Anyone up for a competition?

Sometimes competitions are just the ticket to getting and staying motivated (just look at Biggest Loser!).

Don't want to go that extreme? This weekend I stumbled across a website that offers people a chance to compete with others...and you don't have to travel anywhere. You can do it no matter where you are at.

Check out Weight Loss Wars at www.weightlosswars.com. Click here and it will take you to their site. I have also included the link on the sidebar under Websites I like to Visit. The site membership is free. However, some of the competitions may require an entry fee, so read carefully before deciding to join any competition.

Currently, they have two competitions that will be starting soon...one on June 21, and one on July 3. Both require a small entry fee between $10. and $25. and both have cash reward prizes. I am actually thinking of joining both competitions. I have also joined the local Lose It to Win It competition which runs until 8/12/10 and it based on percentage of weight loss. I don't really expect to win that one because there are at least 100 people entered...but it's not always about winning.

On to another subject.....MENU MONDAYS

I have had people ask me what about meals and meal planning. I make out a menu either on Saturday or Sunday morning. From my menu, I make out a dinner menu. I usually post my menu somewhere in the kitchen, like the fridge. It helps me by reducing the stress of coming home and wondering what I'm going to fix for dinner, and it helps everyone else stop wondering the same thing. I mean, how many times can I hear "What's for dinner" - it really gets annoying. So now everyone knows up front and can make up their mind if they like it or don't like it. But guess what...if you don't like it, that's tough. (I know that sounds mean). But that's the way it is. When you have 7 people to feed, you are not going to please everyone all the time (unless you feed them pizza 7 days a week).

Wow, I really got off the subject. A N Y W A Y....... I go grocery shopping on Sundays. If you look on the right hand side, I have posted my Dinner menu for this week - and I will try and do so every Monday. Some of the recipes might be included under Dish of the Day. However, if there is a recipe that you want, just leave me a comment along with your email address and I'll get it to you.

WEEKENDS -
I hope everyone had a great weekend! Did you relax a little? How did you do on your eating plan? Did you get any exercise in?

I had a great weekend! Saturday, I moved furniture. We bought new furniture the weekend before and it finally came in Saturday. But before we could pick up the new furniture, the old had to be moved out of the way. Well....my husband and son were still asleep Saturday morning and I thought...I can do this! I moved a double reclining sofa out of my living room all by myself and I have the bruises to prove it! I got it all the way into the hall and wanted to move it into the computer room, but it got stuck in the doorway. Ughh! So I had to wait until hubby woke up because it needed to be turned sideways...and you HAVE to have to people to do that.
But still...I was pretty proud of myself. That couch was super heavy and I proved to myself that I'm a lot stronger than I thought I was.

I didn't stray from my eating plan (good). Yesterday I worked out with my weights. I just couldn't sit still...so I was constantly moving - probably drove my husband nuts...oh well.

Well, getting late this morning and I want to try and get some bike riding in before getting ready for work. Hope everyone has a great Monday!

Workin' For the Weekends...

Don't know why that song popped into my head. Yes, I am a child of the 80's...what a fun decade!

I had been mulling over a more serious post this morning as I was in bed, but I think I'll save it for Monday.

I love my weekends! I don't go off track, but I do cut myself a little slack for these two days. For instance before, I was a big time coffee drinker. I would drink it all day long. I didn't care what time of day it was, or what the temp might be outside, I would have my glorious cup of coffee in my hand. I didn't use any type of artifical sweetener, sugar only. And my creamer of choice had to be the liquid Coffee Mate or International Delight caramel flavored. We're talking about at least 8 cups of coffee with sweeteners. That really adds up! I still love coffee, but I have made adjustments. Monday thru Friday I start off my day with a cup of coffee with Truvia sweetener, and about 1 Tbsp of 2% milk. If I want some flavor, I'll add a little cinnamon. And that's it...1 cup of coffee in the morning. The caffiene will help to give your metabolism that little boost it needs to kick in. Now, before I get blasted, let me say that coffee is not necessarily bad for you...it is when you load it up. But for me, drinking coffee all day kept me from drinking what I really needed....WATER. So now, I have my one cup of coffee and it satifies me and the rest of the day I drink my water.

Now, back to what I started off saying about cutting myself some slack. On the weekends, I do not limit my coffee drinking to the one cup in the morning. I give myself permission to drink as many as I want. Let's just say, it's my little treat to myself. I have noticed that I really don't want to drink it all day long anymore...but I know I can, if I want to.

On the weekends, I am not as rigid about my excercising as I am during the week. Yes, I do get it in. I have discovered I am an excersise junkie. What I mean about not being rigid is I don't say, "O.K....I'm going to ride my bike for 3 miles starting at 10:00 and then I'll do 1/2 hour of strength training". I fit it in/around whatever my plans are on the weekend. The weekends are when I spend time with my family doing whatever we get up and decide to do. There are rainy days when we watch movies, and sometimes I'll ride my bike during the entire movie. Sometimes, we might be doing stuff outside (and you'll workout and not even realize it). It's o.k. to go do things without worrying that you need to hurry up so you can get to they gym, or I really need to get home so I can get workout done before I go to bed.

The point to all these ramblings is that you NEED to cut yourself some slack sometime and know its o.k. to do so. CAUTION....this does NOT mean throw everything out and just be a lazy cheesecake eatin' couch potato.

If you are finding it hard to give yourself permission to relax or cut yourself a little slack on the weekends because you feel guilty, just tell yourself, "It's o.k., Angela gave me permission".

Hope everyone has a wonderful Saturday...get out there and enjoy yourself!

Ladies, We Need Support - (and I don't mean just from our bras!)

Like a good bra, we all need support. People who will lift us up, help to point us in the right direction and make us look and feel good about ourselves. When your support system lets you down and you feel saggy and draggy...you know it's time to find new support.

Having a good support system is vital in your efforts to lose weight and change your lifestyle. You need to surround yourself with positive people who will share in your victories, encourage and motivate you when you need it, and never....let me say that again...never put you down when you mess up.

I have been very fortunate and want to go ahead and thank everyone who has been there for me. Thanks to my husband who first encouraged me to seek out a doctor who would help me with my medical issues. My husband has been willing to step out of his box and try new foods without complaining (much), he always tells me that I'm beautiful - even when I don't feel it, he has made a point of noticing my efforts and letting me know how proud he is. Thank you to my kids, who have not once made fun of me when trying out a new excercise. My son told me he will be my personal motivator when I think I'm too tired to push any further - and he has! He has gone to the gym with me, took over the cooking for a whole week - making sure everything was healthy!
Thank you to my mom, who has ALWAYS believed in me, even when I haven't believed in myself. Thank you to my co-workers. You may not know it, but you have been a big inspiration. I honestly don't know if I could have made it this far without the support of my co-workers. They have cheered me on, right from the beginning. Thank you to the people from my online support group. It has been great hearing your success stories, and life-saving to know I'm not alone.

As you can see from above, there are so many places you can seek support. My advice is to surround yourself with positive, encouraging people. Human emotion is contagious. I promise, if you are around people with a positive, optimistic outlook on life...you will catch it. Your attitude will change. You will start hearing yourself say, "I CAN DO IT!"

On the other hand, if you are around people who complain, whine, and just are generally miserable, it will bring you down. Try and stay away from those type people. I call them emotional vampires. They will drain you of any positive, happy, emotion you might have and bring you down where they are. Believe or not, these people are happy being miserable and they want you to be just as miserable as them.

**If your family doesn't encourage and support you in your efforts, you will need to look elsewhere. Face it, we all need positive affirmation. Most towns have some type of support group you can join. See if your location has a TOPS (taking off pounds sensibly), Weight Watchers, or Overeater Anonymous. Usually, these type groups meet once a week. If your location doesn't have one of these, why don't you start your own group?

**Online support groups are great as well. They offer the anonymity that some people like. If they don't really know you, they can't hurt you. You can post/write whatever you want...bad days, good days, victories and someone will always be there to write back. They are also a great source of inspiration and new ideas.

**Start a blog. It's a great way to tell your story. You know...sometimes your greatest supporter is yourself. Of course, it works both ways...sometimes your biggest enemy is yourself. Which side are you gonna pick?

**Let everyone know what you are doing. Ask them for their support. Tell your co-workers, let your neighbors know (if you are close), tell your friends. Believe me, you will quickly find out which ones are going to be your best supporters and motivators.

**Find a chubby buddy. This is someone who is at the same point you are. Someone you can call when you really want to eat that piece of chocolate cake, but need someone to talk you out of it. Maybe its someone you can go to the gym with so you don't feel like you stick out.

Don't ever think that you are embarking on this journey alone. You are not. Look around. There are so many of us out there that are considered overweight or obese. You can't tell by looking which ones have started changing their lives or which ones want to, but just don't have the know how or the courage to do so.

Well, I need to get off my soapbox for now. Gotta get ready for work.
Don't ya just love Fridays!

7 Ways to Increase Your Metabolism

This article was posted on FitWatch.com

Whether you’re trying to lose weight or just wanting to maintain your sleek physique, boosting your metabolism to a higher rate is always a good idea. There are several ways to give your metabolism an extra push — including exercising early in the day — but eating can also be a factor in its elevation.

Increasing your metabolism means your body burns calories at a higher rate. So if your metabolism is high, it’s burning calories even when you aren’t working hard at the gym. A sluggish metabolism can cause you to gain weight, because you’re consuming more than your body is burning.

Here are 7 ways to boost your metabolism, so you can burn fat fast:

■The first thing you need to do is add breakfast to your daily meal planner. Although many people don’t like eating breakfast, it gives your body the rev up it needs to launch your metabolism. A 250-calorie snack is all it takes to boost your metabolism in the morning.
■Another way to increase your metabolism is to add spices to your food. According to the U.S. Agricultural Research Service, Cinnamon is one spice that increases your metabolism twentyfold — and all you have to ingest is a mere 1/4 to 1 tsp per day!
■While you’re planning your meals, you may want to add kiwi fruit to your diet. Kiwis pack a lot of vitamin C, but if you add 500 mg of it to your day, you burn up to 39% more fat when you’re exercising. Don’t get too much C, though, because once you get to the 2,000 mg mark, you start experiencing adverse effects like bloating, gas, and diarrhea.
■Another metabolism boosting measure is to watch what you drink. Adding ice to a drink makes your body work harder because it has to heat it up in your stomach, which increases your metabolism. Also, ingesting a caffeine drink like coffee or tea can raise your heart rate and increase your metabolism.
■Where you’re eating can be just as important as what you’re eating. When you’re having breakfast in the morning, try positioning yourself near a window so that you can soak up some sun. The bright light boosts your metabolism and also helps you increase bone and muscle strength.

■Make sure you’re getting enough chromium in your diet to help your body burn more calories. Chromium, which is found in tomatoes and in a supplement form, also boosts the way you burn fat. According to MedlinePlus, meat, eggs, green pepper, apples, banana and spinach are also good sources of chromium. When you supplement 120 mcg of chromium daily, your body benefits by revving up its metabolism.
■If you really want to kick-start your metabolism, you may also try dividing your meals up into smaller portions that you eat more often throughout the day. Every time you eat, it helps your metabolism rise, so as strange as it may sound, eating frequently can help you lose weight or maintain a healthy weight.
For more ways to boost your metabolism, check out bestselling author, speaker and coach Christopher Guerriero’s best seller: Maximize Your Metabolism. It’s an international best seller now available in electronic form — which means you can download it right away! You’ll get free updates, plus lots of free bonuses. Visit the official site: Maximize Your Metabolism

What's For Breakfast?

I had someone ask me yesterday about what to feed their kids for breakfast that would be healthy and nutritious.

Let me start off by saying this...I am not a registered dietician or a nutritionist. I'm just a mom who has embarked on this journey to a more healthy lifestyle. It has taken me a little over 43 years to get here. If you are younger than that...congrats on deciding to make the change early. If you are older than that...it's NEVER too late!

With that being said, there is nothing wrong with giving your kids cereal for breakfast. Just read the label...stay away from sugary cereals. You are not doing your kids any favors by feeding them those type of cereals.

You want to look for whole grain type cereals with at least 5g fiber per serving. We usually keep the following two boxes of cereals in our house -
Special K - Cinnamon Pecan and Quaker Cinnamon Oatmeal Squares. As you can see, yes we like cinnamon. The Special K acutally has less fiber and protein. The Quaker Oatmeal Squares have 5g fiber and 6g protein.

If your kids like oatmeal, that's a great easy breakfast to serve. Just add 1/4 cup of fruit and your set. Kashi is a great oatmeal choice. Right now, I have Village Farm Whole Grain Oatmeal in my pantry. I add about 1/4 cup of fresh blueberries to round it out. You can check out the nutritional value here.

If your family are big egg eaters, consider using the egg whites only. You still get a great amount of protein without the cholesterol and added fat. If you are unsure about using egg whites because you think it might not have the yellow color...try using 2 egg whites and one whole egg.

I have included some great egg recipes under Dish of the Day on the right hand side.
The Egg bites are great for families on the go or for kids because they can eat them with their hands.

One more thing before I go. I have been guilty of this in the past. When I was younger and I worked full time and my kids were in daycare, I was sooo rushed in the morning. My kids were lucky to get a powdered donut for breakfast when they got to daycare. Do not do this....I repeat....Do NOT DO THIS! Make the time...get up early, fix breakfast or part of it the night before.

I'm not saying that you can't ever give your kids donuts for breakfast....Just limit when you do it...maybe you do it on Saturday mornings as a special treat, follow up with some kind of fruit. Also, limit it to one donut. Don't let them eat them until they make themselves sick.

Well, gotta go. Hope this has given some of you some new ideas. Keep those questions coming!