HLG 30 DAY CHALLENGE: Step it UP September

I don't know how you're doing, but I am ready for a little September SUCCESS! : ) I'm putting away the "oh, its summer, I'll walk (bike, swim, run) off these extra pounds this summer... no worries" lies to myself and getting off of my high horse and taking *action*!

There are dumb goals and there are SMART goals and I'm into the smart kind after years of finding out the dumb ones only lead to further despair and unhealthy behaviors!  SMART goals are all about Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-Restricted goals.    In other words: they're the right kind of goals to set.

September for me is going to be about losing weight and shaping up.  I haven't been journaling my food and have gained weight. I tore my meniscus in April and was inactive all summer because of the pain involved in just getting around. But I'm healing up well and it is time (doctor approved, too!) to get back at being healthy!

I'd love to have you join me in the September fitness and weight loss challenge.  I'll be tweeting about it using the #hlgStepUpSept hashtag.  Let me know here in the Comments or on Twitter or Instagram if you'd like to join in! : )

When I was morbidly obese and set out on this journey, I was ECSTATIC to be able to complete one loop around the high school gym track.  That is a quarter of a mile.  I did it without having to stop and I thought I'd won the Olympic gold!  So if you're worried about starting and not being able to keep up - don't worry... I've BEEN THERE! ; )  You have to dig down deep and realize that you have within you what it takes to conquer your old habits and reclaim your health. Push those negative thoughts away.  You CAN do this. I CAN do this. We ARE going to DO THIS!

Here are the #hlgStepUpSept challenge goals:

1)  Whatever you are doing for steps per day, make a SMART goal to double it by October 1st. I wear a FitBit so it is easy for me to count my steps but there are plenty of apps that will do it for you or buy yourself a good ole pedometer which are much less expensive than they were just five years ago.  My goal is to walk 2 miles daily for steps.

2)  Set a specific goal for your calories per day and follow your plan.  I've never liked the phrase "oh, I cheated on my diet last night".  No, you didn't cheat on some fantasy diet, you cheated yourself.  You let your self-discipline slip and gave into cravings which will not make buttoning that top button on your skinny jeans button any easier. I, sadly, know this from experience! ; )  THIS will be the hardest part of the challenge for me... keeping within my planned food and journaling what I have eaten daily.  It is SO worth the effort, but - when I have slipped up - so hard to admit to.

3) Drink water or unsweetened ice tea or lemon water ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT long.  Water flushes out toxins in our fatty tissue and helps our vital organs, our skin, our metabolism.  When you drink a lot of water you don't become hydrated and you will feel more energized.  (And yes, you'll become very familiar with the path to the nearest rest room the first week or so until your body is used to you not starving it for H2o!)  ; )

4) Journal for yourself for how you're doing, positive thoughts, encourage yourself in your writing, and also encourage others in the challenge, too, on Twitter, in the comments here, through Instagram and on Facebook.  I like to hand write my goals every morning in blue ink (studies show that blue ink on white paper is proven to give better stimuli to the brain!) and then I usually - okay, this is a little over the top but it helps me, you'll have to find your own way to encourage yourself - find and write a positive quote to get my day started.  And, for me, this works!

I'll be checking in on Twitter every day as I can (while working full-time) and hope you'll join me in this month of Stepping Up our September SUCCESS! : )

Here's to our health!

Dream! Believe! Achieve!
HealthyLoserGal ./ Jan

Holy Inactivity, Batman! Awesome August Challenge

Here's the 'down and dirty':  I've been slacking, inactive, snacking, not journaling and have gained weight.  I was at my doctor's on Wednesday for a follow-up visit and I have an annual physical scheduled in December.  "When I see you in December", he said to me with a side-glance, "you'll be 15 pounds lighter and will have gotten back on track." Then he made a notation on his iPad.  I wrinkled my nose and both loved him and hated him in that moment.  He wasn't going to let me get by with the gradual weight gain.  He also wasn't going to lecture me.  "Only 15?" I said to him with a laugh, "I probably should lose all 30, don't you think?"  "I was being generous", he replied with a smile as we stood to leave the exam room.  He put his hand on my shoulder and looked me square in the face, "You know how to do it, Jan. Get going."  

And get going, I shall, and ask for you to join me and support me as I will support you in our mutual journeys to health.  Deal? : )

The Awesome August challenge is simple in scope:  

1. Do some soul searching and come up with a reasonable goal.

I always set my weightloss goals at 5 lb. increments and then reward myself with something non-food related for every 5 pounds lost. I have a dream board that helps me focus on my fitness and physical goals. 

2. Write your goal down in a book you will use as a journal for the month.  Use a standard black and white composition pad from the school supply aisle at any chain store. It is important, though, to WRITE it, not type it.  The act of pen to paper is proven to increase the likelihood of achieving your goals and keeping you on track.

3. Track everything that goes into your mouth.  

My goal will be 1250 calories daily with a low-fat diet but you can decide for yourself what is best for you.  Don't go below 1200 while exercising, though, it just isn't healthy. I tend to eat a big breakfast with protein, a morning and afternoon low-fat snack, and then a regular lunch (500 cals usually) and a lighter dinner. I stop eating anything and everything by 8pm.  Write down your food in your journal and how you feel about your day at the end of each day. 

4. Exercise daily for at least 45 minutes to an hour.  No less.

I love to walk so walking for me can easily burn up that hour.  But if you think you're pressed for time and wonder where you can fit in 45 minutes, break up your activity into three fifteen minute bursts of intense activity.  Power walk for 15 minutes then, later in the day, do some sort of stretching and weight routine. Whatever works for you to consistently DAILY get in your exercise is what you should be doing! 

5. Celebrate YOU!  Don't let those negative voices in your head drown out the good voices.  You are a unique person blessed with all sorts of wonderful attributes. You can do things well that others struggle to do.  You have a beautiful spirit.  Celebrate YOU in August and remind yourself when you're feeling down that YOU ARE AWESOME!  If you don't believe it, ask me to remind you! ; )

I'll be posting on Twitter during the month with the #hlgAWESOMEAug hashtag. Please join me for a great month of encouraging one another in our goals and getting serious about losing some weight and getting healthy and fit.

Here's to our health!

Jan / HealthyLoserGal 

Dream. Believe. Achieve!

January Jump In Challenge! Let's Set GOALS!

If there has been one thing I have learned in the last four years since starting my weight loss and fitness journey it is this:  you have to set GOALS for your own success.  And you have to WRITE THEM DOWN! If you don't write them down in a journal or make a dream board, you may as well be wishing.  And we can all wish, but wishing doesn't make the pounds come off or your BMI go down.  Just sayin'...

So as I'm beginning the New Year, I'm not out wining and dining today, I'm home blogging and journaling because I KNOW that if I just think about the goals I want, nothing will happen.  I have to have them there before me - confronting and challenging me - every single day.

And then you have to TAKE ACTION.  I can write out terrific goals, inspiring goals, needed goals for myself and my health, but if I'm going to sit on the couch on my butt and do nothing, nothing is going to come back to me.  In order to achieve your dreams and your goals, you have to take action.

So here comes the January Jump In (#hlgJumpIn) actions that I am taking.  It falls into four easy criteria that you can modify however you want to best fit your health level if you'd like to join the challenge for this month:

1. Hydrate.  I plan to drink 1/2 my body weight every day in water.  If you don't like plain water, you can drink unsweetened tea or water with lemon or lime.  Whatever will get you to stay hydrated without carbonation or sugar works.
2. Plan and track.  Planning my food has always been difficult for me for whatever reason.  To alleviate "falling off the planning wagon" I make the first month's food fairly similar.  I eat a lot of chicken and salmon, salad greens and veggies (both raw and cooked into meals), fruit, low fat yogurt and simple grains. I try to stay away from cheese and cut down on mayo, sauces. And then as soon as I have eaten something, I track it.  There are so many great apps available as well as websites that allow you to track (and plan) your foods but I usually use an old favorite, FitDay.com. Free and easy to use and has a vast food list for nutrition and calorie counting.  My calorie allotment daily is between 1250 to 1400 calories. 
   
3. Move, move, move.  I will be walking a total of 15-20 miles a week. This works for me but you can move in any way you know will work for you and that you can stick with.  In the dead of winter you're not going to find me walking outside except with my lab on those "doggie necessary" walks. : )  But, I walk on the treadmill at the YMCA or Cambridge Athletic Club and have Walk Away the Pound DVDs to walk to in the privacy of my own home.  I will be firming up my sagging arms with the help of a kettle bell and stand alone weights.  I use a balance wheel, a stability ball and Lisa Johnson's Pilates' DVD in my own home, too.  There really is no excuse to not get some activity in daily with the online and at home sources we have available to us! 
4. Be accountable to others.  Tell everyone you know that you're changing your lifestyle and taking time for yourself.  And I do mean everyone! Friends, co-workers, social media buddies. If your friends give you a hard time about getting healthy, you might ask yourself how good of friends they are to not support you in your goals. And if you just had the thought "what if I tell my friends and then fail", all I can tell you is GET THAT THOUGHT OUT OF YOUR HEAD.  You need to remain positive and upbeat no matter how hard it may feel.  You're telling everyone so they'll support you and - if necessary - you can prove it to them and to YOU that you are going to SUCCEED!  There is no other game plan here except to plan on succeeding.

So are we ready to tackle our fitness and weight loss and JUMP IN to the new year with positive action? Let me know if you want to join me by leaving a comment here or on Twitter or Facebook! 

I am ready to make big changes starting today and by my telling you am expecting you to hold me accountable, too!

Here's to our success!

Dream big dreams and write them down.  Believe in yourself and accept only success as an outcome. Achieve your best life knowing that you worked hard and have learned you CAN achieve goals you work hard for!

xo

Jan / HealthyLoserGal

Healthy & Fit Challenge: Week 11 (WOW!) Check-in

I was so happy today to be able to give away five $25 gift cards to Sephora courtesy of the fine folks at SlimFast who wanted to reward the challengers hard work and dedication to wellness and fitness.  (By the way, if you were one of the seven getting the Slim Fast coupons, you need to send me your mailing address, please...)  Congrats to Andrea, Jessica, Dani, Samantha, and Tiffany - - I'm so happy for you to receive the gift cards but MORESO for you all sticking it out for the 90 (well, 78 to date) Day Challenge!  Be proud of your accomplishments!  Others are sticking in there with you - and we should ALL be proud of how well we've done.

Let's finish STRONG!

Check in by leaving a Comment and, as we move closer to the big holidays, let's support one another to keep working out and mindfully eating and logging our food.  All those nibbles of cookies and candies can really add up and sabotage your good work, so if you bite it, write it! :)

In the next eleven days there are two final giveaways... both are great ones.  If you are vegetarian or enjoy vegetarian foods, please let me know in the comments this week!

Here's to our health and our dedication, friends!

Dream.
Believe.
Achieve!

Jan / HealthyLoserGal

What Do You Believe In?

I'm going to ask you to do a very simple exercise:
Write down five things you truly have faith or believe in. 
Or, to make it easier... what are the first five things that come to mind when asked "what do you believe in"?
(I'll give you a few moments to think about it... one mississippi.... two mississippi... okay.... times UP! *grin*)

Did you include yourself?

Two years ago I would never even have considered adding "myself" to my list of what I believe in.  But today? Today believing in myself is second on my list. 

Believe in yourself.
You can change your life.
You can accomplish great things.
You can set a goal and accomplish that goal and much more.

Believe in yourself.
Believe in your self-worth.
Believe you are worth the work and the time to be the person you want to become.
Believe first in yourself!

Believe in you!
I do.

Dream. Believe. Achieve. ~
Jan / HealthyLoserGal

JAZZ up your June: HLG June Challenge!

We made it, friends! We're in June and at the halfway point of 2011!  How're you doing with your fitness and weightloss goals?  Did you stall out a tiny bit during the winter months as I did and blogged about? Were you able to get yourself on a new path last month and set things straight?  Even if you didn't make all 24 days of the MayDay Challenge, did you feel good about what you did achieve?  I hope so! :)

So the June JAZZ challenge is all about three things:
Journaling
Activity
and getting your ZzZzZzz's!

While I would never lie to anyone, I find I am really great at lying to one person: me!!  I'm finding maintenance of my weight loss to be really difficult if I don't do one basic thing: journal my food and activity!  I tend to say "well, I'll log my dinner tonight tomorrow afternoon..." or "I don't need to weigh that chicken breast, I think it looks like 6 oz.".  Mhm.  Bald face lies.  I know darn well if I don't log my food the day I eat it, I won't be logging it the next day.  And eye-balling portions still doesn't work well for me because I tend to WANT that 9 oz of chicken breast to be 6 oz and know it truly isn't.  Ugh!  So... Step one of the June JAZZ Challenge = JOURNAL your food and your activity.

If you're not journaling now, this part of the challenge may be a little... well... challenging! LOL  (I couldn't resist!)  So, just like we've done in past challenges, we're not looking for perfection here, just progress.  If - by the end of June - you can get into the habit of journaling often, try to have the final week of June be a week of complete journaling of your food (time of day, meal or snack, portion size, calories, fat grams is what I do...) and your activity (the length of time, the activity I did, the time of day and the estimated calories burned is my method).  I can suggest two online sites I like for online journaling.  One is fitday.com and the other is on the Live Strong site and called MyPlate which used to be the "Daily Plate" site which I've used for about 18 months now.  Both are free and easy to use. 


Photo from womensquest.com

Step two of the June JAZZ challenge is getting in 24 days of some sort of activity during of 30 days of the month.  In June we're so blessed to have a multitude of choices for fitness and activity!  Play tennis or go for a long bike ride or play frisbee with the kids, go hiking, kayaking, learn how to fly fish, up your running miles... whatever will be a little more challenge for you activity-wise this month... GO FOR IT! :) 

And finally, the summer months tend to lead us to want to pack everything into the longer days of light... and we end up burning the proverbial candle at both ends which isn't too great for those of us who want to lose or maintain or weightloss.  Step three for June JAZZ is for us to try to get at least 6-7 hours of sound sleep a night. Research suggests that a solid night's sleep boosts levels of leptin, a hormone that suppresses hunger. This simple fact is detailed in many health articles in magazines including Fitness Magazine's 5 Steps to a Good Night's Sleep found here.  You can also take a quick peek at why you need your ZzZzZz's in Prevention Magazine 60 Second Solution video!  Take 60 seconds by clicking the video below to realize why getting a good night's sleep - even in the summer months - is especially important!

So there you have it - - the #hlgJuneJAZZ challenge.  1) Journal  2) Be active for 24 of 30 days and 3) Get your ZzZzZzs!

I'm looking forward to June... I'm setting the bar high and I will journal all 30 days, get great sleep and write down on my calendar tonight what my definite 24 days of activity will be! C'mon and join me and let me know if you're "in the June JAZZ challenge" either by leaving a comment here or on Twitter ( @healthylosergal) or on Facebook ( HealthyLoser Gal).

By Dreaming BIG, Believing in ourselves, and going for it - we can Achieve anything we set our minds to! :)
Here's to our health!
Jan / HealthyLoserGal

Lack of Sleep and Weight Gain

May Day! Challenge

"May day" is an emergency code word used as a distress signal internationally... It derives from the French venez m'aider, meaning 'come help me'.  According to Wikipedia, "May Day" is used to signal a life-threatening emergency ... the call is always given three times in a row ("Mayday Mayday Mayday").

Here is is, May 1st.  We're nearly half way through with 2011! How did this happen? Where has the past four months flown off to - what about our New Year's resolutions - our True 2 You February promises to ourselves and each other? 



Esther Ralson, my son's great grandmom

Now the dreaded (for me, at least!!) bathing suit season is WEEKS AWAY!  WEEKS!  Not months... WEEKS.  Heck, Memorial Day is THIS MONTH!

MAY DAY! 
MAY DAY!
MAY DAY!

So here is the challenge for the month, friends.  I hope you'll join me in it!  May is upon us and it is 'call to action time'.  We can't be hiding behind baggy pants and sweaters any longer and kidding ourselves and others that we're doing the best we can do. 

Believe me - in the excuse department since January - I have all my bases covered.  I've had pneumonia, I asked my boyfriend to move out, siblings are going through divorces and a dear friend is battling for her life.  I've been using those excuses PLENTY to find reasons not to exercise or do my best.  But it is over.  I'm sending out the May Day call of distress!  I have to get my butt in gear and COMMIT!

The thing about this challenge that will be different is that we're calling out to one another.  You're not going this challenge alone.  Do you need help and know it?  Tell me or someone else you know and let's be ACCOUNTABLE to on another this month.  Let me know when you blew off that walk or the gym or inhaled that pint (or gallon) of Ben & Jerry's.  I'm not going to judge you... I've been there and have plenty of indulgences I'm none too proud of lately, too!

We're all in this together and we all need to be honest to ourselves and call out for help.   Because, for me at least, when I'm helping someone else - I feel good and - in turn - I do better myself.  It is the "what goes around comes around" cycle in the Law of Attraction! ; )

The details of this month's "HLG May Day Challenge" (on Twitter as #HLGMayDay) are simple:

Let's get out our calendars and of the 31 days of May, we're committing to 24 of them to move in some way - get to the gym - walk - climb stairs - go bike riding - do DVDs at home - park in the far lot and walk the long way into the office.  Write on your calendar which days you're committing to.  It doesn't matter if you tell me or someone else WHAT you do - you know what you will feel good about accomplishing - you write down your own goal and them commit to do it for 24 of 31 days.  The other 7 days of the month are days you can do whatever you want - you can do nothing or do something unplanned.  Totally up to you.

And here's the other part... reach out to someone specific - it would be great if it were someone else in this May Day! challenge - and let them know what your plans are and ask them how YOU can help them!  Be a life line - and be open enough, accountable enough to yourself and someone else, to give a May Day shout out for help!

I'll start us off - I need accountability that I'm walking 4 out of 7 days a week.  Anyone want to check in with me on my goal and by my May Day Challenge life line? :)

Let me know if you're "in" this Healthy Loser Gal May Day! Challenge, friends!  I know we can do this and head into the summer proud of ourselves and feeling fit and fabulous!  I can't wait to read your comments! :)

Dream. Believe. Achieve!
Jan / HealthyLoserGal

Friendship Cards & Dream Journal: Anniversary Giveaway #4

Two years into this journey, there are two things I truly believe have been key to getting me to where I am today: a happier, healthier person who believes in myself!   The first is that you have to have concrete GOALS and write them down in order to accomplish great things.  I wrote about the differences between a wish and a goal back in November and how goals help you concentrate, plan, envision yourself where you want to be... wishes are 'pie in the sky' dreams that usually don't get concrete attention!  

The second thing is just important... you have to have a grateful heart.  Out of gratitude comes positive expression and positive feelings and positive actions and on and on and on.  Being grateful is saying to yourself or someone else "That was really good. Thank you."  or "I'm so glad to know you." or any simple expression of appreciation and love.  Gratitude doesn't need to be flowers sent or jewelry bought or trips given, sometimes the purest form of gratitude can be found in the written word.  Written cards and notes, expression of gratitude can be held onto by the recipient, tucked away in a drawer or a book for a moment when they NEED to feel appreciated.  They open your card or letter and they feel your gratitude and - in that moment - they experience your gratitude a second time. 

I'm really hoping you'll take both journaling and note writing to heart - one helps you be the person you want to be and the other expresses gratitude to someone in your life.  I've coupled a journal and wonderful hand-made note papers by Love, Meg Cards as the 4th Giveaway for this #hlg2Year anniversary giveaway.  Love, Meg Greeting Cards are handcrafted greeting cards, personalized invitations, announcements, scrapbooking and paper craft home decor. The cards that Meg has offered are sooo whimsical and cute - a perfect way to bring a smile to someone's face who receives your note! ; ) 

The journal is small enough to fit easily in a purse or laptop or iPad bag so when inspiration strikes, you can pull it out and go to town on your goals and aspirations... write them down - that is the power of setting goals! : )

If you'd like to be entered in the Love,Meg Cards and journal giveaway then you will only need to:

1) Follow the HealthyLoserGal blog
2) If you're on Twitter or Facebook, follow me in one or both places (I'm @HealthyLoserGal on Twitter and "HealthyLoser Gal" on Facebook)
3) For every giveaway you are entering this week, tweet or post on FB about the #hlg2year giveaways with a link back to healthylosergal.blogspot.com
4) Tell me in the HLG blog comments that you'd like to receive these beautiful cards and the journal and ...Voila! You're entered! :)

Dream. Believe. Achieve!
Jan ~ HealthyLoserGal

The Natural Vegan Kitchen Cookbook! Anniversary Giveaway #2

When Rick Diamond of Book Publishing Company approached me on Twitter about reviewing vegan books on the blog I thought he may have the wrong gal!  "I'm not vegan," I thought to myself, "heck, I'm not even vegetarian!".  And then I went to his site... and looked at the amazing books he's offering ... and I realized I'm a LOT more into veggies and healthy eating/cooking than I give myself credit for! :)  These simple to follow, fully explained (to the point of a glossary in the back of the book for newbies like me who don't know all the terminology yet!) recipes are all nutritionally broken down and look AMAZING!

I've had over a month to delight in the two vegan cookbooks I'll be offering during the HLG anniversary.  

The first, The Natural Vegan Kitchen, "weaves wholesome, unprocessed foods into dishes so delectable you won’t believe they’re good for you. From nourishing comfort food to elegant celebration fare, these recipes are easy-to-understand and duplicate."  So true!



Click on the pic to enlarge

The Natural Vegan Kitchen author is Christine Waltermyer who runs an East coast Natural Kitchen Cooking School.  Her talents are sung in the Foreward by Rory Freedman, author the The Skinny Bitch who freely admits eating at Burger King used to be her style of life.  No more with Christine's inspiration! : )

Click on the pic to enlarge

In the past year, especially, I have found myself turning more and more to whole foods, natural foods without preservatives or additives.  (Plus, I am a firm believer in the Farm Fresh and Buying Local movements having grown up in rural New York state and knowing small farmers' struggles to stay in business!) I know that this little change in fresh and raw foods has helped my health and vitality.  This cookbook will continue me on the journey with inspiring new ways to 'put things together' that I had never thought about and enjoy the delicious, healthy outcomes! I hope it will give you the same inspiration! : )  I'll share the photos here and let you know what recipes I make from the vegan cookbooks, especially on "Meatless Mondays".



Thanks very much to BookPubCo for offering the cookbooks to HealthyLoserGal blog readers during the Anniversary celebration!

Rules for all the giveaways this week:



1) Follow HealthyLoserGal blog (and if you're entering the giveaway for The Natural Vegan Kitchen, please follow BookPubCo on Facebook or @Rick_Diamond on Twitter)

2) If you're on Twitter or Facebook, follow me in one or both places (I'm @HealthyLoserGal on Twitter and "HealthyLoser Gal" on Facebook, plus have the "Healthy Loser Gal" page there, too!)

3) For every giveaway you are entering, tweet about the #hlg2year giveaways with a link back to healthylosergal.blogspot.com

4) Tell me in the comments why you'd enjoy this cookbook and Voila! You're entered! :)



Click the pic to enlarge

You can enter in all the giveaways this month, but you can only be awarded one. All the separate giveaway winners will be announced on March 31st in a separate post here and it is up to you to get back to me at healthylosergal@yahoo.com by April 6th with your mailing address, etc. : )

Here's to our health & fitness, friends!

Dream. Believe. Achieve!

Jan / HealthyLoserGal

Happy 2nd "Dream. Believe. Achieve!" to Me!!! :)

Two years ago, absolutely miserable with who I was, I finally made a COMMITMENT to myself.  I couldn't hide the real me beneath any more outward weight, I wouldn't face disappointments with a pizza box on my lap, ready to be consumed with little thought to how it tasted...

Two years ago, I prayed and asked God to help me find the strength to change the path I was on and help me reclaim "me". 

April 2009 having lost 20 lbs.



God answered my prayers and now, two years later, I can same "I am BLESSED! Sooo very blessed."  Because no matter what other turmoil or drama may encircle me these days, I am solid in knowing I will not turn to food for comfort.  Instead, I'll take a deep breath, remember the lessons I've learned these past months about "calories in and calories out", know that I am strong enough to face anything and get through it without placating myself, my anxieties with food.

I have learned now to turn to friends (often you - my blog, Twitter, and Facebook friends!), to toss on my sweats and hit the YMCA, pop in an exercise DVD, tune into ExerciseTV and find Chris Freytag, or to get out of the house for a long walk. 

This is what I wrote on March 20th, 2009:

Time to become accountable...

Posted by HealthyLoserGal at Friday, March 20, 2009 comments (0)


"I am worth the effort" I say to myself over and over inside my mind. "I am worth it... I can do this... I *WILL* do this...", I repeat in mantra-like reply.


But I haven't been 'doing this' and I continue to start and then stop... self-sabotaging. I mean, what the heck AM I doing? I am closer to 300 lbs. than 200 lbs. And I should not even be near to 200 lbs. But here I am. That's the reality.

I'm 'doing it' and I know - if I can - you can, too!  Since March 2009, I have lost 116 pounds.  I've kept 50 pounds off successfully for over one year and I'm not done yet! : )  My goal now is to get to a healthy, maintainable weight of 160 pounds sometime this summer, hopefully by 4th of July weekend.  I believe in myself, in what I've learned in the past year on the Vtrim Online program, and in the exercise routines that are no longer frightening but second nature.  Who EVER would have thought I would say THAT!?  : )



Dec 2010 - 115 lbs gone!

 So, friends... the coming 10 days of March are my thank you to you for being here with me on the journey.  For confiding in me when you're feeling 'up against the wall' and like you'll never lose the weight:  you will.  For being here for me when I felt overwhelmed or saw the scale dip up instead of down - - for not letting me get too excited about magazine stories and interviews and bringing me down to earth that - 'makeover is great, but maintenance is the real work'...

I'm still only a toddler on this weight loss and fitness journey, but I'm finding my legs, wobbly though they may be from time to time, I'm learning! 

Giveaways start TOMORROW (Sunday, March 20th!)!! 

Don't miss a day between March 20th and 30th to enter the giveaways!

Reshape Your Health Contest - I'm a FINALIST!

Holy Cow!! Well, holy The Laughing Cow in this case!! I'm a finalist in The Laughing Cow's Reshape Your Health contest that runs for one more week and I could REALLY use your vote everyday to have any chance at winning the grand prize!  Please use this link to vote today & daily thru next Friday

And if I do win the grand prize, I'll win a gym membership for 6 months (!!!), 6 month supply of Laughing Cow and Babybel products (that ALONE will save me so much money!), a $1000 spa package (ohhhhhh please YES!!), fitness and nutritional advice from The Laughing Cow's advisory panelists (I really need this at this point in my weightloss and fitness journey), and a basket of fitness goodies!  I could do a little happy dance just thinking about possibly winning.

I posted thee most horrendous photo of myself as my Before photo!  I mean ugly-awful.  But that was how I did look.  And just looking at that photo now makes me well up with tears 'cause I was so very unhealthy and so unhappy and trying so darn hard to pretend otherwise.  For heaven's sake, I had like four or five chins in that photo.  Never right. : (

I so want to finish my weightloss this year and then begin to maintain. I need the expert advice this contest winning will provide.  Would you take the time to vote for me daily between now and next Friday, March 11th?  I would truly appreciate your vote.  Thank you, friends!  : )

Here's to our health!

Dream. Believe. Achieve.
Jan / HealthyLoserGal

A pause in the day...

On Listening to Your Own Voice....

The Journey

One day you finally knew

what you had to do, and began,

though the voices around you

kept shouting

their bad advice --

though the whole house

began to tremble

and you felt the old tug

at your ankles.

"Mend my life!"

each voice cried.

But you didn't stop.

You knew what you had to do,

though the wind pried

with its stiff fingers

at the very foundations,

though their melancholy

was terrible.

It was already late

enough, and a wild night,

and the road full of fallen

branches and stones.

But little by little,

as you left their voices behind,

the stars began to burn

through the sheets of clouds,

and there was a new voice

which you slowly

recognized as your own,

that kept you company

as you strode deeper and deeper

into the world,

determined to do

the only thing you could do --

determined to save

the only life you could save.

~ Mary Oliver ~

I listened to that little voice within me that urged me to "take the leap of faith"... and here I am today, I'm "me" again.

One year later! Making Strides : )

I was so happy to participate in yesterday's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer in my hometown of Salem, NY... and really happy to show up this year some 60+ lbs. lighter than I was last year when walking! :)

"On Plan OCTOBER" Challenge! :)

"It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped."

Tony Robbins (Author, speaker, peak performance expert, coach)

Let's DO this!! I mean are we serious about our health and fitness and weightloss or aren't we?  All it takes is a real DECISION!  We have to DECIDE (and mean it!) that we are worth the effort it takes to get healthy and stay healthy!  We are worth it, you know... so believe it in your heart and get ready to put some effort into this month's challenge where the challenge is to log your food and your exercise for 24 of the 31 days of the month.  Ideally, you would log every single day and if you want to go for that challenge, please do! :) 

So what do you need to log and how do you keep track?  I learned through my classes with Vtrim that in order to lose weight and be successful long-term, I needed accountability to myself and to log my food and journal my exercise and moods. 

I try to eat somewhere between 1200-1400 calories daily and not more than 25 percent of that in fat grams.  And I try to lose somewhere between 1-2 lbs weekly so my exercise has to equal (for me) about 15 miles walked and about 3-5 hours in the gym.  This has worked for me because I keep track of it every single day - every single bite - every single sip.  At first all this logging and counting seemed excessive and it took a bit of time to look up calories and fat grams and how many calories I was burning and then write it all down, but then - as the pounds started shedding and my body started getting stronger - it became routine and easier and I was invested in the process.  I realized that only I was in charge of getting myself fit and trim.  I was "on plan" and "accountable".

So here is the challenge, my friends.  Figure out what you eat now in calories and try to cut back 500 calories a day if you're trying to lose weight because 500 calories daily x 7 days in a week = 3500 calories which equals one pound gone from your body weekly.  One thing though:  don't go below 1200 calories a day - it just isn't healthy.  And if you're into working out... try to lose 500 calories a day for 5-7 days and you're going to lose another 1/2 lb to pound a week.  I do this by walking 3-5 miles and working out at the Boston area YMCA in Waltham, Massachusetts. : )

Now about logging...  Make a plan for yourself to follow during October and then:

• Write down your beginning weight. Take your measurements.
• Log everything you eat.  Look at nutritional labels and be careful with portion sizes. Eat your calories rather than drink them.  Drink at least 64 ounces of water daily... substitute water for soda and drink water all day long.
• Write down your exercise and approximate calories burned. Push yourself a little further than you have in the past - you can do it and will feel great accomplishing new goals!
• Make notes about how you're feeling.  Are you stressed out from work?  Are you feeling great because you're working out and feel strong?  Do you have family visiting you and coaxing you to eat high-fat or high-cal foods?  Write it all down because you may be able to look back and see patterns to your emotional eating or to your lack of exercise. 

Logging is very eye-opening and sometimes unlocks keys to why folks haven't been able to lose weight or break an exercise plateau.  It sure worked that way for me!

So the October challenge is this in simple terms:

Write down an exercise and food plan for yourself for this month.  For example you could write down: "I'll walk or exercise for 24 days and will not eat over 9800 calories this week (that is 7x 1400 cals) and I'll LOG everything I do for food and exercise." That is your plan.  Now stay ON it!

Look for #OctOnPlan on Twitter and encourage friends as we stay On Plan during the month!  With Halloween candy everywhere, I know I'll need all the encouragement and support I can get... and I'll be giving it right back to you all! :)

One last thing that will help with this month's challenge:  if you don't know of a good place online to journal, I can suggest two sites that I really like which are fitday.com and calorieking.com.  I know alot of friends use livestrong.com/tools, too.

Here we go into October friends... who's "in" to be ON PLAN with me? : )

Jan / HealthyLoserGal


NOTE:  Everything I am writing here is my own weightloss and fitness plan, I am not a doctor or a nutritionist or a diet specialist.  This is what has worked for ME... I cannot recommend it to you or you should not follow my plan for yourself without checking in with a doctor or having someone with an honest to God real degree consult with you! :)  In other words, please don't hold me accountable if this doesn't work for you! ; )