Day 3 of 90

Completed

10 weeks done

So, here we sit. December 31st 2008. We had a 10 week challenge in which many of us listed 3 goals. Did you meet any of your goals? Did anyone meet 2 or 3 goals? Did you learn anything about yourself?

Personally, I met none. Although I am just about done with the class I wanted I still have to turn in my final paper.
I learned that I need major organization. I have to plan out or else I don't succeed. I would love to be someone who "wings" it but I'm not. I have to put stakes on the table. I also learned that I don't cling to the Father near as much as I should. I'm happy to be saying goodbye to 2008. It's a chapter in the book of my life that I'm closing. I will continue to re-read it and learn from it.

Out with the old

In with the new. New what? New year. New habits? New desires? New (refreshed) drive? I don't know about you (except for Debs and Nikki) but Jeff and I are so tired of our old ways. We've been working on it little by little but not enough. We've worked on our old ways enough to allow us to maintain (roughly) the same weight since March or April of '07. We don't want to reach the end of 'o9 and wish that we would have been serious about...(fill in the blank). We want to be thinner. Not 10 pounds but at our goals. Yesterday I weighed in at 194.2. Bluck! January of 2010 I would like to weigh in around 140. Yep....54 pounds. That means I need to loose just about 1 pound a week. I know I can do it. I already have. I went from 260ish down to 185-190ish depending on the scale. Now, with all that said, we do hope that I become pregnant again. If or when that happens My goal of 140 will obviously change but I want to be able to look back at 2009 and know that I changed my life. That I met my battles head on.

Jeff and I began Power 90. We did a few days last week but officially started yesterday. 2 days down, 88 to go. We have committed to each other that we will finish all 90 days. We have also put some stakes on the table. We exercise 6 days a week. For each day he doesn't exercise between now and Super Bowl Sunday, I get to pick 1 football game that he doesn't get to watch. If I don't exercise, I don't get to get on the computer. Big ouch for me. He will password protect the computer so I can't get on. These stakes might seem a bit childish but we know that we need them. I couldn't even successfully complete the 10 week challenge here at OWOA.

What do you desire for 2009? Do you have a plan of action? Care to share so we can hold each other accountable?

This is the OWOA answerphone

Debs can't come to the blog right now (as she's away without internet access). If you'd like to leave your number, she'll get back to you.

(aka time to weigh-in)

Happy Monday

Welcome to the last weigh-in before Christmas. Show us your numbers, and tell us if you've got a strategy to survive the coming week of food and fun, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the son of God, and Saviour of the world.

It Will Be Interesting To See How This Goes...

This is my fourth pregnancy. In the past, I have taken a very common take on eating in pregnancy which goes something like this:

"Eat what you want, when you want and however much you want. You are getting big anyway...this is your chance to be a justified glutton."

This year after completing a diet where I finally shed all of the baby weight I had accumulated with three children, it became apparent to me that I had gone from one extreme to another. While I did not have an eating disorder, I definitely had some disordered thinking and behaviors associated with eating that, I believe, could have led to a real eating disorder like anorexia. Basically, although I was a size 2-4, I still felt fatter than ever. I definitely felt fatter than before I started the diet.

I have come a long way since then, but I definitely wouldn't say that I am healed of this disordered thinking. But I am thankful to the Lord that He has shown me the errors in my thinking and has shown me that He is willing and able to see me through to total healing.

So, it's just an interesting dynamic now that I am supposed to get bigger and gain weight. Will I go overboard with eating like I have with every other pregnancy and gain way too much? Or will I continually have to fight myself to not deprive my body and my baby of the food we need to have a healthy pregnancy?

Some times I slip back into the "eat whatever I want" mentality and at the same time, I get really concerned about gaining too much. Like this morning, I weighed and I had gained a pound in the past week. That is what I am supposed to do. But it feels like I was bad. I would have felt better if the scaled showed the same weight or a loss. My mind quickly sees the truth when the Holy Spirit exposes the lie, but it still bugs me that my first instinct is that a higher number on the scale means I have been bad.

I have a hard time finding balance. On one hand, it might make sense to throw out the scales so that I don't get all obsessed with them, but I really think that if I did that, I could easily revert back to total gluttony and gain way too much weight.

For now, I weigh once per week...no more. (I used to weigh several times per day.) And I pray continually for the Lord to show me my successes and failures in His eyes. That I won't gauge them by a stupid number on the scale.

One day at a time!

[Also posted on Surrender.]

Anyone wanna weigh???

Man oh man! I've slept in till just about 8 (can't believe the kids weren't up by 6:30). Maybe it's a winter thing eh?
Anyone want to step on the scale and join me in weighing in?

An Important Message

Dear OWOA readers. Please hear this important message. You might need to have a tissue or two handy. It'll only take 10 seconds.

Click here.

Sorry about the signature post thingy

Yeah. So I was playing around with a signature website and next thing I know Poof! There's some weird advertisement post here. Needless to say, I won't be getting a signature because that kind of thing erks me. Off to my other blog to delete the unwanted post.

I remembered to weigh in

Hi there! Just thought I'd write a quick post before I run out the door. I forgot to weigh in on Monday and said I'd weigh in on Tuesday and I finally remembered today, Wednesday. I'm down to 184...yeah! Getting closer to my end of year goal of 178, 6 lbs to go. I just hope I don't sabotage it this weekend. That's my problem, I loose a little, get lax, start munching on stuff I know I shouldn't, I gain what I lost, I get strict, loose again...vicious cycle. So, now that I've lost a couple, I need need need to stay on track. I want to be < 180 by end of year!

I'm off...all day conference...have a great Hump Day all!

Good morning!

How's everyone today? Is anyone around? This site has felt very quiet recently. Give me a shout if you are around.
Oh, and weigh-in

Challenge Check in

It's been a while since I posted a check in for challenge participants. Is anyone still with me?
I must admit that I've done horribly at spending purposeful time in the Word. It doesn't look like I'll reach 180 either BUT I'm still working on it. I am however working on finishing a current class and will be working on the final project this weekend and then taking my final next week. After I'm done with this class I'll be starting 2 more.

So, hows it going for you?

Don't forget

to look back to where you've come from once in a while. It might help spur you on, and also remind you that you've actually done pretty well so far :)

This was taken in June 2006. It's the 'proof' that the photographer sends you so you can choose what to order. It was taken on my BA graduation day.













This was taken in May 2008, on my MA graduation day (I didn't do any extra work for it, it's just a Cambridge thing. I don't try to understand why they give us them, I just accept it!)













Anyone else want to show us some (still in progress) before and after pics?

Shake what yo' Mama gave ya

Welcome to Monday, and a new month. We're into the holiday season now, how are you doing? Did you survive the pull of Thanksgiving goodes, those of you who were celebrating? Have you been exercising lately? My resolve for this week is to get back into exercising on a regular basis. Weigh-in and tell us where you're at

Happy Thanksgiving

How are you celebrating? What are you thankful for?
I'm thankful for the wonderful crazy bunch of people who make up OWOA. I couldn't do this without you guys!

Time to Weigh-in

Welcome to the new week. How are you? What did you do in the last week?
As well as weighing in, why not name something that went well last week and something you'd like to improve on.

My Dad

Hey guys. I just wanted to pop in and ask for prayers for my family. My Dad went to the hospital in heart failure. Once there they put him on a nitrate drip because his bp was extremely high and they found that he is in renal failure. He's been on the drip for almost 24 hrs and his bp is still high. I just got off the phone with him and it is 185/128. They are currently working on getting the dr. to get paperwork signed to get a blood transfusion going. While we were talking he told me he has a tired spirit. My Dad's health has been failing for a couple years now. He's only 51.

The kids and I will load up and trek on up to see him tomorrow. I'm sorry if I seem short and a bit distant in this post. There is so much involved behind the scenes in my family. My mom is up to her usual antics even with my Dad being in the hospital which make things seem rougher.
Thanks guys.

An example week

Monday
Weigh in, not particularly like the number I see on the scale. Looking after the kiddos, so meals sometimes take place at funny moments/are interrupted, get bored/feel sad, decide to comfort myself, after it's Monday, so there's a whole week before we have to weigh in again.

Tuesday
Similar to Monday, it's still the beginning of the week, often have the kids. Try a bit harder, but still seem doomed to fail. Wander aimlessly around the kitchen looking for something to eat.

Wednesday
Middle of the week, feeling ok. Generally do alright with eating. Maybe have one 'cheat'

Thursday
Church small group night, there's always lots of treats on offer. Try hard to resist, but somehow later find myself eating absent mindedly.

Friday
Teeny tots in the morning - have to try to resist the biscuits, sometimes go for lunch afterwards, Pizza Hut and the lunch buffet are the nearest and cheapest options. Load my plate with salad, but somehow lots of pizza makes it onto my plate. Spend the evening going out for a meal with friends/boyfriend, or down the pub drinking things like coke.

Saturday
Get up early for church prayer meeting. May grab something to eat on the way, go for breakfast with a group of people afterwards, go tutoring, go home, grab something else to eat - not lunch exactly as had a big breakfast at 10am. Snack my way through the rest of the day, eat dinner either out with friends or at home with family.

Sunday
Try really hard to resist the cakes after church, when they come past you for the 10th time give in and grab a piece of shortbread or chocolate brownie. Go out for lunch. Realise that I'd made rubbish decisions all week, and so give up on the diet and end up eating lots of crisps (chips), and bread and other delightful carbs, including pudding.

Monday
Wake up and go bleugh at the number on the scale.

Good morning

Walk this weigh to share your weight.

(I really need to work with coming up with something catchy to say on these weigh-in posts. Blest was so much better at them than me!)

It doesn't count because....

I think I'd figured out one of the reasons why the scale isn't moving for me.
I've been making excuses, telling myself that certain things don't count under certain circumstances, when actually, at the end of the day, if it's going in my mouth, it counts.
I think I need to get back to journaling my food for a few days and see what's really going into my mouth.

Here are a few I've caught myself using.

It doesn't count if I eat it when I'm out of the house.
It doesn't count if I've been carrying it around in my bag for a few days (fruit/nuts/chocolate)
It doesn't count when I eat it because I'm hungry just before bed.
It doesn't count if I just help the kids finish off their dinner.
It doesn't count if I'm eating it off someone else's plate.

The problem is, it always counts.
What excuses have you been using?!

Where's the mojo?

I've had thoughts rolling around in my head for a while. When wrote a post on Friday I know I sounded desperate and at that moment I was. I was in a state of wanting to just not care and have what I want. Is a burger bad...no. Is Chinese bad...no. Is it good for me...I would venture to say no. Will I die or get some horrible sickness from eating a burger. No (hopefully not). Brandi and Elly were sweet and completely correct in their response to my post but at that moment in time, I needed to stick to my guns (Friday), and deny myself a burger or Chinese or whatever else. You see, I've come to the realization after being "stuck" where I'm at on the scale for a 1 1/2 yrs that I can't seek or hope for some light bulb moment. Some moment of external motivation. I have to dig deep inside of myself and force myself to make the right decisions. It's a constant. I have to constantly deny myself. I have to tell myself that although that pumpkin pie that I'm craving won't really hurt me, it's not whats best for me...at that moment. Now mind you, I'm not saying to give up everything. Have I had some pumpkin pie? Not recently but I did 2 weeks ago. Last Saturday Jeff and I went to Burgerville and split a burger and large fry for lunch. We each ordered a shake and split it with the kids. Since then, I have denied myself any other self indulgences. Have I wanted other things, yes. Have I allowed myself, no. Guys, we have to just dig. We have to stay strong and do what we do with the purest of intent.

I don't know how many of you know but this summer I started studying for a Bachelor of Science in Holistic Nutrition. If that doesn't seem crazy, I don't know what does. Here I struggle with loosing more weight, struggle with making healthy food decisions and yet decide to study nutrition. Any hoots, I wanted to share something from one of the books I've had to read. I know it's something many of us have said over and over and over again (to ourselves) but I feel it's worth being said again. In Elson M. Haas' book Staying Healthy with Nutrition he states "When we say the word diet, many of us may think of a particular time when we tried to lose or gain weight before going back to what we usually eat. Who we are, how we feel, and how we look in size and shape are the results of what we eat, our eating habits, and all that we do and think. So, if we wish to change in any way, we probably need to change our diet-that is, what and how we eat-rather than go on a diet."

Later Haas states, "Balancing our diet requires developing new tastes." and "Changing our diet or lifestyle is not necessarily easy, but it can be done, and it may influence many other aspects of our life for the better"

So, where did your motivation mojo go? How do you get it back. To use the phrase Nike coined, "Just do it". Dig down, dig deep, pray, and do it. It's a struggle. Don't I know all to well. It's a struggle that's worth it.

Weigh to go

I've got so many blog posts going round my head, but none of them have quite made it to the actually sitting down to write a blog post. I've also had the busiest weekend that I've had in a long time - I'm ready for another weekend just to recover!
So I'm sorry I haven't been around much this past week or so, I'll try harder this week...!
While you're here, weigh in!

(and and you might want to pop over to Brandi's site to see some fantastic news, and don't forget Debbie's site too..!)

My leg grew

Honestly. Go read about it!

I'm Sick

of eating healthfully! There. I said it. I've have eaten so stinking well for an entire week and I'm sick of it. I swear I gag at the idea of eating anymore greens (lettuce, spinach, kale), tomatoes, black beans...anything. The part that erks me more than anything is the fact that the scale was up 1.4 pounds this morning from my lowest weight this week. Grrr......
I so seriously want some Chinese right now. Will I? No. But I'm sick of eating good for my health and good for my waist line food. How about a burger? A yummy, juicy, make me gain 3 pounds burger? No? Whaaaa.

*I just wanted to jump back on here and say that I know that I can't look at eating healthily for just the purposes of weight loss. I know that there is so much more to being healthy. I comforted in knowing that for a period of time I'm not being a glutton, I'm comforted in knowing that I'm striving to make serious change in my life, I'm comforted in knowing that I'm working on making a change for my children.

oh, and a picture :)

Here he is with the boys. We didn't even think to get one of all of us. Oh well :) Enjoy!

He's home! and other news

So that's my big news!! My big ol' Marine is home finally. We're still down in Eastern NC for de-briefing and such but we'll be back on the other side of the state soon. :)

Other news, my challenge goals are going well. I've been a bit low on water intake since I'm not at home but other then that the rest are well. I suspect I might have even started losing a bit of weight! Woot! No scale around so hopefully next Monday will be a good start.

Also in other news, I start my new job when I get back home. I haven't had one in years because I've been staying at home with the little ones so this is exciting for me. I need social interaction. Very much so. :)

That's all for me, just wanted to pop in and say hello and I haven't forgotten about you guys!! *hugs*

Challenge Check in

How's it going??? 2 weeks down, 8 to go. It's going really well for me right now. I am on the computer at a time that I had said I wouldn't BUT I haven't been on it yet and have been staying away from blogland SO, I'm still on track.
Time to get to 2 fussy little ones.

Sometimes I Can't Figure Out ...

... if I'm Gilligan or the portly Skipper. Anyway, here's an excerpt from my journal this morning:

Throughout my whole weight loss journey, since March of 2007, I've lost more than 50 pounds. I should be ecstatic, but in many ways I feel disappointed. I had expected to reach my goal (72 pounds) by August of 2007, and here I am in November 2008 and I'm not even close. I still have the 20ish extra pounds hanging around, and I still have a strong desire to eat and eat and eat.

I feel like I'm on an island by myself. Most people would look at me and say, “Hey, you've lost over 50 pounds, be happy! That's enough” I don't feel that way, though. The hard thing is spiritual leaders (who I admire) can't even relate to my problem. Either they don't have an eating issue, or they do and they don't seem to care. That's why I feel like I'm on an island by myself. 

Welcome to a new week

Good morning, it's Monday again.
The sun isn't shining here, but maybe it is where you are...
How are your numbers looking today?

Julie's goals

Julie has trouble posting, so she emailed me her 3 main goals for this
current challenge:

Drink 3 pts water a day.

Catch up and keep up to date with my Bible reading plan.

Lose weight for at least 5 of the 10 weeks, staying level on the other
weeks. (ie, NO gains)

Thankful Thursday

What are you thankful for today?

I am very excited and thankful about something, but it's not really my secret, so I can't tell you what it is. Maybe the person whose news it is will chime in in the comments!

I'm also thankful that I get to meet up with DebbieBoo today :) Talking of which, I need to head out the door very soon!

Challenge Check in

How is every one's work towards goal coming?

Victoria, are you writing in your journal?
Missy, are you drinking water between and with meals?
Christina, how's the late night snacking?
Bekki, did you make a meal plan and stick to it?
Jessica, did you clean on Thursday instead of Friday?
Debs, are you exercising? (Be careful!)
Brandi, are you meditating on the portion of scripture that you have meant to memorize?
Stephine, how's the H2O intake?

As for me, well, not near as perfect as I'd love to be but working towards my goals.
With that said, I must get off this computer in order to work on my habit change and my goals.

Candy Corn

A 500 word assignment

Pumpkin Soup

I agreed with my mum (Elly) that I would type this recipe up for her about 2 weeks ago (when it was the food Friday soup recipe thing!) and unfortunately never got around to it. She's coming back from a few days away today, so I guess I'd better type it up quick!

serves 4-6
cooking time: 35-40 mins
preparation time: 10-15 mins

60 ml Olive Oil
2 medium onions, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp sage
1.25 kg pumpkin, peeled and deseeded
1 carrot, chopped
3 sticks of celery, chopped
Red chilli, finely chopped, seeds and all
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tsp ground allspice
A pinch on cinnamon
2 litres water (we're not entirely sure about this - it ended up pretty runny, but then my mum isn't sure we had as much pumpkin as they suggested, so perhaps use your own judgement when adding the water!)

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and add the onions. Sweat over a medium heat for 5 minutes until the onions have started softening. Add the garlic and sage, and cook for a while longer until the onions have started releasing their sugars and the garlic has started filling the kitchen with a lovely smell.

At this point add the rest of the aromatic vegetables, the carrots and celery, with the pumpkin, chilli, cinnamon and allspice. Season generously with a few teaspoons of salt and freshly ground pepper and throw in a couple of bay leaves.

Carry on sweating the vegetables until the pumpkin has started to soften. Pour over the water and bring to the simmering point.

Simmer the vegetables until they are soft, about 15 to 20 minutes. Blend with a stick blender to create minimal washing*.

We served the soup with a few roasted hazelnuts and grated cheese on the top.

* Be careful with the blender, because if you get distracted, disastrous things can happen. Not that we'd be talking from experience, or anything.

Missy's Late Challenge Goals

I might not be count now, but gosh-darn-it, I'll still do it with y'all!

By December 31, 2008 I will:
1. lose 8 pounds to get a few under 185
2. be consistently prompt (which includes posting in a more timely fashion!)
3. cook at least 5 evening meals at home each week

Reasons I MUST change:
1. to keep the pounds going down and breakthrough this 1 year plateau
2. to make plans that are solid but realistically flexible – stop overbooking or withdrawing: find a balance
3. to teach my children responsible habits
4. to be prepared, and yet surrendered to God
5. to find ways to save on the grocery budget so I can continue to be home with the kid

List 5 accomplishments needed to reach my Goal(s):
1. Drink water with every meal, and one glass between every meal
2. Eat only when I am hungry
3. Keep one calendar for the whole family and update daily
4. Take a moment each morning to plan the day
5. Take an hour each week to plan the week (meals, activities, shopping, etc.)

Tell me why.. I don't like Mondays

Hopefully your Monday will be better than mine. Actually, I don't think the day with be so bad, I'm just mad at myself for giving in to temptation and letting the diet go out of the window pretty much last week.
But today is a new day, a fresh start :)

How are you? Are you taking a fresh start, or continuing in a good groove? Where ever you are, go ahead and weigh in!

Cristina's Challenge Goals

By December 31st 2008 I will:
1. Loose 10lbs. I'm currently at 188, so on 12/31 I will weigh 178 or less.
2. I will read 2 books: The Shack and The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person
3. I will clean out my closet and my daughters closet.

Reasons I must change:
1. To improve my health
2. So that my daughter grows up with healthy habits
3. To reduce the clutter in these closets so that they don't stress me out
4. I've been wanting to read The Beck Diet Solution to see if I can really train my brain to think like a thin person; if thin people really think differently and I can learn to think like them, then I will be one step closer to leading a healthier lifestyle
5. To get closer to my goal weight

List 5 accomplishments needed to reach my goal(s):
1. Quit the late night snacking (aka binges)
2. Journal what I'm eating on my blog
3. Set aside time in the evenings to read
4. Set aside time on the weeekends to clean closets
5. Make healthy food choices when eating out and over the holidays

Bekki's challenge goals

By December 31, 2008 I will:

1. Lose a stone (14 lb).
2. Be regularly spending time with God each day.
3. Work through What Colour is my Parachute? by Richard N. Bolles to help me think through where I'm going in my career.

Reasons I MUST change:

1. I've been stuck around the same weight for months and it's time to shift it!
2. I've been trying to make myself happy with food and it doesn't work.
3. I want to have a healthy relationship with food where it isn't an issue or an idol.
4. I want to know God better.
5. I don't know what my next step in life is. I need to do some serious thinking about where next and not just drift along hoping that something will turn up.

List 5 accomplishments needed to reach my Goal(s):

1. Make a meal plan for the week and stick to it.
2. Stay away from sugar-filled cakes, especially flapjack. Replace them with healthy snacks (fruit, hummus and veg, low-fat cheese) or with water if I'm just thirsty or with doing something constructive if I'm just bored.
3. Plan time out from busy-ness, work, cleaning, shopping etc to spend just being with God, indoors or out, on my own or with others.
4. Plan time to read WCiMP and work through the exercises.
5. At least 30 minutes of exercise, 5 out of 7 days a week.

Today's the day!!

Yep! It's here! Our first official challenge here at Blogger. I really am excited about this one. Just to show you how excited I am about this one and to show you how much I would love for everyone to participate, you have through the rest of this week to post your goals. That's right, through Sunday night. Our 1 week check up will be next Wednesday though so for those of you that don't post within the next couple of days it will be more like a 9 week challenge.
Thank you so much Stephine, Jessica, Victoria and Brandi for challenging yourself. You all have some wonderful goals.

Jessica's challenge goals

By December 31, 2008 I will:

1. Lose ten pounds and then consistently weigh in under 190.
2. Read the Torah portion each week before Shabbat begins and spend at least some time in prayer/meditation.
3. Go to the gym at least three days a week.

Reasons I MUST change:

1. I've got good momentum going with weight loss right now, and I don't want to get stuck in a plateau. I want to keep losing.
2. I need to continue to strengthen my legs and arms.
3. When I don't exercise, I enter a vicious cycle...I don't want to go to the gym because I don't feel good, but then I don't feel good because I don't exercise...etc, etc.
4. Reading and understanding on some level the Torah portion deepens my understanding of and connection to God.
5. I'm tired of going into Shabbat morning services "cold," without warming up spiritually. Knowing the Torah portion that will be discussed helps me warm up.

List 5 accomplishments needed to reach my Goal(s):

1. Bring my own lunch to work most days of the week, rather than eat the school lunch. (I'm a teacher at a private school that provides lunch--mostly healthy but not South Beachy--for students and teachers.)
2. Remember to pack a snack for after work, before I go the gym. If I forget then I tend to skip the workout because I know I'll be too hungry to bike home afterwards.
3. Remember to pack my exercise shoes on my bike on days that I plan to go the gym.
4. Clean on Thursdays, rather than Fridays, so that I can have a quiet time and study time before lighting the Shabbat candles.
5. Make an effort on Sundays to learn the name of the upcoming Torah portion so that it's within my consciousness for the week.

Tami's challenge goals

By December 31, 2008 I will: (give specific/realistic goals)
1. Faithfully be spending time in scripture...not a set time but faithfully studying...digging deeper
2. Weigh 180 or less
3. Finish my current class for school

Reasons I MUST change:
1. To hide God's word in my heart
2. To not just accept God's word at status quot. To know and believe something because
I've studied and came to the conviction through studying
3. To be closer to being at a healthy weight...I don't want to become diabetic like all those in
my family
4. To feel better and to have more energy. I want to be a "Hot Mamma" for my husband.
5. Need to finish current class and move on.

List 5 accomplishments needed to reach my Goal(s):
1. Faithful time spent in prayer
2. Less time at the computer
3. Conscience food intake. Purposeful food intake
4. Faithfully set time aside a minimum of 4 days a week to study my schooling
5. Faithful time set aside each day for studying God's word

Debs' Challenge Goals

By December 31, 2008 I will: (give specific/realistic goals)
1. Weigh in at 200lb or less (currently at around 215)
2. Be exercising at least 3 times a week (hopefully more)
3. Tackle my confort eating - I realise that this is a biggie, but try to think about why I'm eating and do something more productive instead. I think this will involve some journaling too (sorry, this isn't a very specific goal!)

Reasons I MUST change:
1. To improve my health.
2. I've been stuck at this weight for ages, and it's getting boring!
3. Although I like how I look now, I know I'll like me even more when I lose some more weight.
4. I need the happy endorpines I get from exercise.
5. I've got really lax about eating and the weight seems to want to creep back on, so i need to get back into the right mindset.

List 5 accomplishments needed to reach my Goal(s):
1. Schedule exercise into my day - write it in my diary, so that it has to happen!
2. Stay away from chocolate, at all times of the month.
3. Stay on the beach, even at weekends - that's my time of weakness at the moment.
4. Journal some (if not all) of what i'm eating on my blog to stay accountable
5. Keep checking in with people, especially when things have gone wrong, rather than wallowing and letting them get worse (eg comfort eating)

Brandi's Challenge Goals

Tami and Debs--thanks for making the challenge available to those of us who are no longer making weight-loss a goal. (However, please don't feel like you need to always make challenges appropriate for those of is at goal...I understand this is still a "weight-loss" site!) :-)

Specific Goals:
1. Memorize 5 scriptures
2. Use arm weights 4 times per week
3. Read the book, "Choosing Forgiveness" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Reasons I must change:
1. I want to hide God's word in my heart that I might not sin against Him (Psalm 119:11)
2. And so I will know the truth and the truth will set me free (John 8:32)
3. And so I can stand against the attacks of the enemy without having to take time to go look up a scripture...it will be in my head already.
4. I want to have shapely arms to help fight genetics...all my female ancestors have flabby arms :-) I want to look my best for my hubby.
5. I want to be a woman who is characterized by a forgiving attitude because the Lord makes it so clear in scripture that He wants me to forgive.

Accomplishments needed to reach my goals:
1. Meditate on my 5 scriptures daily and quiz myself at regular intervals.
2. Use my scriptures in prayer.
3. Have my children quiz me.
4. Do my weights before lunch.
5. Read a chapter per week...that will even give me a "cushion."

You guys did a great job! This challenge is cool! :-)

Victoria's challenge goals

By December 31, 2008 I will: (give specific/realistic goals)

1. Lose 10 pounds

2. Exercise 5 days a week for 45 minutes at a time
3. Journal everyday.

Reasons I MUST change:

1. To improve my health.
2. To be obedient to God in this area of my life
3. To be able to keep up with my children
4. To feel better (I have been struggling with asthma)
5. Fit into smaller clothes…can’t afford to buy new and bigger clothing.

List 5 accomplishments needed to reach my Goal(s):

1. Journal everything that I place into my mouth
2. Eat more at home/stay away from fast food
3. Exercise 5-6 days a week
4. Drink 6 – eight oz of water daily
5. Pray!

Stephine's Challenge goals

By December 31, 2008 I will: (give specific/realistic goals)

1. lose 10 lb
2. exercise at least 3x/wk
3. Eat out less (maybe every Sunday after church only?

Reasons I MUST change:
1. health
2. put an end to personal destruction (mental)
3. to be able to keep up with my kids
4. I've got to lower my stress level
5. The eating-out bill is kicking our tail

List 5 accomplishments needed to reach my Goal(s):
1. exercise more (at least 3x/wk)
2. Stop stressing so much
3. drink more h2o, I'm aiming for 48oz for now, up to 64+
4. cook more at home.
5. being faithful and trust more that God will help me achieve my goals

Happy Birthday

to Missy!
Have a great day :)

Oops!

Where did this morning go? It's already afternoon and I haven't got the weigh-in post up.
Here it is folks. Weigh away!

Don't forget to check out the challenge (post below this)

10 Weeks to New Years Challenge

Yeah! It's time for a challenge. I am super excited about this one. Anyone is welcome to join in. Yes, Brandi, Jana, and Elly...even you maintaining super stars! Okay so here it goes. Debs and I really wanted to keep this challenge fair for everyone. Some of us LOVE to exercise, some of us...eh...not so much and some of us really can't for one reason or another. So, this challenge is a personal challenge. One that we create for ourselves. I am going to give y'all some homework and you have until next Wednesday (Oct. 22) to "turn" it in. By turning it in, you have to post your decisions/answers here on the blog. If you are not a member and/or can't post please email me at tlb81003 (at) normalonline.com (change it to @) with your completed homework.
This challenge will last 10 weeks. Dec 31st is report day. Now, I understand that some of us will be doing other things on New Years Eve (have fun...I'll be snoozing) so you have 1 week to post your results and in your post I'd love to I'd love to know how you're feeling. Did you experience growth, triumphs, have any wow moments, any realizations? Results must be posted or emailed to me by the night of Tuesday, January 6.

So, what's the homework? What's the challenge you ask. Good question. This challenge will deal with each one of us and wherever we are in life. Whether you want to focus on weight, spending daily time with God, procrastination...wherever, whatever you want/need.

By December 31, 2008 I will: (give specific/realistic goals)
example: “lose 12 pounds”

1.

2.

3.

Reasons I MUST change:
example: “improve my health”

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

List 5 accomplishments needed to reach my Goal(s):
example: “drink a minimum of 64 oz per day”

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Okay, now for the "prize". We're not going to have a prize with this challenge. We will have a gift package that I've lovingly named "Indulge This Year". I'm not going to tell you what it is but Bird, if you decide to join in you'll be playing for your lovely wife...maybe. :-) Hehe

In order to be eligible for this package you must accomplish 2 of your 3 goals. I think this is fair because it is the season for many unexpected things to happen and we all need to know that is is awesome to reach goals no matter if you didn't reach them all. If you reach 2 of the 3 goals your name will be thrown into the drawing. The name pulled will receive a yummy package from me. (You all are thinking food now aren't you!) Yes, I will ship overseas so all of our friends over there can participate.

Alright, so I think that's about it. If you are in on this challenge leave a comment and let us know. If you have a question, do the same. Remember, you have until next Wednesday to turn your "homework" in. We will do weekly challenge check in's on Wednesday.

Alright, off to put little ones to bed...it's way past time.

Hear ye, hear ye

Be on the look out for our first (for this web address) challenge that will get us through the rest of the year! I'll be posting the details tonight or tomorrow and it will begin next Wednesday. This challenge will last 10 weeks which will take us right up to Dec. 31st! Can you believe only 10 weeks left of 2008? Crazy!

I can't wait to share all the nitty gritty little details with you.
Oh, and the gift package involves indulging yourself next year.
See ya soon!

Tuscan White Bean Soup with Prosciutto

This recipe is from January 2001 Cooking Light magazine.

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 c. chopped prosciutto or ham (about 2 ounces)
1 c. chopped onion
3/4 c. chopped celery
3/4 c. chopped carrot
1 garlic clove, minced
1 c. water
2 (19-ounce) cans cannellini beans or other white beans, undrained
2 bay leaves
1 (15.75-ounce)can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 TBL minced fresh parsley
2 TBL sherry (optional)
1/4 tsp black pepper

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the prosciutto, and saute for 2 minutes. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic; saute for 2 minutes or until soft.
Add the water, beans, bay leaves, and broth, and bring soup to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer soup for 20 minutes.
Add the parsley, sherry, and black pepper; cook for 1 minute. Discard bay leaves.

Split Pea Soup

(vegetarian and a bit spicy)

Saute in large pot until nearly limp:

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

generous 1/3 tsp. Ground thyme

in:

I T butter

add:

8 C water

1 lb. Split peas

3-4 large carrots, shredded

1 ½ tsp. Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning

1/2-1 tsp. Salt

Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer. Simmer, covered about 2 hrs, stirring occasionally. (A Crock Pot works well too.) It's done when the peas are mushy and falling apart. If too thick, thin with water, broth or milk. I usually serve soup with homemade bread. Enjoy!

Yum!

CLEARFIELD, Pa. (AP) — A chef at a western Pennsylvania Italian restaurant ate a 15-pound burger with 5.2 pounds of toppings in 4 hours and 39 minutes. Brad Sciullo, of Uniontown, is the first person to successfully eat the huge burger at Denny's Beer Barrel Pub, said pub owner Dennis Liegey.

The burger — called the Beer Barrel Belly Bruiser — include a bun, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onions, mild banana peppers and a cup each of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard and relish.

When asked what possessed him to eat a burger that big, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound Sciullo said: "I wanted to see if I could."

Some days, I feel like doing this myself. Read the whole story here. 

Black Bean Soup

2 cups fat-free chicken broth
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
1 can rotel
3 cans black beans, undrained
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced

Simmer carrots, celery and onions in broth until tender. Add remaining ingredients. Cover, simmer 20 minutes stirring occasionally.
Serving size= 1 cup, 1 WW point per serving

Howdy Y'all

Yes, I'm so super late with my intro post BUT better late than never, right?

If you didn't guess from my title, I'm in Texas, Dallas TX.

My name is Cristina and I have been a part of OWOA since February 2007, I think that's when I stumbled upon the site.

I'm married and have a 4 year old daughter. I also work full-time outside of the home as a software developer.

Before I got pregnant, I had lost quite a bit of weight, approximately 70lbs, by following Body for Life. Towards the end of that journey, I switched to South Beach because I had hit a plateau. Then I got pregnant, had my daughter, struggled to get back into a routine and ended up putting on more weight. I was finally able to get back into the groove and figure out how to juggle home, husband, daughter, work, friends, life, etc.

I originally started on Weight Watchers weighing in at 252.5 I then switched to Body for Life, did a little South Beach, met with a nutritionist and now I just do my own thing...a combo of Body for Life/meal plan from nutritionist.

My problem is not lack of exercise, I LOVE LOVE LOVE to exercise. My problem is food. I love food...sweets to be exact. I do fine all day and then the sun goes down and my sweet tooth comes out.

Well, that's about it for now....OH! one last thing...my sister Claudia recently became on OWOA-er. :)

Yay for exercise

I just did 20 minutes on the treadmill, and it was the best minutes I've spent in a long time. (I was given the go ahead by my physio friend)
Actually, I think that it's helped me to get back to walking normally - I've been limping, but trying to get back to walking properly, but it's quite hard. On the treadmill you don't have time to think about how you're walking, you just do it. When I got off my walking was better than when I got on. Definitely a reason to keep it up. My mood was better too :)

Have you moved your body today?

Pssstttttt........

A little birdy told me that this Friday was Food Friday and so I'd better have a soup recipe on hand.

Last time Debs tried to get us to post recipes it was for SB phase 1 and it really was a no show around here. I'm in the...oops, I forgot group myself.

So, your challenge, should you choose to accept, is to post a soup recipe on Friday. It is really cooling down most everywhere these days. Parts of Utah and I believe Colorado have even experienced the first snow of the season. Wouldn't it be great to begin this fall and winter season with a stockpile of soup, stew and chili recipes? The soup pictured here is from Cooking Light and come Friday morning I'm running to the store to grab the required items for this recipe. We shall have it for lunch...Tuscan White Bean Soup with Prosciutto.

Shake your groove thang

Have you moved your body today? What'd ya do? If not, are you planning on it? Debs, I know you can't do any cardio with your ankle but have you thought about doing upper body stuff with some light weights? (I was just thinking about you that's why I ask...hope you don't mind)

Welcome

Good morning, Good Monday

How's things with you today?

Why not weigh in..

Happy birthday to Bekki today, and please continue to keep Kimmi and her daughter and the whole family in your prayers.

I cheated...

That's right, I blew it. First cheat in 3 weeks, and the scales went up 2 pounds in ONE DAY to prove it. And I blew it big time. Pizza... lots of pizza. And it wasn't even very good pizza.

I know why, though... I am so depressed. Please pray for my family. My oldest daughter has been admitted into the hospital, because of suicial threats and out of control rages. I miss her so much. I'm so worried about her. And the scary thing is that she really likes it there...

I'm not gonna cheat again right now... I know I need to stay strong. It's just that I'm having such a hard time drumming out the thoughts of "I just reallly don't care right now".

Hello out there....

Is anyone here in OWOA land with me today? I feel so lonely. Anyone? If you are, what are your plans for the weekend? Are you pumping yourself up to make wise food choices? Are you planning on exercising?
I must admit, since the 25th of Sept. I've missed 2 days on the treadmill and 1 of the days I "made up for" by exercising 2x the following day. This is hugely in part because of Brandi's challenges over at her blog. Any hoots, I don't plan on taking the weekend off either. I do wish the scale would show the difference. I've had too many carbs this week. Not in a gluttonous fashion (with exception to the cookies one day and too many biscuits yesterday) just too many. My body is weird like that. I have to be cautious of how many starches I eat. I've also been on guard because I've had some serious desire for the starches. This would mean that it's time to scale WAY back on them. Big stuff this week though. I threw away all of the white flour, brown sugar and sugar substitute a couple days ago. I made the biscuits with stone ground wheat flour.

Well, I'm rambling. Too much coffee I suppose.
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Tomato soup

I have an abundance of tomatoes. While most everyone I meet has complained about their lack this year, God blessed us with more than I know what to do with. I've frozen them (take them out of the freezer, place under warm water and the skin comes right of...takes the place of stewed toms), I've canned tons of salsa, I've canned bbq sauce with them and I've dehydrated them with plans of putting them in oil. Despite all of these efforts, I still have more. So, my dilemma was what else can I do. We're not big marinara people so that would be a waste. My solution, tomato soup. Now mind you, I used to hate the stuff but lately...complete love. I thought I'd share my recipe for it.
Cream of Tomato soup
2 c. chicken broth
5 c. diced and seeded tomatoes
1/2 of a large onion, diced
1/2 c. diced celery
1/2 c. 1% milk

Add all of the ingredients BUT the milk to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer. Allow to simmer until all veggies are soft. At this point I threw it into the food processor. I didn't completely puree it because I like a little chunk...makes me think hearty. Place the soup back into the pot, bring to a low boil and add milk. I continued to cook at a simmer for roughly 30 mins. This helped to reduce which creates a slightly thickened base. You could salt and pepper to taste...I personally avoid added salt. Also, basil would be a wonderful additive however I used dill this time around. I would say that this recipe makes 4 servings and when plugged into the calorie counter only comes out with around 67 calories. Not too shabby eh? This soup is paired up wonderfully with a salad and a yummy whole wheat biscuit. The soup is perfect for phase 1. My husband was out of town when I made this so I ate a bowl and then placed the other 3 servings in individual baggies and froze. It will be a perfect thing to pull out when I don't feel like cooking or when we forget to make Jeff's lunch.

I have a problem

I'm sitting down having a grand ol' time and then when I stand up, my jeans want to stay in the chair!

I guess it's not a horrible problem, but it's a problem nonetheless. I HATE belts and the only one I own is back in TX. I guess I can go out and buy one, but I don't even know how! And since my funds are extremely limited, I definitely can't buy new jeans.

What's a girl to do?

Thankful Thursday

What are you thankful for today?

I'm thankful for the beautiful sunny weather we've had the last couple of days.

I'm thankful for my friend who is a physio therapist and has been working on my ankle.

I'm thankful that God loves me and has a plan for my life.

[This is also an optional weigh-in]
[Boo, I hope I didn't jump on your toes by posting this!]

Better late than never?

Hello! I know there's probably been speculation as to my whereabouts, general health, etc., and I can't blame you. If I tried to tell you how crazy my summer has been, you wouldn't even believe me. Anyway, I'm finally getting around to my intro, so here it is!

My name is Jana and I've been around OWOA since the beginning. I started out at 212 lbs and in November of last year reached a final weight of 147. This summer I had my gall bladder removed and gained five pounds because I couldn't exercise or do much moving around at all. So now I'm somewhere around 149 and heading for that 145-148 area again.

It might not seem like much, but I am struggling. Struggling with exercising on a regular basis, struggling with not eating too much, struggling with eating the right things. A lot of this has to do with all the stress in my life right now - I homeschool, I'm teaching a high school level English class, and my husband is out of town (WAY out of town - in China) three weeks a month. Plus a lot of other stuff I won't get into. It's hard to sit down and plan weekly menus when I can't even find time to do a ten minute workout.

So that's how it is around here right now. I won't give up, but sometimes I do feel like I'm just hanging on by a thread!

What do you do?

So, after admitting to complete gluttony earlier today I told myself that I would not continue the same path for today. You see, typically if I over indulge...okay let's just call it what it is, if I'm gluttonous, (over indulge seems like such a fluffy word...a way to make it seem to myself that what I did really wasn't that bad) then I continue in that form for the rest of the day and tell myself I'll start again tomorrow. Today, I didn't do that. We can't continue in the path of starting again tomorrow. We must continue to walk on the right path whatever that path is for each of us (I'm talking food and exercise right now).
So you slip, you have some cake even though you're not planning on it or you have 5 cookies (or the dough ;-)), or you eat fried oreos, or you eat to much yummy Mexican goodness, or chocolate, or even too much roast and vegetables for dinner, the point is that as soon as we are aware of what we are doing, we stop. We change. For that moment in time we commit to not continuing down the path the rest of the day.

So, my question to all of you is what do you do? Are you like me and frequently tell yourself you start again in the morning? If you want to share with the group what you do then by all means please do. We are here to support each other. To lift each other up in prayer. To be each other's cheerleaders.

Alright, I'm off to Amazon to add a few books to my wish list, look up recipes for home made tomato soup (I have a plethora of tomatoes this year), finish my cuppa decaf chai and crawl into bed with my new chronological Bible.

Fried Oreos

Yikes!! I'm really going to have to make up for those...

Atleast we all had a fantastic time at the fair!

A weak moment

Um...I just ate a few cookies. Okay, 5. I'm sick thinking about the gluttony. It was a weak moment. A moment that I gave into the flesh but it's over. Onward and upward. Just because I blew it for those few moments doesn't mean that the day is shot.

Um, hello

Anyone else around?
Yes, I know lots of you weighed in, but you're allowed to write posts too ;)

How are things going today?
I am absolutely zonked. I cannot believe how tired I am. Hopefully I'll get an earlyish night tonight and that will help. Things are going ok dietwise - I'm still on the beach :)

Happy Birthday

to Jana :)
I hope you're having a great day.

What's your number?

It's another Monday, another weigh in. We can't change what happened last week, but we can make a difference to next week.
Put your number down, and look forward with excitement to another week.

Please also tell me if you're interested in joining a challenge/competition. And whether you'd be willing to pay a small fee to go towards a prize..
Also also, can I do a quick poll and ask you what diet/way of life.. you're using to lose weight.

*Edited to add: I'm getting the impression that a free to enter challenge is the way to go. I will hopefully get around to typing up a post this afternoon (If the kiddos nap at the same time...!)*

I fell off the phase one wagon today

in fact, I'm so far off it, I can't even see it.
It was cake. Birthday cake. I ate lots of cake this afternoon. I have a sugar headache, I don't feel good. I'm back to phase one from this moment on.
(and I have a feeling I won't like my weigh in tomorrow, but I'll do it anyway. Promise!)

Thursday was

my 2 year anniversary of starting this weight loss journey.
I've blogged about it here and here.
I will write a post on here (OWOA) at some point too (just life got busy all of a sudden!)

Food Friday! - The South Beach Phase One edition

Since I'm sitting eating veggie curry for breakfast and typing this post (yes, wrong in so many ways, but I only have 12 minutes before I have to head out of the door) I obviously need to link to my (in)famous veggie curry recipe.

However, unlike me, Nikki probably doesn't want to survive a couple of weeks on phase one just eating curry, so... what have you got?!

(I'll try to post another recipe later, cos I feel like this is a bit of a cop out).

Also, new competition/challenge launching soon (Once I've got my head around it!). There will be exercise stuff and other food/life/God related challenges. (Just to make it really confusing!)
Since I'm rules out of exercising at the moment, I'll be judge ;). I'm not sure about the entrance fee/winnings side of it at the moment.
Leave me your ideas in the comments. Pretty please.

Hmm, 6 minutes left. Better get back to eating curry...

my intro...

So I'm sort of behind here... Sorry...

I'm Stephine and I'm a scrapaholic... oh wait, wrong site...right, I'm Stephine and I'm overweight.

There, the truth is out. I feel so much better already. :o)

I'm a mom of 2 brilliant little boys (1 daughter, if you count the cousin{16} I've taken into my home) wife of 1 very fun-loving, adventure seeking Marine. I'm a Tiger Cub Leader for our local cub scouts, an avid scrapbooker and cardmaker (as well as wood, chipboard, etc. Nothing is safe!), Music junkie, nature lover, and extreme procrastinator.

I never really had a weight problem until I started having kids. I gained {gasp!} 90lbs with my oldest son, thanks to a lovely case of pre-eclampsia. I lost 60 of it but never the rest but I was ok with my shape, size etc. Along came baby #2 about four years later, gained the recommended amount of 30lb lost all but 5lb of it within 6 wks. Over the next year I put all that weight right back on for no apparent reason other then lack of exercise. Here I am now. I've lost aprox 10lb and I have steadily remained between 160-165 for a few months now. I would like to reach a long term goal of 125-130.

My weapon of choice started with Weight Watchers. That didn't do much. I then switched to South Beach. My big problems are outside influence (read: my mom) and temptations in the form of Southern cooking that I've been raised on and LOVE. They make up a large portion of my issues but the biggest would be my lack of willpower. I find it extremely hard to keep with something longer then a week. I'm working on that.

There you have it. Any questions?

Sorry to overwhelm you with posts

but I just wanted to thank Bekki, Bird, Brandi, Christy F, DebbieBoo, Kimmie, Nikki and Tami for introducing themselves to us all. If you missed any of those you can click on their name and go to meet them. I'm there too.

Claudia, Cristina, Jana, Julie, Missy and Stephine (who I believe will be writing hers very soon ;) )
come out of the woodwork and share a little about yourselves. It'd be great if you could also share a photo of yourself. If anyone needs help with how to write a post or how to upload photos then I'm here to help!

Kellie and Mandi, where are you? You still need to accept your invites to be able to write posts on the blog :)

Psst, Nikki...

Kalyn has a post up which is a round-up of phases one recipes from around the blogosphere this past month. You might like to check it out.

Thankful Thursday/Optional Weigh-in

Good morning, and welcome to Thursday. I'm guessing I got here before most of you, and it appears to be set to be a good day! Why not share reasons that you're thankful, and while you're at it you have the chance to weigh-in too.

Hello, my name is Kimberly, and I'm...

finally getting around to my introduction! Sorry it has taken so long. This is a recent pic of me with my youngest daughter.

My name is Kimberly. I am 38 years old. I have 3 children, 2 girls and 1 boy. My son lives with his dad (my ex) in California, and the girls live with me here in Virginia. I am currently separated from my second husband. I just lost my job on Monday, so I am currently unemployed and anxious. I was an original member of OWOA, but I disappeared for a while. Debs never lost touch with me, though, and I'm grateful that she drew me back in!

My weight loss journey... Several years ago I did the low-carb diet, and lost a bit of weight. With marriage problems and comfort eating, I gained it back and then some. I got all the way up to 230. After the divorce I lost 50 pounds on the low carb diet, went off, and gained 20 of it back. However, I am proud that I kept 30 of it off. A lot of my recent gain has been because of an abusive marriage, that I am now out of. SO, the new OWOA board was a great time for me to start all over again. I do the low carb cuz it works for me. It helps with other medical problems as well. So, when our church offered an 8 week "biggest loser" class, a few of my friends joined with me. One plus is that my best friend is my worst sabateur for my diet, and now she is dieting with me and low carbing as well so this helps me stay on my diet. One minus is that the weigh in is at night.... YIKES! So it's always a suprise when you weigh in. It also means that my weight loss here doesn't match my weight loss there. I weighed in tonight and lost 6.8 pounds from the previous week. I met my goal plus a little bit more. My total 2 week loss is 13.? pounds.

Our biggest loser team won the first week, so as a reward we were given pedometers and a 10,000 step a day challenge. So my goal is to get 10,000 steps in a day. It might take a while to build up to it, but at least I have a goal. Can't think of anything else... Any questions? LOL!

Phase One Recipe

I don't know if you like curry, Nikki, but I thought I'd share the phase one recipe that arrived in my inbox this morning from South Beach Daily Emails.
Just click over to see the recipe..
Indian Vegetable Curry

Anyone else have a phase one recipe they would like to share? Let's have that as a theme for Food Friday this week. (I know not everyone is doing south beach, so please don't get mad at me, think of it as helping out a friend!)

(and even if the recipe has been shared before on the old site, you can share it again here, cos I still haven't finished tagging the recipe archive, so it's a bit hard to find recipes when you're looking for them. If you are trying to hunt down a recipe on the archives site, let me know and I can give you a hand)

For Nikki

Top Ten Positive Things About Phase One

10. You don't have to think much about what you will eat...there aren't too many options to confuse you.

9. You are forced to learn how to cook and eat lots of vegetables.

8. You have few to no cravings for sweets (after the initial 3 day detox.)

7. Although the initial detox is kinda hard, at least you've got a lot of junk out of your system.

6. Increased energy.

5. You start losing immediately.

4. Your clothes start fitting better immediately.

3. South Beach Cookbooks are really cool.

2. Steak, grilled onions and mushrooms and salad is a really yummy dinner.

And the number one positive about Phase One of South Beach is...................

(drum roll, please...)

1. Brussels Sprouts With Garlic! A recipe that I never would have tried unless I had done Phase One of South Beach. And I LOVE it!! :-)

We're in this with you, Nikki! You can do it! :-)

*Link added for the Brussel Sprouts Recipe*

My First Post!

I thought I would right my first post here since I haven't really been around much since the new sight. So here I am. Nikki. A 29 yr old mother of 3 and wife of 1. I was a really thin person up until age 19 then it was up and down a lot. I have 28 lbs I would like to lose but my short term goal is 18 lbs. I am not good at fitting in exercise at all. I want to but I homeschool and my kids are still young and and and I will give you any excuse I can find. So here I am again. Starting phase 1 AGAIN! I really want to get down to 160 by Thanksgiving if possible. That is what I weight last year at Thanksgiving and that is when I went off South beach and never could fully return. So that is pretty much it for me. Yesterday I was successful at not cheating at all and today I plan on doing the same! Have a great day!

Welcome to Monday

The start of another new week. How are you planning to 'fight the fat' this week?
And while you're here, weigh-in!

bonus pic...

cos Boo said I didn't post enough pictures of me ;)

There are...

just over 12 weeks until Christmas.
I'm thinking about some sort of challenge. Any ideas let me know, and I'll get back to you all soon.
Things need shaking up a bit around here!

Introducing Debs

Hmmm, well, where do I start? I guess most of you probably know at least a little bit about me by now.
I'm 26, I'm currently living in London with my parents. I'm weighing in mostly around 210lb at the moment, and in a way my weight loss is on hold for a bit.













I've been dealing with depression lately, and focusing on just trying to stay on track with my
eating and not comfort eat too much.
Couple that with a badly sprained ankle over a month ago, which means I'm not really able to exercise much at the moment, and it's a recipe to be pretty much stuck. I've lost and gained the same 10lb over and over again, but I think that to be honest, so long as I stick around the same sort of bracket, I'm not too worried at the moment. Obviously, I would like to keep losing weight, but I'm trying to be realistic about it.












I probably have other things I should add, but that's all I've got right now. So instead I've included a few pics of me, taken over the past few days/weeks












This is the most recent one - I had my hair cut last Monday.

Presenting Elly

I know that she's not really an official OWOA member anymore, but I thought I'd upload a photo of her from this morning - modelling her recently completed jumper. Doesn't she look good at goal? :)

Pumpkin Pie latte

Oh mylanta! I found an absolutely yummy recipe over at Livin Our Love Song earlier this week. Being a latte and pumpkin freak I had to try it. It was so yummy I inquired if I could share with you and was happily given permission. I know that some of y'all out there like your latte too so this is being shared with you in mind.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Pumpkin Pie Latte

1 heaping T. canned pumpkin
2 T. Vanilla syrup
1 t. Ginger Spice syrup (or sub 1/4 t. ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice)
1 cup milk
1-2 shots espresso (1/4 C. espresso or 1/2 C. strong brewed coffee)
To make a pumpkin latte at home: In a small saucepan, stir pumpkin puree into milk. Add syrup and cinnamon. Heat gently until steaming, stirring occasionally.
Blend on high for 20 second until foaming. Pour flavored milk into a tall glass and pour coffee over. Dust with ground pumpkin pie spice or nutmeg.Serves 1.

Thank you Ash for letting me share your recipe and for letting me use your picture!

Heading into the weekend

After weighing myself this morning (yes, after requesting the extra weigh-in to be on Thursday, I totally forgot about it. Whoops!) I can see that I need to be disciplined this weekend and make sure I stay on track with my eating. Cardio exercise is still pretty much a no-no for me - although my ankle is a bit better after some physio, it's still painful. Therefore I need to be extra disciplined about my eating.

I'm gonna try to stay on track, although I'm not sure eating a cold sausage and a portion of blackberry&apple crumble for breakfast was the best start to the day...! I may be going out for lunch today, in which case I will make myself choose something that's on plan.
How are you planning to survive the weekend? ;)

What's the weigh?

Okay, so here we have it. Our first mid-week weigh in. This is purely optional. I'm doing it because I need the accountability. I was down yesterday from Monday but after my 2 small pieces of pizza I'm up to 194.6. I am so determined to see something lighter on Monday.
We can do this you guys! Let's really lean on God and the friendship of each other.

What's for dinner today?

We'll be having fajitas.
Plan something yummy and then RESIST the evening snacks. (Yes, I'm talking to YOU ;) )

Wednesday shout out!

Hey all? How are you guys doing so far this week?
What's been or what do you think will be your biggest obstacle this week?
Mine? I'm supposed to meet my parents and nephew at an all you can eat pizza bar. Okay, first and foremost all you can eat and pizza...just wrong. Secondly, my parents and my relationship is very strained. So, this would lead to major stress eating BUT I am determined to only purchase the salad bar. No pizza or joes or bread or beans or chicken for this chick.

So, talk to me.
One last thing. For those that want to we will have an optionally weigh in on Friday. I know that for me I think it might help me to get through the weekend without blowing the progress of the week.

What's Holding You Back?

I need honesty from all of you chicks out there. You need to honestly tell me ... what's holding you back from consistently losing weight and keeping it off?

I'm just as guilty as anyone. What's holding me back is my food idolatry. :-( I love food, and I love to eat it -- lots of it! Seriously. While I've lost more than 50 pounds since March 2007, I've had the same freaking 20-ish pounds to lose for the past year or more. That's jacked up!

This week I didn't lose any weight, but last week I lost three pounds. So hopefully I can lose a pound or two for next week, and be right back on the losing track.

What's holding you back? (By the way, if you're not being held back, and you're consistently losing and keeping it off, what was your motivation? What helped you say "enough is enough"?)

Monday, Monday, so good to me

It's another Monday morning, the birds are singing sweetly in the trees, the sun is shining, the...
actually, the only thing true in that last sentence is the fact that it's Monday, but a girl can dream.

Weigh in, and tell us one goal you have for the coming week. It can be weight-loss related, or not, I don't mind!

all about me

Hello. I'm Bekki, aka Pig Wot Flies (There's an explanation in this old post). I'm also Debs' sister and Elly's daughter. I've been on the large side (tall and overweight) for most of my life. I've wanted to lose weight for years, but never really felt like I could. Then when Debs and Elly started South Beach back in 2006, and it seemed to be working for them, I thought I'd give it a try. I started in January 2007, weighing 200lb and over the next 10 months or so lost nearly 40lb. My lowest was 163lb, just before my birthday (13 October). I even started going to the gym and enjoying it. However, this year, life started to fall apart. I injured my back in January, which kept me out of the gym. Then in March/April, I had a flu-type virus from which I never recovered. It left me exhausted, depressed and not able to do much. Eventually I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with post-viral fatigue. I was pretty depressed for most of the summer and comfort-eating. I stopped weighing myself because I just didn't want to know.

I think lots of the reasons for being depressed had been building for years. At some level I'd thought losing weight would make me happy, but it didn't. Nothing did. I was covering up the sadness by being very busy. I left my job to start an MA in English in September 2007, which I think was the right thing to do at the time, but by the end of 2007, I was just busy busy busy all the time, with very little time to stop and think and pray and actually think about being happy. Happiness was always delayed, to be found when I'd handed in the next essay or finished whatever was making my life hectic at that moment.

I'm getting better, gradually, with the help of friends, prayer, anti-depressants and counselling. I still get tired easily, but I'm mentally more positive. I'm taking a break from my course. My essays are done, but I've got a dissertation to write which I can't face at the moment. I'm looking for a part-time job; something to pay the bills and give my week some structure without wearing me out.

This morning I weighed 183.4lb. Clearly the comfort eating and inability to do anything have had the obvious effect. But I'm getting back on the weight-loss wagon. I want to take things very slowly, make little changes and not beat myself up for the failures. I still dream of vintage dresses, Tami! I've got a couple I fitted into last year that now don't fit and I'd love to get back into them again. I also have a lot of thinking and praying and sorting out to do. Being ill has left me questioning a lot of my plans for the future and wondering if the things I thought would make me happy are really so good. But, not being able to do anything made me cry out to God more and He's my hope that my life does have a purpose and I will be whole again.

Here's a recent photo of me, with DebbieBoo in Cambridge last Friday. I may not be as slim as I was last summer, but I'm still slimmer than I was when I began this weight loss journey. I've got some way to go, but I've learnt that losing weight doesn't fix me or make me happy, God does.

FINALLY!

I finally have a minute to sit at the computer and write out an intro post. I've been running around crazy for well over a week now, and although it's midnight, I figured it's now or never!

Hi, my name is Debbie, but since my bro, Bird, is also online many have come to know me as Boo. So to avoid confusion (esp since we also have a Debs) I was appointed the name DebbieBoo for the sake of OWOA-ers. Calling me either Debbie or Boo is fine.

Up until three months ago I had been a Kindergarten teacher. I love teaching and loved the kiddos and all the teacher friends I made, but my school was horrendous! Extra long hours, on top of an hour commute each morning and evening, took their toll on me. Plus the extra-curricular requirements -- one or more meetings after school each week, family night every month, fall festival, winter festival, spring festival, hispanic heritage month events, black heritage month events, cinco de mayo celebration, graduations -- you name it, we did it! My coworkers and I joked we were all on a reality show that combined it all - The Apprentice, Survivor, Big Brother, So You Think You Can Dance, AND Project Runway. And since our director wasn't the warmest and friendliest of people, that made working there so much harder.

But I wouldn't exchange those years for anything! It's there that I became good friends with Melissa and she's the reason I even attempted a weightloss journey. I wanted to help her because she was very sick and worried she may not be around for her kids much longer (and she was only 35 at the time!). So I began cooking all our lunches and she supplied all the snacks for the South Beach Diet. We started October 8, 2007. Both of us had noticable weightloss at first, but after a few months Melissa's weight melted away. Mine, not so much. Stress and feeling sorry for myself caused me to cheat here and there until I finally got to the point where I stopped dieting all together. And honestly, I'm not completely back to it.

I lost about 18 pounds total and dropped a size, but plateaued for months. Then eventually started putting some back here and there. So today, I'm pretty much back where I started last year, weight-wise (around 230), but am still noticable smaller than I was (I just saw a friend after over a year apart and she said I look smaller all over, so that helped me feel a bit better).

I'm rather comfortable in my own skin, but I'd like to lose at least 70-80 pounds just to be healthier. Heck, I'd settle for 20-30 if it meant I could fit into some clothes in a really cheap shop I discovered yesterday. Boy, the money I would save while still looking fashionable! But the problem is, it's very hard for me to lose weight. My mom's convinced I have a thyroid prob, but we're not ones to always go to the doctor and I don't have insurance anyway. Besides, I was tested a few years back and it was negative (but that still didn't satisfy mom). Anywho, I've tried many different things, many different times, and it's always the same -- I lose about 10-15 pounds and then stall out until I eventually stop trying. But I'm gonna give it a go again, while praying God puts right whatever may be wrong in my body.

Four days ago I moved to Bedford, England to volunteer at an organization that runs a night shelter. I'll start working in the Shelter tomorrow (prayers, please!). It's been something I've wanted to do for many years now, and finally have the opportunity. It's definitely something I felt God call me to, but I still worry about finances and practical living.

As far as my weightloss strategy, I'll be exercising a lot more since I have to WALK everywhere. No car for me, in jolly ol' England. And I'm using the basic elements of South Beach and good old fashioned portion control. No counting calories for me, though, because I stink at math.

I blog over at Decidedly Wandering and can be found on Facebook and Skype for those who know me. I'm single and am ok with it since commitment scares the heck outta me and I'm not naive to think marriage is all fun and games anymore. Not that I wouldn't answer the phone to any eligible bachlors you may send my way (as long as he loves God, is educated, and has a job and a sense of humor; bonus points if he's also loaded and can pay off my school debt).

And finally, this is what I looked like at my friend Greta's wedding back in June (my hair's usually not curly...). Gotta love that camera angle! ;o)


I guess I should add I'm 28 (how did THAT happen?!) and love my hometown of Houston, TX! And my family! FYI, Bird is my brother, as I mentioned, and Brandi is my lovely sister-in-law.

I don't know how long I'll live in England. As much as I love TX, England also feels like home. I'll be here for at least 6 months, hopefully a year, maybe longer if I find a teaching job. If you'd like to send me care packages, I need Stevia and I'd like a copy of the book The Diet Alternative! And I heard canned pumpkin is hard to find in these parts, so I may need some come October/November/December.

Thanks for sticking with me through such a long post!

SPUNK-ed

Yesterday evening I went to a church social at the pub with a whole bunch of people and saw a friend I hadn't seen in a while. She gave me a big hug and I was excited when she exclaimed that she could feel my ribs (at the back) when she hugged me :)

Hi!

Hi, there! I thought I'd take the opportunity to introduce myself, and to fill you all in on my weight loss journey.



I've struggled with my weight all of my life, but my most recent foray into dieting came in March 2007 doing Southbeach. At the time I weighed 143 pounds and my goal was to get down to 120 pounds. After a few months, I finally met my goal, and I was so happy about that ... but I soon realized that in order to maintain that weight I had to continue dieting. Something seemed wrong about that.

Along my weight loss journey I learned that many of my eating issues were, at their heart, spiritual issues, and that I needed to submit to God in all aspects of my life, especially in eating. As a result I started a personal blog chronicling my surrendering to God journey, and I changed my eating habits from constantly dieting to trying to be obedient to God in order to eat when I'm hungry and to not overeat. It's been an up and down journey, but God's been so good throughout the whole process ... I've got a long way to go, but I know He's faithful!

I no longer think 120 pounds is a healthy weight for me. I think my true ideal weight range is somewhere between 122 pounds and 125 pounds. Our weekly weigh-ins are a huge help to me. I so need the accountability!

I'm glad to be on this journey with you all, and I look forward to moving from glory to glory with each and every one of you.