Disney minus 75 pounds!

[loislane]

My first trip to the World was in 2009 at my heaviest weight ever of 220 pounds. While I had fun, I was uncomfortable a lot of the time. Hot, sweaty, stuffed into seats, shorts riding up the inside of my fat thighs, you get the picture.

Fast forward to August 2010 when I signed up for Weight Watchers. A year later, I'm down 75 pounds and am now a lean, mean Disney machine!

Just got back from a week-long visit as a 145 pound woman and it was great! I was not uncomfortable at all - although I did feel my belly swelling as the week progressed. A little bit of water gain, I'm sure, but possibly 1 or 5 too many pieces of cheesecake.

Anyway, my big mission for this trip was to get a new picture with Rafiki to replace the old one that helped inspire me to lose weight.

Behold, the old me and Rafiki next to the new me with Rafiki - oh yeah, and my husband, too.

 

[disbabyndaddy]

CONGRATULATIONS!!! What an achievement! You look fantastic -- SO happy for you. (Your husband looks great too.) I bet everything about your vacation was better...more energy, stamina to walk all day, more fun on the rides...how wonderful!

We've been to WDW and/or DL the last three years...taking a break this fall and vacationing somewhere else...but after joining WW online this past January and losing 45 pounds in 22 weeks -- I, too, want to get back to Disney and retake all the character photos with the new and improved me instead of the old, fat one.

Congrats again, and keep up the GREAT WORK!

 

[kcool]

Congratulations! You look great and I am sure that it feels wonderful!!

 

[Craftydawn]

Wow! You look fabulous!
You are an inspiration for me as I just re-joined Weight Watchers and my goal is also to take new photos at Disney World next year. Excellent job!!

 

[catherine]

Congratulations on the weight loss, you look great and you look so happy!

 

[Crazy4Disney06]

Congrats! You look amazing and so much younger!

 

[dumbo_buddy]

amazing! you go girl! now THAT is inspiration!!!

disney really is the ultimate test of your weight. i was in WDW in 2007 at almost 175lbs and although it was january, i felt awful, hot, and bloated all the time. i finally got my butt in gear and by the following year i was back down to 135lbs and walking around was a breeze! it's amazing how much more you can enjoy disney when you feel good about yourself!

i'll be back in WDW in two weeks back up to 160 but i'm also 7 months pregnant

congrats to you and thanks for sharing! i hope anyone who needs that extra push to get their butts in gear sees this and is inspired! i know i am by your before and after pic!

 

[loislane]

Nancy - congrats!

Thanks everyone! This trip was so much nicer in so many ways. I wasn't nearly as hot or sweaty. Honestly, I was just comfortable most of the time and only got really hot at EPCOT. No shorts riding up the insides of my sweaty thighs. It just felt so much nicer on the rides - instead of being squished in, I had room to spare. And it was nice to indulge in some treats - Dole Whip! - and not feel like people were watching me eat and judging me. Let's face it, when you're fat, no one is going to look at you eating an ice cream and think that you *shouldn't* be having it.

 

[gudrench3]

This is amazing!! Way to go...and thanks for sharing you story with us!!! It is such an inspiration!!!

Thanks again and way to go!!!

 

[Rose&Mike]

Congratulations!

 

[inkedupmomma]

you look amazing! congrats!!!

 

[pjlla]

Nice job! And thanks for posting the pictures! I'm sure that you have inspired many, many people here!

Many folks who visit the WISH boards are looking to lose weight for a Disney trip. I know that that was the catalyst that "restarted" my weight loss journey in 2008.

If you don't mind me asking, how are you sticking with it now that the Disney trip has passed?

Did you attending WW meetings or do it online??

Again, thanks for sharing...................P

 

[loislane]

I don't mind sharing what I do at all. I know how much it can help.

I joined WW in August 2010 and in the past year went from 220 to 145. I do the entire program online - have never been to a meeting and never plan to go to one.

The day we left for Disney I was 144.8. The morning after we came home, I was 149. I just got right back to eating on plan after we arrived home and as of this morning, I'm down to 145.6 - so just 0.8 pounds of vacation weight left to lose!

Right now, I'm in losing mode because I'd like to get down to 140, so I have 29 WW points per day. I find the program very easy to use, although I lost weight easier when I was heavier. I guess that's just how it goes no matter what plan you are using to lose weight.

I work out 6 days a week for anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes depending on what I'm doing. Three days a week, I do a straight cardio workout liking running (I mostly do jog/walk intervals for my everyday runs because jogging kills my knees!) or the elliptical, which I hate but do on occasion to mix things up. The other 3 days, I do some sort of interval workout - usually a Jillian Michaels DVD that incorporates strength work, cardio work, and core work. Every once in a while, I do some straight strength work to keep my muscle tone good.

 

[Zoesmama03]

Great job! Congrats on your success. I had a good success with WW when I did meetings but online not so much. For me that accountability of having to weigh in in front of my leader was enough.

I can't wait for my next trip(not planned even in a vague sense being WAY under-employed right now) and I WILL be thinner. Last time I went was June 2009 and just to MK. I was in the 260 range or so. I'd like to be there again now but by next trip hoping for a lot less than that. Its looking more likely I'd do a DL trip before I get back to WDW.

 

[Crazy4Disney06]

I don't mind sharing what I do at all. I know how much it can help.

I joined WW in August 2010 and in the past year went from 220 to 145. I do the entire program online - have never been to a meeting and never plan to go to one.

The day we left for Disney I was 144.8. The morning after we came home, I was 149. I just got right back to eating on plan after we arrived home and as of this morning, I'm down to 145.6 - so just 0.8 pounds of vacation weight left to lose!

Right now, I'm in losing mode because I'd like to get down to 140, so I have 29 WW points per day. I find the program very easy to use, although I lost weight easier when I was heavier. I guess that's just how it goes no matter what plan you are using to lose weight.

I work out 6 days a week for anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes depending on what I'm doing. Three days a week, I do a straight cardio workout liking running (I mostly do jog/walk intervals for my everyday runs because jogging kills my knees!) or the elliptical, which I hate but do on occasion to mix things up. The other 3 days, I do some sort of interval workout - usually a Jillian Michaels DVD that incorporates strength work, cardio work, and core work. Every once in a while, I do some straight strength work to keep my muscle tone good.

I was looking last night online about joining WW'ers however my only hesitation is that the program has completely changed since I was last a member. How do you feel about the new program and do think you would have been has successful with the new points plus program?

 

[loislane]

I did August-November last year on the old program and have been on the new PointsPlus program ever since. I lost weight on both. I find PointsPlus more livable in terms of eating a healthy diet and leaning towards healthier choices. It's easier to choose an apple for a snack when it's 0 points instead of the same points as a 100-calorie pack of cookies. The only way PointsPlus hurts me is I'm a BIG potato lover and they have more points now - so I just limit how often I have potatoes.

 

[Crazy4Disney06]

I did August-November last year on the old program and have been on the new PointsPlus program ever since. I lost weight on both. I find PointsPlus more livable in terms of eating a healthy diet and leaning towards healthier choices. It's easier to choose an apple for a snack when it's 0 points instead of the same points as a 100-calorie pack of cookies. The only way PointsPlus hurts me is I'm a BIG potato lover and they have more points now - so I just limit how often I have potatoes.

Thank you for your quick reply! I think I am going to go ahead and sign up for the online 3 month membership and see how it goes! I have nothing to lose (aside from weight) which I have been at a halt with all summer long! I am down 45 pounds since November but need to lose about 50 more (at least). Congrats on your loss! Your disney pictures are such a motivation for me to get down where I want over the next year before our trip!

 

[loislane]

I truly can't say enough good things about WW and how it helped me change my life. It taught me portion control and how to make good choices - two things that were sadly lacking in my eating habits.

If you commit yourself to following the program, it works. Simple as that.

Congrats on your loss so far!

 

[akhaloha]

You look amazing! Great job! You have inspired me to lose weight!!

 

[averill94]

Traci-

You look fabulous! Thank you for sharing because I have one quick question....when you are in losing mode did you use the extra weekly points?

I started in Oct 2010 - did really well for a while but then sometime in the spring - stopped losing. Not a big mystery there - whenever we had a party or somthing going on I ate those 49 points!!! I am back on track and think the key might be to try and abstain from using those points while trying to lose.
Over all I am down 28lbs which I am very happy about - aand more importantly WW has helped me KEEP IT OFF!

Thanks for inspiring!