Welcome to the CAROUSEL of PROGRESS challenge for December 2015!!

[DisPup75]

Today was my last day of work at current (well I guess now no longer current) job. I'm surprisingly much sadder than I thought I would be. It's been a good place to work, I'm going to miss my work friends, and I'm starting to be a bit apprehensive about the change. But it will all be fine! I've got a few weeks to finish holiday prep, visit family, and cram in some more bar exam study before starting at my new organization in January! Yay!!

Dec 11


2009:

The Princess and the Frog, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios is generally released. This is the 49th animated feature theatrically released 2D animated movie by Disney.


I don't know about you, but I LOVE Princess Tiana's NEVER-GIVE-UP attitude! She knows what she wants and she is willing to work VERY HARD to get it! She refuses to let others kill her dreams!

What is the HARDEST thing so far about this weight-loss/healthy lifestyle journey? How do you keep going when it gets hard?


BTW, it is FRIDAY again, so I am ready to take results! Remember, you can post about it here and/or send me a PM with your PROGRESS TOWARD GOAL (as a percentage please)! I will try to have the results post updated by Monday night......................P

The hardest thing for me has been that I'm a stress snacker. The past few months have been really stressful and I haven't been so great at resisting my sometimes really, really specific cravings. It's probably a little backwards (and the explanation why I've been holding steady for the past two months now) but for me I keep going by just holding a baseline where I'm not gaining. I track. I make sure to eat my produce. I get in my steps. I'm very, very slowly getting better at telling myself no but in the interim I would much rather keep the 20 pound loss I've got until I'm really ready to start on the next set then have to start from scratch again.

Good morning everyone!! Somehow the year is winding down nicely here. Work ist not too crazy, my boyfriend will arrive soon and I am very organized with most of the Christmas stuff!

And this morning I was shocked by my scale - in a positive way!! I got a new low number of the year and it puts my result for this week to 101%!!! I never expected that!! I normally don't lose my weight that quickly, but it seems that my bad numbers at the beginning of the months were artificially inflated. So, I am very happy. I am also at a BMI of 25.01 now!! Yes, I did the calculations to see how far away from under 25 I still was. Now I just need to keep doing what I am doing and hopefully I will be able to get down a little more, to have a bit of a cushion for the holidays. Ultimately, in order to reach my goal for the month I just need to maintain from now on. But I won't complain if I finish the month with a result of over 100%!!

I have to say that I am really happy with where I am at the moment. I just did some calculations and on average I managed to lose 0.9 pounds per week since my start on September 9. I lost nearly 12 pounds so far. I have never been someone to lose weight quickly. But I am impressed with myself as to how consistently I have been doing this!



This is an interesting question. I think picking up from what I wrote above, the hardest thing for me is consistency. I tend to do very well for some time and then just fall of the bandwaggon and have such a hard time getting back into it. Two things have helped me in this regard: First, with experience it gets easier. I can look back at previous failures and see how bad I felt because I was not doing the right things and how just getting back into a routine of healthy eating and exercise will actually make me feel much better. And then, these threads. Having a group to talk to, to motivate me, a place to vent - this is all really important for me. I like how the DIS is always here when I need it, I don't have to make an effort to go here, and there are so many friendly people who totally understand my struggle.

Woohoo! Congratulations on the steady progress! You are going to ring in the new year at a healthy weight! I just know it!,

There are so many days where I just want to say "eff this" and eat my feelings in anything sweet I can find. But then I realize that type of thinking got me to where I was 18 months ago! Stress eating is so hard and some days I just want to eat my feelings because it's the easy thing to do. Changing lifestyles and eating habits are a part of this process and I feel that with the support of this group and my in-person support team that I am actually making positive life changes.



It looks like this race thing is getting ambitious. So now I think i'm apparently signing up to run 10 races through Rock N Roll and three through RunDisney? Perhaps this is what keeps me healthy and entertained through the next year. 2016 is "Racecation" it seems. Heading to: Phoenix, Dallas, San Francisco, San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago, San Jose, Vancouver, Las Vegas, San Antonio, and Los Angeles.

Wow wow wow. That is quite a schedule!!!

Fridays seem to keep coming faster and faster..... there have been a few mornings where I nearly forgot myself! Fortunately I don't usually eat or drink for over an hour, so I usually have time to strip down and hop on the scale if I forget at first! And there is always Saturday for a "do-over"!



What I love about the WATP workouts is that you can definitely increase or decrease the intensity to suit your day and your fitness level! It can kick your butt or be just enough to get your heart pumping! Good for you for doing it!





MMMMMM!! Your future self will LOVE your past self for getting all that done!! I feel so accomplished and "on my game" when my freezer is full of yummy healthy stuff!

I have a great potato soup recipe I haven't made in YEARS (because DH is low carb), but the kids and I love it and it is pretty healthy/low fat.... I think I'll plan to make it again during the holidays!



My DD has been at that stage for 19 years! And DS will "allow" me to take his picture but he hates it and never smiles with his teeth.... Errrggghhh.



Cards are a lot of work..... but take it from those of us who are more "receivers" than "senders"..... we love them!!





LOve the cards! Wish I had seen those codes! I've got a code for a free calendar and I offered it to DD to either make herself a calendar or to make one as a gift, but if she doesn't use it soon, I'm going to use it!



DOn't be apprehensive! Think of it as EXCITING CHANGES, rather than something to worry about!

Double WOOHOO on just 6 days left!



Glad you are willing to give it some time! I know that the transition isn't going as smoothly as hoped, but it will be worth it!



She goes back to her University in January.... Bermuda is done (for now!). She would love to do a research semester there in the future! She did enjoy it.... it was beautiful and warm and the people were super friendly.... and it was SO NICE that it wasn't a crazy distance from home!



I'll add you to the list!! Love the idea of a veggie juice instead of a cocktail.... perhaps you could pretend it is a Bloody Mary??



Insane progress!! WOWZA!!



DD and I are both LOVING the name!! You are right.... it gives just enough of a hint of "Disney" to real fans, but doesn't scream "MICKEY"!!



I'm sure your words reflect how MANY of us feel about our "internet family" here on the DIs (or as my family calls you all.... 'Mom's imaginary friends' !).

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

It has taken me since 9 am to get this far! Going to keep going and get as caught up as I can!

I'm so glad you're enjoying having your daughter home! I'm sure you've got lots of fun activities planned before she has to go back to school.

I'm definitely committed to giving the WW new program a fair shot and will stick with it at least through the end of February when my current membership expires. I hope your members try as well. It may not work for everyone (nothing does) but it seems like it might be great. I just wish they had waited a few weeks to release since they clearly weren't quite ready to go. There is a GREAT leader on Tuesday mornings who I just love. The meeting just unfortunately starts at 7:00 a.m. and is an hour away from my house. I was hoping the evening at the downtown center would be as good as the morning but it was just terrible. So I'm back to deciding whether I need to suck it up and go to the Saturday meeting five minutes from my house with a mostly OK leader but a group I just don't click with at all or get up at 5:00 a.m. once a week.

I dropped in "just really quickly", and got distracted with the post above my last one, and now 30 minutes later I've rambled and rambled and am only just getting around to the reason I stopped by in the first place! I'm definitely having one of those days today. I thought you guys would appreciate these random thoughts...

1 - eBay really makes me chuckle sometimes. Or, I guess, eBay sellers do. Sometimes I really wish you could comment on auction listings. I definitely would've left a note on the listing for the pack of "authentic vintage attraction posters" that someone listed for $70, telling everyone that they're only vintage themed and I bought the exact same pack in the park in October for $19.99. LOL. I had to laugh, though, at the listing for the soaps/shampoos/conditioners from back when the hotels used the complimentary toiletries with the black and white Mickey labels and the red tops... Does anyone remember those? I'm pretty sure that's 20 year old shampoo you're selling for $30. Or the pack of quick service napkins with the 25th anniversary logo printed on them! $25 for 23 year old napkins. I remember all the threads about people hoarding napkins and the outrage when Disney switched to plain napkins because of it, but today was the first time I've come across the old ones on eBay haha. It's a little like the M&M commercial with Santa... "They DO exist!"

2 - Has anyone else seen the Carousel of Progress Mickey & Minnie shirts on the Disney Store site? They're limited edition tees and only available until Sunday the 13th, if anyone is interested! Either way they made me think of you all and our awesome December theme. I think they're actually pretty cute, and I love when they do things for the classic attractions... Though, I think I would've given them both normal ears and worked the gears in somewhere else! Every time I look at Mickey, I process him as earless for the first few seconds. Here's the link for Minnie and for Mickey if anyone wants to look at them.

Seriously? Old paper napkins for $25. I worry more about the people buying them then the people hoarding them. But I shouldn't talk. I've bought some seriously weird stuff on eBay when I wanted something very specific and I wanted it cheap.

I also really want one of each of the CoP t-shirts. But I swear DH will kill me if the UPS guy delivers another package this week or next. And a few more are already scheduled for delivery.

 

[jaelless]

again! So glad to have you here! Don't you worry about falling behind or anything - these threads can move REALLY quickly (October and November were whirlwinds!) and no one will think a thing if you don't respond to every single post.


Your 2016 plans sound so exciting, and you are definitely being a rockstar mom for your little girl by taking care of yourself! Are you definitely moving, or is it still just a goal for now? We keep toying with the "we should just move to Disney" idea... but then we remember the HEAT. Haha.

A few things I try to account for when the scale isn't moving like I think it should... Have you been drinking enough water recently? How have you been sleeping - are you getting enough rest? Are you stressed about anything (and, I mean, ANYTHING!) How has your fiber intake been? Are you restricting too many calories, especially if you're exercising (I really struggle with this - I've got that "1200 calorie" diet so ingrained in my head that it's honestly a real mental fight for me to eat MORE than that. It just seems SO counterproductive!)? Do you notice that you feel worse or weigh more in the time/days after eating certain foods - for example, do carbs really stick with you, or does salt make you balloon? Are you building muscle and inflating the scale number even though you're burning fat in the process? Do your clothes fit any differently despite the number on the scale?

Of course, being a nurse, all of that is probably 2nd nature to you, LOL! But those are some of the things I've learned to examine when I see a number I don't like, or worse - don't agree with, because they all have a major impact on me personally.

But I said all of that to say this - I know that I'm still learning my body and what makes me tick, and it's definitely a constant struggle, so don't get discouraged that you don't have all the answers yet! It's amazing what seemingly tiny factors can impact our weight loss in the biggest ways, and what might completely derail one person's month could be the magic elixir that melts pounds for someone else.


And on the bright side, THANK GOODNESS there are NO weight restrictions on anything at Disney! They'll never ask you what number your scale shows, and if they ever have to strategically load vehicles due to size, they don't let anyone know it. I was really nervous DH and I would have trouble fitting in the car for 7DMT because of all the reports I'd read about how snug they'd made the seats, and there's no example car you can try out before waiting in the queue. All that worrying for nothing! The seats are definitely not the most comfortable place I've ever sat, but we had no issue getting in, riding, or getting out. Honestly, Space Mountain gave us both WAY more trouble than 7DMT! I don't think Mary Poppins herself could get in or out of those dang rockets gracefully.

Thank you for the warm welcome and words of encouragement. As for moving I am 99% certain I will be moving. Something off the wall would have to happen to stop it. I currently live in Florida, no going farther down south not a big move. Just have to get new place to live and job LOL that's challenging part. My son and my mom will be moving with my daughter and me at same time, so have to arrange things for everybody. The heat factor during the summer is daunting, but is hot everywhere in summer. It is the lack of cold winters that I like. So three months a year I spend more on air conditioning. I never really thought of dehydration making a person bloat. I never drink enough water. Also I rarely get enough sleep, I average about five and a half hours a night, less on weekends. As for stress LOL I am beyond stressed, so it is just the norm for me. Seems I do everything wrong when it comes to trying to help my body lose weight. I would love more sleep and less stress, yet nothing I can really do about it. With school (both for me and kids), working full time, and just being a mom I have very little time to spare. If I want to exercise I have to get up around 4:30 am. Being a grown up not fun at all. I need a genie to come gran me a few wishes LOL. I'm glad to hear that about Disney. It hasn't been issue yet, and I have no desire for it to become one. Lil princess and I don't go for the roller coasters, we like the rides where you can see stuff. Our favorite is the Donald Duck ride in the Mexico Pavillion at Epcot. Soarin has also struck her fancy now that she is tall enough to ride on it.

Anybody else up this late? This is my danger time at work. Nothing to keep me busy so I eat to stay awake not good idea. I am trying to avoid the sweets and stick with coffee or crystal light. My favorite is peach mango green tea.

 

[jaelless]

Today was my last day of work at current (well I guess now no longer current) job. I'm surprisingly much sadder than I thought I would be. It's been a good place to work, I'm going to miss my work friends, and I'm starting to be a bit apprehensive about the change. But it will all be fine! I've got a few weeks to finish holiday prep, visit family, and cram in some more bar exam study before starting at my new organization in January! Yay!!

Always strange starting a new job, the unknown can be challenging to face. Are you studying to be lawyer? I am working towards my paralegal so that hopefully somewhere down the line I can be a legal nurse consultant. My son is doing the program with me (shhhh it's a secret, nobody's supposed to know I am his mom in class) and then he is hoping to go on into law school. Big goal is to become a judge which I fully support. Going to need somebody to get me out of trouble when I get senile LOL

seems like a lot of you are doing the weight watchers program? Is it really worth it?

 

[pjlla]

Dec 12

1927:

Disney's Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit short,"Empty Socks" is released.The silent black & white cartoon - featuring Oswald as Santa - is the first ever Disney Christmas themed short.




Do you have a favorite holiday movie that you always watch this time of year? Maybe something popular like ELF or Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, or of course The Santa Clause..... or perhaps your favorite is something a bit more obscure. SHARE your favorite holiday movie!

 

[jaelless]

Dec 12

Do you have a favorite holiday movie that you always watch this time of year? Maybe something popular like ELF or Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, or of course The Santa Clause..... or perhaps your favorite is something a bit more obscure. SHARE your favorite holiday movie!

Does the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade or the Disney Christmas Parade count? I always look forward to watching those. If has to be actual movie that is a bit difficult. I like The Santa Clause series. I don't really have a favorite movie. I do however like all the Christmas movies Hallmark puts on this month. They always seem to be good.

 

[dsnyfn1022]

Weigh in today - I lost 1 pound which is 50% of my goal. Quite happy with that considering that I weighed myself on Thursday. I'm starting the new WW plan today and I'm actually pretty excited! I like that it's trying to shift me away from sugar and preprocessed foods. Granted I looked at my tracker for today early so I know that I'm only losing 1 daily point and 7 weeklies which isn't bad. And I know that lean proteins are going down in points which I eat anyway so I think it'll balance out just fine.

QOTD - My favorite Christmas movie is Christmas Vacation! I watch it at least once during the holiday system and sometimes I watch it during the rest of the year too

 

[courtneybeth]

Weigh-in Week 2
Pounds Loss: 3.5/3
Percentage: 117%

My goal this month was to finish at 152 because I knew that Disney World would screw it up... so I'm setting myself up fairly good to enjoy a great vacation next week. I'm officially 1.5 pounds from goal and I sincerely hope that I don't make goal weight next week and then go up 3 pounds. LOL.

My company's holiday party was amazing last night and I did really good at the buffet. I'm learning portion control and how to eat well with my plate. I even passed on dessert!


I'm off to Disneyland to do our weekly walk and pick up some treats for the trip next week. We love traveling with Disney-themed snacks. It's cheaper to buy them here and fly over with them than to pick them up at the hotel or park.

 

[jaelless]

Weigh in today - I lost 1 pound which is 50% of my goal. Quite happy with that considering that I weighed myself on Thursday. I'm starting the new WW plan today and I'm actually pretty excited! I like that it's trying to shift me away from sugar and preprocessed foods. Granted I looked at my tracker for today early so I know that I'm only losing 1 daily point and 7 weeklies which isn't bad. And I know that lean proteins are going down in points which I eat anyway so I think it'll balance out just fine.

QOTD - My favorite Christmas movie is Christmas Vacation! I watch it at least once during the holiday system and sometimes I watch it during the rest of the year too

Yet another starting/doing weight watchers...what is the big draw to it? I really am curious, no sarcasm while typing.

 

[CruisingKate]

REPORT : 1lb/ 1.3 75%

I was pleasantly surprised that I lost 1 pound after my week at Disney. I ate as planned, but I had several drinks I hadn't counted on, both at Epcot and Jellyrolls ( dueling piano bar at the Boardwalk). Of course, we walked miles - my daughter's Fitbit logged us at 7 to 14 miles each day. It was a wonderful week; just loved all the Christmasy sights!

I tried to upload my pic in front of the CoP, but it won't upload from my IPhone. This is a pic in MK before MVMCP.

QOTD A family favorite is Scrooge, the musical version of A Christmas Carol. I originally saw it on a class trip back in the 70s. We had the VHS tape and now the DVD and watch it as a family every year. Love the songs from this!

Anybody else up this late? This is my danger time at work. Nothing to keep me busy so I eat to stay awake not good idea. I am trying to avoid the sweets and stick with coffee or crystal light. My favorite is peach mango green tea.

Welcome, jaelless! I work the night shift as a peds home care nurse. Since starting WW, I bring sliced red peppers, fruit, and a spinach/zucchini/banana Nutriblast shake to work - and a carafe of coffee. I've lost 17 pounds since mid August. It's slow but steady progress for me. I made Lifetime on WW 18 years ago. Getting back to my goal wt is much tougher now that I'm 54!

 

[courtneybeth]

Do you have a favorite holiday movie that you always watch this time of year? Maybe something popular like ELF or Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, or of course The Santa Clause..... or perhaps your favorite is something a bit more obscure. SHARE your favorite holiday movie!

It's a Wonderful Life! Love that movie - just puts me into the spirit.


As for best Christmas music, hands down... "A Christmas Together: John Denver and the Muppets" is the only album I'll listen to. There's hundreds of versions of the songs on the album yet this is the best one and most festive!

 

[jaelless]

View attachment 139733 REPORT : 1lb/ 1.3 75%

I was pleasantly surprised that I lost 1 pound after my week at Disney. I ate as planned, but I had several drinks I hadn't counted on, both at Epcot and Jellyrolls ( dueling piano bar at the Boardwalk). Of course, we walked miles - my daughter's Fitbit logged us at 7 to 14 miles each day. It was a wonderful week; just loved all the Christmasy sights!

I tried to upload my pic in front of the CoP, but it won't upload from my IPhone. This is a pic in MK before MVMCP.

QOTD A family favorite is Scrooge, the musical version of A Christmas Carol. I originally saw it on a class trip back in the 70s. We had the VHS tape and now the DVD and watch it as a family every year. Love the songs from this!



Welcome, jaelless! I work the night shift as a peds home care nurse. Since starting WW, I bring sliced red peppers, fruit, and a spinach/zucchini/banana Nutriblast shake to work - and a carafe of coffee. I've lost 17 pounds since mid August. It's slow but steady progress for me. I made Lifetime on WW 18 years ago. Getting back to my goal wt is much tougher now that I'm 54!

I swear once I hit my 40's my metabolism vanished and it has gotten worse since. In my 20's/30's diet and exercise worked great. Now nothing makes that darn scale move. Seventeen lbs sounds awesome!!! Yeah for you you are my current hero. I have never really gotten into smoothies. I would rather just eat the fruits and veggies straight LOL

 

[pjlla]

Dec 13

2012:
In Florida, Mickey Mouse joins a group of VoluntEARS to deliver nearly 35,000 toys donated by Disney and its cast members to the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots program.

Do you remember the “VoluntEARS” program that Disney was running for a year? You got a free one-day park pass for participating in certain volunteer programs! I thought it was a terrific idea!

How do you volunteer? I'm sure if you think about it, there are lots of things, big and small, that you do throughout the year to donate your time, money, energy to causes that you feel are worthy! What causes would you LIKE to volunteer for/donate to if you had more time/money?

 

[Flossbolna]

Happy Sunday everyone!

I did not find the time to come on here yesterday despite having a fantastic reason to post:

I am no longer overweight!!! Well, at least yesterday I was not. I did not step on the scale today after a birthday party for my BFF yesterday, so I am officially still at yesterday's weight. It was such a great feeling when my one weight tracking app turned all green in the background from yellow!

Of course that should have been an incentive to not be crazy at the birthday party, but my downfall is always sitting at a table with plenty of snacks in front of me. I tried to track it all. Not pretty. But the day before I has a really good deficit, so between the two days, the average is not looking totally disastrous. And today I am on a good track as well, already went for a nice 5k run.

Also I rarely get enough sleep, I average about five and a half hours a night, less on weekends. As for stress LOL I am beyond stressed, so it is just the norm for me. Seems I do everything wrong when it comes to trying to help my body lose weight. I would love more sleep and less stress, yet nothing I can really do about it. With school (both for me and kids), working full time, and just being a mom I have very little time to spare. If I want to exercise I have to get up around 4:30 am. Being a grown up not fun at all.

This sounds so scary for me! Sorry that you have so much to keep you busy that you don't get more sleep. And I think that this might really be one of the things that let's your body hang on to its additional pounds. I had a two week period earlier this year where I was so frustrated that my weight did not move and I figured out that the only thing I did not do very well with was getting enough sleep. I made sure to get a few days with plenty of sleep and lost quite a bit of weight very quickly over these few days.

Is there anything you can do to make sleep more of a priority? Maybe experiment with skipping the exercise and instead use that time for sleep? 4.5 hours is so little, that I think you body might benefit more from the additional sleep than from the exercise.

Also, as someone else pointed out, drinking enough is really important for your body to lose weight. As far as I understand, all your body chemistry (about which you as a nurse most likely know far more than me!) needs the water to function. So, if it does not get enough water, the body will prioritize water usage for the vital functions and not for breaking down the fat.

A lot of people find it far easier to get through their correct amount of liquids if they measure them out in a water bottle or so at the beginning of the day.

Anybody else up this late? This is my danger time at work. Nothing to keep me busy so I eat to stay awake not good idea. I am trying to avoid the sweets and stick with coffee or crystal light. My favorite is peach mango green tea.

I am going to be your late night buddy!!! I am in Europe, so 6 hours ahead of the US East Coast. I often am on the DIS in the mornings before work (or when I just get into work... ) and it will be nice to know that someone else is around then! I should be around between 1am and 4am EST - at 4am the DIS nightly blackout happens anyway...

Fo you have to sit in the office during those quiet times? Maybe that would be a good time to get in some exercise by just walking up and down a hallway??

seems like a lot of you are doing the weight watchers program? Is it really worth it?

I have been doing WW a number of times, but currently am not on the program. Is it worth it? Yes. Is it the only thing I would recommend? No.

WW is definitely one of the best organized weight loss programs out there in my opinion. I think it is really great in not only helping you lose weight, but also in teaching you how to eat healthy, so it will be easier to maintain a healthy weight after the weight loss. But it is not cheap and not everyone can afford the fees for it.

However, I think depending on your personal preferences, there are other ways to lose weight as well. After all, the main point is to eat less calories than your body burns during the day. There are many different ways to do that. Crazy diets, like the cabbage soup diet do this, but they are not really good to help you to not put on the weight again after you lost it. But today there are a number of websites and apps that help you to monitor what you eat and how much calories you need during the day. I once used Sparkpeople during a break from WW, many people really like My Fitness Pal. I currently used the fitbit app to not only track my steps with my fitbit, but also to monitor my calorie intake.

The one thing that I figured out though is that whatever program I used, the best weight loss results have always been when I was tracking my food. It is so amazing how easy it is to misjudge which foods have lots of calories and which don't.

Hope this helps!

Do you have a favorite holiday movie that you always watch this time of year? Maybe something popular like ELF or Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, or of course The Santa Clause..... or perhaps your favorite is something a bit more obscure. SHARE your favorite holiday movie!

I really don't have a Christmas movie as such, but in a way "When Harry Met Sally" is my personal Christmas movie (and it does have key scenes during the holiday season). I saw it for the first time on TV when I was at home from college for Christmas break and I guess that's why it became a Christmas movie for me.

In German TV, the most famous Christmas movies are the "Sissi" movies. Sissi was an Austrian Empress, originally from Bavaria. And there are three films about her.

Here is the first one in 30 seconds (no German necessary to understand):

How do you volunteer? I'm sure if you think about it, there are lots of things, big and small, that you do throughout the year to donate your time, money, energy to causes that you feel are worthy! What causes would you LIKE to volunteer for/donate to if you had more time/money?

I volunteer regularly for an exchange organization that sends high school students abroad for one year. Through them I spent a year in Denmark when I was young. I do all kind of things, from interviewing applicants to being a counselor for students who are here in Germany.

I am also currently looking into a way to make myself useful with the current refugee situation here in Germany. I really don't know what I can do just yet, but I think with my experience of helping young people find their way around in Germany when they are exchange students, I should find a way to do something similar with helping the refugees during their first steps in German society.

 

[dsnyfn1022]

Yet another starting/doing weight watchers...what is the big draw to it? I really am curious, no sarcasm while typing.

For me, it encourages me to make healthy choices while also giving me the ability to have bad days of I need it. So I did MFP for a while and really didn't see any results. That's because I had 1500 calories I could eat in a day. I could either eat smart choices or I could eat Oreos. I would rather eat Oreos of course! So that program didn't teach me to live a healthy lifestyle. It was simply calorie restriction for me. With WW I know that almost all fruits and veggies are zero points. So when I'm hungry it's much more tempting to reach for an apple than a bag of chips because it won't cost me anything! But with programs like MFP they both cost calories so I didn't often choose the apple. Plus I've just had better results with WW. I've lost weight a lot faster

 

[DisPup75]

Up a pound this week which puts me back at my December 1 weight and back to 0%. Sigh.

Always strange starting a new job, the unknown can be challenging to face. Are you studying to be lawyer? I am working towards my paralegal so that hopefully somewhere down the line I can be a legal nurse consultant. My son is doing the program with me (shhhh it's a secret, nobody's supposed to know I am his mom in class) and then he is hoping to go on into law school. Big goal is to become a judge which I fully support. Going to need somebody to get me out of trouble when I get senile LOL

seems like a lot of you are doing the weight watchers program? Is it really worth it?

Great for you and your son! I'm already a lawyer so no more school (yay!). Just need to be admitted to the bar in a different state for my new job. Studying is going well but law school was longer ago than I would like to remember and I'm being forced to remember things I didn't even know I forgot!

Still not entirely sure about the newest iteration but in general WW is very worth it for me. It pushes me to make better choices in a sustainable way while still leaving room for treats. For me at least, the accountability of in person meetings helps. In some ways it isn't all that different from counting calories but it easier to keep track of points and the point calculation attempts to reward healthier food choices while penalizing the not so great stuff.

Dec 12

1927:

Disney's Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit short,"Empty Socks" is released.The silent black & white cartoon - featuring Oswald as Santa - is the first ever Disney Christmas themed short.


View attachment 139579

Do you have a favorite holiday movie that you always watch this time of year? Maybe something popular like ELF or Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, or of course The Santa Clause..... or perhaps your favorite is something a bit more obscure. SHARE your favorite holiday movie!

My favorite Christmas movie is Love Actually. I watch it every year!

As far as Christmas music, I have a love for the ridiculous. My Christmas playlist is very heavily weighted with things such as the Beach Boys' Little St. Nick, Snoopy v. The Red Baron, and I Want a Hippopatamus for Christmas. I try to balance it with Bing Crosby and Sinatra but that is really just for show. .

Weigh-in Week 2
Pounds Loss: 3.5/3
Percentage: 117%

My goal this month was to finish at 152 because I knew that Disney World would screw it up... so I'm setting myself up fairly good to enjoy a great vacation next week. I'm officially 1.5 pounds from goal and I sincerely hope that I don't make goal weight next week and then go up 3 pounds. LOL.

My company's holiday party was amazing last night and I did really good at the buffet. I'm learning portion control and how to eat well with my plate. I even passed on dessert!


I'm off to Disneyland to do our weekly walk and pick up some treats for the trip next week. We love traveling with Disney-themed snacks. It's cheaper to buy them here and fly over with them than to pick them up at the hotel or park.

Woohoo! I still think you are going to make goal this week.

View attachment 139733 REPORT : 1lb/ 1.3 75%

I was pleasantly surprised that I lost 1 pound after my week at Disney. I ate as planned, but I had several drinks I hadn't counted on, both at Epcot and Jellyrolls ( dueling piano bar at the Boardwalk). Of course, we walked miles - my daughter's Fitbit logged us at 7 to 14 miles each day. It was a wonderful week; just loved all the Christmasy sights!

I tried to upload my pic in front of the CoP, but it won't upload from my IPhone. This is a pic in MK before MVMCP.

QOTD A family favorite is Scrooge, the musical version of A Christmas Carol. I originally saw it on a class trip back in the 70s. We had the VHS tape and now the DVD and watch it as a family every year. Love the songs from this!



Welcome, jaelless! I work the night shift as a peds home care nurse. Since starting WW, I bring sliced red peppers, fruit, and a spinach/zucchini/banana Nutriblast shake to work - and a carafe of coffee. I've lost 17 pounds since mid August. It's slow but steady progress for me. I made Lifetime on WW 18 years ago. Getting back to my goal wt is much tougher now that I'm 54!

Sounds like a great trip!! I love the Christmas light necklace!!

Dec 13

2012:
In Florida, Mickey Mouse joins a group of VoluntEARS to deliver nearly 35,000 toys donated by Disney and its cast members to the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots program.

Do you remember the “VoluntEARS” program that Disney was running for a year? You got a free one-day park pass for participating in certain volunteer programs! I thought it was a terrific idea!
View attachment 139744
How do you volunteer? I'm sure if you think about it, there are lots of things, big and small, that you do throughout the year to donate your time, money, energy to causes that you feel are worthy! What causes would you LIKE to volunteer for/donate to if you had more time/money?

I remember VoluntEARS. They had toy collection boxes out during our December trip that year which I specifically remember because I bought several toys my "kid self" wanted which I then handed over to the boxes.

I need to make more time to volunteer regularly but the hours I do spend primarily go to early childhood education/tutoring. The money goes to hunger relief, animal rescue, and wildlife conservation. I'm blessed in the time and place I was born, I've also worked hard and done moderately well in life, and I try to balance my indulgences with spreading my good fortune.

Happy Sunday everyone!

I did not find the time to come on here yesterday despite having a fantastic reason to post:

I am no longer overweight!!! Well, at least yesterday I was not. I did not step on the scale today after a birthday party for my BFF yesterday, so I am officially still at yesterday's weight. It was such a great feeling when my one weight tracking app turned all green in the background from yellow!

Of course that should have been an incentive to not be crazy at the birthday party, but my downfall is always sitting at a table with plenty of snacks in front of me. I tried to track it all. Not pretty. But the day before I has a really good deficit, so between the two days, the average is not looking totally disastrous. And today I am on a good track as well, already went for a nice 5k run.



This sounds so scary for me! Sorry that you have so much to keep you busy that you don't get more sleep. And I think that this might really be one of the things that let's your body hang on to its additional pounds. I had a two week period earlier this year where I was so frustrated that my weight did not move and I figured out that the only thing I did not do very well with was getting enough sleep. I made sure to get a few days with plenty of sleep and lost quite a bit of weight very quickly over these few days.

Is there anything you can do to make sleep more of a priority? Maybe experiment with skipping the exercise and instead use that time for sleep? 4.5 hours is so little, that I think you body might benefit more from the additional sleep than from the exercise.

Also, as someone else pointed out, drinking enough is really important for your body to lose weight. As far as I understand, all your body chemistry (about which you as a nurse most likely know far more than me!) needs the water to function. So, if it does not get enough water, the body will prioritize water usage for the vital functions and not for breaking down the fat.

A lot of people find it far easier to get through their correct amount of liquids if they measure them out in a water bottle or so at the beginning of the day.



I am going to be your late night buddy!!! I am in Europe, so 6 hours ahead of the US East Coast. I often am on the DIS in the mornings before work (or when I just get into work... ) and it will be nice to know that someone else is around then! I should be around between 1am and 4am EST - at 4am the DIS nightly blackout happens anyway...

Fo you have to sit in the office during those quiet times? Maybe that would be a good time to get in some exercise by just walking up and down a hallway??



I have been doing WW a number of times, but currently am not on the program. Is it worth it? Yes. Is it the only thing I would recommend? No.

WW is definitely one of the best organized weight loss programs out there in my opinion. I think it is really great in not only helping you lose weight, but also in teaching you how to eat healthy, so it will be easier to maintain a healthy weight after the weight loss. But it is not cheap and not everyone can afford the fees for it.

However, I think depending on your personal preferences, there are other ways to lose weight as well. After all, the main point is to eat less calories than your body burns during the day. There are many different ways to do that. Crazy diets, like the cabbage soup diet do this, but they are not really good to help you to not put on the weight again after you lost it. But today there are a number of websites and apps that help you to monitor what you eat and how much calories you need during the day. I once used Sparkpeople during a break from WW, many people really like My Fitness Pal. I currently used the fitbit app to not only track my steps with my fitbit, but also to monitor my calorie intake.

The one thing that I figured out though is that whatever program I used, the best weight loss results have always been when I was tracking my food. It is so amazing how easy it is to misjudge which foods have lots of calories and which don't.

Hope this helps!



I really don't have a Christmas movie as such, but in a way "When Harry Met Sally" is my personal Christmas movie (and it does have key scenes during the holiday season). I saw it for the first time on TV when I was at home from college for Christmas break and I guess that's why it became a Christmas movie for me.

In German TV, the most famous Christmas movies are the "Sissi" movies. Sissi was an Austrian Empress, originally from Bavaria. And there are three films about her.

Here is the first one in 30 seconds (no German necessary to understand):

I volunteer regularly for an exchange organization that sends high school students abroad for one year. Through them I spent a year in Denmark when I was young. I do all kind of things, from interviewing applicants to being a counselor for students who are here in Germany.

I am also currently looking into a way to make myself useful with the current refugee situation here in Germany. I really don't know what I can do just yet, but I think with my experience of helping young people find their way around in Germany when they are exchange students, I should find a way to do something similar with helping the refugees during their first steps in German society.

Yay!!!! Great job getting to healthy weight!!!

 

[SarahDisney]

Okay, I'm doing a terrible job at staying caught up, so I'm doing some limited replies here...

What is the HARDEST thing so far about this weight-loss/healthy lifestyle journey? How do you keep going when it gets hard?

I think the hardest part for me is sticking to the plan when things change. Whether that's having unexpected snacks around the house or an adjustment in my schedule ... any change throws me off.
And I think my problem is that I don't keep going when it gets hard, I give up ... and that's something that I need to work on.

or as my family calls you all.... 'Mom's imaginary friends' !).

Not the first time I've been called imaginary. My brother once had a friend who didn't believe that I existed (which is funny, because we attended the same school and the same synagogue, but somehow this one guy never saw me).

Do you have a favorite holiday movie that you always watch this time of year? Maybe something popular like ELF or Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, or of course The Santa Clause..... or perhaps your favorite is something a bit more obscure. SHARE your favorite holiday movie!

Hmm ... that's a tough one. There are a lot of great holiday movies out there, and quite a few that I'll watch if they're on TV, but nothing that I really go out of my way to watch. The Sound of Music always reminds me of the holidays, not sure why, but that's one of my favorite movies year-round.

How do you volunteer? I'm sure if you think about it, there are lots of things, big and small, that you do throughout the year to donate your time, money, energy to causes that you feel are worthy! What causes would you LIKE to volunteer for/donate to if you had more time/money?

I don't really volunteer right now, but I've thought about volunteering at an art museum because I think I'd really enjoy it.
I used to volunteer at a hospital, and I enjoyed that, but that was at a totally different point in my life, and I don't think I'd do it again.
In terms of donating money ... I don't right now because I don't like the fact that many charitable organizations sell or share their donor lists. But when I do give, I like to give to a variety of causes ... there are so many amazing organizations out there helping people, and I want to help as many of the reputable ones as I can.

I am no longer overweight!!! Well, at least yesterday I was not. I did not step on the scale today after a birthday party for my BFF yesterday, so I am officially still at yesterday's weight. It was such a great feeling when my one weight tracking app turned all green in the background from yellow!

YAY!! Awesome news!

---

Friday's weigh-in was the same as last week, so I'm still at 33%. If was a rough week, so I'm not unhappy about it. My next weigh-in might not be so pretty ... we had a family breakfast this morning, so I'll be eating leftover bagels all week, and we're having pizza for dinner, so I really do need to be careful about my meals this week if I want to stay on track. The good thing about the family breakfast is that I got to see a cousin who I haven't seen in about 15 years or so (and her husband, who I saw a few years ago), which was really nice. I have a lot of family who live out of the country (in Israel) and I really don't get to see them very often.
So ... that's me. Anyone else do something special this weekend?

 

[jaelless]

Happy Sunday everyone!

I did not find the time to come on here yesterday despite having a fantastic reason to post:

I am no longer overweight!!! Well, at least yesterday I was not. I did not step on the scale today after a birthday party for my BFF yesterday, so I am officially still at yesterday's weight. It was such a great feeling when my one weight tracking app turned all green in the background from yellow!

Congrats on the green!!! Must have been an awesome feeling

Is there anything you can do to make sleep more of a priority? Maybe experiment with skipping the exercise and instead use that time for sleep? 4.5 hours is so little, that I think you body might benefit more from the additional sleep than from the exercise.

I would love more sleep, but then I feel guilty about not exercising
I am going to be your late night buddy!!! I am in Europe, so 6 hours ahead of the US East Coast. I often am on the DIS in the mornings before work (or when I just get into work... ) and it will be nice to know that someone else is around then! I should be around between 1am and 4am EST - at 4am the DIS nightly blackout happens anyway...

Yeah I won't be online by myself LOL

I currently used the fitbit app to not only track my steps with my fitbit, but also to monitor my calorie intake.

I use a misfit shine and app on my phone to keep track of steps and calories.

The one thing that I figured out though is that whatever program I used, the best weight loss results have always been when I was tracking my food. It is so amazing how easy it is to misjudge which foods have lots of calories and which don't.

 

[jaelless]

Flossbolna I tried answering you within your message, but didn't work way I planned LOL have to click it to see my red words. Now I know not to post in quote.

 

[jaelless]

Dec 13

2012:
In Florida, Mickey Mouse joins a group of VoluntEARS to deliver nearly 35,000 toys donated by Disney and its cast members to the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots program.

Do you remember the “VoluntEARS” program that Disney was running for a year? You got a free one-day park pass for participating in certain volunteer programs! I thought it was a terrific idea!
View attachment 139744
How do you volunteer? I'm sure if you think about it, there are lots of things, big and small, that you do throughout the year to donate your time, money, energy to causes that you feel are worthy! What causes would you LIKE to volunteer for/donate to if you had more time/money?

I wish I had time to volunteer. I do volunteer a lot in my daughter's first grade class. I try and make sure the class and teacher has everything it needs. I want my daughter to have a good school experience, so I try and be there as much as I can to checks up on her LOL A Disney volunteer project would be fun to participate in.

 

[DVCFan1994]

Wow, this month is crazy busy. I should have some time to catch up tomorrow. But for now want to report in at -1 pound, which is 25% of goal.