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February 26 weekly update #7 (week 8) The scale just isn't cooperating I've been reading lots of good blogs today. Lots of people on expressing their feelings & sharing their weeks results. The Biggest Loser is on tonight so that is something to look forward to
February 21 WEEKLY UPDATE #6 (WEEK 7) Patti & I are keeping up with one another. We have both lost 14 pounds to date. I lost three pounds last week & Patti lost 2. I haven't been exercising much but I have stopped snacking & am eating better at my meals. My job is pretty physically demanding so I figure I get plenty of general exercise there. Patti does a LOT of exercising & she is really toning up & feeling so much better. Last week both of us had people make comments to us about our improved appearances due to our recent weight losses. Patti was wearing her safety pin I had dinner with a friend & business associate last night (& yes I was extremely careful of what I ordered & how much I ate, thank you very much :)). When I told him I had lost 14 pounds he said he noticed that I looked thinner but didn't want to ask in case I was feeling private about my weight lost attempts. I was very pleased to know that the 14 pound loss shows. Both Patti & I have baggy jeans now & we are loving it!!!! We both felt it was time for Paul to go home, although we hated to see the Black Team go to elimination. We think next week will be really interesting because it seems unlikely that the Blue Team can continue to maintain the huge weight losses they enjoyed last week & Jillian will make sure the Black Team gets back on course. And what is up with a trip to Las Vegas? Hmmmm.......!!!!! To get in your exercise this week, try dancing. It is a very enjoyable way to exercise, be it with a partner or by yourself. I dance around the house with my dogs while listening to some of my favorite tunes & cleaning (the dogs February 14 WEEKLY UPDATE #5 We are into week 6 already and Patti has lost another 2 pounds and I am sticking with my solid one pound, weekly loss. Our total loss so far is 12 pounds for Patti and 11 pounds for me or the Team Total of 23 pounds. Patti has become addicted to exercising and would rather be doing her tread mill or stationary bicycle then anything else right now. I can't say I'm as focused on the exercise as she is but I do get my fair share in. I'll probable change my tune as soon as it warms up enough to get outside and walk though as I love to power walk. We have some really great walking/bike paths here in Rockford. Gotta go shopping for gel seat cushions for both of our exercise bikes tomorrow. Those hard seats are ruff on our tender behinds I am so happy to see that everyone is motivated and excited to be on this journey. It has been a lot of fun so far. I think that The Biggest Loser and MSN has done more with the MPMU to encourage people to lose weight then any other single event EVER. And The Biggest Loser TV show is probably second only to Weight Watchers for motivating & helping people to finally do something about their excess weight. Who would of thought that a nationally televised reality show would have such an impact on peoples lives February 05 WEEKLY UPDATE #4 Another week gone as our quest to reach our ideal body weight continues. Patti and I both lost one pound each last week. Patti was somewhat disappointed as she worked really hard to lose and was looking for around a 3 pound loss. I, on the other hand, was happy with a good, solid one pound loss, as I had slacked off on exercising. I am happy to see that I can continue to lose with my diet as the driving force. This is a new week (week 5 of the challenge) and with just 35 days left to the finale for the MPMU, we are just as determined as ever to reach our goals. Of course,we realize that our long term goals won't be met by the finale. We are hoping that all of our new found friends on Live Spaces will continue to post their successes and help encourage and motivate one another for a long time. Realistically, Patti and I are looking at a total weight loss of around 25 pound each for the duration of the MPMU challenge. Thank goodness it is Tuesday and tonight is another Biggest Losers show It's also Super Tuesday, so Patti and have to get out and vote today. There is a huge snowstorm heading our way with forecasts totals of around 12 to 13 inches by Wednesday evening, blizzard conditions, blah, blah, blah. I am so sick of winter and all of the snow we have had. And the weird weather has really hit us hard this year. We are the area that suffered a tornado in January and yesterday we had thundershowers. YUCK STAY FOCUSED ON YOUR WEIGHT LOSS GOALS EVERYONE. ONLY FIVE OF US ARE GOING TO BE WINNERS FOR A CHANCE TO SEE THE SEASON FINALE, BUT WE WILL ALL BE WINNERS FOR LOSING OUR WEIGHT. THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE VISITED OUR PAGE AND MOTIVATED US WITH WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT. YOU ARE OUR ROCK AND WE LOVE YOU FOR IT REMEMBER TO EXERCISE, EAT HEALTHY, DRINK YOUR WATER AND GET A GOOD NITES SLEEP! January 30 Weekly Update #3 Even though we are in week 4, this is only our 3rd update, as our beginning entry post does not count as an update. Another somewhat frustrating week for Patti and I. Patti lost another 2 pounds and I lost another 1 pound. We are both at 9 pounds total lost so far. It is coming off sooooooooo slowwwwwly! As we said in last weeks post, it at least is coming off. We both think it is because we have a really hard time getting in all of our water. So, we both have committed to working harder at drinking the required amount this week. Crazy stuff with Biggest Loser last night. My money is on Jillian and the NEW Black Team. I think Jillian will motivate, push and educate them into really awesome losers. We can hardly wait for next weeks show to see what happens next. I visited Scott and LeRoy's site earlier and I loved their story about using safety pins by Biggest Loser challengers as a way to motivate yourself and to identify with other Biggest Losers. I don't want to take away from their site and story, so you should visit it (click on their names for a hyperlink) and read the blog yourself or go to the originator's site of the Safety Pin Secret Symbol, Joe & Melonie(http://nomoreexcuses4us.spaces.live.com). What I would like to do is help further their great idea by posting about it here and trying to get as many people on board as possible. If you like the idea, please pass it on, but don't forget to give credit to the originators, Joe & Melonie. One more thought! If you are going to wear a pin why not post a photo of a safety pin on your site as a symbol of your participation? January 27 My Favorite Soup Recipe
Back to the soup recipe. Buy 2-3 cans of your favorite soup. Mine is either Black Bean or Split Pea. Brown 1lb of lean, ground turkey in 1Tblsp of olive oil in a large soup pot. You can use any kind of meat you want or no meat at all. Once your meat is brown add your soup, about 1 cup of low sodium, 99% fat free chicken broth (or vegetable broth), one whole bag of your favorite frozen vegetables and season with a no-salt seasoning like Mrs. Dash. Heat to a low boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes and serve. Using 2 cans of soup this recipe makes 6-8 servings of around 1.5 cups each. Using 3 cans keeps the soup slightly less thick and retains more of the original flavor of the soup base, which is really a good thing with the Southwestern Roasted Vegetables Soup (which I don't add extra vegetables to, just the meat). Have a small side salad and maybe 4 or 5 whole wheat crackers and you have a very nice, easy meal that is healthy, low fat and filling. Here is a quick recipe for one of my favorite deserts. Buy a small container of Splenda sweetened, frozen strawberries and a small container of fat free Cool Whip. Thaw your strawberries but keep them as cold as you can, gently blend about 1/2 cup of the strawberries with 1.5 - 2 cups of the Cool Whip, spoon into desert cups and chill for 15 to 20 minutes. You will get 4-5, 1/2 cup servings of a great Strawberry Mouse. Light and refreshing and quilt free. You could garnish the tops with some fresh strawberries & a sprig of mint if you wanted to dress them up a bit. Don't blend your strawberries & Cool Whip too soon, as the juices from the strawberries will settle and make your mouse watery. So don't make more then you are going to eat within 30 minutes. A really neat thing happened to me today. I have a part-time job as a rural letter carrier for the US Post Office. Today I stopped to answer some questions a male customer had regarding his mail. When I had finished answering his questions he says "Thanks, you have been very friendly and helpful and VERY NICE TO LOOK AT as well". I am 57 years old and overweight. I can't remember the last time any man has paid me such a nice compliment. Needless to say, he made my day. I also noticed that I had to keep pulling my jeans up today as they are getting loose enough that they are settling lower on my waist then I am used to. Maybe next week I can drop down a size. WooooooHooooo! THANKS MSN AND BIGGEST LOSER FOR MOTIVATING US TO REALLY KICK OUR WEIGHT LOSE INTO HIGH GEAR THIS YEAR.
January 21 Weekly Update #2
Last week was a crazy week for Patti and I. But first, the good news! Patti lost 3 pounds last week for a total weight loss of 7 pounds since 1/04/08. Susan (that would be me) only lost one pound last week. My total weight loss since begin- ning on 1/01/08 has been 8 pounds. We are happy with ANY NUMBER lower then our last weigh-in, no matter how small. We are going down and that is all that matters. Patti and I continue to keep daily food journals. Doing this really helps because we see everything that we have eaten and all of the calories it equals, not to mention the sodium and carbohydrates. It is much easier to make adjust- ments to our daily intake when we can see where we have been. The exercising is getting more difficult as we increase the number of repetitions or length of our workouts. Then there are the daily phone calls to each other comparing our work- outs and what we ate, trying to out do each other and laughing about it. We talk about winning the contest and how much it would mean to us. We talk about how much better we know we are going to feel and look once we hit our goal weights. And we compare how much better we are already beginning to feel. Both of us notice a distinct loosening of our cloths, especially our jeans at the waist. It is a great feeling!
Our crazy week just had to do with things that happened at work with bosses and the weather. Nothing we can do about either one except tolerate it until it gets better. And honestly, the weather will improve before the bosses do! January 15 Weekly Up-Date #1
A quick update! I weighed-in on Sunday and Patti weighed-in on Monday. We both lost 2 pounds during the last 7 days. We are both satisfied with this and only hope that we can continue to lose at least 2 pounds every week. What has worked for me so far is to reduce the amount of food I am consuming, basically cutting everything in half and then just making better choices of what I do eat. Still gotta have my chocolate though (dark is the best). Instead of eating half a bag or box now I eat just one or two pieces, taking small nibbles and holding the chocolate in my mouth until it melts to savor the flavor. This makes those one or two pieces last much longer and I feel satisfied without the guilt. Patti is counting calories and basically does the same thing with her small treats as I do with my chocolate. We have increased the type and the amount of exercise we are getting. I am using my exercise bike, taking daily walks (weather permitting), and doing various cardio exercises. When I lay on the floor to do tummy crunches or leg lifts my three little dogs think I am playing with them and they jump all over me and try licking my face. Patti does an exercise bike and her treadmill. We both keep daily food journals. We want to kick it up a notch every week by adding more exercises or duration and fine tuning our food consumption by reviewing our food journals and seeing where we can make improvements. I still think my biggest challenge at this point is remaining creative with the whole blogging aspect of this competition. I see other Live Spaces that are way cool and so much more technically advanced then mine. It is easy to be very humble with what I have so far been able to produce. I have spent a lot of time looking for fresh ideas and experimenting with various soft-ware to see what works for me and what doesn't. I hope the judges will take into consideration a persons ability to be creative within their limitations (ie., knowledge, budget, and time). January 09 Is it still January? Hey, just a thought! If you are reading my space and have entered the Million Pound Match-UP (here after refered to as MPMU), I would love to hear from you. I think it would be great to create a Blogging Community where we could give moral support to one another. Let's face it, not all of us can win the MPMU contest, but isn't what this really is all about is us losing the weight? Who better to get advice and support from then other people who know exactly what you are going through? We can connect with each other right here on Live Spaces or we can invite each other to e-mail. Whatever you feel the most comfortable with.
Share your weight loss know-how with others who may be struggling, share your weight loss journey photos, share music, books and videos that inspire weight loss. Heck, just share yourself. We are all worthwhile people with dreams and aspirations and sometimes it helps to share those with others. Who knows, you might make new friends! That's a good thing, right? It also helps a lot to know you aren't the only one out there who let food and inactivity rule their life to the point that your health is in serious jeapordy. If you would like to get moral support from myself or others let me know. If not, that's okay and I wish you the very best at your weight lose journey and you are still welcome to visit my space any time you want.
progress. Learning to Blog Even though I have entered my Sister and I in the Million Pound Match-Up contest, my largest challenge at the moment is learning how Live Spaces works, setting up my blog and being creative with all of it. Thankfully, I have a couple of nephews
 who graciously offer their support. I am not a young woman (I'm a Baby Boomer) and I did not grow up with computers and all of the technology that is taken for granted today by younger people. I love the techy stuff though, so don't get me wrong . I have a digital camera , a desk-top and a notebook both with all of the accessories, a DVD player , a cell phone and an iPod . I am self taught and at times I struggle with simple things like importing music and videos, etc . It took me three days just to get my initial blog set up and I am still fine tunning it. So, anyone who has some constructive advice to share as far as blogging and creatitivity with my space is concerned, please leave a comment . My Sister and I have decided to weigh-in once a week
 . I will weigh-in on Sundays and Patti will weigh-in on Mondays but I probably won't add it to this space until Tuesday. It's not that I want everyone to know how we are doing and be bored with the details. It is one of the requirements for the contest. We must up-date our weight loss journey weekly at the minimum. I lost 5 pounds in my fisrt week and Patti lost 2 pounds. Needless to say, my sister was slightly annoyed with me for losing more then she did . I'm sure she will have better weeks then me at times. Besides, I have almost twice as much weight to lose as Patti does, therefore, I should lose it twice as fast, don't ya think ? Today the weather is pretty good  so I think I will take myself and the dogs (+2) for a walk and some fresh air. Later I will ride my stationary bicycle and Patti usually does her tread mill each morning. I watched the Biggest Loser last night (I never miss it). I know that someone goes home every week. That's part of the show. But it is sad  to see those go who want to be there so much. Most of those who go home seem to be able to continue their weight loss journey very well. I have often wondered if the Biggest Loser show doesn't give them some type of help at home, like a personal trainer or a fitness center membership for a year. Because why is it they couldn't lose any of that weight on their own until they were on the Biggest Loser? I know there is a monetary incentive at the season finale and maybe that is all there is to it besides the sincere desire to change their lives for the better. Whatever it is, WAY TO GO ! Anyway, I am rooting for all of the season's 5 contestants. Good luck and thanks for sharing your journey with us.January 06 Million Pound Match-Up Starting EntryMeet the Mo-Do Team
I'm Susan and I'm PattiWe are from Rockford, Illinois. We are very excited to be part of the Million Pound Match-Up. Our combined weight loss goal for the next 12 months is 160 pounds. My personal goal is 100 pounds and Patti's personal goal is 60 pounds. We have already started our weight loss journey and are looking forward to our end results.
Why, How and WinWhy does anyone want to lose weight? To look and feel better. To improve the quality of your life. To be happy and healthy for yourself and for your family and friends. Patti and I are huge fans of the "Biggest Loser" show and we have thoroughly enjoyed watching the transformation of the contestants. It never ceases to amaze us how weight loss has drastically improved everyone's physical health as well as their mental health. We are sincerely motivated by the extraordinary accomplishments of all of the contestants and we dream of similar results for ourselves.
Our strategy to lose our goal weight is a simple one. Eat smart, keep a daily food log, exercise daily, set small, weekly goals so we are not overwhelmed by our huge total goals, and support one another in what ever way is required to be successful. Oh Yeah, and have FUN!
We deserve to win the Million Pound Match-Up! I want to give this gift to my sister. Patti works seven days a week. Some of her days are 15+ hours long. She is a very giving person who always puts herself last. She is the type who always goes well beyond what is expected of her in her job and in her relationships and she has done a tremendous amount for me. More then anything I would love to share winning with her to give back a little of what she has given to me. Losing the weight and winning this contest would be a dream come true for us. It would be a time just for us. Something we rarely have. But best of all, we get to do it together. |
. Both Patti & I each barely registered a one pound loss over the last week. We have had several slow weeks like this & while we are grateful for any loss, we are working so extremely hard at losing weight, it is somewhat discouraging when we only realize one pound down per 7 days. I just wonder sometimes if this long, cold & snowy mid-west winter isn't part of our problem 
? I mean, it is depressing to get snow storm after snow storm with no hint of spring. I finally gave up trying to clear my drive-way of snow & hired a local man to shovel for me. Patti has hers plowed. I am just itching for spring 
so I can get out & walk, which is my preferred form of exercise. I don't have a treadmill (no where to put one) & I don't have use of a gym (can't afford a membership). So, I do what I can with what I have. I'm not complaining (except about winter) I'm just ready to get outside 
!!!!!!
Time to change my attitude! I'm sounding like a pity party is taking place here
! So, I am going to go accomplish something positive, do some exercises. I know I'll feel better & tomorrow I have plenty to do. Everyone hang in there. Two more weeks until the end of the MPMU (but I'm thinking maybe we should push for some form of it to continue, via MSN & The Biggest Losers. I'm working on it). I can't wait to see who the 5 winners will be. I hope it is someone we all know thru our little community. And I hope who ever it is, they wear a safety pin at the finale. Keep on losing, one day, one pound at a time! 
?
! And double YUCK
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