Skinnie Twinnies

Before and Afters part 3: Shan and Tom

2010-07-13T20:22:00.000-07:00

Here is their lovely wedding day:

And again, 10 months later:

I mean seriously. How skinnie can you get? So impressed with those guys.

Before and Afters part 2: Shan and Moe

2010-07-13T20:07:00.000-07:00

Here are the ones you have all been waiting for. I am going to post a few from last weekend. None of them are really full length pictures so you can't get the entire "picture", but its good enough. To jog your memory:

And now, 10 months later:

Moe is on the left, Shan on the right. (in case you couldn't tell)
Now don't you go thinking that just because we threw up some before and after pictures on the blog that we are done with it. I still need to lose more, and I need motivation! In fact, tomorrow I am re-starting weight watchers. If you couldn't tell from my lack of posting, I haven't really been sticking to it.:( But trying on bridesmaid dresses reminded me that I still have a while to go before I can look as good as my twinnie!

Before and Afters part 1: Moe and Chris

2010-07-11T14:18:00.000-07:00

Over July 4th weekend, the family went to St. Louis to visit family and meet my little sister's inlaws. We went to a St. Louis Cardinal's baseball game, and it was a blast. In September, after Shan got married, we were lucky enough to get pictures taken at the Cardinal's stadium. So here we were just about 10 months ago:

And here we are, on our anniversary, July 3rd:

I think you can really tell in Chris. He is about 50 lbs lighter in this pictre, while I am about 20 lbs lighter. I have a before of Shan and I at her wedding and she has an after so we just need to get those together so you can see the difference in us!

Its been 2 weeks

2010-06-16T07:25:00.000-07:00

I took 2 weeks off. 2 weeks off of dieting, and consequently, blogging. I felt a little guilty eating ice cream and then thinking, shoot! I need to go post! I didn't pig out all day, everyday. But I wasn't writing anything down or really looking at nutritional information as I usually do. So when I weighed in this morning, I was a little nervous about what my weight was. But I only gained 3 lbs! I know that is a lot, but I figure, if I put it on quick, I can take it off quick. My goal for next Wednesday is to be 3 lbs lighter. I got a nifty 3 month weight watcher tracker that I started today. So my goal for the end of the 3 months is to 22 lbs lighter. Pretty hefty goal, I know, but! My sis asked me to be in her wedding and I would prefer to look good in it compared to looking like a cow in Shan's wedding.
I found a black, one piece swim suit at Old Navy ($19, score!) and thanks to it being black, its not too bad. I have been taking my girls to the pool quite a bit in the past 2 weeks, so I am getting a lot of use out of it. Thats all for now, later!

The Results are in...

2010-06-03T12:55:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Tom and Shan! They lost a combined 68 lbs (17.32%) in 4 months. My hub won biggest loser male (outside of the bl couple) at 17%. My SIL Jenny won biggest loser female at 14.69% weight loss. There were 4 couples in the competition, and in 4 months, we lost a combined 236lbs. How awesome is that?

I was 2nd place for biggest loser female- 1.4 lbs separated 1st and 2nd place! Chris and I lost the most combined weight- 72 lbs!

Sorry for all the boring stats, but I was excited to see it all out on the blog. Chris wants to keep the competition going, which I am totally game for! We will see what happens. So yesterday was the last weigh in. Since then, I haven't really been weight watching. I made this for dinner last night, and it was soooo yummy! I think after a few days of cleaning out my pantry (eating pasta and a lot of other things in there that I have been avoiding) I will get back on the horse. I'm keeping up the walking in the meantime. I'm glad I still have Skinnie Twinnies to keep me motivated! That, and durn swim suit season. I have tried on quite a few and am not too happy with the look. Catch ya later...

Birthday

2010-05-27T09:15:00.000-07:00

YAY for us turning 28 today! Wish the skinnie twinnies could be together today. :( There is always next year!!

Picking up the pace...

2010-05-26T05:14:00.000-07:00

I lost 3.5 lbs this week!! I am on cloud nine! This might be my biggest loss in a week yet. I even beat out the hub, who lost a not-so-shabby 2.4 lbs. How did I do this you ask? I cut out as much processed foods as possible and I did extra cardio. I really did it for the biggest loser competition, since we only have 1 week left at this point.

I am so excited! This should keep me going for the next week, although it's going to be tough since there is a skinnie twinnie birthday tomorrow and vacation this weekend! Happy dieting!
Woo hoo!!

Newest obsession...

2010-05-20T17:07:00.000-07:00

Lettuce wraps. Marinate some chicken in some yummy sauce, cook it and throw all sorts of grated veggies together and serve in a romaine lettuce leaf. Yum yum. A true light delight!
I have 2 great recipes from my fave food blog, http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
PF Changs Style Wraps
Spicy mango Wraps

Enjoy!

Crunchtime

2010-05-20T12:35:00.000-07:00

My hub is totally being the biggest loser police. Have you worked out today? Want to work out again? What did you eat? How many calories is that? Did you write it all down? Want to work out again? Again? Again?

Ok, maybe thats a bit of an exaggeration, but like my post says, is is crunchtime! And he is making sure we are both on track. Each day is precious- we have to lose as much as we can each day. If I were this focused from the very beginning, I might be in a size 6 right now. Harhar. That hasn't happened since high school! I am getting my teeth professionally whitened for the next 2 weeks. That means that for 2 hours a night I have to keep my trays in my mouth without eating or drinking anything! And then there shouldn't be any eating 2 hours after that. So that will help me avoid all late night snacking. Late night snacking is my biggest weakness. I can go all day eating right and on track. After the kids are in bed and the tv goes on, I just want to raid the pantry! We don't really have a lot of snickysnacks around the house, so I resort to ridiculous combinations of food. I have been known to eat a the rest of the bag of marshmallows.

On the exercise front, I am not going to any fancy workout classes like Shan, but I am managing to get out and walk for 40-60 minutes per day. I am in the process of starting a walking group with my nearby mommy-friends, so that should pay off. Today, my sweet little E turned 1. Sniff sniff. How time flies. See ya!

2 weeks left...

2010-05-19T12:15:00.000-07:00

until biggest loser is over! My hub and I are winning, but almost neck and neck are Moe and her hub. My husband has almost lost 50 lbs, and I believe he will get there in the next two weeks. That is amazing. When this is all over, I will post a before and after picture of us as a couple. It's amazing the difference, especially on him! He looks great and feels great.
I did lose 1.1 this weigh-in, which is good, but not ideal for a weight loss competition. It's getting harder! Not only am I facing a plateau, we are delving into summer! And we all know that summer means going out more, drinking more, etc.
On the workout front, my hub and I have been doing really well. We started doing a boot camp on the rooftop of our apartment with the trainer. We are still sticking to those classes that are twice a week. I think we are building a ton of muscle. Which is good, because the Warrior Dash is this weekend! How exciting is that? I'll definitely post pictures of that.
Ooooh, and tonight I get my haircut, do you think that will help me shed some pounds? :)

Keep it coming

2010-05-19T11:59:00.000-07:00

Weigh in was ok today! I lost 2.8 lbs in this 2 week time frame. We are still in 2nd place with the Biggest Loser. The hub is totally talking it up that we can win this. He is saying that I "only have to lose 7 lbs till next weigh in (June 2nd)." Hmm. ONLY? I have never lost that much in 2 weeks, or even really in 3 weeks so I hate to break it to him but I just don't think I can do 7. MAYBE 5 if I try really hard. And I will try hard. Today I have already taken a 2 mile walk in the hot Dallas sun. This is going to be a tough weekend to get through with the birthday party bash on Saturday. We shall see, we shall see! Shan lost 1.1 in this 2 week time frame, and she is really only about 8 lbs away from her goal! I am halfway to my goal. I have lost 25 and would LOVE to lose 25 more. Here is an interesting fact for ya: right now I weigh what Shan weighed when we started this blog. Skinnie Twinnies unite in July again so we will see how we measure up again...

Broken Scale

2010-05-13T12:07:00.000-07:00

We have a digital scale, so I guess its not technically broken, just out of batteries. But we don't have any lying around our house, so its broken in my book! When I weighed myself yesterday, it said I gained 4 lbs. Then I got off and then on again and was 8 lbs lighter than the first weight. Throughout the day I would take my weight (just for fun) and it was hilarious to see what my weights were! I lost as much as 13 lbs and gained as much as 6. Who knows what my real weight is! We will get it fixed by the next weigh-in, never fear. I just didn't want anyone thinking, wait, why hasn't Moe posted her weekly weight loss? (side note, why hasn't Shan, haha)

I made cookies for playgroup last night and they were evil. Half of my points are all used up and its only day 2 in my week! Have a great weekend guys!

Competitors or twinnies?

2010-05-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

This is in response to Moe's last post. You are going down!!!!! :) My husband and I are also going to buckle down these last 3 weeks and try and shave off the extra lbs. Actually, it needs to be me more than him. I know I haven't posted in a while, and it's mostly because I have been maintaining. I lose a half of a pound, then I gain half of a pound. Meanwhile, my now sveldt husband is still losing 2 lbs a week, at the least! He is looking awesome! And so healthy!

We have been taking some "body sculpting" classes at the apartment gym that are quite the workout! Those classes, plus using the personal trainer and training for the Warrior Dash in a week and a half has kept us busy. Which is why I have probably been maintaining- I feel as though I can eat more! But, the next three weeks, I'm sticking to it.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can! Come on twinnie, let's get skinnie!!

Biggest Loser is winding down...

2010-05-11T12:45:00.000-07:00

So the results from last week's BL weigh-in are in, and the hub and I won! My percentage alone beat out any other couple, so that was quite exciting to see. Next Wednesday is the next BL weigh-in, and then 2 more weeks and that is it. SO the stakes are pretty high. Shan and Tom are in the lead- they have lost around 27% of their weight combined. Chris and I are in second place with losing almost 24% combined. So, if Chris and I continue to lose and IF Tom and Shan gain or maintain, we might pull it off. In an effort to squeeze every last ounce off of us, Chris and I made a deal. I will exercise everyday if he does weight watchers with me everyday. That means I am going to keep track of everything he eats and he is going to make sure I do some sort of exercise EVERY day. Thus far, Chris has really only been eating healthy (which is awesome) but its time to step it up and start counting his calories(points). And its going to be REALLY hard, because in these next 3 weeks, it is jam-packed with family coming in town and I am throwing a huge birthday bash for us girls. (Our birthdays are May 20- E, May 24- G, and May 27-Me!) Aside from that , we literally have family staying with us for like 18 days straight. And you know when family comes into town, well at least for me, I tend to let calorie counting slide.
And in other news, my older sister (you know, the one who is practically perfect in every way) has joined this weight loss train. She has 2 little ones and wants to get rid of that last 5 or 10 lbs that tend to stay on after those sweet babies are born. So I have been trying to help her out with counting her points as well. SO good luck Meg! And good luck to us! Later!

Bison Burgers and Barbecues

2010-05-10T07:13:00.000-07:00

Our family is a little obsessed with barbecuing. We pretty much grill out 10 months per year. And when we have people over, its always going to be a barbecue. And why not? I don't think I have met one person who doesn't enjoy a burger, hot dog, brat, etc! On Mother's day, we tried out Bison burgers. I don't think in a million years I would have bought them, but I saw Jamie Oliver serving them on his Food Revolution. So when I saw them at cost-co, I couldn't pass them up! They are very, very yummy! I found this little comparison from http://bisonburgers.net/nutrition/ in case anyone is curious:

Interesting, right? I read through that website and they talked about how Bison are healthier animals because they eat grass and are not subject to commercial feed/grains and also drugs and chemicals. SO all around, its just a healthier cut of meat for you! Yum!

I Lost My Baby...in pounds!

2010-05-05T13:22:00.000-07:00

Before you read this post, go take a gander at my weight loss ticker. Are you amazed? I have lost 22 lbs! I am so freaking pumped!! The other day I weighed my dear baby E, and that sweet little porker weighs 22 lbs! I feel like my arms have some pretty good muscles lately since i have been carrying her around more often due to her constant teething-tantrums! So now, when I pick her up, and have to heave her up onto my shoulder I can think, WHOA. I used to carry this around on my body! Kind of weird to think about. And kind of exciting to think that is off of me! Still got a ways to go though folks. Right now I am thinking about swimsuit season. And although I look ok in my regular clothes, I don't look ok at all in a swimsuit! What am I to do? I want to be poolside everyday this summer and there is just not enough time before the pool opens for me to lose it all. So I guess I need some advice on some mom-figure friendly swimsuits that are also cute. Any ideas? Lata!

Glass VS Water Bottle

2010-05-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

This past week, a high school friend of mine, K, came to visit. We had a lovely time catching up, playing with the girls and she was just giddy to be outdoors since it is so nice here in Dallas compared to St. Louis. It is always interesting when you have a new person in the house- you can really learn a lot! She cooked a healthy dinner for us one night and it was sooo yum! She is a really healthy person, and knew that the hub and I are trying to be really good too. So instead of bringing me Gooey Butter Cake (STL's best coffee cake EVER), she brought me a box of No Pudge Fudge Brownie mix. It is a brownie mix that is fat free, and all you add to it is fat free yogurt! Mmm mmm good. Each serving was just 2 points! She got hers at Trader Joe's, but if you live in one of those really unlucky cities that doesn't have a TJ, then you can go to the No Pudge website and they have a list of locations by state.
Anyways, one thing that I noticed right away about K is that she drinks a TON of water. She was constantly filling up a glass of water, all day. It was actually very impressive that she could keep up such an amazing pace, all day long. I always start out so good, but by the end of the day I can't even remember when the last time I took a drink was! So on the last day that she was here, I challenged myself to drink as much as she did. I had my trusty water bottle with me all day long. Some bottles were full of just ice and water, others had crystal light in it. She also had to constantly remind me and I think in the end she still ended up drinking more than I did! But! I still drank 5 bottles of water in one day. And at 32 oz per bottle, that is a whopping 160 ounces(over 1 gallon!) I drank in one day. You are supposed to drink at least 64, so I was pretty well covered. So thanks K, for inspiring me. I have my 1/2 full water bottle next to me as I type!

Getting my Groove Back!

2010-04-28T07:34:00.000-07:00

I lost 2.6 this week! I wrote down everything I ate, and didn't go off the diet at all this week. I have been walking a lot lately. The weather in Dallas is PHENOMENAL! I have been taking the girls to a park or a duck pond almost everyday. And G is kind of obsessed with riding her own little bike so I usually put Elia in the stroller and we just go wherever Gianna can ride to!
I hope that my last post wasn't too soap box-y. I didn't mean to come across as a perfect eater. Because I am NOT! I would wolf down a McGriddle right now if it were in front of me even though I know it is one of the most unhealthy meals ever created. Grease and fat taste good! I just try to avoid at all costs. I know I can also attribute my recent success with losing weight (like the past few weeks) with the fact that I am, ahem, on a normal , womanly cycle, if you catch my drift. I have heard that nursing kind of makes your body store more fat than it truly needs since you are responsible for being able to produce so much food for another human being. I am weening little E right now, so I know that is helping.
I am really excited because I am only 1.2 lbs away from losing 20! That is quite a milestone. I would love to have lost 30 by the time Biggest Loser is over at the end of May. We shall see.

Jamie Oliver and Juice +

2010-04-27T13:40:00.000-07:00

I'm sure every wellness/exercise/diet blog out there has in one way or another talked about Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. I DVRed the entire series because I didn't want to miss an episode! For those of you who haven't watched or heard anything about it (are you living under a rock?) I will give you a little synopsis:
Jamie is a celebrity chef and health campaigner in the UK. He came over to America, specifically Huntington, West Virginia. Huntington is statistically one of the unhealthiest cities in the country. He started a grassroots movement- he first went to schools, then churches, and in the homes of the community. He opens up a kitchen to teach people how to cook healthy. He goes to an elementary school and completely changes their menu, and then the entire district adopts his change. He talked to families and helped them learn to eat better. And people all over the country, the world even, were watching this revolution unfold. He made so many people aware, and for that I am so thankful. He kept quoting a statistic through the whole series that is shocking and scary. The statistic is that in the year 2010, children with obesity will not outlive their parents. How scary is that?
Last weekend, I went to a Juice + party. And it really opened my eyes to what I feed my kids. There was a lot of talk about nutrition labels and ingredients that I had never looked at for my children. When I looked at the apple sauce I have been feeding G for the past week or so, I saw that one of the first 3 ingredients is high fructose corn syrup. Never mind that on the front of the package it says a healthy snack for kids! A lot of what Juice + is all about is exactly what Jamie Oliver is trying to convey to the world. Eat healthy things. Eat fresh produce as much and as often as you can. Eat things that come from the farm, not a factory. I know how hard it is to make kids (esp 2 year olds) eat healthy. But it is our obligation as good parents to do it! I think I have come a long way in my dieting process. I used to buy all the "diet" goodies that would satisfy my sweet tooth. The Skinny Cow, the 100 calorie packs, etc. etc. Now I am really more about eating natural, fresh, foods. And if I fall off the wagon, its ok! I just get back on and try to avoid them. Weigh in is tomorrow, and I am pretty sure I did well. We shall see...

Some good links:
http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/
http://fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com/
http://dinnergarden.org/

Blah blah blah you get the point!

2010-04-21T07:54:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. I have had some serious problem with blogging. I have signed in and started to write a post so many times and then I just get writers block or something. I just feel like right now I have nothing to write about! Except that Last week I lost 2 lbs and this week I lost 1.6. I know this looks exciting, but for some reason I feel very apathetic towards it all right now. I have been pretty good about writing down what I have been eating and sticking to that, its just the fact that I haven't exercised!
I have not done a P90X video in at least a week. Now that the Hub can't work out with me at night, my work out time is during nap. But nap time is SO precious to me. That is when I clean the house, make dinner, fold laundry, etc. etc. and if I am lucky, catch a nap or sit down to watch one of my favorite shows ever, Color Splash. So I am thinking about doing an exercise class that would get me out of the house when he is home and then I would have other people (even if they are strangers) to work out with. My rec center offers a jazzercise class that looks like a lot of fun. I will keep you updated on that though.
Here are some other "issues" I have been wanting to talk about:
Vegetable fiber bread. Has anyone out there tried any? Its pretty good. 2 slices is only 70 calories, so I can pile on a little extra meat or cheese without feeling guilty.

The Dukan diet. My husband found this on the internet and it is definitely a fad diet, But! We might try it just to kick-start some quick weight loss for us. It is very similar to South Beach, with its own "phases." It says if you follow it, you can lose up to 11 lbs in 2 days. What the what? I will let you know if and when we do it. Looks like a lot more work than I would prefer, but if it could help us win biggest loser, than I might consider it.
Speaking of Biggest Loser, Shannon and Tom won again last weigh-in, those jerks! We will see what happens this week! Ok, I must go. Go to our page on facebook to offer us some motivational tips- we NEED it!!!

So, neither twinnie has written in a while,

2010-04-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

and I know you have missed us! Not much new to report here, just plugging along. I'm still working out with the personal trainer and trying to eat healthy. My husband and I had some friends in town this past weekend, and it was really nice. Since we don't know that many people in the area, we had big plans of going out, shopping, and just hanging around. We went to a brewery and out to dinner and we barbecued and watched baseball. It was great! It made me realize that I have really cut the social drinking out of my life, and this alone is probably helping contribute to my weight loss.

I digress. I went shopping with my girlfriend that was in town, and I think I realized that I am now a size 10. Which, ladies and gentleman, hasn't seen my body in many years. So I am excited. But you know how sometimes different stores sizes run differently. But still. To feel very comfortable in a 10 was quite encouraging. So that is my motivation for the week- stay in those size 10 jeans and dress I just bought! Woo hoo!

Another engagement! Another motivation!

2010-04-09T09:07:00.000-07:00

Besides my skinnie twinnie Shan, I haven't talked much about my family. I am the 2nd oldest of 5- Meg, me, Shan, Col, and Ry. Meg is the typical older sister- perfect in every way. She is hard-working, beautiful, skinny (even after having 2 kids) and one thing that I really aspire to- organized! Then there are the twins- Moe and Shan. We are quite obviously the cool sisters. We (and especially Shan) are the funny ones that everyone wants to be around at family get-togethers and other social events. (I am totally embellishing here). Col is next(I am going to skip over her real quick). Then there is the lone brother, Ry. He is a typical high schooler, except that he has 4 older sisters (not a fate many would envy). So he isn't really all that typical. He loves to play with his 4 nieces and nephews and he is just a great guy.
Ok so back to Col- she is probably the sweetest person I have ever met. There is just not a bad bone in her body. Kids LOVE her, they just sort of are drawn to her. I would say she is kind of like the apple of our family's eye. She is a little shorter than the rest of us and so my dad quite appropriately nicknamed her "Mouse." Well, our little Col, our mouse, is all grown up and this past weekend she got engaged!!! Another one bites the dust! But seriously, we couldn't be happier for her.
So why am I talking about this on my weightloss blog? Well, for one it is really exciting I can't not talk about it, but also, it is a great motivation for me to keep losing weight so I can look good at her wedding! Woohoo!
Congrats Col!

The Ugly Truth

2010-04-09T07:49:00.000-07:00

I gained weight while in Atlanta. Since the birth of this blog, I have never gained. I can't say I am surprised or anything. I had all the best intentions to exercise and write down what I ate while in Atlanta, but it just didn't happen. I would start out eating healthy and in small portions, but by the end of the day, my bro in law Ed would open up the bar and I was like putty when he would shake out a margarita for me. Then there was the Easter candy that seemed to last all week long. Reese's eggs=EVIL!!!

Shan got food poisoning the night before our scheduled personal training session, so that got nixed. My husband has gained as well, so we are a little depressed about it. BUT! We are getting right back on the wagon. Take a look at the latest skinnie twinnie pic:

You should see Shan. She is HOT! I haven't seen her this skinnie in a long time. I am so ~~jealous~~ proud of her! I will post more about ATL later, but I just wanted to send out an update to the blogosphere!

Cleaning Out My Closet

2010-04-02T18:22:00.000-07:00

So I have been packing ALL DAY LONG. I really hate packing, and I procrastinate by doing ANYthing else. Organize my sock drawer, clean the bathrooms, paint my nails, you know, the usual procrastinating activities. Well today I decided to organize my closet. I basically tried on all my non-maternity clothes on, and most of them all fit! How exciting is that? Now they don't all look stunning on me, but the fact that I can zip up pants and skirts is quite the accomplishment! So I moved almost all my maternity clothes (ecxept for some smaller sizes I used in my first and second trimester) to the back of my closet with all my bridesmaid dresses and winter clothes, and moved most of my other clothes to the front! Yay!
The hub took today off and we started out with a bike ride. We had done this same route a week ago and it was so easy! But today was so, so windy (like tornado weather) and so it was MUCH harder. I counted it as my cardio. Getting so excited to unite with my skinnie twinnie soon!!!

Priceless

2010-03-31T07:04:00.000-07:00

Days I worked out this week: 0
Days I wrote down what I ate (tracked): 0

Getting a stomach bug 2 days ago which leads to the biggest weight loss in a one or two week period: PRICELESS

I lost 3.6 lbs in ONE WEEK!!! WOOOOOOHOOOOOO

Now I don't want anyone getting huffy with me, thinking that I am promoting bulimia or anything. I would rather not have been up until 1:30am, sick and watching G get sick too. That goes for the cleanup and the laundry the next day(and the day after). Especially considering I have to pack to go to Atlanta to see my family and SKINNIE TWINNIE!!!! Life would have been easier if I didn't have to do all that. I had to cancel a playgroup I was hosting, and opted out of a Juice + party I was excited about.
So maybe this huge weight loss will get me back into gear, especially now that I have a personal training session coming up! Woohooooooo