Diet Bet Review

You guys know Patty, right? One of the lovely DisBroads over at My No-Guilt Life. Well Patty has recently started talking about DietBet in her blog, I believe she's onto her 3rd round of games that she'll be hosting. I decided to take the plunge and try out round number 2. Now that it's complete I can give a little more info and my thoughts on how it works. 

What is DietBet?

DietBet is a game where when you lose weight, you win money! There is a game host, the host will set what the bet amount is to buy into the game. The game I played had a $30.00 buy in. If you reach your goal weight, you get to split the pot with all the others who reached weight as well. If you didn't make weight, you don't get any money back and your bet stays in the pot to be distributed among the winners. 

How much weight do I have to lose?

There are 2 different types of games at DietBet, the Kickstarter and the Transformer. I played in the Kickstarter game where you have 4 weeks to lose 4% of your body weight. In the Transformer game you have 6 months to lose 10% of your body weight. 

How does DietBet know that I'm not cheating to make my final weigh in?

When you first weigh in, you must take a full body picture of yourself standing on the scale and then a close up shot of the weight on the scale. Next to the weight you must also have a note card with your secret word that has been assigned to you by DietBet. The same must be done for when you weigh out. So even if you reach your goal weight during week 3, you must maintain it until week 4 when you are given your code word to take your final weigh in picture with. 

You're probably asking, "Lauren, did you win?!" and the answer is YES. I have a hard time losing weight, I'll usually loose 2-3 lbs then plateau for a few month then lose another 2-3 lbs, but this game kept my behind in check. I plowed through 6.2 lbs in 4 weeks like it was nothing. I'm back down to a weight I haven't been since freshman year of college, and I'm less than 10 lbs away from my overall goal weight. Having money on the line made me seriously motivated. I did NOT want to lose. 

Considering I'm away for the next 2 weeks I don't think I'll be joining the next game, but if you're looking for something to keep you accountable in your weight loss journey this is a great option. Patty has 2 more games starting on July 14th and 15th. Check out the links below if you're interesting in joining. 

The Kickstarter

The Transformer

How do you hold yourself accountable when reaching a goal?

Don't forget that sign ups for Princess Half-Marathon weekend begin tomorrow at 12PM EST! We'll be running the Glass Slipper Challenge, will you be joining?

National Running Day

Happy National Running Day to all my lovely runners out there! I hope everyone gets out today to celebrate the fact that we're all fortunate enough to have the opportunity to run. There's so much going on today to help celebrate this great day. 

First, National Running Day is asking everyone to pledge their miles today to Charity Miles. It's super easy and FREE. You download the Charity Miles app, and select the charity you'd like to walk/run your miles for. Each mile generates a donation toward the charity you've selected. Also, A TON of running companies are offering great discounts on products, race admission, and are hosting meet-ups today so make sure to do some research and check it out!

Source

Second, Annual Passholders and DVC Members, you can sign up at NOON EST today for the inaugural Star Wars Race weekend. The weekend includes a half-marathon, a 10K, a 5K, a half/10K Rebel Challenge, and kids races. If the money tree in my back yard would grow I would be on the first plane out to California next January, but no such luck. I'll have to live vicariously though all you lucky people signing up. I guess my brother making me watch every Star Wars movie growing up paid off, huh?

Source

Third, I decided spur of the moment last night to sign up for My No-Guilt Life's DietBet. What is DietBet? In layman's terms, put your money where you mouth is to prove that you can lose 4% of your body weight in 28 days. I think this is the kick start I need to get me going for Tower of Terror training. Plus, I'll be on a Disney Cruise in July, so getting bikini ready isn't a bad side effect. Check out Patty's blog (like above) to get the full scoop, and feel free to join in! 

Today is all about being active and celebrating the ability to do so, so get out there! 

QOTD: How are you planning to celebrate National Running Day? Will you be signing up for the inaugural Star Wars Half Marathon weekend? Have you ever participated in a DietBet? Do you think I can ask anymore questions?

BodyPump

My gym happens to be one of the gyms that offers Les Mills BodyPump. It's a class I've been wanting to try for a while and finally got around to it on Tuesday. BodyPump is described as, "one of the world's fastest ways to get in shape as it challenges all of your major muscle groups while you squat, press, lift and curl." Naturally, I dragged Bryan along with me and boy are we both still feeling it. 

The class had about 30 people in it total so it was packed. I asked the teacher what I would need to get started. She set me up with a barbell, weight plate, free weights, yoga mat, and step platform-that's it? I managed to get all the stuff back to my acquired spot and we jumped right into the workout. 

My arms were tired within the first 10 minutes. This class is no joke! A lot of the movements are similar to lifts I had learned in my brief stint at crossfit which helped me tremendously. Had I not known the proper technique for these moves prior I might have found it a little more difficult.

What I like about this class compared to crossfit is it that instead of lifting the heaviest weight possible a few times, you lift a lighter weight a greater amount of times. All sections of the workout are paced to upbeat songs which really helps you power through. 

The class was broken down into multiple sections, each section targeting the specific area we were working on. Before each section the teacher would briefly explain it, let us know where we could make modifications if we need to etc. 

Overall, I loved the fast paced feeling of this class. It's exactly what I've been looking for as cross training for running. Not only does it help strengthen my legs with moves like squats, it also adds in core work, and of course plenty of arm movements to make sure they're looking good for summer! I can't wait to go back next week and see what this class can do for me in the long run.

QOTD: Have you even been to BodyPump? What were your impressions?

Training Update-Nike Women's Half DC

Time to come clean, I have been doing some serious slacking in training for my 2nd half. I know what factors have been affecting my training or lack thereof. I also know that I'm only hurting myself and no one else can run this race but me. GAHHH I know better but why do I keep doing this to myself?! Here's the culprits of why my performance has been so lack-luster.

1. Weather

When I moved from Florida back home to New Jersey this past April, I distinctly remember telling my boyfriend, Bryan (who was born in Florida and raised in Minnesota) "Winters in New Jersey are nowhere near as bad as Minnesota winters." Insert foot into mouth. Thank you universe for rewarding us with the worst winter New Jersey has seen in YEARS. When I started running last February, I could just hop outside in my shorts in the 70 + degree weather and take a loop around the neighborhood whenever I pleased. Now I have to bundle up, drive to the gym, fight through the after work crowd to secure a treadmill etc. I'm really missing the convenience factor the warm weather affords you of being able to run outside whenever you please. Considering the bulk of my training is during these frigid winter months I really need to dig extra deep for that motivation.

2.  Lack of Training Partner

Part of the reason I felt so prepared for Wine & Dine was because I had Kayla as a training buddy. There was always someone to talk and share the experience with. I was always researching and looking for any tips that would help us along our new endeavor. Part of this second half still doesn't feel like it's happening because I'm not constantly talking about it or obsessing over it with someone else. Reality check-It's happening whether I'm prepared or not!

3. I'm a HUGE procrastinator

Plain and simple. I have perfected the art of procrastinating. One of my interior design professors at school called interior designers "Professional Procrastinators," and I couldn't find it to be more true. I'm used to being able to pull an all nighter and come out with a decent product. Half marathon training is one place in my life where I know that pushing everything off to the last minutes will NOT help. It will probably just leave me injured and unhappy. 

When I signed up for this race I thought I'd be able to go out and crush my last half time. I had figured out all my problem areas the last round of training; this time I just needed to go out and put in the work. I haven't been putting in as much work as I should and I'm at the point now where I'm telling myself, "Enough! Put on your big girl panties and do the work!" 

From here on out I've written every workout on my calendar so I have to look at it every day. I can tell Bryan on any given day to make sure I go do my run and he is more than happy to remind me and give me the push I need. Since I don't have a training partner to hold me accountable, he is great at making sure I do what I've set out to do for the day. I can tell you this past week I've gotten in all my training runs and I already feel better. Why don't I do this all the time?! It's been the push I need to keep me going in the right direction. 

Lauren

QOTD: What do you do to keep your motivation up during training when you're just not feeling it?

Welcome!

Kayla and I are going to give this blogging thing a shot! Kayla and I became friends when we were roommates on the Disney College Program. We made so many memories together while living in the most magical place on earth. Now we're living six hours apart but still motivating each other and continuing to build on our friendship.

We discovered the wonderful world that is RunDisney last November at the Wine & Dine Half, our first half marathon ever! We were a little sad we didn't discover it sooner--like when we were living at Disney (that would've been too convenient). Now, we're committed to healthier lifestyles, thanks to motivation from the most magical place on earth.

We want our blog to be a place where we can reveal our Disney Parks tips, tricks and expertise. In exchange we hope you'll learn with us as we navigate the new territory for us that is RunDisney. Along the way we'll also talk about our favorite products we've discovered, some new recipes we've tried, or how our latest workout it going. 

Welcome to our journey from CAST members to HALF marathoners, we can't wait to share it with you!


Lauren


QOTD: What would you like to see on our blog?