Getting in Shape for Disney...Update 6/19, pg. 5

Your ADRs look great! I'm jealous of your deluxe dining plan! You are going to eat at some great, great places!

Ok, so for today's update I have a couple of topics in mind, but I am not sure which I should talk about first. Here's my ideas

1) Choosing a park bag
2) Disney clothes
3) How I am earning my spending money for Disney
4) My lists of must dos and want to dos

Let me know what you guys think should be first!

Thanks to everyone who is following along!!!
I want to hear about how your earning your spending money for Disney and of course your Disney clothes! :thumbsup2
 
Ok, so at Lady Lallie's suggestion, I am going to talk a little bit about how I am earning my spending money for Disney. I'll do clothes next time, unless there's something someone wants to hear more.

But before that, a quick update on my getting in shape. I managed to get my fiance to go for a walk this morning with me. We walked just under a mile and burned 111 calories (calculated using the GPS Walkmeter on my iPhone--great app!) According to the scale, I lost two more pounds since yesterday, but I don't know how accurate that is since I weighed myself three hours later than usual. I should have a more accurate weight tomorrow when I weigh in at my normal time.

So back to the spending money...for those of you teachers out there, I am sure you can relate to my summer money woes. Contrary to popular belief, most teachers (at least in NJ where I work) do NOT get paid in the summer. We work 10 months, so we only get paychecks during those ten months. I am working summer school this summer, but it's nowhere near close to what I normally make per month. Therefore, summer spending is usually tight, and since our trip is at the end of August, it's even tighter then. I bought some Disney gift cards a couple of months ago when I had some extra money because I knew they wouldn't get spent elsewhere like cash would :laughing:! And then.........I heard Theresa talking about Quick Rewards on the podcast. When she said people can earn Disney gift cards on it, I figured it was worth a shot since I want more Disney spending money. I used to do MyPoints in college, so I was familiar with programs like that. I didn't want to just jump into it if I thought it might be kind of shady, so I read the thread Theresa mentioned on the Disboards show, which had a lot of background about it and other programs, and I read a couple of other reviews I found on Google. It seemed legit, so I signed up, after creating a new email that I use just for rewards programs. I also re-signed up for MyPoints since it's been almost 10 years since I last used it, and I signed up for Swagbucks which gives you points for using their search engine.

I have been having lots of success with Quick Rewards. I do mostly surveys, which are a little time-consuming, but I usually do them when my fiance is watching sports and I don't have anything else to do anyway. I signed up in mid-April, and so far I have earned $100 in Disney gift cards. I have $75 of them already in hand, and a $25 one on the way. I should also be able to cash out for another $25 one tomorrow, bringing my grand total to $125. Being a little OCD and slightly distrusting, I checked the balances of the gift cards when I received them, and there really is money on them! :rotfl2: As far as MyPoints goes, I almost have enough to cash out for a $10 gift certificate, so I am obviously not doing as well. I don't think they have Disney cards, though :sad2:. On Swagbucks, I have gotten two $5 Amazon e-gift cards. I might use them for something I need to bring with me, like a camera memory card.

In addition to doing the rewards programs, I also did some online test scoring for Pearson Education, which was supposed to be Disney money...but then my friend and I found a really great Vegas deal for the end of June ($350 per person for airfare AND a decent hotel for three nights), so that money's now going to Vegas.

I'll try to keep you guys updated with my spending money earnings. I am not a big gambler, but do plan to play a little bit on the slots ($50-100?) in Vegas so maybe I'll get some more spending money that way! Either way I will have fun! :yay:

Next up: Disney clothes...bathing suits, shoes, and more
 
:welcome: I feel your pain about the bathing suit. I got one I like for a reasonable price last weekend, but of course I don't love the way I look in it because of the extra pounds! It was much more painless than past shopping--I kind of accepted I wasn't going to love the way I looked, and that was OK as long as I didn't look ridiculous. (Plus it helped I got a really good deal!) I am going to post pics of the bathing suit I got in a future post, though of course not of me wearing it :rotfl: You guys will NEVER see that ;) I am going to head over to your trip report now and get my Disney fix...only two and a half more months for me!

I'd love to see your bathing suit, I honestly don't even look for nice ones right now, I look for something that fits and then I put a huge t shirt over it! My goal for November is to be able to wear a bathing suit to the pool and NOT wear a t shirt! :rotfl:

I've never heard of quick rewards until now...I think I might give it a try! I would love extra spending money in the form of Disney gift cards for my next trip!:cool1:

Are you following any certain diet to lose weight? I've always done weight watchers, I'm thinking about restarting it tomorrow! :thumbsup2
 


I'd love to see your bathing suit, I honestly don't even look for nice ones right now, I look for something that fits and then I put a huge t shirt over it! My goal for November is to be able to wear a bathing suit to the pool and NOT wear a t shirt! :rotfl:

I've never heard of quick rewards until now...I think I might give it a try! I would love extra spending money in the form of Disney gift cards for my next trip!:cool1:

Are you following any certain diet to lose weight? I've always done weight watchers, I'm thinking about restarting it tomorrow! :thumbsup2

Yeah, Quick Rewards has proved awesome so far...I am even thinking of using it after we return to save up gift cards to pay for another trip in full. It would take me a year or two, but I could do it! But then again, they have lots of other gift cards too, so I might give in and cash out for them before that. ;)

As far as weight loss goes, I do a food and exercise journal and try to keep under a certain amount of calories each day. The amount of calories I try to stay under fluctuates with my weight--the more I lose, the less calories I am allowed to have. I do the journal on my iPhone now with a program called Lose It, which I believe is free. I try to keep my changes sustainable. So that doesn't mean I can't have chocolate or stuff like that. I can, but it has to fit in my daily budget. Right now, I am in love with the Weight Watchers and Skinny Cow pre-portioned ice creams because it gives me a taste, but I don't overindulge like when I scoop my own bowl. My biggest downfall, which caused me to gain back most of the weight I lost before, is ordering takeout like pizza and fries. So now, if we are going to get takeout, we get Panera Bread so that I can use their online calorie calculator. As far as exercise goes, I mostly do walks and Wii workouts, but I have a gym membership that I hope to use more this summer since my summer school days are much shorter than my normal work days. If you want to know any more details of what I do to lose weight, just ask! :dance3:
 
Ugh! I'm so glad my school breaks up my paychecks over the full 12 months. I would have a very hard time planning my budget if I were only paid during the school year. Sounds like you have a good plan for some extra spending money, though. :thumbsup2

And bathing suit shopping...ugh. After having kids (and stretch marks), I can't imagine I'll EVER enjoy that again, even if I do hit my goal weight!

Panera has been my "indulgence" for my diet too - I love starting the day with one of their bagels or occasionally a scone. I'm strictly a calorie reducer, so the carbs doesn't bother me - and eating a larger calorie breakfast keeps me less hungry through the day.

Looking forward to your must-do list! That's a great pre-trip idea!
 


Congrats on the weight loss!! I'm trying to start getting back in to shape, so I'm hoping to stick with it this time!

Quick Rewards sounds great! I heard a lot of stories about MyPoints canceling accounts if people use other rewards sites, though. We use MyPoints religiously, so I'd have to cash out my account before I signed up for Quick Rewards as a precaution. (There's a whole thread on here somewhere about that happening to a lot of people.)

MyPoints doesn't have Disney cards, but do you have a Walgreens near you? I've been told that you can go in there and buy a WDW card with the Walgreens cards (which are on MyPoints.) Some cashiers will tell you that you can't, but politely ask them to try to check out with the gift card and it works. I've done the same thing at Tom Thumb!
 
Sounds like fun! Just wanted to say, if you have any questions my husband is a personal trainer with a ton of different certifications for every thing from performance enhancement (sports people) to post-rehab, even pre/post-natal stuff.
He's a pro, and as such I have access to free advice. Everything from why you gain weight during the first few weeks of a new diet/exercise program (your body goes into a protective mode and triggers inflammation and water retention) to how to calculate you resting metabolic rate.
I myself over the past few years have gained and lost a ton of weight (okay really it was only 95 pounds due to pre-eclampsia and bed rest in a few pregnancies) but I have lost 55lbs and I think your PTR is just the thing I need to finish losing that last 40lbs... okay so maybe I have put back on 10 lbs these last few weeks cause I lost motivation at the gym so really it's 50 more pounds to go :D
Anyway, good luck, you can do it!
 
Congrats on the weight loss!! I'm trying to start getting back in to shape, so I'm hoping to stick with it this time!

Quick Rewards sounds great! I heard a lot of stories about MyPoints canceling accounts if people use other rewards sites, though. We use MyPoints religiously, so I'd have to cash out my account before I signed up for Quick Rewards as a precaution. (There's a whole thread on here somewhere about that happening to a lot of people.)

MyPoints doesn't have Disney cards, but do you have a Walgreens near you? I've been told that you can go in there and buy a WDW card with the Walgreens cards (which are on MyPoints.) Some cashiers will tell you that you can't, but politely ask them to try to check out with the gift card and it works. I've done the same thing at Tom Thumb!

The biggest thing with the rewards sites is to make sure you don't do crossover offers. I use MyPoints just for their click emails and the spin-to-win, and I use Quick Rewards mostly for surveys. That way, the two don't conflict for me. I do have a Walgreens near me. I will have to try that! Thanks for the tip.
 
Ugh! I'm so glad my school breaks up my paychecks over the full 12 months. I would have a very hard time planning my budget if I were only paid during the school year. Sounds like you have a good plan for some extra spending money, though. :thumbsup2

And bathing suit shopping...ugh. After having kids (and stretch marks), I can't imagine I'll EVER enjoy that again, even if I do hit my goal weight!

Panera has been my "indulgence" for my diet too - I love starting the day with one of their bagels or occasionally a scone. I'm strictly a calorie reducer, so the carbs doesn't bother me - and eating a larger calorie breakfast keeps me less hungry through the day.

Looking forward to your must-do list! That's a great pre-trip idea!

I know--one of the first things I asked when I got hired was whether they have an option for 12 month paychecks like some other schools...but we don't :confused:. They said you can sign up with the credit union to have deductions from the paychecks and then deposits into your regular account over the summer, but I don't love that idea either. To me, it's just like a glorified checking account because you have access to the account at any time you want throughout the year.

I :love: Panera, especially their new BBQ chopped chicken salad. It's 250 calories for the You-Pick-Two salad and 500 for a whole one. I love their baked potato and chicken noodle soups too. As far as sandwiches go, I usually get the Turkey on Country (I think that's its name.) There are other sandwiches I like too, but they are not as sensible calorie-wise.
 
Sounds like fun! Just wanted to say, if you have any questions my husband is a personal trainer with a ton of different certifications for every thing from performance enhancement (sports people) to post-rehab, even pre/post-natal stuff.
He's a pro, and as such I have access to free advice. Everything from why you gain weight during the first few weeks of a new diet/exercise program (your body goes into a protective mode and triggers inflammation and water retention) to how to calculate you resting metabolic rate.
I myself over the past few years have gained and lost a ton of weight (okay really it was only 95 pounds due to pre-eclampsia and bed rest in a few pregnancies) but I have lost 55lbs and I think your PTR is just the thing I need to finish losing that last 40lbs... okay so maybe I have put back on 10 lbs these last few weeks cause I lost motivation at the gym so really it's 50 more pounds to go :D
Anyway, good luck, you can do it!

Thanks and :welcome: to my PTR!!! Hey, if anyone wants to post their weight loss progress on here too, please do! It will help us all to stay motivated :grouphug:
 
My DH and I are both in!

We are going at the end of Sept and we are both 40lbs heavier then we were when we went in 2000 on our honeymoon - now we are taking our DS 5 for his first trip. We decided to both try to loose as much as we can from Memorial day to labor day. My goal is 10lbs. It's not a lot but to me that should be achievable.

i'm down 2 lbs my first week... let's do this!!!
 
My DH and I are both in!

We are going at the end of Sept and we are both 40lbs heavier then we were when we went in 2000 on our honeymoon - now we are taking our DS 5 for his first trip. We decided to both try to loose as much as we can from Memorial day to labor day. My goal is 10lbs. It's not a lot but to me that should be achievable.

i'm down 2 lbs my first week... let's do this!!!

Ten pounds over the summer is definitely achievable! And then if you lose more, you'll be even happier. Hey, you're already 20% of the way to your goal!!! :banana:
 
Can't post much because I have to head out the door for work.....but I am officially down 7.2 pounds! :woohoo::yay::woohoo::yay: Now, that the first week's over, here comes the slowdown...once my body readjusts, it's 1-3 pounds a week for me! :rolleyes1:

Anybody else? How are you guys all doing?
 
Can't post much because I have to head out the door for work.....but I am officially down 7.2 pounds! :woohoo::yay::woohoo::yay: Now, that the first week's over, here comes the slowdown...once my body readjusts, it's 1-3 pounds a week for me! :rolleyes1:

Anybody else? How are you guys all doing?

Congrats!!!! 7.2 pounds in one week is great! I've been trying to do good all day, I got that app for my Iphone that you said you use and I've been trying to keep track of my calories all day...we will see at the end of the week! I really need to lose weight, I got on the scale today and I gained 3.5 pounds in 2 weeks! :scared1: Ugh!!! I almost had a nervous breakdown! Really hope I stay motivated now!
 
So a quick update on a couple of topics I have already discussed, and then on to some new stuff!

I managed to squeeze in a 20-minute walk tonight and burned about 100 calories doing that. :goodvibes As far as my rewards program goes, I received the one gift card I already ordered in the mail today, and I had enough to cash out for another one too. So that brings my grand total to $100 in my possession and $25 just ordered (should receive next week). :banana:

Ok, new stuff! I wanted to share the bathing suit and sneakers I just got, both of which I mainly bought with Disney in mind. (Of course, the sneakers will be broken in well before then, which is why I got them now.) Being a plus-size right now, it is very hard to find reasonably priced, decent looking swimsuits in my size. I often have to spend $70-80 dollars, which I really didn't want to do this year since I hope to need a smaller suit next year. So I did a little research on JCPenney's website Memorial Day weekend and found that they were running a swimsuit sale and that there were several cute swimsuits on sale. I ran up that night and purchased this suit for about $40. Still not super cheap, but much better than what I paid the last time I got a swimsuit. Here's the one I ended up picking out. Of course, it looks much better on this model than it does on me!

swimsuit.jpg


Then, later that weekend, I decided I better start looking for shoes if I wanted to break them in before Disney. I used to go to an outlet near us, but it closed down :sad1:. I really wanted to get a pair of Nikes because I liked my last pair, so I started looking around online. So many of them were soooo expensive. But then I saw some decently priced ones on Famous Footwear's website, and even better, they had a 20% coupon you could take to the store. I picked out a pair that was labeled as $60, but with my 20% off coupon, it would have been $48. When I got to the register, though, they didn't ring up as $60. They rang up as $50 :eek:! Then with the percent off coupon, they were only $40. Pretty good deal, if I do say so myself. :woohoo: Here they are:

shoes.jpg


Hmm, I was going to post some bags I am considering for my park bag, but this post is getting a little long...so I think I will save that for tomorrow. Otherwise, I will run out of things to talk about before my vacation. :laughing:

So any guesses as to what brands/kinds of park bags I am considering? Place your bets now!
 
Vera Bradley! That is my guess. :laughing:

Love your suit! I'm with you, I didn't want to spend a small fortune on a bathing suit this year. I was able to find a great deal on a tankini top at Target and then bottoms at Walmart, all for $27! Can't beat that.

Oh and a wonderful shoe website for future use is shoebuy.com. I can always finda 10 - 15% off coupon for them and the shipping is super fast and free!
 

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