Biggest Loser--Fall 2011 Challenge for Losers & Maintainers!!

[tigger813]

Sunday QOTD: What is your favorite form of exercise? What form of exercise have you not tried but would like to do?
The article that goes with this question is about portion control and then there is a section on walking which has become my favorite form of exercise. I just wanted to share the part on portion control as it is quite fascinating and eye opening, at least it was to me!
Go to www.weightlosschallenge.com
Course 3 Week 4
username wlc (lowercase) password control


Enjoy!!!

TTFN

 

[mamacate]

I haven't been keeping up, but I figure now's my chance! My latest favorite exercise is running. Actually I hate it sometimes, and I love it sometimes. But I really enjoy getting out there and just going. I'm terribly slow, but it turns out my endurance is pretty decent--I've gone as far as 8 miles, and I'm not too worried about making it to 13.1 for the Princess Half in February. Something to say for someone who had never run a mile last March (and had even bailed on C25K many times before).

I'm not much of an athlete, but I did a 200+-mile 3-day bike ride about 15 years ago. Someday I think I'd like to try a triathlon. I can swim, but have never really done it for exercise. I also have recently discovered kayaking just for fun, and am thinking about learning to row (there's a team nearby that gives classes).

Cate

 

[goldcupmom]

Please add me. I have been off dis for awhile to regroup....more in my wish journal soon. Last time i weed I was still up almost 15 from last October when we had the sewage flood. I will catch up here in the next couple of days and weigh in officially on Friday. Thanks! Love you all & really need this. I will also be restarting the monthly exercise thread for October.

 

[tigger813]

Please add me. I have been off dis for awhile to regroup....more in my wish journal soon. Last time i weed I was still up almost 15 from last October when we had the sewage flood. I will catch up here in the next couple of days and weigh in officially on Friday. Thanks! Love you all & really need this. I will also be restarting the monthly exercise thread for October.

Welcome goldcupmom! We're happy to see you!

Send your starting weight to dvccruiser76! We are only in our 2nd week so you haven't missed much! I am coach this week so if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! Don't forget to read the first page of the thread for information regarding the challenge!

I hope you all are having a great night! Brian and I had a nice chocolate tini! It was sooooo good!

Just signed Ash up for a baby-sitter training course, two after school field trips on her half days and a preseason basketball clinic!

I am so full of adrenaline tonight! I hope I feel like that in the morning and can get a nice walk in before I go to the 2nd day of the festival! It was so amazing today! I'm really enjoying working with my supervisor again. I'll be doing an online event on the Dis next month for Give Kids the World so this is a great start to my holiday season of earnings! We're hoping to use the money I earn from these events for Christmas money and our podcast cruise next June!

Watching Doctor Who with my DH! Ash wants to go to the festival with me in the morning but she has a whole bunch of work to do before she goes. If I get up early to walk I will have her get up and work on her homework and room. We won't be home from the event until at least 5 tomorrow. I've got a busy day on Monday with a Mom's get together at 9 and work at 11 and then 2 dance classes and 2 soccer practices! Plus Ash has musical auditions! Gonna be a very long day!

TTFN

 

[goldcupmom]

Thanks tigger! Would it be better if I Weigh tomorrow and have a short week, or wait til Friday. Either is fine with me. Thanks,

 

[my3princes]

Sunday QOTD: What is your favorite form of exercise? What form of exercise have you not tried but would like to do?
The article that goes with this question is about portion control and then there is a section on walking which has become my favorite form of exercise. I just wanted to share the part on portion control as it is quite fascinating and eye opening, at least it was to me!
Go to www.weightlosschallenge.com
Course 3 Week 4
username wlc (lowercase) password control


Enjoy!!!

TTFN

Piling wood, yard work, things that are good for my body, but aren't "exercise". When I have to plan it into my day I hate it, but I don't mind working hard, physical labor or walking a lot. We've walked many miles around the campground this weekend, but it didn't feel like exercise as we were looking at decorations or trick or treating, etc.



Breakfast: I do eat breakfast everyday. I used to eat as soon as I got up, but now that I get up before 5 I wait a few hours before I eat. If I ate at 5 I found I was hungry every 2 hours and I was consuming way more food than my body actually needed. Now I toast an Arnold's Sandwich thin, skim coat it with peanut butter and sugar free grape jelly and take it with me. I normally eat it around 8 am, have a snack of cheese and high fiber crackers around 10 then lunch at noon. It seems a better balance.

 

[my3princes]

Popping in to say hi. Trick or Treat was fun.

 

[goldcupmom]

I'm Julie as many of you know. I have a pretty long journal here in wish boards. I live in nm....which I reallybdont like much. Just turned 51
3 kids ....ds25 - major source of my stress eating issues; ds22 - just graduated from unm; and dd19- soph. @ unm.

Have had a bodybugg for 3 yrs. Need to get serious with it again. Just dropped ww again....trying since 1/27/03 to get this weight off. I will be tracking with bb and also trying to do ww on my own. I really havent gotten used to the new points plus.

I am frequently on Facebook to keep track of family and if you'd like to see any pics, etc. feel free to pm me and I will send you my fb info.

oops, forgot my goals......#1 is to get my focus back.
2. Journal
3. Lose the weight I have gained back in the last year & get into the 140s
4. Continue to avoid the type 2 which all 5 of my siblings have developed (all older) & qet healthier!
In just joined BL so I am trying to catch up!

 

[lovehoney]

QOTD Saturday 9/17/11 Breakfast....

I love breakfast! It is my favorite meal of the day. I always have one cup of coffee, sometimes 2. My standby meal is eggbeaters, nonfat refried beans and salsa on corn tortillas.
I was out of egg beaters today so I had whole wheat toast and turkey bacon. I always try to have some sort of protein.

Sunday QOTD: What is your favorite form of exercise? What form of exercise have you not tried but would like to do?
The article that goes with this question is about portion control and then there is a section on walking which has become my favorite form of exercise. I just wanted to share the part on portion control as it is quite fascinating and eye opening, at least it was to me!
Go to www.weightlosschallenge.com
Course 3 Week 4
username wlc (lowercase) password control

My favorite exercise is hiking. I don't get to do it as much as I like but it is my favorite. I would like to try kayaking. I've just been nervous about falling out.

Unfortunately I still can't access the articles. Portion control is something I struggle with. I have a really skewed view of portions. Even with the kids, I will put food out and later realize I gave them 4 times more than they would ever eat.
I have a lot of luck with using measuring cups and spoons. I think I will try and find some Mickey measuring cups. That would make it much more fun!

 

[buzz5985]

buzz5985 I never thought of making steel cut oats in crockpot. I am totally going to try that tomorrow when I get off work.

The first time I cooked it in the crock pot, I kept an eye on it so that I cooked it to the consistancy that we like. So now mine is cooked about 6 hours on high, in a really old crock pot.

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This is probably one of my major problems. I don't really eat breakfast during the week, but I do on weekends. Its something I am working on.

It's pretty nice here on the Hayride to success! !

How about - like the leaves fall from the trees - let the pounds fall from your body???

Quick Question for those of you that count calories ...

Have you ever heard of the Alternate Day Diet (or the Up Day/Down Day Diet)? My local news station did a story on this yesterday and I found it interesting.

Supposedly it works well because psychologically you only have to be "strict" for one day, and it keeps your metabolism from becoming stagnate.

I found it online and plugged in my stats. My "up day" would be 2306 calories, and my "down day" would be 807 calories.

Here's the tough part, though - for the first 14 days, my "down day" would be only 461 calories. That is the "jump start" part of the program. They recommend using shakes (like Slimfast, etc) on the first two weeks of "down days" just to make it easier for tracking purposes.

It sounds interesting - I think 807 would be almost do-able on an every-other day basis. Not sure how I would handle the 461 for those first two weeks (albeit only every-other day).

The news story didn't go into any details about exercising - for instance, can you "eat" the calories that you are burning through exercise, etc.

Have any of you ever heard of this? Or tried it?

- Laura

The down days seem really low to me.

Sunday QOTD: What is your favorite form of exercise? What form of exercise have you not tried but would like to do?

I am enjoying your articles. My favorite form of exercise is walking/hiking. I love being in the woods. What I would love to try is kayaking - but my weight is keeping me from this. I am afraid my knees could not handle getting me into and out of the kayak. But it is on my list for a trip to HHI one of these years!!!!

I'm Julie as many of you know. I have a pretty long journal here in wish boards. I live in nm....which I reallybdont like much. Just turned 51
3 kids ....ds25 - major source of my stress eating issues; ds22 - just graduated from unm; and dd19- soph. @ unm.

Have had a bodybugg for 3 yrs. Need to get serious with it again. Just dropped ww again....trying since 1/27/03 to get this weight off. I will be tracking with bb and also trying to do ww on my own. I really havent gotten used to the new points plus.

I am frequently on Facebook to keep track of family and if you'd like to see any pics, etc. feel free to pm me and I will send you my fb info.

oops, forgot my goals......#1 is to get my focus back.
2. Journal
3. Lose the weight I have gained back in the last year & get into the 140s
4. Continue to avoid the type 2 which all 5 of my siblings have developed (all older) & qet healthier!
In just joined BL so I am trying to catch up!

Welcome!!! I have a BB, upgraded to a SP and love the new ap. Have you just tried logging your food on their website, keeping in mind the protein/fat/carb requirements?? I love that graph showing your results for the day. The hardest part is entering the food.

My favorite exercise is hiking. I don't get to do it as much as I like but it is my favorite. I would like to try kayaking. I've just been nervous about falling out.QUOTE]

LOL I'm afraid I couldn't get myself into or out of the kayak!!!

 

[donac]

Good Sunday morning everyone.

I see a couple of new comers from the last couple of days. Welcome.

I spent yesterday with some friends sewing pillowcases for kids with cancer. Got to go to my favorite quilt shop and spend some money. I bought some beautiful fabric to make quick table runners for me and my mom for her birthday in Nov. I made a couple of them before and they take about an half an hour to make the top and then some time to machine quilt them. I got some for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I also bought some fabric to finish my ds's quilt that I seem to have taken forever to make.

Sunday always seems to be busy for me. I have church this morning then I need to go grocery shopping and do some cleaning. Then I have papers to grade. I still have to decide what I am going to make for dinner. I like to plan a nice meal on Sunday and like to make something that I can use later in the week and to put something extra into the freezer. Putting things into the freezer is getting harder. Ds has found that it is cheaper to buy some frozen healthy meals and use those for lunch. But that takes up my freezer space and it is not a big freezer.

QOTD I always eat breakfast. I need to take some blood pressure medication and it is easier on my stomach if I eat something.

QOTD I love yoga. I really want to get back into walking. Kayaking is a lot of fun. A kayak is not as tippy as a canoe because you are lower to the water. My problem is getting out. I think my sea kayak which does not have the sides as high would be easier than a traditional one.

Have a happy and healthy day.

 

[dvccruiser76]

Morning everyone,
Just logging on quick. I updated all the weights that I received since yesterday, so please keep them coming

We're about to get ready for the Jimmy Fund walk. It says it's only 48 right now, so I'll need to layer DS up a bit.

Have a nice Sunday everyone

Hope it's nice weather for your walk tomorrow, Sue! I have to confess my western ignorance and admit I don't know what the T is.

Hee, that's okay. The T is also called the subway in Boston.

DS15 ran JV cross country today, placed 79 out of 275 time was 20:23 which is a 6:32 minutes per mile!!!

Last year, same course but shorter he ran a 7:38 minute mile.

He looked amazing!!!!!!! Will throw some pics up later, we are having a picnic/team meeting at 1 so I need to book it to the park.

Woo hoo Very proud mom moment!

Sunday QOTD: What is your favorite form of exercise? What form of exercise have you not tried but would like to do?

I love cardio kickboxing, I enjoy step and I just got into Zumba this past summer. I'm going to try and alternate them with my Walking at Home DVDs this challenge to see if it keeps me interested longer.

Thanks tigger! Would it be better if I Weigh tomorrow and have a short week, or wait til Friday. Either is fine with me. Thanks,

Hi there, you can pm me your weight when you're ready. You can send me your weight from Friday, yesterday or today whichever is easier then just start sending them regularly between Friday and Monday at 8 PM each week.

Welcome aboard

Popping in to say hi. Trick or Treat was fun.

Very cute, I bet the glow sticks made it even better at night.

 

[ougrad86]

After reading, answer the following questions:
1) What things do you eat already that can help you speed up your metabolism?
2) Do you limit the foods/drinks that slow down your metabolism?
3) What new things did you learn from this article?

Finally found time to read and concentrate on the article!

I already eat/drink: lots of water, soup almost daily, apples (although not three a day), turkey occassionally, oatmeal almost daily and I like spicy food when I can get it! But need to balance it with my DH and DS who do not like it.

Since starting the diet: refined sugar has been cut down, but still have occassional treats; white bread not much, but when I do bread it is usually white, do not like whole wheat - I eat a high-fiber "whole wheat" white; fried foods almost never; processed foods I still eat, not as much as before, but I read the labels carefully, and I am eating more fresh foods; and I don't drink alchohol very often at all.

I don't think I ready anything I hadn't heard in the past. WW is great for getting stuff like that out there, and I have been doing diets for years - I just don't carry through once I lose the weight. I used to do calories, now I do WW points which works just as well for me and I find a lot easier. It pushes the green tea which I have tried and just can't stomach. I was barely managing one cup when I was trying to use it, 3-10 would never work for me.

I was better with this last weight loss, did not gain in all back. I hope to lose more and hopefully reach my tipping point where I do not gain it back. One thing I did when I lost was donated all my old clothes - I have no sizes higher than the 12/14 I currently wear. So once they started getting unbearably tight and with Spring Break coming up in 6 months, it was time to get serious. I proved to myself this week with several challenges to my willpower that I can resist. I had two planned splurges and did not gain weight (even though I was kind of bad during an especially stressful football game - and that was not planned - but I picked and did not eat as much as I would have before).

I set small goals - I hit 5 lbs lost and dropped below 180. Now I am aiming for 176, which was my prepregnancy weight. And then I will set my next goal. Breaking it up into small bits makes it easier and less daunting for me, and long term makes it easier, at least in my mind!

 

[ougrad86]

I meant to comment on this before. THis is a GREAT attitude..... I'm frankly kind of tired of people commenting on "are you 'on' your diet this week/weekend?" or "are you going to stay 'on' your diet for vacation?" Honestly this is NO LONGER just a DIET for me! It is a total change to healthier, lighter eating and exercise habits! I don't really plan days to be "on" or "off", although sometimes I do plan ahead for a splurge. And of course, the best laid plans sometimes go awry and I eat more/worse than I originally planned to, but of course, the next meal is right back to my "normal, healthy eating".

I think that it is this kind of thinking that makes me (reasonably) successful and will make you successful in this journey too!!

Try finding the menu from today's lunch restaurant online. FIgure out the calories/points/whatever from things you might like, make your selection for lunch, write it down, and when you get to the restaurant DON'T EVEN OPEN the menu! Order from your note and STICK WITH IT!! And you order first so you aren't tempted by what your friend orders. And don't be STARVING when you get there.... have a cup of tea and a piece of fruit or cheese before you go, to take the edge off. It is MUCH EASIER to make good healthy choices when you aren't starving! GOod luck.

WW is great for teaching how to continue eating healthfully, but you have to commit to it - I overdo when I am trying to maintain and gain back and am too lazy to recommit. This time I am going to stay with it. Not only just not to gain the weight back, but also to be healthier, feel better.

I did what you mentioned before going to Olive Garden, determined the points and gave myself a choice of two entrees - and then only ate half! I was feeling quite smug about it all day, until I overdid during a killer football game - but we won and now I am back on track! And I think the two splurges just raised my metabolism a little, so I did not gain...but sometimes it takes a day or two to show up - I'll just keep on keeping on!

 

[ougrad86]

Saturday QOTD: Question: Do you eat breakfast everyday? What do you eat? And what did you learn new from this article if anything?

I do eat breakfast everyday - can't get started without it. I eat oatmeal everyday, two packets. I do the instant since I can't see straight in the morning until I eat and have caffeine. I do two since one doesn't get me through the morning, and mix original with high-fiber to cut down the taste of the flavoring in the high fiber, but I needed the higher fiber to do a job on my cholesterol. Usually have fresh blueberries with it (expensive, but high in antioxidents). I should have protein with that, but later in the morning I have a cheese stick and it holds me until lunch (I add a banana if I am especially hungry).

Reading the article, I am thinking about how I can incorporate protein into the breakfast itself. I cannot tolerate milk. Maybe eat the cheese stick or microwave egg beaters. Cut out the cheese stick later and just stick with fruit until lunch. Am worried though, that I will get too hungry without that cheese mid-morning; even with the high-fiber oatmeal, I tend to start feeling hungry after a couple of hours - around 8 am, with four hours before lunch. I know it is supposed to make you feel full longer, but doesn't seem to work for me (same with an apple - eating one makes me feel hungrier!). So maybe adding protein to the mix will help, and then have fruit as a snack in the morning. See how that works!

 

[ougrad86]

Quick Question for those of you that count calories ...

Have you ever heard of the Alternate Day Diet (or the Up Day/Down Day Diet)? My local news station did a story on this yesterday and I found it interesting.

Supposedly it works well because psychologically you only have to be "strict" for one day, and it keeps your metabolism from becoming stagnate.

I found it online and plugged in my stats. My "up day" would be 2306 calories, and my "down day" would be 807 calories.

Here's the tough part, though - for the first 14 days, my "down day" would be only 461 calories. That is the "jump start" part of the program. They recommend using shakes (like Slimfast, etc) on the first two weeks of "down days" just to make it easier for tracking purposes.

It sounds interesting - I think 807 would be almost do-able on an every-other day basis. Not sure how I would handle the 461 for those first two weeks (albeit only every-other day).

The news story didn't go into any details about exercising - for instance, can you "eat" the calories that you are burning through exercise, etc.

Have any of you ever heard of this? Or tried it?

- Laura

Never heard of it, don't know if I could do it. Way back in the day, I did the rotation diet which is 3 days of 600, 4 days of 900, 7 days 1200, then the 3/4 days again. After that you go off for a week and then start again. I did lose weight, but was usually sick (gastointestinal) at least once each rotation. My employer noticed that point . I managed to force my self down to 135, but I gained it all back and more. It didn't teach me anything about healthy eating, just how to ignore hunger for short term. I have since trashed the book, I like losing weight slower - when I do gain, I gain in back slower and I can catch up before it gets back to where I was. And exercise and a steady supply of foods would keep the metabolism up.

I think you would be so hungry the second day you might overeat - and because you ate so much be extra hungry for your lo-cal day.

Wonder where they came up with 471 and 807 - rather odd numbers.

 

[ougrad86]

Please add me. I have been off dis for awhile to regroup....more in my wish journal soon. Last time i weed I was still up almost 15 from last October when we had the sewage flood. I will catch up here in the next couple of days and weigh in officially on Friday. Thanks! Love you all & really need this. I will also be restarting the monthly exercise thread for October.

Hi! Welcome back. What is the exercise thread? This is my first challenge, so still getting into it.

 

[ougrad86]

Sunday QOTD: What is your favorite form of exercise? What form of exercise have you not tried but would like to do?

Walking is the best form of exercise, but there is only a small window when I can actually walk outside here, because I am so picky about weather. I do have an iPhone now, with all my music loaded, so that would probably help with the boredom.

I like the Wii, need to set up our room to do it again (need room to stretch out, DH moved the couch too close). You can choose all sorts of types of exercise. I also picked up Zumba for the Wii and am anxious to give that a try.

I would like to run, but I can't...arthritis in both knees make this a very unwise choice. And it is odd, but the last few times I have tried to run - really run to get out of the rain for instance - I find myself unable to run. Kinda weird, not sure why. I can do a really fast walk, but not actually run...maybe out of practice?

 

[bellebookworm9]

Saturday QOTD:
Question: Do you eat breakfast everyday? What do you eat? And what did you learn new from this article if anything?

Yes, I do eat breakfast every day. At this point, I alternate between instant oatmeal, cereal with skim milk, or waffles with a bit of low calorie syrup. I do try to add fruit in as well. The article helped me understand a bit more about insulin resistance and made me think about adding more protein in throughout the day, something my mom and I were jut talking about. I mentioned to her that even when I eat a ton of fruits and veggies for lunch, I come home around 3 and I am really hungry, so I basically eat whatever carb-y things I can find. She suggested I get some protein bars, so I'm going to do that.

Sunday QOTD: What is your favorite form of exercise? What form of exercise have you not tried but would like to do?

I really like Zumba and am excited for that to start up again. The elliptical is pretty good too. I decided that overall, I really don't like running and it's not worth the shin splints. I would like to try Yoga if that ever gets started here.

**************
Today is going to be a catch up day. I've got three loads of laundry going and need to make my bed. I've got a lot of reading to do. Workout is planned for this evening, and my housemates are cooking Chicken Parm tonight as per our new Sunday dinner thing. Last night I made the Pasta Fagiloli recipe that Laura posted and it was delicious! Very filling.

I didn't track yesterday, just went with the old "Eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full" adage, and I was up another pound this morning.

 

[ougrad86]

Piling wood, yard work, things that are good for my body, but aren't "exercise". When I have to plan it into my day I hate it, but I don't mind working hard, physical labor or walking a lot. We've walked many miles around the campground this weekend, but it didn't feel like exercise as we were looking at decorations or trick or treating, etc.

That sure sounds like exercise to me! Working muscle groups, strength building, and walking is exercise. On WW, if we do something above our normal daily routine, like walking around looking at decorations - you are walking, on your feet, moving...it doesn't count as much as jogging, but I still get a lot of activity points if I hit a trail for a few hours.

I don't think exercise needs to be planned if you are not sedentary, except maybe to spot train specific parts of your body that may not be worked otherwise. I sit in an office all day, and hate yard work, so I need to plan some sort of exercise.