The Big BLOB Weight Loss Blog

Today, I signed up for the PRESIDENTS CHALLENGE.

https://www.presidentschallenge.org/index.aspx

Yes, I am talking about the US President … it looks like anyone can get involved in this program no matter what country you live in or what age you have acquired.

This group has been around for years as part of the Presidents Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. One of the initiatives is to get us ordinary folks into fitness and to REWARD us for doing this.

How does it work?

Choose which program you want. Each program (and medal) has a points requirement. For example if you want to get a bronze medal, you have to accumulate 20,000 points.

Register online … it’s FREE. And then log in daily (hopefully) to register your activity. There are dozens of activites you can choose from including walking, biking, rowing, and running. When you log your activty and the time you spent doing it, the calculator automatically figures out how many points you’ve earned. Presumably it takes your age and weight into account. COOL!

When you reach the points requirement you can send for a certificate, ribbon and/or medal. The cost is quite surprizingly low. For example you can order a three pack (certificate, ribbon and medal) for only $8.00 US or you can just order a certificate (signed by the current president) for 50 cents!

I read an article a few years back about people who have collected certificates with the signatures of four and more presidents! Neat goal.

There are several programs to choose from:

You can earn the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) by performing regular activity beyond your daily activity goal of (30 minutes a day for adults/60 minutes a day for youths under 18) at least 5 days per week, for a total of 6 weeks. As and alternative you can count your daily activity steps using a pedometer.

Presidential Champions. If you’re already active and want a new challenge, this program is for you.

You’ll get a personal activity log to help track your progress along the way. There’s even a special option for performance athletes and others who train at more advanced levels.Your goal is to see how many points you can earn by being active. You’ll earn points for every activity you log. Points are based on the amount of energy each activity burns. So the more active you are, the more points you’ll get.The first goal to aim for is a Bronze award. Then you can keep going for a Silver or Gold.

I am very goal driven and LOVE the idea of accumulating points and earning some kind of acknowledgement at the end. Just a kid at heart … loved getting those gold stars in school. Sitll do!!

Let me know if you are going to join me. Company is always nice!!

Melanie

PS … the website is:

https://www.presidentschallenge.org/index.aspx

A few days ago, a visitor posted this:

Katie said…
Hey Melanie. I think you should try Susan Powters new fitness ideas she’s putting out. It’s worked for me. go to www.susanpowteronline.com and check out some of her new products. Good Luck.

I’m actually a long time FAN of Susan Powter. I have four of her books, several of her videos (if only I’d use them). Though I like all of her books my favorite is HEY MOM! I’M HUNGRY! Yeah, when it comes to food that schmeks, I’m just a BIG kid!

But when I went to her website I was totally taken aback. This has got to be one of the worst websites I’ve seen … EVER. Total DREK!

Susan Powter is a woman who is

bold, brash, gets in your face and TALKS

kinda of gal. You may have remembered her almost bald look in the late 90’s. She is still outrageous and so is her website! Actually her website is a little TOO outrageous for me, but then SHE is definitely over the top so I guess the website is a fit.

Putting the topic of her website aside (where it belongs) I have to say that I LOVE her recipe books. One of my favorite recipes is “Chicken in a Dumpster.” I like it so much I make a dumpster volume recipe at least once a month, and freeze it in single serving portions.

Her soups are FABULOUS. I make those in VAT size containers and freeze enough to last a month.

You’ll have to look up her recipe books in the library or on Amazon because I didn’t find them at her website.

Susan’s site:
www.susanpowteronline.com

Any comments on Ms. Powter’s home page?

Melanie

The whole idea behind the Curves plan is to retrain your metabolism … upwards. You do this with a combination of diet and exercise.

In the book, Gary Heavin goes into all the reasons why diets haven’t worked for you up till now. Then he gets to the “important stuff” … Phase One of the Diet.

You actually have two choices … a Carbohydrate sensitive plan and a Calorie sensitive plan. You choose the plan after you answer a list of questions to determine your main sensitivity.

You stay on Phase One for one to two weeks depending on the total amount of weight you have to lose. Then you move to Phase where you get MORE of everything. And then Phase Three which means you are off a diet and eating regularly.

The Carbohydrate Sensitive plan sounds a LOT like Atkins or many of the other high-protein, low carb plans out there.

I know loads of people love the effects of a high-protein diet (loads of weight loss) but I am really opposed to this because you are inducing a state of ketosis. YES on protein, NO on loading yourself up with bacon, high fat steaks and cream. The good news is that this particular plan allows only LEAN meats, eggs, cheeses, etc.

The Calorie sensitive plan involves eating under 1200 calories a day. It also involves a relatively high protein intake and a cap on the amount of carbs you are allowed each day.

On both of the plans you divide your daily allotments into 6 smaller meals a day.

OK … so am I missing something here? What’s different about these diets?

As far as I can see …NOTHING.

The diet information is packaged in a different way, and is interesting. But the diets themselves are nothing new.

What the book does do:

… In addition to the “diets” there are comprehensive daily eating plans. So if you have trouble coming up with your own menus, these are a good start.

- There is a small section of recipes.

- And … the 30 minute at home workout.

Now to my way of thinking … it is the STUDIO WORKOUT that makes the Curves plan work. If you go to a studio, you have other people there to “urge” you onwards and to keep you going for your allotted 30 minutes.

If you do the at home workout … you’ll need your own motivation. Which is where most people fail and is the reason I focus on the hypnosis and eft techniques … to GET the motivation.

OK … It’s YOUR turn. Has anyone tried the Curves at home routine with any level of success? Tell us what you are doing and how it is working. Is anyone going to a Curves fitness facility? How are you doing? What motivates you go GO … and do you really (as I imagine) get support from other members as well as the staff?

Let’s hear about your CURVES experiences!!

Melanie

Curves International is a exercise weight-loss phenomena that has millions of members throughout North America. They promise “permanent results without permanent dieting.” The concept is that you go to a Curves International franchised fitness studio and workout on their machines for 30 minutes, three times a week.

Does it work?
I’m not a joiner … so I can’t talk about results from attending a studio. I hope that some of you will add comments and let me know what YOUR results are.

What I do have is the Curves book. It consists of a diet plan and a home exercise plan.

The author, Gary Heavin promises that the diet is temporary, and once you have lost the weight, you should be able to eat 2500 - 3000 calories a day and not gain back the weight.

I LIKE that idea!

Heavin also says that his diet has incorporates the fact that you will cheat! It acknowledges the fact that most of us can’t stick to a diet without falling off now and again.

So far, very realistic!

The Curves program (diet and exercise) is designed to raise your metabolism. Which means you will use up more calories doing the same things you normally do.

The meal plan consists of three phases:

Phase One is the kick start … on it you will quickly lose 6 to 10 pounds

Phase Two is the main phase of the program, ideally you will lose 2 pounds a week.

Phase Three is the getting off the diet phase. You will learn how to eat healthy (most of the time) and not gain weight. You will be able to eat around 2500 to 3000 calories.

The exercise plan consists of a home workout for 30 minutes, 3 times a week.

More about Curves tomorrow ….

Melanie

One of the reasons I stalled in my weight loss efforts was because I had a pinched sciatic nerve.

The pain was incredible and excruciating. There were times I would wake up crying … it was THAT bad. After visits to Chiropractors, Massage Therapists and advice from just about everyone, a friend brought over her “body ball” and a book on what the ball could/would do for me. The book interested me enough that I was encouraged to follow up. The book also frustrated me because the directions were long long long and complex.

I ended up taking a class.

That class and the ball made ALL the difference. I am a convert and would not live without the ball now. I spent over three weeks on my back unable to move without pain. I pulled out all the stops (hypnosis, eft) to keep the pain at bay. Once I started using the ball I was up and moving about with days!

Go to http://yamunabodyrolling.com to find out about the life saving balls and to check on some classes in your area. I highly recommend this “therapy” or exercise for anyone with aches, pains, stiffness and the general effects of getting older.

AND it can also help for slimming, trimming and generally looking better. It will add at least an inch to your height and ROLL some of the waist and hip lumps away.

Yamuna Body Rolling: http://yamunabodyrolling.com

Melanie

OK … so all my weight loss efforts have been stalled for the past few months. First I took a nice little cruise. Got back from that with a terrible cold that lasted for weeks. Recovered from the cold to get a pinched siatic nerve that kept me flat on my back for weeks.

The good news is I still managed to lose two pounds. Two pounds may not seem like a lot to celebrate but I look at it this way … I didn’t gain!! Not gaining weight for months on end while I was quite imobile and at times snarfed down tonnes of junk food is very good news to me. It means something is working … I’m just not sure what! Too funny.

Melanie