Week 6- Ending November 26, 2011- HALFWAY!

Half way, can you believe it?  Seems fast and yet maybe slow, too. The definition for half way is this: Reaching or including only half or a portion; partial. You never want to finish something half way, you don't do half your shopping, write half a letter, or finish only half of the biggest loser. 

Here's the standings for yesterday and the rankings if the contest ended yesterday. DO NOT let this get you discouraged, remember it's half way. Pick yourself up by the boot straps and get to work...Still anyone's game.

Top Ten

1. Jon H.- 2.64%
2. Amanda- 2.26%
3. Sharon- 1.46%
4. Jordan- 1.34%
5. Patricia- 0.94%
6. Angie- 0.83%
7. Geina- 0.28%
9. Jake- 0.23%
10. Erica- 0.13%

The rest of us either had byes or small gains.  If you haven't already, tomorrow is a great day to get started and back on track!  I know I need to.

Challange Winner: Jordan (Calorie King Book)

If the contest would have ended yesterday, here's where the standings would be.

1. Jon H.
2. Jordan
3. Lisa
4. Amanda
5. Geina
6. Sharon
7. Erica
8. Jon O.
9. Jen O.
10. Jake
11. Liz
12. LeAnna
13. Julie
14. Kim
15. Patricia
16. Ruth
17. Laura
18. Becky
19. Angie

Don't let it scare or fool you, the percentages are very, very close in some areas. You can still be in this.

This week's challenge is: Vegetables! Don't cringe! Prize is a package of Frozen Vegetables to cook in your microwave in the same bag. These are yummy and so easy. There will be two winners. Incorporate your daily allowance of vegetables in your meal planning this week and receive a ticket for the prize. You must have at least 5 of the 7 days to be eligible for the drawing.

Why is it important to eat vegetables?

Eating vegetables provides health benefits — people who eat more fruits and vegetables as part of an overall healthy diet are likely to have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases. Vegetables provide nutrients vital for health and maintenance of your body.

Health benefits

• Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables as part of an overall healthy diet may reduce risk for stroke and perhaps other cardiovascular diseases.
• Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables as part of an overall healthy diet may reduce risk for type 2 diabetes.
• Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables as part of an overall healthy diet may protect against certain cancers, such as mouth, stomach, and colon-rectum cancer.
• Diets rich in foods containing fiber, such as fruits and vegetables, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.
• Eating fruits and vegetables rich in potassium as part of an overall healthy diet may reduce the risk of developing kidney stones and may help to decrease bone loss.
• Eating foods such as vegetables that are low in calories per cup instead of some other higher-calorie food may be useful in helping to lower calorie intake.

Nutrients

Food sources of the nutrients in bold can be found in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Click on the nutrient name to link to the food sources table.

Most vegetables are naturally low in fat and calories. None have cholesterol. (Sauces or seasonings may add fat, calories, or cholesterol.)

• Vegetables are important sources of many nutrients, including potassium dietary fiber, folate (folic acid), vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin C.
• Diets rich in potassium may help to maintain healthy blood pressure. Vegetable sources of potassium include sweet potatoes, white potatoes, white beans, tomato products (paste, sauce, and juice), beet greens, soybeans, lima beans, winter squash, spinach, lentils, kidney beans, and split peas.
• Dietary fiber from vegetables, as part of an overall healthy diet, helps reduce blood cholesterol levels and may lower risk of heart disease. Fiber is important for proper bowel function. It helps reduce constipation and diverticulosis. Fiber-containing foods such as vegetables help provide a feeling of fullness with fewer calories.
• Folate (folic acid) helps the body form red blood cells. Women of childbearing age who may become pregnant and those in the first trimester of pregnancy should consume adequate folate, including folic acid from fortified foods or supplements. This reduces the risk of neural tube defects, spina bifida, and anencephaly during fetal development.
• Vitamin A keeps eyes and skin healthy and helps to protect against infections.
• Vitamin E helps protect vitamin A and essential fatty acids from cell oxidation.
• Vitamin C helps heal cuts and wounds and keeps teeth and gums healthy. Vitamin C aids in iron absorption.

Sound easy enough?  Hopefully this will help with overall health and see results at the scale. Usually you can have a bigger portion of vegies for very little calories. My favorite is the broccoli, cauliflower and carrot trio. It's really good.

Have a great week. We'll see you on Saturday. Remember: "Always concentrate on how far you have come, rather than how far you have left to go."

Week 4- Ending November 12, 2011

Not a bad week for most. This is where it gets harder. You've made great progress and new habits. Don't get lazy or slack. Remember NO WEIGH IN this Saturday, November 19th as I will not be home and away from my kiddo's (i'm not excited at all!!).

This weeks TOP 10

1. Jon H.- 2.99%
2. Erica- 1.86%
3. Jen- 1.48%
4. Lisa- 1.40%
5. Amanda- 1.20%
6. Laura- 1.04%
7. Jon O.- 0.96%
8. Geina- 0.70%
9. Kim- 0.61%
10. Julie- 0.60%

Becky- 0.57%, Sharon- 0.54%, Pat- 0.29%, LeAnna- 0.09%

Challange winner- LeAnna ($8 grocery certificate for fresh produce)

This weeks challange is to Journal again.

Most people who have a successful week it can be linked to their 100% journaling. There are exceptions, but seriously, in my own journey I do so much better when I journal EVERYTHING I eat. Also, remember to sit down when you eat. If you had to sit down each bite or taste you put into your mouth, you may find yourself resisting that taste. Journal your food, and also your exercise. These two things together should give you success at the scale...try it. What have you got to lose? 

Jouranal for a ticket in the next weigh in taking place the Saturday after Thanksgiving Novemeber 26th. You will be playing for a copy of "The Calorie King food journal" and pack of Extra chewing gum.

Here's a little extra info for your reading pleasure.

Maintaining a food journal can help you to keep track of what you eat, your total calorie count, and your nutritional needs. You may also find it helps to keep you accountable and allows you to stick to your diet. If your weight loss stalls, a food journal can help you to solve this dilemma. Log your food intake in a notebook or diary, online, or using your phone.
Track Calories

A food diary provides you with the ability to track your daily caloric intake. Use calorie count charts in books or online to note calories on a handwritten food diary or opt to simply input foods into a program that provides you with nutritional information. You may find that you are consuming too many or too few daily calories for effective weight loss or maintenance. According to Jack Hollis, Ph.D., of Kaiser Permanente Northwest's Center for Health Research in the August issue of the "American Journal of Preventive Medicine," the act of tracking food eaten leads to lower calorie intake.

"Fall seven times, but stand up eight times." (Japanese Proverb) Have an awesome couple of weeks. With the extra time we should see BIG numbers at the scale on the 26th.

Week 3- Ending November 5, 2011

What a good week.  I think everyone that came dreaded yesterday's weigh in.  It was the first holiday of this round Halloween!  What a hard day to get through candy and all.  Remember, this is why I wanted to do it over the holidays so that come January I am already into my good habits and didn't gain and extra 10lbs. eating the good food that is coming our way the next few months.   Let's get to the standings for this week.

This weeks top 10

1. Jordan- 4.82%
2. Liz- 2.21%
3. Jon O.- 1.98%
4. Jon H.- 1.58%
5. Amanda- 1.27%
6. Lisa- 1.27%
7. Sharon- 1.16%
8. Becky- 1.12%
9. Geina- 0.70%
10. Pat- 0.67%

Angie 0.59%, Kim 0.24%, LeAnna 0.18%, Ruth 0.12%, Jen 0.08%

For the rest of you that don't see your names, remember either you stayed the same, gained, or took a bye and were not able to weigh in.  For those that see their names and the percentages aren't as much as you would like, just remember you LOST!

Weekly challange winner (workout DVD)- Amanda

This week's challenge: Watch your Serving Sizes. Bigger portions = More calories, guaranteed. Everyone who comes to weigh in this week and at least tries to watch their portions will be entered into the challenge prize for the week.  Whats this weeks prize you ask?  A $8 gift certificate to go towards fresh produce.

Mypyramid.gov is an excellent website to help with what you should and how much to eat. You can go in and register and do a menu planner with your height and weight. It will calculate a healthy daily caloric intake for you and then you enter what you eat. Seriously, this is so cool...and it's FREE. For example: I have 1 c of Special K cereal with 1/2 c 1% milk, he puts an entry in the grain column and dairy and calculates the calories...SAAWEET!!! I know those of you who have an IPhone, or app for this it's not that great, but for me I thought it was very helpful. Go ahead...try it. Here's a little extra help too.

What's a Serving?

The MyPyramid system was developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help people live longer, better and healthier lives. There are six broad types of food in the MyPyramid system shown in the chart below.
When choosing foods, keep the following in mind:

• All food groups are important. Each food group provides specific nutrients that can not easily be met from other food groups. No single food group can provide all nutrients.
• The amount of food we need from each food group varies based on age, gender, physical activity, and weight goals.
• The serving sizes recommended by the MyPyramid guidelines can be different than the serving size information on a food label. MyPyramid serving sizes are based on nutrient content. For example, in the MyPyramid system, 1 cup of low fat milk has a similar nutrient profile in calcium, protein, and riboflavin as 1.5 oz of cheese.
• The MyPyramid serving sizes are often different than our personal portion sizes which is the amount of a particular food you typically eat. Recognizing how many servings are in your typical portion is critical in learning "real time" energy management.

Below are examples of what the MyPyramid guidelines define as one serving unit for each of the food groups.

Food Group	Serving Size	Serving Size in Context	Visual Clues and Examples of One Serving
Grains	1 Ounce	1 slice of bread 1 cup cold cereal ½ cup cooked rice, pasta or cooked cereal	Bread = plastic CD case Cooked rice = ½ of a tennis ball 1 mini-bagel 5 whole-wheat crackers ½ English muffin 1 (4 ½ inch) pancake 1 small tortilla (6 inches)
Fruit Group	1 Cup Equivalent	1 cup of fruit or 100% fruit juice; ½ cup of dried fruit	Whole fruit = 1 baseball Cut fruit = 7 cotton balls 1 small apple 32 seedless grapes 3 medium plums
Vegetable Group	1 Cup Equivalent	1 cup of raw or cooked vegetables or vegetable juice; 2 cups of raw leafy greens	Vegetables = a light bulb or computer mouse 2 medium carrots 1 large ear corn 1 medium baked potato 3 (5 inch long) spears of broccoli
Meat and Beans Group	1 Ounce	1 egg 1 tablespoon peanut butter ¼ cup cooked dry beans ½ ounce nuts or seeds	Nuts = 12 almonds, 24 pistachios Turkey = one sandwich slice Peanut butter = ½ golf ball Burger patty = ½ patty Tuna = ¼ can of drained tuna Fish = One third of a checkbook Meat or Poultry = One third of a deck of cards
Milk Group	1 cup Equivalent	1 cup milk 1 ½ ounce natural cheese or 2 ounces of processed cheese	Hard cheese = two 9-volt batteries Shredded cheese = tennis ball
Oils	1 Teaspoon	1 Teaspoon oil, salad dressing, butter, etc.	Butter and spreads = A stack of 6 nickels