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

[courtneybeth]

That being said, you all KNOW I like beer.... but that is because I honestly enjoy the taste of it...not because I want to get loaded.

I'm this way about wine. I enjoy the flavor of it and how it pairs with food - but I never drink to just get drunk. Yuck.

I came home from working TWO JOBS with a TOTALLY EMPTY BELLY and was greeted by a HUGE HOT PIZZA! So you know what I did?? I did NOT eat the pizza!!! I was so proud of myself!

You have stronger resistance than me - go you! I'd have eaten the pizza.

Taxes taxes taxes taxes! Sorry to have dropped off the face of the earth again but I've been immersed in the forms since the last time I checked in. Woohoo for the day is that we are DONE and filed!!! With enough of a refund to pay off the rest of the basement and kitchen repairs! Assuming I don't spend it all on new summer clothes first because the Orlando forecast is looking much steamier than expected.

Last two weeks of pre-Disney chaos is consuming the rest of me. This trip planning is not going smoothly. We will still have fun though. No matter what the Corporate Overlords do to the schedules!

I've also got the first part of our May challenge ready to go!!! Theme is still my secret but I'm excited to have something to keep me busy once the post-vacation malaise sets in.

Now I must read about what everyone else has been up to while simultaneously stalking my preferred Crystal Palace reservation time. Tigger needs me at 8:00. Not 8:30!!!

Congratulations on filing all of the taxes and payment! We're paying ours tonight and calling it a day.

I am super excited to see what theme you come up with for May. It's going to be magical and amazing for sure since you're running it

(PS: Good luck getting that reservation!)

@courtneybeth - I was actually AT Dulles airport while you were waiting for your flight to Raleigh! If you saw a grumpy, sleep-deprived, redhead waiting for a flight to Chicago, that was me. TSA had just taken my yogurt and I was probably scowling.

Ha! I was an exhausted traveler on one of the hummer shuttles. That airport is a trip - so big yet inconvenient. My goal is to avoid that airport in the future - I'd rather route United through Houston than Dulles for sure!

the occasional chocolate or strawberry milk (like maybe once a year if that)

I have only recently had chocolate milk as a recovery drink for running half marathons - so I get this. It's such a random treat usually.

Yesterday, I was gifted a package of lemonades. I sat down last night and ate half the package

. I ate a whole box of Tagalongs. I felt horrible afterwords

Those darn girlscouts are evil! Pushing delicious cookies that are only available one month per year I have two unopened boxes of thin mints. I think hubs got into one of the boxes but I'm going to pretend they're unopened so that I don't have the temptation to eat them. We dove into the Lemonades about two months ago and between the both of us finished off the package in one sitting. Ugh.

 

[courtneybeth]

This isn't related to anything, but has anyone signed up for hosting duties for June or July?

I'd like to sign up to host. I'll be in a post-Disney funk after May, so I'd prefer June. I'll take July if June is already taken.

 

[Dr Gunnie]

Those darn girlscouts are evil! Pushing delicious cookies that are only available one month per year I have two unopened boxes of thin mints. I think hubs got into one of the boxes but I'm going to pretend they're unopened so that I don't have the temptation to eat them. We dove into the Lemonades about two months ago and between the both of us finished off the package in one sitting. Ugh.

I got a box of the shortbread cookies this year. Each cookie was only 30 calories, so I might have one or two after dinner. Of course, my son ended up eating all of them. He had Easter candy and leftover birthday ice cream cake he could of had, and he goes for the one treat that I can eat - the cookies. Probably best, now I don't have to worry about them.

 

[Flossbolna]

This isn't related to anything, but has anyone signed up for hosting duties for June or July?

I'd like to sign up to host. I'll be in a post-Disney funk after May, so I'd prefer June. I'll take July if June is already taken.

I signed up for June and I can't do July or August. But if you are keen on June, please feel free to take it!! I can always do September or October! I only signed up to fill the months...

 

[courtneybeth]

I signed up for June and I can't do July or August. But if you are keen on June, please feel free to take it!! I can always do September or October! I only signed up to fill the months...

I would never want to step on your toes - I can definitely take July.

Congrats on taking on June - it'l be a great theme for sure!

 

[JacknSally]

Put me down for August (unless I can talk @flvy into coming back!)... Hopefully I'll be back to 100% by then, what with hopefully nabbing the Princess 10K sign up in July. Plus I hosted August last year so it'll be a fun little 1-year mark! Lol

 

[courtneybeth]

hopefully nabbing the Princess 10K sign up in July.

You can and you will! I can't wait to run the race with you! You're going to do great

 

[JacknSally]

You can and you will! I can't wait to run the race with you! You're going to do great

I am getting more and more excited about this! if nothing else, we'll look ADORABLE.

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OK. SO. According to Fitbit. If I get a 1,000 calorie deficit every day, then barring any health issues I don't know about yet, I should mathematically/theoretically be at my goal weight by October 27. My goal weight is 160lbs. That's down 39lbs from wedding weight on October 24, 2015. My goal is to be back to wedding weight by our 1year anniversary, but the idea of being so far past wedding weight by then is just blowing my mind and making me want to do nothing but exercise right now. Haha

 

[ohMom]

everyone...I miss you!!!

I won't play the same record over and over...i'm still having health issues and falling behind in life and so the dis-time has been slim. and what time I did was spent on the cruise board and booking our PC cruise for 2017! Magdalene -- i'll have to go read your trip report! anyhow, I will be away the first of May (another reason why i'm struggling is I've been away from home a ton) but I hope to rejoin after I return!! (((((hugs))))) save my spot!

 

[Flossbolna]

everyone...I miss you!!!

I won't play the same record over and over...i'm still having health issues and falling behind in life and so the dis-time has been slim. and what time I did was spent on the cruise board and booking our PC cruise for 2017! Magdalene -- i'll have to go read your trip report! anyhow, I will be away the first of May (another reason why i'm struggling is I've been away from home a ton) but I hope to rejoin after I return!! (((((hugs))))) save my spot!

We miss you, too!! And you will love the Panama Canal cruise!! I saw that your itinerary shows two days in the canal, what is up with that?? That is interesting!! We are looking forward to seeing you after your return in May!!

 

[dsnyfn1022]

I did this last month. I ate a whole box of Tagalongs. I felt horrible afterwords. I started vacation the next day. I was just home with my kids over spring break. I went to the rec everyday for a week and ended up losing 2 pounds. I knew I had to do something because of eating that box of cookies.

We all fall off the wagon every once in awhile. The key is to get back on the next day.

Those darn girlscouts are evil! Pushing delicious cookies that are only available one month per year I have two unopened boxes of thin mints. I think hubs got into one of the boxes but I'm going to pretend they're unopened so that I don't have the temptation to eat them. We dove into the Lemonades about two months ago and between the both of us finished off the package in one sitting. Ugh.

This is why I love this community!! I feel so much better knowing I'm not the only one who can put away a box of Girl Scout cookies. It's just so frustrating being human and giving into temptation! I wish I could be perfect lol. But I'm still working out and while lunch wasn't on plan (as I knew it wouldn't be) dinner definitely will be!

 

[JacknSally]

This is why I love this community!! I feel so much better knowing I'm not the only one who can put away a box of Girl Scout cookies. It's just so frustrating being human and giving into temptation! I wish I could be perfect lol. But I'm still working out and while lunch wasn't on plan (as I knew it wouldn't be) dinner definitely will be!

Oh, don't worry. A serving of thin mints for me is the whole box. I just can't help myself. Seriously, a whole box will be gone in 10 minutes. No exaggeration. And of course this year DH had two coworkers whose kids were selling. Can't buy from one and not the other! And then my dad bought me a box because he knows I love them. And then DH got cornered by a group as he came out of Kroger. I singlehandedly ate 4 boxes of Thin Mints this season. Bahaha.

 

[Dr Gunnie]

Went to the running store today and got fitted for my first pair of running shoes. For someone who always just orders shoes online and never got truly fitted for a pair, I can't believe how nice they feel. I really was hoping a pair of Nike's would come out on top, but I had to pull the trigger on the Mizuno Wave Inspire 12's. They feel amazing. Can't wait to try them out tomorrow! Added bonus that they had 20% off for teachers during the month of April!

 

[DisPup75]

Hey, I didn't share my woohoo.... so here goes. Last night I got home after working both jobs (12 hour day) and I was STARVING. I often try to leave myself something in the fridge easy to grab, but I hadn't yesterday. I had left a crockpot of meatballs and sauce for my men. Apparently the crockpot overcooked the meatballs and they were burned and so DH brought home a HUGE pizza from the market. I came home from working TWO JOBS with a TOTALLY EMPTY BELLY and was greeted by a HUGE HOT PIZZA! So you know what I did?? I did NOT eat the pizza!!! I was so proud of myself! I cooked two veggie burgers and ate them with baby spinach and pickles on low carb flat bread. And they were delicious (and yes, I had ONE bite of DS's slice of pizza). I'm sure you all know how VERY EASY it would have been to justify eating "just one" [huge] slice of that pizza at 8pm after a long day. So woohoo to me!!

Wow!!!!! I am so impressed by this. Woohoo to you times infinity!

I do not drink milk unless it is in cereal or the occasional chocolate or strawberry milk (like maybe once a year if that). I seem to have issues with dairy. My digestive system does not do well with it. I do eat cheese sometimes but I have issues if I eat a ton at one time. I have always wanted to eat yogurt. I have tried several different kinds and I just do not like it.

I know I do not get enough calcium in my diet. I have issues with taking pills so I do not take vitamins. The chocolate or caramel ones and the gummies are just gross and I can handle taking those. I know I really need to start or I will have problems down the road.

It took me a bunch of tries to find a calcium chew I liked; keep trying. Bones are important!

I missed woohoo wednesday! But yesterday was NOT a woohoo day. I had been so good and I didn't buy any girl scout cookies. Yesterday, I was gifted a package of lemonades. I sat down last night and ate half the package But I'm going to let it roll off my shoulders because I'm human and some days you just don't eat well. All that matters is that you dust yourself off and start again the next day! Today and tomorrow are going to be rough for me because I have two celebration lunches. I'm going to have to figure out what my "healthy" choices are.



If I drink milk, it's chocolate milk. Regular milk is awful, I hate it! I do love all other things dairy though. Cheese, ice cream, yogurt. All of it. I'm not picky when it comes to dairy products lol. Just milk. I probably should take calcium supplements or something.

I somehow completely missed Girl Scout cookie season. I realized a few weeks ago that I really wanted a Tagalong. Turns out I was ONE DAY TOO LATE. I was so sad I took a screen shot.

I love milk, especially chocolate and strawberry. We were having chocolate milk every night but last week checked the numbers for the first time last week and won't be having that anymore! Haha. We need to find a brand with better numbers that still tastes good. For drinking, I drink real milk. For cereal, smoothies, etc. I use vanilla almond milk or vanilla almond coconut milk. <3 I also love cheese and ice cream. Don't have ice cream very often, but cheese is a daily staple here. I can't STAND yogurt. Any type of yogurt. I'm able to hide yogurt in a protein smoothie enough to where I can drink it but I just can't eat yogurt. It has such a nasty sour taste. Ugh.


So, playing around in my Fitbit app last night, I found where you can enter your stats and have it calculate what you should be eating to see results (i.e. to lose 1lb, 2lbs a week, etc.) and I'm in love with how they set it up. MFP and LoseIt will give you the same thing, but they set it up as "You can eat 1400 calories a day to lose 2lbs a week" or whatever. Fitbit uses calorie deficits, not caps. For me, to lose 2lbs per week according to the Fitbit app, I need to be at a 1,000 calorie deficit a day. I love that. I think it's so much more mentally healthy than "Oh, I can ONLY eat this today", and it's so much easier to know how much you can eat rather than trying to figure out if you should eat back burned calories or not. Yesterday I ate 2,000 calories, and because of how much I walked yesterday, I was still at a 1,200 calorie deficit for the day. Fitbit told me I was actually under on my calories (you're on target if you're within 50 calories of your goal either way so I was under by about 150) but I just couldn't eat any more yesterday. Now, some of my calories weren't the best, so I need to keep a better eye on the macros - unfortunately only the Fitbit desktop will track macros, not the app. Grr. But it's a start!

I'm 99% positive that if you link your FitBit to MFP, you can log your food on MFP so you can track your macros, and it will adjust your calories as your day progresses and your steps add up. I can recall a few sad days where my calorie target actually went down.

so big yet inconvenient. My goal is to avoid that airport in the future - I'd rather route United through Houston than Dulles for sure!

Dulles is my favorite airport here because the parking is so easy but I would never ever want to use it for a transfer. Yuck! I try to fly American through Chicago if I have to connect so I can eat guacamole.

everyone...I miss you!!!

I won't play the same record over and over...i'm still having health issues and falling behind in life and so the dis-time has been slim. and what time I did was spent on the cruise board and booking our PC cruise for 2017! Magdalene -- i'll have to go read your trip report! anyhow, I will be away the first of May (another reason why i'm struggling is I've been away from home a ton) but I hope to rejoin after I return!! (((((hugs))))) save my spot!

I'm posting May next weekend! Fun GIFs, a great Disney tie in.... It is going to be a swell month! We would love to have you back when you return.

Went to the running store today and got fitted for my first pair of running shoes. For someone who always just orders shoes online and never got truly fitted for a pair, I can't believe how nice they feel. I really was hoping a pair of Nike's would come out on top, but I had to pull the trigger on the Mizuno Wave Inspire 12's. They feel amazing. Can't wait to try them out tomorrow! Added bonus that they had 20% off for teachers during the month of April!

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Such a great blue! They just look fast. I'm a walker not a runner but a pair of Mizunos made it into my Zappos basket last fall. I didn't want them to be the winners because they were so much more expensive than all of the others but it was like they were molded to my feet. I haven't wanted to take them off since.

 

[wenrob]

I'm 99% positive that if you link your FitBit to MFP, you can log your food on MFP so you can track your macros, and it will adjust your calories as your day progresses and your steps add up. I can recall a few sad days where my calorie target actually went down.

Yep, that's how it works. I have MFP and Fitbit set up for 1lb a week/sedentary and get (or lose, like when I was sick this weekend ) calories all day. I try to walk enough to create another 500 cal deficit plus 100 cals of chocolate every night, lol. MFP gives me 1200 but with around 15,000 steps I eat 14-1600 and have 3-600 left over. I'm steadily losing an average of 1.75 lbs (sometimes I lose 2, sometimes none, sometimes 3 ) a week and manage to "bank" calories for a treat meal here and there. I've found Fitbit connected to MFP to be one of the greatest tools out there. As long as you are honest with your calories in, it makes it easy peasy to do.

 

[courtneybeth]

Dulles is my favorite airport here because the parking is so easy but I would never ever want to use it for a transfer. Yuck! I try to fly American through Chicago if I have to connect so I can eat guacamole.

Yum! Where do you score Guac?

 

[JacknSally]

I'm 99% positive that if you link your FitBit to MFP, you can log your food on MFP so you can track your macros, and it will adjust your calories as your day progresses and your steps add up. I can recall a few sad days where my calorie target actually went down.


.

Only if you upgrade to the $10 a month plan it's ok, i'm always near my computer so i don't mind using the fitbit desktop!

 

[ski_mom]

Yep, that's how it works. I have MFP and Fitbit set up for 1lb a week/sedentary and get (or lose, like when I was sick this weekend ) calories all day. I try to walk enough to create another 500 cal deficit plus 100 cals of chocolate every night, lol. MFP gives me 1200 but with around 15,000 steps I eat 14-1600 and have 3-600 left over. I'm steadily losing an average of 1.75 lbs (sometimes I lose 2, sometimes none, sometimes 3 ) a week and manage to "bank" calories for a treat meal here and there. I've found Fitbit connected to MFP to be one of the greatest tools out there. As long as you are honest with your calories in, it makes it easy peasy to do.

I agree - this time, I'm using MFP to track and I think it's great! I definitely try to eat healthy every day, but it also lets me feel like I can "cheat" every now and then with a treat. All I have to do is fit it into my calories for the day. I do wonder how low my calories will drop as I lose weight though. Right now I have mine set that I want to lose 2 pounds a week and I'm given around 1,600 calories for the day. I know as my weight gets lower, so will my calories, but I"m sure I will have figured out some new methods for meals to help conserve my calories. Also, at this point, I really don't eat my activity calories that I get (although I really don't get a whole lot), but if I had to use them at some point, I'd hope it might be ok.

 

[PoohBelle]

Checking in
199 lbs this week. Down 1! 1/4 pounds lost
Didn't get my last running session in yet. 2/3 running sessions

 

[wenrob]

Only if you upgrade to the $10 a month plan it's ok, i'm always near my computer so i don't mind using the fitbit desktop!

MFP and Fitbit? Or LoseIt and Fitbit? One of the main reasons I switched to MFP is because I was able to get my steps and calorie adjustments in real time on MFP where LoseIt you had to upgrade. Also LoseIt assumes a certain level of activity (I lost that 69lbs w/LoseIt) where MFP doesn't soi feel the adjustment w/the Fitbit is more accurate. Anyway, I get a macro breakdown on MFP without paying-carbs/fats/protein.

I agree - this time, I'm using MFP to track and I think it's great! I definitely try to eat healthy every day, but it also lets me feel like I can "cheat" every now and then with a treat. All I have to do is fit it into my calories for the day. I do wonder how low my calories will drop as I lose weight though. Right now I have mine set that I want to lose 2 pounds a week and I'm given around 1,600 calories for the day. I know as my weight gets lower, so will my calories, but I"m sure I will have figured out some new methods for meals to help conserve my calories. Also, at this point, I really don't eat my activity calories that I get (although I really don't get a whole lot), but if I had to use them at some point, I'd hope it might be ok.

I've read that with MFP you should recalculate every 10lbs, it doesn't readjust on its own. I'm as low as you can go on there so I haven't really done it. I just try to leave some on the table after my Fitbit adjustment to create a buffer.