tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46303699430661027322024-03-13T13:27:51.482-07:00Join Jerusha's JourneyHealthy livingJerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-11961909102344998612021-10-30T21:53:00.000-07:002021-10-30T21:53:45.937-07:00The ugly truth<p> Haha! I can’t believe this blog is still out there! Amazing!</p><p>After many people in my support community have commented on the fact that I never post any more, I’ve decided it’s time to tell the ugly truth. This post (like many from my past) will contain raw emotions that need to be said for my therapeutic well-being… nothing in here is meant to hurt or offend anyone in any way.</p><p>As many of you know, I consider part of my life’s work to help people; to build them up and inspire them to find the answers they’re looking for in life. Therefore, when I lead people to things that I find end up being emotionally harmful, I struggle to forgive myself… big time! I know I’ve said things in the past in an effort to help, that have ended up coming across the wrong way, but the instance that kind of shut me up for a long time happened in 2017.</p><p>In 2017 I joined a program to help me lose weight. I had been saving money up for surgery because I was desperately looking for a way out from under my 150+ lbs of excess weight, and this (very expensive) program was a last ditch attempt before turning to surgery. Upon joining this program, I immediately felt a sense of inclusion, a new family if you will. I connected with some incredible people and found people that really inspired me. From the get-go, I had a problem with the way the person in charge was talking to certain people. It was sold as tough love, but my sensitive soul really felt for these people. While I felt for these people, I was doing really well on the program and lost 100 lbs in 7 months, and didn’t think I’d ever be truly affected by the hurtful things being said. After all, I was confident and really truly didn’t have any fear of the person in charge, which was their top “motivating” power.</p><p>Because of my success on this program, I ended up drawing in more than 50 people to join… people who trusted me, people who were inspired by my progress, and people who were incredible supporters and friends. I was so excited for them to find the same success I’d had, and to have more friends helping me to navigate this “new way of life”. It was super exciting… until it wasn’t.</p><p>Guess what? I plateaued after losing 100 lbs…still 40 lbs above the goal weight that had been set for me. While I felt amazing in what I had accomplished, I quickly learned that I “was not allowed” to be happy in my successes because I was still “one of the big girls”. I started messing up because heaven forbid, I was hungry after being decreased to 850 calories a day. I started being called out as a disgrace to the program, a person she had thought was “one of the good ones”. There I was, all of a sudden feeling as though I had not accomplished anything at all, feeling like a failure, feeling like I had let down my new family and friends who had joined the program… feeling like an outsider. All the things I had mentally tried to fight my whole life. Now, I had new emotions added on: paranoia (extreme paranoia) and guilt. I would literally be looking over my shoulder every time I was in a grocery store or restaurant because I would be buying things for my family that were not allowed on the program, or because I didn’t bring my stupid little food scale to weigh out my vegetables and dressing at the salad bar. But worse than all was the guilt! The guilt that I had introduced more than 50 people to a program that built itself on “tough love”, aka verbal abuse. How could I rectify that?! I wanted to warn my friends, but felt like I was just the sore loser who couldn’t cut it. They, after all, were having success and were experiencing the same feelings of belonging that I once had felt. How could I introduce them and then turn around and tell them it was a bad idea? Was it only a bad idea because I was a failure?</p><p>Shortly after quitting (8 months in) I decided I needed therapy. My therapist tried to tell me how abusive that relationship was, but in my heart I didn’t want to believe it. In the meantime, one of the people from the program I had looked up to the most had become a coach and I finally got to meet her in person (after quickly putting 50 lbs back on). She was and still is wonderful. Truly cared about people and wanted them to succeed for them. I decided that I would rejoin on her team knowing that the verbal abuse wouldn’t be part of her repertoire. That’s when I realized how much I had allowed the previous abusive phrases to become a part of me. She was lovingly trying to help me through it, but I had grown to believe that I was a failure, that I didn’t have what it took.</p><p>I had to quit… again. Confirming to myself that I was a quitter, a failure. After continuing with therapy and trying to work through these emotions, I was horrified at the thought that I could have led people to experience these same emotions. Again, I felt I couldn’t reach out because they were experiencing success and I didn’t want to rain on their parade. I had now put most of my weight back on and had previous phrases (from other programs) haunt me; “Why would you ever listen to a fat person for advice on how to lose weight?” Why should anyone listen to me? I am a failure… These lame phrases repeating themselves over and over in my head.</p><p>So, there I was afraid to share experiences, afraid that I might lead someone down the same dark path I was on… and I quit posting. I withdrew. </p><p>After withdrawing, COVID hit and it was easier than ever to stay in my little cocoon, and I enjoyed it for a while. I enjoyed baking and eating as much as I wanted, not having to face anybody… but I couldn’t hide from my health. I was now diabetic, had high cholesterol, and had some big scares in my family with health-related concerns. Scares that hit home big time. I HAD to gain control of my health for my family and for myself. But how? Mentally, I had no more fight to put myself through the depravation of feeling hungry all the time.</p><p>So, after much hesitation, I decided to go to Mexico and get a gastric sleeve surgery. My hesitation came mainly from outside influences that seemed to think it was a cop-out… that somehow I was giving up and looking for a “magic pill.” But guess what? It’s none of those things. It’s a tool. A tool to help people who are wired differently, who don’t have a “full button”. You see, before surgery I never understood what feeling satisfied was. I was either starving or ready to puke… and let me tell you, it took A LOT of calories to get me to that puking point. So that’s how I lived. I was either starving and losing weight, or trying to feel like I wasn’t starving and gaining weight. There was no balance.</p><p>November 16th, 2020 was my surgery date, so I’m only a few weeks shy of hitting my year mark. It has been rewarding, it has been a learning curve, and it has been hard... but I am super glad I did it! I feel more like a normal person now. I understand now what it feels like to be full and leave food on your plate. I still have cravings and can still overeat, but the surgery has made balance more do-able. I haven’t shared much about it because of the afore-mentioned reasons, but also because I’m scared. I’m scared that I can still fail, scared that I put my life at risk and a bunch of money on the line to just to turn around and fail again.</p><p>I’m down 109 lbs since surgery, about 4 lbs below the weight I got down to in 2017. I’m stuck here…again. But this time I’m happy with what I’ve accomplished. I’m reminding myself that my body might just need a little time to adjust before I can move ahead. I’m telling myself that I can be this weight and be happy because I’m no longer diabetic and I no longer have high cholesterol. I’m happy to no longer feel starved for air because my body is sitting so heavily on my lungs. I’m happy that I’ve maybe added a few more years onto my life to be here for my family. I’m happy that I can exercise again and not feel like death afterwards. I’m happy that I made a good decision for me and that I have supportive family and friends who are continuing to help me on my path.</p><p>With all that being said, I want to apologize to any friends who have followed in my footsteps and who are experiencing any emotional pain because of that decision. Know that I am always here and that I support you in the decisions you make for yourself. I’m not a professional, but I do have a good listening ear. Love you all! Thank you for reading my novel 😉.</p><p><br /></p>Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-41011230637149539042015-06-07T21:48:00.000-07:002015-06-07T21:48:32.231-07:00The Most Important Lesson of AllHi friends!<br />
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It has officially been 2 1/2 years since I've updated this blog, which will hopefully show you how passionate I am about the subject I'm about to embark upon.<br />
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As you all know, I have been very open with my health journey, and as a result, have many people who feel comfortable sharing personal things with me. I am so grateful for these friends and love them so much... which is why I am writing this. It seems that the past few months have been a HUGE struggle for many people as far as body image is concerned.<br />
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I've had people talk to me privately about it, people who have "come out" about it on Facebook, and people who have clearly shown it through their actions.<br />
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I am BY NO MEANS an expert in this category. In fact, my self-image has been my #1 inhibitor my WHOLE life. Some may wonder why I've taken such long breaks from my blogs, and I will tell you. I've STRUGGLED A LOT the last few years. Becoming a mom, though my biggest blessing, has also been a huge struggle... a struggle to find balance between my husband and daughter, work, and me. A struggle to find a place in a whole new world, to feel valued, to find my energy, and to work past the hurdles of 3 people (almost 4) instead of just 1. But more than all of those struggles comes the hardest struggle of all... a REALLY poor self-image. This poor self-image, I believe, has made all of the previous struggles that much more difficult.<br />
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Putting it on paper almost makes it sound ridiculous. Why would I let something so trivial as my weight and the way I look affect the rest of my life? Those of you who struggle with this know EXACTLY what I'm talking about.<br />
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Most of you know that in April 2014, I became a Plexus Ambassador. Plexus has been such a huge blessing in my life. The products really, truly helped balance my body, which helped me with my energy, food cravings, finances, stress, pain, and yes, much of my self-image issues. But I will be completely open and honest in telling you that there are times that I really struggle with promoting health products, well, because I'm not losing weight like others, I'm still 100+ lbs overweight AND I still have some deep issues with food. Not to mention the fact that every time I see pictures of the people who are the most successful in this business, I can't help but notice they all have "perfect" little bodies. (How can a girl like me succeed in a health promotion business?)<br />
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A few months into promoting Plexus, I realized (thanks to some prompting from some friends) that my issues were deeper than physiological. I needed some mental help. I decided to start counseling for eating disorders, and ironically, right after I started I found out I was pregnant. Let me just tell you, finding balance is HARD, finding balance when you're pregnant almost seems like a joke! Haha!<br />
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It may or may not be noticeable to people that I have been not so positive this pregnancy. I've been blaming the pregnancy, but in all honesty I'm working through a lot mentally right now... and sometimes you have to go through a little bit of Hell to come out better in the end, if you know what I mean. I've learned that it's ok to be vulnerable, it's ok to feel negative thoughts (obviously, you don't want to get stuck in them), but the most important lesson I've learned is that I AM THE <u>ONLY</u> PERSON WHO DETERMINES WHETHER OR NOT I'M BEAUTIFUL and I AM THE <u>ONLY</u> PERSON THAT DETERMINES MY WORTH.<br />
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That's right! Nobody else has that power over me. I am SO powerful that I am the ONLY one who can control what and who I am.<br />
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I know this may sound elementary and obvious, yet it is SO profound to me. Look at how many of us give our power away to everybody else. If we aren't a certain size, we must not be beautiful because so-and-so doesn't think it's beautiful... you get the drift.<br />
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In my process to learn to love myself, I've had to do things that are VERY difficult for me. I've had to quit support groups that I'd been a part of for a long time... Not because they weren't supportive, but because I would get depressed every time somebody with a body I would practically kill to have, would talk negatively about their body. You see, most people don't see your flaws (unless they're a person not worth your time), they see YOU. WE see our flaws and assume everybody else is noticing only those flaws, and it creates a chain reaction that causes us to behave differently than we would otherwise.<br />
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While I know it will take me a while to fully learn these lessons, I am FULLY committed to learning them! I look at my friends and see incredible people. I see people that are incredibly beautiful, giving, talented, and worthy of happiness... I wish you could all see that in yourselves!!! Remember, YOU are the ONLY person that determines your BEAUTY and WORTH!!!<br />
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Love you all! Blessed be!<br />
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P.S. If, on your journey to take your power back, you ever need an outside source to tell you how beautiful and incredible you are, I'm here for ya ;).Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-16772514891275588392013-12-02T21:30:00.000-08:002013-12-02T21:30:05.827-08:00Wow!All I have to say is that this last week has been awesome! Though my last post was extremely negative and brutally honest, it was the best thing I could have done for myself. It is like a giant weight has been lifted off my shoulders. My appetite has decreased substantially... In fact, I only took about 1/2 the amount of food I would normally eat on Thanksgiving, and I only ate about half of it. No joke! It was the first time I've ever decided to stop eating on Thanksgiving before I got full... and I truly had no desire to eat more!<br />
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Also, tonight I got together with somebody I haven't seen since I was at my lightest and didn't fall into my normal pitfalls... I wasn't worried about what she would be saying about me in her head... When I saw how fit and healthy she looked, I didn't get jealous, rather I was motivated to once again feel the strength and confidence she exuded... After she left, I didn't get all depressed about how much I'd let myself slide, but was extremely excited about how much I'd improved mentally. Hallelujah!<br />
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We've made a few changes at our house that I feel have helped me immensely, in addition to my mental shift:<br />
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<ul>
<li>I created a full page of "distractions" and pinned it to my fridge, so when I am a bottomless pit and know that I am eating out of boredom, I can find something on the list to distract me. It has worked amazingly well. I'm getting projects done instead of eating, AND it's making me feel more productive, which in turn makes me feel better about myself, which helps tremendously with my emotional eating.</li>
<li>I had a serious discussion with my husband about needing his help and support and he has agreed to eat healthy-er with me! This is a huge step, folks! We created a 4-week menu with 3 meals and 2 snacks and have been working hard to stick to it. It's not 100% healthy, but much healthier than we have been and I don't feel deprived.</li>
<li>We painted our living room yellow. I know it sounds minimal, but it is amazing how much it has brightened up our house and our moods. Before, our walls were tan and our house was always dark (we don't have much natural light), but now it's like sunshine 24/7. It is so great! Bold, but that's the way I like it :).</li>
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I'm praying these changes stick with me through the holidays! I'm not going to beat myself up if I eat poorly, but I am going to do my best to remind myself how good I feel when I eat healthier.</div>
Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-12884014197179412342013-11-26T23:04:00.000-08:002013-11-26T23:04:35.002-08:00Confessions of a Self-Medicated-Food-AddictHello old friends!<br />
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It's been a while... I decided to stop doing my little weight loss group in May because my psyche was not in the right place. In fact, I gave up trying to lose weight all together. The result? I'm still riding the same 5-pound bracket that I was when I was stressing out twice a week over what the scale said. I quit both Join Our Journey and TOPS because I needed a break... a break from letting the scale determine my self worth, a break from constant praise over weight-loss and constant "encouragement" after a weight-gain, a break from self-pity, a break from hearing and saying the same thing every time I got together with others that were having similar struggles as myself.<br />
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Funny enough, I took so much of a break that I never have resolved any of my psychological issues regarding my health... I've just pushed them under the carpet. However, I've been doing a lot of free-writing the last few weeks to clear my head and I'm beginning to learn about the horrible thoughts that constantly fill it. Thoughts that, up until now, I've chosen to ignore or mask. In fact, I don't think people realize the extent of my struggle with myself because I've become pretty good at hiding it. With that being said, it's time for the gloves to come off. It's time for me to confess to many things that are going through my head. This is not going to be easy for me because I don't like negativity, or letting people know that I feel negative. However, I'm doing this to be honest with myself and with others, so that I might make some logical sense out of the emotional turmoil in my head. Also, I always hope that what I'm going through may one day help somebody (if not, my future self) along the way.<br />
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Caution: The following may offend some people. Heck, it offends me... I apologize for the things that I'm about to write that make NO sense logically, but make ABSOLUTE sense to me emotionally. I also apologize for the extreme negativity of this post. Every once in a while we have to face the demons that are set before us. Feel free to close your browser now.<br />
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<b><i><u>Horrible Emotional Truths</u></i></b><br />
<ol>
<li><b>I've learned that I am the weak person I vowed never to become.</b> My whole life, I've considered myself a strong, independent person... until now. I don't know when it happened, but I feel like I no longer have control over anything in my life.</li>
<li><b>I've stopped being honest with myself.</b> Because of this, I never believe that I will follow through with anything I set out to do. Why make goals and promises, if you know you're not going to keep them?</li>
<li><b>I've become very bitter...</b> and I HATE this about myself! I find myself upset with others' successes (which is so unlike me). I get angry when people offer me help or advice (especially if that person has never been 130+ lbs overweight). I get angry that I have a husband who can eat anything and not gain weight, and as a result never gets "talked to" by doctors about his health, or made fun of, or grouped into an "unhealthy population". I get angry that other people take for granted their energy and lack of constant desire for food. And I especially hate when people use the phrase, "IF I CAN DO IT, YOU CAN DO IT!" Please, for the love, do not use this phrase! Nobody's journey is the same, and if I COULD do it, I would be in the same successful place you are right now. We are all in different stages of our journey and it's like a slap in the face when people use that phrase. If you believe I can do it, say, "You are a strong person and have the ability to make good decisions... I believe in you!" Don't compare anyone else's journey to your own. Comparison is the root of all evil! (Okay, that was a little dramatic.)</li>
<li><b>I've become accustomed to playing the role of the victim.</b> I'm "left out" when I see family and friends eating the foods I so desire, but "can't" have because I'm fat. I "was dealt the fat genes", which makes it that much harder to lose weight. I've had more trials in the last few years than I feel I can handle. I'm "bullied" every single day of my life by strangers, by media, by those intending to help, but who say unintentional hurtful things in the process. I feel hurt when others talk about the "obesity epidemic or trend", as if we are a bunch of cattle being herded into this big mass of worthless crap...not individuals with individual struggles and individual stories. Why do people give a crap if I'm fat or not? It's not because they care about me as an individual... They're just there to wipe away the "obesity epidemic" and be the hero for getting rid of all the "fatties".</li>
<li><b>I'm not happy.</b> At one other point in my life I was at this point. Sad, miserable, hating myself and others and I was able to get myself out of it. Sadly, the very things that made me feel great and motivated to lose weight before are the very things haunting my self-esteem now. People's wonderful compliments as I was losing weight on "how great I looked" or "how strong I'd become" or "what an inspiration I was" started reversing as I started gaining weight back. In my messed up brain, all of a sudden those comments turned into "you sure are letting yourself slide" or "you've lost your mental strength and focus" or "you're a complete failure" or "I knew she'd gain it all back". I know it sounds irrational... It does even to me! But these are the horrible thoughts that have filled both my conscious and sub-conscious thoughts for 3 years now. Even if those thoughts were crossing people's minds, why should I care? Self-esteem should come from within, not from others.</li>
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Sadly, the list could go on, but these 5 things have been the most present in my mind. Now that I'm facing these issues that have overtaken my life, I fully intend to start dealing with them. It's going to take time, but because of previous experience, I know it's possible to re-train my brain. Here's my plan of attack on each of my 5 issues:</div>
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<ol>
<li><b>I may be weak now, but it's only because I've allowed myself to be.</b> I AM a strong person... Always have been, always will be. I've just hit 3 years of massive trials and it has taken time to adapt, but I will not let anything get the better of me. I am strong!</li>
<li><b>I will set small, very achievable goals, that I absolutely have to achieve.</b> I HAVE to start being honest with myself and learn to trust myself and believe in my abilities. The only way to do that is to get a fresh start on my relationship with myself. Build my trust.</li>
<li><b>Keep a gratitude list.</b> It's easy to become bitter when you refuse to see the good in everything. For every negative thing I think, I have to think of two positive things concerning that same issue. (This is what I did years ago to help me out of my funk.)</li>
<li><b>Reverse roles.</b> Whenever I begin to feel like a victim, I will remind myself that we all have trials of varying degrees and that my trials are simply here to make me stronger. God will not give me anything I can't handle. If I feel I've got too much, I'll remind myself that He must think I'm a pretty strong person :).</li>
<li><b>Remind myself what life is really about.</b> I find myself unhappy when I focus on the wrong things, when I compare myself to others, when I refuse to live in the present, rather than the past or the future. Of coarse we'll be unhappy if all of our focus is on the things that we continually struggle with. So, why do I always put so much focus on losing weight? It doesn't help, it makes me feel like a failure, and I have so many great qualities that SHOULD overshadow my struggle. Regardless of my weight, I care deeply about others and always try to lend a helping hand, I've worked long and hard to be a good voice teacher and accompanist and feel that I am successful, I am a good wife and mother, I fulfill my church callings, I'm a good friend, and I'm intelligent. I'm not listing these things to brag, but rather to see my successes and realize that it's ridiculous to let one area of my life detract from all of the good in my life.</li>
</ol>
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I know that as I retrain my brain to focus on the positive, rather than the negative, that I will succeed in being healthier. Even these last few weeks, as I've come to the realization that my brain has been poisoned with negativity, I have felt the desire to treat my body better. Writing this has been very therapeutic for me and I thank you for listening and caring. Love you all!</div>
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Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-4303789607630054852013-05-05T21:27:00.000-07:002013-05-05T21:27:11.690-07:00April resultsSo this month was the tightest contest yet... Our winner this month only won by 0.01%. Can you believe it?!<br />
Here are the results:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Jerusha: +3 (not a good month for me)</li>
<li>Rebecca: -2</li>
<li>Clarissa: +5</li>
<li>Crystal: -3.2 (Our winner!!!)</li>
<li>Jason: -5.4</li>
<li>Mary Catherine: +2</li>
<li>Patrick: -1</li>
</ul>
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So we were pretty much half and half this month. Next week I will be introducing a new contest that encourages a balanced life. I'm quite excited about it. I've realized more and more lately how unbalanced my life is and as a result I feel my health suffers. I'm the type of person that needs to spread my attention to all areas of my life or I become so overwhelmed with the one area I'm focusing on, I just end up failing miserably. In other words, the more I become obsessed with my weight, the more I gain. We will be focusing on mental, physical, social, and spiritual well-being... Anyone is welcome to join the contest. It will start next Saturday, so if you're interested and you don't regularly attend meetings, please let me know and I'll get the information and rules to you.</div>
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Also, Clarissa and Jason got married last week!!! Congrats to both of you... We're all so happy for you!</div>
Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-3077289430105449042013-04-06T08:56:00.000-07:002013-04-06T08:56:38.480-07:00March Results/ New AgendaHey all! Sorry for not posting last week. Like I said, my March was pretty busy! This month was rough for most of us, but we're back and ready to go this month! Here are the results for the month:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Jerusha: +5.2</li>
<li>Rebecca: Maintained :)</li>
<li>Clarissa: +1.6</li>
<li>Crystal: -0.2 (Yay! She's our winner!)</li>
<li>Jason: +1.4</li>
</ul>
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We got 2 new members last week... Yay!!! Their results this week were:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Patrick: -1.6</li>
<li>Mary Catherine: -1</li>
</ul>
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Patrick and Mary Catherine are married and have a cute little daughter, Savannah (no idea if I spelled that right). Here are their before pictures:</div>
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We are so happy they've joined us!!!</div>
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Last week Rebecca and I were discussing where we wanted these meetings to go and Rebecca set up a new agenda and presented it this week. We are really excited about it. Up until now, the meetings haven't been what we originally had in mind... We've been in some sort of survival mode. We are now determined to make this group what we originally wanted it to be. Basically, we'll have one meeting a month here, weigh-in only on the 2nd and 4th weeks, and we'll meet somewhere and do something active on the other weeks. This month is as follows:</div>
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<ul>
<li>April 6 - 8:30 am Early weigh-in and introduction to new meeting schedule</li>
<li>April 13 - No meeting or weigh-in (Rebecca and I will both be out of town)</li>
<li>April 20 - 9 am weigh-in at Borah High School and walking/jogging</li>
<li>April 27 - 9 am weigh-in at Katherine Albertson park and nature walk</li>
</ul>
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If you don't want to join the group, but ever want to join us for our activities, you are more than welcome to come. We're hoping to set up some activities like ultimate frisbee, frisbee golf, tennis, etc.</div>
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Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-56469186220349223292013-03-23T18:15:00.001-07:002013-03-23T18:15:40.262-07:00UpdateSorry for the missed weeks, folks! I missed a week and there wasn't a formal weigh-in and then I got really busy and forgot to post our weekly update. So, to save on time, I'm only going to update you on where we stand since the beginning of the March, rather than filling you in on the weekly weigh-ins.<br />
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<ul>
<li>Jerusha : +5 lb (Ouch!)</li>
<li>Rebecca: +1 lb</li>
<li>Clarissa: +1.4</li>
<li>Crystal: -0.6 (Yay!!!)</li>
<li>Jason: +5</li>
</ul>
<br />
As you can see, most of us have had a rough month. I'm not sure what's in the air, but it seems we're all struggling to find the motivation to plunge ahead. I know for me, I've never had this much lack of motivation. I know it's because I feel like a failure after gaining so much weight back and feeling like I can't get it off. Not only that, but I've started walking again and as of last week, I had gone from what used to be 14-minute mile to a 21-minute mile... very depressing. However, my husband has decided to join me in doing this 10k and we went and walked 3 miles today (something I had decided was not currently possible for me), and we did it at an 18-min/mile pace and we probably could have gone longer. Just having the support makes such a huge difference, and I now feel much better about life! My goal for the 10k is a 16-min/mile. I'm hoping to get halfway back to my old pace from today's pace.<br />
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Today, Clarissa had us listen to a motivational "pep talk" by Chalene Johnson (Turbo Jam creator) about how to deal with set-backs. She emphasized how important it is to view our situations and set-backs as products, rather than taking our set-backs as personal attacks. When something negative comes our way, we shouldn't look at it subjectively, but rather objectively. For instance, I've gained back 70 lbs and rather than looking at it as "I'm a complete failure", I need to look at it as "I've gained 70 lbs because I've had many health set-backs which have made it not possible to exercise. I've also made poor food choices during those times. What I need to do is make healthier food choices and exercise." By looking at it this way, it doesn't attack what kind of person I am, it makes me look at the situation objectively so my emotions don't take over and fuel the negative fire.<br />
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We all have 2 weeks before our month results will be posted. Hopefully, we can turn this month around and have losses! I'm going to do my best to get this 5 lbs back off so I can plunge ahead and continue with my weight-loss goals.Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-74695290980207957832013-03-03T15:24:00.000-08:002013-03-03T15:24:04.037-08:00February Results and March GoalsThis week we succeeded in our goal to have a no gain meeting! Yay! Sadly, only 3 of us were there, but we represented :). Here are our week and month results:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Jerusha: -5 for the week (Wahoo!)/ -2.4 for the month. So happy I had a loss this month... I was worried after I had an overall gain for the month last week.</li>
<li>Rebecca was unable to come this week and had a 2 lb gain for the month... totally recoverable!</li>
<li>Clarissa: -2.8 for the week/ +1.2 for the month</li>
<li>Jason: -3.2 for the week/ maintained this month</li>
<li>Crystal was unable to come this week and had a 5.4 gain this month</li>
</ul>
<div>
Like I said, we had a somewhat rough month. I was super excited to be the contest winner this month because I didn't feel really deserving of it. We have all vowed to try harder this month and we are aiming for no gains this month... Steep, I know, but we are determined! Our personal goals are as follows:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Jerusha - Make a menu for the month and stick to it/ say no to temptation 6 days a week/ make sure I walk at least 3 times a week.</li>
<li>Clarissa - Do her Body for Life plan/ don't miss any workouts</li>
<li>Jason - Eat healthy on his trip to Arizona in a few weeks/ stick to his marathon training schedule</li>
</ul>
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We are hoping to hear about Crystal and Rebecca's goals and welcome any of you to post your results or goals as well. We are motivated by people's ideas and involvement, so please join in!</div>
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I've set up our team for the Famous Idaho Potato race. Our team name is Join Our Journey and I'm the team captain (Jerusha Baker). We've had a few people drop out and need a few more to complete our team, so please consider joining our team... You can do a 5k, 10k, half-marathon, or full-marathon. Here's the link to register: <a href="http://email.chronotrack.com/wf/click?upn=ZY5PQZH9JTmVtD-2FrhbIv3OtZEkcT7WsqIkkivNVGiFk-3D_Df7MWqDHQk-2BRTU1yJQiaOUONPdQNScA4ZHfuzjGPYha8kUpfN6V2fE8qwP8-2FJoQ7VFdnsoD9Jc3uerbXGTFoGfZxNEi7l-2BSCFxALwbH-2B6umtjQtK2tOlEN95kww5T4yOPMoC9zQYbAUIYOQEIuGCLyu8AYWfTO8n5R89hiU95PmXgTnVXQEdTJBopCEPJRZxBS4E6hjal3UEmqDLLKyUeYOvfmj2cc6FgDU9xFurLyGyIqehdUe-2FkiRdlmVbdrIvWD1-2F0i2gCB-2FdsyMUd0jrlcZDOHLsmmbdfz4e0g-2BsuyY-3D" style="background-color: white; color: #5555cc; cursor: pointer; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.3em;" target="_blank" title="http://register.bazumedia.com/reg/external-link-ref?la=98216d70fb25941fc1dcee925c5c97098c8863d1">http://register.bazumedia.com/reg/external-link-ref?la=98216d70fb25941fc1dcee925c5c97098c8863d1</a></div>
Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-4939822803364159222013-02-23T23:14:00.000-08:002013-02-23T23:14:10.361-08:00What can I say?So folks, we had another rough week... Not sure what to make of it, but we are all going to try really hard to have a no-gain week next week. Plus, our contest ends next week and right now we all have a gain for the month. We are all bound and determined to get our money back for the month, so hopefully, we'll have some good losses next week. Here are the results:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Jerusha: +1.4</li>
<li>Rebecca: +1.8</li>
<li>Clarissa: +1.2</li>
<li>Crystal: +4</li>
<li>Jason: -2.6 Yay Jason! Way to show us how it's done!</li>
</ul>
<div>
Today was open discussion and really, we just talked about random things. We did discuss the upcoming Famous Idaho Potato race... Official training should have started a week or so ago. Clarissa says that halhigdon.com has some of the best training programs and you can cater them to your fitness level.</div>
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Our team name is going to be Join Our Journey, and yes, we will be making t-shirts... because we're cool like that :). I have not yet figured out how to set up the team account, but once I do, please feel free to join our team for the race. I will post details when all is in order.</div>
Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-79754178702521560612013-02-16T22:33:00.000-08:002013-02-16T22:33:02.146-08:00Mind ControlSo, I'm not going to lie... We had a really rough week this week. Crystal was the only one with a loss... Whoops! Here are the results:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Jerusha - maintained. I guess that's better than gaining.</li>
<li>Rebecca - only gained 0.2. Not bad!</li>
<li>Crystal - lost 0.8. Yay for our only loss!</li>
<li>Clarissa - gained 2.8</li>
<li>Jason - gained 5.8</li>
</ul>
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I've definitely been lacking on the motivation scale lately and I'm not sure why. However, it led me to do a lot of reflecting, searching, and reaching that led me to the following thoughts.</div>
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I was remembering back to when I was consistently losing weight. What was I doing to help keep me on track? Then it dawned on me... I had so many people constantly telling me that I was "the healthiest person they knew", that I was such a "determined person", that I was "strong", that I actually started to believe them. Did I originally feel that I was any of these things? Absolutely not. It was the constant pounding of these thoughts into my brain that led me to believe they were true. Believing that they were true, I started making healthier choices, I felt stronger and more determined to prove that I was the things people said I was.</div>
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It's funny... We have so many areas of life that teach us that if we're overweight, we're inferior, we're weak, we don't deserve the best in life, etc, etc, etc. When in actuality, these very thoughts and labels make us feel inferior, weak, and undeserving and probably keep us from losing the weight that we so desire to lose. Are these facts? Absolutely not! So why do we believe them? Because they've been pounded into our brains our entire lives... Not only from media, but from weight-loss support groups, co-workers, people on the street, and sometimes even friends and family. There is something seriously wrong with this picture!</div>
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We have the power to train our brains. Sounds like a ridiculous thing to say, but it's true! So why do we allow these negative thoughts to remain in our brains? Again, reflecting back to when I was losing consistently, I actually led myself to believe that I didn't really like chocolate. I love chocolate, but every time I ate it, I would tell myself it wasn't that great and I would try to find things about it that would gross me out... even if they weren't true. People lie to themselves all the time and eventually they believe these lies to be truth. So, I say lie to yourself! Just kidding, but not really. </div>
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So you may not be a healthy person currently, but if you start telling yourself 20 or 30 times a day that you are a healthy person, you truly will start acting like a healthy person. I've tried, tested, and passed this experiment. Recently, I have trained my own brain to believe that I'm a failure based solely on the fact that I've gained over half my weight back... So, what has happened? I've started failing... a lot. I have no will-power because I don't believe that I'm strong or determined anymore... I believe I'm a failure. Therefore, I need to re-train my brain to believe that I am a strong and determined person. It's the truth. I've endured a lot and have still remained positive, for the most part. I am strong! I am determined! I will repeat these things to myself over and over and over, until I've surpassed the amount of times the world is telling me I'm the opposite.</div>
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It is time to re-train our brains! Convince yourself you don't like your favorite foods that aren't healthy for you. It is absolutely possible! Is it difficult? Heck yes! Is it worth it? Absolutely! You are a deserving, strong, resilient individual and you deserve to know this about yourself!</div>
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"The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives." - William James</div>
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"What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality." - Plutarch</div>
Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-57019297133305254792013-02-09T12:52:00.001-08:002013-02-09T12:52:23.241-08:00Low-carb Recipes w/ High-carb taste :)I would be telling a lie if I said we had a good weight-loss week this week. Our numbers were a little rough, but we are re-motivated and ready to get going again. :)<br />
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<ul>
<li>I gained 1.2 lbs - I had a back injury all week and pretty much didn't burn any calories :(. Rather than cutting back on calories to compensate for this, I chose to emotionally eat... not a good idea! I'm feeling great now and am going to work hard to lose another 7 lbs this month!</li>
<li>Rebecca gained 1.6 lbs after a long break without coming... not bad!</li>
<li>Crystal gained 2.2 lbs</li>
</ul>
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We are all going to work hard this week and have a loss next week!</div>
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I was in charge of recipes this month. I recently joined Pinterest and have seen so many healthier recipes that I want to try. So I tried some and they were great. However, being the person that I am, I can't leave a recipe alone... I always have to morph and tweak it until it's exactly what I want taste-wise and nutritionally. The recipes I'm about to give you are already tweaked, but I still may work with them a bit to get exactly what I want. I'm close, but not all the way there.</div>
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<b><i><u>High Protein Pancakes</u></i></b></div>
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Puree and blend:</div>
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1/2 c. Low-fat cottage cheese</div>
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1 large egg</div>
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2 large egg whites</div>
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1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use EAS whey)</div>
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3 T. flour</div>
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1/8 t. baking soda</div>
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Cinnamon (opt)</div>
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Cook just like pancakes. I've learned that the smaller you make them, the more they resemble the consistency of normal pancakes. If you make them too big, they can be a little dense and slimy. I make mine super small (just a spoonful at a time) and they turn out great! This recipe can feed 1-2 people. I like them totally plain, but they're good with whatever toppings, as well.</div>
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Whole recipe nutritional info: 358 calories, 8.5g fat, 42.9g protein, 24.3g carbs</div>
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<b><i><u>Cauliflower Poppers</u></i></b></div>
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1 head cauliflower</div>
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1 T. oil</div>
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Salt or any other seasoning you might like</div>
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Cut up the head of cauliflower until most of the stems are gone. Put oil into a gallon baggie and smoosh around until the baggie is covered with oil. Put the cauliflower flowerets into the bag and mix around until the cauliflower is fairly coated with oil. Put onto a foil-lined pan, season however you want (salt, garlic salt, italian seasoning, etc.), and bake at 375 for 35-45 min, stirring every 15 min or so. They are best when they are crispy brown. If this isn't enough oil for you, you can add more, or I just spray a bit of pan spray over them to make sure they're coated.</div>
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The original recipe called for 2 heads cauliflower, 1/4 c. oil, and bake at 400 for 1 hour. This didn't work for me... mine were done in 35 minutes (at 375) and would have been over-done had I left them in any longer. They were also too greasy for my taste.</div>
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These are supposed to be a "replacement" for french fries. They taste nothing like french fries, but they're really good. They were a big hit at our meeting!</div>
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Whole recipe nutritional info: 186 calories, 13.8g fat, 5.2g protein, 14g carbs</div>
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Enjoy!</div>
Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-1393070002394262332013-02-02T14:25:00.002-08:002013-02-02T14:25:47.930-08:00Results and Feb GoalsHey all!<br />
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We had awesome results this week (w) and for the month (m) of January! Here they are:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Jerusha: -1.4 (w)/ -7.4 (m) Yay!!!! I'm pretty darn proud of that month number... almost 2 lbs a week! And... I won this month's contest, but by only .08%!!!! Crystal almost had me!</li>
<li>Crystal: -1.6 (w)/ -4.6 (m) Nice work, lady!</li>
<li>Clarissa: -1.8 (w)/ -2.4 (m) She won this weeks weigh-in between her and Jason... He has to do dishes all week!</li>
<li>Jason: -2.4 (w)/ -2.6 (m) This was Jason's 2nd week in a row with a 2.4 loss. He says next month he's going to "bring it"! I'm ready for the challenge :)!</li>
<li>I think we get Rebecca back next week... We've missed her!!! She had a 2 lb loss for the month.</li>
</ul>
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Clarissa, Jason, and I were the only ones able to be at the goal setting meeting. Hopefully, the others are still making their goals! Here are our goals for February:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Jerusha: I've noticed that no matter what I set my calorie goal at, I always tend to go over by 50-100 calories a day. Last month my intake goal was 1800 and my burn goal was 2800. I know that seems like a lot of calories to be able to eat, but I still managed to go over just about every day this week. Therefore, this month's goal is different. My burn goal will still be 2800, but I'm now setting my intake goal at 1500 calories. I will then allow myself 1000 calories to play with throughout the week. Because I'm a visual person, I'm actually going to have 100 fake dollar bills that each represent 10 calories. I can spend all $100 in one day, or I can divvy it out over the week. This way, I can go over 50-100 calories a day and still meet my 1000 calorie deficit a day. I hope this works! I've got to beat Jason!</li>
<li>Jason: Jason's only goal this month is to wear his Bodybugg every day. This is such a good goal, because if he's anything like me, he'll move a little more throughout the day just knowing his activity is being monitored.</li>
<li>Clarissa's goal this month is to meet all of her Bodybugg goals. This means she has to stay within her calorie limit, has to burn her calorie goal, walk 10,000 steps, and do a certain amount of activity every day. Good luck, lady!</li>
</ul>
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I have the recipe for next week's meeting. Be excited!</div>
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Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-466522193005402372013-01-26T17:32:00.001-08:002013-01-26T22:03:21.162-08:00New challenge Hey all!<br />
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We had another good week this week! Here are the results:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Jerusha: -3 (Again!!! I'm super happy about this because I really lacked motivation this week, but I pushed through!)</li>
<li>Clarissa: -0.4 (She and Jason had a bet going both this week and last week. Last week Jason owed her a massage, but this week she owes him a foot rub. Both victory dances were great!)</li>
<li>Jason: -2.4</li>
<li>Crystal: +1</li>
</ul>
Clarissa and Jason found a new "contest" online and shared it with us this week. The link is <a href="http://www.healthywage.com/weight-loss-contest">http://www.healthywage.com/weight-loss-contest</a>. There are a few different options, which I will do my best to explain (though the website explains it all).<br />
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Here ya go:<br />
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<u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">BMI Challenge</u> - You must be a 30 BMI or higher to enter and you have a year to get below a 25 BMI. If you achieve this goal, you get $100 without paying a dime into it. If you pay in $150 you get $400 back, and if you pay $300 you get $1000 back. Not too shabby! The sight tells you where the money comes from and explains all the details.<br />
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If you're like me, and know that you can't possibly get to a 25 BMI in the next year (if ever... haha), you can do the <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">10% Challenge</u>. This challenge gives you 6 months to lose 10% of your total body weight. Unfortunately, there's not a "free" challenge for this one. However, if you put in $150, you get $300 back.<br />
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If you do enter, please consider entering either Jason or Clarissa's registration number so they can get credit for the referrals.<br />
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<ul>
<li>Clarissa's is 0538006110</li>
<li>Jason's is 4191298527</li>
</ul>
If you can't decide whose number to enter, make them work for it. You can go off of whoever has the highest loss next week ;). Seeing as I have a billion hospital bills right now, I can't put $150 down, but I have decided that if I don't lose 10% by June 1st (from Jan 1st) I have to pay my husband $100. If I do, I get to spend the $100. Talk about motivation!<br />
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Speaking of motivation, I've got to get walking! The Idaho Potato Marathon is just a few months away! Weather has made it impossible for me to get out and walk with my little one, so I'm getting a bit nervous. However, I'm going to do whatever I can to be ready for the half marathon. If we can get a team of 10 people (doesn't matter if you do the 5k, 10k, half, or whole marathon) before April 18th, the cost is only $30/person (unless you're doing the whole marathon). Right now, we have 5 "for sure's" and 3 "maybe's". Would you like to join our team? The "race" (I use quotations because I'm not racing, I'm walking) is Saturday, May 18th. The details can be found at <a href="http://www.ymcatvidaho.org/famousidahopotatomarathon">http://www.ymcatvidaho.org/famousidahopotatomarathon</a>. Please let us know if you want to do one of the races so we can have you on our team. We may even think about making a Join Our Journey t-shirt for it... depends on cost.<br />
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Here's to a healthy, motivated week!<br />
<div style="background-color: white;">
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Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-49218267168545539832013-01-20T20:38:00.001-08:002013-01-20T20:38:39.571-08:00CreativitySo... we made our goal!!!!! Every single person had a loss this week, and not just a loss, but a good loss! Here are the results:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Jerusha -3</li>
<li>Clarissa -2.6</li>
<li>Crystal -4</li>
<li>Jason -1.2</li>
<li>Rebecca was unable to make it</li>
</ul>
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Yay for us!!!</div>
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This week I was trying to get ideas from everyone about different exercise they'd like to learn more about, etc. However, they all said they would rather have a motivational thought on the 3rd week and call it good. If any of you out there are interested in exercise ideas or have any questions, I'd be more than happy to do research for you. My main thought concerning exercise was that most of us get in a rut and stop enjoying exercise... we don't want that to happen. Besides, our bodies need us to "change it up". Just let me know :)</div>
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This weeks very impromptu motivational thought concerned our brain. The right side of our brain contains our control center, which controls our motivation. The right side of our brain also controls our creativity. I have found in my life that the more I exercise one side of my brain, the more I develop other functions that are controlled by that side. Luckily, I was raised studying music, which happens to exercise both sides of the brain simultaneously (just as a side note). Therefore, the more creative I am, and the more in touch with my emotions I am, the more motivated I am. As I try to create new recipes, or as I create a motivational poster (it gives me little motivation hanging on my fridge), I find myself motivated to do a little more or to be a little better. So go out this week with a new attitude of creativity. See what you can create and see how it affects your motivation.</div>
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We are shooting for another no-gain meeting next week... Wish us luck :)</div>
Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-17816378794377576822013-01-14T22:45:00.001-08:002013-01-14T22:45:54.050-08:00Meal PlansSo, for two weeks in a row now, I've forgotten to mention a really cool sight Clarissa has told us about. It's <a href="http://5dinners1hour.com/">5dinners1hour.com</a>. This sight sounds really amazing and Clarissa loves it. Basically, you prepare 5 dinners in 1 hour. The sight gives you a shopping list, tells you all what to cook in the hour (to have it ready to go) and then it tells you on each week day what to throw together using the already cooked up ingredients. You'll have to check it out to see all of the cool features! It's normally $5/month, but right now there's a special for a year for $45. I should probably get on there, seeing as I have issues with my menu planning and regularly grab something convenient... After all, this sight does everything for you :).Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-10747154991399363252013-01-12T22:26:00.001-08:002013-01-12T22:26:33.467-08:00Recipe presented by ClarissaResults this week were definitely not what we were expecting and for some of us, disappointing. However, we've all committed to having a no-gain week next week and are going to do our best to meet this group goal!<br />
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This week's results:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Jerusha - maintained (I'm changing my goal of eating a treat under 150 cal... My will power is not strong enough to allow myself any junk yet. My new goal is to track my food every day and to keep a 1,000 calorie deficit for each day.)</li>
<li>Rebecca - lost 2 (nice work!)</li>
<li>Clarissa - gained 2.6</li>
<li>Jason - gained 3.4</li>
<li>Crystal - lost 0.2 (yay!)</li>
</ul>
<div>
Clarissa was in charge of bringing a recipe this week to share with us all. She found her recipe on allrecipes.com for </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Cranberry Waldorf Salad</b></span></div>
<div>
<div class="servings" sizcache06356490519452665="26.0.178" sizset="false">
<span class="emph-text">Original recipe makes <span id="lblYield" itemprop="recipeYield">9 - 1/2 cup servings</span></span> </div>
<div class="rec-detail-servings" id="zoneServings" sizcache06356490519452665="27.0.838" sizset="false" style="display: none;">
<span class="emph-text fl-left" sizcache06356490519452665="27.0.838" sizset="false">Makes <input class="amountServings" id="txtServings" jquery18107541864175151123="145" maxlength="3" name="ctl00$CenterColumnPlaceHolder$recipeTest$recipe$ingredients$txtServings" style="width: 25px;" value="9" /> <input class="servings-hdnIsMetric" id="hdnIsMetric" name="ctl00$CenterColumnPlaceHolder$recipeTest$recipe$ingredients$hdnIsMetric" type="hidden" value="0" />servings
</span><label class="small-text small-left" sizcache06356490519452665="27.0.842" sizset="false"><span class="servings-rbUS" sizcache06356490519452665="27.0.842" sizset="false"><input checked="" id="rblUS" name="ctl00$CenterColumnPlaceHolder$recipeTest$recipe$ingredients$servings" type="radio" value="rblUS" /></span>US</label>
<label class="small-text" sizcache06356490519452665="27.0.845" sizset="false"><span class="servings-rbMetric" sizcache06356490519452665="27.0.845" sizset="false"><input id="rblMetric" name="ctl00$CenterColumnPlaceHolder$recipeTest$recipe$ingredients$servings" type="radio" value="rblMetric" /></span>Metric</label>
<a class="btn-stuct brd-radius adjust gray-grad five-padding" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4630369943066102732" id="lnkCalculate" jquery18107541864175151123="134" rel="nofollow">Adjust
Recipe</a> <span class="fl-right" sizcache06356490519452665="26.0.180" sizset="false">(<a href="http://allrecipes.com/help/recipeinfo/scaling.aspx" id="lnkServingsHelp">Help</a>)</span>
<div id="msgServings" style="display: none;">
</div>
</div>
<ul class="ingredient-wrap secondColumn" sizcache06356490519452665="43.0.169" sizset="false">
<li data-grams="165" data-ingredientid="5044" id="liIngredient" sizcache06356490519452665="43.0.133" sizset="false"><label sizcache06356490519452665="43.0.133" sizset="false"><div class="fl-ing" itemprop="ingredients">
<span class="ingredient-amount" id="lblIngAmount">1 1/2 cups</span> <span class="ingredient-name" id="lblIngName">chopped cranberries</span> </div>
</label></li>
<li data-grams="125" data-ingredientid="4978" id="liIngredient" sizcache06356490519452665="43.0.140" sizset="false"><label sizcache06356490519452665="43.0.140" sizset="false"><div class="fl-ing" itemprop="ingredients">
<span class="ingredient-amount" id="lblIngAmount">1 cup</span> <span class="ingredient-name" id="lblIngName">chopped red apple</span> </div>
</label></li>
<li data-grams="120" data-ingredientid="4292" id="liIngredient" sizcache06356490519452665="43.0.147" sizset="false"><label sizcache06356490519452665="43.0.147" sizset="false"><div class="fl-ing" itemprop="ingredients">
<span class="ingredient-amount" id="lblIngAmount">1 cup</span> <span class="ingredient-name" id="lblIngName">chopped celery</span> </div>
</label></li>
<li data-grams="160" data-ingredientid="20578" id="liIngredient" sizcache06356490519452665="43.0.154" sizset="false"><label sizcache06356490519452665="43.0.154" sizset="false"><div class="fl-ing" itemprop="ingredients">
<span class="ingredient-amount" id="lblIngAmount">1 cup</span> <span class="ingredient-name" id="lblIngName">seedless green grapes, halved</span> </div>
</label></li>
<li><span class="ingredient-amount" id="lblIngAmount">1/3 cup</span> <span class="ingredient-name" id="lblIngName">raisins</span></li>
<li><span class="ingredient-amount" id="lblIngAmount">1/4 cup</span> <span class="ingredient-name" id="lblIngName">chopped walnuts</span></li>
<li data-grams="25" data-ingredientid="1526" id="liIngredient" sizcache06356490519452665="43.0.176" sizset="false"><label sizcache06356490519452665="43.0.176" sizset="false"><div class="fl-ing" itemprop="ingredients">
<span class="ingredient-amount" id="lblIngAmount">2 tablespoons</span> <span class="ingredient-name" id="lblIngName">white sugar (Clarissa substitutes Splenda)</span></div>
</label></li>
<li data-grams="0.575" data-ingredientid="16386" id="liIngredient" sizcache06356490519452665="43.0.183" sizset="false"><label sizcache06356490519452665="43.0.183" sizset="false"><div class="fl-ing" itemprop="ingredients">
<span class="ingredient-amount" id="lblIngAmount">1/4 teaspoon</span> <span class="ingredient-name" id="lblIngName">ground cinnamon</span> </div>
</label></li>
<li><span class="ingredient-amount" id="lblIngAmount">1 (8 ounce) container</span> <span class="ingredient-name" id="lblIngName">vanilla yogurt (Clarissa uses a carb master vanilla yogurt)</span></li>
<li><span class="ingredient-name">Clarissa also thought adding turkey or chicken would be good in this recipe</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<div class="directions" sizcache06356490519452665="26.0.183" sizset="false">
<h3>
Directions</h3>
<div class="directLeft" sizcache06356490519452665="26.0.183" sizset="false">
<div id="msgDirections" style="display: none;">
</div>
<ol>
<li><span class="plaincharacterwrap break">Combine cranberries, apple, celery,
grapes, raisins, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and yogurt. (I chop cranberries in a
food processor, and it works great). Toss to coat. Cover and chill 2
hours.</span>
</li>
<li><span class="plaincharacterwrap break">Stir just before serving. Garnish
with frosted cranberries and mint leaves if desired. For frosted cranberries,
wet cranberry and roll in sugar.</span></li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- Add class btn-disable before user checks ingredient--></div>
Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-27028459031958199172013-01-06T21:19:00.000-08:002013-01-06T21:19:58.651-08:00New Year = Fresh StartHey all! Before I get down to business, I have to shout out a big congratulations to Clarissa and Jason... They got engaged this last week!!!!! Yay!!! Here's to a June wedding :)!<br />
<br />
Here are the results for this week, month, and since start of the holidays. I want to post all three so you can see that we all gained less than the average American over the holidays... I'm pretty darn proud of us!<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Jerusha gained 2 this week, gained 5.6 this month, and since November 3rd is up 3.6. The least I've ever gained from Nov to Jan since I was 12 is 12 lbs and I usually average about 20. Needless to say, I'm super proud of myself for only gaining 3.6. Now, I get down to business!</li>
<li>Rebecca didn't weigh in this week, but for Dec she's up 2.4, and since Nov 3rd is up 1.2. Nice work Rebecca!</li>
<li>Clarissa, the superstar, lost 2.4 this week, 2.2 for the month and is DOWN 4 lbs since Nov 3rd! I'm seriously in awe of this lady! (She pretty much has won the contest 2 months in a row!)</li>
<li>Crystal is up 1 lb this week, up 1.8 for the month, and up 2.8 since Nov 3rd.</li>
<li>Jason didn't weigh in this week, and is only up .6 for the month!</li>
</ul>
<div>
Like I said, I'm quite proud of us! We all gained less than 5 lbs over the holidays, which is pretty darn impressive especially for people who've all been heavier than we are now. Clarissa and Jason are more committed than ever to lose weight now, so we've got our competition coming to us!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This week we wrote down everything that we felt sabotages our efforts. Then, next to each, we wrote down a goal that will help us to overcome these obstacles. Each month, we will focus on one. Here are our thoughts (the one we're working on for the month is in bold):</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Jerusha:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>I feel left out if I'm the only one not eating - Whenever I'm in charge of a get together, I'll make it about something other than food. I will also contribute more to conversation so I don't feel left out.</li>
<li>I feel the need to feel full - Eat more veggies, eat more fiber, drink more water. Convince myself that I don't need to feel full... there will always be food.</li>
<li>I have a hard time leaving food on my plate - Make less food, cut portions in 1/2, use a smaller plate. Remember that whether you throw the food away, or eat it past the point of satiation, you're wasting it... In the words of my mother-in-law, it's paid for whether you eat it or not. (I never realized how much food I waste by over-eating).</li>
<li><b>I just plain LOVE junk food and have a hard time stopping once I start - Make myself eat a treat once a day to convince myself I'm not deprived, but keep it under 150 calories.</b> This one will be good for my all-or-nothing attitude that I'm trying to get rid of. I need to learn that you can indulge if you keep it under control.</li>
<li>Lack of energy causes me to feel hungry and quick energy foods lead to a lack of energy overall - Whenever I feel hungry (outside of mealtime), I will exercise, whether it be going up and down my stairs 20 times with baby in tote, or doing a video, or going on a walk. This always helps my energy!</li>
<li>Lack of schedule - Create a daily schedule and menu so there's no question or last minute hungry fixes.</li>
</ul>
<div>
Clarissa:</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Lack of energy - Start moving, get off couch</li>
<li><b>Wants to sleep instead of exercise and lacks a wake-up schedule - Will wake up at 6 am everyday.</b></li>
<li>Sees everyone else at work eating sweets that patients have brought and wants to join in - Will make a stash of healthier desserts to pull out when tempted by co-workers.</li>
<li>Has a hard time stopping herself once she starts eating - Will eat a portion of food and then set a 10 minute timer. If she's still hungry after 10 minutes, she can have a bit more.</li>
</ul>
<div>
Crystal:</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Cold weather and lack of sunshine demotivate her to exercise - Will layer up and go anyways and will tell herself that "shivering burns calories". Haha!</li>
<li><b>Can't leave food on plate because she feels she's wasting money</b> - Make less food, or save more for an extra meal. <b>Will make a meal plan</b>.</li>
<li>Lack of time - Will make freezer meals to pull out when in a hurry.</li>
<li>PMS - Will remind herself that chocolate and salt only make her feel worse in this condition.</li>
</ul>
<div>
Clarissa made a good point about eating and exercise. She was saying how sometimes, you exercise and it curbs your hunger -- those are the times you were just hungry out of boredom (or emotionally hungry, etc.). However, when you exercise and are starving when you are through, then you were legitimately hungry.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Clarissa also posed a challenge... She and Jason are doing a half marathon the beginning of June (2 weeks before their wedding) and would like for us to do it as a group. I'm still trying to convince myself that I can indeed get back to that point in 6 months, but I'm going to work towards it for sure! It would be really fun if we all worked towards some sort of fitness goal by the beginning of June (half-way through the year) and prove to ourselves that we are and can be athletic!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Last, but definitely not least, I wanted to mention that we have had a devout follower from Georgia, Julie, that posts her results every week and has even sent me her "before" pictures. I love, love, love the fact that she is doing this right along with us! If any of you would like to hold yourselves a little more accountable, we'd love to hear your results and post your pictures as well. We will update pictures at your 10% weight loss goal and your overall weight loss goal (they will be posted side by side with your before pics so you can see the results). Meet Miss Julie:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gwzyGV27vtw/UOpZsV0o7sI/AAAAAAAAATM/o2ZaDYtZKQw/s1600/Julie+Front.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gwzyGV27vtw/UOpZsV0o7sI/AAAAAAAAATM/o2ZaDYtZKQw/s320/Julie+Front.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3a9S2dQvNnw/UOpZu0Q6WSI/AAAAAAAAATU/C5NbFn0p7Tg/s1600/Julie+side.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3a9S2dQvNnw/UOpZu0Q6WSI/AAAAAAAAATU/C5NbFn0p7Tg/s320/Julie+side.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-88694944055226747992013-01-01T20:01:00.000-08:002013-01-01T20:01:17.536-08:00WHY?Sorry this is coming late. Better late than never, right? The results are in:<br />
<br />
Rebecca -2.6<br />
Jason +5.2<br />
Clarissa-0.2<br />
<br />
As we ring in the new year and set resolutions I thought it might be good to talk about goals and goal setting. We always have a <b>What</b>-"Lose 5lbs"<br />
And a <b>How-</b>"Eat low carb, work out 4x a week, don't eat after 8pm.<br />
What about <b>WHY</b>?<br />
<br />
WHY?!?!? This is an essential question to answer when making goals. The "Why" reasons could/should be the best motivation.<br />
<br />
WHY?<br />
To be Healthy<br />
Tie my shoe comfortable<br />
I want to be a good example for my children<br />
Fertility<br />
Look great in a wedding dress... (Hint, Hint:Clarissa and Jason just got engaged)<br />
<br />
What ever the reasons, write them down, focus on them, reflect on them, add to them.<br />
<br />
<b>WHY!!!!!</b><br />
<br />Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-84621306698066667322012-12-22T16:05:00.000-08:002012-12-22T16:05:07.246-08:00You lose some, you gain some!Well, this week was not too hot for a couple of us :[. Here are our results:<br />
<ul>
<li>I gained 4 lbs (we celebrated Christmas yesterday... oops!)</li>
<li>Rebecca gained 5 lbs</li>
<li>Crystal lost 0.4 lbs (Way to go, Crystal!)</li>
</ul>
Clarissa and Jason were unable to make it.<br />
<br />
Today was an open discussion and we talked a lot about our psychology concerning food. I honestly have a ridiculously hard time leaving food on my plate and it also bothers me that my husband always leaves food on his plate. Therefore, I finish my plate AND his! My parents never made us clean our plates growing up, so I really don't know where this comes from. I also talked about how I feel left out if others are eating and I am not. Ironically, just last night, my husband and I were talking on this very subject and he is very bothered when he's full, so he never allows himself to get full. I, on the other hand, have a hard time if I DON'T get full... Why is this?! Then, last but not least, all traditions and social events seem to be centered around food... It wouldn't be Christmas without all the food and goodies, right?<br />
<br />
How do we break these ties to food? We really do have power over our thoughts... we just have to really work for it. Rebecca was saying how she was able to "gross herself out" about finishing the food on her son's plate and therefore wasn't tempted. Years ago, when I was actively losing weight, I convinced myself that I wasn't a fat person trying to make healthy choices, I was a healthy person who had no desire to eat unhealthy things. It truly did work for a while. <br />
<br />
With that being said, we are going to try to set goals for next year that concern positive food psychology. Until we have trained our brains to make healthy choices, the weight-loss road is next to impossible... take it from one who knows! Let's train ourselves to convince ourselves that being healthy is fun and wonderful!<br />
<br />
Rebecca will be doing next week's post, as I will be out of town. Stay tuned and let's gear up for the new year!Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-20204313257427019562012-12-16T13:30:00.002-08:002012-12-16T13:30:33.374-08:00Positive ResultsHello everyone. This is Rebecca. This week was a good week for everyone especially because it was 2 weeks before Christmas.<br />
<br />
The Results<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Jason -3.2 (cheers for you!!!)</li>
<li>Jerusha -0.8</li>
<li>Rebecca maintained</li>
<li>Crystal +1.2</li>
</ul>
<div>
This week was a quick meeting but we all shared how our week was. I started of my talking about how my goal to not eat fast food only last 5ish hours. I have been thinking a lot about that and reflecting that when I word goal as "don't, wont, stay away from" that is all I focus on-the thing I cant have. As the New Years is approaching I have been pondering this and have decided that all my New Years goals are going to be positive.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Positive. Here are a few examples:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>I will eat healthy homemade meals</li>
<li>Eat a fruits and veggies as snacks.</li>
<li>I will record and reflect things in my journal or blog weekly.</li>
</ul>
<div>
Remember to be positive and realistic. Make goal achievable.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Have a great week!!!!</div>
Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-62993317387520079842012-12-09T17:04:00.000-08:002012-12-09T17:04:59.001-08:00Christmas Party RecipesIf you're looking for some great healthy recipes for your Christmas parties, stay tuned!<br />
<br />
Sorry this post is late! I battled kidney stones all night Friday and all day Saturday... it was no fun! However, my faithful friends came over and weighed themselves in anyways while I was in bed... talk about devotion!<br />
<br />
Results for this week:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Jerusha +0.4</li>
<li>Clarissa +0.4</li>
<li>Crystal maintained</li>
<li>Jason -1.4</li>
</ul>
<div>
We only had one maintenance and one loss, but the gains weren't too bad. Way to go Jason and Crystal! We'll catch you next week ;)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Great recipes this week!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Mine's easy... found it online:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Ranch Dip</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Blend a 12oz container of cottage cheese (I used 2%) and add a ranch spice packet. Mix, chill, and serve with vegetables or crackers. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It was deceptively good. In fact, a guy was standing there eating it talking about how he didn't like cottage cheese (not knowing that it was cottage cheese). I then asked him if he liked the dip, and he said "Yeah... It's great!" Then I told him the news. Haha! So there ya go... even people who don't like cottage cheese like this dip.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Jason and Clarissa shared the following recipes (all delicious!):</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Carrot Cake</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>1 c. no sugar added apple sauce</li>
<li>1/2 c. egg substitute</li>
<li>6 packets stevia or splenda</li>
<li>1/2 cup sugar-free syrup</li>
<li>1 tsp. vanilla</li>
<li>2 c. Bobs Red Mills flour</li>
<li>1 tsp. baking soda</li>
<li>1 tsp. baking powder</li>
<li>2 T. cinnamon</li>
<li>3 c. grated carrots</li>
<li>3/4 c. chopped walnuts (opt.)</li>
</ul>
<div>
Combine applesauce, egg, splenda, syrup and vanilla; Blend until smooth. Mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon to mixture. Fold in carrots and nuts. Pour into 9x13. Bake at 350 for 30 min.</div>
<div>
Add cream cheese frosting to the top: 8oz fat free cream cheese, 6 oz vanilla yogurt, and 4 packets stevia or splenda. (12 servings: 130 cal or 185 cal with nuts)</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Hawaiian Cabbage Salad</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>12 oz bag petite carrots</li>
<li>14 oz bag coleslaw</li>
<li>12 oz bag broccoli slaw</li>
<li>2 c. chopped jicama</li>
<li>1/4 c. sliced almonds</li>
<li>1/4 c. sesame seeds</li>
<li>20 oz can pineapple tidbits (in own juice) drained</li>
<li>1/2 c. raisins</li>
<li>8 oz sesame ginger Litehouse dressing</li>
</ul>
<div>
Combine all ingredients and enjoy :) </div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Creamy Cranberry Salad</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>12 oz fresh cranberries</li>
<li>1 c. splenda</li>
<li>1 large box red sugar-free jello</li>
<li>8 oz can crushed pineapple, drained</li>
<li>3/4 c. no sugar added orange juice</li>
<li>1 apple with peel grated</li>
<li>1 can mandarin oranges chopped</li>
<li>1 cup chopped pecans</li>
<li>1/2 c. finely chopped celery (opt.)</li>
<li>1 container light cool whip</li>
<li>8 oz fat-free cream cheese, softened</li>
</ul>
<div>
Process cranberries and combine with splenda.</div>
</div>
<div>
Boil 3/4 c. water and stir in gelatin and let cool.</div>
<div>
Stir cooled gelatin into cranberries and then add everything except the cool whip and cream cheese. Stir and refrigerate over night.</div>
<div>
Combine softened cream cheese and cool whip.</div>
<div>
Layer 1/2 cranberry mixture on bottom, followed by 1/2 cream cheese mixture, and repeat.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Hope you all had a great week! Give these recipes a try or give us some of your own recipes. Let us know how you're doing... We love hearing from you!!!</div>
Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-11437867849017229512012-12-01T20:50:00.000-08:002012-12-01T20:50:21.533-08:00November Results and Dec GoalsHey all! Sorry for not posting after Thanksgiving. Things just didn't work out well last week. I do have the results from the past 2 weeks and the month totals :)<br />
<br />
Since the last time:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Jerusha -0.8 lb</li>
<li>Rebecca +2.2 lb</li>
<li>Clarissa -1.2 lb</li>
<li>Crystal +1 lb</li>
</ul>
<div>
Overall for the month</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Jerusha -2 lb</li>
<li>Rebecca -1.2 lb</li>
<li>Clarissa -1.8 lb</li>
<li>Crystal +1 lb</li>
</ul>
<div>
Though I was named the winner of the contest this morning, after checking the math CLARISSA is our winner!!! I thought it was too good to be true ;) Congrats to Clarissa!</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I also must say that though we were all far away from the goals we'd set, I'm proud of the fact that for the most part we had losses this month! I think this is the first November ever that I've had a loss, so I'm excited!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Since December is such a difficult month, we made calendars with specific goals geared towards the events we knew would get in our way. Here's mine so you can see what I'm talking about (sorry, it won't let me post them side by side):</div>
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Hopefully you can see that my overall goal for the month is no fast food. Then at the beginning of each week in black marker I put my goal for the week. Events that could potentially harm me are in red and green... and my daily goals are in black pen. You'll notice I have chores on there... I used to keep an immaculate home, but since getting pregnant and having Jayna, I've only kept it picked up... not very clean. Therefore, I've made that part of my December goals.</div>
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Here are our December goals:</div>
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<li>Jerusha - No fast food (I can only eat out on our 2 date nights this month and it has to be healthy) and I want to maintain weight this month. (I've gained 12-20 lbs every Christmas that I can remember... pretty sad. That's why I'm setting my goal for maintenance.)</li>
<li>Rebecca - Lose 4 lbs and no eating out at all</li>
<li>Clarissa - Only eat every 3 hours... no extra snacking (I should do this one as well)</li>
<li>Crystal - Lose 3 lbs and lose inches (more toning). Only one treat a week.</li>
<li>Jason - Don't eat any food from work, unless he takes it. (Brilliant for the month of December!)</li>
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Don't recognize Jason's name? Well you shouldn't because he just joined us this week!!! We're so excited to have our first male member! Hopefully we'll get some more guys now that he has set the precedence :) He needs some man pals! Meet Jason:</div>
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Jason is already well into his journey of losing weight and is going to give us a run for our money... Bring it on! :)</div>
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Hopefully you're on board for this Holiday Season. We all need all the help we can get! Start your recruiting now for January... I'm hoping we double in size after the holidays so we have even more competition AND support!</div>
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Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-45848079526024089992012-11-17T20:22:00.000-08:002012-11-17T20:22:16.292-08:00Motivation Week (Just in Time)Hey all!<br />
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Good news and bad news... bad news first. We had a rough week... all three of us! We were all a bit cranky when we showed up, but all left in a better mood (at least, I did). I think motivation week came at just the right time for our moods and for Thanksgiving. I'll be honest, I get a bit cranky when everyone around me is indulging all the time, and I'm trying hard not to... I'll get over it ;) Our numbers this week were as follows:<br />
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<li>Rebecca - Maintained (Yay!!!)</li>
<li>Jerusha +1.6 (I'll do better this week)</li>
<li>Clarissa +1.2</li>
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Because of the upcoming Holiday and the fact that Rebecca and I will both be out of town, we've moved our reward week to Dec 1st. We'll all still weigh-in for the week, but at different times, so the only way to make it fair is to bump it by a week. Therefore, the only update on here will be our weigh-ins on Monday the 26th, so stay tuned for that.</div>
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Ironically, even though we all did well with our goals, none of us had losses... That's why it's so important to set goals based on performance and not outcome. Will we have to re-vamp goals to help us out? Yes, but I'm proud of us for doing well on our goals for the month!</div>
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This week, for motivation, we cut out strips of paper (I like colorful paper myself) and wrote different motivations for being healthier on each one. You can do however many you like (I did 45 to last through the end of the year), and you can even repeat yourself. If you're having health issues and want to eat healthier to fix them or if you really, really, really want to fit into last year's jeans, you can write those down a few times. Write down everything, no matter how petty you may think it would sound... yes, I said I wanted to feel hotter :) Then stick them in a container or a plastic baggie. Each morning as you roll out of bed, you're going to draw one of your motivations out and keep it with you throughout the day. Anytime you're feeling week, you're going to pull it out or think about it to help keep you on track.</div>
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This may sound juvenile or cheesy, but I've done it in the past and have been astonished how much it helps! When we feel left out or we really want that comfort food, it's really hard to remember that we WANT to be healthy... our motivations will be there to remind us WHY we want to be healthy. Hopefully this helps.</div>
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NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS -- WE HAVE A NEW MEMBER!!!</div>
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Meet Crystal :)</div>
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Crystal is more devoted to walking than any person I've ever met :) If you ever need a walking partner, she's your gal... just be prepared to walk fast. I only kept up with her when I was training for my marathon. Haha!</div>
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We're totally excited to have Crystal on board!</div>
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Be thinking of the goals you want to set for December :) Our next meeting will be a goal setting meeting, so be prepared...</div>
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Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-42782346303316253152012-11-10T22:48:00.002-08:002012-11-10T22:48:17.426-08:00Thanksgiving Recipe ExchangeI would say we had a pretty darn successful week! Each of us had the goal to lose 2 lbs a week, which is pretty lofty (especially for Clarissa who doesn't have a whole lot to lose), but here are the results for this week:<br />
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<li>Rebecca -3.4 lb</li>
<li>Jerusha -2.8 lb</li>
<li>Clarissa -1.8 lb</li>
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Yay for us!!! 2/3 of the way to our group goal for the month of -12 lb. Rebecca and I set goals to receive our 1st 5 lb sticker next week. We want this! (We have little cards that we get to add stickers/decorations to for each 5 lbs we lose. This month's sticker is a turkey... hehe. Wow I get excited easily!)</div>
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Clarissa was unable to stay for the meeting, but Rebecca and I talked about how our goals were panning out. Rebecca did really well this week and almost fully hit her goal of eating 5 servings of veggies per day. Last week she told me she wasn't going to eat candy in November, and I made the mistake of writing down "no sugar". That was my bad. She did do really well, except on Friday night she had a "fun size" Snickers bar, but by golly, it wasn't a full bag ;)</div>
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I'll be honest. I struggled hard-core this week, but I did come out on top. My poor little baby screamed non-stop from Sunday night to Friday and I pretty much cried about 5 times a day. I couldn't handle it! I was very proud of myself, though, and very grateful that I had set goals for myself. Had I not, I can guarantee that I would have bought Walgreen's out of their Halloween clearance and eaten it all. As far as my no sugar goal, I slipped once and had a Fiber One bar, which I am pretty proud of, given my week. As far as my goal to leave 2 bites on my plate? Haha! I have a serious problem... I'm not even joking. I COULDN'T do it!!! I seriously have such a habit of eating EVERYTHING on my plate, that I would remind myself 3 times during each meal to leave 2 bites, and the next thing I knew my plate was empty... What is wrong with me?! I'm going to continue to work on this goal because it's something I really need to overcome, but I'm going to taper it down to leaving 2 bites on my dinner plate, rather than at all meals.</div>
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One thing Rebecca and I talked about was how a change of perspective is so powerful. For instance, last month I was struggling to eat healthy and basically had some form of candy everyday. If I only ate one candy bar a day, I was proud of myself. In fact, I bought the Fiber One bars to give me some form of nutrition if I wanted a bit of chocolate. But the very fact that we made the goal to not eat sugar (or candy) made me feel like I was totally indulgent when I ate my Fiber One bar. (And Rebecca was totally satisfied with her one little Snickers bar). The other reason I'm proud of us is because neither of us freaked out and said, "Well, I've blown it, so I might as well eat anything I want." Sound ridiculous? We've all probably done it. My overall goal in my journey is to quit being an all-or-nothing person. Being a perfectionist, this is very hard, because if I don't feel successful I just quit. Well, no more! I'm proud of myself for not throwing in the towel when I indulged! Same for Rebecca!</div>
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Now on to the subject of the day -- Thanksgiving Recipe Exchange!!!</div>
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Sadly there were just two of us, so we only have 2 recipes, but please share your healthier versions of Thanksgiving dishes on here... We'd love to have as many as possible!</div>
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Rebecca brought some roasted sweet potatoes. I'll be honest, I am NOT a fan of sweet potatoes, but I did try them. I must say I really liked the seasoning on them and if I liked sweet potatoes, I would have really liked this recipe.</div>
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<li>3 cubed sweet potatoes</li>
<li>1 tsp honey</li>
<li>1 tsp balsamic vinegar</li>
<li>1 tsp olive oil</li>
<li>sea salt</li>
<li>fresh rosemary</li>
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Soak the potatoes for 1/2 hour, then drain - add to bag with all ingredients and shake to coat. Bake at 375 for 30 min or until tender.</div>
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I brought some regular ol' mashed potatoes. I love mashed potatoes and I LOVE them with lots of butter! This is the only recipe I've come up with that I feel satisfies my love for buttery mashed potatoes, but is pretty healthy (minus sodium content). I'm sorry, but I rarely measure when I cook, so I'll do my best to give measurements :)</div>
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<li>2 medium potatoes, diced (I like red potatoes because they're moister) I always leave the peel on.</li>
<li>1 1/2 c. chopped cauliflower</li>
<li>enough water to cover</li>
<li>1 chicken boullion cube</li>
<li>fresh garlic (about 2 cloves)</li>
<li>green onions (enough) ;-)</li>
<li>rosemary (Rebecca and I must think alike...mmm!)</li>
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Combine all ingredients in a pot. If you put potatoes in cold water to start and turn them down as soon as they come to a boil, you'll prevent them from boiling over. Cook until potatoes and cauliflower are really tender, drain liquid, then mash. Nothing extra will be needed. I sometimes leave a bit of the water in to maintain moisture, but if you use red potatoes you won't need any extra liquid. If you want some extra creaminess or "zing" add one or two laughing cow cheese wedges (each adds 25 calories) and stir in until melted. This gives 3 good size servings.</div>
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Have a great week! Tune in next week for our meeting on motivation :)</div>
Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630369943066102732.post-80808956216906436962012-11-03T14:18:00.000-07:002012-11-03T14:18:08.913-07:00Meet Our Members and Goals We are so excited to get going on this journey! Stay tuned for pictures of our 3 members in attendance today and follow along to see our progress throughout time. The three of us added a motivational strategy that we all decided to participate in. This strategy will be applied only to those wishing to participate. Sadly, money plays a huge role in our lives, and therefore in our motivation. Each weigh-in, we'll each be paying $3. At the end of the month, if the member has maintained their weight or lost weight, they'll get their money back. However, if they have a gain at the end of the month, that money goes towards future contest prizes. Our hope is that we can recycle the same $12 every month :)<br />
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Today's meeting was about goal setting. Most of the info here came from the site www.mindtools.com.<br />
Goals give us direction in life and when achieved, they peak our motivation. We need to have a life-long goal that we divide into smaller more achievable goals. For instance, if our over all goal is to be healthy, we need to determine in our lives the things we need to change in order to get closer to that goal. For me, I need to give up sweets, exercise more, look on the bright side, and be careful about my portions. There are many more, but these are just some examples. I've even made food journals that have a section for daily goals at the bottom. We can achieve almost anything a day at a time.<br />
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Now, since this group is about overall health, I would encourage you to make goals in all areas of life. A well-rounded person is a happy person. Besides, if you're like me and struggle a lot in the weight-loss field, you need to have other goals you are achieving to empower you, so you feel you can accomplish your health goals. Some areas for goal setting include (but are not limited to)<br />
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<li>Artistic</li>
<li>Attitude</li>
<li>Career</li>
<li>Education - not just school, but educating yourself in all areas</li>
<li>Family - Do you want to be an example to your family? Do you want to be a good, active parent?</li>
<li>Financial</li>
<li>Physical</li>
<li>Public Service - this group is one of my public service goals. I would like to help as many people as possible, as well as myself.</li>
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Make sure you prioritize these goals so you don't get bogged down. If you're struggling with one of your higher priority goals, go after a lower one, so you can feel successful. Remember, success is the best motivator. Also, make sure these are goals YOU want to achieve, not that OTHERS want you to. You have to learn to do things for yourself, with or without validation from others.</div>
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As you make progress towards your goals, make sure to go back and review what lessons you've learned in trying to obtain those goals. I would encourage you, as you write your goals down, to make a section for "lessons learned" so you can see you are progressing, even if your goals aren't always met.</div>
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Here are some goal setting tips:</div>
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<li>State each goal as a positive statement</li>
<li>Be precise - not "I want to be healthy", but "I want to be healthier by..."</li>
<li>Set priorities</li>
<li>Write goals down - I would suggest sharing them with a friend (or on here) to help hold you more accountable</li>
<li>Keep operational goals small - If you have 100 lbs to lose, break it down into smaller segments, like 5-10 lbs. That way you don't get swallowed up and overwhelmed.</li>
<li>Set performance goals, not outcome goals - I can't stress this enough! Back when I was training for a marathon, all I could think about was losing my last 20 lbs. Well, my body rebelled and I couldn't lose weight to save my life. I got so frustrated that after I did my marathon, I gave into temptation more often, and you guessed it, I slowly started to gain my weight back. I couldn't control the outcome of my efforts, but I could control my efforts. I overlooked the fact that I was happier and healthier than I had ever been. If I was happy that I was eating the way I was supposed to and exercising the way I was supposed to and saw those two things as my goals (rather than trying to reach a certain outcome), I would be much closer to that healthy, happy place than I am now.</li>
<li>Set realistic goals - I could never set the goal to be a size 0, because I'm just not made to be. You want your goals to be achievable... You also want them to push you so you feel accomplished when you achieve them :)</li>
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An easy way to remember how to set goals is to remember SMART:</div>
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<li>Specific</li>
<li>Measureable - not "I'm going to eat more veggies", but "I'm going to eat 3 servings of veggies a day"</li>
<li>Attainable</li>
<li>Relevant - they must be important to you</li>
<li>Time-bound - give yourself a timetable to keep you on track.</li>
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If you've achieved your short-term goals too easily, make them harder the next time. If you're having a hard time achieving them, make them a little easier. Don't forget that your goals can and need to be flexible.</div>
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I challenge you to come up with some goals for the month and break it down into weeks (or days). Let us know what they are and let us know at the end of the month how they worked out for you. Here are our weight-loss and health goals for the month. (Remember, everything posted on here is done with permission from each member. If you choose to join, it can be completely anonymous.) </div>
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Meet me at my current weight (no, I'm not happy about posting these, but it will motivate me to get back to the way I looked a few years ago).</div>
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My goals this month (for health) are to lose 8 lbs, to not eat sugar (except ONE dessert on Thanksgiving Day), and to leave at least 2 bites on my plate every time I eat (to get rid of my mentality that I need to clean my plate).</div>
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Meet Rebecca</div>
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Rebecca's goals this month are to eat 5 servings of veggies per day in week one, she's also on the NO sugar NOvember bandwagon, and she too, would like to lose 8 lbs.</div>
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Meet Clarissa</div>
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Clarissa would like to lose 8 lbs this month and is also not eating sugar this month.</div>
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We've set a group goal for the month to lose 12 lbs. The group goal will always be 1 lb per week per member (only the members trying to lose weight).</div>
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Please join us on here!!! We want to hear your goals, comments, questions, encouragement, successes, discouragements, etc... Remember, we're all here for each other! Whether or not you can come to the actual meetings doesn't matter. Everyone who wants to participate is welcome!</div>
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Next week will be our "Healthy Thanksgiving Recipe Exchange" week. We are super excited!</div>
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If you would like me to send you goal worksheet ideas, I'd be happy to! You can email me at jerushka@hotmail.com. Just make sure you put Join Our Journey (or JOJ) in the subject heading so it won't get tossed out with the junk mail.</div>
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Jerushahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04742159909501836785noreply@blogger.com6