February 2017 Wish Lifestyle / Weight Challenge: Beat the Sugar Rush and Earn Your Hero Medal!

Let's talk about your "ah ha" moment. When do you recognize that you needed to make a change?
Do you have something motivating you to reach the finish line?

I honestly figured out that I needed to make a change a number of years ago but kept using excuses like money is tight so I can't purchase healthy food ( read fruits and vegetables) and in the mean time was purchasing stuff from the chips and candy aisle for my kids and later was getting hungry and helping myself to a lot of it. That and a lot of pasta ( which since I have a 9 year old who will just eat it uncooked and then I don't have any when I go to fix a meal so I quite buying unless I have a specific meal that it is needed for on my planned menu list and then it is hidden in my walk in closet) or I don't have the time with my dh's work schedule to go to the gym. As I was thinking about my New Years Resolutions ( admit it we all make them and usually after the first month they are gone) I happened to get this in an email https://cdn.ramseysolutions.net/media/pdf/Ramsey-Goals-Worksheet.pdf

I started making my list and my one for Physical was to loose at least 10 pounds in 2017 by the end of the year and part of this was to walk at least 10 minutes a day in my house if necessary. No more DH can't watch the kids, or I can't walk outside because there is snow deeper than my sneakers and I am going to get snow in my shoes, or it is below zero without the wind chill and we have winds so high 40 MPH is considered a breeze. Or when it finally does warm up there is so much mud every where then there are the the wind is blowing so hard or it is 90 plus in the shade by 10 AM and I am not a morning person excuses.

I am trying to go to the pool a couple of times a week though if I have days like yesterday that the weather is yucky and I don't want to deal with going out and putting up with driving on icy roads I can still walk in my house and even start to add some of my hand weights, use my weighted ball, or my resistance bands ( though I would like to know where my 2 lighter level ones are from my one set as they have been used as toys by a small child. Oh and my piece to place it in the door for upper body exercises on one of them is also missing)

Bonus Question: name your favorite video game 'bad guy'.

I honestly do not play video games. I have played some Frogger on my cousin's system back when we were growing up, and some KaBomb ( catch those bomb in boxes of water to keep them from exploding) and tried to learn a bit on playing Mario and Duck Hunt on the system my brother bought with his fair check one year ( let's just say I was terrible at them). I have gotten to do a few Wii games at my brother in law's house mostly doing bowling though most of the time everyone else is playing and I don't get a turn to play. I do like it though and that is the one system I would consider for my house much to the dismay of my 12 year old who wants a complete game room one day ( hate to tell you even if we had the money it's not happening child).

My games that I do play are Farmtown and Bejewled along with occasionally Math Lines, Farm Hero's Saga, Pet Rescue Saga, Candy Crush Saga, and a few others some which fall in the rarely played.
 
Question of the Day:
Let's talk about your "ah ha" moment. When do you recognize that you needed to make a change?
Do you have something motivating you to reach the finish line?

Bonus Question: name your favorite video game 'bad guy'.


Good question! I've had a lot of "ah ha" moments over the years. This one happened last February at our company's annual meeting. Once a year, we hold a shareholders meeting and everyone from work is supposed to attend if possible. A few of us have "jobs" for the evening and over the last few years, most of the people that worked with me have retired and their replacements are younger (and thinner). I always fit in ok with the older ladies, but last year, I just felt HUGE (mainly because I am) and after eating with everyone that night, I went home and said that's enough! The very next day I started tracking on MFP and did great for awhile. I've slacked off the last few months, but I still keep trying to turn it back around. My success I had proves that I can do it, I just have to keep reminding myself of that!

My main motivation to reach the finish line is comfort and ease of everyday life. I'm 46 and although I'm definitely not a youngster any more, I'm hoping to have a lot of life left in my. I know the healthier I am, the better my life will be. DH and I like to travel and I don't want to hold us back by not being able to do the things we want to do later in life. I know with my age and size combined at this point in my life, my body makes some things harder than they need to be and I know that will just magnify the older I get.

I know it's a struggle most days, but something I heard one that that seemed to stick with me was basically in a year, you won't be in exactly the same place you are now. You will either be heavier or lighter - it's what you do in that year that will determine it. After reading some of you maintainers stories, I realize this might not be exactly true, but at this point in my life it is. If I don't consciously try to lose weight, I know next year at this time, I'll be heavier and I just can't let that happen!
 
Thursday's QOTD:

1 - My eyes! They're pretty, especially when I take the time to do my makeup.
2 - I can be fairly witty and punny from time to time.
3 - I like to think I'm pretty creative.
4 - I'm a good photographer. I need to upgrade my lenses so my photos aren't as good as some, but I've got the eye for it, which makes a huge difference.

Today's QOTD:
I've been saying for the last year that I need to get back in gear and lose the weight, but over the last year I've just put on more. Every time I've half tried to start again, there's been some excuse to justify getting off track again - Disney trips or holidays or birthdays. Did I mention I have no self-control? Haha. But between now and our April trip there are no "excuse" days. We don't really celebrate Valentine's Day, birthdays are done for the time being, no holidays, no trips. Plus, we're going for Dapper Day, and I LOVE costumes - especially vintage ones, so I definitely want to be able to wear them comfortably. That combined with some of the photos from our most recent trip (especially the one below) were the last straw. I don't want to spend the rest of my life like this - being overweight, hating the way I look and feel, stressing over clothes.

IMG_5685.JPG

30lbs makes SUCH a difference - especially when you're 5'4" haha. No more!
 
Got a 14 minute walk in completing 16 of the infamous house laps ( thanks DH for leaving a trash bag in the utility room so I had to do really sharp turn arounds-one of the reasons I don't do sports like basketball is my knees can't take the sudden turning but what ever-mini rant over) followed by 3 minutes using my resistance bands for a total of 17 minutes of exercise bringing my monthly total so far to 48 minutes or 12% of my goal.

Finally decided on the next flavor of fruit infused water at least for my pitcher in the fridge and it is mango peach. We will see if I have others in the family helping themselves this time. Surprisingly even my blueberry lover didn't like that flavor for water. I don't care if they take out of the pitcher as long as the rule of refill when it is less than half full is followed.
 


Hello all - I have been lurking for a couple of days but haven't had time or brain space to reply although I have done some 'likes' - I find that after hosting I need a few days of downtime to switch from hostess to participant and just regroup lol - but I do love having my turn at hosting our chatter.

Video games include a prologue before you begin game play. Let's focus on your story's prologue.
Briefly introduce yourself. Let us know your goal and how you're going to earn your hero medal.
If you're a familiar face 'round these parts, then tell us something new you haven't shared yet!

Hello everyone - and I see we have some new friends this month - welcome.

I am Sam - I am joining in from Australia - from the beautiful Sunshine Coast in Queensland to be exact. It is summer here and it has been a HOT HOT HOT one! Which has been kind of good for eating as I have NOT wanted to cook too much in the heat and have been having a lot of salads. I am a 44 year old single mum to 3 wonderful kids DS16, DS12 & DD12 (soon to 13 this month!). Skinny kid/teen, put on a little when I moved away from home to a cooler climate but still was pretty thin compared to now, after first child used Jenny Craig to drop the baby weight, after twins wasn't too bad at first - but then relationship breakdown - hello comfort food and here I am at a size I never thought I would be. I have never been a big exerciser and that combined with my love of chocolate helped me to a size 18 (aussie - which is your size 16) but sometimes feeling like I am bordering on the next size up especially for pants. Yikes.

Something new hmmm - I have a best friend that I went to kindy with- so we have known each other since we were 4 or 5 - we don't talk every week an sometimes can go 6 months or even more without a chat but it doesn't matter - it works for us and we support each other through all the ups and downs life brings us - at the moment I am hating her (just joking) because she is coming to the US and visiting DL for her first time ever with her new man.

Goal: After lots of thought - I think I am going to take a leaf out of sweetpeama's book and have a 10 minute minimum walking goal this month.

Challenges: The weather it has been so hot I don't want to do anything! Me - motivation - I seem have to lost my activity mojo at the moment.

How am I going to do it then? Well - hopefully feeling accountable to you guys, I think I am going to have to pick a time and just schedule it and set and alarm if I have to.

Hello! Joining in again although it will likely be a sluggish start since I'm not scheduled to be off the steroids for at least another two weeks and I'm not really making it right now.

Oh you poor thing you have been unwell for quite some time now - I hope you feel better soon.

Let's grab our golden hammers and fix our opinions about ourselves. Let's embrace Felix's
positivity and share some AWESOME things about yourself. List between 3-5 things you
like about yourself. It can be physical appearance, hobbies, material possessions, accomplishments
or anything you can think of. Let's embrace our inner hero and share things that make you happy!

1. I do like my dark brown eyes.
2. I am proud of graduating University as a mature age student with 3 kids at the age of 39.
3. I love being a mum - and I am a pretty good one if I do say so myself - and from time to time my kids tell me so also.
4. I love my sequinned Minnie Mouse ear headband which I wore along with my kids and their ears every day we were in DL on our trip - I love that I don't take myself too seriously not to do things like that - and the kids loved it.
5. I think I have a good sense of humour - and like to have a good laugh and want to do more of that this year - sadness begone in 2017!

That said, I'm shifting my focus away from the scale! I weighed this morning and I won't be weighing again until May 1st. Reason being, I'm shifting my focus away from cardio and focusing on my nutrition and weight lifting. I would like to be more focused on the way I look and feel about myself versus what a number on the scale says. I know that if I focus on the right things then fat will melt off and that's really my overall goal. Plus I follow so many people that say that they'll lose like 5 pounds but so many inches and they look great. Or you see people that show their before and after with focusing on muscle building and they weigh more but are leaner.

That is great - good for you.

the first night I met DH, we were talking about rings (don't even know why!) and he basically guessed exactly what my dream ring would be. He was dead on and 3 years later bought it for me.

How romantic - what a sweetie he is.

I never straighten it myself, but when I go to the hairdresser for a cut, I always have her make it straight afterwards and admire myself in the mirror all day long. Next morning it is gone. My friends hate those hair dresser days as they say that I do not look like myself.

I love having my hair straightened for special occasions. The first time I had it done years and years ago it was before straighteners and they blow dried it straight - my dad saw a photo of me with others and didn't realise it was me at first lol.

Let's talk about your "ah ha" moment. When do you recognize that you needed to make a change?
Do you have something motivating you to reach the finish line?

Bonus Question: name your favorite video game 'bad guy'.

I feel like I have had a series of them and each time I have been a little bigger than the time before! Kind of along those lines but health wise was this afternoon - we had a BBQ at my place with my parents and my sister and her husband (my sister is in town from far north queensland - a couple of days drive away - but on their way back tomorrow) - so some of you may remember that the Dr is monitoring my Blood Pressure as it is creeping up and she really wants me more active and losing weight to try and get my BP to a better place. So anyway in discussion my Mum says she has been on BP medication since she was 38! My sister is on it also (she is 16 years older than me) I don't think she was as young as Mum and my sister is a smoker but I was kind of like WOW - I really need to start taking the health effects of my weight more seriously. Honestly I spend a lot of time feeling anxious about anything happening to me but I don't do all that I can to help reduce any risk!

Favourite bad guy - hmmm I play games with kids sometimes - I guess the favourite bad guy to be in our house would be Darth Vader.
 
February 4 & 5 - Free Talk / Chatter
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Get down and share what you'd like!

This weekend will not feature a topic, but rather allow us to free talk and chatter with each other. Utilize this time to ask questions to help you through the month... our first check-in is due by Sunday at 11:59 PM PST, so make the most of these next two days!

Question of the Weekend:
Feel free to get feedback on your plan.
Do you need help with eating within calories?
Are you trying to run but don't know how to get started?
Do you want us to build a grocery list for you? What about workout programs?

Or, you can talk about planning for your upcoming Disney trip!
I'm sure some of you have a 180+10 food reservation coming up ;)
 
I'm finally home from San Antonio and am trying to get back to "life" after being gone for a week! I logged all of my food and calories, and managed to lose 2.2 pounds while gone. This has also happened the last two Disney trips, which means I'm over-counting and under-eating. Not necessarily a bad thing, but a habit I need to work on.

Anyone have any tips or tricks on how to maintain weight while on vacation/work trips and not lose or gain?

The meals were all buffet-style, so I was trying to eye smaller pieces of chicken, generous portions of salad, limiting alcohol, and steering clear of the desserts. I'm wondering if there's a travel food scale i can buy so that I can weigh food without being too annoying about it. Apparently the coworkers sitting at my table weren't aware that I log food before eating and were asking me what I was doing, why, and the "you used to weigh 215 pounds!?" comments ensued ;)


I'm running the Surf City half marathon tomorrow, so today is all carb loading.... and beer! :)


I'll catch up on comments when I get back. I'm 10000% behind and I apologize.
 


Anyone have any tips or tricks on how to maintain weight while on vacation/work trips and not lose or gain?

One thing I have found on buffets is go through and scan what is available doing a walk through and decide from there. I tend to go heavy on low fat proteins such as baked chicken or fish though if there is bison meat available that is good too (very high in iron and a naturally low fat product though if it is not cooked properly has a tendency to be a bit on the crispy side. Too many people try and cook bison the same way they cook beef and you just don't do that) and non starchy vegetables for my first course.

This weekend will not feature a topic, but rather allow us to free talk and chatter with each other. Utilize this time to ask questions to help you through the month... our first check-in is due by Sunday at 11:59 PM PST, so make the most of these next two days!

Anyone have any idea why stores can't keep their sizes the same as each other even in the plus size stores. I ordered some items from one web site where I get most of my clothes but since I am down to 3 pairs of a certain item and since delivery will be 7-10 business days I went into town to a physical location of another plus size store that I have gotten items at in the past ( this store tends to carry stuff more for the office professional with the occasional athletic wear/ work out items where the store I order from is more on the casual line and has lower prices for items). I had to get 2 sizes larger at the store I went to today and to be honest I am hoping that they fit because their size is honestly running even small for that so I got the largest size they have and am hoping that they fit comfortably until I get the 13 pairs that I ordered sometime between the 14th and the 17th.
 
Anyone have any idea why stores can't keep their sizes the same as each other even in the plus size stores.

I can't help with the why ... because I have the same question some days and find it super frustrating! I am wondering though if it has to do with many clothes being made off shore from larger countries such as ours and then there being size differences occurring between each of our countries e.g. US, Australia Europe ... I am a 18 here but that is a 16 over where you are.
 
I think vanity sizing is a problem. I feel the frustrations too!

Men's clothing is consistent. Size large shirts and 34 pants are universal. Ours... not so much.

Now I'm too small to fit into departments I like at Nordstrom. :( it's all awkward.
 
Got in a 14 minute walk 16 house laps. Plus I am claiming 2 minutes of weight lifting from hauling 12 year old's sewing machine up and down the stairs at her sewing leaders house. The machine plus case plus all the material she has in there weighs quite a bit. I am thinking we are going to take out the material she is for sure not going to be using to cut down on some of the weight plus make it easier when she takes it out of the rolling case.
 
Anyone have any idea why stores can't keep their sizes the same as each other even in the plus size stores. I ordered some items from one web site where I get most of my clothes but since I am down to 3 pairs of a certain item and since delivery will be 7-10 business days I went into town to a physical location of another plus size store that I have gotten items at in the past ( this store tends to carry stuff more for the office professional with the occasional athletic wear/ work out items where the store I order from is more on the casual line and has lower prices for items). I had to get 2 sizes larger at the store I went to today and to be honest I am hoping that they fit because their size is honestly running even small for that so I got the largest size they have and am hoping that they fit comfortably until I get the 13 pairs that I ordered sometime between the 14th and the 17th.

I can't help with the why ... because I have the same question some days and find it super frustrating! I am wondering though if it has to do with many clothes being made off shore from larger countries such as ours and then there being size differences occurring between each of our countries e.g. US, Australia Europe ... I am a 18 here but that is a 16 over where you are.

I've had similar experiences with clothing from Old Navy many times in the past..... to the point where DD and I have learned to try on MULTIPLE pairs of the exact same pants from the rack because they each fit a bit differently. I assume it was because they were cheaply made..... but had the problem again with a "nicer" brand of pants from Kohl's..... bought DD two pairs in August. They fit great. Buy two more pairs this month without trying them on and one is waaay too short and they just aren't fitting the same overall. SUPER frustrating! And WHY, OH WHY do I have to grab 3 or 4 different sizes?? Why am I a size 3 in one pair of jeans but an 8 in another??? There is definitely something wrong with the female clothing sizing system. And WHY are the pockets on my pants SO TINY??

Okay.... can you tell this is a sore subject for me??! Anyhoooo.... bb in a minute to answer some QOTD!........P
 
February 3 - Motivation for Improvement

The... "Ah Ha!" Moment

Question of the Day:
Let's talk about your "ah ha" moment. When do you recognize that you needed to make a change?
Do you have something motivating you to reach the finish line?

Bonus Question: name your favorite video game 'bad guy'.

I never DIDN'T know I needed to change my weight.... if for no other reason than the fact that I was SO unhappy with myself. It wasn't the KNOWING that needed to happen.... it was the commitment to a lifestyle change that I was lacking for years. When I was willing to do that, it made all the difference in the world.

I tell my WW members that it they could spend JUST ONE DAY at their GOAL WEIGHT, they would understand how very worth it it is! EVERY SINGLE DAY that I wake up and get dressed and look in the mirror and DON'T HATE the reflection, I know that it is worth every moment that I have spent weighing and measuring my foods, tracking every bite, saying "no" to second helpings, etc.

I don't play video games so I couldn't even name any characters, good or bad! Sorry! But my favorite Disney bad guy would be Evil Emperor Zurg!

February 4 & 5 - Free Talk / Chatter

Get down and share what you'd like!
This weekend will not feature a topic, but rather allow us to free talk and chatter with each other. Utilize this time to ask questions to help you through the month... our first check-in is due by Sunday at 11:59 PM PST, so make the most of these next two days!

Question of the Weekend:
Feel free to get feedback on your plan.
Do you need help with eating within calories?
Are you trying to run but don't know how to get started?
Do you want us to build a grocery list for you? What about workout programs?

Or, you can talk about planning for your upcoming Disney trip!
I'm sure some of you have a 180+10 food reservation coming up ;)

OOHHHH..... I love this! How about recipes? Anyone have a winner that they would like to share? Something I've newly found is a recipe by a guy who goes by the Instagram handle of "Mud Hustler". He has a recipe for what he calls "bird balls". (have I mentioned these before???)... essentially they are oversized meatballs made from very lean ground chicken and ground turkey. Super crazy easy to make and incredibly filling! The biggest drawback is that they aren't very good plain.... they are definitely improved with some sort of sauce.... I've tried them with marinara, salsa, and light alfredo sauce..... yummy with all three! I've made them about 5 times now and changed it up a few times.... most recently I made them as roasted red pepper bird balls (some of you may have seen that on Instagram). I can have 2 HUGE meatballs for just 4 SmartPoints and I stay full for a long time.... that is a big thing for me, as I am hungry a LOT.

That's all from me for now!..............P
 
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I started the weekend with a stomach bug so I spent most of it just hanging out at home. I did feel good enough to run a 5k this morning with DH at the Daytona International Speedway. I'm so glad I went, it was a great time and I ended up with a PR of 36:34!! Slowly chipping away to that sub 30 5k!

Also I'm checking in at 20% :)
 
Hey everyone -- great chatter this weekend. I'm recovering after an AWESOME race that I got a PR at -- and it wasn't easy. 2:52:33 was my official finish time, so now I just need to shave 18 mins off that time to be ready for Dopey 2018. Next races coming up are Princess Half Weekend and RNR SF. These won't be PR races, but that's okay. I think my next race will be the OC Half Marathon and I'll have a good shot at getting that one to a 2:44:59 -- or maybe Tinkerbell ;)

~~~~~


@pjlla - I don't cook so I can't share a recipe, but I did discover that Kraft and Oscar Myer are releasing little snack packs for 150 calories that feature protein (ham, turkey, etc) and cheese squares. I've been eating those this week and I love them. Might be something to check out at the grocery store.

@MommaoffherRocker - Great work on that 5K! You'll be there in no time and I look forward to following your progress as you get there. Get it girl!

@JacknSally - 46% already? Giiiiirl. Keep it up. You're going to kill it this month - great work!
 
14 minutes of challenging on getting my walk time in but managed to do 20.5 laps with my family keeping on with standing in my way trying to block me. I quite often put 9 year old in the tub while I walk but DH was in charge of bath tonight and only gave her 6 inches if that instead of enough to cover her when she lays down so those of you who are moms can figure out what happened. That's right she stayed in less than 5 minutes if that. I honestly think she just put on her sister's swim suit ( which I might add is getting too small for 12 year old) and a pair of her swim bottoms over the top and just sat on one edge of the tub with her feet up on the wall occasionally pulling out a toy. I also got in 4 minutes of resistance band exercises for a daily total of 18 minutes and an over all total of 82 minutes which is 20.5% of goal.
Now to figure out where my hand weights got placed because they were not in cupboard I thought that they were in.
 
Reporting in 14.58%

Went on a 25 minute walk on the beach this afternoon with the twins - it was mostly on soft sand so that makes it a harder workout also. It was a nice end to the day. I had my very first try of spaghetti squash tonight - I remember seeing it for the first time YEARS ago on a US show but it wasn't anywhere in the shops over year - I noticed last year that my local produce shop started selling it. It was pretty good - I could definitely eat that again.

Ok its getting super late here I am off to bed getting very sleepy.
 

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