Biggest Loser Challenge Week 4

Hello Biggest Loser Challengers!!

Since we missed last week this update will have TWICE as much info.

Remember to check out our blog at www.spfbbiggestloserchallenge.blogspot.com. I am posting these update and other little info as we go along. Also, if you haven’t already done so, send me some info on how you plan to go about losing weight, what ideas what worked for you, your goals and how you’re doing so far. I will not post names but this information could motivate someone else in their journey so please share what you can!

I will be the first to admit to you guys, I fell off the bandwagon for the last week and a half or so. I gained back about a pound and did not commit myself to the changes I was trying to make or exercise at all. But I picked myself up and jumped right back on. So please don’t feel like you are alone if you happen to fall on the way side while we make this journey together. Just pick up where you left on and continue on. Try to figure out what is causing your loss of motivation, mine was losing my treadmill, and figure out what you can do to fix it or work around it, like doing tae bo instead of jogging on my treadmill. And as always, if you ever need help or just a little pick me up, let me know!! I want to help keep us all going to we can reach our goals together.

Here are your suggestions for the week:

1. Sugar substitutes are just as evil as sugar itself. Do you really think your body knows how to handle something that was man-made? Seriously. These chemically-adjusted products do not occur in the wild; there are no Splenda trees in warmer climates, nor are there NutraSweet plants in the Arctic. In some instances, taking in sugar substitutes may actually increase your levels of hunger! Let’s not forget about all the health issues that might arise from these unnatural substances. If you’re given a choice, it’s almost better to go with something your body knows how to deal with (real, unprocessed sugar). No, it’s much safer (and healthier) to stay away from blue, pink, and yellow packets entirely. Do a Web search for “Artificial Sweeteners May Damage Diet Efforts.” Then sit there and tell me they’re okay? No way.http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20040630/artificial-sweeteners-damage-diet-efforts
2. I repeat again: Train wrecks will happen. One of these nights, you’re going to go out with friends and eat your weight in steak (likely blowing any kind of progress you had made for that day). Instead of repeating the overindulgence, just put yourself back on track the next day. You’re allowed to “mess up” every now and again, so long as you don’t make a habit out of consuming an excessive amount of food. Right the dining injustice immediately. You’ll be okay. You’ll be fine. Just don’t do it again. And again. And again. And again.
Know your daily calorie limit. When I was in the process of losing weight, it was suggested that I stay under 1700 calories a day. Knowing that number was half the battle. I could eat anything I wanted throughout the day, so long as I would stay at or beneath that number. While I couldn’t track 100% of the items I ate, I was able to make intake estimates – and adjust my schedule and ration my remaining calories accordingly. In this sense, you’re given extreme freedom – so long as you stay at or beneath that suggested calorie level for your plan. If you don’t know how much you’re supposed to take in, how are you supposed to know how much you’re supposed to take in?! Sounds redundant, but it’s a situation that many “dieters” are in (which is why they fail)!
4. Remember that the fork is not a shovel. I eat fast (I swear I can’t help it). Even if I’m not hungry, I want to shovel everything into my mouth in less than a minute. But my brain doesn’t know that my stomach is full until twenty minutes after it actually is. As such, I could stuff myself silly before realizing I didn’t need to consume as much as I did. Try eating half of what’s on your plate, wait ten minutes, then continue to eat if you’re still hungry. You never want to feel full – ever. That’s when you know you’ve eaten too much. If you want a real hunger-stopper, try an Omega 3 and Omega 6 supplement (EFAs) twenty minutes before a meal.
5. One pound a week. If you’re not losing at least one pound a week on your chosen weight loss regimen, you’re (a) stalled, or (b) finished. You might need to push yourself even harder, or (in some cases) let up a little bit while your body plays catch-up. If you lose more than one pound a week, then you’re doing better than average. Expecting to lose five pounds a week just isn’t realistic, though
6. Maintain your priorities. Sure, your sandwich would taste amazing with an extra tablespoon of mayonnaise… but do you really need it? Rather, is it more important for you to reach your weight loss goal quicker – or have this sandwich taste marginally better? What’ll happen the next time you’re faced with this decision – will you cave again? It’s a slippery slope; don’t lose sight of what’s most important to you.
Ignore Ronald McDonald. You don’t have to eliminate fast food completely, but you should avoid it at all costs. Most of it is nasty, bad stuff anyway – if you’d even go as far as to call it food. If you’re looking for convenience, find a more convenient meal source. Besides, most of what they serve would be considered “food product,” not food. There’s a gigantic difference as far as your body is concerned. Your bloodstream does not have taste buds, need I remind you?
8. Don’t compare yourself to others. Everybody is different. It stands to reason that everybody will lose weight differently. Even if you do the exact same things that I do, you won’t lose weight at the same rate. The key is in finding your triggers. Keep your goal in sight, and do whatever you have to do to meet that goal. When you start looking at someone else’s habits, you’re only going to become discouraged and quit without even realizing that it’s physically impossible to be anybody but yourself.
9. Zone out. There’s a reason why people exercise to their favorite music – listening to external stimulus takes your mind off of the physical activity. That’s the secret to making “exercise time” fly. If you’re concentrating on what your body is doing, the session is going to drag on for what will seem like days. Buy a portable music player, or situate yourself in front of a television.
10. Dietary control and exercise. It’s true what they say – all you need to do is watch what you eat, and expend more energy than you consume. It’s really that simple. You can quit reading this list now, you now know everything you need to know and didn’t need to fork over $500 for the privilege of me telling you the secret of losing weight. You don’t need to read a 4,000 page book, you don’t have to buy a tape series, you don’t need to stay up late at night to watch infomercials to understand this basic premise. It’s 100% true.
Tips this week were taken from http://chris.pirillo.com/50-weight-loss-tips/.

FYI: 7 round trips from the south exit door, down the hall way, through Lalo’s dock and into the volunteer room is one mile. Take a couple of laps during lunch or join us for walking.

WE WILL BE WALKING TODAY, MONDAY, JANUARY 25TH AT 4:30PM. JOIN US AT THE SOUTH EXIT DOOR IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO!

Thanks for all your hard work guys and keep it up! In no time we will all be where we want to be. Don’t forget to weigh on Wednesday. Tami is here from 1:00pm – 3:00pm but you can weigh at any time during the day as long as you have a witness.

Thanks and have a great week!


Meagan Bratton, Volunteer Coordinator
South Plains Food Bank
Lubbock, Texas
806/763-3003, Fax: 806/741-0850
volunteer@spfb.org

Thoughts from the Challengers

From the challengers themselves:

"For SPFB BLC I hope to lose 10 pounds. (I’ve lost 2 since last week… using my home scales!) My aim is to continue to exercise by running J and eliminating sweets (a hard thing for me to do!) At the end of the day, I am a nervous eater… so I will be looking for some healthy choices instead of the candy bowl!"

"I’m trying to just cut down on the size of portions that I eat as well as lower my sugar intake. I already drink water everyday but am trying to be sure that I get the full 8 glasses in each day. I’m back to line dancing once a week and have started trying to walk – which I think the exercise will help me a lot. Right now my goal is just the first 10 pounds."

"I have joined weight watchers in addition to our biggest loser challenge. I plan to keep up with my weight watcher points religiously, exercise either through walk/jogging or workout dvd's that I have. My ultimate goal is to lose 60 pounds. But I will start with my first goal of 10 pounds which I am two thirds of the way there with a total of 7 pounds lost!"

SPFB Biggest Loser Challenge week 2

Hello Biggest Loser Challengers!

It’s week 2 and we are well on our way to healthier lifestyles! Quick note this week to just give you a pick me up.

1. Breakfast is the best meal of the day!! Eating breakfast not only gives you energy to start out the day, but it can keep you from overeating later in the day. Statistics show people who eat breakfast tend to be slimmer than those who don’t. So take a few minutes to grab a quick meal before you begin the day. Pick something with natural energy like fresh fruit, yogurt, whole wheat toast or oatmeal.
2. Take care of you! Make it not only a goal to lose weight but to take care of your emotional and mental self as well. Don’t be afraid to take time for yourself. It is not selfish and it is necessary to keep yourself in top form. Get away for an hour and get a pedicure, watch a movie, put down the remote and take a walk to think. Whatever makes you feel good, do it!
3. Don’t be afraid to give in. We all have times where we just can’t resist that piece of fried chicken or chocolate cake. So have it! The important thing is to recognize that it’s a one-time thing and to stay on track the rest of the time. If you don’t give yourself the chance to have a treat now and then, you’re more likely to give up all together and just go back to bad habits. So take a small bite of cake and enjoy it. Than get up and do something about it.
4. Need a visual reminder of what your weight loss looks like? Losing 1 lbs is equal to 4 sticks of butter, 5 lbs is equal to 1 sack of potatoes, 10 lbs is equal to 8 medium sized cantaloupes, and 25 lbs is equal to 3 gallons of milk! See how many sticks of butter you lost this week!

If anyone is interested in joining a walking group, let me know. I think we have a plan to get us moving!!

Don’t forget today is our weigh in date!! Tami will be here from 1:00pm – 3:00pm to record your weight, if you don’t get it in today pay Susan $1.00.

DIETER'S PRAYERAS
I WAKE UP FROM MY SLEEP
I PRAY MY DIET I MAY KEEP
BUT IF TEMPTATION MAKES ME SLIP,
I PRAY THE LORD MY PANTS WON'T RIP

SPFB Biggest Loser Challenge Begins

Hello Biggest Loser Challengers!!!

This is day one of a new beginning for us all! I just wanted to thank you guys for taking up the challenge to get healthy and to remind you to sign up for the Pound for Pound Challenge at www.pfpchallenge.com. All you have to do is pledge the amount of weight you would like to lose and General Mills will donate 14 cents to the South Plains Food Bank for each pound you pledge. Too simple not to do.

Also, for those of you who would like a way to track your progress, count your calories and exercise you can go to www.caloriecount.about.com. It’s a free website that will give you the tools you need to get a jump start on your weight loss.

I will be emailing all of you during our Biggest Loser Challenge to help keep you motivated, send you information and reminders about weigh-ins! If you have any questions or just need a pick me up, let me know!!

Here are your suggestions for this week:

1. Find an excuse to move! Just 30 min of a moderate activity (walking, vigorous vacuuming, gardening, playing tag with your kids, ect.) can help reduce your chances of getting heart disease, diabetes and lower cholesterol.
2. Don’t deprive yourself! While crash dieting can make you lose weight, in the long run you have a 80% chance of gaining all the weight back in a shorter amount of time then it took to take it off. Make life style changes, such as healthier eating habits, a part of your life and you will have a better chance of not only losing the weight but keeping it off.
3. Feeling like you need a snack?? A lot of times we snack because we are bored, need something to do, or it’s just become a habit. Try taking a walk if you’re bored, read a book or magazine, chew a piece of sugar-free gum or drink a big glass of water. If you still feel like you need a snack or are actually hungry, pick something fresh like fruit or light and airy like unbuttered popcorn.


Remember, the best way to start a healthier lifestyle is to drink lots of water. It will keep you feeling fuller longer, keeps you hydrated and washes toxins out of your body. You should be drinking at least 6 - 8oz glasses a day.


If you did not weigh in today you will need to put $1.00 in the pot to Susan. Have a great week guys and you have taken the first step to being a better you!