Biggest Loser Pancakes

I've tried these twice now and they are great.  They remind me of french toast.  Just make sure to use sugar-free syrup so you don't blow your sugar content for the day!  Recipe found HERE.

Ingredients: 
6 egg whites
1 cup rolled oats, dry
1 cup cottage cheese
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla

 Instructions: 
In a blender, blend all ingredients until smooth. Heat a griddle or large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. For each pancake pour 1/4 cup of batter onto griddle. Flip when they start to bubble. Cook until golden brown. Repeat with remaining batches, spraying the griddle as needed. Makes about 10 pancakes.

Number of Servings: 3

Nutritional Info Per Serving: 181 Calories, 2.7g Fat, 10mg Cholesterol, 361mg Sodium, 20g Carbs, 2.8g Fiber, 21g Protein

Turkey Meatloaf

My Mother-in-Law gave me this great recipe for Turkey Meatloaf over the weekend.  It was delicious, high protein and low carb.  Pair with a few different veggies (we had corn on the cob and grilled yellow crookneck squash, zucchini, green onions, and peppers) and you have a great dinner.

Turkey Meatloaf - Jenae T.
Serves 5
2 lbs 98% fat free ground turkey
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 eggs
3/4 c old fashioned rolled oats

Gently mix all ingredients together.  Generously spray a loaf pan with cooking spray.  Press turkey mixture into the loaf pan.  Cook at 375 for 1 hour.  Cut into the middle of meatloaf to check for doneness.
Calories-301, Carbs-1, Fat-23, Protein-33

You can change up the spices to get different varieties of meatloaf.  Try a ranch dressing seasoning packet, onion soup mix, fresh or dried herbs. (Omit salt when adding any prepared seasoning packet.)

-Kym

My Fitness Pal

Hi, my name is Kym. I have struggled with my weight all of my life. I remember putting myself on a diet as early as elementary school. I can't tell you how many times I have gone on a diet, worked really hard and eventually reverted back to my old lifestyle. There is a reason that the first 3 letters of diet are die!

 So, this time I have been doing things a little bit differently. I am not on a diet. Diet means that I can't have something (why is it that when you can't have something you want it even more?) This time around I have decided that I am changing my life. This time isn't temporary. This is forever. I think that is why after 3 weeks I am feeling really good about where I am. They say it takes 21 days to start or stop a habit. I know I have picked up some really great new habits and I am continually working to get rid of the bad.

 One new habit that I have really relied on these past few weeks is tracking my food. There is a wonderful free website called My Fitness Pal (www.myfitnesspal.com) that has really helped me. Through this website you track every single little thing you eat. The site has a huge database of food, so you can find the nutritional value to almost anything. I also love that I can input my own recipes on this site to find nutritional information. You can also find unlimited support forums, advice and recipes from other members. Their Apple or Android smartphone apps are really convenient to track food on the go. It even includes a bar code scanner to quickly and accurately keep track of your daily intake. Check it out. This website has really helped me. If you do join, come find me. My screen name is mrskymberly.

First one down...

Hi Everyone! Today is the official end of the first week! How is everyone doing? I'm going to be honest, I'm an emotional eater! This week has been especially stressful at work and I have eaten lots of junk to help me deal... :) Luckily this morning I'm finally a little down from last weigh in but I know I can do better. I am ticked off at myself but this is the beauty of this kind of challenge. I have the option to start over and be better. Tomorrow is Easter. It is kind of rotten that this is another holiday that is filled with food and treats! I know that it is a huge struggle, for me personally, to stay out of the goodies when everyone around me eating them, but I find that if I have healthy options around me I tend to do better. That is why my contribution to Easter dinner with the in-laws will be a veggie tray and fresh fruit salad.

I just want you to know that I think you are all so awesome! I have struggled with weight for awhile and it is so important to be healthy now so we are healthy later. There is a lady, in one of the aerobics classes that I go to, who I'm pretty sure is in her early 60's and she out jumps and kicks and double's the weight I lift every time! I desperately want to be able to do that when I'm her age and I know that lifestyle needs to start now.

One of my aerobics teachers always yells as we are sweating and groaning, "Come on you cute little bodies! You are so worth it!" I always kind of laugh under my breath but it is so true!


Good luck this week!

Hi I'm Lisa... and I'm addicted to food.

YAY!  I am SO excited for this contest!  :)  I think I know most of you, but I thought I'd introduce myself a bit.  :)

(Me with my youngest baby Garrett)

My name is Lisa (Syndergaard) Thomas.  I'm 28.  I live in Downey, ID.  I have 3 beautiful kids and an amazing husband.  I am a stay at home mom, with a ton of college credits under my belt in music and nothing to show for it.
Now - for the nitty gritty details.  I'm gonna post some sickening stuff (to me anyway).  I hope y'all aren't offended.  I am 5' 11" tall.  When I graduated HS, I weighed 195 lbs.  By the end of my 2nd year at USU, I was down to 155 lbs.  And now?  After 3 kids?  I weighed in at 264.2 lbs.  It disgusts me.  I have stayed really good while having kids as far as amount of weight gained - but then I never can lose while nursing.  So, this is a cumulative 4 pregnancies weight gain (I miscarried twins between my youngest 2), plus some right out of the gate after marriage.

I was super excited to join this as I really don't have the money to pay every week so I have some good motivation.  But then, my weight loss became even more important.  I went to the dr. and found out that I am barely below the mark of being a diabetic - by .1 point.  And I have high cholesterol.  Which sucks.
Let me tell you, it's a lot easier to pass on the sweets and the snacks when you have the risk of not being around for your babies.

As for my plans - I have already given up most sweets.  Now I need to drop the carbonation and add in the exercise.  My son's school is putting on a kids' marathon - over the course of a month you walk/run/ride 25.2 miles.  The last mile is done all together at the high school.  So we are starting that as a family.

It's gonna be a long and tough road - but one of my biggest heroes is my friend Evelyn who has lost 78 lbs since last May.  If she can do it, so can I!!!

I look forward to this contest!  Happy losing all y'all!!!

Ready or Not...

Tomorrow is the day! It is always so exciting to start a new challenge! Lisa had a great idea and suggested that I give anyone who wants permission to post to the blog so we all can log in and write about their successes, failures, tips, etc. I think that is a wonderful idea! So, if you want access, you need to be registered with a google account and if you message me or leave me a comment with your email, I will be happy to add you to the list!

Tomorrow, everyone will need to go ahead and message me a  picture standing on your scale we will get up and running. On the right side of the blog, you will see the link to the spreadsheet. Each week after tomorrow, you will need to get on and log your weight. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Good luck everyone!!!

The time has come...

Here we are! Almost to April! We are officially through the first quarter of the year! Can you believe how fast time goes? By now, all New Year's resolutions have long been forgotten and if you are anything like me, you need new motivation. So, now that they weather is finally getting nice it is the perfect time to start fresh! My good friend organized a weight loss challenge that ended last week and I successfully lost 21.7 lbs in 10 weeks. I need all the incentive I can get and I really like my $$$ so I wanted to work really hard to not have to pay if I gained weight. Here's how it works:

The buy in is $10.00. We will have to record our weight every Sunday for the duration of the challenge. If you lose at least 0.6 lbs, nothing happens. If you lose 0.5 lbs - or gain up to 0.5 lbs, you have to pay $5.00. If you gain 0.6 lbs or more, you owe $10.00.  All money goes into the pot and at the end of the challenge, the winner gets 70% of all money collected, second place gets 20% and third place gets 10%. To make it most fair for everyone, we will be counting percent loss, not just lbs lost.

Anyone is welcome to join our challenge, but we really are hoping that people will take things seriously and be honest. We will have a link to a spreadsheet on this blog and every Sunday, you will be responsible for updating you weight. If you do gain, you will need to make sure I have the money before the next weigh in or you will be disqualified. I know life is busy but I do not want to chase everyone down and babysit.

The plan is to begin Sunday, April 1st. I know this is not a lot of notice but there is no time like now! We will be going for 8 weeks so our final weight in will be June 3rd.

I am so excited to continue! I need this extra motivation to keep on track! Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!

LET'S LOSE IT!