If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It! - WISH October Lifestyle/Weight Challenge

[dolewhipdreams]

Hello and welcome to the October forum for the WISH healthy living and weight loss challenge!



This month we are going to take a look into how Imagineers get things done and how to apply that knowledge to our lifestyle goals.

All are welcome no matter where you are at in your goal progress. Haven't even set a goal but thinking about it? Jump on in! Months into your lifestyle change? Glad to have you

So how does this work?

You set your own goals for the month of October. It can be anything related to a healthy lifestyle- weight loss, exercise, sleep, mental health, water intake, etc. What it is and how big it is- that's all up to you. You take charge of tracking your progress and be sure to post here at least once a week. Every Monday, I'll update the post below with everyone's progress so we can keep each other accountable.

Every day there will also be a discussion question to get you thinking about how you can achieve your goals better or faster! But, as always, if you have any other questions or concerns that you want to discuss, don't hesitate to address those here as well.

So! Now that you're here, why don't you take a moment to introduce yourself? You don't have to share much personal info if you don't want, but please let us know what brought you here this month. We'll post goals starting October 1st (and I'll give some helpful info if you are new to goal setting).​

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Participants:

@dolewhipdreams Week 2- 38%
@Oneanne
@ski_mom
@4Mickeys Week 2- 38.8%
@glss1/2fll
@HappyGrape Week 2 - 50%
@summermom2
@Flossbolna
@piglet1979 Week 2- 46%
@fromscratchmom
@4HOLIDAYS
@sweetpeama

Future hosts:
November:
December: @4Mickeys
January:

Let me know if you want to host an upcoming month! You can also split the responsibility with someone else if you can't take the whole month.

 

[dolewhipdreams]

I'll kick off introductions here!

My name is Ann and I'm from the great midwest! That places me several hundred miles away from Disney in either direction, so I have to get my Disney fix via other means (like this forum!). I spend most of my free time planning my next Disney trip and if for some reason I'm not doing that, then you can usually find me curled up with my kitty, a cup of tea, and a book.

I'm here because at the start of the summer I realized that my body had become something that was not healthy. I stopped taking care of myself and it showed- both in my appearance and at my doctor's visits. I don't have any children yet but I know that I want to be fit and healthy before they come along. I want to be able to keep up with them and have fun! My long term goal here is just to create a better lifestyle for myself and I'm glad to be one more month into that journey

 

[Oneanne]

Hello again... I'm Lizanne and I live in the great grey pacific northwest. I've been over weight most of my adult life and I struggle with some food sensitivities, an addiction to sugar and a short attention span (squirrel!). I'm old enough that I really shouldn't be messing around with my health, but can't seem to stay on track even though I know what I need to do.

I've been to Disney World 40+ times, taking at least one yearly trip and sometimes as many as three within a year, going back to the early 1990's. For 2017 my one and only WDW trip is coming up in November, and I'm using it as motivation to get healthy.

So my goals for October are:

.... walk, walk, walk and then walk some more
.... get my water consumption back up
.... reduce intake of sugar, dairy and gluten
.... practice daily gratitude
.... be kinder to myself

That's a lot, but I'm feeling like I need to aim higher than I have been.

 

[ski_mom]

I'd like to join back in to. I participated in these threads last year and then totally fell off the wagon. Maybe coming back here will help motivate me again! You guys are all so great!

My name is Becky and I'm a 40-something year old wife and mom of 3. Like Ann, I"m also from the mid-west. Our household has been changing over the last couple of years - our two oldest are away at college, so we've become a household of 3 for most of the year. About 18 months ago, I started trying to eat better and take better care of myself and I lost 30 pounds over 5 months. We went on a 2 week trip to Hawaii with extended family and since then its' been downhill. I've gained 20 of those pounds back in the last 15 months, so I'm going to start doing better again! I'm no where near a perfectionist even when I was losing weight, so I know I should be able to do this, it's just reminding myself every day that I can.

I'll figure out my goal in the next few days - not sure if I want to do a weight loss number or possibly a step goal.

 

[glss1/2fll]

I'm Linda also from the great gray pacific northwest. DH and I are recent empty-nesters and I've decided to take better care of myself! I plan to keep the same goals as last month: logging every bite (sometimes oh so ugly) and making sure I walk 5,000 steps every day. Weekdays are a piece of cake, but weekends are difficult because I go into sloth mode!

Hope everyone has a great month!

 

[4Mickeys]

this month's theme!

I am Sam joining in from the Sunshine Coast in Australia. I am mum to 3 (DS16, DS13 & DD13). I have been trying unsuccessfully for over a year now to shift my attitude to food and activity to improve my health/weight/lifestyle. For the past 2 years or so I have been the heaviest ever. As someone who was thin without any effort in my earlier years - I really struggle now that that lifestyle has caught up with me. So my recent doctors visit is really telling me that I simply MUST do something different. My cholesterol is too high, my blood sugar is moving closer to levels where they are monitoring me closer for type2 diabetes, I am exhausted (my vitamin B12 is too low and I need some injections), my blood pressure fluctuates, I have tendonitis in my left shoulder, I feel generally unfit, fight my way into my clothes and generally am not happy with all of this. I have spent a few days just feeling overwhelmed by it all. Its not like I didn't know most of these health factors were likely but even then I have struggled the last 2 years to make lasting changes .

I also feel like I don't expect enough of myself and really need to make changes.

Goals for this month:

Walking - 30 minutes per day - this doesn't have to be in one block eg. 15 minutes morning afternoon or 10,10,10 across the day.
Strengthening - complete strengthening exercises provided by exercise physiologist at least every second day.
Water - Increase water intake - especially when at home - this is when I fall into the soft drink consumption.
Food - Meal plan once per week, alter breakfasts to more cholesterol friendly foods (in particular I eat too many eggs per week), take lunches to work.

Good luck with achieving your goals for the month everyone!

 

[HappyGrape]

I can't believe it's October! I will need some thinking to do about how things went from last October to this. It's one year since our WDW vaction

I am Nia, mother of one active 10 year old boy. Both me and my husband have busy jobs, involving traveling at times. I lost weight last year until October but things have been little up and down since. Mainly I feel the trouble stated when I decided I am going to hit the gym much harder last December and burned myself out, got hangry tired and miserable and lost the happy & balanced feeling that I had up to that moment. I have been on and off trying to find what the right balance in exercise is and last few weeks I feel I am getting some progress. What I am going to do in October is stick to that minimalist training program with moderate/low weights plus the glute workout I posted above. I will also do my walks and I won't worry about increasing anything for now. I will share the program in case anyone is interested, but I am not pushing myself as the author describes.

http://www.burnthefatblog.com/minimalist-weight-training-for-strength-and-muscle.php

It was busy year from October to October. WDW, Christmas, Spanish Island, Califoria, Beach holiday in Bulgaria. 5 Vacations! No wonder I am finding it hard, we won't be going to as many next year. Home renovations, job change, school search for my son. Change to working from home and managing my son compared to full time afterschool care. We also had a lot of events as Aerosmith & Iron Maiden. It's all good but little too busy and I need little more focus on my eating and exercise this month - and chill out little!

My goal will be to post daily update here on the following
1) Did I do my steps - goal 15000 a day
2) Were my calories in balance
3) Did I do my 3 weekly workouts without overdoing it (only M, W and F)
4) What did I do great yesterday, what worked well
5) What can I do better

" best weight is therefore whatever weight they achieve while living the healthiest lifestyle they can truly enjoy. "

I guess considering everything that I had on, I did near my best but long term I had little bit too much on to happily sustain my weight loss. Or perhaps my best weight changes little?

I am looking forward for this month! We have Impractical Jokers tickets for 15th and another stand up comedy for 28th. I can't think of anything else we have right now.

 

[HappyGrape]

I am going to post for yesterday

1) Did I do my steps - goal 15000 a day
Yes
2) Were my calories in balance
Yes
3) Did I do my 3 weekly workouts without overdoing it (only M, W and F) N/A
N/A
4) What did I do great yesterday, what worked well
Deciding I am not going to go over my daily calories. I ate too much by 4 pm and decided I won't be having dinner and sticking to it. Outdoor walk - great to get some fresh air.

5) What can I do better
The night before I had one glass of prosecco. I will skip drinks in October. Even one glass sometimes when I am tired impacts my energy levels next day and my sleep. It was also busy day, I had to get to office for 7 am, bring my son for swimming, do my shopping. I end up over snacking on carbs. If I look at my dairy I really didn't need to eat 2 crumpets my DH bought for himself and 3 goodness bars! No goodness bars for me today

 

[HappyGrape]

I would host a month if someone is willing to share it with me, but few days weekly. For example one of us could take M, W, F, S and the other T, T, S

The theme I have in mind is 30 or 31 things I love about Disney so we could share the theme easy too - I am sure anyone posting here would find the topic easy!

Let me know if you would share a month with me

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Good morning (from the midwest) and happy October!

Today we are going to talk about goals. I see that most of you have already posted goals, but if you haven't then I've put together some tips on how to set effective goals here.

Every Imagineer sets goals- even Walt himself. Think about what would happen if they didn’t! There is a big difference between thinking about wanting to do something and setting the goal to actually accomplish it. You’ve taken the first step just by joining in today! Now dive all the way in and let us know a little bit about you, why you’re here, and what your goals are.

And remember to set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time bound) goals! For example, instead of “lose some weight” being your goal, the SMART version would be something like “Lose 5 pounds by the end of this month.”

 

[dolewhipdreams]

I liked my goals for last month so I think I'm going to keep them:

Drink 48 oz water every day
Exercise (either a 30 minute workout or at least 15,000 steps) at least 4 times per day
Lose 5 lbs

I've been surprised by how much of a positive impact drinking water has made in my health. I wasn't dehydrated by any means before I started drinking more but I feel like I have more energy and it definitely works in keeping away unnecessary hunger pangs.

 

[summermom2]

I would like to join. My goals this month are to lose 10 pounds and exercise 4 days a week.

 

[HappyGrape]

Yesterday's review

1) Did I do my steps - goal 15000 a day - Yes
2) Were my calories in balance - Yes
3) Did I do my 3 weekly workouts without overdoing it (only M, W and F) - N/A
4) What did I do great yesterday, what worked well - Not snacking or eating after 17:30. I wasn't planning on doing this but I like it
5) What can I do better

I had one of the goodness bars, they look like nuts raising and little bit of dark chocolate. It's only 157 calories. I had 3 the day before. I read the label and surprise surprise, they aren't nearly full of goodness as they appear to be. I won't be having any today. I had little too much carbs and too little protein and perhaps bigger meal, less snacks will be good idea for today.

 

[4Mickeys]

I would like to join. My goals this month are to lose 10 pounds and exercise 4 days a week.

sounds like a great goal

I read the label and surprise surprise, they aren't nearly full of goodness as they appear to be.

Things never are, are they? Frustrating

So - I am off to a good start:

Meal Planning for the week - Done
Shopped for the plan - Done mostly will just need to top up veggies near the end of the week.
Walking - Done for today - I counted that it was around the shopping centre for around 3 hours as it was raining here today.
Strengthening - Done
Water intake - not so good - a sugar free soft drink day today but will do better tomorrow.

It is our last day of school vacation today - and we head back to work/school tomorrow I can't tell you how much I needed the break from work. I spoilt myself a little today - I stayed at the shops whilst DS16 was working and wandered alone, started some Christmas shopping, bought myself 2 pairs of shoes, a Mickey Mouse Diary for next year, and had my first ever pedicure - OMG why haven't I done that before! Massage chair, foot and lower leg massage, cute nail polish all with no effort on my part! I have decided I need to do this for myself more often - not just a pedicure but some other things as well that will help me relax and de-stress.

I am back to the Drs tomorrow to get results of xray and a treatment plan for my shoulder - yesterday it was feeling good but then this morning it was really painful when I woke up - it is usually worse overnight and first thing in the morning - but the discomfort has lasted through the day today.

Have a great week everyone

 

[Flossbolna]

Just saving my place for the moment. Need to read (looks like some nice, long and thoughtful posts) but wanted to say I am in!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Just saving my place for the moment. Need to read (looks like some nice, long and thoughtful posts) but wanted to say I am in!

Glad to see you back!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

QOTD: Imagineers literally have millions of people relying on them to do their job well so when they are working on their projects, they know that it's not just themselves that will be affected by the outcome. This knowledge helps drive results and puts a lot of passion behind the work.

Who is relying on you to meet your goals?

Bonus QOTD: Do you have a favorite Imagineer?

 

[dolewhipdreams]

QOTD: The obvious answer for me here is myself, but as I start to think about who else is affected by my healthy lifestyle I realize that it's more than I originally thought. First is my DH, who is directly affected by my choices because I do all of the cooking and grocery shopping! I also think about our future kids and how building a healthy way of living now means that I can start out strong as a mom and instill those values as my children are growing up. The healthier I am, the better I can do my job, so my coworkers and company make the list, too! It's crazy to think about the ripple effect of just one healthy life!

Bonus: Marty Sklar comes directly to mind, but I'm also following Marnie Burress who is an Executive Project Manager for WDI. She is doing my dream job!

Have a happy Monday everybody- let's make the most of this week

 

[HappyGrape]

I somewhat feel that I am at or close to my goal, and as such I hope I am good influence to my son. Not so sure for my husband, but probably. I haven't been at point where my weight is impacting my work, but I feel more productive when I am confident and healthy living helps with that.

Sometimes it annoys me that people expect me to always be the grown up, eat and exercise and be sensible.