WK 9 Results week ending October 26, 2013

Still hanging in there?  Are you not seeing the results that you were hoping for?  Go back to some of the previous posts and maybe there is something that will click.  Remember, it's a diet, exercise, and life changing thing.  Sometimes it takes a little bit of time for you body to realize, hey, this is what's going to happen from now on.  Slow and steady is a good thing, and keeps off the weight better than losing all at once.  It's a proven fact.

Here's this week's TOP Losers: 

Sheridan- 3.05%

Amanda- 1.08%

Heather- 1.01%

Becky- 0.81%

Lydia- 0.03%

Kristi- 0.03%

The rest of you had very small losses, gains, or took a bye.

Winner of the challenge for just trying to keep it together is:  Sheridan

This week's challenge is:  Water...again!   So, jump on board with me and drink more water.  I actually like water, but for some this is a hard challenge.  Drink what you're supposed to that is your daily intake and you're entered in for the prize.  Unfortunately, there is not going to be a challenge prize this week.  Prize money is getting thin.  That's ok, there's still good reason to do the challenge. 

Having a little trouble.  Here's a great article that just may help you rev up your loss.

  5 Easy Ways to Speed Up Weight Loss

Here are 5 tricks weight loss gurus use to peel off pounds more quickly:

1. Eat More Snacks
That’s right, eat more – just not at mealtimes. It’s more than likely that, in your drive to diet, you’ve begun stretching the time between meals, a common weight loss strategy. (Example: I’ll just wait another half hour to eat lunch, I can make it, and that will mean I’ve gone five hours on only 400 calories…)
Unfortunately, while this strategy makes logical sense, because it feels like fewer meals means less food, the opposite is true. If you wait until you’re super hungry before you eat, you’re bound to eat more before you feel satisfied. (You also tend to eat faster, another no-no.)
Solution: Keep numerous healthy snacks like almonds, sunflower seeds, sliced apples, trail mix, low fat cheese, and whole wheat crackers on hand and eat something light but nutritious every couple of hours.

2. Stop Multitasking
Managers, you’re probably shaking your heads about now. After all, if we don’t multitask, how in the world are we going to get everything done? But when you’re doing five things at once, your mind’s not fully engaged in any one task. That makes you less fully conscious, and more likely to think about food, or dig mindlessly into your snack drawer or that candy jar on a coworker’s desk.
Multitasking also tends to send us into a stressed-out tizzy, a prerequisite for emotional eating. Instead, try giving each task on your to-do list your full attention for a set amount of time. Not only will you get better results much more quickly, you’ll be less likely to obsess about food or engage in mindless emotional eating.

3. Add Strength Training to Your Workout, or Do More of It
I’ve talked about strength training for weight loss before, so I’ll keep it short. Think of it as an equal partner with aerobic exercise, which burns calories but doesn’t have a significant long term effect on metabolism. While aerobic exercise is best for calorie burning, strength training amps up your metabolism by increasing muscle mass.

4. Eat Before Eating
Research has highlighted several versions of this concept. One study found that when people eat a bowl of hot soup before a meal, they eat less. Another found that eating a spicy hot appetizer before a meal curbed appetite. A likely explanation: you tend to eat soup slowly, waiting for it to cool, and eating anything slowly gives your brain, hormones, and stomach time to coordinate a message of fullness. Spicy food is also hard to eat fast, and chili pepper (particularly cayenne pepper) has been found to speed metabolism.
Then there are the many studies showing that eating a high-fiber snack, such as an apple, half an hour before a meal cuts calorie consumption. That one has a simple explanation: Fiber fills you up, making it harder to overeat later.

5. Sleep More
We have the unfortunate tendency in this culture to associate sleep with being sluggish. Not so: We now know that sleeping revs up the metabolism, so the longer you sleep the more fat you burn. Sleep also regulates hormones that control appetite and energy production. When you skip sleep, your body produces more ghrelin, which triggers cravings, and less leptin, which makes you feel full and satisfied with your food intake.
If those aren’t reason enough to prioritize your eight hours a night, there’s longevity, too. Sleep partners with stress in a vicious cycle that’s been shown by researchers to shorten your life by quadrupling stroke risk and weakening your immune system.

Have a great week and safe Halloween.  Do your best to stay away from all that CANDY!!!

  See you next week at the scale.

W8 - Results Week Ending October 19, 2013

Another week come and gone.  Did you see the results you were hoping for?  Are you in a slump?  If you want to see results, you have to put forth the effort to get the results you are seeking.  Many of you are frustrated and I totally get it.  I'm not an expert by any means at this, in fact, sometimes I wonder if I'll ever get to the goal I want.  But, I do know that you have to be consistent and you have to make changes that when this is "over" you can continue to see progress.  I have seen so many who have lost and then gained and I think the one thing that is typical is trying to do something that is not the normal.  Go ahead and have a treat once in a while, just don't eat the entire cake.  It's ok.  Maybe do 15 more minutes of exercise to justify the little set back.  It doesn't seem real to me to never be able to have the good things again, so it's best if you learn how to treat yourself.  I have also heard from some that they have a splurge day.  I do that too, just don't let that one day turn in to two, or three, or etc...  You are succeeding.  If you feel like you are not getting the results you are hoping, re-evaluate what you are doing.  Try smaller portions, more fruits and vegies, less sugar, and of course, more exercise.  It was a pretty good week, but it's not over.  No one is too far ahead that YOU couldn't win.  So, let's do this...

This week's TOP Losers:

Becky- 1.34%
Amanda- 1.24%
Ruth- 1.00%
Kristi- 0.67%
Lydia- 0.59%
Pat- 0.03%

The rest were byes, stayed the same or very small gains.

Winner of the challenge of breakfast and winner of the headphones is:  Heather!!!

Next week's challenge is this:  STAY FOCUSED!!!  Try putting all the things together from previous challenges.  Water, Journal, Exercise, Breakfast.  All those together should help you see results at the scale.  So, just by staying in this and trying extra hard this week you will be entered into the drawing.  Prize this week is another $5 gift card to Jamba Juice.  A good reward that will be worth the extra effort you put in to this.  Four weeks my friends, you could easily be down 5-10 more pounds if you stay in this and work hard.

Top 3 Worst Weight Loss Shortcuts That Will Take You Off Course

If you learn one thing I hope it’s this: There are no quick fixes when it comes to losing weight and getting fit. None. Zero. Nada. Zilch.
Yet there’s a little part inside of us that wants the weight gone NOW. No, not even NOW. We want it gone YESTERDAY.
And then that’s when we resort to desperate measures and try to find shortcuts. But shortcuts will have you going round in circles, not knowing which way to turn.
Here are the top three worst weight loss shortcuts. Doing one of these is bad enough. But all three? That’s a recipe for disaster.
Shortcut: Eating Too Few Calories
It’s tempting to use this shortcut. You figure if you gain weight from overeating, then undereating is the way to go, right? Ah, not quite.
Eating too few calories will not only leave you hungry, tired and cranky, but you’ll find yourself in the middle of Mickey D’s scoffing down a Big Mac and fries because your cravings will be out of control.
Get Back on Course: Instead what you need to do is create a calorie deficit that’s safe and healthy – and doesn’t leave you hungry.

Once you decide on a daily calorie goal, track your weight loss calories with the and see how you hungry you feel with your initial calorie goal – and then make small adjustments. Raise the goal if you find you’re too hungry.

If you’re a woman, don’t go below 1200 calories a day. For men, don’t go below 1800 calories a day.
Shortcut: Exercising Way Too Much *
With this shortcut, you figure if exercise is supposed to be good for you, well, shucks, a lot of exercise should be even better. And you would be wrong.

Not only do you run the risk of injuring yourself by overusing and overstraining your muscles and joints, but overtraining can be bad for your health.
According the American Council on Exercise, symptoms of overtraining include:

• fatigue that won’t go away despite rest;
• plateau/decrease in exercise performance;
• problems sleeping;
• moodiness;
• loss of appetite and weight (and not in a good way);
• muscle soreness;
• increased resting heart rate.

That doesn’t sound healthy at all, right?

Get Back on Course: Instead of exercising too much all at once to lose weight, look at your current exercise program. Whether you’re a beginner or advanced, take a look at what you’re currently doing and gradually increase the duration, intensity or frequency of your exercise program.
*For those who hate exercising, I realize the fact there’s such a thing as over-exercising is inconceivable. But let me tell you, there are people out there who over-exercise. I swear!
Eliminating Important Foods or Food Groups
With this shortcut, some fad diet tells you how you can lose tons of weight by simply eliminating certain foods from your diet or by severely limiting carbs. Or you’re told to only eat certain foods (like grapefruit), thereby eliminating all other foods.
This shortcut only seems to work because you’re actually eating – drumroll, please – less calories.
But eliminating important foods or food groups from your diet can have severe consequences to your health. Sure, fruit is healthy. But a fruit only diet? Lacks protein and fat, and certain vitamins and minerals.
Get Back on Course: Instead of eliminating foods or food groups, work with the foods you love and find a way to balanace your diet. If you don’t have healthy eating habits to begin with, work your way towards eating healthier foods. You need a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, fats and protein to keep your body healthy. You can’t live on Twinkies alone.

The bottom line is that there are no quick fixes. If you start using shortcuts, you run the risk of moving backwards on the road to your weight loss goals. You’ll mess up your metabolism, tire yourself out and feel discouraged with the lack of progress.

Fitness is a lifelong commitment — and can sometimes be long road to walk. Make changes you can live with for the rest of your life. Take the straight and narrow road, and avoid the shortcuts.

Here's the next bonus challenge.  These are not easy as some of you will attest.  But, try it.  Good results if you stick with it.  If you don't know what the exercise is, try google, it explains or has pictures of all of these.

Have a great week.  See you next Saturday at the scale!

WK 7- Results Week ending October 12, 2013

Well, this is it...HALF Weigh!  Don't quit now. No one ever likes to do things half way.  Finish strong.  Not too late to change somethings and finish where you wanted to be at the end of this round.   Here's this week's results:

Top Losers this week:

McCall- 1.85%
Amanda- 1.23%
Jordan- 1.12%
Lydia- 0.83%
Kristi- 0.76%

The rest of us had small gains, loses, or took byes.



This week's challenge winner of the jump rope is:  Pat

This week's challenge is:  Breakfast!  I am terrible at this one.  Most who struggle with weight loss when looking back at their day, breakfast is skipped.  So, this week, starting Monday, eat a good breakfast every day.  Here's some helpful info that just may start you in the right direction.  Prize is:  Another set of headphones.

A Healthy Breakfast for Weight Loss Success:

Whether you prefer eggs, yogurt, or oatmeal, getting a healthy breakfast under your belt sets the tone for a day of weight control and fewer calories overall. In fact, research shows that people who start their day with breakfast make healthier choices and have a lower body mass index in general. The breakfast effect is even stronger for women than men.

"If we skip breakfast, we'll make unhealthier choices at lunch. People who skip breakfast eat more during the day," says Emily Banes, RD, clinical dietitian at the Houston Northwest Medical Center. This is partly due to a thought process in which people believe — incorrectly — that if they don't eat breakfast, they can eat more at lunch or dinner.

Here's the reality. On a physiological level, your breakfast choices — or lack of them — can set off a cycle of cravings and blood sugar spikes that spells doom for weight control. Better to start the day with stable blood sugar and ultimately fewer calories, courtesy of breakfast, says Banes.

Breakfast Calories: What to Eat

You may have to find your perfect breakfast food through a trial and error process. Banes advises thinking outside the breakfast box. It's fine if you prefer a small turkey sandwich or a hard-boiled egg to traditional breakfast foods, she says. Here are other ideas:

Consider whole grains. Whole grains are a good choice because they keep you feeling full, according to a dietary study that compared feelings of satisfaction between people who ate a hot whole-grain cereal for breakfast and those who ate refined wheat bread. Those who ate the whole-grain breakfast reported feeling less hungry over the following eight hours than the comparison group.

Opt for eggs. A study of people between the ages of 25 and 60 who were trying to lose weight found that those who ate two eggs for breakfast lost 65 percent more weight than those who ate bagels, and they also reported having higher energy levels throughout the day. Although this study showed no effect of egg consumption on cholesterol levels, Banes cautions that this may not be the right choice if you already have high cholesterol. Ask your doctor about egg-white alternatives.

Avoid high-sugar choices. Eating doughnuts, breakfast pastries, and sugary cereals may begin that cycle of cravings and blood sugar lows that can undermine your efforts.

Breakfast Calories: Ideas for Slow Starters

Not everyone leaps out of bed ravenously hungry.

"When you first wake up in the morning, if you are not a breakfast person, but you can eat two hours later, that's fine. Have a little yogurt with cereal in it, a little bit of peanut butter on some crackers, or a granola bar with a little bit of protein in it. It doesn't have to be traditional breakfast foods," says Banes.

Once you find the breakfast options that suit your diet and your taste buds, plan ahead so that these foods are on hand when you want them — and you can solidify a healthy habit that will last a lifetime.

 Hope everyone has a great UEA weekend!!

Wk 6-Results ending October 5, 2013

Can you believe that we are half way?  How you doing?  Better than you thought?  Not as you well as you had hoped?  Well, it's not too late to pull your self up and re-evaluate what changes need to be done to get you to where you want to be at the end of this round.  We have just six more weigh ins.  I do want to say, this is supposed to be a life-changing process.  Make changes in your life that you can incorporate and keep after this "game" is over.  Ive done this game a few times now and have slowly reached new goals.  However, if I looked at the number that I have lost when I started this journey, it may have scared me.  But, little by little, it's coming off and every week as I weigh, I celebrate even the little losses.  And don't beat myself up over the little gains, or staying the same.   It didn't creep on overnight, it's not going to come off over night.  Be patient, but be consistent and you will see results...I promise.  I know, because I have watched this happen first hand.

Well, enough of that.  Here's what you came here for:

This Week's Top Ten:


Susan- 3.67%
Sheridan- 1.95%
Kristi- 1.88%
Amanda- 1.21%
Jordan- 0.98%
Lydia- 0.74%
Becky- 0.44%
Ruth- 0.44%

And for the rest of you byes, small gains or losses, or you stayed the same.  The winner of the $5 Jamba Juice gift card is-Ruth  Weigh to go!!!



This weeks challenge is:  Another training one.  What are you playing for? Another Jump rope.
These workouts are great, and can be as hard as you choose them to be. Do them once for beginning, or 2-3 times consecutively for intermediate or advanced. You may not like them, but your body will.  Here you go:

  

And this week's helpful information.  Stuck on a plateau?  These are very difficult.  I was on one for over two months, however thank heavens I was having myself measured, there were results happening, I just didn't see it on the scale.  Here you go.  Hope this helps someone reading this...

Why Am I Not Losing Weight? 5 Reasons You’re Stuck in a Plateau

Have you been stuck at the same weight for a few weeks despite the fact that you seem to be doing all the “right” things? It’s frustrating when your weight loss comes to a stop even though your routine hasn’t changed much. This happens to a lot of people and is commonly referred to as a plateau.
There are a couple of different reasons why the scale isn’t budging. With a few tweaks to your routine, you’ll find that you can start losing weight again. Take a look at some of the most common reasons why you may not be losing weight:

1. You’re underestimating the calories you eat. When you start a diet, you’re probably quite strict about counting your calories. You may even use a scale or measuring cups to make sure that you are eating the right portion size. However, as time goes on, you tend to get less rigid, eyeballing portions instead of being accurate. This could be adding extra calories without you realizing it. Track your calories with an online calorie counter or fitness tracker.
If you’re not sure how many calories you should be eating, you can easily calculate your calorie deficit with this a calorie deficiet calculator (search online, there are several out there)
2. You’re overestimating calories burned. If you’re following the calories burned guide on the exercise machine or relying on estimates from the internet, you may be overestimating how much you are burning when you work out.

3. You’re not eating enough. People who are more active need more calories just to survive. If you eat too few calories, your body thinks that it’s starving and it tends to hold on to the fat. The barest minimums are 1200 calories for women and 1800 for men. People that are larger, more active, or breastfeeding may require much more. I’d venture to say that most people need much more than the 1200/1800.

4. Your body is in a rut. Our bodies are made to be efficient. If you’ve been doing the same exercise routine since you started a diet, your body may have adjusted to the activity, so that it’s not burning as many calories as when you first started. To remedy this, try switching to a different aerobic exercise, or increase your frequency, duration or intensity. If you’re weight training, try different exercises and be sure to increase the weights if the exercises are too easy.

5. You’re losing fat but gaining muscle. If you’re new to exercise (or getting back into it after a long layoff), you may be losing body fat but gaining muscle at the same time. I’ve had this happen to me several times. If this is the case, rejoice! That’s the holy grail of fat loss. How can you tell if you’re losing fat and gaining lean body mass? Track your body fat percentage over several weeks. You may see your weight staying the same but your body fat percentage dropping.

Have a wonderful week.

(Not sure why this is here and I couldn't delete it so oh well!!!)