January 2019 -Everyone needs deadlines! Diet & Fitness monthly W.I.S.H chat

I tend to put realistic deadlines in place to help me lose weight. Right now my mini goal is for my March cruise and my main goal is to drop 25 lbs by July (I even put money on the line for this via ************ - planning to win $1080 woohoo).

I find the deadlines do help me but generally I am careful to keep them realistic and not push myself too hard and not go crazy if I miss my target a bit.

Keeping it off after the deadline has been a bit harder for me. The only times I successfully maintain is by being continually conscious. Its really hard if I just let all food be a free for all. I think I am coming to accept I am going to have to watch my food for the rest of my life. Kinda sucky but it is what it is.
 
After ten years, I had finally decided it was time to lose the baby fat. I had twins and gained a lot more than average during my pregnancy. And it was something I read on here that motivated me. I forget the thread at the time, but it had to do with losing weight by Disney. I loved the idea and had enough time where I thought it was possible for me to actually try to lose some pounds. I had always been one to maintain my weight for a while, then gain a few pounds. Then maintain again. But I had never really been good at losing weight. However, this sounded like a great motivator. I didn't actually post anything or join a certain program. I just logged what I was eating each day and kept track of the calories. And it worked. I got down to my goal weight by Disney. So now I always use Disney or other vacations as my deadline.

To help me stay on track after Disney, I just set a new deadline. I start planning the next trip (Disney or otherwise). That motivates me to want to eat right so I don't gain all the weight back. Unfortunately, I'm a stress eater. So if work is stressful or life is really stressful, it's definitely more of a struggle for me. But having that deadline/vacation, is definitely a motivator for me. The other thing that helps me is having someone to hold me accountable. For a while, I used MyFitnessPal app on my phone to log my food. And I could connect as friends to others on there. So I felt like I better do it or they would see I wasn't. After that seemed to wear off, I tried a Beachbody coach. Again, that helped for a year or so. Now I've found this wonderful group to chat with and motivate me and it helps to hold me accountable :)
 
Deadlines are great for me with work. I like achieving goals so having something project-based really fits. But I’ve found that setting weight loss goals backfire for me once the date is past. My trips are every two to three years, so I’ve been doing weight loss, gain, repeat now a few times. I’m looking beyond my trip this time. It’s more of a benchmark. My long term goal is to try and be healthy so I can be there for my special needs DD22 for as long as possible. Puts a new perspective on things.
 
Soft drinks are a problem for me too.

Hang in there ... it was only this month that I really decided I had to change it .... I had gone on break from work and realised that my horrible habit of drinking soft drink at home meant that I had probably gone weeks without drinking water! I already had been experiencing an upset belly (from something else) but just realised I was too out of control with it and there was no excuse. That was before my Drs appointment that was the catalyst for eating change as well.

How do you do with deadlines? Do they motivate you or do they cause you stress... or do they cause motivating stress ;)? If you create a deadline for reaching healthy living goals (like so many of us do with wanting to lose weight and get into shape for the next Disney vacation), how do you stay on track, or get back on track, after the deadline has been reached?

Historically with study, work etc if they are too far away, I procrastinate and don't get alot done. Once it gets closer though I can pretty much buckle down and get it done. In reflection I think it has been the same for healthy living.... I had known for some time that DS18s high school graduation was coming up and I didn't want to look big in the pictures..... but I procrastinated ... then managed to lose about 3 kg just before ... but here is the thing ... I was way bigger than I wanted to be and it was all done to lack of sticking to it despite my desire to meet the goal. In a way where I have landed now was another form of procrastination until I got the final deadline.... I mean I knew that my father has type 2 diabetes which placed me at higher risk and also knew just generally the weight wasn't going to be helping overall health.... but I pushed it until I got the real wake up call rather than put my grown up pants on act in a proactive manner sooner.

The problem is always when I get home and don't have that target to aim for in front of me.

I start planning the next trip (Disney or otherwise).

You stole the words out of my mouth.... this is exactly what I was going to suggest to @Oneanne :rotfl:

I find the deadlines do help me but generally I am careful to keep them realistic and not push myself too hard and not go crazy if I miss my target a bit.

Keeping the realistic is key :thumbsup2

I think I am coming to accept I am going to have to watch my food for the rest of my life. Kinda sucky but it is what it is.

This is exactly how I am feeling right now as well.
 


How do you do with deadlines? Do they motivate you or do they cause you stress... or do they cause motivating stress ;)?

In general, I do my best (as in most creative) work if I'm not under a time crunch. But there are certain tasks that I just won't do at all without a deadline. So I guess it's a mix for me.

If you create a deadline for reaching healthy living goals (like so many of us do with wanting to lose weight and get into shape for the next Disney vacation), how do you stay on track, or get back on track, after the deadline has been reached?

The only two times I've really lost an amount of weight worth counting were after I had DS (no effort really, as breastfeeding melted the pounds) and after my DH had heart surgery - when I was helping him adjust to new habits and food was a major focus of my time and energy. That time, I kept it off for about a year, but since then, it has slowly crept back on as we relaxed some of those habits and life got busy again.

That's really the key for me - if my life revolves around it, I can do it, but when I start trying to "fit it in" with everything else, it often loses.

Progress, no matter how small, motivates me, so the weekly weigh in was a positive thing for me. Finding a program that works for you is important so that once the deadline passes you don’t regain or stop being active.

That's true for me as well. If I can really feel the difference, I'm more likely to keep going!
 
Deadlines at work make me stressed. I have to make sure I have everything completed much earlier then the due date. At home it is a different story. I am much to laid back. Though Disney does make me work harder to get to my goal. We have a trip planned (kind of) for about a year and a half from now. I am really hoping this pushes me to lose at least 15 pounds. Last trip I lost about 8 pounds before we left.
 


Friday Free for all... how was the week for you, what healthful things do you have planned for the weekend... what'son your mind...

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This week my focus was making sure I worked on the 7 Daily Habits, and I did well only missing Mobility one day... I just didn't stretch enough, seems easy enough but I didn't think of it until I was crawling in to bed. In hindsight it would have been easy to get up a stretch for 10 minutes, but I chose not to do it. I'm not earning all of my daily Nutrition points, but my main concern for this week was getting off of the sugar-train, and I've accomplished that.

Next week I was going to work on being fully compliant for Nutrition, which means eliminating all gluten and dairy, but then I remembered I'm traveling next week, and my life just won't be my own. We're staying at a hotel with free breakfast, so I can eat there instead of getting Starbucks with everyone else: lunch is brought in, so all I can really do is make the best choices from what is there: dinner, again group meals but I can make the best choices from the menu. The Challenge only allows one alcoholic drink per week, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to want to have a cocktail every evening, but we'll see. Other than that, I think I can maintain where I was this week with the reductions in sugar, gluten and dairy consumption and should be able to complete all of the Habits.

Nothing majorly exciting planned for this weekend. Have a good one everybody!
 
Quiet weekend planned-our grandson is spending the night and we’ll take him to his basketball game tomorrow. Popcorn and movie night planned. Was hoping to walk today but it’s cold and windy. I’m such a wimp. I have to get to the gym next week and join so I have another option when the weather doesn’t cooperate.
I’ve really been enjoying everyones responses this week!
You all inspire me to just keep plugging along and make the best choices I can.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
 
I lost a substantial amount of weight (70lbs) years ago and kept most of it off. However, over the years I gradually gained 25lbs. I would lose 10 of them (usually before a vacation) and then slide back into bad habits. This summer I had to buy some clothes in a bigger size and decided enough. I did not want to go into the holidays overweight-so that was my deadline. I rejoined WW and had success with the new freestyle program-by Thanksgiving I was back to my goal weight. Which was a realistic time frame. Progress, no matter how small, motivates me, so the weekly weigh in was a positive thing for me. Finding a program that works for you is important so that once the deadline passes you don’t regain or stop being active.

sjrec, that is awesome! I love hearing about people that make it stick! I've been really bad about yo-yo-ing the past few years.

As for me, I love deadlines, I'd never get anything done without them. I am a total list-maker, and without that structure, I'm a mess. Case-in-point... I just started back to school this week, just one little class (Statistics, blech!!!) but just knowing that I have something scheduled at those times means I had to go through and organize all my OTHER things, (kids' school stuff, dinner plans, doctor stuff, extended family stuff) and knowing that I need a clear space to work means I spent some time doing more cleaning than usual. I knew I had this coming up, so I pushed hard to finish up a couple of projects so they would be done and out of the way before school started.

And actually, that right there is most of my news, I'm back to school and it's miserable. :) Oh, but 3 woohoos… 1, the scale budged a little this week, so that's good, and 2, I stumbled across some wedding invitations for my niece that were 90% off! I was *SO* excited! 3- My application for nursing school is officially complete! I was waiting on a former professor to write me a recommendation, but he did it 2 days ago, so now I just wait and see if I'm accepted (and yes, there was a deadline, in 6 days, and I wouldn't have worked so hard if there hadn't been!)

The weather here has been pretty bad, alternating between too cold, too windy, or too rainy, but yesterday I took DD15 to the gym to do the treadmills... boring, but better than nothing. The prediction for the weekend is decent for tomorrow and a downright BALMY 48 on Sunday, so I'm hoping to get in a walk or two outside.
 
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It’s currently -6 F degrees. It’s not getting better either. Next week Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday is not going above 0. That sucks and between that and getting 3 hrs of sleep last night that’s all I have to say right now... hopefully I’ll be more motivated tomorrow.
 
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Hi all. It has been great reading everyone’s posts. We can all motivate each other to work through our shared struggle. My goal for Sunday is to meal-prep for a couple days and write up a plan for what to eat the other days. I also want to begin taking vitamins regularly again and hopefully do some form of exercise even if it’s just for 5 minutes.
I know the most important part of this is planning what to eat & buying the appropriate items. I always think of this quote “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail”. (I think it’s a Benjamin Franklin quote but I’ve seen it a lot on weight loss type websites and it’s just sooooo true for me!).
Have a great weekend all. Love yourself. Forgive yourself. Stay positive.
 
Hello everyone!! I need to get back to being part of this group!!

2018 was not a good year for my weight and I need to get my act together. 2019 must be better. Of course, January is nearly over and I am just starting out again. I was on vacation for four weeks over Christmas and while not all choices were good, I feel like I am getting better at not seeing vacation time as a free for all eating time. But then I got back and got sick immediately and my eating was all over the place. So, I don’t fit into my clothes and feel fat... But yesterday I decided that I can’t just feel sorry for me, I need to do something.

Back to tracking food! And next week I am signing up to a gym. They aren’t focused on weight loss, they are more a physiotherapy gym, making sure that all your muscles in your body are as strong as they are supposed to be to prevent back pain, injuries and such. But I think this will be good for me and help with my running as well!
 
Friday Free for all... how was the week for you, what healthful things do you have planned for the weekend... what'son your mind...

I haven't been doing as well with water as when I started the month, and I really need to get back on track with that, but I'm doing a little better at reducing sugar, so there's that.

I should have walked when it was warm enough yesterday, but I didn't. (I did get some indoor projects done, though, so I don't feel too awful about it.)

No special healthy plans for the weekend.
 
Good grief! I have got to make a point to come on here more often!! I actually started to once, but by the time I read everything and could post it was past my bedtime! So now several more days have passed. Criminy! My eating has been all right since I last posted. I had a maintain one week and lost a pound this week. I'm just trying to make healthy choices each day. Being an empty nester again has made that easier, I think. I'm not stressing out about what to make for dinner and pulling some Costco item from the freezer. DH is happy with whatever I put in front of him. PB&J totally works!

Deadlines have worked in the past, but like so many others, after time I slip back to bad habits.

Today we drove three hours, visited family and drove back over the mountains. Six hours in the car is a long time! Of course it was dark when we got home so I wasn't inclined to go for a walk. I've just decided that today I chose to see family instead of work out. DH was a sweetie. He wanted to stop at a couple stores in a town along the way. He said he'd park in the middle of them so I'd get more steps in! That was good, but visiting his parents stresses me out now that they're 90 and have lost some of their filters. I ate more chocolate than usual after this visit! Tomorrow I am booked until mid afternoon. I need to plan some meals and do some shopping. I might be inclined to put it off, but there's a deadline!

Nice to see everyone and I hope I don't become a stranger again!!
 
Hello everyone!! I need to get back to being part of this group!!

2018 was not a good year for my weight and I need to get my act together. 2019 must be better. Of course, January is nearly over and I am just starting out again. I was on vacation for four weeks over Christmas

Hello! I hope you had a wonderful vacation.... if I remember correctly it was going to include your USA ceremony wasn't it? I hope it all went beautifully. Glad you're back to join the chatter ;)

visiting his parents stresses me out now that they're 90 and have lost some of their filters.

:rotfl: I'm not laughing at your stress but I know what you mean about older people losing their filters. I also find that even if I don't have time to post, just swinging by and reading everyone's posts helps to keep me feeling in the loop.

I know some of you are still experiencing snow and cold weather .... a pic of the view from my Australia Day BBQ Breakfast might warm you up (or just make you want to visit ;)) this was about 8am in the morning and as you can see already the beach was getting full and lots of people swimming in the water which was clear and a glorious temperature.

IMG_3007[1].JPG

Tomorrow will be a full week since my change in eating ... will be interesting to see what the numbers on the scale tell me :-)
 
Hello all,

Its Monday morning for me already time to share my end of week 1 progress ..... I have lost 1.2 Kg (or 2.6 pounds in your language) since starting on Keto. Now I know that is just water at this stage and fat loss will start after approximately another week - but is a sign that my eating is on track.

So my motivation for this week is my great first week result :yay:

Okay off to enjoy my last day off freedom before heading back to work tomorrow :sad: Hope you are enjoying the last of your weekend everyone :-)
 
Hello!

I know its the end of the month, but I just found this group and I could use the accountability and support. I’m a mom of 4 young kids, ages 2, 3, 4, and 6. I used to be an attorney, but we moved states and I just a stay at home mom at the moment.

I got on the scale the other day, after noticing my pants were super snug. Truth be told, I’ve noticed for awhile now that my pants were painted on. The scale was unkind but truthful. I way as much now as I did after I had my last baby and the pants I was wearing were my post maternity pants.

I’m booking a March 2020 cruise and I think this is the perfect reward/goal/ opportunity to do something about the way I feel.

Looking forward to getting to know you all, and doing something positive for myself.
 
Hello!

I know its the end of the month, but I just found this group and I could use the accountability and support. I’m a mom of 4 young kids, ages 2, 3, 4, and 6. I used to be an attorney, but we moved states and I just a stay at home mom at the moment.

I got on the scale the other day, after noticing my pants were super snug. Truth be told, I’ve noticed for awhile now that my pants were painted on. The scale was unkind but truthful. I way as much now as I did after I had my last baby and the pants I was wearing were my post maternity pants.

I’m booking a March 2020 cruise and I think this is the perfect reward/goal/ opportunity to do something about the way I feel.

Looking forward to getting to know you all, and doing something positive for myself.

Welcome!
 

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