Biggest Loser "Sizzlin' Hot" Summer Challenge

[6ofus2]

In 6 months we will be going into to winter. Which season is your favorite? Is it easier for you to lose weight during a certain season? If so which one?

My favorite season is Fall. Here in the pacific northwest our autumn is beautiful. We often have better weather in fall then spring.
I have no idea which season it will be easier to lose weight in. I honestly haven't tried before this year. So far spring was pretty easy.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Thanks Pamela for the recipe. I will definitely try it this weekend as it looks so good

Noticed your wee comment on the pumpkin soup and wondered if it would be good to replace the carrot in the curried carrot soup recipe (the 1 I put up on the other thread) that you liked?
I've never tasted pumpkin but we do get them here now at halloween so I might try it if I can remember in october!!

 

[pjlla]

Thanks Pamela for the recipe. I will definitely try it this weekend as it looks so good

Noticed your wee comment on the pumpkin soup and wondered if it would be good to replace the carrot in the curried carrot soup recipe (the 1 I put up on the other thread) that you liked?
I've never tasted pumpkin but we do get them here now at halloween so I might try it if I can remember in october!!

Oh my gosh... that is a great idea! And I have to chuckle.... guess what is up on our menu for TONIGHT! Yup.... your curried carrot soup! I know it isn't exactly soup weather any more, but carrots were 3 lb/$1 on special at the market this weekend, so I grabbed some. I got myself prepped and ready over the weekend so I just need to get the soup going in the next hour or so.

*************

Okay friends.... after getting SO MUCH done this morning, my late morning/early afternoon has been very unproductive! I did get another load of laundry on the line, but now the wind has really picked up and I'm not sure if the stuff is going to dry really fast or blow away!

Anyhow.... I also FINALLY ordered some gift cards using my Visa Extras points. Every month I get an email about how I have points about to expire, but I never do anything about it. I originally signed up for the program because they were offering Disney tickets, but I never got enough points built up to buy them, since points expire after a few months. But I figured I was better off getting what I CAN, rather than continually letting them expire. SO today I pretty much emptied my points and ordered $25 Walmart card (don't love the place, but it is as good as cash for me), 4 - $5 Subway cards (going to send a few to my DSIL in NM undergoing her 3rd cancer treatment), and a $25 Kohl's card that I will save for back to school shopping.

Tonight will be busy with baseball and swim practice. DS's b.ball game is SO far in the opposite direction from the pool that I'm not sure I will bother to make the drive. But I hate to miss seeing him play..... this might be the day when he makes the winning hit to drive in loaded bases (or something like that.... I don't really understand sports). I'll have to googlemap it and see if it is worth the drive.

Last day of school for DD tomorrow and she has a quiz! What a mean teacher!

Okay.... off to start that soup before DS returns home!....................P

 

[pjlla]

Tonight will be busy with baseball and swim practice. DS's b.ball game is SO far in the opposite direction from the pool that I'm not sure I will bother to make the drive. But I hate to miss seeing him play..... this might be the day when he makes the winning hit to drive in loaded bases (or something like that.... I don't really understand sports). I'll have to googlemap it and see if it is worth the drive.

Last day of school for DD tomorrow and she has a quiz! What a mean teacher!

Okay.... off to start that soup before DS returns home!....................P

Well.... I JUST checked my phone and DH texted a few hours ago to say he won't be making it home to drive DS to his game! AHHHH! My afternoon just got exponentially busier!!! Skipping the soup.... dinner will be sandwiches in the car as I drive like a crazy woman to get everywhere that they need to be at something resembling ON TIME!.......................P

 

[myweegirls]

DD and I just recently discovered Athleta and their beautiful stuff.... but it is kind of pricey for workout gear. Do they ever run sales/clearance/specials??

They do! I've shopped them mostly online because they haven't had stores near me until now, and I'm on their email list. They send notices by email when they have sales, but I usually just check the site for reductions. They carry a lot of styles from year to year, with differences in colors/patterns, and when the new stuff comes out, the older colors go on sale. They're part of the Gap family of companies, but you can't return their online purchases to Gap/BR/Old Navy stores - at least not yet. Maybe now that they're building more stores, that will change.

I agree that they're kind of pricey, and yet I also find that they last longer and feel better to me than my cheaper stuff, so maybe I'll get more mileage from it. I'm definitely going to this opening tonight with a shopping list!

So dreary and rainy here today - I'm glad this was my planned off day for exercise, as I definitely wouldn't be getting outside in this weather!

XO
Liz

 

[KDIPIAZZ]

Question of the Day

In 6 months we will be going into to winter. Which season is your favorite? Is it easier for you to lose weight during a certain season? If so which one?

I love all the seasons and don't think i could live in a place where i didn't get to experience all four. My favorite is fall - warm days, cool nights, back to school, pumpkins, crisp apples, Halloween and Thanksgiving.

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

QOTD..Fav season...I don't really have true seasons in south Fl, so I don't really have a fav. I love dif times of yr for dif activities. even in the heat of summer , it's the pool/beach time, winter/spring is for outside, gardening...

The best time for me to lose weight is usually summer and fall, too hot to eat a lot and tons of fruit and fresh veggies around.

 

[penguin1102]

Sorry that I have been MIA for the last few days.
To catch up on the questions of the day:

Mine time is usually reading, cross-stitching, or watching some tivo. I just like to have an hour or so of quiet when I get home frome work.

My favorite form of water is a pool. My parents have one in their backyard so growing up I was in it everyday during the summer. I am not a big fan of the beach, even though I live in Southern California.

My favorite seasons are fall and winter. These are also the ones that are easiest for me to lose weight. I find that I make more home cooked meals this time of year than during summer. Our apartment just gets to hot to cook in during summer, so there are not as many options that I am willing to cook.

Congrats Christopher and all the losers!! What an awesome start to this challenge.

This past weekend was kind of tough for me because my DH took me to DL on Sunday since my bday is Friday and we knew that it was going to be packed with the opening of cars land. I splurged and had a hot fudge sundae, however I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped on the scale on Monday and was down .2. Must have been all the water that we were drinking!

 

[trinaweena]

I think i'm doing ok so far this week. I've done some sort of physical activity 3 days in a row, 2 runs and 1 walk, and yesterday i did my 5 mile run in the morning and then made my boyfriend go with a walk in the afternoon (just about a mile, but I wanted HIM to do a walk). Turns out he had already done a HUGE walk that day. I'm trying to inspire him to get healthy and i think its slowly working. We watch Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead the other day and it was amazing and inspiring to both of us, and I hope it really opened his eyes. He's not obese by any means, but i can see him ending up that way if he continues on the path he's on.

So anyways, trying to keep up with at least 30 minutes of cardio every day, and then running every other day. I had to force myself to go today because yesterdays run was long and hard but I did it anyways. It was a little hot a buggy but i think the dogs enjoyed it, especially since i can't take them running anymore cause they just can't keep up.

Eating wise i've been doing ok. Not tracking everything, but trying to be better. I'm trying to focus on bigger breakfasts, because i find myself getting so hungry before lunch. My other goal is to stop late night eating. Second suppers are not the answer. I also want to try to go to bed earlier, since my sleep habits are getting all out of whack again. So I would say i'm not so much focused on the weight, but healthy habits that will lead to the weight loss.

I went grocery shopping today, got some stuff for smoothies, since i want to start trying that for lunch and such. Also fruits and veggies and some other things. I think it was a succedful trip. I got papaya to put in a smoothie, because i heard it helps with stomach issues and boy do i have those! I'll be honest i had no idea what a papaya looks like so i was a bit confused but i think i got the right fruit! The girl at the register had no idea! I don't even know what a papaya tastes like! Just trying new things!

I have work tonight, which sucks because the skies are dark and rainy and i have a stomach ache and i would like nothing more than to nap in bed! I have about an hour before i have to leave so im going to relax with some tea and then force myself to go. Tomorrow is my first day of the new job! SO NERVOUS

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Well.... I JUST checked my phone and DH texted a few hours ago to say he won't be making it home to drive DS to his game! AHHHH! My afternoon just got exponentially busier!!! Skipping the soup.... dinner will be sandwiches in the car as I drive like a crazy woman to get everywhere that they need to be at something resembling ON TIME!.......................P

Glad to hear you're still enjoying the soup-even if not tonight lol. Hope you manage to stay sane

 

[ChelleyB]

QOTD - I love fall! The colors, the smells, the crisp air, bonfires, cool evenings.....mmmmm, I love it

I'm not doing so great this week. I want sugar and I'm craving all sorts of things that are not on my plan! I'm having some tea with honey right now, trying to satisfy my sweet craving. I think it's because my weight loss has slowed down, so I'm losing my drive and motivation to stick with the plan. Hoping tomorrow will be better.

 

[jillbur]

Not so hot here today. I am over my calories and yet to have dinner. Curse you Five Guys for being so good!!! I really wish the had a vegetarian option besides a veggie sandwich. Or turkey burgers, geez throw a girl a bone every once in a while!

I passed Five Guys today and I'm pretty sure I had drool on my chin!

MAINTAINERS:
(staying within 2 lbs of their maintain weight is successfully maintaining!)
# of Maintainers Reporting In & Successfully Maintaining: 2
Congratulations jillbur & myweegirls!!!

The WISH Biggest Loser "Sizzlin' Hot" Summer 2012 Challenge Week 1 Superstars!!
#10 - 1.26% - minandmick
#9 - 1.31% - Holly324
#8 - 1.32% - 6ofus2
#7 - 1.33% - Twingle
#6 - 1.49% - 4holidays
#5 - 1.56% - thunderbird1
#4 - 2.03% - disappearing otter
#3 - 2.92% - LovingDisney2012
#2 - 3.36% - ougrad86
and now
The WISH Biggest Loser "Sizzlin' Hot" Summer 2012 Challenge Week 1 Biggest Loser is:
#1 - 4.19% - D73

Congrats to all the maintainers and losers!

But then I get to go to the private opening of a new Athleta store! I *love* Athleta - I live in sundresses in the summer, and I really like their run tops, among other things. So I'll be happy to have them pass me a cocktail while I get to shop their stuff in person instead of online!

XO
Liz

I live in a nice bubble that's called western PA. I haven't heard of Athleta, but I will be looking it up later!

I only have one kitten left of the original litter I took and he's 5 weeks today and went poo in the box last night the first time and now is going wild on it lol. I took in another litter that was 2 weeks old, found them a Mom to nurse on and kept the best eater of the lot as a friend for Triumph. She's a week younger than him but when the playing really kicks in that won't really matter. I know I've gained weight though, I've hardly worked out between feedings so I've been biking about once a week to work as it's only a 1/2 hour difference in commute time (a 1/2 hour roughly to and from)

Welcome back. So glad that Triumph made it through. Congrats to you for all your hard work!

Question of the Day

This is MacKenzie. She is my ds1's dog but she spends a lot of time with us since ds lives with us.

In 6 months we will be going into to winter. Which season is your favorite? Is it easier for you to lose weight during a certain season? If so which one?

Summer barely started and you're mentioning WINTER?!?!?

My favorite season is fall. I love the cool, crisp air, pumpkins, apples, football, and the changing leaves. I know summer is usually my hardest time to lose weight because I'm off in the summer and I don't have a schedule. During the school year, I eat at scheduled times, so I get thrown off a little in the summer. Plus...we *occasionally* have ice cream for dinner. That's completely normal, right?

I also might just have to make something with pumkin to get that craving off my mind

I vote for pumpkin roll. I'll pm you my address. I'm sure it'll ship fine from Florida to PA

Jill a big for smaller shorts! And good luck on the garage sale!

Thanks. We have A LOT of stuff. I just don't want to haul anything back home.

I am very excited because I get a little bonus solo trip to DL in July. I grew up on a street with over 50 kids and they are having their first ever reunion. Some of the people still live there almost 50 years later! I knew that would be something that I would regret if I didn't go so I managed to make it happen. And, of course, I will get to spend a couple of days at Disneyland. When I was growing up my summer curfew was when the fireworks were over at Disneyland at 9 p.m.

I had an OP day and a good whoosh today. Hoping to hang onto it for Friday!

The reunion sounds like so much fun! And, it doesn't hurt that you get to visit DL. I wish my curfew growing up was DL fireworks! That's so cool.

Best of luck with the yard sale and hopefully the boys have a GREAT summer at camp!

Thanks. This yard sale is sucking up so much of my time this week. I hope it goes well. The boys are very excited for camp. It runs from 9:45-2:30. It's M-F, but I told them we'd go 3 days. I can walk to the park, but I doubt the kids will have any energy to walk back home!

** Disclaimer: This is more an "idea" than it is an actual recipe. I saw things like it around and decided to tweak it for my family. I am posting my recipe as I have it in black with other ideas and suggestions next to it in red.

Warm Asian Lettuce Wraps (serves approximately 3-4 folks)

One pound (more or less) of lean pork loin, visible fat removed and diced up for stir-frying (or chicken breast or white fish or firm tofu)

2-3 large red bell peppers, julienned (or any other colored bell pepper)

1-2 large sweet onion, thinly sliced

2 large heads of soft lettuce (I use Butter or Bibb)

Paul Newman's Lowfat Sesame Ginger salad dressing

EVOO or PAM-type spray for sauteeing.

Stir-fry meat in EVOO or spray until cooked through. Remove and keep warm. Sautee onions and peppers until caramelized and slightly browned.

Core, separate, rinse, and dry lettuce leaves, taking care to leave them uncracked and in their "cup" shape.

Serve meat, veggies, and dressing separately and allow people to "build" their own wraps in the lettuce leaf "cups" (like making a fajita or taco). This will allow people to customize with their own quantities of veggies, meat, and dressing.

Or toss meat, onions, and peppers together with a few tablespoons of the dressing and serve in one bowl if that would be faster or easier for your family!

This can be served cold, warm, or room temp.

We prefer warm meat and veggies with cold lettuce leaves. I find that we each tend to eat about 4 wraps (depending on how much we fill them and how large the lettuce leaves are). Iceberg does NOT work well for this, as it tends to crack and break as you try to wrap it around the meat and veggies.

You can prep everything and then just cook when ready for dinner. Or cook ahead and reheat the meat and veggies. I use pork because of DS's chicken allergy and DD's fish aversion. I haven't tried it with beef, but I think it might also be good.

I usually add more of the veggies, as I like that and tend to eat more of it than the meat. I've also used a bit of raw shredded carrot in it in the past for myself, but the kids didn't care for the carrot addition.

The Points/calories on this are VERY dependent upon what kind of meat you use, how much you eat and how much dressing you use.... but it should be easy to figure out on a case-by-case basis.

Happy eating!.........................P


ETA: Just popped over to the BL recipe thread to post this and found a very similar cold recipe posted there by mizzoutiger76. Don't want to step on any toes, so you might want to check out her recipe too!

Sounds yummy. Thanks for taking the time to do this!

This past weekend was kind of tough for me because my DH took me to DL on Sunday since my bday is Friday and we knew that it was going to be packed with the opening of cars land. I splurged and had a hot fudge sundae, however I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped on the scale on Monday and was down .2. Must have been all the water that we were drinking!

Ooooooh....so jealous that you went to DL. My boys would love Carsland. How was it? And remember, Disney food has no calories

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am exhausted. I need to get 8 hours of sleep tonight so I am going to head up to bed to read for a bit. I'll probably only read a page before I fall asleep.

I did my first workout with the Jeff Galloway 5k program tonight. I picked the program to increase my 5k time since I feel like I am in decent shape. I liked it. I am hoping to stick with it and still squeeze in circuit training and spinning. We'll see what the summer brings.

I'll try to check in tomorrow. I don't want to fall behind or I'll be 10 pages behind! And who knows if I will be able to check in Friday and Saturday. My mom doesn't have wireless internet, so I won't be able to pop in if there is a lull at the garage sale.

Hope everyone is doing well

Jill

 

[camnhan]

Ugh
Not sure I can be anymore off plan today....I have ate junk all day!!! And am still HUNGRY
Has to be getting close to TOM because I could sit in front of the fridge with a spoon and be very happy

And I was doing so good and hit the 160's today

Good news: my new bike came today DH is going to put it together tomorrow so wish me luck!!!

 

[camnhan]

They do! I've shopped them mostly online because they haven't had stores near me until now, and I'm on their email list. They send notices by email when they have sales, but I usually just check the site for reductions. They carry a lot of styles from year to year, with differences in colors/patterns, and when the new stuff comes out, the older colors go on sale. They're part of the Gap family of companies, but you can't return their online purchases to Gap/BR/Old Navy stores - at least not yet. Maybe now that they're building more stores, that will change.

I agree that they're kind of pricey, and yet I also find that they last longer and feel better to me than my cheaper stuff, so maybe I'll get more mileage from it. I'm definitely going to this opening tonight with a shopping list!

So dreary and rainy here today - I'm glad this was my planned off day for exercise, as I definitely wouldn't be getting outside in this weather!

XO
Liz

I have seen ads for Athena and looked online and they have such cute things.
Maybe that will be my treat for when I reach my summer goal

 

[jillbur]

Pamela~I forgot to mention that I tell my mom all the time how crazy they were for driving us (me and Dsis) all over for swimming. They gave up all their Saturdays to drive us as far as a few hours to sit in steamy pools! Luckily, I didn't swim after about age 12. So, they only had to give up 6 or 7 years of their lives.

I did try to encourage DS9 to try swimming, but he doesn't want to practice daily. I'm okay with that

 

[sissy_ib]

Hey, just checking in. I haven't been keeping up the past few days.

I have had a hard time with motivation the past week or so. I have been doing my cardio in the form of C25K, Zumba and hiking but I have done zero strength training except for my once a week class. I just got home from the class and I am feeling much better about things. Much of the sets we do in the class I can do at home and I need to at least twice a week. Thursday and Saturday I will get out the resistance bands and weights.

As for the diet I started giving myself one high calorie meal a week so I gave myself a pass Friday night. Saturday for some reason I could just not get satisfied. Every time I ate I would be hungry again a half hour later. I didn't eat any junk but I ate more than I should have. The past two days I have really watched what I was eating and fell much better. I just hope I still have a loss this week even if it is .1 pound!

I still need to raise more money for the Wounded Warrior Project. If any one would like to donate the link is in my signature. TIA!

Have a great week everyone!

 

[penguin1102]

Ooooooh....so jealous that you went to DL. My boys would love Carsland. How was it? And remember, Disney food has no calories

I am going to try to remember that about the food the next time we go. We did not do carsland, probably in september once all the kids are back in school and it is a little less crowded. We are really lucky to live close and have passes (please my DH likes to take me when I have had a tough week at work). When we do check it out I will give everyone the update on how it is.

 

[donac]

Good Wednesday morning everyone.


Last day of exams today. I finally get to give one today. I have been cleaning my classroom, closets and file cabinets. I can't believe how organized everything is. I think I will even have an empty shelf in my closet when I get the books in. It has not been this clean since I moved in 11 years ago.

Question of the day

This is a picture of my dh from the last Boy SCout Jamboree (his friend took this picture). They worked the motocross activity for 2 weeks. Yes that is the size they ordered for the boys to ride.

It is also funny that camnhan mentioned that she just got a new bike.

What do you like to do outside? Is is biking hiking or even water parks?

Have a happy and healthy day.

 

[sue and co]

QOTD - Which season is easiest to lose weight?

Definitely the summer when it is not and I am more likely to eat salads.

QOTD - what is your favourite outdoor activity?

I have to confess I can't ride a bike but I do enjoy walking either in the country or on the beach (not that we have a beach near us but we do have lots of countryside).

 

[SettinSail]

Good morning losers!

When I am outside, I am usually walking or hiking. Love riding bikes too but have not done that as much since we moved back home. It is nice to just sit outside too if the weather is good.

Pamela, the lettuce wraps look great and so easy! Will be a nice alternative to tacos. Can't wait to try them. I don't actually work FT, I work 30 hours a week (close enough though!)

Lisa, your childhood reunion trip sounds so cool!

Dona, did your DS's ever go to Sea Base in the Fla Keys with BSA? My DS is going this August. I am getting scared just thinking about it; I will be a nervous wreck that week.

Today I am taking a meal to my friend who just got out of the hospital Saturday. She was only supposed to have out patient surgery but the surgeon nicked her bowels causing an infection. She was in the hospital and in ICU for most of it for 18 days. I made her a meatload and roasted potatoes (her request). I sampled some of the potatoes and they were so good!

Time to get to work! Have a great day all!

Shawn