Wow....only 1 week left. What a trip.
We've all done a great job and I'm real proud of us all.
I'm trying to exercise as much as possible this week and eat real healthy! I'm real happy as I have lost close to 15 lbs and that is good for me! I am confident that from here on out I will just continue losing weight and getting stronger and stronger. As long as I can pretty much stick to the rules still!
It'll be nice to be able to let my hair down a bit, though, and not be such a stickler for the rules.
Have a great week everybody and maybe we'll see you at the weigh-in! (I'm going bright and early, before I eat any breakfast! ha ha!)
Monday, November 17, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Let's GO!!!!
Okay guys, We are now #15 on the list. We came up a few spots. This is great news. As our point totals haven't been great, it's probably because other teams are slipping. Let's take advantage of this and give these last 2 weeks all we have---we are doing this for a reason, we paid $100 to change our lives, now let's get serious about this. Did you watch that video Bonnie sent?
WE HAVE NO EXCUSES!!!! We HAVE arms and legs!
I have been really sick with cold yet I still have 6 exercise points this week and by the end of today I will have 8. I am walking an hour every day. I know I am at home with baby and I have more time then some of you working folks, but it is still hard especially being sick.
I really think that we should aim to be 10th on the list by the end of this. No MORE cheat days for ANYONE--unless you have a really good reason. Exercise at least 1/2 hour EVERY DAY.
Amy suggested that we all get together and go for a hike. We could go to Short Hills where Amy and I went yesterday and there is a really huge monster hill that is great to climb!
Let me know if you are into this and we can talk about a time. Probably a Saturday or Sunday.
Anyway, I don't want to scare you so that you'll lie if you do cheat, but I would really prefer to see "21" for everyone's nutrition scores for the rest of the time. I know it's late in the week now so if you've already cheated, oh well.
If you are having a problem with a particular food--for instance, you always cheat by having a coffee, or some sugar, or some bread or whatever it is (wine?!) then let all of know your weakness and perhaps we can help you overcome it! If it is just situations that happen (you get invited over to someone's house for dinner and there is nothing you can eat) then let us know that too and we can also offer some good advice.
Hey--I have not been been perfect myself, and I have had my share of cheat days FOR SURE.
But I am done for the rest of this challenge and I am going to give these last few weeks my total concentration and committment. I challenge you to do the same!!!
C'mon team! Let's go!
WE HAVE NO EXCUSES!!!! We HAVE arms and legs!
I have been really sick with cold yet I still have 6 exercise points this week and by the end of today I will have 8. I am walking an hour every day. I know I am at home with baby and I have more time then some of you working folks, but it is still hard especially being sick.
I really think that we should aim to be 10th on the list by the end of this. No MORE cheat days for ANYONE--unless you have a really good reason. Exercise at least 1/2 hour EVERY DAY.
Amy suggested that we all get together and go for a hike. We could go to Short Hills where Amy and I went yesterday and there is a really huge monster hill that is great to climb!
Let me know if you are into this and we can talk about a time. Probably a Saturday or Sunday.
Anyway, I don't want to scare you so that you'll lie if you do cheat, but I would really prefer to see "21" for everyone's nutrition scores for the rest of the time. I know it's late in the week now so if you've already cheated, oh well.
If you are having a problem with a particular food--for instance, you always cheat by having a coffee, or some sugar, or some bread or whatever it is (wine?!) then let all of know your weakness and perhaps we can help you overcome it! If it is just situations that happen (you get invited over to someone's house for dinner and there is nothing you can eat) then let us know that too and we can also offer some good advice.
Hey--I have not been been perfect myself, and I have had my share of cheat days FOR SURE.
But I am done for the rest of this challenge and I am going to give these last few weeks my total concentration and committment. I challenge you to do the same!!!
C'mon team! Let's go!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
3 weeks more!
Hiya folks,
Well, less than 3 weeks to go! I, for one, am going to give it all I got. Well, I was planning on it but then I got sick! Ugh, I am not well at all so it's not really possible for me to exercise. However, I am going to try to still get out for an hour walk a day, even if it's at a slower pace. I already walked to the market today so that was great. I felt a bit feverish (!) but truly I feel better for having gone, as it is a beautiful day today and my sinuses feel better outside.
I think I've lost 12 lbs so far and a total of 8 inches all over my body. At the weigh in I only lost 10 lbs, but since then I've lost another two.
Rachael and I were just talking about how our weakness is blue corn chips and I eat them with hummus almost every night. Not a lot, but a good handful. Well, I emailed Bonnie to ask her for some tips to ensure I lose some more weight these last 3 weeks. I was honest with her about what I was eating. Here are some of her comments on that:
" If having a avocado have 1/4 that's it. Olives remember about 6, guacamole (again about 1/4 of a cup, it is not much, along with the hummus) Only have the blue corn chips once per week, or you can have the pop corn once per week. NOT both. "
"Bread if fine. One slice counts as your grain intake. So 5-6 grains, I would pick 2 slices of bread for 2 servings. Then crackers 1 serving, oatmeal 1 serving, Kamut puff 1 serving, and maybe a little rice for 1 serving. Hope this makes sense. Again, start to measure what is on you english muffin. NO more than 1 tbsp is your serving size for almond butter. Drink more water!!!!!!!!!!!"|
Now of course I can't figure out how to turn off this yellow highlight. Oh well.
I cant believe I can only have corn chips OR popcorn. Not that I'd have them in the same day, but I generally have popcorn every Friday night as a treat. And I doubt very much I only use 1 tbsp of butter.....My question is..how do you only use 1/4 of an avocado? You spend almost $2 on the thing, you want to use at least half before it goes bad the next day....
How has everyone's meals been? We've made the pizza twice now with the spelt pizza dough, and it was amazing. We had to do it on the BBQ as our oven doesn't work, and I just pre-cooked all the toppings and it was great! Today for lunch I made myself a veggie sandwich on De La Terre whole wheat and rye bread (fresh in at the Peanut Mill today!) and I used goat cheese marble cheddar, avocado (1/4!), lettuce, tomatoes, onion, peppers, pickles and a Renee's Wellness dressing to take place of the mayo I would usually smother the bread in. It was really really good...I think. I don't have much taste left with this cold.
I've had spaghetti with kamut pasta and alot of BBQ chicken with veggies and salads....Anyway,
the baby needs me to save her from the evil jumparoo so I must end this now...
ps--who would be interested in who has the MOST points per week for the remaining weeks that we have (combined)? I could post them on here.
Kate
Well, less than 3 weeks to go! I, for one, am going to give it all I got. Well, I was planning on it but then I got sick! Ugh, I am not well at all so it's not really possible for me to exercise. However, I am going to try to still get out for an hour walk a day, even if it's at a slower pace. I already walked to the market today so that was great. I felt a bit feverish (!) but truly I feel better for having gone, as it is a beautiful day today and my sinuses feel better outside.
I think I've lost 12 lbs so far and a total of 8 inches all over my body. At the weigh in I only lost 10 lbs, but since then I've lost another two.
Rachael and I were just talking about how our weakness is blue corn chips and I eat them with hummus almost every night. Not a lot, but a good handful. Well, I emailed Bonnie to ask her for some tips to ensure I lose some more weight these last 3 weeks. I was honest with her about what I was eating. Here are some of her comments on that:
" If having a avocado have 1/4 that's it. Olives remember about 6, guacamole (again about 1/4 of a cup, it is not much, along with the hummus) Only have the blue corn chips once per week, or you can have the pop corn once per week. NOT both. "
"Bread if fine. One slice counts as your grain intake. So 5-6 grains, I would pick 2 slices of bread for 2 servings. Then crackers 1 serving, oatmeal 1 serving, Kamut puff 1 serving, and maybe a little rice for 1 serving. Hope this makes sense. Again, start to measure what is on you english muffin. NO more than 1 tbsp is your serving size for almond butter. Drink more water!!!!!!!!!!!"|
Now of course I can't figure out how to turn off this yellow highlight. Oh well.
I cant believe I can only have corn chips OR popcorn. Not that I'd have them in the same day, but I generally have popcorn every Friday night as a treat. And I doubt very much I only use 1 tbsp of butter.....My question is..how do you only use 1/4 of an avocado? You spend almost $2 on the thing, you want to use at least half before it goes bad the next day....
How has everyone's meals been? We've made the pizza twice now with the spelt pizza dough, and it was amazing. We had to do it on the BBQ as our oven doesn't work, and I just pre-cooked all the toppings and it was great! Today for lunch I made myself a veggie sandwich on De La Terre whole wheat and rye bread (fresh in at the Peanut Mill today!) and I used goat cheese marble cheddar, avocado (1/4!), lettuce, tomatoes, onion, peppers, pickles and a Renee's Wellness dressing to take place of the mayo I would usually smother the bread in. It was really really good...I think. I don't have much taste left with this cold.
I've had spaghetti with kamut pasta and alot of BBQ chicken with veggies and salads....Anyway,
the baby needs me to save her from the evil jumparoo so I must end this now...
ps--who would be interested in who has the MOST points per week for the remaining weeks that we have (combined)? I could post them on here.
Kate
Monday, October 20, 2008
Birthday Weekend Trials and Triumphs
Well, I got through it. Thanksgiving, wedding anniversary, birthday. Halloween will be nothing. And from here on in, I'm home free. No more cheating (I hope!)
Friday was supposed to be my only cheat day for my birthday weekend, but it wasn't my actual birthday. I started the day with yogurt and muesli, although this time I decided to add some honey since I was cheating and all! And I didn't even like it! It's true, my tastebuds have changed!
I didn't cheat again until dinnertime at the Wellington. And they weren't big cheats at all, I had a raw salmon appetizer, a salad, and some duck breast w/veggies for dinner. I'm just not absolutely certain there wasn't any sugar in any dressings or sauces. But I did have dessert with a decaf coffee. I shared it with my mom, a lemon mousse with marscapone in a filo tart with raspberry coulis. Not birthday cake but even more delicious! Oh yes, and I had a glass of red wine.
Saturday was not supposed to be a cheat day, and it was tough as we were out in Burlington buying an SUV all day. We went to a restaurant for lunch where the only thing I could order was a salad for $12. By the time we went out for my birthday dinner, I was soooo hungry, and just wanting a nice dinner that I decided to cheat with another glass of wine. My dinner ended up being a Cornish hen, vegetable and potatoes. NO DESSERT! On my birthday! So even though I cheated on 2 days, I don't feel like I cheated badly which I am proud of.
I also managed to fit into 4 pairs of old pants the other day! And I moved 2 notches on my belt! So I am very happy and still pretty excited for this.
Tomorrow will be Day 23 of 56. In 5 more days, we'll be at the half way point!
I know it might be getting tiresome, but stay strong! Don't you want to see big changes at the end of this? If you cheat, try not to cheat too badly. Don't go crazy on the sugar, and you will probably be fine!
Work hard, the nutrition is more important then the exercise however think about how much more you will lose if you exercise lots on top of eating well! Once you get going on exercise, you start getting addicted to it, and it makes you feel bad if you don't, so try to get to that point and then it won't be as much of a struggle to get out there and do it in the first place.
Above all, just have fun and enjoy how good you are feeling!
Have a great day!
Friday was supposed to be my only cheat day for my birthday weekend, but it wasn't my actual birthday. I started the day with yogurt and muesli, although this time I decided to add some honey since I was cheating and all! And I didn't even like it! It's true, my tastebuds have changed!
I didn't cheat again until dinnertime at the Wellington. And they weren't big cheats at all, I had a raw salmon appetizer, a salad, and some duck breast w/veggies for dinner. I'm just not absolutely certain there wasn't any sugar in any dressings or sauces. But I did have dessert with a decaf coffee. I shared it with my mom, a lemon mousse with marscapone in a filo tart with raspberry coulis. Not birthday cake but even more delicious! Oh yes, and I had a glass of red wine.
Saturday was not supposed to be a cheat day, and it was tough as we were out in Burlington buying an SUV all day. We went to a restaurant for lunch where the only thing I could order was a salad for $12. By the time we went out for my birthday dinner, I was soooo hungry, and just wanting a nice dinner that I decided to cheat with another glass of wine. My dinner ended up being a Cornish hen, vegetable and potatoes. NO DESSERT! On my birthday! So even though I cheated on 2 days, I don't feel like I cheated badly which I am proud of.
I also managed to fit into 4 pairs of old pants the other day! And I moved 2 notches on my belt! So I am very happy and still pretty excited for this.
Tomorrow will be Day 23 of 56. In 5 more days, we'll be at the half way point!
I know it might be getting tiresome, but stay strong! Don't you want to see big changes at the end of this? If you cheat, try not to cheat too badly. Don't go crazy on the sugar, and you will probably be fine!
Work hard, the nutrition is more important then the exercise however think about how much more you will lose if you exercise lots on top of eating well! Once you get going on exercise, you start getting addicted to it, and it makes you feel bad if you don't, so try to get to that point and then it won't be as much of a struggle to get out there and do it in the first place.
Above all, just have fun and enjoy how good you are feeling!
Have a great day!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Good Job though!
Just realized my last post sounded kind of DOWN. Didn't mean it to sound that way, so sorry 'bout that! I think all of us have done an AMAZING job so far and I think we should all be very proud of ourselves for doing this in the first place! Most people think we are absolutely crazy for taking this on, and we are! It's great! So, great job and thanks for being on my team!
get those points!
Well, team, we are dropping in rank. Last week we were 11th on the list and this week we are 15th I believe. I would love our goal to be consistently in the top 10. I'm one to talk, as this week I will have another cheat day, for my birthday, and I didn't get any exercise points yesterday! However, I plan to make that up today with an hour walk and an hour at the YMCA.
I think this week and the upcoming weeks might be more difficult in a way. We had a lot of stamina for the first few weeks and perhaps some of us might be feeling a little less... excited.
I know that is kind of happening for me, I'm not taking the time to create really good meals this week. Instead I have been relying on frozen dinners (challenge friendly) for lunch. So from now on I promise to make healthy fresh lunches and exercise AT LEAST 1/2 hour every day. That's my promise for the next 2 weeks.
Well, I have to go now and eat my oatmeal with dried apricots, raisins and rice milk! I have this every day for breakfast and I'm wondering how long it will be until I get real sick of it!!!
I think this week and the upcoming weeks might be more difficult in a way. We had a lot of stamina for the first few weeks and perhaps some of us might be feeling a little less... excited.
I know that is kind of happening for me, I'm not taking the time to create really good meals this week. Instead I have been relying on frozen dinners (challenge friendly) for lunch. So from now on I promise to make healthy fresh lunches and exercise AT LEAST 1/2 hour every day. That's my promise for the next 2 weeks.
Well, I have to go now and eat my oatmeal with dried apricots, raisins and rice milk! I have this every day for breakfast and I'm wondering how long it will be until I get real sick of it!!!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
another week down, 6 more to go!
Hello team,
If you have managed to make it through Thanksgiving without cheating, congrats. If you had to cheat, don't be too hard on yourself. YOU JUST BETTER MAKE IT UP WITH EXERCISE POINTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL! I think I managed to make up my infraction last week with exercise points, so I am very proud.
I am aware that some of us have been able to lose some weight recently, so that is wonderful. I myself thought the scale wasn't moving much past my initial 4lb loss, but when I stepped on the scale this morning I had lost 7 lbs!!! Congrats also to Amy who lost 8 lbs!
I wanted to share some victories with you. Friday I went to a party which celebrated all birthdays in October, including mine. I brought blue corn chips, spelt bread and water with me. I had some homemade chili someone made for dinner, along with a piece of the spelt bread. I had someone else's homemade salsa with my blue corn chips and I drank my water all night long admidst drunken loudmouths--needless to say, I felt great the next day! However, I did make Isaac's brother put a piece of homemade cake in a baggie in his freezer for me to enjoy at some point in the future, maybe in December sometime. However, at the same time, I will probably tell him this week to go ahead and eat it, as I don't even want it. Why save that for myself? December will bring enough cake and cookies with it, that I don't need to have cake from October too. It did make me feel better at the time to do that though, it helped me deal with it! LOL!
As of tonight I have made it through 2 thanksgiving dinners. At the first one, I had the turkey, roasted veg's, and green beans. For dessert I had some grapes, strawberries and melon. Water to drink.
Tonight I had turkey, gravy, squash, sweet potato, green beans, and beets.
OH OH OH! I have to tell you--I made the Guacamole from the Niagara Challenge book and it was a huge hit! I brought it to the dinner we had tonight. I also made the Nut Balls and the Lemon Squares, but I ended up combining them somewhat.
When I made the lemon squares, I didn't read the instructions well enough, and I just tried to blend it all together at once, but you HAVE to first just blend the nuts and the dates AND THEN add the lemon juice and zest. It doesn't work when you do it all together. So instead of wasting it, I added it to half of my nut balls, and they tasted even better. YUM YUM YUM!! So worth it and sooooo easy! You HAVE to make them! You don't have to do my crazy mistake ones, just do the regular recipe and they will taste real good. Everyone loved them too!
Tomorrow morning I am making the Apple Tart for dessert for my 3rd thanksgiving dinner (lunch) and I have no doubt that everyone will love it. I am also making myself yogurt cheese using cheesecloth and yogurt to go with it.
So, Happy Turkey day and I send you many wishes of strength, but more importantly, if you DO cheat, DON'T beat yourself up over it, just make sure you get back on the wagon and continue on like usual, being strong.
PS--i felt so bad tonight, my Aunt Linda seemed a bit offended when I walked in with guacamole, chips, and nut balls. She said "What, you think I wouldn't take care of you?" and then she proceeded to proudly show me the Ace's Bakery "Multigrain" bread, chips and toasts that she got for me. Second ingredient: white flour. Third ingredient: sugar. Thank god I brought my blue corn chips! She also made broccoli. and covered it with cheese. And made sweet potato: and covered it with sugar. Oh, well, she tried!
Here is Laurieanne's email that she sent me to post for her, so I will include it here:
Title: Losing Inches is Everything!
Hello everyone,
Don't worry Kate, you are not alone in communicating with everyone. Unfortunately the blog is not working for me so I'm just gonna e-mail my comments to everyone...If you want to post it on the blog for me that would be great!
Over the last two weeks I have really enjoyed creating new dishes that are challenge friendly...I really appreciate all the recipes that Bonnie sends us. I made the lasagna roll-ups for my family this week and they were a huge hit. I substituted the tomatoes for a homemade pasta sauce that I conjured up last week and it was truly delicious. The only complaint my husband has with the food is that there just isn't enough room in our freezer for all the fish and extra prep stuff I made!
I haven't weighed myself yet but I have been measuring myself. So far I have lost 3 inches off my waist and 4 inches off my abdomen. Hooray for the challenge.
I am committed to exercising a minimum of thirty minutes every day; usually I do fast walking (which I love to do) as the weather is conducive to my staying committed to this form of exercise. I try to do strength training at least three times a week, however sometimes I only do crunches and core and upper body work as the walking already strengthens my legs and butt. I find that developing a routine for the exercise is key...I usually exercise at lunch. The eating clean part of the challenge has fast become easy as well. What worked for me was to have only natural products in the house and then I'm not tempted...my daughter finds breakfast the hardest as we no longer have sugar cereal in the house...She's getting used to eating wheat muffets and porridge!
By the way Kate, I'm planning a cheat day this Sunday..I'll be visiting a friend's for Thanksgiving and they are not challenge friendly people...so....I'm just gonna have to sacrifice for twenty-four hours and drink all the wine I can! I'll try to keep everyone posted as to my progress. Good luck everybody...stay strong!
If you have managed to make it through Thanksgiving without cheating, congrats. If you had to cheat, don't be too hard on yourself. YOU JUST BETTER MAKE IT UP WITH EXERCISE POINTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL! I think I managed to make up my infraction last week with exercise points, so I am very proud.
I am aware that some of us have been able to lose some weight recently, so that is wonderful. I myself thought the scale wasn't moving much past my initial 4lb loss, but when I stepped on the scale this morning I had lost 7 lbs!!! Congrats also to Amy who lost 8 lbs!
I wanted to share some victories with you. Friday I went to a party which celebrated all birthdays in October, including mine. I brought blue corn chips, spelt bread and water with me. I had some homemade chili someone made for dinner, along with a piece of the spelt bread. I had someone else's homemade salsa with my blue corn chips and I drank my water all night long admidst drunken loudmouths--needless to say, I felt great the next day! However, I did make Isaac's brother put a piece of homemade cake in a baggie in his freezer for me to enjoy at some point in the future, maybe in December sometime. However, at the same time, I will probably tell him this week to go ahead and eat it, as I don't even want it. Why save that for myself? December will bring enough cake and cookies with it, that I don't need to have cake from October too. It did make me feel better at the time to do that though, it helped me deal with it! LOL!
As of tonight I have made it through 2 thanksgiving dinners. At the first one, I had the turkey, roasted veg's, and green beans. For dessert I had some grapes, strawberries and melon. Water to drink.
Tonight I had turkey, gravy, squash, sweet potato, green beans, and beets.
OH OH OH! I have to tell you--I made the Guacamole from the Niagara Challenge book and it was a huge hit! I brought it to the dinner we had tonight. I also made the Nut Balls and the Lemon Squares, but I ended up combining them somewhat.
When I made the lemon squares, I didn't read the instructions well enough, and I just tried to blend it all together at once, but you HAVE to first just blend the nuts and the dates AND THEN add the lemon juice and zest. It doesn't work when you do it all together. So instead of wasting it, I added it to half of my nut balls, and they tasted even better. YUM YUM YUM!! So worth it and sooooo easy! You HAVE to make them! You don't have to do my crazy mistake ones, just do the regular recipe and they will taste real good. Everyone loved them too!
Tomorrow morning I am making the Apple Tart for dessert for my 3rd thanksgiving dinner (lunch) and I have no doubt that everyone will love it. I am also making myself yogurt cheese using cheesecloth and yogurt to go with it.
So, Happy Turkey day and I send you many wishes of strength, but more importantly, if you DO cheat, DON'T beat yourself up over it, just make sure you get back on the wagon and continue on like usual, being strong.
PS--i felt so bad tonight, my Aunt Linda seemed a bit offended when I walked in with guacamole, chips, and nut balls. She said "What, you think I wouldn't take care of you?" and then she proceeded to proudly show me the Ace's Bakery "Multigrain" bread, chips and toasts that she got for me. Second ingredient: white flour. Third ingredient: sugar. Thank god I brought my blue corn chips! She also made broccoli. and covered it with cheese. And made sweet potato: and covered it with sugar. Oh, well, she tried!
Here is Laurieanne's email that she sent me to post for her, so I will include it here:
Title: Losing Inches is Everything!
Hello everyone,
Don't worry Kate, you are not alone in communicating with everyone. Unfortunately the blog is not working for me so I'm just gonna e-mail my comments to everyone...If you want to post it on the blog for me that would be great!
Over the last two weeks I have really enjoyed creating new dishes that are challenge friendly...I really appreciate all the recipes that Bonnie sends us. I made the lasagna roll-ups for my family this week and they were a huge hit. I substituted the tomatoes for a homemade pasta sauce that I conjured up last week and it was truly delicious. The only complaint my husband has with the food is that there just isn't enough room in our freezer for all the fish and extra prep stuff I made!
I haven't weighed myself yet but I have been measuring myself. So far I have lost 3 inches off my waist and 4 inches off my abdomen. Hooray for the challenge.
I am committed to exercising a minimum of thirty minutes every day; usually I do fast walking (which I love to do) as the weather is conducive to my staying committed to this form of exercise. I try to do strength training at least three times a week, however sometimes I only do crunches and core and upper body work as the walking already strengthens my legs and butt. I find that developing a routine for the exercise is key...I usually exercise at lunch. The eating clean part of the challenge has fast become easy as well. What worked for me was to have only natural products in the house and then I'm not tempted...my daughter finds breakfast the hardest as we no longer have sugar cereal in the house...She's getting used to eating wheat muffets and porridge!
By the way Kate, I'm planning a cheat day this Sunday..I'll be visiting a friend's for Thanksgiving and they are not challenge friendly people...so....I'm just gonna have to sacrifice for twenty-four hours and drink all the wine I can! I'll try to keep everyone posted as to my progress. Good luck everybody...stay strong!
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