As I mentioned in my post last night, I have recently joined a Biggest Loser weight loss challenge in my town.
The way it works:
It is being run by a woman on our community. Everyone who wants to participate was required to pay a $20 registration fee (to be put into a pot for the winner) We go to her home every Tuesday evening to be weighed (to be sure we are using the same scale every week and there are no discrepancies!). There are weekly prizes donated by WAHM’s for the person who lose the most weight that week. If you gain weight in any week you owe a $2 fee. On December 17, (after 8 weeks) we are going to have our final weigh in as well as a potluck and find out who the winner is. The winner is determined by who has the highest percentage of weight loss.
Why I am doing it:
I decided to join the group because Zoey is 5 months old and I haven’t lost a pound since she was a month old. I haven’t gained either, but I still weigh more then I would like to. I like the idea of being held accountable. And having a support group behind me. And a little healthy competition is always fun! This is also the reason I am choosing to share this with the blogging world. It holds me a little more accountable, and you guys are a great group of supportive people!
My plan:
Going to the gym a hundred times a week isn’t going to happen for me. First off, I can’t afford a membership and second I just don’t see myself sticking to it. I want to make lifestyle changes that I can stick to. Not just changes to lose weight over the next 8 weeks that I am going to put right back on!
So my plan is to walk every day, both with and without the kids. I am being more conscious of my eating choices. No more skipping meals (which I do waaaay more then I should) Other then coffee, the only thing I plan to drink is iced water (with lemon when I need the flavor) In my coffee I am lowering the amount of cream I use and sweetening it with honey instead of sugar. I am planning on getting a skipping rope and spending 5 minutes at a time skipping (hopefully a few times a day) and every other day I am planning on going to a fast paced 30 minutes bike ride.
Based on a healthy BMI (using the unreliable online BMI calculators) My ideal weight is 97-132 lbs. After talking with my Dr, my goal weight is 125 lbs. But more then a weight loss goal, my goal is to feel good about my body. To feel confident with how I look. To feel healthy.
My starting weight for this 8 week challenge is 169.2 lbs.
Any advice, links, recipes (the more family friendly the better!) etc are more then welcome!
Love, hugs and more to come later!
Lynn
I’m definitely rooting for you! You’re very brave to put all this out there in the blogging world, but I totally understand why you’re doing it. It’s great that you have found a support group in your area too! As far as recipes go, do you have any types that you prefer? I’ve got two really well built books that do meal planning for people who want a balanced lower calorie diet, I can send you a couple of recipes if you want. Oh, and, you should also check out my guest post on smart snacking on Valerie’s blog too!
Cheering you on!
Thank you! I love knowing I have people supporting me. Even if it’s in the virtual world!
As far as recipes go, I am all for trying new things! If you have a couple that you really like you can email me at lynncollins10@gmail.com! The more toddler friendly the better š
I will go check out your guest post, I am pretty sure I read it, but I will go find it again!
Thanks again! š
I’ve got a couple that I really like, I’ll try to send them to you this weekend š
Thanks! I look forward to trying them!
You will do fine. My advice though is not to totally cut out everything and go balls to the wall. Baby steps or you won’t stick with it. I started mind by giving up regular soda and taking walks in the evenings. The soda alone knocked off quite a few pounds. It also changes your tastes a bit too when you aren’t overloading on sugar, so your eating habits start falling into place after awhile. Take it easy on yourself and it will work out just fine. š
Thank you! That is more or less what I am doing. The first habit I need to break is skipping meals! I skip meals like crazy and I need to stop!
Yep. Nothing will bomb your metabolism more. Eat small meals and make sure you give yourself a cheat day once a week. Believe it or not, that also shakes up your metabolism.
Woohoo, go you!
As far as the water goes, I have a suggestion (learned through experience). Just lemon in the water can get boring. I’ve learned that you can “flavour” water with fruits quite well! I get a big juice jug, fill it with water and infuse my flavours over night so that it is ready to go with a big jug the next day. Just chop up the fruit/veg/herb combination you like and dump it in the water!
Some of my favourite combinations include strawberries and cucumbers (slice them up), lemon and lime slices, orange slices and blackberries, muddled fresh mint and lime, etc. You can find lots of flavour combinations and “recipes by googling flavoured water or infused water. It helps make it feel less boring, and plus you can eat the fruit that falls into your glass! š
Good luck on your journey – I’ll definitely be following you! xo
Thank you so much! That makes perfect sense. I have frozen fruit I have been using for ice cubes, so I can imagine it would be better in a jog over night! Thanks for the tips!
cool ! i just joined the biggest loser online plan. i’m on day 3. good luck to us all!
Good luck to you!
Yay good for you! I am watching with interest and will let you know some of my favourite recipes. Monkey and I love a chicken, pumpkin and hoi sin sauce stir fry which I got from the Michelle Bridges cookbook (one of the biggest loser trainers here in AUS)