Team Donald – Biggest Loser “No Excuses” 2012 Challenge

[Rose&Mike]

No way!!!!!!

We are in New Albany! Are you watching the game? Are you a Louisville or UK fan? I am a an IU fan first and foremost (obviously based on the screen name ) but we are also big Louisville fans..... dh got his undergrad from there.

We are heading to Del Friscos for dinner tonight. Ever been there?

SMALL world!

Too funny!
We are UK fans. My son actually goes to U of South Carolina, but my DH and DS love UK basketball. Yep, we were watching the game.

We haven't been to Del Friscos, but I've heard of it.

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

Have decided I'd better get off this computer and go for a swim to shake the "I'm going to be healthy from tomorrow so I'd better eat all the junk/treats today mentality"

Anyone else suffer from this!

I have been suffering from that all week. Today was MCD's for breakfast and Pizza hut for lunch. I feel disgusting and I almost think my brain wants me to feel this way to remind myself of how horrible I feel right now and how good I will feel in a few weeks.

Jen- Wow that will really be a polar dash alright. Hopefully the rain and snow holds off until post race. I love that you still paint your nails to match your outfit. Good luck tomorrow!

Rose You look so amazing and you were still beautiful with that great big smile you have before but now you look so healthy and happy. Great improvement and very inspiring. I was giggling at tom's hair in the pic too. Boy he has grown up since that pic too.

Hi everyone else too!

We cleaned out some closets today and organized for the winter. I got rid of all the junk we accumulated over the holiday too. Tomorrow morning I will go grocery shopping to stock up on good items. I got all my HH hint items ready to go too. So excited for 2012!!!!!!

Tonight we are going to the peep drop and fireworks. Our city is the home of just born candy aka the Peep maker. They have a huge lighted peep that comes down just like the NYC ball. They do a 515 drop for the families with young ones and then they do it all again at midnight. It should be fun.

We are going to my inlaws tonight and hanging out there to bring in the new year.

Everyone have a safe and wonderful New Year's Eve. Talk to you next year.

 

[cclovesdis]

Welcome to Healthy Habits!

My name is CC (like see-see), which is short for Christina.
This is my 4th time coaching Healthy Habits (HH) and I absolutely love it! I would like to give a shout out to donac and jenanderson who showed me the ropes coaching previous challenges.

For the WISH Biggest Loser Spring 2012 Challenge, I am revamping (again) Healthy Habits. Each week will have a theme, and each theme will have to do with an attraction at Walt Disney World. (I have never been to DL.) I will be using various components of the attraction to determine each week’s daily habits and the 2 mini-challenges.

Every week you will have 4 “Habits” to do each day. There will also be 2 Mini-Challenges. These will be something like “Exercise for 45 minutes simultaneously once during the week.” The “Habits” will be things that are essential for good “Health.” One might be “Drink 6 8 oz. glasses of water per day.” I will be very clear about which 4 are for all 7 days and which 2 are the Mini-Challenges.

The Healthy Habits “week” is the same as for weigh-ins. A new “week” begins on Friday and ends on Thursday. At the end of each week, total your points and PM (private message) me them. Please list your team name and your total points in the subject of your PM. In the body of your PM, please separate each “Habit” and mini-challenge. Here is an example.

Subject: Team Mickey 28/30

Habit #1: 7/7 days
Habit #2: 6/7 days
Habit #3: 7/7 days
Habit #4: 7/7 days
Mini-Challenge #1: Completed
Mini-Challenge #2: Not Completed

This will allow me to recognize participants who earned 7/7 for 1 or more “Habits.” It also gives me feedback for future weeks.

Please PM me your points by Tuesday at 5 PM Eastern Time. I will post the results as soon as possible after that.

The results will be different for this challenge because we have 2 teams. There will be a team and an individual component. Here’s how it will work:
- The team with the most participants “wins” for the week.
- The individual(s) with the most points on each team will be recognized in the results.
- Everyone who earns 7/7 for 1 or more of the “Habits” will be recognized in the results.

On random weeks, I will be drawing a name to receive a prize. Everyone who participates on the team with the most participants will be entered into the “hat” for a chance at the prize. You will have to PM me your address. If you would prefer not to be entered into the “hat,” please let me know. You will still be considered a participant for the team! I have bought many of the prizes already and I think they are great!


It is optional to participate, but I know I do so much better when I participate.

 

[buzz5985]

Welcome to The WIN! Challenge (Whittle Inches Now!)
________________________________________
Introducing a way to challenge ourselves to achieve fit and healthy bodies!! In addition to reporting your official weigh-in each week, you can now measure your success in terms of inches. Many of you may be doing this anyway, but as an incentive to those of us who need incentive (like ME!!) we can now challenge each other by reporting percent-of-inch-loss just as Sue (Dvccruiser76) reports our Top Ten(-ish) weight-losers every week.

Since the WIN! is optional, no one will be dropped for not reporting and there is no need to be “excused” from measuring. All stats will simply be based on who does report in. Weekly Biggest WINners will be determined by percent of change between the current and previous WIN! numbers reported by each participant. When measurements are reported after having skipped the previous time(s), the percent loss will be divided over the missed weeks. Overall Biggest WINners will be determined by percent of difference between the final and originally reported measurements. If you miss the first scheduled reporting day, just jump in anytime and that will be your “original” measurement for the remaining weeks.

Tentatively for the “No Excuses” Challenge, we will be recording measurements and posting WIN results on a 4 week interval, with the first day being January 1, 2012.

There will be a reminder post, so as long as you hang around here you shouldn’t have to worry too much about forgetting. Since taking measurements requires more time that just stepping on the scale, I’m sure many of us will do this part over the designated weekend. Measurements can be reported up thru the following Monday, and results should be posted on Tuesday.

Here’s how we’re gonna do it:
1) Take a measurement at each of these locations:
. . . a. Left or Right Upper Arm (stick with the same one for subsequent measurements!!)
. . . b. Bust or Chest
. . . c. Waist
. . . d. Hips
. . . e. Left or Right Thigh (remember which one for next time!)
2) Add all of these measurements together
3) Send only the sum of the measurements to me and your Team (buzz5985) via Private Message. So you would send – Team Donald - 150

If you need more information or tips about how to measure, please refer to http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/...es.asp?id=1281

If you still have questions, please feel free to PM me (buzz5985) or post in the thread and we’ll try to get you the info you need to participate.

I also have a handy dandy Excel spreadsheet for tracking weight and measurements. If you'd like for me to email you a copy, just PM your email address to me and I'll forward it to you. I would like to thank Connie96 who originally started the WIN challenge and for the spreadsheet.

Whether or not you choose to participate in this optional challenge, I’d like to encourage EVERYONE – especially anyone new to this thread – to take your measurements at the very beginning. This is something so many of us never did when we first started losing weight and I think we’re fairly unanimous in wishing we had that information to encourage us in our continued loss and maintenance. I would also suggest that you take a couple of pictures – a front and side view.

For specific questions regarding WIN and to get the sheet for tracking measurements, please pm buzz5985.

Send your measurements to buzz5985 on-

January 1
February 1
March 1
April 1
May 1
May 18 (or the last day of the challenge)



__________________

 

[cclovesdis]

Welcome to Healthy Habits!

My name is CC (like see-see), which is short for Christina. This is my 4th time coaching Healthy Habits (HH) and I absolutely love it! I would like to give a shout out to donac and jenanderson who showed me the ropes coaching previous challenges.

For the WISH Biggest Loser Spring 2012 Challenge, I am revamping (again) Healthy Habits. Each week will have a theme, and each theme will have to do with an attraction at Walt Disney World. (I have never been to DL.) I will be using various components of the attraction to determine each week’s daily habits and the 2 mini-challenges.

Every week you will have 4 “Habits” to do each day. There will also be 2 Mini-Challenges. These will be something like “Exercise for 45 minutes simultaneously once during the week.” The “Habits” will be things that are essential for good “Health.” One might be “Drink 6 8 oz. glasses of water per day.” I will be very clear about which 4 are for all 7 days and which 2 are the Mini-Challenges.

The Healthy Habits “week” is the same as for weigh-ins. A new “week” begins on Friday and ends on Thursday. At the end of each week, total your points and PM (private message) me them. Please list your team name and your total points in the subject of your PM. In the body of your PM, please separate each “Habit” and mini-challenge. Here is an example.

Subject: Team Mickey 28/30

Body:

Habit #1: 7/7 days
Habit #2: 6/7 days
Habit #3: 7/7 days
Habit #4: 7/7 days
Mini-Challenge #1: Completed
Mini-Challenge #2: Not Completed

This will allow me to recognize participants who earned 7/7 for 1 or more “Habits.” It also gives me feedback for future weeks.

Please PM me your points by Tuesday at 5 PM Eastern Time. I will post the results as soon as possible after that.

The results will be different for this challenge because we have 2 teams. There will be a team and an individual component. Here’s how it will work:
- The team with the most participants “wins” for the week.
- The individual(s) with the most points on each team will be recognized in the results.
- Everyone who earns 7/7 for 1 or more of the “Habits” will be recognized in the results.

On random weeks, I will be drawing a name to receive a prize. Everyone who participates on the team with the most participants will be entered into the “hat” for a chance at the prize. You will have to PM me your address. If you would prefer not to be entered into the “hat,” please let me know. You will still be considered a participant for the team! I have bought many of the prizes already and I think they are great!

It is optional to participate, but I know I do so much better when I participate.



Healthy Habits Week 1: Fantasyland

As I’m sure most of you know, Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom at WDW has many different attractions, including the Carousel, Dumbo, “it’s a small world,” Mad Tea Party, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Mickey’s PhilharMagic, Peter Pan’s Flight, and Snow White’s Scary Adventures. The beautiful artistic work in Peter Pan’s Flight amazes me, especially as it is an older attraction. Mickey’s PhilharMagic brings me back to my childhood days of watching the Disney channel while my father was awake and getting ready for work while my mom was still sleeping. The incorporation of the senses in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh makes for a relaxing attraction.

This week, the attractions of Fantasyland come to life as we incorporate them into our healthier lifestyle.

This week’s 4 Habits are:

1. Have you ever noticed how much walking is involved in moving around Fantasyland? To help you move quickly, you need to be hydrated. This week, your “habit” is to drink a total of 64 oz. of water during the day. You can count up to 8 oz. of tea or coffee toward your total for the day.

2. When I go on a carousel more than once, I have to use a different horse the second time. I tend to be very detail-oriented and obsessed with record-keeping, so my journal would come out and I’d write down which horses I ridden on so far. This same time of record-keeping is very helpful for weight loss. This week, write down everything you eat as well as the portion size. (Example: ½ cup of plain uncooked oatmeal, cooked in ½ cup of nonfat milk, with 1 tablespoon of walnuts and 1 teaspoon of brown sugar)

3. The 7 Dwarfs are very active working in the mine. This week, your “habit” is to exercise for a total of 20 minutes each day. Think of exercise as an “Adventure.”

4. In the spirit of the relaxing day featured in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, spend time relaxing each day. You get to decide how much time you want to take.

Mini-Challenges

1. “it’s a small world:” Think of your heritage. Do you have a favorite ethnic recipe? Your challenge is to make 1 (or more) change to it to make it healthier. The food could be from your heritage or not.
(Hint: An easy one depending on how you already make them is tacos.)

2. Peter Pan’s Flight: You are on a journey to healthier you whether you are losing or maintaining weight. It doesn’t happen overnight like your trip to Neverland, but it may happen more quickly if you have a specific goal. I’ve also heard that it is best to have a few goals at a time. Write down up to 3 goals you have for the “No Excuses” Challenge.

Note: This week is from Sunday, 1/1 to Thursday, 1/5 so there are only 5 days this week. The total possible points one can earn is 22.

Please feel free to PM me with any questions or ask on the thread!

 

[buzz5985]

Welcome to Team Donald!!! We are going to rock this challenge!!!

I am Janis and I will be your coach this first week.

Our challenge officially starts on January 1.

1. PM your beginning weight to dvccruiser76.

2. PM your beginning WIN! numbers to me - buzz5985 (if you are doing WIN!)

3. I encourage everyone to take part in HH. It's fun earning those points, and the challenge keeps you on track.

4. Take some pictures of yourself - a front view and a side view. You will be surprised even what a small change makes in your spirit, your shape, complexion, the list goes on and on.

I am a night owl - when I was a cub scout leader the boys referred to me as being nocturnal , so I will post the QOTD for each day the night before.

I notice many of you have already been doing so -

QOTD - Saturday December 31, 2011

Please introduce yourself.

 

[buzz5985]

Welcome to Team Donald!!! We are going to rock this challenge!!!

I am Janis and I will be your coach this first week.

Our challenge officially starts on January 1.

1. PM your beginning weight to dvccruiser76.

2. PM your beginning WIN! numbers to me - buzz5985 (if you are doing WIN!)

3. I encourage everyone to take part in HH. It's fun earning those points, and the challenge keeps you on track.

4. Take some pictures of yourself - a front view and a side view. You will be surprised even what a small change makes in your spirit, your shape, complexion, the list goes on and on.

I am a night owl - when I was a cub scout leader the boys referred to me as being nocturnal , so I will post the QOTD for each day the night before.

I notice many of you have already been doing so -

QOTD - Saturday December 31, 2011

Please introduce yourself.

HELLO fellow team mates. My name is Janis and I live with my DH of almost 27 years, and my DS 15. This is my fourth BL challenge, my second as a hostess. I lost 25 pounds last year, a drop in the bucket for me - but down is down.

I look forward to chatting with you all.

 

[pigletgirl]

Hello!

My name is Emily and I recently got married this past April. Since then I've been steadly putting on the pounds and now I am 23 lbs heavier since the wedding!

I tried earlier this year with a diet, but failed after a month. I cannot wait to get to know everyone as we all embark on this weight loss journey together.

 

[dvccruiser76]

Hello Team Donald

I am on Team Donald this time around, and I will be the weight keeper for both teams

Please PM me your starting weight tomorrow, or whenever you are ready to join us. The first set of results will begin next weekend.

Weekly weigh-ins will be due each Friday and can be sent to me anytime from Friday until Monday night 7 PM EST.

I will try my best to post results on Monday nights again. I have tax season right around the corner, which may be a little hectic but I will still try my best.

If you have a goal that you would like me to track, please PM that to me as well, and if you ever need to adjust it you can just let me know.

Also, please put Team Donald or Team Mickey somewhere in your PM each week, so I can find you easily.


Best luck to everyone and let's see which team (Mickey or Donald) is going to dominate week 1

Happy New Year's

Sue,

 

[dvccruiser76]

Hello Team Donald!

My name is Sue, I'm 35 years old and I'll be part of your team for this challenge. Let's see, this is my 5th challenge I believe and also my 2nd time around as Weight Keeper.

I live in Danvers with my DH of 7 years and my DS (Dylan) who will be 2 1/2 on Tuesday. My how time flies.

I'm joining as a loser once again, but would like to get to the maintain level. I made it there by the end of the spring challenge last year, but then slacked a bit so here I am again.

DH and I joined a gym at the end of October, so I'm hopeful that it'll help me throughout this challenge and tax season. I also have vacation at the end of May, so it's a good goal to keep in sight.

Hope everyone has a safe, happy, and healthy New Year's Eve

 

[jenanderson]

Rose - I love how healthy and happy you look in the recent photo! I am sorry that you have been struggling with some injuries this year. I was so beat up after the marathon and it is no fun. I hope that you are on the road to recovery and have some fun races to look forward too!

Lindsay - I would not feel ready for a race without having my nails don! I also still obsess over matching outfits, wearing my Disney charm necklace and looking good to run!

Have fun with your in-laws tonight!

Janis - Thanks again for getting everything all set up. It is great that you lost 25 pounds last year! You are right with the fact that down is down and we have to celebrate every time the scale goes down!

Emily - Congratulations on the wedding! Sometimes it takes a new year with new friends to find success with the weight loss journey.

Hi Sue - Thanks for being our weight keeper! I always appreciate everyone who takes one of the "big roles" as I know it takes a lot of time to do the record keeping for all of us. Where are you going on vacation in May? Vacations are always a good motivator!

----------------------
Just thought I would check in and wish everyone a Happy New Year! We just had grilled steak, chicken, fried veggies and stir fried rice. It was so yummy. I will probably have some left over tomorrow but I will measure it out into a careful serving size.

I have a race tomorrow morning so I will not be on until later in the day!

Here's to our happy and healthy New Year Everyone!

 

[lisah0711]

Happy New Year to all you Donalds!

Jen good luck with your race tomorrow. I know that not only will you rock it but you will look fabulous too!

 

[momofdjc]

Happy New Year Donalds!

I'm Reenie. I've been married to my DH 17 years and have 3 kids, DS 15, DD 13, and DS 7. We live in the Chicago suburbs. I'm going to try to post more during this challenge. Hopefully this time I can lose more than a couple of pounds.

I'd like to get back to running. I've tried C25K twice and had to stop due to injuries. This past summer I got to week 7 before I had a calf strain and then a "bone injury" (they originally thought it was a stress fracture).

 

[klmrph]

Hello All, my name is Kristy. I have been married to my DH for 6.5 years and we have 2 girls together age 5 and 1. I also have a dd from my first marriage who is in her second year in college. I am a retail pharmacist for Meijer and work full time.

I turn the big 40 this year and really want to get healthy all around. I have to do it for my little girls. I want to be around to see them grow up. We are going to WDW in February and staying at POR with free dining. I am going to surprise dd5 right before we go. My mom is going with us instead of DH, he isn't into Disney much.

My biggest challenge is exercise. I have never done well with it. I do have the Zumba DVDs and will give it a try and I want to get a tread mill or elliptical for the house. I am going to look into possibly joining a gym to help me decide which piece of equipment to invest in for the house. My DH is ready to get healthy also.

I just took my measurements and I am going to take some fat pictures too This is my first BL challenge on the boards, but I am not new to weight loss. I have been overweight for most of my life.

 

[StephMK]

Hi Donald teammates!! I have read all 4 pages and love the enthusiasm!!

I'm Stephanie, 41, married for 13 yrs, mom of 3 - DD17, DD11, & DS9. I have wanted to lose a few pounds for years and the amount of pounds I want to lose keeps creeping up! I have decided that I have to make it a priority or it'll never happen. 30 pounds would put me at my ideal weight but I'm aiming for 20 to be realistic about what I think I can keep off. We'll see! DD graduates at the end of May and my bday is just around the end of the challenge so great timing to meet some goals!

We joined the Y in August and I am the only family member who has not really used it at all & I want to change that. DS is there every Thursday for class so I really have no excuse not to work out while he's there anyway. DD takes dance on Tuesdays that is just past the Y, no excuse that night either! I used to do WW and will probably follow the old points system along the way.

I teach 3rd grade and really need to eat/work out for more energy in addition to wanting to look better. DH lost about 35 lbs a few years ago by working out during lunch at his office gym. He looks great & I would like to look/feel great too.

I have a set of WW cups/spoons that my mom gave me a few years back & DH gave me a 24 oz Tervis tumbler for Christmas so I have my supplies ready to go!

I like to individually reply to everyone and I apologize for not doing that tonight!

To the PP w/the ring - my wedding band doesn't fit and I refuse to get it resized. One of my goals is to get it to fit again too.

Looking forward to getting to know everyone!

 

[belledreamer]

So I actually introduced myself earlier in the thread, but since the QOTD - Saturday December 31, 2011 is 'Please introduce yourself' I'll do it again!

Hi everyone! I'm Ashley (or Ash if you prefer) and I'm super excited to be starting my first challenge! I'd like to at least get under 200 lbs for this challenge although since I'm only 8 pounds away I'm hoping to do more than that.

As I mentioned in my first intro, I like to dress up as different characters for a yearly convention in my home town; also that I'm a Doctor Who fan. So this past August, I went as Amy Pond from 'The Impossible Astronaut' episode and one of my friends who does photography offered to do a photo shoot for me.

So this is me in my full costume!

Oh the shame... I hate full body shots... This is another thing that I'm using to keep me on my diet so that I'll one day like getting my picture taken and not hating how I look in it...

Honestly, I preferred the close ups, like these:

I'm going to try and get my friend to take updated pics of me once I've lost the weight, especially to keep me focused on once I get the weight off to keep it off.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pretty good day today. I did have some Mexican for dinner this evening with a good bit of cheese (that was quite delicious I might add) but I did really good with my other two meals today. Ate a good bit of fruit, which is pretty unusual for me and plenty of water. I think I've had more water this week than I've had in the past month.

Will probably stay up and watch the ball drop, wonder why I stayed up and sleep in tomorrow. Having fish tacos for the first time tomorrow! And it's baked, not fried so it's much healthier for me. My aunt's also offered to give me her old treadmill that still works so I'm hoping to get a good bit of walking in this week. Just need to make a walking playlist for my iPod now.

 

[vitfamily]

Hi Everyone! Happy New Year.

My name is Karen. I am 48 years old. My DH and I have 3 children. I would like to lose 30 pounds. This is my first BL Challenge. I am really excited to get started.

 

[buzz5985]

Hi Team Donald!! I am so excited to be part of this challenge! Very much looking forward to encouraging and being encouraged in the coming months.

And many thanks to CC for running the thread! I have my little notebook & my measuring cups ready to go

Welcome to the challenge!!! I am getting excited too!!!

Hey there fellow Donald teammates!! Guess I'll be the first to introduce myself.

My name's Ashley, but you can call me Ash too. I'm in my early 20's and I love to write fanfiction, do voice acting and sing covers of Disney songs as my hobbies. I'm also a DIE-HARD Doctor Who fan! (if you couldn't tell by my icon.)

I think that one of my biggest problems when I try to lose weight is that I don't set a motivation for myself to keep with it. So I actually have two special goals in mind for myself in doing this challenge; one that I hope to accomplish by the end of this challenge and a more long term goal.

(1) My grandmother was killed in a car accident about 4 months ago and I was given one of her rings to keep for myself. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite fit on my ring finger due to my weight gain and it can't be re-sized. So I hope to lose enough to wear it on my ring finger by the end of this challenge in memory of her.

(2) I like to cosplay and dress up as different characters for a convention in my hometown. I have a Cinderella dress that my mother made for me 2 years ago that no longer fits. So I'm hoping that by time the convention comes this September that I'll be able to fit into my dress again and go as Cinderella. Glass slippers and all.

(I'll totally post pictures if I can reach my goal!)

I'm usually online every day so I look forward to getting to know all of you!

GO Team Donald!!

So very sorry about your Grandmother. I too have a ring that I want to get back into - my wedding band!!! Maybe by the end of this challenge we will both be back in our rings!!!

Hello Team Donald.

I'm Deb and I can't remember what number challenge this is for me. In any event I'd like to lose 20 lbs. I had it gone a few years ago, but it has snuck up on me again and since we have a Huge vacation planned for this summer I am more determined than ever to lose it again.

I'm 42, married to my high school sweetheart (20 years in July) and mother to 3 amazing boys. Nick is 16, Hunter is 14 and Colby is 9.


If coaches are needed I'd be happy to take a week, let me know what's open.

Welcome Back!!! I just updated the coaching schedule on the first page of this thread. Just pick a week and let me know.

Hi Team Donald -

I am Laura, 42 from New York.

This will be my third challenge. I lost 21 pounds during January, February and March of 2011 and then hit a wall. I've been gaining and losing the same 5 pounds for the last nine months.

My goal for this challenge is to finally get under 200 pounds - I'm 10 - 15 pounds away from that goal.

I purchased an elipitical machine last month and hope to incorporate that into my fitness routine - right now I am walking 3 - 3 1/2 miles a day (6 days a week). Every now and then I do my BL Boot Camp DVD, but haven't been consistent with that.

As always, looking forward to the support/ideas that I get from these challenges.

- Laura

I too lost more weight in the beginning of the year last year than the other 9 months. I need to dig deeper this year and stick with it. Especially with the exercise. Do you like the BL Boot Camp?? I have several of the older BL dvd's that I enjoy - but somehow I never seem to stick with anything.

Hello to all my Team Donald Teammates!

My name is Jen. I did my first WISH challenge exactly 2 years ago. I started at 198 pounds, totally out of shape, needing insulin and just living a generally unhappy and unhealthy sort of existence. I got started with the challenge because of a dear friend who asked me to run the Princess 1/2 marathon with her. I started the challenge, started WW and started working out. The C25K program was what got me going and I learned to have a love/hate relationship with running. After 1 year and tons of hard work, I had lost 48 pounds and felt I was finally living a healthy life. When I hit that point, I kind of lost focus and got lazy. Since I was still running an insane amount of miles each week, the bad eating did not catch up to me right away. It took 6 months of random exercising and bad eating but suddenly I had gained back 20 pounds. I tried to pretend it did not bother me and I tried to pretend that if I just kept on that way (eating what I wanted) it was okay with me...that I was done working hard.

Here is the reality....I am not done. I am not quitting. I know that I can lose those 20 pounds again and that I might even lose a few more. I know that I want to feel strong and healthy again - I liked that feeling and I really do not like feeling like I have lost control. I am ready to figure out how to make my crazy busy life mesh with my strong and healthy life.

The basic details: I am married to DH (my running partner) and we have 2 kids (DD-15, DS-11). I teach a class called iPad U at a middle school (every student at my school has an iPad issued to them for 24/7 use). Both kids are crazy with a million activities. As you will be able to tell from this post and all my others....I tend to "chat" on and on. I would love to one day write a book and put my ramblings to good use!

I am really looking forward to getting to know everyone on the team and watch us all have a successful challenge!
~Jen

I didn't see any ramblings - just interesting chatter!!! I am all for a successful challenge.

Good Friday morning. I didn't know the thread was up or I would have been here last night.

My name is Dona. I can't remember how many challenges I have been involved in. Some have been successful but even if I didn't lose any it helped me not to gain.

I am a 56 year old women (will turn 57 right after the challenge.) I am math teacher ( I teach Advance Placement Calculus) for 34 years. I have been married to my college sweetheart for 33 years. We have two sons.

I really am motivated this challenge. May 11 Ds2 graduates from college, June 1 my nephew gets married and Aug 19th we all check in with my sister's family into BLT for maybe 5 days. I want to look good for this vacation.

I am usually on first thing in the morning before I leave for school at 6:10.

Have a happy and healthy day.

Wow - you have a busy schedule of major events coming!!! I will be posting the QOTD late at night for you early birds!!

Good morning everyone!! I'm Kathy and excited to be a part of Team Donald. Thank you Janis for being our hostess and the hostess of the challenge, and thank you CC for hosting Healthy Habits and Team Mickey.

I have done multiple bl challenges since after my ds's 1st disney trip 5 years ago. I've lost on some, maintained on many, and gained on some. My all time high was 229, and right now I'm at 213, but have gone up and down with the ups and downs of life. I credit these challenges with preventing me from regaining everything and more, which I had done in the past. The support here is incredible, not just for weight loss and healthy living, but for anything that might be going on in your life that can affect your healthy living. I feel so blessed to have found this wonderful group, and am looking forward to catching up with some old friends and getting to know some new ones.

Good luck everyone!!

Your smart trying to keep with it. Here is to a successful challenge.

Hello Team Donald

My name is Shawn and this is my 5th BL challenge in a row. I've lost on each challenge, although the past 2 challenges it was not much. I am looking forward to getting re-committed and being more consistent on this new challenge. And, looking forward to going through this with all of you

A little about me, I am 50 years old, married for over 17 years with one son who is almost 15. I work part-time, well 30 hours a week so almost full-time for the Home Office of an Insurance Company. I am not following any set eating or exercise plan and hence I have lost weight very slowly. I started on this journey February 2010 and have lost 32 pounds so far. If I can lose 11 more pounds, I will fall into the "overweight" category rather than "obese" I would love to reach that goal during this challenge

Looking forward to "meeting" all of you and getting down to work

Shawn

Our DS are the same age - isn't it fun?? I will be 53 and feel a billion times older than all the other Mom's of the other 15 yo's. Maybe if I wasn't so Pooh sized - I wouldn't feel that way. Time will tell.

Hello Team Donald!!

I am Jill and this is my second BL challenge. The first was the fall challenge and it really helped me stay focused. I am hoping to do well during this challenge and lose about 10 pounds. I found that finding the fall BL thread was the motivation I needed. I felt so much support and strength through everyone involved. I am looking forward to a new challenge, talking to former and new BL participants, and dropping some pounds!

I am 35 years old, married, and have 2 boys (8 and 5). I am a History and special ed teacher at an alternative school (5th-12th grade). DH works full time weekend midnights in the ER at our local hospital and goes to school FT during the week. Our schedule gets crazy sometimes. I enjoy running a lot and need to get back to it more often (and hopefully the weather will cooperate).

I am looking forward to chatting with all of you!

Go Team Donald!!

Jill

Hi everyone!! My name is Kaiti, and this is my third BL Challenge. I did great on the first one, then not so well on the second one...so I'm hoping third time is the charm

My resolution/goal for the year is to participate in the Tower Of Terror 10-mi. race in September. If I start now, I believe I will have plenty of time to train. I started today by telling everyone at work what I'm doing...so there's no backing down now! I'm going to go soon to get fitted for a pair of good shoes for running. Training starts Monday!!!

You will be in good company - there seems to be a lot of runners around here. Good Luck.

Hi Team Donald! Everyone can call me Fran.

This is my first Big Loser here on the DIS Boards.

I need to lose 20 pounds. (30 would be wonderful ... but I would like to set my goals realistic) I am 45, married and have 3 boys. Between work (I am a teacher ... like a lot of Team Donald members) and my boys, I get very busy. However, I am making myself a priority by exercising and dieting for this new year.

Excited to be a part of the team! Go team Donald!

Welcome to the Challenge - you are going to have a great time.

Hi Team Donald!

My name is Kristina and I live in Hawaii on the island of Oahu. We moved here 8 years ago from California. I’m 43, have been married for 18 years and we have a beautiful daughter who is 13.

This will be my second BL challenge. I didn’t do so well on the first one and I am really motivated to be successful on this round. We are going to Disney in July and I want to be able to walk the parks without feeling breathless and exhausted. It would also be nice to be able to walk around the pool in a bathing suit without feeling awful about myself.

I used to think that if I couldn’t be perfect – why bother. Now I just want to be healthy and feel good. Besides, there is no such thing as perfect – right? Ever since I turned 40 the weight sticks to me like glue…superglue. I end up getting discouraged very easily. I am hoping this challenge will help to keep me motivated.

Janis, thank you for hosting our team! CC, thanks for hosting Healthy Habits again! They really help keep me in check.

Kristina

A Disney trip is always a great motivator. I agree with perfection getting in the way. Too many times I have eaten something that I perceived as "bad" and would throw the diet into the trash until the following Monday. After all you can't start a diet on a Thursday.

Hi Team Donald.

Last spring i was on Team Mickey so I am feeling a bit like a trader.

I am very excited to start this new challenge and the new year. This is challenge number 7 or something around there. I have made some amazing friends through these challenges and I think overall it has kept me from being more overweight than I am right now.

My name is Lindsay, I am 3wks shy of 33, Married for 8yrs, 2 sons ages 7 and 4. I work full time as a practice manager for a pediatricians office that I have worked out since I was 17. I love my family, I love my job, now I just need to love my body enough to take care of it better.

When I started out I had such a great motivation because I had signed up to run my first half marathon. I lost 35lbs and ran the disney princess half marathon in 2011. I felt great and was looking forward to returning after the race and loosing the last 25lbs that i had gained since having kids. Well instead I left life once again get in the way and fell into old bad eating habits. I gained all the weight back except a few lbs.

So ultimate goal is to loose 55lbs. I have a local half marathon I want to do at the end of april so along with weight loss I need to get back into running again. I am so happy to be on your team and to offer and receive great support to help myself and us all in our journey to a better us.

Don't feel like a traitor!!! Embrace Donald!!! There seems to be a lot of runners on this Team.

Hi Everyone-so glad to join the team

Have decided I'd better get off this computer and go for a swim to shake the "I'm going to be healthy from tomorrow so I'd better eat all the junk/treats today mentality"

Anyone else suffer from this!

I know what you mean about the junk. Welcome to the challenge.

Good Saturday morning everyone

Jen I guess luvpoohandcompany will beat us inthe morning since she is 5 or 6 hours ahead of us.

Quiet day planned today. I do need to get out to Staples to buy a new calendar and a new SD card for my camera. I may pick up one for my ds2's new camera. I may go grocery shopping but really don't feel like it. I also have to finish a pair of socks that I have been knitting. I want to give them to a friend on Tuesday for her birthday.

When we got him his new camera for Christmas he started wondering how long it will keep the charge. we went on line Monday and ordered him 2 new batteries so he doesn't have to worry about charging when he is in Gambia (they will be tent camping). They finally got shipped on Wed from Anaheim. We started to worry that he would not get them and most of the replacement batteries here are much more expensive. We were in shock when they got here on Thursday. He still has to pack and Monday I drive him to school where he will leave.

Tomorrow I have church in the morning and then I am doing an online mystery quilt. I have cut the fabric and the first set of directions go up tomorrow morning at 10 or 11.

I am getting excited about this challenge. I am starting to write down my food plan and my exercise plan. I am hoping to make this the best challenge yet.

Off to get somethings done.

Have a happy and healthy day.

For his future trips - there is a solar charger that you can hang on your backpack to charge phones etc. My DS wants one - but since electronics aren't allowed on his scout trips - not necessary.

Hi, everybody! I'm Pat, and I'm excited to get started on the challenge again!

I lost 24 lbs in 2011 in part from the accountability of the Friday weigh-ins. I have about 20 more I want to lose, so here I am!

I don't post much, but I'll be cheering for everyone along the way!

Welcome - I am going to try to post more often this challenge. I need to check in more during the day so I don't get overwhelmed.

 

[my3princes]

Hi Team Donald!

My name is Kristina and I live in Hawaii on the island of Oahu. We moved here 8 years ago from California. I’m 43, have been married for 18 years and we have a beautiful daughter who is 13.

This will be my second BL challenge. I didn’t do so well on the first one and I am really motivated to be successful on this round. We are going to Disney in July and I want to be able to walk the parks without feeling breathless and exhausted. It would also be nice to be able to walk around the pool in a bathing suit without feeling awful about myself.

I used to think that if I couldn’t be perfect – why bother. Now I just want to be healthy and feel good. Besides, there is no such thing as perfect – right? Ever since I turned 40 the weight sticks to me like glue…superglue. I end up getting discouraged very easily. I am hoping this challenge will help to keep me motivated.

Janis, thank you for hosting our team! CC, thanks for hosting Healthy Habits again! They really help keep me in check.

Kristina

Kristina I am going to have so many questions for you and would love to hear all of your suggestions of what to do on Oahu. We will be staying at Aulani our first 4 nights

 

[buzz5985]

Hello Team Donald!

Add another to the group!

My name is Michelle, and I am 39 years old. I have been married for almost 6 years, and we have two boys.... almost 5 and 2 and a half. This is my 13th year of teaching.... I teach 3rd grade.

I never had trouble with my weight until I went on massive amounts of fertility drugs during my first marriage in my mid-late twenties. They didn't work, and then the depression coupled with that and my subsequent divorce caused me to pack on some unwanted pounds.

I have lost up to 20 pounds before, but then I get lazy. The only thing that has worked for me is counting calories and JOURNALING! This time last year I made the commitment to run the 2011 Disney Wine and Dine half-marathon. I finished it doing a combination of walk/run. I usually don't weigh myself, but I went down almost 2 pants sizes. That was without dieting at all. I will be honest and say that the last time I ran was crossing the finish line in Epcot the first week of October. I didn't find a LOVE for running that so many people do.

One thing that I HAVE learned about myself is that I am VERY goal oriented. I have to some kind of goal to work towards to motivate myself. I think that this challenge will help me with that. I am also turning 40 in August, and I have sneaky suspision that my dad and dh are planning a really big "surprise" party for me. I want to look great for that!..... Vain, I know, but whatever works, right??????

P90X arrived in my mailbox yesterday, so I will starting that either tomorrow or Monday.

I am chatty (can you tell???) so I look forward to sharing lots with you and getting to each of you better!

Have a FABULOUS New Year's Eve. We are going out with friends for a nice steak dinner with some yummy wine. The diet starts tomorrow!

We need more chatty people!!! Team Mickey is several pages ahead of us in post counts!!! We need to catch up.

Good luck with the P90X - heard it's a really great workout.

Whoo!! I love how motivated everyone is on here! It's so refreshing to see all the awesome support for everyone.

One little thing I do for a little boost of motivation is the write a quote with a dry erase marker on my vanity mirror. My latest one is a comment from a friend on my status one day on Facebook. I posted that I was thinking of some good resolutions and I thought I had a pretty good one, and my friend Lou posted,

"Don't think, just do it."

It hit me- if all I do is sit around thinking about it, I'll never do it! So I'm just gonna do it!!

I can't wait to get started tomorrow- so I'm starting today!!! I'm so excited to be getting started with all you ladies!!! (And guys, if there are any!)

PS, if you want to add me on Facebook, my name is Kaiti Courts. My picture is me with Tigger

Love the idea of writing on your mirror. I just sent a friend request - Janis McDonough Shine. That's goes for anyone else that wants to be friends - just look for me. I don't post often on FB but I do post pictures.

Alright - 3.3 miles done for today! It was not all pretty but I did it and I felt good in the end.

I tried out my new running clothes that I want to wear to my race tomorrow. I love the new BRIGHT yellow hoodie I bought yesterday. I painted my fingernails to match. I would love to find a few bright accessories in my winter wear to add to the outfit but we will see. The only thing is that we are under a winter weather warning tonight and the weather tomorrow could be a real pain. We are expecting rain, 2-5 inches of snow and then winds of 50 mph! We will still go and run but I might not be too concerned about how I look.

Welcome luvpoohandcompany! I am suffering from the same problem as you...asking myself exactly what I can eat today that I can't eat tomorrow! We have this incredible coffee ice cream in the freezer and I am thinking that might make a great breakfast today!

Nicole - You are doing great to have already completed some 1/2 marathons! I bet with our challenge and some hard work that you will finish one of your 1/2s in the cut-off time this year. I really suggest finding a walk/run plan that includes some cross training to help you out.

Morning Dona! Sounds like you have a lot going on in your last couple of days off before going back to school. I can't wait to hear more about your mystery quilt project!

Pat - Glad to have you be part of the team! There are often people who don't have a lot of time to be posting but really find support by just checking in once and a while.

Michelle - Another teacher in our group! I am also very goal oriented and that sometimes gets me into trouble. I know that I do well while I have the goals but then when I hit the maintaining part...I stop making goals and I seem to lose focus. I know that when I reach that point this time around that I will make goals that include be rewarded for keeping at my goal weight!

Morning Kaiti - I like that you are another person who uses quotes for motivation. One of my girlfriends and I send each other motivating quotes all the time to help keep us going. I put all of the quotes on post it notes and put them up in my classroom...my students love it. I plan on adding yours to the mix!

CC - Oh dear....all the water drinking. I so struggle with this. When I drink all this water, I end up having to go to the bathroom a lot. That does not work well when I am teaching. I have to get this figured out again.

-------------------
I am now going to go pick up my race gear and packet for tomorrow's run. This afternoon we will clean up a bit, prepare for a nice dinner and I will work on grades for a bit. Tonight will be a nice grilled chicken dinner and then games with the kids!

Enjoy the day everyone!

Good luck on your run - hope the weather cooperates.

Jen--Have a great race! I hope the weather is not too bad!

******

Ok, to introduce myself. I am a little chatty, so for those who have heard this all before, please feel free to skip.

I am Rose, 44, mom to a 20yo college student, married for a lonnnnng time.

I have been overweight since maybe my late 20s, BUT I have thought that I was fat my entire life--can you say Mommy issues? Anyhow, this time I think I have really figured this all out. And the voices in my head telling me I am still too fat and not good enough are quiet most of the time.

I joined the BL challenges in Jan of 2010 and have lost ~50 pounds. I went to maintain in September of 2010 when I lost 40 and have slowly taken off a bit more. I am back to being a Loser again this challenge with a goal of 10 pounds--which would put me at a 135--this is what I weighed in college when I thought I was fat....Anyhow, if I don't lose, I am ok with that, because I am at a good place and feel pretty healthy.

My exercise of choice is running, though I have been fighting injuries for much of 2011. I also was diagnosed with gluten intolerance in February of 2011--not officially celiac disease, but I will not go back on gluten again to have more tests done, so I like to say I "unofficially" have c-d. I feel like I wasted a decade of my life feeling sick from this nasty food issue, and am so happy that I finally figured out what was going on.

Here is a before and after pic that I posted on the holiday thread. I don't even recognize myself anymore. I feel like the real me is missing from that picture. The first pic is from ~2005. The second one from this month.

Beautiful pictures. You look great!!!

Hello!

My name is Emily and I recently got married this past April. Since then I've been steadly putting on the pounds and now I am 23 lbs heavier since the wedding!

I tried earlier this year with a diet, but failed after a month. I cannot wait to get to know everyone as we all embark on this weight loss journey together.

Congratulations on your marriage. Try making just small changes in your diet at first - like eating more fruits and vegies. Then work from there.

Happy New Year Donalds!

I'm Reenie. I've been married to my DH 17 years and have 3 kids, DS 15, DD 13, and DS 7. We live in the Chicago suburbs. I'm going to try to post more during this challenge. Hopefully this time I can lose more than a couple of pounds.

I'd like to get back to running. I've tried C25K twice and had to stop due to injuries. This past summer I got to week 7 before I had a calf strain and then a "bone injury" (they originally thought it was a stress fracture).

Maybe walking would be a better option?? Boring I know. But if you add that arm action like you do when you run - you can boost that burn.

Hello All, my name is Kristy. I have been married to my DH for 6.5 years and we have 2 girls together age 5 and 1. I also have a dd from my first marriage who is in her second year in college. I am a retail pharmacist for Meijer and work full time.

I turn the big 40 this year and really want to get healthy all around. I have to do it for my little girls. I want to be around to see them grow up. We are going to WDW in February and staying at POR with free dining. I am going to surprise dd5 right before we go. My mom is going with us instead of DH, he isn't into Disney much.

My biggest challenge is exercise. I have never done well with it. I do have the Zumba DVDs and will give it a try and I want to get a tread mill or elliptical for the house. I am going to look into possibly joining a gym to help me decide which piece of equipment to invest in for the house. My DH is ready to get healthy also.

I just took my measurements and I am going to take some fat pictures too This is my first BL challenge on the boards, but I am not new to weight loss. I have been overweight for most of my life.

Great start taking the measurements and pictures. I have a real problem with exercise too. I work afternoons/nights and find it hard to get motivated in the morning.

Hi Donald teammates!! I have read all 4 pages and love the enthusiasm!!

I'm Stephanie, 41, married for 13 yrs, mom of 3 - DD17, DD11, & DS9. I have wanted to lose a few pounds for years and the amount of pounds I want to lose keeps creeping up! I have decided that I have to make it a priority or it'll never happen. 30 pounds would put me at my ideal weight but I'm aiming for 20 to be realistic about what I think I can keep off. We'll see! DD graduates at the end of May and my bday is just around the end of the challenge so great timing to meet some goals!

We joined the Y in August and I am the only family member who has not really used it at all & I want to change that. DS is there every Thursday for class so I really have no excuse not to work out while he's there anyway. DD takes dance on Tuesdays that is just past the Y, no excuse that night either! I used to do WW and will probably follow the old points system along the way.

I teach 3rd grade and really need to eat/work out for more energy in addition to wanting to look better. DH lost about 35 lbs a few years ago by working out during lunch at his office gym. He looks great & I would like to look/feel great too.

I have a set of WW cups/spoons that my mom gave me a few years back & DH gave me a 24 oz Tervis tumbler for Christmas so I have my supplies ready to go!

I like to individually reply to everyone and I apologize for not doing that tonight!

To the PP w/the ring - my wedding band doesn't fit and I refuse to get it resized. One of my goals is to get it to fit again too.

Looking forward to getting to know everyone!

Here's to our wedding bands fitting again. Good luck with the Y.

So I actually introduced myself earlier in the thread, but since the QOTD - Saturday December 31, 2011 is 'Please introduce yourself' I'll do it again!

Hi everyone! I'm Ashley (or Ash if you prefer) and I'm super excited to be starting my first challenge! I'd like to at least get under 200 lbs for this challenge although since I'm only 8 pounds away I'm hoping to do more than that.

As I mentioned in my first intro, I like to dress up as different characters for a yearly convention in my home town; also that I'm a Doctor Who fan. So this past August, I went as Amy Pond from 'The Impossible Astronaut' episode and one of my friends who does photography offered to do a photo shoot for me.

So this is me in my full costume!

Oh the shame... I hate full body shots... This is another thing that I'm using to keep me on my diet so that I'll one day like getting my picture taken and not hating how I look in it...

Honestly, I preferred the close ups, like these:

I'm going to try and get my friend to take updated pics of me once I've lost the weight, especially to keep me focused on once I get the weight off to keep it off.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pretty good day today. I did have some Mexican for dinner this evening with a good bit of cheese (that was quite delicious I might add) but I did really good with my other two meals today. Ate a good bit of fruit, which is pretty unusual for me and plenty of water. I think I've had more water this week than I've had in the past month.

Will probably stay up and watch the ball drop, wonder why I stayed up and sleep in tomorrow. Having fish tacos for the first time tomorrow! And it's baked, not fried so it's much healthier for me. My aunt's also offered to give me her old treadmill that still works so I'm hoping to get a good bit of walking in this week. Just need to make a walking playlist for my iPod now.

Your a beautiful girl. Heres to getting healthy in 2012!!! That's great about the treadmill. If you have a smart phone or a computer near by the free Pandora radio is cool. They have exercise channels all ready to go.

Hi Everyone! Happy New Year.

My name is Karen. I am 48 years old. My DH and I have 3 children. I would like to lose 30 pounds. This is my first BL Challenge. I am really excited to get started.

Welcome to the Challenge.