Week 8 - Sarah K.

Hello Friends,

You have such encouraging posts to read! Thank you for posting them!

I have been doing much better at my calories this past week. Wed 1540, Thurs 1050?, Fri 1575, Sat 550?, Sun 1260, Mon 1926, and Tues 1296. (The ? are because I think I missed some recordings on those days and cannot remember what I ate.)
Measurements -.75 Weight -.4 Water 6 days Exercise 3 days

Keep going strong! You're all doing great!

Week 7 - Sarah K.

Hi Friends,
I apologizing for not being here. I had too many deadlines and not enough time. Fortunately, all the deadlines are past and I have much more "free time" right now.
I weighed and measured on Monday (to take the place of last weeks weigh in and measurements) and then started Day 3 of a program called Slimming Made Simple. When I weighed and measured today I was pleased with how well it is going.
I can not recommend it for healthy weight loss. I just wanted something to jump start me and get me on my way for the summer while I figured out my plan for the rest of the year.
Calories for Monday 1058-11, Tuesday 1258-1300. (I forgot and don't want to go downstairs to find the paper, yet.)
Weight loss since Monday 3.6 lbs
Inches lost since last weigh in 3.5
I drank all of my water the last 2 days. I had 60 min of exercise yesterday and 20 min on Mon. I am sore and trying to talk myself into exercising today.
Thanks for being here. I am anxious to read how you all have been doing.

Week 4 - Sarah K.

Well, last week was a no go. I did not exercise, I did not count calories, I did not drink my water every day. I gained one pound and 1/2 an inch. There is not much hope for this week as my husband is out of town and the kids and I are trying to finish all of our workbooks by Monday (along with baseball and softball games). I do have a good menu plan. Hopefully that helps.

Hope everyone else had a fantastic week!

Week 3 - Sarah K.

Thanks for your encouragement ladies!

I had a better water week. I didn't miss any days! Exercise, not so good-only 90 min. Calories, well, I didn't plan before hand, I was still just figuring it out afterwards. Not necessarily the best way to go, but it does somewhat stop me from putting some things in my mouth. Here they are: Wed - 2165, Thurs - 1242, Fri - 2209, Sat - 2088, Sun - 1222, Mon - 1755, Tues - 2141. Weight +1.4, Measurement only +0.5.

Those numbers tell the whole story.
Hope you all have a great week. I'm off to plan my menu for the coming week, so maybe those numbers can look a little better. =)

It's Another Week ...

Danielle's post about consistency is very, very true and always what I need to hear. Thanks Danielle!

I missed 2 days of water points. =( and only got 2 days of exercise points. =( I now have a baseline for calories and reminded myself that writing them down, tends to stop me from snacking as much as normal. I need to post the daily totals as an accountability for me. I realize they are high. Now that I know what I am used to eating, I am planning to take steps to reduce them. But these are the facts for last week. Wed -2006, Thurs - 1856, Fri - 1985, Sat - 1675, Sun - free day (Sizzler salad bar + peanut butter m & m's= don't want to know) Mon - 1807, Tues - 2204. Weight only -0.4. Inches only -0.5. That is what happens when I don't drink my water. I'll remember. =)

Hoping you all have a great week!

End of Week One - Sarah K.

Hello Everyone! I'm sorry I kind of got lost at the end of the other challenge and didn't post last week. It's a new week! I was disappointed last week when I weighed and measured because it was the heaviest I had ever started a challenge, yet. =( The only thing I have done consistently this week is drank enough water. I have gotten my water points every day! My family has started walking/running the track 3 days a week. I'm expecting this to help also. I am hoping to start counting calories and am wanting to post how well I am doing with that, for the accountability. We'll see if I make it for next week.
Measurements:
Weight -2.2
Bust -1.5, Chest -1.5, Waist -1, Hips -1, Thighs and Arms -0
Thanks for your encouragement, thanks for being here. Sweating with you! ~Sarah

Week 5 and 6 - Sarah K.

Hello Ladies! Good plans are great. The weather lately has not been great and since most of my exercise plan was for outside, didn't quite work out. BUT the sun is shining and staying up later and the weather is warming up! My husband and I have started, once again, going for a walk in the evening when he gets home from work to talk about our days and burn some calories. =) My numbers: Weight +0.6 Measurements -2 ! Looking forward to a "Grand Slam" week. I can't wait to see how many you all get!

Week 3 and 4 - Sarah K

Hello,
Sorry I missed posting last week. It didn't end up being a great week numbers-wise anyway. For week 3 I gained 1.2 lbs and 8.75 inches! I reviewed what I was eating, how I was going to get my exercise accomplished everyday and put it all on the shelf to finish my monthly paperwork for home school. Week 4 numbers were better Lost 2.6 lbs and 4.25 inches! My weight is the lowest it has been this challenge! I only lost half of the inches I gained, bummer! That just convinces me I need to make sure I exercise everyday - no more procrastinating!

I haven't read how you all are doing lately, but I am going to do that now. Keep up the great work! You all are so encouraging to me!
Thanks!

Week Two - Sarah K.

Hello Friends,

I haven't read how your week went, but I hope much better than mine. I did not get any exercise minutes in at all during the last week. I did get 65 min today! Hopefully I will get back on schedule.

I did not measure or weigh this week. I really like to do it on Wednesdays and this week I had to take one of my children to a mandatory test and didn't take the time to weigh and measure when I woke up. (Mostly because I hadn't exercised and didn't see the point.)

Praying you all have a wonderfully productive and healthy week!

Week One -Sarah K.

Hello Friends!
It was great to meet you last week! I hope your first week of the challenge went better than mine did! We were out of town for 4 days at a family reunion ...
We are home and I have been doing well here. I am hoping to carry that on.
Measurements:
Weight: gained .6 =(
Inches: lost 2.25 ! It was small increments almost everywhere.
Same goals for this week.
Have a super week!

Hello, I am Sarah K. =)

I have been doing the challenges with Danielle since the beginning. I tend to do better at exercising during the challenge and on not so crazy weeks, good with the eating also. When we are not in a challenge, whatever progress was made disappears. =( I did have one encouraging thing happen, though. I have been walking during my kids class (with the mp3 player) 60 min 2 days a week and when my husband and I went for a walk the other day he got tired before I did. Normally I am worn out first!
My goals for this challenge are to exercise 60 min 6 days a week. By walking 60 min 2 days a week, Louise Solomon's Yogalates 3 days a week and Denise Austin's Fat-Burning Dance Mix 1 day a week. The videos are 60 min each.
Try to eat smaller portions and not graze on snack (junk) food. I am noticing my hardest times of temptation are afternoons (3-6 ish) and occasionally after putting the kids to bed.
My baby brother is getting married this July and I would really like to not weigh what I did when my other brother got married 5 years ago July. So I think I have another motivation that may help with the commitment level.
Looking forward to Springing into Shape with you!

How to Clean and Burn Calories

Do these chores at a brisk pace. Try not to take breaks and use some elbow grease to get things sparkling. It might also help to turn on some tunes and time yourself, trying to do it a little faster each week.

Washing Windows - 30 minutes will burn about 150 calories.

Doing the Dishes - Skip the dishwasher and do them yourself to burn 75 calories in 30 minutes.

Rearranging Your Room - 30 minutes of moving furniture burns 225 calories.

Vacuuming - Burn about 100 calories in 30 minutes.

Painting - Tired of your beige bedroom? Pick a new color and burn roughly 100 calories per 20 minutes of painting (think Karate Kid).

Outdoor Fat-Burning

Cutting the Grass - Mowing the lawn will burn 160 calories in 30 minutes, as long as you're pushing the mower yourself.

Washing the Car - Burn about 150 calories in just 30 minutes.

Gardening/Raking Leaves - The digging and raking you do are big-time calorie burners. You can burn up to 100 calories in just 15 minutes! (I'm guessing it's about the same for snow shoveling.)

Biking - A leisurely bike ride (approximately 10 mph) will burn more than 100 calories in 40 minutes. Grab the family and get pedaling!

Swimming - No need to go all Michael Phelps here. Just a 15 minute slow swim will burn about 100 calories.

Frisbee - A fun 30 minute Frisbee toss with your kids or friends will burn about 100 calories and hardly seem like exercise at all.

Pushing a Baby Stroller - Pushing a stroller burns about 60 calories in 20 minutes. Don't have a baby? I'm sure your relative, friend or neighbor will be happy to lend you theirs.

Walking - It's one of the simplest ways to burn calories because you don't need anything to get started. Fifteen minutes of brisk walking will burn approximately 100 caloreis. A brisk daily walk at lunch time or after work will make a difference.

Dancing - Who doesn't love to shake it? 20 minutes of dancing at a moderate pace will burn 100 calories.

*All of these numbers are based on a 150 pound individual.

Taken in part from the eDiets Extra email sent out Nov. 8, 2010. Tweak of the Week: Burn 100 Calories Anywhere, by Shawn McKee, Staff Writer

So This is the End ...

... of our five week journey. =(
The Christmas Crunch starts soon!
Well, I've learned the most the last 2 weeks. It's about the little changes and making them fit. I'm assuming eventually the big changes will be visible. =)
Totals:
Weight: this week I lost 1 pound which makes a total of -0.6 (because of the addition the week before)
Bust: no change, Chest: -0.25, Waist: -2.5!, Hips: -2!, Arms: no change, R Thigh: -1.25, L Thigh: -0.25 Total: 6.25 inches!
Since I started last October ...
Weight: -4.2, Bust: -4.25, Chest: -3.75, Waist: -9, Hips: -7.5, R Arm: -1.25, L Arm: -1.25, R Thigh: -2.25, L Thigh: -3.5
Very exciting! Can't wait to see where I'll be next October! I'll "see" you ladies soon when the Christmas Crunch starts again!

The last few weeks ...

... have been crazy. (of course!) We have been making it out to walk 3-4 nights a week. I wasn't paying attention to too much else fitness related. So I made a change - SlimFast. I started Monday breakfast was okay (they've changed it and the texture doesn't bother me like it used to) healthy snack, healthy lunch, healthy snack, I didn't get to dinner until 10, so a shake wasn't going to work. lol. obviously blew that meal. Tuesday was better we weren't home. Until the kids "needed" a treat for being so great during a 4 hour meeting - blew it and then forgot about the shake and ate dinner with the family. Wednesday shake for breakfast, healthy lunch, shake for dinner, but I wasn't feeling well at all today. Very headachy and miserable - like I was running a fever. Enough whining. =)
Measurements
Weight -+ 0.4, Bust - +0.25, Chest - 0, Waist -1.25, Hips -1.5, Arms no change, R thigh - 1, L thigh no change. =3.5 inch loss
Have a great week and keep up the great work!

First Week

Isn't it amazing how when you decide to change something in your life you end up pulling an all-niter, the weather changes, or the kids schedules go all crazy?!!!
When Dani emailed me the invitation to join this seminar I was so excited. It seems every time that I am ready to start eating right and making sure to exercise Dani starts another contest. =)
I started off great on Tuesday I got up on time, went to bed on time, drank enough water, didn't have second helpings and made sure that hubby and I got our walk. =)
Wednesday it was hot! It was over 100*, I definitely drank enough water, got up on time, and didn't have second helpings. I wanted to skip our walk (because it was so hot) but hubby wanted the time away from the children's ear to chat about his day at work (which was horrible), so we meandered. I started reading a book and ended up staying up way too late (a common problem for me). Just about the time I was headed to bed hubby woke up and wanted to chat about how to deal with the work issue the next day at work and we were up until 6:30 am (all niter).
Thursday, I did not get up on time. I had seconds on my favorite caffeine fix (Pepsi) ... alright I probably had more than 2. We skipped our walk and went out to dinner (it was too hot and I was too tired) instead.
Friday we cleaned for company... no walk, too much food.
Pretty much it went downhill from there. Sunday and Monday were spent in front of the computer finalizing school plans (because we started on Tuesday).
Homeschooling 4 with a preschooler has been a very big challenge (and a lot of stress) which means (you guessed it) comfort food. I am now once again ready to get started. I measured last week, but forgot this morning.
We'll see how Friday goes ...
(well, Dani, you said our stories encouraged you ...)
Have a great week everyone!

Journal - June 17th

Hello my Inspirational Friends!
How has your week been? I have been loving that school is "out"! The kids and I get out and they ride their bikes and I ride the scooter (to keep up) mostly every morning and then hubby and I get our evening walk!
Goals:
exactly the same =(
Measurements:
Weight +1
Bust -.25
Chest same
Waist -.25
Hips same
R Arm same
L Arm +.25
R Thigh same
L Thigh +.25
Total 0

Food points: total wash ... Wed. breakfast- healthy +1, Pepsi -1, Lunch - healthy +1, fries -1, Dinner - healthy +1, ice cream sandwich -1. total for the day 0 (right?) Thursday -2 already!
It's good to remember these points, though. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll be doing better. =)

Have a great week!

Journal - June 10th

Hello Friends!

I must admit that I was nervous to weigh in this week. I know I haven't been that disciplined in what I've been eating or drinking - it's been way too crazy around here. Fortunately, school is OUT!!! and baseball is almost over!

Goals:
Sleep - mostly a bust, my husband has been staying up cramming for finals until 11 and it has thrown off my "groove"
Calories - I printed a spreadsheet to keep on the fridge, unfortunately it is still on the printer
Beverages - I've been averaging too many pepsi's and not enough water
Exercise - my only saving grace ... we were out 4 nights! for a total of 5 miles

Measurements:
Weight -1.4 lbs
Bust - same
Chest -.75
Waist -1.75
Hips +.25
R Arm -.5
L Arm -.25
R Thigh - same
L Thigh -.25
Total : -3.25 inches!

So, it was a suprising finish to the week for me! I hope everyone is doing well and being suprised this week also!

Journal - June 3rd

Hello Friends~

Spring has sprung (finally) here in Sacramento and is quickly moving toward summer! We (dear hubby and I) are once again enjoying our evening walks! I also started taking the kids on the bike path in the morning, so I am (trying) to get double the time in. =)

Goal update ...

• getting to bed on time - only twice
• drinking 8 glasses of water - I'm at 4 big glasses
• calories - haven't been counting closely, but I am starting to notice when I've eaten enough calories even when I'm not full. and my snacks are getting less often and smaller.

...still making progress (baby steps) but progress none the less.

Measurements:
Weight -0.8
Bust -0.5
Chest same
Waist +0.25
Hips -0.5
R Arm same
L Arm -0.25
R Thigh +0.25
L Thigh +.025
Total -1.25

Keep on keeping on! We can do it!
Thanks for the encouragement!

Journal - May 28th

Hi Friends,

Way to keep sweating it! You are doing awesome!

I did not have that great of a week. I went out of town without my family. My brother graduated from college! So, I was with my family but not my hubby and kids - missed them! Anyways, that means not enough sleep, restaurant/hotel food at all hours - not on a schedule at all, water was not abundant, ... you get the idea. =) I've been attempting to get back on schedule for the last coupl of days, but not doing so well. The weather should be back to spring instead of rainy, so hopefully, we can walk again.

I did not gain or lose any pounds, phew!
I did not measure inches, so we'll see next week.

Keep on keeping on! You ladies are great!

May 20th Journal - Sarah K

Hello Ladies,

I haven't looked, yet, but I'm sure you've all had a very busy and productive week. Way to go!

I have been "dragging" my dear husband out for walks after dinner (on the evenings this was possible). We are totally loving the time to get to chat about our days! (with the added incentive of exercise thrown in) We made it out 4 nights in the last week - compared to 0 the week before. I'll take it!

As far as my goals -
sleep is getting better, but not quite where I want it to be. I do enjoy that I have a goal to reach and when I make myself follow my goal of going to bed at 11 I know it will be a mostly better day the next day.
I have definitely been drinking much more water, and it is to the point where I know if I have forgotten to drink some water that day. (I think that is the best part of all - I get thirsty for water)
I have not been counting calories this week and I think my numbers show that. I am going to print my chart for the fridge as soon as I am done here, and hopefully next week will be better.

Tape measure and scale results:
Weight +0.4 lbs
Bust -1 in
Chest same
Waist -0.25 in
Hips -2 in!
R arm +0.25 in
L arm same
R thigh +0.25 in
L thigh -0.25 in
Total -3 in

Have a great week!