Princess Power - September 2016 Weight Loss and Lifestyle Change Challenge

We are building quite the group here this month 8-) Can you take a moment to double check that I have your name on the 1st page - let me know if I have missed adding you to the list - sorry in advance if I have accidentally skipped you.

@Lady Marie - I saw on the news here tonight that there was a hurricane in Florida - hope you are safe and well.
 

We are starting off with the original Disney Princess, Disney premiered Snow White its first animated feature film in 1937. Do you share any of Snow’s personality traits .....even if you are one of our male friends you could have some of these traits too? This Disney story was adapted from the Grimm Brothers tales first told in 1812, it is believed this was based upon true events that took place in what would today be Germany. German Countess Margarette von Waldeck at the age of 16 was forced to move away by her Step Mother to Brussels, where she fell in love with Prince Philip of Spain. Her father and stepmother disapproved of the relationship for political reasons and she mysteriously died at the age of 21 from poisoning. Margarete’s father owned a copper mine where children worked as quasi-slaves with conditions so poor that it stunted their growth and affected their health – hence the 7 dwarves. The idea of the apple reportedly comes from a story of a man who gave poisoned apples to children he believed were stealing his fruit.



Heigh-ho Heigh-ho it’s off to work we go……

Many of you in the US have just come to the end of your summer and have been getting back to work over the last few weeks. I on the other hand will get to have a spring break soon. For our friends in other lands around the world have you been on Summer break also?

QOTD: How are you going with getting back into the work/school routine?

Does it help you to work out or eat better or does it make it harder?

For those of you who have retired or are currently stay at home mums/dads ….

Do you find it harder or easier being at home more than working?

How does your partner or children going back to work or school affect your eating and workout routine?

Bonus Question: Are you one of those super organised people, share your hints with us so that we can learn how to fit it all in our busy days.


Quote of the Day


View attachment 191504

I really liked this quote because it reminded me of feeling lost about my weight issues and I found all of you on the DIS!



First of all.... I love your explanation of the SW story....I've never heard it before! And that quote is so sweet!!

Working the summer definitely makes it a bit easier to go back to working at school in the fall. Different job, different clothes, different mindset, but I still have to get up and pack lunch and make breakfast and get out the door. I've also been in those "adjusting" years lately with DD going off to college in 2013 and DS going this year... so I'm still adjusting to not having to be a kid taxi, the ever-decreasing laundry, etc. Eating on plan doesn't change much for me, whether I'm home or working..... but I do tend to change things up more if I am home.

I'm not super organized, but I am fairly organized. When life got crazy in about 2009 and the kids were going every which way (especially with DD swimming full time) and I was coaching robotics for DS's team, etc, etc, I FINALLY started meal planning. I would actually plan at least a month at a time..... nothing fancy, just on a paper calendar with pencil. I would make notes on each day of what we were eating for dinner, what to take from the freezer for an upcoming night, what to prep extra (like chopping an extra onion on Monday for Tuesday's meal), and notes on who needed to be where (as much as I knew in advance), so I knew if they had to be quick "sandwich night" kind of meals, or if we could sit as a family to eat. I learned to use my crockpot A LOT!! And I learned to do meal prep on days off/weekends as much as I could. I learned a few meals that could be put on the table in 20 minutes or less with virtually NO prep, and I always planned in a leftover night about every 10 days to use up the leftovers that didn't get eaten for lunches.

Like I said a few days ago, during that same time I learned that if I need "extra" time in my day, it was best to get that during the early morning hours. Yes, setting the alarm for o'dark thirty in the winter totally stinks, but so does the stress of not getting everything done! I could empty the dishwasher and/or throw in a load of laundry and/or throw in a crockpot meal and THEN fit in a short workout video or hit the TM for 30 minutes and then get on with my day. It definitely helped with the "not-enough-hours-in-the-day" feeling!!

***********************

Hey friends! Got a good number on the scale this morning as my official "September starting weight".... but as usual my scale jumped around a bit. I also have an official WW scale here at home (it seemed to be acting up so I brought it home to send in for service). Between my very first weight this morning and then my second peek after my shower and then a peek on the WW scale, they are all within .5 of each other, so I'm going with the middle number.... so my starting number AND my goal to end the month is officially 132.2 (bolding this so I can find it later when I cannot remember what my goal was!!)

Gotta dash! TTYL...........P
 
I'm a little behind here so I'll briefly catch up! I jut turned 45 in August and sent my DD18 back to school for her sophomore year of college. Freshman year was tough on me, but I'm much better this year. Hoping to take the extra time to focus on some of my own goals health-wise. I've been in a relationship with a wonderful guy approaching 7 years now. His son will be entering college next Fall so this is a big year of change... we're combining household early 2018 so that means lots of organizing and getting the house cleaned up and fixed up to put it on the market. Fun and exciting but also stressful and I'm a huge procrastinator so even though it sounds like I'm very together on all this, nothing has been done and my house needs a LOT of work!

Goal
: My goal is to lose 8 pounds. Two a week!
Villains in my way: I am a very low maintenance person. That can be good when dating ;) but not so much when it comes to daily chores, etc. I live inside my head (anyone familiar with Myers Briggs? I'm an INTP) Anyway, my environment isn't very important to me, I'm too busy thinking about projects like Halloween costumes and right now - getting into shape. I end up pouring all my energy into whatever is important at the moment and everything else gets back burner status. You should see the weeds in my front yard! So while the catch 22 is that this villainous trait is working for me with weight loss right now, when it becomes the unimportant item in my life, it will slide back again... hoping to somehow find a way to maintain once I ATTAIN my goal weight.
Help from my Fairy Godmother: I've rejoin MFP to be accountable to calories and activity level... that includes a challenge group that you can only stay in while keeping DAILY calories under goal limit and 20 minutes exercise daily (I'm highly competitive so this works for me) additionally, they have a Hogwarts themed challenge where you are in a team in a House - we're house Slytherin (gasp!) - so the team challenge is helping me stick with my goals this month as well as fitting into my summer clothes for our ACTUAL trip to Universal in October!

QOTD:
How are you going with getting back into the work/school routine? Does it help you to work out or eat better or does it make it harder? How does your partner or children going back to work or school affect your eating and workout routine?

Bonus Question: Are you one of those super organised people, share your hints with us so that we can learn how to fit it all in our busy days.

Having my daughter back in school is helpful at maintaining my current high end exercise schedule (20 minutes elliptical / 20 minutes strength training and zumba, inline skating or running 4 mile circuit daily!) When she is here it's just too easy to want to find all the time she's around and not working or with friends to actually spend quality time with her. She's very supportive of the weight loss and exercise, but she's also an only child and loves her Mum time. :) So do I! I am not organized in the LEAST. It's everything I can do to remember to brush my teeth. The only thing that gets done daily is the cat litter and food - and for the moment, exercise. I'm practically no maintenance here, so I'll be interested to read everyone else's organizational skillz.

Have a GREAT long weekend for those who get the days off!!
 
Yesterday was a loooong day of travel so I didn't get a chance to introduce myself. I'm Melanie and I am a sahm to 5 kids from 9 years to 18 months. We live in NE Florida. I have struggled with my weight all my life. When I had DS9 I was at my heaviest but as soon as I had him I got healthy and lost over 60lbs. But with every baby since I have added the weight back on. I started running in May 2015 to lose baby weight and runDisney. Since then I am down 20lbs. I am currently at DL to run the Dumbo Double Dare Challenge. I am also in training for the goofy challenge in Jan. at WDW where I will run a half marathon and a full marathon in 2 days.

My goal for this month is to lose 5lbs. I'm trying to be really good while at DL and not gain.

Villains- my leg has been hurting me a lot so I am not sure how many runs I'm going to get in. I am going to see a Doc when I get back. I also have a horrible sugar addiction I trying to keep under control.

Fairy Godmother- I need to think about this one, nothing is coming to mind right now.


I'll be back to answer today's questions...
 



We are starting off with the original Disney Princess, Disney premiered Snow White its first animated feature film in 1937. Do you share any of Snow’s personality traits .....even if you are one of our male friends you could have some of these traits too? This Disney story was adapted from the Grimm Brothers tales first told in 1812, it is believed this was based upon true events that took place in what would today be Germany. German Countess Margarette von Waldeck at the age of 16 was forced to move away by her Step Mother to Brussels, where she fell in love with Prince Philip of Spain. Her father and stepmother disapproved of the relationship for political reasons and she mysteriously died at the age of 21 from poisoning. Margarete’s father owned a copper mine where children worked as quasi-slaves with conditions so poor that it stunted their growth and affected their health – hence the 7 dwarves. The idea of the apple reportedly comes from a story of a man who gave poisoned apples to children he believed were stealing his fruit.



Heigh-ho Heigh-ho it’s off to work we go……

Many of you in the US have just come to the end of your summer and have been getting back to work over the last few weeks. I on the other hand will get to have a spring break soon. For our friends in other lands around the world have you been on Summer break also?

QOTD: How are you going with getting back into the work/school routine?

Does it help you to work out or eat better or does it make it harder?

For those of you who have retired or are currently stay at home mums/dads ….

Do you find it harder or easier being at home more than working?

How does your partner or children going back to work or school affect your eating and workout routine?

Bonus Question: Are you one of those super organised people, share your hints with us so that we can learn how to fit it all in our busy days.


Quote of the Day


View attachment 191504

I really liked this quote because it reminded me of feeling lost about my weight issues and I found all of you on the DIS!


So I'm not tied to the back to school movement and I work all the time, but things are changing both at work and at home. At work we are just a couple weeks away from the next stage in our team restructure and its a big one. My job will change... I'll no longer be a manager as my team will no longer exist. This makes me mostly happy but it is also going to be a long hard haul to get people to change their behaviour and start going to the manager of the combined team. Also some of the things I do I'll continue to do in the my new role, do the line is a little fuzzy.

At home I'm spending the holiday weekend strip mining and getting things cleaned up and organized. This includes reworking my eating, striping it down and cleaning it up. I ordered a juice cleanse for next week, to really purge. This weekend I'll have to eat clean to get ready.
 

We are starting off with the original Disney Princess, Disney premiered Snow White its first animated feature film in 1937. Do you share any of Snow’s personality traits .....even if you are one of our male friends you could have some of these traits too? This Disney story was adapted from the Grimm Brothers tales first told in 1812, it is believed this was based upon true events that took place in what would today be Germany. German Countess Margarette von Waldeck at the age of 16 was forced to move away by her Step Mother to Brussels, where she fell in love with Prince Philip of Spain. Her father and stepmother disapproved of the relationship for political reasons and she mysteriously died at the age of 21 from poisoning. Margarete’s father owned a copper mine where children worked as quasi-slaves with conditions so poor that it stunted their growth and affected their health – hence the 7 dwarves. The idea of the apple reportedly comes from a story of a man who gave poisoned apples to children he believed were stealing his fruit.



Heigh-ho Heigh-ho it’s off to work we go……

Many of you in the US have just come to the end of your summer and have been getting back to work over the last few weeks. I on the other hand will get to have a spring break soon. For our friends in other lands around the world have you been on Summer break also?

QOTD: How are you going with getting back into the work/school routine?

Does it help you to work out or eat better or does it make it harder?

For those of you who have retired or are currently stay at home mums/dads ….

Do you find it harder or easier being at home more than working?

How does your partner or children going back to work or school affect your eating and workout routine?

Bonus Question: Are you one of those super organised people, share your hints with us so that we can learn how to fit it all in our busy days.


Quote of the Day


View attachment 191504

I really liked this quote because it reminded me of feeling lost about my weight issues and I found all of you on the DIS!



Not much really changes for us over the summer. My husband and I still work and the kids go to summer camp. Things are a bit more relaxed since there is no homework. My son plays baseball so the summer is usually somewhat busy with that but that ends early to mid July. Not that school is back we are getting back on a routine. We have a lot of open houses and appointments the last 2 weeks but that should be slowing down know. I tend to do better with workouts over the winter. I think it is because we spend about 3-4 months stuck inside. During that time I go to the rec and do more then just getting steps in on a walk.

As for being organized, I would say I have organized chaos. I know where everything is but it looks like a mess. I am working on this though.

I love the quote. This year I started to put notes in my kids lunches. I was really only going to do it the first day and all the note said was "Have a great day. I love you! Mom" I didn't do it the next day and my daughter was mad that she didn't have a "love note" as she calls it. I have done one every day since. I have started to put inspirational quotes on the note so there is something more. I think I might use this. My daughter is very worried about what people think because she has gone to "reading club" (a class for students who need extra help in reading) and now with her vision and getting some extra accommodations. I think this quote might be good for her.
 
Getting my weight under 180 (I've seen 179 a few times in the past year but I've been stuck at 183-186 for FOUR years)

Welcome!!! And I hear ya-- my struggle too! That 179 is sooo elusive!

@Lady Marie - I saw on the news here tonight that there was a hurricane in Florida - hope you are safe and well.

Yes, we are fine-- we are wayyy down south so it's just gloomy down here. We will be getting closer to the hurricane path heading up to Disney today, but she seems to be moving fast and the rain and gloom may be gone by tomorrow!

I live inside my head (anyone familiar with Myers Briggs? I'm an INTP) Anyway, my environment isn't very important to me, I'm too busy thinking about projects like Halloween costumes and right now - getting into shape. I end up pouring all my energy into whatever is important at the moment and everything else gets back burner status. You should see the weeds in my front yard! So while the catch 22 is that this villainous trait is working for me with weight loss right now, when it becomes the unimportant item in my life, it will slide back again... hoping to somehow find a way to maintain once I ATTAIN my goal weight.

I'm INTP too and never thought about that as a villain in my way of thinking but man is that spot on! (Your weeds = my whole house right now Haha!) When I am on, I am ON and I can loose the weight... but when I'm not.... wellllllllll....... Anyway, thanks for sharing-- that really sheds some light on my habits!

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QOTD: LOOOOOOVE the background info. That is fascinating! As for school routine, I am only mildly affect by the start of school. My cousin (who is like my sister) has two school aged girls. During the summer, there are more impromptu trips to the beach or mall or out of town with them, which doesn't help me stay on point with keeping healthy. With them back in school, there is less of that.

Bonus: I do not know how to fit it all in-- someone please enlighten me! I keep telling DH that I just cannot get enough sleep, cook, clean, work full time, and work out in one day-- We are going to have to outsource something!
 


Question of the Day:

Thankfully my school days are behind me and we're a childfree house hold -- so really September's biggest challenge for me is avoiding birthday cake because it's a birthday week and not a birthday day! :P

As for Snow White -- I've never really thought about her nor relate to her. I think it's because I grew up with the more recent movies from the mid80s to present, starting with Little Mermaid. When we get to more contemporary princesses I'll be able to relate more since that was my childhood.

I was thinking about my progress over the last year and I remember a year ago I was really hoping to be 169.9 by the time I made it to my birthday. And now I just weighed in at 138 and I feel pretty good. I can't believe the difference of 30 pounds! It's crazy! My focus now is less on weight (more in maintenance mode) and more on making sure I'm keeping active.

I'm running the next two days at the Dumbo Double Dare challenge... here I am with my bib making friends with the main elephant himself. :)

14202554_10101383214613820_1405431698739670624_n.jpg
 
QOTD: How are you going with getting back into the work/school routine?

Does it help you to work out or eat better or does it make it harder?

For those of you who have retired or are currently stay at home mums/dads ….

Do you find it harder or easier being at home more than working?

How does your partner or children going back to work or school affect your eating and workout routine?

Bonus Question: Are you one of those super organised people, share your hints with us so that we can learn how to fit it all in our busy days.

I think it's easier to eat better once I'm back teaching, but it's harder to find time to work out - especially in the fall. It's not that I ate bad this past summer, but when you pack your lunch and go to work, you don't really have any option to eat anything other than what you packed... I like that part.

I think I might have found a good solution to my lack of running lately. I woke up this morning at 3:30 and couldn't go back to sleep - my mind was racing about our game tonight. I ended up going out at 4:00 and running 6 miles. Weather was great, nobody on the roads... really allowed me to think and get ready for the long day ahead. I might try and do it every Friday, because I never sleep well Thursday nights/Friday mornings. If I can run Friday morning, Sunday morning, and find one more day during the week to get a quick 30 minute run in, I would be happy with it.

I am very organized, but I don't really have any tips or hints to share. I am a big planner and pretty much know a day ahead of time what I'm going to be eating the next day. That has been very helpful.

Huge game tonight - haven't beaten them in 5 years (we are division 2, they are 3 - they have about 25% more kids at their school than we do). It's been a circus this week with all the news coverage and reporters at practice every day. Want this win... so bad. Hopefully our kids play up to their potential!
 
Hey friends.... showed up at school today in a dress and was told that I was teaching P.E. for the morning...:sad2: At least I had sneakers handy! I did manage to get in lots of extra steps! I really miss my Fitbit on days like this..... I need to get around to calling them for a replacement.

That's it for now!! TTYL.............P
 
QOTD: How are you going with getting back into the work/school routine?

Does it help you to work out or eat better or does it make it harder?

Fortunately for me I'm not in school and I don't have kids anymore so this is just another day, another month. If I'm going to be frank though I've really been struggling with my eating and depression lately. There are some days that are good but most days are not. Embarrassing amounts of binge eating. I don't want to gain all the weight that I've worked so hard to get off. And I want to keep losing. So I'm just struggling to really manage that lately. .

I missed the introduction day so here I am! My name is Paige. I'm 23 and live at home alone with my cat, Nancy. I have lost around 50 pounds and then my weight loss efforts have plateaued since going through a divorce. While my focus for the past few months has been to merely get through one day to the next I'm ready to take control of various areas of my life, weight included! So I'm hoping that I can get all the encouragement I can.

My GOAL: This month I want to ease back into everything. So my goal is to get back down to 50 pounds total lost. Last time I weighed myself I was about 3 pounds away but that'll possibly change depending on where I'm at today.

OBSTACLES: Mental health is keeping me from the best choices in terms of eating and exercising. Fortunately, there's only one birthday this month to celebrate!

MOTIVATORS: I have 3 10ks to run this month so my workouts will definitely be back starting this Saturday. So I'm hoping that makes it easier to make good workout choices and that lining up my eating will do the rest!
 
QOTD: Thank you for the background! I had never read that before and found it super interesting! I've never really thought in terms of comparing myself to Snow White before. I guess I'm good with animals like she is but thats probably as far as it goes!

Getting back into the school routine is going well so far. We had two sport-free weeks to ease into it. We have a plan at night to make lunches and lay out clothes and its made the mornings with the kids less chaotic. Now that sports have started, and we have them Tu, Wed and Th, we have less time in the evenings. This makes dinner and working out/running a challenge. I have to admit that I dont have it fully figured out yet but I am trying! The crockpot helps with the food but the workout time is still lacking. I can't run on the treadmill in the morning cause its in our bedroom. I'm trying to come up with other ideas. I expect I'll have a better handle on it by the end of the month!

Back to school does help in some ways in that I'm forced to plan dinner/workouts more and this helps me be more organized.
 
QOTD: How are you going with getting back into the work/school routine?

Does it help you to work out or eat better or does it make it harder?

For those of you who have retired or are currently stay at home mums/dads ….

Do you find it harder or easier being at home more than working?

How does your partner or children going back to work or school affect your eating and workout routine?

Bonus Question: Are you one of those super organised people, share your hints with us so that we can learn how to fit it all in our busy days.

I moved my DDs off to college on August 13th and 20th and DS started high school on the 18th, so we are in the full swing of the school year. I think that's a good thing as far as weight loss is considered. I like the routine of it all although I also miss the somewhat more unstructured summer. I think it makes it easier to eat but about the same as far as work outs are concerned. I'm not good at them anytime of the year unfortunately.

I consider myself fairly organized, especially when it comes to where and when we need to be places. My house isn't nearly as organized as it could be though and I'm trying to work on that along with losing weight. I'm going to focus on better meal planning. Last year through the fall and winter, DS was on a travel soccer team, so we ate out 2-3 times during the week every week. This year, he's on his high school team, so any travel involved is different - he goes to and from the games on the team bus, so DH and I probably won't be stopping on the way home like we always did when he was with us. Since he's just a freshman, most of the freshman and JV games that he'll be playing in are earlier too, so we shouldn't have too many late nights, which is also a good thing.

I don't know that I really have any hints, but the only thing that works for me is the make a conscious effort to get things organized. For me at least, it doesn't come naturally, so I have to make sure that I do it.
 


QOTD: How are you going with getting back into the work/school routine?

Does it help you to work out or eat better or does it make it harder?

For those of you who have retired or are currently stay at home mums/dads ….

Do you find it harder or easier being at home more than working?

How does your partner or children going back to work or school affect your eating and workout routine?

Routine doesn't start til Tues - feel like we're in a holding pattern right now. We *know* it's coming so we're trying to get the last bit out of summer! I haven't taught in 7 years, so I'm not entirely sure how it's going to affect my eating. I'm really hoping that being out of the house more will make it harder to snack but because I'm only working an hour a day, it's going to be even more convenient to meet SAHM friends for lunches...and coffee...so I have to pay attention to those extra calories. I do better if I eat a "real" meal when I go out to lunch (a grilled chicken sandwich, etc, rather than a salad or something) and then only eat yogurt and fruit or something for dinner. Otherwise I tend to eat 2 big meals in one day. Not good.

I feel like since I'm making this major change in my life (going back to work), it's time to make the other major change (lose the weight that I never lost after having my DD - I did great between the kids, started 20lbs lighter before my 2nd pregnancy than my first, but then ended up 20lbs heavier GAAH).

Part of my ME day - snuck out for a mani/pedi bc DH is working from home, so I didn't feel bad leaving the kids. Plus, I invited our friends over for dinner because I wanted to cook and needed the motivation of people coming over to do it & for me, socialization is key to my mental health :) Burgers, corn, potatoes, baked beans, and brownies for dinner! Kick off the end of summer!

Oh working out - our schedule is set so that I can get to the Y for Zumba on Thurs nights, and have time for running after or before work twice a week plus once on the weekends. Once the cold hits, I'll have to go to the Y to run, too, but it's close enough that I can go there right after work or before I have to go in on my late days.
 
I have to do a quick drop by this morning - I have done some likes - but I will be back a little later to add to the chatter - it is GRAND FINAL day for my boys in their Hockey teams - so we are racing to be there early/on time and fuel them up with a good breakfast. I so hope they both win.

Back later
 
I have to do a quick drop by this morning - I have done some likes - but I will be back a little later to add to the chatter - it is GRAND FINAL day for my boys in their Hockey teams - so we are racing to be there early/on time and fuel them up with a good breakfast. I so hope they both win.

Back later

Best of luck to your boys!!..............P
 

QOTD: How are you going with getting back into the work/school routine?

Does it help you to work out or eat better or does it make it harder?

For those of you who have retired or are currently stay at home mums/dads ….

Do you find it harder or easier being at home more than working?

How does your partner or children going back to work or school affect your eating and workout routine?

Bonus Question: Are you one of those super organised people, share your hints with us so that we can learn how to fit it all in our busy days.

So far things are hectic, but my kids started school this week. This next week we should settle down and get into a good rhythm. At that point I will really get what had always been my most successful period, and I'm hoping it's true this year. I thrive on routine and were very busy this time of year, forcing me to plan meals and be organized. I also usually either run or head to the gym immediately after drop off, so my exercise gets more regular again.

I'm away this weekend and might not be able to check in much. But I'll make sure to catch up Tuesday!

@courtneybeth so Jealous of your pic! Of the rD races I've done, my DL races were my favorites. Have a great time! Good luck!
 
I FINALLY started meal planning. I would actually plan at least a month at a time..... nothing fancy, just on a paper calendar with pencil. I would make notes on each day of what we were eating for dinner, what to take from the freezer for an upcoming night, what to prep extra (like chopping an extra onion on Monday for Tuesday's meal),

Great tips Thank you! This is something I definitely need to work on. I did get there for a little while a couple of months ago so I just need to regroup and restock the pantry/fridge really well and start over.

I live inside my head (anyone familiar with Myers Briggs? I'm an INTP) Anyway, my environment isn't very important to me, I'm too busy thinking about projects like Halloween costumes and right now - getting into shape. I end up pouring all my energy into whatever is important at the moment and everything else gets back burner status. You should see the weeds in my front yard! So while the catch 22 is that this villainous trait is working for me with weight loss right now, when it becomes the unimportant item in my life, it will slide back again... hoping to somehow find a way to maintain once I ATTAIN my goal weight.

I did the Myers Briggs recently - I just can't recall what my profile was at the moment. You have great insight into yourself though - so now you know you just need a plan for how to keep the healthy living on your radar somehow.

We live in NE Florida. I have struggled with my weight all my life.

I forgot you were also in Florida! I hope the weather didn't affect you too much.

My goal for this month is to lose 5lbs. I'm trying to be really good while at DL and not gain.

Villains- my leg has been hurting me a lot so I am not sure how many runs I'm going to get in. I am going to see a Doc when I get back. I also have a horrible sugar addiction I trying to keep under control.

I'm sure you can get there with your goal. Being good at DL is challenging though. Sugar - I hear you! Hope there is nothing to serious going on with your leg - I will send good thoughts your way for a good outcome there.

My job will change... I'll no longer be a manager as my team will no longer exist. This makes me mostly happy but it is also going to be a long hard haul to get people to change their behaviour and start going to the manager of the combined team. Also some of the things I do I'll continue to do in the my new role, do the line is a little fuzzy.

I am glad to hear you are mostly happy about the changes at work - work changes can be difficult and unsettling.

As for being organized, I would say I have organized chaos. I know where everything is but it looks like a mess. I am working on this though.

This is me a bit as well - I tend to know the general area its in.

I love the quote. This year I started to put notes in my kids lunches. I was really only going to do it the first day and all the note said was "Have a great day. I love you! Mom" I didn't do it the next day and my daughter was mad that she didn't have a "love note" as she calls it. I have done one every day since. I have started to put inspirational quotes on the note so there is something more. I think I might use this. My daughter is very worried about what people think because she has gone to "reading club" (a class for students who need extra help in reading) and now with her vision and getting some extra accommodations. I think this quote might be good for her.

I'm glad you like it - I also started doing this for my DD at the start of the year - she had moved to High School and with the settling in and friendship adjustments there of her old friends and incorporating new ones as well as struggling in maths - she was a bit down there for a while - At my kids school their all have Mac's that they use everyday so instead of a paper note - I would email her from work each morning with a quote or funny pic - to let her know she was being thought of - she also loved it - I have dropped off a bit now - but everyone so often she says to me "you haven't sent me an email for a while!"

I was thinking about my progress over the last year and I remember a year ago I was really hoping to be 169.9 by the time I made it to my birthday. And now I just weighed in at 138 and I feel pretty good. I can't believe the difference of 30 pounds! It's crazy! My focus now is less on weight (more in maintenance mode) and more on making sure I'm keeping active.

I'm running the next two days at the Dumbo Double Dare challenge... here I am with my bib making friends with the main elephant himself. :)

That is amazing! You definitely surpassed your goal - I am so proud of you and all the effort you put into your healthy life and helping all of us along the way - sorry if that sounds Mothery (that's not even a word lol!) but you know what I mean. Great pic with your Dumbo bib you look so excited.

, but when you pack your lunch and go to work, you don't really have any option to eat anything other than what you packed... I like that part.

Yes - when I do it - I like that part do - I just need to get better at doing this.

I woke up this morning at 3:30 and couldn't go back to sleep - my mind was racing about our game tonight. I ended up going out at 4:00 and running 6 miles. Weather was great, nobody on the roads... really allowed me to think and get ready for the long day ahead. I might try and do it every Friday, because I never sleep well Thursday nights/Friday mornings. If I can run Friday morning, Sunday morning, and find one more day during the week to get a quick 30 minute run in, I would be happy with it.

I hate those nights when your mind won't turn off. But good for you for making great use of the time!

Huge game tonight - haven't beaten them in 5 years (we are division 2, they are 3 - they have about 25% more kids at their school than we do). It's been a circus this week with all the news coverage and reporters at practice every day. Want this win... so bad. Hopefully our kids play up to their potential!

Good Luck to your team for their game - sounds stressful - no wonder you couldn't sleep!

Fortunately for me I'm not in school and I don't have kids anymore so this is just another day, another month. If I'm going to be frank though I've really been struggling with my eating and depression lately. There are some days that are good but most days are not. Embarrassing amounts of binge eating. I don't want to gain all the weight that I've worked so hard to get off. And I want to keep losing. So I'm just struggling to really manage that lately. .

I missed the introduction day so here I am! My name is Paige. I'm 23 and live at home alone with my cat, Nancy. I have lost around 50 pounds and then my weight loss efforts have plateaued since going through a divorce. While my focus for the past few months has been to merely get through one day to the next I'm ready to take control of various areas of my life, weight included! So I'm hoping that I can get all the encouragement I can.

My GOAL: This month I want to ease back into everything. So my goal is to get back down to 50 pounds total lost. Last time I weighed myself I was about 3 pounds away but that'll possibly change depending on where I'm at today.

OBSTACLES: Mental health is keeping me from the best choices in terms of eating and exercising. Fortunately, there's only one birthday this month to celebrate!

MOTIVATORS: I have 3 10ks to run this month so my workouts will definitely be back starting this Saturday. So I'm hoping that makes it easier to make good workout choices and that lining up my eating will do the rest!

:hug: Sorry to hear your are struggling at the moment. Big life changes like divorce are hard - I have been there so I can empathise - I am still getting there really some days are easier than others. So please know you are not alone in your situation or your feelings. Just keep taking it one day at a time and think about the good choices you can make that day about your healthy life and remember to also be kind to yourself. That negative self-talk that can come with depression and relationship break ups can be tough (believe me I know) but don't believe it. 3 10Ks wow - all those good feeling endorphins from your training will hopefully help with your mood. :cheer2::cheer2::cheer2: 3 cheers from me to you.

I guess I'm good with animals like she is but thats probably as far as it goes!

Well - I always think this is a great trait in people :thumbsup2

Getting back into the school routine is going well so far. We had two sport-free weeks to ease into it. We have a plan at night to make lunches and lay out clothes and its made the mornings with the kids less chaotic. Now that sports have started, and we have them Tu, Wed and Th, we have less time in the evenings. This makes dinner and working out/running a challenge. I have to admit that I dont have it fully figured out yet but I am trying! The crockpot helps with the food but the workout time is still lacking. I can't run on the treadmill in the morning cause its in our bedroom. I'm trying to come up with other ideas. I expect I'll have a better handle on it by the end of the month!

I really need to do more lunch organising at night. Something I was doing this year when at sport training with my boys was to start to walk laps around the nearby oval with DD while the boys were training instead of sitting and chatting - this was a great way to make good use of that down time.

My house isn't nearly as organized as it could be though and I'm trying to work on that along with losing weight. I'm going to focus on better meal planning

This is totally me - I currently have 5 piles of paperwork sorted and ready to move the next phase of filing - but its kind of been on my lounge room floor like that since Monday night :rotfl:- but by the end of today I plan to have it gone.

We *know* it's coming so we're trying to get the last bit out of summer!

I don't blame you one bit - enjoy every last bit of it!

Best of luck to your boys!!..............P

Thank you!

So far things are hectic, but my kids started school this week. This next week we should settle down and get into a good rhythm. At that point I will really get what had always been my most successful period, and I'm hoping it's true this year. I thrive on routine and were very busy this time of year, forcing me to plan meals and be organized. I also usually either run or head to the gym immediately after drop off, so my exercise gets more regular again.

I cross my fingers that your usual successful period continues to be.

Wow some great ideas here for those of us that struggle to fit it all in - Thankyou for sharing.

When I have been on our longer summer break I do find that by the end of it I start to crave the routine of work/school - but then in a few short weeks I am looking forward to the next break lol.

Ok we are back from Hockey - DS15's team won yeah! I am so happy they did - They have been undefeated all season, so that is a truly amazing effort on their behalf. DS12's team were runner up for the season - they did really well to get there but of course is a little disappointing - but they are celebrating/commiserating on the PS4 together right now lol. So that is Hockey season done for another year yippee! Now my house might be a little cleaner for a while - but I really want to maybe make a bucket list with the kids of free active things to see and do in our local area over the next few months - you know kind of play tourist at home.
 
Change of heart, I need you guys. From lurking I will move to participating. My goal is to do best I can every day to reach my goal. I don't want to give up so near and I can't put a number on it as the last 5/7lbs are sooo hard


My goal: I am 4.4 kg to my ultimate goal weight. I would love to lose it by the end of the year but this is not this month goal. I feel little worn out, and this month is to get my motivation back up, and do my best to move towards it. Even if it's just 1 lbs.
The Villains in my way: Old all or nothing type of thinking, getting disheartened with results are slow.
Help from my Fairy Godmother: Some of the Tony Robbins visualizations and motivation talks have been the little magic I need this time. This forum, my fitness pal, my activity tracker bunch of friends that I regularly chat with and are into fitness
 

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