WISH Away the Pounds -- Spectacular September Challenge!

[lisah0711]

Welcome to WISH Away the Pounds Spectacular September Challenge!

Please read the complete instructions in post 2, and then let me know if you have any questions.
The philosophy behind our new challenge: small achievable goals. One month at a time, one week at a time, one day at a time, one bite at a time. Results will be posted as a % lost (pounds) towards monthly goal.

Thanks to Rose&Mike for creating our new challenge format which was a great success in 2013!

Weigh in Days--Weight Loss & Maintainers
PM Weight to lisah0711
September 1 (starting weight AND pounds lost goal for month in the subject line of your PM, i.e. W/I 9/1 145 start goal 5)
September 5 (present weight in the subject line of your PM, i.e. W/I 9/5 144)
September 12
September 19
September 26
September 30 (last chance)
Weigh in days are basically the first and last days of the challenge and Fridays. We will remind you in there thread, too.

Weight Loss Goals:
9% Blue
10% orange
25% bright pink
50% purple
75% turquoise
90% red--FINISH STRONG!
100%WISH green

Maintainer Goals
25% bright pink
50% purple
75% turquoise
100%WISH green

Please see list of participants and results in Post #4 here.
http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52186776&postcount=4

 

[lisah0711]

Welcome to the WISH Away the Pounds Spectacular September Challenge!

Quick overview:
Weigh in days
September 1 (starting weight AND pounds lost goal for month in the subject line of your PM, i.e. W/I 9/1 145 start goal 5)
September 5 (present weight in the subject line of your PM, i.e. W/I 9/5 144)
September 12
September 19
September 26
September 30 (last chance)

Pm weights to lisah0711. Please note the only way to sign up and update your numbers to send them by PM -- I don't want to miss a post.

How the challenge works:
This is the new and improved challenge that replaces the BL challenges. Like the show has evolved, so have our challenges and this format takes the best of that long standing tradition and makes it even better!

The goal of the new challenge is to meet your weight loss/maintain goals on a monthly basis. Results will be posted as percentages toward goal and your color will change as you approach your goal, similar to the exercise thread on the WISH boards. We hope that this new format will encourage some great discussions about weight loss, maintaining, diet, exercise and healthy living!

It is up to the hostess each month as to whether she wants to have coaches/Question of the day, mini-challenges, etc. It is her month, so she can choose to handle it how she wants.

Heres how the new challenge will work. It is going to be a monthly individual challenge. Each month is a new start. You are competing against yourself to meet your goals for the month. No one will know your actual weight (unless you share it) except the hostess for the month. NO GOAL IS TOO SMALL.

Let me repeat: NO GOAL IS TOO SMALL. A loss is a loss is a loss. Your color will change based on your % lost toward goal.
Here is an example of what the stats will look like.

Updated January 10, 2014
Minnie Mouse 25.00%
Daisy Duck 12.00%
Goofy 0.00 %
Donald Duck 33.33%
Mickey Mouse 40.00%

Weight Loss Goals:
1%-9% Blue
10% orange
25% bright pink
50% purple
75% turquoise
90% red--ALMOST THERE!
100%WISH green

In this case Goofy, put on a few pounds, but that will be reported as 0%. We are not going to call people out, but just report positive moves towards your goal!

Minnie Mouse had a starting weight of 110 with a goal of 4 pounds. At her weigh in she reported a weight of 109 with a percentage loss of 25%.

Your color will change based on your % loss. If you gain, your percentage will decrease, and your color will change, but no one will know your weight except the hostess. Only your % loss toward goal will be reported. Negative percentages will not be reported.

Participants (other than the hostess) will not know your pound lost goal or actual weight unless you choose to share it with them.

Maintainers will set a goal for the month of number of weeks they would like to stay in maintain range (+/- 4 pounds).
They will weigh in on the first day of the month and then on each of the weekends. Their results will be reported as percentages along with their goal.

For example:
Pluto 1/4 25%.

Pluto has a goal of maintaining all four weeks. He put on 1 pound at the first weigh in, but is in his maintain range.

Maintainer Goals
25% bright pink
50% purple
75% turquoise
100%WISH green

It really is pretty simple. Remember, no one will see your weight or pound loss goal except the hostess unless you choose to share it.

Percentage loss will be updated once a week. If you miss sending in your weight over the weekend, no big deal, just send an update the following weekend. Please understand that this is a volunteer job and the hostess will only be updating once a week.

Good luck! I look forward to seeing everyone meet their healthy living goals!

 

[lisah0711]

A NEW TWIST ON THE NEW TWIST!!

Instead of having Questions of the Day and regular coaches I have decided to mix up things this month and we are going to have

WATP Musings

instead. How do these work? We will still have questions for everyone to discuss on the thread - but they will no longer be daily. We will have a set schedule:

Motivational Monday
Wellbeing Weekend (posted on Friday)

As you can guess, these questions will cover different topics that are important for weight loss: food, exercise and emotional well-being (which can also include something fun like a Disney question ).

However, I will still need volunteers!

Please think about it whether you can submit a question or just a topic that you would like to discuss! I can't come up with all the questions for the whole thread! Please keep the discussion going by submitting some questions by PM to me!!

There is a sticky at the top with an archive of previous questions that can be used -- we love recycling!

Here is the schedule for the month. Please volunteer for ONE day or more to pose the Musing.

Monday 9/1 lisah0711
Friday 9/5 Flossbolna
Monday 9/8 SarahDisney
Friday 9/12 pjlla
Monday 9/15 SarahDisney
Friday 9/19 lisah0711
Monday 9/22 Flossbolna
Friday 9/26 pjlla
Monday 9/29 lisah0711

Also, if anyone wants to take over the role of being a "Musing host/hostess", I would be more than happy to have a co-host for the chatty part of the challenge!!

Future challenges

We've had a great year in 2013 and 2014 with our new WATP challenge format. We launched a new challenge format, had lots of lovely hostesses helping us along the way, and even had hostesses from Europe all summer which is a first for any WISH challenge that I know of.

But these challenges don't run themselves -- it takes a lot of effort from everyone especially our hostesses. One of the reasons we switched to the monthly format was to avoid hostess burnout. We need hostesses for future challenges. Any volunteers?

Future challenge hosts:

September 2014 lisah0711 (Lisa)
October 2014 lisah0711 (Lisa)
November 2014
December 2014
January 2015
February 2015

These challenges are "run" by volunteers and it takes everyone participating to make a successful challenge. Unfortunately they may be ending soon if we don't get some more folks to participate so don't be shy and step up if you value these challenges!

Thanks to all who have volunteered to coach and host!

 

[lisah0711]

Participant list

3Gsandme
Andrea464
BernardandMissBianca
EllieBadge
Flossbolna
glss1/2fll
happysummer
JennStars9
leholcomb
lisah0711
ohMom
myweegirls
pjlla
SarahDisney
Tasha228
Zoesmama03

 

[lisah0711]

Our new challenge starts tomorrow, September 1st, stay tuned for important information!

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

I am totally in for September!!

I will PM you tomorrow.

 

[lisah0711]

I am totally in for September!!

I will PM you tomorrow.

Buffy! So nice to see you!

 

[lisah0711]

Good morning all!

Welcome to our Spectacular September 2014 Challenge!

I am Lisa and I will be your hostess this month. I've been an active member of WISH since 2009. And every year since then I've started the new year weighing less than I did before. Although it seems to be taking me forever to reach my goal weight, I see the end in sight. I've made lifelong friends thanks to WISH and done things I never realized I could do because WISH gave me the courage to start!

You owe it to yourself to hang out with these wonderful folks and take charge of your healthy life once and for all!

WATP Musings Motivational Monday, September 1, 2014: Please introduce yourself and share your goals for the challenge and how you plan to reach your goals. Remember as always you don't have to share your weight.

 

[lisah0711]

WATP Musings Motivational Monday, September 1, 2014: Please introduce yourself and share your goals for the challenge and how you plan to reach your goals. Remember as always you don't have to share your weight.

I did my intro when I posed the question but didn't share my goal for the month. My goal for the month is to lose 5 pounds. My losses have stalled out a bit this summer and I know the reason is because I have not been as vigilant with my portion control and tracking as I should be. I've also been skipping my WW meetings recently and, of course, when you are struggling that is the first place that you need to be.

But luckily September seems like a new start to me because of school starting. So I have that new year motivation and new year hope that I will meet my goals!

I have a 10k this month that I have been training for with my running group and another 10k next month where two of my dear WISH friends are coming to visit and we will race here together! That is great motivation for a good month!

 

[ohMom]

Hi I'm Molli and I've been pretty absent on these challenges over the crazy hectic busy summer. Now that I should be home more and back into a routine my goal for Sept is to check in on this thread at least three times a week to keep me motivated and accountable. My weight goal is to lose 5 lbs

I'm a SAHM of a HS senior! time flies! and a DD 22 in college. I work part time as an xray tech at a local doc office. I struggle health-wise with Addisons disease and being steroid dependent which makes losing difficult.

ONWARD AND DOWNWARD!

 

[JennStars9]

I'm in for the month.

WATP Musings Motivational Monday, September 1, 2014: Please introduce yourself and share your goals for the challenge and how you plan to reach your goals. Remember as always you don't have to share your weight.

Hi! I'm Jennifer, or Jenn for short. I work full time, have a wonderful husband and two kids. I plan on trying to lose at least 5 pounds this month. My goal is to hit the gym at least twice a week, but I'd really like to hit it more than that. My son and daughter both play soccer, my son is in Cub Scouts (I'm the treasurer), and I am the secretary for the PTO. Trying to find time for myself is my biggest challenge. I also plan to be more accurate with my calorie counting on myfitnesspal.

 

[glss1/2fll]

I'm in again! Can't remember what my goal was last month, but know I didn't quite reach it. But I did end the month with a loss, so that's great.

I'm Linda and like Molli I have a high school senior and one in college. DH and I said I'd only sub for the school district as an assistant while kids were home, but a job came open in the kids's elementary office and I got it! I started Friday so a whole new adventure for me. I start late enough in the day that I can still do my regular workout routine in the mornings, but not sure how everything else/life! is going to work out. Because I start late I'm still figuring out breakfast, especially since I get up 4-5 hours before I need to be at work. Two small breakfasts? trial and error I guess.

Good luck!

 

[Flossbolna]

Lisa, thank you for hosting this month!! And I like your new set up for the musings, looks great to me. You can sign me up for one Monday and one Friday wherever you need me.

MM:

Hi, I am Magdalene. I am in my early 40s, no kids. But a boyfriend who lives an ocean away. I have always struggled with my weight as a kid and a teenager. I managed to lose a lot during my 20s and following this had a lot of ups and downs. I was always able to hit the breaks before I got to what would be considered obese, but far too often I hover around a BMI of 25/26 while I would like to go down a further 15-20 pounds. I seem to be losing the same pounds over and over again as I go from losing weight to not watching what I eat and putting a few pounds back on to losing it again.

I am going to visit my boyfriend over thanksgiving in the US, so my goal is to make sure to lose a nice amount until then. I have recently finished a huge work project that was horribly stressful for the last two years and life should be easier now. I am back into a routine of regular running, still lacking the stamina for longer runs though. But my plan is to keep up running 30 minutes three times a week and hopefully also get a little bit of cross training into it. I also do a lot of walking in my daily life as I am lucky enough to live in a compact European city and I don't own a car.

My goal for this month is to lose 6 pounds. For me this would be quite a big achievement. But I feel I need to challenge myself to stay focussed on my weight loss!

 

[SarahDisney]

WATP Musings Motivational Monday, September 1, 2014: Please introduce yourself and share your goals for the challenge and how you plan to reach your goals. Remember as always you don't have to share your weight.

Hi all, I'm Sarah!
The August challenge was my first challenge here, and while I ended the month up a drop, I am looking forward to this month and hoping to lose 5 pounds by the end of September.

Since high school, my weight has gone up and down across a 25-pound range, and while I'm in the middle of that range now, I would like to be at the lighter end of the range. Adding exercise into my routine has been relatively easy (I've always enjoyed walking anyway), but eating healthier has been pretty difficult, so I'm working on that right now.

My short-term goal is to be at 130 lb by my Disney trip in November ... after ending August up, I don't know how realistic that will be for me, but I'm still going to try.
My exercise goals for the month are to run 2x/week consistently and log over 200,000 steps on my Fitbit for the month, and log 2,000 exercise minutes for the month.
My nutrtion goals for the month are to have a minimum of 2 fruit/vegetable servings per day, maintain a 4:1 ratio of water to other beverages, and limit second helpings of dishes to vegetable-only foods

Hopefully the combination of lots of exercise and working on improving what I eat will help me reach my goals.

 

[lisah0711]

Hi I'm Molli and I've been pretty absent on these challenges over the crazy hectic busy summer. Now that I should be home more and back into a routine my goal for Sept is to check in on this thread at least three times a week to keep me motivated and accountable. My weight goal is to lose 5 lbs

I'm a SAHM of a HS senior! time flies! and a DD 22 in college. I work part time as an xray tech at a local doc office. I struggle health-wise with Addisons disease and being steroid dependent which makes losing difficult.

ONWARD AND DOWNWARD!

Molli!

Senior year?!? Time flies!

Hang in there! I know that they will figure out what works for you.

I'm in for the month.

WATP Musings Motivational Monday, September 1, 2014: Please introduce yourself and share your goals for the challenge and how you plan to reach your goals. Remember as always you don't have to share your weight.

Hi! I'm Jennifer, or Jenn for short. I work full time, have a wonderful husband and two kids. I plan on trying to lose at least 5 pounds this month. My goal is to hit the gym at least twice a week, but I'd really like to hit it more than that. My son and daughter both play soccer, my son is in Cub Scouts (I'm the treasurer), and I am the secretary for the PTO. Trying to find time for myself is my biggest challenge. I also plan to be more accurate with my calorie counting on myfitnesspal.

Jenn! Wow busy family life makes it tough for find time for you -- kudos to you for making yourself a priority!

I'm in again! Can't remember what my goal was last month, but know I didn't quite reach it. But I did end the month with a loss, so that's great.

I'm Linda and like Molli I have a high school senior and one in college. DH and I said I'd only sub for the school district as an assistant while kids were home, but a job came open in the kids's elementary office and I got it! I started Friday so a whole new adventure for me. I start late enough in the day that I can still do my regular workout routine in the mornings, but not sure how everything else/life! is going to work out. Because I start late I'm still figuring out breakfast, especially since I get up 4-5 hours before I need to be at work. Two small breakfasts? trial and error I guess.

Good luck!

Linda! Congratulations on the new job! There will be some adjustments but I know you will figure it out.

Lisa, thank you for hosting this month!! And I like your new set up for the musings, looks great to me. You can sign me up for one Monday and one Friday wherever you need me.

MM:

Hi, I am Magdalene. I am in my early 40s, no kids. But a boyfriend who lives an ocean away. I have always struggled with my weight as a kid and a teenager. I managed to lose a lot during my 20s and following this had a lot of ups and downs. I was always able to hit the breaks before I got to what would be considered obese, but far too often I hover around a BMI of 25/26 while I would like to go down a further 15-20 pounds. I seem to be losing the same pounds over and over again as I go from losing weight to not watching what I eat and putting a few pounds back on to losing it again.

I am going to visit my boyfriend over thanksgiving in the US, so my goal is to make sure to lose a nice amount until then. I have recently finished a huge work project that was horribly stressful for the last two years and life should be easier now. I am back into a routine of regular running, still lacking the stamina for longer runs though. But my plan is to keep up running 30 minutes three times a week and hopefully also get a little bit of cross training into it. I also do a lot of walking in my daily life as I am lucky enough to live in a compact European city and I don't own a car.

My goal for this month is to lose 6 pounds. For me this would be quite a big achievement. But I feel I need to challenge myself to stay focussed on my weight loss!

Magdalene! And thank you so much for hostessing our challenges this summer! Thanks for volunteering for the Musings. I plugged you into the schedule and sent you a PM.

Hi all, I'm Sarah!
The August challenge was my first challenge here, and while I ended the month up a drop, I am looking forward to this month and hoping to lose 5 pounds by the end of September.

Since high school, my weight has gone up and down across a 25-pound range, and while I'm in the middle of that range now, I would like to be at the lighter end of the range. Adding exercise into my routine has been relatively easy (I've always enjoyed walking anyway), but eating healthier has been pretty difficult, so I'm working on that right now.

My short-term goal is to be at 130 lb by my Disney trip in November ... after ending August up, I don't know how realistic that will be for me, but I'm still going to try.
My exercise goals for the month are to run 2x/week consistently and log over 200,000 steps on my Fitbit for the month, and log 2,000 exercise minutes for the month.
My nutrtion goals for the month are to have a minimum of 2 fruit/vegetable servings per day, maintain a 4:1 ratio of water to other beverages, and limit second helpings of dishes to vegetable-only foods

Hopefully the combination of lots of exercise and working on improving what I eat will help me reach my goals.

Sarah! Sounds like a great plan to get yourself where you want to be for your Disney trip!

Sorry that I had a missing reply on this yesterday -- the poof fairy and I are having a time lately.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

WATP Musings Motivational Monday, September 1, 2014: Please introduce yourself and share your goals for the challenge and how you plan to reach your goals. Remember as always you don't have to share your weight.

Hi I'm Buffy, I'm a 40 year old never at home mom of 4 kids. this year they are in elementary, middle school, high school, and college. It's the only year that will happen! LOL
I am a co-moderator on the Creative community here on the DIS.

I had done really well this time last year with weight loss but as soon as I stopped running, I got lazy and the weight came right back. I am training for the Glass Slipper challenge plus the 5K again, so it's time to get my behind in gear for good this time.

My goal for this month it to start my training 3 times a week and lose 5 pounds.

 

[Zoesmama03]

I'm in for the month.

WATP Musings Motivational Monday, September 1, 2014: Please introduce yourself and share your goals for the challenge and how you plan to reach your goals. Remember as always you don't have to share your weight.

Hi I'm Melissa I'm 34 and a single mom to an 11 year old girl. Did pretty good in August overall and back for September. I have about 10-15 lbs to go to reach my first mini goal(to get out of these pesky 300s) and the goal date is my birthday Nov 20th. My primary method so far is tracking 90% or better of the time. I'm not perfect but it has worked. I missed a day here and there and then got off track the last two weeks. It slowed my loss to a halt and I even put on for first time in several weeks. I work at exercise but just get lazy about it. This morning my scale said 310 even this past Friday it was 313.4 but my mini goal is to get to 299. Ultimately I want to see 150-160. Last time I was there was probably junior high.


Its been fairly cool in early mornings so its time to start doing some walking but sleep pattern will have to adjust. Going to bed earlier tonight so we can walk outside in morning. For today I think I'll work out on the exercise bike and do some resistance training. Will spend some time this afternoon meal planning so I can grocery shop efficiently. Going to work out more carbs and sugar and work on what it can change on my morning fast blood glucose. It has been scary a few mornings pushing up to 130-140. Last night despite moderate carbs and even brownie it was 111 which is way better. I'm careful to make sure it was 8-10 hours of fasting or I just skip that morning because it will waste the strip for what our purpose is(to find the fasting level so I can work at reducing A1C).

 

[lisah0711]

WATP Musings Motivational Monday, September 1, 2014: Please introduce yourself and share your goals for the challenge and how you plan to reach your goals. Remember as always you don't have to share your weight.

Hi I'm Buffy, I'm a 40 year old never at home mom of 4 kids. this year they are in elementary, middle school, high school, and college. It's the only year that will happen! LOL
I am a co-moderator on the Creative community here on the DIS.

I had done really well this time last year with weight loss but as soon as I stopped running, I got lazy and the weight came right back. I am training for the Glass Slipper challenge plus the 5K again, so it's time to get my behind in gear for good this time.

My goal for this month it to start my training 3 times a week and lose 5 pounds.

Buffy! It's hard to concentrate on yourself when you have a bunch of kiddos all summer. I can't believe that you have one in every school level! You are tough and determined and I know you will get to be where you want by the time Princess rolls around.

Hi I'm Melissa I'm 34 and a single mom to an 11 year old girl. Did pretty good in August overall and back for September. I have about 10-15 lbs to go to reach my first mini goal(to get out of these pesky 300s) and the goal date is my birthday Nov 20th. My primary method so far is tracking 90% or better of the time. I'm not perfect but it has worked. I missed a day here and there and then got off track the last two weeks. It slowed my loss to a halt and I even put on for first time in several weeks. I work at exercise but just get lazy about it. This morning my scale said 310 even this past Friday it was 313.4 but my mini goal is to get to 299. Ultimately I want to see 150-160. Last time I was there was probably junior high.

Its been fairly cool in early mornings so its time to start doing some walking but sleep pattern will have to adjust. Going to bed earlier tonight so we can walk outside in morning. For today I think I'll work out on the exercise bike and do some resistance training. Will spend some time this afternoon meal planning so I can grocery shop efficiently. Going to work out more carbs and sugar and work on what it can change on my morning fast blood glucose. It has been scary a few mornings pushing up to 130-140. Last night despite moderate carbs and even brownie it was 111 which is way better. I'm careful to make sure it was 8-10 hours of fasting or I just skip that morning because it will waste the strip for what our purpose is(to find the fasting level so I can work at reducing A1C).

Melissa! Glad to hear that the weather is cooling and it is more pleasant to work out outside. Sounds like your healthy lifestyle is helping your A1C! Keep up the good work!

 

[Andrea464]

WATP Musings Motivational Monday, September 1, 2014: Please introduce yourself and share your goals for the challenge and how you plan to reach your goals. Remember as always you don't have to share your weight.

Hello!
I'm Andrea.

Goal: Lose at least 5 lbs in September
Method: Cardio (running) with some toning thrown in (squats and kettlebells); Less snacking, better drink choices

Background: Overweight as long as I can remember. I'd had some losses in college but it was unhealthy and I gained it all back plus some. I maxed out at 299 lbs a few years ago but let myself get very close to that again at the end of 2012. I made the decision last year to have weight loss surgery after being diagnosed with hypertension at the ripe age of 32 and having a dream/nightmare than my hemoglobin a1c was 10+. I worked in the cardiac cath lab as a nurse so I was well aware of the risks that my obesity caused and knew heart disease was well known in my family.

I had a sleeve gastrectomy in December 2013. My "honeymoon" period is over- weight doesn't fall off like it did in the beginning. I can easily cheat and eat the wrong foods. I don't cheat often but there is always that fear that I'll screw this up and gain it all back. My doctors called it the honeymoon period and said this is the point where stalls occur. Weight loss can still occur but now the effort has to be put in (not that there wasn't effort before- it's one of the hardest things I've ever done and I want to throat punch anyone who calls it the "easy way out").

I've registered for a half marathon in Cocoa Beach on November 30th. We cruise on the Dream December 1st and then we'll have a stay at AKL after the cruise. My plan is to do a better job of watching what I eat, especially since it's time for all of the good Halloween candy to come out! I've done a few 5k's but have never ran the entire length and cannot run an entire mile yet but I've come so far from where I was. I've registered for several 5k's throughout the fall and a 10k in early November.

My long term goal is to be in "Onederland" by my one year surgery mark (12/19). I'm nervous about this because this will be one week after we return from WDW. I'd love to be at 100 lbs down but I think that might be stretching it into unrealistic time frames or an incredibly strict diet. I'll start with my "at least five" and go from there- at least 5/month will put me in Onderland by my surgeryversary!

ETA- And of course since I've decided to really amp up my training and cardio my body sucker punched me and I have a URI.

 

[ohMom]

hello fellow LOSERS! great to read everyone's intro!

got my big WO in, my regular Wed WO which is 30 mins elliptical and then a strength class. I'm dragging this week and almost didn't go so I'm here to give myself a shout out!

looks like everyone has realistic goals this month and I'm determined to make it happen!! you with me???!!!