Here's to reaching goals!

S0, it looks like it's been nearly a month since we have had anyone post anything on this blog. Hope everyone is still doing great and working towards their goals.

With the holidays coming up, it's only going to get harder to hit the gym and avoid some of those traditional holidays treats...Mainly Halloween candy, Pies, mashed potatoes and gravy, cookies and egg nog. Yum!

I have to share. I had a breakthrough today and I am officially back to my pre-pregnancy weight and have even exceeded it by a whole pound! I am so stoked! Best thing about this is that I feel amazing, have more energy and It seems like I have a whole new wardrobe [my old skinny clothes]. I can't say it's been easy and that I haven't wanted to give up, but I can say it is SO worth all those early morning classes [where I'm practically stumbling out of bed to get my butt to the gym on time], Avoiding all those delicious looking treats, and just staying focused on what I know will make me happiest.

Anyway, I hope this serves as a motivator. Hearing that other people can do this is what helps me stay focused and hopeful. I have 2 more pounds until I reach my ultimate goal and I know I can do this. Some words of wisdom that I have received have been that getting fit and reaching your goals isn't just something that you stop doing once you have attained your goals, but it's more of a change of lifestyle. I strongly believe this and so far, I think I'm really liking this lifestyle.

P.S. Amy, you're the best workout partner anyone could ask for. Thanks!

Update

Just wondering how everyone is doing out there. Are we sticking to our goals, exercising, and, hopefully, losing weight? I am having a hard time with the eating part of this whole challenge, which I new would be what I would struggle with. I had a few good weeks, but have kind of reverted back to my old binging days. Why does food have to taste AND make me feel so good? Anyways, just wondering if anyone has any tips on how to resist food. Maybe I just need to padlock the door and fridge...

***Some good news is that I lost 2 pounds this week. That sounds better than it really is, cause you see, I gained a pound last week. So, basically I just lost 1 more pound towards my goal. I hope you are all having some success!***

Going Down!

I weighed myself today and I lost another 3 pounds!

Very Berry good!

The weekends are always hard for me to fight off temptation and one thing that made this weekend even worse, was that I wanted a bowl of ice cream. So, yesterday I got online and searched for a healthy low fat treat. I found one, tested it out, and it was delish!

VERY BERRY FROZEN YOGURT

Ingredients:

2 Cups fresh Strawberries or Raspberries

1/3 Cup Sugar

1 2lb container of fat free yogurt. (I used vanilla)

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl smash up berries and stir in yogurt. (I like my ice cream without fruit chunks so I blended all the ingredients together)

2. Pour berry mixture into 2-quart ice-cream freezer. Freeze according to manufacturer's directions. Scoop into serving dishes or ice-cream cones. (I opted for some fresh banana slices on top)

I loved this recipe. It was refreshing and just what I wanted without feeling guilty about indulging my appetite.

Cream of Zucchini Soup

My mom made this soup and it was so delish. It is pretty healthy too, except for the butter that is! I am sure you could reduce it if you wanted. My mom used skim milk and it tasted great!

Cream of Zucchini Soup

1 large onion chopped
6 T. margarine or butter
6 c. sliced or shredded zucchini (the giant ones with seeds removed work well)
6 c. chicken broth

Simmer onion until soft in margarine. Add zucchini and broth. Bring to a boil for 15 minutes.

Add:
¼ t. ground black pepper
¼ t. nutmeg¼ t. salt

Put all in blender and puree. (may have to do half at a time) Put back in pan and add:
1 ½ c milk or half and half
Heat but do not boil.

Garnish with shredded cheese.

Recipes

I've been searching the internet for healthy recipes. I've found a lot of sites that have "healthy" recipes. Basically any recipe site has a "healthy" section. I stumbled across a particular site that I've really liked.

Diet.com has a lot of different utilities built into it. I spent a bit of time in their Recipe section and I was really impressed. You can sort through recipes by meal(snack, dinner, dessert) or by cuisine(American, Italian, etc) or by Nutrition(calories, fat, etc). And the recipes I've peaked at look really yummy! Also, each recipe has all of the nutritional information posted, so you know exactly what you're consuming.

Take a peak! Maybe some of the other aspects of the site will come in handy as well, I was just looking for recipes in particular.

Weight Loss

I finally lost some weight. 2 lbs actually. I was excited at the weigh in yesterday. I need to measure myself again to see if there are any changes in that area too. However, someone has my tape measurer...you know who you are.

Here is a recipe blog that my cousin has set up. There are only 3 recipes on there right now, but I will tell her to add more. She is freakin skinny, so if she eats like this it should help us all right?

http://skinnychicksforever.blogspot.com/

Everyone keep up the good work!

Still Working

I'm still working on my goals. But this week I'm going to add another one. I'm going to look for healthy (and tasty, since those two don't always go hand in hand) recipes. I'll give them a try and report next week on how they go.

One of my biggest problems is snacking. Cookies are just too yummy! My preference for healthy snacking is dried fruit and fruit leather. But I constantly have my mother's voice in my head telling me that if I eat too many, they're going to re-hydrate in my stomach and then I'll explode. So I'm hoping to branch out this week.

I'll let you know how it goes. If anyone has any snacking suggestions, I'm all ears!

I'm still alive!

I did a triathlon this morning. It was just a beginner triathlon, so 1.5 mile run, 6.5 mile bike, and 200 yard swim. I finished faster than I expected I would (50:57), so I felt pretty good about that, even though I felt like I might pass out when I finished. I was really shaky and stuff. That was tough! I need to get in better shape if I ever want to try it again.

For weigh in news, I lost 2 lbs this past week. We need to get some good recipes and stuff on here, cause that's where I'm struggling!

The slacker

K so I have to confess, I am the slacker of the group. :( I HATE working out alone & live too far away to work out with anyone. Plus I work almost every night so its hard to work out with Mike. I need suggestions to get started. Ideas of what I could do to start working on my goals and getting motivated. Please help!

Sweat plus sacrifice equals success

I had a breakthrough yesterday! This may be gross, but I must share. When I was younger, I remember watching my older sister workout and I remember thinking how hard she must have worked to get sweat to show up on her shirt the way it did. I wanted to be just like her and so when I would work out, I'd try and try to get sweat to show through on my shirt. It would never happen. Well, yesterday when I got home from the gym, I looked in the mirror and what do you know...I had a sweat mark! Anyway I'm pretty happy about it. I worked hard last night to get it and I'm dang proud. I just hope that when I weigh in on Monday, my hard work will show up on the scale too.

P.S.

I love the stair master and so far I've been doing it everyday!

Checking In

It's been a week already? Wow! I still have a lot of work to do to achieve my goals. Drinking water is hard! I feel like I drink enough...okay, I'm not dehydrated...but I still have a ways to go before I reach my goal.

I am proud to announce that I'm building muscle! I gained a pound this week, but I'm sure it's muscle...my arms are MUCH less flabby and old-lady-like. And I love how I feel after I exercise! I'm feeling much healthier already! I can't wait to keep going and get closer to reaching(and sticking with) my goals!

I'm interested in healthy recipes too! Share your tips! I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be eating cheesecake for breakfast...

My Goals

I was going to message Amy with my goals, but I figured I could just post them here.

• Lose 15 pounds (that's from my weigh in before last, not after I gained 1.5 lbs)
• Stop drinking soda (I've already cut way back)
• Stop cheating on the weekends (I think I undo all my work from the week every weekend)
• Drink more water, about 80 oz a day
• Work up to 50 push-ups in a row

I think that's all I can think of. I'm doing a beginner triathlon this Saturday, and I'm really nervous. I think I might die. Each of the things alone is enough to make me tired, and putting them all together is going to be insane.

Down 2

Yay! It is pretty exciting changing my ticker! I was a little afraid of the weigh in today because of the peanut butter bars I made last night but all of my hard work is starting to pay off. I am so glad I have two awesome workout partners to motivate me! I was doing the HCG diet but I found out that you can't exercise when you are on the diet. So I have adjusted my diet a little and I am now trying to stay within 1200 calories. I am feeling so much better about myself eating better and actually getting hungry when it is time to eat because I haven't been snacking all day. I hope that I can continue going strong on my diet this week and that giving up birthday cake and peanut butter bars will get easier!

* I would also love to hear recipe ideas or different diet food options, mine are getting a little repetative. :)

The Beginning

Hello Everyone!!! I hope everyone has had a good first week of Fat People No Mo'! I loved last week. I feel better, I'm eating better, and exercising. However, I gained a pound. Not very happy when I weighed myself this morning, but I am just going to say its because I am building muscle right? I did measure myself for this very reason. Sometimes I think your weight doesn't tell you how in shape you are...to a point that is. Can't wait to hear the results of every one's first week!

And feel free to post whatever and when ever you want. Progress, recipes, frustrations, exercises, or motivation. The point of this is to help each other reach our goals. Here is to another good week!

My tip for the week: Check out My Fitness Pal. (link on the right) This is a perfect tool to use to count your calories and add in your exercises. It really helps me keep on track with my food intake!

Can I post?

I'm not sure if we're waiting to post for a reason that I don't know, but I'm gonna go ahead and do it. Amy, you can delete this post if you're not wanting posts yet. :)

I was wondering what you all like to listen to when you workout. I'm looking for some good ideas for my mp3 player for when I run. My favorite right now that really gets me working harder is the song Ignition by TobyMac.

Also, thought I'd share--here's what I wrote on my personal fitness blog today:

I have a confession to make. For anyone who knows me, this will be pretty surprising. I kind of liked my run tonight. I don't want this to get around, so don't tell anyone, but it felt good. I was in a groove. Maybe something in me just clicked. I don't know. I don't think I'll ever become a distance runner, but a mile or two I can handle, and it's really not the worst thing in the world. In fact, I prefer it over death, which is a definite improvement from before.