First Place - $170 goes to Cretan Girl ...Miki Mathioudakis
Second Place - $119 goes to Downsizing...Cheryl LaPaglia
Third Place - $51 goes to LGA...Becky Fehman
Fourth Place - $20 goes to 2tontilly...Susan Buckley
Here are the numbers on those who dared to stand on my scale one last time:
Cretan Girl and Downsizing fought well, with their eyes on the prize, and staying in the top two positions the whole way through! LGA did a wonderful job as well in her steady pace. I'm blown away and inspired by you ladies!
Here is one last video clip that I cannot resist sharing...
Thank you all for playing the game! Until next time, chow!
Your final weigh-in will be in 3 weeks. At this point, I will slip into blogging silence until the winners are determined. You do not need to send me any more home weights. Please mark your calendars that I will be bringing my scale to work on Tuesday, 3/14. I will also visit work on Wednesday 3/15 from 10-11 a.m. to capture those who cannot do it on Tuesday.
When those dates loom nearer, I will reach out to you to find out if you wish to participate in final weigh-in.
Thank you all so much for your kind words about the blog! Good luck in the home stretch!
Well, we have one month to go before the final weigh-in! If I remember correctly, it's safe to lose about 1-2 lbs a week. That means you could lose another 8 lbs if you really want to go for it in the home stretch.
Valentines Day does something to my pleasure centers (in my brain!). I have been doing my drug of choice this week, chocolate, and then yesterday there was cake in the nurses' station when I was starving.
But, truly, I do not want to put the weight back on that I just country-line-danced off my body. Okay, it was only 2 lbs but still, I don't want it back.
Time to dust myself off and get back in the game! God has kindly given us some beautiful days this winter so that we can go outside and get our steps in.
Here is the cash breakdown for top prizes:
1st place = $170
2nd place = $119
3rd place = $51
4th place = $20 (entry fee, basically)
This week's progress:
Gray = no info
Downsizing and Cretan Girl are still pushing forward for the big prize. LGA might be in third place right now.
Keep sending those weights every week. Don't be afraid of the scale when you've had a naughty week! Weighing in every week is how you remain engaged. Some people do better weighing in every day.
I want to start off saying thank you so much for being so good about sending me those weights each week! It makes my job so much easier!
I asked two of our most successful Tributes about what's working for them, and this is what they shared:
Cretan Girl is using this app "Fat Metabolism Diet" on her phone to guide her. It's authored by Haylie Pomroy. Cretan Girl said it tells her exactly what to eat on each day, which is very helpful to her. She said she has used it in the past with excellent results, and it's working well this time around as well. I found it in the app store and did a screen shot, in case you want to look for it...
Our current lead tribute, Downsizing, said she has "quit eating sugar, flour, and quick grains." Sounds simple, doesn't it?
Great news! As a group, we have lost 73.1 lbs. That's the same weight as 291 sticks of butter.
You girls are doing great! As a group, we have lost 62.5 lbs!
I don't have any content of much value to share this week. I will share, however, that last week I turned Pandora on to station called "Dance Cardio Radio" and I danced in my living room with my fitbit on my wrist. I got my heart into a target zone for a half an hour. I pretended I looked like the characters you see above, but I probably actually looked a bit like this (but who cares):
Here are the stats for Week 2:
Here is a full workout dance routine for those of you who want to practice some serious skills...
(its viewable in larger format if you click the YouTube symbol) ;)
Congratulations to all you new and returning tributes, on choosing to join in on the fun and suffrage!
I'm your hostess, Fatniss Blubberdeen.
Each week I will be posting your stats along with the others' so you know how you are ranking in the game. I want it to inspire you, not discourage you. I will also be sharing some tips and quips, although I pretty much drained my brain dry on the last round. I do have a few more ideas to throw your way, but if I run out, I may just post the stats. Please let me know if you have any requests.
For the newbies tuning in, here are some topics you can link to from my past posts, to help you get started:
(Some of the previous posts are loading kind of wonky, because I changed the header and that made Blogger get very confused and disoriented.)
Lori Nichols will be sharing some good stuff with you too, when she gets back from vacation. She's a certified holistic health coach. You may have noticed this hottie-nurse walking around the unit (on her feet, not her hands):
I may be hiring her to be my nutrition coach. She needs the money, obviously. As you can see in the photo, she cannot even afford a chair. Poor girl.
Until she returns though, this is what I'm eating for supper (which I think is what Lori must live on).
So here are week one's stats:
Have a great week! Set your goals, write down everything you eat, and schedule in exercise that you enjoy! And keep sending me those weights early every week (before noon on Wed., and even if they stink), so I can do my blogging for you. :)
I was up till 1:30 a.m. trying to see if some of the states were ever going to count their votes. Then I gave up and went to bed.
Which brings me to my topic for this week... lack of sleep can hinder weight loss.
According to Harvard, there are several research studies that show a higher risk of weight gain for those who do not get enough sleep, compared to those who sleep 7-8 hours a night.
Why is this?
Researchers speculate that chronic sleep deprivation leads to weight gain because (1) it increases how much a person eats, and/or (2) it affects how much energy a person burns.
(1) Sleep deprivation may increase in calorie intake due to:
Increasing hunger by altering the hormones that control hunger
Giving people more time to eat
Prompting less healthy food choices, including more snacking and eating out
(2) Sleep deprivation might decrease energy expenditure because:
Decrease in physical activity and exercise
Sleep deprivation tends to lower body temperature, which may decrease metabolism
There is also a link between sleeping too much and obesity, but the causation is reversed. Issues such as sleep apnea, obstructive lung disease, depression, or cancer may be obesity-related, which causes the increase in hours sleeping.
You can read more about this on their website by clicking here.
If you have problems falling asleep, try the following routine:
During the day
Even doing half of the recommended weekly 150 minutes of moderate activity and 2 muscle-training sessions has been shown to reduce sleep problems in women by regulating body temperature and reducing depression and anxiety.
Two hours before bedtime
Mimic twilight by lowering the lights. Also consider the color of the light. Harsh white light like you get from fluorescent bulbs have a blue component that suppresses the body's release of melatonin. Shop for bulbs that say "soft" or "warm" with 3000 kelvins or less.
One hour before bedtime
Dim your screens (TV or computer), which emit even more blue light than your light bulbs. That light, plus all the brain-stimulation you get from exciting or disturbing content, will keep your mind churning.
Half hour before bedtime
Turn off your screens. Experts recommend reading a book by dim lamp light. Avoid any exciting books, or anything related to work or school. It's chill down time.
I found an old SNL bit to share:
If you are still reading at this point, you will be happy to know that I finally ran out of topics to ramble about! I hope somebody out there learned something new that was useful, or at least got a chuckle. :) Keep those updated weights coming!
I will post again when I have some news, an incredible revelation, or an enormous amount of coffee intake.
First Place - $240 goes to How the Hell Did This Happen? ...Kathy Lester
Second Place - $168 goes to Plumpish...Alisa Bengs
Third Place - $72 goes to Fifty Shades of Weigh...Carie Mossman
You winners worked very hard and I applaud you!
Several of you did a wonderful job of improving your health. If you did not win money, just think of this as a relatively cheap weight loss program. Haa! For those of us who did not manage to shrink ourselves, we have more potential for winning in the next round.
I shall now indulge myself and share my before and after pics... Before:
After:
Thank you all for playing! And thank you so much for your kind support of my efforts. Have a very Merry Christmas!
If you want to save any of the files I've included on previous blog posts, now is the time, because I plan to take this blog down very soon. It's laden with copyright infringement. To be able to see all the posts, click on the top banner where it says "NICU Hunger Games", and you will be able to access all the posts in order from newest to oldest.
Per popular request, Hunger Games II will be coming in January.
Hi Tributes. I decided to talk a little about water today, because I realized just how little of it I drink. At the end of a workday last week, I figured out that all I had was most 8 oz of coffee, the milk on my cereal, and another 6 oz of water. Since our brains are 75% water, this might explain why I am such an AIR-head... and struggling with weight loss. Here is an info-graphic I found. The face is kinda Halloween-creepy, but the rest of it is good.
You may have heard the 8 x 8 rule "Drink eight-8 oz of fluids per day." This is pretty close to the Institute of Medicine's recommendation of 9 cups of fluid/day for women and 13 cups/day for men.
Now, I get pretty bored with water, so I did a search for ways to make it taste better. Here is a link to an article on Food Network. It has suggestions and pretty pictures. I'm not too sure about the tomato-basil infusions. Water that tastes like spaghetti might be a bit weird, but if you try it and you like it, let me know.
I am really proud of the competitive spirit in you all. I think I like the fact that you are waving food and candy under each others' faces. I'm not sure which I enjoy the most... watching you help each other, or watching you try to sabotage each other.
I did not receive very many home weights this week. If I get better participation next week, I will post them on the blog. In the meantime, I will email updates to those who have updated me, just to be fair to those who have been "revealing" themselves. :)
Soon I will be posting info on the final weigh-in.
Hi Tributes! We are celebrating half-time at the Hunger Games, and what better way than with pizza?
I want to share a recipe that I use often, and my family loves it. It's easy to make, and I'm always glad I chose this tasty, healthier version over those incredibly high-calorie, store-bought ready-made or home delivery pizzas. I get my pizza fix, but I don't feel greasy or queasy afterwards. My favorite time to make it is when fresh garden tomatoes are available at farmers markets. I often bring leftovers for lunch. Confession: I do add a few more slices of provolone than this calls for. Bad me.
Hey, here is a photo of another pie that I want a piece of. I call this excellent work of photography art "Harvest Moon." The colors are so RICH! I hope you find it inspiring. Take a look...
If you stare at it long enough, you can start to make out a face. Yeah, it's one of my best pieces yet. Don't show Evan Kokoska. He might feel threatened by my skills.
Now for the part you've all been scrolling for...
Gray = no weight sent to me this week
I sense a turning of the tide.
Just want to wave these numbers in front of your face.
