My Weight Loss Journey - Changes I have made

First off, thank you SO much for all of the sweet comments yesterday, every one of them made me smile. The support I have received from the blogging community has been unbelievable!

So THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

As promised, I wanted to blog about my changes that I have made to my lifestyle over the past 2 years.

{I posted this last spring, about my old habits, in case you missed this}

I truly believe weight loss is a combination of both diet and exercise, and these are a few things I have done over the past few years.

Although it took me 2 years to take off the weight, I fluctuated with my weight last fall after winning the biggest loser competition in June 2010. Looking back over my pictures, it truly has been a journey, my weight wasn't put on over night, and clearly, it won't fall off over night!

Diet

• I cut out fast food {yes, I will admit that I occasionally swing through Sonic and not only do I get a route 44 diet coke, but also a small tot! i mean - who can say no to tots???}
• I drink LOTS of water!!!
• If I need electrolytes, I drink powerade zero or g2
• I no longer eat chicken after a incident that happened last year at work, which means, I no longer eat fried chicken... which I think really helps! I do however miss buffalo hot sauce
• I have replaced all red meat when I cook with turkey {turkey burgers, turkey sausage} and also black bean burgers
• I make a menu at the house every Monday and we try to stick to it, that way we are not planning on meals the day of or just deciding to go out to eat because its easier than cooking that day
• I try and shop the perimeter of the grocery store... where the produce, deli counter, fresh meat, and dairy is located
• I now know the difference between boredom and and hunger, and fighting the urge to eat when I'm bored.
• Everything in the house is whole wheat rather than white, bread, pasta, pizza dough, ect
• I LOVE skinny cow sweet snacks, it is nice to know that you can have something that tastes as good as a nutty buddy, but its only 110 calories :)
• I try and pack my lunch rather than be tempted to go out to eat or eat from the cafeteria
• I never deprive myself of something that I'm craving, I just have it in moderation
• I don't go out and drink as much as I used to {its crazy to look back at my previous pictures, and most were taken at bars or with a drink in my hand}, however if I go out I try to get a lite/light beer, or a vodka {preferably ciroc which is made with grapes and not potatoes} and soda water with 3 limes. I used to go for vodka tonics on a big night out at the bar, but tonic is not good for you - its filled with sugar!

Exercise

• Obviously, I have been running over the past 2 years, and that has been a HUGE factor of my weight loss
• In order to keep my interest in running, I have always signed up for an event in the future so that I have to continue to train
• Occasionally I will take a class at my gym
• I still completely stand by Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred DVD. I saw inches come off during the 30 days I did the DVD. It is 20 minutes a day, and if you tell yourself you don't have 20 minutes for exercise a day, then you are lying to yourself
• I use my pedometer to keep me accountable for how much I have walked/ran that day. For a healthy lifestyle you should be moving at least 7,000 steps a day

Sweet Rewards

• I have more energy than I have ever had before
• Hearing so many compliments, from "I barely recognized you", or "how much weight have you lost?" it just makes me want to lose that much more! its sometimes that those compliments get me to the gym, or make me push that much harder when I'm at the gym
• I previously rewarded myself for anything with food... and now I reward myself with other things {going to an inexpensive nail place and having them shape and polish my nails for $6 if I train 5 out of 7 days in a week} {a new watch every time I finish a 1/2 marathon} {being able to buy new clothes - yes this has been expensive, but going from a size 16 to an 8 is totally worth it!!!}

These are just a few of the changes I have made in my weight loss journey over the past 2 years. I am ashamed that I ever got to where I was, however, I can hold my head high knowing that I have have lost as much weight as I have. I feel amazing and have more energy than ever, and wouldn't trade this feeling for the world!

Have you been on a weight loss journey? What have you done to lose your weight?

My Weight Loss Journey

I can't believe I am FINALLY able to write this post! It feels as if it has been a long {and rewarding} time coming.

I have finally lost 50 pounds 52.5 if we want be exact as of today!

I've been asked by a few blogging friends/twitter friends how I have lost the weight, so I thought I would take a moment and share with you what I have done throughout the last 2 years to take the weight off.

I will start off by telling you that I previously was deathly afraid of numbers! {i.e. I wouldn't check my bank account because that number kept decreasing, and I wouldn't step on the scale because that number continued to creep up}. I vowed to myself in January 2010 that I would no longer be afraid of numbers and I would start doing something about it!

I honestly did not step on the scale unless it was at the doctors office, so the heaviest that I ever weighed in at the doctor was 195 in the Fall of 2009. {GASP! did I really just put that number out on the www for EVERYONE To see!} And at the time of stepping on the scale, I had to be okay with the number.... I told myself, the day I reach 200 is the day I need to work on my weight. My other rationale that I took, was no one goes on the Biggest Loser under 200 lbs so what am I worried about?!

If I only knew then what I know now!

In January 2010 there were 10 of my good friends from college who decided to compete in a biggest loser competition. There was money on the line. My first weigh in for the competition was 189.5 lbs. We started the competition the same day as the new season of Biggest Loser aired, so I was less intimidated to step on the scale because I felt as if I was just like the other contestants at this point in time. It was the season where they had to face the crowd and declare their weight to everyone, and I did the SAME thing to myself in the mirror.

You know how hard it is to say you are 189.5lbs when you are in denial that you are overweight/obese based off of the BMI scale? At the age of 26, and the only person making myself this way, is me?!

Thats a tough reality!

So I was determined to win the biggest loser competition among my friends. Ashley encouraged me to start training for a 1/2 marathon... ummm excuse me, at this point, I only ran if I was being chased. But I figured I wanted the money so I should probably try it.

I started training for the 1/2, mainly walking, some running, and shed 27lbs in 5 months. I ended up winning the competition and feeling good about my weight loss and how far I had come.

The competition ended in June, and by July, I was eating like my normal self again, not worrying about the weight I was packing back on, not working out as much, and just reverting back to the "old Lindsey" so quickly it was scary.

In December 2010, I joined a gym. {Yes, I pay $170 in condo dues every month and there is a facility connected to the club house, however there are 3 treadmills and one that I'm lead to believe is the first treadmill ever made - there aren't side rails on the side of it! seriously!} So I figure, if I'm paying $28 a month to belong to a huge workout facility, I'm going to use it. I started to seriously train for the 1/2 marathon that was coming up in May 2011 and vowed not to let my self creep back up to my old weight.

In January I was approached once again by a friend to see if I wanted to participate in a Biggest Loser competition. UGH! Seriously? another one of these things? but once again, I'm motivated by money, so I signed up determined to go 2-0 on these competitions.

I continued to train for my 1/2 by running all the training runs, and completed my second 1/2 marathon in May 2011 {hurt IT band and all}.

Unfortunately in this biggest loser competition I finished second, only to a guy who had also previously one a weight loss competition at his work! But we are all winners when it comes to weight loss {i know corny, but i truly believe that!}

So now the competitions are over, and I need a reason to stay motivated to continue on my weight loss journey. I have continued to run {two 1/2 marathons} and I have continued to watch my food intake. I have a goal weight of reaching 140lbs and then I just want to maintain from there. I'm only 2.5lbs away from my goal! I can feel it in my reach, and it feels SO good!

I will be the first one to tell you this journey has not been easy, however it has been more rewarding than I would have ever thought!

Please let me know if you have any questions that I can potentially help answer for you? I'm by no means a fitness guru, nor am I licensed dietician, however, I will gladly give you my advice and what I have learned throughout the past 2 years.

Tomorrow I will post about how I changed my lifestyle {food, exercise, ect}

Getting out of a rut...

Do you ever feel as if your is the movie ground hog day?
It consists of the same routine Monday-Friday and then on the weekends?
I was finding myself being content with my “ground hog” like schedule
Wake up, work, work out, watch Justin play softball, grab a bite to eat, go to bed, repeat

I supposed it worked… I was never bored, and I always had something going on, and I knew what to expect the next day… however, I was starting to get in a rut, I needed a new vice, something to keep me motivated.

I joined a gym about 6 months ago, and up until now all I have really used it for is the treadmills. I figure if I have people around me running its much easier than hitting the pavement by myself, however spending $26/mo for a treadmill that I use 4 times a week really isn’t doing the entire membership any justice.

Included in my membership you are able to take as many group exercise classes as you want, including spinning. In high school my best friend and I would spin 4-5 times a week. It was such a good exercise and I forgot how much I enjoyed it.

Kelly had tweeted one day about going to a spinning class on a Saturday, and that was all the motivation I needed to get to the gym the next day and start my new routine, which included both spinning and running.

I forgot how much I LOVE the class and how great of a workout it is. I leave every class feeling as if I have had the best workout possible.

Recently, I have been waking up at 5:15, getting to the gym at 5:30 [I may or may not be sleeping in my workout clothes – judge away! Ha!] and spinning from 6 to 6:45, and its an awesome feeling to know at the end of the work day you can do whatever you would like because you have already completed your daily workout.

Its amazing what a new routine can do for you. I am seeing results on the scale for the first time in about 2 months, and it feels good. I am working different muscles than I would if I would go for a long run.

If you are in a workout rut, I encourage you to switch it up… challenge yourself, workout in the morning, do a different routine! I guarantee that it will make a difference! What’s holding you back?!?!

My old habits....

Last night I was reflecting on the person I have become and I realized that over the course of the last year and a half my life has changed pretty dramatically, for the better.. mainly because of the healthy lifestyle that I have finally decided to adopt.... you see, I used to be overweight, and I'll even use the word tubby/fat/ect. It was bad! My outlet for anything was food.. if I was stressed, i would eat, if I did something great, I would reward myself with food, in order to make other people happy I would feed them... however, that has all changed now.. I now ease my stress by working out, and I reward myself with manicures, and I now try to also feed others healthier options. It has changed my outlook on life.. and I can tell you that for the first time in a long time, I'm proud of myself, and I'm proud of where I came from to where I am today.

During my reflection I thought I would share a few things that I used to do in my past.. along with a few pictures... to show you how my life has dramatically changed

-I used to LOVE sundresses, because there was no waist line, and you couldn't tell how big I was.. a Large fit and there wasn't a number correlated to it

-I avoided the scale as if it was the plague. I was afraid of the number that I would see, even at the doctors office, I would stand on the scale backwards, and make sure they didn't tell me what it read. [looking back I wish I weighed myself at my heaviest so I would know accurately the weight loss that I have had over the course of the last 18 months]

-I wore a pair of jeans to bed at night [before our trip to Boston] to stretch them out [i couldn't afford to buy a new pair of pants, however I needed more than 1 pair for the 5 day vacation]

-I used to go through the drive through and waiver on what to get for dinner, either a hamburger combo or a chicken sandwich combo.. when I couldn't decide, I would go for the hamburger combo and tack on a 5 piece nugget [and eat it in the car before i got home] or go for the chicken sandwich combo and get a jr hamburger to go along with it! GROSS!

-I would hide behind justin in pictures, use a pillow to cover my mid section, use picnik to crop out anything that looked large, or use anything to hide my mid section


-I used to thrive on buying shoes and accessories.. because they will always fit, regardless of how much you weigh

-I would go to the gym, try and work out on the elliptical for 20 minutes, cut it short at 10 minutes and think I had a "good" workout.

There are days when I get discouraged because the scale doesn't reflect the effort that I put in the night before at the gym, or the healthy options I'm eating, but I need to look back at how far I have come in this journey.

Looking back at my old habits, I am embarrassed of who I let myself get to, and I knew that I had to want to lose weight for myself, not for anyone else, and I had to have the motivation and drive to do it.

So what wednesdays... a little catch up

So What if...

• I wear two hair ties on my wrist even though my hair is too short to pull back into anything..i just can't bear to not have them at all times
• 2 of the most motivating songs that are on my running list are "The buckeye battle cry" and "Carmen Ohio"... i just love them and immediately think of Buckeye football season every time they come on.. and i should probably mention that our Men's BBall team is #1 in the nation right now too - GO BUCKS!
• We [along with the rest of America] in Ohio experienced a pretty nasty ice storm last night.. I had a hair cut scheduled [previously scheduled for 2 weeks ago and my hairdresser was sick.. desperately needed my mopped chopped!] and I went out into the freezing rain and then, because I was out and about, proceeded to go work out.. i figure someone needs my business - and the gym was nearly empty! SCORE! more ice days please!
• I'm still carrying my HUGE that I used as my personal item on the plane - this thing is so big it carried my laptop, a book, all of my purse necessities, and i still had room for a small child inside!
• I use the word y'all on my blog. I rarely say it in conversation, I live in Ohio.. and we say "all of you"n or "you all"... but trust me y'all just sounds so much more inviting!
• I'm looking for my 1/2 marathon training to start in 2 weeks [never thought I would say that at this time last year!]

What are you saying "so what" to today?

Head on over to Mama Dew's and link up!

In other news..
J and I started another Biggest Loser weight lost competition yesterday. Its nice to have some friendly competition in a relationship - right? So it is my mission to continue to try and cook new things, but also stay healthy! if you have any EASY, recipes that are also delicious and healthy - send them my way!

Last night we had Spicy Bean Burritos from Annie Eats, and J liked them even though they were sans meat... he told me that they reminded him of a 7 layer burrito from taco bell... thanks - i think?! Tonight's menu item is an asian chicken burger [yes, I'm going to try and eat ground chicken - but if all else fails I have a back up of ground turkey on hand!].

So far so good, just the adjusting the diet and amount of food is never an easy thing.. but its surprising how encouraged I am to become healthier when there is money on the line! So I anticipate eating in much more frequently and daily visits to the gym for the next 3 months... i'm SO excited [enter sarcasm here!] I think without going out to eat I will just mainly miss someone cooking for me, having a variety of options to eat, and most importantly someone else doing the dishes! oh well in the long run not only will we be saving money but also bettering our health - right!?

Not much exciting to blog about - hence the short hiatus from the blog world - sorry about that... but I hope y'all [mom that one is just for you!] staying warm, and hope your finding something fun to do during this wonderful winter storm!

So What Wednesdays....

So what if:

• I haven't blogged since last Wednesday... I've been out of town, and I will do a whole recap tomorrow of vacation, I did bring my computer with intentions of blogging, however I am so dumb with technology I couldn't figure out how to connect it to the wireless Internet and ended up just relying on my phone with fb and twitter to stay connected to most of my favorite bloggers
  
• I have become semi addicted to twitter... there i said it!
• I was really hoping to peak into the fire truck that ran through the village of Vail when we were there to see if Ryan Sutter was on the ladder truck.. I mean there is a slight chance it could have been his unit day? right?!
  
• I drank straight from the 2 liter when we were packing up to leave Vail because I didn't want to dirty a dish in the condo that we were staying in, and then I realized it was such a novel idea not to dirty a cup I did it again last night at home while sitting on the couch [okay - maybe last nights piece was pure laziness]
• I feel like I should have taken a day off just to catch up on my DVR. Last night alone I watched the following shows : Top Chef, RHOBH [sooo good and juicy!], Biggest Loser [Sorry President Obama, although I would love to have your wife's arms, I do not appreciate you cutting off one of my tv shows for the State of the Union Address.. sorry that i'm not that into politics-please don't hate me for saying that!], 2 episodes of Teen Mom [and yes I'm kinda loving Lea and Corey], and Holly's World ...
• We got a save the date in the mail yesterday addressed to Justin Woogie and Lindsey... Justin's nickname growing up has always been Woogie.. and apparently they found it quiet funny to use that rather than his last name.. i got a kick out of it.. however, I do not think I would appreciate being called Lindsey Woogie - JS!
• I still haven't unpacked my bag - I just keep taking out pieces of clothing that I need and the rest of the suit case just sits in the middle of my floor [i know mom, your shocked! ha!]
• Hate the saying "I know, right?!?!" it just annoys me, and makes my blood pressure rise!
• I read a Nicholas Sparks book on vacation -and yes I realize that I'm 27 and still reading his books, but they are good
• I finished the book in 2 days
• I cried on the plane while reading the ending! I have never cried before during a book.. guess I won't be reading in public anytime soon!
• My attempt to maintain my current weight until we start round 2 of the biggest loser is not working out so well... I have lost 3lbs in the process of trying to gain/maintain. Here's to hoping a lunch consisting of hibachi next Monday will increase my sodium intake so much that I will have water weight for the first weigh in...
• I'm slightly freaked out by the fairly new guy in our office. I swear he is a clone of me - we have WAY too parallel - here are a few that we have caught onto thus far, and we don't even work together on a daily basis:

our birthdays are a day a part, we live across the street from one another, we both drive VW, we go to the same church, we both showed up at work yesterday wearing peacoats and Burberry scarves, we both went to leave for the day and realized we had on fleece North Face gloves, we work out at the same gym...

Would you be kinda wigged out by all of this? Or is just me?


So what are you saying so what to today?

Head on over to Mama Dew's blog and link up!

30 Day Challenge - Day 13 and 14

Day 13

Goals

I find myself each year making a new set of goals... this year was no different. I did a recap of my new years resolution goals here - but i thought this would be a perfect time to re-visit them to see how they are coming since we are 3/4 through this year... updates are in teal

• Overcome my fear of numbers... and by numbers I mean my bank account and my weight. I never like looking at my bank account number because the number is constantly going down and I hate looking at my weight because it is constantly going up... so I am hoping this year my fear of numbers will go away because my bank account will creep up and my weight will dwindle down
  

**I have to admit - that I am becoming much more comfortable with this - I am much happier to step on the scale in the morning [as a matter of fact - i can't wait to go to the dr to prove to her that I can loose weight!] and paying my bills has becoming much easier - not stressing month to month has been so nice!**

• While were on the topic of weight.. I have really struggled since college with my weight (actually my entire life) however, I have really noticed since I have been dating Justin (not that it is his fault at all - but just because I am more comfortable than ever) I have lost interest in working out and focusing on my physical health. My goal for this year is start towards my ideal weight loss goal - to loose 23% of my current weight, and I would be where I would ideally want to weigh

**I have lost about 10% of my body weight since the beginning of the year - this is just a start in my weight loss challenge. I feel better than ever and I can't wait to get down to my ideal weight**

• Back to saving money - I want to save enough money to fly down and see my grandma and great grandma in Florida. I miss both of them dearly and the older I get the more time they spend down in Florida

**still working on this one - i promise!**

• I would also love to furnish the basement with Justin's help.
  

**we have the couch - now we just need to figure out the rest of the decorations - not as easy as I thought it would be!**

• Although I'm not a runner I would like to participate in one race this year - like a 5k - lets start off small and work and I can work my way up to a bigger race or more 5ks throughout the year if I get really ambitious

**never thought I would be able to run this - but I ran a 1/2 marathon. Unfortunately I was not able to run the 1/2 last week, however I plan on running the 1/2 again next May and the full next October.... yes I said a full... it was a challenge from my VP - and I don't/ can't back down from a challenge**

• I would also love to find a way to calculate walking/running 2oo miles this year.

**unfortunately I haven't logged this - I plan on doing this next year though. **
SOME FUN RESOLUTIONS

• Blog 350 days this year... so far were off to a good start

** Don't know if I'm going to make this one.... but I can still aim for it - right!**

• Paint my nails and keep them looking nice
  

**thankfully i got a manicure this weekend - but i can't guarantee they always look as nice as they do right now **

• Go on a date with Justin once a month... Although we go out to dinner together, sometimes its just so I dont have to make dinner and I'm being lazy or have no creative ideas - I want our dates to be planned

**We have gone on a few - and I love every time we do - its just a special time for the 2 of of us together!**

• Host a a girls night out once a month for my girlfriends. I am so fortunate to have such a large group of friends who live here locally, and I love it when I am able to get together with them frequently (scarf exchange, Saturday morning movie and breakfast, dinner, ect)

**sorry girls - you know that i have not done well on this one - hopefully my martini party will make up for our missed months during the summer!*

• Have my parents and Justin's parents over for dinner once a month
  **Some months are better than others at this**
  
• Write notes to my friends who may need encouragement, thank you notes to people who encourage me, just saying hi letters to my friends I might not get to see all the time, and an occasional love notes to Justin
• Continue to volunteer at my church nursery once a month

**They no longer need my sister and my help, there were too many people and not enough kids, so we no longer volunteer.**

Day 14

Picture that you love

Please know - that there i s nothing worse to me than a crying baby
I instantly want to comfort the baby and help them, however a picture of a crying baby to me is pretty much priceless. I know that Molly is very well cared for - and she rarely cries... so with that being said - this picture makes me laugh every time I see it!

one of my other favorite pictures is this picture of my great grandma, grandma, mom, sister and I at my sisters graduation 3 years ago. 4 generations. i love it!
Remember about my $35 CSN give-a-way! Don't forget to sign up - you have until Wednesday to sign up!

The Biggest Loser Competition

For the last 22 1/2 weeks I have been in a biggest loser competition with some of my closest friends from college... just a healthy competition to see who could loose the biggest percentage of weight loss... and lets be honest... i needed to do something FAST because I had let my weight get out of hand!

So I started off with just working on what I was eating, and then introduced working out [work out dvd's and running] into my routine, and I am soooo excited to say with loosing 14.25% weight loss- it paid off....

because I am the biggest loser!

I have put together a quick collage of the faces that I have gone through during the competition - unfortunately - i am not as technologically advanced as some of my friends [aka aly] so you just get to see my pretty little face and how it has changed over the course of the last 6 months...

I am so thankful to have a great group of friends who have given me a healthy competition - and it has been so much fun to compete and to see each week who won the weekly bragging rights!

I am hoping to keep up the healthy eating habits as well as running because I do not plan on letting myself get out of control, like the downward spiral I was on - its not worth it! I just continued to remind myself as I was eating healthy, working out and making positive decisions of my motto of the year:

"there is no better time than now!"

It seemed to help me get through my long runs, get through the fact that I am over ordering chicken fingers and fries, and actually enjoying eating salads.... I am not getting any younger, so I might as well keep up with it... because if not today - then when!

I encourage you all to strive to reach your goal weight... and I know that having the support system that I did - helped tremendously and trust me, when you have accomplished something that you have wanted for so long, it feels even better! So whether you choose to do so on your own, in a competition or with a friend - its totally worth it!!

Happy Tuesday Blog World! I hope its a fabulous one for you!

Thank you for all the kind words thus far, you all are too sweet, and it means so much to me to have so much encouragement from the blog world!

I have been asked by a few of you what I did to loose the weight so I thought I let you in on a few things that we did:

FOOD

• initially cut back on the carbs, until I started working out [and then quickly realized that i needed the carbs for energy but I slowly re-introduced them back into my diet {only healthy whole wheat ones!}]

• realizing its okay to eat more if its healthy [srrsly - i was eating 2 turkey burgers to JMs 1, but i was needing the extra calories because i was burning so many]
• making healthy choices turkey meat over red meat, cottage cheese over french fries, string cheese as a snack over chips
• balancing out meals - if I ate a sandwich for lunch, making sure I had a piece of grilled meat and fresh veggies for dinner or a salad
• Unfortunately I'm not good with counting.... especially counting my calories - its just too much work [i know - what an excuse - right?!] but i just use my best judgment when i cook or order food at a restaurant [i always dip my fork into the dressing, rather than pour it on:: i never get cheese or croutons on my salads:: i will ask if they have whole wheat bread or pasta]
• every week I plan a menu based off of what I currently have at the house, whats on sale, and what i have a coupon for - but i stick to the menu, and my menu consists of all healthy choices. i think this helps because i am not scrambling every night to figure out what to have for dinner and its a healthy option, rather than swinging through fast food on the way home for something for dinner - a lot of my favorite meals are under Make Me a Meal Monday
  
• we rarely eat fast food anymore [don't worry - i do not include my fountain diet cokes fast food]
• I drink a TON of water

EXERCISING

• I trained for the 1/2 marathon [if you want this schedule, please let me know and I will be more than happy to send it to you]
  
• I did the biggest loser work out videos and the Wii Fit on my off days from my running schedule

I hope this helps a little more - I would be more than happy to answer any other questions that you may have about the weight loss - keep them coming!!

The end is near.... Biggest Loser

So i started this weight loss journey on January 5th - with the rest of the contestants on the biggest loser and although their season was over last week - our competition is going on for another 9 days [trust me i am counting down the days until this competition is over].

you can read about my initial weight loss here, here and here
As of today I am down 10.7% since I started this competition - and I honestly feel better than ever... and not only have i been able to tell that i look as if I have lost weight - but people have been mentioning it to me as well - talk about a confidence booster! but the end is near and I want to make sure that I give it my best effort so.....

for the next 9 days [which is about 200 hours - it sounds much less daunting when you put it in perspective of hours ] I will be doing low carb and really watching my intake of sodium- [goodbye everything delicious - i will miss you!]

i'm hoping that this will help me drop the extra needed few pounds to win...
but this is where I need YOU bloggy friends
do you have any quick tricks in loosing weight? like a "miracle food" that boosts your metabolism? or something that helps keep your mind of the delicious foods that you can eat??? any help would be much appreciated!

and yes the thought has crossed my mind - MANY times of sending the same candy bars they had in mean girls to the other top competitors and wish them well - no one said i wasn't competitive.. a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do to win - right?!!?

So until next Saturday - its crunch time... here's to no carbs [bread, pretzels, beer], low sodium food and LOTS and LOTS of running...

i will post beginning and ending pictures next Saturday