Week Seven Results - Better Late than Never!

Hello everyone,

Thank you for your patience in waiting for this past week's results.  It's been a crazy weekend, starting on Thursday.  Anyhow, here are the results.  Congratulations to Donna who was our big winner last week.  Way to go Donna!

1.  Donna               -1.55
2.  Tresa                 -1.00
3.  Mary                 -0.90
4.  Maureen            -0.33
5.  Jennifer              -0.04
6.  Jon                    -0.00
7.  Amy                  -0.00
8.  Deb                   -0.00
9.  Syndy                -0.00
10. Andy                +0.23
11. Corinne             not reported
12. Kathy                not reported

Overall, the results are:

1.  Donna                -4.68
2.  Deb                   -4.52
3.  Mary                  -3.86
4.  Amy                   -3.64
5.  Jon                     -3.54
6.  Tresa                  -1.98
7.  Kathy                 -1.80
8.  Andy                  -1.71
9.  Maureen             -1.22
10. Corinne             -0.97
11. Syndy                -0.83
12. Jennifer             +3.23

Remember, Mary has offered a small reward to the Biggest Loser this week, so go for it!

Okay, we still don't have the results for this past week -- I think Andy has a sick kiddo!  So we will definitely forgive her!  And she had a Birthday!  Happy Birthday!!!

Well, we are at the halfway point ladies and gentleman!  And this week is Halloween, otherwise known as "The Kick off to binge eating sweets until January 2nd." In honor of this great occasion I am offering a small, but delightful, prize to whoever wins this coming week.

Have a great week everyone!

The Nitty Gritty

OK, let's get down to the nitty gritty, the real reason I, in particular, am not losing weight...It's the food.  Seriously it's just so stinkin' good!  Now I know that it's just not an option to stop eating completely, but what are some things that I can change about my eating habits that will make a small difference?

One of my big habits is my morning eating.  I wake up STARVING, it doesn't matter if it's 4am or 8am I think I'm going to die if I don't eat something right away.  This is when the snacking and grazing starts for me.  I find myself searching for a cookie, or candy, or a bit of leftover dessert to be my "pre-breakfast" snack...WHAT!?  Who needs a pre-breakfast snack?  So this week I'm going to break the cycle of the pre-breakfast snack and just deal until actual breakfast!  This is bound to save me a couple hundred calories at least!

Another one of my big calorie culprits is S-O-D-A!  I do not drink diet...WHAT?  I average several sodas a day adding up to several hundred calories.  I am going to cut down to 1 soda a day, and next week try to switch to diet...notice I said "try".

One last thing that I notice about my eating is my late night snacking.  After the kids go to bed I hunt the kitchen for something wonderful to eat while I watch TV/surf the net/read a book.  That means I am consuming lots of calories after 8pm.  Not good.  So I am going to give myself a rule of no food after 7pm.

So no food before 7am and no food after 7pm, and limiting my soda intake.  That should make a bit of a difference.

What kinds of things in your day could you change, that would make a difference?  I'm up to finding more ways to change my eating too!

Whatever You Say, Don't SAY This!!!!

Week Six Results

Hey everyone!  Here are the results for Week Six.  Syndy was our big winner this week!  Good job Syndy!  We lost a total of 4.8 pounds as a group.  Good job!  Still have some people who didn't report, so hopefully they are doing well also!  

1.  Syndy          -1.65
2.  Deb             -1.16
3.  Donna         -0.31
4.  Maureen      -0.22
5.  Kathy          -0.07
6.  Amy              0.00
6.  Jon                0.00
8.  Andy            +0.95
9.  Mary            +1.26
10. Tresa           not reported
11. Jennifer        not reported
12. Corinne       not reported

Our overall results are:

1.  Deb           -4.52
2.  Amy          -3.64
3.  Jon            -3.54
4.  Donna       -3.17
5.  Mary         -2.98
6.  Andy         -1.94
7.  Kathy        -1.80
8.  Tresa         -0.99
9.  Corinne     -0.97
10. Maureen   -0.89
11. Syndy       -0.83
12. Jennifer     +3.27

As you can see, the overall results are really close, so this is still anyone's game!  Keep up the good work, whether you are flying fast or staying steady.  And if you are creeping up, take a few moments to work extra hard this week and start a downward trend!  Good luck everyone!

Hey everyone!  I guess everyone is struggling!  But that is partly why I thought it would be good to do this competition in the fall because I daresay that that is the hardest time of year as far as weight goes.  I suppose we should all count it a success if we don't gain weight between now and New Year's Day.  Am I right?  Or am I right?

Exercise is hard, especially with little ones, but it has such great returns -- you'll feel happier and have more energy in the darker (but cozy) days ahead of us.  My harder thing is eating!  I'll tell myself every morning that I am simply not going to eat such and such and then it somehow finds its way into my mouth!  So I definitely need more self-control.

I do have a lot of exercise videos if anyone is interested in borrowing something.  I know Andy said that she gets bored doing the same thing over and over, which is completely understandable.  Also, most of the libraries have things that can be checked out.  I will try to compile a list of what I have.

I hope that everyone has a successful week!

Hearty Hodgepodge

Hey everyone,

Here is a recipe for a great meal. Larry calls it chili, Allena calls it soup.  I think it's somewhere in between.  Either way, it's a filling meal that fills the house with a delicious smell for hours before eating.  Enjoy!

Hearty Hodgepodge
Makes 8 servings (about 1-1/2 cups per serving)

Ingredients:
1-1/2 lbs lean ground beef
2 10-3/4 oz cans condensed minestrone soup
1 21-oz can pork and beans in tomato sauce
1 12-oz can tomato juice
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup water
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced

Directions:
1. In a large skilled, cook ground beef until meat is brown.  Drain off fat.
2.  Transfer meat to a 3-1/2 to 4 qt slow cooker.  Stir in all remaining ingredients.
3.  Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 7-8 hours or on high heat setting for 4-5 hours.

Variations:

• I have used as little as 1-lb of ground beef.  I've also used ground turkey.
• I use a large can of Bush's baked beans (any flavor) for the pork and beans.
• I generally add more celery and onion that the one cup it calls for.

Nutrition Info:

Calories - 287

Total Fat - 10 g

Sat Fat - 4 g

Cholesterol - 62 mg

Sodium - 1116 mg

Carbohydrates - 28 g

Fiber - 7 g

Protein - 22 g

Vit A - 29%

Vit C - 9%

Calcium - 9%

Iron - 29%

How do you overcome this?

I've talked to several of you and everyone is saying the same thing: "I'm struggling."  One of the purposes of this blog is to give ideas and support each other in our journeys.  So, here's my call to everyone - let's start posting and commenting and figure out how to make everyone successful!  

This time of year is especially difficult to lose weight.  As my husband states, "A person is like a bear.  During the fall and winter, they feel the need to pack it on and take it easy.  It's a natural feeling.  You have to try to overcome it."

So, my question to everyone (competing or not) - How do you overcome the natural feeling and get to the point that you are able to eat healthy and exercise regularly? 

 I will admit to struggling with this.  I have been working on this journey since early summer.  I did great throughout the warm months.  And right now, I'm happy with the fact that I've been able to maintain what I've already accomplished.  But I want more...  And I'm having a hard time finding a way to achieve that desire.  

Please share your ideas (either comments or a new post).  I'd really like some ideas and help!

Week Five Results

Okay, my bad this week!  I completely spaced posting the results - and how come no one called me on the carpet for that?!?!  Does that mean no one cares?  Or are we all just consumed with other things and all forgot?  Oh, well, I guess the "better late than never" rule applies here.

This week we didn't have an overall loss, but here are the results:

1. Amy           -0.73
2. Jon             -0.45
3. Donna        -0.31
4. Mary          -0.22
5. Andy          -0.16
6. Deb             0.00
7. Maureen     +0.33
8. Kathy         +0.96
9. Jennifer       +1.26
10. Syndy        not reported
11. Tresa         not reported
12. Corinne      not reported

Our overall results are:

1. Mary          -4.19
2. Amy           -3.64
3. Jon             -3.54
4. Deb            -3.39
5. Andy (tie)   -2.87
5. Donna (tie)  -2.87
7. Kathy          -1.73
8. Tresa          -0.99
9. Corinne      -0.97
10. Maureen   -0.67
11. Syndy       +0.83
12. Jennifer     +3.27

Week Four Results

Well, the results may be skewed a little bit because we had a lot of missing numbers this week.  But for those who reported, it seems that things are going well.  This week saw a lot of struggles and some success even though there were gains.  Overall, there was a total of 0.8 pounds lost this week.  Congratulations goes to Jon for his astounding loss this week!  Good job Jon!

1.  Jon            -1.79%
2.  Deb           -1.16%
3.  Andy         -0.79%
4.  Maureen    -0.34%
5.  Amy          -0.00%
6.  Donna      +0.31%
7.  Mary        +0.81%
8.  Jennifer     +2.77%
9.  Syndy        not reported
10.  Kathy      not reported
11. Tresa        not reported
12. Corinne    not reported


Overall, our numbers are:

1.  Mary         -3.97%
2.  Deb           -3.39%
3.  Jon            -3.10%
4.  Amy          -2.93%
5.  Andy         -2.72%
6.  Kathy        -2.67%
7.  Donna       -2.56%
8.  Maureen    -1.00%
9.  Tresa         -0.99%
10. Corinne    -0.97%
11.  Syndy     -0.83%
12. Jennifer    +1.98%

Week five has begun - don't let your progress stop!  Good luck everyone!