It's over!

It's over! We're done! I'm a little sad. But a lot happy that I made it through. I would love to have won and bought me some nice new things but alas, I was not the winner. Would you like to know who the winner was? Really? You want to know? Well ok...

The winner is.....

I mean the winners are....

Billy and Jinny!

They will split our pot. The amounts I have on the blog are off slightly since Clint did not follow through with the challenge. The total pot is $280. So Bill and Jinny will split $224. Making their winnings $112 each.

Second place goes to Jo. Her winnings are $56.

Congratulations to all of you guys. I hope that even though you may not have won, you still had a good time and were challenged to discipline yourselves. I know I had a blast. Truly I did.

And you are done being bugged by me! Live well!


Point totals for the 10 weeks:
Jill 576
Mark 533
Jerome 599
Tiffany 598
Carrie 574
Jinny 610
Jo 606
Billy 610
Alisha 586
Katie 503
Kelly 525
Kristen 511
Babette 593
Sommer 482


PS. Thank you Jo for actually reading the blog.;) I'm so glad you were able to make small changes and lose so much weight. Great job!

This is what is happening...

Wow... I have learned, gained, and lost things the last 9 weeks.

Learned: that I can lose weight... I always knew I could but would always talk myself out of even trying. I also learned that it does not take a drastic life change to be healthy... just some little changes.

Gained: some new and better habits, and I new perspective on what is going in my month. I have also gained some loser fitting cloths.

Lost: 10+ pounds.

Hopefully... and the goal is... to not just stop doing all this things because the challenge is over... I want to make this the new norm on the exception... we will see how that goes.

What's happening?

I only have a moment to post but I wanted to say that we DO have internet and cell service so I received everyone's points. Thank you!

I wanted to ask you what you will/might take with you when this challenge is over next week. Are there any lifestyle changes you see making? Did you learn something about how you eat, exercise, think etc...that you didn't know before? Or was this just something to do to please your wife? :) (God love my husband) Whatever it is please post it! I'd love to hear if this made a difference in your life.

I'll post mine later. Please feel free to blog away!

Next Week

Do you realize that we have just 1 1/2 weeks left?!?!?! Where has the time gone?.....

Anyhoo...I'm writing this for the 3 or so people who actually read this blog. I am going to be up in Steamboat Springs on Labor Day {our next point check in}. I am not sure about internet service up there or cell service for that matter.

Sooooooooooooo....continue to email or text me your points and I will post them if I can. Still try to get them to me even though it may take an extra day or two to post them. I really do try to put them up on Monday's.

Have a great rest of the week!

Thoughts on Week 7

We're on the downhill side of this challenge! Only 3 more weeks to go baby! Hang in there - you're doing great!

This week I've been pondering stewardship. How do I steward what God has given me? How do I steward my relationships, my finances, my body? Tough question but one worth contemplating.

God has given us the gift of our life. We only have one life, one body. What will you do with it? Will you take care of your health like the precious gift that it is or will you use and abuse it like it seems so easy to do? Why do we expect God to come and fix what we have broken? He's a gracious loving God and He will help us and can absolutely heal us. But think about it for a moment. We put whatever we want into our bodies not caring about the results. We don't take care of this gift. Then when it starts to break on us we become desperate for God, or doctors, to fix it.

I think about my son, Kale. Sometimes he's very careless with his toys - his gifts. He leaves them out to be lost, walked on, and broken. If something does happen to his toys he brings them to Mark or I and begs us to fix it. Some things we can fix, and we certainly will try. Other things are beyond repair. During the whole time of "fixing," Kale is usually crying and wanting so badly his toy, that just moments ago had been tossed aside and abandoned, to work again.

Wow. Same way I tend to treat my health and body. I don't think about the consequences of my actions sometimes. Then when it's broken I beg God to fix it. Understand that I believe God heals. He can, and does, heal people. But if I were to live my life, with disregard to my own responsibility for my health, where would I be? Very broken, very sick, very unhappy.

God has given us responsibility to be good stewards of all He has given us...including our health. I want to use the gift of my life for His glory, to the fullest! Please know that I am not saying that all illnesses are due to our irresponsibility. Many things are beyond our control. What I am saying is that for as long as I am able to continue to be a good steward of this gift of life, I will try my best.


And now something to make you smile :)

A before and after

From flab to fab! Go Bill Go! The healthy challenge really works!

Thoughts on Week 5

HALF WAY THERE!!!! WHOOHOO!!! How are you guys holding up? Man, 5 weeks down and just 5 to go. Can you believe we're half way done? Anyone interested in doing another one when we're done? :) Haha! I think I can guess who's a go and who isn't... :P

Hopefully you noticed the mid-competition changes to the blog. New background and new motivational pictures. All to make you smile!

Anyway, last week I talked a bit about who's in charge of you. YOU! This week I wanted to touch on our reasons for health.

When I read magazines, listen to the radio and watch the news I am bombarded daily with health care stuff. The future of our health care {no matter what the decision} can be quite scary. In the end we're putting our health and our future into other people's hands. And like I said, really, WE are the ones responsible for our health.

That means to me that I have the power to fight cancer, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and all kinds of other things, just by living healthy! By watching what I eat, indulging only occasionally, exercising regularly, I can live longer, healthier and really overall, happier! Like I said a few weeks ago, when I am plagued by something in my body, something as small as a headache even, it wrecks me. That small pain takes over at times. Not fun at all. But I have the know-how and the power to keep these dangerous, life-threatening diseases and ailments at bay.

And on a final note, I thought I'd post a little motivational message from my son. Just to make you smile!

Chinese Chicken Salad

Made this for dinner last night and Matt (he took the leftovers to work to eat for lunch this week) and I loved it. The kids not so much - they did not even like the way it look and would not try it.

Chinese Chicken Salad

1 Head of Cabbage

2 Cans Chicken

Toasted (or regular) Sesame Seeds

Slivered (or sliced) almonds

Green onions

2 packages Oriental Ramen noodles and flavoring

Sugar

Rice Vinegar

Vegetable or Olive Oil

Sesame Oil

Soy Sauce

Salt

Pepper

In large bowl: shred cabbage (half to 3/4 of head). Add and mix 2 cans of chicken (shredded with a fork before adding), 2 TBS sesame seeds, 1/2 cup almonds, 1/4 cup green onions (chopped), and 2 packages Ramen noodles (smashed up, and don't add the flavor, save it for the dressing).

Dressing: mix 4 TBS sugar, 4 TBS rice vinegar, 1 cup vegetable or olive oil, 2 TBS sesame oil, 2 tsp to 2 TBS soy sauce (I put 2 TBS and did not need to add anymore later), 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 2 Oriental Ramen flavoring packages.

Pour dressing over salad mixture. mix it up, chill. It is soggy the day after, and most people do not like it - Matt does. Some people serve it with extra soy sauce.

Thoughts on Week 4

Never surrender! Just look at the last post with the picture of Jerome if you want to get motivated. You too can look like that.....or not....

Anyway, I've had more thoughts running around in my head this week about being healthy. So of course I'm ready to share them :)

I think the main revelation/realization/thought I've had this week is that no one else is in charge of your body. Just you. I'd like to blame others for the food they make, the temptation they present, the way they've filled up my time etc...but in the end, there is no one else who is responsible for your health. Just you. Just me.

It's time I take responsibility for it. I can't wait for Mark to agree with me on how I should eat or how often we should exercise [I might be waiting forever... :)] It makes it much easier to have support but it's not up to him - it's up to me. I am in charge of what I put into my body. I am in charge of how I exercise it and take care of it. And I have the power to do just that. I have the power to watch what I eat, exercise regularly, drink lots of water and look and feel better! It's up to me!Don't be discouraged if you're not losing weight like you thought you might be. Ultimately this challenge is about getting a healthier lifestyle. But, if you have absolutely seen NO change what-so-ever then look again at the intensity of your workouts. What exactly are your "healthy" meals looking like? What are your "healthy" portions. Very obvious but so easy to overlook --- you must be burning more calories then you are eating in order to lose weight. That can happen with 6 workouts a week and healthy portioned meals.You can do it! You are in charge! Take back your health and live longer. More on that next week...

The Reward

If you keep up with the Healthy Challenge, if you follow the rules, avoid the sweets, exercise your little heart out, there will be a reward. At the end of the day, you too can look like this...

Now get out there and bust your buns!

Money stuff

Just wanted to let you know that I have not deposited your checks yet. My plan is to go to the bank today and cash them. I apologize for not doing it sooner but I wanted to wait until I received them all. So, they will be done today! I promise :)

Thoughts on Week 3

I apologize for not posting week three's results sooner. I spent time with an awesome friend and just didn't have time to get everything done before I went to her house.

SO!....

Things are looking very good for us all! I'm proud of us! Aren't you? Even if you don't think there's a snowballs chance of winning, stick it out. This is so good for us!

This week I've been thinking a lot about what food means to me. It may sound silly but I encourage you to ask yourself what food means to you.

Does it give you comfort? Is it your friend {meaning what you turn to when you're stressed, tired, cranky, sleepy, bored etc...}? Are there emotions attached to it? Be honest with yourself and see if you can see what food means to you.

I don't think there's anything wrong with enjoying food. What I found myself doing though, is saying things like "Boy, ice cream would really make this outing better!", "Well we're sitting around a campfire, how can you do that without eating marshmallows?", "I'm so tired, I wish I could eat some sugar.", "A candy bar would be soooo good right now.", "I've been taking care of three very challenging kids, I deserve a treat!" etc... you get the idea.

I'm making food be the fun instead of the people and the fun being the fun. Make sense? Instead of just enjoying myself and enjoying what I was eating or doing, I was dreaming about what food would make it better. How crazy is that?

So instead I'd like to enjoy the people I'm with and the lovely times we have together and not be consumed by what food I'd like to eat. I'd really like my body to be a slave to me instead of me being a slave to my body.

If you have a minute, leave a comment about what food means to you. Were you in any situations when a certain kind of food would've made all the difference in your world?

What Gets a Zero?

Jerome & I were talking the other night. Okay, we were harassing each other. And trying to figure out a very important question: How could you earn zero points for the week? We came up with a few thoughts. Things like...

* eating at Chicago Nick's.
* eating a Serious Texas Taco every day (sorry Mark and Billy, but you know it's true).

What do you think? What could someone do that should take away all their points for the week?

Just a fun thought for the day...

Interesting article

Thought you might enjoy this article about health. It's short. I promise :)

"If you're in good health, you've got everything there is."

Week 2 Recap!

Hey guys great job this week the points are awesome!

This has been a lot of fun for me, hard but fun! However I have realized how much I ate sugar! And now after not eating it really for two weeks, yesterday on my free day I didn't even want it! I have not been craving things as much as I thought I would which is really nice! Sugar really isn't something that I even want! How crazy it that!

It is still very hard for me to get motivated to work out however after I do it I feel so much better! So that is what helps me to get motivated! I am also working on walking/running in the river run for orphans this year so that is also helping me get motivated! :) I am so happy that I am doing this challenge and that all of you are doing it as well!

Good luck on week 3 everyone! I know you can do it! :)

Thoughts on Week 2

So guys, week number two is under our belt. How are ya'll feeling?

I'm feeling fabulous thank you for asking :) This has been so great for me. When I started this challenge I prayed that God would change my heart towards being healthy. I know that He did not create my body for me to abuse it. My body is a temple of His Holy Spirit. I need to be a good steward of it. I have prayed that not only would I create new habits but my mind would be renewed and I would have a different view of my body and health. Doing this challenge isn't about losing weight, it's about changing myself to a healthier me.

That being said, I have had many revelations as this has gone on. I'd like to share them with you as we continue on this journey. I don't know if I'll have anything for you every week but by golly if God gives me something I promise to share it. It may be for you as well!

This week, yesterday morning specifically, I was getting ready for church. Mark and I turn on AM radio and listen to it as we're dressing. They have very random topics in interview type programming and it's been very educational. {I know, it's weird but it's true}.

So yesterday, the cheapest family in America (who wrote a book about how they are so frugal) was being interviewed. As I was listening to their spending habits and rules in their family it totally made sense that the same was true for our bodies and our health.

We live in a very NOW oriented society. If I want something I want it NOW and I can buy it NOW and not worry about consequences. That's how we've gotten into our recession. We keep living on credit. If we want a new TV, we get one - pay for it with a credit card - and worry about paying it back later. The instant thrill we get by getting what we want over-rules all thoughts of wisdom, of patience, of saving.

That's how we are with our bodies and health. We "borrow" from our health, by indulging in whatever food we want, when we want, and decide that we will worry about paying it back later. Many of us don't have any "savings" in the health department so we are using up all our credit. So we are now in a position where we are having to work twice as hard to get out of "debt". Does this make sense to you?

The healthy challenge is about bringing our health account back into balance. Mine has been out of balance for so long. I need to stop indulging in treats and wants and get my savings built back up again. My health is, in all actuality, the most important thing I have. My world stops turning in a comfortable way when I have a headache, or a backache, or if I'm tired or have a cold. It is those times that I am reminded of how wonderful it is to be healthy. I want that to continue for as long as possible. So I need to start saving up with healthy food choices and exercises so I can splurge every once in a while and get a treat. Does that make sense?

I hope so. It was a neat new way for me to view what I am doing with my body. Now when I'm working out I think about the deposits I'm making into my health and when I'm tempted to eat something I really want, I think about the withdrawls and whether or not I can afford it :)

Have a great 3rd week everyone!

Venting about Billy being Mean!

Okay guys just so you know Billy is not allow to wine or complain anymore about Tiff's cupcakes and no one I mean no one should have sympathy for him! Yesterday I was at the hospital visiting them and bringing Billy dinner when Jerome and Tiff showed up with some yummy french desserts. Now I did not mind that they brought the desserts at all it truly was not that big of a deal until Billy walked over and put the plates under my nose! How mean is that??? LOL! No one ever listen to Billy and all his wining and crying about the no sugar rule and no eating after 8:30 he is just a big baby! And yes I told him I was going to post about this because I wanted everyone to know how mean he is and how much he acts like a baby! (giggle) :) But we still all love him! :) Just wanted to vent for a minute! :)

Week 2 here I come!

Hello all! I'm here representing the East Coast! I'm Katie Cooper, Jill's sister/Mark's sister-in-law(duh)...and somehow I thought this would be a good idea for me because I could definitely use some discipline in my life. Proof of this lack of discipline is my point total from week 1, yikes. But hey, nowhere to go but up!

Let me give you a little background...I live in New York City, I eat every meal out (including coffee), dinner is usually around 9:00 p.m., I have not seen the inside of a grocery store in 6 months, coffee is often a meal, and my roommate is a food publicist so I am her +1 to all the food events (fyi, these are not health food events). Basically, other than working out, my lifestyle isn't healthy.

I was off to a rough start considering day 1 of this challenge was my birthday which of course involved cake, cupcakes, NOT healthy/portioned meals, and a dinner reservation at 9:30 p.m. Jeez. But I am ready to go for Week 2! I like this plan because it's a great way to really think about what you're putting in your body and to be accountable. It will be a challenge because of my existing lifestyle, but again, discipline is good and I need to create healthier habits. The toughest part for me will be eating 3 meals a day, cutting out sugar, and the killer 8:30 curfew.

So I am looking forward to this and have really enjoyed all of your posts, thoughts, and comments...it makes it so much more fun! Lastly, I think it is unfair for Tiffany to bring cupcakes as I have tasted her baked goods and they are ridiculously good. Penalty!!

Thoughts on week one

I'm sitting at my in-laws house tallying points and posting them. It's been a crazy and awesome first week and I wanted to share a few thoughts on it.

First off, I'm going to be a bit lax today since I do not receive text messages up here and we all may need a bit of a break in remembering to turn our points in. Thank you to all of you who remembered to turn them in. You've got a big head start on the rest of us.

Second, I've realized that this is a very honest-based competition. It really is up to the challenger to decide what is a healthy portioned meal. Since we've been up here, in Denver on vacation, we really are at the mercy of what we are fed. What I have done, instead of freak out about there being not a ton of salads etc..., is figure that I need to learn how to live healthy in every situation in my life. So portion control and eating the good parts of a meal are extremely important.

For example, I love pizza {not so great for you if it's loaded with pepperoni and cheese which is my favorite}. They had it for lunch one day. Instead of eating several pieces, which I would have loved to do, I ate one. I enjoyed it and was fine not eating more. It really is all about moderation. Now understand, I'm not saying that pizza for every meal is a healthy choice, but there will definitely be circumstances where healthy food choices are incredibly limited. That does not mean give up, over-eat, or freak out. It means have some self-control.

Really, in all reality, this challenge is about empowering us to make healthy choices for our lives. We won't be counting points for the rest of our lives so it's a good way to teach ourselves how to say no to ourselves. Have you really ever had to do that before? Tell yourself no? I'll bet not. I'll bet, if you're like me, that if there were cookies for dessert and you wanted one, well then by golly you'd eat it. If there were unlimited pancakes for breakfast and you wanted a dozen, well then by golly you'd eat them!

This challenge is about saying 'I'm okay not eating cookies and pancakes. I will not die, nor starve, nor be deprived. I want to be healthy and live long. I will enjoy the occasional treat but it will not control my life. I do NOT want to be controlled by food. I am the boss of my body! NOT FOOD!!!'

And I've discovered that saying NO isn't easy at first but it gets easier. Of course we may have sugar withdrawl headaches - we will survive! We may pee a hundred times a day - we will survive! We may really want an extra something that we know we shouldn't - we will survive! Our minds might be screaming at us that no one will know if we cheat just a little - we will survive!

You will get out of the challenge only what you put into it. I've decided that I want a healthy lifestyle. And by golly I'm going to try!!!

Thought About the Day Off

If you eat so much junk food and drink so much pop that you are trying to make up for the 6 days a week you are good; does it really do you any good to be good for 6 days? Not that I have done that today; it was a thought that crossed my mind.