Send me your weight... again!

Hey Ladies,

We are on vacation here at beautiful Birch Bay. I brought my laptop so that I could post the results on Sunday, but I'm having trouble with my Verizon email. Could you all please email me your weight from Saturday again? Send it to heybeans@hotmail.com. I'll try and have the results posted by tomorrow.

Thanks!

Anna Marie

Currant-Lentil Spinach Salad

Here is an easy recipe that we like to fix for lunch. My hubby even loves this spinach salad and doesn't mind taking a big batch for lunch. Enjoy!

Currant-Lentil Spinach Salad
A recipe from the Flavor Point Diet by David Katz
Serves 1

2 cups baby spinach (pre-washed)
1/3 cup cooked lentils, well drained
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons vinegar
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon water
pinch of salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons dried currants or raisins
2 teaspoons feta cheese, crumbled

In a medium bowl, combine the spinach and lentils.
In a small bowl, stir together the mustard, vinegar, oil, water, salt and pepper. Add the dressing to the spinach mixture and toss to combine. Sprinkle with the nuts, currants and cheese
TIP: Cook the lentils ahead of time and refrigerate then so you can assemble this salad at the last minute.

Per serving: 293 calories, 16g fat, 10g protein, 32g carbohydrate, 9g fiber, 6 mg cholesterol, 343 mg sodium

Lentils
A recipe from the Flavor Point Diet by David Katz
Makes 4 cups

1 ½ cups dry lentil
5 cups water

Rinse and drain the lentils.
Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the lentils and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or until tender but not mushy. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water. Refrigerate in an airtight container for 1 week.
TIP: Lentils are so good for everyone’s healthy that having them already cooked in the fridge may encourage the rest of your family to eat them more often!

Per serving: 243 calories, 0g fat, 20g protein, 41g carbohydrate, 22g fiber, 0mg cholesterol, 7mg sodium

'August Lent'

After talking to a couple of you who I'm in contact with regularly I've realized that I'm not the only one in need of a pick me up to get going again. What AMB has started is great and I want to work harder with this great idea she's started. I've definitely not been in it 100% so I've decided to implement this idea for me and I think I'm probably not alone however if you are already being strict all the better for you! So here is my idea. It's up to you if you want to join in, no pressure if you don't. Here's the plan.

a) Decide which type of food or what particular food (all chocolate, or ice cream, etc) is holding you back the most. Only pick one and you can be as general or specific as you want too.

b) Commit to avoiding your pick for the month of August.

c) Add a comment to this blog to admit to what you are giving up.

d) Post about any relapses or success stories so you have accountability.

e) I also like that Minwimm has posted recipes and I think it'd be great if we all shared a easy healthy recipe once a week. Just a thought but certainly not mandatory by any means.

August Lent is the best name I could come up with but I'm open to suggestions!

Awesome Cold Veggie Pizza

This is a fantastic summer recipe that is great tasting and mostly healthy.

1 can crescent rolls, or canned pizza dough
4 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
dill, fresh or dried to taste
garlic salt to taste
Lots of fresh veggies
shredded cheddar

Lay the crescent rolls out flat on cookie sheet and bake according to directions. Let cool 10-20 minutes while you mix up the spread and cut the veggies.

mix softened cream cheese, sour cream, and dill and garlic (I used about 1 T each) and spread on top of cooled dough, then just cut whatever veggies you have on hand and place them and the shredded cheese on top. Yumo!


I used shredded cabbage, tomatoes, cucumber, mushrooms, shredded carrot, and green onion. I bed this would be good with olives, feta, and roasted red peppers too. There are probably tons of great combos that you can do with this recipe.

Let me know if you try one and how it turned out.


P.s. I know this isn't the best picture but I didn't think about posting until this morning and we ate this for dinner last night so it is a picture of the leftovers which I am eating right now for lunch.

Food Journal

I read the best way to keep track what you eat is by writing it down. I also read that you eat 10% less even if you don't change anything in your diet because of putting it on paper. It seems like a lot of work and hard to be accurate. How can you know exactly how much of something you are eating when you don't measure it? I think I might try it just for a few days and see how it goes.

Does anyone else food journal, or something resembling it?

Having Trouble Getting Motivated...

Is anyone else having trouble getting motivated, or am I alone on this one? I've been doing terrible and it is totally because of a complete lack of trying. It's not like I've been on vacation where it is hard to find time to exercise or eat healthy. I also haven't been sick or incapacitated in any way.

I've just been 100% lazy. I've been eating junk and I've mostly been sitting around. I really want to lose weight, but I don't want to put forth the effort to make it happen. I'm thinking about posting a nasty fat photo of me for the rest of you to gawk at. I'm also considering posting my actual weight weekly so I can't hide behind a percentage. Any other ideas? I thinking that public humilation is the only thing that will motivate me at this point.

Am I the only one whose behavior is shameful?

Week Four Results

% of Weight Lost This Week
TeriAnne: 1.63%
Mindy: 2.04%
Amber: -0.79%
Lisa: -0.68%
Jeni O: -1.08%
Crystal: -1.22%
Anna Marie -1.81%

Total % of Weight Lost
Lisa: 5.16%
Jeni O: 4.73%
Mindy: 4.03%
Anna Marie: 3.70%
TeriAnne: 2.29%
Amber: 1.54%
Crystal: 1.19%

(No weight was reported for Melissa, Jeni E, or Rick- seriously, is it really hard to get a weight from someone that lives with you?)

So, Mindy and TeriAnne were the only ones that lost weight this week. The rest of us were a little pathetic! I gained three pounds. :( Luckily, we still have all lost something!

Let's step it up a little next week!

My virtual model

I know we are all scared to post photos of ourselves so I thought this would be a fun alternative. Here is my after shot. I know I don't look like this quite yet but by the September 13th deadline I will. (hopefully)

Naked

Ok, technically I lost a pound last week but that is because I went from weighing myself in my jammies to weighing in naked. I am not sure if this is considered cheating or just being resourceful. Now I am going to have to weigh in naked every week.

There's my guilty secret. Anyone else like to share about their weigh in experiences?

Week Three Results

Sorry this is late. I'm so lame....

% of Weight Lost This Week
Jeni O: 2.45%
Lisa: 2.34%
Amber: 2.31%
Crystal: 1.20%
Mindy: 0.69%
TeriAnne: 0.67%
Anna Marie: 0.30%
Rick: 0%
Jeni E: 0%
Melissa: No weight reported

% Of Total Weight Lost
Lisa: 5.81%
Jeni O: 5.74%
Anna Marie: 5.41%
Rick: 3.43%
Mindy: 3.02%
Crystal: 2.38%
Amber: 2.31%
TeriAnne: 0.67%
Jeni E: 0%
Melissa: No weight reported

Lisa and Jeni O are both looking super strong, but it's still anybody's game!

Keep up the hard work, ladies!

Anna Marie

Better late than never...

I am late to add to the blog because I have been out of town, but I am totally engaged now and hopefully it will all go down hill from here (I mean the weight!)

My story:

I am 29 years old and apparently the slow weight lose that starts at 30 has started a little early with me. Or it could be my three children, 4 1/2 yrs, 2 1/2 yrs, and 4 months (aka main reason for needing to lose weight.) I am married and live in Washington. And I love Anna Marie for doing this!

My Motivation:

1. I really just want my clothes to fit again! I am tired of wearing the same 3 outfits.

2. I want to feel and look good.

3. I want to recognize myself in pictures again.

My achilles heal:

No question - ice cream. But I also have a problem with eating while I am winding down after the kids are in bed.


I am super excited to be doing this challenge. I just bought an elliptical yesterday and I ate my last cookie (yeah right) tonight! Wish me luck!

It takes more than you think

At least for me...

I was just calculating some of the weight loss numbers. According to Anna Marie's calorie counter, I need to eat only 1000 calories a day... less than I previously thought, but only by 200 cals or so.

And, if I spend 20-30 minutes on my elliptical trainer, it says I burn 200-300 calories (50+ carbs). Even at 20 minutes, I'm dripping sweat. Then I usually do some core work afterwards.

Now, I've been exercising for some time at that level. I've been eating maybe 12-1300 cals daily. I haven't lost weight, actually I've gained a little. But I sit at the computer a lot, typing my book.

So what does that mean? Do I have to exercise at least 500 calories a day and eat a strict 1000? How will I have any energy to carry out my regular mom responsibilities?

But I'm going to try it. Apparently you need to shock your system to get those stubborn pounds off!

Help me understand

I am in mid week frustration! I have been eating really well (except for one small helping of dessert last night) and I have been exercising my butt off. My scale is playing some mean trick on me because it says I have actually gained 1/2 pound.

I weigh in the same time every morning so I know it's not the fluctuation thing. And I also know that 1/2 pound doesn't seem like much but when you are trying so hard it is crushing!

Bryant's birthday is today so I got up to make him a breakfast of eggs, cheesy hashbrowns, and bacon. I then made myself a spinach smoothie. I was so disaplined! Not even one little bite off the tip of the bacon.

Lets see...what's my point here...Is anyone else feeling frustrations? Struggling? Or if you are doing excellent maybe a motivational story?

I Can Make You Thin.

Well, not really, but have any of you watched the show I Can Make You Thin with Paul McKenna?  I watched part of the first episode and checked out his website McKenna.com... Basically it is about portion control and eating how and what you want.  Anyway, I tried his concept (during lunch and dinner) of putting down your fork and knife, chewing the food (I think he says 20 times), then continuing this throughout the meal.  I can honestly say that because I ate slower I was able to tell I was full quicker, and therefore ate less than I normally would have.  I think one of my biggest problems when eating is not being able to stop, which is not good :(   

Now, I'm not saying that I am a total believer in this guy, as this show was on for a few weeks, and I only caught about 3/4 of the first one, but I do see his point in eating slowly to pay more attention to when you are full.   But I do have a question for the rest of you... Is it possible to lose weight and/or be in shape, and not eat perfectly?  I am HORRIBLE at eating well, now I don't eat fries and milkshakes every day, but I definitely don't eat well balanced meals either.  I hate to make excuses, but it is so hard for me to eat "good for you" food, it just takes too much time and effort.  But on the other hand, I want to be fit and trim.  Can you eat what you want and still have a good body???

Week Two Results

Here's how we are looking for this week. These look different from the email because I decided that I didn't like how excel was rounding to the nearest whole percent. This is more accurate...

% Of Weight Lost This Week
Anna Marie: 2.70%
Jeni E: 1.40%
Rick: 0.51%
Mindy: 0.34%
Jeni O: 0%
Crystal: -0.80%
Lisa: -0.67%

Total % of Weight Lost
Anna Marie: 5.13%
Lisa: 3.55%
Rick: 3.43%
Jeni O: 3.38%
Mindy 2.35%
Crystal: 1.19%
Jeni E: 0%

What kind of eater are you?

I took a quiz to find out what kind of eater I am. Not that I need anyone's help telling me what my issues with food are but...I am an excessive eater. Once I start, I have trouble stopping. So I think the best thing for me to do is just not start. I can never eat just one Oreo, cupcake, pastry, potato chip, blah, blah, blah.

I know moderation in all things is good but for me I think abstinence may be best because my genes will NOT let me moderate. I am hoping after lots of practice I get better at it.

http://caloriecount.about.com/

Here is the site in case anyone else wants to see what type of eater they are. Just click on "Determine your diet profile" once you get there. This is a good site for nutritional information, food journaling, and finding burn rates for different exercises. There is even a place you can type in your recipes and it will tell you the amount of calories per serving. I love that feature because sometimes it is hard to know what your homemade enchiladas are setting you back calorie wise.

Oh and if you do use their food journal it will give you a grade for the day on your eating, A-F.

My Motivation

I want to lose weight because I jiggle when I laugh.

Friendly Wager

Now that we have had a chance to size up the competition, it's time to decide on a wager. From the poll results, it looks like the majority are most comfortable with $20, so we will go with that.

If you want to get in on our little side bet, make a comment on this post to confirm your participation. The deadline for getting in on this is Saturday, July 5th, 11:59 pm PST.

The rules for the wager are pretty simple: winner take all!

:) Anna Marie

Privacy...

Hey hey hey...

Jeni O. suggested that I change the settings on the blog so that it isn't searchable online. I meant to do that in the beginning, but forgot. Sorry! I haven't given this blog address to anybody other than the 10 participants, so I would be surprised if we had any other visitors.

If anyone is feeling the need for extra security, I can always change the blog to a private one. But, of course, we will have the hassle of having to log in every time we want to check things out, which isn't my favorite thing to do. I know, I'm lazy.

Feel free to make a post a comment about your opinions on going private with our blog.

Anna Marie

My muffin top

I thought it would be appropriate to post my muffin top. I took this picture of myself in the mirror so there is a small glare but I think you can still make out the fat roll. I also have really cute saddle bags to show off...maybe some other time.