VERTICAL CHALLENGERS! Home to all shorties out there. (OPEN)

lablovr108

Hello ladies,

I joined earlier today, but I was at work so I didn't have time for a proper introduction.

My name is Christi, and I'm from Mentor, OH (east of Cleveland, right on Lake Erie). I am 5'1" and have lost 30 pounds since the beginning of May. I would like to lose another 20-30 pounds. I was always thin in high school and college. My wedding dress was a size 6, and I was happy with that. Then life really began. I was working six days a week for a public accounting firm, traveling a lot, eating out all of the time, and not exercising. During that time I was also diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Between all of that, and my marriage falling apart, I gained a lot of weight. I wasn't happy about it (who is?) but I wasn't motivated enough to do anything about it.

My family booked a cruise the first week of May for next March. I said enough was enough and started MFP that week. I've logged in every day since. I've gotten active (currently on week 4 of c25k) and learned how to eat HEALTHY (veggies don't taste that bad after all!) I feel great, I am happier with how I look and I realize that I can do this!

I look forward to getting to know all of you fabulous petite ladies!

Christi

TooFatToFit

Lisa, that is SOOOO cool! I didn't know you could do that with Google Docs!

renee474

I love this group! Count me in for the challenges!
I am 4'11.75" but round up to 5'0".

Shellitz

I stole this off my own intro post...I guess it was too long because no one replied, but maybe if you have a minute you will. lol I always seem to type too much:

Hello everyone....I've read a bit and it seems like a really friendly place, so I'm just going to push my shy habits to the side and jump in.

I'm a 35 year old mother of 2, and very unhappy with the way I've been living my life. I'm going to change it. I was raised in a very sedentary family and no one ever worried about eating healthy (except when my mother was yo-yo dieting, which I refuse to do). For my children, I want to break that cycle and show them a better way. I find it a pretty tough struggle because not only was I raised sedentary, but my own nature is just very sedentary...my favourite hobbies are reading, cross-stitching, the internet...so I'm constantly at battle with myself to get up and get moving. I've also never been that great around the kitchen so convenience food and fast food has been way too big a part of our diet for too long. Even if cooking isn't second nature to me, I am pretty good at following a recipe so I have no excuse for wimping out all the time.

I started really getting serious about this in my earlier 30's but I was so stuck in a rut...stay-at-home-mom with young kids who felt like there wasn't really much I could do at toddler pace to change things. My marriage wasn't going very well and my husband wanted me to be a supermodel, but the quick way through a juice diet or something instead of the slow, healthy way I wanted to. I felt very held back because I was trying to work active, healthy living into our family and he wasn't on board. When he decided to leave us in December '09 I was devastated...but also set free! Now the kids and I do all those things I wanted to do as a family and we still fall into old habits, but I'm proud of our accomplishments...as a family we now geocache (AWESOME family activity) and have started cross country skiing. Fat or not, I get on my suit and go swimming with them. We've had a great summer but now that they're back to school I'm on a mission of self improvement.

Obviously, being a single stay-at-home mom doesn't support your family, and as I've learned in the last 21 months, neither does minimum wage. So I'm also starting school (October 10th) and that's part of my self makeover. The schedule is such that I can also get to the gym without needing a sitter and making weekly meal plans are keeping us out of McDonalds. I'm trying to plan for my success and I think MFP will help a lot, especially the iPhone app because then I have no excuse for not logging my calories. I've been logging for almost a week and I've already learned I was wrong about a LOT of things and I'm learning the right choices to make about food.

Sorry for that being so long, but I'm rather excited about what the future can hold for me. I think I'll need the support (and peer pressure) to keep my enthusiasm going. I have such a strong hibernation instinct during the winter. lol

Your kids will love watching their mum transform into the happy butterfly she deserves to be

I used to fall to convenience food because I convinced myself that I din't have time to cook a fresh meal every night. It was easier to pull something out of the freezer and slap it in the oven. I am slowly getting better at planning meals. Small things to prepare ahead go a LONG way. I like to take a couple of hours on a sunday to do what prep I can to make it easier on myself during the week. Cut up your veggies and store them pre-cut in the fridge (potato, pumpkin & carrot keep well in some water). Prepare some meat a couple of days ahead. Marinate it, make your own hamburgers, thread some chicken fillet strips on skewers and pop them in the fridge or freezer... whatever you can to take away that temptaion to order out

How old are your kiddies? They might like to help in the kitchen too - simple things like helping make a salad or rolling some hamburgers. If it's treated more like spending time together rather than a chore it makes it a lot more fun for everybody, and they get to eat their own creations!

Good luck - you can do it!

MissD89

I stole this off my own intro post...I guess it was too long because no one replied, but maybe if you have a minute you will. lol I always seem to type too much:

Hello everyone....I've read a bit and it seems like a really friendly place, so I'm just going to push my shy habits to the side and jump in.

I'm a 35 year old mother of 2, and very unhappy with the way I've been living my life. I'm going to change it. I was raised in a very sedentary family and no one ever worried about eating healthy (except when my mother was yo-yo dieting, which I refuse to do). For my children, I want to break that cycle and show them a better way. I find it a pretty tough struggle because not only was I raised sedentary, but my own nature is just very sedentary...my favourite hobbies are reading, cross-stitching, the internet...so I'm constantly at battle with myself to get up and get moving. I've also never been that great around the kitchen so convenience food and fast food has been way too big a part of our diet for too long. Even if cooking isn't second nature to me, I am pretty good at following a recipe so I have no excuse for wimping out all the time.

I started really getting serious about this in my earlier 30's but I was so stuck in a rut...stay-at-home-mom with young kids who felt like there wasn't really much I could do at toddler pace to change things. My marriage wasn't going very well and my husband wanted me to be a supermodel, but the quick way through a juice diet or something instead of the slow, healthy way I wanted to. I felt very held back because I was trying to work active, healthy living into our family and he wasn't on board. When he decided to leave us in December '09 I was devastated...but also set free! Now the kids and I do all those things I wanted to do as a family and we still fall into old habits, but I'm proud of our accomplishments...as a family we now geocache (AWESOME family activity) and have started cross country skiing. Fat or not, I get on my suit and go swimming with them. We've had a great summer but now that they're back to school I'm on a mission of self improvement.

Obviously, being a single stay-at-home mom doesn't support your family, and as I've learned in the last 21 months, neither does minimum wage. So I'm also starting school (October 10th) and that's part of my self makeover. The schedule is such that I can also get to the gym without needing a sitter and making weekly meal plans are keeping us out of McDonalds. I'm trying to plan for my success and I think MFP will help a lot, especially the iPhone app because then I have no excuse for not logging my calories. I've been logging for almost a week and I've already learned I was wrong about a LOT of things and I'm learning the right choices to make about food.

Sorry for that being so long, but I'm rather excited about what the future can hold for me. I think I'll need the support (and peer pressure) to keep my enthusiasm going. I have such a strong hibernation instinct during the winter. lol

Wow, I'm sure your kids are very proud of you. You seem like an awesome mom especially with going back o school plans, thats always "fun" when you have to also work a job, and take care of children. But either way.. this is for YOU. You know what you want and what you can achieve, and that is the veryfirst step. And planning meals really is a great way to sta under budget (of calories) and avoid any temptation to get something quick. Do you have any favorite recipes you could share?

Maybe we can all share some.. I know I always love to try new recipes.

Good luck on your journey.. You can do this!.. and so i can

MissD89

Lisa, that is SOOOO cool! I didn't know you could do that with Google Docs!

Me neither! Really cool.

suzi67

Hi again,
My name is Suzi and I live in Kamloops, BC, Canada. I am the wife of a wonderful, supportive and loyal man. (Helps that he looks like Prince Eric from Little Mermaid...) I have 4 kids, ages 25(s) 24(d) 18(d) & 17(d). When I started dating my husband, I was 93lbs and dealing with anorexia. Once we married and I was away from the environment that triggered my ED, and after having 2 kids together, (the first 2 are from my first marriage) my weight went up and up and up. Because I didn't own a scale, I only saw my weight at the doctors or at other people's homes with scales. That was always a shock, and made me down on myself, but never enough to do anything about it. About a year and a half ago, I watched a weightloss program and decided I should see what my caloric intake was to find out where I was going wrong. I figured I wasn't eating very much, so why was I bigger than I wanted to be? I found this site, and started logging my foods and that was a wake up call, for sure. Then I stepped on the scale at my church and it showed I was 165lb. Another wake up. Since then I started walking, going to my local community center/gym/pool and eating much better. Part way through this time, I started a job as a server at a Japanese restaurant, which also kept me moving. My current weight is somewhere between 112-115lb, with one weigh-in at just above 110. I have just started week 7 of the C25K program and I'm hoping between that and alternating with 30 day shred, that I can lose the final wiggly bits still hanging on. I comfortably wear a size 2 jean and XS top, so I'm really just working on toning and tightening. If more weight comes off, bonus.
Well, that's me. Add me if you wish, I can always use the support and love to support others.

MissD89

Hello ladies,

I joined earlier today, but I was at work so I didn't have time for a proper introduction.

My name is Christi, and I'm from Mentor, OH (east of Cleveland, right on Lake Erie). I am 5'1" and have lost 30 pounds since the beginning of May. I would like to lose another 20-30 pounds. I was always thin in high school and college. My wedding dress was a size 6, and I was happy with that. Then life really began. I was working six days a week for a public accounting firm, traveling a lot, eating out all of the time, and not exercising. During that time I was also diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Between all of that, and my marriage falling apart, I gained a lot of weight. I wasn't happy about it (who is?) but I wasn't motivated enough to do anything about it.

My family booked a cruise the first week of May for next March. I said enough was enough and started MFP that week. I've logged in every day since. I've gotten active (currently on week 4 of c25k) and learned how to eat HEALTHY (veggies don't taste that bad after all!) I feel great, I am happier with how I look and I realize that I can do this!

I look forward to getting to know all of you fabulous petite ladies!

Christi

Hello Christi,
Congatulatons on ur 30 lbs loss. I can't wait to hit my 20 mark. =D Have you done any other exercise programs/routines since May? Or is the C25k prgram ur first? I askbecause I've been logging for almost 2 months now with very little excersise. STILL trying t force a routine upon myself. but, it just.. SUCKS.. lol

anyway, look forward to getting to know you and all the other vertical challengers. it's about my bed time, nighty night Challengers. Loveya all.

crhaws

Very cool! I'm 5'0" and I'm in too!! Looking for friends too if anyone is interested...
:happy:

momof2_0710

I'm 5'0 even and at the moment weigh 149lbs. My goal is to get down to 130lbs, and after I'll see how I feel but most likely go down to 120-125.

My name is Jennifer and I'm a sahm/student. I have a 5yr old girl and a almost 2 yr old boy, and married to an amazing man. We live just west of Houston, TX. I started my journey in July of this year and I have lost 14lbs so far. The reason I decided to do this is because I refused to buy a bigger size pants. My size 11 pants were starting to fit really tight and I told myself there is no way I'm going up a size. My weight is due to me just being lazy and not eating right. When I had my daughter I lost almost all of my weight but then it started creeping back up. Then I had my son and I didn't lose much of pregnancy weight. I started working and ppl would always bring cookies doughnuts, and I was always going out to eat so from there my weight started creeping up agian. Now I'm a sahm/student trying to keep on going and staying motivated. I have recently finished Jillian Michaels 30 day shred and now I'm doing insanity and just completed my first week. I'm really loving it so far.

nichole1027

Here is my bio: My name is Nichole and I live in Vermont. I am going to be 32 in a month and very much missed being at my goal weight by the time I was 30. I have two kids, a boy, 7, and a girl, 4. Since I have had the girl I have been trying on and off to exercise and eat right and become the 115 I used to be and thought I was fat. There is one reason I have not achieved my goal, I have given up every time and gone back to eating anything I want to. It really doesn't help that my BF eats whatever he wants, but that excuse needs to leave my head. I think I have given up too because the weight it not coming off as fast as I want it too. I was doing well, and then this summer I fell off the wagon for awhile and gained even more weight and am now the highest I have been in awhile. It's awful. I joined a boot camp in the mornings for 6 weeks, and I am in the 3rd week of that. After that is completed, I am going to do some work out videos at home, just not sure which ones yet. I am going to make it to my goal this time. AND, this time I realize, it may take quite a few months to do that and that's ok.

lablovr108

Hello Christi,
Congatulatons on ur 30 lbs loss. I can't wait to hit my 20 mark. =D Have you done any other exercise programs/routines since May? Or is the C25k prgram ur first? I askbecause I've been logging for almost 2 months now with very little excersise. STILL trying t force a routine upon myself. but, it just.. SUCKS.. lol

anyway, look forward to getting to know you and all the other vertical challengers. it's about my bed time, nighty night Challengers. Loveya all.

I try to be active every day. I have two black labs, Mindy and Chelsea, so I like to walk them every day, rain or shine. We usually do 1.5 miles/day during the week and 2-3 miles/day on the weekends. I took a Body Sculpting class in June and plan to sign up again in November. I did part 1 of 30 Day Shred but it wasn't for me so I didn't continue. I have a treadmill that I dusted off a few months ago and will use when I can't walk/run outside. I keep my 5 lb weights in my family room and will pick them up and do different exercises, as well as jumping jacks, squats, lunges, etc., as I am watching TV

The best thing that I did for myself was to buy a heart rate monitor. Now that I see the number of calories burned, and see how hard I am working, I want more! I have always despised exercising (in your works, it just SUCKS - lol!) but since I like numbers so much (I am a CPA), seeing those numbers on the HRM just make me want to work that much harder!

Good luck and I look forward to getting to know you better!!!

preciousperez

Vertical Challengers

Babygirl082578

Hello lovely people!!!!
I've created a fantastic way to help us remain accountable and to also see how many wonderful shorties we have in our family. I would like everyone to fill out the roster as you feel comfortable. I have asked for people to include their profile name, real name, location, starting weight, current weight, goal weight, and lbs lost for the challenge (for those participating). As I said, feel free to provide whichever info you feel comfortable with, I just thought those tidbits would be good to know. :happy: On the top of the roster we have four names in red, which are the lovely co-leaders in no particular order.

As we stated earlier not everyone has to participate in the challenges. However, I would love for everyone to still provide at least their profile name. In addition, to separate those who are participating and those who are not, I would like for people participating to highlight their name in blue, while people not participating highlight their name in purple. It doesn’t matter which hue of blue or purple you pick. I just want to be able to distinguish the two so we don’t “harass” people to provide a check in (only joking on the harassment of course):bigsmile: . Don’t worry about keeping the two in any order such as all participating stay together in blue because I will get that all squared away. All you have to do is fill out the information.

Below I have provided the link to the spreadsheet, which I have enabled everyone to edit. If you have any questions let us know! Thanks and GO VERTICAL CHALLENGERS!!! :drinker:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlcJqG9B3Q27dFRGRTRYMHNoQ3U2R2FRbnpoeDItcHc&hl=en_US

I can't open the document. Can you inbox it to me?

PaulaPalooza

Just Joined the spread sheet! Yay!!!!

My name is Paula (not quite a secret based on my mfp name ), I am 5'1 and 135 pounds currently. I think my top weight has been a bit over 140 when I spent an amazing summer eating lots of heavy english foods- mmmmm butter, clotted cream (it's amazing I swear), scones, jelly, beer, lamb, chocolate.... I digress. I haven't been 120 since about the 6th grade so it's time to get back down or I never will. I know, based on my genetics, that it's only going to get more difficult for me. So I'm thinking I MUST get a handle on it now before my tummy reaches the point of no return. We just have these stinkin' guts in my family that stick out. even on the thinner folks. So I'mma nip that in the bud, like, yesterday.

I'm so excited to have the support of you other short ladies (and men... do we have any men yet???) and to support you right back. We CAN do this!

PaulaPalooza

Also, let's share some recipes too!

Babygirl082578

Hopefully I can get the spreadsheet to work for me soon.
My name is Rosie and I live in the suburbs of New Orleans! I love it here, most of the time. Its not exactly the place to be to when you trying to lose weight.
I have a 9 yr old daughter and am a single mom. I am 5'2" standing REALLY tall.
For most of my life I have struggled with my weight. Until my 20s. I got healthy and started being wiser about my choices...At my smallest I was 120 and stayed in the 135 or so range for most of that....It wasn't until 2008 that the weight started to creap on...I am now 184!!!!!!!! I HATE saying it out loud!
I am determined to get it off now...I am a runner...I love it and have done 2 half marathons. My goal is to do my third in February....
Got to get the weight off though...

erinmcw

yay! :P

Shirley61

Bump

Not short enough LOL

otranquility

Hello Ladies!
I'm Olga (5'2) ! I am a 25 year old mother of a 5 year old and wife of a 6'4 teddy bear! I work in an office Mon to Fri so I am usually sitting all day.
I have always been on the plump side but never really cared enough to do anything about it. I LOVE food and that is usually my biggest problem.

I joined mfp in April after hearing about it on a wedding forum. I lost about 20 pounds in the first 3 months. After that, I stopped loggin in and exercising because I had some changes in my wedding plans and had to push up the date(well that is my excuse at least).

I started back up again last week and am really hoping that I can stay with it! Luckily I haven't put the weight back on but getting back into the routine of exercising and eating properly is HARD!

My starting weight was 2353 (I know... pretty bad for a shorty like myself).... I am currently at 214. I will be participating in the challenge and can hopefully loose the 3 pounds before I go on my honeymoon on Oct 20th.

rockstarginaa

I'm Gina and I'm 26. I live in Long Island and commute to NYC for work. My starting weight back in February was 147lbs. My current weight is 111lbs. MY goal weight is between 105-110lbs or be toned weighing a few pounds more.

bobbijo47

Hi everyone, a little about myself. My name is Bobbi and I live in Pittsburgh Pa. I have a 3 year old son and a great husband that is very supportive. I'm 40 years old (5'0) and my highest weight is 186lbs. I would love to get to 115 to 120. So far since this challange I lost 4lbs. (Yeah). So I'm in with any challanges that you might have.
I did gain most of my weight 4 years ago, I quit smoking, then I became pregnant and I just gain about 80lbs and after I had my son I lost 30lbs, but gained 20lbs back. So I need all the help anyone can give me. My trouble spot is the exercising I can't seem to get into it right now. I did well for a week then stopped so I need to start it up again. I do a lot of walking with my son at night, but it is a slow walk. I will take any suggestions:}.

linbaby4

Is it too late for me to join????

I'm Lindsay I'm a 5'2 shortie and I love it

Would love to join cause I am one who tends to slack when trying by myself!

bethgrayster

I'm 5'1 and just starting my journey, again. I tried starting 2 months ago when I joined a gym and got a trainer and became overwhelmed with trying to change everything at once. Now that I'm in more of an exercise routine, I feel more ready to put some attention on my diet too! I got my calorie ammounts from my trainer and doctor and my goal is to be healthy and be able to wear the clothes in my closet that I fit into 2 years and 40lbs ago.
I'm ready to be small in all ways, not just height!

tmw41

Hi everyone!
My name is Tracy and I have lost 25 lbs since April but have since fallen into a rut and the scale has not moved. Well it has a little.....a couple up...then back down again... I am only 5'0'' and I need to lose at least 75 more. Not sure how these challenges work but I would love to be a part of the group for the motvation and accountability. I live in Texas, just outside of Houston.
I am ready for my knees not to hurt every time I get up to walk! And I am ready to be able to shop in a normal clothing store for the 1st time in 10 years. Look forward to this journey with you all.

L2M1D52

Also, let's share some recipes too!

Lovely idea!

L2M1D52

Is it too late for me to join????

I'm Lindsay I'm a 5'2 shortie and I love it

Would love to join cause I am one who tends to slack when trying by myself!

Absolutely not! Welcome!

L2M1D52

Hello everyone!

I received information that there were issues when adding your information to the roster. Has anyone else had any issues? Please let me know. If you haven't already add your information at the link below. Any info you are comfortable sharing. In addition, highlight your name in blue if you are participating in the challenges and purple if you are not. Thank you so much! Here is the link:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccckey=0AlcJqG9B3Q27dFRGRTRYMHNoQ3U2R2FRbnpoeDItcHc&hl=en_US#gid=0

As always... GO VERTICAL CHALLENGERS!! :drinker:

TooFatToFit

I was able to do that last night, but now I get a page not found error.

stephr2014

Hello ladies!
I have a question, on the spread sheet it says "starting weight" is this the starting weight from when I joined MFP or when I joined the challenge for this thread?