WISH Away the Pounds--January 2013 challenge--Everyone Welcome!

[pjlla]

My greatest accomplishment was losing 90 pounds in 2010 and ending an abusive relationship.

My favorite memory i have 2. The first was in 1987 my second trip and i was 10 years old. I believe they were celebrating the 15th anniversary still. When we came thru the turnstile we were a winner. My mom was having trouble with her eyes that trip and was wearing like 6 pairs of sunglasses well the CM must have thought she was blind because he started to yell directions to her as to where to go to claim our prize. Ill never forget that.

Second memory was in 1998 when i took my daughter for her very first trip! Just her reactions were incredible.

Both of your answers are amazing! Congratulations on taking off the weight and on making a tough but necessary break! You are a strong lady!

Any particular moment with your DD stand out?

Greatest personal accomplishment: Quit smoking!! I started very young (12ish!) and was finally able to stop when I was 33. That was just over 10 years ago. Never mind that was when I gained all my weight... LOL

That is a HUGE accomplishment! Now to tackle the post-smoking weight gain and you will be golden! You should be so proud! .........P

 

[goofyfigment]

Any particular moment with your DD stand out?

When we were at seaworld and she was selected to be part of the dolphin show ( i lied about her age, they asked me if she was 6 and i said yes, she was only 4) she was able to go up on the stage and do tricks with the dolphins, feed them and all that fun stuff. One of the employees had a camera and took lots of pictures and gave us the camera to be developed after the show. It was truly an amazing day! She was also picked later in the day to pet Shamu. She was such a cutie pie when she was younger

 

[tarzansmom]

Hi erveryone! I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. Here in Europe the Saturday is nearly over already.

But it was a very successful day for me. First I got a shock when I stepped on the scale - but a positive one. If the scale is to be believed I have already reached my 5 pound goal for this month. Don't ask me how and why. I am not reporting this weight yet even though for myself I had decided that the Saturday weight would be the one that I am reporting. I will see if the scale still confirms this tomorrow. I can only think that the weight I gained over Christmas must have been a lot of water that I retained from not eating healthy and not so much fat. So after a first week where I did not lose anything now the water just decided to come off within one week. Anyway - whatever the scale says tomorrow, I already feel that my jeans do fit much better again and that's the important thing!

I then also ventured out to buy new running shoes. My old ones have been bugging me for quite some time. When I bought them I did not run nearly as much and as long distances as I do now (still not in the half marathon league, more the 10k one). And I got very cushioned ones. I think I have now progressed beyond those and wanted less of that cushion feeling. But new running shoes are expensive and I thought as long as I can run in them I ought to use them. But on my last run I felt sooo uncomfortable in the shoes, so I spontaneously decided to get new ones. I have this excellent specialised shop here and after trying on and trying out (they let you run around the block to try them out) I ended up with these beautiful shoes:



Yes, they are going to blind everyone who sees me running in them!!!

Actually I think they are kind of cool and they motivated me to manage to fit a run into a rather busy day today. And I feel great for that! They are Asics GT-2000, I had Asics before, seems to be a company that makes their shoes in the right shape for my foot.

Love the shoes! I am in the market for running shoes- used to run but haven't in over a year, time to get back to it and awesome shoes might be just what I need!

 

[tarzansmom]

Playing catchup with the QOTD...

First the intro
Kinda did this a few pages back but could definitely do better

I am Lara, a 33 year old sahm of one son who turns 10 in a couple months. I have been married 11 years in march and my husband is great but not the most supportive with dieting. I live in the burbs of pittsburgh. I have always had issues with weight and body image. As a teen I struggled with anorexia and still have troubles every now and then but my husband fights them. I was never really overweight until 8 years ago when I started on clomid. That shot packed on the pounds. 100 lbs in one year. I stopped it but then went through a difficult depression over our infertility issues. That led us to adoption and we met our son and finalized his adoption in 2006. By this point, I knew I was fat but my life had other focuses. Over the next few years, I put on more weight. By 2011, I was at my highest weight ever 250 lbs. that year I got very into running, went to the gym every day and weight became an obsession. By the end of 2011, I was at 176 lbs. 2012 was a hard year. It began with surgery to remove most of my uterus followed by chemo and radiation. I lost nearly all my muscle, strength and stamina. I was on the road to cancer recovery, but depression set in once more. I can't say I quite caring about my weight but my efforts were sporadic. In august, I started working toward my goals but its been very hard. I have so little strength and one mile feels like a marathon. I am hoping maybe with support, I can meet my goals.

My goal
I would love to be the 110 lbs I was in high school but I am not sure that is realistic. So my goal is to get healthier, increase strength and stamina and get to a healthy weight. I would also like to feel good about my body but for me I think it will take more than weight loss to make that happen.

Trigger foods
Starbucks- yep frappes are a major weakness. Also ice cream, Ben & Jerry's makes an amazing coffee ice cream that I love.

Diet Plan
Tried them all with no real success (not long term anyway) so planning to stay under 1200 calories and trying to eat 3x a day atleast.

Exercise goal
1 hour daily exercise but struggling with this

How often weigh
Haven't weighed very often but might start to see if it helps motivate me

Fave veggie
Brusselsprouts- though to be fair I love all of em

Handle situations u can't control
Badly... I hate not being in control. I worry like crazy, don't sleep for days, it's really a struggle.

Weekends, easy or hard
The worst... Dh prods me constantly to eat and cook, cook and eat. And this weekend BIL messed up my diet being super nice and bringing pizza, beer, a tiramisu home last night. He lives in our mil suite while in college

Meal plan
I plan out dinners because I do a great deal of make ahead meals and shop once a month

Snack or 3 meals
This one is hard because it is inconsistent. Some days I force myself just to eat a few bites at every meal, others I feel like I could graze all day. Think this adds to my inability to lose.

Most proud of, struggled with
I am not sure I have any accomplishments that I am really proud of I am kind of a negative nelly when it comes to me. I am struggling with a lot right now, to much to list but the big one is sleep. I manage 3 hours st most a night not because I choose to but because I can't turn off my brain.

Well now you have my life story, lol. My positives for the day
I am a cancer survivor!
I have a great family!
I have a beautiful home.

 

[dismagiclover]

QOTD for Saturday, January 12, 2013:

What do you consider your greatest personal accomplishment (other than your children)? Can be work, school, life-related, etc.


Bonus QOTD: What is your top #1 favorite family Disney memory? You know, that special moment that brought tears to your eyes!

.....................P

So I'm new around here, but I figured I'd chime in. My greatest personal accomplishment not related to family is my completion of a marathon. Incredibly difficult, but incredibly satisfying. And I mean it when I say if I can do it almost anyone can. Here is a picture right after I got my Mickey medal!

My #1 favorite Disney family memory is tough. I have so many. I think I'll go with the personal tour Minnie Mouse gave to my then 7 year old daughter. She grabbed her hand at Toontown rope drop and walked her through her house. Minnie showed her all the little details. She especially loved her kitchen.

Good luck to everyone with this week's weigh in. I hope the scale is kind. Can't wait to see more changing colors.

 

[MelanieC]

Hey everyone!

It feels like a long time. Rather than go back and try to catch up (that seems a bit daunting), I"ll just jump in and try to keep up from this point.

For those that don't know me I'll re-introduce myself. I'm Melanie (DUH), and I'm 43! I haven't been on the DIS for a bit because we went to Colorado, South Dakota, Wyoming & Montana last summer for vacation. Hubby still wants one more summer of vacations away from Disney this summer and then we get to go back. I think this summer is Nevada, Utah and Arizona.

I've been a member of WISH way back in the olden days when it was pretty new, and even did the Inaugural "WISH" Disney Marathon back in 2005. Oh what a fun trip and life changing trip and race that was. So wow, that was a few years ago. I lost 35 pounds last year and gained a few back this past Nov/Dec. I'm working on getting that back off and finishing and finally getting back to my goal. I'm determined this year to DO IT!!

Looking forward to getting to know those I don't know and reconnect with those I do!!

 

[tarzansmom]

Playing catchup with the QOTD...

First the intro
Kinda did this a few pages back but could definitely do better

I am Lara, a 33 year old sahm of one son who turns 10 in a couple months. I have been married 11 years in march and my husband is great but not the most supportive with dieting. I live in the burbs of pittsburgh. I have always had issues with weight and body image. As a teen I struggled with anorexia and still have troubles every now and then but my husband fights them. I was never really overweight until 8 years ago when I started on clomid. That shot packed on the pounds. 100 lbs in one year. I stopped it but then went through a difficult depression over our infertility issues. That led us to adoption and we met our son and finalized his adoption in 2006. By this point, I knew I was fat but my life had other focuses. Over the next few years, I put on more weight. By 2011, I was at my highest weight ever 250 lbs. that year I got very into running, went to the gym every day and weight became an obsession. By the end of 2011, I was at 176 lbs. 2012 was a hard year. It began with surgery to remove most of my uterus followed by chemo and radiation. I lost nearly all my muscle, strength and stamina. I was on the road to cancer recovery, but depression set in once more. I can't say I quite caring about my weight but my efforts were sporadic. In august, I started working toward my goals but its been very hard. I have so little strength and one mile feels like a marathon. I am hoping maybe with support, I can meet my goals.

My goal
I would love to be the 110 lbs I was in high school but I am not sure that is realistic. So my goal is to get healthier, increase strength and stamina and get to a healthy weight. I would also like to feel good about my body but for me I think it will take more than weight loss to make that happen.

Trigger foods
Starbucks- yep frappes are a major weakness. Also ice cream, Ben & Jerry's makes an amazing coffee ice cream that I love.

Diet Plan
Tried them all with no real success (not long term anyway) so planning to stay under 1200 calories and trying to eat 3x a day atleast.

Exercise goal
1 hour daily exercise but struggling with this

How often weigh
Haven't weighed very often but might start to see if it helps motivate me

Fave veggie
Brusselsprouts- though to be fair I love all of em

Handle situations u can't control
Badly... I hate not being in control. I worry like crazy, don't sleep for days, it's really a struggle.

Weekends, easy or hard
The worst... Dh prods me constantly to eat and cook, cook and eat. And this weekend BIL messed up my diet being super nice and bringing pizza, beer, a tiramisu home last night. He lives in our mil suite while in college

Meal plan
I plan out dinners because I do a great deal of make ahead meals and shop once a month

Snack or 3 meals
This one is hard because it is inconsistent. Some days I force myself just to eat a few bites at every meal, others I feel like I could graze all day. Think this adds to my inability to lose.

Most proud of, struggled with
I am not sure I have any accomplishments that I am really proud of I am kind of a negative nelly when it comes to me. I am struggling with a lot right now, to much to list but the big one is sleep. I manage 3 hours st most a night not because I choose to but because I can't turn off my brain.

Well now you have my life story, lol. My positives for the day
I am a cancer survivor!
I have a great family!
I have a beautiful home.

Oh and my real kryptonite- carbs. Just looking at my fitness pal, you can see I eat mostly carbs. A piece of toast with a tbsp peanut butter or cereal. Lean cuisine pizza, slim fast coffee, I should prob drop the carbs.

 

[tarzansmom]

Oh, missed the favorite disney memory QOTD

It's a toss up between my disneymoon and my sons 1st trip. My disneymoon was my first ever trip and just walking into mk and seeing the castle for the 1st time was amazing. Just thinking about it brings tears of joy. Of course watching my son experience the magic was equally amazing.

 

[Eliza32]

I'm also playing catchup with the QOTD...

I'm Eliza (no kidding!), I'm 49, married with 1 cat!! I work as a Health & Safety Advisor for a healthcare company with 1400 staff, so I'm quite busy.

I decided at Christmas, that in November 2013 I was not going to be fat and fifty! I've joined Slimming World, which is the UKs number one slimming club (Think it's available only in Texas in the US???). I did it 3 years ago and lost 4 and a half stone (63lb to you guys) but then after our trip to see Mickey I let it all slip back on again. My actual starting weight on Wednesday was only 2lb lower than my starting weight 3 years ago!. I've always dieted for a target in the past....trip to Disney.....trip to Spain, whatever. This time, no target, just doing it for me. OH is very supportive - he eats the same thing I do, and does not put temptation in my way. 3 years ago, he lost the same as me, but has only put about half of it back on.

So, onward

My goal
To weigh less so that I can enjoy camping more and feel better in myself on a daily basis.

Trigger foods
Good old British chocolate I'm afraid. Anything with Cadbury on it screams out to me!

Diet Plan
Slimming World

Exercise goal
2 30 minutes brisk walk a week would be a good start

How often weigh
Weekly, at slimming class

Fave veggie
Carrots, so versatile. Raw in sticks, grated in salads, cooked, mashed, you name it. so tasty too.

Handle situations u can't control
Face it, no good running away, just get it over with

Weekends, easy or hard
Easy - it's when I do my planning, shopping and cooking for the week ahead.

Meal plan
Weekly, with a few tweaks depending on leftovers and how much fruit we get through (keep having to buy more, particularly bananas!)

Snack or 3 meals
3 meals with planned snacks mid morning and mid afternoon

Most proud of, struggled with
That at the age of 48 I started a degree at University (never did higher education in my teens), passed the first year and hopefully looking good for second year (I have an exam on Thursday!!!) Also proud that I have been happily married for 19 years......not something that a lot of my generation in the UK can say sadly

OK, well I think that's me for now......once exam is over on THursday I will try to keep up!!!

 

[jillbur]

QOTD for Friday, January 11, 2013:

Here is my list of ten things to do when the cravings strike hard. What can you add to it??


1. Brush and floss your teeth. Who wants to mess up such nice clean teeth?


2. Go to bed. If it is near bedtime, just get away from the kitchen and go to sleep!


3. Throw away the food. If it is that much of a temptation it probably shouldn't be in the house.


4. Go back and read day#1 of your food journal, look at your "before" picture, find a great "after" outfit... do SOMETHING to bring back that feeling of "I CAN DO THIS!"


5. Go for a walk or play an active game (Wii, charades, Simon Says) with your family.


6. Indulge in another loved activity (other than eating ) such as scrapbooking, genealogy research, trip planning, bike riding... preferably something that isn't conducive to eating (which is why I didn't mention television or reading).


7. Go online window shopping and pick 3 outfits you would like to wear when you get to goal. Print pictures for your fridge or save on a Pinterest board.


8. Speaking of Pinterest... head over and check out the "Health and Fitness" board. If all of those ab photos don't stop the eating, nothing will!


9. Clean out a drawer, cupboard, shelf, or closet. Plan an OP treat for when you have successfully completed the task.


10. Come here to our group and chat! Vent about the craving (or the emotional situation that is causing the craving). Or stop by another thread on your favorite Disboards area and help someone else out.... offer a suggestion for a problem, an idea, etc. Helping someone else always makes us feel better about ourselves. ...................P

Other than the things you have listed, I chew gum. Especially when I am at work and craving something sugary (usually chocolate). If I chew a piece of mint gum & drink water, I usually can forget about that craving.

Hi all!! Not sure if anyone will remember, but I was part of the BL challenge last year. Anyway, at that time I was planning for my family's first ever trip to DLR. Well we made it!! And had the most wonderful week of our lives!! In fact, DBF bad the biggest surprise in store and proposed in front of the castle on our magic morning! Very exciting And here I am needing to lose weight now before the wedding. Hope I can join in, I spent the last 2 days (in my free time anyway) catching up on the thread. I know Rose is at WDW competing the.marathon right now (so exciting!) so I will pm her for when she gets back. Just had a few minutes pop in and say hello, I will come back later to answer some QOTDs!

Congrats on the engagement. How magical to be proposed to in front of the castle. He's a keeper

QOTD for Saturday, January 12, 2013:

What do you consider your greatest personal accomplishment (other than your children)? Can be work, school, life-related, etc.


Bonus QOTD: What is your top #1 favorite family Disney memory? You know, that special moment that brought tears to your eyes!

.....................P

My greatest accomplishment is quitting smoking cold turkey the day I found out I was pregnant with DS9.

I have two favorite memories. #1 is my first trip to WDW. It was just MK & Epcot then & my whole family (mom, sister, aunt, uncle, cousins) decided not to go to the parks for day 3 & swim at the hotel instead My dad & I went to MK by ourselves & I remember riding PotC with him & having so much fun! that was 30 years ago! #2 is watching my kids meet characters for the first time. DSs told Belle all about Nerf guns & invited the Beast over to our house for a Nerf fight. And, DS4 (at the time) told Snow White she was beautiful.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Saturday! Well, the scale was not my friend this week, but I can only blame myself & my poor eating the night before weigh in. I was not in the mood to cook & I was exhausted. For some reason, I woke up at 4 am everyday this week! So, DH wanted pizza and we got pierogie pizza & a cheese pizza. I love pierogie pizza. With bacon. And, we haven't had it for about a year! Oh goodness, it is NOT healthy by any means & all those carbs added to my weight But, I plan to kick butt this week. I was looking at our plans for the week & it looks like I can only get to the gym on Tuesday. I have an appt Monday, a Pto meeting Wed., and DS has an orthodontist appt Thurs. Bah! I am hoping it'll be nice enough for a walk or I will do a dvd at home.

I hope all the runners are having a good time at Disney. I am sooooo hoping to do the princess half next year. I just hate running in the cold & snow & that's when I would be training. I have to figure something out. Any advice?

I am off to do some Disney planning (leaving in 13 days, but who's counting ) and laundry I'll check in again tomorrow!

Jill

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Well I had another fun dining adventure at Buffalo Wild Wings, with my 2 dd's and I.

I asked for the nutritional menu and they do not have one. I said aren't they required to have one by law? He didn't know and neither did I. Anyone know the answer to that question?

They had free WiFI so I was able to look up the nutrition info online but that was outdated so it did not have the info for some of the items.

I got a chicken & romaine salad and iced tea. Just now looking that up & 11 grams of sat fat. Not bad but I could have gotten something tastier I think...grrr. Cholesterol and sodium are also high. Won't get that again.

I got DH a grilled chicken breast sandwich w/ swiss cheese. He did better than I with his NI.

Well, live and learn.

 

[araes2102]

For those that don't know me I'll re-introduce myself. I'm Melanie (DUH), and I'm 43! I haven't been on the DIS for a bit because we went to Colorado, South Dakota, Wyoming & Montana last summer for vacation. Hubby still wants one more summer of vacations away from Disney this summer and then we get to go back. I think this summer is Nevada, Utah and Arizona.

If you have any Qs about Arizona I would be happy to help)!!

So cute!

QOTD for Saturday, January 12, 2013:

What do you consider your greatest personal accomplishment (other than your children)? Can be work, school, life-related, etc.


Bonus QOTD: What is your top #1 favorite family Disney memory? You know, that special moment that brought tears to your eyes!

.....................P

My greatest accomplishment would have to be earning my college degree. It was a lot of work, especially given where I came from... Despite being an honor student throughout school, I fell in with the wrong crowd and dropped out my senior year. I had my son very young and decided to change the course of my life. I went back to school when he was only a few months old, moved from the SF bay area to Az so I could afford to raise him, enrolled at the community college as soon a I was "resident," and eventually graduated from Arizona State on a scholarship and earning top honors! First in my family to go to college actually... And I am glad I could set that example for my kids

As for my fav Disney memory, well I guess that would be getting engaged I am so lucky and he made it so special, in front of the castle with a PP photographer taking pics! And it was such a shock because we had talked about getting married and he kept saying that he didn't think we were "ready" (we had been together 3 1/2 yrs), all the while planning this for a year! The kids were very happy and surprised and we have some great pics of all of us from this!

Showing our daughter...

Popping the question...

And happily ever after...

 

[Mary•Poppins]

Popping in here to say HI!

Answer to QOTD...

I am trying to make sure I healthy snacks on hand. Right now I am eating Pistachios. Earlier, it was raisin's. Since we are doing low fat we need to keep up on the protein. DH is recovering from the surgery still and needs the calories + protein.

Last night I made a pork tenderloin which turned out great. Only 1 gram of sat fat per serving.
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/roasted_pork_tenderloin.html

Sides were Bush's Original Baked beans. 0% sat fat....So happy to find this out. It does have 550mg of sodium but we will take it since it has protein and fiber.
http://www.bushbeans.com/en_US/products/details.jsp?upc=3940001606

Other side was steamed Yukon Gold Potatoes.

Not sure what tonight's meal is going to be yet.

16yodd is home sick. I got the nurse to fax in a doctor's note to the school. She has had a headache for 5 days straight now, nothing got rid of it. I took her to the ped on Wed. She got a sinus infection leftover from the flu last week.

We started the treadmill today. DH is doing 5 mins for a week and I did 15mins. We will increase dh to 10mins (if he is up for it) and I will go to 30mins next week.

The cardiologist's office said to do this at home so when he does start cardiac rehab then he will not be at "square one".

You seem to be on a great start for you and your hubby ... keep it up!

When my dad had his bypass surgery, they didn't let him do anything until he went to the cardiac rehab. I went with him the first few times and they connected him to all sorts of machines to monitor him while he just walked. I think this made him (and me) feel better when he started exerting himself.

I think I have gotten to all the QOTD that I missed and I was able to skim through the posts to see how everyone is doing.

We had a week at work. Everyone was just exhausted. It was just a week with one thing after another happening and not much down time. We had a suspected gas leak in the building on Wednesday and go to get some great fresh air time since we had to evacuate. It was a beautiful day and was nice to be out in the sunshine! I really had no idea that school secretary would be so exciting and exhausting! But I absolutely love my job and love each new challenge. Even if the challenge is to not tell a some of the people I deal with exactly what I am thinking. . .

I did have 2 people at work notice that I have lost some weight. I can really see it in my face-- it seems to always show my gains and loss quickly. I got a new shirt this week and it looks great on me-- really boosted my self confidence and I got a lot of compliments. Think they will notice at work if I wear it once or twice a week?

My IBS flare up seems to have finally calmed down. Haven't had any problems all week so hopefully it is behind me for a while.

I had to deal with a sticky situation today-- the office secretaries get food out every Friday. It is really not something that can be avoided, there are only 4 of us and it is a long standing tradition and socially as the new girl it is really not something I can say no to. But today I had to decline. They were getting their favorite hot dogs. There are no other options but hot dogs where they were ordering from and even if I am not "dieting" I don't really like hot dogs. They love these hot dogs but offered to order from somewhere else since I told them I had brought my lunch (I had) and wouldn't be ordering. I had to have a private talk with the "leader" of our group and told her to please not let my eating needs have anything to do with where they order from. If they are going somewhere I want something from I will order and if not I will always have my own food or get a school salad. I don't want them avoiding the places they like just because I have "special" needs. I actually really hate it when others make a big deal of what I am eating or not eating. They are curious though about some of the unique things I bring and why I try to stick to GF. Not rude, just curious--but I think they do think I am a little strange! We are also planning a "Chili" day in a few weeks and I quickly signed up to bring the White Chicken Chili so I can bring my healthy version! Wonder if they will figure out that it is low fat, low carb and low cal? My boss is also trying to lose weight so we are supporting each other.

Okay better go and spend time with my hubby. I have been listening to my favorite Disney music as I have been reading and responding so I leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

Just keep swimming!

Have a happy, healthy weekend! The choices are yours to make. Make them all great!

Being a teacher .... I just have to say THANK YOU for all you do! And I am sure the others in your office will understand if you don't go out every Friday. We do something similar in our building (we order take out from a local deli) but, there are many teachers who don't order out too ... and that is okay.

QOTD for Saturday, January 12, 2013:

What do you consider your greatest personal accomplishment (other than your children)? Can be work, school, life-related, etc.


Bonus QOTD: What is your top #1 favorite family Disney memory? You know, that special moment that brought tears to your eyes!

.....................P

Mine would be the 10 books I self published directed towards a specific reading program. I haven't made any money from them, but the process and accomplishment was very full filling.

Bonus: On our last trip we were at Disney during the Christmas Parade taping. We got tickets to an event in the park but they wouldn't tell us who was performing. Well .... we ended up in a flash mob during the taping of the Jonas Brothers performance. Now my boys are not fans of the Jonas Brothers, but they had a BLAST being part of the dance and activities during the taping.

Playing catchup with the QOTD...

First the intro
Kinda did this a few pages back but could definitely do better

I am Lara, a 33 year old sahm of one son who turns 10 in a couple months. I have been married 11 years in march and my husband is great but not the most supportive with dieting. I live in the burbs of pittsburgh. I have always had issues with weight and body image. As a teen I struggled with anorexia and still have troubles every now and then but my husband fights them. I was never really overweight until 8 years ago when I started on clomid. That shot packed on the pounds. 100 lbs in one year. I stopped it but then went through a difficult depression over our infertility issues. That led us to adoption and we met our son and finalized his adoption in 2006. By this point, I knew I was fat but my life had other focuses. Over the next few years, I put on more weight. By 2011, I was at my highest weight ever 250 lbs. that year I got very into running, went to the gym every day and weight became an obsession. By the end of 2011, I was at 176 lbs. 2012 was a hard year. It began with surgery to remove most of my uterus followed by chemo and radiation. I lost nearly all my muscle, strength and stamina. I was on the road to cancer recovery, but depression set in once more. I can't say I quite caring about my weight but my efforts were sporadic. In august, I started working toward my goals but its been very hard. I have so little strength and one mile feels like a marathon. I am hoping maybe with support, I can meet my goals.

HI Lara! I live in a suburb outside the 'Burg too! I see we have quite a few people on this thread from Pittsburgh .... funny!

So I'm new around here, but I figured I'd chime in. My greatest personal accomplishment not related to family is my completion of a marathon. Incredibly difficult, but incredibly satisfying. And I mean it when I say if I can do it almost anyone can. Here is a picture right after I got my Mickey medal!

That is awesome! I am hoping someday that I can say that! I am thinking of all the runners there today.

My #1 favorite Disney family memory is tough. I have so many. I think I'll go with the personal tour Minnie Mouse gave to my then 7 year old daughter. She grabbed her hand at Toontown rope drop and walked her through her house. Minnie showed her all the little details. She especially loved her kitchen.

Good luck to everyone with this week's weigh in. I hope the scale is kind. Can't wait to see more changing colors.

Wonderful pictures!

If you have any Qs about Arizona I would be happy to help)!!



So cute!



My greatest accomplishment would have to be earning my college degree. It was a lot of work, especially given where I came from... Despite being an honor student throughout school, I fell in with the wrong crowd and dropped out my senior year. I had my son very young and decided to change the course of my life. I went back to school when he was only a few months old, moved from the SF bay area to Az so I could afford to raise him, enrolled at the community college as soon a I was "resident," and eventually graduated from Arizona State on a scholarship and earning top honors! First in my family to go to college actually... And I am glad I could set that example for my kids

As for my fav Disney memory, well I guess that would be getting engaged I am so lucky and he made it so special, in front of the castle with a PP photographer taking pics! And it was such a shock because we had talked about getting married and he kept saying that he didn't think we were "ready" (we had been together 3 1/2 yrs), all the while planning this for a year! The kids were very happy and surprised and we have some great pics of all of us from this!

Showing our daughter...

Popping the question...

And happily ever after...

I love your pictures!

 

[MelanieC]

Araes - Love your Disney memories. I think for Arizona, it's mostly going to be the Grand Canyon. I'm from Vegas, so we will have our base be from my mom's house.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Amanda, the look on your DD's face is priceless!! She's so cute! Congrats on your engagement!

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

Quick pop in. Spent the day shopping like mad men. The kids all need jeans and shoes, DH and I both need shoes. It was a whirlwind day but we got some stuff accomplished.

I guess we are doing ok here. The boys eyes are getting a little better. My throat still hurts and my voice is off. I really hope it goes back to normal.
DS16's and my eyes have started to itch today. I really really hope it's not pink eye!!!
I'm just so sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Guess I'm going to to go to bed. My feet and back are killing me from lugging my purse and bags everywhere.

 

[trinaweena]

I have GOT to stop falling off the face of the earth, if only because keeping up with you guys keep me on track. I was doing grea for about a week and even lost 3 pounds! And then I just stopped tracking and working out and slipping back into bad habits. Things that I am struggling with:

1) Working out. I was doing so good! I was forcing myself to work out even when I didnt want to, I had a plan I was following it I was doing great! I don't know what happened, I've gone 4 days without a workout. I know I feel worse when I dont work out, and I know the result of working out are going to be great. I had a bad run last time I went and now I'm just not in the mood to do it but that means ive not been in the mood for anything

2) CRAVINGS! I try to eat healthy, been cooking healthy things, eating my breakfast, but at the end of the night I crave a cookie or for lunch i want a frozen pizza. Or for dinner I crave ramen. I'm just having a real problem controlling cravings.

3) Just remembering how important this is and not letting the stress get to me really having trouble with that.

Other than that I'm doing great haha!

Real life ways, lots of family drama as usual. I also need a new computer after best buy couldnt fix mine and after lots of fighting with them they are giving me 1500 dollars to replace my computer (it wa under warranty), I had 8 months left on my warranty so they paid me the $124 they owed me (which I had to fight tooth and nail for), and they are sending me a $250 giftcard because of all the trouble I had to go through and because their employees were so rude. So i'm trying to decide what computer I want, thinking about switching to a mac (actually pretty much know) but its 600 more than I have and thats been the point of quite a few arguments around here haha. but I;m waiting for them to send the money so i'll be with out a computer for awhile and school starts on monday!

Scutter (my dog) has a haircut at 8am cause his mom (me) is insane and made him an appointment at 8am on a sunday oh well he DESPERATELY needs it and boyfriend offered to pay for it! That's great since I don't work at petsmart anymore and dont get a discount

 

[Greenfield1984]

QOTD for Saturday, January 12, 2013:

What do you consider your greatest personal accomplishment (other than your children)? Can be work, school, life-related, etc.

Bonus QOTD: What is your top #1 favorite family Disney memory? You know, that special moment that brought tears to your eyes!

.....................P

Visiting my parents this weekend so it's taken me a while to come and catch up. I was down 1 pound this week which I am a little disappointed with. I know it's a loss and I should be happy about it but I was hoping it would be bigger.

I'm having a really hard time coming up with a great accomplishment. I guess the time I felt the best was when I lost 30 pounds about 8 years ago. It was the first time in my life I was actually thin and I felt amazing about myself (for the first time ever). I'm hoping to feel like that again soon though I have a lot more to lose this time.

My favourite disney memory is our most recent trip. We had a rough first 3 days getting there and on our first day we went to MK. We watched the opening show and our 2 older DDs were dancing and singing. Our middle DD had such wonder in her eyes as she waved good morning to all her favourite characters. And as the show ended and we started walking in the waterworks started. I was just so happy to be at my favourite place with my now complete family and I knew it was going to be a magical vacation.
I also loved our M&G with Tiana. It was just me and my 2 month old DD and Tiana took her and cuddled her and talked to her and it was just a nice moment seeing the disney magic translate to even the youngest of babes

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

 

[DisFam95]

Other than that I'm doing great haha!

Sounds about right! Sorry it's crazy for you right now but hang in there.

I've not been around hardly at all I've been so busy w rotating sick kids and spouse. Momma don't have time to be sick! Managed a few workouts in - not as much as I wanted but better than none I guess. I was proud of one day this week I had a day off and had my workout planned then forgot I had to volunteer at ds school. I had only 15 min before I needed a shower so I walked up and down my stairs for 11 minutes! Much harder than I thought and muscles are still sore from 2 days ago!

I'm down a few pounds this week I think. I actually can't recall from this morning! I feel so overwhelmed with things I want/need to get done I'm already panicking about summer break coming all too soon and kids being home all day!! Not that I kind that its just projects tend to come to a halt over the summer.

Anyway. Focus on the now, right!!

 

[araes2102]

Got a lot done today... It was actually freezing here in AZ so we stayed inside all day, all of us except DF as he went out bow hunting with his friends. Silly men, wouldn't catch me wandering around the wildness in 30 degree weather! Anyway we got all the household chores done (well, still working on laundry), DS got his school work done, DD and I made cookies (for everyone but me to enjoy ), made yummy apple cider braised pork chops for dinner, got a quick workout in on the treadmill, and even played some Go Fish as a family when DF got home (empty handed, which I was happy about... poor deer). Tomorrow we will be off to the YMCA for a real workout! And my first weigh in is tomorrow. I know the numbers will be good, mostly because of water weight, but I will still be happy! Alright, good night all! Have a great OP weekend!

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

I haven't been around in a week or so. I have had a horrible sinus infection. I didn't have an appetite so eating wasn't too bad, but I just couldn't exercise. So that was a struggle. Lost a pound so I will take it.

QOTD: Best Memory at Disney: I have so many but a few of my favorites are when my daughter was chosen to be in the Lion King show in our first ever visit in 2000. She was the voice of the sheep. We were with 30 family members and it was really "Magical". She also danced twice down Main Street with her school band and DS's girlfriend sang in the Processional this year. Just so many great memories.

Hope everyone is doing really well. My headache is still horrible so I am not going to read back yet. Here's hoping for a great week for everyone!