Butts and Hors-d'oevres? And smelly Chanukah?

Scandalous blogs of late y'all! I'm with Dan - I've been massively entertained! In other news of butts - intervals continue to kick mine. I have a theory, which I shall disclose as soon as I have proved it. In the meantimes, continue to talk among yourselves on here, so I can see these hysterical comments. THANKS!

hors d' oeuvres

Hors means outside -
oeuvre means work. Oeuvre also means what one produces. For example; when one talks about an artist's oeuvre he is talking about the artist's works of art.
In the culinary language it means the little titbits, savourings, snacks that one nibbles at before the main meal. Hors d'oeuvres means outside the main meal.

I Just want you to know, that there is no crime in wishing for a smaller derriere, I am just sick of dragging it around.

What kind do you prefer?

My partner and I got in a fight over the size/fitness of our bums! I really don't want to offend her because she has a black bootie bum even though she thinks it is a old, fat white lady bum. We have always had conflict in our thinking..... I have flat, no bum (more bum in front than back) and hers you could serve Orderbs off of hers. We want to know which option you think is better. Please vote!!!! I LIKE BIG BUTTS AND I CANNOT LIE!

Delicious!!!!

I made that crepe recipe that i posted at the beginning but with fresh peaches and no chocolate just a little whip cream. It was wonderful! Even my 10 year old boy loved it, he kept begging for another bite. I think I will try it tomorrow with fresh raspberries. I love all the fresh fruit in the summer!!!

Now we're talkin'

I actually laughed out loud at the round of posts this morning. I am officially adopting the word "Chanukkah" into my vocabulary. Can someone please sound it out for me... Is it: "chan-OOOO-Kah" or is it "CHON-uh-kuh" ??? And I want to ask Jodi's son: "does it smell like teen spirit?" (depending on his age, he will get the Nirvana joke). Anyway, thanks to all for the lift this morning. Keep up the great effort!

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Ok.... so the Chanukkah comment was in reference to Dan's Jewish comment. My son always is saying it smells like Chanukkah to be funny. I couldn't resist!

I still have it!!!!

I don't want to brag or make anyone jealous, but i can still fit into the same earrings i wore in high school.

Darn this heat

I went running this morning and felt like I was baking for the entire hour! It was a strange kind of torture!

What smells like Chanukkah?

It is a mystery

H20

It is so easy to get my water in the last few days. I sit up in my office and sweat to death so I drink lots and lots of water. I have done over 100 oz every day!

98 Degrees

I'm just going to go outside this afternoon and melt. That's my new fat-loss plan. It worked when I was a kid...

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check!

Sorry, I can't think of a thing to say today.......

Blah

Is it bad that I want waffles this morning? While I shall not indulge, I shall definitely put it on my list for next free day. STAY. THE. COURSE. And Dan, thanks for the inspirational thoughts. You're a fine tree.

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This week's focus

"It's never too late to be who you might have been." George Eliot

Summer is my favorite

I love the heat. I love the flowers. I love having my kids home. I love the smell of sunscreen and that my bath tub is filled with sand from the sand box every night. I love that my kids can play outside all day and my house stays clean. Sunshine is good for my mental health.

Free Day

Almost forgot to post.

M&M's rock.

Finally!

Hey fellow gamers, so sorry I have been out of it since Friday. As Jodi said we did a huge yard sale on Friday and Saturday along with kelly, and can I tell you that I have never been so exhausted. up both days at 5:30 crawling into bed both nights. Now I think I got so run down I have a cold :( Oh well, it feels great to de-junk. At least my house is a little organized. I finally got everything to the DI and unpacked my car at 8:30 last night, nevermind that my husband was out of town all weekend so it was just little old me. Poor Kelly had a herniated disc and so between my elbow and her back we could not have done it without Jodi, Brad and her wonderful children. We definitely did not have a problem getting 100 oz. of water with all the heat and we made great eating choices all weekend. It was so great hanging out with Jodi and Kelly all weekend. I LOVE FAMILY! thanks for being patient, here is to another great week for GAME ON!

Good Vibrations

Happy Sunday to all. We have a 20-something daughter who is a delightful YW, home for the summer. She has noticed the good our little belly bustin' contest has done for me and Laureen (her former piano teacher) and she asked about the process. I was quite pleased that she would join in (unofficially). Maybe I can influence our kids for good... Thanks Contest!

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Busy weekend

As you all have probably noticed, the scores are not updated. Lori and I have been running a yard sale for the last 2 days. Talk about exhausting!!!! I'm sure she will get the scores updated when she has a minute to breathe.

I want a perfect week

I'm with ya Dan!

O man!

Yesterday out on the boat I had a great day. We left early and I surfed, boarded and skied behind the boat along with the kids. Even though my bikini body is still not quite ... that..., I could tell that I felt stronger and better. Its hard not to want super fast change for my efforts.

Did I mention that before we left I forgot to post? I had a great day anyway and I don't get the extra ten for perfection but I am happy. My score was 700.

"Begin to see yourself as a soul with a body rather than a body with a soul."

I feel like I'm Jewish

Well, here we are at the beginning of a new week - Belly Bustin' week that is... I don't know about you, but I need a renewed kick in the pants as it seems like we're in the dog days of the contest. I had a little let down and so didn't try as hard. Here's to a fantastic 710 point week. Are you with me? Let's do it.

God Bless Exercise

Today marks the end of 16 weeks of exercising 6 days a week.

Thank you, GAME ON.

Not so good

Points...668. No excuses. I simply put a bunch of kids' needs before my own needs this week. I'll do better next.

Week 4

Jodi O. 700 points. missed water by 12 oz. Day gets busy and man alive its gone before you have consumed your 100 oz.

Jodi-710
Lori-680
Kelli-635

This round has been harder for me to get a perfect score. I still want one, but not this week. My score is 698.

Week 4

Score: 700

Week 4 (June 18)

My score this week was 704.

Tough week

Score 678. My emotions got the best of me this week. I'm thankful for a fresh start today!

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Hard Week

This has been the hardest week since March for me. I've learned some valuable lessons...

1. One free day in seven is gosh-a-plenty.
2. Emotional eating does not, in fact, anesthetize emotional pain. SO WHY BOTHER?
3. Vegetables are our friend.
4. Bread is not (well, white bread, anyway).
5. Not new but still: I LOVE TO EXERCISE. Especially when I'm done.
6. If you PAY ATTENTION (my worst event) your body will actually positively/negatively reinforce you in your food choices.

Hard, good week.

Thankful for Utah

I've been traveling the past few weeks in the midwest and have been introduced to myriad weather experiences: unbelievable lightning storm, hail, torrential downpour, tornado, HOT & HUMID. I guess you have to get used to it... Is it any wonder San Diego is so popular???

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OUCH!

I have been fighting tendonitis in my elbow since March. It has finally gotten so bad I went and got a cortisone shot in it today. the shot wasn't so bad but about an hour after (when the numbing wore off) I am dying!!!! It hurts so bad, it is swollen and i cant even bend or straighten it and the worst part is I had to type all day today and now I get to go clean the gym! It has also given me a headache and the rest of my body is aching....weird! Hope I survive!

Veggie Record

I wanted to see how many servings of veggies I could have in a day, just for the heck of it. Here's how yesterday turned out:

Meal 1: smoothie with 1/2 c. o.j. & 1/2 soy milk, plus strawberries & mini peppers

(total servings - 2 fruit, 1 veg.)

Meal 2: plate full of baby carrots, snap peas, and grape tomatoes, with 1 serving hummus

(total servings - 2-3 veg.)

Meal 3: HUGE salad with mixed greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, avocado, craisins (plus 1 oz. Dubliner cheese)

(total servings - 3 veg.)

Meal 4: dried mangoes with 1 oz. wedge of laughing cow cheese

(total servings - 1 fruit)

Meal 5: Paradise Bakery crumbly blue cheese salad with chicken - I ate half and the other half is for lunch today.

(total servings - 2 veg.)

GRAND TOTAL: NINE servings veggies, TWO servings fruit.

I rock.

Some days are harder than others...

Per Tony Robbins: "Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach. It's the end your after."

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Hope everyone is having a good week.

What a great day!!

If you love mountain biking, I have a great recommendation. Today we went to Sundance and took the ski lift up several times and rode down many of their bike trails. Absolutely beautiful!!! One of the trails looked like we were riding through the Garden of Eden. I'm still extremely sore from my hike on Saturday but the biking was well worth the added pain.

Me too

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Checking In

5 points.

'goin to Kansas City

I'm going to be in KC this week. Bryant's BBQ is there. Guess it'll have to be chicken... Ah, the choices we have to make. That's what it's all about.

Oweeeee!!!!

Still in major pain and having a difficult time walking still. My workouts this week will have to be very creative. We are celebrating our anniversary tomorrow and have made a tradition to do a long bike ride. Good luck to me!!!

Girls camp....

I went skydiving for the first time. After listening to the instructor for what seemed like days, I was ready to go. Excited, I jumped out of the airplane. After a bit, I pulled the ripcord. Nothing happened. I tryed again. Still nothing. I started to panic, but then I remembered my back-up chute. I pulled that cord. Nothing happend!...
I frantically began pulling both cords, but to no avail. Suddenly, I looked down and couldn't believe my eyes. Another man is in the air with me, but this guy is going *up*!!
Just as the other guy passed me, -- I am scared out of my wits -- and I yell, "Hey, do you know anything about skydiving?"
The other guy yells back, "No! Do you know anything about gas stoves?"

be careful at girls camp!

free meal

It is amazing how much I want to eat a lot on free meal/day but my stomach gets so full, so fast. I really wanted to taste everything yesterday but after just a little, i was too full. I guess that is a good thing.

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I love morning

I love getting up early before any one else is awake. It's calm and peaceful!

Deja Whew

For as much as I looked forward to it, I'm glad free day is over. It's becoming less and less of an attraction because of how I feel on Monday morning. Lousy... Sugar is no longer my friend. Adios.

great fathers day!

Loved having dinner off for fathers day. It was delicious! Great to spend the day with family.

Day after hike

From the minute i woke, i have been in excruciating pain in my quads. Go figure..... half marathon, day after, no pain. 100 mile bike ride, day after, no pain. Hiking Mt. Olympus, day after, walking like a dork (bad day to wear heels to church). I had to go 20 minutes early to sit down so I didn't have to be seen walking funny. Hoping for less pain tomorrow.

Free Day

Ra.

Checking in

Sunday

Happy and Blessed Sunday to all. Free day too. I'm going to try and moderate my free day this week as I way over did it last Sunday - and as a result didn't lose much weight... Grandpa is grilling hot dogs (my favorite) for our Father's Day get-together, so I'll have to fill up on fruit and salad to help fill the void. Have a great week everyone.

It was a great day for a hike!

I hiked Mt. Olympus today and it was amazing. I forgot how steep the hike was. I am tired and going to bed now.

Checking In

5 points. Go me.

Special day!

My 8 year old got baptized today and we had our friends and family over afterwards for lunch. We had all of my favorite foods so of course I took a meal off. I was so excited to eat whatever I wanted for an hour and a half. The only problem was that after eating only one plate of the main course foods I was stuffed. I'm not used to that happening to me so soon. I think this game has shrunk my stomach. I could barely eat a few bites of the yummy lemon cake I had been waiting for all day. I have learned my lesson though. Next time I take a meal off I will eat dessert first!

Saturdays

Saturdays are the hardest contest days for me. We get up and go and it's hard to think about eating correctly and even posting on the blog. Good thing I sat down for a second to check the mail and see if I won the lottery...

The Roller Coaster

Jodi I totally get what your saying!! I was feeling really good about my week last week. Then yesterday there was lots of fighting in my house and emotions were running high. So what do I do? Jump into a bag of chocolate so I already have a snacking penalty!! I find that my emotions are directly realated to this fabulous fight with diet and excersise. If you find an answer let me know!

Whew!

I am glad its free day tomorrow! 710 for this week. The water is giving me so much energy! like gas in a race car! vroom vroom

What is perfection???

As i sit here posting my score for the week, I am wondering what it is about perfection that i am so afraid of. Do i not deserve being perfect? Am i not good enough? Am i just one that needs flaws and challenges to make me feel alive? Do I need some serious counseling? Does anyone else feel like they are a hair away from going crazy trying to figure yourself out? You would think at 43 years old i would not have so many questions! Oh well.... life goes on. Questions continuing to swirl in my head.
Score 690

Dan..... the ruby reds and royal greens i buy through New Vitality on the Web.

week three

sorry alisha, I have had another non-perfect week.

I got sick last weekend, and am still sick, and food

just is hard to eat!!

670 :(

Week three - 700

End of Week 3

Score - 710 points

Lori I love you

Score 710. Don't stress that's the funny thing about life. Sometimes things just don't flow the way we want them to and you are not a bad partner! Your Human and don't worry I'm sure I'll hit a wall before to long and you'll need to give me a pep talk!

Finally

Well, it took a while but I finally got it all together: 710 points for week 3.

sorry kristin! 674

I will try to do better next week. I am not a very good partner. Doing this during the summer is way harder then I thought it would be!

Almost forgot to post!

I've decided I wish I could play baseball like vampires. And if you're wondering, why yes, I have been listening to quite a bit of Muse today. :)

I feel great

This has been my best week yet. I did use my free meal today at lunch so it wouldn't go to waste. Cookies and Reese's peanut butter cups it's amazing how your body reacts to food. I felt heavy and sluggish afterward. It's evidence that my body loves healthy choices , but I do love my chocolate so I'm grateful that I get to splurge. I think that's why this game has worked for me! I don't feel like I never get to have a treat. Love it!!!

Great thought Dan!

Home from stormy Indiana

"Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself." William Faulkner.

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Great Meal

I've been experimenting with green smoothie recipes and today was the best one yet.
Skim milk, protein powder, blueberries, strawberries, ruby red powder, royal greens (has a hint of mint) and fill the rest of the blender up with spinach. The color is nasty but it tastes yummy and is good for you. My kids even love it!

best workout ever!

i helped Savanna with her gymnastic classes today. After three hours of lifting girls up and over the bar and spotting them on the floor and lifting them to do pull ups and leg lifts I could die! I hope I will be able to get out of bed tomorrow. 39 students, 3 straight hours beat that workout!!

Sounds like everyone is doing great. Nice to be in control. Keep it up everyone.

tired!

the winds today are making my allergies unbearable! All I want to do is sleep today. I have a sore throat and feel so crappy! fun fun

Check In

Cooling down after a great workout. Who knew my body likes to be pushed? Poor little thing,, being treated like the stay puft marshmallow all these years... Well, NO MORE! Now that it knows what this feels like - we're pushing!

Excited to eat half of a shrimp avocado salad for dinner tonight. Now, off to my tomatoes and toast. G'DAY, ALL!

Checking in

It's been a good week. I still have a free meal and the week is almost up. I've felt more in control of my appetite this week! Maybe the heat is suppressing my cravings. Who Knows? But I'll take it while I can. It's definately not normal for me!

Midwest Weather

I am currently in Indianapolis, where coincidentally they had a tornado last night and rain like I've never experienced before. Yikes. These guys get real storms. And it was still 85 degrees and 100% humidity through the night. Good thing I had acquired my Lean Cuisine before that hit...ooooooweeeee.

My husband Rocks!!

After a long day of work, Brad made me a healthy turkey burger on the grill topped with a tomato slice (no bun required) It was fabulous!!!

Bad Situation

I am in Indianapolis and I'm tired and hungry. Worst possible situation. Need to find some good food before the fast-food gremlins attack and conquer. During this episode of shedding my old self, the good habit of reading inspiring nutritional and PMA articles helps immensely. Thanks good habit.

CHECK..

I'm POOPED!! Hopefully some good food, some exercise, and rest will make me feel better!!

Just checking In

Thanks fos the cute jokes! They made me smile!!!

o yes today....

It's my younger brothers birthday today. Flag day. Happy Flag Day

What's red, white, blue and yellow? The Star-spangled Banana!

How is a flag like Santa Claus? They both hang out at the pole!

What's the difference between June 14 and a day when a monster cooks? One's a flag day and the other's a gag day!

What did the patriotic dog do on Flag Day? He flagged his tail!

Teacher: "How did the Founding Fathers decide on our country's flag?" Student: "I guess they took a flag poll!"

Teacher: "Jenny, what do you know that has stars and stripes?" Jenny: "A movie about a zebra!"

What would you get if you crossed a famous march tune with a monster and his friends? "Stars and Twerps Forever"!

What would you get if you crossed the Stars and Stripes with a cookie? A Flag Newton!

Another busy day!!!!

CHECK!

blah!

I feel BLAH lately. I am so tired and just not motivated. It is hard to care but still hanging in there. Hopefully something will change.

Crash & Burn

We had a great Sunday. Our yougest son reported his mission (Chicago - Spanish speaking) and we had a wonderful gathering of family and dear friends. Of course family and friends is an automatic formula for lots of food. Good thing it was my free day. The only problem with lots of food and free day is the day after. Oh my. I'm sure I'll feel better after getting back to healthy food... And I'm sure that's one of the purposes of free day - to remind us that a lot of bad food makes us heavy, lethargic, slow, dim, etc... Thanks free day.

Gray

I need some real live sunshine. Not this fake quasi-gray stuff we've been getting since I-don't-even-know-when. I think it's given me the emotional flu. Let's cancel today. (has she had her dose of endorphins for today? I'm thinking.......not)

Run in the morning

It's fantastic.

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Love/Hate Free Day

Isn't free day interesting? It makes me so happy. And when it's over and I'm back to my cottage cheese, or V-8, or salads, or hummus, or WHATEVER...

it makes me so happy.

I had ice cream for breakfast. Yeah. Coldstone ice cream. Took a piano student for a well-earned treat this week, bought some for myself, and it's been in the freezer ever since. So that's what I had for breakfast. My tongue loved every minute of it. My body hated it.

Licked the bowl of my daughter's birthday pie (it's a long story) after church. I'm so excited to have grilled salmon and baked yams for dinner! My tongue will enjoy every bite of the buttermilk pie for dessert. But man, when it's time for oatmeal, or egg beaters tomorrow, my body will croon with every bite, "thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

I LOVE free day! I hate free day! But especially, I enjoy learning this. :)

Free Day

Brownie ror breakfast. WHY?

Looking here and there

It's Sunday - my free day. Wahoo! Looks like everyone had a great week. Congratulations to all. And here's to a great new week - even better than the last. So my free day is a celebration of good effort - a reward for sticking to it last week. And also a launch for a great effort to come. I'll try not to overdo it.

Ditto...

nothing to say....

Checking In

Lot of food for little calories

This morning I had my egg beaters with mini peppers and scallions, AND my grape tomatoes with parmesan cheese (nuke 'em). Add a piece of whole wheat toast, and what a great breakfast! It's a LOT of food, and it's 6 points on Weight Watchers.

That and an hour walk with hubby - great way to start the day.

Week 3

Just remember that there was a point in the season where the Dodgers were in last place - now they're in first! Good luck to everyone in Week 3.

my score for the week is 694

End of Week 2

Total - 710 points

Oh, how I love my exercising. And I'm loving that calm that comes from keeping your blood sugar stable throughout the day. The five meals has been challenging, but I'm so happy I'm learning these habits. I love going to bed hungry. I love eating till I'm not hungry AND NO MORE. I love only having goodies on free days. This calm in my head......I don't know how to describe it - but i love it. Here's to week 3.

Score 699

-6 Yesterday missed dinner. -5 for not blogging. Next weeks goal Perfect score!

busy week, fun week

Good morning everyone!!

This week was pretty good for me

for the belly bustin, but great for the

fact that I have a new darling grandson!!

I have lived at the hospital this week, either

working or visiting or having sleep overs.

Luckily they have a wide selection of good food.

Score for week: 680

cloudy

HEY!! I am over perfect this week.!! 710 all the way... Now someone order some sun to celebrate!

Q: What's the difference between a mathematician and an experimentalist?
A: A mathematician thinks that two points are enough to define a straight line while an experimentalist wants more data.

Score for week of 6/4

Socre the Tree = 695 (Blast the sleep rule...)

Weekly totals

This week was hard. I'm still striving for that perfect score. Maybe next week. This has really helped me know what's for dinner before noon each day, which is less stress.

Trudy - 698 (again :|)

Jodi - 695

Weekly total - Take 2

Getting enough sleep was my challenge this last week. I've had so much to do and I just get SOOO much more done when all the kids are finally in bed and my husband is out of town. The unexpected early morning phone call that came an hour before my planned wake up time didn't help much either. My total points are 685.

weekly total

weekly total

Whew that was close.....

I just about crashed without blogging. Hope everyone had a good week! I feel so much better! I love having to be accountable to some one besides myself!

Good routine

It's nice to get a bit of routine down - go get a good sweat (20 points) and blog while you cool down (5 points). I have not missed a single day of exercise since March 8 - 4 days before the first contest began. A complete AMEN to Kristin - it's got to be the first thing I do. Thank you, GAME ON!

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I'm pro protein

I have found that if I get a good dose of protein (mixed with high quality carbs) in the morning I am less hungry.

Exercising in the Morning

Amen to Kristin. Exercising in the morning is the best. All the compelling reasons NOT to just multiply throughout the day. Love those intervals - good morning!

Crazy Morning!

I finally, just got My Husband, Son and the Young Men packed and on the road to Zions Park. Now I can think about me for a second. It is almost noon and I haven't exercised, eaten or drank a drop of water. But I'm proud to say that I made all the boys a Pancake - Waffle breakfast with butter, homemade syrup and whipping cream and I did not partake. So I guess I'll go enjoy a bowl of yogurt, nuts and berries instead.

If You Buy It

Travel trials continue. I found that my self-control on the road isn't the same as when I'm at home. At home I can grab a handful of nuts and be satisfied. On the road, that same handful of nuts turns into the whole can... Go figure. So, I'll be best off just not buying them.

Morning Excercise

I've decided that I have to excercise in the morning. The heat slowly eats away at my will power. I feel so much better when it's over and then in the heat of the afternoon I don't feel guilty sitting under a fan with a big cup of ice water,

checkin in early

Another busy day with extreme room makeover. Hope we can make it by tomorrow. Carpet today and then the great move! I have never been so sore! I don't think I would have a weight problem if I did not have a job that I sat at a desk all day. When I am physically busy all day, it is all I can do to remember to eat, whereas if I sit for 8 hours at my desk food is all I think about. boredom eating is my problem. Great week so far.

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Traveler Trials

My first big test of the contest: eating and exercising while traveling. I am in Denver for 3 days and as you all may well know, eating right and finding a decent place to exercise are not easy. I did think ahead (thank-you contest) and pack my exercise clothes and some protein shakes for breakfast. The hard part so far is driving past my old eating haunts and dealing with the Pavlov's Dog syndrome.

what do you know?

“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.” Lance Armstrong

Quote of the Day

"Why do you choose failure when success is an option?" Julian Michaels

Exercise was awesome today. Love those barbell classes.

checking in

Check In

Good walk. Good day. Off to find some vegetables. I think I've shared this idea, but I love those mini peppers from Costco in a strawberry orange smoothie. Gives it a little kick. Plus a three fruit/vegetables (2 fruit, 1 veg) at once, can't beat that. Three more days till check in - stay the course!

Steamed asparagus....YUM!!!! Flossing afterward....great habit I declared!!! HeeHeeHeeHeeHee

Just checking in!

Exhausted!

I have been painting since 10 a.m. and i want to crawl in bed. I am a sight to see. Dripping wet hair from sweat! I hope this counts as my 20 minutes of exercise. I am more sore and have sweat more then if i did 2 hours of aerobics! I hope I can move tomorrow so I can start it all over again.

Whaaaaaat!!!??

So I started adding it up and I would like to congratulate those who scored over perfect!!

Here is me thinking that 700 points was the perfect score and I see these 705s up there. I guess that is just the way we play it. It this game you can achieve the ultimate... OVER PERFECTION... to bad the points don't count for pounds ehh?

Monday

I like Mondays. I feel fresh and renewed. Now Wednesdays - that's the day, right smack in the middle, when I'm usually wanting to screech, "ARE WE DONE YET?" Happily, with this contest, Friday is the new Monday, so on Wednesdays, when I screech, I can answer, "Yes." :)

My Dream

I must have been dreaming about this game last night. We went to my parents for dinner last night and I got home and started reading my book to detox from all the family fun. So I woke up at 2 this morning bug eyed because I forgot to blog last night. Weird how our brains work. I can't believe that woke me up out of a dead sleep! HA! So it's minus 5. I'm human.

The Compound Effect

I'm reading a new book called The Compound Effect. Here's a cut: "Our decisions shape our destiny. Little everyday decisions will either take you to the life we deire or to disaster by default. It's the littlest decisions that shape our lives." Here's to making good decisions this week.

out of the loop!

I feel like I have missed so much since friday. I sent my 16 year old to Cancun with her singing group and started doing extreme makeover on her new room. (braedon's old room) Saturday started at 7 a.m. with a yard sale for the young womens camp, 10-11 was savannas gymnastic registration and back to the yard sale until 2. Got fried by the way. then back to painting!!! I hope I can get her room done by Thursday so I can surprise her. It was fun to read all you peeps blog. i love seeing what and how everyone is doing. Ta ta for now!

Hmmmm????

I had to take a free day yesterday because it was hard to score a day when by 8 pm i had only ingested a bagel smeared with cream cheese, 3 packages of shot blocks, a subway sandwich, bag of chips, cookie, 2 bottles of gatorade type liquid, half a pb sandwich, a couple of shot roks and a small rootbeer float to celebrate after a 100 mile bike ride. Later, at 8:30 washing it all down with a large serving of chicken tika masala, naan bread and 3 yummy oatmeal cookies with soy milk. It sounds like a ton of food but considering I was on my bike for 8 hours and burned more than 7000 calories(this total is from my friends handy device), I hoped that i did not do too much damage.

YEpper SKipper

Hi, belly bustin' buddies! What a week! 600 water balloons, 53 6th graders in my living room having a dance party, the last day of school, my dang cool partner dooin the 100 miler on her two wheeler, X-er-cizing and the hardest of all -- the many meals that I must stuff into my pie hole.

Adding to the fun a visit to the Dr. for antibiotics and loosing my voice.. whaat? Yup I looked everywhere for it and then couldn't find it...you guessed it L-A-R-Y-N-G-I-T-I-S (had to look that one up)

So all and all -I am blogging late 'cause I slept late 'cause I was up the night through with ice and chloroseptic. On the upside I did not sing in the choir today-WHEW. And food all food tastes like crap right now so thats gotta be worth a few less calories naww??

Did anybody else catch the lighting show this evening? and Jody E...

Tell us...What is this device your fried used to count the 7000 calories? (deficit is key)

till nxt time belly buds..

Checking In

Sunday. Free day. Cookies for lunch. Bleck.

BUT, grilled pork tenderloin and spinach salad for dinner. YUM.

I really don't think I can stress it enough: ONLY MY TONGUE LIKES FREE DAY. This is not a bad thing to learn.

I love sunshine, food, family and sundays!!

What a beautiful day!! The sun is shining, the birds are singing,

family is smiling and laughing, and we are blessed to have yummy

good food to enjoy!! Our family always meets together on sundays

and enjoys dinner together... today we will have bbq chicken on the

grill, steamed veggies, and salad. I love sundays, family, food and sunshine!!

Happy Fast Day

Whether you are LDS or not, once a month as part of my leaving the old paradigm behind is to take a break from eating even good food. For 24 hours I go without food or water as a time to give my body a rest. It has also been a spiritual booster to remember the source of all, and to be thankful.

Almost Forgot

I don't usually do much online on Saturday's and therefore almost forgot my duty to blog in. I want to report a successful skirmish with the funnel cake situation. We went to the rodeo (fun) and there was food galore. Everyone seemed to be eating funnel cakes. 'cep me! I did it. I know it seems like a small thing, but there was a time when I could keep up with the best... Baby steps.

Big Pay Day

I went to a wedding reception last night - son of dear friends in our first neighborhood 20 years ago. I've lost nearly 15 pounds since March 1, and more than 40 since about 2004. Since we don't see a lot of the people that we ran into at the wedding reception, it was a huge pay day to see everyone, experience their reactions, hear their comments, soak in the reality that I am succeeding. I had on new pants in a smaller size, and all modesty aside, I must admit that I looked great. Wow, was that a well-timed event. Talk about motivating! My free meal was last night as well - rushed to a graduation party for my niece - and while I did indulge in a piece of cake, it was one of the most controlled free meals yet. It's so lovely, this many years into my life, to finally tap into the reality that food may possibly be one the lesser pleasures. A few greater pleasures recently discovered: working out & pushing yourself, feeling just a tad hungry and eating till you don't (rather than till you're stuffed), learning other soothing / coping techniques that don't involve stuffing your face, buying smaller clothes, being complimented (best one from my darling former piano student John - 23 years old - "HELLO BEAUTIFUL LADY!"). It could be in the Visa commercial: PRICELESS!

Free meal

Everytime I blog about free meal it reminds me of Cafe Rio. I hate it when they announce it to the whole restaurant. Unfortunately Cafe Rio wasn't my free meal. It was my daughter's birthday party tonight so I had Little Ceasars Pizza (YUCK WHAT A WASTE). Fortunately I chased it with Cake and ice cream so not all was lost :)

Almost forgot!! Whew!

I texted Robin earlier to remind her to blog before noon and now i almost forgot myself.
Thanks to her call to tell me to blog for her or i would have had even lower points!
Robin's score for the week was 690
Mine was 675. BOOOO!!!!!!

Week 1 Total

710 points

Hard to get 5 meals every day this week - I've been gone so much. Alisha said it right - you gotta plan ahead (my worst event). But I had a great week - I feel great - I feel in control. Great beginning to the new contest!

Total

My points for the week are 683. I thought drinking that much water would be the hardest part for me, but it's actually harder for me to find the time to fit 5 meals into my day. Now I see why I had the bad habit of starving myself during the day and gorging at night. It takes a lot of planning ahead and packing healthy snacks to take on the road, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. I'll do better next week!

Score for week of 5/28

Dan's score = 705 points.

Memorial Weekend

It was a little hard for me this weekend with family get together, but I did good. Scale was good to me this morning. My week score is 698.

points

My points not so good today, 680. ran out of time to exercise one day and had a perfect eating day until we went to a movie at 10 p.m. and the popcorn was just tooooooooo gooooooooood! SNACKING PENALTY! Sorry Kristin, will try to improve :)

Score 704

-6 I forgot one of my snacks on Wednesday. I was running around like a mad woman. I love this game! I feel so much better when I make good food choices!

First Week Results

I want to thank everyone for the great blog entries and the inspiration behind them. The honesty is refreshing and inspiring. Now I gotta go jump on the scales so I can get those bonus points!

Check

total for week one--posted early

Here is my total for this week. I have to work all day tomorrow, and we can't use the internet. So I will post tonight.

I had a good week, and not too many distractions or temptations!

I do however look forward to my free day on saturday already!

Good luck everyone..

Kelly= 690

Good luck tomorrow

PMS SUCKS!!!

Having PMS this week has made it quite hard to have a perfect week. Robin.... don't worry i will only have 2 weeks during this 8 week game to screw up this bad. Hope everyone else is doing well and not affected by such overwelming emotions.

Reminder!

Just a reminder that your scores must be posted as a blog tomorrow by noon. I hope you are all having a lot of fun and enjoying your healthier self. Best of luck tomorrow.

Funnel Cakes

One of our kids invited us out to the Rodeo in Tooele tomorrow. He mentioned that they have the best funnel cakes. Oh My... I love funnel cakes and my sugar addiction has had me thinking about them ever since he mentioned it. BUT, my determination to eschew self-destructive behaviors and (of course) not let my teammate down is going to win this battle. The contest is changing me a little at a time. Wahoo!

Checking In

5 pts. Good first week - too much time on the run, so too much water drunk at the end of the day. Not 35 oz. right before bed, though. Wow. Trudy. :)

It's crazy how eating healthy raises your grocery bill.

It's worth it though. I already feel like I have a lot more energy.
It was fun to meet you again too, Kelly.

Checking In

Well I just received a phone call from my partner telling me that I had to decide on a new habit immediately! That several of you called Lori complaining that I haven't decided on my new habit. At the meeting on Sat, no set date was discussed about when those changes needed to happen. My thinking was before the week was up. I really wanted a goal that would make me a better person or just plain better! I kept doing the habit I had down because I really don't EVER eat fruit. SO... I feel that because I kept practicing my new goal before we decided that food couldn't be a goal, and I picked a new goal before the week was up (since a set date was never discussed) I should get to keep my points. I am not a cheater, and I do have integrity. I will discuss this with Lori and we can play the game for ourselves and how much better we, as individuals can become. Good Luck to everyone.

Jodio

Signing in....So far so good, this has been a good week, and I am feeling better.

It was good to meet you Alisha. I will try really hard to be a good partner for you.

I need this change so bad, and am willing to work hard for it!

Words of Advice

Don't drink 35 oz. of water before bed.

Biggest Benefit

This contest has been sooooo good for me, I really am torn about saying there has been a biggest benefit, but as I am cooling down from a great workout, sweat dripping and endorphins bee-bopping around in my brain, I have to say to not miss a single day of exercising - not one day - since the beginning of March - has made me a very happy girl. I've said it before, but I must reiterate - exercise is the prozac it takes me at least 30 minutes to swallow. The first 5-15 minutes usually really stink on ice, and I'd rather quit, and I watch the minutes clicking by. But at around 15 minutes, something magical happens. I. Want. To. Work. HARD. I want to push myself, beat yesterday's record, go a little longer, or a little faster. I. Love. It.

The best words I have learned in this contest came during the weeks in the beginning when I was so sick and coughing so hard. Because of this contest, these were the words that got me downstairs on that treadmill:

NO EXCUSES

Thirteen weeks later - I feel like a different person inside. God made our bodies to do this. He really did curse the earth FOR OUR SAKES. We are so lucky we have to work. And it is sooooo damning to not. This is an arena of battle that presents it self every morning, and it is important TO WIN IT.

Today, I won. And, thank the Lord - I need to face it again tomorrow. And the next day. And the next.

NO EXCUSES!

Well..off to an ok start. Already lost points because I forgot to make a contact or read this blog yesterday. With the holiday and lots of family time it completely slipped my mind. Trying to come up with a different good habit since we discussed that we couldn't have habits that we apart of the game. I'll have something by Friday I hope. Its not that I don't have anything to improve on its that I want it to be the right goal. Anyway... off to shower and bed.

Jodio

Swill

Okay this is a great breakfast/snack/pretend-I-can-have-dessert:

1/2 cup each: fat-free cottage cheese (12 g. protein for a 1/2 cup!)
fat-free plain yogurt (6 g. protein for a 1/2 cup)
1 c. mixed fruit - berries are best this time of year - add peaches later; orange sections and banana slices work in the winter.
approx. 1 Tbsp. brown sugar splenda (I'm one of those undertasters - it's way too tart for me otherwise - for you normal or overtasters - start with 1 tsp.)
1-2 Tbsp. slivered almonds

This is 5-6 points for a very filling meal! It's got creaminess and smoothness, but also crunchiness because of the almonds. Sooooo good.

Ta.

I love that this game has changed and that we have to have a protein, carb and fat in each meal. The only problem is i feel like that i am eating way more food in a day than i was before. Does any body else feel the same way? I also love the idea of having to eat veggies with 2 meals.

Exercise

For me, the hardest part of exercise is just getting up and going. We have a membership at a gym that's 20 minutes away and taking the time to travel is a drag. But once I get there and start working out, the endorphins kick in and make a huge difference in my day. I lifted weights today (1/2 hour) and jogged on the treadmill (1/2 hour). Wahoo!