This (DISNEY)land Was Made For You and Me - July 2016 Weight Loss and Lifestyle Change Challenge

[rascooby]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first time joining. I'm Robin. DH and I will be celebrating our 18th anniversary this month. We have 3 girls, an Australian Shepherd and a Great Dane puppy. We live in North Texas. I'm a stay-at-home-mom.

A couple summers ago, DH and I both did a low-carb diet. It was kind of miserable, but we both lost 30lbs. Then, you guessed it, we gained it back over the next year. So, I am really trying to make permanent life changes that I can live with and keep weight off!

My goal for this month will be 70,000 steps a week. I am currently wearing a Microsoft Band, but my Fitbit is charging now and I think I'll switch back to my that. I would love to add some Fitbit friends once I get that set up again.

It's very hot here, so I will probably be walking on my treadmill. I enjoy walking outside much more, but not in this weather. During the past year I have been trying hard to get more real food, less sugar, etc, into our house. It's an ongoing struggle. Eventually, I would like to follow the eating guidelines of 5-6 fruits and veggies per day, 2-3 servings of healthy carbs and one serving of dessert. I feel like that is something I could stick to. Also, I'm going out today to get a Fitness Planner, so I will try to write down what I eat and keep track of that.

Thanks for letting me join!

 

[Flossbolna]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first time joining. I'm Robin. DH and I will be celebrating our 18th anniversary this month. We have 3 girls, an Australian Shepherd and a Great Dane puppy. We live in North Texas. I'm a stay-at-home-mom.

A couple summers ago, DH and I both did a low-carb diet. It was kind of miserable, but we both lost 30lbs. Then, you guessed it, we gained it back over the next year. So, I am really trying to make permanent life changes that I can live with and keep weight off!

My goal for this month will be 70,000 steps a week. I am currently wearing a Microsoft Band, but my Fitbit is charging now and I think I'll switch back to my that. I would love to add some Fitbit friends once I get that set up again.

It's very hot here, so I will probably be walking on my treadmill. I enjoy walking outside much more, but not in this weather. During the past year I have been trying hard to get more real food, less sugar, etc, into our house. It's an ongoing struggle. Eventually, I would like to follow the eating guidelines of 5-6 fruits and veggies per day, 2-3 servings of healthy carbs and one serving of dessert. I feel like that is something I could stick to. Also, I'm going out today to get a Fitness Planner, so I will try to write down what I eat and keep track of that.

Thanks for letting me join!

I really like the Fitbit app to track my food as I can see exactly how many calories I burned compared to what I ate. Others do the same with the app My Fitness Pal. Both are great tools!

 

[piglet1979]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first time joining. I'm Robin. DH and I will be celebrating our 18th anniversary this month. We have 3 girls, an Australian Shepherd and a Great Dane puppy. We live in North Texas. I'm a stay-at-home-mom.

A couple summers ago, DH and I both did a low-carb diet. It was kind of miserable, but we both lost 30lbs. Then, you guessed it, we gained it back over the next year. So, I am really trying to make permanent life changes that I can live with and keep weight off!

My goal for this month will be 70,000 steps a week. I am currently wearing a Microsoft Band, but my Fitbit is charging now and I think I'll switch back to my that. I would love to add some Fitbit friends once I get that set up again.

It's very hot here, so I will probably be walking on my treadmill. I enjoy walking outside much more, but not in this weather. During the past year I have been trying hard to get more real food, less sugar, etc, into our house. It's an ongoing struggle. Eventually, I would like to follow the eating guidelines of 5-6 fruits and veggies per day, 2-3 servings of healthy carbs and one serving of dessert. I feel like that is something I could stick to. Also, I'm going out today to get a Fitness Planner, so I will try to write down what I eat and keep track of that.

Thanks for letting me join!

Welcome to the group!!!!

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

I'm going to join in this month , I need some accountability in my life to help me get healthier!

I'm Melanie, I'm 32 and a stay at home mom living in Florida with 5 kids all under 10. I started running a year ago to lose weight from baby #5, and do atleast a 5k once a month. I haven't lost much weight from running because I still eat so bad. I'm excited to be joining the tour since I will be traveling to DL in Sept!!

My goal for this month will be to drop 5lbs. I am training for the WDW marathon in January and I know losing weight will help me run faster and allow me to enjoy my races more. My struggles will come from eating, I have the exercise part down now (I hope) I just need to fix my eating. I am a sugar addict and if it's there I'm eating it. How I will overcome it is I will not have sweets in the house. I will also get DH to help with the grocery shopping so I won't be tempted.

Answer to the bonus ? We always go left, I read somewhere that your instinct is to go right so I try to do the opposite to avoid the crowds (like that's possible at a Disney Park )

 

[piglet1979]

I see that everyone is saying which way they go in each park. I only mentioned MK. I typically split up MK. One day we do Fantasyland and Tomrrowland. Typically we go to Fantasyland first except if fastpasses have us going to Tomorrowland first. Our second day we do Adventureland and Frountierland. Again which why we go depends on fastpasses. EPCOT we always go to Test Track first so we go left. World showcase we go left too. I will eventually see all of WS. HS we usually go straight to Toy Story Mania. AK it is a free for all. We just have not figured this park out yet. We tend to do the most walking here because we end up lost and back tracking a lot.

 

[mamattorney]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first time joining. I'm Robin. DH and I will be celebrating our 18th anniversary this month. We have 3 girls, an Australian Shepherd and a Great Dane puppy. We live in North Texas. I'm a stay-at-home-mom.

A couple summers ago, DH and I both did a low-carb diet. It was kind of miserable, but we both lost 30lbs. Then, you guessed it, we gained it back over the next year. So, I am really trying to make permanent life changes that I can live with and keep weight off!

My goal for this month will be 70,000 steps a week. I am currently wearing a Microsoft Band, but my Fitbit is charging now and I think I'll switch back to my that. I would love to add some Fitbit friends once I get that set up again.

It's very hot here, so I will probably be walking on my treadmill. I enjoy walking outside much more, but not in this weather. During the past year I have been trying hard to get more real food, less sugar, etc, into our house. It's an ongoing struggle. Eventually, I would like to follow the eating guidelines of 5-6 fruits and veggies per day, 2-3 servings of healthy carbs and one serving of dessert. I feel like that is something I could stick to. Also, I'm going out today to get a Fitness Planner, so I will try to write down what I eat and keep track of that.

Thanks for letting me join!

Welcome!

 

[courtneybeth]

This is my first time joining. I'm Robin.

Welcome Robin -- you picked a great month to participate!

I'm going to join in this month , I need some accountability in my life to help me get healthier!

Yessss - hey stranger. Welcome to the insanity -- I'm so glad you're here

 

[donac]

I am going to join this month but my goals are not too lofty. In 6 weeks ds1 is getting married. I thought I would weigh a lot less than I am right now but I can not obsess over that.

Goals
1. Check in and write a response here each day.
2. Get some exercise time every day even if it is just walking the dog.

I know that I can do these two for the month.

I am a 61 year old retired high school math teacher living at the the jersey shore. I have been married to my college sweetheart for almost 38 years (will be 38 on Aug 5th a week before the wedding.) My dh is a retired math teacher also. We both have part time jobs at a local college (I mean 5 minutes away in the same town we live in). I teach a couple of courses and he is a parking lot attendant. We are both off for the summer. He goes back Aug 1 and I go back right after Labor Day. We have 2 boys 31 and 26, a cat and a rescue dog named Pascal.

This wedding in Aug will be the 3rd wedding since last Dec. My niece got married in Dec, my nephew got married in June (had to go to Wichita for that one), ds1 will get married in Aug and my other niece will get married in Sept and then ds2 gets married next April. So as you can see a lot of wedding things going on. I even how a shower tomorrow at a Tea House about an hour away from my house.

Question of the Day
How we go into the park depends on which bag check side is more crowded. I would say most of the time we go to the right but we have gone to the left some times. If it is early morning then is EMH and we are headed to Fantasyland.

Have a happy and healthy day everyone.

 

[courtneybeth]

Goals
1. Check in and write a response here each day.
2. Get some exercise time every day even if it is just walking the dog.

You'll definitely be earning a Disneyland map and pin for sure with these goals.

 

[pjlla]

JULY 1st - Welcome to Your Tour!

HELLO EVERYONE, AND WELCOME TO THE FIRST DAY OF THIS FUN TOUR OF DISNEYLAND.

Today we begin our tour of Disneyland at the very beginning of the park: The MAIN ENTRANCE.

With our tickets in hand and we will walk through the main gates together and begin our walking tour
and journey to a better you! While we wait for the rest of our party to join us and we get this
crazy thing underway, let's have you take a moment to introduce yourself.

Question(s) Of the Day:
Briefly Introduce Yourself.
Briefly tell us your plan for the next 31 days, any potential struggles you'll face, and how you'll overcome them.

Bonus question: When you walk through the main gates, do you head right or left first?
​

Hey all!! I'm Pamela.... just turned 5x (yucky number!). Mom of two adults.... DS is a recent HS graduate off to college this fall, and DD is heading into her Junior year at college in the fall. Married to DH for 24 years this past May, living in rural New Hampshire (Northeast coast of USA, for those not familiar). After a LIFETIME of starts and stops with WW (and many other weight loss plans, diets, scams, and schemes), something FINALLY clicked in 2008 and I stuck with it all the way to GOAL in 2009, losing nearly 90 pounds. I became a WW leader in 2013 and a WW 24/7 Expert Chat coach in March of this year.

One thing that really changed on THIS particular time around, was that I actually decided to start exercising. I started with WATP DVDs at home and progressed onto the TM and bikes at the Y, then the occasional bootcamp class, and spin class, and eventually I decided I was a runner! I worked my way up to running 6 miles 4 x week (along with weight training a few days) and I LOVED how I looked and how I felt and the sense of accomplishment with every mile..... but I HATED the actual running. I did it as a means to an end (to help me stay at goal). I finally gave myself permission to STOP running (after a few years), but unfortunately it slowly dwindled down to almost NO exercise. I am working my way BACK to some regular exercise, but I will admit it is hard because there is so little that I LIKE about exercise! I have managed to stay right around my goal, but it is getting increasingly harder to stay there and this past month was the FIRST TIME since last Christmas that I was actually BELOW my goal. So my biggest struggle is exercise and I am still working on overcoming. I set a personal goal to do 10 squats and a plank every day in June and did NOT accomplish that goal..... partly because I didn't write it in my food/exercise journal and make it part of my daily checklist and when life got CRAZY busy (as it did in June), I completely forgot about it.... for days on end.

For July I will be setting a MILEAGE/step goal for myself personally (but this won't be my challenge goal) and I need to create a CHECKLIST to add to my food/exercise journal so that I see it EVERY DAY! I do love a good checklist so hopefully this will help me overcome my exercise apathy. I will also be sticking with my WW eating, as usual. It has worked for 8 years, so why would I change it now!??

Hmmm...... I honestly cannot remember if we routinely head left or right. I'm going to say LEFT at WDW because that gives you the most straight shot to the castle.....but I'm sure we've gone in right as well..... because we are "rope drop" kind of people and the opening show at MK is more to the right, so if we are waiting to see it, we are probably off to the right........P

 

[pjlla]

Hey friends!! I am here and caught up!! SO MANY new faces!!! That is so exciting!

For my US friends, happy July 4th weekend! I am SO looking forward to just a few days of NOTHING but sitting on the beach and reading a book. I normally am NOT good at relaxing like that, but I've been working three jobs since March plus getting the house/yard ready for DS's graduation party, plus helping DD move from her dorm to her summer apartment and haven't had much time to do NOTHING. I have absolutely NO WORK to do until my WW meeting Tuesday evening!! We will head to Cape Cod to stay with DH's family for a few days of relaxation on the beach and I plan to make the most of it by doing NOTHING other than taking long beach walks, picking up shells, getting sunburned in a chair while reading a book, and watching fireworks on the beach!

Dinner is ready to go on the grill, but DH headed out to return a power tool he borrowed from a friend, so I'm holding off until I know he is on his way home..... but I'm ravenous!

BTW, I've only been to DL once in my life.... that was in 2005. In 2004 I had lost 40 pounds, but regained 20 of it and I was (sadly) visiting DL at a solid 200 pounds. I absolutely CANNOT WAIT to have a NEW picture taken in Disneyland at GOAL WEIGHT!!!

Here is a photo from that trip.................



And here is one from our 2011 WDW trip..... I was actually almost 6 pounds below goal the day we left for that trip. I felt on top of the world and DD and I loved every photo (well, nearly every photo.... I was having hair issues due to the humidity!).



So there you have it!................P

 

[kirstie101]

Question(s) Of the Day:
Briefly Introduce Yourself.
Hi all! My name is Kirsten and I'm a 38 year old wife and mom of two. DD is 9 and DS is 5. I work full time so btwn that and the kids activities I'm pretty busy. I love running, especially if its rundisney! Disneyland is like my 2nd home. I'm happiest with a glass of wine in my hand and flip-flops on my feet! My MFP name is kirstenmarne


Briefly tell us your plan for the next 31 days, any potential struggles you'll face, and how you'll overcome them.

My goal this month is going to be to lose 5lbs. Which is going to require me getting on the scale for the first time in 2 months. I can tell I've gained by the way my clothes fit. Its time to stop eating whatever I want and start making good choices. To reach my goal I'm going to start drinking more water, make better food choices, stick to my exercise plan and start tracking my calories again. Sounds simple but 5lbs in one month is a lot for me usually. Struggles this month will be parties and vacations. Monday is a BBQ/bday party. Thursday - Sunday we are on "vacation" at a family reunion. And the last few days of the month we are camping. I find making good decisions is so much harder when I'm in vacation mode. But I'm committed to fitting comfortably in my clothes again!

Bonus question: When you walk through the main gates, do you head right or left first?
We go right more often than we go left I think.

 

[4Mickeys]

@pjlla love the pic in front of the castle ..... you look so much happier in the second photo ... but I must say even before I scrolled down to your second pic I had already compared the castle pic to your recent grad day/wedding pic you posted in your lovely dress and noticed the huge difference.

Carrying extra weight changes our whole demeanour in photos doesn't it?? When I see photos of myself even though I might be happy I can still see the self-consciousness in myself.

What side of the park do you exit on - right or left? We tend to enter left and exit right. I wonder if there's a science to this - we also do EPCOT starting in Canada most of the time too.

Hi @SarahDisney - I see you're joining us from the other entrance! Were you staying at a Good Neighbor Hotel when you took that photo - because it looks like the bus entrance (or if you're coming from the Toy Story lot). I usually come in from the Downtown Disney entrance because we park in the Mickey & Friends structure.

I put these 2 quotes together as I think that influences my entry to the park just like Sarah - Both times I have stayed off property on Harbour - the most recent we stayed at the Desert Inn & Suites and so it was only a couple of doors down from the crosswalk where Sarah is pictured so we would just head into the gates closest to us, look at the Mickey Garden and then head to the right. We tended to head back out the same entrance at the end of the day again I think that is just influenced by where we are staying I think - as we are already heading in that direction. I do think we used the other one if we were heading out into DTD. The time before that the entrance where Sarah is didn't exist lol it was a big fence that's how long ago that trip was - I stayed at the Carousel Inn & Suites but back then most of the people staying in the hotels along there headed out of their hotels and waited for a shuttle bus to take them down the street around the corner and through the car park - which is now DCA! - to hop off near the main entrance. But even then for some reason I would enter on the right I am so happy this has changed - I loved the feel of just walking across the road and being there.

I must say when I get to the end of Main Street to the Hub I always have to admire the Castle and mostly go into Fantasyland.

 

[verleniahall]

Conpleted Goal for July 1st!

 

[Dr Gunnie]

JULY 1st - Welcome to Your Tour!
View attachment 178520
Uh... Sorry about the wait to get started. Things got a little "crowded" as we waited for July 1.
(Actual picture taken by yours truly about a month ago on a random Saturday morning - thanks metal detectors!)

HELLO EVERYONE, AND WELCOME TO THE FIRST DAY OF THIS FUN TOUR OF DISNEYLAND.

Today we begin our tour of Disneyland at the very beginning of the park: The MAIN ENTRANCE.
View attachment 178524

With our tickets in hand and we will walk through the main gates together and begin our walking tour
and journey to a better you! While we wait for the rest of our party to join us and we get this
crazy thing underway, let's have you take a moment to introduce yourself.

Question(s) Of the Day:
Briefly Introduce Yourself.
Briefly tell us your plan for the next 31 days, any potential struggles you'll face, and how you'll overcome them.

Bonus question: When you walk through the main gates, do you head right or left first?
​

​

My name is Josh. I'm 41 years old and I'm a 6th grade special education teacher and I coach high school football. I've been married for 14 years and my wife and I have an 11 year old son and a 6 year old daughter. I was born in Buffalo, NY, but have lived in numerous states including Colorado, Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia, and currently in Illinois.

For me, the pounds really started adding on once I stopped playing football in college. For the past 8 years, I've pretty much bounced from 300 to 320 pounds. I did a couple diets where I lost a bit, but it never stuck.

I started my current diet on January 6th after a trip to Disney World and the holidays. To date I've lost 91 pounds and currently weigh 229. People ask me what's different this time? Exercise. We got a treadmill and I started walking at first for about the first two months... that led to jogging for maybe a half mile... then a mile. I worked my way up to my first 5k in April, first 10K in May, and now getting ready for my first half marathon in October.

One of my goals is to come up with a consistent running schedule to lead up to the half. My goal once school starts is to run three days a week. Short run on Tuesdays, medium run on Thursdays, and long run on Sundays. Time is at a premium during football season, but practice is shorter on Thusdays and we don't meet on Sundays, so I think it can work. Until practice/school starts, I'm trying to run 4 days a week.

I think I started with these threads in February and they have been very helpful. Great support team - hope I can be of help for others!

----------

As for which way to go - we've only been to the World and we normally go right, but not always. Just depends. Usually we try and hit Space Mountain early w/o a Fastpass... and we are rope drop people.

We've talked about going to the Land, just hard to figure out the time. We were thinking maybe right after Christmas this year, but we don't want to deal with the week after Christmas crowds (plus we will be back in Orlando a few months later in March).

 

[courtneybeth]

We've talked about going to the Land, just hard to figure out the time. We were thinking maybe right after Christmas this year, but we don't want to deal with the week after Christmas crowds (plus we will be back in Orlando a few months later in March).

The first couple weeks of December aren't too bad - once you hit the 20th through New Years it can be pretty crowded. But you only have two parks and can probably accomplish everything you want in 3 days, maybe 4 if you stretch it out. The best part of Disneyland is the paper fastpass system. And if you properly utilize it you'll have a blast at maximizing your park time.

Most passholders are now blocked out the week of Christmas and New Years, so this will help alleviate the crowds. Disneyland instituted a new tier of passes where you get the 365 day access for $1050 or the same access, but blocked out those two weeks for $850. Includes all the same stuff but you can't go those two weeks -- which is what most people who were former 365 access passholders have switched to.

It should be a good time to go - Disneyland is gorgeous at Christmas and you can see Haunted Mansion Holiday (when Nightmare before Christmas gets overlayed on the Haunted Mansion) and the Small World Christmas.

Totally worth it -- let me know if I can help you at all plan a trip

 

[piglet1979]

Kids are not quite in bed yet but will be soon but I was able to get out for a walk. Almost to 10,000 steps for today. I needed this wall too just to clear my head. It was a rough night with my daughter and doing her eye therapy exercises. She fought me the whole time. I need to get creative to make this fun for her. If not my stress level will be through the roof until it is over at the end of october.

 

[Oneanne]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first time joining. I'm Robin. DH and I will be celebrating our 18th anniversary this month. We have 3 girls, an Australian Shepherd and a Great Dane puppy. We live in North Texas. I'm a stay-at-home-mom.

A couple summers ago, DH and I both did a low-carb diet. It was kind of miserable, but we both lost 30lbs. Then, you guessed it, we gained it back over the next year. So, I am really trying to make permanent life changes that I can live with and keep weight off!

My goal for this month will be 70,000 steps a week. I am currently wearing a Microsoft Band, but my Fitbit is charging now and I think I'll switch back to my that. I would love to add some Fitbit friends once I get that set up again.

It's very hot here, so I will probably be walking on my treadmill. I enjoy walking outside much more, but not in this weather. During the past year I have been trying hard to get more real food, less sugar, etc, into our house. It's an ongoing struggle. Eventually, I would like to follow the eating guidelines of 5-6 fruits and veggies per day, 2-3 servings of healthy carbs and one serving of dessert. I feel like that is something I could stick to. Also, I'm going out today to get a Fitness Planner, so I will try to write down what I eat and keep track of that.

Thanks for letting me join!

You can add me as aFitBit friend: Popperfisk@gmail.com. I've always got challenges going on and try to maintain my daily 10,000. Where are you in north Texas? I have a brother in a Pilot a Point north of Dallas.

 

[Oneanne]

Hello all.

I'm Lizanne, single, and still shocked to report I turned 60 a few weeks ago. I think this is my 4th month doing challenges. I've been over weight most of my adult life, with just a few healthful breaks. I got serious about getting things under control in January, but have been off the rails since my WDW trip in May. Prior to the trip I had lost 30 pounds, but I have managed to put 9 back on and am feeling pretty crappy. I'm a sugar addict and that adds to the weight loss struggle. I have about 40 more pounds I need to lose.

My first goal for July is to drop the 9 pounds I've just put back on. 9 is a lot for 4 weeks, but I know exactly what I've been doing wrong and there are a couple changes that will make a big impact. My second goal is to mix it up and try some new physical activities, or doing some of the things I already do but change them up. I'm going to do at least one different thing each week. Today I kicked the month off by going to the Zoo and getting my steps in there. I also plan on doing at least one hike and trying Zumba or Jazzer-size.

In MK I always go thru the entrance to the right, then at the end of Main Street go left to Adventure Land. At EPCOT FW I go right, and have had a couple trips where I've never made it to the left side at all. At WS its 50:50 Canada or Mexico first, but coming in thru IG I usually go right to France.

Today I've logged everything I've eaten, which hasn't been happening for a couple weeks. I'm going to be over points, due mostly to some licorice I had, but it's all accounted for. Yay me!

 

[rascooby]

You can add me as aFitBit friend: Popperfisk@gmail.com. I've always got challenges going on and try to maintain my daily 10,000. Where are you in north Texas? I have a brother in a Pilot a Point north of Dallas.

I need to get my Fitbit thing plugged into my computer and then I'll add you as a friend. Thanks! I am right near Frisco/Plano. It looks like I'm about 45 minutes from your brother.