Update

Sorry 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.

• Jerusha : +5 lb (Ouch!)
• Rebecca: +1 lb
• Clarissa:  +1.4
• Crystal: -0.6 (Yay!!!)
• Jason: +5

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.

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.

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.

February Results and March Goals

This 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:

• 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.
• Rebecca was unable to come this week and had a 2 lb gain for the month... totally recoverable!
• Clarissa: -2.8 for the week/ +1.2 for the month
• Jason: -3.2 for the week/ maintained this month
• Crystal was unable to come this week and had a 5.4 gain this month

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:

• 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.
• Clarissa - Do her Body for Life plan/ don't miss any workouts
• Jason - Eat healthy on his trip to Arizona in a few weeks/ stick to his marathon training schedule

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!

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: http://register.bazumedia.com/reg/external-link-ref?la=98216d70fb25941fc1dcee925c5c97098c8863d1

What 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:

• Jerusha: +1.4
• Rebecca: +1.8
• Clarissa: +1.2
• Crystal: +4
• Jason: -2.6 Yay Jason! Way to show us how it's done!

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.

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.

Mind Control

So, 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:

• Jerusha - maintained. I guess that's better than gaining.
• Rebecca - only gained 0.2. Not bad!
• Crystal - lost 0.8. Yay for our only loss!
• Clarissa - gained 2.8
• Jason - gained 5.8

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.

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.

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!

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. 

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.

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!

"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

"What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality." - Plutarch

Low-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. :)

• 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!
• Rebecca gained 1.6 lbs after a long break without coming... not bad!
• Crystal gained 2.2 lbs

We are all going to work hard this week and have a loss next week!

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.

High Protein Pancakes

Puree and blend:

1/2 c. Low-fat cottage cheese

1 large egg

2 large egg whites

1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use EAS whey)

3 T. flour

1/8 t. baking soda

Cinnamon (opt)

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.

Whole recipe nutritional info: 358 calories, 8.5g fat, 42.9g protein, 24.3g carbs

Cauliflower Poppers

1 head cauliflower

1 T. oil

Salt or any other seasoning you might like

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.

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.

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!

Whole recipe nutritional info: 186 calories, 13.8g fat, 5.2g protein, 14g carbs

Enjoy!

Results and Feb Goals

Hey all!

We had awesome results this week (w) and for the month (m) of January! Here they are:

• 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!
• Crystal: -1.6 (w)/ -4.6 (m) Nice work, lady!
• Clarissa: -1.8 (w)/ -2.4 (m) She won this weeks weigh-in between her and Jason... He has to do dishes all week!
• 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 :)!
• I think we get Rebecca back next week... We've missed her!!! She had a 2 lb loss for the month.

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:

• 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!
• 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.
• 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!

I have the recipe for next week's meeting. Be excited!

New challenge

Hey all!

We had another good week this week! Here are the results:

• Jerusha: -3 (Again!!! I'm super happy about this because I really lacked motivation this week, but I pushed through!)
• 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!)
• Jason: -2.4
• Crystal: +1

Clarissa and Jason found a new "contest" online and shared it with us this week. The link is http://www.healthywage.com/weight-loss-contest.  There are a few different options, which I will do my best to explain (though the website explains it all).

Here ya go:

BMI Challenge - 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.

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 10% Challenge. 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.

If you do enter, please consider entering either Jason or Clarissa's registration number so they can get credit for the referrals.

• Clarissa's is 0538006110
• Jason's is 4191298527

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!

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 http://www.ymcatvidaho.org/famousidahopotatomarathon. 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.

Here's to a healthy, motivated week!