2 Moms 2 Work 4 a Goal

times going fast

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:59:35 GMT

Well here we are again! Thanks for those who have emailed back to offer encouragement and good luck to all of you. We are all in it for the same reason and we are hoping that each of you obtain your goal. Can you believe 297 plus thousand pounds? Thats incredible!!!!!!!!! We are proud of all of you.

I ahve continued tobe fighting this same illness. The weather here in the midwest has been terrible and goes from warm to bitter cold with a lot more snow then we have seen in the last few years. Working in healthcare lends a few new problems as well that it seems everyone is sick and this year I guess I couldn't escape it. It seems to go from a sinus infection to cold and back again. Just when it seems you have it licked it comes back with a vengence. YUK! I am on medicine now and hope it will now be short lived. I have taken a hit though as cardio is not really working for me since I can't breathe. On the plus size I ahven't really felt like eating and have been still doing training by walking and weights sooooo I have lost a couple more pounds. I had hoped by now to have been down twenty or so but I will take the 16 I am down from the start. I have increased my water intake and though I said I haven't felt much like eating I am still holding close to my calories that we discussed at the meet in Chicago.

Jill continues to work out daily and goes to the gym a couple times per week as well. She is doing awesome with her workouts, but I am trying to get her to look over her food journal or in reality to keep one as the scale isn't moving like she had hoped. The problem is, is that Jill is reaching the goal weight she put down two years ago and its harder it seems once you start hitting the end of the goal. I am very proud of her workouts though and she is firming up and doing well. She is still down four pounds and thats in the right direction. I am trying to get her to send me a new picture or visit my facility so I can get a new picture. WWe will keep trying to to all of who ahve joined me on my friends list thank you and good luck to each and everyone of you.

one more week

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:21:47 GMT

Well here we go again, one more week. I ended up getting sick and have spent the greater part of the last four days coughing and running a fever. Yuk! I haven't let that stop me on the goal to change my life though. I had to do some creative changes since any time I did cardio I couldn't breath or had a coughing attack. So what to do? My solution ws to think like they do on the show when they have injuries and adapt to my situation. I had to bypass the cardio, but still worked on walking and staying active. I also did more strength training. I found that doing this slowly I kept my focus where it needed to be and happily I had some success. To date I have lost a grand total of twelve pounds. Oh how I would love to lose like they do on the show but I know this is healthy for me and hopefully life changing.

My daughter and I have both worked hard this past weekend changing her rooms. She opted for the larger cooler room which meant lots of heavy furniture moving. This had another interesting change. I have been doing the challenge hoping to win one of the Zunes as well as learning from the MSN tips. One of the things that was in last weeks readings was that you need to make changes in other areas of your life and lose some of the baggage that holds you back. Stress is one thing that can help add pounds and one of my stressors is I have so much to do in our home that I never get it started or finished. I decided to take it one step at a time and let it go. By the changing of her room we filled three garbage bags of extra stuff we didn't need and couldn't pass along to others. I have gone through my dresser and filled a bag with clothes for Salvation Army and next will be my closet. Happily I am getting to the position where I might be unloading some of my "fat" clothes as well.

Jill has been working hard as well. She has increased her workouts to where she can easily tackle the one mile run and feeling great about that. She works out daily and goes to the Y to add some variations to her workouts. She has been discouraged in feeling the scale should be moving more and I am talking with her often to let her know that she is doing everything possible. She has hit a plataeu and we need to keep her focused. We are brainstorming other ideas that can help including changing her workout or her diet to get her moving in the downward direction again. We both watch Biggest Loser weekly and talk about the teams that we are favoring and the new changes taking place there as well. How that would suck to go one team against the others. We ahve also added one more person who is now hooked on the show and it makes for some spirited conversations weekly.

Oops

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 23:42:06 GMT

Well it looks like I lost one of my previous entries, sorry about that. We did ahve a great time in Gurnee and loved talking with everyone there. We got to talking to some of the people in line and found we had many similar interests. We had even traveled about the same distance to be there, which was something else to pass the time away. We agreed on our list of trainers and our order in which we liked them. Most of us chose Jillian for her "Bully" attitude but great heart. Bob was also high up on the list and we would love to train with either of them. Both we would love to meet in person and work with for a bit and see if we could handle it. We ahd a birthday party today for my mom and I was able to stick to the basics that we have been following, though I did have some great cake which I will have to work to clear those calories. Once in awhile I think we will be ok in the long run. I find I am filling up much faster and having more energy as well.

I forgot to add yesterday that Jill has signed up for a Pilates contiuing ed program, which is one of the reasons she bought the ball and mat since they are required for the class. Its six hours continuing education credits, much more though is we can gain some new experiences with our workouts to keep them fresh and add them to our work with the patient's we see. I am thinking about going as well. Well have agreat week and I will check back soon.

Week 3

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 03:48:09 GMT

Well here we are at week three. My daughter and I, a friend and her daughter went up to Chicago last Saturday to meet the past cast members of the Biggest Loser. We had a great time and enjoyed meeting them very much. The bonus in addition to meeting them was the wonderful book and DVD's to work out with. What a great addition to the plan we have set ourselves on. My daugher already wants to get the second DVD to add to our routine.

Jill has been working out daily and enjoys the DVD very much. She has also purchased a swiss ball and work out mat to add variation to her work outs. In addition I gave her a theracord to add some resistance and she picked up some weights as well. Wow what a great week! We got to meet up this week and had a good time, though it was work we got to fill each other in as well and encourage each other to maintain our great start. Some people she used to work with at a past building commented on how woderful she is looking!

I have had a busy week as usual and can happily say busy or not I have dropped another four pounds! Not the big losses that we see on TV but a loss non the less and its a great feeling. I have been waiting for the pictures from last weekend but have not recieved them as yet. I do have a picture with Marty, Amy, Kae and my daughter and I that I will be adding to this site. Like I said it was great meeting them. Jillian would ahve been proud of us. We were told where they were in the mall and told to move our vehicle around to that side of the mall. We heard Jillian's and Bob's voice in our heads and decided to walk the mall instead and had a great time. I have been working out with my patient's and adding more walking to the regime. We look forward to many more great achievements and uploading this site. I am working on figuring out the whole side so this is a work in progress.

End of first week

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 02:46:28 GMT

Well here we are coming to the end of our first week. This has been a very busy and truthfully a very stress filled week. Reading all the health tips and taking the tests each day towards hopefully winning the Zune or trip, I recall there was a one article that talked about stress and how it can have a negative impact on our bodies. Unfortunately stress, especially this week is not easy to avoid. Jill being my boss helps as much as she can and is a good sounding board and I hope I the same for her as well. This being said however, it did not take away our efforts in our quest to become healthier.

Jill's first week: Jill started out by moving her treadmill from the previous location to her living room. She has now consistantly been working out on it each day. She also attends the Y twice a week to work out there as well. Additionally, she bought a new scale and new running shoes. Though travel and overnight stays are very much a part of Jill's job, she is making healthier choices and is trying to eat right. We met for lunch on Tuesday for a business lunch with a couple of other people. We each ordered our desired food, bypassed the fries and shared our food between each other and sent back to work a care package for another co-worker who could not be there. We still felt fullfilled and good that we made these choices. Like Jillian and other trainers state on the "Biggest Loser" calories in and calories out. Yes I did work out when I got home anyway. Jill has succeeded in dropping three pounds her first week and I am very proud of her.

As for me, my daughter and I took down the Christmas stuff and made our living room into a workout room as well as a living room. Though she can't participate she works out with me each day towards the same goal. Is it hard? Oh yea its very hard on weekdays to take the time to exercise and there are times when we are exercising before bed. Like I said it has been a very stressful week. We are also making healthier food choices. We had the opportunity or should I say we had to eat out one night and the choice was Subway and we followed the guide placed on the "Biggest Loser" and made the right choices with extra vegatable toppings as well as bread choice and taking out extra bread from the middle. We were satisfied and felt good that we opted for this instead of pizza. After my first week I have lost four pounds towards my goals and feel great that it can be done. It pales in comparison to the tremendous weight loss on the television show but as they say those are not typical weigt losses and I am happy it is going in the right direction. We are looking forward to our trip to Chicago to see MSN and some past contestants on the Biggest Loser tomorrow, Jillian we wish it were you we were going to meet :). I have also purcahsed a new scale and at the same time we ended up bringing home a mini trampoline for jogging on. Its all good and a great start.

Entry Essay

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 02:08:34 GMT

Weight loss gimics, pills that promise to block this or that, lose weight quick ads, we have all seen them on television and heard the radio ads. Unfortunately, how well do they work and for how long. Well thanks to the Biggest Loser and MSN we have this contest to help us to get focused on what we really want and to have a chance to win a prize at the end as well.

Our overall goal is to lose 200 pounds total. Jill wishes to lose 20 by March with an overall weight loss of 50 pounds. She hopes to drop four sizes. I need to lose more 150 total with a goal of 50 by March.

I talked Jill into joining this contest, as we have always wanted to lose weight permanently, I respect and trust her explicitly, and I know with her on my team, I shall work hard and stay focused. My daughter promises to “kick my butt” during my workouts to help me out. Jill and I talk almost daily and will do the same for each other.

To win this contest would be wonderful and inspiring . I have watched the Biggest Loser from the beginning. I have cried, cheered, and watched the amazing transformations wishing I was there to do the same. We have taken the information on life changes and learned. This gives us the opportunity to be on a team, to be a part of the show and to hopefully win and go out to the finale and celebrate with these teams. Good luck to all who join, as we are all fighting for the same goal. We can’t wait to hear of your progress!

Photo Album: 2 Moms 2 Work 4 a Goal

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 23:12:47 GMT

2 Moms 2 Work 4 a Goal

Janet, 49, Ottawa, IL

Jill, 37, Burlington, IA interests include family, home improvement, travel, and poker to name a few.

Kae, Amy, Marty, My daughter and I in Gurnee, IL