Friendly Friends

Hey old pals, I am not a blogger, and must confess that this is only the second time I have come to this page to check things out--the first time being during the first week of the competition. I just wanted to offer a word of congratulations for all who are working so hard and for the progress you are making--this is hard work, and it stinks! However, it is quite gratifying to step on the scale and not have to listen to it whimper, and sigh with relief when I get off!

Beyond the initial plunge of 5 or 6 pounds in the first week, I have not been making the precipitous drop that I anticipated making, and have had a plateau or two to deal with but we are persevering and making progress, and that is the whole reason we are doing this in the first place, eh? As of this morning I am down about 15 pounds or so, and I need about 4 more to meet my 10% mark. My primary goal is to deprive the real biggest loser of my contribution, and to be able to tie my shoes without having to hold my breath! It sounds like we are all on our way to meeting our goals! Yeah us!

On those inevitable frustrating days and weeks, just remember the lesson of the tortoise and the hare--slow and steady wins the race. Flub ups and cheats are inevitable, but not the end of the world. just get back up on the horse and try try again (to mix a few metaphors). Keep up the good work friends, and fight the good fight. Remember--we are not simply trying to find a new low point from which to yo-yo back up. We are doing this as the beginning of making new lifestyle choices. There is no point to struggling through all of this if we are simply going to give in to the natural man and reinflate after the end of the competition. Slim on!

Finally!

I have officially hit 10 lbs as of today. I'm a slow, slow loser compared to some of you, but I am still here and I am losing, even if slowly. Actually, I guess I'm not really losing slowly, since 8 of those pounds have been in the last 12 days. I guess I've taken longer to gain momentum. And the best news of all - that *$%# plateau is history!

ALLLLMOST there

I am only a few pounds away from my ten percent mark. Hanging on by my teeth. Today I weighed 198.2.
I have not weighed in at that for over seven years!
Keep going
Keep going
Keep going

Nay

Yummy

So the weightloss plan is going A-Okay for the Purdies! This week so far has been our best one yet. I feel like eating right, even more than our exercise is the cause of us feeling so good and losing weight. Not to say exercise isn't important, it sure is. Jillian Michaels is showing us what is up!

So we have added a TON of veggies to our meals. They are so yummy! I found this recipe and loved it. Chris didn't like it so much, said it was too much like baby food ha ha. For those of you with a more "refined" taste, give it a shot!

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

2 TBS of butter (you can totally cut this out)

1.5 stalks of celery chopped

1/2 yellow onion chopped

10-12 baby carrots chopped

4 small potatoes cubed

1 butternut squash--peeled seeded and cubed

32 ounces of chicken broth or stalk (low sodium works)

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Melt butter and cook the veggies for 5 mins, or until they are lightly brown. Pour enough stock/broth to cover the vegetables. Bring everything to a boil, cover and simmer on low for 40 mins or until all the veggies are tender. Transfer the mix to a blender and blend until smooth. Return to pot and add the remaining stock/broth until you get the desired consistancy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

I'm still here!

I have been MIA for a few days, but I have not been slacking off! I wasn't able to run my half marathon last weekend - but get this! NOT becuase of my running injury - because of a flat tire on the way to Wisconsin the night before! Is that ridiculous or what? At any rate, now I am resting and healing my running muscles and focusing on cycling and weight lifting for a week or two. I have found a half marathon in April I plan to do.

I have also spent the last week or so reevaluating my diet. I have decided the Weight Watchers thing - which has been my go-to diet for the last 10 years and not entirely successful except for the one time after I had Dani - is not working for me. I just cannot break this &*#$ plateau! So I researched diet plans and decided to go with something totally different from any diet I've done before. I started Atkins this week. No sugar and no carbs, except for veggies. The no-sugar is what is good for me -- on my very first day, I had a showdown with a brownie frosted with chocolate-chip cookie dough. Man, it was rough! But I found that "just say no" was a better strategy for me than my old Weight Watchers "I can have this if I account for the points and adjust the rest of my eating for the day" because inevitably, just a half of a brownie turns into 3 or 4 brownies! So, I'm sticking with this for the time being. I hear that after two weeks off sugar, the cravings go away. I sure hope so, because I spent about 2 hours fantasizing about Cadbury Creme Eggs today!

STUCK!

Not happy. I have been fabulous on my diet and the scales have said the exact same thing for three days in a row.
:(

Can anyone catch Bob, Mary and Chris?

Tally ho Chubbies...how is everyone doing? I have been so good I dont even recognize myself.
I have lost 14 pounds as of this morning. I started at 216.2 and today was 202. I am quite hopeful it will be 34 pounds by tomorrow morning. :)

Those of you in it for the money need to know that Mary, Bob and Chris are flying. And I dont know about Chris, but Bob is even actually eating normal food and cake and ice cream! What is up with that? All three of these guys are the ones to watch. Marilee joined the gym and has already lost about 15 pounds just on eating alone. Better run when she hits that ol treadmill. She can actually run on it. She swears by her chicken tenders topped with bruschetta sauce (Costco or Sams $6.00) and a thin slice of cheese. Havent tried it yet because I gave up dairy products for the first three weeks, but it sounds divine.

I have a favorite meal idea to share. I LOVE tacos...likeMom used to make...fried corn tortillas with straight unseasoned hamburger, and olives, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. Obviously the fried tortilla is the worst part. So I take a large romaine lettuce leaf and put a spoonful of the super lean cooked hamburger on it, and the other items (minus the cheese and olives for this first three weeks), and it tastes much like my beloved tacos with a fraction of the calories. A friend suggested that I get baked tortilla chips and crush a few of these inside as well to give it the crunch and corn taste. Lettuce leaves also make wonderful wraps to hold the inside stuff of a sandwich. Just use it in place of the bread.

I also bought on Amazon, a bottle of chocolate raspberry flavor drops. I put ten in a glass of hot water and heated it. It is my "cocoa." Zero calories and zero sugar which is something I am watching closely. Trying to find more interesting ways of consuming more liquids. It would taste even better in a glass of diet cocoa, but that has anartificial sweetner that still raises my blood sugar.

An interesting and exciting sidelight to all this. I have been dieting for 15 days now, and there have only been two days that I took my diabetic meds. And then it was partial doeses. All the other days I have not needed it. I have started a chart to record my sugar levels three times a day to give to my doctor. Obviously I cant eat like I am now forever, but it certainly reaffirms the correlation between lifestyle habits and diabetes.

Good luck to you all. I love to hear your progress.