50 pounds

Down 50 pounds and over 20 inches.  So much healthier and happier. 

I am excited to be a heatlh coach for Take Shape for Life and help others along this journey. 

Weekend Help Tips

Staying On Track Over the Weekend

“I've been good all week long with my eating and exercise. The weekend is here and I just want to relax

and have some fun. All my hard work goes out the window! Oh well, I'll start over again on Monday.”

If you’re like most people, the weekends are not “planned” as well as the weekdays are. Weekends are

less structured and vary from week to week. You may have a wedding one weekend, go out to the movies

another weekend, enjoy a road trip the next weekend. These types of events lead us to poor meal

planning. Without a plan, you're more likely to stray from the healthy habits you have been working so

hard to develop.

So how can you avoid stalling your progress or even gaining weight over the weekend after you have

successfully lost throughout the week? Here are a few tips:

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includes family time. If you are outdoors for long periods of time, pack a healthy “lean and

green” picnic and enjoy that with the family.

Plan family activities like bike rides or walks in the park. This builds in exercise, but also

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that you get enough water. Also, having water handy helps you to avoid high calorie sodas and

juices.

Carry a water bottle with you to your weekend activities. Just like during the week, it’s important

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controlled meals or Ready To Drink Shakes in case you get hungry. If you must have a meal in

the Food Court, pick a healthy option like Saladworks and watch your portion sizes.

If you are doing some mall shopping, avoid the Food Court. Instead, pack some portion

•

You’ll have plenty of time to make a healthy choice before you get there.

Plan ahead!! If you are going out to eat, find the restaurant's menu and nutritional information online.

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so that you can evaluate ways to attack your weaknesses.

Keep up with your food and exercise journal on the weekends. Use it to pinpoint your difficulties,

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choices and supplies you with enough food for the week so all you will have to do is reheat.

Batch-cook some of your favorite foods over the weekend. This keeps you thinking about healthy

•

you should hit your workouts hard, but on the weekend, take a day off, and the other day, and go

for something lighter like a walk.

Saturday or Sunday is a good day to choose as a rest day from exercise. Monday through Friday

•

will be foods not on your weight loss plan, have a shake or bar beforehand. That way you won’t

feel as hungry and can enjoy a few of the healthier foods and not go overboard.

If you know you're going to a social event (wedding, birthday party, girls’ night out) where there

•

time after only one drink. Fill your wine glass with diet iced tea or seltzer with lime instead.

Avoid alcohol. Easier said than done for some, but those empty alcohol calories will add up big

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right choices.

Stop the viscous cycle of gaining over the weekend, losing during the week, which in fact keeps your

weight loss at a plateau. “Starting over on Monday,” should be a thing of your old life. Start new every

day! Keep your health the number one reason that you remain on course for a healthy lifestyle.Talk with your Health Coach prior to the weekend and let him/her help you prepare to make the

4th week of exercise boot camp done

Well,  it is hard not to get frustrated when the scale does not cooperate, but I am keeping on.  I have been doing exercise class three days a week for four weeks now.  My weight has not changed but things have redistributed and my body fat index went from 36 to 32.  I am happy about that.  I am starting another class next week.  I am not loving exercise but am starting to like it and I do enjoy the company very much. 

Start moving.  Little by little.  Add something more that you have not already been doing. 

Healthy Happy Me!!!

The correct way to weight yourself

The correct way to weigh yourself:



I can't believe I was doing it wrong all these years

Informational Meeting

One good wish changes nothing; one good decision changes everything. - Anonymous

Did you know that 85% of people who go on a diet without behavioral support gain the weight back within 2 years.

Take Shape for Life is all about reaching a healthy weight and making lifestyle changes. The finish line is invisable, reducing weight is only half the battle. Our goal is to help you create permanent optimal health.

Come walk with me up the path to optimal health! Wishing you Health and Happiness always!

Informational Meeting at my house Saturday October 23 10:00 AM 36234 N Kobuk Soldotna

Let me know if you are interested in attending.  This has changed my life from surviving to thriving!!!

More helpful suggestions

Fat-Burn, Eating Out & Other Suggestions

This is information from Tammy, a Registered Dietitian on the Nutrition Support Team at Medifast.  It has some great tips, tricks and information concerning the program, including tips for dining out.  Let me know if you have any questions! 

For best results, it is best to follow the 5&1 Plan as written. As you may know the plan is designed to provide 800-1000 calories per day, less than a total of 100gm of carb per day to induce and keep a body in a fat burning state while providing >72gm of protein to preserve lean muscle mass.

1) Skipping any meals or skimping on the L&G meal portions (protein, vegetables, and healthy fat servings) can drop your calories too low and can hinder weight loss results. Also you will be compromising your nutritional status as well as the meal plan; it is nutritionally balanced as written. Therefore, if anything is left out - you have also left out vital vitamins, minerals, protein, etc.

2) Eating foods that are off plan and quite high in carbohydrate content (such as rice) can stop a fat-burning state. Starting and stopping a fat-burning state can hinder weight loss results. It is best to follow the 5&1 Plan and remain in a fat-burning state during the weight loss phase of your program.

3) Exercising too much while following the 5&1 Plan can also hinder weight loss results. Medifast recommends no more than 45-minutes of vigorous exercise per day while following the 5&1 Plan to create a proper energy balance of calories in versus calories expended. Longer durations of exercise can cause too large of a caloric deficit which can halt or hinder weight loss.  Contact your health coach if you do longer endurance type exercise to adjust your program!!
4) Using too many condiments. Medifast recommends using up to 3 condiments per day for best results. You should have the condiment list, please call me if you cannot locate it.

Keep in mind the rate of weight loss is dependent not only on meal plan compliance but also other factors such as:

    * gender
    * age
    * medical conditions
    * medications
    * level of physical activity
    * body composition
    * menstrual cycle (if applicable)
    * starting body weight

I should also have the approved vegetable list. Although the Medifast Chicken & Wild Rice soup does contain a very small amount of peas and carrots, they are not on the vegetable list for the Lean &Green (L&G) meal as they are too high in carbohydrates in this volume (1/2 cup servings).

Many people do choose to consume restaurant salads; some can be very deceiving!  However, here are a few that fit the guidelines or close to the guidelines.  See chart below.

As you know, many other restaurants are out there too, however not all will share their nutritional information. So, beware when dining out!! Not all the "healthy sounding" entrées and salads are really "healthy" in terms of calories, grams of fat, carbs and protein. It is always best to control your environment and choices by either packing your L&G meal (if you're able) or ordering something you known in terms of the nutritional information. Keep in mind too that a lot of these salads listed above are very high in sodium content. So, Medifast would not recommend using these salads frequently or on a daily basis.

For best weight loss results, Medifast would recommend following the 5&1 Plan as written and not incorporating foods that are "off plan." I hope this information helps. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance to you.

Restaurant/Item                                                                                      Calories                  Carbs      Protein                    Fat           Sodium

                                                                                                                                                (grams)   (grams)                   (grams)   (mg)

McDonald’s

  Caesar Salad w/ grilled chicken, no dressing                                 220                          12            30                            6                890

  Bacon Ranch Salad with Grilled Chicken, no dressing                 260                          12            33                            9              1010

Chick-Fil-A (you need both items for a your meal)
  Char grilled Chicken Garden Salad, no dressing                           180                            9            22                            6.0             620

  Char grilled chicken filet, no bun, no pickles                                  100                            1            21                            1.5             610
  Total Nutrition for Salad + Chicken fillet                                           280                          10            43                            7.5           1230

Burger King
  Tender grill Chicken Garden Salad, no dressing                           240                            8            33                            9                720

Wendy's (you need both items for your meal)
  Chicken Caesar Salad, no dressing                                                 180                            8            25                            6.0             660

  1 Ultimate Chicken Grill Filet, no bun                                                               110                            1            22                            1.5             610

  Total Nutrition for Salad + Chicken Fillet                                          290                            9            47                            7.5           1270

To Your Health!

BE SLIM

I wanted to share the BeSlim philosophy; the philosophy I am learning to incorporate and live by.

Breakfast every day within an hour of waking

Exercise daily

Support for motivation and guidance through Take Shape For Life, family, friends, peers, organizations

Low-fat meals 6 times a day

I create a realistic individualized plan for yourself – this can fit into your lifestyle, let’s work on a plan

Monitor yourself on a regular basis with your scale, clothes and whatever works best for you

Living by the BeSlim philosophy is really something that we must practice daily in weight loss and in maintenance.  Be positive with yourself. 

Health and Happiness

Funny Comments Along the Way

As I've decreased in weight and size I have received some entertaining comments that have made me smile and some actually laugh that I thought I would share...

"You've gotten taller.... wait have you lost a bunch of weight? Maybe that's it!"

"You look great! I just have one question; How did you ever let yourself get that big in the first place?"

"It's a good thing you lost all this weight our you would be like the celebrity on the news today who got kicked off the airplane and had to purchase two seats?" (My thought: I have never had to ask for a seat belt extender!?!?!)

"You look so much happier. "

"Wow, I've never seen you tuck in your shirt before and dang you have a small waist. Oh my you have lost a bunch of weight haven't you?"

"Stand up! I just want to see how many more clothes sizes you have shrunk since the last time I saw you."

"Josh told me how much weight you have lost and boy he wasn't kidding."

"You can really tell that you have lost a lot of weight!  Oh I was not saying you were too big before...  Ok you look good"

"Don't believe the scale; your butt is getting smaller.  Not that I was looking at it...." 


I am a fit and active person working hard to be healthier and happier. I actually like myself again and did not realize that I really didn't like me for awhile. I am working on a healthy me and learning to like exercise. Feel free to share any exercise tips and activities with me that might help me along the way. This journey is for my life and will last a lifetime!!!

Stay on Plan even when sick!

So I came home from the conference with the "Nyquil Disease" HAHA I have the sneezing, coughing, runnynose, headache, feel like you've been run over illness.

Last night was the end of week three of exercise boot camp and I did not feel up to going, but with the encouragment of my friends I attended and worked as hard as I could. I was not sorry.

Am feeling much better today dispite the excessive use of kleenex and hand sanitizer! Drinking LOTS of water to heal my body quickly.

Was down to 187 this morning. Continuing on. Working hard to be a fit, active, and healthy person. You can be too!!!