Mickey's Very Merry Holiday WEIGHT LOSS Party! December 2016

[courtneybeth]

What brings you TRUE JOY?

My husband, cuddling with my kitties, running, and spending time at Disney.

 

[pjlla]

Good morning! I was in bed dozing last night before I realized that it was Monday and I hadn't posted results. I'm so sorry! Life is kicking me hard right now with the lice issue not solved yet (the laundry is astonishing!!), Christmas gifts not totally bought and wrapped, house not cleaned.... just a big OMG week here. Getting that results post up now and then will add the QOTD!.........P

 

[pjlla]

Week #3 results for the December WISH challenge:

4Mickeys - 51.85%

HappyGrape - 48%

Lady Marie - 50%

MinnieLovesTigger - 100%

 

[pjlla]

QOTD for Tuesday, December 20, 2016:





Exercise..... while we all know it is an important component of a healthy lifestyle and can certainly help with weight loss, it takes TIME! And while we are all busy people on a regular basis (work, family, home), during the holiday season things are even busier!! How do you make it a priority during this busy season? What do you do to make it fit into your schedule?

 

[Flossbolna]

Hello everyone!

I am having such a hard time getting back into good habits. The cold and darkness are not helping. But ultimately it is me. It is not that I am not eating the healthy meals I have planned, I do. But I also eat half my stored foods as well every night. I have no idea what is going on, but I am having huge hunger attacks every evening. I am blaming a combination of jet lag and time of the month. And I do hope that posting about it here will add some accountability for me so that tonight I can think about what I posted and that I want to post again tomorrow and tell all of you that I was doing better...

I think you all know that I don't live in Berlin, so the horrible attack there is far away from me geographically (this summer's incidents were closer). And my sister, who lives in Berlin, was at home yesterday evening. Still, Christmas markets are such an integral part of Germany's Christmas traditions that one being attacked feels like everyone was attacked. It is not a surprise though. It was quite clear that something like this was bound to happen. The Nuremberg Christmas market (in my home town) is one of the most traditional ones and has had a massive increase in security for a couple of years now. Including quite substantial barriers at every single entrance onto the market square. After having been away for most of December so far, I still have not made it to our local market. And I was thinking of going there tonight. Now I am determined to make it there after work today. I feel that it is necessary to not let those incidents scare you away but instead keep up with normal life!

 

[Flossbolna]

Exercise..... while we all know it is an important component of a healthy lifestyle and can certainly help with weight loss, it takes TIME! And while we are all busy people on a regular basis (work, family, home), during the holiday season things are even busier!! How do you make it a priority during this busy season? What do you do to make it fit into your schedule?

I have not made it a priority. Mainly because I was battling a nasty cold that seems to linger forever. But I am feeling much improved today and will resume my running schedule tomorrow!

@pjlla I am also ready to start our exercise challenge! Is it ok with you to start now despite the holidays? I am thinking that we should use the 30 Day Shred (but with a custom schedule) and make a commitment to workout to it 3 times a week. So, that would be three weeks of program 1, 2 and 3 each and after 9 weeks we have completed the whole course. I think this gives us an accieveable goal. We can start the week on any day of the week. I would suggest starting this Saturday (December 24). I would most likely use Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday as my regular workout day (because Sunday, Wednesday and Friday are my running days...).

If anyone else is interested in joining in, you are more than welcome!! The 30 Day Shred is available on youtube, so you do not need to buy any DVDs to take part. I also really like the program as it offers modifications for different fitness levels and it also builds up your ability over time. Don't dispair if you are feeling like a failure the first time you run through the DVD, you will learn how to do the exercises and it will become easier. For example, the first time I was doing it, there were certain exercises with weights where I was not able to do them with weights at all. And by the end I was doing those with 5 pounds in each hand. The 30 Day Shred officially is designed to do three different routines for 10 days each and then upgrading to the next, more difficult routine. However, this is a huge commitment and I feel it gives you not enough rest. Therefore my suggestion of doing it three times a week. That should be doable and while it will take longer, there will still be effects from the exercises!

 

[HappyGrape]

Hello everyone!

I think you all know that I don't live in Berlin, so the horrible attack there is far away from me geographically (this summer's incidents were closer). And my sister, who lives in Berlin, was at home yesterday evening. Still, Christmas markets are such an integral part of Germany's Christmas traditions that one being attacked feels like everyone was attacked. It is not a surprise though. It was quite clear that something like this was bound to happen. The Nuremberg Christmas market (in my home town) is one of the most traditional ones and has had a massive increase in security for a couple of years now. Including quite substantial barriers at every single entrance onto the market square. After having been away for most of December so far, I still have not made it to our local market. And I was thinking of going there tonight. Now I am determined to make it there after work today. I feel that it is necessary to not let those incidents scare you away but instead keep up with normal life!

Between this, the Russian ambassador in Turkey, the shooting in Zurich it was attack on all really

It's complex situation, but ultimately will backfire and lead to more united anti terrorist efforts I hope

 

[HappyGrape]

I would join, but I will be doing my new lifting program!

I have to warn you, that if have any issues with your joins any Jillian Michaels workouts may not suit. Without exception, every time i attempted one for over few weeks I end up injured. I have few friends that managed to keep up for longer, but eventually had same results
:/
sorry but I felt I should share my experience

 

[Flossbolna]

I would join, but I will be doing my new lifting program!

I have to warn you, that if have any issues with your joins any Jillian Michaels workouts may not suit. Without exception, every time i attempted one for over few weeks I end up injured. I have few friends that managed to keep up for longer, but eventually had same results
:/
sorry but I felt I should share my experience

I have never had a problem. But I see that this could be an issue for some. That is one of the reasons why I think doing it three days a week instead of every single day is better. Also, it is really important to follow her instructions for example as to never have the knee forward of your foot when doing lunges. And to make use of modifications when necessary.

But it is great that you are going to join with your own program!! That's of course an option, too!

 

[dsnyfn1022]

Exercise..... while we all know it is an important component of a healthy lifestyle and can certainly help with weight loss, it takes TIME! And while we are all busy people on a regular basis (work, family, home), during the holiday season things are even busier!! How do you make it a priority during this busy season? What do you do to make it fit into your schedule?

I feel like everyone is feeling unmotivated to workout lately. I haven't hit the gym since Wednesday (and the scale really punished me for it this morning) and one of my friends that's a super motivated and dedicated fitness nut hasn't run in a couple weeks and is probably going to just take the rest of the year off. I think it's the cold combined with the time of year. Things are just busy. With that said, I'm definitely prioritizing my fitness this week because I was so upset by my weigh-in this morning and there's no way that I'm going to go into Christmas at that weight. So I need to clean up my eating and really hit the gym hard for the rest of this week. Fortunately, my week isn't too busy outside of normal stuff.

 

[Oneanne]

So this happened tonight:

I think my kids believing in Santa is coming to an end. I went upstairs to get wrapping paper for my daughter's teacher gifts and I told her she couldn't come up stairs with me. She asks me if it was because their gifts are up there. (They are) I told her no but she smiled in a smile that she knows and then said they are gifts for others. I said yes and then went and got the wrapping paper and nothing else was said. My son still hasn't said anything to me.

I am not eating the greatest tonight. I have chocolate covered pretzels that I have been with only eating a few a night. Yep finished the rest tonight. Not sure I am ready for this next chapter.

My Sister is normally Mrs. Claus at Santa's Castle during the holiday... several years ago my niece was in line waiting to see her and the Mr., chatting on her phone about how her Mom plays Mrs. Claus. She turned around and looked down into the face of a seven or eight year old who had a quizzical look on her face, like she was processing "if her Mom plays Mrs. Claus, is someone playing Santa..." then she looked up into the eyes of the Mom who was glaring at her, because she'd just totally ruined the magic. Oooopppssss....

 

[Oneanne]

Hello everyone!

I am having such a hard time getting back into good habits. The cold and darkness are not helping. But ultimately it is me. It is not that I am not eating the healthy meals I have planned, I do. But I also eat half my stored foods as well every night. I have no idea what is going on, but I am having huge hunger attacks every evening. I am blaming a combination of jet lag and time of the month. And I do hope that posting about it here will add some accountability for me so that tonight I can think about what I posted and that I want to post again tomorrow and tell all of you that I was doing better...

I think you all know that I don't live in Berlin, so the horrible attack there is far away from me geographically (this summer's incidents were closer). And my sister, who lives in Berlin, was at home yesterday evening. Still, Christmas markets are such an integral part of Germany's Christmas traditions that one being attacked feels like everyone was attacked. It is not a surprise though. It was quite clear that something like this was bound to happen. The Nuremberg Christmas market (in my home town) is one of the most traditional ones and has had a massive increase in security for a couple of years now. Including quite substantial barriers at every single entrance onto the market square. After having been away for most of December so far, I still have not made it to our local market. And I was thinking of going there tonight. Now I am determined to make it there after work today. I feel that it is necessary to not let those incidents scare you away but instead keep up with normal life!

Was thinking about you yesterday when the news broke. So heartbreaking. Weekly outdoor Farmer's Markets are very popular here and I've thought they are an easy and likely target for such an action, but agree with you that you have to fight back by keeping up with normal life.

 

[Oneanne]

Ah, exercise... haven't been doing much of that lately. I was thinking the other day about how nice it will be to transition to what I call the quiet side of winter, just the long dark calm without the hustle and bustle of the holidays. I do so want to get out for some winter walks/short hikes. I was planning on going to the beach in mid-February when my Brother will be down there, but am craving going sooner, for some nice stormy walks on the beach.

Re-made the fruitcake cookies last night. They are kind of unusual in that there is no leavening agent in the dough but the flavoring is nice and every bite gives something different, fruit or nuts. I think I'll do up gingerbread tonight. I've decided I'm not happy with the hat I knit in the color class: the gauge is right but the stitches are actually loose, so I'm thinking I might re-do it in the larger size but on smaller needles so that it is denser. If I'm going to get it re-done in time to still give it to him for Christmas, I'm going to have to get started tonight.



Happy Tuesday everyone.

 

[Lady Marie]

I feel like everyone is feeling unmotivated to workout lately.

*raises hand* Yep, that's me--- and has been for the past few months! Funny enough though, I was looking into Orangetheory for January.... Has anyone on here tried that?

I had a gym membership two years ago which was a darn waste for me because I didn't know how to use the machines. So I would go and get on the elliptical, maybe row, and then swim. Mind you I have a pool and elliptical at my house.... A WASTE! haha! So something like Orangetheory may be good for me. Actually learn and train without the price tag of a personal trainer. One session costs the same as a yoga class, sooooo.... I am marinating on that for now.

And that's the extent of my exercise during the holidays....thinking about it LOL!

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

I have been in a funk these past couple of weeks that I cannot get out of. Part of it is the stress of this marathon that is approaching at lightening speed!! I'm so worried about finishing in the time allowed and I was hoping for a good corral for a bigger buffer but it didn't happen.
I also have been eating horribly. Everyday I get up and say I'm going to do better but I fall apart at lunch. I'm not sure how to pull myself out of this. I've been lurking on here but am kind of ashamed at how things are going so I've been avoiding posting. Hopefully posting this and bringing some accountability back will help.


Exercise: I get my runs in 6 days a week and try to do Pilates 5 days. My motivation is finishing the marathon and not embarrassing myself so I make the time to get out there. Usually it's after DH gets home so I'm running in the dark which gets pretty scary sometimes. I also miss eating dinner with my family most nights but I am with the kids a lot during the day so I don't think they mind.

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

Has anyone on here tried that?

I haven't tried Orangetheory but one of the tellers at my bank raved about it one day when I was in there. She highly recommended for runners so I looked into it and it did seem like an awesome concept. I just don't think I could fit it into my schedule right now. Do they offer a free class where you are?

 

[piglet1979]

QOTD for Tuesday, December 20, 2016:

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Exercise..... while we all know it is an important component of a healthy lifestyle and can certainly help with weight loss, it takes TIME! And while we are all busy people on a regular basis (work, family, home), during the holiday season things are even busier!! How do you make it a priority during this busy season? What do you do to make it fit into your schedule?

I am working on this. I have never been trying to lose weight at Christmas time. So far it has not been a priority. Yesterday was Christmas shopping and today was lunch with a friend I haven't seen for awhile. Then I have been lazy.

 

[piglet1979]

My Sister is normally Mrs. Claus at Santa's Castle during the holiday... several years ago my niece was in line waiting to see her and the Mr., chatting on her phone about how her Mom plays Mrs. Claus. She turned around and looked down into the face of a seven or eight year old who had a quizzical look on her face, like she was processing "if her Mom plays Mrs. Claus, is someone playing Santa..." then she looked up into the eyes of the Mom who was glaring at her, because she'd just totally ruined the magic. Oooopppssss....

I bet she felt horrible. I was talking about the Easter bunny the other day shopping with my mom and sister. And made a comment in a round about way that he was real when I realized there was a kid by me. I am hoping she wasn't paying attention.

 

[4Mickeys]

Good morning! I was in bed dozing last night before I realized that it was Monday and I hadn't posted results. I'm so sorry! Life is kicking me hard right now with the lice issue not solved yet (the laundry is astonishing!!), Christmas gifts not totally bought and wrapped, house not cleaned.... just a big OMG week here. Getting that results post up now and then will add the QOTD!.........P

All good - it is crazy this time of year. Sorry to hear you haven't managed to kick those lice out of the house yet! They can be persistent. I think I remember you saying your son had longer hair - a friend shared a trick with me when her daughter was having them constantly - she bought a cheap hair straightener she said that by sectioning the hair and running the hot straightener over it she could hear all the eggs popping and that helped break that phase of new ones hatching. I just wrapped some more of the kids gifts this morning ... a still have just a couple of small things to get from the shops and something for my parents and the next door neighbours. They are a great family and we really haven't had good neighbours before like this - its not like we are always together but their younger boys get on good with my twins - in fact the twins are next door in their pool right now. Last summer it became a bit of a tradition to get the kids water bombs regularly and they go out on the street together and have so much fun. Their 13 daughter is just gorgeous but is feeling a little under the weather at the moment she is fighting cancer and has been home for a few weeks now after an operation and chemo - so I am hoping she will feel up to a little water bomb fun soon.

Exercise..... while we all know it is an important component of a healthy lifestyle and can certainly help with weight loss, it takes TIME! And while we are all busy people on a regular basis (work, family, home), during the holiday season things are even busier!! How do you make it a priority during this busy season? What do you do to make it fit into your schedule?

Wish I had a better answer for this - but I have also been struggling to get purposeful exercise happening at the moment. And its not just because of the holidays I have been struggling to re-engage with it for a couple of months now.

I am having such a hard time getting back into good habits. The cold and darkness are not helping. But ultimately it is me. It is not that I am not eating the healthy meals I have planned, I do. But I also eat half my stored foods as well every night. I have no idea what is going on, but I am having huge hunger attacks every evening. I am blaming a combination of jet lag and time of the month. And I do hope that posting about it here will add some accountability for me so that tonight I can think about what I posted and that I want to post again tomorrow and tell all of you that I was doing better...

You are not alone there! If could be post lots of time with BF blues a little as well.... unless of course you are enjoying some me time again!

I think you all know that I don't live in Berlin, so the horrible attack there is far away from me geographically (this summer's incidents were closer). And my sister, who lives in Berlin, was at home yesterday evening. Still, Christmas markets are such an integral part of Germany's Christmas traditions that one being attacked feels like everyone was attacked. It is not a surprise though. It was quite clear that something like this was bound to happen. The Nuremberg Christmas market (in my home town) is one of the most traditional ones and has had a massive increase in security for a couple of years now. Including quite substantial barriers at every single entrance onto the market square. After having been away for most of December so far, I still have not made it to our local market. And I was thinking of going there tonight. Now I am determined to make it there after work today. I feel that it is necessary to not let those incidents scare you away but instead keep up with normal life!

I was thinking of you yesterday also. Glad to know that you were well away from the danger and that your sister while closer is safe as well. I agree we can't let them dictate how we enjoy our lives and our celebrations - I hope you enjoy the markets when you get there.

I feel like everyone is feeling unmotivated to workout lately

I am definitely in that group.

Everyday I get up and say I'm going to do better but I fall apart at lunch. I'm not sure how to pull myself out of this. I've been lurking on here but am kind of ashamed at how things are going so I've been avoiding posting. Hopefully posting this and bringing some accountability back will help.

I know how you feel a little - there have been times when I have continued posting on here feeling bad about my lack of progress or falling off the wagon completely! But - we are here for the good and not so good times - hang in there - I know you will find your groove and do your best in the marathon

 

[HappyGrape]

The above is from the art of weight maintenance book which I highly recommend, even during weight loss and the half size me podcast is also great (same author). For me, it's very much the case. I have set up my minimums, and they are commitments to myself that I stick with. They are all set up with a far from ideal motivation or day in mind. Like brushing my teeth. I may not feel like it but I do it anyway.

I am actually doing great re exercise motivation but that's probably because I found it so hard after Orlando last month. I end up only booking 3 private trainer sessions in the end, all this week. It should teach me how to do the workouts from the plan by myself. He is very good, I am impressed by the workout. I didn't feel I need to wait till 1st of January to start it. It was actually great idea to book it the week before Christmas as it feels new and interesting and it gave me motivation in a week that otherwise would have been hard.

I just find the time. Even if I don't get everything else done, time for exercise is scheduled ahead. Being able to go on my lunch break is lucky, but I am off work and will still go to office today to do it as it's important to me.