2nd to last episode!

 Who will you vote for????

Ada??? or Elizabeth?  I cant believe it is down to the final four! In the beginning of the show the contestants were sent home for a few months to see how well they could adjust to being at home. They all were challenged to run the 26.2 mile marathon...and they all accomplished  it!!! Ada set herself the goal of beating Tara's time which was the record for the female time...and she accomplished her goal! I was so proud of her. Each of the contestants were then given $10,000 to give to the charity of their choice. Thus continuing this seasons theme of paying it forward. At the last weigh in all four contestants were to weigh in and the top two were automatically in the final three, while the bottom two have to win America's vote. Fredo and Patrick were the top two while Ada and Elizabeth are fighting it out for the change to be in the final three. If you are a fan of the show and would like to see one of these contestants in the  finals...you need to vote. I am sooo hoping Ada will be the third contestant. This is her first time below the yellow line the whole season, and after everything she has been through with her family!!! I voting for her. You can vote for free at http://www.nbc.com/ Next week is the live finally when all of the voted off contestants come back for their chance at the at home prize of $100,000 while Frado, Patrick, and either Ada or Elizabeth will be competing for $250,000!!! I am really rooting for Ada to win the whole thing...and if she can't win...Patrick would be my 2nd choice!

Biggest loser episodes 9, 10, & 11

Ok, It has been a long time since I have been able to blog. Things have been sooo busy. I apologise for the gap of time, especially if you look forward to the biggest loser updates. Here is a run down of the past three weeks: In episode 9 Jessica got sent home. I felt really bad for her. I knew she probably wasn't going to win the show, but I really liked her. In this episode they received videos from home...except for Ada!! Some one needs to kick her parents! I mean seriously!!! How could you not send a video? How can you act like you don't even care? Bob said they tried numerous times to get in touch with her family and got no response!!! Horrible!!! I hope all of her parents friends and acquaintances watch the show and I home her parents are extremely embarrassed by  their behavior!!! Ok enough about that! It was amazing to me that the rest of the contestants made a video for her and each one of them talked about what made her special to them!! It was awesome...of course I was crying!
 

   In episode 10, Lisa went home. I had extremely mixed emotions about this one because for the whole season she has been on again off again in terms of wanting to be there. This is disheartening for someone like me who would love to be there and have the chance to work with Bob and Jillian. But it seemed she was finally starting to get it. She was finally starting to want to be there...and she gets sent home. At least she made it to make over week...she looked great, as did all of them. I felt Bad for Ada because after her family not sending her a video last week, they did not come to the makeover. Ada made a good point though when she said she was glad they weren't there because she was still upset with them for not sending a video, and their presence might have taken away from her joy. I totally agree with that!!! Once again I cried my way through the show! Oh and just a shout of to warriors in pink, you can go to

 www.ford.com/warriorsinpink/ to purchase merchandise

that was featured on this weeks show. The money raised

goes towards the fight against breast cancer!

On episode 11 there were two people who were going to be sent home. There would be a yellow line to determine one of the players and the dreaded red line that would automatically send one contestant home immediately! When it came time for the weigh in Brenden fell below the red line automatically leaving the show. I hate to say it but I was so glad it was him. The whole season he has been so cocky as to thinking he would be in the final three and that the alliances he made and all the game playing he had done would get him there. Only to find out that it was his weight loss, and his weight loss alone that would send him home. There was no one to blame but himself. Elizabeth and Mark both fell below the yellow line and of course when it came down to it they chose to send Mark home thus making it easier for themselves by getting the biggest threat out of the way! But not to worry all those who loved Mark. I believe he will win the at home prize!!!!

Biggest Loser episode 8

I am sorry I have been slacking off lately, so it took me a while to post this weeks Biggest Loser run down, but here it goes. This week was crazy, not that any other week isn't but this week was even more so.The contestants had temptation and the player who won the temptation,won the right to choose pairs for the week. At the end of the week two teams would be below the yellow line and the other players would vote for which TEAM to send home!!! That's right I said team! This is the first time I have ever seen them send two players home at one time except for when it is a couples season. But at the beginning of the season these were complete strangers, now there safety at the ranch depended on each other. Brenden ate 3500 calories in order to win the temptation and take control of the game. Let me just start by saying  I do not like Brenden, I feel like he is there for the game and his end goal is the $250.000! While money is a great motivator, if that is his only motivation, I can see him gaining the weight back after the ranch! He was not only completely selfish, but extremely unfair, and I feel sexist! He paired the four remaining girls with each other and all the guys with each other. He said it was because it wasn't fair for the guys who work harder and have bigger numbers to be put with the girls who have lower numbers! YET Anna has the 2nd highest percentage of weight loss.

    Lisa and Elizabeth were paired together because they asked to be together. Both of these girls don't seem like they want to be there, and that was the  drama that was brought out at the weigh in. Jillian was freaking out at the two of them and even cool headed Bob was screaming at them! They ended up below the yellow line with Aaron and Jesse. I thought for sure they were going to send the girls home due to there lack of wanting to be there. Ultimately the guys: Frado, Brenden, and Patrick decided they want to play the game and felt that The guys were more of a threat and sent them home! I was sooo MAD! But of course it showed them now that they are home...and they look great! In fact Jesse looked HOT!!! lol

    This week is going to be emotional. In the previews it shows them all getting video's from home...and Anna doesn't get one! I could just kick her parents! BUT the contestants make her a video...It should be a good show! I am really rooting for Anna to win it all!!!!

And the winner is......

     Congratulations!!!! Dorene Meaders is the winner of the book "Believe it, Be it." Autographed by Ali Vincent season 5 winner of The Biggest Loser!!!

Biggest loser episode 7

   First, let me say I was so mad that Biggest Loser was only an hour because of election coverage:( This episode was short and sweet. It was awesome though, the had the US Marines come in and take the players to their boot camp to train with them. Half way through the challenge Elizabeth collapsed and passed out, but her team stayed with her and almost literally carried her to the finish line. The marines were like "we never leave a man behind" It was very motivating and emotional. I am so grateful for our military and for the service they render to our country.

   At the weigh in there were three players that gained weight and Fredo gained 4!!! It was crazy. Jillian said it was because they were taken away from their norm and they had to eat what they were served in the mess hall. They are going to have a hard time next week getting back into the swing of things. In the end the black team lost the weigh in and they voted for Anna to go home. I felt so bad for her, she worked so hard to come back only to be voted off two weeks later. But now that she is home she looks great.

   Oh and Brendan...shaved his head!!!

Win Ali Vincent's book "Believe it, Be it"

As some of you know I recently had the opportunity to meet Ali Vincent, season 5 winner of "The Biggest Loser"...the first female biggest loser!!! It was very motivating to hear her story and know, that you are not the only one going through what you are going through! In her book she talks about her experiences on the Biggest Loser ranch as well the events in her life that got her to the point where she felt the only option...was the ranch!!! I have a copy of her book that I had read prior to meeting her that she signed for me, I also purchased a book and asked her to sign it for one of YOU!!! The inscription reads "LIFILIA (lost it, found it, losing it again) blogger, Remember one minute @ a time..."

    

     If you would like to win this book all you need to do is become a follower of this weight loss blog! Those of you who have already become followers will automatically be entered! It's that easy!!! I will be choosing a winner on November 1st 2010, so be sure to become a follower, and if you know anyone who would benefit by becoming a follower of this blog, feel free to invite them as well. The more followers we have the more motivating it will be for each of us!!!

GOOD LUCK

Biggest Loser episode 6

      In case you missed what happened last night on the biggest loser, here is a run down. This week they were told at the beginning of the show that only one person's weight loss was going to count for the whole team...and that the other team was going to be picking the person who was going to weigh in...AND they were not going to find out until the weigh in who the other team had picked. In the end the blue team picked Elizabeth to weigh in for the black team and she lost 5lbs, while the black team choose Jessica to weigh in for the blue team. She needed to loose more than 5lbs in order to beat Elizabeth...and she lost 4. So the blue team had to choose someone to vote off. They ended up with a tie, 3 voting for Jessica because she lost the least amount of weight and 3 people voting for Adam because they viewed him as a threat. Since it was a tie they brought in the black team to choose and they also feel Adam was more of a threat so they choose to eliminate him.
      It showed him now that he is home and he looks great. He has lost more than 100lbs and is working with the local Y to help inspire his town to loose weight.
      During the show Curtis Stone and a guest chef were helping the teams to each create a meal to be voted as the winning meal. All of the recipes that were created were healthy dishes and the recipes can be found at www.nbc.com/the biggestloser

Weighing in

So you have probably noticed I haven't posted my weight in a little while, well I haven't been weighing myself on a daily basis. I am trying to get myself to realize it is not about a number it is about how I feel. When I step on the scale and I have lost weight of course I get excited....but if I haven't lost any or if I gained any...I think to myself this is useless, and I get discouraged. So I am still eating healthy and still working out...but I'm not weighing myself as often. I will be weighing myself periodically and letting you know how I am doing! Does any one else feel the same way? Does anyone else judge their progress solely on the number on the scale???

Biggest Loser episode 5

Oh my goodness, this was a crazy show. First they brought 5 of the contestants that didn't make it on to the show back for a chance to join the cast. Anna had the highest weight loss so she not only got to stay on the ranch but she got to choose teams as they were now going blue verses black. She also had immunity but was allowed to give it away if she chose to. In a strange turn of events she gave the immunity to Patrick. The player with immunity was going to join which ever team lost the weigh in and had to send someone home. Anna said she wanted to be on Jillian's team and didn't want to risk losing the chance to train with Jillian, therefore she gave the immunity to Patrick. This caused a lot of drama as both teams wanted Patrick on their team. The black team contemplated throwing the weigh in just so they could send home the weakest link and get Patrick. The blue team got wind of this and it was mentioned that they might throw it so the black team didn't get Patrick. Jillian came straight out and asked them NOT to throw the weigh in. They all agreed and gave her their word they would not throw it. In the end the only one whose numbers reflected throwing the weigh in. He only lost like 2lbs, but still swears he did not throw it. The black team did lose and did have to send someone home. I was really surprised that they decided to send rick home. He is a big man and could give him big numbers. I thought they  were going to send one of the girls home. Anna cuz she is new to the ranch and they don;t have a strong bond with her or  Elizabeth because she is not pulling her weight! It was a good episode!!!

Biggest loser episode 4

     So last night's episode was once again different then all other seasons!! Of course each season they try new things and have some twists and changes, but this season is SO different! From them having to earn their way onto the show, a weigh in at the middle of the week, having to do the challenge to fight for your right to stay on the show...AND NOW....DINNER AT BOB'S HOUSE!!! I want to have dinner at Bob's house!!! It was really awesome. He took a few of the player to his house and made them dinner. The food looked so good. One of the player asked to see his refrigerator! lol It was so funny, his response was"go ahead, I have nothing to hide" I love it!

     This week there was both a yellow line and a red line. Shopie was below the red line so she went home immediately. Burgandy was one of the players below the yellow line and was sent home. It is going to end up being all boys left if things keep going the way they are. Both of the eliminated players look great now tat they are home.

     Another highlight of the night was the temptation. There were 400 cupcakes and there was a one pound pass located underneath one of them. It was good to see that only four player took advantage of the temptation. 4 cupcakes=1350 calories!!! After the temptation Curtis Stone came and taught the player how to make cupcakes that are 100 calories each! They looked so good! Here is the recipe: If you try the recipe, let me know how they turn out!:)

Vanilla Cupcakes
Makes about 14 cupcakes
Ingredients

• 5 organic egg whites
• Pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¼ cup nonfat Greek yogurt
• ½ cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

For the raspberry frosting

• 1 cup nonfat cream cheese, at room temp
• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• Fresh raspberries to garnish

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 325F.
2. Place the egg whites in a large bowl and using a handheld mixer whip the whites on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes or until the whites begin to lighten up and hold their shape.
3. Increase speed to high and whip in the salt and honey until the whites hold a soft peak, then add the vanilla extract.
4. Fold in the yogurt.
5. In a separate medium mixing bowl combine the flour and baking powder and mix well.
6. Sift the dry ingredients into the egg whites a little at a time, gently folding them in with a rubber spatula.
7. Once fully incorporated, scoop the batter into cupcake tins lined with cupcake papers.
8. Bake the cupcakes for 15 to 20 minutes or until they have colored and gently spring back when pushed with a finger.
9. Remove from the oven and cool the cupcakes at room temp.
10. While the cupcakes are baking, puree the raspberries in a blender until smooth.
11. Pass through a fine mesh strainer into a small sauce pot and cook over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes or until the puree reduces slightly.
12. Cool completely.
13. Place the cream cheese into a medium mixing bowl and fold the puree into the cream cheese until fully mixed.
14. Once cupcakes are cool, spread a little of the berry frosting over the cupcakes, garnish each with one raspberry and serve.

Biggest Loser episode 3

   So last night was Biggest loser, and oh my goodness..the drama!  After Tina asked to stay last week, and in consequence, Allie got sent home...She said she wanted to go home!!! I could not believe it. I thought ...how selfish can you be?  She mentioned that she wanted to go home to help her daughter lose weight...but then why wold you take the place of someone who really wanted and needed to be there? When they showed the clip of her since she was sent home and her and her daughter look great! She has helped her daughter lose 85lbs, but I still do not understand why you would choose to go home. If it were me I would stay on the ranch as long as I could to be able to learn as much as I could!! It was a frustrating show to watch considering I would give anything to be there...then there is someone who chooses to go home!!

Fair food:(



Photo of the fair taken by my sister Brandy from the fair's helicopter ride

      So this week is the Bloomsburg Fair...and anyone who lives in NE PA knows that this is one of the biggest fairs around with over 1200 vendors!!! MOST of which are food!!! Anything from cheese stakes...to french fries...ice cream...orange juliuss...BBQs...pizza...ALL of which I had!!! It is one of the biggest temptations to be faced with. I went all day on Tuesday, so I had lunch and supper there!!! BUT it was the only day I was planning on going so I guess it isn't as bad as going every day!!
    But now I will have to head to some EXTRA Zumba classes to make up for all those calories! If one pound equals 3500 calories.......... Well lets just say I really need to get to those Zumba classes!!!

Biggest Loser, episode 2

   For anyone who missed the biggest loser this week...It is completely different this season!! This season they are doing the weigh in at the beginning of the show! This week the yellow line was half way. So eight were safe and eight were up for elimination. Of course there was only one girl in the top and only one guy in the bottom. (It is just a proven fact that it is easier for men to lose weight than women). Out of the 8 that were up for elimination one was chosen by the guy who had the highest percentage of weight loss. This person was also going to be safe, and of course he chose the only man who was below the yellow line. Which left 7 girls to compete for their safety. They had to sprint and the first one to get to the finish line was safe and then the remaining  6 would sprint,then 5...until there were only two left to be up for elimination. I kinda liked it this way because it gives them a chance to earn their safety as well as their right to be on the ranch, but at the same time it was hard to watch because they all wanted it so bad and some of them were just not physically able to keep up!
   I felt bad for Allie, the girl who was eliminated, because she called her mom and told her she had been eliminated and that she was going to have to do this on her on, so she asked her mom to get all of the chocolate out of the house as that was her biggest temptation...and when she got home there was an open chocolate bar laying right on the counter!! I know what this is like, because no matter how many times I say I want or need to lose wight, there are always snacks at my families house and it is hard to say no when everyone else is having some!!! BUT she contacted Danny a previous winner of the BL and he has been there for her as a support system and she has lost over 60lbs at home!!

    So it just goes to show no matter how many temptations there are...you can still succeed!!!

Win Ali Vincent's book "Believe it, Be it"

     As some of you know I recently had the opportunity to meet Ali Vincent, season 5 winner of "The Biggest Loser"...the first female biggest loser!!! It was very motivating to hear her story and know, that you are not the only one going through what you are going through! In her book she talks about her experiences on the Biggest Loser ranch as well the events in her life that got her to the point where she felt the only option...was the ranch!!! I have a copy of her book that I had read prior to meeting her that she signed for me, I also purchased a book and asked her to sign it for one of YOU!!! The inscription reads "LIFILIA (lost it, found it, losing it again) blogger, Remember one minute @ a time..."

    

     If you would like to win this book all you need to do is become a follower of this weight loss blog! Those of you who have already become followers will automatically be entered! It's that easy!!! I will be choosing a winner on November 1st 2010, so be sure to become a follower, and if you know anyone who would benefit by becoming a follower of this blog, feel free to invite them as well. The more followers we have the more motivating it will be for each of us!!!

GOOD LUCK

Biggest Loser

   So tonight was the biggest loser season 10 premier, 5 min in and I am already crying!!! Man I love this show! For anyone who missed the show...her is a run down: This season there are a lot of contestants who have lost loved ones! There was one girl who lost a brother to sids, then one of her brothers drowned in a kiddie pool when she was three, and she was the only one with him at the time. When she was 16, her and her little brother, the last one left, were in a bad car accident. He survived but when her father saw her he slapped her across the face and asked her if she was trying to kill another one!! You could just feel her pain!! I can't even imagine what that would have been like. There was one contestant who had to rush her daughter to the hospital only to find out that she was so severely dehydrated that her hydration levels did not even measure on the charts. She later admitted she had not eaten or drank anything in the last couple of days because she didn't want to be fat like her mom!! There was one girl whose brother tried out for last season and 5 days later died in his sleep! One guys mother recently just died due to weight related issues and he was over 400lbs himself! One girl reminded me of one of my friends because she was a BEAUTIFUL girl who happened to be over weight and her mother physically and mentally abused her, told her no one would love her because she was fat!!! I really related to her because I know the pain it has caused my friend.

   There were so many emotional stories!!! It just goes to show that we are not fat because we are lazy couch potatoes...or because we are pigs who like to eat!!! There is an emotional factor that plays into it! Sometimes in order to be able to lose the weight (and be able to keep it off) it has everything to do with figuring out WHY we are over weight, and then working through those emotions!! I know it sounds silly it sounds to be grateful for a tv show...but I really am grateful for the show and for all of the knowledge I gain from watching it! I am also grateful to know there are people out there who are going through the same things I go through!

Biggest loser winner, Ali Vincent







So this week my sister and I had the opportunity to go see Ali Vincent speak not once but twice. It was a lot of fun and very motivating. We went down to the geisinger on Saturday, as she was going to be speaking, but there were a lot of people, and she didn't get to sign any autographs because she had to catch a plane. So I asked Brandy if she would still go to the dinner sponsored by the Berwick Hospital, because I knew there would be a lot less people, and of course there was. It was so much fun. Some of her speech was the same as she told about her experience being chosen to be on the Biggest Loser with her mother in season 5, and her journey as she went on to win the season and become the first female biggest loser! It was fun to hear her talk about it because I had watched her that season, as well as all the contestants on all of the seasons, and it was neat to get a little bit of the behind the scenes as to how certain things work. When it was over, my friends sister and I ran up because we knew she was going to sign autographs, so we were one of the first ones in line! I have her book called Believe it, Be it, so I had her sign my copy, then I had her sign a copy that I bought in order to give away on this blog (just think if you are reading this...you have a chance to win it!!!). Over all it was a very fun night and I am glad that we got to go~

Weigh in day!! -2.8 (8.7 total)

   So this is week #4 of my weighing in, and I lost another 2.8 lbs for a total of 8.7lbs!!! I am excited! I was a little worried after I gained a pound last week, but I knew I just needed to keep moving forward. I am looking forward to a good week this coming week.
    I have been doing really good with my food journal. I have been writing everything in it since I started it on Monday. I also did really well with sticking to the menu I made for myself at the beginning of the week. I had to make a few minor changes here and there, but for the most part I stuck to it. I am excited for this weekend so I can plan my food for this coming week!!!
    This losing weight is a lot of work...but it will be worth it!

Confrence with Ali Vincent

     The conference at the geisinger with Ali Vincent, winner of the Biggest Loser Season 5, was awesome. It was very inspiring and motivating. Brandy and I had a lot of fun and learned a lot.

     I bought a Biggest Loser food journal. I know that keeping a food journal is a very good way to help you loose weight, but I have never been good at following through with it! The fact that I paid $13.99 will help me make sure I use it! lol I am really excited about it and I know they say if you do something for 21 days it becomes a habit. So I am hoping that this will be a habit I will make and continue to follow through with.

     They also mentioned a few times about how planning ahead helps aid in weight loss. Jillian Michaels also mentions this as well. So this evening I made some food for this coming week. I actually kept track of all the ingredients that went into the dishes so I could calculate how many calories are in each serving. I even bought a food scale! I also used my food journal to write down my meals for the week! This will be the first time I have ever done this and it is a lot of work so I hope it works out! Having put time and money into it as well as telling you and thus making myself accountable...I hope that helps!

Good/Bad

   So this week has been good and bad! It has been bad in the sense that the first half of the week there were no Zumba classes cuz the Y was redoing the floor, and because I haven't eaten the greatest:( Monday our church had a pot luck at Knobles so of course I over ate...and ate unhealthily:( Then I spent time at my families house...it seems like anytime I'm there I tend to eat whatever their eating...which isn't always good! Then Last night (the night before my weekly weigh in) my family invited me to Appleebee's for dinner...and I went! It was bad in the sense that I gained one pound!
   But it was good in the sense that once Zumba started up I went twice in one day and the following day as well, and I went to the gym twice to use the bike, treadmill, elliptical, and the weight room. Plus I am not letting the fact that I gained a pound get me discouraged. I know that tomorrow is a new day and I just need to continue to look forward!
    Next week will be a good week because I am starting it off by going to see Ali Vincent, winner of the season 5 biggest loser, at the geisinger! I am a HUGE fan of the Biggest Loser!!! I never miss an episode let alone make it through an episode with out crying!
     I just finished reading Ali's book called Believe it, Be it. It was really good! Very motivating!!! I will probably quote from it a lot throughout this journey of my losing weight. The one quote I would like to leave you with tonight helped me to realize I need to just move on and not dwell on my one pound gain...

"look, I'm not perfect. Everybody slips, ...Wake up the next morning, go to the gym, and put it behind you. Keep moving forward. Beating yourself up is just going to send you right back to that old place where you used to hang out...The important thing is to remember this is a process; it's not about perfection!!!" -Ali Vincent

Weigh in day!! -1.4lbs ( total -6.9)

   So I lost another 1.4lbs!!! It is not quite as much as last week, but I knew it wasn't going to be! For one thing 5.5 is a lot to loose in one week, but also this week I didn't get a lot of work outs in. They are resurfacing the gym floor at the y...so NO ZUMBA!!! Sad day, plus this week for some reason my back has been hurting really bad so I went to the Chiropractor twice. I did get an hour work out in this morning and I am going to try to go to the Zumba class tonight that is separate from the y.
     I am just happy the number is still going down!!!! I am excited for next week to come so I can see the progress. I will have all of my workouts in plus I have been doing really good with my eating, so the combination of the two should equal a good number!!!

Biggest loser winner Ali Vincent comes to NE PA

Beleive it. Be it.

Staying Positive, healthy and fit!

Henry Hood Center for Health Reasearch

Sat, Sept 11th @1pm

Special Guest: Biggest Loser Winner Ali Vincent

Join Biggest Loser Season 5 winner Ali Vincent as she motivates attendees about being positive, healthy and fit. Immediately following Ali's presentation will be a panel of Geisinger specialists including Christopher Still DO, Sergio Buzzino, MD, John Gerdes, PhD, to answer your questions about nutrition, exercise and behavior modification. Also joining this group will be geisinger executive chef and bariatric surgery patient Hope Scheetz.

To find out more info or to register go to www.geisinger.org/events or call 800-275-6401.

This event is free of charge so it will probably fill up fast!


(Kristy) My sister and I are already signed up so if you would like to join us we would love to have you join us! If you go to the website to register it asks if you want to preorder her book, I did not see how much they were charging, but I have the book and I paid about $15 from Amazon.  It is well worth the price!

The biggest loser

So the Biggest Loser season 10 will be starting in 3 weeks!!! I am so excited!!! Ever since I started this blog a lot of my friends have expressed the need or want to lose weight. I have been thinking about having some kind of competition that we could all keep track of how much we are losing. We could do things like try to lose the most weight, watch the show together and try to see who we think should be voted off, etc. I wasn't exactly sure what or how we could do that though...If you are interested or have any ideas please leave me a comment so we can try to put something together!

Cantalope
+
Yogart
=
Uuuuuuummm, uuuuummmm, good!!!!

Work

     You know the saying...I never said it would be easy...I just said it would be worth it? Well it is sooo true. It is so easy to gain weight but losing it...Now thats another story! I saw a quote today and it was the perfect quote for me in my life right now!!!

-"The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary!" May V Smith

     I loved it because even though it took me a while to put the weight on, now that I've started losing...I want to lose it and I want to lose it NOW!!! lol I guess I just have to be patient and do the WORK!!!

Weigh in day!! -5.5lbs

    I a so excited I weighed in at 220.0lbs today!!! That means I lost an even 5.5lbs! I am so proud of myself, I think I'm off to a great start, and what is awesome is that if I wasn't motivated before...I am now!!! If I lost 5.5lbs in the first week...and I keep at it...I can't wait to see the results!!! :) I know I have a long way to go and I know there will be ups and downs, so I will just keep doing what I am doing and try to improve next week!!
    I went to the gym 4 days this week-my goal for next week is 5!
    I did not eat out at all this week, but this coming week the Rite Aid gang will be going to Bandits! I know I will be ordering a salad...but we will probably get corn nuggets to share!! Key work is SHARE!!
    Thanks again for the support!!!!

Jello snack

Ummmm look what I made today!!! I've been trying to make snacks a head of time so I have control of what that snack is!  When I'm at the store and get hungry for a snack it is just too easy to purchase a candy bar, cookies, chips, etc. By making the snacks a head of time, I not only get to control the snack, making it healthy, but I also get to SAVE money.....and who doesn't want to do that!!! Oh and even if you add a little bit of whip cream on the top...it is still less than 150 calories!!!           

       Ummmmmmmmm  Sooooo Goooood!!!!!!!

Zumba:)

I love Zumba!!! It's the only thing that is good about a Monday! LOL. Since there are only Zumba
 classes Monday through Thursday...I start to go through Zumba withdrawl by the time Monday night rolls around!!! Oh and they announced tonight that they are having a Zumba Halloween party!!! I am so excited! As with every Zumba party there are going to be lots of door prizes:) (Including 3 months of free Y membership) From now till the party on Oct 23rd every time you attend a Zumba class you receive an extra ticket for the drawings!!!! It is going to be awesome! Anyone who is in the Berwick PA area and is interested in Zumba let me know and I can hook you up with the details for the Zumba classes as well as the party!

Weekends

   The weekends are always the hardest to stay on track, but I think I did pretty well considering! lol
That's what makes it hard about starting this on a Friday, cuz I already feel like I'm not doing as much as I should. I didn't get any workouts in, but then I usually don't on the weekends. Food wise, it could have been better...but it could have been worse!!! I did eat some choc cake with some cool whip while I was at a friends house, but considering the whole table was full of choc cake, lemon cake, brownies, brownies with hot fudge...I think having a little choc cake wasn't to bad! Sunday evenings are going to be hard cuz there is always a table full of food and everyone is always eating. lol It's hard when not everyone has to say no!
   Next weekend I am going to set a goal for myself to go to the Y for an  hour on Saturday and on Sunday I will take Charlie for a long walk! As for the table full of food...maybe I'll take a veggie tray!!! :)

Losing it again...

   Ok, so here it goes. My journey to lose weight has officially started...and I survived day 1!!! I posted on my facebook page about this blog...so now...all my friends know! I NEVER TELL ANYONE HOW MUCH I WEIGH!!! but I have now! I've put my weight out there for the world to see.  225.5lbs, that's my official starting weight and my goal is to loose 65lbs. That puts me at 160lbs, which is actually about 15lbs more than I weighed when I first lost the weight. I figured if I gave myself a little cushion I might not get so discouraged if I can't get down to 145 again, but I am more than willing to exceed my goal!
   I just want to say thanks to all my friends for their support thus far! I have great friends, so I am excited to have their continued support as I continue on this journey. Over the past few years of gaining and losing weight, one of the things that I have learned  is that my friends, don't care how much I weigh. When I gained all this weight...no one treated me any different. This makes me realize that beauty is from with in. This is the first time I am losing weight in order to GET HEALTHY rather than to BE SKINNY!!! And I think this will be the key for me to take it off and keep it off!!!

Found it...

    So after my experience with finding out my body fat percentage, things all went down hill. It took two years but I gained it all back and an additional 25lbs. It seemed like everything that could go wrong did. Lindsay graduated, so I didn't have that motivation (or a spotter) to get me to the weight room. The aerobic type classes were scheduled at times I had classes and was not able to attend. At the time I was managing a 40 unit apartment complex and It kept me constantly busy. I tried to work out as often as I could...but that didn't turn out to be very often. In addition I was not eating properly. It was a very stressful experience with the apartments and I turned to food. It seemed like I was eating when I was board, when I was stressed, when I was upset...I was just always eating and I didn't know why! Not to mention that I was so busy it was easier and faster to eat unhealthy. Then my senior year I no longer had to worry about the apartments but I had other stresses that I was dealing with. With graduating I had to worry about what I was going to do...Was I going to stay in Virginia or move back to Pennsylvania? I also was an art major so I was extremely busy and stressed with my Senior Art Show. The summer before my senior year a friend of mine had found a puppy in the woods. As soon as I saw him I was done for...I knew he was coming home with me. It was a lot of work to be as busy as I was with being a senior and trying to train a  puppy at the same time. I also felt guilty for spending so much time at work , school, and working on my art show. So any free time I had I spent with Charlie. I would take him for a walk everyday so I was getting some exercise but nothing compared to what I was used to.

   In addition to not working out, not eating properly, and stress, was the emotional aspect. The feeling like I had failed because I had gained the weight back. I tried to pin point the issues that lead to my weight loss and then the issues that lead to my weight gain. It was a lot of work trying to figure things out. I spent a year meeting with the schools student support director, and I still don't have all the answers. What I do know is that it is both a combination of physical and emotional factors.  I finally feel like I have the emotional part figured out. I know that I am the same person that I have always been regardless of the weight I am at. I also realized that people who are my friends and family treat me the same way weather I am over weight or weather I am thin. I think back on the ten year relationship that I had with my ex boyfriend and I always used to think it was my weight that was the issue, even though he would never admit to it, that's what I believed! I realized by seeing him and the relationship he is in now that weight is not the issue. It has helped me realize that it just wasn't meant to be. It had nothing to do with my appearance.

   These are some of the realizations that have kept me at the weight I am at. If my friends like me the way I am, why should I change? But the answer has nothing to do with anyone but myself. I think back to how I felt when I was down to 150lbs!!! I felt great! I felt good about my appearance as well as physically, and this is how I want to feel again.

Lost it...

I weighed 199 lbs when I first started this journey. I know for a fact it was 199 because I swore I would not go over 200lbs!!! I weighed myself everyday and I would fluctuate but it never went over 200. Then one day I saw a picture of myself at a baseball game with my boyfriend at the time. I was disgusted with myself. I know that disgusted is a little harsh, so I would like to say I was disappointed with myself, but that would be the understatement of the year. I really was disgusted. I had always struggled with my weight but this was the heaviest I had ever been and seeing what 199lbs looked like was not OK with me. That was a turning point in my life. I didn't know what it was like to be fit or skinny, but that is what I wanted. It was like a switch had been flipped and it was all down hill from there. The weight just melted off. I realized later that I was not exactly going about it in a healthy manner, but at the time I was loosing weight so whatever I was doing I was going to keep doing. Shortly after I started loosing the weight, the guy that was in the baseball photo with me..., the guy I had been dating on and off for almost ten years, and I had ended things. This time it was for good. This only helped in the weight loss journey. It helped for a couple reasons; first, of course it is easy to loose a few pounds when you end a relationship...when you don't even feel like eating. Second, because I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. Although I loved him more than I could even try to put into words, I knew it wasn't going to workout. It had been almost ten years and yet our relationship didn't seem to be going anywhere. I finally felt like I could move on and start over! and third I wanted to loose the weight so he would see me and realize what he was missing out on! lol I realize now those are stupid reasons but at the time they seemed to be helping. Ironically those are some of the same reasons that will eventually lead to my demise (I will explain that in the finding it part! lol)

   A few month after our break up I decided I needed a fresh start in a new environment so I transferred to a university in Virginia. While I was there I met a few people who would be key in helping me on my journey. One of whom helped me realize that I wasn't going about things in a healthy way. I knew what I was doing but I don't know if I was in denial or if I genuinely didn't know it was wrong and technically could be labeled as an eating disorder, but none the less I realized what I was doing was wrong and I tried to fix the problem. In the end this also played a part in my gaining the weight back. Some of my roommates were also key to my weight loss. One especially was Lindsay, we even took a weight lifting class together! Our coach was always so proud of us because he would come in to the weight room and there were all of the huge football player...and then there were these two prissy girls bench pressing!!! And we loved every minute of it!!!

   In the end, I had gotten down to under 150lbs! I had lost over 50lbs! I felt so good at the time. I felt healthy and fit. Although I didn't look like I was going to win any bench press competitions, I had some definition in my arms that I was extremely proud of. I have more pictures of myself from that time than any other time in my life and I know it was because I actually liked what I saw. This is one of those pictures. I still have one of these pictures as my profile picture on facebook and sometimes I feel bad about that because I feel like I am deceiving people making them think that is what I look like today, but I can't bring myself to change it. For one thing because I am embarrassed, but for another thing is because I feel that is who I am. I never felt better than I did then. I feel like I am that person trapped in this body.

   Then one day my weight loss journey came to an end. I made the HUGE mistake of getting my my body fat tested. It came out to be 33%. I knew that a healthy body fat ppercentage was lower than that so I felt like I had failed. I felt like I had done all that work for nothing. Like it wasn''t enough. Like it wasn't ever going to be enough. I was never going to be skinny! I realize now how dumb I was to think that. I realize how happy I was and I would give anything to be that size again. But at the time I was extremely discouraged by it. My friend realized that there was something wrong with me so I told her what I had found out and how I felt about it. I never thought, that how I felt about myself could effect someone else or their self esteem is such a way. She was overweight and I knew that, and I knew she knew it, and I also knew that it bothered her. But the difference was I measured my self worth by my weight...and I wasn't good enough, but I didn't measure her worth by her weight. She was beautiful and even at a heavier weight than me I still considered her more beautiful than myself. Therefore I never would have imagined that my insensitivity would be taken as, if I at 33% body fat thought I was fat, then what did that say about her! I felt extremely horrible about how I made her feel, and it made me feel even worse about myself because I was so superficial.

   This was the beginning of the end. It was like, when you get a pull in a rug or a sweater, and it just keeps unraveling more and more. That switch that had been flipped, had just been turned off. The next thing I know I am 225lbs! Yep so much for refusing to go over 200lbs!

Lost it, found it, losing it again!

   I recently became friends with someone on facebook who I knew from a long time ago. Her name was Jessica  and her sister Heather was one of my best friends in school. We had had tons of sleep overs and did everything together. While I have very fond memories of them, we had lost touch over the years. But a few days ago Heather found me on facebook. I was so excited to be reacquainted with her! I also became friends with her sister Jessica. I noticed on Jessica's facebook page she had posted a picture of her with a comment, that she had reached 50lbs lost. She had a link to her blog so I immediately went to her blog and saw her before and after pictures. I was so impressed with all the work she had done to accomplish this goal. Then I saw a post stating that there was an article about her in the Aug 23rd issue of Woman's World magazine, and our local newspaper ran an article about her, her weight loss, her blog, and about the article in the magazine! All of this has been within the last few days!
   I was so excited for her. It got me reminiscing about my own weight loss story. I started thinking about how she had been a motivation to me, as well as many others, by putting herself out there. She told of how she was motivated herself by those who had been following her weight loss on her blog. That they were a form of support.
  So I decided I wanted to follow in her footsteps and share my journey as well. I am hoping for the same results: That I will be able to help someone find the strength and motivation to loose weight, as well as find the support I need to get back on track and loose the weight once and for all!
   My journey is a little different though because if you haven't figured it out by the title of my blog, I lost the weight, then I gained it back, and now I am going to loose it again! I will be sharing my past experiences as well as the experiences that come along as I continue on this journey.