[mpayne]

Anyone want to join me for a little healthy competition??

We will try to lose 10 lbs by New Years Day. If you'd like to participate, PM me your starting weight as of today. I will keep all the info in a spreadsheet (which participants will be free to see but no one else).

We will weigh in every Monday morning and the winner will be announced on 12/29.

Winner gets a RAOK *and* the satisfaction of being 10 pounds lighter to start 2009!

[patbruck]

I am in. PM'ing you right now!

[onlymadaresane]

I need to. All this holiday baking I'm doing....I just need to get my big ole but up and running!

I'm gonna try! I'm a nursing mom so I have to be careful how fast it goes (ha! Like it'll actually move...)

Anyway- I'm giving it a go. PM'ing you!

[mpayne]

Yay! The more the merrier!

BTW, the winner will be based on % of weight lost. I think that's the fair way to do it - what do you all think?

Let's all aim for that 10 by New Years, though!

[patbruck]

That sounds great. That is how they do it on Biggest Loser. Obvioulsy we can't expect a 100 pound person to put up the same number as a 300 person, kwim?

[mpayne]

So how is everyone doing? I've done pretty good this week. Counting points and staying on target - did use a few bonus points yesterday, but all in all - not bad! I just hope the scale reflects it on Monday!

[xmaspickle]

know that I will be with you in spirit..I started with the biggestloserclub.com the day after the biggest loser season started...and their diet/workout program..I've lost 23 as of this morning in 9 weeks..and will continue on...but I won't be changing what or how i'm doing it right now as I'm never starving, well satisfied, exercise at a level that works for me...and striving to lose about 1% of my body weight a week..I'm a bit ahead of that right now..at 12.7% of my starting weight in 9 weeks...and will probably, conceivably only be at 6 more pounds loss or so by new years..which is exactly where I want to be..slow & steady...

I have lost two sizes..and weekly digging through the closet for smaller clothes that fit a bit closer..and have been freecycling bags of larger sizes...figure I'll be my normal size 2/4 by april....

so I will tip my hat to any of you starting during the holidays..I will recommend cookbooks by Sandra Woodruff..she's a registered dietician and has several books out..for this season the holiday cookbook might be a good one...she features low sugar, low salt, whole grains and has the nutritional info included...joanna m. lund also has several easy cookbooks out there..although, she will use more processed foods, artificial sweetened items and such that I only will include occasionally..but again.readily available ingredients and nutritional info included so you know where you're at...both of these authors are currently available via paperbackswap.com so no out of pocket if you if you happen to have kids books, paperbacks you're done with...

oooh...also, I'll mention intrinsic things..like my blood pressure has lowered..I'm at 115/75 with a resting heart rate of 48...so it's all worth it! It can be your Christmas present to yourself..doesn't cost anything, no one else can give it to you..and you get to keep enjoying it!

[twinners]

I didn't give you my info, but this thread has inspired me to try this on my own. I've been on the treadmill everyday and cutting back calories.

Good luck to everyone!

[patbruck]

um, well, since you asked...lousy!

gave in to night-time cravings, not once, not twice, but the past three nights in a row. Only made it to the gym one day this week too. Tried a new ab workout and my stomach is still hurting! oh my.

my downfall this week was really a lack of planning. Normally I sit down, plan our dinners for the week and make my grocery list. I skipped the whole planning phase and just grabbed what I (thought) we needed...and somehow that ended up being Pringles, Combos and various baking goodies that will never make it into cookies. It's sad, but true - for me to be successful, junk has to be out of sight, out of mind. There is no reason to even keep it it the house anyway - nobody here certainly needs junk food anyway.

So I took a leap last night and threw out the remaining reeses pieces and hershey kisses. Waste of money, but they're better off in the garbage than in ME! I'm being lazy today and staying home in my PJ's...I have a ton of cleaning to catch up on and need to put the finishing touches on the term paper that has been consuming my life lately. I'm going to go easy on the calorie intake, since my output won't be as high as usual today.

[wlcross]

Melinda you did get my pm didn't you? I have already lost some lbs. and got quite a work out yesterday!

[xmaspickle]

planning is the key..absolutely..on the biggestloserclub you have your menu plan a week or as far as you want to look ahead of time..you can swap meals at will via a list that is there..and then it prints off the shopping list of what you need to have everything available..I have teens/husband so I just multiply out the quantity and add extras to bulk up their cals..

you can do the same thing with any cookbook/any website that has the nutritional information available...the idea on the biggest loser is to take your calorie range..say your 1200-1400 and divide by 4..1/4 for each meal and the last 1/4 divided amongst some snacks..and each snack comprises about a 1/2 serving of protein and some fiber..either fruit or veggies..colored m & ms don't count as veggie...

so my snacks are something like a 1 1/2 hard boiled eggs and a tangerine..or baby carrots and pecans...and I tell you..that protein/fiber combo is a winner..I'm never starving or craving non nutrient foods..

and my meals tend towards lean meats, low fat dairy, fruits, veggies, whole grains, wheat pastas, brown rice, etc...

I have energy flying out of my ears..and I'm just shy of 50 so I'm a happy camper...

so preplan your week..all meals, snacks, and what the rest of the household needs..ie dog food, baggies, that type of thing..then you won't have to brave the store too often and meals will be a quickie..definitely stack the deck towards success..

and the biggestloser site recommends for home weight loss at about 1% a week on a continuing lifestyle change basis...so any of you that hit at least 4% in 4 weeks is a winner winner chicken dinner...

[mpayne]

Those are great tips! I tend to need to eat the same meals over and over - too much variety gets me every time. I need to do more pre-planning. Thanks for the motivation!

[Mom2ThreeLovesCVS]

Alright, hopefully you guys can motivate me to lose the last of this baby weight. I've been having the hardest time getting motivated. I'll go and take all the clothes that are hanging on my Bun & Thigh Rocker off right now! Seriously though, it's covered!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm PMing you my info right now Mpayne. Please give me LOADS of crap if I don't stick with it.

[danielephant]

pming you!

[mpayne]

Weigh-in on Monday! Let's all have a great weekend & try to get some exercise in!

Let's make a goal of at least 15 minutes every day of cardio and some form of strength exercises - last night I laid in bed and did curls with the two remotes. Hey, every little bit helps!!!

[QponBelle]

Is it to late to join?

[susan_t6]

just saw this but pm'ing you anyway.

[mpayne]

No, it's not too late to join! Just PM me with your starting weight. Most of us just started this past Monday.

[MomsRUs05]

I am just seeing this and won't be able to lose that much by Jan 1st....bummer. Of course me having this Cookie House Party/Christmas Party doesn't help when I have to test my cookies before I let others eat them *wink*....

[patbruck]

Originally Posted by MomsRUs05

I am just seeing this and won't be able to lose that much by Jan 1st....bummer. Of course me having this Cookie House Party/Christmas Party doesn't help when I have to test my cookies before I let others eat them *wink*....

I hear ya. It is always a challenge not to "test" what I am baking. Plus I love to bake...so...you can see where that goes! I am going to put my best effort forward this season and not nibble while baking!

[mpayne]

I am so disgusted. I had to get on the scale today and I've GAINED a pound!

Ok, so before I weighed first thing in the morning w/no clothes on...and today I weighed after lunch with clothes on... so maybe it's not exactly accurate. But it certainly didn't make me happy either!

I really need to get a postage meter so I don't have to weigh packages by first getting my weight, then getting back on the scale holding the package and subtracting to get the difference...

[patbruck]

Well I am doing pretty good, although I don't want to jinx myself or anything

Shoveled snow yesterday for a small workout and hit the gym for a "real" workout this morning. I have done super good on monitoring my calorie intake since Thursday, and that is where I am really going to see the results.

[QponBelle]

I just walked 2 miles w/Leslie Sansone. Probably all the exercise I'll get for today.
Hey, Its a start. Now if I could just keep the food from getting to my mouth!!

Same weight as I pm'ed you with on the 5th.

[mpayne]

I need to bust out my WATP dvds. Thanks for the reminder, Qponbelle!

I weighed in and am a little more happy now than I was yesteday - down 3.7 lbs! Now if I don't sabotage myself by thinking I "deserve" some junk food - that's usually what ends up happening. I still have a long way to go to get to where I want to be (another 30 lbs) but hey - I'm 1/10th there already, right??

I felt so much better last week after starting to exercise a little again and eat cleaner. That's reason enough to keep going!

[mpayne]

Here are the people I have listed on the Challenge:

mpayne
patbruck
Mom2ThreeLovesCVS
wlcross
onlymadaresane

Please PM me with your starting weight and today's weight if I don't have you listed! Also, need everyone's weigh-in for today!