Jenni: Before and After

I gained a pound this week. I would say it's a pound of STRESS because I worked out super hard this week and ate well, so whatever! My total weight loss is 17 pounds, I dropped two pant sizes and 5 inches off my belly. I'm still working towards my goal weight. I'll get there! Thanks for all of the help!

(I put this post together during the week since we were leaving out of town and just saved it - so that's why it doesn't say todays date.)

I normally would NOT show pictures like this to ANYONE...so feel - whatever you want. Hahaha! Here are my BEFORE pics:

Starting weight 172

Before side view:

Before front view:
Current weight 155 - I haven't been in the 150's for so long. It feels great!
After front view: (yah, I know my mouth is funny. I was talking to Burke as he took this! - oops)

I wore the same workout outfit to compare.

After side view:

It's a NEW me!!! I feel GREAT!!!

BRONZE IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME!

I read an article once, entitled "I Am Third", and I like the sound of that more and more; what with Burke giving up and others drifting into forbidden paths, or reporting fuzzy numbers (like me). It appears Gail is now my only competition - as of today, she is about four-tenths of a percentage ahead of me in weight lost, so I have my work cut out for me this week. I'm just glad that it is the responsibility of the "host city" to provide the medals.... That Green River has lots of gold and silver in that waterway. Anyways, I'm sure there may be a sleeper out there, but at this point it appears I still have a chance at b-r-o-n-z-e!!! Jenni and Arik (not necessarily in that order) appear to be clear contenders for the gold and silver; but I can picture myself now, standing on the podium accepting the bronz metal! Hey, it's up for grabs for the rest of us scavengers, so why not dream - I'm throwing down the gauntlet for the only metal now in our reach. A fight to the finish - FOR BONZE! I'm not yet conceding gold or silver yet - hey with a few M&M's or peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, we could tip the scales in our favor, if you know what I mean - send 'em now! We're at FINALS WEEK! We look forward to seeing what's left of yawl on Sunday!

Burke Richard Simmons

Well, what a challenge! Give it up to Jenni for creating this program and promoting healthy lifestyle change. She deserves credit for pushing everyone to join this challenge and causing all these lost pounds. I therefore give all my lost pounds to her as a token of my appreciation. (Just kidding, I know that won't fly by the the judge panel) Well, like I said last week, nothing has really changed much in my desire to compete and so I guess I'm happy that I only gained a 1/2 instead of 2 or 3. So instead of transforming into Burke Horton like I had originally planned I sort of just feel like my super distant relative Richard Simmons.

Arik's Results

Well I wouldn't say it was the best week that I have had... I was only able to do my workout three times this week. The days that I did miss was Monday when I took my wife to Chili's and we enjoyed a movie. The other two days I didn't exercise, I spent time (all day) outside working on my vinyl fence, which is finally done. Then of course my wife decides on Friday, which is about the norm every Friday to make some delicious cookies. Peanut Butter with chocolate all over them mmmmmmmm. Then Saturday she again decides to make a yummy treat. I think someone must have bribed her to sabotage me from losing weight this week. Well I have news for you... I lost weight this week, in fact I reached my goal weight that I was aiming for. I lost 4 pounds this week and am very excited about the lose, and reaching the goal I had set. It is strange to be at my goal and to see that I am still in need of more weight lose. I will continue even after this week to get were I don't have more weight to lose. I figure I have made it this far, I can continue and get the goal body I want. Thanks for the push and motivation you each have given me. Lets have an awesome last week. Thanks everyone.

Jenni

I lost 3 pounds this week! :) Probably could have been more, but lets just say there were some M&M's to blame! But I worked out like a mad women when I could, so I'm feelin' good. ONE MORE WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, this went by pretty quickly.

OK - so remember, next week in the morning weigh-in, post your weight loss for the week and your total weight loss along with before and after pics. THEN do your math: divide your total weight loss with your beginning weight, move the decimal over twice and there is your percentage lost. Write that down and bring it with you to dads for the award ceremony (as dad is calling it) haha! This is so much fun! Until then...eat healthy and sweat a lot!!!!! :) bye

Zip n' Two

Well, those are the numbers for BO n' GO - you'll have to guess who lost what. We're closing in on 50% of our goal weight, so we'll have to fast the next two weeks! See you next week at FINALS week!

up and down, up and down

By body can't figure out whats going on. I really have not been trying consistently to eat healthy and exercise so my body weight has been fluctuating quite a bit. I lost 1.5 pounds last week and have no idea how. I guess I wasn't as strong as I thought I could be in this challenge. I'm not concerned with the pounds lost, I'm concerned with not having the mental strength to continue with better eating habits and exercise. I am glad though that I started the challenge with everyone and worked hard the first month, but after that I guess I just quit. Time to find another challenge! I am really proud of Arik and Jenni. They have really stuck to their guns and have kept pushing for a healthier lifestyle. Good job! The rest of us can only look on and admire you two for your example!

Arik

Ok, this is Juli, he's working & we'll be leaving soon after he gets home to go on our early anniversary getaway!!! Anyway, he did weigh-in & was surprised about the loss of 4 lbs! He hasn't worked out that much this week because of getting the fence done, and has been busy outside so he'd take whatever food people brought.....like Arby's. But he didn't overeat & still ate healthy snacks....and I'm sure all that work was still exercise enough. Way to go Arik! 2 weeks to go! Good luck everyone! Hit it hard this week!

Jenni - week 9

I gained 1 pound...blech. BUT I looked back through out the weeks and there were two other times that I gained 1 pound (all three at the same time of the month - hmmmm - yah, you get it) and the next week I lost 3 or 4...so watch out for next week!!! Hope it goes as planned. :) I did eat some things I shouldn't have this week - not too much, but did a lot of good exercise, so I can't complain. I still feel good. So until next week! Two more weigh-in's - holy moly!!!!!

Holding On

I think our bodies may sense that the end is near, and that this 'temporary lifestyle change' may be over soon; of course, the hints of returning to 'old ways' may be confusing to our bodies also. During the next few weeks we need to put something into our heads that gives our bodies a strong message that a new challenge is on the horizon - hurry, think of something!

Let's continue on with Lose It II, and think of new areas for healthful development and strengthening; maybe we could continue with strengthening and toning exercises, and plan a 50 mile hike or bike trek, or something that requires us to continue good habits. Bring your ideas to the weigh-in, so we know how Jenni needs to modify the blog heading.

BO n' GO flat-lined this week, seeking a lower watermark through this next week. I'm finally at the end of my cold (feed a cold, ya know), and Gail is mid-point, so this next week should be interesting. We love you, and are glad we can share in your little successes, and not so successes. Til' We Meet Again at the Scales Next Sunday (Juli, write a country western song about that), aloha!

Gained 2

I'll be honest. I'm getting tired of posting my gains and/or losses each week but "I respect the game" too much not to post. (The quote is from the craziest Survivor player who just got kicked off last week! Russell) I had some great workouts Friday and Saturday at the Marriott Courtyard in Grand Junction. (Sounds fancy huh? They had the best orange water ever. It's like lemon water but with oranges.) Running on the treadmill and lifting weights. It was a nice change from Insanity which I have despised since I got sick and quit for a week a month ago. My biggest problem has been eating unhealthy foods in excess. Just what we talked about in church today. Hmmm. It's human nature though, right? To eat too much of things that we think taste so good? I'll bet if I was a pioneer I wouldn't go through all the trouble to grow my own sugar cane and turn it into sugar, cacao tree beans and extract cocoa, milk my cow and churn it into butter, grow my wheat then peal off all the outside stuff so I could grind white flour, then heat my outdoor brick oven to 350 to bake my chocolate chip cookies that probably wouldn't turn out that great with my pioneer methods and ways. I tell you, we have been spoiled in this age of technology. Life is so easy and so it is so easy to eat whatever we want, whenever we want it.

Week 9

Well except for the fact that I missed my workout yesterday due to tooooo much work in the yard, I had a pretty good week. I did all my normal exercises and even got a real run in on Thursday afternoon. The one bad thing this week is that my wife decided to make no bake cookies and leave them out on the counter. Drivers me crazy.... because I couldn't stop at just one... two... three... four cookies later I had to hide them in the fridge. Thank goodness for good workouts I still lost 2 pounds for the week. I am closing in on my goal. Two more weigh days before the final weigh in. That isn't much time we can all get a few more pounds. So until later.... laters.

Yo

Welp, I have been maintaining these past couple of weeks. But that finally broke with a 1 pound gain. I went to a scrapbooking night at a little scrapbook/quilting store with some friends in my ward on Friday night. We got there about 5:30pm and went and got dinner at Schlotskey's and brought it back to the store and ate and talked and they scrapbooked while I cross-stitched. Then we walked over to the gas station and got treats. We stayed at this place until mid-night. It was a really fun time but a lot of binging. YUMMO!

HI

Ryan here! I've gained weight. Not sure how much. But it's not good. I went to a Seattle convention and even though I ate mostly healthy stuff, I ate too much of it. I love seafood, and I went a little nuts. There's my confession, I will go and sin no more. (Until my next convention in San Fran. Sigh.)

I have noticed getting on my elliptical everyday DOES help me quite a lot recently. A convention always ruins the momentum, so now I need to get back on that horse and go for it. *whip crack*

Ryan

Jenni - week 9

Yes, I know it's early. Well it's 7 now, but really six - right? Didn't sleep well, I've been up for a couple hours. It's gonna be a long day. Oh well, naps for everyone! Luckily the kids are still asleep. Burke left an hour ago to his first HC meeting. So enough with the rambling and onto what you really want to know - I lost 1 pound and I am SO relieved!!!!!!!!!! It was our #10 anniversary this week. I say week, because we tend to celebrate things on and off through the week. It makes life fun, but also adds extra calories, blech! Mom stayed with the kids and we headed off to Grand Junction Friday and Saturday. Our food choices were good...and bad - Burke helps out well with that last one. :) But for our movie we went and bought almonds and fruit at the store, stuffed it in my bag and ate those during the movie instead of buying a huge tub of popcorn. I felt great about that. And when we ate out we shared a plate instead of getting our own since it's so much, BUT sweet Burke needed some appetizers too, ouch! At the hotel we used their exercise room in the evening and in the morning, so heck, that was great. I really thought I would stand on that scale and it was going to yell a "gain 4" or something crazy at me. But alas, it noticed that I really try to made good choices amongst all the bad ones and worked out like a crazy woman. So there ya have it. I'm hoping for a healthier eating week and more pounds shed next week. Until then, Happy and Healthy eating to you!!! :)

Times a Tickin'

Have you noticed our little celery ticker over to the right??? It says we only have 3 weeks and 5 days left until our final weigh in for this Lose It! challenge!!!!! This has gone pretty quick. We can't give up yet though. 3 1/2 weeks is plenty of time to still lose some more of those pesky pounds people!!!! :) About our final weigh in day, April 3rd - it is General Conference and we will be meeting at BO and GO's for the 2nd session. So how about we still weigh ourselves in the morning as usual, then figure out your % lost - put it on a piece of paper. Then when we get to dads we can reveal what the %'s are and award Arik, I mean whoever has lost the highest percentage, the money. :) So exciting!!!!! :) LET'S DO THIS!

Holding steady

So lately my motivation to eat good and exercise has only lasted for a few hours at a time about once or twice a day. As a result, I haven't lost anything, but I also haven't gained anything back so I'll consider it a minor victory. Robyn reminded me of some promises in my Patriarchal blessing regarding following the precepts of the Word of Wisdom, and for the first time I saw it as not only a promise, but also a warning. This week I'm planning to go to bed at a decent hour, (my largest Word of Wisdom infraction), then get up earlier so I can exercise before work. I had been working out on lunch break with a coworker, but we've both gotten so sick of it that we've been taking turns making excuses to skip it. Maybe morning workouts will work better and motivate to eat well the rest of the day too.

Lost 2?

I have no idea how I lost 2.5 lbs. I got back on soda off and on since the dreaded Super Bowl. This last week I was drinking soda every day as my water (I know, gross). And therefore had no motivation to workout and so I didn't. I think I only worked out on Monday. Friday I did do a lot of garden work and Saturday I did garden work and built shelves for our shed. But 2.5 lbs for that? I guess I should count my blessings! This week, no more soda and more exercise, and even if I gain weight I'll feel better about my choices!

S-T-R-E-S-S-E-D ! ! ! ! !

Well, the week started out STRESSED (for BO anyway); see the wonderfully "scary eye shot", and the "twisted mouth movie" below! BO's week began with a cold that mushroomed, and GO was relieved by beginning with the successful completion of teaching her Gospel Doctrine lesson (she does such a wonderful job). GO held even for weight loss and BO lost a bit over a pound. We both struggled to bridle our appetites, and structured exercise routines were foiled, but we made it through relatively unscathed. We're just proud to report that we made it to the "final four" weeks of this enjoyable season; can't wait for the next season to begin...!

Jenni - week 8

Hello my sweet family! It's great to read about your week, each week. I'm going to miss that next month! Maybe we should start some other challenge, or discussion blog so we can keep in touch still. I love it. I lost another 2 pounds this week. I'm up to 15!!!!! That's a good number. Hoping to keep it up. And it's been cool measuring my waist each week also. I've lost 5 inches so far since we started. I feel great. I can't really remember the week, it went by so fast, yet slow. I can't really describe it. But I did still exercise and made good eating choices. We even took our Laurel's to Richfield to watch the boys B-ball at state. I brought some jolly ranchers and carrots to share. It was so funny. I passed back the jolly ranchers and everyone took one and then a while later I passed around the carrots, and I got "the look". Then one girl decided to join me. And we ate at Wingers, and I chose a salad with grilled chicken instead of the desired wings with ranch. And I was still full and it was great. I'm cheating a little today by eating a few bites here and there since Burke's parents are here. But not too much that I feel bad. That's the key for me - not to eat a bunch, just enough to taste and actually enjoy it. Burke's dad made him a High Priest today. So it was his first day in class with the "old guys". Someone mentioned it was good to have another young one in there so that someone would be listening to the lesson instead of sleeping. So funny! It was a neat day. ....and I'm rambling - ok I'm done. :) bye

A new life

Here I am again. I must admit I have been motivated all week to lose some more weight. Last weekend me and Juli started back checking some blogs to see what some of the total weight loss was at for everyone. It is very encouraging and motivating for me to see people working there guts off to be healthy. Thanks for being a motivator for me. I consider this a life saver for me, and look forward to the extra years this will bring for me and my family (excluding professional hazards). Hopefully a number of health problems, such as diabetes can be avoided. That is one of those that seems to run deep in my family. Both my grandpas had it, and my grandma Hancock. My mom has the first step of diabetes. My aunt died this last week of complications of the same. I hope by being healthy I will never have to deal with these types of complications. Back to this week. I lost 6 pounds this week. I am feeling great and enjoying this new life. Thanks everyone.

Whew!

I have not done well at all for the past 2 weeks. I've just been stressed about school, girls camp, and all the other stresses life brings. I just haven't put my health first. I know we are doing this to lose weight but also to learn how to live healthy. I am making a goal to do better this week; eat more fruit and veggies and exercise. I am very happy to report that in spite of my lack of healthy living, I haven't gained anything. I'm the same as the last time I weighed, which was 2 Sundays ago.

Boston Arik

At my last Dr visit almost 2 weeks ago, this little boy gained almost 2 lbs!!! He's got the Beesley cheeks! I have another appt in just over a week, I'm excited to see how much he's grown since. April 28th is the official date to have him delivered. After that, I will be joining my own Biggest Loser club. LOVE YOU!