Hi! My name is Stephanie and I'm an...

You can fill in the blank.

I am really excited to start this challenge!  I think the hardest part was sending my weight to someone I don't even know!  Why is that so hard?  It is just a number, it shouldn't define me.  But man, I hate that number!

I recently had a baby, just over 2 months ago.
This is little Quinn, isn't he a cutie?

Now along with this cute little baby I have 40 pounds to lose to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight.  (Then I have another 40 to tackle...but we'll cross that bridge when we get there)!  I was able to lose the weight from my previous 2 pregnancies, but I never started really trying this early, so I'm a little nervous that with breastfeeding, crazy hormones and everything else I'm not going to be able to lose anything...but I'm so ready to try!  I'm ready to feel good again, to feel like me!

I'm really excited to get back into exercising.  I pretty much stopped as soon as the first wave of morning sickness hit, so its been awhile...this will be great motivation to get back into the habit.  I recently signed up for a Zumba gym by my house with a friend, I love to shake my groove thing!

So here's to no more maternity pants at the end of this challenge!!!

And here's to this little guy growing and me shrinking in the next 10 weeks!!!

Good luck to everyone!

Hello! I'm your moderator!

I figured I should be a good example and get the ball rolling!

My name is Sariah Sunvison - you may know me through my many e-mails as your moderator!  I am very apprehensive about "running the show" this round, but I promise to do my very best.


I participated in the original "Hot for the Holidays" that ended about two weeks ago and was able to lose 12.6 lbs.  Man, did I have to work and fight for every ounce I lost.  But I didn't quit and it paid off!  (Not to say I didn't have days that were better than others)  And that's the promise I can make to you.  Just don't give up.  Even if you fall off the wagon and eat and entire pint of ice cream and wash it down with a liter of soda.  Get up the next morning and try again, and by the time the 10 weeks are up you will be so glad you didn't stop!

Here is a picture I had my 7 year old take of me in a super-discounted non-returnable modcloth dress that JUST arrived yesterday (hence why it's still crazy wrinkled) -

 The problem with shopping at modcloth is that they sell their dresses by small, medium, large, and etc., but they aren't more specific than that.  They give you NO measurments.  Well, I took a gamble and figured that since I wear a medium in general, a medium dress would be about right.  As you can see, the dress is TIGHT across my belly.  I am hoping that by the end of this 10 weeks I can post another picture of myself in this dress (freshly pressed and maybe with heels and hair done!) and that it will be fitting comfortably across my mid-section.

Well ladies, I'm nervous and excited for the next 10 weeks.  Lets give it all we've got!

Sariah

Cindy's Before/After shots

I've been wanting to post some before/after photos since I always love seeing everyone else's, I just haven't been able to get on the computer that has all the pictures on it. But here I am! I've been working on losing weight since shortly after the birth of my daughter in the Fall of 2011, so these pictures reflect my long term journey, not just the 11 weeks we've spent together.

Before:

A couple weeks after having Sadie with my sister who had a baby 5 days after me. (I'm on the left)

After Sadie's baby blessing, about 6 weeks old.

Our first outing after moving to Colorado, approximately 2 months post-birth. 

After: (Rather, I should probably say "current" since I'm not done with my weight loss yet)

This was taken at Christmas (obviously... ;)

This was taken this weekend. Hard to see any differences between this and the Christmas one, except in the pants. The jeans are the same but I've noticed them feeling pretty baggy lately.

I've lost 38 pounds since those first pictures were taken and I'm working on another 15-20 by springtime! Thanks for a wonderful and motivating challenge everyone!!

Slim Down for Spring

 Ok, so a lot will stay the same but with a few major differences.

1.  Points for logging food, water intake, sleep, daily exercise, and weekly and personal goals will remain the same.

2.  You will still send your reports to me before every Saturday by noon and will still have to publish a weekly post on this blog to remain eligible.  If you don't you will be disqualified for any cash prizes, and your money will not be refunded!  The address for our upcoming competition will remain the same (http://hot4theholidays.blogspot.com) but the title will change - Slim Down for Spring.

3.  You will send me your starting weight and starting inches only on the first day and then on the very last day of the competition.

4. You will receive 5 pts. for weighing and measuring yourself every Friday and logging it somewhere, even though you are not reporting to me how much you lost/gained/ every week. 

5.  After I receive everyone's final weight and inches, I will calculate the percentage of weight and inches you have lost.  Points will be rewarded according to percentage.  Every percentage lost both in weight and inches equals 10 pts.

6.  Everyone needs to pick a goal weight and send it to me with your initial report.  If you reach your weight goal at anytime during this competition, you will be rewarded 10 pts a week for maintaining your weight within 3lbs. (i.e. if your goal weight is 140 you can still weigh in at 143 and still get your points.  This is applicable only AFTER you hit the goal weight).  Those that reach their goal weight will need to report their weight every week.  No need to worry about inches.  Your points will be rewarded at the end of the competition.  If you exceed your "grace pounds" you will not receive any points that week and will only start getting your 10 pts a week once you hit your goal weight again.  You will not need to report your weight to me again until you are in maintenance again.


  

If you decide to participate e-mail me by January 30th.  All money sent to me will need to be postmarked by Feb. 1st.  (I will send you my mailing address after I get your commitment e-mail)  If you have any friends who think they want to participate and need a more expansive explanation, have them e-mail me, the sooner the better, so we can get this show on the road!  (sunvison@netzero.com)

Feel free to ask any questions if something wasn't clear or addressed.  I am also going to put out a question for everyone's opinion.  Many of you do NOT know me personally and if you feel it is a conflict of interest for me to be in the running for a cash prize, I will not participate - I will still do everything along side you, I just will not be paying the $25 and will not be eligible for any prizes.  Let me know your feelings and I will decided accordingly!

I'm very excited to be a part of this and hope to slim down just in time for that warm spring weather!

Final Standings!

Amanda's Before (on Halloween)

Amanda After

And the winner is . . .
1. Amanda 1295.5
2. Mandy 1264.5 (A very close race!)

3. Cindy     1,131.5
4. Sariah     1,082.5
5. Heather  1,053.5
6. Elise       1,010




Here's the final weight and inches lost along with percentages of the top 10. For those who didn't report the last couple weeks I am just putting up numbers based on their most recent reporting. Everybody did awesome and made progress and changes! I am so proud of everybody for their efforts and grateful that this group made a difference!

	Pounds Lost	% of weight lost	Inches lost	% of inches lost
Amanda	11.5	4.5%	32.5	11.5%
Mandy	27	13.2%	26.25	10.6%
Cindy	7	3.7%	12.5	5.7%
Sariah	12.6	7.5%	14.5	6.6%
Heather	6.1	3.7%	12.25	5.7%
Elise	10.8	6.4%	18.25	8.3%
Leisel	6	3.24%	13.7	6%
Tamara	10	6%	14	6.2%
Melanie	---	---	3	1.4%
Sarah	7.4	4.23%	8	3.46%

You can tell that we ladies have been working to lose this weight through exercise as well as diet, because look at all those inches lost! Even Melanie, who's pregnant belly has been expanding, lost inches because of her efforts to make healthy choices. It's also interesting to me to see the variables in how people lose weight and inches. Everyone's bodies respond differently, so although we've been in  a competition, I hope it can also serve as a reminder that we can't compare ourselves to each other. We just all put in our own best efforts and do what we can. I hope you are all patting yourself on the back, and feeling proud that you did something good for yourselves over the last 11 weeks. I will be in touch with the top 3 regarding your prize $.

If you want to be involved in another round, Sariah will be moderating a similar competition from February 1st-March 29th, 10 more weeks, SLIM DOWN FOR SPRING! If you would like to be involved send an email to Sariah letting her know that you're in. Her email is sunvison@netzero.net. If you have friends who would like to be involved send Sariah their email and she can add them to her mailing list or give her email to them. It's open enrollment! Same idea, $25 to participate. There will be some changes in reporting and weekly points. I'll leave it to Sariah to outline those changes when she sends out an informative email before the start of the next round.

Keep it up Hotties!

Heather's Week 11 Report

3  months after Judson was born, August 2011.

Running the NYC marathon, November 2011. I trained and worked my butt off to get ready for this race while nursing my baby, etc. I was only 7 lbs. down from my delivery weight when I did this race. I told myself I'd start food journaling and really trying to lose weight after this race was over. That's what I did.

Last May at the beginning of my 3 month plateau. This is where I thought I may have to stay forever  more, because I just wasn't losing. It wouldn't have been the end of the world. I was feeling pretty darn good, except for the frustration! Anyhoo, I was down 25 pounds at this point.

October 2012. Almost a year from when I started working toward losing the rest of the baby weight. Down 32 lbs. Sarah and I went to Park City to run the Pink Half and had a great race and awesome weekend! We started this competition a couple weeks later. My goal was to lose AT LEAST 5 more pounds.

Just before Christmas, in the midst of Hot for the Hoidays. Reached my goal weight of losing 37 lbs!

Cole took this one of me this week. It's not showing much, but it's current. Not much changed between Christmas and now. I've gone up and down again. I'd still like to lose 5 more pounds. But I'm happy with the work I've done and how far I've come!

On with my report and some important information!

Wow!

I just gotta say how excited and impressed I am with how awesome this competition has been! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to Heather for her time and efforts to help all of us get on a road (and STAY on that road) to health and fitness!!!

My journey has been much longer than the 10 weeks we have spent together - and will continue for the rest of my life. I imagine I will work at this health and fitness lifestyle I have created for a very very long time! I am excited at the prospect of continually learning and growing as a healthy eater and athlete. I didn't start thinking about my health OR fitness until I was 25 and after I'd had my first baby - so I had somewhat of a late start - but I am very excited to have lost weight between all my babies and kept it all off (except while pregnant of course!). I love thinking about all the adventures I will take with my fitness level and healthy life!!!

I have been thinking over the last several days about what it takes for me to lose weight and stay healthy. I'm positive I don't have all the answers, but I did decide on a few key factors...at least for me. Of course ALL the things Heather had us do during the competition are vital!!!

1) Journaling food. 2) PLAN ahead! 3) Water intake. 4) Work out to feel good about yourself, not to get down on yourself. 5) Positive thoughts. 6) Moderation in all things.

Those are some of the things I decided are key for me. I need to remember them and incorporate them into my life for many many years to come!!!

Good luck to all of you! It has been a pleasure!!

So hard!

This week has been really hard sometimes and really easy other times. Maybe it's beacause I'm doing all low carb this week, or maybe because it's the last week. I don't know. I am super happy with the progress I've made and am kinda sad to see the compitition end. Thank you so much Heather for doing this!

We made it!

Congratulations to everyone that stuck with it!  I don't know about you, but I am much better off that I was early November.  My weight loss hasn't been super dramatic, but I have almost lost those extra 15lbs I put on during my 8 week battle with bronchitis, which is great!  I can now comfortably wear some clothing that I couldn't put on very easily at the start.  Which I am grateful for!  But I don't really have any dramatic before or after pictures to share...I essentially look the same.  Maybe just a little flatter stomach and a little less junk in the trunk.  And most of them are roller derby pictures anyway, because that is really the only time anyone is taking my picture. 

I was so glad to be a part of this getting healthy journey with everyone and am looking forward to round two!  And here is a shameless roller derby picture just for fun...and just because my post looks so empty without something visual -

I'm in red on the left.  You can see I have a little pooch and my arms are kinda soft looking.  Now just visualize a slightly smaller pooch and slightly more toned arms.  Ta-duh!

My Journey So Far

What a great couple months!  I am feeling great although am only just over 1/3 of the way to  my fitness/weight loss goals, I am motivated and thankful for everyone's support, especially Heather who put this all together.
I was trying to find "before" and "after" photos but probably like many of you I haven't liked being in photos!  I'm usually hiding behind someone else!!
The best I could find so far is a photo of me and one of my best buddies this summer.  I remember at the time thinking it was a pretty good picture.

Here I am Tuesday night at the Nuggets game with my buddy and fav Zumba teacher Amy.  I also think I burned a zillion calories freaking out during overtime. :)

Biff!

Tomorrow is the final day of our Hot for the Holidays competition! It's been a great 11 weeks.

Don't peeter out and die. You still need to blog by tomorrow if you want to take home any prize $$.

Full disclosure . . . I biffed the group challenge this week. I have been feeling totally guilty about asking all of you to do it and then failing at it myself. So, accept my apologies to those of you who have suffered through. You'll definitely get more points than me and probably lose more weight, so really you should still thank me. :-)

I have to say though, everyday I would think, today I'm gonna do it. So all afternoon I'd stick with it, only having fruit and veggies for snacks, maybe the occasional few almonds. And then dinner would come and I'd cave. Usually I have more discipline than this . . . but apparently I need a bit of a break. I just had to confess.

I have done awesome with my personal veggie challenge to have at least 60 calories a day come from veggies though. I made a yummy egg frittata with spinach, artichoke hearts, roasted peppers, and asparagus and have enjoyed that for lunch the last couple days. I have eaten big salads with dinner a couple of nights, and steamed up some green beans. I bought a bunch of peppers, snap peas, celery and carrots and have snacked on those with hummus or alone. I love veggies! Sorry for those of you that struggle with them. They are so low calorie and filling, not to mention full of a rainbow of vitamins and nutrients! Keep trying new ones or making them new ways and maybe you'll get the taste for them and discover their deliciousness.

Tuna Crunch Casserole

Hello ladies!!

This no carb evening challenge has been wicked hard for me, especially when I planned my dinners for the week. For anyone needing ideas for no-carb dinners, here's a recipe that my mom made for us growing up and it's still one of my favorites. Only had to adapt slightly for this challenge.

Tuna Crunch Casserole

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/3 cup milk
2 hard boiled eggs (I always do 3 cuz I love them eggs)
1 can tuna
1 cup cooked peas (I throw them in frozen--it's easier and they cook just fine in the oven)
1/2 cup chow mein noodles, French fried onions, or corn flakes---omitted for this challenge and substituted shredded cheese)

In a 1-qt casserole dish, blend soup and milk. Stir in tuna, eggs, and peas. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Top with the cheese (or chow mein noodles, fried onions, or corn flakes if not worried about carbs) and bake 5 more minutes.

Makes about 3 servings
345 calories per serving
Double for a larger family

I usually will serve over egg noodles because my husband prefers it that way (he's not a pea or hard boiled egg fan so getting him to eat this recipe at all is an achievement) but I like it just fine without. Better for you that way!

Hope everyone is doing well and working hard this last week!

Week 10 Standings!

Well ladies, believe it or not, three of our remaining hotties didn't get their reports to me in time yesterday. We understand how life can get crazy sometimes and sickness can get in the way. We wish you all well-Tamara, Leisel, and Melanie! 

If you'd like to report your final weigh-in for the accountability of it, then we welcome it! We'd love to see how you did overall.

This has opened up the field for possible 3rd place winners, but the fight between first and second is still  between Mandy and Amanda. So without further ado . . .

1. Mandy     1, 149
2. Amanda   1, 141.5
3. Cindy       1, 012.5
4. Sariah      981.5
5. Heather    949
6. Elise         927.5

A little highlight on  Mandy! She is the only one of us who has had a loss every single week! This week was no exception; she lost 1.5 lbs and 1.5 inches. Since week 1 she's lost 24.6 lbs.  and 24 inches (That's 12% of her weight, gone). And as we know, she's shrinking out of her clothes! Awesome job Mandy.

Have a successful rest of the week!

Heather's Week 10 Report

I already had a meal planned last night to make pork taco salads with fresh guacamole, so I didn't do the new group challenge last night.  Early in the day I thought I'd just have the veggies, pork, and guacamole. After a good swim yesterday morning and then shoveling snow for an hour in the afternoon, I just really wanted to eat that tortilla too.

Here's to some planning for the the rest of the week so I can avoid carbs in the afternoon & evening. I really need to do something different for a week, because I gained 4 pounds at my weigh in yesterday morning. BOO! Although you may not want to hear my excuses and frustrated musings, I don't have anywhere else to spew them, so too bad.

I just finished my period; we were traveling; I have been feeling stressed & bummed since we got home . . . which of these things is to blame? Something I'm proud of though is that I know it is some other factor, because despite the above mentioned I haven't let that be an excuse to eat crappily (making that adverb up) or to not workout. It does stink, but I am hoping my little rant here will let me just move on. It's just a number . . . I did gain an inch as well, but here's a silver lining regarding that-it was on my chest. WHA??? I measured three time just to make sure because I thought it was so funny! Didn't gain any inches anywhere else.

So here are the numbers:

Points: 80.5/84
Weight: 162.7 (4.7 lb. gain)
Inches: 205.75 (1 inch gain)
Total: 80.5

While I'm thinking about it, wanted to ask that next week for our final reports we send in all the specifics for our measurements, etc. I'll send out a sample on Thursday to let you know how I'd like you to do it.

So, I hope the rest of you fared better than me this week. I know I'm not close to winning any prizes, but I feel accountable to you ladies every week, and I never want to put up disappointing numbers; gotta be a good example and all.

I forgot-my personal goal for the week is to up my veggie intake. I want at least 60 of my calories a day to come from vegetables.

Keep up the good work friends!

THANK YOU!

Just a shout out of THANKS to Heather for all her time and effort on our behalf for the last few months! WOW! What a wonderful gift she has given all of us! Thank you for spending time considering all the aspects of weight loss, attaching the point system, and EVERYTHING that has made this competition work. You are amazing. Thank you!!!

Looking forward to hearing about another opportunity to stay fit and healthy! Thank you ladies for the last 10 weeks and GOOD LUCK on this - our last week!!! We CAN do it!!!

Tough Week!

I just finished an email to all of you regarding our final week or days of this competition.

I hope to hear back from everyone in a timely manner. :)

I have been having a tough week. It's strange how I was able to stay so upbeat and do great over all the stress of the holidays, traveling, and worrying about all of you (in a good, I hope they're doing awesome, kind of way).

But now that we're almost finished and the dreary winter months are stretching out in front of me, with no real break in sight until Spring (much too far away!) -I am kind of bummed out. I have struggled this week just feeling good. I am so tired, my workouts, aside from zumba the other night, have felt kind of blah.  I took the last couple of days off from logging my food. I just suddenly needed a break. I logged the donuts I ate in the middle of the night on New Year's Eve, but then logging shredded wheat and chicken chili yesterday just felt like it would put me over the edge. Weird! I am finishing my monthly visit from Aunt Flo, so I will choose to blame some of this on her and buck up while I "just keep swimming."

Aside from my own mini breakdown this week, I'm so happy that many of you have stuck this out with me. I'm happy that we've been able to share the ups and downs. Our physical health and fitness is wrapped up in so many aspects of our daily lives. It can be emotional, so I'm glad we could be here at least once a week, to feel like the efforts we're making are worth it and to know we're in it together.

Hugs and kisses to you my friends!

almost there!

The end is almost here!!! This next week is gonna go by so slow! Thank you so much Heather!

On Fire

I'm not sure what's come over me this week, but I am feeling super motivated and competitive. I've been careful to stay under my calorie goals everyday and I'm pushing my workouts to the next level. Now, I have no idea if my hard work will result in weight or inches loss, but it's definitely made my week more interesting. Perhaps it's because I know the challenge is ending soon and I want to go out with a bang, but for one reason or another I've been doing really well this week. I'll definitely be sad when the challenge is over and I don't get to read all your awesome, motivating, funny, and real posts.

I'm getting close to my goal--only 15-20 pounds away depending on what I decide when I get there. That may not seem very close to some of you, but after losing about 40 pounds over the past year I feel like I am on the home stretch. Perhaps that's part of what made me feel on fire this week.

Thank you all for motivating me to keep working hard to the very end!

Stucky stuck stuck stuck!

My weight seems to have settled into a nice plateau, which is especially frustrating because I've been very diligent about creating a calorie deficit by watching what goes in my mouth and exercising nearly every day. The only thing to do is to stick with it, because the weight won't magically come off if I got back to my old habits either!  So now is the time to grit my teeth and keep on keepin' on!

I have loved being a part of this competition.  Though I figured I wouldn't even come close to winning, my competitive streak has really come out swinging - because the only thing worse than losing?  Quitting!

I am nearing the end of my weight loss journey.  Depending how my weigh in goes tomorrow, I will roughly have about 10lbs left for me to lose - and the closer you get to your weight goal, the harder it is to lose!  I hope to reach my weight goal by my 31st birthday - April 22nd so wish me luck.

One last thing - I have a cousin who trains and runs in marathons regularly, and she posted this picture on facebook - 

When do "perfect conditions" ever exist?  There never really is!  We started this during some major holidays for pete's sake!  So anyway, thank you everyone for helping me to "get it done".  Or at least get things started! 

Sariah

Losing Ground

I don't know what is wrong with me.  A couple of busy days and i am back to my old eating habits of fast food, and junk. I need to get back on the wagon before I start loosing ground! Where did my motivation go?

Gym Time!!

I may not have lost as much as I wanted to BUT I have gotten into the habit of going to the gym six days a week!!  I find it funny that whenever I put my workout clothes on my boys yell "GYM TIME", grab their bags (superman lunch pals of course) and run to the car.  It helps that they have enjoyed going as well:)

A few good things...

I am feeling happy about a couple things today:
1) for the past couple years, when I fall asleep hard and end up on my back for a few hours, my back HURTS when I wake up (because of my weight).  So, I usually sleep on my sides.  For the past couple weeks, I have woken up occasionally on my back with no back pain.  hooray!

2) Today I was in a hurry to get dressed to volunteer at my daughter's school so I grabbed some old jeans.  When I went to use the restroom, I pulled the jeans off without unzipping them!  They used to be fitted!  Time to go shopping...

Gold Star Award

I've got to give a shout-out to Heather who showed up to Zumba 2 hours after driving home from Utah!  Way to go, girl!!
Also, another Gold Star to Elise who can do some serious booty shakin'!  :)

hooray for the challenge!

I am enjoying this week's challenge since I already take a multivitamin. ;)  I did challenge myself personally (along with Heather) with NO eating after dinner, I am still losing weight but have started to snack more after dinner.  I know that to kick it into high gear I need to go to bed hungry!!  So, that's my "challenge" for this week.
Also, we are going on vacation Feb. 5th and my goal is to lose 10 lbs by then!

Weight Watchers

Hello out there! I am not sure which of you (so sorry! It is hard to keep track of who does what!) does Weight Watchers....but I have a TON of WW product and it needs a new home!

Through the years I have used weight watchers as a weight loss tool and I have A LOT of their stuff that is not being used. I was thinking if you'd like it (again, I'm sorry I don't know which one of you it is!) I would be happy to give it all to you.

Please email me at eliseadams at gmail dot com and let me know if you want it or not. If you don't I will probably just take it to the Arc or something.

THANKS!

Week 9 Standings

Hello Hotties! Hope everyone's final full week in the competition is going well!

We had some burning numbers last week . . .people are saying goodbye to their holiday schedules and kicking it into high gear!

1. Amanda 1051.5
2. Mandy1043.5
3. Leisel 937.5
4. Cindy 903.5
5. Tamara 898
6. Sariah 876.5
7. Heather 868.5
8. Elise 840.5
9. Melanie 553.5
10. Sarah . . . I didn't hear from you-you stinker!

Honorable mentions this week go out to Amanda who lost 3 inches, Mandy who lost 2.3 lbs and 2.25 inches,  Cindy who lost 2 lbs and 3.5 inches, and Elise who reached her year long health goal and lost 1.4 lbs and 1 inch.

Amanda, Mandy, Leisel, and Cindy earned all 84 points possible for their healthy habits and group and personal challenges. Great job girls!

Almost There

I  can't believe how quickly these weeks are going. I was looking at some before and after pictures and I am shocked at how different they are. Since it happens so slowly it is hard to see the difference, but over the last 6 months I have lost 40 lbs and I feel great. A work out everyday is making me feel and look great. I was so nervous about starting this program, and now I am so grateful for it. It has made a big difference in my life.

my legs! ouch!

I accidentally published this on my food blog this morning, lol. :)...
I have been hitting the gym hard this week but this weekend takes the cake...we cancelled our skiing trip to go and help my parents pack up their house to move. Hauling boxes and furniture up and down stairs at 9,000 ft. altitude has been kicking my rear!! We are having a great time, though, and my girls have been terrific workers!

Not sure what to say....

I have been at a loss as to what to post this week.  I knew that I would not get my group points this week because I HATE fish (yes I know that it is healthy but I just can't do it.)  I started off so strong in this competition and for some reason my body just does not want to lose weight.  I really have been doing everything that I am suppose to (except eat fish) and it came off really fast in the beginning then just STOPPED.  It has actually got me more down then I thought.  One or two weeks of not losing is one thing, but four weeks?  Anyway, I am posting to say way to go for those of you that have made this work for them.  I am starting a seven day cleanse tomorrow to see if it can jump start my body and get back on track before this whole thing ends.  I hope that everyone has a wonderful New Year!!!!!

Fishy Fish

I had a bit of a hard time with the fish this week, which was unexpected because generally I like fish. I bought some frozen flounder filets at Walmart and we had some with rice on Tuesday and I could hardly stomach it. This fish had a super fishy taste. Ever since I learned that the really fishy flavor of fish is a sign of how old it is, I imagine that I'm eating rotten fish, especially with something like flounder that is supposed to have a mild taste. I guess that's what happens when you buy frozen fish from Walmart in the middle of winter in Colorado. No hope of getting fresh fish here at this time of year. I shoulda stuck with canned tuna.

On the plus side I learned how to make fish tacos for dinner tonight to try and disguise the gross fishy taste. I've never had fish tacos before and they were really yummy, aside from the fish part. The cabbage and onions in lime juice in a heated corn tortilla were delicious, but only sort of hid the fish.

I've been sick for the first half of this week so that made eating less easier. Plus I didn't go out of town or do anything exciting food-wise for New Years. I'm hoping for a good number on the scale tomorrow morning!

new year!

I hope everyone had a great holiday season! I'm so excited for the new year. There are so many health and weight loss goals I want to accomplish! This compitition has really given me some much needed confidence and I know now that with a little hard work that I can acheive those goals (especialy the 5k in June!) Wish me luck!

ONE MORE DAY

Some of you know this and some of you may not - I have been doing my own challenge involving weight loss and fitness for the last year. I 'officially' began on December 28, 2011. (CRAZY to start right over the Holidays, knowing I would have exactly one year to complete the challenge....but I knew I HAD TO START so I would stop gaining and get on the road to health.)

I had an unhealthy BMI (more than 30) and I was given exactly one year to get it to a healthy number (below 25). I put my money on the virtual table, and off I went. IF I complete the challenge I win back my money plus some extra! I knew I wanted to lose the weight anyway, so why not get paid to do it?

Well, this journey has had more ups and downs than I anticipated! The LAST time I lost this much weight (after baby #3) it came off a little quicker and without so much heartache. HOWEVER, I had to remember, this time around I am a little older and my stress levels are much higher. So...I was in it to win it and I was not giving up....but there were days I really wanted to give up! I have had a much harder year emotionally than I ever could have anticipated, and the list goes on and on with all the road blocks and rough spots I have had in this journey.

I stuck with it and was so excited to learn that THIS competition would help bring me down the home stretch of my own personal challenge. I have been so grateful for the help and support during a difficult time of year to lose weight (the Holidays) and had the encouragement and advice from such good friends along the way!

I am sorry to say this last week I have barely even thought about the competition. I have been so focused on finishing my BMI challenge and 'what if I don't make it' worries!!! I am still keeping track of points and doing the challenges of the week, but my mind has been in this other place. I have been nervous, scared, frustrated, sad, etc. as I anticipate the 'last' weigh in.

My year ended on Dec. 28, 2012. I will be verified at an official weigh in tomorrow morning around 11am. I can not even tell you how nervous I am. I venture to say I haven't lost anything this week just because my stomach (and entire body) has been in such knots for the last 7 days!!

Suffice it to say I won't be able to eat much today due to nerves and butterflies floating around in my tummy! I will be so relieved to have this over and done! NOT to say that my journey is over! Not at all! I still have about 4 more pounds to lose before I reach my own personal weight goal. However, just getting through this portion of the adventure of fitness and weight loss will be so, so nice! I will feel as though I can breath freely once again!

So, girls. Thank you. Thank you for this competition. Thank you Heather for putting it together and being willing to moderate it all. Thank you for the inspiring posts and encouraging words. I have needed them. I have just one more day to focus like I have never focused before!

I have decided to have one celebratory meal tomorrow evening with my hubby, but after that BACK to the grind! THIS competition needs to be finished STRONG!! And I still have four more pounds to lose ladies!! I am not giving up on THAT!!

Thai Fish Wraps

Our family really likes these and they're easy. You have one more day to complete the fish challenge, so if you're feeling like some thai flavors in your kitchen, give these a go.

Thai Fish Wraps

Hotby6.com

Combine the following into a gallon-sized freezer bag:

½ c canned coconut milk (you can use lite)

1 t sesame oil

1 T minced ginger (can use 1 t. powdered, but I don’t like it as well)

1 T minced garlic

1 T lime juice

3 green onions chopped

1 t salt

1/8 t cayenne pepper

¼ c thai sweet chili sauce

Place 3 large or 6 small filets of mild white fish (catfish or tilapia work great) in the bag and gently toss to coat. Allow to marinade at least 30 min in fridge, or overnight.

Pour contents of bag into large skillet and cook over medium-high heat for 6-8 minutes, turning fish over a few times during cooking. The cooking time will vary depending on size of filets.

Seve in warmed tortillas with grated carrots, mung bean sprouts, fresh chopped cilantro, and lime wedges.