Biggest Loser: Final Weigh In

AHHH!! I can't believe I forgot to post the final weigh in!! My brother in law is getting married on Friday so I am crazy busy putting together the guest book, getting music ready and making the wedding cake. And yesterday his fiance went through the temple... its been a busy, busy week.

So! How did everyone do? Use the comment section to post your success stories! I want to hear how you did, what you learned, what works for you, what doesn't... tell it all! I don't know about everyone else, but I'm certainly looking forward to reading your stories!

Biggest Loser: Week 11 Weigh In

One more week to go!! I'm so close to my goal weight... but far enough away that I don't think this one week will be quite enough! How about everyone else? I know a few girls have reached the goals they've set. Share your progress!

Biggest Loser: Week 10 Weigh In

Week 10 is done! Only 2 weeks to go. How close is everyone to reaching their goals? Start thinking about the things you've learned and what you've accomplished throughout the weeks of Biggest Loser. I want to hear everyone's success stories in 2 weeks.

Biggest Loser Challenge

How did everyone do last week? About trying something new with food? Report in a comment.

This week's challenge: Hydration!!! Drink at least eight 8 ounce servings of water each day. Soda, juice, etc. don't count.

What are some benefits of staying well hydrated?

• More energy, power and endurance
• Stay cooler, feel better
• Go farther and faster
• Work harder, burn more calories.

As you exercise, keep in mind the following hydration tips:

• Drink early -- about 2 hours before exercise.
• Drink often -- continually sip fluids rather than gulp them down infrequently.
• Add sport/energy drinks -- they help restore carbohydrates and electrolytes.
• Drink after -- Post-exercise hydration gets your fluid levels back to normal and can help with recovery.
• Finally, make sure your fluids are close at hand. When you're 2 miles into a hike, your water bottle is not much good to you sitting in your car.

Biggest Loser: Week 9 Weigh In

Only 3 more weeks to go!! I don't know about you girls, but I am close to my goal and so motivated to actually accomplish it! Any progress made this week?

Biggest Loser Challenge (better late than never!)

Hi everyone!

I'm sorry for not posting challenges the last 2 Thursdays! I just moved to another state and had to wait for internet service. Anyway, now I'm back in full force and ready to issue another challenge.

Even though I am posting this challenge late I think we all can complete it before next Thursday. This week's challenge is to try something new with food. You decide what that means and report back next week. You could try a new fruit or vegetable. You could try a new recipe (hopefully low cal or low fat or in some way healthy). Try using whole wheat flour in your cookies or bread you make. Try switching to brown rice or whole wheat spaghetti.

This is an easy challenge (I am still unpacking...) and I look forward to seeing what we come up with!

Biggest Loser: Week 8 Weigh In

I'm a day late, but better late than never, right! And I'm sure you are all anxiously awaiting the chance to update us on your weight loss!! So lets hear it...

Biggest Loser: Week 7 Weigh In

Week 7 is over! Is our Biggest Loser challenge just zooming by for anyone else? I can't believe its been 7 weeks already! Where's everyone at?

Biggest Loser Challenge - Track what you eat

I know... it seems that no one likes to track what they eat. With weight loss, knowing what you are eating is vital!!! We tend to think that we eat less than we actually are.

So this week's challenge is to track what you eat. Every. Single. Thing. Write it down.

You don't have to figure out the calorie amount. The challenge is to track every single thing you put in your mouth as well as the quantity (handful, 1/2 cup, etc.)

Let's see if becoming more aware of what we eat will help us break through the plateaus... or jump start a loss!

(I know it is hard, I know it isn't fun. Do it anyway.)

How did everyone do with the push up challenge?

Biggest Loser: Week 6 Weigh In

Half way mark... where's everyone at with their weight loss? What's working for you and what isn't? What changes do you plan on making in the next 6 weeks to get closer to your goal?

Biggest Loser Challenge: Push ups!

Alright ladies!!! How did the 10% challenge go? Who did it?

I have a confession - last week was so busy I didn't even remember I issued the challenge until Sunday. Nice. After that, I tried to cut my calorie intake by 10%. That meant eliminating an extra 150 calories a day. I'll just say that I love those 150 calories. They were hard to give up.

This week's challenge is to do push ups. I learned this at an aerobics class we had at my church building. Instead of doing them on the floor, we did them against the stage. Stand away from the stage about 3 feet (maybe less for shorter people), place hands a little more than shoulder width apart on the edge of the stage. Do pushups - your chest should almost touch the stage as you lower. Do 3 sets of 10. The further out your feet are from the stage, the more difficult the push up.

I thought this was a great way to do push ups. For some reason it is less intimidating than a floor push up. It was easier for me to have correct form (make sure your bum isn't sticking high in the air! You should keep your body as straight as possible).

So the challenge is this: when you are in the kitchen, waiting for water to boil, food to warm up in the microwave, whatever, do these push ups against your kitchen counter. Really try and push yourself (hahaha, no pun intended) - don't just do one or two, but try at least 5 at a time. Do these throughout the day, when you are in the kitchen.

Report back next week. CAN WE PUSH IT??? YES, WE CAN!!!

Biggest Loser: Week 5 Weigh In

Week 5... next week will be our halfway point! How's everyone doing?

Biggest Loser: Challenge - 10%

Alright ladies!!!! How did the Core Challenge work for everyone? Strengthening one's core is very important to overall health and fitness - it influences our posture, our form, and strengthens our tummies and backs.

I have been thinking for a bit about what kind of challenges to make. Coming up with 12 challenges is a challenge!!

This week's challenge is about 10%. I challenge each of you to do something 10% more or 10% less for an entire week. Here are some examples:

• Eat 10% more veggies and fruits
• Increase your cardio workout time by 10%
• Consume 10% fewer calories
• Sleep 10% longer (unfortunately this usually means going to bed earlier rather than later)

You decide what the activity is - just make sure you keep the 10% rule.

Biggest Loser: Week 4 weigh in

Claire is on vacation today... walking around Disneyland!!!

So - How did we all do this week?

Biggest Loser: Challenge to work your core!

How did last week's challenge go? Did all that positive self talk make a difference? It did for me. Sometimes I feel like I just get so busy I don't even think - and that includes about choices I make about my health. All that positive talk helped me remember more often about why I am trying to manage my weight better. It really helped me with keeping my motivation up.

SO this week's challenge is another physical one. We are going to work our cores!!! The challenge is to do the following exercises at least 4 times (basically every other day). It should only take you about 10-15 minutes. That means you can totally do it while you watch the news or your fave TV show. The workout says you need dumbbells, but I think it can be done without (if you don't have any).

15 minute standing dumbbell workout

Biggest Loser: Week 3 Tips

I was at Deseret Book the other day and picked up two books about weight loss. One is called "30 Days to a Healthier Family" by Peggy Hughes. Its filled with tips, advice, activities, and recipes for helping the whole family become healthier. Its an awesome book. The other one I picked up is called "Tip A Day Guide for Healthy Living" by Melanie Douglass. It has 365 tips for improving your health one day at a time. I haven't read all 365 tips yet, but as I've skimmed the book I found several that I really liked, and thought I'd share...

* Find the best workout music... find music with the "BPM" (beats per minute) that matches your activity level. BPM is the number of beats that occur in every 60 seconds of a song. Find the BPM by counting how many beats you hear in 15 seconds of music, then multiplying that by 4. Or, if you use iTunes, you can view the BPM by right clicking on the menu.

- 115 BMP... slow walking, strength training

- 125 BMP... elliptical training, stair climbing, walking 3-4 miles per hour

- 135 BMP... power/fitness walking (4-4.5 mph), moderate cycling (60-70 rotations per minute)

- 145 BMP... jogging (5-6 mph), fast cycling (75-80 rotations per minute)

* Healthy grocery store shopping... the fresher, the better. If you shop for foods from the outer aisles of the grocery store (meaning the frutis, veggies, low-fat dairy, lean meats and 100% whole greain breads) the meals you cook will be much healthier. Venture into the inner aisles to pick up things like healthy, whole grain cereal, brown rice, a few cans of beans, and maybe some whole-wheat pasta (yummy!!). Melanie recommends spending at least 80% of your grocery budget on the "outer" aisle foods. Then make sure you use the fresh foods you buy.

**I tend to do my grocery shopping at Sprouts, the local "farmers market" style grocery store. It has cut down on my grocery budget, since I'm not paying to have my food processed, and we have been eating much healthier.

* Melanie talks about her husband's point of view... "If fruits, vegetables, and whole grains really are so great- and God has told us they are healthiest for us- then why didn't He make them taste better?" (pg. 9). I loove Melanie's response. She says "I have a theory on this. Satan works hard every day to decieve us. Infiltrating our food supply with foods swimming in calories, fat, sodium, and sugar is a subtle yet powerful way to get us down. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains did taste superior to any other food at one time- before our taste buds were introduced to the food of the 21st century." (pg 9).

I thought that was a very interesting take on food and unhealthy vs healthy eating. This week has been a hard one for me. I have NOT made very healthy choices. And I've felt awful for it. I was dreading stepping on the scale this morning, because I was sure I had gained a ton. I also felt weighed down, sick to my stomach after over-indulging in yucky (but oh so yummy!) foods and I haven't had the energy I want. An interesting contrast to the past two weeks when I've done so good, and made so many healthy choices. When I make healthier food choices I have energy to play all day long with Cecelia. I have energy to clean my house. I put more thought into my appearance which makes me feel better about myself. My mind is more aware and alert... all these wonderful things that I'm sure my Heavenly Father wants for me. So, after making this realization, I am once again committed to cutting out the junk in my diet.

What tips have you come across? What words of wisdom do you have to share with us all as we try to live healthier? And how did this week go for you girls?

Biggest Loser: Week 3 Weigh In

June is here and we're at the end of our 3rd week already!! As a group we've lost 14 lbs already!! Great work ladies. So, what's the damage for this week? How much closer is everyone to fitting in their skinny jeans and string bikinis? (Totally kidding on the string bikini thing... at least for myself!)

Biggest Loser Challenge, Week 3

Alright - this week is mental. Sit down and write yourself a pep talk - it can be as long or as short as you want it to be. Write down what motivates you to lose weight/maintain your health. Then read it to yourself once a day, more often if you feel temptation or laziness creeping in.

Next week report on how it made a difference. So... how did everyone do with the 200 minute challenge?

Biggest Loser: May 27th Thoughts

Alright fellow Losers, what's been going through your mind this week? Any recipes to share? Great workouts you've discovered? We'd love to read what you've got to say!

Biggest Loser: May 27th Weigh In

Week 2 is over! How did everyone do? And don't forget, its not too late to join! Just leave a comment with your goal and start losing.