Summer Club 2009

[Epcot82Guy]

Hey Everyone! New member to the WISH area of the boards, and I was hoping to find some people to join me on my own WISH journey. I know motivation is obviously the biggest roadblock for many of us.

SO HERE IS OUR CHANCE TO GET MOTIVATED FOR THOSE SWIMSUIT BODIES!

Personally, I think a journal is great, but it helps even more when you read about others, so this Club has two parts to join:

1. You promise to write at least one weekly journal entry (as much as you want) on a specified day of your choice.

2. You promise to keep up with the other Club Members' journals and, if someone doesn't post on their day, we all let the supportive PM's fly!

If you are interested, please post your name (real or a screenname that we can address you as), what day is best for you to post your entry, your weightloss plan of choice, your current weight, your goal weight as of June 21, 2009 (first day of summer!) and anything else you'd like to share. I'll do my best to keep a list of everyone up at the top of the page so we can check easily.

Hope we can get some dedicated people on board to share stories and help keep each other on track! I figure if Disney fans can't do it, who can!?

After all, if we can dream it, we can do it... one carrot at a time!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMER CLUB 2009 MEMBERS

Posting Sundays
-None yet

Posting Mondays
-Toby (Epcot82Guy), GOAL: 35 lbs., CURRENT: 0 lbs. lost

Posting Tuesdays
-Joy (Joy@Disney), GOAL: 12 lbs., CURRENT: 0 lbs lost

Posting Wednesdays
-Pamela (pjlla), GOAL: 19.4 lbs., CURRENT: 0 lbs. lost

Posting Thursdays
-Molli (ohMom), GOAL: 10 lbs., CURRENT: 0 lbs. lost

Posting Fridays
-Melanie (MelanieC), GOAL: 45.4lbs., CURRENT: 1.5 lbs. lost
-Lisa (ZigZagZerr), GOAL: 20 lbs., CURRENT: 2.2 lbs. lost

Posting Saturdays
-Chris (Dizcrazy), GOAL: 26 lbs., CURRENT: 0 lbs. lost

 

[Epcot82Guy]

And, just to be fair, I'll start with mine.

I'm Toby. I'm 27 and live in Atlanta, and I've always struggled with my weight. As I'm starting to get older, I know it's only going to get harder, so I figure it's time to take matters into serious consideration.

I know I have a busy schedule, and I hate the gym. Period. So, I plan to follow a modified version of the Slim Fast plan, and I am commiting to walk to work at least 4 times a week (which equals 1.5 miles a day total). I also plan to re-enroll in dance classes once a week (after a minor foot surgery). I'm a snacker, so I hope that I can use portion control with several small meals to help shed about 2-3 pounds a week, and have a new lifestyle which allows me to make small changes across the board instead of "dieting".

Currently, I'm at about 245 lbs. My goal is to be at 210 by June 21, 2009, getting rid of that last 15 by the time I set sail on a cruise on August 31, 2009.

To keep on track, I'll post my entries on Monday!

Greetings to everyone!

 

[ohMom]

this sounds fun! and i need accountability for a June 5 trip to FL then WDW

I'll take posting on thursday --

will this be a mega thread for the whole duration? I will do my best to keep up with posts as much as RL allows I will be on vacation june 5 - 20; ok for me to use June 4 as my end date?

cruising DCL I assume? first time?

ok, I'm Molli, either name/username is fine with me. I'm 36 and been complaining of tight jeans/muffin top for wwwaaayyy too long, so long i'm tired of hearing it. I have been at my goal weight twice in the past 5 years but never maintained longer than few months. there always seems to be a vacation or holiday that overtakes my eating and then I carry around an extra 10-15 lbs. why do i repeat this pattern? urgh! My plan is healthy choices/journaling food. I have done WW, Body forLife, the Zone in the past, I know what good choices are, my downfall is SUGAR and snacking. Right now i'm fluctuating between 145-150 and my goal is to be 135 when we leave which gives me some cushion for vacation. Truth being, I was slimmer last summer and quite frankly I don't think my shorts are going to fit, at least not well with an extra 10lbs. that is one size in women's so there you go. I have just signed up for the Cinci Flying Pig 1/2 marathon in May so my workout routine is set until May 3

 

[Epcot82Guy]

Welcome Molli! No problem on the end date! It's more about accountability and support than ending on June 21.

And, as for my cruise, it will actually be on Royal Caribbean. Going as a surprise trip for a friend of mine, so his bf picked the cruise.

 

[pjlla]

Well, I am interested in joining, but I will tell you up front that I am not really ready to post my true weight. So, if that eliminates me here, I'm okay with that. Otherwise, here goes (I'll try to be brief).....

Like most, I have struggled with my weight since my teen years. I had it pretty well under control in high school and college and then gained after college. I lost weight when I got married and then quickly gained it all back and then some after the wedding. I have bounced around with my weight since getting married, and every time I bounce up the number gets higher. I hit my all-time high weight some time in 2002-2003 (not really sure when, I never got on a scale). I started Weight Watchers in about January of 2003 and stuck with it for a year. I lost about 40 pounds and was happy with my weight, but was no where near my goal yet. After my initial motivating factor passed (a trip to WDW), I had trouble staying on WW and sort of floundered for about a year or so. In 2006/2007 I gained back 20 of the 40 I had lost. In January of 2008 I rededicated myself because I had yet another WDW trip coming up and I REFUSED to return fatter than I had been the last time! I lost about 30+ pounds and was able to return to WDW about 10 pounds lower than my 2004 trip.... that was exciting!

But even more exciting was that after my April trip, I kept up my motivation and my good eating and my exercise and continued on my slow, but steady journey for the remainder of 2008. As of December 23 I had officially lost 51 pounds during 2008 (not including the 20 I had kept off from previously). But of course, Christmas kind of wreaked havoc on my eating and I gained 6 pounds.... not too bad you say??? Well.... since then I have just been bouncing around the same stupid 6 pounds. I lose two, I gain one... I lose three, I gain two! I am STRUGGLING right now to rededicate myself and remotivate myself. I keep reminding myself how WORTH IT this all is and how GREAT it feels to NOT be FAT!

I will chose FRIDAY as my posting day. That is my weigh in day, so that should make it easy, especially since I have to post on the Peeps challenge that day as well.

My goal weight as of June 21st is my actual GOAL WEIGHT. I have a mental goal to reach my target weight by my birthday, which is June 17th. It will be a whole lot less depressing to turn 45 if I am at least healthy and at a desireable weight. I have 19.4 pounds (as of last Friday) to lose to achieve this goal. This is only about 16 weeks away (including this week), so I will have to lose slightly more than a pound a week to reach my goal. No room there for goofing off!

My weight loss plan of choice will continue to be Weight Watchers. The hard part for me is the exercise. I have REALLY slacked off in the last few months and it definitely is showing (both on my body and on the scale!). Not sure exactly what kind of exercise committment I will make. I don't do anything too exciting other than walking/running on the treadmill, using the treadclimber and ellipitical, and a tiny bit of weight training (that is, when I actually DO exercise! ).

You can call me Pamela.... most people think that my screen name has an "i" in it and they call me Jill... not even close. If I had ANY idea how long I would end up here on the DIS, I would have chosen a far more exciting screen name!.....................P

 

[Epcot82Guy]

haha. Welcome, Pamela. And, no worries about posting the weight. It's about support and making people comfortable and motivated. Here's to a great birthday present for you!

Did you have a day you would prefer to post your progress?

 

[ohMom]

hey when do we start?

 

[MelanieC]

I'd like to join too - I have a trip to Disney on 8/7/09, and I turn 40 in July so I want to get back to goal by then.

I am at 170.4 currently. I lost around 50lbs back in 2003 got to my Weight Watcher's goal (131) and went away for the weekend. I gained a few pounds that weekend and well its slowly been coming on since then. Then last year I reached my highest point of 176. I joined the BL7 challenge and I got down down to 169.4 - and then the past few weeks I've been doing well all week long and blowing it on the weekends. I have to crack down.

I count calories (on sparkpeople) and eat clean (like the Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno)-

Can we have more than one person post on a particular day? I'd prefer Friday's too - I'm assuming we will have more than 7 people, so I figure that should be ok. I plan on posting more than my day too!!

Oh my goal weight is 125! I'm looking forward to this - I must do this!!

 

[Epcot82Guy]

Welcome MelanieC! Of course you can post Friday's too!

And, let's kick off next week. March 1 is a nice clean slate.

 

[ohMom]

Melanie -- that is so kind of you to celebrate my birthday by heading to WDW

 

[MelanieC]

Ahh Molli - I'll think of you that day - hmm I does that mean I get to celebrate at Disney - Free admission, lol!

 

[zigzagzerr]

I'm not planning a Disney trip this summer (although I wish I was), but would still like to drop my extra 15-20 lbs by swimsuit season! You never know when you might end up at a pool or the beach.

My name is Lisa. I'm 40 years old eek: ), so it's starting to get trickier to lose weight as the metabolism slows down a bit. I was at my goal weight for a year or so, but let it fall by the wayside last year due to medical issues -- which led to a "life is too short, so eat whatever you want" kind of attitude. About a month ago, I actually gave in and purchased some clothes in a larger size to wear to work, because I was tired of feeling pinched and uncomfortable in my smaller stuff.

One thing in my favor is that I have exercised regularly for years, so it's completely an ingrained habit. In fact, I teach a dance/aerobics class twice a week. My downfall has always been snacking, especially in the evenings.

I am trying to lose this weight slowly and permanently by:
1) exercising at least 4x a week
2) limited my evening snacking to set 1/2 hr in my day (usually 9:30-10 pm) -- I know that sounds really weird but it's working for me, setting that limit. I'm also keeping only healthy snacking stuff in my house.

I also would like to check in with weight on Fridays, but I'll be posting regularly during the week too. This sounds like a great group!

 

[Epcot82Guy]

Welcome to the club, Lisa! Can you spare me some of that exercise motivation you have!

 

[pjlla]

Not my day to post, but just wondering how everyone is doing? I took a sneak peek at the scale yesterday and wasn't thrilled with what I saw, but I did eat well this week, so I am trying not to get too discouraged.

I notice that there are three of us posting on Fridays, but no one on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. I'll change my day to Wednesday if that would help. It maybe harder for me to remember, so I will have to make a note on the computer.

I need some of that exercise motivation too! ............................P

 

[zigzagzerr]

Not my day to post, but just wondering how everyone is doing? I took a sneak peek at the scale yesterday and wasn't thrilled with what I saw, but I did eat well this week, so I am trying not to get too discouraged.

I notice that there are three of us posting on Fridays, but no one on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. I'll change my day to Wednesday if that would help. It maybe harder for me to remember, so I will have to make a note on the computer.

I need some of that exercise motivation too! ............................P

Exercise motivation, huh? Not sure how to do that, but how about this -- the exercise will make you stronger, healthier, and allow your body to burn up fat more efficiently. Also, you'll need the muscle tone for that swimsuit this summer.

Congratulations on eating well this week -- that's awesome! I've been doing pretty good as well, so hopefully the scale will smile at me tomorrow.

Hope everybody is having a great day!!!

 

[ohMom]

well i've got the addict facing intervention mode going on here -- trying to enjoy any last snacks or sweets as of March 1 my DH and I have commited together to get real and drop enough weight that our pants/jeans fit.

BUT i did give up chocolate and wine for lent. i have been over-indulgent

forced myself onto TM this morning for 3 miles...after not working out since monday. i felt creaky and tight. amazing what a few days off can do for my muscles -- my back aches, my shin splints returned and i just out and out struggled

melanie - shall I mail you my ID? lol if you are at MGM you MUST ride ToT in my honor!

 

[MelanieC]

melanie - shall I mail you my ID? lol if you are at MGM you MUST ride ToT in my honor!

We will be arriving on Friday 8/7 after driving from PA (leaving morning of 8/6-but staying overnight in GA). We usually go do one or two rides at MK that day, but I'll make sure the first time I'm at MGM I do TOT for ya!! Mostly that day we stay at the hotel, unpack and rest.

I lost 1.2 this week so I'm at 169.2 this morning. I have 3 weeks till we go to Disney - I'd like to be in the lower 169's by then. I'll make that my first goal.

I'm hoping I can maintain while in Disney - I really want to eat clean while I'm there. I think I can do it - I just have to not let food win.

 

[pjlla]

okay.... since there was no disagreement, I will change my posting day to Wednesdays. But since I am here, I will chat a little!

I'm so envious of you MelanieC! I would love to heading to the World soon. Probably won't go again until at least early next year. It makes us crazy (well, me and the kids anyhow.... DH doesn't care so much) to have to take so long between trips, but we only go when we can pay cash for the entire trip, and with saving for college and other household things, it take us about a year to save that much $$ (we do other smaller family vacations every year, plus I take a long weekend trip with each child every year, so we spend vacation $$ on those things as well). Enjoy the atmosphere for me! I love every ride (some more than others of course), but mostly I just LOVE the atmosphere. It make me tear up to just think about walking down Main Street early on a sunny morning... not many folks around, background music playing, the sight of the castle, the whole day ahead of us, no worries except how many times we will make it on Space Mountain and where we will eat lunch!

Anyhow.... I digress. ...... I lost 1 pound this week. Not great, but at least a step in the right direction. I journaled my food well and ate well, but I didn't exercise enough. But school vacation ends today, so next week I should be able to hit the gym or treadmill a little more often.

OhMom... good for you for doing the 3 miles! Do you run at all or just walk? I was up to running at bit during my "walks" when I was working out more diligently a few months ago, but since my exercise has become much more sporatic lately, the running just isn't getting done. I really would love to build back up to being able to run. It was UNBELIEVABLE how far/fast I was able to walk around the World last April. I walked MILES a day (as does everyone at WDW!) and it didn't phase me in the least!

Well, I hope everyone is doing well. Maybe we could do some recipe sharing?? I am desperate for things to make that the whole family could enjoy and I could eat more than 2 TB. of ! Anyone have anything good to share? Enjoy your weekend and eat healthy!...................P

 

[MelanieC]

PJlla -

Here is a recipe I got out of Oxygen magazine. I made it while DH was in Florida on a military trip (he just got home last night - yeah)

Its called Cashew Butter Chicken Stew. It was such a hit - the kids loved it and I was ewwing and awwing while eating it. It was a plate licker for sure, lol. I used about 24oz of chicken and when I was done it made 6 -1 cup servings and I figured it out in Sparkpeople and it was 337 calories per one cup serving. I put it over a half cup of rice for a well balanced meal.


Cashew Butter Chicken Stew:

2 C chopped red onion
1 red pepper, sliced in strips
1/2 t ground black pepper
3 cups LS chix broth
1lb chicken breast, cubed
3/4 C fresh parsley
1 med. granny apple cubed
1 C frozen lima beans
1/2 t salt
1/4 t cayanne pepper
1/2 C cashew butter

In larger nonstick pan saute onion, pepper and 1/4 t of black pepper for 4 minutes. Add broth, chix & parsley. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer until Chix is cooked through and remove from pot.

Add apple, lima beans, salt, cayenne pepper to the broth. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Uncover and whisk in cashew butter until well blended. Return chix to pot.

Makes 8 servings. 188cal 11g fat, 14g carb, 2g fiber, 11g protein



My nutritional info- when using above recipe with 24oz chicken:
Calories 337.5

Total Fat 12.1 g

Saturated Fat 2.1 g

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.4 g

Monounsaturated Fat 0.4 g

Trans Fat 0.0 g

Cholesterol 68.2 mg

Sodium 235.0 mg

Potassium 391.6 mg

Total Carbohydrate 24.0 g

Dietary Fiber 4.2 g

Sugars 4.2 g

Protein 32.6 g


Vitamin A 26.9 %

Vitamin B-12 7.3 %

Vitamin B-6 41.0 %

Vitamin C 103.5 %

Vitamin D 0.0 %

Vitamin E 4.8 %

Calcium 4.3 %

Copper 4.0 %

Folate 8.2 %

Iron 15.8 %

Magnesium 9.4 %

Manganese 5.0 %

Niacin 66.0 %

Pantothenic Acid 11.2 %

Phosphorus 24.0 %

Riboflavin 9.4 %

Selenium 29.3 %

Thiamin 8.0 %

Zinc 6.7 %

 

[pjlla]

I assume cashew butter is similar to peanut butter? DS is allergic to tree nuts, so I usually try not to even have them in the house, but peanut butter he is okay with (of course, he is also allergic to chicken, so maybe I had better try it some time when he is away at a friend's house!). Actually, I substitute lean pork for chicken in many recipes. So if the cashew butter could be substittuted with peanut butter, maybe I can give it a try? .......P