Week 2

Hello beautiful women,

Last week was Week 1. We all were getting our feet wet with blogging. Hopefully took a few minutes to read about each other and get to know our support system. And now it's feeling a bit more normal, I hope.

I wanted to clear up the weigh in schedule. Sorry if I was not clear before. We weigh in monthly for money prizes. You should weigh weekly and log that so you know your own progress AND you can evaluate the work you did against the scale and set your goals appropriately on your blog each week. You must blog each week to win the Monthly goal.

I have been asked by 1 more woman to join and I told her yes but she will not be in the running for the money this month but can be for the final 2 months and the grand prize. In the end everybody else was given 1 extra week to win so I don't see a negative. I want to open the door to any that want it. We are working on getting her set up and I will forward her blog info out later today hopefully.

Now for your weekly challenge. We all got our feet wet last week and our challenge was to read blogs. This week I want you to log your food. With out this you REALLY don't know what's going in. You might be amazed that your salad has more calories than your pizza or the small dishes added up to way more then you thought through out the day. We also often undersize our calories by making our portions smaller than they are, thinking we are consuming less calories when in fact it's possibly double. Portion size, measuring, is a great way to understanding true portion sizes. We will likely have a challenge on that next week. This week start writing it down. If you don't want to use the computer, just write it on a piece of paper. The time it takes to write it down you may choose to skip that handful of chocolate covered pretzels. Once you make yourself accountable it's amazing what you might pass up. Personally I like to record on myfitnesspal.com (they have an app on all phones) and that will add up my calories, log my exercise against it to give me more calories for the day etc. You can also be my friend on there, skinneyanniemal.

This is the same challenge I am giving myself because I need to get better and consistent at it. When I do I am a much cleaner eater.

The other will be to run 5 miles 3-4 times this week and add in strength training. I'm not doing enough of that and I don't want to injure myself.

I lost 1.5lbs last week but had a bad weekend of socialized and a few too many drinks. So I may need to fix some damage I did. Oops!

I hope you are still pumped and excited. Don't forget to drop a few words of encouragement to your fellow women friends when reading their blogs. We support you!!

Good luck on week 2! I find myself very excited when new blogs are posted in my feed. I love hearing from you!

This is not only a challenge to lose but a challenge to heal

What you are is what you have been. What you'll be is 
what you do now. BUDDHA 

Just as I mentioned before I'm also in this competition to reach my own goals and will be blogging and working just like the rest of you amazing women. Blogging is one of the biggest pieces of this competition for several reasons.

1. It connects us to one another. You share your struggles and triumphs, we learn from them, support you and root for you.

2. It holds you accountable. One of the BIGGER reasons. Once you write it and share with your peers you are so much more likely to actually do it.

3. Defines your goals. You take the time out to see what did or didn't work for you, so you know where to improve, what to kick out completely and what to add in. This doesn't have to be the worst thing that has ever happened to you and you now live your life depressed that you can't make your goals, will always be unhappy with your body and lifestyle choices etc. Life is all about learning and I hope you will learn a lot about yourself and what feels good to you. I challenge everybody to find something that works and have fun with it. For my Mom and my aunt they LOVE their Visalus shakes and with out exercising they continue to slowly lose weight by substituting meals with shakes that don't get boring because they can have a different kind each time. Now they both plan to add in exercise and take the next step with some better eating choices on top of the shakes. Hopefully they find joy in that as well. We are here to help each other find their happy place with this journey. It took me several attempts and will likely be something I do all my life but I also enjoy it.

I also recommend doing your blog at the beginning of your week. Weigh in, write your blog. Set your goals, talk about the week prior. Get in a routine. Reward yourself and evaluate. Don't take hours to write but share with us what you can. We want to know! And if you set goals half way through your week (all but 3 have done this on week 1) then you aren't really giving yourself a chance to meet those goals and work towards something. You will get out of this what you put in. Make the commitment, make the choice and you will find the time and energy.

Now for my goals:

Long term:

• Lose at least 10lbs. Hike more. Be outside more. Feel good, feel healthy and radiate light. Be conscious of my thoughts (are my reactions to things positive or negative). Stay connected and committed to myself re: personal and professional goals. These are going to be some very BIG months in defining my future. I need all the focus and motivation I can muster up.

Short term: (how to reach my long term)

• Last week I started a new (healthier) morning routine. The first thing that goes in my body is now hot water, fresh lemon and a little cayenne pepper to jump start my digestion and metabolism. I now eliminate coffee and the unhealthy creamers. :)

• I'm looking to go as close to whole foods as I can. Nothing frozen or processed. Reading labels, making salads, blending my own fruits and veggies etc. Making sure I fill my day with nutrients, not garbage.  I have even substituted some vegan cheeses in my salads to reduce the dairy, the fat and the torture to the animal that I also consume in my body. I know what goes inside shows on the outside. :)

• Run! I have signed up for 3 races before summer. My first one is a half marathon in 2 months! I hope to improve my time with each run and have fun. Having the race as a goal motivates me, gives me a huge reward for my efforts and the race itself is full of such great energy and I miss it. Yesterday I ran 4 miles, today I will run 5. By next week I want to be able to run 6.

I also challenge everybody to find somebody you admire. Why do you admire them? Did you know it's because they have inside them something that you know deep down you have inside you, you just aren't quite tapping into it fully?  I started to travel because I admired a friend who traveled. I started to hike, camp and be adventurous because I briefly dated a boy who had such a full and happy life, I too wanted that for myself. I ran a marathon because my best friend ran marathons and I was so proud of her! I follow 2 women's healthy living blogs and they inspire me daily to do better for myself, the animals and the earth. I volunteered and decided to make a difference because of all the people who came into my old job inspired me and showed me that we ALL can make a difference. In fact, that is the purpose of life. You are deep down what you desire. You are worth it. You are biggest inspiration, your biggest fan and also your biggest foe. Where do you want to place your energy? When you find these things I think much of the rest will fall into place. I think we have all gotten to the weight we are at because we aren't tapping into our purpose, drowning pain, giving into false pleasure. This is not just a challenge to lose but a challenge to heal. Hand in hand this will be how you change for good.

What you are is what you have been. What you'll be is 
what you do now. BUDDHA 

Thank you for reading this far. I love you all and am excited for us all to transform and grow in some little way over the next few months. We all deserve it. xo

Annie

New start date - No more photos required

I have made an adjustment to a rule that was not received well and changed the start date in hopes to recruit others to join due to the new rule. 

Since there was a decent amount of discomfort regarding sending photos in to me (I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable or have them not join us because of the photos) I am making them optional but HIGHLY recommended. I recommend you take them even for yourself. We are visual beings and one of the best motivations and also victories is to see your before and after photos. Something I saw in my before photos is a big motivator for me, and I can only assume I won't be the only one. You may not even notice the changes until you see your photos, so do yourself a service that will benefit you later. This is also a motivator for others when they see the difference and want that for themselves, should you chose to share them. So, we are not only posting photos for ourselves but to help and motivate others so that they believe they too can do it, just like us! Again, photos are now optional but I hope that you all take them and let them motivate you and reward you for your hard work that is going into bettering yourself. You deserve it!

I have also changed the start date so that we can allow a couple more women to join and get prepared now that the new rule is in place. THE NEW WEIGH IN DATE WILL BE FRIDAY JANUARY 17th! You are REQUIRED to send a photo of the scale with an item I will email out to you on Thursday night. This is to make sure we are all collecting our weights at the same time, no early or late entries giving others an advantage. 

Please send your $35 via paypal/chase to annieaubrey@gmail.com. Checks can be sent to my address upon request. We have about 10 people and 7 prizes, great odds if you ask me! 

Please set up your blog, let me know if you need instructions.  My challenge to you on your first blog is to set your intent for this challenge with large and small goals. Large goals will be your overall results and your small will be how you attain it. Make goals for the first week that help you reach your large goals. Don't overdue it, it's your first week and we all need to be kind to ourselves. I also highly recommend you read this entry my friend recently posted about WEEK 1. He is an inspiration to me, a great writer and on the same journey as many of us and I think we can all relate and be inspired by him in some way. 

I'm so excited to have you all along for this journey. Once I have all your blog address's I will email them out to everybody so we can follow along and support each other through our triumphs and tribulations. 

If you have anybody that you know that you would like to share in this journey with you/us, please let them know they can contact me and I can get them set up. We have 2 extra days to get prepared! 

Good luck!!

Sending you my love, 

Annie

Weight Loss Competition - New year, new you!

RULES:

* This comp. is about changing lives!! NO diet pills (this includes prescription AND over the counter weight loss pills), supplements (you may take regular vitamins.. no metabolism boosters, fat burners etc...), colon cleanses, detox programs, pills, laxatives, diuretics, drug use of any kind, cosmetic and or weight loss surgical procedures, HCG dieting, EATING DISORDERS or anything that is not long term are allowed DURING this competition. (If you have had a weight loss surgical procedure more than 18 months ago you are welcome to compete!) 

* Each competitor is REQUIRED to blog AT LEAST 4 TIMES A MONTH with no longer than 10 days between entries on a blog set up specifically for weight loss. (Check out an example HERE) Competitors who miss a week in any given month will not be eligible for prizes that month. Competitors who miss are ineligible for 2 months or more will not be eligible for overall prizes. 

* Each competitor is encouraged to take front and side photos in the beginning and the end. And it's already great and motivating to others to see your progress. 

* Weigh in pictures need to include the date and whatever the household item is for the month and must be taken on a digital scale. 

* Weights MUST be received by 6:00 p.m. on the 17th of each month in order for competitors to qualify for prizes. 

* Prizes will be awarded based on percentage of weight loss. This makes us all equals on this journey. 

* Weight gain will not be calculated when determining your percentage for the month. This means if you gain 2 lbs one month and lose 10 the next, you will only be given credit for 8 lbs. 

* No EARLY weights will be accepted. 

*This competition is for WOMEN ONLY. 

DETAILS: 
* Buy in for the competition is $35 due at the beginning of the comp. Please email annieaubrey@gmail.com for info on how to send in your contribution. Paypal and chase can send direct to that email. 

* Competition will run January 17th 2014 through April 17th, 2014. 

* Weigh in's will be on the 17th of each month. Weights are due by 10:00 p.m. PST to annieaubrey@gmail.com. 

* 1st and 2nd place monthly prizes will be awarded each month for the competitor with the highest percentage of weight lost. 

* In order to keep the competition intimate and easy to organize NO MORE THAN 26 people will be permitted to enter the competition. Currently we are less than 10. 

* A large prize for the overall winner will be awarded at the end of the competition based on percentage of weight loss. 

* Amounts of prizes will depend on the number of competitors.

* At the beginning of the comp competitors will need to send in their HEIGHTS with their starting weights.. 

ALL CONTRIBUTIONS WILL GO TO WINNERS POT!