2.09.2010

The Biggest Losers

Ok friends, I've been juggling back and forth as to whether or not I should post this, but I need some help. What I'm about to share is very personal, but I think the only people who care about or even read this blog are close friends and family, so I trust you not to be judgemental :)

Back in November, my dad challenged us to become healthier. Between my post-baby weight and being overweight to begin with, my challenge was to lose 45 pounds. Ross experienced some 'sympathetic weight gain' while I was pregnant, and he gained weight during the summer because he was always on the road, so his goal was to lose 47 pounds. My dad provided us with Nutrisystem food, and we have from November 15th until March 13th to not only lose the weight, but to also do a 10K in less than 60 minutes and do a set number of situps and pushups without stopping. I've lost about 27 pounds so far, and Ross is down 32 pounds. We feel great and we're stronger than we have been in a long time, but we're down to the wire. We've actually stopped the Nutrisystem diet because of the higher fat content of the food, and we're cooking our own food. I'm trying to keep my calories below 1400 a day and my fat to 15 grams a day. Luckily, the trainer I'm working with (or rather, the trainer who's killing me 3 times a week) at World Gym introduced me to livestrong.com, and I LOVE this website. I can enter the foods I eat during the day, and it helps to calculate my daily calories, fat, protein, sodium, sugars, etc. It also calculates the calories burned during the day with different exercises. I can burn 340 calories a day just by lugging around my chunk of a baby boy! Anyway, this is where I need your help. Ross and I need ideas for high protein, low fat/low calorie meals and snacks. There's this great place in Idaho Falls called Winco, and we had an entire cart full of tons of fresh produce, whole wheat goodness, chicken breasts, tilapia fillets, and anything else we could get our hands on that was healthy and yummy. Oh yeah, and we got it all for $180:) I don't know what I'll do without Winco! Well friends, this is me BEGGING you to share your recipes. PLEASE. We need ideas! We are in love with our George Foreman grill... all we do is slap on a frozen chicken breast or tilapia fillet with a couple spices and BAM! Healthy, delicious goodness! But seriously, I can be a little more creative than that. Please friends. PLEASE. Our prize for losing the weight and hitting our goals is also very personal, but I will tell you that it will change our lives. We are already making better choices, and we would love for you to help us out by sharing your healthy recipes. We are so grateful for those of you who've supported us in this endeavor. We're working hard to obtain these goals, and I PROMISE to post pictures when we get there! We're gonna look awesome!

Thanks friends.

*T

9 comments:

Elisabeth A. said...

Have you ever seen the "Hungry Girl" website?? They have FANTASTIC, easy recipes. Most of them are quick and low-cal! She tries to give recipes for things you wouldn't think you could eat while cutting calories (The "Hungry Girlfredo" is amazing!). http://www.hungry-girl.com/index.php
GOOD LUCK! :)

Steph said...

You guys first of all are amazing! I can't believe how great you are doing, especially through the holiday season. Well I was going to email you a few recipes to ross's email. is it still his byu-idaho account?

Maddy said...

I have one that tastes GREAT! I'll email it to you, but witdawoo to you!!!

Jessica :) said...

First of all, I just gotta say: way to be! I am so proud of you both! That's an amazing feat and I think you're awesome!
Secondly, I have a cooking blog that might help: harwoodkitchen.blogspot.com - I don't know if you'll find it super helpful or not, but there are some recipes there you can look through for ideas. I think the biggest thing for fat is meat {aside from chicken or fish} so if you make meals cutting out the meat, you'll have less fats. I also recommend beans because they are full of proteins and so healthy for you {I do have some bean recipes on that blog}. Also, if you want to make something with "ground beef" in it, I recommend substituting ground turkey {flavor & texture a bit different, but still tastes good} and cutting the meat portion in about half. Anyway ... I'm probably not very helpful. Sorry. But best of luck to you! I'm rooting for you to reach your goal!

Angela said...

For breakfast I ussually do Swiss miss Hot cocoa and then about an hour later I have a fiber 1 bar. This makes it so I can have lunch later in the day...after kids go to bed. And it keeps the colorie count down but fiber is way up. FOr lunch I have had a string cheese with two peices of turkey and it is surprisingly filling.

Last night we had a yummy yummy pasta dish. We cooked 2 c penna pasta in 1 can italian diced tomatoes and 1 c water until soft. Then add in fresh spinach until it wilts, add some more spinach and let it wilt again (you could probably use the frozen stuff too) and the we sprinkled in some feta cheese and stired it until it melted (really not much at all) so it looked like there was a bit of a sauce to it. And then we added shrimp, but you could do nothing or some chicken. It was so good and so light, I felt great after words. Supper easy. Next time I will add some other things like green onion and garlic. But that is my latest find.

I have a cousin who is a health NUT..seriously and yesterday she emailed me a HUGE HUGE list of healthier meals and healthy subsitutes. I will try to find your email off of facebook or something and get it to you! good luck! you'll do it I have no doubt!

Travis, Shantell, and Family said...

Trieste one of the things that will help (or it has helped me lose 16 pounds) is to buy a scale and weigh your meat!! Also this is a great easy recipe for Chili that I love and it is really good and yet not a ton of calories.
Ground Beef (98% lean or can use ground Turkey) weigh it to be about 100 g. per person
2 tomatoes cut up
1 glove of garlic minced
2 Tbl. tomato paste
1/2 cup water
cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, Cheyenne pepper, to taste
Oregano ( rub through your fingers just a pinch b4 adding)

Brown the meat with onion and garlic powder. Add all other ingredients and let simmer for as long as you like. The longer it simmers the better it taste. To prevent burning add a little more water or chicken broth! I like to eat it with Melba Toast (which I discovered one day in my mother-in-laws cabinet.) Its better than bread and if you limit yourself to only one it is a really LOW Cal meal!!!Good luck and you are doing AWESOME!!

Frances said...

One of my favorite breakfast substitutes is a protein shake... not too gross and will usually get you through about 1:00 p.m. until lunch... I mix 1 banana 1 scoop of low fat peanut butter abt. 3/4 C milk, 3-4 ice cubes, and 1 scoop vanilla soy/whey protein... I love it!
Good Luck!

Travis, Shantell, and Family said...

I forgot to add on my recipe0- Chili powder about 1/4 tsp. I love it

Daniel and Lisa said...

First off, I am motivated by what you're doing. Thanks for your example! Your little boy is adorable. I love his cheeks, they're great. I know this is a little late, but I thought I would still share a yummy recipe with you.

I got this recipe from a loose-weight book (Denise Austin's Daily Dozen) and I love it! It has lots of flavor and goes great with some brown rice and vegies!
*note: this will serve one person, so just double it for the two of you.
Cilantro & Lime Chicken
1 Tbls. Olive oil or canola oil
1 Tbls. Honey
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 C. Chopped Cilantro
4 oz Chicken Breast

in a small bowl, whisk together the oil, honey, lime juice, and celantro. Pour this mixture over the chicken breast and marinate in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Grill or roast the chicken for 6-8 min. per side or until cooked through (160 degrees at center).

mmm. it's yummy. I want to make it just thinking about it. Enjoy! Good luck with maintaining a healthy life. This is truely what we should all strive for every day! Thanks for the encouragement.