Week 2 Results

First, I'd like to say, I have no idea if this will post properly or not. There have been technical difficulties, my squishy little minions. Second, I'd like to give a shout out to our new members who didn't just dip a toe in to test the temperature of the pool, they jumped right in and got completely wet.
Today is the last day we are accepting members, at this time we stand at 13....a Baker's Dozen! Which for a bunch of people who enjoy food so much, this is delightfully ironic.
Enough jabbering, let's get to it:

Kristi: -2.0
Sunshine: -1.8
Melody: -3.2
Michele: -3.0
Alison: -1.4
Keeley: -1.0
Andy: -3.5
Amy: -1.0
Lana: -1.2
Heather: maintain, FF
Deanna: -2.0
R*Belle: -1.5
AnaBell: -1.1

Total Week 2: -22.7
Way to go everyone! And way to go Andy, our Mega Loser of the week! Come on girls, let's see if someone can dethrone him next week...

I must pass along an interesting bit about one of our new members. Michele sent her results in this morning reflecting a 23 pound loss for the week. I emailed back and said, "Michele, we don't do crash dieting here at the Pool. While that is an amazing and horrifically unhealthy drop in weight in one week's time, maybe you want to go back to the scale." Don't worry about Michele, she hasn't been lunching with anorexic starlets, she simply had a typo in her email. Way to go to everyone this week, we'll keep posting some Food for Thought that is sure to stay off your thighs.

Weigh In Friday

Today is weigh in! Results must be emailed by 4PM Eastern. Remember, at least a full pound loss must be registered to negate the Fatty Fee! We will post losses, gains and maintains tomorrow. If you fell off the wagon a bit this week, go back and reread posts, all the common sense baby steps stuff that helped you kickstart your weight loss.
Hope to see less of you today! Have a great weekend!

Don't Whine About Wine

Let’s talk a little about drinking. With the weekend coming, it’s hard, ya know? I mean, who wants to do all that hard work being good all week, watching what is going in our mouths, then blow it on the weekends eating fatty foods and drinking like lushes?? Not me! But, I also don’t want to give up the social life/adult time and with that, comes an analysis of “how much or how little alcohol is OK?”

First, let’s just give everyone a little reminder that beverages, except for water, have calories. It’s easy to think “it’s a drink, it’s not really like adding anything to my diet because it’s a drink.” Some people really think that drinks don’t count.
Uh, hello. They do, and some count big time.

So, if you’re hardcore about your weight loss, give up the booze completely. This is your choice. If you’d rather have a 100-calorie pack during a late afternoon snack binge instead of imbibing the brews that night, go out with your friends and have some water with a lemon wedge. And if anyone gives you crap for not drinking, guess what, you need to find some new friends. How old are we now? Peer pressure is over. Mature adults who choose not to drink may have a number of reasons for doing so (alcoholism, pregnancy, etc.) that they’d rather not discuss. Anymore, personal choices should be given respect. Besides, your water with lemon may look vaguely like a vodka something-or-other, people might not even notice.

For those of you who enjoy a drink or five, think ahead to what you usually order when you go out. Look up the calories on a chart. It’s not hard to find your beverage of choice and how many calories it has. Then, you’ll have to plan accordingly. Like gin? It’s gonna cost ya. And let’s not forget with mixed drinks, the sodas, juices and other high calorie, sugary things that liquor is combined with. Those calories add up too.

So, to follow, we’ve found various sources you can go have a read, that show both the pros and cons of drinking alcohol. (**Yes, there are pros!)

**And, obviously, there are studies that support and studies that discredit practically every claim out there. I mean, seriously, every time I turn around eggs are good, then they're bad, then they're good. Just do your own research, this is just a slice of information that we've found regarding alcohol and the final decision, as with everything else, is up to you. We're just giving you some perspectives to consider.**

PROS:

• Drinking wine, specifically white wine, may keep the lungs healthy.
• Red wine, in moderation, has been shown to be beneficial for the heart.
• People who drink wine occasionally may have a lower risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer's Disease.

CONS:

• Chronic heaving drinking can lead to problems such as liver disease, brain disease, cancer, heart disease.
• In regards to weight loss, people who are overweight actually gain weight more easily if they drink alcohol and the calories from alcohol tend to be stored in the gut, so if you want six-pack abs you'll need to cut down on the booze.
  

Bottom line:

• If you're going to drink, drink in moderation. Our recommendation would be that, if you're going to drink at all, drink one or maybe two drinks then switch to water. But, factor in that consumption of calories ahead of time, they do count!
  
• Be aware of alcohol and it's effects in combination with any medications, prescription or otherwise, that you may be taking.
• Beware that drinking sometimes goes hand in hand with eating high fat foods and/or smoking. Keep your smarts about you and stay firm with your game plan before you go out.
• If you've always stuck with one favorite drink, maybe try to develop a taste for something with fewer calories.
• Plan ahead, be smart, make good choices. Weight loss doesn't mean you have to eliminate your social life, just work it into your plan in a sensible, common sense way.
  

Notes for Thursday

Just a few things on this last day before weigh in.

• We are still accepting new members thru Saturday, Sept. 30. Then, it is too late to join the Pool (at least this go round, we are anticipating a New Year Pool for the polar bear crowd)
• Reminder: starting this week 1 entire pound minimum must be lost to not pay the Fatty Fee. With digital scales, we know you can tell us tenths of a pound and we want some hard work and progress, so a pound minimum is the requirement. As always, this is the honor system, so if you lose half a pound don't fib and say it was a pound.
• If you haven't yet, send in a "starting" pic of your tootsies on the scale with your current weight. This is for verification to declare our winners at the end. Don't want someone inflating their starting weight just to win the money.
• Reminder: Paypal payments must be a Paypal Balance Transfer or cash transfer from a certified bank account. WE ARE NOT ACCEPTING DEBIT OR CREDIT CARD TRANSFERS. This alleviates us from paying the Paypal fees, the entire $5 needs to come into the DEOTP account.
• Weigh ins are on Friday. We will accept a Thursday weigh in if you know you will be gone for some reason. We will not be accepting any earlier weigh ins than a Thursday as we don't want to shorten the time frame and encourage any crash dieting or unhealthy habits in a desperate attempt to make weight too early. So, Friday is the day with Thursday as the only alternative. Please email on Thursday that you won't be around Friday for weigh in so we don't miss you somehow.

Stay tuned later for more important weight loss tips for you to consider for your weekend! And keep adding to the recipe post from yesterday, at the end of the Pool we may even have enough to print up some Pool cookbooks!

Recipe Romp - Chicken Style!

Okay, so the name needs some work maybe? Anyway, one of the ideas Sonia and I had for this blog is to have one day each week where we share healthy, yummy recipes. Before I post the recipes, I wanted to pass on a few things I've learned about cooking healthier:

• Spices make all the difference. Alot of complaints about lowfat foods is the lack of taste. Taking fat out of a recipe sometimes means less flavor. BUT - you can remedy that with spices. Experiment, find spices that you like. I'm a garlic and onion powder champ, let me tell you. Also, Mrs. Dash makes ALOT of great spice mixes to add to meats, side dishes, etc.
• Don't give up on your old favorites. Just because a recipe you love is high in fat doesn't mean you have to give up on it totally. Modify ingredients, substitute with lower fat/sugar/salt ingredients. The only caution is when doing this, don't substitute out everything at once. I've found that I can generally replace alot of unhealthy ingredients with a healthier version without losing flavor.

On to the food! Chicken is a staple in my house, so I thought I'd start with what I know best. I'm starting off with a bang - this first chicken recipe is quite possible my favorite chicken dish. I first had it at my bridal shower WAY BACK in 1997 (holy crap.) So, when I went on WW, I had to find a way to modify it so I could still eat it. Because - LOVE IT! I serve it with rice and a veggie. (Use brown rice for more fiber, better for you. Quick hint on rice - use FF chicken/beef broth instead of water to make rice - more flavor!! There are lower sodium versions too if salt is an issue for you.)

Chicken Swiss

6 boneless chicken breasts

6 slices of reduced fat swiss cheese

1 can 99% FF cream of chicken soup

3/4 cup white wine (don't use a sweet wine like zinfandel - it won't taste right. I use chardonnay.)

1/2 to 1 box of fat free garlic and onion croutons

Butter Spray (I use I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray)

Place the chicken in a 9x12 baking dish. Place a slice of cheese on each breast. Mix the soup and wine and pour over chicken/cheese. Crush the croutons and spread over all. Spray with butter spray (4-6 sprays). Bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour. You can make this ahead and refrigerate it. I've also made it and frozen it (leaving off the crouton crumbs/butter spray until cooking time.) Another thing I sometimes do is double the sauce recipe to have more 'gravy' for the rice.

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This next recipe is another favorite and very easy to do that I also got from my SIL. I modified it slightly as well. (Quick hint - tortillas range in fat/fiber like you wouldn't believe. Find higher fiber tortillas if possible - the ones I use are 1.5g-2g fat and 2-3 g of fiber I think.) They don't taste any different to me, but they are better for you! Search around for one that works for you.

Onto the recipe...

Chicken Enchiladas

8 lowfat tortillas

1/2-1 lb cooked chicken, chopped (shortcut-use the already cooked chicken if you're in a hurry - you can get it in the meat section usually. I like the Tyson's Southwestern flavored.)

1 1/2 cups lowfat or fat free shredded sharp cheddar cheese

16 oz reduced fat or fat free sour cream

1 small can green chiles, diced

1 jar enchilada sauce

In a bowl mix the chicken, sour cream, 1 cup of the cheese, and the chilis. (If you don't use the southwestern flavored chicken, I suggest adding some spices like ground red pepper, onion salt, Mrs. Dash Southwestern chipotle, fajita seasoning, or something you like that will give it the mexican feel.) Spoon the mixture into each tortilla, roll up the tortilla, and place seam side down in a 9x12 casserole dish. Repeat until all 8 tortillas are filled. Pour enchilada sauce over tortillas - make sure to get sauce on all tortilla edges or they will dry out. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup cheese over the top of the enchiladas. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

I usually service this with spainish or mexican rice - yum!

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Okay, so share - do you have any favorite chicken recipes? Let us know! Post in the comments below so we can all get some ideas.

Happy cooking!

3,500

You may be wondering, probably because we’ve already been asked, what diet plan we are endorsing here at the Pool.
The answer: none.
With so many participants, quite frankly, how would we ever know what diet type works for each person?
We don’t care if you do Weight Watchers, SlimFast, South Beach, Atkins, The Zone, low cal, low carb, low fat or you're having Nutrisystem delivered. Not the same diet plan works for everyone. Obviously, or we’d all do the same “plan”. We will always encourage healthy eating. We will always encourage you to drink your water. We will always encourage you to eat a balanced diet.
• Fact: No diet, no matter how well designed, can cover 100% of your daily requirements for every nutrient, every day

In a nutshell, today’s first thought is that we want you to think about your health first and foremost. To that end, let’s all get a multivitamin and make sure we take it every day. You don’t have to get anything expensive or fancy, you can find any variety of brands at your local discount or drugstore. Let’s fill in those nutritional gaps and make sure we are getting our daily requirements every single day.

Our second thought for today, many diet fads have come and gone. But not matter what kind of diet is current and popular, there will be one irrefutable fact that remains.

• Fact: 3,500 calories equals one pound.

So, if you consume 3,500 more calories than you burn, you will GAIN a pound. If you burn 3,500 calories more than you eat, you will LOSE a pound.

This is not a complex or difficult concept to grasp. This is not going to come in a miracle pill or shake.

Eat less, move more. We’ve already been saying it. But sometimes, especially you stubborn ones, and those of us who have our lazy days, it takes a while for this to sink in.

So, maybe your diet approach has been flawed in the past and needs tweaking. Perhaps you have been so caught up in the fads and charismatic people making promises about your weight that were too good to be true.
This is the time to get back to the basics. No matter what diet plan you are working, 3,500 is always going to equal one pound. It’s up to you whether it’s going to be a pound you lose or gain.

While You Wait

Just a little something funny while you wait for today's posts. Besides, GET THIS....
A Vanderbilt researcher has found that laughter burns calories. So, if you don't have one yet, get yourself a sense of humor!

• Fact: laughing raises energy expenditure and increases heart rate 10 percent to 20 percent. Ten to 15 minutes of laughter could increase energy expenditure by 10 to 40 calories per day, which could translate into about four pounds a year.

To wit...

Curiosity Seekers

If you have been directed here from other blogs by our members, and are wondering what this Pool deal is, you need to read this post (for the particulars), and this post (for the "why").
It's simple. Get information. Get motivated. Eat less. Move more. And if you don't lose at least a pound per week for the 12 weeks of the Pool, we hit you where it really hurts, in the pocketbook with a Fatty Fee. And there's two winners of the pot at the end, so your potential for some dough (that is no longer around your midsection) is SWEET!
Just go read The Rules post. Move your ass!

Meet Our Personal Trainer

This is a full bio on our newest contributor, our own Pool personal trainer - Lesleh. She will be offering posts about exercise, some about diet but if you ever have any questions to ask her, email them to the Pool email and we'll make sure she gets them. You may not have an answer the same day but please be patient, we want to make sure you are getting all the help and information you need.
I'll post Lesleh's bio and then there are photos below of her athletic self. Please give a read, she's pretty amazing and give her a big welcome to the Pool.

Lesleh
Member Canadian National Rowing Team
1977-1987
Position - Coxswain
Olympic Team Member 1980 and 1984
It is very difficult to ramble on about being a National Team Athlete. It was something that while I was in High School, you just kind of did and shut up about. Kind of like the celebrity kid who goes and makes movies then tries to fit back into this bizarre world of peers and clothes and school work. It wasn't easy but it was the road I travelled. The benefits were enormous, I travelled the world, I raced at the highest level of competition. I made the Olympic Team. When I first saw the Olympics on tv, it was the 1968 games in Mexico. I was 7. I looked at my Dad and said "I'm going there some day." My goal was set. I am pretty much a point A to Point B kind of gal. Skip the details, get to the point. Which in itself made rowing a great sport for me. While in high school, I actually rowed in an eight and a single. The Single event, allowed me to participate as a coxswain on the National Team. I actually came in 2nd in Canada at the Nationals in the Women's Single but I was just way too small to actually row internationally at the time. I came second to a world champion and member of the crew I was coxswain for. Now there islightweight rowing, but back then the sport required you to be 5'10 and 175 pounds or more. As a coxswain (essentially the coach in the boat) I had a weight requirement of 88 pounds and it was my job to keep the crew together and get them to the finish line straight, and successfully. I was actually pretty good at it. I had been a rower, so I understoon what it took to push yourself hard. I also understood the sport better than most other coxswains. Truthfully, I think I was exactly where I was supposed to be when I was in a rowing shell (boat) telling a bunch of bigger people where to go and what to do to get there. To this day I am still blessed with the opportunity to take part in the sport. Because of years of weight management issues, I miraculously still fit in the seat (pretty good after 5 kids). Last year I raced in one of the largest regatta's in the world in Boston Mass. The Head of the Charles. Fun 'cause I got to race with old friends, former National Team Members and best of all my older brother Scott who also rowed for Canada on the National Team. I can't tell you how stoked I was when Chris Cookson said "That was the best race I have ever had at the Head of the Charles". Chris is also a former World Champion. So - after 18 years of not racing very seriously it was pretty cool to see that I could still get the job done. This year we are making a return appearance...and I can't tell you how excited I still get at the opportunity to get into a boat and race. Last year, I sat drinking beer with some former U.S. Team members and one of the U.S. coaches who is a good friend. To sit with Christine Wilson, Carrie Graves (now head coach of the Texas Longhorn Crew) and former U.S. National Team coxswain Holly Hattin and just talk about life, and kids and rowing's evolution was such a treat.
I kind of get that same joy out of fitness training these days. I love the women and their willingness to work hard and sweat. I love how funny some are and how serious others. We are so incredibly blessed to be female. Blessed to have these phenominal bodies that can produce babies and feed them, and then bounce back into these beautiful mature bodies that come with that transformation from child to adulthood. I heard a great line the other day, Jane Fonda said - it is time for all of us women to own our faces. Relish in the lines and the life we have lived to get to this point. I agree. I am empowered by the mere fact that I am alive.I teach four classes on Monday and Wednesday, one on Thursday and one on Friday. A total of 10 classes through the week. I am 45 years old - I say that so that you understand that you can work hard no matter what the age. I teach a Pilates class with a good friend of mine. We call it Pilates to the Core. It is an hour long class, and the focus is primarily pilates based. I teach a class at a facility for adults with learning disabilites. I have a number of people in the class with Down's Syndrome. The group that I teach are such a blessing to me. It is a 45 minute class, we use weights and we dance and laugh and work hard all at the same time. I always get a hug when I leave from just about everyone. I would call that class cardio/dance fun. I teach a Men's Class at the Rec Center, it focuses on the core muscle groups, as well as about 15 minutes of lower body conditioning. My favorite class at the moment is a Cardio Mix class. I teach it 3 days a week. It is 1/2 hour of grueling work. The class has grown considerably over the past 6 months or so, we kind of got into a good groove so word of mouth is working to increase the class size.
My toughest workout is being a mother of 5: Eric 19, Kendall 15, Eden 14, Rae 12, and Delaney 10.
By the way, I love to eat, I learned a long time ago that if I wanted to eat everything that I like...I needed to work it off. So......step one. Put your body in motion.
I went to the Cornell University Training Camp this past January and assisted in coaching their women's crews. The gal beside me is Christine Wilson, former Yale University Head Coach, U.S. Olympic Team Coach and now the head of the women's program at Cornell which is an Ivy League University in New York State. (Lesleh is the short one in the center, red jacket)

Welcome New Members!

We snagged three new memberships over the weekend:
Michele of Sparks and Butterflies
Andy of The Mind of IrishWalsh
RBelle of Musings of a former Jr. League Dropout

A big round of applause for our future losers! And it must be noted that Andy's addition to the group brings us our first fella, and also, our first husband-wife team as he is married to Amy (she of no blog, but we won't hold that against her!).
Welcome to our new members!

***Don't forget, we will accept late memberships until Sept. 30th! Tell your blog readers all about it!***

Fatty Fee information

Just a note regarding Fatty Fees.
Paypal, as most of you know, is very easy to use. In order to keep the Fatty Fees in the pool at the entire $5.00 amount, our Paypal account will only accept Paypal balance transfers or cash transfers.
Why?
Well, if you pay with a credit or debit card, Paypal assesses the recipient a number of fees. So, the $5.00 you actually owe would only reflect a payment of $4 and some change by the time the fees are taken by Paypal. For that reason, to keep it fair, payments have to be cash. Hopefully that isn't a big deal to anyone, but we want the Pool at the end to be the maximum it is supposed to be, not less because of the Paypal fees.
Thanks for your cooperation!
If none of this makes sense, please email or simple go to Paypal and you can learn how non-cash transfers get assessed fees.

Getting Organized

Today, think about your body. Remember last week's exciting post called Move Your Ass?? Look at your schedule for this entire week. Plan ahead. Think about what exactly you plan to do each day to work out. Change it up if you are a person who gets easily bored. One day, walk. Another day, swim. Or maybe dust off some of those exercise tapes. How about any one of those crazy contraptions you bought late night, while eating fudge and popcorn, clicking around to QVC.
The point is, it's good to have a game plan. We are all incredibly busy and sometimes, just a 20 minute walk has to be on the schedule of the day's events. So, make it happen. If you keep a calendar on your computer, click your little heart out and get some moving on your schedule. COLOR CODE it if you have to!
Think ahead, be prepared. We'll be introducing a personal trainer for our blog tomorrow. We'll have her impressive bio posted along with regular postings about exercise to come.
Today's mission: get it on the calendar. Make it happen. Move DAILY, somehow.

Weigh In Results!

This week was a fantastic start here at the pool, we'll all be skinny dipping in no time with this kind of progress!
Incidentally, with our baby steps all week, we'll be posting more and a lot of things you can do to change up your routine and really get your eating under control, we have a former Olympian and certified Pilates instructor who has signed on to be our Pool Personal Trainer, she will have posts starting next week.
FYI: This week, any weight loss was good enough to relieve you of the Fatty Fee, but starting with next week's weigh in, at least a full pound must be lost. With digital scales, we're going to get tenth's of pounds and quite frankly, we just want and expect you will have bigger results than a tenth of a pound per week! One pound minimum loss to negate the fatty fee! YOU CAN DO IT!
Now, for this weeks results!

Sunshine -2.9
Heather -2.0
Alison -1.6
Jodi FF
Keeley -0.5
Deanna -3.0
Kristi -3.5
AnaBell -1.3
Lana -3.0
Melody -1.0
Amy -1.5

POOL TOTALS WEEK 1: 20.3 AWESOME!

Please give a round of applause to all our losers! And a special shout out to Kristi for being our MEGA LOSER of the week!

Let's give a hearty welcome to Michele who signed up last night as a late entry, don't forget, tell your blog readers that we will ACCEPT LATE SIGN UPS UNTIL SEPT. 30!!!
Fantastic first week, girls! To celebrate, put some vodka in your Slimfast! Uh, no, better yet, use the $5 you didn't have to cough up for your Fatty Fee and buy some new nail polish because all these toes I've been seeing, everyone says they need a pedicure! HA!

Weigh In Friday

Today is weigh in. Make sure you email your results by 4PM Eastern. The tally for the group (losses, gains, or maintains) will be posted by tomorrow. Anyone owing the Fatty Fee will be invoiced and pay by noon Monday.
Hope to see less of you today!

Eat, eat, eat!

As you have heard hundreds of times, I'm sure, you should eat every 3 hours, small meals/snacks. This has helped me considerably. I used to always skip breakfast and would be starving by lunch, causing me to make some horrible choices at lunch time. I also never snacked - at least not in a healthy way! So, I thought something that could help everyone is to share some favorite snacks. Here's my list below, plus a quick recipe for an awesome chili dip snack if you’re at home and can cook something, or if you're having people over and you want to be able to eat something yummy yourself that others will enjoy too.

So, the snack list:

-Applesauce (unsweetened)
-Mini bags of microwave popcorn (95% FF - Orville Redenbacher has 4 g fiber - high fiber = GOOD, makes you feel more full!)
-Fruits
-100 calorie packs (they are everywhere these days from chips to cookies)
-Fat Free Pringles chips (not the reduced fat, but FF - the sour cream and onion are the best!)
-Light string cheese
-WW ice cream treats (cookies and cream are my favorite); FF Fudgsicles
-Carrot sticks and FF dip
-Crème Savors sugar free candy (5=1pt; they have a strawberry and a chocolate version)
-Sugar free hot chocolate/apple cider (especially good in the winter!)


Low Fat Chili Cheese Dip

1 pkg cream cheese (LF or FF), softened
1 can 99% FF turkey chili, no beans
½ cup LF shredded cheddar cheese
Hot sauce

In a sauce pan on low heat, mix cream cheese and chili until melted/blended. Add hot sauce to taste. Pour mixture into a small soufflé dish or similar. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Broil for a few minutes until cheese is melted. Serve with baked tortilla chips.

So – SHARE! What are your favorite snacks??

Move Your Ass

Sound blunt? It is! But, it's simple. Move, every single day. Period.
Today's mission, if you have a pedometer, wear it. If you don't have a pedometer, they're cheap. Go buy one. The cheapest and most simple ones will measure you steps all day long. The fancy ones can do extra things like tell you calories burned and whatnot. Just get one.
See how much you are stepping in an average day. Our first goal is not the usual 10,000. We're taking baby steps, girlies! Get your average. Then, our goal is to add 2,000 to that average. Evidence shows that most people will see improvement in their energy level, strength, and lung capacity if they increase by 2000 steps per day. That's about a mile or approximately 15 to 20 minutes of walking, something that almost everyone can do.
And that includes you, my flabby little flock! We will get this gushy midsection and these dimpled thighs to slowly melt away with our baby step of adding 2000 steps! So, what are you doing sitting on your hind parts wasting away hours at the computer. Get up! Move your ass!

Am I Weird?

I'm taking some baby steps this week, paying attention to the things I'm putting in my mouth and resuming daily exercise in one form or another. OK, yes, we're all doing that. Keeping it simple right now.
So, am I the only goofy one who is actually looking forward to stepping on the scale Friday morning?
Just checking....

Life Preserver Anyone?

My Blogger has been stinking up my computer, and I wanted to post this yesterday. But here it is, with no links or pictures or ability to send you whisking away to articles that support all the stuff I stole. Without further ado...

I know what you're thinking. Water......YAWN.
But, seriously, it is the first step, not only to weight loss, but to your overall health. And right now, some of you are getting up, flipping me the bird, and steadfastly refusing to drink more water and going to grab yourself another Coke.
I feel your pain, my sisters! Water is dull. Water is boring. Water, when compared with the deliciousness of virtually any other beverage, you know, sucks.
I am with you, I only find water useful in its ability to rehydrate me during a sweaty workout or when I'm outside on an excessively hot day. Those are the only two instances when I'm like, "wow, I want a big glass of water." Otherwise, water, to me, is like the ugly girl at the party no one asks to dance. Other options are just more appealing.

No hear this, my squishy little minions...water is the first stop on the weight loss superhighway.

Consider, at the most base level, your SURVIVAL. Humans can live for several weeks without food, but only about three days without water. A typical person will lose 2-3 liters of water per day in ordinary conditions, but more in very hot or dry weather. A lack of water causes dehydration, resulting in lethargy, headaches, dizziness, confusion, and eventually death.

Some other points for your perusal:

• Assists digestion, absorption and assimilation of food. If you don't drink enough water you can't get the full benefit of nutrients in the food you eat.
• Assists excretion of waste from bowel and kidneys. If you don't drink enough water you get constipated and put your kidneys under stress.
• Regulates body temperature. If you don't drink enough water you compromise the evaporation process your skin uses to keep you cool.
• Your blood is 92% water. This is your body's transport system distributing nutrients around the body.

Water is a natural appetite suppressant. Your brain does not differentiate between hunger and thirst. So, when you think you are feeling hungry, your body may in fact be signaling to you that you are thirsty! If you are not consuming enough water each day and you feel hunger pains, chances are, your body is really crying out for water.

Many people notice a reduction in weight as their body's water store become redundant and so decrease. If your diet has been one that did not provide you with adequate water, your body will have developed a pattern of storing water. It's part of the body's built-in survival mechanism - to store up the essential nutrients in short supply - in case they aren't available in the future. So if you don't drink enough water, you are 'conditioning' your body to store water. And water is unwanted bulk.

Last point, stay away from caffeinated drinks. Caffeinated drinks cause the body to lose water. They are what's known as diuretics as they cause your body to dehydrate. You will do your body an enormous favor by cutting back. For every cup of coffee you drink you will need to drink another TWO glasses of water to counter the diuretic effect.

The most common suggestion for water consumption is drinking 6-8 glasses a day. Not all at once, of course. But, first things first, baby steps. If you are not normally a water drinker, add 1 glass of water today. Then in a few days, drink 2 glasses a day. Slowly work up to it if you are not accustomed to drinking it. If it seems too overwhelming all at once, you'll give up and we don't want that.

Water is the first easy and FREE step in weight loss. There are flavored waters, there are packets on the go that you can add to water for more taste. You CAN do this!

When my Blogger issues fix themselves, I will provide links. Cliff's Notes for todays post: DRINK YOUR WATER!

Baby Steps

Small changes first. Baby steps. You may or may not have heard this before, but for me, it really was the KEY to making myself commit to losing weight last year. Every time I'd tried to 'diet' before, I had tried to change everything at once - given up all the things I loved - cold turkey. I'm here to tell you - IT DOESN'T WORK. You will start to crave those things you love. Even things that you didn't like before, but you know are bad for you. So, in starting this weight loss journey again, I'm reminding myself, and maybe helping you in the process, to remember to change things a little at a time. Pick a few things to work on, and once you're comfortable with those changes, make a few more changes.

Some hints:

• Control your portion sizes. Be aware of how much you are eating of something. Read labels and find out how much a portion of something really is. (1/2 cup of rice is 1 serving. 3 oz of chicken/turkey is one serving. I'm pretty sure before WW, I never had just one serving at a sitting of either of these things.)
• Make yourself move more, starting today. I'm not talking full on gym work out - yet! It could just mean parking further away from the office/grocery store/apartment, etc. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Get up and walk around for 5 minutes instead of surfing the net during a break (ahem.) Go dancing. Play with your kids. Just make yourself move.
• Get rid of trigger foods. If there is something in your fridge or pantry that you know you can't just have ONE of, dump it. Don't let it tempt you right now.
• Drink more water. (We'll have a separate post on water this week to elaborate.) But seriously, this works. Your body sends the same type of signal for thirst as it does for hunger. When you feel hungry, you might actually be thirsty.
• If you drink alot of coffee with the extras (cream, flavorings, sugar, etc) or regular soda, start weaning yourself a bit. Realize how many extra calories those things are and start to decrease your intake. I was a 4-5 cans a day Coke drinker. I started substituting water or crystal light for 1-2 of those sodas each day early on. Within a few weeks, I had stopped drinking regular soda altogether (who needs that extra 1,000 calories a day!)

Any other 'baby steps' or quick start tips you want to add? Let's get everyone started on the right foot!

(FYI, there are two other posts today - see below. Sonia and I gave you a little info about ourselves and why we're doing this!)

Another Word from Our Sponsors

My name is Sonia and I’m a SAHM with four busy kids and I also have a small home business and a due share of volunteer work. Like a lot of women, it seems almost impossible to carve out time for myself, which includes exercise and taking care of myself as well as I could be.
I never used to be one of those people who worried about their weight. In high school, I was active and even being 5’1” with a petite build, I could sit down and eat an entire large pizza by myself and never gain weight.
But, that was then, this is now. I can’t eat junk food like that anymore. I don’t burn all those calories each and every day like I did as a teenager. And after having four babies, things on my body are in an entirely different location and they are there to stay it seems!
I would like to lose those pesky last few pounds to get back to a normal healthy weight for my body type and frame. It seems like even a few extra pounds looks very out of place because I’m so short, I don’t like the way some of my pants fit, and I just want to get back to my “skinny” jeans again!
In this photo, that is from church camp with my daughter Sammie this summer, and I'm pretty sure what she is thinking is "wow, nice back fat, mommy." It would be nice for these lumpy and squishy parts to go away and be back to a skinnier me.
I know I can do it, I was back to my fighting weight after I had my two boys, so there’s no good reason I can’t get back there again after having my two girls. The problem has only been me. Finding the motivation and conviction to do so is the key.
I look forward to going on this journey together, it’s going to be a lot more fun to have the success as a group!

Let's Get This Party Started!

Welcome to Day 1 of the DEOTP WLC (I refuse to type that whole thing out...okay, just this once...the Deep End of the Pool's Weight Loss Challenge...

Okay, so Sonia and I (aka, the Sergeants of Squish) and the lifeguards (or floaties? goggles? tankini!?) of this here Pool thought we'd introduce ourselves and tell you why we personally are doing this challenge. So here goes.

My name is Heather, I live in Florida and I'm a wife, mommy of two, and I work full time. I have ALWAYS had issues with my weight. Up and down, up and down, tried diet after diet - you name it. Jenny Cr*ig, Atkins, SlimF*st, even TrimSpa people. I was desperate, what can I say? I gave up for a long time. I was resigned to looking like this:

Even though I thought I had given up, when a co-worker of mine told me she was joining Weight Watchers back in July 2005, I decided to join with her. I really didn't have high hopes - after all, nothing had worked before. But it did work. I actually stayed on the plan. I could have the food I wanted as long as I counted it. I became a better eater. Watched my portions. Counted my points religiously. And I lost weight. EVERY week. I started getting upset when it was only a pound a week. At about half way, people started to notice. I started to feel better. For some reason, I knew I could do it.

In January 2006, I reached my goal - I went from 182 lbs to 124 lbs and I could hardly believe it. I was so happy and excited. I got rid of all of my "fat" clothes except for one of pair of my size 18 pants. I kept all the weight off until June. Then it started to creep back. I've gained 14 lbs back and I hate it. It may not sound like alot, but I can feel myself losing control again - and I don't want to go backwards. I feel sluggish, tired, like I'm letting myself down every time I eat. I want this happy, energetic, confident girl back:

I miss her. ALOT.

The Member List

It's here! Kickoff day! Don't forget, we are taking additional members for a short time (with a penalty for late sign up) if you end up with any interested people asking. Send them over and they can email about what they need to do to join late.
However, let's get things rolling! Today will have a lot of posting, but we need to get busy with our first weigh in THIS FRIDAY! So keep checking back a lot today, from now on the posting will be 1-2 things a day, so don't worry you won't fall behind.

Without further ado, our member list as it stands at this time:
Sonia
Heather
Alison
Jodi - no blog
Deanna
Keeley - no blog
Kristi
AnaBell
Lana
Amy - no blog
Melody

We have gals who want to lose a little and gals who want to lose a lot. No matter what, we hope it'll be helpful, healthy, and FUN! More details to come later.

Sign Up Status

After slightly less than 24 hours, we have about 7-8 sign ups. This is a fantastic start!
Don't forget, if you are a blogger, post about this on your blog and link over here. We'll be linking up bloggers on our links in the sidebar.
Also, you can read thru the rules with a fine tooth comb later, but the first thing you need to do by midnight Sunday is send an email to deependotp@gmail.com and include the following information.

1. Your first name
2. Your starting weight
3. Your Paypal email (the email you can be invoiced if you forget to pay your fatty fee)
4. Your blog address (if you have one)

HURRY UP! Talk on your blogs, link over, get ready for our kick off Monday!

Come On In, The Water Is Fine!

If you came here from my blog, you know that I recently lost a lot of weight. You also know that I 'fell off the wagon' so to speak and have put back on some of what I lost and I am NOT happy about it. If you came here from Sonia's blog, you know that she has also talked about gaining some weight that she wants to get rid of. So, instead of just talking about it, we decided to do something about it! Because we are modern women! Women of action! (Alright Norma Rae, sit down...)

Anyway, Sonia's husband has been doing a 'weight loss pool' at work and we thought it was a great idea to do something similar, but with all the great bloggers, blog addicts, and friends that we know! Besides, it's football season and men shouldn't be the only ones winning pools, right?? So, we brainstormed and came up with the idea of starting a pool of our own, with a related blog to track everyone's progress. Through this blog, we can all provide support to eachother, share tips, recipes, etc. And oh yeah, a chance to win some money! And who doesn't need a little extra cash for Christmas??!

The whole point of this exercise is to try to motivate ourselves, as well as our fellow bloggers and friends to do something they already want to do. We're hoping this is the little push you need to get going, to get you back on track, or to just get you started. It helps so much to have people to talk with while you're doing this, finding out what works for them, and in turn, finding what works for you. We want everyone to have fun and to succeed - it is not meant to bring anyone down or embarrass anyone. We want to maintain a positive atmosphere where everyone can discuss any issues they are having, encourage others, and maybe learn a little something along the way.

Please join us - we're so excited and we hope you are too! Tell all your friends about it. It will be fun. It will be motivating. And I'm convinced it will work if we stick to it, stay together, and push eachother. It is a competition too, but we want it to be a fun and healthy one.

Sonia has outlined the particulars in the post below. So join us, won’t you?!

Let the games begin!

The Rules and "No Diving" Isn't One of Them

So now you are saying to yourself...I’ve read all about this fantastic idea for a weight loss support group and “healthy” competition all rolled into one, how do I become a part of this blog phenomenon???

1. You must sign up by midnight Eastern time, Sunday, September 17th. We will accept late members until September 30th but you will be penalized by paying the $5 “fatty fee” for each weigh-in missed (i.e. the September 22nd and 29th weigh- ins). Pool runs from September 18th to December 18th with the last weigh-in on December 15th and the winner of the pool to be determined by December 18th.
2. You must register with Paypal as the pool monies for the contest will be collected in a Paypal account and all fatty fees will be paid to the DEOTP.
3. To become a member of this pool, you must send the following information to the blog email address: deependotp@gmail.com
a. Your name (first only is fine)
b. Your starting weight (this will not be made public unless you WIN! At which point, of course, you’ll want everyone to know!)
c. Email address and Paypal account information (to bill you if you miss a weigh in)
d. Your blog address (if you have one) we will be linking all participating bloggers on the links in the sidebar so you can talk about this blog on your blog and refer to it and we link you all to each other. Makes it much more fun and team-oriented.
4. Take a “before” picture. You can send it to us right away to keep on file or you can keep it for yourself. We will be putting our “success” candidates (if they so choose) Before and After on the Flickr tab to the side of the blog. Your photo will not be added without your prior approval NO MATTER WHAT. If you lose 50 pounds and look like Heidi Klum and you still don’t want your photo up, we will not post it. We are here to provide a support system, it is not in our interest to humiliate anyone.
5. We encourage you to take measurements. Sometimes you can lose inches but it doesn’t reflect much on the scale. That is still success in the battle for a more fit and toned body. You do not have to submit these measurements unless you want to.
6. Weigh-ins are recorded every Friday. You must email your weight by 4PM Eastern time on Friday. Failure to do so will result in your being assessed the $5 fatty fee. Your payment is due to the Paypal account by 12PM Eastern time the following Monday or you are eliminated from the program
7. Each weekend, the Drill Sergeants of Squish (that being Heather and Sonia) will track everyone’s progress and post the results from that week’s weigh in. Your weight will never be mentioned, only pounds lost (or gained, but hopefully that will not happen!!!) but even when you have a down week, this is the time at which your drill sergeants and other members will be able to post encouraging messages, so don’t beat yourself up if you gain, we’re all in this together!
8. The success of this entire experiment depends on the honor system. When you report your weight loss each week, be honest. Nobody wants cheaters participating. Don’t be a cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater.
9. What is the “Fatty Fee”? If you lose weight, you owe the pool nothing. If you maintain or gain, you owe the $5 fatty fee. It’s that simple. This is a 12 week program, lose a pound a week, that’s a great start if you have a lot to lose or it’s a good total amount if you have “let yourself go” and just need to get toned up and back in shape. The focus is to have your weight loss be fun, simple, and healthy above all. No crash diets or unhealthy weight loss suggestions will be offered here. Just the old standby: eat less, exercise more. Period. Can’t deal? Don’t join.
10. There will be TWO WINNERS of this 12-week weight loss pool. They will split the pot, whatever it turns out to be. One winner is the person who loses the most pounds. The other winner is the person who loses the biggest percentage of weight. Obviously, there is the possibility that one person could be the winner of both categories.

Additional notes:
• Each day there will be posts. Please comment each day if you have suggestions or just want to share a warm fuzzy with the other members of the pool. This is a positive and fun environment, it is meant to be a support system for bloggers or those addicted to blogs, to lose weight together and build each other up!!
• Tell all your blog readers about it right away. There is a deadline and the more people who become members, the more fun it will be!
• If you have suggestions for post ideas, recipes, tips, etc. please send them to the email address.

This is the Beginning

Come back tomorrow, there will be much posting here. But for right now, the lifeguards are adding chlorine.