Meet Me Monday - Lesa aka Mom

Good Morning!  I hope you all had fabulous weekends!!  I nearly forgot that today is Halloween as I've already gone trick-or-treating twice!  There is way. too. much. candy in my house.  Seriously!  And, I've been really bad and helped myself to a lot of it.  Time to cut it out and get back on the diet wagon.

Anywho, today you get to learn all about my mom.  Her name is Lesa and yes, it is spelled with an 'e'- get it right, or pay the price! And by price, I mean, nothing at all, just a little annoyance.  I mean, I think we've all had someone get our name wrong once or twice, and admit it, it's just annoying.  And, my poor mom married a man with the last name of Snedegar...it's over, she knows it, everyone screws it up!  Well, here she is, Lisa Snedinger!  I kill myself!

"Hello Skinny Girls!!

I am Lesa, Jenny & Heather's Mom and Raenetta's Aunt.  Most of you know me, so I won't bore you with many details.  I think the only ones I don't know are Jessie & Amanda.  I very much enjoyed Jessie's "Meet Me Monday" last week, and I guess I might be seeing Amanda's next week.  Congrats!

First of all - aren't "The Big Bad Wolf" (Wyatt) and "Little Red Riding Hood" (Katelyn) adorable!!!!  Yes! They are - OK!  I might be a little biased!  Who cares?

I signed up for Skinny My Minnie with hopes of having incentive to drop 10-15 lbs.  My weight gain began last year while helping care for my brother, who passed away with Cancer in August, 2010./  Too many late nights, drive thru, un-healthy meals took a toll on my body.  So what is my excuse over a year later?  Don't have one!  I have been a member of Curves for 5-6 years now.  I do try to go 3x a week and enjoy their workout system.  Even that took a back seat last year and I amanged to get back into it this year after recovering from 2 shoulder surgeries!  Even if my weight does not reflect my efforts, I do have to say - I can see some changes in toning!  Along wiht Skinny, I signed up for Curves "Not for Sissies" challenge for October.  It began Oct 3rd and finished on the 29th.  It entailed a commitment to 3 workouts per week, as well as weight and measures, food journaling, healthy recipe contests, Mammogram (since Oct is Breast Cancer Awareness Month), and donations to the Middle Way House.  With each of these items, points are awarded.  Tomorrow is my final weigh in and they will tally all the points this week.

A few years ago, I was given a book called The New Sugar Busters! Cut Sugar to Trim Fat by H. Leighton Steward, Morrison C. Bethea, MD, Sam S. Andrews, MD & Luis A. Balart, MD.  We were out in Cody, WY on vacation and met Leighton Steward and his wife Linda.  He gave me the book (and autographed it).  I read it on the drive back to Indiana, and though, "I can do that!"  It isn't as hard as you might thing, although sugar is one of my major food groups! I am a total sugar-alholic!  You simply eat like you are a diabetic, for the most part.  There are no carbs or calories to count, just sugar or anything that converts to sugar.  The first week of using his method, I lost 4 lbs and continued to lose 20 overall.  This was before Jenny's wedding AND a class reunion!  Later, I purchased the shoppers guide to use along with the original book. 

Ladies!  Keep strong and we all can have healthier lives, look better in our clothes and feel so much better!"

Thanks, Mom!!  Love you! 

So sorry for the late results posting this week!  I've been busy today doing this:

I know, right?!  So cute!  We trick or treated for the first time this year.  Yes, I said first, we will be doing it at least one more time, if not two!  I'm exhausted already.  Anyway, in case you can't tell, Wy is The Big Bad Wolf and Katelyn is Little Red Riding Hood.

Anyway, the winner this week is AMANDA!!!!!  Good work, girl!!  Here are the results for the week!

1.  Amanda had a 1.68% change from last week!!
2.  Jenny 1.63% (weighed in this week at 207!!)
3.  Betty 1.02%
4.  Raenetta 0.55%
5.  Heather 0.42%
6.  Leah 0.38%
7.  Jessie 0.05%
8.  Holly 0%
9.  Dana -0.11%
10. Lesa -1.00%

And, the winner overall so far:

1.  Raenetta 4.58% hanging on for another week!!
2.  Jenny 3.96%
3. Amanda 3.50%
4.  Betty 2.98%
5.  Dana 2.47%
6.  Lesa 2.00%
7.  Leah 1.74%
8.  Holly 1.11%
9.  Heather 0.85%
10.  Jessie .05%

There you have it!  Week 4 wrapped up!!  We'll learn all about my Mom on Monday!  And, next week we'll learn all about Amanda next week if she's game!  I'm most interested in learning about her because I don't personally know her!!  Not that I don't love reading about everyone else!!  Well, we'll end with another picture of my cute kids!  HeHe!!

Black Bean Casserole

Ok!  This week has been super crazy!  This will sum it up for you, I haven't been home any earlier than 7pm everyday this week!  But, finally, I am ready to post this fantastic recipe.  It is delish!  Try it tonight!

Southwest Black Bean Casserole
borrowed from Pinch of Yum 

1/2 lb. ground extra lean turkey

1 chopped onion

1 jalapeno pepper, seeds and ribs removed, diced

1 red pepper, chopped

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

5 garlic cloves, minced

2/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth

2 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1-2 chopped seeded tomatoes

1/4 cup crumbled bacon

1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions (optional-I opted not)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground turkey and a handful of the onions to the pan, sauteing until meat is browned. Remove turkey and set aside.
3. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, pepper, and jalapeno, sauteing for 4 minutes and stirring occasionally. Add salt, cumin, red pepper, and garlic. Saute for 1 minute, stirring constantly (I added a tablespoon or two of water to keep things from sticking in the pan.)
4. Stir in broth and black beans. Bring mixture to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Mash beans to desired consistency.
5. Spoon mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with turkey, bacon, tomato, and cheese. Bake at 425F for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Top with green onions and let cool for atleast 10 minutes (otherwise it will be too runny).
6. Serve with sour cream, tortilla chips, on tacos, on a salad, or just eat it plain!

I found this recipe here.  Check out her site! She has some great recipes!

Enjoy!!

Meet Me Monday-Jessie!

Good Monday Morning to you all!!  Hope your weekends were fantabulous!  Today we're going to learn all about Jessie!  Yeah!!  Jessie is my bff Leah's friend from college.  We both walked down the aisle at Leah's wedding.  And, that's about the extent of my correspondence with her, unfortunately!  I've heard lots of great things about her though.  And, if she's friends with Leah, then I know she's a superstar!!  Here's what she wants you to know about her!

"Hi everyone!  My name is Jessie and I'm excited to be doing this competition.  If you're wondering, who is this Jessie character?  Well, let me tell you!  I live in Milton, WI (about 45 minutes south of Madison) and teach middle school band.  I have been married to wonderful guy named Jamie for more than 2 years, and we live in a cozy little house with our two cats, Maestro and Belle. 

We enjoy traveling and exploring new places, landscaping, spending time with family and friends!  We dislike thinking of dinner ideas.  We do not currently have children so you'd think we'd have time to cook delicious, healthful meals and take a daily walk BUT you'd be wrong!  My husband works at least 12 hours a day and I tend to have many after school or evening responsibilities/rehearsals.  Because of our schedules and general lack of motivation when we get home from our respective careers, we resort to a lot of eating out, frozen pizzas, and TV watching...especially during the winter.  That is our downfall and I'm admitting it.

You may be asking yourself at this point, how does this person know Jenny?  I've never heard of this Jessie.  Well, I know Jenny (and Dana actually) through Leah!  Leah was a college roommate of mine and is a very good friend.  It was actually while living with Leah (and two other lovely ladies) that I felt I was at my perfect weight.  I have to say that being at college was actually very beneficial for my weight. None of that freshman 15 for me.  If you think about it, you walk a lot and people make food for you.  I felt like I always had good options to choose from and generally took advantage of it (except for the occasional Lucy's homemade chocolate chip cookies).

I've tried several of the fad diets over the years and have found I CANNOT deprive myself of the things I love the most...I need to just learn to limit my serving size.  I am a person who really hates to be hungry.  In fact, my husband and family can attest to the fact that a lack of food makes me quite crabby.  So I am trying to make and freeze several healthy but tasty soups.  I've heard that a more liquidy diet can be beneficial.  I also find myself feeling more full after having a bowl of soup.  Besides soup, I have added some other very important and tasty things to my diet that are helping I think.  #1 Kashi GoLean cereal!  It's super fibrous...I believe it is the best cereal out there.   You will be very regular girls!  #2- Dannon Greek Yogurt-it has a ton more protein than regular yogurt and is more creamy.  I like the type with the fruit at the bottom.  #3-An apple a day.  I've decided to add an apple each day because I find they make me feel full which of course equals a happier Jessie.

So that's that!  I'm really hoping that these lost pounds will start adding up!  Good luck to all of you!"

Thanks Jessie!!  Keep up the good work!!  I just made butternut squash soup last night that was pretty tasty.  Perhaps I'll post the recipe soon!  Later this week, I plan on posting an excellent black bean casserole recipe!  Delish!  Have a great week everyone!

Results Week 3

Sorry this post is sooooo late today!  Work plus movie that needed to get back to redbox tonight that I had to watch took precedence!  Sorry to put you in a corner, baby!

Wow!  What a roller coaster!  Well, it appears as though we're trending pretty steady here, girls.  We have losers and gainers this week again.  Please have no fear if you're a gainer, there are MANY weeks left in this competition!  I don't want anyone getting discouraged!  Be proud of yourselves for being on this journey and for being good to your body!  Let's face it, we're all women and our bodies do so many things for us.  Can we really blame it if we carry some extra water from week to week??  Really?!?  And of course, if you're down this week celebrate the milestones!  Good work!

Well, I was up again this morning at 3 am.  Seriously.  I love working Saturdays 2 hours away from my home.  Pure. Joy.  So, when I weighed in this morning at 3:30, I was 210, for those of you keeping track at home, that's only a half pound weight loss this week.  I weighed in again when I got home at 1 pm and it was 209.5.  If it's okay with all of you I'm going to put it in as the 209.5.  It's a loss either way, and I feel like it will make it all the harder next week to start off at the lower number.  Does that make sense?  Leave a comment if you're anti that other half pound.  No worries either way.

Anywho, for the big news of the week! The winner this week is RAENETTA!!  Now, not to take anything away from her for sure, but if you read her comment last post you'll know that poor Raenetta was sick, sick, sick this week!!  We hope you are feeling better!!  I mean, I'm sure we will all take a weight loss however it comes!!  Raenetta also took over first place overall!! Congratulations!!

Here is week 3's top ten!  See, I made us all seem like winners! :-)  We all made the top ten! Rah! Rah! Rah!

1. Raenetta 2.36% change from last week!!!
2. Lesa 2.34%
3. Leah 1.12%
4. Amanda .84%
5. Dana .79%
6. Betty .66%
7. Jenny .47%
8. Heather -.42%
9. Jessie -.86%
10. Holly -.97%


And here is the overall top ten!!  Woo-hoo!!  We all made this list too!!  Great work!!

1. Raenetta 4.02%
2. Lesa 3.00%
3. Dana 2.58%
4. Jenny 2.33%
5. Betty 1.96%
6. Amanda 1.82%
7. Leah 1.36%
8. Holly 1.11%
9. Heather .43%
10. Jessie 0%

Check back Monday to Meet Jessie!!  And, Mom!! That's Lesa, if you don't know who you are...haha. You'll be next if you'd like to participate!  Raenetta, of course, already went, and you're in second place!  Spotlight's on you!!

Good luck this week, everyone!  Looking forward to posting a new recipe sometime this week for you all!

Yeowch!!

Ok, so I stepped up the ante.  And I have regretted. every. moment!  After scraping by last week, I decided I would try to get some "real" exercise in.  A few weeks back, I found out that we have "on-demand" exercise routines on our cable box.  Lots of them!  I'm talking yoga, aerobics, dance, any type of routine you'd like to try!  It's actually really nice.  Really.

Anyway, for whatever reason, after working a million hours the past few months, my schedule has lightened up consideralby.  So, it was a perfect week to start back up in the excercise world.  Now, I've always been pretty athletic.  I've never had the perfect athlete's body, but I've kept myself in somewhat ok shape.  Until the kids came.  It was over after that.  I've gone downhill very fast!  And, let me tell you, that there hill is a steep one to climb back up!  Wow!  So, Monday, I was home a little after noon, and I had strong intentions to do a little workout that afternoon.  But, it just so happens I got home right at nap time.  At our house, this involves 3 books, and usually by the second one, I'm out.  I promise I did lunges in my dreams though.

Tuesday morning I only had one patient, which means I didn't have to get to work until 10:45, which equals sometime after 11 for me.    Yep, I'm good like that.  So, early that morning, after searching through all of the exercise programs and ruling out pole dancing, I chose something like 10lb Slimdown-Total Body.  Yes, I set my sights high.  Too high.  During the workout, I pretty much just felt like a joke.  I couldn't keep up.  I encouraged myself by saying at least I was DOING something.  And, even with the kids climbing all over me thinking that I was being a bridge to crawl under or over, I finished the long, grueling routine, and checked the clock.  What?!?  20 minutes?  Seriously.

Ok, so I took a needed shower, as Wyatt let me know that I was wet and sweaty all over. And left for work.  I was feeling pretty good until I hit the stairs.  I'm so glad no one was there because I nearly fell down an entire half flight.  Jello-legs!  Pretty much the rest of the day my legs kept trying to go out from under me!  And then, I woke up yesterday morning, paralyzed.  OMgoodness!  I have not been so sore in a really long time.  So, I wasn't paralyzed but could barely move my legs.  You should have seen me try to sit on the toilet to go pee!  I had to do one of those reach back and with as straight as possible legs lower yourself until your arms can't hold your weight anymore plop downs.  Pain. 

Needless to say, I did not do a second round of 10lb Slimdown on Wednesday.  But, you'll be proud of me to know that I did do a 10 minute Yoga wake up session.  The report today is a little better, still sore, but manageable.  The plan tonight is to try and do another episode, like upper body or something that doesn't involve too much legs.  But, you know, life is happening otherwise-Katelyn threw up several times last night and spiked a 102.4 axillary temperature, down to 101.5 this morning.  So, we'll see how she's doing.  She may ask me to just skip exercising this ONE time and snuggle with her all night.  We'll see. 

Hope you guys are having as much fun as I am!  Happy Thursday!

Meet Me Monday - Dana

Why, hello Skinnier Minnies!  I am so glad to say that everyone has officially lost weight since the beginning of the competition!  Don't you feel so proud of yourselves!  Great work and keep it going!!  We're in the beginning of week 3 and I don't know about you, but I'm ready for some junk food!!  Just keep telling yourself to PUT IT DOWN!  You'll thank yourself in January when you're hotter than all of your friends! 


I completely forgot on Saturday to post my weight. So sorry!  I was really worried because I gained mid-week and couldn't seem to lose it!  So, I practically fasted all of Friday-not really-have you seen me!?  But, I did eat a lot less, even denying myself Wyatt's unfinished Wendy's french fries and pizza later during the night!  It was tough, for reals!  And then, in a last ditch effort I let Katelyn nurse pretty much the whole night!  She loved it! And, so did I when I weighed in at 210.5!  Whew!


Ok, enough about me! Let the spotlight shine on Dana!  Dana is one of my bestest girlfriends.  We met in 3rd grade for those of you who haven't heard Jan Sinn tell the story a million times! :-)  She moved into the Gentry Estates neighborhood and into Mrs Woods 3rd grade class.  It was pretty much instant friendship between her, Leah, and me!  I love her dearly and miss her tremendously!  I can't wait until she moves back down to Bloomington! (hehe!!)  Here's what she wants you to know about her!!

"Hello there, my name is Dana. I have been a best friend of Jenny's for about 20 years now. We met in Mrs. Wood's third grade class, Bloomington, IN. Below are a few things you should know about me!

I consider myself quite the little treehugger, having studied/worked in environmental science and also enjoying being out in nature as much as I can. I live in Bay City, MI and work with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality protecting our lakes and streams. I am not married, have no children and own no pets, beyond the plants I try to keep alive. I LOVE cooking and all things food-related. My boyfriend Joel and I love being in the kitchen experimenting and also trying every ethnic restaurant we can get to! Joel is still down in Bloomington and I can't wait to get back there! (the photo is of Joel and I hiking in Lake George, NY this summer).

I have struggled with my weight all my life, and finally got to a happy/healthy place after college. But after a few years I decided to go back to graduate school, and boy did the pounds climb back onto this backside!!

So...now I'm up here in Michigan attending workout classes, cooking healthy meals and trying to stay active and positive before winter depression sets in! Ugh. I look forward to getting back to my fit self, and am excited to be on that journey with all of you lovely ladies.

As I mentioned, I love to cook, and find most of my meals on eatingwell.com It's a great site and I have had success with almost all the recipes I've tried there. I will say they almost always leave out a good amount of sauteed onions and garlic where I would always add them. But short of that, good stuff. Below is a meal I've had several times and is perfect for this cooler, fall weather! Enjoy!

Southwestern Stuffed Acorn Squash

Good luck ladies!!"

Thanks Dana!  It's so funny because I had already typed up my part of the post before Dana sent me hers!  Thank goodness for Mrs. Wood's 3rd grade class!!  

Next week's Meet Me Monday will be Jessie if she wishes to participate, as she was the weeks winner!!  Send me a bio and photos that you would like to post.  If you don't wish to, just email me and say you'll pass!  Thanks!!