Thermometer - Fun Weight Loss Tool

I found this graphic on another site! I am very excited to print it out and use one myself.  I am a very visual person....so I am going to hang this up where I can see it!!!  I have included the directions from the original website & her message to how she used it.  I think the first way sound difficult - So I will use her second suggestion.  

I have also posted this website in my weight loss binder on the left!  

Directions from:  http://www.dwlz.com/thermometer2.html

How to fill in the lines:

1. On the 0% line write down your starting weight.
2 On the 100% line write your desired ending weight.
3. Subtract the ending weight from the starting weight. This is your desired weight loss. Write it down on a separate piece of paper.
4. Each of the individual lines represents 2% of your total weight loss. Multiply your desired weight loss by 0.02. Write down the result on your scratch paper. We will call this value the 2% value.
5. Now, subtract the 2% value you found in step four from your Starting weight. Write the result down on the line right above the line you wrote your Starting weight on.
6. For each line, all the way up, subtract the 2% value from the line which is already filled in, and then write the result on the line directly above it. Continue this until you reach the top.

****EASIER WAY TO USE IT (this is what the designer said and how she used it) 

 "Another way to fill this in is to put your starting weight at the bottom and put in 1 lb. for every line ( I use two of these - one went from 233 lbs to 185 lbs - then the second one was 184 lbs to 135 lbs) - this way you aren't always looking at the BIG picture, if you have a lot to lose like I did.  I filled in the thermometer with a yellow highlighter as I lost (wrote the date it and circled the weight next to it)".   

- THANKS DOTTI!!!!  

Menu for the week 10/31 - 11/6

Monday: Egg & Veggie Taco

I love breakfast for dinner! I just cook my eggs & veggies together…..stick them in a soft taco shell and add fresh salsa & cheese!  I know I have zucchini, peppers, & onions that will be added! 

Tuesday: Chicken Divan

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/11/chicken-divan-lightened-up.html

Wednesday: Barbecue Turkey Meatloaf & Mashed Butternut Squash

http://www.skinnykitchen.com/recipes/barbeque-turkey-meatloaf/

http://www.skinnykitchen.com/recipes/mashed-butternut-squash/

Thursday: Turkey Chili Taco Soup

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/02/turkey-chili-taco-soup.html#more

Friday:  Crock Pot Veggie Soup & Pizza

http://hopealicious.blogspot.com/2011/02/vegetable-and-lentil-soup.html

Saturday:  Low Fat Baked Ziti w/ Spinach

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/09/low-fat-baked-ziti-with-spinach.html

Sunday: Baked Chicken Parmesan

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/04/baked-chicken-parmesan.html

Halloween Candy INFO

Halloween Time!  How easy is it to eat a bag of reeses?  I know one Halloween I shopped early for our candy, then I had to re-buy it because my hubby and I ate it all before trick-or-treat.  I never really thought about the nutritional info (or really cared) before I ate these treats…but now I am thinking a bit differently.  So……..

Hungry Girl has done us a favor and figured out the WW points to many of our favorite Halloween candy.  Check out the link below to see…..

http://www.hungry-girl.com/biteout/show/2131

 So as we just pop a piece in our mouth…..is it worth it????  Hmmmm???? 

PDF: http://www.hungry-girl.com/uploads/File/HGHALLOWEENCANDYGUIDE2011.pdf

Pumpkin cupcakes with pumpkin spiced cream cheese frosting!

Got these in the oven right now!!!  


I have our volleyball (dessert ) banquet tonight ..... I am making something I can eat and really wanted to try.  Very excited to see how they turn out!


PUMPKIN CUPCAKES WITH PUMPKIN SPICED CREAM CHEESE FROSTING





FOR FULL DIRECTIONS: 
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/09/pumpkin-cupcakes-with-pumpkin-spiced.html

One Year Cancer Free!

Yesterday was an awesome day!  1 year anniversary of being Cancer Free (my hubby’s surgery day)!

We spent the day at the pumpkin patch with our two little kiddos.  The weather was awesome!  As we sat on the bail of hay, I looked at my watch and shared with him what I had been doing at that time, a year prior!  Since he doesn’t remember much of the week we were at Cleveland Clinic, I fill in many of the details – good & bad!  I share what it was like being there out of control, watching him endure such a hard and trying time. 

When I sit here and think about all we have done in the past year I am amazed!  I can’t believe we made it through surgery, the week away from my kids while he was in the hospital (and I was nursing), taking care of him & kids as he recovered, 6 months of chemo, the loss of my two grandparents!  As we reflected now we were in complete awe of how blessed we are.  

I shared today with someone at zumba about my day I had with my hubby and how we were really celebrating life….her response….you should celebrate it each day!  And we should!  Even in the midst of the storm, we are blessed.  Each day is such a gift & as much as I hated going through all this, I am glad I learned to appreciate life, my marriage, & my family now instead of wasting it on sweating the small stuff! 

I look forward to celebrating many more anniversaries with my hubby – marriage & cancer free!  

Former Fat Girl doing the Ironman - lost 160 lbs

I was at a mom’s group event this past weekend, and a friend of mine announced she wanted to do one of the warrior dashes.  She then asked if I wanted to do it with her! Hmmmm……I  said sure!  LOL now I am looking at the photos of the course……OMG!  Not sure about this!  But I like a challenge – So here we go!  Remember I am not a runner…..so this is going to be an adventure!  

So......who wants to join me??????

 

Found this article and was inspired!!! 

'Former fat girl doing the Ironman' has lost 160 pounds

By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY

Bonnie Crawford, 29, of Beaverton, Ore., is convinced that if she can lose weight, anyone can.

Four years ago, she weighed more than 350 pounds. Since then, she has shed more than 160 pounds and now participates in triathlons — running, biking, swimming. Her husband, Preston, 32, has lost 150 pounds.

Crawford is one of more than a dozen readers selected to be profiled as part of the fourth annual USA TODAY Weight-Loss Challenge. This year's challenge, which runs every Monday through May, is focusing

Before she started on her weight-loss journey, Crawford didn't believe she had a prayer at slimming down. "My family has a long history with weight issues, and I really didn't think anything was going to work for me," says Crawford, a project manager for a marketing services company.

She always had struggled with her weight, even though she was a competitive swimmer in high school and college. Her weight gain accelerated after she entered the workforce.

"I was still fueling to do varsity swimming, but I was working in an office surrounded by food. It was lack of exercise and coming home and ordering a pizza and then eating the whole pizza."

At 5-foot-7, she weighed 358 pounds and was "bursting out of size 34" in October 2002 when she decided to try the Weight Watchers Flex Plan. "I followed the program to the letter the first week, and lost 9.6 pounds."

She ate plenty of fruits and vegetables each day and allowed herself occasional treats. She also joined a gym and started walking.

The real mental turning point for her came on New Year's Eve that year. She weighed about 323 pounds at the time and decided to try to walk a 5K race, which started at midnight. "I kept getting farther behind the group. When I got to the finish line, I was just ahead of a man pushing his wife in a wheelchair. I felt like I was on the verge of cardiac arrest just to stay ahead of them. I thought to myself: 'I have to do better. I am only 25.' "

A couple of months went by, and she did another walk and finished 10th from last. Someone suggested she consider doing a triathlon. So Crawford began swimming again, only 50 yards or so at first, and she started biking a mile or two.

"In four months, I trained, and I finished the triathlon. It was an amazing experience. I'll never forget that first race. I didn't finish close to last. I finished in front of 500 people." She weighed 280 pounds at the time.

She has done numerous other triathlons since then. Right now, she is training for an Ironman triathlon in June — her first. It involves 2.4 miles of swimming and 112 miles of biking followed by a marathon of 26.2 miles.

When she is preparing for this kind of event, she works out one to two hours a day, and on the weekend she trains for three to six hours. "Since losing weight, I love to exercise. And it enables me to eat more fun foods.

"Anyone can do what I have done," she says. "Anyone. There was no magic bullet."

 http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2007-04-01-wlc-crawford_N.htm

Menu for the week 10 24th- 30th

Monday: Zucchini Casserole & Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2008/07/zucchini-casserole-25-pts.html

Tuesday: Island Insanity Burger

http://www.hungry-girl.com/show/think-fast-food-island-insanity-burger-recipe

  

Wednesday: Crock Pot Turkey White Bean Pumpkin Chili

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/10/crockpot-turkey-white-bean-pumpkin.html#more

Thursday:  Chicken Quesadillas

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/02/chicken-quesadillas.html

Friday: LEFT OVERS (going out later that evening)

Saturday:  Baked Chicken Parmesan

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/04/baked-chicken-parmesan.html

Sunday: Crock Pot Pizza Chicken

(ON THE BLOG)