BL Summer Challenge 2009

[princessbride6205]

QOTD: How to save for Disney?
We put away savings each month toward a vacation fund. Until this past year, DH was an hourly employee and we'd put a lot of his OT towards vacation savings. Now we're both salaried, so it's something we aim to save for each month. We'd like to be able to take a trip at least once a year and are in the process of saving up for a small DVC contract.

Bonus QOTD -- How many days until your next Disney trip?
We don't have it booked yet, but I think we have 6 1/2 months.

I arrived at my folks house in NJ today. I had an OP day for breakfast, lunch and dinner - but I'll be having some drinks and cookies. I'm treating this trip as a bit of a vacation, since we don't have any trips planned this year. I'll be straying from plan to enjoy drinks, desserts and snacks, but most meals will be OP.

But I'm really excited to report that I finally fit back into some of my old summer tops. We were packing last night, so I was trying on clothes at the back of my closet to see if any of those old things fit. I couldn't believe some of them did! And I met my mini goal of losing 7+ pounds by today in Biggest Loser. I've lost 5.63% since I started BL - so thanks to all of you for your help and inspiration in this process! I've still got a bit to go, but I'm more than halfway to my overall goal and I'm much happier and confident in how I look. Weightloss is achievable - for all of you, too! Have a great OP weekend - and enjoy yourself little too!

[estherhead]

I've been the coach this week. I think the multiple QOTD's were just about Disney cause people wanted to know. I was a tiny bit confused myself. I didn't post a QOTD yesterday as people were still catching up with the weekend QOTD's so I gave it a day break. Maybe that confused people too.

As for the question about back-up cakes, there is no back-up. You just have to have nerves of steel. The only thing I can truly imagine ruining a cake altogether is an actual car accident on the way to the delivery, in which case I would just refund the bride's money and feel HORRIBLE! Although even that, I have pretty strong architecture inside my cakes & unless it was a terrible accident. I bet the cake could almost survive a car accident. I have had sugar figures (people made from sugar) droop because the humidity is too high but I just add some extra bamboo sticks and I've gotten them back into basically the right shape.

The stuff you see on TV when some drunk relative runs in the cake table & knocks it over is not my problem. I deliver it, take a photo of it, & my liability ends.

[donac]

Originally Posted by princessbride6205

I arrived at my folks house in NJ today. I had an OP day for breakfast, lunch and dinner - but I'll be having some drinks and cookies. I'm treating this trip as a bit of a vacation, since we don't have any trips planned this year. I'll be straying from plan to enjoy drinks, desserts and snacks, but most meals will be OP.

But I'm really excited to report that I finally fit back into some of my old summer tops. We were packing last night, so I was trying on clothes at the back of my closet to see if any of those old things fit. I couldn't believe some of them did! And I met my mini goal of losing 7+ pounds by today in Biggest Loser. I've lost 5.63% since I started BL - so thanks to all of you for your help and inspiration in this process! I've still got a bit to go, but I'm more than halfway to my overall goal and I'm much happier and confident in how I look. Weightloss is achievable - for all of you, too! Have a great OP weekend - and enjoy yourself little too!

Where are you staying in NJ? I am exit 105 on the parkway. My parents live in the Meadowlands (which is where I grew up) but I am a central Jersey girl now.

[donac]

Congratulations to the member of the BL who participated in COW 4. There weren't many. Here are the participants for COW 4

Fourth Place
LuvBallo 31

Third Place
sahbushka 34

Second Place
TammyNC 39

And our WINNER for COW 4 is
MickeyMagic 42






Don't forget that COW 5 ran for two weeks so you are sending me points for a possible 94 points.



COW 6

THis week's COW starts on Friday July 3rd and will run until midnight Thursday 7/9/09 Maybe if you haven't tried the COW you could give it a try now.

YOu get 1 point for each day you follow the COW



Drink 8 glasses of water (1 point for each day)
Eat 3 servings of veggies (1 point for each day)
Eat 3 pieces of fruit (1 point for each day)
Do 4000 steps or 30 minutes of exercise (1 point for each day)
Do 20 minutes a day on something you like to do (1 point each day)
Eat 2 servings of dairy or its equivalent
Write 2 notes to someone you haven't heard from lately (1 point for each note)
Try 3 new foods this week. Either a new fruit or veggie or a healthy food that you have been wanting to try. Come back and tell us what you tried and how you liked it. (1 point for each new food tried)

On Friday 7/10/09 send me

XX days drinking water
XX days eating 2 serving of veggies
XX days eating 2 pieces of fruit.
XX days of steps or exercise
XX days of 5 minutes doing something you like to do
XX days eating 2 servings of dairy or its equivalent
XX notes to someone
XX new foods tried


Thanks and enjoy the COW


Do you do not have to do the entire COW. You can do bits and pieces of it that work into your plan. It is just there to motivate you and to help you think about developing new habits. THis will be a progressive thing. As the weeks go on I will be adding to these new habits

[sahbushka]

Hi all. I didn't get to they gym tonight as I found out at 2pm that I was going to be working until midnight instead of 4pm! However, I did have my dh bring me a healthy meal to work so that was good. He brought a subway sandwich, granola bar and a grapefruit.

Sarah

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Now that all my dishes are unpacked I can cook again. I tried to stock up on healthy options. Lots of fruits, veggie,s and lean meats.

[sahbushka]

I just checked my percentage lost since the start of the challenge and it is 7.7%...not bad at all! That is over 1% a week. I want to lose a total of 42% so I am over 1/6th the way there!

Sarah

[Worfiedoodles]

Good Mornining, fellow BL Contestants!

I'm your coach this week, and we are going to get off to a great start (yes, I need one!) with our QOTD!

Friday QOTD: What do you tell yourself when you see a number on the scale you are unhappy with, or something fits tighter than it should? Do you encourage yourself?

This is a real area I've been working on. Every week is not going to be a stellar one, so I'm trying to look at overall success, rather than one moment in time. I've been telling myself that tomorrow or the next day I will see progress, sometimes my brain gets ahead of my body!

I'll be back later to post more (I have to go to that pesky work this morning), so please let us know how you cope, and don't forget to send your weight to LuvBaloo!

Maria

[donac]

Good Friday morning For the first time in a long time the sun is shining here in jersey. DH is out working in the yard already. I think he had to since the dog started rip up the bags of mulch he didn't use yesterday.

Ds got a yellow lab as a graduation from college present last year and then moved back home. He and his gf did ask us if it was alright. (THey told us they had something they wanted to talk to us about. After dating for 4 years they could have told us they were getting married. The dog was the better alternative). The dog loves wood. She loves to chew the wood from the wood pile we have. ANy branch that falls from the trees are fair game. Last week she was running through the yard with a branch that was three times her size.

Originally Posted by sahbushka

Hi all. I didn't get to they gym tonight as I found out at 2pm that I was going to be working until midnight instead of 4pm! However, I did have my dh bring me a healthy meal to work so that was good. He brought a subway sandwich, granola bar and a grapefruit.

Sarah

I'm glad you were able to handle the switch, even if you didn't get to the gym. That must be rough to get a change like that.

Originally Posted by Eeyores Butterfly

Now that all my dishes are unpacked I can cook again. I tried to stock up on healthy options. Lots of fruits, veggie,s and lean meats.

Did you have the kitchen redone? There is nothing like a new frig to get you into healthy eating. I got a new one in April and I am still trying to put only healthy things in it.

Originally Posted by sahbushka

I just checked my percentage lost since the start of the challenge and it is 7.7%...not bad at all! That is over 1% a week. I want to lose a total of 42% so I am over 1/6th the way there!

Sarah

Congrats.

Have a great day everyone. Don't forget to send in your weight to luvballo and your COW points to me. With the cast on my foot I am not weighing in for a couple more weeks.

[SpaceMtnFan]

Hi gang Fappy Friday the day before the fourth. Well here is the scoop on my weigh-in I lost 2 pounds since last week I now weigh 185 pounds. I also got my test results from my Doctors Appointment on june 18th. My EKG is Normal . My blood test was excelent all is well there, and All the other test My Doctor did on me were Good I have a clean bill of health. . I am looking forward to tonight I am going to my Hometown's Big Fireworks celebration in Downtown Columbus Ohio then I will go back to my Parent's Delaware County Home (25 Miles north of Columbus ohio) for the 4th of July weekend.


Happy 4th of July

[corinnak]

I have computer access again! What a week. House guests, visiting relatives who love dessert, another birthday, and NO computer because my hard drive suddenly up and died. Well, I had a decent loss anyhow this week: -1.2 pounds. I track on WW online, and their mobile app is good, but not great when there is no 3G network. For a while, I was scribbling my food in a little notebook, even.

Tomorrow is race day - 10 miles, and a small race, so I will be at the backity back of the packity pack. I'm excited for it and hope the weather is good. I just got a message from ASI about a photo sale and I looked at my half-marathon photos again. I barely recognize my body in those photos anymore. At the time, I had no desire to order one, but now, any time I question whether I've really changed my body, well, those photos make the answer obvious.

[corinnak]

Friday QOTD: What do you tell yourself when you see a number on the scale you are unhappy with, or something fits tighter than it should? Do you encourage yourself?

I wrote what I tell myself about this on WW online here: Deconstructing Weigh-In Mystique

I'll just C&P for your convenience, though.

Deconstructing Weigh-in Mystique

written by corinnak4 on 6/18/2009

I have read and heard some crazy stuff regarding weigh-ins. People stripping down to practically nothing at a WW meeting. Making sure you are absolutely 100% empty. Eating or drinking foods that are more diuretic to try to ditch some of that water weight at the last minute. Not to mention the practice of basically going crazy for the rest of the day after weigh in, only to spend the last 3 or 4 days of the week trying to make up for it until the next weigh in. It reminds me of cramming for a test.

Yes, a gain is discouraging. A maintain is better than a gain but still a little demoralizing, I have to admit. I would love to see a nice loss every week until I get to my goal. That's not the reality of how it goes, though. I have had some weeks when I've worked really hard and the scale does not move. I have had some plateaus. THAT is the way this goes.

And the fact of the matter is, for me, it is not tomorrow's weigh in that is really important. Whether I get to the 30 pound loss mark tomorrow or three weeks from tomorrow, the main thing is: I am heading in the right direction. The important weigh in is the one in 3 months. Where am I going to be in August or September? Will I weigh considerably less then than I do today? That is the kind of weigh in I can't fudge or cram for. Regardless of which clothes I'm wearing, regardless of what I've had for breakfast or not, regardless of how much watermelon I ate the night before, I undeniably weigh less now than I did in April. I get on the scale fully clothed at the end of the day and I weigh less than I did then. Which is not to say that I don't try to keep the time, place and circumstances of each weekly weigh in about the same!

The weekly weigh in is a reasonable kind of checking in. That is all. It need have no more power over me than that.

[mikamah]

Good morning and congratulations to all of you who are losing!! Nice work!

I have not been around. My mom went downhill real fast last week in the hospital, and came home on thursday with hospice. She was very comfortable at home, and knew she was there, and our whole family was with her, her grandkids playing in the yard right outside her bedroom window, and she could hear them. She died last friday, so beautifully with all of us with her. Just what she wanted. It was an honor to be with her, and to be able to get her home where she wanted to be. We are all doing ok, and we are all a mess at the same time. Just taking it one day at a time. The week has been a blur, the services were really nice, and a wonderful tribute to an awesome mom and grammy.

Today is the first day completely to ourselves. I think I'm going to go weighin at ww, and get some groceries. We've pretty much been at my sister and brother's houses (next door to each other and my mom lived with my sister) all week, and now we are home. With 2 weeks of comfort food and drinks, I am obviously up, but thinking about it, all the eating has been done away from my house, so I'm hoping to stock up, and now that we are back home, to get back to eating healthy.

Thank you all so much for the good thoughts and prayers. Dona, I'm glad your surgery went well. Lisa, your pms really have meant so much to me. It is so overwhelming, and I know time does heal, and my many wonderful memories will help to sooth my heart, and I will take it one day at a time.

[Worfiedoodles]

Originally Posted by donac

Good Friday morning For the first time in a long time the sun is shining here in jersey. I think he had to since the dog started rip up the bags of mulch he didn't use yesterday. Don't forget to send in your weight to luvballo and your COW points to me. With the cast on my foot I am not weighing in for a couple more weeks.

Sun? What's that? If not for our recent trip to FL, I would have forgotten what it looks like! The puppy sounds like alot of fun -- just keep the wood he can have handy! I forgot to mention the COW -- Thank you for being our COW keeper!

[QUOTE=SpaceMtnFan;32543084]Hi gang Fappy Friday the day before the fourth. Well here is the scoop on my weigh-in I lost 2 pounds since last week I now weigh 185 pounds. I also got my test results from my Doctors Appointment on june 18th. My EKG is Normal . My blood test was excelent all is well there, and All the other test My Doctor did on me were Good I have a clean bill of health.

That's the best news! Congratulations on your continuing good health, that is what weight loss is all about!

[QUOTE=corinnak;32543263]I have computer access again! What a week. House guests, visiting relatives who love dessert, another birthday, and NO computer because my hard drive suddenly up and died.

Tomorrow is race day - 10 miles, and a small race, so I will be at the backity back of the packity pack.

So glad to see you back! Best of luck with race day!

Originally Posted by corinnak

Friday QOTD: What do you tell yourself when you see a number on the scale you are unhappy with, or something fits tighter than it should? Do you encourage yourself?

The weekly weigh in is a reasonable kind of checking in. That is all. It need have no more power over me than that.

Excellent comment!

Originally Posted by mikamah

My mom went downhill real fast last week in the hospital, and came home on thursday with hospice.

I am so sorry for your loss. I have been there, and my best advice is to give yourself time. It took me about 18 months to feel "normal" again. Be very gentle with yourself, and don't push yourself too hard. Do what feels right, whenever it feels right to do.

Please bear with me if I don't get the multiquotes exactly right. Lisa gave me an excellent tutorial, but it's a new skill

Maria

[lisah0711]

Good morning, losers!

No internet service at home, maybe all week-end! I'm not sure the I-Phone will work too well for me.

Thanks estherhead for being a great coach -- I loved your format! Thanks to Maria for coaching this week. You guys are the best!

Please PM LuvBaloo with your weigh in and donac with the COW.

I am a samer again. I know why and what I need to do so onward and downward for me!

I will try and come back later. Have a great 4th everyone!