Late night snacking...

One of the toughest things for me about losing weight is late night snacking...I just love a big bowl of cereal around 9 or 10pm. It's the best! I started that habit when I was pregnant with my second child and have continued that at least 3-4 nights a week. That child is now 5 years old!! I know my metabalism is slowing down so if I keep that habit up for another 5 years I will not be able to lose weight, plus I will slowly gain weight. So I made a goal not to eat passed 7pm.


 Have I been following through with that goal?


Umm, sadly NO. I have broken that goal at least twice a week still.


I was thinking of other ways I could conquer this goal...and when I saw this I laughed:

 

haha! Awesome. Maybe putting a mirror in my fridge after dinner so if I am tempted to get some milk for a bowl of cereal at 9pm I can see myself and STOP!

Not a bad plan, huh?

Or I could do something like this too...

But seriously though, does anyone have any suggestions on how I can stop cravings at night?? Anyone else suffer from this???

Way to go #14!!!  That is inspiring.  Last week for me started out great, but really fizzled by the weekend, so I ended up not losing anything (but also not gaining, so I guess that is good).  But I want to make a few more changes to really help boost me over the beginning hump.  I am going to give up all sweets for now.  Something that has helped me in the past when I lost weight (I dropped 30 lbs in 3 months about a year after Mason was born) was to have a cup of herbal tea (unsweetened) whenever I craved something sweet.  It took a little while to grow accustomed to the unsweetened flavor, but now I really LOVE it!  And with fall coming, it's a great time to start drinking nice warm drinks again.  I just keep my tea kettle full and on the stove, so I can turn it on anytime I want.  It's also a fun little ritual to have with the kids when they get home from school- a little snack and tea (hey, the British don't have a patten on it :)

                           My favorites:
                                                                                 
                           

I try to look for ones that don't have any artificial flavors (I've never seen Stash teas with artificial flavors, but they might be out there).  Bigalow brand often has them, but their flavors are also very bold, so if you're trying to get used to unsweetened tea, they're a good transition tea.  Oh, and Winco has a couple of the Stash teas in the bulk section, too (better price!).  Just make sure it says "herbal" if you want to stay away from real tea (fyi, Chai tea is real tea).

So, that's my little tip.  Hopefully my new goal will start to show on the scales! Good luck ladies!

Introductions and Salads!!!

Hello my fellow biggest loser contestants!!!  I thought I'd get on here and introduce myself as I think most of you in this contest are in the same ward and I'm way out in good old Kimberly!  :)

My name is Haylee Mollerup.  I joined this contest through the invite of Erika Willsey.  I know Erika and I've seen that Kristy Hill is in this contest as well.  My little boy, Erik, went to Kristy for preschool about 4 years ago, so I know her!  I met Christy simply when I dropped my money off to her!  :)  Other than that, I don't think I know anyone else in the contest!

So, I joined this contest for the same reason we all did....to lose weight!!!!  :)  I have 3 boys and just I had my third baby boy 5 1/2 months ago and I've simply had NO MOTIVATION since I had him.  I should rephrase that......I've had desire and a little of motivation, but NO SELF CONTROL!!!!  I'm pretty sure that since I had my chunky adorable baby boy, I've had at least one candy bar every day!  And I won't even admit how much soda I was drinking!!!  ;)   It was diet soda, but I still see a HUGE difference in my ability to lose weight when I'm drinking pop and when I'm not!  So this competition was the motivation and the work with my self-control that I needed!!!!  I'm happy to report that I quite the everyday devour a candy bar habit the first week of this competition!  I'm an all or nothing kind of girl, so for right now until I get the craving completely away (it's not gone yet!!!) I'm not having sugar in the form of candy, cookies, brownies, donuts, etc. etc.  And this past week I finally gave up pop!!!  AHHHHHH!!!!!!!  Headaches like crazy last week but I've been feeling better the past few days and I'm amazed at how much more water I drink when I'm not drinking that dang pop!!!!  So, for now, those were my two top goals to start off this competition!!  Thanks for letting me join you even though I'm not in your ward!!!

Now onto SALADS!!!!  In my opinion, salads can get SO BORING!  So this past week I tried to make a couple "new" type of salads (for me at least) than the same lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, and maybe adding some grilled chicken or turkey.  I thought I'd share my two favorite salads I had this past week!!!

Some of you may not be big fruit on salads type of girls, but I am!!!!!  If you like fruit on a salad, try this!!!!!

*Mixed greens (mine included lettuce, the purple cabbage, and sliced carrots)
*Sliced Strawberries
*Raspberries
*dried cranberries (just about a couple TBSP)
*glazed almonds (1 TBSP -- crushed up and sprinkled over salad) -- found at Winco by the chocolate chips... but DON'T go buy the glazed almonds and end up with a bag of chocolate chips to take home!!!  Too tempting to eat!!!  ;)  They also have glazed walnuts and pecans....whichever you prefer.
*feta cheese sprinkled on top (1 TBSP)
***new salad dressing that I'm IN LOVE with that is VERY low calories, fat, carbs, and sugars!***
The brand is Annie's and it's a Raspberry Vinaigrette.  It's SO yummy on this salad!!!  It's also at Winco on the top shelf of their salad dressings!

In fact, here's a picture of it!!!

 










Second salad is my version of a "southwest salad"
(I make extra to use throughout the week)

*Mixed greens (same as above)
*In a saucepan grill/saute
--2 large chicken breasts
--1/2 green pepper sliced really small
--1/2 onion sliced really small
--1 can of black beans (drained)
--1 can of kernel corn (drained)
--1 package of taco seasoning
--1/4 cup taco sauce

(my friend puts cheese, sour cream, and guac on this salad too.  But, I've been leaving off the cheese and sour cream and putting just a little bit of guac on it.  I also have just used salsa as my salad dressing for this salad.)

Eat and enjoy!!!!

Well, there is my introductions and salads post!

Again, thanks for letting me join this competition with you!  Oh.........and I'm #4 contestant.  My start weight was 173.4 and my goal weight is anywhere between 140-145.  That's where I feel the best about myself!!!!

New favorite recipe!

I sure hope everyone is doing good! I have seen many of you out running in the mornings and it's great to see that! Keep it up! We are only 2 1/2 weeks into this, so everyone is still in this. If you haven't been doing so well than commit again to improving. Like I said in the previous post, I have to commit everyday, every meal, to choosing better foods for my body and when there is no motivation to get out of bed and work out, I just get up anyway and it comes....eventually. haha.

Yesterday for lunch I tried a new recipe I found on Pinterest. I LOVED it. I love to eat salmon, salsa and avocados, so when I saw this recipe with all three together I knew I hit jackpot! I thought for any anyone that likes salmon or maybe you don't but likes salsa and want to give fish another try, I thought I would share this recipe with you. It's SO freaking good! :) Now if anyone wants to leave THIS on my doorstep I would be more than happy to partake. 

Here's what my lunch looked like:

This meal was between 400-450 calories. So not bad. I could have maybe had a smaller portion of Salmon but I didn't! Give it a try!

!#*!!!!!!!!!

Ahhhhh! Stepped on the scale this morning and it was not good. I have dropping and adding these same 5-10 lbs over the last 3 yrs. I take it off and then I hit a wall and some adds back on. This is when I usually give up and eat a pound of cookie dough but not this time!!! I am recommitting and going to work hard to get past this.
Erika

Great work everyone! Just a few thoughts I have:
*Here is my info: I started at 153 and my goal is 130. Working out is easy for me I get plenty of it. The main thing is to switch it up. Don't do the same thing day after day....it gets boring and your body adjusts and you no longer see results. I have been mainly focusing on my diet by not "dieting". I want this to be a long term change in how I view food and how I fuel my body.
*Don't be afraid of your number! You can't compare yours to others. Every body is different. I could be the same height and weight as someone else but our bodies can look totally different. There are so many other factors involved.

I totally agree with you Kristy. However, there were a few ladies that wanted to remain private and I have to respect that. But those that want to share their weight, what they are doing to lose it, get healthier and share their goals with everyone would be great too. I will share mine, since it's only fair as I know everyone else's!

My weight when I started: 135.5

My goal weight 120-125

Mostly I just want to feel good, get stronger, leaner and fit into my clothes better!

I have been running 4 miles, 3/4 days a week and doing a workout video with weights 2 days a week. I have been tracking my calories everyday. So that is how I am doing it....or trying to anyway! Some days are harder than others of course. I have to commit everyday. Every meal really. :)

I will post results tonight! Everyone is doing great! It was a tough week for some, but keep going. Remember if you had a bad day... didn't eat good or didn't workout, don't give up just for ONE bad day or even one bad week... Do better the next day or week!

So, I thought it would be fun/ motivating to hear what everyone's weightloss goals are and how they are working to achieve them.  I know that I feel more accountable to stick with my diet and exercise plan when I've told people what I'm doing.  Also, I want to revisit the posting weight issue.  I think we should have our weight with our names.  It just feels so impersonal and abstract to see numbers up there instead of people.  Putting our name with our weight is one more motivating factor.  I don't want to gain weight, or not meet my goals if everyone sees my progress.  Also, we are able to encourage people or congratulate them when we see how everyone is doing.  Come on, ladies!  This is a safe environment.  No one is here to judge or make fun. We all are doing this for the same reason, to get fit and be healthy.  Let's make it a little more personal and be able to help each other along just a little bit better.  (Although, I do know that Alisa has thought about sabotaging some of us by delivering cookies to our houses, so be on your guard! :)

So, here's my goals and how I'm going to achieve them:

Starting weight: 171.6
Goal weight:      160

My plan:  P90X lean version (hubby is doing it too, so that's extra encouragement as well).  Also, I am running 4 miles 3 days a week (as long as the weather holds out).  I have a half marathon to stay in shape for on November 3rd.

Now I'm committed!!!  I have it in writing and it's out there for all to see!  Good luck ladies!

(I thought this was good...all, except the swear word! Sorry. Not a fan of swearing. But having good thoughts will make you successful!)

Weigh-In Monday!

I will have results up hopefully tonight, once I hear from everyone so check back later for the line-up and to see who made BIGGEST LOSER OF THE WEEK!

I thought I would share this great article called, "Strengthen your Self-Control." It's about overcoming urges and how to improve your will power. I know this is something I struggle with and I thought maybe some of  you do to. So check it out!

"Sweet" rewards = fitting into old pants! Or buying new SMALLER pants!

Perspective...

This was me today. haha!

A few of my favorite foods...

For breakfast or for a snack, I sometimes have a cup of low-fat cottage cheese with fresh blueberries, strawberries and peaches. SOOOO good! You are drooling at the mouth, aren't you?

I love love LOVE a good salad. In my opinion there is nothing better than that.  I have a few different salad I make. This one is my favorite, as it is pretty easy to prepare, takes 10 minutes or less, and tastes FABULOUS. 

Love at first sight, right??

I buy a big bag of grilled chicken strips at Costco that usually lasts me almost a month. Before I prepare my fresh salad and cut everything up I grill up about 3 ounces of chicken strips.

With the chicken grilling, I add my lettuce, cut up red peppers(sometimes orange), broccoli, sliced red onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, sometimes an avocado, and sometimes dried blueberries or a few dried cranberries. And then I top it with a sprinkle of sunflower seeds. For dressing I add about 2 tablespoons of poppy seed dressing. I have tried about 5 poppy seed dressings, because I wanted to find one that was low in calories yet not disgusting to MY taste buds.
This dressing was definitely my favorite as far as flavor goes, but

LiteHouse makes a pretty good poppy seed dressing that is half the fat and calories and tastes similar to the Brianna's brand.


Now obviously you can add whatever you want to your salad. I just wanted to share my specialty salad with you. My husband loves it and even my girls love it. I like to see them eating healthy foods along with me.

What is your favorite snack or salad recipe?

I think one of the hardest things in trying to be healthy is in your diet. I have been talking to Michael about this and his cousin used to be a personal trainer. Here is the eating plan that Michael helped put together and maybe it will help some of you.

You always hear that eating 5 to 6 small meals a day is better than 3 big ones and that is how this plan works.

Eat at least 30 minutes after you wake up to get your metabolism going.

Meal 1:
     Some protein (3 to 4 egg whites with one yoke or a protein shake)
     Oatmeal
     piece of fruit

Mid morning snack:
      string cheese and apple or Wheat Thins

Lunch:
     Turkey sandwich (real turkey is best, but if you get high quality deli meat that works as well) on  
     whole wheat bread (some kind of protein with a grain)
      Vegetable

Mid afternoon snack:
      Protein bar or cottage cheese and fruit

Dinner: This can be protein with some grain and vegetable - you can substitute fish and any kind of vegetable. You could do a salad, but make sure you put eggs for protein on it.
       1/2 cup of brown rice or wheat pasta
       Chicken 1/2 cup
        1/2 cup of broccoli (steamed or raw)

Before bed snack:
       Greek yogurt - plain - you can add raspberries or agave (this helps if you have ice cream    
      cravings:)
      or egg whites

          You do not have to eat this food exactly because you can get tired of chicken, turkey and egg whites very quickly, so substitute the meat with a lean protein. Make sure you are using wheat not white and as many vegetables as you want, but limit the amount of fruit. If you are on the go and can't get to a meal or snack, make a protein shake.
        Now the part that gets you through the week -  you can have one cheat meal a week where you can eat anything you want and as much as you want., so plan that out and look forward to it. Reward yourself.
         Drink as much water as you can throughout the day to stay hydrated. The key is to get your metabolism by eating throughout the day and to eat protein to build muscle. This needs to be paired with at least 5 days of exercise for at least 30 minutes with at least 2 days of weight bearing activity.

I hope this helps anyone who might be wondering, what should I eat to help me through this challenge.

Let me know if you have any questions, suggestions or additions to this.

Get Ready, Get Set, GO!!!

I am really excited to start this weight loss competition with all of you! I hope you all are as excited too. Okay, so I might be a tad hesitant, I'm not going to lie. I think the hesitant part comes as it's not always easy to work out and eat healthy everyday. We all know that good things are worth fighting for, yet it most always comes with a cost. But the reward is sweet!!

A couple of things I want to mention and clear up again:

*I have received money from several of you, but there a few people I still need money from. I have put the money into a "pot", actually a jar to be specific, with your name written down if you have paid.

* I need everyone to email me (christy.e.hodges@gmail.com) or text me (208-530-0576) sometime tomorrow with your starting weight. Be honest!

* I have sent several of you emails with an invitation to this blog. What you need to do is open it, click the link, and sign in using your email and password. This allows you to become an "author" on the blog. This means you may post anything you like. You may share tips, recipes or workouts that you are doing. You may share thoughts and feelings you are having about weight loss or even share fun pictures with everyone. If you need help with this please let me know and I can help you.

* I HIGHLY recommend taking body measurements. Get out your tape measure and do your arms, neck, stomach, hips, thighs, calves and even wrist. Record each number and it will surprise you how many inches you will lose. I have done this and have seen a huge difference. You may get discourage after a few weeks if you have only lost 5 or so pounds but if you measure yourself periodically you will see a big difference in inches lost!

* Also, once I receive your weight and money I will email you your number. No one else will know this number but you (and me of course). I will post your number and next to it will be your weight and percentage of weight loss every week. I will try and have those posted by Monday afternoon/evening so you will know what place you are in.

*Again, our last weigh-in will be the 16th of November.

 Remember...