Now that the Biggest Loser Million Pound Match Up challenge is coming to a close, I'd like to thank everyone who has supported us and shared their own journeys with us.

The Biggest Loser TV show and challenge have been incredibly motivating for us and we're not stopping now.  Both Bruce and I are committed to becoming the healthiest "us" that we can be.

Thanks again for all your support and we wish all of you continued success.

See you "lighter", later.  And, remember, Nothing Tastes As Good as Being Thin Feels.

Cheers,

Sharon & Bruce

A trip to the doctor's office today showed that I am a fairly healthy person:  Blood Pressure = 120/80 and Total Cholesterol = 150.  I think eating oatmeal for breakfast has really paid off.  But, I still have to lose weight to become truly healthy.

Bruce, even after losing 22 pounds, still needs to get his blood pressure and cholesterol down.

We both had a carotid ultrasound, abdominal aortic ultrasound, ankle brachial index test and EKG.  Everything came back normal.

Overall, it's a big relief to know that I'm not at risk for a stroke anytime soon... not sure why, but I've been worried about that lately.

I guess I need to beef up my 401K contributions because it look like I might live to retirement age after all!

It's that time of the year when people of Northern Indiana (especially me) are getting so sick and tired of being stuck indoors because it's way too cold to be outdoors. 

Last spring I had this idea to turn off the TV and get outdoors and enjoy the fact that winter was over.  I think it was about the time that American Idol was wrapping up season six.  I had a fabulous spring and summer and it wasn't until the weather started to turn cold again that I started gaining weight.

So, here I sit, watching TV, eating M&Ms wondering when will I be motivated to turn off that darned TV and get back in action, take off the pounds and get over the fact that the sun hasn't been seen since November.  Maybe after the 24-hour Jackass Marathon, I'll be so disgusted with TV that I'll leave it behind, put on my coat, hat and gloves and get outside and start moving my atrophied muscles.

Before this Wednesday, I had not stepped on our scales since September.  In September we took an anniversary trip to Put In Bay and Cedar Point in Ohio.  I packed my cutest crop pants to wear at the park.  But, when I went to put them on that morning, they were too tight.  Oh Snap! 

I lost 75 pounds two years ago and had done a great job of keeping it off.  My motivation was my God Daughter's Florida wedding and my method was Weight Watchers and exercise.  But, just as I've done every time I've lost weight, after a while I get too cocky and think I can eat whatever I want.  And, as the pounds start packing on I think I'll get back on track, but, before I do, I better eat some ice cream (pizza, fast-food, etc.) because I'm not going to be able to have it for a long time.  Then, by the time I get back on track, I've really chubbed out. 

We'll after all of the Christmas cookies, mashed potatoes and gravy and all the other junk I crammed down my throat since this summer, I had decided that I'd get back on track starting January 1st.  We'll that didn't happen.  In fact, I was so stuffed with food as I watched the Biggest Loser Couples on January 2, that I felt really guilty.  Then, they announced the Match Up challenge and I tried to get online, but the site had crashed.  That didn't matter, I got it in my head that I was ready to take control and I'd start on January 2.  Before I went to bed I got on the scales.  Now, that was after a full day of overeating and in full clothes and shoes.  Holy Crap... I had gained much more than I thought.

So, January 2 I stayed on my Weight Watchers plan all day... no slips, even drank some water.  By the end of the day I really did feel skinnier, but I thought it was just in my mind.  That is until I stepped on the scales this morning and saw I was down 7 pounds.  WOW!!! 

The funny thing is I know that I didn't really lose 7 pounds.  I know that a lot of that was made up of my clothes and shoes and the fact that I weighed in first-thing in the morning rather than the end of the night.  But, what a huge ego booster.  And, motivation to keep going.

So, here's my motivational tip for today:  Weigh yourself at night, fully clothed.  Then, skip a day of weighing and the next day weigh yourself first-thing in the morning with no clothes ;-) 

While scrounging in the cupboards for an afternoon snack, Bruce noticed a partially eaten bag of Lay's potato chips.  Not too long ago I made a comment that they were the best tasting potato chips in the entire world.  Bruce, being the loving husband that he is, decided to save me from those nasty diet-killers.  He, ever-so-helpfully, consumed the rest of the bag.

Any other time I'd appreciate the gesture, but hey, we're supposed to be in this together.  It's not right that he can gobble up the chips while I'm starting to get light headed from lack of junk food. 

I've updated the shopping list with ingredients for a few healthy meals to carry us through the end of the week.  I'll have to add to the list a few snacky-type foods that Bruce can enjoy, but aren't loaded with empty calories. 

On last night's episode of the Biggest Loser Couples, I heard Jillian say that drinking water was the best way to detoxify your body.  I think it was sort of an "info-ad" for Britta Water Filters, but the point was well taken.

I *NEVER* drink water.  I do drink about 6-8 Diet Cokes every day. 

Following Jillian's advise, today I started drinking water.  I can't stand to drink anything out of a glass without a straw... something about the ice touching my teeth doesn't appeal to me.  So, I scrounged through the cabinets and found an insulated Notre Dame souvenir cup with a lid and a little hole just big enough to accommodate a straw.  I filled it with water from the tap -- through our Britta tap water filter and added some ice from our filtered thru-the-door freezer ice dispenser.  I took one drink and realized that I really don't like ice-cold water.  So, I removed the ice cubes and let it sit while I popped open a Diet Coke. 
After about a half hour, I started sipping on the water. 

Early this afternoon I noticed that I had a major headache.  At first I thought it might be the start of C02 poisoning from the fireplace, but then I remembered that I never finished my Diet Coke... let alone the four other cans of Diet Coke that I would have normally consumed by now.  So, I quickly downed the rest of my DC -- warm as it was, it was still very yummy. 

The sad part is I haven't finished the first glass of water yet.  I'm really going to have to step it up to get 6-8 glasses down yet today.

Bruce and I are officially starting our Biggest Loser campaign today.  We've been thinking about starting a weight-loss campaign for a while now, but with the holidays and all of those delicious cookies, cakes, crackers and dips around, it was hard to get motivated.

Our first goal is to lose weight for our St. John vacation this spring.  We're going with two other couples and as it stands, we'll be the heaviest couple in our group.  That's not so bad since we're already friends with this group.  But, we really don't want to stand out as the heaviest people on the beach.

We started today with oatmeal, rather than our usual McDonald's or pancake and egg breakfasts.  At about 10am, I was starving so I had an apple.  That didn't quite fill me up so I had another one.  Bruce had the last apple a little while ago so I'll have to add apples to our shopping list. 

For lunch I had a Light Caesar Salad which translated to 6 Weight Watchers points.  So, for the day so far, I'm at 12 points and I have 10 left for the day.  Bruce had a bowl of tomato soup.  I'm pretty sure that counts as a vegetable serving.

For dinner, we're going to a local restaurant for Broasted Chicken.  Not sure how to count that on WW so I'll have to look into it.

Then (drum roll) comes exercise.  We have a Joe Weider gym, treadmill and exercise bike in the basement, but right now they're behind stacks of papers and books.  I'm pretty sure we can make a path through the clutter so we can get started moving our bodies tonight.