The end is coming...

*edited 9-9-10*

ok so... no one came for the weigh in! instead, we are going to weigh in THIS sunday. that gives everyone a few extra days... so work hard!

Our family weight loss competition ends this Sunday! Any bets as to who is going to win? I think not me... I'm kind of betting on either Tommy or Grandma (both seem to be kicking butt).

So who do YOU think will win the weight loss competition?
	Grandma - Marcella
	Sunny - Mom
	Greg - Dad
	Merry
	Sandie
	Jonathon
	Melanie
	Tommy
pollcode.com free polls

Weird weight loss tips that work

I found this article today... I often read weight loss articles but most of them say the same thing I've read a hundred times... just in a different way. Well this article was nice... it had some ideas I hadn't read, and it actually made some sense! I think it has some good advice... so check it out!

Weird Weight-Loss Tips That Work

Matthew wants to workout too!

One big reason I have for wanting to get into shape and be healthy is that I want to teach good eating and exercise habits to my child. And how can I teach these things if I don't do them? Well Matthew sees me workout on a regular basis and here is a quick video Aaron took of him last Saturday... he was eating his breakfast while watching us (Sandie and I) do our workout. Glad to see he is getting into the workout spirit already!

LOLCats

If you haven't heard of LOLCats ... it's just one of those totally random funny sites... a guilty pleasure of mine perhaps? Anyway the site is called I Can Has Cheezburger

Why I love Chalene Johnson

This is Chalene:

She is basically awesome....

also I think I want to be her when I grow up.

Some of you know that about a year and a half ago my sister Sandie and I decided to start working out together to stay motivated (and because up till then we had both been pretty lazy) - and we kicked it off by doing Chalene's ChaLEAN Extreme program. We each lost a considerable amount of weight and it really kick started our weight loss efforts! I had already experienced Chalene's awesomeness from a couple years prior to that when I discovered Turbo Jam, and Sandie too fell for her amazing energy and motivation skills! Starting last January I introduced Sandie to Turbo Jam, and again we remembered why we like doing her workouts! She is adorable, and fun, and she makes us want to keep coming back and doing her workouts over and over again (and we most certainly have). She is personally responsible for probably at least 30 of the 50 pounds I have lost so far. But probably more. I will admit however, We've been doing Turbo Jam for a good 7 months now and are starting to get lazy and enter into that lazy mode where we are kind of halfheartedly doing our workouts and my diet has become pretty weak around the edges. The result? I haven't actually lost any real weight in the last couple months. I haven't really gained either... and I AM healthy... but I am certainly in need of something new to shake things up!

Of course Chalene is on top of it, and just a month ago she came out with her newest program - and, I might add, her most intense - Turbo Fire! I'm really excited to try out this workout. Last week we tried the "HIIT 15" video that was out online as a kind of preview of what the workouts would be like. SO GOOD. It may have been only 15 min, but she works you hard! I can't wait to try the full program - which I fully intend to do. In fact I am going to count on all of YOU to make me keep at it. I think I'm going to take some before pictures and my starting stats and post them up here... and do weekly updates or something like that. So don't let me get lazy! Please hold me accountable!

I read Chalene's blog to keep me motivated, check her out: Chalene Johnson's Blog

If you have any interest in letting Chalene kick your butt as well, 

talk to me and you can try out my workouts!

Inspiration

I've started using an iPhone app called Run Keeper lately that tracks, using the GPS on my phone, the workouts I do. Most of my workouts are walking, but I've also used it to track my running and the hike Sandie and I did a couple weeks ago. If you want to check out my progress/check up on me/keep me motivated you can check out my profile here: Melanie's Runkeeper Profile

I appreciate any and all types of motivation, and recently my (and some of your) cousin Joseph added me as a friend, so to speak, on Run Keeper. And can I just say... WOW. I mean really, WOW. Apparently he is training to complete an olympic triathlon this year. I'm not even sure I totally know what that means, but I know it sounds hard! And way beyond anything I'd ever set out to do! Anyway, any time he completes a workout it posts it up to the site... and I must say that I'm impressed. He is inspiring to me! The more working out I do...walking, running, biking, that sort of thing... the more I actually find myself enjoying it. Hopefully some day I will be fit enough to compete in something like that... actually, my goal is just to be able to do a 5k some day. To actually run a 5k that is.

Check him out, he's awesome: Joseph's Runkeeper Profile

Why you shouldn't run full bore down hill in your work clothes

Every {decent} day at work I take a walk on my lunch break. Yesterday I noticed a little side path I'd never seen before, and decided that today I would try it out. Well it was mostly just a million steps that led into a random neighborhood... but the point is, because I took this new route and kept climbing and climbing those stairs (I had to know where it led!) I ended up taking longer than normal and by the time I got to the top, I was running late for getting back to work on time. I mostly ran down the stairs, and then decided to save some time I could run down the long hill I had walked up to get to the stairs.

So I'm running down the hill, probably looking like an idiot, and I notice a man driving by with his window down slow his car and watch me run by. It was then that it occurred to me that I was in fact not wearing my workout clothes... in fact, I'm wearing a deep v-neck sweater with a tank top underneath... and definitely not wearing my sports bra. Needless to say, I stopped, adjusted myself, and walked the rest of the way back to work.

And in an unrelated note... I saw this lovely gem on my walk back:

What painting skills! And it really gives the van that something 

extra... I'm considering doing this to our van.

Don't forget to vote!!

One more time

I'm going to do a tie breaker...but Dad had a late entry option... which I think MIGHT be my favorite. So I'm adding that one in too. So one more time guys! This time you only get to vote for one name!

I posted this and then I saw that someone changed their vote! Haha, it WAS a 4 way tie, and just for the sake of it I guess the current winner is "My big fat diet blog". But is anyone against one more poll, just for fun?

Rattlesnake

Sandie and I went hiking this Saturday... it was so nice out (finally)! We did the same hike we did a couple times last summer: Rattlesnake Ledge . Last year it was a definite challenge for us, we had to stop at least 3 times on the way up for a break...and most of the time everyone (children included) were passing us on the trail. I'm proud to announce that we did really well this weekend! We only stopped 2 times on the way up, and that was only because we needed to give our dogs water. Buttercup (Sandie's dog) was thirsty, and rightly so. It was hot! Violet (my little "Facey") wouldn't drink the water. Boston's are known for overheating easily, but she would have none of it. She was SO over the top excited to be out hiking with us, she didn't want to stop for anything. I'm serious, if she were bigger (ie: not 14 lbs) she would have been dragging me to the top. Not only did we need to break less (without the dogs, I think we wouldn't have needed any stops), but we were actually passing other people. In fact, I think we passed almost everyone except the runners (why anyone would want to RUN up that trail is beyond me). I tracked the whole thing with an app on my iPhone, so if you want to check it out: click here to see how and what we did.

Here is a photo I quickly pieced together on my phone... not the best picture ever, but it gives you an idea of the view from the top. It really is pretty up there! (click on the picture to see it a little bigger)

  

I'm not looking so good here but the view sure is pretty!

Sandie and Buttercup

While we were eating lunch at the top, there was a family sitting a ways behind us and the little boy (maybe 5 yrs old?) kept talking about Violet and how he wants "a black and white dog just like that because it's so CRAZY looking" ... "but mom look how crazy that dog looks!" ... "mom I like that dog because it's so crazy looking!" haha, it was pretty cute. Eventually the mom brought him down and asked if he could pet her. He stopped by about 2 or 3 more times just to say hi and even fed her a few treats. I've said it a million time but Violet has a way with the kids!

And to be fair, she is pretty crazy looking:

Overall it was a great morning, and I felt SO good afterwards! Not nearly as exhausted as when we went last summer. We must be doing something right! And now I know how some people can go hiking for FUN. I used to think that was crazy (I STILL think Aaron is crazy with some of the hikes he does)... but now I see that when you are in good enough shape that you can do the hike without constantly focusing on how bad your asthma is, or how much your legs hurt, or whatever... there is actually some fun to found! In fact I kind can't wait to go again!

Ok this blog NEEDS A NAME!

It's time to finally name this blog... I'm horrible at coming up with names, and so Sandie pretty much came up with these on her own. But I like a few of them and couldn't decide... so I'm letting everyone else decide! The poll is on the right hand side of this page. Please vote...not sure how long I will let this poll go, I guess until there is enough votes to count for something. Also, you can vote for more than one name, in case you like multiple. so...

PLEASE VOTE!

as Matthew would say "peesh" and "tink oo"

Quick Laugh

Ab Ripper X

Sandie and I did Ab Ripper X yesterday ... I hate it, but I love it! I'm proud to announced we both survived (well, I can really only speak for myself). We must be doing SOMEthing right because I don't hurt today NEARLY as bad as I did the last time I did it (like 3 years ago?)... so we are adding this to our weekly routine. After doing so much ab work, my waist kinda feels skinny today! I'm sure it's just because all the muscles are really tight, but whatever. I FEEL skinner, so I will go ahead and pretend that I AM skinner. Hooray!

Camp Food

So as most of you know, we just got home from our first camping trip of the summer. One of our biggest obstacles to overcome would be FOOD! And this is an issue on SO MANY levels. Food takes up a lot of space, wastes a lot of my time, requires a lot of clean up, and tends to be over done when camping.

Last summer was the first summer that Melanie and I had been working out and really trying to become more health conscious. We were working out and watching our food choices, etc... and then camping season started! Suddenly I was gaining 3-5 pounds over a weekend camping trip! I would spend the next week working the weight off, only to put it back on the very next weekend. I was so disgusted! So we really tried to get a better perspective. All the workouts and smart eating during the week couldn't compete with soda, chips, marshmallows, burgers, and hot coco during the weekend! So we started to slowly make changes. We left all of the soda and juices at home. Instead we brought along water bottles and powdered drink mix (Gatorade or poweraide). We started cutting out the snacks and instead just brought one treat (like marshmallows) that we didn't want to part with. Then I did a bunch of food research to find healthier meals that strayed from the normal burger options. Lastly we committed ourselves to stick with the food plans and not just stop somewhere and grab fast food, etc...

Well all of those strategies were good starts, but this year I decided to take it even further! This summer I spent a couple of weekends, well in advance of camping season, to plan "menus" and prepare/portion/freeze all of the food. I started with breakfast: I decided to make mini muffins (just using the tiny muffin tins), and then bagged them up by portion size and froze them (to be eaten a few at a time with a piece of fruit), and my Loaded Oats recipe that is super easy and super filling. I just bagged up all of the dry ingredients in Ziplocs. For lunches I decided to do stuff like chicken salad wraps. Wraps are a great idea in lots of ways, but my favorite so far is that a bag as flat as a pancake packs a heck of a lot easier than a loaf of bread! Then I bought a few snacks (pretzels, apples, banana chips, etc.) and bagged them in snack ziplocs per person, per day. Finally, for dinners I came up with a handful of easy meals that could be made, frozen, and easily reheated over a campfire when the time came. I used our slow cooker and made a huge pot of chili, BBQ pork, baked beans, and fried up ground meat. Then I measured out portions and froze it all. The chili and beans can be reheated and eaten with mini corn bread muffins. The BBQ pork can be eaten on buns, and the ground meat is for Hobo dinners.

Well our first trip this summer put it all to the test! The boys griped the first night saying "what do you mean this is all there is for dinner?!" and tried out lines like "so if I get hungry in the middle of the night...where are the snacks?" Well I put my foot down and didn't give an inch! Plus it helped that there wasn't a fridge that they could raid in the middle of the night;) Once they relaxed it was clear that there was more than enough food still. All of it was much healthier options, all of it was cooked in disposable foil trays over the campfire (and eaten out of them too, so no clean up!) and nobody went hungry. We went biking and exploring and got in some good exercise too! And when we got home everybody felt great with no guilt trips! Just a few sore muscles from the 6 mile bike ride:)

Back on track

So...I started this blog out as private so that anyone interested in posting, could do so without the whole world seeing! But as no one really posts, I think I am going to take it off private so that its not as confusing for certain people. Any objections? Ok, sounds good!

I'm going to actually start posting more... at this point I think that ANYthing that helps motivate me or encourage me is something I should be doing. I was really motivated around the beginning of the year and lost about 25 pounds... and then mid March I got lazy and completely fell off the wagon. I gained about 9 lbs back and now I'm stuck RE-losing that weight. I really really hate having to re-lose weight that I JUST worked so hard to take off! So no more of that. I'm done, and I'm back to eating healthy and working out.

So who has been doing well? We started our family biggest loser competition almost a month ago and I've only lost about 3 or 4 pounds... anyone else with better success? What all is everyone doing to try and get healthier?

Breakfast Smoothies

Okay, I think it's about time we had a new post on this blog, and it's about time Melanie thought of a "good title"!

As Melanie and I have progressed through our workouts one of the things we have stumbled upon is the value of a good breakfast. I LOVE cereal and feel that I'm somehow being jipped one of the best things in life if I don't get to eat a bowl every morning. BUT, cereal does not sustain the body for very long. Even after a couple bowls of cereal, I'm already hungry for a snack by the time I get into work in the morning. So that doesn't say a lot for cereal, no matter how much I love it! But I don't have a lot of time to "prepare" a breakfast before Elliott and I run out the door in the mornings. Plus I can't eat eggs and don't want just plain toast or anything. So I talked to a friend of mine who works as a physical trainer and asked her for some tips, and maybe a good breakfast idea. She gave me the basic outline for a good breakfast smoothie so that I could fill in the rest to fit my diet. Over the last year I've figured out what I like, and it has really helped! This makes a LOT, and it holds me over until lunch time EASILY! Plus it's a great way to add healthy things into your diet.

Breakfast Smoothie

In a blender add:

1 Cup of Milk (I use light vanilla soy milk or almond milk)
1 Serving of Protein Powder (I use the Chocolate Gen Soy brand)
1-2 Tbsp. of ground Flax Seed (optional)
1 Tbsp. of powdered Fiber (optional)
1 peeled Banana

After that has been thoroughly combined, add:

1/2 Cup of Oats (barely covered in water and microwaved for 30 seconds to soften)
1/2-1 Cup of FROZEN fruit (I like to use the bagged fruit blends)

Blend until all of the oats and fruit are COMPLETELY combined, then add:

3-5 Ice cubes, this will help thicken it up a bit

Blend until all ice chunks have been dissolved, about 10 seconds.

This will fill a HUGE smoothie cup, or can be broken into 2 cups to share if you want. If you freeze any extra, just make sure you give it proper time to thaw out a bit before drinking the rest. And don't worry it will not be gritty or chunky. Adding more or less fruit will change the consistency of the smoothie along with revealing or masking the taste of the protein powder. I like to not add TOO much so that I can still taste the chocolate flavor. Also, pretty much any dietary/vitamin powders can be thrown in here to work into your diet.

My 7 year old ,Elliott, loves this smoothie too and will often ask if I'll share some with him. It's great too because I can eat it on the go and it whips up in less than 5 minutes!