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