January 2014 Weight loss Adventure with a PRIZE!!!!
 

On January 1st, weigh yourself and write it down. DO NOT send it to me. On January 31st, weigh yourself again and PM your loss. This is weight lost not precentage lost. I will announce the winner on February 3rd.

The prize is a themed FQ from each member. Once a winner is declared, I will contact the winner and FQ's will be mailed by the 6th.

Private message (PM) me for the mailing address. All FQ's should be mailed by the 15th of the month.You need to check in on the thread at least once a week to be eligible for the minning "skinny quarters aka FQ's" and to be declared the "biggest loser" for the month.

You cannot winn 2 months in a row.

Chit Chat is allowed, as wells as WAYWO (what are you working on). Please stay postitive and uplifting as possible to keeps us all on track. Share tips, recipes, encouraging words and {{{HUGS}}}

January brings lots of us some blues from the past few months. So lets see how we can play with some Black/White FQ's. Please send quality fabric that you would want to receive in return. As always if you don't have the theme, send what you have. If you don't have a FQ, then send a linear 1/4 yard. If you have signed up to be in the running for the prize, please send your FQ to the hostess by the 15th of the month. As the winner has worked hard for her prize.

Eat healthy, exercise, make wise choices and lose weight but most of all have fun!!!

Sign up deadline to be apart of the PRIZE adventure is January 4th at 9 pm cst. You are encourage to contribute to the thread even if you are not in for the prize.

To let me know you are participating just post on the thread and then send a PM for the mailing address.

Remember if you sent your FQ's in advance, you still need to sign up on the new thread.

Good day girl. You are on the ball for the new year. Great job!!!

Was hoping I would have achieved my goal and wouldn't need to lose more weight in the new year, but alas...here I am again.

I'm in again too. DD is talking about wanting to join WW. I'm game.

Going to pm you. I really need this.

I'm in again. Happy New Year everyone.

I am going to give this a whirl, as I have gained so much weight in the past year and a half. It is not me being this heavy and time to be me again. ASAP

Happy New Year!!!!

I am in! Got lots to do this year and I want to be sexy this summer in my cut offs and tank tops - Is there hope for a 75 year old broad???????

Edie

I'm in again. I'll check and see if I sent my FQ when I last sent them in (can't remember!).

Count me in again too. Happy New Year!

So far I only have one FQ received for January.

If anyone wants to send in for the 3 months. Here are the themes
January - Black/whites
Feburary - brights
March - Batiks

Just remember if you send in for more than one month you will still need to sign up on the new thread each month. I do keep records of who sends in for multiply months.

Welcome to the newcomers. Good luck and May your new year be successful.

Edie.....there is always hope and you never know what can happen. Welcome to our fun group.

I am so in! I am going to rejoin WW this weekend. I still am fighting to loose my last 20 lbs. What an incentive! I will PM you.

Welcome to our fun group JenGaile. Good luck.

I'm in again. I went up a little this month :thumbdown:, so I'll have to work hard.

I want to be in, but am confused how it works. Am I suppose to mail the FQ to you at the beginning of each month? Then whoever wins you send all the FQs to them? I really need to loose 30 pounds and I need all the incentives I can get!

Yes that is correct, you send me a PM for address of where to mail the FQ to by the 15th of the month. On the 3rd of the following month a winner is declared and I mail all the FQ's received for the month to the winner.

So we know you are still working on your progress good or bad, you need to post to the thread atleast once a week. Feel free to message me at any time or ask here on the thread, this is a great group of ladies.

Welcome all the newbies. I will have to work really hard this month. I have eaten so much junk in December I am almost sick. I think I need to do a month long cleanse. We have a family brunch tomorrow. I am making biscuits and gravy. There will be so much bad stuff there. We are having my DH family here on Saturday. Probably 50 people. I am making lasagna, bread, salad and veggies. I plan on making regular, Mexican, and chicken lasagna. It will be low fat but still not good for me.

I would like to be in this for January. I need your encouragement and help.

I went grocery shopping yesterday and am ready to get started. I am also looking forward to coming here and talking with others and learning new skills for weight lose.

Healthy Eating Easy Tips for Planning a Healthy Diet & Sticking to It
 

[h=2]Healthy eating tip 1: Set yourself up for success[/h] To set yourself up for success, think about planning a healthy diet as a number of small, manageable steps rather than one big drastic change. If you approach the changes gradually and with commitment, you will have a healthy diet sooner than you think.

• Simplify. Instead of being overly concerned with counting calories or measuring portion sizes, think of your diet in terms of color, variety, and freshness. This way it should be easier to make healthy choices. Focus on finding foods you love and easy recipes that incorporate a few fresh ingredients. Gradually, your diet will become healthier and more delicious.
• Start slow and make changes to your eating habits over time. Trying to make your diet healthy overnight isn’t realistic or smart. Changing everything at once usually leads to cheating or giving up on your new eating plan. Make small steps, like adding a salad (full of different color vegetables) to your diet once a day or switching from butter to olive oil when cooking. As your small changes become habit, you can continue to add more healthy choices to your diet.
• Every change you make to improve your diet matters. You don’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to completely eliminate foods you enjoy to have a healthy diet. The long term goal is to feel good, have more energy, and reduce the risk of cancer and disease. Don’t let your missteps derail you—every healthy food choice you make counts.

[h=3]Think of water and exercise as food groups in your diet.[/h] Water. Water helps flush our systems of waste products and toxins, yet many people go through life dehydrated—causing tiredness, low energy, and headaches. It’s common to mistake thirst for hunger, so staying well hydrated will also help you make healthier food choices.


Exercise. Find something active that you like to do and add it to your day, just like you would add healthy greens, blueberries, or salmon. The benefits of lifelong exercise are abundant and regular exercise may even motivate you to make healthy food choices a habit.



http://helpguide.org/life/healthy_eating_diet.htm

I am going to look for some tips to share each day. I found this article, there are 8 steps for healthy eating tips, I will post a tip a day and then find something else. I have included the link for the complete article if you want to look at it.

Remember your weight and my weight didn't come on over night so it won't come off over night.

Good Luck everyone.

The key to successful, healthy weight loss
 

Your weight is a balancing act, but the equation is simple: If you eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight. And if you eat fewer calories than you burn, you lose weight.
Since 3,500 calories equals about one pound of fat, if you cut 500 calories from your typical diet each day, you'll lose approximately one pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories). Simple, right? Then why is weight loss so hard?
All too often, we make weight loss much more difficult than it needs to be with extreme diets that leave us cranky and starving, unhealthy lifestyle choices that undermine our dieting efforts, and emotional eating habits that stop us before we get started. But there’s a better way! You can lose weight without feeling miserable. By making smart choices every day, you can develop new eating habits and preferences that will leave you feeling satisfied—and winning the battle of the bulge.


[h=3]Getting started with healthy weight loss[/h]
While there is no “one size fits all” solution to permanent healthy weight loss, the following guidelines are a great place to start:

• Think lifestyle change, not short-term diet. Permanent weight loss is not something that a “quick-fix” diet can achieve. Instead, think about weight loss as a permanent lifestyle change—a commitment to your health for life. Various popular diets can help jumpstart your weight loss, but permanent changes in your lifestyle and food choices are what will work in the long run.
• Find a cheering section. Social support means a lot. Programs like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers use group support to impact weight loss and lifelong healthy eating. Seek out support—whether in the form of family, friends, or a support group—to get the encouragement you need.
• Slow and steady wins the race. Aim to lose one to two pounds a week to ensure healthy weight loss. Losing weight too fast can take a toll on your mind and body, making you feel sluggish, drained, and sick. When you drop a lot of weight quickly, you’re actually losing mostly water and muscle, rather than fat.
• Set goals to keep you motivated. Short-term goals, like wanting to fit into a bikini for the summer, usually don’t work as well as wanting to feel more confident or become healthier for your children’s sakes. When frustration and temptation strike, concentrate on the many benefits you will reap from being healthier and leaner.
• Use tools that help you track your progress. Keep a food journal and weigh yourself regularly, keeping track of each pound and inch you lose. By keeping track of your weight loss efforts, you’ll see the results in black and white, which will help you stay motivated.

Keep in mind it may take some experimenting to find the right diet for your individual body. It’s important that you feel satisfied so that you can stick with it on a long-term basis. If one diet plan doesn’t work, then try another one. There are many ways to lose weight. The key is to find what works for you.
[h=3]Where you carry your fat matters[/h] The health risks are greater if you tend to carry your weight around your abdomen, as opposed to your hips and thighs. A lot of belly fat is stored deep below the skin surrounding the abdominal organs and liver, and is closely linked to insulin resistance and diabetes. Calories obtained from fructose (found in sugary beverages such as soda and processed foods like doughnuts, muffins, and candy) are more likely to add to this dangerous fat around your belly. Cutting back on sugary foods can mean a slimmer waistline and lower risk of disease.

http://helpguide.org/life/healthy_weight_loss.htm

I am in! After going thru all the emails from WW, and deleting them, knowing I had to start again anyway and download the new app, I thought, I am going to look over QB before I do that and here y'all are! Yeah! Motivation and support I need. I am looking forward to joining y'all.

Welcome aboard. This is a fun group, we share everything here from ups downs, quilting and whatever else may be going on in our life.

We all need the support and encouragment.

I am in again. I must do better this year!!!!

I am in again. I have got to get back with it to start this year off right. I am like others during the holidays, because it was so hard not eating goodies that I shouldn't have with Christmas, my husband's birthday right on that day, and my son's birthday the 21st, and one more birthday to go for my daughter in law on Jan 2. I will be keeping on track on that day if I can at all. I feel over flowing too with to many sweets. I have me some good food now, and for a sweet, I bought some sweet potatoes which are healthier. I love sweet potatoes. I am going to say a prayer today for all of us to be and get healthy if we are not already. I have lupus, sjogren's, diabetes, fibromyalgia etc. so I have plenty of reasons to be doing better for myself, and my family. I know others also have health issues, and I understand how hard it is to do the right things. At least we keep on keeping on. Welcome to the new people who have come to join us.

Happy New Year!!!

I'm in too!!

I'm in again. I sent you a pm. I'll get my FQ's together and get them sent. I joined my weight loss program last year on Jan. 1st. I lost 45 lbs. but over Christmas have gained about 5lbs. back. Time to get serious again. Looking forward to cheering everyone on. We can do this. Yay team!!!

Welcome aboard the adventrue Irish-Twins.

I was given a journal for Christmas along with a daily devotionaly book by Joyce Meyers. I believe that I will use the journal to log my food, exercise, water intake, etc to see how I am doing.

I do find that when I keep a close track on what I am doing, I stay in better control. Everyone will find what works for them.

It is kinda depressing that I can spend a month behaving myself and only lose a pound or 2. I have spent the last month totally out of control with my eating and only gained 1 pound. I have eaten so much junk I feel gross.
I need to get back to my journal too. I do so much better when I write it all down so I can see what is good and what is bad. If I don't write everything down I lie to myself about what is going into my mouth. I so need to exercise too. My knees are killing me. I have been taking medication more and more. I do not want to do a knee replacement.
Christmas season is always a hard time for weight loss. We all need to get back on the wagon and put healthy food into our mouths.
Good luck and good eating to everyone.

Healthy dieting and weight loss tip #1: Avoid common pitfalls
 

Diets, especially fad diets or “quick-fix” pills and plans, often set you up for failure because:

• You feel deprived. Diets that cut out entire groups of food, such as carbs or fat, are simply impractical, not to mention unhealthy. The key is moderation.
• You lose weight, but can’t keep it off. Diets that severely cut calories, restrict certain foods, or rely on ready-made meals might work in the short term but don’t include a plan for maintaining your weight, so the pounds quickly come back.
• After your diet, you seem to put on weight more quickly. When you drastically restrict your food intake, your metabolism will temporarily slow down. Once you start eating normally, you’ll gain weight until your metabolism bounces back.
• You break your diet and feel too discouraged to try again. When diets make you feel deprived, it’s easy to fall off the wagon. Healthy eating is about the big picture. An occasional splurge won’t kill your efforts.
• You lose money faster than you lose weight. Special shakes, meals, and programs are not only expensive, but they aren’t practical for long-term weight loss.
• You feel lost when dining out. If the food served isn’t on your specific diet plan, what can you do?
• The person on the commercial lost 30 lbs. in two months—and you haven’t.Diet companies make a lot of grandiose promises, and most are simply unrealistic.

http://helpguide.org/life/healthy_weight_loss.htm

Healthy eating tip 2: Moderation is key
 

People often think of healthy eating as an all or nothing proposition, but a key foundation for any healthy diet is moderation. But what is moderation? How much is a moderate amount? That really depends on you and your overall eating habits. The goal of healthy eating is to develop a diet that you can maintain for life, not just a few weeks or months, or until you've hit your ideal weight. So try to think of moderation in terms of balance. Despite what certain fad diets would have you believe, we all need a balance of carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber, vitamins, and minerals to sustain a healthy body.
For most of us, moderation or balance means eating less than we do now. More specifically, it means eating far less of the unhealthy stuff (refined sugar, saturated fat, for example) and more of the healthy (such as fresh fruit and vegetables). But it doesn't mean eliminating the foods you love. Eating bacon for breakfast once a week, for example, could be considered moderation if you follow it with a healthy lunch and dinner—but not if you follow it with a box of donuts and a sausage pizza. If you eat 100 calories of chocolate one afternoon, balance it out by deducting 100 calories from your evening meal. If you're still hungry, fill up with an extra serving of fresh vegetables.

• Try not to think of certain foods as “off-limits.” When you ban certain foods or food groups, it is natural to want those foods more, and then feel like a failure if you give in to temptation. If you are drawn towards sweet, salty, or unhealthy foods, start by reducing portion sizes and not eating them as often. Later you may find yourself craving them less or thinking of them as only occasional indulgences.
• Think smaller portions. Serving sizes have ballooned recently, particularly in restaurants. When dining out, choose a starter instead of an entree, split a dish with a friend, and don't order supersized anything. At home, use smaller plates, think about serving sizes in realistic terms, and start small. If you don't feel satisfied at the end of a meal, try adding more leafy green vegetables or rounding off the meal with fresh fruit. Visual cues can help with portion sizes–your serving of meat, fish, or chicken should be the size of a deck of cards, a slice of bread should be the size of a CD case, and half a cup of mashed potato, rice, or pasta is about the size of a traditional light bulb.
• [ATTACH=CONFIG]454390[/ATTACH]

http://helpguide.org/life/healthy_eating_diet.htm

So when I want to snack, I sew. Could be a big sewing year! Good luck everyone. Createfourpaws, FQ's are on their way.

Thank You for the link. I went and signed up. There is a lot of good info there.

Due to weather, I know some of the mailings of FQ's may be late. I am more concerned for your safety. Mail when you can. All I ask is you let me know when they are mailed if you are delayed by the weather.

You are welcome for the link. I have found them to be helpful also.

I will be doing a big shopping this weekend, and cooking Saturday and Sunday for next week. I find that if I bring my food to work for me since I work till 8 pm cst, I don't eat so late when I bring my dinner with me. Which in turns also helps me from the late night eating and going to be with a full stomach, causing weight gain.

Cindy, my skinny quarters are mailed for three months (with some $), but think they were mailed before the weather got real bad, but know you'll let me know when they arrive. Great hints and ideas posted so far. Do you still want Taboo Tuesdays? k