Local Biggest Loser

So, last year I pledged to lose 50 pounds with the pound for pound challenge with Biggest Loser (the max pledge was 50 pounds). I was able to meet my goal. Well, I am going to pledge another 50 for this year and I am encouraging you all to make a pledge as well.

We are officially having a local Biggest Loser competition. There are already several people signed up and ready to go. It is going to begin January 15th so that we can get some details worked out. So far, this is what the competition is going to look like.

a) $10 to participate, winner will take all

b) The program will last 12 weeks

c) The person with highest percentage of weight loss wins

d) There will be two groups (those with more than 25 pounds to lose and those with less than 25)

e) Biggest Loser viewing parties will be hosted by a few participants. Biggest Loser starts again on January 4th. Tuesdays at 8PM. These will include healthy snacks and we hope to create some better friendships through this socialization. (if you are interested in being a host, we are looking for hosts in Knoxville and Maryville area)

f) I have contacted Biggest Loser runner-up, Ashley Johnston, to see if she would be willing to come to a group meeting and talk to us.

g) still trying to figure out the logistics of the weigh-in. There will be only one weigh in to start and then one at the end of the 12 weeks.

More information will be coming soon. Check out the info for the "Pound for Pound Challenge". We can form a team and make our pledge that way. In a nutshell, money is donated to our local food banks for every pound we lose. So, while we lose weight we can also help to feed the hungry. We need to come up with a name for our team. Please forward this information to any local friends that may want to participate. I would love to see at least 50 people doing this.

Those of you that aren't local. It doesn't mean that you can't sign up for the challenge. Go to the site and do it!

A Barbie World

As a kid I was never into Barbies. I owned a couple but rarely played with them. I was not good at that type of play. Now baby dolls on the other hand...i loved. I loved to play house and pretend to have a baby and pretend feed them, change them, etc. I would never buy a Barbie for my kids just because I personally did not like them. However, Travis thought that every girl needs a Barbie so he bought our 9 month old a Barbie and Ken doll for her stocking. I laughed when I saw them. First because I wouldn't of bought it and because she is so young she wouldn't know how to play Barbie even if she liked them. Looking at the Barbie everyday though has made me think a lot about the pressure that our society puts on women to be Barbies. So, I did a little research and this is what I found:

If Barbie was a real person:
Barbie's bust size would be 39 inches and she would have to crawl to support her top-heavy frame. Her bra size would be a 39 FF, putting Dolly Parton’s 40 DDs to shame. Barbie’s measurements would be an unrealistic 39-19-33. If Barbie had the hips of an average American woman, size 14, she would be 8’ 9’’. The likelihood of a real woman having Barbie’s body shape is less than one in 100,000. Barbie wouldn’t have room in her arms to have all her bones. Barbie’s head would be almost triple the size of a normal-sized head. Her neck would be twice the length of a normal neck and it would only be able to hold either a trachea or an esophagus, leaving her to choose between eating and breathing. While she is the owner of over one million pairs of shoes, more than any other woman in the world, Barbie’s feet would only be a child’s size three.

In 1965, Mattel introduced "Slumber Party Barbie," which came complete with a toy scale which read a constant 110 pounds, roughly 35 pounds underweight for a woman of Barbie's height. And in case girls who played with "Slumber Party Barbie" wanted to know how to reach such a low weight, the doll came with a book titled How to Lose Weight, which entrusted readers with the secret of many a successful eating disorder: "Don't eat."

How sad is it that we have these totally unrealistic expectations to try and meet. It is like doing the impossible. I want to challenge those of you planning to make a new years resolution to make one that is attainable, reasonable and realistic. We can't all be Barbie. I don't strive to be Barbie. I just want to be healthy. Find out what your BMI is here and see where you should be. The BMI chart is not perfect as it does not take into account the different body types and the fact that muscle weighs more than fat but for the average american it is a good guide.

Split Pea Soup & Biscuits

So I had this big ham bone left over for Christmas and was trying to figure out what to do with it. I have made 10 bean soup and pintos with ham-hock but I thought I'd try split pea soup. When Travis had his jaw surgery last year, he was wired shut for about 6 weeks. I became the grand-poobah of soup making. I made every kind of soup imaginable so he would not get bored. My sister-in-law makes split pea and I was weary because of the name and color but remember it being delicious. So I made it tonight. I was going to make cornbread but I don't have any corn meal and I am out of my little jiffy boxes too so decided to make biscuits. To my surprise the recipe I used made them only 2 points each. Here are the recipes.

Green Split Pea Soup (5-6 points per bowl)
Ham hock (OR 1/2 cup chopped ham)
8 cups water
1-1/4 cups green split peas
1 large onion chopped

1 red bell pepper
1 clove garlic minced
2 cups diced carrots
1 or 2 potatoes diced
(salt and pepper to taste)

Combine water and peas in a large pot and bring to a boil.

Add in ham hock and simmer gently for 1 hour.

Add in onions, garlic, pepper, carrots, potatoes and salt and pepper to taste.

Simmer gently for 1 more hour until peas are tender and soup is really thick.

Hot Buttermilk Biscuits (2 points each)

2 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
3 Tablespoons butter
2/3 cup buttermilk

Sift together dry ingredients.
Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.
Add buttermilk all at once.
Stir lightly with fork.
Knead gently on lightly floured board.
Roll ½ inch thick.
Cut with 3 inch round cutter. (I cut with 2 inch...it made 15 biscuits)
Place on baking dish with biscuits touching.
Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 or until lightly browned.

Original recipes found at http://pinkcookieswithsprinkles.blogspot.com

Merry Christmas

Well, I am not going to post a weight this week. I haven't been on the scale...well actually I have tried but something is wrong with my scale. I think it needs a new battery. Anyway! I am going to weigh on New Years day and then weigh in every Saturday. I am not weighting until January to start but wanted to start fresh on my blog January 1.

Travis did a good job for Christmas. He got me a Bosu ball, a 10Lb medicine ball, some new workout clothes and a simple sport jelly watch. I am really excited to use some of the equipment at home. The Bosu ball came with 4 DVDs so I will be trying those out. I am also excited to show Travis some of the moves I have been learning with Tammye and Weekend Warrior. I need to take pictures though. I easily forget some of the great exercises and techniques.

I am not going to make any resolutions this year as I feel like I already have made the lifestyle changes that are necessary for me to meet my goal. I am just going to try and stay really focused. Now that I am home, I am cooking 85% of our meals (6 out of 7, one night we go out), then I should be able to eat healthier. I do want to try and eat less processed food and less refined sugar. I love sweets! This year I would like to eat less of them. Less desserts. Less Candy. Less cookies. I need some alternatives. Any suggestions?

This week I am just going to keep at it and prepare for the new year. I need to buy some groceries, put my plan together and start off the new year below 188. I have a couple friends and family members that have talked about doing it with me. I would like to propose a challenge. A 10-week challenge...anyone that wants to participate can. Take a picture (front and profile) on January 1 and weigh, in 10 weeks we will do it again. Any suggestions on a prize? Maybe everyone that is interested can contribute $10 to a pot and then the winner takes all? Those of you interested let me know what you think?

Well, more to come but for now I just want to spend the day enjoying my family. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.

Sharing my Journey

So, several people from my workout group and Weekend Warrior have inquired about my blog. I recently sent an email to Tammye's email group telling them the address to the blog. I have had several responses but one of them literally brought tears to my eyes. I'm not going to share who sent it but wanted to share it (hope she doesn't mind).

Hi Cheryl. Thank you for sharing your blog. You are an inspiration! I have lacked the motivation to work out in recent months & just don't feel like myself as a result. I've used every excuse in the book not to make it to the gym. I've actually been hiding from Tammye too! But after reading your blog today I am vowing to make it to Tammye's 11:30 Affliction class today. My packed gym bag is in my car...no telling what is in it, but it's there. :-)

You look amazing girl! Keep it up & know that you are inspiring women everywhere!

This was amazing to get an email like this. It totally got me motivated and just made me want to stay the course. It is great to get validation for what you are doing. I have had several good followers but I thought that sharing my blog with more people would just give me even that much more accountability. It makes you responsible when you have people watching you to set and example and following along to help get their motivation. The month of December has been so hard! I am plugging away and going to my workouts but I have not been on the treadmill. I have snacked too much, ate too many yummy goodies, etc.

I can actually say that I am really looking forward to Christmas being over this year and for me to get motivated again. I want to set some short term goals and I am so ready to see 175. I know it is right around the corner but it still feels so far away. I am also really looking forward to a size 14. I think that a 14 is the size of the average American women. While I aspire to be smaller...at least I wont be in the plus sizes anymore. Most clothes and clothing stores go up to 14 but if you are a 16+ you have a much harder time finding clothes. And.....why is it that they think people that are overweight don't know how to dress and want to look ugly. The clothing industry has done a terrible job accommodating larger sizes. Most plus size clothes lack style. They are getting better and the selection is getting more diverse but as a whole, it is bad. Maybe this is a good thing. Maybe they think that if you have to look ugly everyday you will be more motivated to lose weight. This worked for me. I guess I actually have the clothing industry to thank.

Holiday Blitz Weekend Warrior

(My trainer Tammye and me...she looks nice in the picture...looks are deceiving)

Yesterday was Weekend Warrior. It was great. I swear it almost kills me every time but I am always thankful that I went when it is over. This weekend was the first time that I had my bodybugg (I burned over 650 calories). What a great workout! There were quite a few of us in the group yesterday. It is interesting to see all of the different ages, body types, etc. There was one girl in my group, Kelly, she was amazing. She did all of the exercises with great form and she never quit. She did all of them for the entire minute. She was my inspiration.

I took several pics yesterday. Here are a few.

I was teasing Tammye that I need to teach CPR toa few of the people in my class....that way when I need someone to save me, someone will know how. I am just proud of myself that I even go to this. It is intense 90 minutes of working out. There are several different stations with a specific exercise. There are approx. 4 people per station and usually around 12 stations. You do the exercise for 1 minute and then have a short recovery and move to the next station. There is also a warm up and post work out stretch. Some of these stations feel like the longest 60 seconds ever. Tammye walks around the room very cheery, singing and keeping us motivated. It is kind of mean. She knows she is torturing us and then she smiles about it. I guess it is what we are asking for. I may not do every exercise perfectly or be able to do each of them as many times as some of the gals but I am there and doing what I can. Last weekend warrior a girl passed out....this is not for sissies.

Any local friends want to join me? You'll be glad you came....

Blog Award

Well, I accidentally skipped the November blog award and now it is already almost the end of 2010 and I haven't given one out for December either. This month's blog award goes to my sister-in-law Kimberly. She has posted several encouraging words on my blog and was encouraging when we just visited Idaho. I get tons of ideas from her. She is so talented and such a great cook/baker. Everyone knows that she makes the best treats (not all healthy) but her coconut cream pie and home made rolls are seriously to die for. I follow her blog "pink cookies with sprinkles" religiously. It has loads of great recipes and ideas. She cooks most everything from scratch and this automatically lends itself to more healthy eating. Her family eats very little processed food. She makes her own granola bars and even her own healthy fruit leather. Just this week I made her chicken and wild rice soup..it was so yummy.

Kimmie seems to have it all figured out. She knows what is important to her. Her husband and her family. I once had a pastor tell me that you can tell what things are important to people. Just look at their day timer and their checkbook. Where people spend their time and money...that is what is important to them. I really respect Kimmie and her hubby for making their marriage and children the most important. It isn't huge houses or expensive cars but making time to spend quality time, making memories as a family. This is a great concept. Once I was talking to my grandfather about buying a new car and I asked him why he didn't buy something nicer like a Lexus or Mercedes, instead of a Chrysler. He responded with cars aren't important to him. He wants one that is nice, comfortable, gets good gas mileage, has a big trunk and meets their needs but he would much rather go on 10 more vacations with my grandma and spend their money making memories than to drive a BMW. I think they all have it right....I want to live like that. Don't get me wrong...I want nice things but it doesn't have to be the nicest. Houses and cars don't last, but memories do.

She also is physically fit and makes staying in shape an important task in her life. Her husband, Tracy, and family love to hike. They have hiked the Teton Crest trail several times and have endurance and stamina that I dream of. I hope to one day hike the trail with them. I believe it is 30 miles done in 3 days (approx 10 per day). I am definitely not ready for it now but maybe Summer 2012. Maybe I should set that as a goal. The regularly walk and set a good example of how to spend time getting your body moving. They go on several fun adventures through out the summer and on the weekends. I think they really try to squeeze as much out of life as they can. Travis and I have been trying harder to do that too.

Anyway...Thank you Kimmie for being an inspiration and for keeping me motivated. Keep the comments coming. Love ya!