Find Your Own "Directive" - the February Weight Loss / Life Style Change Challenge

[MochaDrinker]

I'm motivated by the fact that every time I see my therapist or psychiatrist they weigh me. I'm tired of being in the obese bmi every time I go.

 

[Flossbolna]

I don't really have any big source of motivation. I want to feel better, I want to look better - and most importantly I want to fit better in an air plane seat. My boyfriend and I have a transatlantic long-distance relationship, so long flights between Europe and the USA are something that happens regularly for me. And I know how much more comfortable I am if there is less fat with me in the tiny space they give you on the planes!

Bonus QOTD: I think Wall-E would be a great fit to the WDW Tomorrowland. I think a modern dark ride (like the Ratatouille ride in Paris that has these trackless cars) would be perfect!

 

[5xdisneyfans]

Question of the Day - February 4

Motivation. Movement. Mobility.
Wall-E presents to us what happens when we get 'lazy', eat too much unhealthy foods, and lack proper exercise.
Thinking about it - this movie is quite frightening in that regard. Floaty chairs are really scary - but would make a good EPCOT ride, eh?

What is motivating you to get off your own floaty chair and meet your goal?

Bonus Q: What theme park would you build a Wall-e attraction? What would it be like?​

My motivation is the dream of going to WDW and wanting to be in pictures with my family or even by myself :0 I also keep dreaming of doing more Disney runs and at my weight it is just not going to happen. I also noticed on our WDW trip in November how uncomfortable some of the rides are when you have extra weight on. With all my pains and sore joints I just keep going and think of my friend that passed just before Christmas. Even when she was stuck in bed and was unable to get up she would talk about how everything is beautiful and wonderful. I just say to myself at least I can get up and walk even if it hurts and I am not very fast I am still able to do so. She was amazing and think of our last visit often and all her wise words on life.


I have not watched Wall-e in a long time but feel a ride in HS would be a great addition.

 

[Lady Marie]

You are so welcome! And feel free to share all you want - I can't take any credit for the video, but I'm glad it meant so much to you, too! I LOVE both of the quotes that you shared!! Money is the big "I can't do this" excuse for 90% of our wild ideas, and it's so hard to juggle having experiences vs. having money to get through. We want to go several places this year - nothing huge, just a few weekends here and there, like going to Nashville or Atlanta or Orlando - and it's so hard because it's do you take a trip and spend a few hundred dollars, or do you save that money in case you need it for something down the road? There's no guarantees you'll be in a better situation down the road... Maybe next year you realize that you totally could've taken that trip in April but didn't, and now you legitimately can't for whatever reason. Or you decide to wait until you have a better job or more money, but then you get there and with the better job comes a less flexible schedule, or you've had kids and a loss of flexibility, or your health has deteriorated so you can't travel... But at the same time, if you spend that money and the next month your utilities are higher than expected or your car dies, then you feel guilty and irresponsible because you shouldn't have spent that money and now you don't know what to do.

30 years from now, do you want to look back and say "WOW, I'm so glad we went to Disney randomly for the weekend - what an awesome time we had! Yeah money was kind of tight for a couple of months after, but this is my favorite memory" or "Gee, I really wish we'd done that trip that weekend after all, because we had no idea there wouldn't be another weekend to do it." So what do you do? As someone who is NOT AT ALL good with decisions, it's definitely something that is struggled with in my house!

Yes, yes, yes to all of this!!! Off Topic but related story: First time DH and I went to Ireland, we went with a tour group. The first thing we observed was the older people who had waited and saved for this trip of a lifetime but that they weren't in the best health to enjoy it. And then at the end of the trip I was talking to a upper middle aged man in the group who had come alone and I asked him why he was on the trip. He told me that he always wanted to travel but was always working but now all his good friends had died and he figured he was next so he better go do what he wanted to do before it was too late. He didn't seem old enough to have a story like that but life happens and you never know. It was sad and DH and I made a pact not to put off our travels and just make it work while we are young. We also talked about how we want to get active and stay active so we can enjoy our golden years (.... not doing too well on that one yet).

Now, if I could just take that carpe diem attitude about traveling and transfer it into being super active.... I can always manage to weasel a way into a weekend away or siphoning money from here, there, and yonder to get a vacation paid for, but dang if I'm not just as good as weaseling my way out of exercise....

What is motivating you to get off your own floaty chair and meet your goal?

I've been waiting for a floaty chair related question! Haha! I've got two main motivators right now. 1) Pictures. I can't wait to be confident in pictures of me like I was in the past. I miss that. and 2) DH's promise to take me to the Grand Floridian for a weekend when I get back to my wedding day weight. That was a super good motivator in the beginning to lose my first 7 lbs, but the holidays came and I kind of lost focus on that one. I may need to make a dream board of me at my lightest next to picture of the GF and put it on the fridge to keep the "poison" out of my mouth!!!

"I WISH you could spend ONE DAY in your healthy goal weight body.... because your motivation would go THROUGH THE ROOF to get to goal. Life at goal feels GREAT!"

I feel like I say this to every little inspirational nugget you post, but here I go again: Love this!!!

 

[mamattorney]

Question of the Day - February 4

Motivation. Movement. Mobility.
Wall-E presents to us what happens when we get 'lazy', eat too much unhealthy foods, and lack proper exercise.
Thinking about it - this movie is quite frightening in that regard. Floaty chairs are really scary - but would make a good EPCOT ride, eh?

What is motivating you to get off your own floaty chair and meet your goal?

Bonus Q: What theme park would you build a Wall-e attraction? What would it be like?​

My motivation has changed over the course of the year. but much of it is Disney related! I knew things needed to change after my last Orlando trip (last June). The plane ride was really uncomfortable, the seatbelt was stretched to the limit, and I was terrified that I would get turned away from some rides at Universal. I didn't, but it was close on Harry Potter Forbidden Journey. Two years prior, even though I was still very overweight, I didn't have the same concerns. I started changing my ways shortly after that trip and said I would not go through the same thing next year (June 2016). I know Disney is very weight friendly, but Universal has its limits!

I tell my WW members (and you guys) all the time......"I WISH you could spend ONE DAY in your healthy goal weight body.... because your motivation would go THROUGH THE ROOF to get to goal. Life at goal feels GREAT!"

I love this and wish it were possible with all my heart! I have a LONG way to go towards my ultimate goal, but have seen such wonderful changes since July. I remember when I would get out of breath after just going from my first floor to my second floor. No more. And if this is what it feels like at this point, I can only imagine what it would feel like at a normal BMI weight.

I'm currently motivated by thinking that this is going to be a much better trip to the theme parks than 2015. Last year, my feet hurt and swelled so much at the end of every day. I took Advil by the gallon (it seemed) to dull the pain/reduce the swelling. And we are not a commando touring family. We usually take a break in the afternoon and leave at 10:00pm. Last year my greatest number of steps in Disney was 22,000. Just yesterday, I took over 16,000 steps (it was a good day!) and my feet didn't complain in the slightest. I'm motivated to keep going for the next 5 months just to experience Disney from a different point of view.

 

[flvy]

Question of the Day - February 4

Motivation. Movement. Mobility.
Wall-E presents to us what happens when we get 'lazy', eat too much unhealthy foods, and lack proper exercise.
Thinking about it - this movie is quite frightening in that regard. Floaty chairs are really scary - but would make a good EPCOT ride, eh?

What is motivating you to get off your own floaty chair and meet your goal?

Bonus Q: What theme park would you build a Wall-e attraction? What would it be like?​

I've actually struggled with finding my motivation lately. I've talked about it a lot on my wish journal. I'm doing the work, and have no idea why. I think there might be to many individualized reasons why I'm doing this to really narrow down my main motivation. Some of it's I want to prove to myself I can, some of it is me wanting to be a "real" runner. Then there is always the goal to finally find a healthy relationship with food. I'm chasing happy right now. Day to day life is not happy for me, it's just there, I go through the motions and that's about it. When I'm running it's different. I struggle, I push, I excel. So maybe sometimes the motivation just to feel a little extra. Great experiences and new friends are also motivation. Thinking of running at Disney, or down the Vegas strip and succeeding at that experience is enough to get me out the door some days. If I'm really honest being able to say eff you to a few people is a motivation as well. It shouldn't be, and it's not the biggest one, but it's there. I have a lot of things working against me, and people who would be happy if I quit. I tried to talk to my boyfriendy person (almost 7 years monogamously in, but still pretty complicated) about my run and he literally went silent and then changed the topic. Cool, thanks...

Long story short. I dunno.

 

[Dr Gunnie]

If I'm really honest being able to say eff you to a few people is a motivation as well. It shouldn't be, and it's not the biggest one, but it's there. I have a lot of things working against me, and people who would be happy if I quit.

I like this. I don't really have any people I'm trying to prove it to other than myself, but there is a selfish part to me that wants to feel the praise from my friends and family when they see the changes in my body. I also have seen a few others drop a lot of weight and I think to myself, "Is that person really that much stronger than me? Do they have that much more will power than me?"

 

[dsnyfn1022]

Also I am so thankful for chocolate outrage GU, and the gift it gives me while on long runs. I haven't looked closely at my stats yet but over all my pace was amazing for this run.

Just curious but at what length of time do you start fueling during runs? I've run 6 miles which takes me about 1:12 to complete and I haven't fueled. I have a 7 mile run planned on Saturday and I'm not sure if I should fuel or not. Plus, will the people on the treadmills give me odd looks . I feel exhausted during these runs (obviously) but I'm not sure if fueling will actually changed anything. Also, do you only do GU or do you experiment?

What is motivating you to get off your own floaty chair and meet your goal?

I could have used this last night! I took an impromptu rest day. I was bone tired and made the mistake of going home instead of going straight to the gym. The longer I sat on the couch the more exhausted I felt and just knew that the run wouldn't be good and I mentally wasn't in it.

One motivation for getting to my goal is because I want to feel healthier. Before, I used to feel my muscles when I moved. I felt like I could do a pick up game of basketball or just break out into a sprint and it wasn't weird and I didn't feel out of shape. Then I went to Disney for my wedding in 2014 and I was soooo out of shape. My legs hurt, my feet hurt, my back hurt. I felt like an 80 year old woman! It was the first time that I could remember going to a Disney trip and not feeling like a kid. And I didn't like it. Which is when I decided to change.

Disney also has motivated me to run with the races. I have always despised running. But then I got on the Dis boards and read some trip reports about the dopey challenge and I was hooked! I knew I wanted to do it. And oddly enough, I am loving running now. Which has helped with my progress.

Overall, my motivation is to be happy and healthy. I want to feel beautiful in my skin. I want to feel attractive for my husband (even though he loves me know matter what I look like) and I want to feel attractive for myself. I want to have kids some day but I want to be my healthiest self when I do it.

Bonus Q: What theme park would you build a Wall-e attraction? What would it be like?

I'm thinking EPCOT but I have no idea what kind of ride it would be!

 

[chasingthtdream08]

Question of the Day - February 4

Motivation. Movement. Mobility.
Wall-E presents to us what happens when we get 'lazy', eat too much unhealthy foods, and lack proper exercise.
Thinking about it - this movie is quite frightening in that regard. Floaty chairs are really scary - but would make a good EPCOT ride, eh?

What is motivating you to get off your own floaty chair and meet your goal?

Bonus Q: What theme park would you build a Wall-e attraction? What would it be like?​

What motivates me is my BIG trip to WDW in November. I want to be able to walk around comfortably in shorts and (proper) sandals without my legs and feet hurting due to my heavy weight. I also have a major issue with chaffing during my trips and by day two it's totally painful. I also want to be able to look and feel good in the clothes that I buy.

 

[courtneybeth]

Great answers this morning, everyone! I've loved reading all the responses to today's question thus far. You're all motivating ME to do more and be better.

My sons because they are both getting married in the next year and a half.
Also me. I have the life I have been looking forward to for the last 5 years. I have a great husband and the kids are out of the house. We have a cute dog who loves to walk. I have time to quilt and knit.

Family is a great motivation - especially a wedding. You'll be in photos forever and you'll want to look your best. I'm also a quilter ... I used to have a hard time getting up and down from my machine to the ironing station and now I feel much better with a lot of the weight gone.

I tell my WW members (and you guys) all the time......"I WISH you could spend ONE DAY in your healthy goal weight body.... because your motivation would go THROUGH THE ROOF to get to goal. Life at goal feels GREAT!"

This is amazing. I actually had to pause for a minute or two when I read this because it's so true. Reaching my first goal and going to Disney World in December at goal weight and 65 pounds lighter made such a difference. I wish I could tell 215 pound Courtney how 150 pound Courtney felt and soon I'd be there and love it. Sadly I have yet to experience 135 pound Courtney, so.... baby steps

Fourth, my fitbit really is a great motivator. I got it about a month ago and I love checking how I'm doing and seeing how my friends are doing. I hate to lose, so it's important to me to make it a competition and stay ahead of my friends.

We do workweek hustle challenges with friends and family on fitbit and it's amazing. It really motivates you when you're only 500 steps behind someone to just... go take the trash out to the dumpster. Or go check the mail even though you don't want to go outside. Glad you like the fitbit - I've had mine for about 18 months and love it.

Right now my motivation is to get back to that weight I hit 5 years ago because I just know I felt better then. I slept better, was less stressed, and felt happier, not because of a number on the scale, but because I was active and feeling strong.

I love this... you'll get there, you're on your way for sure.

I'm tired of being in the obese bmi every time I go.

I feel you on this one. We use the Wii Fit U to weigh in every week and the little guy says "You're OBESE" super loud if you're in that category. I cried when I reached "overweight" for the first time in years. Now I'm going for Normal. You'll get there soon.

Bonus QOTD: I think Wall-E would be a great fit to the WDW Tomorrowland. I think a modern dark ride (like the Ratatouille ride in Paris that has these trackless cars) would be perfect!

I loved the Ratatouille ride in Paris - that was hands down worth the cost of the AP and early admission hours. We rode it twice because it was that phenomenal.

most importantly I want to fit better in an air plane seat.

Its amazing how 50 pounds makes a difference in a plane seat. I was so uncomfortable in June 2015 that I was surprised after reaching first goal weight in December how much easier it was to fit. I didnt feel like I was squishing the person next to me and all-around I just felt... better. It's hard to describe that feeling, but I think you get it.

My motivation is the dream of going to WDW and wanting to be in pictures with my family or even by myself

We bought memory maker the last trip and for the first time I wanted to be IN pictures. I wanted to meet characters and take photos - we actually have pictures of my hubs and I in our house. (We've been married almost 9 years and the only picture we had of the two of us was our wedding photo). When you reach that goal, get Memory Maker and get all the photos you can. it's so worth it!!!

It was sad and DH and I made a pact not to put off our travels and just make it work while we are young. We also talked about how we want to get active and stay active so we can enjoy our golden years (.... not doing too well on that one yet).

I think you and I are in the same mindset with travel - do it if you can because tomorrow is not guaranteed. We're not having children so we can take that extra income for trips and adventures.

I've been waiting for a floaty chair related question!

I was trying to hold off as long as possible - made it only to day four! I forgot how frightening those chairs are and the future that Wall-e showed us. Yikes.

Last year my greatest number of steps in Disney was 22,000. Just yesterday, I took over 16,000 steps (it was a good day!) and my feet didn't complain in the slightest. I'm motivated to keep going for the next 5 months just to experience Disney from a different point of view.

You'll probably make it from rope drop to gate closure at the rate you're going. Congrats on your progress!!

I think there might be to many individualized reasons why I'm doing this to really narrow down my main motivation.

I've been reading Meb's book "Meb for Mortals" and he talks about breaking down goals. You'll need to look at the bigger picture because all of the little tiny reasons of why you're running are actually part of a bigger goal. What that bigger goal is.... haven't a clue. But his book is great because he talks about his training plains and what an average Joe can do to meet their dreams.

Finding the "why" is difficult.... I determined that I'm running because I want to achieve something that I never thought I could do. And now I'm training to get my times down. My goal for NOLA in three weeks is to shave 9 minutes off my run time from last month. Go from 3:39 to 3:30 - that's less than a minute per mile and the course is flat (no hills!).

 

[courtneybeth]

Question of the Day - February 4

What is motivating you to get off your own floaty chair and meet your goal?
​

My original goal was to get to 150 because I wanted to fit into a Kate Spade dress for my MBA graduation. Fast-forward eight months of participation and I've achieved the 150 but didn't make it into the dress -- but that's okay! Because it wasn't about the dress but the motivation to fit into a nice dress and look good in my photos.

I'm now working on completing 21 half marathons this year and I cannot do that in my present state. I need to tone up, lose a few more pounds, and work on my endurance --- so I've reset my goal to achieve somewhere between 135-140 pounds and work out with a personal trainer.

Having an end-goal in mind makes me want to do more and be better.

 

[flvy]

@dsnyfn1022 Honestly even before a half hour run I use a GU. I don't fuel properly before or after and I know I'd be really off without it. I used it as a reward for my 8 miles haha. Though I'm pretty sure taking it without water gave me some cramps. So far I only used GU but I don't feel like I'm running distances that would require anything more at this time.

I'm pretty sure that a lot of it is mental for me just to be honest.

 

[SarahDisney]

What is motivating you to get off your own floaty chair and meet your goal?

I don't really have a good motivation. It's almost habit with me right now, but not in a good way. I've spent so long wanting to lose weight that I'm almost afraid that when I do reach my goal weight I'm still going to want to lose weight, just because I'm used to it. Which is not necessarily a good thing.

Bonus Q: What theme park would you build a Wall-e attraction? What would it be like?​

Something chasing Wall-E through the ship. That's my favorite part of the movie ... Wall-E causing chaos while he goes through the ship trying to find Eve.
I'd put it in the new Pixar Land that I would build next to the new Toy Story land in Hollywood Studios.
And I would also have a Wall-E & Eve meet & greet.

Quick story.... kind of a lesson, not really a brag. I pulled a pair of grey pants from the very bottom of the pants pile this morning and held them up and said to myself...."wowza... where did those come from? NO WAY they will fit.... they are super small." But I decided to give them a try. They fit perfectly.... so of course, they were ironed and I am wearing them to work... and I feel WONDERFUL! I hit my initial goal in 2009 (but lowered my goal from there) and I still am THRILLED every single day to be living in this goal-weight (or nearly goal-weight) body!! I tell my WW members (and you guys) all the time......"I WISH you could spend ONE DAY in your healthy goal weight body.... because your motivation would go THROUGH THE ROOF to get to goal. Life at goal feels GREAT!"

That is an awesome story and an awesome reminder. Having a memory to remind you of how good your goal weight feels really gives you extra motivation to work hard!!

 

[flvy]

I've been reading Meb's book "Meb for Mortals" and he talks about breaking down goals. You'll need to look at the bigger picture because all of the little tiny reasons of why you're running are actually part of a bigger goal. What that bigger goal is.... haven't a clue. But his book is great because he talks about his training plains and what an average Joe can do to meet their dreams.

Finding the "why" is difficult.... I determined that I'm running because I want to achieve something that I never thought I could do. And now I'm training to get my times down. My goal for NOLA in three weeks is to shave 9 minutes off my run time from last month. Go from 3:39 to 3:30 - that's less than a minute per mile and the course is flat (no hills!).

Oh my gosh quoting this from my phone was a pain and I hit reply without replying. I love Meb I didn't know he had a book! It sounds like I should really take a look at it too. I think we might have the same bottom like why but like I said I'm not sure of mine.

I'm 100% sure you can be that goal. Maybe even 150% sure. I can't wait for a year or two to go by and you like I just want to see if I can qualify for Boston

 

[4Mickeys]

Hi all - wow I missed a lot - still getting into the swing of being back at work after holidays its super busy and I get home super tired.

My belated WooHoo for last Wednesday would have been for Air Conditioning in the staff room at work - it was super hot here and my actual office is not air-conned so I took my laptop and worked in the staff room.

What is motivating you to get off your own floaty chair and meet your goal?

I guess there are a few things starting to motivate me - I am now at the biggest I have ever been in my life and I certainly never imagined myself like this (as I'm sure many of you feel the same) if I don't try to reign it in its just going to be harder

My kids - I am a solo mum and I need to be around for my kids as I'm all they have got.

Running into my cousin who recently moved near me - we are only a month apart in age (I'm the older one) and now the overweight one - I just want to hide.

One a lighter note - I am so tired of wrestling my way into my bra and clothes - when I was younger I don't remember it being this hard just to get dressed!

I want to be healthier and hopefully feel less tired.

It is already Friday morning here and believe me it is a TGIF for me - long, hot week.

Although speaking of cousins we have a family party on Sunday for my Aunty's 70th so that just means more cousins skinnier than me Where's my magic wand?

 

[pjlla]

Hi friends! Just taking a minute to pop on and say hello! Sorry I didn't get any time to get on during the work day, but they kept me hopping! More about that later.... but I just wanted to remind every one that this weekend is our first weigh-in/reporting for February, so for tonight.... watch the salt, drink the water, up the fiber and YOU GOT THIS! I think February is going to be TERRIFIC for all of us! Off to enjoy my confetti spaghetti squash! YUMMMM.............P

 

[knkmom]

Question of the Day - February 4

Motivation. Movement. Mobility.
Wall-E presents to us what happens when we get 'lazy', eat too much unhealthy foods, and lack proper exercise.
Thinking about it - this movie is quite frightening in that regard. Floaty chairs are really scary - but would make a good EPCOT ride, eh?

What is motivating you to get off your own floaty chair and meet your goal?

Bonus Q: What theme park would you build a Wall-e attraction? What would it be like?​

My motivation.....family! My kids are both adults now (28 and 22) and my daughter said to me the other day "you know mom, I don't have a single picture of you, you aren't in any of our family pictures!" I never get caught in a picture, I never wanted to see myself in pictures! I'm tired of sitting in the back and to be perfectly honest making everyone miserable because I am so unhappy with my weight. Enough is enough, it's time to grow up and do something about it besides crying and complaining. I did this to me and now I need to make myself a priority and really work hard to get back into shape and get this weight off! And seriously, when my husband I go back to WDW in May 2017 I want him to bend me back (dip me) and kiss me in front of Cinderella's castle and I want a picture of it!

 

[Zoesmama03]

Question of the Day - February 1

Every Journey Begins With a Single Step
Today begins the first step towards your new self. Each month brings new opportunity - and so we climb out of our
proverbial floaty chairs and embrace what is ahead of us with both feet firmly planted on the ground. ​

What is your goal for the month? How will you achieve your goal?
Are there items that could interfere with your goal? How will you rise above this challenge?​

Goal: Lose 8 pounds. Obtain the ability to do 7-10 knee push ups. Work on squats and balance. I'll achieve my goal by doing lots of dancing with DD on the Wii games, strength training routine, walking, and we recently went skating and plan to go again this weekend(I'll be looking to purchase some skates for street skating as well, DD wants a skateboard so we can skate at the park/skatepark nearby). I suppose some interference could be not keeping my eating consistent on weekends. I like to have cheat meal on Friday nights so I try to behave during the morning and afternoon. I just have to remember to get back on track with food. I'll rise above by weighing in Friday or Saturday morning to keep myself motivated through weekends. I was doing Sundays last month.

OH and I think I'll be aiming at getting to bed a bit earlier. Journaling my day in vision WISH journal binder. I have pages of vision boards I have made. I just never have time because I end up going in so late I just worry I need sleep and don't bother with it. Added bonus is sleep is required to help our bodies do the hormonal part of this weight loss work.

I'm in again for February! My goal is 7 pounds. I also joined a new gym and plan to start exercising when they open mid-month.

What interferes? I work two jobs and am on the road a lot. It is very easy to drive through McDonald's and have a quick sandwich. I am planning to eat more subway, even if it takes longer to drive through.

Happy February everyone!

7 lbs is doable. I'm aiming for 8 lbs 2 lbs a week but now I'm scared as first week will have TOM(bloating and all thrown in the mix) I had a pretty decent week so far. Lots of dancing, skating on Sunday Push ups last night but will do a fuller strength tomorrow afternoon. So just hoping to see some loss this week and maybe work at the exercise a lot. I tend to do a low loss or slight gain then bigger losses. Yes McDonalds can be so easy. But I find I can't stand any of the food except fries. HEHE evil poison.

What a wonderful wonderful theme! I'm so sad that I won't be able to participate this month but I know I just won't have time. I'll try to pop in to say hi or to at least read up on how everyone is doing occasionally but this month is All About the Bar Exam. I wish everyone the best of luck with their goals. I'll be back with a vengeance in March!!

Good luck on your exam.

I'm here! And I'm joining in with the same 4 lb goal! Jan was a wash for me, i lost then regained. So I'm frustrated and wanting to lose! I have a big crop one weekend this year, and we leave on feb 27 for a few days in San Francisco, so that will be my last weigh in for the month for me

My name is Molli, I've been on the WISH boards for many years, I love going to WDW as often as I can, usually means about every other year. We are also DCL cruisers and have a current placeholder and hope to do the Panama Canal next summer. We recently became empty-nesters, two adult daughters one trying to finish college this year, fingers crossed! Youngest DD a first year in the 5 year co-op program at the University of Cincinnati. Since becoming empty-nesters, I really ramped up my scrapbooking, and have found a group of friends who enjoy crops, getting together and we are having a lot of fun! Downside on the WISH aspect is that the crops always include in overindulgence of not so healthy foods. I'm recovering from Cushing's disease, and my treatment has left me with Addison's disease, so I struggle with medications that leave me retaining water and swelling. But, with my newly regained health I'm taking advantage and traveling as much as I can! I'm monarchmomx2 on myfitnesspal

Sending cyber mojo to everyone for a banner month!

Thanks @courtneybeth for hostessing!

Maybe one day I can afford to get into scrapping. I did some digitally for awhile too. I should get to some digital since I'm paying monthly for the editing software. hehe

My Goal for the Month:

• Lose 5 pounds. (Only 1.25 pounds per week!)
• I'm presently at 149 - waving goodbye to maintenance mode and losing another 9-14 pounds during the next few months.

How I Will Achieve My Goal:

• Tracking everything that goes into my mouth through MyFitnessPal
• Working out at the gym with personal trainer and own exercising
• Walk Disneyland once per week
• Run the Rock N Roll New Orleans Half Marathon - 2/28

Challenges and How to Rise Above It

• The first few sessions with the personal trainer have left me sore - which means I don't want to work out at the gym the next day. I need to get past the pain and keep moving.
• Traveling to New Orleans at the end of the month and running the Half Marathon will mess with my metabolism, especially the food. I'm going to be off with calories burned and consumed. Need to be mindful of this as I work through the month.

.

Great goal and plans. I'm sure I'll get to my determined "goal" of 175 and adjust from there. It's just been too long since I've been around there to know how my body will shape out at that.

That's a wonderful, secret reason to want to improve your health!!! (And one in the way way back of my mind too-- maybe 2019?)

I completely understand how the turbulence of your early/mid 20's can leave you no time for yourself....Graduating, finding jobs you like and ones you don't, marriage, moving-- its like whoa! slow down! Even though DH and I have been married for over a year and a half now and been comfortable in our jobs for even longer, it is just now starting to feel like we are "adulting" now and out of our transition period.



Love this!

I'm 36 and still question my adulting skills. LOL

Question of the Day - February 2

Tools, Tips, Tricks... and Accountability.
Yesterday you set a goal for the month and began your journey. Today marks your first day of follow-through.
Wall-E is ready to hit the gym with his Hula Hoop. Are you ready to join him and continue your progress?​

Share with the group some of your tools, tips, and tricks for accountability.
How do you hold yourself accountable? Is this accomplished through:
Apps? Mobile Devices? Reward/Punishment systems? Something else?​

MFP for tracking food and exercise. It's also motivational for me. I really should set up rewards(non food of course). I also have vision boards that help and I was doing good looking through and jotting down how my day went but fell out of it. Just end up staying up later and all.

Hello all!

I've never participated in anything like this, but I'd like to give it a shot. I think sharing and hearing other stories will be helpful. My quick background is I played sports throughout high school and played football in college. Once I was done playing, my weight went up and up and I never did anything about it. Now I'm 40 and ready to change.

I started in January - I bought a fitbit, a treadmill, and changed my eating habits. Things have been going great and I lost 17 lbs in January. I've been averaging about 15,000 steps a day and my calorie intake is around 1500 a day.

My goal for Feb is to lose another 15. My ultimate goal is to lose 100 lbs. I already told my wife when I hit 100, we are going to Disney for a week with the kids to celebrate! I'm excited to come across these message boards.

I have 100 to lose too. Well more really. I think Disney is going to be awesome 100 lbs less as well. I'm sure I'll be less anxious about pictures. Though I have been good about getting pictures taken with my DD because I realize she'll want them.

Hello again. Got distracted before going to the gym.

So I'm obviously new to the DIS boards... I'll just jump in and tell you about myself.

I'm 29, i'm a freelancer, I live in LA and have been really struggling with my weight over the past few years. Like a lot of you, it's been a life-long battle for me, but I was in a really bad relationship* about 2 years ago that devastated my self esteem and i spiraled into an unhealthy weight (5'4" at 190). Trying really hard to get back to myself again, but the weight doesn't seem to budge. Did well with Atkins for a while but the holidays ruined that, and I can't seem to stick to zero carbs 100%.

My (current) BF is unbelievably supportive, so when I heard about the Star Wars Dark Side Half and asked if he wanted to fly to WDW and do it with me, he immediately said yes. He's not a runner and I don't think he even likes running at all, but I know he's doing it so I will be excited about getting more fit. Plus, my birthday is a few days after the race so I get to spend my 30th birthday in WDW!

Ok lets get to it...

DIRECTIVE: to be able to comfortably run 10k without stopping. I can do 5k at 18min/mile now pretty easily, so i'm just hoping to continue that and build my endurance. I know its a short time frame, but I know I can do it. Losing weight will also make the running so much easier. I guess i'll monitor it by how far past 5k I can run comfortably. So right now I'm at 5k, which is 0%. if I can do 6k, that will be 20%. 10k will be 100% Make sense?

CURRENT PROGRESS: I've been running 4-5 days/week and have a 5k race coming up this sunday.

DOWNFALL: Keeping my nutrition balanced has been hard. My BF eats very healthy and loves to cook, so that's a huge plus, but I find that eating low-carb (while hard on its own) is especially hard when I'm exercising so much. I can't get through a run on pure protein, so doing this atkins-style is pretty impossible. I just don't have the energy. But then I feel guilty for eating carbs (even stuff like cereal and granola) because I know it's just jacking up my blood sugar and I never stay in ketosis. I've been trying to read about fitness nutrition (especially for runners) but the middle between "already an athlete running a 5min mile" nutrition" and "total n00b don't eat candy" nutrition is kind of hard to find as of yet. Can someone write a book called "Losing weight and running fast - a book written for Ali" and toss it up on Amazon so I can Prime it to my apartment asap?

ACCOUNTABILITY: The thing that motivates me most is getting my mind right. For me, that means reading about running (or about Disney! lol) before I go to the gym. It's the same idea as when you learn something new (lets say you come across an arts and crafts tutorial on Pintrest) and you want to run out and try it (so you shoot on over to JoAnn fabrics and go totally ape-sh** on your credit card). When I read about running or technique or inspiring stories, it makes me want to run, instead of forcing myself to. Born to Run is a great book about ultra-marathon runners that was super interesting to read, and also made me think about running in a different way... almost like proud to be a runner and excited to get out there and run my *** off. I also love seeing the little rings on my apple watch full after I work out. I used to use the app Lose It! a lot when i was strictly monitoring what I was eating (I should probably get back to that!)... I've also been logging my runs in the app Gipis, which is just for running and gives you a training plan all the way up until your race day. I like that I can see my pace slowly lowering over each workout... even by a few seconds. it's rewarding to see the progress even over a few days.

I read somewhere that I shouldn't try to drop my bad habits. It's far more effective to just introduce good habits. Cement the good habits in your life and commit to them, and the bad habits will fall away.

I'm sure there are exceptions to this, but I've found that the mentality of it has helped me greatly. I know I need to lose weight, but when that was all I was focused on, I never went to the gym and I ate like crap. Signing up for the SWDS Half has forced (no pun intended) me to exercise almost every day. When I feel really good after a workout, I'm less likely to eat junk food. Over time, I believe those positive additions will add up and hopefully I won't have room for the bad habits anymore

Okay that's all for now. Sorry for the long post. I'm going to MOTIVATE now and get myself out the door before I get lost shopping for cute stuff to wear to the race on etsy again!

Cheers!

ali







*Bad relationship anecdote: This is by far one of the kinder stories I could tell because this relationship was truly traumatic, but I thought you guys would appreciate it more than most other people... Sometimes when my depression becomes overwhelming I like to watch a lot of Disney movies. They just make me feel better and warm and fuzzy and loved (obv!). Instead of supporting me (or even just leaving me alone!) my ex would go on this big all-knowing genius rant about how I shouldn't retreat into Disney stuff because it's not realistic and keeps me from growing as a person. I get what he's saying, but I'm a very well-grounded, responsible, practical person. Even my therapist thought it was ridiculous. I remember looking at him and in my head being like, "Yeah okay buddy i'm done."

I'm looking forward to dropping enough weight to get back into running. I think the Dark Side half would be amazing. Well any of the half marathons really. I'll work on walking 5K then 10K and go from there.

I am not usually a floral print person, but I LOVE that!

Ditto

Question of the Day: February 3

It's woohoo Wednesday!
Wall-e and Eve are having a great day. You should be too!
In keeping with tradition, we will share good news on Wednesday.
Nothing too big or too small - all events welcome.

What are you celebrating today?
​

I always laugh at the Woohoo Wednesday because in my nerdy gaming ways I play the occasional Sims 3 and on there woohoo means something else totally.
My big woohoo was still not believing I skated on Sunday after more than 15 years, didn't fall and didn't die. HEHE

Hmmm...... gotta think about this. How about this...... I haven't had to shovel snow ONCE yet this winter! I hate snow passionately, so this is definitely worth celebrating! Off to work.... TTYL.........P

Me either but that is normal for us desert dwellers. I did have to scrape my windows a couple times in December though. Came close this week too. Warming back up weekend into next week though.

Question of the Day - February 4

Motivation. Movement. Mobility.
Wall-E presents to us what happens when we get 'lazy', eat too much unhealthy foods, and lack proper exercise.
Thinking about it - this movie is quite frightening in that regard. Floaty chairs are really scary - but would make a good EPCOT ride, eh?

What is motivating you to get off your own floaty chair and meet your goal?

Bonus Q: What theme park would you build a Wall-e attraction? What would it be like?​

Health, getting off medications for elevated fasting glucose(to my NPs and other "doctors") that ranges 105-120. I'd like to get it under normal. I had at least got my A1C dropped to normal and then it was up a smidge in summer barely above normal high end. I also wanna ditch the BP pill some day. I know from past experiences that when my weight gets closer to 250 and under it drops to normal. Riding rollercoasters without fear of not fitting and having to either get off completely or wait for the car with the "big" seat. Had that happen once at SeaWorld. Doesn't happen at Disney though. Horseback riding is something I've wanted to do with my DD for a while. I know from looking previously that the ones around here have strict weight limits of 250. Not to mention as an animal lover I would not want to put more strain on a poor horse. Those are my big motivators. I just have to find ways to remind myself of them when things get tougher. For now I'm adding skating goals into the mix. I'd love to try out skate dancing clubs, groups and classes in my area. I LOVED skating or blading in my teens and early 20s I'm sad I never kept it up.

 

[5xdisneyfans]

Leaving in the morning for a hockey tournament but want to add where I am at for my February goal so far. 7.6K/60k.

 

[JacknSally]

Question of the Day - February 4

Motivation. Movement. Mobility.
Wall-E presents to us what happens when we get 'lazy', eat too much unhealthy foods, and lack proper exercise.
Thinking about it - this movie is quite frightening in that regard. Floaty chairs are really scary - but would make a good EPCOT ride, eh?

What is motivating you to get off your own floaty chair and meet your goal?

Bonus Q: What theme park would you build a Wall-e attraction? What would it be like?​

I touched on my motivations in my intro post, so I'll spare everyone further elaboration.

As for the Wall-E attraction, though.

Future World. It DESPERATELY needs help, and what is Wall-E about? Technology. Imagination. Living with the Land. I think a Wall-E attraction needs to go in Innoventions or in the Wonders of Life pavilion. Make it an interactive floaty chair attraction. Let people input their stats - height, weight, age, activity level. Allow some pick-and-choose narratives like Spaceship Earth, or Horizons. Then have the outcome be more health and environment based, rather than travel and leisure based like the end of Spaceship Earth. I don't think it should be a shock-and-awe attraction or anything designed to scare people into reality, but rather just a more modern take on how Body Wars and the rest of Wonders of Life used to be.