Over the Hump

Week 1 is halfway over and so far so good! I have full points all around, except not eating after 8, which is probably never going to happen. But I have been off sugar for 3 days and I feel pretty good! I have even lost a bit of weight already! I think I had a bit of a sugar withdrawal headache on Monday and dreamt I was trying to sneak chocolate but got caught...But now things are good and I have surprisingly not had too hard a time turning down treats! I do find myself planning for my day off though. Hope everyone else is doing good and having fun!  -Mal

Participants

Tomorrow is the big day. I just want to confirm who is participating:

Mom, Dad, Jen, Mandy, Emily, Mallory, Inalee and Ashley. If I have missed anyone, please let me know.

Good Luck to everyone!!

-Em

Ranch Pork Chops

My first recipe contribution! I made these last week and the sauce was delish!

Ranch Pork Chops

1Tbsp Vegetable Oil (or olive oil because that's really all I use)
4 Pork Chops
1 can (10 3/4oz) Cream of Mushroom Soup (Preferably low sodium and low fat if you care about that)
3/4 c Milk
1 envelope Ranch salad dressing mix (I make my own because the store bought kind has a ton of sodium and whatnot so I will post that recipe just below this one.)
Paprika

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops and cook until browned on both sides.
Stir the soup, milk and 1/2 pkg salad dressing mix in skillet and heat to boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until pork is cooked through. Sprinkle with paprika.

It says to serve with rice but I served it with potatoes and veggies microwaved with onions, olive oil and spices like Mom does it. It's the best way to do vegetables!

It calls to use only 1/2 the salad dressing mix but I missed that part and used the whole thing and it turned out awesome so I don't think it would matter either way. These were really yummy and I am excited to make them again!


Ranch Dressing Mix

2 Tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp pepper

Combine in bowl carefully. Store in canning jar. Makes enough to equal 1 packet store bought mix.

ENJOY!   -Mal

Welcome back! And Welcome to the Beginning of the End...

The end of being unhealthy and overweight, that is! I have once again re purposed this blog for something new! Originally I was going to change it so we could use it as a place to swap and share recipes that we love or have just tried and really enjoyed. Then Em asked if I would be interested in participating in an 8 week challenge to get a start on being healthy and losing weight. Of course I always enjoy a good challenge, especially one with an opportunity to be creative and use poster board to make charts, so I agreed. So now this blog has become a place to not only share recipes but also to keep track of the challenge and to post motivating ideas and thoughts to help each other succeed. The rules and explanation of the challenge can be found here! I have also added a link to the right that says Get Healthy Challenge. If you click on that it will take you to the challenge. Take a look and if you would like to join us just let Em know or comment on this post and we will get started on Monday! And yes, there will be a cash prize that all participators contribute to, as explained in the rules. There are also 2 polls on the sidebar so please take a moment to look and answer the questions. You have until Sunday night at 7:00 to contribute to the results. I am really excited to get going and to start making some new healthier habits that will hopefully help me to lose a few more pounds! And please remember to share your recipes because I am always looking for something new!

Bootcamp

So I just finished my latest 8-week session of bootcamp classes and I am pretty happy with my results. I really only lost a couple pounds, which was frustrating, but I lost inches in a few places. My waist, hips, abductors, thighs, and calfs all got a little smaller! All together I lost about 5 inches. I'm on my way. Mandy

Weight Loss Challenge!

Hello Everyone!

It's been a long time since we've had a post on this blog, and I hope you all don't mind but I have repurposed it from our book club to our new Weight Loss Challenge Blog! The last time I was home a few of us talked about how we should have a competition to see who could lose the biggest percentage of weight between now and Christmas and I think now is a good time to make it official!

As you can see on the right side bar I have created a ticker for everyone to keep track and show off your success! If you don't want to participate or are not interested in showing your progress then feel free to either delete the gadget from the blog or tell me and I can do it for you! As for updating your ticker I will let everyone know how to do this, it's easy as 1-2-3!

Now as for this blog, I thought it would also be the perfect place for us to share tips and tricks, recipes, maybe things that are working for you that the rest of us could try to help us all get into better shape. So let's have fun with this and good luck! Let's see who can lose the highest percentage of weight in the next 3 months!

Sherlock Holmes Revisited

I am almost finished reading Laurie King's "The Moor". It was on the new shelf at the library and I picked it up with no expectations - but have been pleasantly surprised. These are a series of books written from the perspective of Sherlock Holmes's wife, Mary. They take place after the general Sherlock Holmes cases and husband and wife work together. Unlike the modern mystery genre, this story unfolds slowly but the writer's witty language and perspectives keep it moving along. I enjoyed how the mystery was not presented immediately in the first chapter, but came about later on. It kept me guessing and surprised when it did.

The story is set in Dartmoor and King does an exceptional job of conveying the dreary, forsaken gloom of the moor which only adds to the mystery, yet by the end I wanted to go take a tour and maybe even meet some of the characters from the close-knot moor society.

Also a bit of trivia: one of the main characters is the Reverend Sabin Baring-Gould. Sound familiar? He penned "Onward Christian Soldiers" and "Now the Day is Over", both, of course, included in our own hymnbook.

So, if you liked "The Hound of the Baskervilles" or any other Sherlock Holmes mystery, give it a go. And if you have never read any Arthur Conan Doyle, pick it up anyhow. I think you'll still enjoy it.

Or read the Doyle mystery first. "The Hound of the Baskervilles" is classic literature and you might find the original mystery genre intriguing. Reading King's book made me want to open these classics again.

I also want to read the first books in this series to get a better handle on Mary and her relationship with Sherlock Holmes. The title is: "The Beekeeper's Apprentice" in case you want to beat me to it.

Happy Reading!