You Know What Day it Is

That's right. It is Weigh In Wednesday!

I cannot speak for all of us, but I am down .5 lbs.

Half a pound.

Not great, but it is progress and that is how I am choosing to look at it. Besides, I know that even though I am only down 1.5 pounds total my belly is less disgusting already and even my husband said he could see my body shape changing.

Slowly but surely.

I may not take all of your money, but I sure will look good not doing so.

Ugh. It is too early for me to try to spin clever phrases.

And listen, if you are feeling bad about only losing one pound, go in your pantry and take a look at what a one pound bag of flour or rice looks like.

Feel better?

Good luck losers!

Once Upon a Time (A Guest Post)

Once upon a time I wore a size 4. Really, when I was in high school I was very slender. I wasn't an athlete, but I danced and did marching band and occasionally ran for exercise. I went up to a healthy and more realistic size 6 during college but didn't put on a bunch of weight then. It wasn't until after college that I picked up some bad eating habits and my exercise dropped off, and that's when the weight started to slowly creep on. It was a sneaky devil, only a pound here and there, until one morning I didn't recognize the person looking back at me in the mirror. Something had to go.

Amazingly the weight came off easier than I expected. I had a few starts and stops, but eventually lost 55 pounds and managed to keep it off with healthy eating and bicycle commuting.

Then I took a new job, one with long hours and a long commute, almost two hours each way. I loved the project I worked on but my body didn't love the demands and 15 pounds crept back on. About nine months after starting that job I got pregnant and my thyroid started misbehaving, and it was all downhill from there. During my last pregnancy in 2006 I was diagnosed with a nasty stomach disorder, and unfortunately the medication to treat it can cause weight gain, the absolute last thing I need. So I've been losing the same 10 pounds over and over and over for five years, and despite exercise and eating right, for the most part, I have not been able to get past that plateau to get back to a healthy weight.

Then last week in a completely unexpected development, I broke that through the plateau. As I stared at the scale I couldn't believe my eyes, and I stepped on and off about a dozen times to make sure it wasn't a mirage. Then I did a little happy dance. I've still got a ways to go before I reach my goal, but seeing that number on the scale gave me more hope than I've had in a long time.


Andrea is a forty-something mom to three young boys, and her favorite healthy activities are biking/spinning, yoga, and Pilates. She writes about cooking, edible gardening and occasional delicious travel stories at Andrea Meyers: cooking, gardening, & four hungry guys.

Weigh in Wednesday

I lost one pound. It isn't earth shattering, but it is something. It also means I'll spend all day entering your new numbers into my spreadsheet so I will be too busy to eat.

Please don't forget to send your new and improved weights to losermoms@gmail.com.

It is our second weigh in Wednesday!

True Lies

Reflecting back on the past two days I think I've done alright. I"ve lost 40 pounds, I'm not a bit hungry and I find Bran Buds and Celery entirely satisfying.  8 glasses of water? Easily down the hatch. No problem. I am up to 7 hours a day on my elliptical and I feel awesome!

And if you read that first paragraph really fast you can count it as cardio.  HA!

The first few days of a new routine suck.  I have increased my water intake. This means we're going to need more toilet paper. That's how it is. Really.

What's happening with all of you? How have the past couple of days been?

In Defense of the "Before" Picture

I'm going to take a stab in the dark and guess that most of us are none too happy about having our pictures taken. Honestly, no one who wants to lose a noticeable amount of weight wants their "fat face" documented.

But I'm here to tell you that you should. In fact, I want you to go RIGHT NOW and take just about the least flattering self portrait you can imagine.

It's time for your "before" shot.

The first reason you need to do this is because you need a reality check. If you're like me, and have avoided being in front of the camera as much as possible, and have no full-length mirrors in the house... you need to know. You need to see where you are right now. For some people, it might be a little disappointing. For some of us, it might be an intensely harsh slap in the face. Welcome to rock bottom. It sucks there. But now you know. You need to know.



Here's what I know: on August 17, 2009, I weighed 226 pounds. I'm 5'5" on a good day. Two. hundred. twenty. six. pounds. This is how I walked around for the two years following the birth of my children. I hate this picture (and what it represents) with the heat of 1,000 suns. But I took it. I needed to see that. I needed to understand where I was.

OK, so now you've got your motivation. You can make it the desktop on your computer, post it on your blog or your refrigerator, or just let it sit on your computer. You know it's there.

The other reason you need to take that shot, though, is so that you can see your own progress. Weight loss can be achingly slow, the changes subtle. And if, like me, you've got an awfully long way to go, it can feel like you'll never make it. That's why, once you're down 5 or 10 pounds (or some other portion of your longer-term goal), you have to take another one. Preferably in the same clothes. And then you need to take those two pictures and hold them next to each other. Lo and behold, progress!



Here's me, six weeks in and 10 pounds down. You see, I still felt plenty "fat" after six weeks. And 10 felt like such a tiny fraction of my overall goal. And yet, it was heartening to look at these two shots side-by-side and see changes.

A few guidelines for your "before" picture:
- Do not wear a big t-shirt and baggy sweatpants. If you want to see the pudge go down, you have to see where it is in the first place. Wear something form-fitting, probably something that's a little too snug to wear out of the house at the moment. That includes whatever you're wearing on your legs. If you're feeling really bold, take a picture in your sports bra.
- Get as close to a full-body shot as you can. Find a full-length mirror (maybe it's in the back of your closet somewhere?) and stand back so you get the full effect. A side-view is a good idea, too.
- The photo self portrait can be tricky. Make sure you look at the camera's reflection, not your own. Or get a trusted friend/spouse to take it for you.

And here I am, today. Five months in. 26 pounds down. Ready to kick ass and take all of your money!




Thanks Liz for the awesome guest post! You can always find Liz over at her site Goddess in Progress.

Today is the Day!

Alright, it has begun.

There has been some confusion so I will try to make sense today. This is all you need to do.

1) Make sure you entered by sending $10 via paypal to losermoms@gmail.com

2) Weigh yourself every Wednesday. Ideally this would be at the same time each week. Please try to wear approximately the same thing each week. Every Wednesday send your progress to losermoms@gmail.com . This is on the honor system. Please don't cheat.

We will not publish your weight. We may be unusual but we are not cruel.

3) Do whatever it is you do to drop the weight.

4) Talk trash in the comments.

Okay, steps three and four are optional, but they will help you get the most out of our little contest.

We welcome guest posts and pictures but neither are required.

You can also follow us on twitter @losermoms . Our hashtag is #losermoms. If you tweet that you are participating I will follow you back and add you to our list. If I don't please DM me and I will remember.

Any questions? Leave a comment, DM us on twitter or send an e-mail to losermoms@gmail.com.

For those of you who we have confused (and also due to popular demand) the two prizes will be as follows - 1 prize for the person who loses the most weight and 1 prize for the person who loses the largest percentage of their body weight.

Seem fair?

Our final weigh in will be Wednesday, April 7th.

Good luck to everyone and FAYE.

Let the wild rumpus start!

Last Dance, Last Chance

Okay people. This is your last chance to sign up.

For those of you that are already signed up today is your last chance to eat.

I just had some chocolate.

That being said, I've already stopped drinking (beer and wine, I still do water and coffee) Monday through Thursday. It might not sound like much, but if you know me this is a huge deal.

If I can do that, you can throw your $10 in the pot and give it the old college try right?

We've got over 35 participants already. The winner of this contest is going to win a serious chuck of change.

Bring it on!

We will see you tomorrow.

Scale Rider

MammaLoves left a commment on Sarah's previous post:

"You know this means I have to go out and actually purchase a scale, don't you."

Guess what? I need a new scale too.  I've purchased many in my lifetime and never found one I liked all that much.   I guess it would be easy to blame the scale for telling me things I don't want to know, like I weigh more than I thought I did.  Damn scale. Truth teller. Condemning me for my love triangle with these guys.

I've had both digital and the kind with the needle that goes around. (Is that called analogue? My husband and I just had about a 5 minute debate about it. Still no answer.) The problem I've had with digital scales is they tend to record my weight differently each time I hop on. This causes me to step off and on the scale a few times and attempt to average my weight after three attempts. The hopping on and off does not raise my heart rate and I can't count it as cardio, plus it makes me do math.  I hate both. Math and Cardio.

The scale with the watch face (what the hell do you call it?) I'm never sure if I get the cheap-o one if that one will be accurate.  I'm not sure I even know why I feel as if the mechanical (that's still not the correct term Is it?) one has to be expensive for it to be accurate. Do the less expensive ones do the job and last? I have no idea. The expensive scales seem really big and might take up the entire square footage of my bathroom. 

For those of you who have a scale, or purchased one recently:

What kind did you get? Digital or the manual? (that just sounds wrong. Is it?)

• Do you like it?
• Where did you purchase it?
• How much did it cost?

Devra

Are You Ready to Rumble?

You people are awesome. We already have over 25 people signed up for our second Biggest Loser Mom Contest. This means the winner will probably be taking home over $150.

Not too shabby.

I just wanted to clear up a couple of things:

1) I think we will do our weigh-ins on Wednesdays. Devra and I were talking about it and smack in the middle of the week seems fair. Plus the Weigh-in Wednesday has a nice ring to it.

We don't really care when you weigh in on a Wednesday, we just want you to weigh yourself at the same time each Wednesday and preferably wear the same thing. If that sounds complicated just weigh in in underwear or naked. I personally will be wearing clothes since I will be posting pictures.

2) Anybody is welcome to guest post here. In fact, we encourage it. Tell us about your loser journey.

3) You don't have to be a mother to participate. Hell, you don't even have to be female. You just have to pony up your $10 and be honest.

4) E-mail your weight each Wednesday to losermoms@gmail.com. We will not share your weight with anyone. Only Devra and I have the password to this e-mail. We are not cruel, just unusual.

5) Invite your friends. We still have time and the more the merrier!

Bring it on!

- Sarah

SIGN UP NOW For The Biggest Loser Moms 2nd Contest

Okay everyone. We have a new contest, it's going even longer and it comes with it's own battle cry for which we can all thank Stimey (pictured on my left, your right. Only she isn't wearing an innertube under her blouse. I am. Ahem.). Given that improving grammar is not on my list of New Year resolutions, I am just going to ignore any issues with that first sentence and continue on. Again, I am defying grammatical protocol and ending a sentence in a preposition. Let me remind all y'all this isn't a grammar blog.

Which is a fabulous segue (and yes, this still is a blog where we will throw in gratuitous SAT words from time to time) into our 2nd Edition contest. The rules are the same as our first contest. The contest dates are from January 10th until April 10th. It just so happens that April 11th is my birthday, it's a coincidence people, not a dastardly plan for me to be able to eat copious amounts of cake and ice cream.

Whose in? Or who's in? Remember, no grammar police. Although we do acknowledge that some of you may not be comfy with announcing to your friends and family, "I'm doing The 2nd Biggest Loser Moms Fuck All Y'all Edition" so for you people, we suggest the acronym "F.A.Y.E." Sarah and I have even made it easier for you to win. We've gained about 10 pounds between the two of us already, although we like to think of it as bulking up for the winter. Spring will be here before we know it, so let's get going, let's shed the poundage together!

Sign up for The 2nd Biggest Loser Moms Contest (aka FAYE) right now!

Rules are simple. Because if they are complicated we'll just give up, drink beer and eat icecream.

Length of Contest: Begins January 13, 2010 Ends April 10, 2010

Entry fee: $10.00 per participant. Contest is open to anyone over the age of 18 who wants to participate. Entry fees will be kept in a PayPal account which will then be used as prize money for the two winners. All monies collected will be distributed to winners, no money will be kept by Sarah or Devra (unless of course we win the contest fair and square.)

Liability: None for us. You participate of your own free will, medical clearance is your responsibility. Basically we're holding the contest, but participation is at your own risk. Think of this declaration as being similar to the sign you see in restaurants stating they aren't responsible for any articles of clothing left at the establishment.

Weigh-in: Weekly. Weigh yourself on the same scale at the same time of day, wearing the same clothes for each weekly weigh-in. Loss will be measured in pounds. Once everyone is signed up, we will create a Google Doc contestants can access and enter our weekly weight.

Awarding of Prizes: The week of April 10th when the contest officially ends. Two prizes will be awarded, with first prize going to the person who has the highest percentage of weight loss, and second prize to the next highest percentage of weight loss.

* The contest is named for our site "Loser Moms" there is no requirement that participants be moms. All are welcome!

Our PayPal button is tempermental, if you can't access the page, please send payment to LoserMoms@Gmail.com via PayPal.