The cooking challenge was fun to watch!  I am glad that the black team won...they needed the morale boost.  And yeah black team for winning the weigh in!  They all did great with their eating (calorie intake) and their workouts throughout the week!  Blue had another great week too, but just not quite enough.  Elimination was tense and quite sad since Jackie was leaving her son behind.  And Dan wasn't very happy with the rest of his team, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out.  Dan has consistently lost a large amount of weight, and I hope he can keep it up without the encouragement of his mom. 

OK, trying to remember the episode from 2 weeks ago...

 

It is called Biggest Loser Couples...why did they break up into individuals??? 

 

I thought the it was fun to see Bob and Jillian battle it out in the challenge...Bob was lucky he had longer legs!  What wasn't fun was watching Bob pick a team that seemed impossible to beat.  I know Jillian is a great trainer, but you could just see the looks of frustration and sadness on the faces of the new black team.  The smallest people and mostly females were up against the larger, mostly males.  The teams were very uneven, and it was no surprise that the blue team blew the black team away in the weigh in. 

 

Kudos to Britney for hanging in on the challenge.  She was the last black member standing and totally held her own against the blue team guys.  She is one tugh and dedicated girl! 

I can't believe I haven't added a new blog for almost 2 weeks.  Time to catch up today...

 

In week 5, neither Peggy nor I lost any weight.  For me, week 5 was a disappointing week...I was disappointed in myself.  I did really good through the first month, and then for some reason, that little voice inside said "Kari, you did so well in the first month that it's OK to start adding food/beverages that you like back into your diet."  So instead of doing this in modification, I dove right back in...Taco Bell one night, ice cream another, drinking regular sodas, etc.  I'm really lucky I didn't gain any weight in week 5...good thing I am working out so much. 

 

I was also a bit disappointed in my one-month weigh in with my trainer.  I was really hoping to have lost a significant amount of body fat, but I only lost 1%.  At least it was a loss!  I did lose 4 lbs of fat, so that was good, and I lost 1 inch in my belly, which is where I need to lose it the most, so that was good too. 

And for the month 1 results...drum roll please...

 

I weighed 249 on 1/1 and on 1/29, I weighed 241.  That was a total loss of 8 lbs and a % loss of 3.21%.  Yeah me!  I also lost about 3.5 inches total in my measurements!

 

Peggy weighed 186 on 1/1 and on 1/29, she weighed 183.  That was a total loss of 3 lbs and a % loss of 1.61%.  Yeah Peggy!  She also lost 2.5 inches! 

 

Although we both really won, the winner of the month 1 contest was...Kari!  That means that Peggy will be buying me CSI Season 2 and I am really looking forward to watching it!

 

It will likely take me an entire year to lose the weight that I want to.  12 months seems like a long time, but I just made it through a month and there are only 11 more to go.  The first month I imagine was the hardest since I was just getting started, but now that I am exercising and eating healthier, it just seems like a normal way of life. 

I watched BL Couples from 1/22 last night.  While I love the show, there were so many things that I did not like about this week's episode.  I thought the 6 couples vs. 1 couple was terrible.  I know that life isn't always fair, but I thought this twist was just completely unfair.  I also really do not like it when contestants deliberately throw the weigh-ins.  I know it is a game, but the main objective is to lose weight.  I thought it was hilaroius that the point of throwing the weigh-in was to send the black team home, but then the black team ended up receiving immunity.  I did feel bad for the pink team because I don't think they deserved to go home...they didn't have the lowest weight loss and they weren't the biggests threat.  It was great to see them at the end of the show though.  They have both continued their weight loss journey and look great!

 

 

I can't believe we've already been doing this for 3 weeks!  The time has flown by!  People say that it takes 3 weeks to break bad habits, and I can't imagine that I will ever go back to the way I was eating before.  I also exercise 5 days a week (the other 2 days I take a class in the evenings - exercising my brain!) and I can't imagine going back to the sedentary life I had. 

 

Peggy lost 1 lb this week, for a total weight loss of .55%.  I lost 3 lbs this week, for a total % weight loss of 1.23%.  Yeah me!  Only one more week to go to determine which of us wins the month!  If I win, Peggy will be buying CSI Season 2 for me...and I am so looking forward to it that I am determined to win!

I was finally able to watch the BL Couples from 1/15 last night.  I know that we don't see everything that happens at the ranch, so I'm not sure if this does take place, but one thing I've always felt was missing from the BL Program was the psychological/emotional support of a licensed therapist.  I started to see a therapist about 7 months ago for my weight issues/eating disorder.  We have talked so many times about the reasons that behind my issues.  It hasn't been easy to discover these reasons and then to say them out loud, but now that I these reasons are out, I can do something about them.  There is no need to eat to keep my emotions buried inside me anymore.

 

Anyhow, I did see a bit of therapy during the 1/15 show.  I thought it was great that Jillian was able to get the pink team to talk to eachother.  She was right in that Ali could lose all of the weight that she wanted to, but if she didn't face her emotional issues, she would just use food to hide her feelings and gain all of that weight back again.  I hope that the mom/daughter can oversome their emotional obstacles, which will certainly help them to keep the weight off. 

I started working with a personal tainer on Saturday.  We completed our second session last night....and boy, am I feeling it today.  I actually refer to her as my evil personal trainer!  j/k  She made me do around 100 squats last night...as long as I keep my legs perfectly straight today I am OK, but the slightest movement makes me feel like my legs are going to give out!  I really do appreciate the help of a trainer though, even if I give her a hard time.  If it is possible, I would highly recommend a personal trainer for anyone attempting to lose weight.  She works muscles that I didn't know I had, and works many different areas to ensure the highest level of fat and calorie burn.  She constantly tells me I am doing a great job, even if I don't think I am.  I appreciate that encuoragement.  I am getting encouragement from my workout buddy, my trainer, and my husband, and on the long and hard journey of losing weight, all the encouragement I can get is very helpful. 

 

A couple of women were watching me work out last night with my trainer, and they laughed nervously when they saw me struggling through one of my exercises.  I told them how evil (in a good way!) that my trainer is, and they said that yes, it may hurt, but the trainer will help me lose a lot more weight.  I said that that is what I have to keep telling myself through my workouts.  And they are right.  It hurts...a lot...but because of the assistance of my trainer, I know I will lose more inches and weight than if I didn't have her.  I am actually looking forward to my measurements in 2 weeks!     

If there is anyway possible, find a weight loss/workout buddy.  They will be invaluable to you in your weight loss journey.  I am best friends with my workout buddy, Peggy, and we are complete opposites.  On the days that I don't want to work out, she does, and vice versa, so we hit the gym pretty much every day.  It makes all the difference when you have someone who is depending on you and wants you to be there with them.  It's also good to build some friendly competition.  For instance, Peggy kicks butt on the eliptical machine.  The first time I tried the eliptical, I lasted 10 minutes.  That was two weeks ago, and this week, I can go for 60 minutes (that's 4 miles for me!).  Peggy still works out at a higher resistance, but it inspires me to work harder.  On the flip side, I have more weight to lose, and Peggy really likes food, so as she sees me working harder, that makes her work out harder as well so she can try to beat me in our competition!  We both benefit from each other.  I can't imagine going through this without her.

I recorded BL Couples on 1/8 and finally had some time to watch it.  Two things about the episode:

 

1. 

The black team totally should have given a set of calling cards to the blue team.  Besides the fact that blue are strangers and don't have the love and support of a family member or friend at camp, they completely rocked the challenge.  Though they came in a close second, they did not give up until they were done with the task.  That was a really tough challenge and they should have been rewarded for their extra hard work.

 

2. 

It's so exciting to watch the contestants lose a ton of weight each week, so it was a bit disappointing that so many had such small losses this week.  But the things is, the scale went down for each of them except one.  That in itself is a major accomplishment.  They will have high loss weeks and lower loss weeks, but a loss is still a loss and if they stay determined, they will all see higher results in future weeks.  That's just how our bodies work. 

 

I am in week 2 of my weight loss efforts and this week isn't like week 1.  I have a terrible habit of getting on the scale each morning, even though I know I should only get on it once a week.  By this time last week, I had lost 3 pounds, and this week I have lost 0.  This is usually when I give up since it is so frustrating to work so hard and not see the wanted results.  But I haven't gained any weight, and that is an accomplishment.  My body is just adjusting this week.  I think it is just holding on to whatever fat it can since it is in a complete state of shock.  I am so motivated to keep on going, and I know that if I keep working hard, the scale will come down!