We did it!

We achomplished our first goal of making the Top 5 board! Team Pure Energy was ranked 2nd on the top 5 list for the checkpoint weigh in! We are beat out by a 1% weight loss. We are even more motivated now knowing we have a real shot at the grand prize! WOOHOO!!! I am so incredibly proud of my team,I am shooting for double digits next weigh in, 10lbs would be awesome!

Pure Energy Checkpoint Weigh in

So our team as a whole did awesome with a combined total of 53 lbs lost! My 8.4 lbs loss as of last week ended up being a 6.8 lb loss with over 2% body fat loss and just over 2.5 inches lost on my waistline. With the other girls pulling in double digits I feel like the weekest link, I was hoping to do better for them. I am happy with a loss, weight, inches and body fat, I was just hoping to pull a bigger number. I am so incredibly proud of all of the girls on my team. We are all beginning a healthy new lifestyle. I am sticking to my diet, working out regularly, going to try to de-stress a little and hope for good results at the next checkpoint weigh in in two more weeks. I am really hoping we see Team Pure Energy on the Top 5 board next week, we'll see!

Tasty Treats

Our Team Trainer Nikki sent us an email giving a few tasty treats for when you need those sweet, salty, comfort snacks. I thought I'd share them with you...

Snack Attacks come – hunger, cravings and habits have the ability to
ambush the effort and discipline we establish during our daily
workouts. Here are my Top 5ive Fave Snacks around 200 calories that
will curb cravings without sabotaging goals:

1) Sweet Indulgence – Tall Starbuck’s Non Fat White Chocolate Mocha No
Whip – 230 calories of warm and fuzzies

2) Cool Runner – Skinny Cow Low Fat Mint Ice Cream Sandwich – 140
calories. Just enough to fight the tempation to eat a whole box of
Junior Mints.

3) Movie Night – 3 cups Smart Pop Microwave Popcorn, 2 TB parmesan, ½
tsp garlic salt – 150 calories of salty goodness.


4) Brown Bag It – Medium Apple and String Cheese – 175 calories to
fill and satiate at school or work.

5) Comfort Calls - Apex Oatmeal Raisin Fit Bar and a cup of Chamomile
Tea – 225 calories of calming comfort to end the day.

1 More Week Until Checkpoint

It's been a few days since I blogged my journey and here's why...
I have found it very challenging to diet, exercise 2-3 hours a day, work, keep up with housework, let alone blog regularly. Two weeks into the competition and I am exhausted. Good news is I am down 8.2 lbs. Bad news is, I have been down exactly 8.2 lbs for over 5 days now, guess I hit a plateau. I am not letting the scale discourage me! I am pushing through, sticking to my diet, working out everyday and I know I will see the scale move again soon. I feel stronger, my clothes are looser, I am having a blast working out with my friends and am really enjoying getting my family on track with this healthy new lifestyle. So here is where I'm at so far...

8.2 lbs lost in 2 weeks ( hoped for more but I'm happy with that)
1.4% Body Fat loss ( Awesome! getting rid of the bad stuff and gaining more muscle)
2 1/4 inch loss on my waistline (Woohoo!)

My Team is doing great! We are weighing in next Friday for our checkpoint weigh in. I will post another team picture next Friday!

We would love to be posted on the top 5 teams after the weigh in.

Until the next update...stay healthy America!

Pumpkin Soup

I made pumpkin soup last night for my Faith Bible Institute class and they loved it. So as promised here is my recipe...

In a frying pan saute finely chopped onions(1 med size), garlic( 6+ cloves), celery( 3 stalks)and a bay leaf.

After sauteing is finished remove the bay leaf and add 1 tbls of flour, salt, pepper, thyme, poultry seasoning & nutmeg

Then whisk in 6 cups of chicken broth and 5 cups of pumpkin puree

And for the final ingredient... a splash of Tapatillo ( hot sauce)

That's it! Let it simmer for a while and serve.

To liven it up a bit you can garnish the soup with shredded chicken or taco meat, sour cream, cheese, cilantro, be creative!

The soup on it's own is roughly 50 calories for 1 cup and 80 with shredded chicken in it. Read the nutritional content and serving sizes on any toppings you might add.

Biggest Winner Update

Week 1 of the competition and I am down 5.2 lbs! Woohoo! In order to meet my goal of 20lbs at the end of the 6 weeks I need to average roughly 3.5 lbs per week, I'd say I have a pretty good start:) The other members on my team are doing fabulously as well! I've been immersing myself in the classes at the gym, it is pretty intense. I'll write up another update on Friday and I'll even add pictures! GO PURE ENERGY!