AdventurerKat
<font color=FF99FF>Cries in her Jello shots<br><fo
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2001
If someone happens to stumble upon this thread wondering what the heck I am talking about, this is a challenge/support thread for the women participating in the DIS Ladies Only Meet in September. 
Alright Ladies. Let's do this!
Welcome to the DIS Ladies Only Meet Weight Loss Challenge. My name is Kat and I will be your weight-keeper on this journey.
First, I will tell you a little about me and how I ended up needing to be involved in this challenge in the first place. If you feel like sharing your story, please do so. If you don't, that's fine too. I am basing this challenge on what we used to do at my old office and the first thing was telling our story as kind of a "release". Also feel free to skip over it to the "good stuff" if you are feeling like you don't want or need or care to know why I am overweight today. I will do this part in teeny writing so that its quicker to skip over for those of you that are bored.
I was a skinny girl, 5'7" - 120/125, up until about the time I turned 24. It was about this time I stopped my party girl ways and started staying in with my later to be husband. Funny, when I drank alot of beer and partied all the time, I was thin. The minute I stopped consuming multiple alcoholic beverages on a weekly basis, I gained weight. (I would say alot of it had to do that I was a dancing fool when I was doing all that drinking, but I digress.) Its funny (not funny ha ha, but funny peculiar) when I think back to a prophetic night, a night my now DH and I decided to go out after a several month absence from the party scene. A friend, a male friend, came over to me and said "you know, you look like you have gained a bit of weight. you might want to get that under control, and fast, before it gets out of hand." Now, naturally I wanted to punch his lights out. I had (only) gained about 15 pounds at that point but obviously it was starting to show. In hindsight, he was showing concern, and obviously was psychic.
So slowly but surely, and with too many trips to the best Mexican restaurant in Seattle, I was gaining weight. I gained about 45 pounds in about two years just from lack of doing anything but watching TV with the boyfriend while eating junk. We were homebodies and basically lazy. I admit it. When I first realized how I was looking I was pretty much OMG. It was at that point I started using that new weight loss miracle drug combination phen-phen. I was on it for about two months and lost twenty-five pounds. Oh was I a happy girl!! But it was also about that time that they realized the massive damage it was doing to people, and killing people. No more phen-phen. Which was a good thing not just because it was endangering my life, but because I was pretty much a raving word that rhymes with witch while I was using it. So after I could no longer take it, the weight started coming back on because lo and behold, I got hungry now. Imagine that. But then I got engaged, so I got my behind to a gym and started working out. I started losing weight again. I was a happy girl and got married at what was a fairly reasonable weight for me, but certainly nowhere near my 120.
Then enter my first pregnancy. Boy did I gain back the weight and then some. I ate, and ate, and ate some more. I think alot of people might have expected I was carrying twins. I was not. Enter my first son, born in 99. After I had him, well, life was all about him. I was fat but I didn't care. For a while. Somewhere around 2001 I came out of that fog and started to think "Hey, get off your butt and do something" and I did. I joined a gym and started working out. Fairly quickly, I lost about 20 pounds and I was feeling good. Then enter my second pregancy. Yes, I know how you get pregnant but let me assure you he was a surprise. And guess what...here comes the weight gain, part deux.
In 2003 my second child was born. I have lost some of the weight here and there, I even lost 20 pounds when we first moved to Florida last year, but I gained most of it back. Why? Well, there's an always stocked candy dish at my work I have a hard time saying no to. I have been drinking regular soda instead of diet (or just plain water). I don't drink enough water (see previous response). I don't work out. And I still eat junk. I take full responsibility for why I weigh what I weigh. But I am going to walk past the candy, put away the soda (regular...I still need my diet pepsi cherry!), get off my butt, and do something about it.
My goal in all this is to get back to me. I will never be back to a 125 pound me, and frankly, I don't want to, I know I would be there for about a day. But a reasonable weight for me where I can wear the clothes I want and feel ok about my size. My son's friend made a comment to him the other day that his "mommy is fat" and that hurt his feelings. I tried to explain to him that people are all different and its o.k. to be fat. And I do feel it is o.k. to be fat. Its just not what I want to be anymore.
Alright, enough about me.
So here is what I am thinking. I am going to keep a chart of everyone's weight. Yes, you will need to divulge your starting weight to me if you wish to participate in the challenge. (If you just want support in your weight loss journey from the other Ladies Only ladies, that's o.k. too - and for the one of you that offered to share your story and help motivate, please DO IT!) Anyway, I am happy to PM you mine if you are curious. I will not divulge your weight to any of the other ladies. I know alot of us are secretive about that sort of thing. Normally I am too but frankly, if you are going to tell me yours, I think its only fair if you're wondering. And I just got a new scale so rest assured that it's accurate.
And just a note, when you see it, you may think I can't possibly be that weight from looking at my pic. Someone said I didn't even look like I needed to lose weight. (thank you by the way!) Trust me, I do. Its mostly in the bottom half of me you didn't see in the picture. I also tend to look like I weigh a bit less than I actually do. At least that's something, lol.
Each week on Thursday (Starting March 28) you will PM me your weight and I will track it. If you'd like to know how I am doing feel free to ask that too. There will be no judgment from me. I am simply tracking. If you have a bad week and go on a cookie bender, I won't give you h-e-double hockey sticks for it. But if you are having a bad week and you want some encouragement, please come and talk to all us other ladies and I know we will be here for one another.
Now for the challenge part. I know some of us have a bit more to love than the others. So what I am proposing is that the challenge winner be the person who loses the largest PERCENTAGE of body weight, as opposed to actual pounds. Some of you may only want or need to lose 10 or 15 pounds (that's not me), and some of you may be hoping to lose 30 or more (its only 6 months so lets be reasonable and safe). I just think this is the fairest way. If you can think of a way that seems even more fair, let me hear it.
At the end of the six months, on our trip of course, the top three ladies who lost the highest percentage of body weight are going to win a prize. I don't know what that prize will be at this point, and even if I did, I probably wouldn't tell you. I don't want you just doing it for that, do it for you because frankly, if you don't, its not going to work (been there, done that, bought the t-shirt). Just so you know, we're not talking all expense paid trip to the Grand Floridian prize here, so don't get too excited. But I promise it will be something you will want and look at it as a bonus for sticking with it.
Me? Well, I am not competing of course. I am just keeping you all honest. My former boss did this for our office and we had a great time doing it and we all lost weight, even if it was just a little. Healthy competition is good. A healthier body is even better.
I know some of you have asked specifically if you are supposed to do a particular diet plan, etc. I am not advocating any particular method. Different things work for different people. I have had success with WW in the past and am thinking of signing up again, but I may just work something out myself. Anyway, I think this thread will allow all of us to share ideas and what works for each of us so that others can learn from it.
And here is something for fun, if you haven't done it. Go to www.mvm.com and build an avatar of yourself at your current weight and one at what you would like to be at the time of the trip and even your ultimate goal if its one that is not attainable by the time of the trip. Especially for those who have more than a few pounds to lose, you can get some inspiration. And you can try on clothes with them. Its like virtual paper dolls!
We've made the decision to go on this trip with a bunch of our DIS girlfriends. Those of us who are here want to enjoy that trip a bit thinner. So let's support each other and let's lose some weight.
(And forgive me if I didn't pay enough attention to my Tony Robbins tapes)
O.K. I am adding something to the "novel" here. Five weight loss related hints (Besides putting down the cookie) Please PM me your tips and I will add them to the list.
1. Drink at least 8 - 8 oz glasses of water a day. Or even more. (And I am sure some of you saw that ER episode where the guy o.d.-ed on the water - don't drink that much!)
2. Park further away from the store, school, mall, etc. so you have to walk a bit more. It may seem silly but all those extra steps eventually add up.
3. For a consistent scale reading, always make sure your scale is in the same spot and wear the same clothes (or lack thereof) when weighing yourself.
4. Pick a time of day and weigh yourself each week at that same time.
5. DO NOT weigh yourself every day...or worse yet several times a day. Your weight can bounce all over within a week, even when losing. You don't want to get discouraged because today you were 2 pounds under and tomorrow 1 pound over. (when we were doing this at my office, I had to take the scale out of the bathroom because the ladies kept doing this. I do not have access to your scale. just do yourself a favor and stay off of it)
Alright Ladies. Let's do this!
Welcome to the DIS Ladies Only Meet Weight Loss Challenge. My name is Kat and I will be your weight-keeper on this journey.
First, I will tell you a little about me and how I ended up needing to be involved in this challenge in the first place. If you feel like sharing your story, please do so. If you don't, that's fine too. I am basing this challenge on what we used to do at my old office and the first thing was telling our story as kind of a "release". Also feel free to skip over it to the "good stuff" if you are feeling like you don't want or need or care to know why I am overweight today. I will do this part in teeny writing so that its quicker to skip over for those of you that are bored.
I was a skinny girl, 5'7" - 120/125, up until about the time I turned 24. It was about this time I stopped my party girl ways and started staying in with my later to be husband. Funny, when I drank alot of beer and partied all the time, I was thin. The minute I stopped consuming multiple alcoholic beverages on a weekly basis, I gained weight. (I would say alot of it had to do that I was a dancing fool when I was doing all that drinking, but I digress.) Its funny (not funny ha ha, but funny peculiar) when I think back to a prophetic night, a night my now DH and I decided to go out after a several month absence from the party scene. A friend, a male friend, came over to me and said "you know, you look like you have gained a bit of weight. you might want to get that under control, and fast, before it gets out of hand." Now, naturally I wanted to punch his lights out. I had (only) gained about 15 pounds at that point but obviously it was starting to show. In hindsight, he was showing concern, and obviously was psychic.
So slowly but surely, and with too many trips to the best Mexican restaurant in Seattle, I was gaining weight. I gained about 45 pounds in about two years just from lack of doing anything but watching TV with the boyfriend while eating junk. We were homebodies and basically lazy. I admit it. When I first realized how I was looking I was pretty much OMG. It was at that point I started using that new weight loss miracle drug combination phen-phen. I was on it for about two months and lost twenty-five pounds. Oh was I a happy girl!! But it was also about that time that they realized the massive damage it was doing to people, and killing people. No more phen-phen. Which was a good thing not just because it was endangering my life, but because I was pretty much a raving word that rhymes with witch while I was using it. So after I could no longer take it, the weight started coming back on because lo and behold, I got hungry now. Imagine that. But then I got engaged, so I got my behind to a gym and started working out. I started losing weight again. I was a happy girl and got married at what was a fairly reasonable weight for me, but certainly nowhere near my 120.
Then enter my first pregnancy. Boy did I gain back the weight and then some. I ate, and ate, and ate some more. I think alot of people might have expected I was carrying twins. I was not. Enter my first son, born in 99. After I had him, well, life was all about him. I was fat but I didn't care. For a while. Somewhere around 2001 I came out of that fog and started to think "Hey, get off your butt and do something" and I did. I joined a gym and started working out. Fairly quickly, I lost about 20 pounds and I was feeling good. Then enter my second pregancy. Yes, I know how you get pregnant but let me assure you he was a surprise. And guess what...here comes the weight gain, part deux.
In 2003 my second child was born. I have lost some of the weight here and there, I even lost 20 pounds when we first moved to Florida last year, but I gained most of it back. Why? Well, there's an always stocked candy dish at my work I have a hard time saying no to. I have been drinking regular soda instead of diet (or just plain water). I don't drink enough water (see previous response). I don't work out. And I still eat junk. I take full responsibility for why I weigh what I weigh. But I am going to walk past the candy, put away the soda (regular...I still need my diet pepsi cherry!), get off my butt, and do something about it.
My goal in all this is to get back to me. I will never be back to a 125 pound me, and frankly, I don't want to, I know I would be there for about a day. But a reasonable weight for me where I can wear the clothes I want and feel ok about my size. My son's friend made a comment to him the other day that his "mommy is fat" and that hurt his feelings. I tried to explain to him that people are all different and its o.k. to be fat. And I do feel it is o.k. to be fat. Its just not what I want to be anymore.
Alright, enough about me.
So here is what I am thinking. I am going to keep a chart of everyone's weight. Yes, you will need to divulge your starting weight to me if you wish to participate in the challenge. (If you just want support in your weight loss journey from the other Ladies Only ladies, that's o.k. too - and for the one of you that offered to share your story and help motivate, please DO IT!) Anyway, I am happy to PM you mine if you are curious. I will not divulge your weight to any of the other ladies. I know alot of us are secretive about that sort of thing. Normally I am too but frankly, if you are going to tell me yours, I think its only fair if you're wondering. And I just got a new scale so rest assured that it's accurate.
And just a note, when you see it, you may think I can't possibly be that weight from looking at my pic. Someone said I didn't even look like I needed to lose weight. (thank you by the way!) Trust me, I do. Its mostly in the bottom half of me you didn't see in the picture. I also tend to look like I weigh a bit less than I actually do. At least that's something, lol.Each week on Thursday (Starting March 28) you will PM me your weight and I will track it. If you'd like to know how I am doing feel free to ask that too. There will be no judgment from me. I am simply tracking. If you have a bad week and go on a cookie bender, I won't give you h-e-double hockey sticks for it. But if you are having a bad week and you want some encouragement, please come and talk to all us other ladies and I know we will be here for one another.
Now for the challenge part. I know some of us have a bit more to love than the others. So what I am proposing is that the challenge winner be the person who loses the largest PERCENTAGE of body weight, as opposed to actual pounds. Some of you may only want or need to lose 10 or 15 pounds (that's not me), and some of you may be hoping to lose 30 or more (its only 6 months so lets be reasonable and safe). I just think this is the fairest way. If you can think of a way that seems even more fair, let me hear it.
At the end of the six months, on our trip of course, the top three ladies who lost the highest percentage of body weight are going to win a prize. I don't know what that prize will be at this point, and even if I did, I probably wouldn't tell you.
I don't want you just doing it for that, do it for you because frankly, if you don't, its not going to work (been there, done that, bought the t-shirt). Just so you know, we're not talking all expense paid trip to the Grand Floridian prize here, so don't get too excited. But I promise it will be something you will want and look at it as a bonus for sticking with it. Me? Well, I am not competing of course. I am just keeping you all honest. My former boss did this for our office and we had a great time doing it and we all lost weight, even if it was just a little. Healthy competition is good. A healthier body is even better.
I know some of you have asked specifically if you are supposed to do a particular diet plan, etc. I am not advocating any particular method. Different things work for different people. I have had success with WW in the past and am thinking of signing up again, but I may just work something out myself. Anyway, I think this thread will allow all of us to share ideas and what works for each of us so that others can learn from it.
And here is something for fun, if you haven't done it. Go to www.mvm.com and build an avatar of yourself at your current weight and one at what you would like to be at the time of the trip and even your ultimate goal if its one that is not attainable by the time of the trip. Especially for those who have more than a few pounds to lose, you can get some inspiration.
And you can try on clothes with them. Its like virtual paper dolls! We've made the decision to go on this trip with a bunch of our DIS girlfriends. Those of us who are here want to enjoy that trip a bit thinner. So let's support each other and let's lose some weight.
(And forgive me if I didn't pay enough attention to my Tony Robbins tapes)
O.K. I am adding something to the "novel" here. Five weight loss related hints (Besides putting down the cookie) Please PM me your tips and I will add them to the list.
1. Drink at least 8 - 8 oz glasses of water a day. Or even more. (And I am sure some of you saw that ER episode where the guy o.d.-ed on the water - don't drink that much!)
2. Park further away from the store, school, mall, etc. so you have to walk a bit more. It may seem silly but all those extra steps eventually add up.
3. For a consistent scale reading, always make sure your scale is in the same spot and wear the same clothes (or lack thereof) when weighing yourself.
4. Pick a time of day and weigh yourself each week at that same time.
5. DO NOT weigh yourself every day...or worse yet several times a day. Your weight can bounce all over within a week, even when losing. You don't want to get discouraged because today you were 2 pounds under and tomorrow 1 pound over. (when we were doing this at my office, I had to take the scale out of the bathroom because the ladies kept doing this. I do not have access to your scale. just do yourself a favor and stay off of it)
My DS8 also (just like Kat) came home from school and said that one of the boys who had been at his birthday party told some kids in his class that Nicholas' Mom was fat and they all laughed. That broke my heart, he was so upset. So, last Feb. I had had enough and joined a gym. I loved going and working out and lost 16 pounds and had gained a lot of muscle. I have not been back since August. I've kept the weight off but have so much more to go. I would ultimately like to lose at least 50 pounds but will shoot for 30 in 6 months. 
Poor dear. Better make him an eye appointment.
Glad I could be of service.
Which sounds just about impossible right now. (where's my damn cookies when I need them?? 
) But I am going to try and hope that with all your support and encouragement it will happen. Slowly but surely.
) Wow, I sound like I'm back in HS 
