Feel Good Friday

Have a phenomenal weekend, girls! Love you!

I Love Myself Affirmation

Louise Hay

Deep at the centre of my being,

there is an infinite well of love.

I now allow this love to flow to the surface.

It fills my heart, my body, my mind, my consciousness,

my very being, and radiates out from me in all directions

and returns to me mutliplied.

The more love I use and give, the more I have to give.

The supply is endless.

The use of love makes me feel good,

it is an expression of my inner joy.

I love myself;

therefore, I take loving care of my body.

I lovingly feed it nourishing foods and beverages,

I lovingly groom it and dress it, and my body lovingly

responds to me with vibrant health and energy.

I love myself; therefore provide for myself

a comfortable home, one that fills

all my needs and is a pleasure to be in.

I fill the rooms with the vibration of love

so that all who enter, myself included,

will feel this love and be nourished by it.

I love myself; therefore I work at a job I truly enjoy

doing, one that uses my creative talents and abilities,

working with and for people I love and who love me,

and earning a good income.

I love myself; therefore, I behave and think in a loving

way to all people for I know that that which I give out

returns to me multiplied.

I only attract loving people in my world,

for they are a mirror of what I am.

I love myself; therefore I forgive and totally release

the past and all past experiences and I am free.

I love myself; therefore I live totally in the now,

experiencing each moment as good and knowing that

my future is bright and joyous and secure,

for I am a beloved child of the Universe

and the Universe lovingly takes care of me

now and forever more.

And so it is.

Feel the Burn Thursday

Hey, ladies!  Here are Mini Me's awesome notes :)

Remember how awesome you are as we roll into the final 4 days of this challenge!  You're worth every amazing goal you've set for yourself.  Your happiness and peace are worth every calorie you blast away on the trail.  Your body is worth being treated with high-octane healthy foods.  YOU are beautiful :)

Share with us what workouts you've been up to this past week!

Whatcha Eatin Wednesday

Good morning, girls! Whatcha eatin' lately? Share!

Tuesday Motivation

Hey, there, beautiful!
Hope you all had a fantastic weekend.
Today is a little challenge I'm posing to you.  Write a message to yourself on a sticky note & place on your bathroom mirror.  Saw this little ditty on this in the most recent Fitness Magazine.  This woman was sick of women berating themselves in a public restroom (herself included) and so she stuck a note on the mirror about being beautiful and it spawned a huge chain of them and she even wrote a book about it.  Kinda cool, huh?  So start with yourself!  How often do you look in the mirror and pick yourself apart, flaw by flaw? Don't do it!  You're gorgeous!  And you know it! So tell yourself!
Take a picture of your note on your mirror & email it to me & I'll post it on here.
Make it a great day! You're SOOOOO worth it :)

Monday Check-In

Hey, good lookin'!
Happy Labor Day!
End of week 5. Beginning of week 6. How was it? What's your game plan for this week?

Feel Good Labor Day Weekend

Hey, all! Doing something active this weekend? Do share!!! Have a great one! See on all on Monday morning for our second to last weigh in!

Feel the Burn Thursday

Good morning, girls!
On my mind lately has been that incredible feeling when you're in the groove, when you're eating healthy and you're getting in a lot of activity, and temptations are less trying because you're so dang proud of yourself, and you're just HAPPIER! That, and the thought that you're on a roll, why botch that up w/ falling off the wagon.  Right now I'm in the groove.  I've eaten great and worked out great for about 10 days in a row now.  That's big.  So I am just thinking about how I can keep that going indefinitely.  What's helped me is making workouts a priority over everything else because I know I'm going to be getting in beaucoup family time this long weekend.  Also, when I work out, I'm proud of myself, so I subsequently eat healthy.  If I don't work out, I'm feeling sluggish and not so proud of my self, and I make poor choices.  So for ME and MY psyche, the key is getting in my workouts.  I know everybody's going to be different.
Another thing on my mind lately has been the cyclical nature of my motivation.  Not talking about a monthly visitor, but talking seasonally.  Now that I've been on this fitness journey for 18 months, I've experienced a full circle on seasons.  I really struggled summer of 2009 w/ motivation, and it wasn't until fall 2009 hit that I really hit the groove and the biggest changes of all took place in my body, lasting through winter, too.  I really struggled this past summer, too, 2010.  But I just feel right now, I feel in the groove now, ready for a great fall & winter.  So I think fall is my time to shine!  I have no idea why!  I'm sure it's all in my head.  So I'm thinking about how I can keep the groove going year round and experience successes in spring and summer, which are hard for me.  For that, I think the busyness of fall & winter is what causes me to be extra careful about prioritizing and scheduling things, which means workouts get an actual time spot and they're not neglected.  Spring & summer are more relaxed for me, which means I tend to fly by the seat of my pants more and workouts fit in where they can fit in, I don't schedule them, and things are a bit more likely to not happen at all.  So maybe I need to pick a race in the late spring and mid-summer to train for.  Just random ruminations of me & my life.
But I'D LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear if you've reflected on or noticed any patterns in your lives, and how you achieve more steadiness and balance year-round.
Oh, & let us know what workouts you've been doing :)
Here's to a fantastic holiday weekend!

Whatcha Eatin Wednesday

Hey, girls! Any of us eating smthg new or yummy?! Do share!

Tuesday Motivation

Hey, hey, beauties!
So today's post kinda is about food, kinda is about workouts, but I feel it's mostly about exercising mental strength & hanging in there with your awesome determination.

Check out this article: http://www.latimes.com/sns-health-obese-women-exercise,0,670521.story

It's about a study on exercise & it's ability to curb appetite.  Turns out, there's not a huge relation between the 2, particularly w/ obese women.  BUT, there's also interesting info in there to just reaffirm the awesome lifestyle change you're undertaking. And THAT's what I love about this article :)

"The study results may help explain why exercise alone doesn't work for weight loss -- that calorie restriction plays a key role as well. "We all tend to be opportunists when we eat more than we need to after exercising," Borer says. Even if exercise doesn't make hunger pangs go away, there are ways to control appetite... 'If you don't have satiety cues,' says Stoler, a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, 'that can make things difficult when you're trying to have some semblance of self-control and really understand the limits of what your caloric intake should be for the day.'"

So it's not just exercise that's going to help you achieve your weight loss goals.  It's also about what and how you eat.  Eat smart! Drink lots of water b/c sometimes our body confuses thirst signals w/ hunger signals.  Eat mini-meals to keep your metabolism roaring all day long instead of peaking & troughing.  Eat high-octane and high-quality foods to fuel your body, limiting processed foods and foods with low nutrient value.  Eat like the awesome bod that you are :)
Love you, girls!
Have a great week!

Monday Morning Check-In!

Good morning, girls! Check-in & let us know how week 4 went! If things aren't lining up for you emotionally or family-wise or otherwise this session, don't stress about it, be gentle with your beautiful, amazing self, and remember that sometime just making emotional progress is progress enough for now! Everyone faces their own unique challenges and struggles, and when you have enough emotional ammo built up, you will be so full of resolve that those challenges won't see what hit them you'll be so unstoppable. I believe it. Just hang in there. You're soooo worth it.

Feel Good.....Weekend!

Hey, girls! Have a fantastically active and healthy weekend! Can't wait to hear from you all on Monday morning!

Feel the Burn Thursday

Hey, girls!
How are you?  What movin' & shakin' have you been up to lately?  I hope a whole lotta sweatin'! :)

Here's what Amy C's been up to :) Thanks for sharing! What cute little boys you have :)

I went for a 22 mile bike ride last night w/ my hubby & 2 other guys.  We went a good 5 mph faster than my happy normal cruising pace.  I was really pushing my limits.  I haven't had a hard workout in a long time, so last night's hard workout felt like I punched through a brick wall! It was just what I needed!

Hoping to get in a run and hot yoga tonight!

Tell us what you've been up to!

So, totally random, but you wonderful ladies w/ kids, any of you have a hula hoop laying around?  Did you know if you pick that up & hula hoop for 10 minute it blasts 100 calories??   

Whatcha Eatin Wednesday

Heeeeeeeey, good lookin'! Whaaaaaaatcha got cookin'? :)

What yummies have you been enjoying lately? Any great new finds at the grocery store or farmer's market or garden?  Any new recipes you've tried or are dying to try?  Please share!

Remember, there's always the Ten in Six recipe log: http://www.teninsixrecipes.blogspot.com/
And there's always the My Fitness Pal recipe forum: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/14-recipes
There's this girl's weight watchers- inspired recipe blog: http://www.skinnytaste.com/
And Kraft & Betty Crocker aren't too bad sometimes, especially w/ modifications for lowerfat substitutes in the cheese department :) :  http://www.kraftrecipes.com/home.aspx  http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes 
Great search engine at Mayo Clinic's recipe site: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-recipes/RecipeIndex

What sites do you guys use? Or cookbooks? Or do you have any healthy family recipes you'd be willing to share w/ us?

Tuesday Motivation

Good morning, girls!

“Fear less, hope more; Eat less, chew more; Whine less, breathe more; Talk less, say more; Love more, and all good things will be yours”  -Swedish Proverb

How do you girls live that?  Have you seen that true in any part of your lives?

Monday Morning Check-in!

Good morning, beauties!
Hope you had a phenomenal weekend.
Winner of our "Snap a photo on a Hike" this past weekend is...... MEGHAN! Woohoo!
Here's her pic of her family on a bike ride on the trail.

Meghan won a $10 gift e-gift certificate to REI.  DONTCHA WISH YOU PLAYED???? :)

Here's a pic of my hike this past weekend.

So let us know what your results were!  We're at our halfway point!  Are you ampped up for the final half?  What's going to be your focus for this week?

Feel Good Friday

Good morning, girls!
Friends don't let friends be lethargic :)
Get out & Be HaPpY!  Go do something fun this weekend!
I absolutely adore how active and bubbly and awesome you ladies all are.  Totally pumps me up for kicking my booty!
Have you guys ever checked out http://www.localhikes.com/?  It's a website that lists TONS of hikes to do for your area, added by fellow hikers, and you can search by distance, if it's dog friendly, if it's an easy family hike, if it's a loop or an out & back route, etc.
There are even 6 hikes listed for Delaware :)
There are 3 for Iowa :)
There are 5 in Illinois :)
There are 88 in Utah :)
There are 154 in Colorado :)
Sadly Wisconsin is extremely underrepresented, but we loved hiking the bluffs at Devil's Lake in Baraboo when we lived there.

Anyone who takes a hike or walk on a trail w/ their family this weekend & emails me the pic will get entered in a drawing for a fun prize from me on Monday!!!!!  Email by 8 am on Monday to sarah.a.weight@hotmail.com. 

(Picture of you on the hike, of your family on the hike, of your dog on the hike, of your foot on the hike, or just of the scenery on the hike---whatever you're comfortable w/ me posting in blog world for us to all enjoy)

Feel the Burn Thursday

Heyyyyy, girls!
Hope you're rocking your day.
Amy C, I think you're awesome. You're taking a frustration and DOING something about it. I love your action! I admire that you're getting the assessments done that you need. I hope that as you learn more about your body that you don't get mad at it but continue to develop that love for it and be compassionate towards it. You rock!

So here's a link from Discovery Health's Activity Calorie Burn Calculator. http://health.discovery.com/centers/cholesterol/activity/activity.html

It talks about how a run on a treadmill isn't the only way to burn calories :) That everyday things we do can add up to big burn! A nice reminder for all of us.

Share a little thing you've done lately to get in extra calorie burning here & there!

Whatcha Eatin Wednesday

Hey, girls!
It's a bright new day & it's a bright new start.  Putting yesterday behind you, live life alive today.  Grasp it!

What yummies have you been eating lately?  Please share!

Here's a cool site for recipes that a friend shared on FB: Gina's Weight Watchers Recipes
http://www.skinnytaste.com/

Check it out!

Tuesday Motivation

Good morning!
Great work on sticking with it, everyone! What a fabulous response rate to yesterday's weigh in!

So it seems a TON of us have the goal of getting in more water.  That's tricky, especially to people who don't like the taste of water.  So here's a little motivation to get your little dophin tail in the game:

http://www.wikihow.com/Drink-More-Water-Every-Day

1. Determine how much water you need.
2. Measure your daily intake of water. Do this for a few days. If you find that you're drinking less than the recommended quantity, try some of the following tips:
3. Learn to acquire a taste for water
4. Carry water with you everywhere put it in a bottle or other container.
5. Keep a glass or cup of water next to you whenever you'll be sitting down for a long time, such as when you're at your desk at work. Drink from it regularly as you're working.
6. Try wearing a digital watch that beeps at the beginning of each hour. Use that as a reminder to pour yourself a glass of water. Vow to drink that water before the next beep. If you drink only one small (6 ounce or 180 ml) cup per hour, you'll have consumed 48 ounces (1.4 liters) by the end of an 8-hour workday.
7. Get a water purification system. Purified water tastes very good and may help make drinking water more appealing to you. Be aware, though, that as you grow accustomed to purified water, you may find that tap water leaves a bad taste in your mouth, even though it may be better for your teeth.[1] Keep in mind that fluoride, found in small quantities in tap water, is necessary for strong, healthy teeth. [2] Fortunately, no water filter removes the fluoride. You'd have to use reverse osmosis, distillation, or an expensive filter specific to removing fluoride. But don't do any of that. Fluoride in the saliva bathes the teeth and prevents dental decay!
8. Add lemons or limes to your water. This makes it taste better and makes you want to drink more of it. Be careful not to make it too sour; just a splash of sourness should do the trick. Cucumber slices can also be added to a glass of water. Some mint leaves can be added to a pitcher of water which should be allowed to sit overnight. These are cheap alternatives to the bottled flavored water. If you do choose bottled flavored water, check the ingredients, as these are likely closer in form to lemon- or limeade than they are to water.
9. Eat water rich foods, such as fruits like watermelon, which is 92% water by weight. Blend up some seedless fresh watermelon flesh with some ice and place a few sprigs of mint (optional) - one of the most refreshing drinks, especially for the summertime. Cranberry juice is also another option, and has a bitter taste. Patients suffering from urinary infection caused by insufficient intake of water should drink cranberry juice and eat watermelon if not plain water everyday. A tomato is 95% water. An egg is about 74% water. Always drink water before, with and after your meals; it will help you to eat slowly and prevent overeating
10. Keep water cold if it tastes better for you. Keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator at home. Add ice or freeze water in a sports bottle before taking it with you, it will eventually melt and stay cold. Bear in mind that cold water takes energy for your body to regulate the temperature, and does burn some calories. Room temperature water is better if you're dehydrated. Your body can absorb the room temperature water immediately, instead of the body having to raise the temperature of the water first in order to process it.
11. Climate can drastically change how much water you need. On hot days that require you to be outside, you should drink more water to counteract the fluids you lose when you sweat. This not only keeps your body hydrated, it can prevent heat-related illness. Just as important (but often overlooked) is consuming enough fluids in cold & wet conditions. The human body works much more efficiently (including heating and cooling) when properly hydrated. Inadequate water intake affects the brain's function first, which can become very dangerous (especially in extreme conditions).
12. Purchase a bottle the size of your water goal. Purchase a water bottle that holds the amount of water you wish to drink each day. Try to drink the water slowly through out the day. If you don't drink it all, don't try to chug it at the end of the day. This will allow you to easily see how much water you are consuming.

And how to love the the taste of water:  http://www.wikihow.com/Love-the-Taste-of-Water

1. Learn about the benefits of drinking water. The more you know about why water is good for you, the stronger your desire will become to drink it, and the more enjoyable it will be. Some benefits of drinking water:
2. Drinking an adequate amount of water will keep you from excess thirst or dry mouth.
3. Water can help your mind function better. If you are not drinking enough fluids, you may get lightheaded, dizzy, or have a headache.
4. Water increases kidney filtration rate, so you can eliminate waste products more effectively and keep the kidneys healthy.
5. Drinking enough water will prevent fatigue or muscle weakness resulting from dehydration.
6. Water increases the metabolism rate, and so it helps you lose weight. Water also helps to lose weight because "thirst" can be misinterpreted by your body as "hunger" and cause you to eat unnecessarily.
7. Drinking water instead of juices and sodas will help regulate your appetite and help you lose weight. Juices and sodas that contain sugar obviously will increase your calorie intake and cause you to gain weight, as these are "empty calories," meaning that these calories you take in do not contribute to satiety, as they contain no fiber and are used quickly. Even diet sodas will cause weight gain, as the artificial sweeteners give a taste of sweetness with no calories, which will then increase your appetite for things with calories.
8. Water helps to lower blood pressure, by increasing salt loss through the kidney.
9. Drinking water is the best prevention for kidney stones, as water lowers the risk of crystal precipitation and helps to wash out any small stones that do form.
10. Water helps with keeping your skin healthy and supple.
11. Water saves you money! Water is cheaper than other sources of fluid.
12. Learn to love the taste of water by association with pleasant things. Each time you drink water, think of something that makes you happy -- a person you love, an activity you enjoy, a food you like, a merry song, a beautiful scenery -- whatever works best for you. And try to drink water when you are enjoying good company, or when you are doing things you enjoy. This is called classical, or Pavlovian, conditioning. When something you love (the conditioned stimulus) is paired with drinking water (the unconditioned stimulus), you eventually associate the two stimuli together, and, in this case, you will learn to love the taste of water because you associate it with things you love.
13. Drink 6-8 glasses of water daily, and drink water only. The more you are exposed to something, the more you will become accustomed to it, and it will become a part of you, and naturally you will come to love it as it has become a part of you. This also works for eliminating other sources of fluids, especially sodas and juices, so that you learn to dislike them, by alienating yourself from them, so to speak.
14. Keep telling yourself that you love the taste of water. And tell it to others as well. The more you reinforce the idea, the deeper the idea will become rooted in your mind, and, in order to avoid cognitive dissonance, you will eventually love the taste of water when it matches your beliefs.
15. Associate with people that love the taste of water. Likewise, try to distance yourself from people that dislike the taste of water. We are all influenced, to various extents, by our associations and the environment. If you associate with people that love water, you will learn to love the taste of water.
16. Always have a glass of water near you. If you're going to be sitting somewhere for a long period of time, keep a glass of water near you, and you will reach for it and drink without even noticing.

So, girls, how do you get in your water?

Monday Morning Check-In

Good morning, girls!
Let us know how you're doing, how you're feeling, what your results are this past week, and what's your game plan form week gong forward! Share a small success that you experienced.