A Weight Loss Prayer

Dear God,

I admit I have come to both love and hate the word "diet". On one hand, it represents hope for change. On the other, it's like a sign flashing "failure ahead"! I don't want to embark on another faulty plan, Lord. I want to embark on a journey with you, that is led by you and depends on your power. I can do nothing on my own! Show me the path that will enable me to change. Show me, as only you can, what works for me, what is healthy for me.

I want to think of this venture in positive terms, Lord - not that I am signing up to be miserable or in want. I want to learn to feed my body what it truly needs, when it truly needs it. And to feed my soul with the Bread of Life - YOU!

Today, I place my future, my failures, my setbacks, all my hopes, dreams and plans into your hands. There alone I will find meaning and true success in my life.

Amen!

CCJer's! Top 7 List for Week 2!!

Since this group is a wee bit smaller than the other, I think we'll just announce the Top 7....sound good to you? If not, voice your opinion by either commenting on this post just let me know at the next meeting! So, without further ado.....

#1. Sherry Fleck...................3.9%

#2. Bonnie Kuester..............2.8%

#3. Brandi Stiles...................2.3%

#4. Wanda Jones..................1.9%

#5. Nicole Weisman..............1.7%

#6. Lana Wessell...................1.4%

#7. Carla Popp.......................1.3%

Let's hear it for these fabulous ladies who worked their booty off this week.....and it shows! :) Awesome job, ladies. For the meeting tonite, we all just kind of shared what worked for us. We put the Top 3 in the spotlight and one trend that I couldn't help but notice was that all 3 of them had cut out drinking DIET sodas, which was the challenge for the week!

The challenge for this week....keeping a FOOD JOURNAL!! Trust me, I know, it's alot of work, but you will be so surprised after keeping one for a week! If you can, try and keep track of your water intake + how many hours of sleep you're getting in your journal as well.

We also would like for everyone to write down your goal. Put it somewhere you're going to see it everyday....in your food journal, in your folder, on a post it and slap it on your bathroom mirror. I don't care, just get it written down so that you can see it! Know what you're working toward! Write down or know how you're going to reward yourself when you reach your goal.

Next week.....we are having our very first speaker, Robin Norris! So, please make sure you stay and listen to our wonderful presenter! Oh, and if any of you see Dan around, make sure you talk him into coming back! ;)

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Plan (and shop for) a week’s menu - take some time at the beginning of your tracking week, or on a Saturday morning, or even a midweek evening — whenever works for you — to plan a week’s worth of meals. If you’re suffering from blank-page syndrome, check out the blog post on 1/23/10. If this is too overwhelming, start smaller: Buy a rotisserie chicken (or roast your own), and think of three ways to use leftovers. Even if it’s just with a big mixed salad and a whole wheat roll, you’ve got a super-fast dinner that will help you check off some of your daily veggies — and one night’s dinner.

Make your shopping list with items grouped by type — even by aisle, if you are that familiar with your grocery store. Not only will this help you get around the store (and away from temptation) more quickly, it will also show you at a glance if the make-up of your diet is a little out of whack — for example, if you have an over-reliance on packaged goods rather than fresh.

source: www.weightwatchers.com/2010 New Resolve Challenge

Best Life products...

The Best Life website is full of info, recipes, and tons of other great healthy information but the one place the you see this label a lot is the grocery store. To get the "stamp" the food must contain one or more of the following nutritious ingredients: whole grains, healthy fats, fiber, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and other essential nutrients. And now, you can even spot healthier indulgences, such as dark chocolate!!!

Hershey's Extra Dark Chocolate was recently added to the list of products that has been approved to the Best Life food list!

• Hershey's® Extra Dark Chocolate, All Varieties

• Hershey's® Cocoa

• Hershey's® Special Dark® Cocoa

So ladies we can EAT OUR CHOCOLATE AND FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT!!!!

Source: www.thebestlife.com/nonmember_approved_foods.php

Celestine groupies! Top 10 list for week #3!

The moment you've all been waiting for (and way early in the week, too! Don't get too used that, ladies! LOL!!) Let's give it up for......

#1. Melinda Gutgsell...............4.6%

#2. Amy Lewis........................4.6%

#3. Carol Fravell.....................4.3%

#4. Deb Meyer-Benton..........3.9%

#5. Leslie Burgan....................3.7%

#6. Nancy Rohl........................3.6%

#7. Carolyn Langill..................3.7%

#8. Stacy Greener...................3.0%

#9. Angie Sander.....................2.7%

#10. Erin Whaley....................2.7%

WOW!! Look at these awesome ladies GO!! Keep up the fabulous work!

Tonite we enjoyed listening to Dawn Stemle come and speak about how she sets goals, tips for getting motivated to get your booty off the couch and excercising, overcoming obstacles by training for a half marathon and having bad knees and rewarding ourselves (NOT with food!!). Thanks, Dawn! Good luck in the half marathon in April!!

The challenge for this week is......EXCERCISING at least 3 days! Remember, this also included drinking only water AND keeping your food journal. Angie also gave us all an extra challenge that her trainer has told her team to do in HealthPointe's Biggest Loser contest: do 20 push ups, 20 crunches, 20 reverse leg lifts, and 20 wall squats every evening.

A Grateful Heart

- Gratitude and a healthy self-image go hand-in-hand

When it comes to body image, it's very common focus on the weight even though you have made great strides. It's unfortunate that we battle acceptance and resist giving ourselves the self-acceptance, but it's something you can work with and improve over time.

Start a gratitude journal to help you focus on aspects of your life that are positive. You can use the journal idea and work on finding aspects of your physical self that you like, as small as these aspects may be. But start somewhere and do the exercise consistently each day.

Take a moment at the end of each day to write down up to 5 things you feel grateful for that day. An additional step is writing a positive physical attribute that you see in the mirror. This can be productive since others see big changes, yet you resist giving yourself the credit you deserve: I have all these people telling me how good I look, but all I think about when they say that (in my head), is you don't know how much fat is still on this body!!

It takes time, but we encourage you to notice the negative thoughts you have and work on distinguishing them -- oh, there's that critical voice again. The more awareness you can bring to these thoughts, the more you will be able to challenge them, re-frame them, and re-write your own thoughts, and you might as well make these positive since they really aren't "true" one way or the other (it's just what you decide to think about yourself).

Seven Days - Seven Steps

This is as simple as the days of the week because that's how it works: seven days, seven steps. Each day you add one thing, so that by the end of the week you are juggling seven balls without dropping one. Here's how:

Monday
Back to work or school. Resolve that all you will do differently today will be to make sure to eat two or more pieces of fresh fruit. Any time, any way.

Tuesday
Today you will set some goals. Plan where you would like to be by the end of the month, then the end of the year—both in your private and personal lives. Write these goals in your diary or stick them where you'll see them.

Wednesday
Water day. Eat that fruit, keep your goals in mind and drink six or more glasses of water. Add variety with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice. Or sip on herbal tea if you prefer.

Thursday
Add in some exercise. Go for a (20- to 30-minute) walk. Walk in the park, around your neighborhood or head for the mall and do some fast-paced window shopping...but don't forget the fruit, the water and to review your goals.

Friday
Fruit, walk, water, goals ... it's getting easier. So this is the day you give your diet a spring cleaning. Eliminate foods that are not helping you stay trim and healthy. You know what they are.

Saturday
Pay day. Well done! You're still drinking plenty of water, including fresh fruit in your diet, exercising, eating well and generally staying on track with your life. Spoil yourself with a special treat. Go on, you deserve it. Have some frozen yogurt for dessert, take in that new movie, or plan a weekend away.

Sunday
Traditionally a day of rest. And you can rest, too, since relaxation is key to maintaining control over your new healthy regimen. Take time to lie in a hammock and gaze at the clouds. Put on a facial mask, take a long, luxurious bubble bath, read a book or play with your pet.

Now that wasn't so hard, was it? By the end of just one week you are happier, brighter, healthier and ready to keep going—because you know it takes just three weeks to create a habit. Except you will have created seven by then.

Looking for healthy recipes...

My husband says I have a small obsession with recipes and websites that have recipes.... I don't argue this point b/c I do, in fact, LOVE recipes, cooking, etc. So I thought I would start sharing some of my M-A-N-Y bookmarked sites that offer recipes for something a little different but not hard to make.

Kraft Foods has a "Healthy Living" section that features healthy recipes for any dinner and dessert! With tools like the "food analyzer" and "meal and fitness planner" it can be a great weight loss tool in helping you with your journey!

Click here: www.kraftrecipes.com/healthy-living-ideas

Another crazy place to find great,healthy recipes is the Foodie Blog Roll. If you type in the search box "healthy recipes" 23 different blogs pop up. You can follow them (if they post daily) - RESIST THE URGE TO LOOK AT ALL THE BLOGS ON THIS WEBSITE - it will lead to you getting NOTHING done. I've suffered from this particular issue! This is a great a place to find great recipes that people have tried and left notes.

Check it out: www.foodieblogroll.com/blogs

This site has recipes, articles, blogs, forums, and a number of other tools you can use to stay or get healthy! With tabs for "recipes", "diet & nutrition", "fitness" and "community" - it's got a little bit of everything for everyone.

Click here: www.eatbetteramerica.com

Celestine groupies! Top 10 list for the week!!

I know, this is what you've all been stalking the website for all week and it's finally here!!! Please, bear with me....I know, I'm not any more busy than everyone else out there, but I am, quite possibly, more disorganized than most! My pink laptop that I usually brought to the meetings bit the dust. Everything on the hard drive is unrecoverable, which included the awesome spreadsheet my dear hubby fixed up for me to keep track of the weight loss for everyone. But, he's created a new and IMPROVED spreadsheet on my new laptop! Yay! (But, I had to wait for him to have time to make it...hence the delay).

Since we didn't get to announce the Top 3 Losers for the week at the meeting, here they are first!

#1. Melinda Gutgsell.......3.9%
#2. Amy Lewis..............3.8%
#3. Carolyn Langill........3.1%

Let's hear it for these girls that had one amazing week!! And, on to the big Weekly Top 10!

#1. Melinda Gutgsell......3.9%
#2. Amy Lewis.............3.8%
#3. Carolyn Langill.......3.1%
#4. Leslie Burgan.........2.9%
#5. Erin Whaley...........2.5%
#6. Stacy Greener.........2.2%
#7. Renee Merkel..........2.2%
#8. Carol Fravell.........2.2%
#9. Rachelle Beckman......2.1%
#10. Stacy McCracken.......1.9%

Awesome!! You ladies inspire me! Keep up the great work!

This week's challenge to the group is to keep a food journal. This challenge is near and dear to my heart. I totally believe in doing this. It is such a huge eye opener for anyone who is watching their weight. I know, it's hard, it's a big pain in the booty, but so worth it.

Remember, our challenges build, so don't forget to drink your water (and cut out the sodas!! Regular AND diet!)

Have a great weekend and see ya next Tuesday!

Committed to Happiness?

I have to admit I copied this from another blog I was browsing thru but it seemed so appropriate when it's rainy, it's a few weeks after the holiday festivities and it was such a nice message.

The message is related to the website www.sohp.com/index.php - Secret Society of Happy People. This week has been deemed the "Hunt for Happiness Week" so commit that this week you will do something in pursuit of happiness:

Write in a journal * splurge on a treat * flip through a fun magazine * get your blood pumping * introduce yourself to someone new * pay a compliment, make a coffee date * take a walk with a loved one * day dream, fill your house with the smell of chocolate chip cookies * do a favor for someone, flip through old photographs * reconnect with an old friend * de-clutter your home * meet your postman, learn something new about yourself * find some quiet time * do something daring * write a letter to someone you would like to meet * check something off your to-do list * tell your family you love them * swing on a swing * color in a coloring book * find shapes in the clouds * play a board game * pamper your feet * listen to a favorite CD * Print the word, "Shine" somewhere in sidewalk chalk...

Snacking...

Does snacking slow down weight loss? No! Nutritionists recommend planning two snacks into each day. Smart snacking can curb hunger and prevent overeating at meals. The key is planning your snacks and knowing how many calories are in your snacks and choosing the right nutrients such as protein plus fruits, whole grains or nuts.

Maintaining healthy eating habits does not mean you have to skip every indulgence. Occasionally allow a favorite treat and focus on avoiding those temptations that just aren't worth the splurge.

Biggest Loser Tip

Your Body Burns Calories Three Ways

1. Resting metabolism (RMR)
Calories burned by your body just to stay alive and run all of your vital organs. This is the majority of the calories you'll burn. For most people this is 1200-2000 calories per day.

2. Daily activity
Calories burned by your body when you get out of bed and go about your day. For instance, when you walk to and from places during the day; or when you do basic housework and other LIFE things. For most people, they burn 300-600 calories per day but this amount can be much higher for those that do physical work all day.

3. Exercise
Calories burned by going to walk, swim, bike, weight train, do yoga, etc. For most people, this is 200-600 per exercise bout.

It's important to eat a calorie level at or near the RMR calorie level. Going lower can slow down the metabolism and make weight loss painfully slow. If you are exercising a lot, you'll need to bump up your calories otherwise you'll feel hungry or unusually tired and slow your weight loss.

Here's an example for a typical person:

1. RMR: 1300 calories burned
2. Daily Activity: 300-600 calories burned
3. Exercise: 200-400 calories burned

Total Calories Burned in a Day: 1800 - 2300 calories

So on light days, you burn 1800 calories and consumes 1300 – this is a 500-calorie deficit – which would lead to a pound per week weight loss if you did this everyday. (NOTE: One pound = 3,500 calories so a deficit of 500 calories per day x 7 days = 3,500 calories).

On the heavier days, you burn 2,300 calories and has a 1000-calorie deficit which would lead to a 2 pound per week weight loss.

More tips that make sense...

1. Set a fun fitness goal. Your fitness goal might not even entail losing weight, but doing something active that would get you into shape. For example, if you set a goal of skiing every weekend this winter, or practicing to run a marathon in the spring, it would provide you with something fun to do that will get you into shape, rather than an onerous weight-loss goal.
   
   
2. Fix your eating habits. Toss the holiday cookies. They’re stale anyway. Quit eating a 12-ounce steak with big scoops of mashed potatoes and mac and cheese for dinner. Eat whole-grain breads and cereals. Stop eating canned and processed foods. Eat small meals (a few hundred calories) every few hours, rather than enormous meals three times per day and a bunch of junky snacks in between. You can track your calories with our calorie counter.
   
   
3. Do cardiovascular exercise. A rough estimate of your maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age. A more accurate maximum heart rate can be determined by a doctor with a stress test (and that is the suggested way of doing it – you should talk to a doctor before starting any exercise program). So do a challenging activity (running, hiking, climbing, boxing, fast swimming, ice skating, jumping rope) for a sustained time (15 to 45 minutes at least every other day) that raises your heart rate to 80% or so of maximum. Do cardio for three months and see how much better you look.
   
   
4. Stop drinking empty calories. This includes soda, beer, cocktails, diet soda, sugary fruit drinks, Snapple, all of it. It all contains sugar, empty carbs, or things that will keep you craving sugar. Drink coffee or tea without sugar, water, or seltzer. Also beware of sports drinks, which also have sugar. Unless you’re in the middle of playing a strenuous sport, odds are you don’t need to be drinking a Gatorade.
   
   
5. Find activity partners. Get your friends or significant others to work out with you. It can be easier to stay focused if you’re active with people of a similar skill level. If you run 11-minute miles, find a running partner who runs 11-minute miles. Or: Find an instructor you like to teach you a sport that you enjoy, or have always wanted to try. And, if you need some moral support, stop by our fitness forums.

Source: www.everydayhealth.com/blogs/workoutandloseweight

Junk Food and Depression...

A study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry shows that processed or junk food contributes to depression. Food and mood data was collected from 3,486 men and women in London over 5 years. The processed food pattern of eating more sweets, fried food, high fat diary and refined grains was associated with a higher chance of being depressed. Compared to a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, fish and whole grains.


The researchers list some tips for optimal physical and mental health:

1. Have breakfast, breakfast eaters consume more fiber, calcium and micronutrients
2. Eat sweets on occasion
3. Snack on apple, cheese, carrot sticks and nuts
4. Read food labels
5. Limit salt intake
6. Make eating together as a family a priority

Sorry for the delay...

Hello Ladies.....Sorry for the delay or lack of postings. I have been strapped at work, not getting home until 8pm. I hope this weekend to get caught back up on posting and get some lined out for you gals.

Here are some healthy breakfast ideas:

Whole Wheat Pancakes - Whole wheat flour and omega-3 enriched eggs turn pancakes from a forbidden decadence to a healthy diet staple. Cinnamon and flaxseed provide a sweet, comforting flavor and texture.

Breakfast Smoothie - This is one simple smoothie—if you have mixed berries, fat-free yogurt, and some other staple ingredients, it’s a snap to make on a hectic morning. Milk, walnuts, and flaxseed meal add essential fat-fighting nutrients.

Cream of Wheat with Maple Walnuts and Cranberries - Classic Cream of Wheat becomes healthier and more filling when you prepare it with calcium-rich fat-free milk and top it with omega-3 packed walnuts and flaxseed. Maple syrup and vanilla add some satisfying sweetness.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Pancake - Love PB&J for lunch? It also makes for a fun, simple breakfast when you use pancakes instead of crustless bread. For a healthy twist, make your own jelly with fresh or frozen blueberries (they’re packed with ridiculously healthy antioxidants) and honey.