, and don't need macros or bf% but the shorter workout have allowed me to be a lot more consistent and I feel I am making good progress and I wish there was way to quantify this other than the scale. I was due to take Monday as rest day, but as I can't go to the gym from lunch time today to Saturday morning I decided to hit it 3 mornings. I feel little iffy about this decision this morning, but in 2 hours I will be supper happy about it! I didn't feel like boxing food or prepping clothes last night but I did it anyway! This out of the way makes it much easier to do what I plan to do - my gym gear is out, my work clothes are packed in bag to put on after workout, I just need to take the boxes out of the fridge and put them in my bag

Yey - I am doing great with my behaviour goals, I would like to see the results pay up little quicker! I know chances of this happing this week of the month are slim, but this doesn't prevent me continue doing what I set my mind to do!

Have a supper happy and heathy day all

 

[HappyGrape]

Post workout update! Lol, it was awesome! 2.5 rest days ahead is my Wednesday WhooHoo after 3 killer workouts so far this week

 

[Flossbolna]

May 24

Pandora - the World of Avatar

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Woohoo - May 27th is the official opening day for Pandora. But today there will be a special dedication ceremony. And you can watch it on the Disney Parks Blog live stream at 8:10am EST. More info can be found HERE.

A huge woohoo for Pandora - what is your Wednesday Woohoo??

 

[piglet1979]

Today is my last day of work before the long weekend. My kids are also going to my in laws on Monday for the week. Kid free for a week. What shale we do.

Yesterday was my daughters dress rehearsal for her dance and the recital is Saturday. Rehearsal did not go well for her class as all of them except my daughter and one other forgot the dance. Hopefully they can pull it together on Saturday. She also made the team that is a step up from where she is. It is the step right before completing.

So i have talked about my son and issues we had with school this year before. Second quarter was hard for him but he learned a lot form that one quarter. He set a goal for himself to get straight A's 3rd quarter but missed it by getting one B. He was happy with that but also a little bummed. So he set the same goal for the 4th quarter. The last day of school is Friday. As of right now he has straight A's. We are so proud of him.

 

[Flossbolna]

So i have talked about my son and issues we had with school this year before. Second quarter was hard for him but he learned a lot form that one quarter. He set a goal for himself to get straight A's 3rd quarter but missed it by getting one B. He was happy with that but also a little bummed. So he set the same goal for the 4th quarter. The last day of school is Friday. As of right now he has straight A's. We are so proud of him.

I remember how shocked you were about his problems. It seems like he is on a great path now!! What an amazing acchievement!

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My woohoo is that I am going to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie tonight!! It opens officially tomorrow (all movies open on Thurdays here), but they have special previews tonight. And tomorrow is a holiday here in Germany, so I can sleep in and finally go for a run again! Did not manage to run at DLP (but walked 25.000 steps a day in the parks) and the last two mornings were horribly rushed.

 

[Oneanne]

It is Wednesday already, isn't it? The past week has been pretty rough for me, as I've been struggling with the stress, pace and volume of work coming at me. I'm trying to make an attitude adjustment and look at things differently, but it's been such a grind that it's a challenge to poke my head up above ground and even look around.

On a brighter note, I have managed to make ground transportation connections for the crafting retreat. On the arrival side it's car sharing with a gal from the UK that I follow on IG, so that will be a nice connection. Last weekend was our local yarn shop crawl - 26 stores to visit in the general area. I abstained because I'm saving my yarn $$$ for the market at the retreat, then Monday I happened to think I'd better check to see if there were supplies lists for the classes I'm taking and yes there are - I need to take quite a bit of yarn with me and somehow none of the yarn sitting around the house (and there is a lot of it) is quite right. So this weekend, yes, there is going to be yarn shopping.

Let's see, what else... we're still having lovely weather, and it is so, so nice to have broken free from winter. Things are in full bloom... the gal who lives on the other side of me (non-sister side) has been catching the same morning bus and today we were marveling at a huge lilac tree behind the houses across the street from the bus stop, that neither of us had noticed before. Then the people behind her have this large bush that has vivid blue flowers, that is large enough to see over the fence, but neither of us remembered seeing it before either.

And then next week is going to be super short with Monday off for Memorial Day and then Friday off as the start to vacation... woohoo for that as I really need to step away for a bit.

 

[iivye]

My woohoo is that I did my first half marathon over the weekend. I was never able to get past 9.5 miles in my training runs prior to the race so I was pretty worried. I actually stressed myself out so much that my hair was falling out. I realize that this sounds ridiculous because the worst thing that could happen is being told to leave the course because I was too slow and not being able to finish which really isn't a big deal but it's my nature to worry about things like that.

My goal was to complete the race in less than 3 hours and I finished with a time of 2:51:44.77. There were some some steep hills that took their toll on me but my 195lb self did it. I have to admit I was tearing up when I ran across the finish.

I began running at the end of January 2017 mostly due to reading @MommaoffherRocker 's story so I definitely want to thank her for giving me the spark to start this journey.

 

[dolewhipdreams]

My woohoo is that I did my first half marathon over the weekend. I was never able to get past 9.5 miles in my training runs prior to the race so I was pretty worried. I actually stressed myself out so much that my hair was falling out. I realize that this sounds ridiculous because the worst thing that could happen is being told to leave the course because I was too slow and not being able to finish which really isn't a big deal but it's my nature to worry about things like that.

My goal was to complete the race in less than 3 hours and I finished with a time of 2:51:44.77. There were some some steep hills that took their toll on me but my 195lb self did it. I have to admit I was tearing up when I ran across the finish.

I began running at the end of January 2017 mostly due to reading @MommaoffherRocker 's story so I definitely want to thank her for giving me the spark to start this journey.

View attachment 239130

Congratulations, that's amazing!!

 

[Lady Marie]

My woohoo is that I did my first half marathon over the weekend. I was never able to get past 9.5 miles in my training runs prior to the race so I was pretty worried. I actually stressed myself out so much that my hair was falling out. I realize that this sounds ridiculous because the worst thing that could happen is being told to leave the course because I was too slow and not being able to finish which really isn't a big deal but it's my nature to worry about things like that.

My goal was to complete the race in less than 3 hours and I finished with a time of 2:51:44.77. There were some some steep hills that took their toll on me but my 195lb self did it. I have to admit I was tearing up when I ran across the finish.

I began running at the end of January 2017 mostly due to reading @MommaoffherRocker 's story so I definitely want to thank her for giving me the spark to start this journey.

View attachment 239130

That's an awesome woohoo!

 

[Lady Marie]

Well, I guess it's only appropriate to woohoo t-minus two sleeps until we are back on the road to Disney to be there for Pandora's opening. The preview was amazing, but I cannot wait to see it at night. Major woohoo for the trip is getting to stay on site (we figured we needed the EMH and FP+ booking window for such an occasion) . We hardly ever do that, so it's a real treat!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

So today is one week since I started WW and my first official weigh-in since my starting weight and I was all ready for my woohoo to be the number of pounds I lost but....I gained three pounds! Ugh! I know that this is a transition period for my body so I'm not spiraling into despair or anything but I made some really tough choices and stayed on track with my points for my whole first week and it didn't show.

I guess that's why they call this program 'Beyond the Scale', though. I definitely feel more energized and I am proud of making healthy choices a priority. I also would like to buy a new swimsuit soon so.. oh well

 

[HappyGrape]

So today is one week since I started WW and my first official weigh-in since my starting weight and I was all ready for my woohoo to be the number of pounds I lost but....I gained three pounds! Ugh! I know that this is a transition period for my body so I'm not spiraling into despair or anything but I made some really tough choices and stayed on track with my points for my whole first week and it didn't show.

The scale can be sooooooo annoying! I said it many times but for me it was not linear at all
week 1 - deficit to lose 1 pound, 2 pounds lost
week 2 - deficit to lose 1.5 pounds - nothing
week 3 - deficit to lose 1 pound - nothing
week 4 - deficit to lose .5 pound - 3 pounds loss

We are really complex creatures and while water weight makes it look easy, sustainable weight loss is slow and little bit shows when it decides too! Keep up the good work, give it chance for at least 2/3 weeks, review, revise if needed.

But I was getting really frustrated with that last year.