I just ate how many calories????

Week 3 Ending Jan. 28, 2012

This week ended with still some very good numbers. There were a few more people who gained a little this week but I don't want you to be discouraged. Unfortunately the scale holds great power over many of us and when it doesn't move in the direction we want it to go or move as fast as we would like it to we tend to get discouraged and want to give up. Please don't let that happen. Losing weight is not an exact science. It is very hard to tell how your body will react but it is a proven fact that if you stay the course by making even small and healthy changes to your diet and exercise you will eventually see amazing changes.

This Week's Top Ten

1rst Matthew D 2.5%

2nd Kinsey R 2.1%

3rd Geina Y 1.8%

4th Fran S 1.7%

5th Wayne D 1.1%

6th Colby D 1.1%

7th Kelsey 1.02%

8th Kim D 1.0%

9th Kari W 0.99%

10th Linda G 0.57%

Honorable mention Rachel J 0.56%, Carole T 0.56%, Brittany C 0.55%, Jess S 0.54%, Sunnie H 0.39%, Shauna W 0.24%, Lisa S 0.12%

We have also had several people express concern that it seems a little unfair for the women to be competing with the men. Although it is generally the rule that men can lose weight faster than women, it really doesn't play that great of a role in this contest and I think we will be amazed to see the final results in 12 weeks. I want to mention that Colby, Wayne and Matthew all have had great success so far but I need to let you know that they are highly motivated and are working very hard at this. Matthew is getting married on Mar 10 so he has great incentive to lose the weight and to win the money for his honeymoon. Even though he puts in very long days with work and school (not getting home until usually after midnight) he has still gotten up an hour early every day to workout and to pack all his food for the day. That is true dedication and it is paying off in the numbers he is seeing on the scale each week. Colby and his wife are committed to getting financially fit this year and have quit eating out altogether. That one little change can make a huge difference in your weight loss. Try it yourself and see. I just want to applaud both of these young men. Wayne has done weight watchers on and off for several years and is absolutely faithful in counting his points each day and sticking to the program.Yes they are guys and tend to lose faster but honestly they are working just as hard as the rest of us to be successful. I mention them because I want you all to see that there are many different ways to approach this challenge but if you are committed you will see success.

OK on to this week's challenge: Watch your Serving Sizes. Bigger portions = More calories, guaranteed. Everyone who comes to weigh in this week and at least tries to watch their portions will be entered into the challenge prize for the week. What's this weeks prize you ask? We will be giving away a food scale. So get out your measuring cups and spoons, your food scales and start checking the nutritional info on packages to make sure you know what a serving actually is.

Portion control is always a challenge but a great way to lose weight. Now that you are all pros at keeping a food journal, the next step is make sure you are not eating too many calories of even the good foods. Here is an example. For snacks I often will eat raw almonds mixed with craisins. I really like them and the raw almonds contain a lot of health promoting fats along with other ingredients. As I mentioned before I am away from my home usually 4 days of the week. Last week I got called out on short notice so I didn't have much time. I grabbed a new bag of almonds and craisins and threw it in my lunch bag.The only problem with that is I didn't weigh it out. Usually I will get small snack size sandwich baggies and weigh out all my snacks ahead of time and then only bring enough to cover the days I will be gone. 12 almonds equal 80 calories and 20 grams of Craisins (about 1 tbsp) equals 65 calories, so together that is a snack worth 145 calories which is about what I allow myself for snacks. Put that amount in a small snack baggie and you will see it isn't very much so the calories add up quite quickly when eating these items. Since they were all in one large bag, I ended up eating the entire thing on my 4 day trip. I probably consumed 4 times the calories I usually do because I hadn't taken the time to portion out the food ahead of time.

Mypyramid.gov is an excellent website to help with what you should and how much to eat. You can go in and register and do a menu planner with your height and weight. It will calculate a healthy daily caloric intake for you and then you enter what you eat. Seriously, this is so cool...and it's FREE. Here is another example from the lady who ran the last contest I participated in:"I have 1 c of Special K cereal with 1/2 c 1% milk, he puts an entry in the grain column and dairy and calculates the calories...SAAWEET!!! I know those of you who have an IPhone, or app for this it's not that great, but for me I thought it was very helpful. Go ahead...try it". Here's a little extra help too.

What's a Serving?

The MyPyramid system was developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help people live longer, better and healthier lives. There are six broad types of food in the MyPyramid system shown in the chart below.
When choosing foods, keep the following in mind:

• All food groups are important. Each food group provides specific nutrients that can not easily be met from other food groups. No single food group can provide all nutrients.
• The amount of food we need from each food group varies based on age, gender, physical activity, and weight goals.
• The serving sizes recommended by the MyPyramid guidelines can be different than the serving size information on a food label. MyPyramid serving sizes are based on nutrient content. For example, in the MyPyramid system, 1 cup of low fat milk has a similar nutrient profile in calcium, protein, and riboflavin as 1.5 oz of cheese.
• The MyPyramid serving sizes are often different than our personal portion sizes which is the amount of a particular food you typically eat. Recognizing how many servings are in your typical portion is critical in learning "real time" energy management.
  Below are examples of what the MyPyramid guidelines define as one serving unit for each of the food groups.

  Food Group	Serving Size	Serving Size in Context	Visual Clues and Examples of One Serving
  Grains	1 Ounce	1 slice of bread 1 cup cold cereal ½ cup cooked rice, pasta or cooked cereal	Bread = plastic CD case Cooked rice = ½ of a tennis ball 1 mini-bagel 5 whole-wheat crackers ½ English muffin 1 (4 ½ inch) pancake 1 small tortilla (6 inches)
  Fruit Group	1 Cup Equivalent	1 cup of fruit or 100% fruit juice; ½ cup of dried fruit	Whole fruit = 1 baseball Cut fruit = 7 cotton balls 1 small apple 32 seedless grapes 3 medium plums
  Vegetable Group	1 Cup Equivalent	1 cup of raw or cooked vegetables or vegetable juice; 2 cups of raw leafy greens	Vegetables = a light bulb or computer mouse 2 medium carrots 1 large ear corn 1 medium baked potato 3 (5 inch long) spears of broccoli
  Meat and Beans Group	1 Ounce	1 egg 1 tablespoon peanut butter ¼ cup cooked dry beans ½ ounce nuts or seeds	Nuts = 12 almonds, 24 pistachios Turkey = one sandwich slice Peanut butter = ½ golf ball Burger patty = ½ patty Tuna = ¼ can of drained tuna Fish = One third of a checkbook Meat or Poultry = One third of a deck of cards
  Milk Group	1 cup Equivalent	1 cup milk 1 ½ ounce natural cheese or 2 ounces of processed cheese	Hard cheese = two 9-volt batteries Shredded cheese = tennis ball
  Oils	1 Teaspoon	1 Teaspoon oil, salad dressing, butter, etc.	Butter and spreads = A stack of 6 nickels

Sorry for the Delay

Week Ending Jan. 21, 2012

First I want to apologize for the not getting the blog updated sooner. I was out of town all weekend until very late Sunday night (didn't get in until after midnight). I had every intention of doing this first thing Monday morning but I got called out of town again at the last minute and had to chose between blogging or preparing my food for the days I would be away. This gives me an opportunity to point out a very important principle that will help on you journey...BE PREPARED. As a flight attendant I am usually away from home 4 days of the week. If I plan my meals ahead of time and have the things available that I need to eat healthy I always make better choices. Try to plan and shop for at least a week in advance so that you have a plan. I will talk about this more in a later blog. Now on to the more important business. This week's results.

Top Ten for this week:

1. Matthew D 2.6%

2. Colby D 2.2%

Two people tied for 3rd place

3. Kathy G 1.4%

3. Carole T 1.4%

Two more people tied for 4th place

4. Brittany C 1.2%

4. Rachel J 1.2%

5. Shauna W 0.8%

Then we had 5 people tie for 6th place

6. Wayne D 0.7%

6. Linda G 0.7%

6. Kari W 0.7%

6. Jess S 0.7%

6. Fran S 0.7%

7. Laura 0.5%

8. Vickie J 0.3%

9. Julie L 0.29%

10. Meralee R 0.2%

Honorable mention was Sunnie H with .1%

We had several people take a bye this week because they were not available to weigh-in and a few who went up on the scales but considering the great start we had last week it is totally normal to see lower numbers the second week. Congratulations to all of you for sticking to it and moving the scale in the right direction.

Our weekly challenge winner was Vickie J who won a new water bottle.

Now looking forward to this week. I think Laura told most of you the the challenge this week is Exercise. I know it is already Tuesday but anyone who exercises at least 30 minutes for 4 days out of the week can put in a ticket for the drawing this Saturday. The prize is a Biggest Loser Workout DVD.

Let me share a few thoughts with you on exercise. I have always loved to exercise. You would probably not have always guessed it by looking at my body but I have always exercised regularly more for my mental health then my physical health. It is a great stress reducer and the endorphins you create really do kick in to elevate your mood.

I know there are always a million excuses to not work out but in the end that is really all they are...just excuses. Let's look at some of them and how to overcome them.

1. No time...the great thing about exercise is that the effects are cumulative. That means that 5 minutes here or 10 minutes there all add up in a day. You don't have to find an hour time block in your schedule, just park at the end of the parking lot when you go to the store instead of driving around and around stalking people till you find a place up close. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk with your kids to school instead of driving. Pack a lunch and spend your lunch break taking a brisk walk while you eat your sandwich. If you have to unwind at night watching TV do it on a treadmill or keep small hand weights close by and do some lifting while watching TV. If you don't have weights do sit-ups, crunches, lunges, jumping jacks. Just find opportunities to move more. There are a million different ways to be active. Try getting up 1 hour earlier so you can work out. You will be surprised at how much better your whole day goes.

2. Too expensive...can't afford a gym membership! You don't need a gym, they are great if you have access to one but you don't need one to exercise and feel healthy. When my children were just babies, I didn't have the money or the time to hit the gym but I did have a video player in the basement and every morning before those first babies were up and crying I was down there with Jane Fonda (yes, complete with pink striped leotards and leg warmers that my kids still mock me about today) getting my exercise in. I knew if I allowed 1 hour a day for me I was able to give my kids so much more of myself through out the day. You can rent DVDs at the library to work out to if you don't want to or can't afford to buy them. I have a great collection of workout DVDs that I would gladly lend to anyone who wants to try them.

3. I hate to exercise...it is boring or it hurts or I am so out of shape I can't do it. This excuse just doesn't fly, there are so many ways to be active, just find something that you like to do and do it. You don't have to run on a treadmill or do a marathon if you hate running. Love to dance? Take a Zumba class or check out the old Richard Simmons sweating to the oldies videos. Need something low impact? Try water aerobics, a yoga class, dust off your old bicycle (or your kids bicycle) and go for a ride. I loved to roller skate as a child so I thought several years ago it would be fun to try my kids Rollerblades, boy was that a mistake. I just know that there is something out there for everyone. Find that thing that makes you happy and do it. Just make sure it involves some motion on your part. If you love doing it, you will continue doing it and it won't feel like a chore.

4. I'm just not motivated. Find an exercise buddy. It can be a spouse, a best friend, a total stranger. I know that Laura and Angie met at the gym, total strangers and have become great friends and workout partners. Knowing someone is depending and waiting on you to get out of bed in the morning is a good motivator. Commit your goals to someone else. That always helps me stick to it. My kids all know how much I weigh and how much I want to lose and they ask me all the time how I am doing. They are my best cheerleaders. Don't wait for someone to find you, go out and find someone who needs your help as much as you need theirs. Five years ago my husband passed away from a brain tumor. I had the dearest friend who called me up every morning in the months preceding his death and dragged me out of my house and up on the mountain so I could walk and talk. It was my saving grace through those trying days and I will be forever grateful to her. I know it was a lot harder for her but she knew it was my thing and she did it for me. Be that kind of friend to someone else.

Set a goal, sign up for a 5k, a half marathon, a century bike ride. Knowing you have to get in shape for a future race is great motivation.

I could go on and on but I hope you get the idea. There is nothing better for your health and happiness than becoming more active. Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day and the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. Just get started. Move a little bit more today than you did yesterday and before you know it, it will become a way of life. You will become an exercise junkie like me.

What a fantastic start!!!

Week 1: Ending Jan. 14, 2012

I can not believe what a great week we all had. Everyone is off to a fabulous start. Together as a group we lost more than 100 lbs. That is truly amazing. Everyone should be very proud of themselves. If you were one that was not happy with your loss, don't get discouraged early. There is plenty of time left and it usually takes some time for you to figure out what works best for your body. Each week I will post the top 10 losers and then add honorable mentions for everyone else that lost weight. So here goes.

This Weeks Top Ten

1. Wayne D. 4.5%

2. (We had 2 people tie for 2nd place)

Brittany C. 4.1%

Matthew D. 4.1%

3. Colby D. 4.0%

4. Fran S. 3.7%

5. Kim D 3.3%

6. Carole T. 2.8%

7. Kari W. 2.6%

8. Kathy G. 2.3%

9. Lisa S 2.2%

10. Jenn J. 2.0%

Honorable mention

Gail N 1.7%, Shauna W 1.7%, Kelcee T 1.6%, Linda G 1.4%, Julie L 1.3%, Edye W 1.3%, Vickie J 1.2%, Jess S 1.2%, Rachel J 1.2%, Marylee G 1.2%, Angie J 1.1%, Sunnie H 1.1%, Meralee R 1.0%, Laura L 0.8%, Geina Y 0.4%

The winner of this week's challenge to Food Journal was Wayne D.

Now for this week's challenge. It's water, and lots of it. Keep track of your water. And, yes Crystal Light, Walmart brand or other store brands count. Soda, DOES NOT!, not even diet...sorry about that one. Find out what your body's daily intake should be and try to reach or exceed the amount. You need to drink your daily amount at least 3 of the days to be eligible for the prize. 64 oz is the usual number everyone shoots for, but some may need more/less. If you accept and complete the challenge for at least three out of the seven days, you will receive a ticket for the weekly drawing. You'll be playing for a new water bottle.

Water is a fantastic way to fill the gaps between meals. When your mouth wants to be busy, say around 3:00 in the afternoon when dinner is still a few hours away, a cold glass of water can help take your mind off of the snacking habit.

What’s wrong with soda or diet soda?

Scientists and health advocates blame soda for a wide variety of ailments ranging from tooth decay to diabetes, even cancer. The reason is simple: beyond high-fructose corn syrup, which is pure sugar, the remaining ingredients are chemicals. What about diet soda, you may ask; it doesn’t have any sugar. True, instead it has more chemicals and many scientists believe that these chemicals and artificial sweeteners in particular need to be studied more thoroughly. There is a general consensus among those in the medical industry that artificial sweeteners play some role in the epidemic of obesity in the world.

Not happy with water?

1. Many people don’t like to drink plain water. Like many healthy goals, it helps to make small changes. If you drink two cans of soda a day, replace one of your cans of soda with a glass of water and try that for a few weeks. Once you've got the hang of that, you can replace the other can, too. To make your water more palatable, why not add a slice of fresh citrus to it. Or consider drinking the flavored and carbonated water that is now available at most grocery stores. Take care to make sure that the water has no additional sugar or artificial sweeteners. Mineral waters, carbonated or non-carbonated, also offer an appealing alternative.

Coffee and tea without added sugar or milk, also offer a midday alternative to snacking. Be careful to keep caffeine intake in moderation. Too much caffeine can make you jittery and affect your adrenal glands, which can interfere with your hormonal balance and contribute to insulin resistance and weight gain.

Alcohol is primarily a carbohydrate and will contribute to weight gain rather than weight loss. Additionally, it may inhibit your decision making abilities and make that bag of chips and greasy burger look even more tempting.

When it comes right down to it, water really is the best thing for your body. It hydrates your cells, cleanses your body and helps you lose weight, and it helps you stay healthy and feel better.
Have a great week!

A New Start for a New Year

Finally we are ready to get started. We would like to thank everyone who has decided to start this journey with us to a new and healthier you in 2012. Sorry for the delay in updating the blog. We were waiting for a few final contestants to get signed up and weighed in. We now have 27 people who have committed to our contest. That is fabulous. That makes the prize money we can distribute at the end very enticing. Here is how the money will be distributed on Mar.31

1rst Place $500

2nd Place $350

3rd Place $250

4th Place $150

And we will award 2 participation awards for $50 each.

A quick explanation of how you can win the participation prize. To be eligible for this prize, you need to have NOT placed in the top 4, you need to make it to at least 10 out of the 12 weigh ins, and you cannot have gained additional weight from your first weigh in. At the time of money distribution anyone that meets these requirements will put their name in a drawing and the first place winner will draw it out. If any of you are confused, just ask me questions next Saturday when I see you. There is a lot of money to be earned so I hope everyone stays motivated!

If you've ever wondered why some people are able to shed those pounds and keep them off, it's probably because they know the five secrets to lasting weight loss...and now so do you.
1. They eat breakfast
2. They eat fruit and/or vegetables with each meal
3. They have protein with each meal and snack
4. They're physically active
5. They plan their meals, their snacks, and their exercise.

Weekly Challenge

This week's challenge is to journal. I can not stress enough how important this one little step is on your weight loss journey. This means to write down everything that you eat good or bad. I think most of us signed up for this contest because we liked the idea of having to be held accountable each week by weighing in. Journaling is the same concept. It holds us accountable for the things we eat. I think many of you will be not only surprised but shocked by the amount of actual calories you consume each day when you start tracking them. This will help you look back on your days and know where you need to improve or add different food items.

Maybe your goal is to keep track and not to exceed a calorie maximum. To lose 1 pound a week you need to eat 500 less calories a day than you burn. The average person burns around 2000 calories a day. So to lose a pound a week you need to limit your calories to around 1500 a day. If you add exercise to the mix you bump up the amount of calories you burn. If you walk vigorously for an hour you can burn an additional 500 calories making your deficit for the day 1000 calories which should equate to a 2 lbs a week weight loss. This is not an exact science but it is a good rule of thumb to follow. Bottom line...try to limit your calorie intake each day to around 1500 or less and try to get some sort of exercise every day. Then you should see a healthy 2 lbs a week loss.

There are several great websites for calorie counting such as calorieking.com, spark people.com, my fitness pal etc. All you do is click on the food, search, and then enter the food you have eaten and follow the prompts to figure out the calories. For those that have a IPhone or IPad, a free app that I have had recommended to me is Calorie Counter by FatSecret. This will truly help you in your success to shed those pound.

I would also recommend buying a food scale. They are fairly inexpensive and you can find them at Walmart, Target or other similar stores. Get in the habit of weighing your food, checking portion sizes on the food labels etc. I think we all tend to underestimate our food portions that we eat. I keep my scale on my kitchen counter with a notebook and pen next to it so I can jot down the exact measurements before I enter them in on the computer. It can be a pain at first but it is so worth the effort. Just make it a new habit. This has made such a difference in my weight loss.

Eating out is no excuse for not tracking calories. On the Internet you can google just about any food item that you can purchase in a fast food joint or restaurant.

OK I will get off of my Food Journal soapbox for now. Let me say again how excited we are that you have all decided to join with us. We would like to make this blog a motivational tool and support to help you along the way. We plan on posting recipe ideas each week along with the weekly challenge. We encourage your comments, success stories, struggles you may be facing or even the occasional whining about how much you miss chocolate. We really want this to be a support group so please speak up and let us hear from you. If you have great recipes you would like to share please email them to me at sbillnlisa@comcast.net and I will post them on the blog.

Good Luck everyone. Can't wait to see how the first week went for all of you. The weight loss is usually pretty great week 1.