Vlog Vednesday: Of Candy and Competitions

HERE is my blog post on how to dry pack Easter candy.

And HERE is my vlog on how to dry pack Easter candy.

Kale Chips, Competitions, and Cancellations

Weeellll...thanks to "lake effect" weather and six inches of brand new snow, the half marathon was cancelled. Rats! Part of me was relieved to not have to trudge through half a foot of snow and part of me was actually disappointed not to test myself through half a foot of snow. After training through the winter, it's not like running in the snow is such a bizarre concept.

And part of me was really, really, REALLY not looking forward to 16 miles on a treadmill, but I hopped on it before I had too much time to think about it. Four episodes of "Lost", three hours, and sixteen miles later I was done. Whew! Not totally unpleasant, but I sure hope Spring will start sticking around so my longer runs can be done outside on a more consistent basis. To look on the bright side, it was the longest run I've ever done on a treadmill. I think up to today, my longest was eight miles. So...new personal record!

In a week, on April 1st, I will be hosting a weight loss competition. This is the same weight loss competition I did back in the fall of last year that helped me to kick a plateau I had been hanging on to for months and months. The competitive edge helped me to build a little self-control and to realize that sugar consumption is no good for sustainable weight loss. One thing, among many, that I love about this particular weight loss competition is that it is about more than just dropping pounds. It teaches and builds healthy habits that can be used far longer than any silly little competition. It's all about living a healthy, balanced life.

This weight loss competition that I'm hosting will be eight weeks long, with two winners at the end that will split the pot equally. One winner for highest weight loss percentage and one winner for most points earned. Buy-in is $25. You earn points for doing daily tasks and weekly bonus challenges. All of it will be kept track of on charts that I will share online. In fact, it's all done online, so you don't have to be physically present to participate. Oh! And no pictures and no sharing of weight. Only one person will know your weight and that will either be me or my friend Megan who hosted this competition the first time I did it.

And did I mention the first time I did it...I won over $300 for having the highest weight loss percentage? Weight loss competitions work! If you want to find out for yourself, comment below or message me and I'll be happy to answer any questions you have or include you in this competition.

Finally, I wanted to share a quick and easy recipe. I was looking for ways to pack in all the healthy vegetables I could the few days leading up to the half marathon. You know...the cancelled half marathon. Sigh.  Plus I had the nervous munchies with the anxiety and anticipation of a race. Instead of scarfing down a bag of potato chips, I made kale chips. Kale is really, really good for you and this is only one of the many ways you can incorporate it into your daily diet.

Kale Chips

One bunch of kale
olive oil
sea salt (or whatever kind of salt you have)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse and pat or shake dry the kale. Tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces. Toss in a bowl with a little bit of olive oil and a very little bit of salt. (Trust me on adding minimal salt. The first time I did it I added too much and was gagging on the chips. The second time, I was pretty careful about adding just a bit and still found them to be a bit too salty. A little bit goes a long way.) Spread the kale out evenly on a cookie sheet and bake for about 12 minutes or until crispy. Kale will "crispify" as it cools too. Enjoy!

This is a much healthier option than potato chips or pretzels and a yummy way to sneak in even more veggies in your day. My kids polished a pan full of these off as they waited for dinner to finish cooking. Kid tested. Mother approved!

Weight Loss Competitions WORK!

My weight loss plateaued for several months in between April and September. It seemed no matter how hard I tried, I just could NOT lose any weight. At least permanently. It was so frustrating! I was training for a half marathon for goodness' sake! I could run 10 plus miles at one time but I couldn't lose a single pound?! How does that work?!

With the hope that a little competitive edge could change something for me, I joined a weight loss competition hosted by one of the gals from my Facebook running group. It began on Labor Day and lasts for eight weeks, ending right before Halloween (*sigh of relief*).

Over the course of the eight weeks we do daily tasks, earning points if achieved each day. These are things like "Drink at least 64 oz of water", "Work out for at least 30 minutes" (bonus points for each 15 minutes on top of that), and "Keep a food journal". There are also weekly challenges to do if you're feeling ambitious and want to win bonus points. "Take a daily vitamin", "Try and share one new healthy recipe", and "Eat extra fruits and veggies" are a few examples.

At the end of the eight weeks there will be two different winners. One with the most points and one with the biggest weight loss percentage. To be in the competition you had to pay $25 into the winner's pot. With 30 women participating...that would be a lot of nice, new clothes to fit a nice, healthy body.

I'm not exactly winning so far, especially when it comes to weight loss, but I'm not doing too shabby. I was already doing several of the daily tasks on my own before this competition (look to my "Guidelines" bar on the right) so point-wise I'm actually able to give the group some competition.

For me, the hardest part of the whole thing has been one of the dailies: "No sugar or sweet treats". I thought I had been abstaining pretty well from sugar before the competition, but when I was actually recording it and reporting to a group...not so much. Over the past 4 weeks of the competition, I have lost over 6 pounds, where before...I couldn't lose a single pound. Even though I was "trying so hard". Ha ha!

I know sugar is my biggest weakness when it comes to weight loss. It is a struggle I think I will have for the rest of my life. I am most successful in losing weight and being healthy when I limit myself to having one treat a week. While that may seem extreme to some, it really has taught me what sugar SHOULD BE, and that is an occasional treat and not a daily indulgence. I'm not ready to go cold turkey on sugar, but who knows? Maybe some day I'll gain that much self control. For now, I really enjoy baking a treat with my kids and sharing with the neighbors or relishing a sweet holiday tradition. I don't feel like it's so bad to indulge once in a while.

That being said, I'm a tad terrified for when this weight loss competition is over. And--gulp!--right before Halloween, the sugar holiday of the year! It's hard to have self control when you aren't accountable to anyone but yourself. I'm going to have to dig deep and remember how much better I feel when I'm not partaking all the time. Remind me of that, would you, when I'm whining about gaining some weight back over the holiday season, okay? ;)

One more thing...This week's bonus point challenge was to try a new form of exercise. We were at the library last night looking for a book for Dee's school book report and I took the chance to peruse the workout DVDs. I chose "No More Trouble Zones" by Jillian Michaels.

Honestly, I've been avoiding anything by the good ol' JM. Why? Because she's scary, that's why. Have you seen her on The Biggest Loser? But many of my friends like her, so why not? I'll give her a chance. I was pleasantly surprised. No screaming or yelling or belittling. She didn't try to convince me that I was fat because I had been molested as a kid. Just lots of really tough, but kind of doable circuit training.

Ahhh circuit training. Something else I've been avoiding too. It was hard. But hard is good. That means I needed to do it. I'm realizing just how weak my upper body and abs are. I look forward to having my bum kicked again later this week. Also...I really need to get out of my comfort zone and try some new exercise routines. A gym membership is not in my budget right now, but any other suggestions?

P.S. *whispers* Psst! Psssst! Hey! Since the library is going to need that DVD back, I was considering buying the JM workout until I found it on YouTube just now. And there are lots of others on there too! Free workouts? Woohoo!