Hi, everyone! I thought I'd join in, too! I just booked our next trip, Oct. 29 to Nov. 10, staying at Pop for the second time (2013) and our fourth trip in five years. We couldn't pull off an annual trip last year, but I promised myself we'd go again in 2015.
I'm actually planning on doing the Jingle Jungle 5K on Nov. 7 (two days after my 44th birthday!) after starting an intensive walking program back in April and having lost 40 pounds since -- I know I can walk 5K, but now the question is whether I can do it under the 15-minute/mile suggested pace time. I've got 9 months to get there! So, I'm eagerly awaiting the March 17 RunDisney sign-up date.
I've been using MyFitnessPal (mpatriciatitus), a fitness tracker (BodyMedia's Link and also now Misfit Shine) and the PowerWalk walking program app (kind of like Couch-to-5K but with walking) to try to finally get healthy after decades of little or no exercise. I've gone through it once already, working up to walking an hour straight at 3 mph, and now I'm working on 3.3 mph.
I lost a few weeks in the fall to illness and a broken toe, and I plateaued around 40 pounds lost, put a few back on and now have dropped them back off. I've got a ways to go to get to my goal, but I really feel like I've made a life change, turning myself from a sitter into a walker. I miss my treadmill when I don't do it. I'd probably do it 5 or 6 times a week if I could, but it's usually around 3 or 4.
I'm not "dieting" per se, but I am watching what I eat, trying not to go overboard on calories but not restricting any certain foods and aiming to keep a calorie deficit, even though I haven't been doing as well with that as I was back in the summer. (I've been consciously indulging myself as I get through some personal issues, but still keeping a small deficit nearly every day!).
The last time I had exercised regularly, I got discouraged because I gained weight for nearly a month, and I stopped. This time, I ignored the weight gain the first few weeks and then it started dropping -- my scale says I've dropped 60+ pounds of fat while losing those nearly 40 pounds, so I've put on a lot of muscle and the scale seems to go back up every other week but then drops even more the following one. I'm encouraged! Now I just need to keep myself on track!