HI my name is Stacy and I currently weight 220! I have been blessed to start the Local Contest of The Biggest Looser. Our start night is Jan. 18th. This is going to be my journal. My thoughts and struggles with this 12 week program! Please feel free to become a follower and post any comments or questions you may have. Thank you for your support!

Saturday, July 9, 2011

New Chapter

I know it has been a very long time since I posted. I kinda lost my motivation because I wasn't moving very fast!

Well the Biggest Loser Program ended the beginning of April. I lost 16 pounds on the program and 12 inches overall from my body.... I wasn't very happy with the results so I stuck my gun and the best thing that came out of the program was my new friends. They are all such a great support for me. I made a few new ones also after the program was over. I kept my membership to the gym and worked out for 2 hours in the morning and 1-2 hours in the evening. Becoming addicted to a class called Body Attack!!! Check it out sometime. It's a Les Mills Class. Just google!

To date I am proud to say I am 192 pounds! Yep! That's right! Since my Dr. visit in Jan that is 34 pounds lost.

Last month I entered into another contest for an extreme makeover. I WON! One of the prizes was this 10 week program to Farrell's Extreme Body Makeover. It's a Kickboxing Resistance Band weight loss class. 45 mins a day 6 days a week. So stay tuned for updates from it!

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Smoky Tomato Pizza (YUMMY)

Ingredients
1 (12 inch) pre-cooked whole wheat pizza crust
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
6 plum tomatoes, sliced
1 small red onion, cut into very thin wedges and separated into strips
2 tablespoons snipped fresh basil or oregano (2 teaspoons if dried)
1 tablespoon snipped fresh rosemary (1 teaspoon dried)
1/2 cup shredded smoked Gouda cheese (2 oz)

Directions
Preheat oven to 450. Place pizza crust on a large baking sheet
Stir together olive oil and crushed red pepper, brush onto crust
Top pizza crust with mozzarella cheese. Layer with the tomato slices and onion. Sprinkle with basil and rosemary, and top with Gouda cheese.
Bake 5-8 minutes or until mozzarella cheese is melted and pizza crust is golden brown.
Cut pizza into 8 pieces to serve.

ENJOY!

Serving size 1/8 pizza
Calories: 190
Fat 8 grams
Fiber 4 grams
Protein 11 grams

Wheat Berry Salad with Red Fruit

Ingredients:
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups cooked wheat berries
6 tbsp. fat free raspberry vinaigrette dressing
1/4 cup chopped mint leaves (optional)
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 apples, diced

Directions:
To prepare dressing, blend the orange juice vinaigrette and salt.
Put the wheat berries in a medium bowl. Pour the dressing over them and toss to coat. Set aside for about 15 minutes, tossing occasionally.
Add dried cranberries, pecans, and diced apples to the wheat berries and mix. Add mint leaves if desired.

ENJOY!

Pecans provide a wide array of nutrients that may protect your heart and arteries. In addition the whole grain wheat berries and fresh fruit are a great source of fiber.

Serving size: 1/2 Cup
Calories: 86
Fat 4grams
Fiber 2 grams
Protein 1gram

A little behind!

WoW! It's been awhile. Almost a month since I updated. I kinda got in a stoop. The week after I posted my last one I gained 2 pounds. So that kinda put me in a mood and I didn't even want to focus on loosing weight! I talked with my trainer and he said that it was normal. That actually tons of people who start losing the weight quit after the 3rd week because your body hits a road block. Now I am down 4 pounds and back on track!

SO here is what I have learned over the past few days.

I know why I am fat! I was eating way to many calories. Over 3000!

I learned about Carbohydrates and Whole Grains:
These are the main source of energy for your body to function! Some good items to eat are Brown/Wild Rice, Pasta, Wheat Berries, Barley (not beer!) Popcorn, Bagels and my favorite Quinoa. Whole Grain is the best and should have the label that says "Made with 100% Whole Grain"

Thursday night we learned about Dining Out! I think this is my biggest problem! Did you know Restaurants serve larger portions. Almost 2 times more than what you should eat! Check out www.healthydiningfinder.com for Healthy Eating choices when you go out. Look for menu items that have these words in them for a healthy choice: Baked, Broiled, Grilled, Poached, Roasted, and Steamed. Remember Limit dining out to 3 times or less a week, Be prepared, pick restaurants that offer healthy food choices, Stick to your meal plan make wise food choices and watch portion sizes.

If anyone is interested there is a 5k Run/Walk in Peoria on March 26th. Check out www.active.com for more info. Stay tuned for two more posts that are recipes

As always if you are interested in working out let me know.
HAPPY WEIGHT LOSS EVERYONE!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Legs are back hurting!

Last night we did stairs! OMG! never thought that could hurt so bad! We just ran up and down 2 flights of stairs. On the way back up we skipped every other step. My thighs are feeling it today. This is going to be short. Tomorrow night is weigh in... I am thinking I gained weight because we were almost off for a full week and because of all the snow I was stranded in the house. And of course my problem is I eat when I am bored! Hint! my husband wonders why I like to hang out on the computer! HAHAHA! Check back tomorrow night for an update and a new recipe!

HAPPY WEIGHT LOSS!

Friday, February 4, 2011

Sqash & Apple Bake

Ingredients:
1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1/4 cup light margarine, melted
1 tbsp all purpose flour
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch slices
2 large Granny Smith apples, cored, and cut into 1/2 inch slices

Directions:
1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together orange juice concetrate, margarine, flour, cloves, and cinnamon
3. Arrange squash in the bottom of an ungreased 9 x 13 inch baking dish, top with apple slices, then evenly pour the orange mixture on top. Cover with a lid or aluminum foil.
4. Bake 50-60 minutes, or until squash is tender.

Nutrition Facts
Servings per Recipe: 8
Calories: 121!
Fat 2.8g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 46mg
Charbohydrate 25g
Fiber 4g
Protein 2g

ENJOY!

Getting easier!

Well this weeks training was easier on the legs. We did the same thing but seems to be getting easier. However we did sit-ups and many my stomach is hurting! Here is the training we did:

walk 2 laps on track (warm up)
Squat with weights creating an upright row 12 reps 4 times
Run 1 lap
Curl and press (3 variations: regular, hammer, reverse) 12 reps 4 times
Lunge and twist 6 reps each leg 4 times
run lap
Glute kick out 12 reps 4 times
Push-ups 10 reps 3 times
all fours. Leg and arm extension 12 reps 4 times each
Run a lap
Crunch reach through sit ups
Leg lifts (4 variations: Regular, in and out, swim kicks, scissors) 2 sets of 10 count each
Stretch for 5 minutes

If you would like for me to explain any let me know.

On to my nutrition class: Here is what I learned last night.
What is your calorie budget?
Track for 2 weeks your calories. Eat what you eat on a normal day. After those two weeks average out what your weekly calorie intake is. Then subtract 500-1000 calories from this number. This will allow you to lose 1-2 pounds a week without any exercise.! Just by changing your food!

I also was told this!
INCREASING MUSCLE MASS IS THE ONLY THING THAT INCREASES YOUR METABOLISM!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

Well we have had two trainings with the personal trainers this week. The first night wasn't bad we just did some fitness testing to see where we stood. I am a weakling!

Tonight was a whole different story. Tonight was our first training night. First let me say I lost 4 pounds in a week. If this stays the same at the end of the 10 weeks I will have lost 40 pounds. I am a little disappointed because I thought it was more. Did you know you can gain 1-2 pounds in a day and it go up and down. So 4 pounds is not to much for me.... So we have to work harder this week.

We also had another nutritional meeting. I wasn't very happy with it to be honest. We talked about why our nation as a whole is over weight. Basiclly 30 years ago people had to do more physical things in general. For instance look at cars... 30 years ago we had to use a crank just to roll the windows down. That burns energy! TV.... we had to get up to change the stations on the TV 30 years ago. Now we can sit on the couch. SO in 30 years our nation has over 25% of people per state that are obiese. Crazy!

Well I did learn this: Here is what you should do every day per the Biggest Loser Online:
5 cups of Fruits and veggies
4 bottles of water per day
3 meals eaten everyday
2 positive affirmations
(a statement that is declared to be true. i.e. If I fall off the wagon a day or 2, I will get right back on with
the next healthy choice.)
1 bout of exercise per day

If you haven't already keep a food diary. Try online at www.sparkpeople.com It's a good thing not to count calories but to see where you are strong and weak when it comes to food. Me personally I am weak around 5pm when I want to eat everything in sight! The trainer told me it's good to eat every 4-5 hours at a time. There was a study done on people who loosed weight and what works for weight loss. Here is what the common habits were between the studied people.
Low-fat diet, high-carbohydrate diet
Eat breakfast every day (within 2 hours of waking up)
Frequent self-monitioring of weight
High level of phyical activity(1 hour most days)
Consistent eating patterns across weekdays and weekends. (my problem)

Hope this helps some of you! On a side note. This morning I took a test. It was inside a machine called a Bod Pod www.bodpod.com If any of you get the chance to take this test do it! It shows your % of body fat and % of lean mass. Puts you in prospective for your body. The best thing is it shows you how many calories you need to loose weight. And it's personal to your body! It costs $35 here in Peoria to take the test so check it out if you can.

As always please let me know if you have any questions and if you would like to work out give me a call! Happy weight loss all!

Friday, January 21, 2011

OH! I am sore!

Well. We had our first nutrition class last night. It was pretty basic. Didn't learn much. We talked to our team mates and learned why they are part of the program. Found out a lot of the reasons are the same not only in our group but in general. Looks like the people who struggle in their weight have the same reasons as to why they got to that point in their lives as well as to why they are ready to start loosing weight.

We started the discussion answering 4 questions:
Here they are for you to take a look at

1. What elements do you believe have contributed to your current health status?

2. What have you tried to do in the past to improve your health?

3. What do you perceive as the barriers that have prevented you from attaining your health goals in the past?

4. How will your life change when you meet your health goals?

Class Topic last night was Behavior Change. I guess if you are going to be successful in losing the weight and more importantly keeping it off you are going to have to look at things in your life and change your Behaviors! SO TRUE!
We had a psychologist come and talk a little bit to us about how to notice what causes your current behaviors and how to stop and look at what needs to be changed. Here is what I learned:
All people have two minds. Analytical and Emotional. The best way to explain them is to think about yourself getting ready to go outside in the snow and make a snowman.
An Analytical Minded person will say "I need to put on my jacket, boots, and gloves before I go outside in the snow. Then I will need a shovel, button nose, and scarf to make the snow man. Lets Go!
An Emotional Minded Person will say "I remember when I was a kid and I made this cool snowman with my dad then we made snow angels and I had so much fun" Lets go!

Now she said in order to be in the right place a person should be in the middle of these two minds also known as the Wise Mind!

If you want to change something start to look at what emotion is attached to that thing you are doing. For instance for me I eat when I get bored. So for me to get in my Wise Mind I need to see that boredom means do something else besides eating! Easy enough said right! Well hope this little bit will help you in seeing some behovior changes that might be needed. So here is a challenge for you:
1. Write down your irrational thoughts through the day. (i.e. That piece of chocolate will make me feel better if I just eat one piece)
2.Write down what emotions cause you to eat.
3. Write down what your mood is for the day.

These three things should help you look at what your Behavior is towards food. Once you realize what you are doing then you can make the efforts to change them.

I leave you with one exercise thought:
If you really want to make an effort to loose the weight you MUST work out 4 times a day with getting your heart rate at your target heart rate for 45 minutes to 1hr. Here is what my trainer told me target heart rate is when exercising:

20yrs old 170 bpm (beats per minute)
25yrs old 166
30yrs old 162
35yrs old 157
40yrs old 153
45yrs old 149
50yrs old 145
55yrs old 140

As always if you would like to workout let me know and happy weight loss everyone!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

OMG! What did I get myself into?

Well tonight was the big kickoff meeting! All I can say is Oh My God! I was thinking these trainers will just be laid back and easy going. Gonna teach me some exercise tricks to maximize my weight loss and that I would be able to attend a few nutrition classes to teach me what I should be eating......

Well no! First off they weight all of us in. My weight: 222.6 pounds! Almost 10 pounds more than what I thought! I have been off of pop for 2 weeks now with no more headaches and all I lost was 3 pounds!

I was thinking this was just going to be our first meeting where we get our rules and layout for everything. So wrong. We ended up doing our first workout and let me tell you OUCH! We went to the area with the step benches and had to do 200 steps as fast as we could. That is step one foot up on top of the bench, step the other foot up and then step each foot down = 1. My lungs are still burning! We have a 8 member team which is awesome. We all seem very motivated and agreed to take a Zumba class outside what is required for the program. It will be fun! I have 2 left feet but it will be a good workout!

OOH I almost forgot! We actually have a local person training with us who's family was on the second season of the biggest loser! Pretty cool! So we got to pick his brain tonight about how the show was and what he learned and his challenges. If any of you have a question you want to ask him let me know!

We will be working with 2 personal trainers on Tuesday nights and Thursday nights. So at the end of each night I will make a new post about what I did and what I learned. Also on Thursdays is our nutrition class so I will have notes from that too. I heard we will be getting some cool recipes and stuff.

On another note: Biggest Loser has a charity challenge going on. So I am asking you to join me in the challenge to loose the weight. Go to www.pfpchallenge.com and Pledge your weight loss goal. You can join our team just search Peoria by City and select Peoria Riverplex Biggest Losers. Add zip code: 61571 and for every pound you pledge to loose they will donate 1 pound of food to the local Peoria food bank. Thanks for your help!!!!

AS ALWAYS! If you live near me and want to join me for an exercise let me know!!

Happy weight loss everyone! It's going to be a great year!

Friday, January 14, 2011

My letter to enter the contest

Thought to share the letter I entered to be considered for becoming part of the Team Wolf Biggest Loser:

There are tons of reasons I can give you as to why I want to be apart of your team. To look and feel better, to fit in my old clothes again, and to look into a mirror at myself and not be disgusted by what I see. But most important the reason I want to join is because of ME! My name is Stacy and first off I weight 225 pounds! That is 75 pounds over where I want to be. I have dealt with a lot of criticism in my life, but nothing compares to the pain I feel when I am made fun of because of my weight. On top of the emotional effects of being over weight I am now starting to show signs of the physical ones. I was burned when I was 6 years old. I have 3rd degree burns all over my body. My weight has effected my scars to the point where I start to loose the weight or in the future have to have surgery to relieve the pulling of my scars. But that is not the main reason as to why I want to join your team. I have tried to loose the weight myself. I was partially successful but now I am at a fork in the road where I think I need to be pointed in the right direction. I would love to be apart of something where not only I can be taught how to loose the weight but also to keep it off. I come from a family of overweight people. In fact my grandfather was severely overweight and it caused his death. I can't let myself get that way. I have two wonderful little boys I need to be there for them. To be in shape so I can keep up with them because right now I barely can! I need direction and I want to belong to a team I know can motivate me. If you choose me to be apart of TEAM WOLF I will make you proud. I have nothing to loose but weight!

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. Only 4 days left till the start of my new life!!!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

1 week to go!

Our kick off meeting is the 18th so I have just under a week before I start. I am getting really antsy! I have so many ideas but I just want to wait......

I have been off of pop for little over a week now! Boy was that hard to stop! I was talking to the doctor about it and the headaches. He said it just goes to show how dependant my body was on it. I switched to coffee in the morning to help with the headaches. And they are pretty much gone now. Oh and I love sweet tea. Which I will have to stop once I start this 12 week program.... So I have been searching for other things my pallet will like. I hate water! But I found Crystal Light strawberry. Then my brother found some Green Tea. Peach Mango Pineapple Green Tea is awesome! Made by Good Earth. Not to bad.

I started drinking a cup at night of Peach Detox Tea. Help to clean out the chemicals in my body. That way it will jump start my weight loss!

That's it for now. Will be in touch soon! Thanks for reading!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Horrible Headache!

OK a little bit of a delay.... I was trying to do these posts through my phone but was having problems. So here is the update for this one...

I stopped drinking pop and now I have had a headache for 4 days! OUCH!

I have been drinking more coffee to help with the caffeine but let me tell you trying to break a caffeine addiction is hard!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

My PRE thoughts!

Well here is my first post! I am sitting on the couch with my son watch the season premiere of Biggest Looser. I am in tears watching this show because I sit and think.... that's me! I am just like those FAT people on the show.

So here goes with what is going on. I have been asked to be apart of TEAM WOLF. The local country station had a contest and invited 2 men and 2 women to be on their team during the local competition of the biggest looser. I got a phone call yesterday with the details. Our first meeting is Jan 18th. I am so excited because this is going to be the kick in the butt I need to loose the weight.

Here are a few other things going on.... One month ago my weight was 225! I gasped when the doctor told me that! I thought I was closer to 200. I don't feel that big, but the scale doesn't lie! I went back to the doctor yesterday and I lost 5 pounds. I smiled a little but what is five pounds? It was only because the appointment was early in the morning and I hadn't ate yet! I am ready to start loosing the weight but I am trying to hold off since the competition doesn't start for another 2 weeks.... :-)

Thank you for joining me on my adventure. I could use all the comments and support you can give. I plan on posting everything here. From what I have learned from the trainers to what my workout was for the day. Again thank you for all your support!