Guest Post: Bryan!

Hey everyone!
In case you don't know, I'm Bryan, Katie's awesome husband. She asked me if I wanted to write a guest post today and since I'm awesome, I agreed.

You might wonder how Katie's whole weight loss plan has affected me. I have always been a pretty skinny guy. I think I broke 100 pounds in the 7th or 8th grade and have been stuck at the same weight (145 lbs.) since I was 16. That is, until recently. I've gained weight in the last few months and I think I can thank Katie for that. We eat real meals for dinner now. For the first year and a half of our marriage we knew that it was a fancy meal if we pulled out the napkins, and it was a super fancy meal if we actually had a side dish. Now we almost always have a salad or vegetables or some fruit to go with our main dish. But that's not why I've been gaining weight. You might have heard that Katie isn't eating any sweets until April. That doesn't apply to me, you see. But I always feel bad if I eat fatty bad-for-you treats in front of her, so I eat them all when she's not in the room. The problem is that I don't even really enjoy the treats when I do that. Sometimes when she goes to the bathroom I run to the cupboard and cram a few Oreos in my mouth. I then try to erase all the evidence by rinsing my mouth out a few times with water and wiping the corners of my lips, then I run back to the couch and pretend that I have been sitting there the whole time.

I guess the point of that story is that I've been trying to be supportive of Katie's health goals. I know that it's sometimes hard for her to say no to desserts when we have friends over. It's hard to write down every single thing she eats. It's hard to be motivated to go outside on a walk when it's cold and windy outside. So by supporting her by helping her make healthy treats (like cauliflower-laced banana bread), doing her exercise videos with her (my assets are so tight now), and by helping her check the nutritional value of her meals on that My Pyramid website for an hour straight, I feel like I am on a weight loss journey, too ... even though I'm not really losing any weight. I'm OK with that, though. I can still gain about 15 pounds and not be technically overweight. I think walking around campus all day and taking my bike to school helps balance out the Oreos ... or at least slows down their effects.

Moral of the story: be supportive by being aware of what your significant other struggles with. And you might want to practice eating Oreos in 7 seconds without leaving any residue.

Candida... Ever heard about it?

Hello... My Name is Cameo and I am addicted to bread... or at least I used to be. I was also addicted to sweets and other yummy and good things.

As an introduction to myself, my name is Cameo, I am from Oregon but now live in Utah. I am a History Teacher at a Junior High and I LOVE it! I know most people think I am crazy, but it is a fabulous age group and I really enjoy teaching. My husband and I have been married for two and a half years. He is applying to graduate schools right now so our future is unknown as of yet. I also love to run and by run I mean run for a really long time... this is a picture of me running in the Boston Marathon.

As an avid runner weight loss has never been my goal. By running, I keep in pretty good shape. But the last couple of years I have had some difficulties with infertility. I have gone to the doctor and they would give me drugs which just cover up problems instead of solving them. My mother-in-law is a total nutrition/naturalists fanatic. So I asked her to get me in contact with some natural help. After visiting with my nutritionist she told me I have what is called Candida which is an overgrowth of yeast in my body. I am not just talking about yeast infections, but just throughout the body. She basically told me I was addicted to sugar and she was right. Every afternoon after work I would need some kind of sweet fix to help me get through the afternoon. She put me on a very strict diet... but I didn't consider myself overweight so I refused to call it a diet. So I am here to tell you about the Candida CLEANSE! From what I have read, I am pretty sure the majority of people have some aspect of Candida. Now the cleanse/diet is pretty strict. It won't work for everyone, but if you choose to adapt some aspects of it into your life... it really does get rid of "cravings." I was told that it takes about three months to change your body so I would recommend being "strict" for 3 months. Here is the plan...

For the first two weeks... Nuts, Vegetables, and lean meats

Weeks 2-4... Add frozen organic berries, grapefruit, and lemons

Weeks 4-6... Add legumes, beans, etc.

Weeks 6-8 and then four more weeks... whole grains (brown rice and quino)

Okay... so it is actually pretty difficult but here are the benefits.
1. I am a pretty small person. I am 5'3 and before I started it I weighed 123 pounds which is a perfectly reasonable weight. By the end I weighed 109 pounds. I honestly wasn't doing it to loose weight, (I didn't even think I had weight to lose since I have weighed about 120 for the last 10 years) but it just happened to be an added perk.
2. I learned so much about self control. I never really thought I could actually get rid of my cravings. They weren't bad. I mean I didn't have to have sugar every day, but I sure craved it!
3. I got rid of what is called the "Burnett Gut." Burnett is my maiden name and everyone in my family has a little pudge in our belly. It isn't horribly noticeable, but we all have a mini beer belly and I got rid of it! My belly isn't rock solid because I never do those crazy intense ab workouts, but at least it doesn't stick out like I have a pregnant bump.
4. I love vegetables. Before I started the cleanse I ate vegetables because I had to, but I preferred fruit and dessert. Now I love vegetables as much if not more than fruit. So good!


It is difficult. There were days when I just wanted to eat whatever I wanted or quit or not spend so much money on groceries or eat something that tasted really good. Here are some helpful tips. And these just aren't for the Candida Cleanse... they are for every day healthy living which I think we are all striving to do.

1. Almond Milk... Vanilla flavor. I wasn't too sure about Almond Milk, but I wanted something during the first two weeks when all I could eat was nuts, veggies, and meats. A little Almond Milk mixed with vanilla protein powder makes a fabulous delicious breakfast. Add a little cinnamon and it is a great treat. Add some frozen berries and it takes care of wanting/needing ice cream.
2. Adam's peanut butter. No sugar and it tastes great with celery. I started eating celery and peanut butter because I had to. I needed to eat something. Now I get sad when I don't get to eat celery and peanut butter.
3. Sugar is in so many items at the store. Read your labels. If it has sugar don't get it. But at the health food store or in the gluten free section of Maceys (our local grocery store) there are sauces and chillies, and other goods that don't have sugar but are still pretty good. (There are also some things that aren't very good, so watch out!)
4. Know what your motivation is and remember it. I knew that it was going to be difficult so I stuck up signs in my house to help me remember why I was doing the cleanse. Whenever you want the cookie say your motivation to yourself and it will help you get over your craving.
5. Snack on nuts. I found that if I just ate a little throughout the day I wouldn't get tired, or grumpy, or have cravings.
6. Feel the difference. Your body will feel so good and it will be thanking you!
7. Brown rice is more than just rice. There is brown rice cold cereal and there is brown rice pasta. I love pasta and this brown rice pasta tastes pretty good!

I know it sounds extreme... but I would suggest reading up on Candida. It is a big problem for a lot of people... they just don't know it. Adapt some aspects of the cleanse into your life an feel the difference.

One last note... I wanted to leave my favorite recipe that I learned from the cleanse.
Dump as many raw vegetables into a crock pot that you want to include.
 I include the following: celery, zucchini, bell peppers, garlic, onion, and asparagus. Mix the veggies with1 tablespoon of olive oil, 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 2 tablespoons dried oregano, and1 tablespoon sea salt. Cook on low for an hour or two. Then add two green chilies, 2-3 cans of crushed tomatoes, 1/4 cup of chili powder, 1 tablespoon of ground black pepper, 1 can of corn, 1 can of kidney beans, and 1 can of black beans. Let cook on low for 1-3 hours. Oh so delicious! Happy cleansing!

Don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY!  It closes tomorrow!

Kathy: Week 4

Current Weight: 148
Last Week's Weight: 149
Total Weight Loss: 3 pounds!

Woo hoo! Another pound of me gone bye-bye!
What's that, you ask? What does 3 pound of fat look like?

3 pounds of butter

Imagine all that butter smeared all over me!! Yuck!!

Of course, vain little me would like the 3 pounds to come off of my tummy all at once, but that's not how it works. Our bodies metabolize fat from throughout our bodies, including the fat we never see, the fat that sticks to all our organs, like our liver and kidneys, and if we really want to be healthy, not just skinny, that's the bad stuff that we really want to lose.

This belly fat is nasty, nasty stuff. It generates toxins that make our bodies susceptible to chronic diseases, bad ones like heart disease and diabetes. And the way to get rid of it is to eat healthy, exercise (especially aerobic exercise---check out Sarah's videos below this post!), and lose weight gradually.

So I really do feel like I'm on the right track! I'm sticking to my original plan really well. I am getting just a teensy bit bored with the snacks I'm eating every day, so I'll probably change those up a bit this week. But I LOVE eating 1600 calories every day, divided into four 400-calorie meals (one "meal" is my snacks). So simple. So healthy.

The yoga class is an amazing stretch and muscle-lengthening/strengthening workout every week, and I'm faithfully getting up and going to Curves 2 mornings per week. Speaking of that, I have to tell you that getting up to exercise at 5:15 isn't so bad. Sure, I'm sleepy, but I'm all awake and energized by the end of the workout. It's great! And my Curves gym is starting a 60-day challenge next Saturday. I've signed up for it, which means I'll be going to Curves 3x per week (instead of just 2x per week) for the next 60 days. It's nice to have another incentive to improve my exercise habits!

Speaking of Curves, I have to tell you about a great little book that is crammed with great eating and exercise tips. It has a very healthy eating plan with recipes that are simple, flexible and YUMMY!

It's the Curves Fitness and Weight Management Plan. I know, I know, not the jazziest title ever, but the insides make up for the ho-hum title. You can pick it up on amazon.com, or at your local Curves gym. You don't have to be a member to walk in and buy this book ($25.00)

Here's a recipe from the Curves book that my family loves:
Apple-Cinnamon Sweet Potatoes
(6 servings - 150 calories per serving)

1 large (29 oz) can of yams or sweet potatoes
2 apples, diced
2 Tablespoons butter
4 teaspoons cinnamon
Mash the sweet potatoes and combine with diced apples, cinnamon, and butter. Warm in the microwave or oven until heated through.

That's it! You just cut up apples and mash the yams and mix it up, and it is SO GOOD.
It makes a lot, but the leftovers keep just fine in the fridge to have for lunch the next day or for a quick and simple side dish for supper the next night.

So to wrap things up this week, I thought I'd share a little bit more about me, outside of trying to eat healthy and get more exercise and fit into my clothes better. Like Katie pointed out in her recent post, The Skinny has many more readers than we ever anticipated, and you deserve to know who your writers are!

First of all, of course, I'm Katie's mom. But I'm also mom to 8 other amazing people! My husband and I are parents of a large and active blended family of 9 children--5 are mine (Katie's my baby), 3 are his, and 1 is ours--a young adult daughter we adopted last year. We have 16 grandchildren (!!) ranging in age from almost 10 years old to almost 5 months old, and we will welcome 3 more grandchildren into the family in 2010. (Polly, who writes the "Frugal Food Fridays" recipe posts for The Skinny, is also one of my daughters.)

My favorite thing to do, when I'm not enjoying my family, is to go out hiking and backpacking in the woods. Here's a photo from July 2008, when I was setting out on a 50-mile solo backpacking trip! That's right, I spent 5 days alone in the woods, hiking in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, and I loved every minute of it. I'm excited to be healthy and fit and strong for more hiking again next summer.

I do most of my hiking in the summer, not only because the weather is better, but because I'm a high school English teacher, and the school year is pretty busy for me. My husband teaches Spanish in the same school--what a treat to be able to work/carpool/eat lunch with my best friend!

I have another blog, where I write about...oh...lots of things. Things I think about and notice, things that are funny or thought-provoking, things that inspire me. I write about my family, my job, my other life as a writer. Come on over and read a post or two or more, and please, please leave a comment! I love comments. I love the way blogs help us connect with one another in this big and busy world.

Happy Saturday, dear Skinny readers! Here's a thought to carry with you today:

"Happiness is not a destination, but a journey."

Let's remember that. Weight loss and health are not some magic number on the scale, they are the path to happy and healthy lifestyles. Let's keep encouraging one another along the way. We can do this!

Some things you may not know about me (Katie)

When I started this blog I didn't figure many people would look at it.  Then my mom joined in (literally hours after I even had the idea--talk about great minds thinking alike).  Then, within the first couple of weeks our spots for regular guest authors filled up.  Add that all up and what you get is a lot of different people looking at embarrassing pictures of me.  Haha.  No, really though, I don't say all this to brag (although it really is fun to brag).  I'm saying all this as a round about way of saying that I had originally thought just a few supportive friends and family members would check out the posts here, but now we have quite a few people who are complete strangers to me coming here for inspiration and ideas.  How cool!  However, that means you may or may not know who it is your listening to.  And I think that knowing your author is important.  It helps you know how seriously to take their advice or when they might be being a little sarcastic or, I don't know, whatever it is that it's important to know about an author.  So, here are some things about me that you might not know:

-I am in absolutely no way a fitness or dietary expert.
-I am a stay at home mom to my four month old daughter, the big O.
-My husband's name is Bryan  He is still in college, finishing up his bachelors degree.  He'll be done in April 2011 (hopefully) and then we'll be off to optometry school.  He has his own blog called The Daily Post.  Admittedly, he puts a lot more thought and research into his posts and they really are a lot more fascinating than mine.
-I am LDS.  (i.e. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, also known as "Mormons.")
-I don't drink coffee or anything in the coffee family.
-I don't drink (and also really don't like) caffeinated drinks of any kind.
-I don't drink alcohol of any kind.
-I am from Oregon.
-I work off of a tight budget (see above about husband being in college).
-I didn't buy Tighter Assets.  I got it at a white elephant gift exchange that we hosted this last Christmas.  We all mocked it mercilessly.  And now I use it. Looks like the joke's on me... as usual.
-I much prefer to work on crafty things (sewing, crocheting, building, whatev) than exercise.
-I hate that I have to take showers to be clean.
-I actually have five blogs.  (1.Notes From A Very Red Kitchen (my main blog), 2.Worn Out Pencil (writing--mostly poetry--blog), 3.The Skinny, 4.Sammy Jaybird (for a business I stopped doing), and then #5 is our private family blog).
-I love to write.
-I am super long-winded (obviously).
-I have a bachelors degree in Home and Family Living.
-I love to get e-mails saying that you left a comment.
-I live in a small apartment.
-I don't love reading, but when I do I prefer children's novels like Little House On The Prairie or The Chronicles of Narnia.
-I am addicted to West Wing, but am in absolutely no way political.
-I never watch the news.
-I really can't remember the last time I watched anything on TV.  We only use our TV for videos.
-I like to use the post office in the bottom of the bookstore that's close to our house.  It's way better than the regular US post office because it uses FedEx, DHL, and regular UPS, so it can give you the rates of all three and tell you which one will be the fastest and cheapest.
-I love things to be organized.  I am perpetually reorganizing our apartment.
-I don't like cooking meat, but I love to eat it.
-I think it's a little ridiculous to have a favorite color.  I like different colors for different things.  However, I know a certain three year old that would disagree with me.  She prefers everything to be pink and purple, including her lettuce.  (But see, even she can't narrow it down to just one.)
-I have, at various times, been a cashier at a u-pick berry farm, a day camp counselor (that's how Lauren and I met), a preschool teacher, a catering captain, and a school crossing guard.
-I am afraid of bees.  I have a standard policy to run away from them.

Well, bees was a strange thing to end on, but this was a pretty random list anyway.  I hope this helped some of you get to know me a little better.  And I hope we can all still be friends, whether you are a bee lover, of a different set of beliefs, or really like to cook meat.  It's okay to be different, right?  I think so.  And if you still have a question for/about me, feel free to ask in the comments.

P.S. The picture at the top of this post is from 2007.  I didn't suddenly get really skinny, I just used to be (eh... kind of).
P.P.S. If you're looking for my weekly post for week 4, scroll down.

I am planning on gaining weight this year.

Let me explain: My name is Anna and I am six months pregnant. I have a love/hate relationship with this blog already: on the one hand it is really inspiring, on the other hand it is sad to be inspired to lose weight when you definitely can’t.

Still, Katie asked me to write about maintaining a healthy lifestyle while pregnant, and if there is ever a time to be healthy it is while you are trying to grow another human in your body. I am not terrific at doing this, but this New Year’s I identified my hang-ups with eating healthy and have made some goals that have been working pretty well.

Hang ups for eating healthy:

1.It’s more expensive.
I love saving money. Love it, love it, love it. Unfortunately, one of the easiest ways to save money on food (using coupons and sales) is buying and eating junk food. Why cook a meal when I can get frozen pizza for $2? Why cook healthy snacks when I can get Hostess cupcakes for free?

2.It takes more time.
Being pregnant and having a toddler makes me want to go to bed at 6:00-- not cook dinner. Even not pregnant, cooking dinner was often the last thing I wanted to do. Once again, a frozen pizza requires no preparation except preheating the oven, which I never do for a frozen pizza anyway because, hey, it’s a frozen pizza, not a culinary masterpiece.

3.I like junk food. Do you really need an explanation here? Every time Katie mentions Oreos in one of her posts my mouth waters.

So here is how I am countering my hang ups:

1.Expensive. First of all, I took a big gulp and just decided that I would have to be willing to spend a little more money on food. Healthy is more important than cheap. Even with sales and coupons, whole wheat bread will almost always be more expensive than regular wheat bread. Vegetables are more expensive than high fructose corn syrup.

Second, I try to buy frozen vegetables as much as possible. They are cheaper, last longer, and often contain more nutrients than “fresh” vegetables that have been sitting on a grocery shelf for days. This way I don’t end up with a lot of rotten produce that I forget about in my fridge, and I can get a good selection in a stir-fry mix at the store’s regular price for $1.50 without having to buy a whole bundle of each vegetable I want. Fresh spinach is so expensive! But a brick of frozen spinach is around a dollar when it is not on sale.

Finally, like Kathy, my family eats the same thing for breakfast every day: cream of wheat and fruit (well, my husband eats oatmeal, but my toddler and I have cream of wheat). (We buy cold cereal when we can get a good deal on it [less than a dollar] but then we consider it a snack.) Unless there are leftovers from dinner, we eat the same thing every day for lunch too: milk, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and some canned vegetable.(FYI canned is cheaper than frozen and has the same nutrients but also contains some additives and sometimes a funky taste.) I am not completely convinced that PB&Js are super healthy so if anyone has strong feelings about eating them feel free to comment about it. I know at least the fat in peanut butter is the good kind…

2.Takes up time. Again, just like Kathy, I made a prepared list of recipes to cycle through during the week. I actually did twelve days and leave one day a week open so that we can eat frozen pizza if I want it. And just so you know, we had frozen pizza last night—and it was so good. I also tried to pick fast meals like stirfrys, or meals that I could prepare earlier in the day when I still had energy. Crockpot meals are wildly successful right now because not only can you prepare them earlier, they also cost you less money than using the oven. I am excited to try Polly’s refried bean recipe.

3.I love junk food. Well, I do just what you all do. I tell myself that sometimes we want things very badly that we just can’t have. Sometimes that works and sometimes that doesn’t. Mostly I am learning how to combat that from this blog.

I suppose this is a long-winded explanation of my eating goals. I am definitely just beginning. Feel free to offer your own tried and true tips for eating healthy when you are a lazy, junk-food-loving, pregnant penny-pincher.

I'm thinking about you.

Proof HERE.

new kid on the block.

Hi.  My name is Lauren and I'm a former fat kid.


{this is me now with my husband and our dog.}

I hit my peak weight at 160 lbs. my sophomore year in college.  I did Weight Watchers (counted points, but no meetings) and lost 40 lbs in about 6 months.  Since then my weight has yo-yo'd a bit...especially after getting married and taking on the same "diet" as my husband who can eat whatever he wants.  I got my act together and lost the weight again.  

My weight has been (and probably always will be) a struggle I'll deal with for the rest of my life.  Part of me feels like I'm not qualified to guest blog here on The Skinny, but the other part of me is super excited to have a reason to be held accountable for maintaining my fitness.  Currently my goal is to lose 15 pounds.  I want to have babies one day and am hoping to get thinner now so there's less weight to lose later.  

SO...enough about me.  My posts here on The Skinny will be about healthy meals/snacks.  I will post recipes to some of my favorites that I've tried every 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month.  Before I give you this recipe, I want to note that while I don't have any picky children to worry about, I do have a picky husband.  He hates "diet food", so it's a challenge to find things that are healthy that he'll eat...especially since he's a red-meat lover through and through.  Neither of us are huge shrimp fans, but this is probably our favorite meal...I cook it at least every other week.  (*NOTE:  this is spicy, but you can leave out the garlic chili paste and it would still taste good).

Stir-Fried Shrimp with Spicy Orange Sauce (Via~Cooking Light~best cooking mag ever)

YIELD

4 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined large shrimp
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon chile paste with garlic (such as sambal oelek)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup chopped green onions

PREPARATION

Place shrimp in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with cornstarch; toss well to coat. Set aside.

Combine juice, soy sauce, honey, vinegar, and chile paste, stirring with a whisk; set aside.

Heat canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add minced ginger and garlic to pan; stir-fry for 15 seconds or until fragrant. Add shrimp mixture; stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add juice mixture and onions; cook 2 minutes or until sauce thickens and shrimp are done, stirring frequently. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

301 (30% from fat)

Fat:

10g (sat 1.1g,mono 4.6g,poly 3.2g)

Protein:

35.3g

Carbohydrate:

16.8g

Fiber:

0.5g

Cholesterol:

259mg

Iron:

4.4mg

Sodium:

621mg

Calcium:

103mg

Here are some variations I use when making this meal:

*I only make 2 servings (note Craig eats a lot so it's more like 2 1/2 servings).

*I use 3/4 lb. of shrimp instead of 1 1/2, but I keep the sauce recipe the same...I like sauce.

*I only put in 1 tsp. of the chile paste. I really like spicy stuff and I had to learn the hard way that less is more with this recipe. I couple of times I made this meal and it was so hot we couldn't even eat it. You can also leave out the chile paste altogether if you aren't a fan of spicy cuisine.

*I use whole wheat penne instead of the suggested ondon noodles, but you can use whatever.

*I use like 5 garlic cloves...but that's just because we really like garlic too.

Looking forward to heading off on this weight loss journey with you Katie and Kathy!

P.S.  Here's a link to my favorite ab workout on exercisetv, which is a great resource for free/low cost workout videos.

Guest Author: Nana

(Posted by Kathy)
My mother, Katie's grandmother, Nancy Jenkins, sent the following email to me this afternoon. Mom / Nana is 74 years old, and my father is 77. They work as a team selling real estate in the small town of Colville, Washington, north of Spokane. This is their retirement "career." Before this career, she was a 4th grade school teacher for many years.

     "Hi Kathy and Mark, we stopped in at the Colville Fitness Center this morning before coming in for our floor duty at 11 A.M. We will go back to the Fitness Center at 4.30 P.M. for a 1 hour training session. We signed up for 3 months. We have been talking about it, after Dad said it would be alright on his ankle. We’ll probably go in about 5 or 6 A.M. unless we have an 8:00 meeting or an appointment.
      I really enjoyed all the blogs on weight loss, recipes, and exercises that you, Katie, and friends wrote. I’m impressed that you, Kathy, got up at 5 A.M. this morning to go to Curves, on your first day back at school. We’re cutting back on size of portions of food, and drinking lots of water, and cutting out things that we love like cheese. Of course, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, everybody is inclined to eat too much. I also signed up for Colville Get Fit. This is a community program where you get weighed in every so often, and also have the other medical items checked. For every so many pounds you lose, Community businesses donate food to the local food banks. There are also prizes you can win, etc. Your Dad said that he wasn’t interested in that. He has until Jan. 15^th to change his mind.

     I think you were very brave to have a before picture taken, and then, to put it in your blog. I’m old enough to say, “no way!” When I’m happy with the way I look, I will put in an “after picture”.

     With love, Mom and Dad"

Nana encourages me with her words, but she inspires me by how she lives. She cooks great, healthy food, and she and my dad have lived an active, healthy lifestyle their whole lives. They would rather go out and cut wood for their wood stove than watch a movie.


Who in your life inspires you to better health?

The Marathon and Mii

I'd like to introduce myself as a long time friend of Katie. We were friends in high school--back when we joked about the ice cream diet in which I mysteriously lost weight while eating more ice cream. The truth is, high schoolers gain and lose weight for all kinds of reasons and it was probably just a crazy coincidence. Also, I never really cared about my weight until after a few years of marriage I realized I had gained about 15 pounds. It was sad to step onto the WiiFit board and see my Mii inflate like a balloon to reflect my weight. Too many of us know what that looks like. My initial goal was to be in the normal range with my BMI number. That is when I started running.

In June 2009 I hooked up with a couple friends from church (Juliette and Aubrie). They were training to run a half-marathon and I decided to train with them even though I had no intentions to run the race. I had lots of excuses for not planning on running the race, but the biggest one was that I wasn't sure I could do it. However, when August 1st came around, I had completed all the training and they offered me a ride. It would have been pointless to say no. So we ran that half-marathon and I felt great! Nine miles into the race we started talking about training for a full marathon. Then Juliette and I ran the Leavenworth Oktoberfest Marathon on October 3rd! (See photo below.) This has been one of the crowning achievements of my life so far. The best part (besides receiving a totally sweet zip-up hoodie and a finisher's medal) was that I lost 13 pounds in the training process.

So I still haven't reached my goal weight, but I'm feeling so much healthier and like I can do anything I want to. I'm so excited to get to write for this blog; I will probably check it more often than Facebook! Some things I plan to discuss are: resources I used in my training, running gear that I like (and perhaps some I dislike), general tips about training for a race, and updates about my own running and weight loss status. As of today I am happy to announce that I have at least achieved the normal BMI rating with a weight of 140. My goal weight is 135, my weight back in high school, but I wonder if my optimum weight is supposed to be lower. In any case, I will keep up my running and keep you all posted.

Kathy: Week 1

It's Saturday, so it's my turn to check in. Oh my, it made me wince to pull out my exercise clothes (haven't been to the gym since August) and have hubby take my picture. You know, when I check myself out in the mirror, I can angle things just so, and avoid seeing the things I don't want to see. Plus I can wear clothes that are a little looser to flatter and camouflage. No such luck with the camera, as you can plainly see:

"Bleh" as Katie would say.

Weight today: 151 pounds

Ideal goal: 120 pounds (ha ha!)

Realistic goal: 130-133 pounds

My days of needing to lose "baby fat" are long gone...this is the infamous "middle-aged spread." I'm not horribly fat, but I'm carrying 15-20 extra pounds, and it's not healthy! I've been planning all week how I'm going to change my habits--for good!--to get my body fit and lean again. Here's the plan:

1. Eat about 1600 calories a day. Three meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) about 400 calories each, and a fourth "meal" of 400 calories spread out through the day as snacks.

• Why count calories? Because...
• Losing weight is a numbers game, and I do much better if I know that I'm in the ballpark, without feeling guilty because I'm not sure if I'm "supposed" to be eating something or not.
• 1 pound of fat = approx. 3,000 calories. A person of my height should eat about 1800 calories a day to maintain weight, so if I drop back to 1600 calories a day, I'm losing weight at the rate of 200 calories a day. By taking in 1400 fewer calories each week, I should average a loss of about 1/2 pound per week - a healthy rate that I can maintain over time.

2. Plan my menus ahead of time so there aren't any last minute "emergencies" where I don't have a healthy meal ready to go.

• I'm a busy gal! I work full-time and I take a university class two nights a week. 
• I know that counting calories works for me, but counting every bite that goes into my mouth gets to be a drag. I've super-simplified my meal planning with 400-calorie meals planned ahead of time. More about that in my next post.

3. Keep up the fluid intake! In addition to drinking lots of water, I want to include a daily dose of:

• Milk: studies show that including 3 cups of milk a day helps build muscle mass, which helps to burn calories. Not to mention how important it is for a middle-aged grandma who wants to avoid calcium loss and bone problems. I am adding in 8 oz of skim milk with my breakfast and dinner, and 8 oz of plain yogurt (add 1/2 banana and a drizzle of agave nectar to make it yummy) at lunch. (Don't overdo! Too much milk has been linked to overweight children. 3 cups a day is just right.)
• Vegetable juice: more studies show that people who drink vegetable juice lose more weight than those who don't. I greeted this news with mixed feelings...I have gagged on tomato juice ever since I was a child! But I decided to try it again; after all, I'm 55 years old now. Hubby and I picked up some V-8 and some carrot juice (in the health food section) at the grocery store. I tried it three ways: straight V-8, half-and-half, and straight carrot juice. Good news, I tolerated the V-8. But it still wasn't yummy. The carrot juice was another story! Yum, yum, yum! Carrot juice is my new best friend. It fills me up, it's only 30 calories/8 oz, AND it counts as one of my daily vegetable servings. Hooray! I'm not so big on vegies. I'm going to keep a bottle of carrot juice in the fridge at work for those snacky-craving afternoons.

4. Exercise at least 3 x week.

• My daughter Julia has agreed to be an exercise buddy with me at the local Curves gym. We'll go on Tuesday afternoons and Friday early mornings.
• Hubby and I are signing up for a Thursday evening yoga class at a nearby elementary school.
• In addition to that, I'll try to get in some short walks at lunch and in the evening with hubby.

So that's the plan! Hooray for new beginnings and week 1! Please leave a comment and share any other suggestions with me.

Frugal Food Fridays: Fajitas

Hi, I'm Katie's sister, Polly.  I could benefit from losing a few pounds myself after the birth of our youngest daughter, so I'll have to come up with a few specific goals myself.

In the mean time, Katie has asked me to write once a week about eating healthy on a budget.  Let me warn you...I am no dietician or food expert, so this is completely amatuer advice.  However my husband has been in school for all of the nearly 10 years we've been married, so I do have some experience eating well on a budget.  We have three kids ages 5 years to 9 months, so we also have to consider what they are willing to eat when we cook (although I was blessed with some little mouths that are amazingly willing to try new things.)

The interesting thing about eating on a budget and/or eating healthy is that everyone has slightly different measuring sticks.  We've all seen someone share a "thrifty" idea on a blog and then when they tell you the price it was way out of our budget for that item...so frugal to me, might not be the same as frugal to someone else.  If you have a way to do the same thing cheaper, please leave a comment!

Likewise, "healthy" can mean different things to different people.  A "healthy" recipe by one person's standards  might not be by someone else's.  For instance, we make what we consider "healthier" pizza (with lots of veggies, whole wheat crust, and lower fat pizza meat).  However, there are still a lot of other food choices out there that are healthier than our "healthy" pizza.  So again...if someone ever feels like I'm giving misinformation...please share...I am NOT an expert!

So to start out:  Fajitas!!

My mom started making this for us when we were kids, so I don't have the reference.  These are very tastey and quite healthy.  Of course if you're on a diet, you'll want to go light on any sour cream or cheese and/or buy the low fat versions.  (You'll have to excuse the blurry picture...our camera is having issues and will hopefully be replaced soon.)

In large bowl combine:

15 oz skinless boneless chicken or lean pork, cut into ¼ inch strips
2 tablespoons orange or lemon juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (regular vinegar works okay too)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
Dash hot red pepper sauce

Let marinate for 10 minutes.

In large nonstick skillet heat:

1 tablespoon plus a 1 teaspoon olive oil.  (You can use less, or you can cook this without oil at all by using extra lemon or orange juice as a liquid.)

Cook until chicken is no longer pink. Add:

2 bell peppers, cut into strips  (It's pretty to use one green and one red if you can find the red ones on sale.)
1 onion, cut into strips

Cook until vegetables are cooked through.  Serve on tortillas

Tips for making it cheap:

• Watch for chicken on sale...I usually try not to spend more than $2 a pound for any kind of meat.  (Although that's getting harder and harder.)  When I find it on sale, I buy a lot and then freeze it in the portions for about one meal.  I also like to freeze it already cut into bite sizes, so when I'm cooking dinner, all I have to do is defrost.
• Bell peppers can be expensive so buy them on sale. 

Makes 4 servings / 260 calories per serving

Katie: Week 1

In the following weeks I probably won't write quite so much in my weekly updates (yeah right, I am so long winded), but for this first one I want to show my pictures and current weight for the week, lay out the ground rules I have for myself, and talk about my goals a little.

So, here we go.

Pictures:

No, I'm not pregnant again already.  

Bleh.  Taking true-to-life pictures of yourself is motivation enough.  I kind of can't believe I'm doing this on a public blog.  It'll be good for me though, right?

Current weight: 170 pounds
Halfway goal: 150 pounds
Target weight: 125 pounds

My original goal was 130 pounds, but in playing around with the BMI calculator on the blog here I realized that 130 was a little closer to the breaking point into the "overweight" category and I want to get down to a healthier range, so I've upped my goal 5 more pounds, aiming for a total weight loss of 45 pounds.  Eeek!  Wish me luck. 

My rules:
1. No Sweets!
Absolutely NO sugar sweets/junk/desserts/candy/etc. for three months (i.e. until April 1, 2010).  At that point I'll reassess and see if I can allow myself small things here and there or if I need to keep up the no sweets rule.  I will allow myself the occasional healthy dessert, but it will count as a processed snack (see below).


2. No Fast Food!
No fast food or eating out.  Period.  And if on the off chance I'm stranded somewhere or something and I have to get fast food I will order the healthiest thing.

3. Healthy Meals and Snacks!
Eat three healthy meals each day along with 2-4 healthy snacks, with no more than one processed snack (100 calorie packs, etc.) per day.

4. Fresh Foods!
Trade out cravings/impulses to eat granola bars and other processed snacks with fresh fruits and veggies.

5. Keep Track!
Write down everything I eat in my food journal (a little notebook I can carry around and keep with me).

6. Exercise 30 Minutes!
Exercise in some way for at least 30 minutes every day and write down what I did to exercise in my food journal.

7. Drink 80 Fluid Ounces!
Drink at least 80 fluid ounces of water every day and write down how much I drank in my food journal.

8. Balance Food Intake!
Enter the foods I eat each day into the Menu Planner on MyPyramid in order to make sure I'm getting a good balance of the foods I need.

9. Stay Active!
No sitting at the computer/TV for more than an hour (or one movie) at a time.

10. Get out!
Get out of the house at least once a day!

I'm really excited to get going on these goals.  Mostly, I'm really excited to someday, probably months from now, but someday look in the mirror and not have to suck in to have a flat tummy.  I'm so tired of still wearing the maternity clothes I wore when I was pregnant!  I really want to fit into my old clothes again and I hope to someday have even those clothes be lose on me.  I think by doing this I will be a healthier, happier, more energized person.  I've never been much for specific goals, so I'd like to prove to myself that it is possible to accomplish the things I want to do.  And with that, I'm off to go exercise!

Edited to add:

I am a total space case and forgot to mention something very important.  I just wanted to say THANK YOU MELISSA (my friend from preschool teaching days) for sharing your inspirational progress and success over at FAT CHANCE.  It has obviously been the inspiration for this blog and for my goals.  You rock.  I am so impressed by your accomplishments.  And you are one of the funniest people I know.  Just an added bonus.

Also, I just finished a round of Tighter Assets and let me just say--what a workout.  Perhaps if you live somewhere where it snows (or rains or gets really hot or whatever) and sometimes prohibits your good exercise intentions a workout DVD from the local library or something might be a good idea.  I have a feeling Tamilee and I are going to get to know each other real well while it's still snowing here.