I can't count how many times we've heard people say (or said ourselves), "Well, I only lost one pound" or "I just maintained this week".  Seriously?!?  You need to start patting yourselves on the back, people!!!  One pound down is one less pound you have to take care of next week and maintaining is awesome!!  It is especially challenging after a big weight loss week so KUDOS to those who do.  Also, it can take some time for our bodies to adjust to a new weight, so being able to maintain that deserves a HIGH FIVE, an 'ATTA BOY/GIRL and a superb YOU GOT THIS attitude!!  Which is why I LOVED Charity's comment a few weeks ago.  

Living in Idaho, we have a solid 9 months of cold weather.  That means unless you have lots of money and/or lots of time to spend in the mountains on the slopes (not me), you tend to spend most of the winter drudging through various indoor exercises.  By the time summer finally rolls around I know I'm itching to ditch the gym and the pool workouts in search of fresh air and sunshine anywhere I can get it!  Since Valerie and I began training for triathlons last year, I've had the opportunity to explore new adventures in the outdoors and also face a few lingering fears.  

Fears?  Oh yes, fears.  I'm not just talking about the fears of competition. ie. "Am I good enough?" "Will I come in dead last?"  "Do I have what it takes to finish?" "Do I look as ridiculous as I feel?".  I'm referring to the fears found in the WATER!!

A friend of mine shared this video on Facebook yesterday and I just can't get enough of it.  It's a Kid Snippets video entitled "Pep Talk" (Imagined by Kids) where adults act out what the kids say.  Oh my, hilarious!  It just might be one of favorite pep talks now.  See for yourself.

I have grown to really love oatmeal over the past few years.  I didn't always.  As a kid, it always seemed ultra sticky and I would tend to grumble and complain whenever my mom made it for breakfast, begging for Cap'n Crunch instead.  My poor mom.   As I've grown, I've discovered the health benefits of this breakfast food and also some tips that improves my overall oatmeal experience without having to add all the preservatives, chemicals, SUGARS, etc found in the prepackaged varieties.

PROTEIN PUNCH

One half cup of old-fashioned oats has 5g protein.1  Protein is important to every single cell in the body, and is the building block of bones, muscles, cartilage, skin and blood.  These proteins are also fundamental to enzymes, hormones, and vitamins. 2

Eileen has gone from a size 12 to a size 2/4 in a little less than 6 months!!  That is an amazing accomplishment and we're so very proud of her hard work and dedication!  It's always exciting to watch as our participants meet their goals, whether it is a goal weight, a race, an event or even attitude!  Thank you for continuing to inspire us.

I just wanted to say how happy I am that I found this challenge.  Year after year I have made New Year resolutions; well, actually, it was the same resolution every year, to lose weight.  And every year, I was lucky if I made it to the end of January before completely going back to my regular way of doing things.  This year, I swore it would be different.  

We often will have people ask the following question...

It's a legitimate question and one to consider if you've recently finished a challenge.  Here's what some participants have found to be helpful for them.  

*  Not having treats in the house.  Can't eat what you don't have!  I think it has been easy for me to keep exercising because I have found a couple of classes I really enjoy, which makes it a lot easier to get out and do it! (Marni)

*  I have found that it helps to sign up for something like a 5k race, to "get out of the house" during my "munchy times" of the day and to limit the treats in our house.  Drinking all that water and getting lots of protein is key for me.  It's just a daily struggle for me to stay motivated, but I guess that is why I keep signing up for these challenges. (Diana)

A few challenges ago, I believe it was last summer, we had a Question & Answer weekly bonus.  Each team member had to ask the team one health question and then their teammates had to answer that question, either with their own experiences or by researching.  I was reading through some of these question/answers the other day and I found some gems that I think are worth sharing.

I love yogurt, but I don't love store bought yogurt.  This is mostly due to the fact that I don't love paying out the wahzoo for 4 oz of anything and I especially don't love it when they add lots and lots of ingredients (aka fillers and sweeteners) that are unnecessary.  So what am I to do then?  Well, make my OWN, of course.

My husband is kinda a funny guy.  He not only flies airplanes, teaches firearm courses, plays a mean rock lick but also makes homemade goodness such as granola, whole wheat bread and recently...yogurt!  (Ya, he's a pretty good catch.)  When approaching a recipe, he and I are similar in that we both tend to look at what other people are doing and then work it into how we like it!  I thought since he was on a yogurt kick that maybe, just maybe, he'd be up for trying to make me some greek yogurt.  I was wrong.  While I may love the thick and creamy texture of Greek yogurt, he does NOT! (I tend to hear a lot of mumbling about gagging on sour cream...blah, blah)  So...I was on my own to research not only something yummy but something that I would not totally BOMB and end up submitting to pinterestfail.com.

I contribute much of my running success to LWC, as this program has helped me to set challenging yet realistic goals, and given me the support that I needed to reach them. I had included running as part of my weekly exercise plan for over a year before signing up for my first challenge. It was sporadic because I wasn't really working towards anything, and although I was making progress with endurance, I wasn't ready to commit to any type of race out of fear that I wouldn't be successful. 

Have you ever felt that when you were ready to make changes in your life that you suddenly had to be perfect in all those changes, all day, every day?  And that you couldn't possibly make any mistakes or you'd have to start all over again from the very beginnng?  And that thought then lead to other thoughts of wondering "Why start in the first place?' or 'I'm not even going to try anymore.'?  Oh, just me again?  nuts...

I made an amazing discovery the other day when trying to figure out a weight training plan for the my upcoming races this summer.  It's called Fitivity.  Have you heard of this yet?  I'm probably the only who hadn't but from what I've seen so far it's kinda awesome.  Okay, it's actually pretty darn awesome. 

One of the benefits of hanging out with us here at LWC is that our focus isn't solely on weight loss.  We LOVE when you are able to look past the scale and see the big picture of where change needs to happen in order live a healthier life overall.  LauraLee is an excellent example of this!  What areas do you see that could use some change in your life?

If you know me at all, you know that I've been a little "off" lately.  Now, it's not the usual, 'She's so cheesy, sarcastic, and a little awkward' level of "off" but the 'Whoa, she's needs a nap and a serious attitude adjustment' kind of "off".  My thyroid has been all wacky lately, which tends to not only affect me physically (ridiculously tired, brain fog, weight gain GAH!, etc), but emotionally as well.  Yeah, even though I've wanted to be Suzy Sunshine and Motivational Molly, when I get feeling like this, it's hard to muster the energy to find those positive thoughts.  I've been watching motivational videos on the internet all week trying to find one that speaks to me and I found two, but I'm going to share this one (look for Valerie to share the other one next week).  I dare you to make it through the entire video WITHOUT smiling.  If you can, you're WAY grumpy and just might need to watch it again!!  

If you're participating in the current March 2014 Challenge then you're already aware that we've switched up Week 2 by doing a bit of a mashup with menu planning and food journaling.  As I went through the week I found myself seeing some pros and cons from the switch.  I've decided to take today and do a bit of a review of my experience with our Week 2 Bonus this round.

Yesterday morning I woke up just as exhausted as when I went to bed despite getting at least 7.5 hours of sleep, my joints were stiff and I just ached all over.  No, I'm not 70 years old, but I sure felt it.  I am actually one of those lucky people who has pregnancy onset hypothyroidism and because of my family genetics, I get to deal with it pretty much for the rest of my life.  YAY me! (seriously, I need a sarcasm font)  The exhaustion, sore joints and achiness are all symptoms I experience when my thyroid go all wacky on me.  I just barely started a new med dosage so it will be a few weeks before I start feeling better.  Soooo....long story, longer, exercise was not something I was looking forward to.  But, I'd made a plan to run 6 miles with my friend so I put my running shoes on and waited for her to show, prepared to tell her it's going to be slooooow run today.

The final weigh-in for the January 2014 Team & Individual Challenge and for the February Individual Mini Challenge were both this past Monday.  YAY!  We made it!!  One of our most favorite parts of running these challenges is getting the chance to share just how AWESOME you are with the world!

Altogether, as a whole, we lost a total of .....(drum roll, please....)

"During the Holiday round of competition, I have reached a couple of goals and it has felt awesome! First, I reached my pre-pregnancy weight from my first child and second, I reached my wedding weight from 8 1/2 years ago. 

I am a PANSY when it comes to planks...and I REALLY wish I were exaggerating.  I am literally intimidated by them and always cringe when I see them listed as part of a workout I'm trying.  Why are they so incredibly hard?  And why does it feel like time practically stands still the second I push "start" at the beginning of a 1 minute plank??  I'm aware that it's not "normal" to fear and loathe all things related to planking, but they hurt!  And I don't particularly care to hurt...can you relate?

All this being said, I decided that with the end of a challenge fast approaching, I needed to combat my propensity to slack off during the break by not only facing my PLANK fear, but destroying it!  I am starting a 30 Day Plank Challenge and would LOVE to have you join (and encourage) me.  I'm going to need all the help I can get...AND to make it just a little bit more "FUN," I thought I'd throw in a 30 Day Squat Challenge as well.  I mean, if you're going to go to the effort to put your workout clothes on, you might as well get sweaty, right?  I guess you could probably plank in any clothes, but during a challenge break, I'm always on the lookout for a reason to put on my workout clothes and get to the gym.  Hopefully, this will be just the inspiration I (and you) need.  You know you don't want to undo all the hard work you've just put into these last 8 weeks, so print out the calendar and let's do this together!!!

"Ever since I got married, my weight crept up.  This was almost 12 years ago. My first year I gained 20 pounds! The second year I gained another 20 pounds. Then I had my son and gained another 17 pounds after he was born. So there I was 57 pounds heavier than my most healthy weight as an adult. 

When I first decided to start exercising, one of the reasons I wanted to get fit was…I wanted to be able to eat anything (and everything) I wanted.  Sounds like a really effective weight loss plan doesn't it?  I mean, once you are exercising regularly, you can eat cake every day, right?  (And monster cookies...and LemonHeads...and Raspberry Fritters and...well, you see where I'm headed here).  Needless to say, that has not worked out so well for me.  Apparently, that's not really how this whole "get fit" thing works.  Sadly, it has become quite clear to me that the saying..."YOU CAN'T OUT EXERCISE A BAD DIET" really is a true statement.  This is disheartening to me because it is easier to find the determination to make myself exercise 45 minutes a day than to force myself to eat well 24 hours a day (okay, more like 16-17 hours if I'm getting a decent amount of sleep).

So, let's think about this logically...I could easily figure out how to consume 800-1500 calories in 15 minutes or less by getting a large popcorn with butter and a gigantic Coke at the movies...or by picking up fast food at Wendy's at the end of a long and frustrating day instead of taking the time to prepare a home-cooked meal...or by relaxing with a good book and a couple of KitKat's, Butterfingers and the above mentioned (and all-time favorite of mine) LemonHeads!!  There is, however, NO WAY I could burn the same amount of calories in 15 minutes or less.  That would take me 1 or 2 hours.

We all have days where we fall.  Maybe we skipped a workout that we'd planned or ate too much of a good thing or had an all-out sugar coma inducing sweet binge and find ourselves wallowing in guilt and self-pity.  STOP!  CHANGE IT! 

I realize that we have individuals as well as teams in this weight loss challenge, but I believe this can be applicable to anyone who is in the position to be supportive to another in their health goals. 

I've been on winning teams, losing teams and rock bottom losing teams.  Consequently, I've noticed a few patterns over the past 5 years as to what contributes to a truly successful team.  I want to be clear.  I am using the term "successful team", not  "winning team".  I define a successful team as a team that continues to work together and celebrate successes along with building each other up despite struggles no matter their overall ranking in the competition.  Granted, I haven't run any scientific research to back up these "patterns", but to me, life experience and personal observation are valuable.  So, I'm going to share my little gems of wisdom on how to have a great weight loss challenge team so you can build a "successful team" if not a "winning team". 

Back in 2008 I was diagnosed with insulin resistance.  My physician gave me the book, The Insulin-Resistance Diet, by Cheryle R. Hart, M.D. and Mary Kay Grossman, R.D. and suggested that I use it to learn more about insulin resistance and how my body responds to glucose.  I have to say that at first I was skeptical because I really hate the word "diet".  I always imagine a LOT of restriction with short-term gains, I'm just not into that.  I prefer slow progress that is actually sustatinable for a lifetime!  That said, I learned a lot from the book and though it says "diet" in the title, I think it was more of a "selling" point than a reflection of my idea of what the word "diet" means.  I'd like to share what I hope will be helpful to those who may be fighting insulin resistance.

I love fresh fruit.  I truly believe that most days, it can stand all on it's own to satisfy my sweet cravings, but there are those other days when I just want a little extra flavor to go along with my apple or banana.  As much as I would love to allow myself to gorge on a vat of caramel dip....deep down I just know it won't end well if I do.  Oh,I can just hear Valerie now..."DON'T DO IT!".  So began my quest to find a flavorful addition to satiate my current snack attacks.  I had 3 personal requirements for such a find.  It had to be:

Packed with Protein

Be sure to read tomorrow's post about the benefits of linking foods.

Flexible

I want a recipe that can be changed according to my mood...add a dash of this...a pinch of that...

EASY!!  

Ain't nobody got time for crazy complicated stuff! 

Lifetime Wellness Challenge is not just about ways to lose weight, but since the overwhelming majority of us are trying to do just that, today I want to address an issue that many struggle with:  

Eating Breakfast 

"I have been thinking about this all week and trying to decide what success I have had. It has been hard for me to figure out what that means to me. Yeah, I have lost weight and feel better but I wouldn't say that was my success.

We've all had crazy days, right?  The kind of days that make you think of a MILLION excuses why exercise just has to go the sidelines and wait paitently for another day...  That day, for me, was today.  I had endless excuses...."I slept in..", "My daughter is feverish and we can't go to the gym", "My house is a disaster", "I have WAY too much work to do..", "I have a post to write...", "I'm exhausted..." the list just goes on and on and on...

"I DID IT! 13.1 miles done and a HUGE goal checked off my list of things to do in my lifetime. I couldn't have accomplished it without the help of friends and family encouraging me and helping me stay motivated (not to mention healthy and fit enough) to keep going when giving up and dropping out seemed so much easier.

MOTIVATE ME! MONDAY