WISHing Away the Pounds - 2015 Edition!! Everyone Welcome!

[Flossbolna]

A Very Happy 2015 to All of you and Welcome to WISH Away the Pounds January Challenge

A special welcome to all newcomers!

Please read the complete instructions in post 2, and then let me know if you have any questions.

We are back to a new start in the new year and hope to find lots of people who want to take part in this wonderful support group!

The philosophy behind our 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 and to all the previous hosts who have kept it going!

List of Participants and Results:

Week 2 Results:

Flossbolna 52 %
CharityLynn 29 %
akhaloha 0 %
Mary Poppins 0 %
SarahDisney 0 %
Tasha228 0 %
jillbur 55 %
GrandAdmiralStrife 30 %
dismom301930 0 %
ohMom 73 %
WriteDisney 0 %
MissDisney121 20 %
pixiegirl131415 20 %
DISFam95 0 %

Week 3 Results:

Flossbolna 96 %
CharityLynn 66 %
akhaloha 0 %
Mary Poppins 0 %
SarahDisney 0 %
Tasha228 75 %
jillbur 55 %
GrandAdmiralStrife 70 %
dismom301930 0 %
ohMom 118 %
WriteDisney 40 %
MissDisney121 20 %
pixiegirl131415 82 %
DISFam95 84 %
50sjayne 0 %

 

[Flossbolna]

Welcome to the WISH Away the Pounds January Challenge - Losers and Maintainers welcome!

Quick overview:
Weigh in days

Weigh in Days--Weight Loss
PM Weight to Flossbolna
January 1 (starting weight AND pounds lost goal for month in the subject line of your PM, i.e. Weigh In 8/1 145 start goal 5)
January 9 (present weight in the subject line of your PM, i.e. W/I 8/8 144)
January 16
January 23
January 31 (last chance)

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

Weigh in Days--Maintainers:
January 1 (pm starting weight, maintain range, and goal for the month; i.e. in the subject line 145, range 141-149, goal 4 weeks)
January 9 (present weight in the subject line of your PM, i.e. W/I 8/8 144)
January 16
January 23
January 31 (last chance)

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

PM weights to Flossbolna. 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 replaced 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 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.

On January 1st you will pm Flossbolna (hostess for January) your starting weight AND your goal for the month. On all Fridays of the month you can pm Flossbolna an updated weight. Final weigh in is January 31. On Monday nights the thread will be updated with percentage toward goal.

Here is an example of what the stats will look like.

Updated August 8, 2014
Minnie Mouse 25.00%
Daisy Duck 12.00%
Goofy 0.00 %
Donald Duck 33.33%
Mickey Mouse 40.00%

Weight Loss Goals:
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!

 

[Flossbolna]

MUSINGS and HEALTHY HABITS

In order to help along discussions we will have two additional features that will help along with our common goal of weight loss!

WATP Musings

How do these work? Those will be questions/topics for everyone to debate on the thread. We will have a set schedule:

Motivational Monday
Wellbeing Wednesday
Fitness Friday

As you can guess, these questions will cover different topics that are important for weight loss: motivation, exercise and emotional well-being.

Healthy Habits

In addition to the general weight loss challenge, we will have a weekly challenge to create healthy habits! Those will always start on Fridays and they will run for the whole week. Those will help us to focus on one thing that helps with weight loss for a specific amount of time. And the great thing is that even if the scale does not want to move, following one of the Healthy Habits for a week is something that does not depend on the scale, but just on our own willpower!

Healthy Habit Week 1 Results:

SarahDisney: 75%
Flossbolna: 100%


Future challenges

During 2014 the WATP challenge format seems to have lost some of its pull, but we hope to revive it with the start of a new year!

But these challenges don't run themselves -- it takes a lot of effort from everyone especially our hostesses. We need hostesses for future challenges. Any volunteers?

Future challenge hosts:
Februar 2015: Pam
March 2015:
April 2015: ohMom
May 2015:

These challenges are "run" by volunteers and it takes everyone participating to make a successful challenge.

Thanks to all who have volunteered to coach and host!

 

[Flossbolna]

Hello everyone again!!

I hope you all got over the Christmas eating without too much of a damage!! Here is our new and shiny thread for the start of 2015! I hope to see plenty of people joining in!

I will start you off with a Wellbeing Wednesday (even if it is still Tuesday...)

These challenges provide a wonderful support group for all of us wanting to lose weight. And in order to be able to support each other, it is good to know a little more about all of us participants.

So, please introduce yourself, tell us something about why you want to lose weight (and as an additional exercise, try to say it in a positive way ) and what your biggest challenges are!

 

[Flossbolna]

So, please introduce yourself, tell us something about why you want to lose weight (and as an additional exercise, try to say it in a positive way ) and what your biggest challenges are!

Hi, I am Magdalene. I live in Germany (and am German), so I am posting at odd hours from a US perspective. I have struggled with weight for most of my life, I was a "fat" child in the 70s when nearly no child was fat. However, I never let it get really bad. I seem to hover a lot around a BMI of 26 and my goal is it that 2015 will be the year that I can fit into that lovely suede mini skirt I bought from a fashion store in London in 1998 when I was at my lowest weight ever! My biggest challenge is lunch. I live on my own as I have a long-distance relationship and I love going out for lunch with my colleagues as it provides my social interaction of the day. And with that comes a daily temptation to eat food that is high in calorie and not even that tasty... But the company is nice!

 

[SarahDisney]

I will start you off with a Wellbeing Wednesday (even if it is still Tuesday...)

These challenges provide a wonderful support group for all of us wanting to lose weight. And in order to be able to support each other, it is good to know a little more about all of us participants.

So, please introduce yourself, tell us something about why you want to lose weight (and as an additional exercise, try to say it in a positive way ) and what your biggest challenges are!

Is it really only Tuesday? Feels like Wednesday to me (my days kind of meld together), so I'll "answer" this today.

Hi all, I'm Sarah. Born and bred in NYC, and still living with my parents (technically in NYC, but also kind of the burbs - we're in what's called the "outer boroughs," which is a nice mix of city and suburb). I've struggled with my weight since I was in high school, never being more than 20-30 lbs overweight, but never being where I wanted either. In high school I had a lot of friends who were "naturally skinny," so it was hard being the girl who was a little overweight. I tried all sorts of diets, but didn't manage to lose any weight until college (I think it was the combination of having a treadmill in the building and the fact that I hated the cafeteria food). For about 3-4 years I was only about 7-10 lbs above my goal weight, but a few circumstances (including stress & some medication changes) led me to regain all of the weight I had lost in college and a little more. In the past 2-3 years I've managed to lose some of that weight, but I still have a little ways to go. There are a lot of things in my life that I can't control, but I'd love to get to a point where I can say that my weight is something I have under control.

One of the greatest triumphs I've had over the past year or so is a partial victory over stress-eating. Food used to be my default answer to stress (specifically, high-calorie flavored lattes and chocolate). I still eat a little when I'm stressed, but not quite as much as I used to - which is a great victory for me! I'm hoping that 2015 is a year of even greater victories for me (and for everyone else here too!)

Hi, I am Magdalene. I live in Germany (and am German), so I am posting at odd hours from a US perspective. I have struggled with weight for most of my life, I was a "fat" child in the 70s when nearly no child was fat. However, I never let it get really bad. I seem to hover a lot around a BMI of 26 and my goal is it that 2015 will be the year that I can fit into that lovely suede mini skirt I bought from a fashion store in London in 1998 when I was at my lowest weight ever! My biggest challenge is lunch. I live on my own as I have a long-distance relationship and I love going out for lunch with my colleagues as it provides my social interaction of the day. And with that comes a daily temptation to eat food that is high in calorie and not even that tasty... But the company is nice!

7 AM isn't that weird of a time! But it's nice to have someone posting at "odd hours" - gives me something to read when I wake up. Lunch with your colleagues sounds like it's a lot of fun - but I definitely understand why it can be hard!

 

[CharityLynn]

So, please introduce yourself, tell us something about why you want to lose weight (and as an additional exercise, try to say it in a positive way ) and what your biggest challenges are!

Hi there, my name is Charity. I've been overweight my entire adult life, as a child and teen I was thin. Having kids and a wonky thyroid changed all of that. In 2014 I was able to get a lot of thing done as far as my weight, I lost 24ish pounds. Mostly thanks to my job, I am a guest service manager for the local zoo. Which requires a lot of walking from April-August that was all I did different and I was able to drop about 10lbs. The other 14 ish I dropped with Weight Watchers and in November I started going to the gym.

I say "ish" because my weight keeps hovering ffrom 250.2 -252lbs. 249 is tauntung me lol I think right now I just want below the 250 mark.

Obviously the main reason I want to lose weight is to be healthier and to feel good about myself.My husband and kids deserve a Mom who is happy with who she is, how she looks, and a Mom who feels good. Another reason (it is a bit silly) my husband and I are geeks/nerds whatever in 2013 we started going to C2E2 a comic/entertainment convention in Chicago. Well this year we are going to dress up (cosplay) and I really want to look my best.

As far as challenges, our food budget is a major challenge. My job ended in November (will start again in March) so we are back down tgo one income. Also Michigan Winters are a major challenge. But I think I can overcome them, especially since I have already gotten into a gym habit (go 3-4 times a week for 30min to 1 hour) and really enjoy and crave the gym.

Ok i typed alot lol I'll end it now.

 

[jkostlevy]

Hi everyone. My name is Jordan and I'm in Wisconsin. Weight has been a struggle for me since high school. I lost 150 lb prior to getting pregnant with my daughter and now 8 years later, I am back up 100. I am frustrated with myself and ready to get this weight back off. I fell in love with running about 5 years ago (when I weighed much less!) but am dealing with Achilles' tendon issues, so I am unable to do run currently. My other main challenge is time!

 

[Flossbolna]

Healthy Habit

Sorry, that I am a bit late, I intended to post this yesterday, but got a horrible headache to start the year. But here we are:

Your Healthy Habit for the first week of the year!

After the holiday season with all its indulgences it is time to refocus on what kind of foods we should eat. One recommendation is to eat FIVE portions of vegetable and fruit a day. So, this is your healthy habit challenge for the week! Since I am a day late to post it, you will get a full score if you manage to report back with 6 days hitting the goal of 5 a day!

A great resource as to what counts (dried fruit and canned vegetables count as well for example) and how to incorporate your portions can be found here: http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/5aday/Pages/5ADAYhome.aspx

So, good luck in finding a lot of veggies and fruits that you like in the next week - maybe this challenge will even encourage you to try something new!

 

[Flossbolna]

Is it really only Tuesday? Feels like Wednesday to me (my days kind of meld together), so I'll "answer" this today.

Hi all, I'm Sarah. Born and bred in NYC, and still living with my parents (technically in NYC, but also kind of the burbs - we're in what's called the "outer boroughs," which is a nice mix of city and suburb). I've struggled with my weight since I was in high school, never being more than 20-30 lbs overweight, but never being where I wanted either. In high school I had a lot of friends who were "naturally skinny," so it was hard being the girl who was a little overweight. I tried all sorts of diets, but didn't manage to lose any weight until college (I think it was the combination of having a treadmill in the building and the fact that I hated the cafeteria food). For about 3-4 years I was only about 7-10 lbs above my goal weight, but a few circumstances (including stress & some medication changes) led me to regain all of the weight I had lost in college and a little more. In the past 2-3 years I've managed to lose some of that weight, but I still have a little ways to go. There are a lot of things in my life that I can't control, but I'd love to get to a point where I can say that my weight is something I have under control.

One of the greatest triumphs I've had over the past year or so is a partial victory over stress-eating. Food used to be my default answer to stress (specifically, high-calorie flavored lattes and chocolate). I still eat a little when I'm stressed, but not quite as much as I used to - which is a great victory for me! I'm hoping that 2015 is a year of even greater victories for me (and for everyone else here too!)

Well done on getting over the stress eating! That is one of my big problems, too! I have gotten better, but would not say I managed to get over it. But I find that it is easier for me to get out of it once I started the stress eating.

Hi there, my name is Charity. I've been overweight my entire adult life, as a child and teen I was thin. Having kids and a wonky thyroid changed all of that. In 2014 I was able to get a lot of thing done as far as my weight, I lost 24ish pounds. Mostly thanks to my job, I am a guest service manager for the local zoo. Which requires a lot of walking from April-August that was all I did different and I was able to drop about 10lbs. The other 14 ish I dropped with Weight Watchers and in November I started going to the gym.

I say "ish" because my weight keeps hovering ffrom 250.2 -252lbs. 249 is tauntung me lol I think right now I just want below the 250 mark.

Obviously the main reason I want to lose weight is to be healthier and to feel good about myself.My husband and kids deserve a Mom who is happy with who she is, how she looks, and a Mom who feels good. Another reason (it is a bit silly) my husband and I are geeks/nerds whatever in 2013 we started going to C2E2 a comic/entertainment convention in Chicago. Well this year we are going to dress up (cosplay) and I really want to look my best.

As far as challenges, our food budget is a major challenge. My job ended in November (will start again in March) so we are back down tgo one income. Also Michigan Winters are a major challenge. But I think I can overcome them, especially since I have already gotten into a gym habit (go 3-4 times a week for 30min to 1 hour) and really enjoy and crave the gym.

Ok i typed alot lol I'll end it now.

Charity! Seems like you are on a good track! Congratulations on your loss so far! I think your cosplay goal is a great one to keep you motivated! Any ideas as to what you want to dress up?

And having a routine of going to the gym is a great way to battle the winter! Your summer job sounds really cool though! Walking through the zoo every day must be really nice. Of course you probably have to deal with all kind of not so pleasant incidents as a guest services person though...

Hi everyone. My name is Jordan and I'm in Wisconsin. Weight has been a struggle for me since high school. I lost 150 lb prior to getting pregnant with my daughter and now 8 years later, I am back up 100. I am frustrated with myself and ready to get this weight back off. I fell in love with running about 5 years ago (when I weighed much less!) but am dealing with Achilles' tendon issues, so I am unable to do run currently. My other main challenge is time!

Jordan!

Sorry that running is not an option for you currently! Have you considered some alternative exercise? I know that plenty of us on these threads enjoy a variety of fitness DVDs.

 

[Flossbolna]

Fitness Friday!

A fitness question to start us off into the challenge: Ever since I got a fitbit last summer, I am surprised how inactive I am for large stretches of the day. This has encouraged me to incorporate more activity in my daily life. Have you ever thought about this, are there things that you do consciously to incorporate more activity in your life? Have you ideas on how to do that?

 

[SarahDisney]

Hi all! Just a quick drop-in for me, as I have to start my vacumming soon.

Charity and Jordan!

Fruits and veggies is always a hard one for me ... I don't know why, because there are a lot of fruits and vegetables that I really like, I just don't really incorporate them into my meals. I think I will have an apple for snack in a little bit, so that's a good start.

Fitness Friday!

A fitness question to start us off into the challenge: Ever since I got a fitbit last summer, I am surprised how inactive I am for large stretches of the day. This has encouraged me to incorporate more activity in my daily life. Have you ever thought about this, are there things that you do consciously to incorporate more activity in your life? Have you ideas on how to do that?

I have the same thing with the fitbit - I got it and assumed I'd be in the 7,000-10,000 range every day, and was shocked to discover that there were days when I was only getting 2,000-3,000 steps and hours where I only got 20-30 steps an hour (sometimes less).

I try to just get up and move around more - when I'm having trouble focusing (happens a lot with me), I used to just try playing a game of solitaire or something on the computer to "reset" my brain, but these days I get up and walk around a bit instead. I also tend to walk around when I'm on the phone ... that's more of a nervous habit, but it also helps me get up and move a bit more.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

 

[ohMom]

Happy New Year and Go Bucks!

I'm late to join, but I want too!

Hi, I'm Molli, i'm 42 y/o SAHM and part-time xray tech (couple shifts a month) I'm so very much looking forward to 2015 as I have some fantastic travel plans and my youngest daughter graduates HS. Last year was not a banner year on my weight loss journey, but i'm hopeful that with recent changes in my meds this year will be the year I hit my goal I'm hormonally challenged due to surgically losing most of my pituitary gland and both of my adrenal glands, making me steroid dependent for life. The onset of my illness packed over 55 lbs on me, and i'm down to about 20 - 25 left to lose. To be honest I have not weighed myself in a couple months I will do so after this weekend....i'm giving myself this weekend to clean out the leftover holiday foods, and by that I mean throw away what's left come Sunday. Decemeber physically kicked my butt and with that I didn't have much appetite. I know that I overindulged still, but i'm hoping the damage won't be too bad. I wasn't able to make it to the gym for three weeks but this past week I made it twice. My gym is closed today and tomorrow though.

Magdalene for hosting!
can you explain more what tracking the weekly weigh-ins looks like for the coach? is there an excel spreadsheet that is around to just plug in the numbers and names? I'd like to volunteer but as you all know I can be unreliable if my Addison's flares up

Fitness Friday -- I also bought a fitbit a couple years ago and I have days where I'm shocked at how little I moved! it encourages me to get my steps and walk my dog, which makes her more pleasant as she's still young and needs to burn off the energy

 

[CharityLynn]

Charity! Seems like you are on a good track! Congratulations on your loss so far! I think your cosplay goal is a great one to keep you motivated! Any ideas as to what you want to dress up?

And having a routine of going to the gym is a great way to battle the winter! Your summer job sounds really cool though! Walking through the zoo every day must be really nice. Of course you probably have to deal with all kind of not so pleasant incidents as a guest services person though...

We're dressing up as Human Twilight Sparkle and BlueBlood form My Little Pony Friendship is Magic lol Next year we are looking at Starlord and Kitty Pryde. Like I said we're nerds lol

I love my job at the zoo I have been there for 7 years now and after some changes the past two years I am definately walking a lot more. Not everyone can just go and watch the Black Bears or Red Pandas while working. Sometimes I even give the carousel guy a break and run the carousel which is a lot of fun with the kids. I'm really lucky.

but yes as with every public job, the guests can sometimes be pains but in general its not too bad. But I have some stories lol

 

[CharityLynn]

I will really try the fruit and veggie thing but this is a bad week with out food budget so not really counting on it, I will however make an effort to eat as many as I can. It is something I really need to be more consious of.

as for

Fitness Friday!

A fitness question to start us off into the challenge: Ever since I got a fitbit last summer, I am surprised how inactive I am for large stretches of the day. This has encouraged me to incorporate more activity in my daily life. Have you ever thought about this, are there things that you do consciously to incorporate more activity in your life? Have you ideas on how to do that?


I got mt FitBit Flex late last Summer and for the most part during my work season I have no issues making my 10,000 steps. But in the off season I am finding it much harder. If I go to the gym I tend to get over 6,000 but if I don't I am lucky to hit 4,000. SO I really need to step up the pace. I really try and go to the gym mainly so I can see the fitbit results. This device has been super helpful for me.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Thanks for hosting Magdalene!!
I'm back in for 2015, time to get my butt back in gear.
I will PM you my weight tomorrow, I didn't get on the scale today, but I did so my measurements yeasts day, they were not pretty!!!

 

[jillbur]

I'm back! I sort of dropped off the Dis for a few months while I started my new job. I'm Jill, 38, wife and mom to DS11 and DS8. I am a special education teacher that took a new job in a new school district working with a completely different age group. It was a stressful couple months and with a new schedule, my exercise completely suffered I'm ready for 2015 and I am up about 10 pounds since August

Oh, and did I mention that I am having some neck and shoulder issues so my doctor has me on no upper body exercises for at least another week! I guess it'll be cardio and some lower body stuff for now. And, lots of water, veggies, and fruits.

I'm not sure how often I will be able to post, but I am going to try a couple times a week or more. Thanks for the thread Magdalene and I'm so happy to be back to familiar and new "faces."

Jill

 

[GrandAdmiralStrife]

I'm back as well!

I'm Derek, 42 year old dad of an energetic toddler (who just turned 2 on 1/1) who works overnights and watches the little one during the day while mommy is at work, so yeah, I don't get sleep.

Starting weight 226.5, looking to lose a pound a week for the year (end goal 175 at year's end)

 

[SarahDisney]

Molli, Buffy, Jill and Derek!

Molli - In terms of the hosting, you can set it up however you want. When I hosted last month we didn't even track weigh-ins, just chatted. I'm waiting a little bit to see if my schedule normalizes before I volunteer again, but if I do I'd probably just set up an excel spreadsheet for myself to help track it all (I'm an excel fanatic). The great things about these challenges is that the host/hostess can set it up in whatever way works for them!

Charity - I love those costume ideas! So cute! And I have a similar thing with the Fitbit - on days when I have concrete plans, it's not hard to make 10,000 steps, but other days I really struggle to get there. But it really is great to be able to see how I'm doing!

Jill - Starting a new job can definitely be hard - it's easy for exercise and healthy eating to suffer when you've got a new job to worry about. It's great that you're back here and I hope your neck and shoulder are better soon so that you can get back to upper body exercises!

Derek - 1 pound a week is a great goal! Running after the toddler counts as exercise, right? I hope he keeps you active and you can reach your goal this year!

Not a great couple of days for me. I got my 5 fruit/veggie servings in yesterday, but not today. At least my 10-minute exercise streak is at 7 days! I've got 2 runs planned for this week and a walk to Starbucks on the schedule (serves the double purpose of exercise and getting me out of the house on a day when I normally don't get out of the house), which is good. I've been working on my meal plan for the week, trying to get 5 servings in each day. Hopefully I can do it!

 

[GrandAdmiralStrife]

Signed the wife and myself up for the Austin Statesman Cap 10K in April. This will be the first time in a 10K for either of us. We'll be walking it, not running, but it's still timed so it'll be a great baseline for us to work with, we'd like to eventually do a runDisney event.