Biggest Loser 10 Fall Challenge -- for losers and maintainers :)

[my3princes]

Hello Everyone!

Before I get back to posting (and it's coming, I promise!) -- I have an OT question:

Do you need to start planning for college in 7th grade?

Here is why I'm asking. There's a parent/school meeting tonight with an hour-long presentation on getting ready for college academically and financially for grades 7-10. I'll be honest -- dh and I don't really want to go -- but we also don't want to miss out on something we need to see. We already have a college account we contribute to monthly, and we are definitely not going to qualify for financial aid. In 7th grade they don't have any choices in their course selection, so I don't see how we can improve that, other than doing outside work or tutoring. I'm wondering if we can wait until next year to go...I know they do this presentation every year.

I know there are a lot of teachers and parents who have been through this before on this thread.

What do you think?

Maria

They probably want you to be aware that how a child does in 7th and 8th grade directly effects the level of courses they can take in high school. My son had to have recommendations to get into freshman AP courses and the grades he got in middle school were involved in that.

Worf--stuff 'll probably change by the time your kids are in college...



Remember-- the holidays are tough.


I hate parents like that-- and they make us responsible parents into 'bad guys'. My daughter had a boyfriend with a mother like that and he ended up dead of a drug overdose--left a baby behind as well.



Very jealous of your snow.



That's wonderful...



Good --it's hope for me lol.

QUOTD Tuesday:

Name your 5 favorite condiments. Condiments are fun and add a lot of flavor without many calories (well maybe mayo and stuff can be overdone) .
Can be coffee syrups, jellies, barbecue sauce etc. Spices don't count as they are totally safe.
I like--
1.vanilla coffee syrup. I've been getting some at the dollar tree--it's good.
2. Home made blackberry jam.
3. Horseradish--just a little goes a long way.
4. Mustard--I like flavored stuff like I have one right now that's spicy dijon I stole from a restaurant (with the waitors permission) (Mc. Menamins)Lime
5.lime--in and on almost anything.

Really busy today but will try to catch up later ;-)

My 5 favorite condiments...hummmm
1. Ketchup
2. BBQ Sauce
3. Mayonaise
4. Pickles
5. Salt and Pepper

 

[my3princes]

My favorite Disney Quote:

Just Keep Swimmin...Just keep swimmin



I have a night off. I swear it feels like a vacation

 

[jbm02]

After more than a month of getting on the scale and seeing the same number, or a pound or so higher, I finally saw a 1 pound loss this morning.
Kim

Way to go!!!

Evening all!

Hope everyone had a nice day! Watching Nutcracker with the family. Had steak and one biscuit for supper! 180 calories per biscuit!!! YIKES! Had a small dish of lite ice cream earlier and one small Hershey with almonds bar. Otherwise I have been good.

Excited to decorate for Christmas tomorrow and watch movies and listen to music. Girls are looking forward to hanging out in their jammies all day tomorrow. May run out to the Wellness Center in the morning if it's open. Skipping the meeting tonight as I just feel like staying home tonight.

Gotta go and fix the girls each a drink!

TTFN

Holy cow. I am barely ready for Thanksgiving. oh, super-organized one!!!

Connie - hope you are feeling better soon. If it doesn't feel better soon, please consider calling your doc. Just to make sure.

SettinSail - soo envious of your upcoming trip. The Maginot Line is a formation of concrete forts, tank obstacles and defensive outposts built along the French/German border. France suffered appalling losses - both human and property - in World War I. It was designed to prevent any future invasions of France by Germany. Unfortunately, it didn't work. In WWII the Germans flanked the line and invaded France...okay, that's all I can remember from my military history class!!

What plans do you have for tomorrow? I am going to go to a 5:15 spin class and (hopefully) get a run in afterwards. And I'll bet everyone else in my family will still be sleeping when I get home. We plan to stop by the cemetery to place a flag on my grandfather's grave (Navy, WWII vet) and then will spend the rest of the day hanging around together. Our local VFW isn't very active so no parades in our town.

 

[Rose&Mike]

Lisa--hope the classes went well. The sleeping probably is part time change and part stress. The waking up early is the time change, the being awake in the middle of the night--stress. Things are going well, so hoping to get a good sleep soon!

Just call me a big giant chicken! I once again chickened out when talking to my mom. We are planning a Disney cruise in March to the mexican riviera. Of course we booked way back in July when they offered kids sail free, but I haven't told my parents about our plans. Why you ask? Well, my mother doesn't think it's safe for us to visit Mexico with her grandchildren. She's going to be mad.

Occasionally I am glad to not have to deal with family stuff very often. What happens if you wait until say, February to tell her? Less time for her to stress out, so you are in effect being a very thoughtful daughter.

After more than a month of getting on the scale and seeing the same number, or a pound or so higher, I finally saw a 1 pound loss this morning. Let's hope I can keep it off or maybe even go lower by Friday. Luckily just when I feel like I'm never going to lose again I lose a little. All of the encouraging words and positive energy on this board really keep me going.


Kim

Glad the scale is moving.

Tracey--the peppermint mocha kahlua sounds great! How are you going to make your drink with it?

Deb--enjoy your night off.

Jude--have a great Veteran's Day.

I made the BEST soup today. I found it on find.myrecipes.com. It's called African Sweet Potato Stew with Red Beans. It was delicious and we will have lots of leftovers. I made it as is, except put a small dollop of sourcream in my bowl when I ate it and I skipped the salt, and just put a bit of sea salt in the soup. Also used salt free peanuts and organic (salt free pb). I cooked it in the crockpot for 3.5 hours on high and it was perfect. The directions called for 8 hours on low. And it calls for a 5 qt. crock pot. Mine is the older smaller size and it fit just fine. I will definitely be making this again!

I did 42 min on the elliptical and took a 45 min strength class. I am pooped. But I am going to try to stay up as long as possible, cause I am hoping to sleep through the night. I sliced my finger cutting up a lime for the soup and thought for a minute I was going to be driving myself to the er cause it wouldn't stop bleeding. But it seems to be ok now, just hurts!

I had a kind of nsv today that made me feel pretty good. The girl who teaches my strength class (and is in great shape) was talking about body fat, and we ended up talking about weight loss, etc. She said she has 5-10 pounds she'd like to lose and asked me how I did it, and we talked about it for a minute. It made me feel very validated that someone that I think of as being in good shape, noticed my hard work, and was actually interested to hear if I had any ideas. I still have some body distortion images, and I'm thinking maybe I might look thinner to other people than I do to myself right now. I still keep seeing all the fat that is left in my belly and if I'm not careful, can get a little obsessed about it.

Hope everyone has a nice evening. I might be back later.

 

[lisah0711]

One of the most inspirational quotes I know is Walt Disney's "If you can dream it, you can do it." So here is my Wednesday QOTD: What is your favorite Disney-inspired quote? It can be from Walt, Roy or any Disney characters. I googled "Disney quotes" and realized how many great quotes there are out there!!

My quote is very similar to the one that you posted -- "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."

Goodness. I think I am going to be fighting food cravings today. I already am craving an egg and cheese biscuit. And bacon. Maybe it's tom--who knows??? or maybe just left over stress from the last couple of weeks.

Do they have tofu or soy bacon? Is it even remotely the same? I know that bacon seems to be the last thing that you really crave in your vegetarian lifestyle.

It's got to be draining. Hang in there. How many hours do you need to do each year?

It's only 30 hours every 3 years but somebody didn't do a very good job of getting them as they went and has to do them all at once . . .

Just call me a big giant chicken! I once again chickened out when talking to my mom. We are planning a Disney cruise in March to the mexican riviera. Of course we booked way back in July when they offered kids sail free, but I haven't told my parents about our plans. Why you ask? Well, my mother doesn't think it's safe for us to visit Mexico with her grandchildren. She's going to be mad.

I say it's better to ask forgiveness than permission!

Lisa - sadly, I was born BEFORE the song!!

Sadly, so was I!

After more than a month of getting on the scale and seeing the same number, or a pound or so higher, I finally saw a 1 pound loss this morning. Let's hope I can keep it off or maybe even go lower by Friday. Luckily just when I feel like I'm never going to lose again I lose a little. All of the encouraging words and positive energy on this board really keep me going.

Yay for a loss!

I am really struggling. I know that I’m hurt. I know that it’s not getting better. I just want to get thru next weekend and then I have no problem taking some time off to heal. I just don’t want to have to give up these two races. I'm afraid to call my doctor because I don't want to hear what I'm pretty sure she's gonna say.

This is the same pain I told yall about after my long run last Saturday. It's right in the groin area on my left side way, way up where my inner thigh meets the rest of me. I don't know if it's a muscle pull or what, but the pain is somewhere deep in there because if I feel around for the pain, I can't find it. It's been going on for a few weeks, but it has apparently gotten worse instead of better. It felt a lot better (but still tender) on Sunday. Yesterday, it started bothering me more in the afternoon and I did my normal Tuesday evening run anyway. I couldn't even roll over in bed last night without it hurting and I'm walking funny today.

I'm somewhere between denial and anger. I REALLY don't want to give up running these races.

Connie, . Take care of yourself.

Maleficent: You poor simple fools. Thinking you could defeat me, *me*! The Mistress of All Evil!

Okay, Susan, I have to say this is the last thing I think of when I think of you. Better switch to some Disney music, girl!

I though I had died and gone to Heaven this morning at the liquor store!!! For those of you who know me, I love White Russians on Friday nights. Well, they won't be raspberry ones again for a while. Today I found Peppermint Mocha Kahlua!!!! OMG!!! It is HEAVENLY!!!! I only had a half a shot to try it. DH beat me to trying it and thought it was good! My mom was so excited about it. She somehow bruised her ribs on the left side of her chest and it in a lot of pain. She will probably go hunt down a bottle to help her feel better tomorrow.

Oh, that reminds me, I have a recipe for a candy cane cocktail with peppermint schnapps, white chocolate liquer and rum -- they are very potent but yummy.

Deb, enjoy your "vacation!"

Happy Veteran's Day to all our veterans, those serving now, and their families! (I always wish we had a flag smilie on these days).

Have a great evening all!

 

[jbm02]

Maria,
I have a DS15 and we are just starting to "look" at colleges. And many of my friends think we are being waaay too anal and that it is too soon. Right now I just want DS to see the different types of colleges out tere (large public - SUNY Albany, small private - Siena, and military - he went to West Point for a football game 2 weeks ago) so he can see the wide diversity of choices. My FIL has tried to "brainwash" Ds and DD into thinking tere is no other college than his alma mater (from where my DH, SIL, BIL, sis and my dad also graduated!!) but I want him to realize there are other choices out there.
Maybe this meeting is just to urge your child to consider college-prep courses or start becoming involved in extracurricular activities? One of the private schools in our area is big into college planning starting inthe 7th grade. I just think that it depends on your kid. I don't know if I am rationalizing but I really believe that there is a great college choice for each kid who wants to attend college - and the best choice for him/her may not be an Ivy or "name" college. ...I don't mean to sound as if I am on a soap box.

 

[Rose&Mike]

Ok, I actually did a search on Disney quotes and it was pretty fun. Here are two that I really liked.

The first one is from the Lion King, which is interesting, because when we were at WDW in October, DS told me that he loves the Lion King--so many lessons in it, etc. Anyhow here it is:

Rafiki: Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it.

And from Walt:
"I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse."

 

[Cupcaker]

Hello from San Antonio! Yesterday was so hectic, I just ran out of time to do everything that I wanted to do. Today has been pretty hectic too. Travel started at 4am. I just came back from the riverwalk. I am full, I had some ice cream. So I am going to go to the gym right now to at least get on the elliptical or treadmill. I am also going to take my notes for my presentation so I can practice it. I just wanted to say HI to everyone. I will talk to you all later

Jeanette

 

[Connie96]

We are here again to see those inches being whittled away and to celebrate our successes.

We started our challenge with 21 WINners and 9 have reported in this week.

Collectively, over the past 9 weeks, we have:

• Lost a total of 82 3/5 inches
• Lost an average of 4 3/5 inches
• Lost an average of 2.84%
  

Our TOP FIVE WINners for this period are:
5) mikamah . . . . . . . . . . .-0.56%
4) mommyof2Pirates . . . -0.83%
3) Dreamer24 . . . . . . . . . -0.89%
2) Lisah0711 . . . . . . . . . .-1.77%

And (drumroll) our Number One WINner is:
1) tggrrstarr . . . . . . . . . . -2.91%

Congratulations to Kelli, Lisa, Dani, Lindsay, Kathy and ALL of our WINners!

Let the WINning continue!

If anyone still wants to report their measurements for this period, please do. I'm happy to help you track your progress whether or not you are able to get your numbers in before the results are posted.

 

[flipflopmom]

Another flyby

Forgive me for not being here for all of you the way you are for me. I am barely skimming.

Jude, and any others, Thank you for your service, your families' sacrifices. I have been emotional all day teaching Veteran's Day to my students! Send Jen A a hug from me!

Connie - take care of that injury. You don't want to do long term damage!

Kathy - HEY! I'm still swimming!

Lisa - continuing ed bites! Hope you survive!

Maria - I'm talking to AK now, 6th grade, re: her future plans. A lot of the classes she takes in high school will determine her collegiate and career plans. Last week - "Mom, is being a Pampered Chef Consultant a real job? That sounds more fun than anything else we've talked about!"

Bree - see you've been MIA, too. Hope you're swimming, too!

CC - you go girl! I hate studying, math especially! Hang in there!

Rose - glad you didn't hear from DS, but I did hug my kids extra hard tonight.

Jennz - I would have been insulted and angry, too. I don't think you overreacted!

Everyone else - I've read your stories, glad you are all swimming. Hope your family troubles, financial troubles, weight troubles, exercise troubles, sewage troubles, food troubles, time management troubles, work troubles, kid troubles, esteem troubles, all just poof!

I'm feeling much better today. A friend sent me some good news, have a couple of people wanting to book Jan. shows, 1 sooner. I'm cautiously optimistic that I will meet my 1 mo. goal. I'll know by the first of next week!

Brad and I had a long talk this evening, and he was just wonderful. He totally took a lot of the weight off just by supporting. My theory was "don't tell him how bad it really is, he doesn't need the extra stress" he saw it as "don't keep me in the dark". I laid everything out for him (separate bank accounts, I pay everything except house, 1 car, and 1 loan) that's happened, in dollar amounts for the last 2 months. He helped me to see lights at the end of tunnels........

I am so motivated to work this business, the potential is SO huge. I just need people to cooperate!

I was supposed to get $1200 in Jan. from the school system for completing half of my Master's. We were going to take some from savings (we keep 2 months mortgage payments regardless) to buy Christmas presents, and replace when I get that check. I found out this week that they are are going to split that money over a time frame, not sure how many months, probably 6, if not 8. I was really stressing buying the kids Christmas without that bonus, but we are working on a plan. It will be a smaller Christmas than they are used to, but it needed to be! Cutting out all the "extra" gifts that we can, other than parents, and will probably bake the teacher gifts. (Ak has 6 teachers, 3 gymnastics teachers, 2 Sunday School Teachers, Sophie has 3 preschool teachers, 2 Sunday School Teachers!!!!!!!)

Just wanted to say thanks for the hugs, ppd, and support. I feel it, and appreciate it. I hope that I can become a more contributing, supporting, helpful member soon!

 

[LuvBaloo]

Here we celebrate our progress and recognize our superstars.

Reminders:
-after 3 weeks of no reporting, you are dropped from the challenged – can re-start at any time, though
-if anybody knows they will miss weighing in, just PM and let me know and you’ll be marked excused


First some stats

MAINTAINERS:
(staying within 2 lbs of their maintain weight is successfully maintaining!)
# of Maintainers Reporting In & Successfully Maintaining: 2
(congrats 50sjayne & our newest maintainer flipflopmom!)

LOSERS:
Current Participants-------------43!
not reporting in for 1 week------ 5
not reporting in for 2 weeks------ 7
not reporting in for 3 weeks------ 3
Excused------------------------- 4
weigh ins----------------------- 25
gains---------------------------- 6
maintains------------------------ 4
losses-------------------------- 15
new or returning members -------- 0


Biggest Loser Fall Challenge Week 9!
This week’s group loss = 28.1 pounds!
Average percentage of weight lost 0.51 %
Total group weight loss so far 293.1 pounds!
How long until we reach 300!!
AWESOME!

Retention Rate (compared to the 67 weighins for our start weigh-in on Sept 3)
(25+2+4)/ 67 = 46 % (this includes the Losers and Maintainer and Excused people!)

Before the weekly superstar list comes the disclaimer. I am human and I make mistakes. If you have any questions please contact me. For your reference this is the magic percentage of weight lost formula - weight loss for the week divided by weight for last week times 100, that gives us the percentage. Now let me test that with my numbers for week 1, click, click, click goes the calculator. Yes, that agrees with the percentage on the magic spreadsheet. (btw if its been more than 1 week between weigh-ins, then the % loss is divided by the number of weeks, to keep everybody on the same basis)

Now let's get to the good stuff. Who were our superstars of the week? This time I’ve done a simpleTOP 10 LIST ! That criteria may change from week to week. Hey I'm in charge here and I get paid nothin' to do this so you better take what you can get! (and if there’s something you want to know, just ask me!)

The WISH Biggest Loser Summer Challenge Week 9 Superstars!!
#10- 0.47% - donac
#9- 0.60% - Cupcaker
#8- 0.86% - disneymom2one
#7- 1.11% - tiki23
#6- 1.31% - lovedvc
#5- 1.35% - crabbygal902
#4- 1.38% - OctoberBride03
#3- 1.42% - mommyof2Pirates
#2- 1.87% - KristiMc
and now
The WISH Biggest Loser Summer Challenge
Week 9 Biggest Loser is:
#1- 1.96% - cruisindisney

Quote from Dare2Dream: How is your week going? Are you OP (on program)? Are you exercising? Drinking that water? You know what to do to make the magic happen. Get on the wagon. We are all here to help you on the journey. We can do this one day at a time. One bite at a time.

Have a healthy day!
Congratulations cruisindisney !!!
What a great week you had. Keep up the good work. We have a very special clippie reserved for our weekly Biggest Loser. Wear it with pride this week! :

This is our weekly reigning Biggest Loser clippie. We have the large version

or use this
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/31040weeklyBLsmall1.jpg
followed by

or we have a medium version

or use this
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/31040weeklyBLmed.jpg
followed by

and we have a small version

or use
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/31040weeklyBLsm.jpg
followed by

Thanks to ohMom-Molli for these clippies. They were used for a previous BL but we can recycle. Don't they look great!

 

[LuvBaloo]

NOW FOR THOSE OF US WHO SET A GOAL FOR THE CHALLENGE!

NOTE: this list includes participants who have reported in within the last 3weeks, once someone misses 3 weigh-ins they are dropped from this report.
How this works: you set your goal for what to lose in the challenge. Then I calculate your weight loss in the challenge divided by your goal to get a % to goal.
Anybody can change their goal at anytime (or add a goal) – all you have to do is send me a PM.
Since the goals are an individual thing, the list is just in alphabetical order to make it easier for everybody to find their own name. If there are any questions or suggestions please let me know.
We have done 9 out of 15 weeks, so the challenge is 60% complete.

boltfan 20.0
carmiedog 2.6
corinnak 46.2
crabbygal902 33.0
Cupcaker 73.7
disneymom2one 107.6
Dreamer24 12.9
dvccruiser76 77.3
goldcupmom 28.1
jbm02 50.0
JOANNEL -5.0
keenercam 28.0
liesel 28.0
lisah0711 45.0
lovedvc 14.0
MacG 17.5
MickeyMagic 33.6
mikamah 16.0
mommyof2Pirates 31.0
momof2gr8kids 22.0
my3princes 5.3
NC_Tink 21.9
SettingSail 60.0
tggrrstarr 42.6
tigger813 65.7
tiki23 36.7
Worfiedoodles 52.0

I have to treat me like I would my child, and make sure I'm taken care of.
by Worfiedoodles

 

[tiki23]

Congrats to CruisinDisney! Good work!

Thanks Shannon for keeping track of our group of losers.

QOTD: "Buzz! The monkeys aren't working!"

We use lots of Disney quotes but that one never fails to get a laugh, especially when we're laughing at ourselves.

 

[flipflopmom]

The quote I personally love most is the one Lisa posted. For our family, it's
"SQUIRREL!" from UP! With all the ADHD running around, someone is yelling that all the time whenever a train of thought jumps track around here.

 

[SettinSail]

Happy Veterans Day! We have beautiful bright blue skies here today and I am planning to enjoy it. It is nippy out though. Got DS on the bus to his soccer tournament and DH comes home tonight so I am alone in my town for a few hours! Finished Week 7 of C25K today and ran about 40-50 yards further than I did last time. I guess that tree will be my personal best and I will try to beat it next time I need to return some stuff to IKEA and my friend is unable to go with me so I'm going out there all by myself
Hopefully it will not be too hard. Then I need to get ready for our trip to France tomorrow.

Goodness. I think I am going to be fighting food cravings today. I already am craving an egg and cheese biscuit. And bacon. Maybe it's tom--who knows??? or maybe just left over stress from the last couple of weeks.

I am going to have a mini whole wheat bagel with peanut butter and a banana and see if that does the trick. If not I will have a couple of pistachio crisps to get some salt. Hoping whatever this is, it passes.

Hope you survived the cravings. That biscuit sounds awfully good

My husbands father lives in Mexico and I have refused to go down there for YEARS mainly because the man hates me and secondly he expects you to sit around and stare at him when you visit. .

Sounds like a visit to my in-laws except we all sit around and stare at TV when we're there

Did anyone watch the Biggest Loser last night? I know there is a BL thread but ... anyway, one of the contestants who was voted off came back at the end and stated about how the experience wasn't about the money, or fame, or game-play but was about "getting his life back". I was so happy to see someone who 'got it' - rather than manipulations and machinations. Kudos to him. And kudos to all of us who are working our way toward 'getting it" without 24 hour trainers, nutritionists and the promise of a monetary reward at the end. Whether we are just starting to find our way, are almost there or have fallen a little off track, what we learn on this journey will help us succeed in the long run. Have a great day everyone!!

I cried when I watched it ! I liked their attitude too. I hated the way they did the live part - you could tell who was going to be voted off !!! I could tell by who was in the crowd and by the baby picture. I hope some of those contestants who are left have some karma coming their way....

I am really struggling. I know that I’m hurt. I know that it’s not getting better. I just want to get thru next weekend and then I have no problem taking some time off to heal. I just don’t want to have to give up these two races. I'm afraid to call my doctor because I don't want to hear what I'm pretty sure she's gonna say.

This is the same pain I told yall about after my long run last Saturday. It's right in the groin area on my left side way, way up where my inner thigh meets the rest of me. I don't know if it's a muscle pull or what, but the pain is somewhere deep in there because if I feel around for the pain, I can't find it. It's been going on for a few weeks, but it has apparently gotten worse instead of better. It felt a lot better (but still tender) on Sunday. Yesterday, it started bothering me more in the afternoon and I did my normal Tuesday evening run anyway. I couldn't even roll over in bed last night without it hurting and I'm walking funny today.

I'm somewhere between denial and anger. I REALLY don't want to give up running these races.

BUMMER!!! Hope you can find some pain relief in time to do your race!

Settin’ sail—
I know you kind of play your …life…down some for us and I bet you do miss the good ‘ol Us of A but I am so envious of your experiences. Germany and Ireland are 2 places I’d most like to visit outside the US. Well, Greece is also one I’d like to visit but I know I’ll never go…I enjoy your posts so much and hope you keep posting through more challenges.

It's really not that exciting day-to-day but I am truly blessed to have this time and these experiences. It has been a real wake-up call to get outside of my comfort zone. I have a lot of weight to lose so trust me I'll be here awhile

Gotta go and fix the girls each a drink!

TTFN

How did they like the Peppermint Mocha Kalhua??
Sorry, I could not resist......

I have a night off. I swear it feels like a vacation

Good for you - hope you enjoyed!

SettinSail - soo envious of your upcoming trip. The Maginot Line is a formation of concrete forts, tank obstacles and defensive outposts built along the French/German border. France suffered appalling losses - both human and property - in World War I. It was designed to prevent any future invasions of France by Germany. Unfortunately, it didn't work. In WWII the Germans flanked the line and invaded France...okay, that's all I can remember from my military history class!!

That's it ! Thank you for describing much better than I could. Our hosts organized a whole weekend of activities and I'm so slack, I skimmed over the info but I will read over it again on the ride over. My DH's co-worker who is from this area told us that his family suffered a lot during the wars. His grandparents were forced to learn German. I love a trip where everything is already planned for you! We are about a 3 hour drive away from this area.

I made the BEST soup today. I found it on find.myrecipes.com. It's called African Sweet Potato Stew with Red Beans. It was delicious and we will have lots of leftovers. I made it as is, except put a small dollop of sourcream in my bowl when I ate it and I skipped the salt, and just put a bit of sea salt in the soup. Also used salt free peanuts and organic (salt free pb). I cooked it in the crockpot for 3.5 hours on high and it was perfect. The directions called for 8 hours on low. And it calls for a 5 qt. crock pot. Mine is the older smaller size and it fit just fine. I will definitely be making this again!

I had a kind of nsv today that made me feel pretty good. The girl who teaches my strength class (and is in great shape) was talking about body fat, and we ended up talking about weight loss, etc. She said she has 5-10 pounds she'd like to lose and asked me how I did it, and we talked about it for a minute. It made me feel very validated that someone that I think of as being in good shape, noticed my hard work, and was actually interested to hear if I had any ideas. I still have some body distortion images, and I'm thinking maybe I might look thinner to other people than I do to myself right now. I still keep seeing all the fat that is left in my belly and if I'm not careful, can get a little obsessed about it.

Hope everyone has a nice evening. I might be back later.

Mmmmm, that soups sounds yummy! I will have to check the recipe thread to see if you put it there (hint, hint)

WOW, that is a GREAT nsv, that would make me feel very good!

I say it's better to ask forgiveness than permission!

I have always loved this quote !!

Hello from San Antonio! Yesterday was so hectic, I just ran out of time to do everything that I wanted to do. Today has been pretty hectic too. Travel started at 4am. I just came back from the riverwalk. I am full, I had some ice cream. So I am going to go to the gym right now to at least get on the elliptical or treadmill. I am also going to take my notes for my presentation so I can practice it. I just wanted to say HI to everyone. I will talk to you all later

Jeanette

Good luck

I'm feeling much better today. A friend sent me some good news, have a couple of people wanting to book Jan. shows, 1 sooner. I'm cautiously optimistic that I will meet my 1 mo. goal. I'll know by the first of next week!

Brad and I had a long talk this evening, and he was just wonderful. He totally took a lot of the weight off just by supporting. My theory was "don't tell him how bad it really is, he doesn't need the extra stress" he saw it as "don't keep me in the dark". I laid everything out for him (separate bank accounts, I pay everything except house, 1 car, and 1 loan) that's happened, in dollar amounts for the last 2 months. He helped me to see lights at the end of tunnels........

I am so motivated to work this business, the potential is SO huge. I just need people to cooperate!

I was supposed to get $1200 in Jan. from the school system for completing half of my Master's. We were going to take some from savings (we keep 2 months mortgage payments regardless) to buy Christmas presents, and replace when I get that check. I found out this week that they are are going to split that money over a time frame, not sure how many months, probably 6, if not 8. I was really stressing buying the kids Christmas without that bonus, but we are working on a plan. It will be a smaller Christmas than they are used to, but it needed to be! Cutting out all the "extra" gifts that we can, other than parents, and will probably bake the teacher gifts. (Ak has 6 teachers, 3 gymnastics teachers, 2 Sunday School Teachers, Sophie has 3 preschool teachers, 2 Sunday School Teachers!!!!!!!)

Just wanted to say thanks for the hugs, ppd, and support. I feel it, and appreciate it. I hope that I can become a more contributing, supporting, helpful member soon!

GREAT news!!! I think people really appreciate the homebaked and homemade goods more than just some random trinket. Atleast I know I do!


KimG I thought I quoted you too - CONGRATS on getting the scale to move! Sometimes I find that once it starts again, it will keep going for awhile I've lost 1 pound in the last 3 weeks, so I'm waiting paitently now

Tayrn That quote reminds me we used to scream out "2319!" "2319!"
whenever we found some throw-up from our cat. That is a line from Monsters, Inc when one of the Monsters got "contaminated" by a human sock and they called out a code for emergency help

Have a great day all!

Shawn

 

[SettinSail]

Oops, I forgot to say CONGRATS to all the biggest losers and biggest WINers.

GREAT JOB


Shawn

 

[keenercam]

Good morning, everyone!
I am so happy to be your coach today. Actually, I should say "our" coach. It seems I learn so much when I stop to think about what anyone has posted and what I might be able to say to provide encouragement or consolation or congratulations. So, thank you for the opportunity.

I'll be back to respond to some posts, but I was so inspired by Jude's post, and reading all of those quotes gave me insight about your lives and who you are inside, whether because some quote makes you smile or brings you inspiration. So, taking off on that, here's the question:

Thursday's QOTD: Share your favorite lines from a song that speak TO you or ABOUT you.


This is what is speaking to me at this moment in my life:

from "Mountains" by Lonestar:

There are times in life when you gotta crawl,
Lose your grip, trip and fall
When you can't lean on no one else,
That's when you find yourself
I've been around and I've noticed that
Walkin's easy when the road is flat
Them danged 'ole hills will get you every time.
Yeah, the good Lord gave us mountains so we could learn how to climb

 

[Rose&Mike]

Shawn--too lazy to post the recipe, but here's a link:
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000000701094

Congrats to all the loses and maintainers!

I was a maintainer last week, but somehow along the line forgot to send Shannon a pm. I was definitely distracted last weekend.

I slept terrible. Started waking up around 2 and I'm been up since 5. It's going to be a long day. Hoping to get a run in after work.

I think I am over the current bacon craving. I think they have somekind of soy bacon, but I hate to eat stuff that's too processed. I still miss lunch meat, a good burger and the of course bacon. Really just thinking about eating them seems to be enough. Honestly, they all probably taste better in my mind than they do in real life. When we go out I've been ordering specialty burgers with a veggie patty instead and it's been awesome. I had an avocado "burger" when we went out for lunch at work this week. I usually skip the bun. I don't know why I didn't think of asking places to make the specialty burgers with the veggie burger before.

Hope everyone has a great day. Hoping Mike gets home tonight. Last time he went to Detroit he ended up having to stay another day. We both have off Friday, so that will be a nice 3 day weekend.

 

[keenercam]

Jude - Thank you for being such a great coach yesterday.

Rose -- That soup sounds wonderful! I hope you might find time to post the recipe for us. I am always looking for new soup recipes. Oh, and how wonderful that the instructor acknowledged your success in such a meaningful way. I am so happy for you.

Jeannette -- I hope all goes well with your presentation. It's great that you found time to get to the riverwalk.

CC -- I hope your studying is going well, sweetie. I am so proud to brag to my daughter (who is 22 and studying to be a teacher) about how hard you are working. I cannot wait for you to have this behind you and we can all celebrate with you!

Taryn - Talking with Brad and knowing you can be completely open with him and he's supportive and positive must have been HUGE! What a great guy. Sometimes in our relationships it is good to have someone giving 99% when we just don't have it in us to do the whole 50/50 thing. He must be so appreciative of your efforts to make everything work and that you are spending your non-work time on your new second job. Glad DD thinks it is fun, though. Keep up the great work!

Connie - I am so sorry you are hurting. I agree that hip adductor and hib abductor strengthening exercises, done very gently, may help. I agree with the "full rest" mode right now. I really do think that your body will appreciate the time to heal, but will be so rearing to go when it is time to race that you'll be glad you didn't push it now.

The WISH Biggest Loser Summer Challenge Week 9 Superstars!!
#10- 0.47% - donac
#9- 0.60% - Cupcaker
#8- 0.86% - disneymom2one
#7- 1.11% - tiki23
#6- 1.31% - lovedvc
#5- 1.35% - crabbygal902
#4- 1.38% - OctoberBride03
#3- 1.42% - mommyof2Pirates
#2- 1.87% - KristiMc
and now
The WISH Biggest Loser Summer Challenge
Week 9 Biggest Loser is:
#1- 1.96% - cruisindisney

Shannon - Thank you so much for keeping track of all of this for us. It is so rewarding to see the progress of everyone here and none of us would have the benefit of sharing everyone's success in this way without your extraordinary efforts.

CONGRATULATIONS to all of our Losers!!! And congratulations to everyone who is "doing it", making changes, making choices. Everyone is a winner by just being conscientious and trying.

Shawn - I LOVE Ikea! Have fun. Oh, and have a wonderful trip to France!!


To everyone I missed this morning, I hope it is a good day for you. Take it a "choice" at a time. Set yourself up for success. Take a moment to acknowledge that you are in the game, whether you are on the field scoring big or sitting on the sidelines cheering your teammates on. I really believe that at any given time, we all have a role to play. And the choices we make, the way we interact with ourselves and with others can have a more profound effect than any of us might expect. You guys are truly amazing and I am soo appreciative of all that everyone contributes.

 

[flipflopmom]

A collection of lines/mantras I've been repeating lately:

From Princess and the Frog, Almost there " I remember Daddy told me, fairy tales do come true. You've gotta make them happen, it all depends on you. So I work real hard each and everyday."

From Zac Brown Band, Chicken FriedMy house, it's not much to talk about; but it's filled w/ love and grown in Southern ground...feel the touch of a precious child, and a mother's love..It's funny how it's the little things in life that mean the most, not where you live, what you drive, or the price tag on your clothes. There's no dollar sign on peace of mind, this I've come to know...I thank God for my life....

From Daughtry, September (month Daddy died) "All the things I still remember, summer's never looked the same,years go by and time just seems to fly, but the memories remain. In the middle of September, we still play out in the rain"

From Uncle Kracker, Smile"you let me know that it's okay, and the moments when my good times start to fade, you make me smile like the sun, fall out of bed, sing like a bird, dizzy in my hair spin like a record, crazy on a Sunday night.,,, you make me smile"

From Steven Curtis Chapman, Cinderella"She spins and she sways to whatever song plays, without a care in the world. I'm sittin' here wearing the weight of the world on my shoulders. It's been a long day, and there's still work to do,she's pulling at me saying Dad I need you, there's a ball at the castle and I've been invited, and I need to practice my dancing. Oh please, Daddy please, SO I dance with Cinderella, while she's here in my arms. Cause I know something the Prince never knew, So I dance w/ Cinderella, I don't wanna miss even one song, b/c I know all too soon the clock will strike midnight, and she'll be gone."