BL Week #5

This week's reward: the loser has to make the winner a dinner of their choice.

LIZZ (MYZZLYZZ)

Previous Weight: 209 / 213*

Current Weight: 212

Pounds Lost: -1

Percentage Lost: 0%

* on biggest loser they go by the lightest previous weight and not necessarily the previous week's weight. so, although my last week's weight was 212, i'm still going off of 209 for the percentages and pounds lost.

BRET

Previous Weight: 289.0/291.6*

Current Weight:  285.4

Pounds Lost: -3.6

Percentage Lost: 4%

THIS WEEK'S WINNER: BRET !!


Okay, I'm on the right track again. I was getting worried that I had already hit that dreaded plateau! And for that to happen so early to me in my weight loss journey would be (and is) pretty discouraging. I started this new monitoring program for my diet and exercise, the food & fitness planner on WebMD.com, (click HERE to start your own!). Its really great because it plain and simply spells out what I need to do, and offers a way of tracking all of my calories consumed and burned during exercise. I love it! You'll see a post about it soon, so keep an eye out if you're interested. :)

Congrats bret! :)

New week's reward is a 10 minute foot massage.

POLL RESULTS: What is your reason for wanting to lose weight?

What is your reason for wanting to lose weight?

physical appearance/fashion = 12 (50%)
to improve my self-esteem = 6 (25%)
health reasons = 4 (16%)
to improve my fitness level = 2 (8%)
other = 0 (0%)
(24 total responses)

Thank you all who voted!

Speak your mind and let your opinion be heard, the polls are at the bottom of the page! :)

I personally fit into all the categories, but if I had to pick, I would probably have voted for "to improve my self-esteem."

The next poll to expire is the "I would like more advice about..." one. Happy voting!

Tip 33: forced portion control

Portion sizes. They can be an intimidating part of a healthy lifestyle for someone new to tackle.

How much of this? How much of that? How do I remember all of this information?!

If you’re like me, living a hectic lifestyle, you don’t have the time to sit there and measure out everything at every meal.

So today’s tip, which aims to make life easier!

Tip 33: Forced portion control

Click “read more” for some awesome time-saving tips to get you on the right track with portion control!

Tip 32: FRUITerrific!

I remember being a kid, and dressing up in sweatpants and tall socks in the middle of summer in order to be allowed to go pick raspberries from their thorny bushes in my backyard. I argued with my mom that the halloween fabric painted sweatpants were too hot for the summer. And then I remember being thankful when a sharp thorn ripped the cloth and not my leg.

 I remember sitting in the grass, eating blueberries from a bowl, while my mom was picking them from the bush. I remember her face, as she looked down after twenty minutes of picking out the ripest blueberries, a face that was wondering why the bowl still was almost empty. 

I remember the fall leaves turning, and apples being picked, and how i would shine them up with my sundress and eat them right then and there. I'm sure I lost quite a few of my baby teeth from those crunchy fall apples. I remember my mother taking the rotted apples from underneath the trees and throwing them out into the woods so that the animals could have some too. And I remember the crab apple tree that stood in our front lawn, and how I learned quickly that those apples were rather icky. 

I remember picking blackberries, and the sour face I made every time I tried one, forgetting that I didn't like them much. Of course that bowl always filled up fast.

Well that's all changed, now I love blackberries, and the house we lived in is no longer ours, so we settle for buying our fruit from the supermarket and farmer's market.

All memories and reminiscing aside, when I was growing up I ate fruits every day!

Parents give their kids what is good for them, fruits included. So what changed? I grew up? We moved? I got lazy? What?

The sad truth is, I think I got lazy. On my own, and caught up in my busy schedule, I think I forgot how yummy fruits were, and how easy and convenient they could be. Fruits are high in nutrition, water, and fiber. And as an added bonus, many take more calories for your body to digest than are actually in them!

So, today's tip is....

Tip 32: Eat more fruits!

Fruits are so healthy for you! They're sweet and yummy, and low in calories. Fruit is a guilt-free treat. Click "read more" for some fruit calorie counts, ideas on how to incorporate fruit into your diet, and other useful tips. :)

Tip 31: snack smart

Face it. Snacks are awesome! Who doesn’t love indulging in a snack while on a diet?

Snacks keep you from starving inbetween meals, and can help ward off cravings ad overeating. Snacks are good.

But unfortunately, well-meaning snacking can often turn bad.

Tip 31: Keep your snacks under 200 calories

If your snacks have the same calorie count as your meals, you could easily overdo on daily calories. Click “read more” for a list of awesome snacks under 200 calories, and my own snacking tips!

"BL" Week #4

Welcome to week four!

We're halfway done with this competition. (I'm kinda sad about that, I might end up extending it to 12 weeks.)

This week's reward: the loser has to make the winner a dinner of their choice.

LIZZ (MYZZLYZZ)

Previous Weight: 209 / 212*

Current Weight: 213

Pounds Lost: +4 (+1 from last week)

Percentage Lost: 0%

* on biggest loser they go by the lightest previous weight and not necessarily the previous week's weight. so, although my last week's weight was 212, i'm still going off of 209 for the percentages and pounds lost.

BRET

Previous Weight: 289.0

Current Weight:  291.6

Pounds Lost: +2.6

Percentage Lost: 0%

THIS WEEK'S WINNER: NOBODY!!!

This week we both had a rough time in regards to having no time to exercise. This weekend, we're gonna try to work our butts off (literally!). 

Next week's reward:  (same as this week, since we had no winner) the loser has to make the winner a dinner of their choice.

"BL" Week #3

Welcome to week #3! :)

This week we're back in school, and back to our usual busy hectic schedules. I know that I personally haven't worked out very much in the past week. I went to the gym twice before I left for school, and since then have unfortunately gotten no time to workout. But I have been eating healthy. I have the disadvantage this week of changing scales, so the number may be off from last week's number- it's hard to tell. Let's see how it goes...

This week's reward: Dessert of the winner's choice!

LIZZ (MYZZLYZZ)

Previous Weight: 209

Current Weight: 212

Pounds Lost: +3

Percentage Lost: 0%

BRET

Previous Weight: 290.8

Current Weight:  289.0

Pounds Lost: 1.8

Percentage Lost: 0.62%

THIS WEEK'S WINNER: BRET!!!


Congrats baby! :) I'm proud of you! Since you're not a huge dessert person, if you'd like you can have a dinner if your choice. Congrats! :D

I'm pretty disappointed in myself, but now I know I just have to work even harder next week!

Next week's reward:  the loser has to make the winner a dinner of their choice.


I know we shouldn't be making the rewards food, but we're pretty short on cheap/free other kinds of rewards.

Also, new this week is the "email me" link under "important links" on the right column of the page.  I unfortunately couldn't find a gadget that allowed me to open an outlook email page or anything like that, so if you do decide to click it, please just copy and paste the email (which will appear in your web address bar) into your email. if anyone knows how to make a link that will come up as an actual email page and not a url, please let me know! :) feel free to email me with suggestions, comments, and even questions. I will attempt to answer my emails around twice per week, so don't get discouraged if i don't respond immediately. i will respond to all emails.  :)

thanks for all the support guys! :)

Tip 30: Crash diets make you crash

Drop a dress size in a week! Lose 12 pounds in 2 weeks!

Promise of quick weight loss with little or no effort.

But all you have to do is cut out all carbs from your diet. Or, eat and drink nothing but juice for 2 weeks. Or, eat only cabbage for two weeks. Or, eat only grapefruit. Or, only eat steak and nothing else.

All those “quick fixes” are doing you more damage that you think.

I mean, come on. Don’t you ever wonder why you’ve lost and gained back the same 13 pounds?

Tip 30: crash diets make you crash!

When you “crash diet” you’re setting yourself up for failure.

A “crash diet” is defined by Wikipedia as "a diet which is extreme in its nutritional deprivations, typically severely restrictingcalorie intake. It is meant to achieve rapid weight loss and may differ from outright starvation only slightly. It is not meant to last for long periods of time, at most a few weeks. Importantly, the term specifically implies a lack of concern for proper nutrition. Contrary to the belief of many who start this sort of diet, this form of dieting is neither healthy nor largely successful in achieving long term weight loss as it provokes a slow down of the body's metabolic rate - the body seeks to conserve every calorie and so weight loss becomes increasingly difficult. While some initial weight is often lost, the weight is usually regained quickly in the weeks that follow, as the individual reverts to their original pre-crash diet."

Crash dieting is also known as “yo-yo” dieting, which refers to the cycle of loss and gain you experience with your weight.

There is no “quick fix” to make you lose those unwanted pounds. Unfortunately, only patience, hard work, and sticking to your healthy eating and exercise plan will help you lose those pounds.

And even in situations where you want to look your best fast, crash dieting to get there has more serious consequences than weight gain. Here’s a list:

Crash diets are horrible for your health because:
- gaining and losing that same 13 pounds takes a toll on the elasticity of your skin, and can increase your likelihood of getting stretch marks
- slows your metabolism
- you can gain more weight than you initially lost, leaving you heavier than you started out
- the more yo-yoing you do with your weight, the harder and harder it becomes to lose any weight
- stressing you body packs on more pounds
- can cause many medical problems (especially with the heart and stomach)
- it can make you feel hopeless and helpless
- lowers self esteem (when you gain again)
- you never learn the right way for you to eat (or exercise) to stay healthy for life

So remember, no matter how tempting that quick loss of 12 pounds might be, it’s not worth your health!

Just Another Whale,

MyzzLyzz

Tip 29: SUBWAY

Eating out can be a HUGE pain when you’re watching what you eat. To tell you the truth, even if you’re not paying attention to calorie counts, eating while on the go can be very annoying.

McDonalds. Burger King. BBQ. KFC.

Yikes. Looking around the average mall food court, it seems like your only filling options are full of fat and calories. Or, you could go the salad route and scarf down 2 or more “side” salads that will leave you hungry within a half hour. Or, you could eat a Caesar salad, which is one of the highest calorie and unhealthiest of all salads. Looks like your mall meal is going to either leave you sick and fat, or starving and at a risk of overeating later.

Think again!

Subway, a “fast food” place that has been growing exponentially in popularity recently, is being found more and more often in malls, shopping complexes, and on the side of busy roads.

Tip 29: Try Subway!

If you’ve never been there (and I hope you have!), you’re missing a lot!

For $5 you can get a foot-long subway sandwich any way you want! That’s pretty affordable considering most fast food places charge at least $6 for a meal.

And unlike most places, you can get your sandwich piled high with lettuce, tomato, onion, and other fresh healthy veggies like green pepper, black olives, sweet banana peppers, and cucumbers.

Click “read more” for some awesome healthy tips to make a yummy sub that won’t break your waistline or your wallet!

Tip 28: Carbs are NOT evil!

"Low carb diet. Carb free diet. Carbs are bad. Carbs are evil. Carbs make you gain weight."

WRONG!

Carbs give your body the energy it needs to function!

Without carbs, you get hungry. cranky. moody. frustrated. angry. tired. lightheaded. and your body begins to eat itself.

I know what you might be thinking. "Eat itself? Isn't that a good thing? My body will eat its fat and that's what I want!"

Wrong again. Low carb or carb-free diets cause the body to eat its lean muscle tissue. and lean muscle tissue is crucial for your body to burn calories! Even while you’re at rest or sleeping, lean muscle is burning calories. Without it, your metabolism is slower, and overall you’ll lose less calories per day.

Low carb or carb free diets trick you into thinking they work by making you lose water and lean muscle weight. They’re one of those “crash diets” that cause you to lose a little, and then gain back whatever you lost and then more!

Tip 28: Carbs are healthy for you, don't avoid them!

There are “good” carbs and “bad” carbs, click “read more” to read the difference between them, and what to pair with the “bad” carbs you may enjoy to make their intake as good for you as possible!

"BL" Week #2

Welcome to week two of Just Another Whale's "Biggest Loser" style competition! Last week, Lizz beat out Bret for a relaxing 30 minute massage. But that was last week. Today, they weigh-in for the battle for this week's reward! We both have been working out everyday this past week, because we are on spring break from school and had more time on our hands.

**PLEASE NOTE: Last week we talked it over and determined that judging us on our percentage lost is really unfair to Bret. For every pound I had to lose, he had to lose almost 2! So, while I will still make note of the percentage, from now on we will be judging based on number of pounds lost! This makes the competition alot more fair. But the final weigh-in, which we compare our total pounds and percentages lost will still be based on percentage lost!

This week's reward: The loser has to treat the winner to dinner at their favorite restaurant. 

LIZZ (MYZZLYZZ)

Previous Weight: 213

Current Weight: 209.0

Pounds Lost: 4

Percentage Lost: 1.88%

BRET

Previous Weight: 294.4

Current Weight: 290.8

Pounds Lost: 3.6

Percentage Lost: 1.22%

It was really close, but

THIS WEEK'S WINNER: LIZZ !!!

Next week's reward:  Dessert of the winner's choice!




Remember, don't forget to become a fan of us on facebook! :)

Tip 27: feeling sick? work out anyway!

So, I'm feeling under the weather. It stinks. I HATE being sick!

More often than not, getting sick derails all the progress I've made with my weight because I load up on chicken soup and apple juice, and other healthy (but high-calorie) items that make me feel better faster.

Getting sick can often mean feeling too tired or lazy to go to the gym, which often makes me lose focus and motivation, and can leave me avoiding exercise, even once I return to my normal health.

Tip 27: if you're feeling under the weather, try to keep moving anyway.

Now I'm not telling you that if you're dizzy and feeling like you're dying you should try to run a marathon. Click "read more" for some smart tips to make sure your sniffles don't derail you!

"BL" Week #1

Welcome to week number one of Just Another Whale's "Biggest Loser" competition! (I do not own Biggest Loser, NBC does! I'm just a huge fan of the show! haha)

The Rules/Information:
1. Each player is on her/his own when it comes to exercise and diet- although at the conclusion of each day we can share what we ate.
2. No desserts! (we will be making desserts a reward so if we allowed desserts anyway that wouldn't be motivating! haha)
3. Each player must weight themselves thursday morning, right when they wake up. (though I won't post pictures on here, we will text each other a photograph of what the scale reads to make sure neither of us is fibbing, not that we would anyway haha)
4. Lizz will write the blog posts, but Bret will calculate the percentages, since Lizz is not super excellent at maths and wants to show that she's not making stuff up!
5. Each week will have a reward. Since it's only 2 players, adding pounds lost will not be a reward as they are on the Biggest Loser. Instead, each week a reward will be mutually agree on, and will be listed in the previous week's blog post (instead of my usual "goals" section).
6. In addition to weekly rewards, there will be rewards for every increment of 10 lbs lost, for each "marker" of 10 pounds lost, you get one dessert of your choice!
7. This competition will last for 8 weeks. :) At the conclusion, the one with the highest overall body percentage lost gets a super special reward- to be announced- and bragging rights!

This week's reward: a 30 minute back massage from the loser!

LIZZ (MYZZLYZZ)
Previous Weight: 215
Current Weight: 213.0
Pounds Lost: 2.0
Percentage Lost: 0.93%

BRET
Previous Weight: 295
Current Weight: 294.4
Pounds Lost: 0.6
Percentage Lost: 0.47%

THIS WEEK'S WINNER: LIZZ!!!

Next week's reward:  The loser has to treat the winner to dinner at their favorite restaurant. 


Feel free to comment with words of encouragement or any suggestions for rules or rewards. Root for whoever you want- pick sides or go for both of us!

P.S.- wow, i actually put up a somewhat decent picture of myself on my profile! instead of my face in extreme close-up. haha

Tip 26: Stay Active!

If your idea of relaxing involves vegging out on the couch with your best buddies Ben & Jerry, you may want to listen up!

Tip 26: Stay Active!

Staying busy and active is a big factor in avoiding "vegging out," a form of relaxing that involves little movement and a lot of mindless munching!

Of course we all need some down time to just relax, but staying relatively active can help ward off laziness and overeating due to boredom.

Click "read more" to read some tips on how to stay active and avoid mindless munching!