Lightspeed ahead to a healthier you! April 2016 WISH challenge... all are welcome!

[pjlla]

Hi Friends!! How's everyone doing? Can you believe that APRIL is almost over??? WOW!

Anyhow, just a reminder that I'll start taking FINAL progress reports now! I'll be away with DD for about the next 48 hours (I will leave here shortly after I finish my morning WW chat shift), but I will have time to pop on and check in. And the final report for April will be posted by Sunday night.

So much great chatter about running.... so inspiring to hear all that you are able to do, even when starting from ZERO! We have so many folks at so many different stages of their exercise journey.... from "just getting started walking" all the way to a few of you marathon junkies!! It is wonderful that we are able to talk about/share it all! And I love that all of you marathon regulars seem to still remember what it was like to just be starting on this path!

Anyhow.... coffee is brewed and since I've been up for 2 hours already, it's time for a cup (or two)!................P

 

[HappyGrape]

Let's take a moment to reflect back on the past 29 days. How are you feeling about your April progress? If you are pleased, what are you going to do to keep the momentum going into May?

If you haven't been happy, what are you going to do DIFFERENTLY in May? Be specific!

I did smashing!
I lost 3.9 kg. Another two months like this and I will be at my goal weight. If it take 3 or 4 - I will be happy too
I took step back and stopped trying doing it all in one go
Ate my maintenance calories for 2 weeks but clean food, skipped the gym and walked at least 10 000 steps
Cut few hundred calories and added 2 workouts in the gym - week 3
Cut another hundred and added another workout, keeping the step count up

I enjoyed few glasses of prosecco on few occasions but over all no junk this month. Even when out I made healthy choices

I feel great, my clothes fit better. My skin is clear. I am not hungry or thinking about food all the time. I have no cravings for junk food. I wake up happy and energetic every morning

I can live like that.

 

[Dr Gunnie]

I thought of you when I saw these and figured you'd want to participate.

I'm going to sign up for the entire series with the bonus medal - comes out to $152 on Active due to fees. I like the idea of the virtual medal/race because it holds me accountable for training runs. I have a queue of these starting to pile up that after Tink will be getting done now that the schedule will slow down a bit and the knee is healing.

Yes, it's quite possible many could just buy the medal and not do it. But it's on the honors system and you seem like a gentleman of honor. I trust that you'll get it done. This would be a great experience to use MapMyRun and plot out a new course to find that 3.1 outdoors in a new location, like a city park or a street that doesn't have stop lights. I'm going to do this for most of these so that I can get used to running on different types of ground.

I'm doing it. Looks like @JacknSally already signed up and is ready to go. So you're not alone. We can also make it an accountability thing - maybe pick a weekend and we all decide to do it and post our results. It could add a little fun to the monthly challenges here too

I slept on it last night and decided to sign up this morning. I figured having something visual like the medals might help me stay with this whole transformation. I know if I ever started to gain weight again looking at these medals will motivate me to get back in gear. Plus, it gives me something to look forward to once this first race is over. Time to start a new collection - 5k medals. Who knows, maybe even 10k medals at some point?!?!

Now, the question is does this make me a runDisney runner? Can I go out and get a runDisney shirt? I think I'll wait for that until I do an actual event... someday.

I ran 3.1 miles yesterday on the treadmill for the fist time since I started running outside. Didn't like it as much. Plus, I know my pace was faster than I used to run, but it still took me just over 40:00 to finish. I guess either a) the treadmill distance is a little longer than the true distance, or b) the gps on map my run is a little shorter than the true distance. I'm hoping it's a!

 

[Dr Gunnie]

Good morning and welcome to your FINAL FRIDAY QOTD for April 29, 2016:

Well.... just like the title of this month's thread implied, this month has gone by like LIGHTSPEED!!

View attachment 165118

Let's take a moment to reflect back on the past 29 days. How are you feeling about your April progress? If you are pleased, what are you going to do to keep the momentum going into May?

If you haven't been happy, what are you going to do DIFFERENTLY in May? Be specific!

It's been a great month - made a lot of what I feel life changes, and the weight is still coming off around the same rate as when I started. I truly feel after 4 months now that I'm just not "on a diet", but more of a lifestyle change. I think the whole running thing has helped keep me motivated and will carry me to an excellent May.

I still worry about how it will go once fall comes around and the football season starts (the hardest time for me to eat healthy and to find time to exercise). The only thing I can control now is today, so hopefully the good habits I'm creating now will stick.

The weight hasn't come off as much as I would like the last few days, but my schedule has been way off with my wife out of town, so I'm not worried. Staying home today with the kids (they don't have school today). Will be taking them to Chuck E Cheese this afternoon - pray for me.

 

[piglet1979]

Good morning and welcome to your FINAL FRIDAY QOTD for April 29, 2016:

Well.... just like the title of this month's thread implied, this month has gone by like LIGHTSPEED!!

View attachment 165118

Let's take a moment to reflect back on the past 29 days. How are you feeling about your April progress? If you are pleased, what are you going to do to keep the momentum going into May?

If you haven't been happy, what are you going to do DIFFERENTLY in May? Be specific!

This month has had a lot of highs and lows. I started out just ok. I needed to do better then I did in March. Meetings lowed down and I then did really good. Lost the 5 pounds for my goal and was ready to blow past it. Then this week happened. I didn't eat horrible. Not as good as last week but not horrible. Today when I weighed myself I am up 2 pounds. I almost feel defeated. Even though I am down about how things turned out this week I am trying to think about what I need to do. So here goes. My plans to get back to where I was.

1. I ate several salads last week. I will do that again this week.
2. Stick to about 1,000 calories a day but no more then 1,200.
3. Workout at least 4 times this week (20 minutes elliptical and at least 30 more minutes on the tread mill)
4. Work on upping my speed on the treadmill and Elliptical.
5. Get 10,000 to 15,000 steps every day.

I will weigh myself again on Sunday in hopes that the scale will have a better number.

 

[piglet1979]

Will be taking them to Chuck E Cheese this afternoon - pray for me.

I will definitely be praying. My kids love this place and I really hate it. If we go I will only go when they first open when no one is their. Also, at this time you get more tickets. They test the games before opening and leave the tickets for the first person who plays them.

 

[Dr Gunnie]

I will definitely be praying. My kids love this place and I really hate it. If we go I will only go when they first open when no one is their. Also, at this time you get more tickets. They test the games before opening and leave the tickets for the first person who plays them.

That's the plan. We will get there at opening and get out ASAP. The good thing is their school district is the only one out today, all other schools are in session so it shouldn't be too busy.

 

[dsnyfn1022]

I'm doing it. Looks like @JacknSally already signed up and is ready to go. So you're not alone. We can also make it an accountability thing - maybe pick a weekend and we all decide to do it and post our results. It could add a little fun to the monthly challenges here too

I signed up this morning and I'm SO excited. I run this distance multiple times a week so it just means adorable Disney medals. I also wish there was some accountability system just to make the medals a little more "prestigious" but whatever. I'll just be happy for the medal! It's the best I can do right now short of actually travelling to a coast for a race which is just hard.

Let's take a moment to reflect back on the past 29 days. How are you feeling about your April progress? If you are pleased, what are you going to do to keep the momentum going into May?

If you haven't been happy, what are you going to do DIFFERENTLY in May? Be specific!

I have had decent results this month. I lost 4 pounds which definitely isn't something to be sad about. HOwever I didn't quite make my goal and it's because my eating has simply just been sloppy. I'm giving into my temptations more than I should be. So for May I plan on passing on desserts during the week. No sweets in the house. I also plan on eating within my daily points allowance and allow myself one indulgent meal on Sundays. That was very successful week for me. So I just need to do it.

I also have to figure out how to navigate eating in this new job. They go out to lunch all the time! It's exhausting.

 

[ski_mom]

Good morning and welcome to your FINAL FRIDAY QOTD for April 29, 2016:

Well.... just like the title of this month's thread implied, this month has gone by like LIGHTSPEED!!

View attachment 165118

Let's take a moment to reflect back on the past 29 days. How are you feeling about your April progress? If you are pleased, what are you going to do to keep the momentum going into May?

If you haven't been happy, what are you going to do DIFFERENTLY in May? Be specific!

Well, I'm ending the month with a 6 pound loss, so 75% of my 8 pound goal.

My first thought when I read your QOTD was that it's been a horrible month. I went and looked through MFP tracker to look at my weights I've posted since I started (middle of February) and I saw that last month I had a week where I gained half a pound too and I ended up making it through without ruining everything. Interestingly, I noticed that I gained the .5 pound the same week in March as I did in April. My normal weigh-ins are on Wednesday and my half pound gain was on the last Wednesday of each month. I'm thinking that I need to really focus on that last week of the month.

So, I think overall, although I'm disappointed that I didn't make my goal, I now see that I can move onward and hopefully downward. I didn't gain all this weight overnight and it's going to take some time (and some ups and downs) to lose it.

As far as what I'm going to do differently in May:
1. Get back to tracking faithfully. I've been slacking on that lately. We've been eating out so much and I've been looking the nutritional information on the restaurants we eat at much as I can. I've been trying to make healthy choices, but I haven't been tracking like I should. I'm going to go back and read some of my meal plans from when I first started. I was really planning everything out then and I need to get back to that.

2. Start some form of exercise. For now, it will probably just be walking. I have an iwatch (or whatever they're called) and I need to start using the steps feature to motivate myself. I look at it everyday, but I've just been shrugging it off and telling myself that I'll start tomorrow. I need to start it now and stick to it.

Finally, thank you so much for hosting this month. I'm so glad that I found this group. Everyone that has hosted since I started is so creative and inspiring! I really appreciate it!

 

[Oneanne]

Good morning and welcome to your FINAL FRIDAY QOTD for April 29, 2016:

Well.... just like the title of this month's thread implied, this month has gone by like LIGHTSPEED!!

View attachment 165118

Let's take a moment to reflect back on the past 29 days. How are you feeling about your April progress? If you are pleased, what are you going to do to keep the momentum going into May?

If you haven't been happy, what are you going to do DIFFERENTLY in May? Be specific!

At this point my adjusted and re-adjusted April goal is to get out of the month were I started, at 192. The Texas trip threw me off even more than I thought and I haven't been truly back on track since. I have next week to try and get into the 180's, per my pre-WDW goal and will give it everything I've got.

Step wise I got off to a slow start but the second half of the month have made my 12,000 + goal each day. My biggest accomplishment is to get going with Pilates... I think I've finally found "my thing" and the perfect place to do it. I've finished the three private lessons and now start group classes. Even with just a few sessions I feel my body differently and am self correcting how I stand and move.

Today is the first day of a two week closure for the Viaduct, a raised two level roadway that 90,000 cars take to/thru Seattle each day. My bus goes on the Viaduct, so I'm working even earlier hours to try and avoid as much of the crazy as possible. Yesterday I had the brilliant idea to take a different bus home... It's a route that doesn't actually have a schedule, they just come every 10 to 15 minutes, vs my bus which is 20 to 30. That route doesn't come anywhere near my house, it'll be about a mile and a half walk with a hill, but I get off my bus about 10 blocks early anyway, so this would really only add about 5 or so more blocks... And a hill. I'm going to give it a shot tonight and see how it goes.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone... On to May we go! Thanks pjilla for a great and inspirational April.

 

[mamattorney]

Good morning and welcome to your FINAL FRIDAY QOTD for April 29, 2016:

Well.... just like the title of this month's thread implied, this month has gone by like LIGHTSPEED!!

View attachment 165118

Let's take a moment to reflect back on the past 29 days. How are you feeling about your April progress? If you are pleased, what are you going to do to keep the momentum going into May?

If you haven't been happy, what are you going to do DIFFERENTLY in May? Be specific!

I'm pretty happy with April's progress - I may not meet my goal, but 10 lbs is a large goal, so it's not the end of the world.

If I had to describe my April from a diet/exercise perspective, I would call it "autopilot". I didn't go out of my way to try new or different things (food or exercise). But, autopilot didn't mean lazy or off plan. I did everything I wanted to do, just not in a conscious way. Part of me thinks I should be more mindful in May, but another part of me thinks - maybe this is what things are like when you've changed your lifestyle. I just ate - I didn't worry about what to eat, what not to eat - how much to eat - I just ate. I was moderately active, but I was moderately active every day. I wasn't resentful of getting my 15,000 steps a day; I just fit it in. Maybe this is what people with a healthy, active, lifestyle do. Maybe it's not all - focus, focus, focus - maybe there is a lot of autopilot as well (so long as it's the right kind of autopilot).

For May, I might change things up, or I might not. I haven't decided. May is an extremely busy month on a lot of fronts, so it may be very stressful to try to make too many challenging changes.

And a huge thanks to pjilla for hosting this month; it's so much work to host and you did a great job inspiring us all!

 

[GrandAdmiralStrife]

Start weight weight 230.5
Goal weight 220.5

CURRENT WEIGHT 213.4

SEVENTEEN POUNDS LOST!

 

[4Mickeys]

Final Report: 46.83%

I am ok with where I am at with the goal achievement for April - yes its not 100% but it is more activity than I have done in quite some time. In May I will continue to focus on moving more and continue to improve food choices. I am ending the month feeling down - for a number of reasons - hopefully May will be better.

 

[tortilla24]

Well.... just like the title of this month's thread implied, this month has gone by like LIGHTSPEED!!

Let's take a moment to reflect back on the past 29 days. How are you feeling about your April progress? If you are pleased, what are you going to do to keep the momentum going into May?

If you haven't been happy, what are you going to do DIFFERENTLY in May? Be specific!

My April progress hasn't been great. I just haven't been super motivated for some reason. While I ate okay, the stress of not knowing about school took a toll on me and I never felt much motivation to work out. I think my goal next month will be to try new forms of exercise. Every week I will sign myself up for something new - yoga, trampoline class, etc. I'm sure I'll find something I enjoy doing. I already have outdoor rock climbing planned! Can't wait

 

[courtneybeth]

Greetings from Nashville everyone! I haven't had an opportunity to read back through the thread (only briefly skimmed) but it looks like everyone is reporting in good results for the month and maaaaybe we'll have a thread full of 5K virtual runners. YEAH!

We're gearing up for a wet half marathon tomorrow. I'm excited for this challenge and will report in my numbers for the month after tomorrow. that'll be my 30/30 for the month.

 

[Zoesmama03]

I thought today would be worse on calories. We had Panda Express for dinner. I went with teriyaki chicken and kung pao because it's A LOT less carbs for those. I've been getting half rice and half mixed veggies and I told her more veggies less rice is fine with me. With estimates based on their "standard" serving sizes I'm only over 58 calories. I pre-planned it by looking it up before going. My carbs stayed at 40% of my macros(under by 4) and my sugar was only 2 over. I had fruit this morning which had more than my Panda express dinner.

It got late and I'm not sure I want to go to the gym this late still debating it. Plans to meet my friend tomorrow at 6pm. I think I'm just going to go get some good quality sleep so I can speed through some housework in the morning I know I'll burn a bunch tomorrow between that and the gym.

I was up this evening(I forgot to weigh first thing this morning) only .1 from last Friday...mostly due to PMS bloating. I can't wait to see where I am next week with two weeks of food tracking and exercise.

 

[DVCFan1994]

I'm at 75% for the month. Met my exercise goal again this week, but not my calorie tracking.

Next months focus is going to need to be on diet. March and April were rough for me. I have so many celebrations those months. But, with the exception of Memorial Day, May should have less built in binges .

Tricky part for me is working on diet while ramping up exercise. With my new training plan my exercise will increase every few weeks. Going to be a learning curve with eating enough for the increase in training versus at the very least, keeping my weight stable though preferably dropping a few pounds.

 

[Flossbolna]

I am happy with April. I feel that I should have lost more, but the number on the scale today was ok. Will see if I can get a better number to report tomorrow though.

The month has been very consistent with exercise and eating. I only had very few "red days", i.e. days when I logged more food than I was supposed to eat. But I logged every single day and none of the red day was a day when I ate more than I burned. I just was over my 750 kcal deficit. Someone else talked about being on auto-pilot during the month and I felt that definitely some days that was exactly how I felt. The good thing is that this worked for me. I was able to expand my slate of easy dinners, did some pre-cooking and just generally ate very well most of the time. I am starting to think that I can keep this up for the long run. It has become easier to not give in to cravings, however I find that TOM is one of the big craving issues. Maybe I need to plan for this and be prepared with healthy snacks to munch on. Like a big bowl of berries or a pineapple. Yes, I can eat a whole pineapple in one go! Not good either, but at least better than a whole packet of chips! At least it has fiber!!

And while I was not totally happy with the number, I am back at a weight that I don't feel uncomfortable with. My clothes fit better. It starts with my underwear that suddenly feels more comfortable. But I also tried on some summer clothes that I could not wear all of last summer and they fit! I was wearing my "skinny" denim skirt this week and it was not tight at all. So, this all shows me that I am moving into the right direction. Usually spring and early summer is a great season for me to lose weight and I feel very confident that I am going into this season from a low weight already. Hopefully next month I will get to a new low since 2013 - and then on to a successful June when I get to a new low since 2000!! I think I have come to terms with the fact that I am losing slowly. Sometimes I get envious when I read all those fantastic results of over 10 pounds lost in a month that some of you achieve. But then I know that I don't have the self discipline to eat so little. So, a big congratulations to all those high achievers! I am just taking my measly 3 or 4 pounds a month, but I know that I will get to my goal that way as well!

 

[Dr Gunnie]

Well this stinks.

5 days ago I was a 1/2 lb from meeting my goal and since I avg about 1/2 lb loss a day, I never thought I wouldn't meet my April goal. Well, technically I didn't meet my April goal. My goal was to lose 14+ to be in the 250's and I lost 14 and I'm right at 260.

Now, my schedule has been totally out of whack with my wife gone and I didn't get to exercise nearly as much as I usually do, but I still thought I would have lost more than just 1/4 pound while she was gone.

Pretty bummed, but the day is not over. I still have time to get there by the end of today!

 

[Oneanne]

April Goals Check in

Weight: 191.7... Color me surprised! I was at 193.3 Thursday morning. Thursday I started taking my high dose of vitamin D again... I hadn't been taking it for a couple weeks. I'm not sure if there's a connection but yesterday my sugar cravings broke and I am free!

Steps: 17 days at 12,000+... 57%. My average per day is 11,629 steps. If I had done more walking in Texas I would have made goal.

Pilates... Next class in about half an hour.