A few months ago a good friend in the neighborhood started a "biggest loser" club. The premise was simple enough - buy-in cost $100 and then you had 7 weeks to lose 5% of your body weight. If you lost the weight, you received your money back. And the biggest "loser" could keep whatever was left in the pot.
Despite the relatively straight-forward premise of the whole operation, I hesitated. I definitely had some excess weight to lose (mainly T's baby weight, still hanging on for the last 5 years), but I'd grown accustomed to regular glasses of wine and dessert, why shake up the system? Anyways, I basically participated because most of my friends were on board and who wants to miss a party?
And now, I'm 10 pounds lighter and much more happy (we're already working on the club's second generation, which concentrates more on workout goals over weight loss). I hate cheesy blog posts where people annoy you with tales of their weight loss success, so I'll try to keep the pep talk/bragging to a minimum. Instead, I asked my fellow "losers" (all of who managed to lose the 5%) to contribute a list of what worked for them. All of the women who participated have different work/life schedules (some work full time and some, like me, are stay at home moms), so, hopefully, everyone can find a tip or trick that works for them. Here goes:
WEIGHT LOSS TIPS AND TRICKS:
Colleen -
* Hot water with ginger and lemon (it minimizes bloat).
* Bikram yoga daily if possible.
* Jenny Craig's food helped because it was ready to go, the right portions, and tasted good.
* I used to drink very little water, but now I rink 90-130 oz a day. This was a HUGE help.
Liz -
* Chocolate fix - try semi-sweet or dark chocolate morsels. Semi- sweet has 10 carbs and 8 sugars per tbs and curbs choc cravings
* Wine fix - use a smaller glass and fill with ice first. Ice melts and you don't refill as much, plus you stay hydrated.
* Pre-washed organic salad mixes - makes eating a healthier lunch much easier and if it's organic I don't feel as bad not washing (hate watery greens!)
* Cooked chicken breast (like purdue short cuts) thrown on a salad.
Dori -
* I joined Weight Watchers. Stick to it and it works. Weight Watchers really teaches you to make good choices regarding food but the program also accommodates splurges.
* In terms of exercise, I ran (very, very slowly), I pushed myself and signed up for a half marathon (with my husband). I had to train, so therefore I couldn't say no to exercise. We also picked a nice location for the half marathon and had a nice weekend getaway.
* Oh and I can't forget the team approach with friends! Couldn't have done it without the support and friendly competition.
Janeese -
* I limited my carb intake. Instead of having a bagel for breakfast I had two hard boiled eggs and fruit or cottage cheese and avocado. I tried to do this for two meals a day.
* I cut out most snacks. I have a sweet tooth so this was next to impossible, so I did allow myself a treat every once and awhile (like a donut once a week).
* I tried to healthier - more fruits and veggies, less processed foods. That was a lot harder than I expected.
* Exercise - I would have liked to exercise more, but its always hard to find time. I tried running (hate it), and I was doing Zumba twice a week.
Melissa -
* For the most part I eliminated sweets-except on Mother’s Day when I had two bites of chocolate cake.
* When I wanted something sweet I had tea with a splash of milk - not sure why this filled my craving but it did.
* The $3.50 small harvest apple salad at Quizno’s (conveniently located in my building) was a life-saver. Not a ton a food and only 350-400 calories!
Megan -
* No alcohol except twice a week (on Fri./Sat.)
* No dessert, except on Sunday
* No food after dinner
* No other caloric drinks
* One snack per day
* Limit processed foods
* Limit portions
* Limit sugar
* Limit dairy
* Limit carbs
* Keep running food diary
* Weigh-in at home every day
Janet-
* The biggest motivator for me on this challenge was the group of women who were doing it with me. Hearing about their successes throughout the 7 weeks was just what I needed to get me focused on taking better care of myself and get me going on this challenge.
* As far as how I lost my weight . . . my obstacle was my diet. I love sweets, Mexican food, and wine! I’ve always been a really active person, so working out was not a problem for me. To kick start my weight loss on this challenge, I decided to just eat whole, plant-based foods. I started with a “raw” week to help level out my blood sugar spikes and clean out my system. But, I really liked how I felt after the first week of eating raw that I continued it for another couple of weeks until the end of our weight loss challenge.
* I basically ate a ton of fruits and vegetables, seeds and nuts. There is so much you can do with raw food - make soups, blend raw soaked nuts until they are creamy like ricotta cheese, make delicious smoothies, and so much more. I have always been a calorie counter when I needed to lose weight, but I took a chance that I would reap the weight-loss benefits as well as overall good health by just eating foods that are good for me.
* I get plenty of protein and fats through nuts and avocados (and I mean a lot of nuts and avocados) and found that after a while, I no longer craved the sugary or salty foods that come prepackaged. And, I eat as much as I want so that I don’t get hungry throughout the day. Eating this way for a few weeks doesn’t mean I’ve gone totally raw, there are way too many foods that I love and won’t ever give up completely, but I plan to continue like this for about 75% of the time.
Darcy (me) -
* I started out by spending a week on Gwyneth Paltrow's cleanse (available for free, with recipes, here).
* I loved how the cleanse made me feel, so after the first week I (loosely) stuck with a similar diet - very limited gluten, no sugar, very limited dairy. I love most of the recipes in Gwyneth's cookbook - It's All Good: Delicious, Easy Recipes That Will Make You Look Good and Feel Great
, so I ate about 95% of my meals this way. I also read Alejandro Junger's Clean -- Expanded Edition: The Revolutionary Program to Restore the Body's Natural Ability to Heal Itself
(Gwyneth's diet is based on Junger's theories) and made several of Junger's recipes as well (though I prefer Gwyneth's cookbook, mainly because the recipes are simpler). * When I began to slack, I would get back on track by doing a 3 day juice cleanse. I love Jrink's juices and they deliver (click here for info). Also, when I hit a plateau towards the end I relied on Tracy Anderson's "performance cleanse" menu (available in her book - Tracy Anderson's 30-Day Method: The Weight-Loss Kick-Start that Makes Perfection Possible
) to lose the final 2 pounds. * I completely gave up caffeine (except for a few "emergency" green teas). Honestly, giving up Diet Coke remains the hardest part of this diet. I haven't had one in over 12 weeks and I still think about Diet Coke constantly. I guess this is true addiction.
* Like Janet, I've always worked out. But I stepped up my game somewhat by purchasing (and obsessing over) a Fitbit Flex
. I promised myself I'd walk a minimum of 12,000 steps a day and, for the most part, I kept with this goal (which proved much easier in spring, with its 70 degree days).
. And, seriously, the food is fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. Granted, I'm not sure Gwyneth needed to include a picture of herself on nearly every page (I get it Gwyneth you're gorgeous, we all GET IT), but still I've made four of the recipes thus far and they're incredible (though I did have to scavenger hunt myself through Whole Foods to find some of the ingredients). I'm even considering trying her elimination diet. 