Healthy Living around the World Showcase ~ June 2016 WISH Challenge!

[4Mickeys]

She really wants me to go to her 1st eye therapy appointment today but I have to work. She so nervous. Monday is the 1st PT for her foot.

Oh that's hard - work the necessary evil sometimes.

Reporting in - I'm at 84% for tracking my food with MFP everyday and with only a few days to go I should hit the mark. This week I have managed to be under the calorie goal each day but there were still some not so good choices in there - I wasn't as organised with dinners this week; but still did manage to take lunch to work everyday! So I am only down 0.1kg from last week - I am ok with that considering some of my choices and just happy it wasn't a gain. I am about to start planning meals for the week - I have a conference 2 days this week so there will be food there but last the options were pretty healthy a choice of 3 salads with a chicken tart .... so hopefully there will be yummy healthy choices this week. It is winter break now so I have to plan lunches for us at home and stock up on snacks for the kids and then avoid them lol - no they will be having an enforced healthy option first each day for a snack then they can have one of their choices later in the day.

We are off to see Finding Dory this afternoon after DS15 finishes work ..... so there will be popcorn - can't do a movie without it and possibly dinner out .....

Good luck with your goals for the month everyone and enjoy the last of your weekend ... its the last one in June! Wow this year is going so fast.

 

[4Mickeys]

Back from movies and dinner - wow movie food really blew me off the calorie goal for today - I honestly had no idea how many calories were in movie popcorn and a snickers bar! lol lesson learned. I went with a naked chicken burrito for dinner and was only able to eat half - good thing was I listened to my fullness and stopped.

Okay now for Finding Dory - we all liked it - we also enjoyed the short movie before hand and the credits animation like you @pjilla. I won't give any details away for those of you still going to see it

 

[Dr Gunnie]

Weekly check-in:

I started the month at 243 and the goal was to lose 14 lbs. Last Sunday I weighed in at 234 after losing a crazy 5.5 lbs for the week. This week things are a little more back to normal and I lost 3 lbs (probably around my avg over this journey) which puts me at 231. For the month I've lost 12 pounds which puts me at 86% toward my goal.

I have four days to lose 2 lbs and reach my June goal. Should be doable, especially since three of those four days are running days. I ended up "gaining" a pound yesterday, but really that was just getting fluids back into my system after my long Friday run. It's nice when you start figuring out how your body works and little gains like that don't freak you out anymore.

My final weigh in will have to be Thursday and not the 1st of the month like I usually do. I won't be able to weigh in Friday, Saturday, or Sunday since we will be out of town.

 

[courtneybeth]

Progress Report:
Days: 26/30
Percentage: 87%

I am right on target - making sure that I keep moving and get my 30 mins per day of exercise in.


I've spent the last 24 hours listing Disney Pins on eBay and I have already sold 9 of the 40 that are up at the moment. WOW. I'm selling about 2/3 of my collection, which will be about 500 pins total when they finally go up. I am trying to get some money to put towards our 10th Anniversary Cruise through Hawaii. Any money made can be put towards our excursions.

(I have a Pin-diction. I was consumed by Pin-demonium and won't fall for it anymore. Time to fix habits!)

 

[MochaDrinker]

I'm at about 70% for the month with eating lunch.

 

[piglet1979]

Check in. I am 88.33%. I lost 2 pounds this week. It has been a rough week and I have had no appetite. The medical issues I had back in April that should have been fixed with the pill came back. So back to the doctor tomorrow. Possibly looking at a biopsy in the near future.

An update on my daughters therapy. She did great and likes it so far. She did fine going with my husband. She was eager to do her exercises today. Now tomorrow is the first foot pt. We will see how exited she is with adding that in too.

 

[SarahDisney]

Checking in at 92%.

I wanted to stop by and chat today, but just didn't get a chance.
I really don't understand how people with families can do everything. I did three loads of laundry today (with help from my sister), reheated dinner, and did most of my to-do list ... and I'm wiped! Watching gymnastics now, and then it'll be time to head to bed soon.
And then I get to wake up and do all of this again tomorrow ... minus the laundry, but possibly plus a grocery shopping trip.

 

[Flossbolna]

Question of the Day for Monday, June 27th:

Today we move on to Germany! My home! The German pavilion at Epcot has two restaurants, one buffet restaurant called Biergarten (beer garden) and a counter service restaurant (more just a window selling sausages) called Sommerfest (summer party). Biergarten is another "night time restaurant" - like the San Angel Inn in Mexico - where you can have lunch under the stars. There are long tables set up on a lovely town square with a stage where musicians play traditional German music.

The interesting thing is that this looks more like the typical town summer party that pops up all over Germany during the summer months. Not like a Biergarten. A traditional Bavarian beer garden was a place where the brewery started selling beer directly from their cellars where they stored the beer during the warm summer months. And a traditional cellar would have chestnut trees planted on top of it in order to have lots of shade to help the cellar stay cool. So people, were sitting under the chestnut trees drinking the beer and bring their own picnic. Still, today, in the large Munich beer gardens people bring in their own food and just buy the beer.

Both the Biergarten and the summer party have some things in common: the long tables with benches (even called beer benches!) and the beer being served in one liter mugs. They are never called a "Stein" in German though: Stein just means stone. They are called Bierkrug. Which kind of means beer pitcher... And then there is the common thing that Germany like to enjoy summer by celebrating with good beer and fun company! The Biergarten has a nicer setting though in my opinion, just compare the Biergarten above to a typical Sommerfest:

So, let's talk about celebrating! What are your favorite celebrations or holidays? Very summer brings a lot of them, we have heard about quite a few this months already from weddings to graduations and there will be more coming up for you Americans with July 4th soon!

 

[pjlla]

Good Monday morning friends! I am heading out to work (school summer maintenance) but will have time to chat with you all hopefully tonight! The party was great, but exhausting! Food for me was kind of all over the place, but I was right back on track yesterday and I am feeling good about the week!

I can't wait to get back on here and catch up with the weekend chatter! See you tonight................P

 

[pjlla]

Question of the Day for June 24:

Morocco has a wonderful shopping district, an oriental bazar.

So, it is time for another shopping question and since it is the weekend: a fun one!

What is your favourite Disney souvenir?

PhotoPass (or whatever they are calling it these days). It is a splurge, since I do own a camera, but I was sick and tired of not being in the pictures! And I know they will take a picture for you with your camera, but somehow theirs always come out better! I love to buy myself something to wear post-vacation (t-shirt, scarf, etc), but if I am being frugal, I'll stick with PhotoPass every time! ........P

 

[piglet1979]

Question of the Day for Monday, June 27th:

Today we move on to Germany! My home! The German pavilion at Epcot has two restaurants, one buffet restaurant called Biergarten (beer garden) and a counter service restaurant (more just a window selling sausages) called Sommerfest (summer party). Biergarten is another "night time restaurant" - like the San Angel Inn in Mexico - where you can have lunch under the stars. There are long tables set up on a lovely town square with a stage where musicians play traditional German music.

The interesting thing is that this looks more like the typical town summer party that pops up all over Germany during the summer months. Not like a Biergarten. A traditional Bavarian beer garden was a place where the brewery started selling beer directly from their cellars where they stored the beer during the warm summer months. And a traditional cellar would have chestnut trees planted on top of it in order to have lots of shade to help the cellar stay cool. So people, were sitting under the chestnut trees drinking the beer and bring their own picnic. Still, today, in the large Munich beer gardens people bring in their own food and just buy the beer.

Both the Biergarten and the summer party have some things in common: the long tables with benches (even called beer benches!) and the beer being served in one liter mugs. They are never called a "Stein" in German though: Stein just means stone. They are called Bierkrug. Which kind of means beer pitcher... And then there is the common thing that Germany like to enjoy summer by celebrating with good beer and fun company! The Biergarten has a nicer setting though in my opinion, just compare the Biergarten above to a typical Sommerfest:

So, let's talk about celebrating! What are your favorite celebrations or holidays? Very summer brings a lot of them, we have heard about quite a few this months already from weddings to graduations and there will be more coming up for you Americans with July 4th soon!

I would say that my favorite is Thanksgiving and Christmas. We do have tons of plans this weekend. We have a wedding on Saturday, watching the Cleveland Orchestra with fireworks and then our city fireworks. My husband and I love fireworks so we go to as many as we can over the holiday. We don't do as many as we used too. My daughter does not like the loud sounds so we have cut back. She almost falls asleep during them now.

 

[Oneanne]

Question of the Day for Monday, June 27th:

Today we move on to Germany! My home! The German pavilion at Epcot has two restaurants, one buffet restaurant called Biergarten (beer garden) and a counter service restaurant (more just a window selling sausages) called Sommerfest (summer party). Biergarten is another "night time restaurant" - like the San Angel Inn in Mexico - where you can have lunch under the stars. There are long tables set up on a lovely town square with a stage where musicians play traditional German music.

The interesting thing is that this looks more like the typical town summer party that pops up all over Germany during the summer months. Not like a Biergarten. A traditional Bavarian beer garden was a place where the brewery started selling beer directly from their cellars where they stored the beer during the warm summer months. And a traditional cellar would have chestnut trees planted on top of it in order to have lots of shade to help the cellar stay cool. So people, were sitting under the chestnut trees drinking the beer and bring their own picnic. Still, today, in the large Munich beer gardens people bring in their own food and just buy the beer.

Both the Biergarten and the summer party have some things in common: the long tables with benches (even called beer benches!) and the beer being served in one liter mugs. They are never called a "Stein" in German though: Stein just means stone. They are called Bierkrug. Which kind of means beer pitcher... And then there is the common thing that Germany like to enjoy summer by celebrating with good beer and fun company! The Biergarten has a nicer setting though in my opinion, just compare the Biergarten above to a typical Sommerfest:

So, let's talk about celebrating! What are your favorite celebrations or holidays? Very summer brings a lot of them, we have heard about quite a few this months already from weddings to graduations and there will be more coming up for you Americans with July 4th soon!

Being as I don't have my own family/kids, just my brothers and sister, most holidays seem to slip by without much focus. I always get nostalgic for the 4th of July, with the picnics and all. For some reason it never occurred to me that Illuminations would have an extra add-on show for the 4th, but I read about it last week so now I really want to see it. Don't see that happening this year, so maybe next.

I've eaten at Beirgarden once and really enjoyed the ambience but was so-so about the buffet. Kind of thought it was a case study in how many different ways you can prepare potatoes, but I would totally eat there again. One of my fondest trip memories is sitting by the center fountain sharing a pretzel with my nephew. It was twilight on an August evening after a thunderstorm had broken the oppressive heat/humidity and the park was cool and quiet. It was lovely and I think about him and that trip whenever I'm in the Germany Pavillian... He was 13 at the time and I was still cool to hang out with so we had a blast together.

Had an off weekend, still with a lot of napping and strange eating. I did get the dandelions mowed down in the yard, some weeding done, some sunflowers planted. Yesterday I only had 3000 steps on at 7pm, so I laced up my walking shoes and dragged myself around the neighborhood till I hit goal. We're having a stretch of beautiful summer weather, so I sure wish I had more energy to get out and do things.

Have a happy healthful Monday everyone.

 

[courtneybeth]

Question of the Day for Monday, June 27th:

Today we move on to Germany! My home! The German pavilion at Epcot has two restaurants, one buffet restaurant called Biergarten (beer garden) and a counter service restaurant (more just a window selling sausages) called Sommerfest (summer party). Biergarten is another "night time restaurant" - like the San Angel Inn in Mexico - where you can have lunch under the stars. There are long tables set up on a lovely town square with a stage where musicians play traditional German music.

The interesting thing is that this looks more like the typical town summer party that pops up all over Germany during the summer months. Not like a Biergarten. A traditional Bavarian beer garden was a place where the brewery started selling beer directly from their cellars where they stored the beer during the warm summer months. And a traditional cellar would have chestnut trees planted on top of it in order to have lots of shade to help the cellar stay cool. So people, were sitting under the chestnut trees drinking the beer and bring their own picnic. Still, today, in the large Munich beer gardens people bring in their own food and just buy the beer.

Both the Biergarten and the summer party have some things in common: the long tables with benches (even called beer benches!) and the beer being served in one liter mugs. They are never called a "Stein" in German though: Stein just means stone. They are called Bierkrug. Which kind of means beer pitcher... And then there is the common thing that Germany like to enjoy summer by celebrating with good beer and fun company! The Biergarten has a nicer setting though in my opinion, just compare the Biergarten above to a typical Sommerfest:

So, let's talk about celebrating! What are your favorite celebrations or holidays? Very summer brings a lot of them, we have heard about quite a few this months already from weddings to graduations and there will be more coming up for you Americans with July 4th soon!

I love this lesson - and now I am debating if I should finally make that reservation and go to Biergarten. The description of the food and it being a buffet has turned me off previously since I don't eat much and I don't think I get my money's worth at a buffet. But maybe it's better than I am imagining? For those who have eaten there, what do you think?

As for the question of the day --- I love celebrating Halloween!! There's something fun about dressing up as someone else and enjoying a fun evening with friends. Fall is my favorite season and there's just something magical about carving a pumpkin and enjoying the holiday - especially since we get into November after that and it's FINALLY sweater weather in Southern California. I've never been a big Christmas person, so for me... Halloween is my favorite holiday

Sadly we're not doing Mickey's Halloween Party this year at Disneyland. We opted to add Mickey's Christmas FreeForAll at WDW instead to our December trip - and are splurging with the fireworks and parade event.

 

[Dr Gunnie]

So, let's talk about celebrating! What are your favorite celebrations or holidays? Very summer brings a lot of them, we have heard about quite a few this months already from weddings to graduations and there will be more coming up for you Americans with July 4th soon!

Christmas is my #1 and Thanksgiving is #2. I love the fall, the cooler temps and football in full swing... it's just the best. I've always loved Christmas, but now having kids that are old enough to get into it makes it so much better. Last year's Christmas was great because we did Disney right before which definitely helped us get into the spirit. This year we don't have any trips planned around winter break, so it will be a little different.

Thanksgiving has always been a favorite, but I'm wondering if that will take a bit of a hit with the weight loss and the calorie counting. I'm sure I will ease the calorie restriction that day, but I won't go overboard like I used to... if I get to have a Thanksgiving (the team had to travel last year for football and I missed out).

 

[courtneybeth]

Thanksgiving has always been a favorite, but I'm wondering if that will take a bit of a hit with the weight loss and the calorie counting. I'm sure I will ease the calorie restriction that day, but I won't go overboard like I used to... if I get to have a Thanksgiving (the team had to travel last year for football and I missed out).

Weighing your food portions and logging all of your meals will help immensely! Also, don't snack during the day and "try a little here" or "try a little there." That's how the calories get added to your waistline

Last year was my first doing the "new me, new lifestyle" Thanksgiving and it was so so so hard. We went out to a restaurant and it was a buffet. Oh no! So I made sure to log everything and make smarter choices. Lots of salad. Lots of protein, like shrimp. I stayed away from mashed potatoes, corn, bread and turkey -- stuck more to the healthier options. It worked

 

[bigsis1970]

Happy Monday gang! Lot's of exciting things here lately...

QotD - fave holiday is Memorial day to Labor day.. I love the sunshine, long daylight hours and warm temps.. and it's such a short season here that I feel Summer itself should be a holiday .. Sadly I have no more vacations this summer (I took a week in Mid May with my hubs for packing our old place up for his use it or loose it week then we just had another week off mid June to move into our new house) so I'll be hitting the beach once a weekend for hopefully the next 8 weeks all 10 if I am lucky - thankfully we can either go to the local spot 5 mins away or we can go to the state park about 35 mins away - I prefer the state park but I won't be too picky.. LOL..

Hope everyone has a great day/week, Hugs and Smiles.. Michelle

 

[Flossbolna]

I love this lesson - and now I am debating if I should finally make that reservation and go to Biergarten. The description of the food and it being a buffet has turned me off previously since I don't eat much and I don't think I get my money's worth at a buffet. But maybe it's better than I am imagining? For those who have eaten there, what do you think?

I have eaten there twice. The first time because I was curious how authentic it would be. And I was pleasantly surprised. The food was very tasty and I found it to be very close to the original. However, not a lot of light foods. The second time was for the Candlelight Processional package and we chose Biergarten specifically because we had enjoyed it so much the previous trip. By then they seemed to have downgraded the offerings quite a bit. The food was still tasty, but some of the more authentic dishes had vanished - not replaced, just fewer choices. We went for lunch both times, but the dinner buffet has some additional items that should be quite good - and even on the healthier side. Sauerbraten is a braised beef that usually is a lean cut and this is one of the dinner offerings if I remember correctly.

Both of my visits there are in my trip reports from those trips.

This is the 2013 trip: From the Sea to the World - Completed!

And this is the 2014 trip: From the Sea to the World - Holiday Edition - Completed
(the brownish writing are my boyfriend Michael's comments - and do ignore the fact that our friend did not enjoy your favorite snack!!)

I still think it is a nice place, the atmosphere is really great! Make sure to time your reservation so that you can catch one of the shows while dining, those are really neat. However, I think it is much nicer to go there with a group - if it is just two of you, you might end up placed at the table with a larger group and that could be a bit strange. I think if it is 4 people, you will be fine!

Yesterday I only had 3000 steps on at 7pm, so I laced up my walking shoes and dragged myself around the neighborhood till I hit goal.

Well done!!

QotD - fave holiday is Memorial day to Labor day.. I love the sunshine, long daylight hours and warm temps.. and it's such a short season here that I feel Summer itself should be a holiday ..

I am with you on this!!

----

So, I am feeling like I am finally getting back into a routine and am so happy about this! Just had an on plan dinner - roasted veggies with a yoghurt dip. Very delicious! And have been tracking all day. While I was away I tried to follow the @HappyGrape vacation eating plan, but it was difficult as there were not a lot of choices and then during the weekend, I kind of got off the rails... BUT not as horribly as I would have a year ago. Yes, I splurged with a little more cheese than I should have, but I did not get another slice of bread even though it was delicious! I had a lot of veggies and only one cocktail, not a second one as well. However, I don't dare to step on the scale because I am currently horribly bloated. That time of the month when I am my heaviest AND on top of that hot weather that always causes water retention for me... So, I know the number will be horrible and I just can't face it yet. I will have to weigh in for July 1st, but until then I think I will just follow my eating plan and ignore the scale.

 

[Lady Marie]

Happy Monday all! I'm finally done house-sitting and back to my normal routine. Was excited to weigh in this morning only to find my scale dead I think it just needs batteries, but I was running late and didn't have time to hunt down the tiny screwdriver and all that jazz.... so we will see. It did work just fine last night, but that was post dinner weight... It wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated, but not my usual "tracking" number. So I'll just have to wait until tomorrow morning.

QOTD: That is so interesting about traditional Biergartens and summer fests! We have eaten at the restaurant once-- I liked the food and had a great time (lush alert: mainly because I said sure to the large beer thinking it was just like a pint and a half and it ended up being big enough to swim in....) but we had fun singing along with enjoying the atmosphere.

As for holidays, I definitely love Christmas the most. I used to love Halloween and Thanksgiving the most when I actually had seasons up in Georgia... but down here, it's just so hot still--it doesn't have quite the fall magic that it used to. Not that it's much better at Christmas (I think last year it was in the low 80's in December), but occasionally there is a cold front where it will get down to the 60's. I think that the weather is one of the reason I do enjoy going to WDW for Halloween and Christmas. It's only 3 hours north, but it does make a slight difference. And all the decor certainly helps me get into the holiday spirit when it doesn't quite feel like it at home.

 

[courtneybeth]

Ever had one of those days where everything just... was a long and exhausting day? That is me for today. I only managed about 90 minutes of sleep last night -- so I'm running on fumes!

I have nothing else to add but just wishing that your days all went better than mine. I am excited for tomorrow to begin. It has to be better, right?

 

[pjlla]

Question of the Day for Monday, June 27th:

Today we move on to Germany! My home! The German pavilion at Epcot has two restaurants, one buffet restaurant called Biergarten (beer garden) and a counter service restaurant (more just a window selling sausages) called Sommerfest (summer party). Biergarten is another "night time restaurant" - like the San Angel Inn in Mexico - where you can have lunch under the stars. There are long tables set up on a lovely town square with a stage where musicians play traditional German music.


The interesting thing is that this looks more like the typical town summer party that pops up all over Germany during the summer months. Not like a Biergarten. A traditional Bavarian beer garden was a place where the brewery started selling beer directly from their cellars where they stored the beer during the warm summer months. And a traditional cellar would have chestnut trees planted on top of it in order to have lots of shade to help the cellar stay cool. So people, were sitting under the chestnut trees drinking the beer and bring their own picnic. Still, today, in the large Munich beer gardens people bring in their own food and just buy the beer.

Both the Biergarten and the summer party have some things in common: the long tables with benches (even called beer benches!) and the beer being served in one liter mugs. They are never called a "Stein" in German though: Stein just means stone. They are called Bierkrug. Which kind of means beer pitcher... And then there is the common thing that Germany like to enjoy summer by celebrating with good beer and fun company! The Biergarten has a nicer setting though in my opinion, just compare the Biergarten above to a typical Sommerfest:

So, let's talk about celebrating! What are your favorite celebrations or holidays? Very summer brings a lot of them, we have heard about quite a few this months already from weddings to graduations and there will be more coming up for you Americans with July 4th soon!

First of all... I have to comment on the Biergarten (at Epcot). My first experience with it was on my honeymoon in 1992. I'm not particularly outgoing or social and sitting with strangers made me kind of uncomfortable, but overall it was a fun atmosphere and the food was good.

We wanted a "fun" dinner in 2008 when we were there as a family and I cancelled our character/Princess meal at Akershus and rebooked for Biergarten... and we were SO disappointed. The entertainment wasn't nearly as plentiful or fun and the food was a big disappointment.... both taste, quality, type, and variety. I won't go again.

Holidays....well... I do love July 4th....it is our family time with DH's side of the family....depending on how the holiday falls we spend anywhere from 2 days to 5 days on Cape Cod (Massachusetts). Lots of food (too much!), family time, a bit of sightseeing, fireworks and LOTS and LOTS of beach time! I think one reason I enjoy July 4th so much is because it is a RELAXING holiday....no big meals to prep, no gifts to buy/wrap, no tree to decorate.... it is SUPER relaxing (especially since it is not at my house!!). I wouldn't say it is my favorite holiday, but darn close.... especially since I love the summer so much!

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

Hey friends! I was going to try and catch up with the chatter I've missed here, but I've been busy with WW training between 24/7 Chat calls tonight. Sorry about that. And now I need to finish my shift and prep for tomorrow's WW meeting and lay out my clothes. It isn't supposed to be too hot tomorrow, so I'm going to bring my WW meeting clothes with me to school and hopefully I can get changed and looking presentable and not have to come all the way home between jobs (they are only a few miles apart, but home is in the other direction). In other words.... I hope I don't get too sweaty tomorrow!!

I'll try to spend a few minutes here playing catch up in the morning!............P