Refund Dues

Dear Treasurer:

Please refund the last group of people to join Healthy Hopefuls their $8. Since we have bypassed our goal date without any reported results, I think that this would only be fair.

Thank you!

Hello? Is anyone there?

Ok people, just because we've taken a break from HH doesn't mean we have to stop posting blogs (or does it????)! I think everyone should continue posting blogs. You can give updates on yourself and how your doing, ask questions and get feed back, inform everyone if you've found something new that's working well for you, etc., etc. I'll use myself as an example. I haven't done any exercise in the past few days because I've been trying to get my apartment cleaned up. David and I will be in Greensboro for Thanksgiving and I don't want to come home to clutter. I've washed clothes, cleaned the kitchen and the master bedroom, and now I've got to clean the 2nd bathroom and vacuum. I should be done with everything tonight. I'm excited to be going home for Thanksgiving. Last year was cool (went to my Aunt's house in Leesburg), but it wasn't what I was used to. I'm used to being around a lot of family and friends and eating until you have to unbutton your pants or go take a nap. That's what I'm looking forward to this week. Well, I hope everyone else has a wonderful Thanksgiving. We all have a lot to be thankful for! Enjoy yourselves!

How I Spent My Halloween

Well, instead of passing out candy, David and I went to the gym last night! I asked him to go with me. We both got on the elliptical machine for 20 minutes and David lifted weights. I was really sweating. I put my bandanna on so I wouldn't get sweat in my eyes and when I finally took it off, it was soaked! I probably could've squeezed sweat out of it. I was about to attempt it, but I thought that would be kinda gross, so I decided against it. LOL I've asked David to go to the gym with me today, too. I'm really trying to get in the habit of working out at least 3 days a week. I'm not going to commit myself to any certain days, but I will commit myself to working out 3 days a week. I've got no excuses not to now. My main concern was sweating out my relaxers, but I don't have relaxed hair anymore. Well, I just wanted to share some stuff with you all. I hope everyone is doing well! I'll talk to you all again soon! :)

Just an update...

Hi everyone! Just wanted to post an update on how I'm doing. David and I walked the perimeter of our apartment complex last night. It took us 20 minutes to do it. We would've walked farther and longer, but it was dark and we didn't want to be out too long. We would've gone to the gym at our office, but the keys we have to get in after hours aren't working. I plan on exchanging them for new ones before the weekend. I don't normally do exercise on the weekend (my lazy time), but I think I'll do it on one of the days. I hope everyone else is doing well! Talk to you guys later! :)

NEW month, NEW challenge, NEW life

Let's go Healthy Hopefuls........

Our HH challenge has already started into the 3rd session of Healthy Hopefuls. This is a new month and it's time to re-focus and concentrate on your goals individually and as a group. Don't forget that the blog is here for everyone. It's beneficial to actively participate in the group. Facing this challenge together will help us push past the obstacles that stand in our way. If you need help, let us know. If you need motivation, let us know. We are all here for each other. Congratulations again to ALL Healthy Hopefuls for your commitment to the challenge during the 2nd session and continue to strive forward with us. Just 3 months until the end of 2007. LET'S SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO!!! :-)

Reminder for GSO HH members: As previously discussed, we will be meeting for dinner on Friday, October 5th for our weekly meeting. This is to celebrate our accomplishments thus far.

Out-of-town HH members: We love you all much. Since you are not here to celebrate here with us. Treat yourself to a nice dinner or maybe a new pair of shoes. This is to give yourselves a pat on the back for a job well done.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Carol for being the winner of the 2nd round of Healthy Hopefuls. Carol lost a total of 10 pounds or 5.2 % of her beginning body weight. Runner-ups were Tamara with a 12 pound weight loss or 4.7% of her beginning body weight, Carlos with a 10 pound weight loss or 4.3% of his beginning body weight, and Brandy with a 7 pound weight loss or 3.2% of her beginning body weight. Carol won $88 for her all her hard work.

The 3rd session of Healthy Hopefuls will run 9/28/07 through 11/16/07. Good luck to all who choose to continue.

Almost over (Just this 8 weeks)!!!!

Okay People. Sorry. I didn't get to post the minutes this week and I've been really busy with stuff, but I did want to take out a little time (I'm at work) to provide some need-to-know information.

I do want to congratulate Mrs. Pee for being the only person to lose weight this past week (reported). She lost 3 pounds. I'm trying to step it up this last week. This lady trying to win my money.

This is the last week of the 2nd Healthy Hopefuls session. It is imperative that you weigh in on Friday, September 21st or your results will not be entered into the competition part of Healthy Hopefuls.

We also are inviting new members for the next 8 week session. So....if you know someone that is interested, please let us know and provide us with their e-mail address and be sure they provide a start weight so that their progress can be properly tracked. You can also give them the blog address, http://healthyhopefuls.blogspot.com/, so that they can check us out and the support that we try to offer.

I wanted to say that I enjoy being in this group and I think that it helps motivate me to be conscious of the choices I make. We want everyone to feel included in the group and everyone to stay active in the group so that it helps to encourage others. We completely understand the time constraints of every one's lifes and schedules, but this is something that will help you in the long run and taking a few minutes out of your week (as quick as checking e-mail) is something that everyone can be a part of. If you aren't able to make it to a meeting, let us hear from you on the blog. The blog was setup to help our out-of-towners feel more connected to Healthy Hopefuls and simply to benefit the group as a whole. I love you all and I don't want to make this journey alone. If you feel like you need some time to re-group, take off this 3rd session so that you can be pumped to join us again....motivated....and ready to learn, grow and win some doe.

I hope everyone has an awesome week and I can't wait to report the winner of Healthy Hopefuls: Session 2 and revamp for the 3rd session.

"Victory belongs to the most persevering." ~Napoleon

Come out, come out, wherever you are...

STRESS RELIEVERS:

I was reading an article in Heart Healthy Living, Fall 2007, entitled Stop Stress (in 60 seconds). A few suggestions include:

1. Sit in a quiet place for a moment and imagine yourself lying on a beach. Feel the sunlight on your body, hear the sounds of the ocean waves, smell the surf. Research has found that the same parts of the brain are activated when people are imagining something as when they're actually experiencing it.
2. Hug and kiss someone. Touch can help reduce stress-hormone levels and boost the immune system.
3. Put on some Beethoven or Bach. One study found that people who listened to classical music after a stressful task had significantly lower blood pressure than those who heard no music.
4. Chew a piece of gum. Studies show that chewing the stuff can actually change brain waves, improving alertness and concentration and reducing stress.
5. Eat yogurt. A study found that people suffering from exhaustion and stress improved after taking a probiotic supplement for 6 months. Probiotics contain the good bacteria found in yogurt.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: "It is better to give others a piece of your heart than a piece of your mind." (Author unknown)

Hello People......

I hope that everyone is having a great week. Things are stressful for me right now, but I'm still exercising to balance out my stress eating so I'm kinda staying steady with my weight. Enjoy the rest of your week and I will talk to you soon. :-)

It's Friday!!

Hey all,
Another week down, and for me another pound down. Had a pretty good week. Only ran once this week, but I plan on running tomorrow am. Hope everyone's week went well.

Extended weekend over :-(

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Labor day weekend. The food was great and I only overate 1 out of 2 cookouts. That's an accomplishment.......you can clap. I'm back on track now. I still did my exercising. The 2nd cookout that I went to was at Triad Park and so after I ate, Kayleigh and I walked (Kayleigh rode in her stroller) around the park. It was a nice little walk and beautiful views.

I may miss a little exercise this week. My mother has surgery on September 5th. I will be working early and over at the hospital after that (at least for the next couple of days). Maybe.....I'll power walk it around the hospital. Everyone keep trying and remember to find (or re-find) your motivation to help you get to your goal. And for Mrs. Pee......Can you have my winnings changed into single dollars so that my wad of cash is bigger? Thanks. Have a great week!

Just Checking In

Hello everyone! I would like to congratulate everyone who is losing weight! Good for you! I gained a half a pound last week, but I can deal with that. As long as I'm not gaining a lot of weight, I'm not going to torture myself. I didn't do a lot of exercise last week because I was preparing for my brother's visit, but I did walk around DC last Saturday. IT WAS SO HOT (to me)! I tried not to complain too much because I didn't want to spoil every one's fun. I also tried to look at it from an exercise point-of-view - I was walking and I need to do that! I plan to do the walking DVD my mom gave me this evening. After 20 minutes, I'm drenched! That's a good thing! I might even try for 30 minutes (with a break in there somewhere! LOL). I'll let you know what I decide. Well, everyone keep striving to do your best. GO HEALTHY HOPEFULS!

Good, morning!

I hope your day is filled with wonderfulness. Enjoy every minute of your day, like it is your last.

Meeting Minutes from 8-31-07

Call To Order of Meeting
Friday, August 31st, 2007

The meeting was called to order at 7:30 PM.

Present: Mrs. Pee, Carlos and Brandy

This week's reported losses:

Carlos- 5 pounds to date
Brandy- 1 pound

At the meeting we discussed everyone finding their motivation. It appears that some of us or less motivated. Everybody has different needs to help them. I usually do better when I have someone competing with me and making me push my limits. Mrs. Pee appears to like it when I talk a little junk (you know....like about how I need my money soon). Whatever yours is, post it. Maybe we can help. It's extremely hard to lose weight if you don't have motivation or strong enough motivation to do so. I wish you all the best of luck this upcoming week. We have a month to go until the end of session 2 of Healthy Hopefuls. Let's treat this last month like a new day and completely start over and recommit to being happier and healthier. Love you all.

End of week.....

I hope that everyone had a great and productive week. I've had a lot of stress at work and home and I'm just glad that the week is over so that I can start over next week. My exercise habits are still going well, but yesterday I had like 2 cups of water and about 7 cups of tea (the good McDonald's kind) and some coffee (yummy.....fiene). I'll do better today....hopefully. It was just one of those days.....one of those weeks. I guess I'll just give that up as my free day. Weigh in is tomorrow. Only about a month left for this 8 weeks. I would love to have some extra cash in my pockets if no one is interested. Maybe enjoy a nice pedicure and buy a new celebratory pair of shoes and treat myself to lunch. Everybody work together to make this dream a reality for me okay (yeah.....I'm talking junk). Talk to everybody soon. HH signing off.

What I Saw on Oprah Today

For those who TIVO, you might want to watch Oprah's Show dated today. Dr. Ozmet was on today (he's Oprah's medical authority). He has a book called YOU-The Owner's Manual, that outlines things that we can do to make our bodies healthier in the long run. For example, 6 foods that we need to add to our diets weekly are: garlic, tomato sauce, olive oil, spinach, raw almonds, pomegranate. Dr. Ozmet also made the following statements as it relates to losing weight: 1) If your waist measurement is greater than 34", you're at greater risk for heart disease. 2) Walk 30 minutes everyday---without fail. 3) Meet with a personal trainer to develop an exercise routine which will include weights and stretching. 4) Practice more healthy cooking; include salmon in your meal planning. 5) An average 30 year old woman can easily do 45 bent leg push-ups. This number decreases by five with each decade, e.g., at 40, 40 push-ups, at 50, 35 push-ups. 6) Read food labels like they're prescriptions. If a label has the following ingredients listed as one of the first five ingredients, eliminate that food/product from your diet: sugar, high fructose corn syrup, enriched white flour, saturated fat, trans fat, partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated fat.

No Meeting Minutes

We did not hold our weekly meeting this past Friday. The reported pounds lost for this past week is as follows:

Quishana- 2 pounds

Way to go Quishana and good luck during this next week to all Healthy Hopefuls. We are gradually becoming healthier people. Have a great week!

DON'T GET TOO COMFORTABLE

Well, we're halfway through this 2nd eight week challenge. As the title says, "Don't get too comfortable. That means continue to exercise 6 times a week , eat a balanced meal plan, drink at least 8 cups of water each day. Take it one day at a time

Chris Freytag, author of Move to Lose, stated "If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll keep getting what you're getting. " Ms. Freytag had 3 suggestions for busting weight loss plateaus. They are: 1) Revamp your workout. You need to increase how long you exercise, how often, or the intensity at which you do it. Try to devote even a few more minutes to each workout or add challenges such as hills---you'll burn more in the same amount of time. Also, start using a heart-rate monitor so you know when you're not exercising hard enough. 2) Be ruthless about portion sizes. As you lose weight, your body doesn't require as many calories. 3) Don't go it alone. The support and camaraderie provided by a local or online weight loss group can keep you motivated. Or consider getting professional help by hiring a dietitian or personal trainer.

It's me!

Well, another week down. Still no fast foods/sweets. It's been hard. I went to BK yesterday to grab a sandwich and I wanted fries so bad I almost started to cry (really!!). All I eneded up getting was the original chicken club sandwich and an icee. The sandwich had more lettuce and tomato on it than anything else! It was like a salad with chicken and bacon on it. It was good and hit the spot. I'm glad it did, because if it hadn't I might've been tempted to go somewhere and get some fries (and maybe more food - that wouldn't have been good!). I'm going to stop talking about food now because I haven'tbeen to lunch yet and my stomach is growling really loud! LOL I'll post my tips and quote later this afternoon. Hope everyone had an awesome week! GO HEALTHY HOPEFULS! :)