We're BIG LOSERS.

Our Biggest Loser competition is over! The Hubs and I worked our tails off (literally!) to win this thing, and while there's no "official" winner announced yet, we're the "projected" winners.  For those interested, or following along here's our final numbers/post:

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The Final Weigh-In: Adipose Annihilators

We can't believe the competition is finally over!! Well, we have worked our tails off, and are super grateful for the progress we made, as well as the opportunity this provided us to get our health in order. We plan to continue our weight loss, and Michael's plan is to be below 200 by New Years, which will be an especially hard task with all of the holidays.  A HUGE thanks to the Autrey's for organizing all of this- PROPS!

MICHAEL
Last week: 213.2
Today: 207.4

Lost: 5.8 lbs.
Percentage lost: 2.72%

Total percentage lost: 10.22%
Total points week: 227

JILL
Last week: 129.4
Today: 127

Lost:  2.4
Percentage lost: 1.85%
Total Percentage Lost:8.63%

Total points for the week: 205
Team Total Points for the week : 432

FINAL WEIGH IN TOTALS

JILL ORIGINAL WEIGHT:139

CURRENT WEIGHT: 127

TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS: 12 LBS.

MICHAEL ORIGINAL WEIGHT: 231
MICHAEL CURRENT WEIGHT: 207.4

TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS: 23.6 LBS

TEAM TOTAL LB LOSS: 35.6 LBS

TEAM TOTAL PERCENTAGE LOSS: 9.62%

TOTAL OF TEAM POINTS OVER COMPETITION: 2,493

INCHES LOST: 
Jill
Waist: 3.5"
Arms: 3/4" 
Thighs: 1.5"
Butt/hips: 1.75"

The Hubs
Waist: 3.25"
Arms: 1"
Thighs: 2.5"
 

So, how we did it: 

We ordered three new cookbooks and stuck religoiusly to them. On Saturdays we'd create our weekly menu, do all of the shopping for it, and then follow through. They're all by Liz Vaccariello. They are: 400 Calorie Fix, Flat Belly Diet! Family Cookbook, and Flat Belly Diet!

We also used Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred workout video, with an occasional P90X and some running in there too. Michael ran up to 9 miles at one point, and my furthest was 1.5 miles. We didn't make our goal of running a 5K yet, but I feel like I'm closer at least. It really surprised me how much abuse running caused my body at first. It's taken a long time to condition myself to be able to handle the high impact of running, but I'm finally there and hope to be doing my 5K sooner rather than later...Although it's COLD!! BRR!!! When we did run we'd usually run on a treadmill, and occasionally outside if the weather was favorable. But we've found the treadmill to be easier on our bodies.  

Good luck to all of our fellow competitors! May the best team win!

(P.S. I'll post some "after" pictures later when we've had a chance to take some)

Reflections.

It's amazing how empowering a change in the reflection in the mirror can be.

As I sat getting ready previously, I looked in the mirror and was suddenly stunned to see somebody staring back at me that I'd missed. A reflection from my "content" days.

Yes, I've lost weight, and yes I worked my butt off to do it. It has been an uphill battle, but I did it! I'm about 5 lbs. shy of my "goal" weight, but so far the 10 I have lost, have been extremely empowering. Not only for my self-confidence and overall feelings of self-contentment, but for my overall feelings toward life.

It's not about the numbers on the scale for me. It's more about seeing somebody I recognize in the mirror, and being HAPPY to see them! Instead of seeing somebody in the mirror I was trying to figure out how to hide. It's about actually accomplishing the goal I'd originally set out to accomplish! It's about the satisfaction of knowing I'm a strong woman, and if I put my mind to something, I can do it!

In a few days we'll have our final weigh in for our Biggest Loser contest, and then I'll post some before/after shots and give a run-down on how we've done it.

But for now, just know: If I can do it, YOU can do it!

Update

So I guess now that I've inundated everybody with recipes I should probably give an update on how I'm doing. Well, The Hubs and I are participating a Biggest Loser contest with a few other couples, and so we've been pretty obsessed with our foods and exercising. Doing so has counter-effected my PPA/PPD and I honestly feel FANTASTIC!! I finally feel excited and happy about things in general, and have been truly enjoying all these fun/healthy meals we've been cooking (hence the monstrous amounts of recipes). I feel like I'm finally filling into my shoes as a wife/mother and want to expand my creative side and have been keeping myself busy sewing, cooking, and crafting in general. It's so great to feel proud of some of my creations and know that I can do things that I always was too scared to try because I thought it would be too hard (like sewing my kids Halloween costumes).

In addition to the mental benefits of our new found health obsession (kicked into high gear by the Biggest Loser contest), The Hubs and I have both lost a good amount of weight, which has been next to IMPOSSIBLE for me to do in the past. I felt like a hamster running on a wheel, getting nowhere quick. So I was sacrificing all of these favorite indulgences for nothing. So I became slightly bitter. But these new recipe books we've found have been AMAZING. We honestly have loved EVERY recipe (with the exception of some pumpkin muffins) and haven't had the same meal twice yet...although there's a few I can't wait to get back to!

So far I've lost 9 lbs. and The Hubs has lost 14 (show off...)- We've also really enjoyed doing this all TOGETHER and not fighting the battle of one waiting for the other spouse to motivate them. He's been really good about exercising with me, or watching the kids so I can go if he's already exercised for the day.

I'm not quite ready to call myself "cured" of any sort of PPA/PPD stuff, but I will say I'm in the recovery stages...maybe. I'll let you know in a few weeks after this contest is over. ;-)

Recipe Round-Up: Crumble-Top Coffee Cake Muffins

I've been making tons of breakfast types of foods to put in our new deep freezer so we can just grab'n go in the mornings, and this morning I was working with Mr. G on finishing up a few more. He was actually a good helper! We had a lot of fun cooking together!

He was in charge of the topping. So I'd measure out the ingredients, and he'd dump them in...

Then stir...

CRUMBLE-TOP COFFEE CAKE MUFFINS
Topping:
1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. chopped pecans
1/4 c. packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 Tbs. butter, melted
1 Tbs. water

Muffins:
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2/3 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. low-fat buttermilk (you can make your own buttermilk by just adding 1 Tbs. white vinegar to your milk {DON'T STIR!} and letting it sit for 5 minutes)
3 Tbs. canola oil
3 Tbs. unsweetened applesauce

1. Preaheat oven to 375ºF. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or use paper liners.
2. To Make The Topping: Combine the flour, pecans, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Stir in the butter and water until crumbly and blended. Set aside.
3. To Make The Muffins: Whisk together the flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Combine the buttermilk, oil, and applesauce in a small bowl. Pour the buttermilk mixture over the flour mixture and mix until just blended-do not overmix. 
4. Spoon about 1/4 c. batter into each muffin cup. Top each muffin with a tablespoon of crumb topping, sprinkling it over the center {and I suggest pressing the topping down slightly so that it sticks more to the muffin once cooked}. Bake for 13-15 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan.

Serving size= 1 muffin
Calories= 220
Yields 12 muffins

*Recipe courtesy of 400 Calorie Fix Cookbook, Liz Vaccariello.

Pure GENIUS!: Smoothie

Ok party people, THIS has to be one of my BEST ideas YET. It is a little time consuming in the beginning, but now I have breakfasts for a LONG time and so I'll be saving myself time in the chaos of the mornings and making sure everybody gets a good breakfast at the same time. I've been busy making waffles, muffins, and smoothies. Here's how I've been doing my 'pre-made' smoothies:

This is how I label my bags BEFORE putting the stuff in.

I later went back and added how much ice and a warning to not let Bug drink it because there's honey in it.

This particular smoothie called for honey and pomegranate juice to be whisked together-

Enter my "lovely assistant" do shake it up and do my version of whisking them together.

This is the juice and yogurt together- I just wanted to show that I don't blend any of it together at all. Just put all the ingredients in the bag. I later added some berries to this particular smoothie.

TA-DUM!!!  Now when we want a smoothie in the morning, just run some hot water around it for a few seconds, plop the whole frozen mass in the blender, and add water. BLAM! TASTY, QUICK, HEALTHY, BREAKFAST!

Leave it to my "lovely assistant" to get my "best" side...This was a post-breakfast project while Bug was napping, so please excuse my Care Bear p.j.'s ;-)

OH BABY!!! That's SMOOOOOTH!!

Bug drinking her smoothie-Not to be bugged to smile. I TRIED!

Ok, this is EXACTLY why I created this blog. To share things that I'm totally STOKED about, but can't really go and tell everyone tactfully in normal conversations. Things that I can't WAIT to share.

So my Bug (10 mos.) has some issues with "green" foods. Basically most vegetables. And she's also starting to get finicky about other finger foods. Solution?

Disclaimer: Please don't do this if you aren't sure if your baby is old enough for any of the ingredients.
BERRY BABY SMOOTHIE!
1/4 c. strawberry banana V8 Fusion (enter some vegetables!- For those of you keeping meticulous track of your kids juice intake, that's 2 oz.)
1/4 c. frozen blueberries
1/4 banana (which she'll NEVER eat)
4 fresh strawberries
6 oz. yogurt (I used the thick'n creamy one because she needs the fats, but also used some Great Value vanilla)
Handful of fresh spinach (YES! SPINACH! MORE VEGETABLES!!)
Handful of ice

Blend until smooth as possible (it does have to go through a sippy).

I would be lying if I didn't say I was TOTALLY stoked about this solution. Plus, it's MUCH cleaner than the food she chucks on my floor. The added bonus is that big brother Mr. G loves it too. YESSSS!

UPDATE: I should mention, that after a little while I moved Bug out of her highchair with her sippy because she seemed to be getting bored. Next thing I know the two of them are fighting over her sippy cup in the front room. He had it, and she wanted it back! "G, you need to give Bug her smoothie back..." "But mine's ALL GONE!!"

Recipe Round-up: Lemon and Wild Blueberry Muffins

These are great muffins to make ahead and freeze if you want to. We were a bit skeptical when we were in the process of making these, but they ended up being a great breakfast!

Lemon & Wild Blueberry Muffins 
Prep time: 10 min. + 20 min. cooling
Cook time: 18 min.
Makes: 12 servings

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. white whole wheat flour (we just used whole wheat flour)
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 container (6 oz) fat-free lemon yogurt
1/4 c. canola oil
1 lg. egg
2 tsp. lemon zest (after actually following this, we'd recommend using about half. No more than 1 1/2 tsp.)

2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

1/2 c. frozen wild blueberries (Package doesn't have to say "wild"- I just used the standard Wal-Mart, freezer isle bag of blueberries).

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or coat with cooking spray.

2. Whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Combine the yogurt, oil, egg, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Pour the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture and mix until just blended-do not over mix. Fold in the frozen blueberries, taking care not to smash them.

3. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Bake for 16 to 18 mins, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

Make it a meal: Serve with an omelet made in a nonstick pan with 1 whole egg, 1 egg white, 1/2 c. chopped onion, 1/2 c. sliced mushrooms (we don't particularly like mushrooms, so we'd be more likely to add spinach, or tomatoes). Also add 1 c. low-fat milk. OR you can just have 2 muffins and a glass of milk with a bunch of strawberries (sans sugar).

Nutritional Info:

Serving Size: 1 serving= 1 muffin

Calories: 150

Total fat: 5g

Saturated fat: 0.5g

Sodium: 250mg

Carbs: 24g

Dietary fiber: 1g

Protein: 3g

Calcium 8%