STARS 9 WEEK CHALLENGE (CLOSE GROUP) WK 5

QOTD: Saturday, October 29: We all have a "bucket list", what are the top 5 things on yours?

1. receive a PhD (...in what, I don't know, yet)
2. travel the world...vague, but I want to see a little bit of everything
3. watch a Packer game at Lambeau Field
4. not only hit my goal weight, but maintain it for the rest of my life
5. find a job/career that I'm truly excited and passionate about

QOTD: Saturday, October 29 )

We all have a "bucket list", what are the top 5 things on yours?

1. Sprint Triathlon
2. Buy a house on Cape San Blas
3. Sail on a “tall ship”
4. See the Northern Lights (aurora )
5. Cap Juluca, Anguilla, BWI at least a week

Mini-challenge of the day: Do something nice for someone (stranger or not) WITHOUT them knowing it was you! Then post what it was that you did

I love this challenge! I am off to do good:flowerforyou:

QOTD: Saturday Oct. 29th.
We all have a "bucket list", what are the top 5 things on yours?


Be sexy by my 40th birthday.
Take family to Hawaii
Visit as many places around the world that I can.
Build my dream house
Take my mother on a nice trip of her choice.

QOTD Friday 10/28: In a week where you gain, how do you stay focused and not let it draw you back into giving up?

Sorry. Thought I had already answered Friday's

It is really hard for me to stay focused when I gain instead of losing. I just try to keep my head up and know work extra hard the next week. We're running a marathon here, not a sprint. Not every week is going to have a great loss and I am learning to accept that.

QOTD Friday 10/28: In a week where you gain, how do you stay focused and not let it draw you back into giving up?

Something has snapped in me this time around and I have a long period of time to achieve my goal (next Summer)..so I try to focus on the picture in my head of me feeling great next August. I may not have a loss for two weeks in a row but I know that it HAS to happen eventually if I'm restricting calories and exercising...it just may not happen to my time scale.

QOTD: Saturday Oct. 29th.
We all have a "bucket list", what are the top 5 things on yours?

1- See my son grow up to be a happy & healthy adult.
2- Visit Japan.
3- Learn French fluently.
4- Re-design my kitchen so that it looks better than Jamie Oliver's!
5- Learn everything possible about food & cooking & baking.

QOTD Sunday October 30- What has been your best NSV since you began your journey?
Mini challenge- walk/run for at least 20 min


My greatest NSV just happened on Monday. 3 weeks ago on Friday I bought 2 pairs of jenas that are a size smaller than the ones I have been wearng. The followong Monday I went out of town for training for work and talked about how I was so excited that the pants were smaller yada yada. Then on Monday, we had an all staff meeting to discuss how we were incorporating our training and qhat we planned to do in the future based on the training. My coworker looked at me and said ," Hey, if you just bought pants that fit you, why aren't you wearing them? Those are falling off of you!." The best part about that was.... those were my new pants! Definitely made my week

QOTD Friday 10/28: In a week where you gain, how do you stay focused and not let it draw you back into giving up?

I feel like such a fraud doing this challenge. I've been counting calories for the most part but I'm just not losing. Anyway, I know I've said that every time I answer a question but I really do feel like a fraud.

In the past when I have been successful, and I have a gain, I would work extra hard that next week to have a loss.

Aw, please don't think like that...you are NOT a fraud. You are putting a mighty effort in to this and just because it's not going down quickly, does not mean that you shouldn't be proud of yourself. You are doing more exercise and you are thinking about what you're eating. Can you see any other benefits like more energy?..or looser clothes?..or just feeling better?.
Over the next few weeks of the challenge, you will see that every one of us has weeks where they stay the same or gain pounds..that doesn't make us failures, it makes us human. We have to deal with hormonal changes, water retention and looking after our families..it's bound to take it's toll on our weight some weeks.
I'm glad you're part of this challenge and I think you're going to do great..so please don't think this way anymore..x

I agree with all of this.

If you feel you are doing everything you should and you are still not losing, re-evaluate the following:

- Your water intake. I know it sounds like a lot, but try to aim for about half your body weight in ounces per day (if you weigh 180 lbs., you should aim for about 90 ounces), but drink no less than 64 ounces. This will help you to combat any sodium you are eating and will help you to not retain water.
- Are you weighing and/or measuring your food? Often, in the beginning, we really need a scale or measuring cups/spoons to show us what the proper serving size is. Don't eyeball it until you are successfully losing weight regularly. You can get a fairly cheap scale at Walmart which will help as well. (I don't have a scale, but if I was having regular difficulty with losing weight, I would.)
- Make sure you are not over estimating your burn. If you are using MFP's estimates for the number of calories you are burning for a specific exercise, do not eat all of your exercise calories - eat a portion. Your best bet is a heart rate monitor to ensure a fairly accurate burn (90% is the claim for most of them).
- Speaking of exercise calories - are you eating them? If you eat them all and are not losing, scale back and don't eat so many. If you do not eat them and are not losing, eat some of them at least.
- Make sure you are eating enough. You should be eating a net of between 1,000 and 1,200 calories per day at least, with a base of 1,200 calories.
- Are you having difficulty staying in your caloric goals? Is going over wreaking havoc on your mental state? If so, consider lowering you weight loss goal to one pound per week. I do this and mentally aim to eat about 400 to 500 calories less than my goal per day, but if I am having a "hungry" day, I allow myself to eat them all. Eating them all just means that I will lose a little slower, but I rarely have a week where I eat them all every day.

I hope at least some of this helps! The hardest part of losing weight is our mental state. Often, if you get in a mindset of "I can't do this", it makes it difficult to be successful. Try to think positively. If it helps, just make one change per week. You CAN do this! If you have any questions, please let me know!

QOTD Sunday October 30- What has been your best NSV since you began your journey?
Mini challenge- walk/run for at least 20 min

Mine is a couple of months ago when I went to get my drivers license renewed and they took my picture and the computer compared to previous picture (guess this is something to do for fraud purposes) and the computers said "this is not a match". So I had to show other forms of ID and explain I had lost weight and that it was me.

Saturday mini-challenge..
I went through the Tim Horton's drive though and paid for the car behind me and then I just drove off. It felt great. Hope it made them smile! :flowerforyou:

Saturday mini challenge: It has been pouring raining all weekend. The credit card machine was down at the gas station because of the Tstorm and they were only taking cash. The lady behind me in line didn't have any cash so I paid for her items:)

QOTD Sunday October 30- What has been your best NSV since you began your journey?

Hmmm...... This one is hard. I tend to forget about them quickly after they happen.

I think the best NSV is being in better shape than my skinny husband. He can't keep up with me at the gym anymore, and gives up about half way through my workout. It makes me feel so strong and healthy.

HAPPY H-A-L-L-O-W-E-E-N!!!!

Oct 31 QOTD: Do you celebrate Halloween? If so are you dressing up for the occasion? As what?
What is YOUR favorite halloween candy? What kind did you buy to pass out the the goblins tonight?

Mini Challange: KEEP YOUR HANDS OUT OF THE CANDY DISH!! If you feel the temptation, do wall sits until your legs feel like jello and you canNOT walk to the candy dish! So no determined number to do or how long to hold just do as needed to get past the urge!!!


Yes we do celebrate - I was a clown for the halloween party at our chuch Saturday night. Probably will not dress up today.
My favorite halloween candy is tootsie rolls - YUM!!! I got dum-dum pops for the church event and little bags of pretzels to give out tonight to the goblins.

Have fun and be safe!

Oct 31 QOTD: Do you celebrate Halloween? If so are you dressing up for the occasion? As what?
What is YOUR favorite halloween candy? What kind did you buy to pass out the the goblins tonight?

Yes, we celebrate. My office decided on a circus theme, so I dressed up as a spectator. Great excuse to get to wear jeans on a Monday. I painted balloons on my cheek, brought some balloons, popped some popcorn and put it in one of those plastic popcorn containers from Target, and brought a stuffed elephant (that I "won" from the midway).

My favorite halloween candy is probably Butterfinger - which is odd because I don't like chocolate or peanut butter, but I love Butterfingers!

Micah, my son, is dressing up as a ninja. We will be out trick-or-treating, so I didn't buy any candy to give out. If we are home when any trick-or-treaters show up, I will pass out his candy. He gets to have one piece of his choice out of the bucket (he doesn't like chocolate either, so it won't be anything like that) and then he will trade the rest for a small toy - which is a treat because I only buy toys for birthday or Christmas.

QOTD: Saturday Oct. 29th.
We all have a "bucket list", what are the top 5 things on yours?


1. Reach my goal weight!!!
2. Take a trip/cruise and see ALaska
3. See Paris, France
4. Complete a full Marathon
5. Complete a Triathalon

QOTD Sunday October 30- What has been your best NSV since you began your journey?


Well, up until last night I would've said...."I dont really not which one is my best"....BUT, last night it was really chilly, went to bed to snuggle up with my hubby, the love of my life, and as he wrapped his around me to snuggle up and get warm, his words were " Honey!! I am trying to wrap my arm around and its kinds sinking in at your waist and I feel your hip bone poking me!!! How many lbs have you lost again!!??"

I know it may sound corny or silly to some people...but right then I felt so tiny in his arms...and even more special...I felt like the most beautiful woman in the world....!!