Chellez, Great job pulling this all together. I know you worked hard. I'm excited to be doing a BL challenge again. I am doing this 2 weeks post surgery, but surgeon #1 has given me the ok to get back to walking. Let's see what surgeon #2 says today. Regardless, I've started seeing the weight drop again, which excites me!!!
I do a lot of browsing on the internet and I find all these articles online. So I'm going to attempt to find a good one each day so it helps motivate us through the day and this challenge. Who knows..... maybe we might lose some weight!
Any advice or tips in the following article are the authors opinion and do not reflect the mass opinion of the article's source's website, The Biggest Loser or that of 3fatchicks.com. You should first consult with a physician before making any changes to your diet or exercise.
Cutting Down on Sugar
By: Reader's Digest
Ten ways to get rid of the sweet stuff.
America is a country drowning in sugar. In fact, the amount of sugar we eat and drink every year has soared nearly 30 percent since 1983 and is likely a major contributor to the soaring rates of overweight and obesity in this country. Even worse, since sugary foods often replace more healthy foods, nutrition experts say the influx of sweets indirectly contributes to diseases like osteoporosis, heart disease, and cancer--all of which are directly affected by what we eat.
Although the USDA recommends we get no more than 10 teaspoons of sugar a day, the average American downs about 34 teaspoons--more than three times as much. In this third chapter on carbohydrates, we show you ways to get your sugar consumption down to healthy levels. But beware: Uncovering all the sugar in your diet isn’t easy. Sugar often hides under several pseudonyms and turns up in even the most innocuous foods (like bread, crackers, salad dressing, ketchup, and mustard). But with the following tips, you should be able to have your cake and eat it too.
1. Cut down slowly. Forget going cold turkey. Therein lies failure. Instead, if you normally have two candy bars a day, cut to one a day. Then next week, one every other day. The following week, one every three days, until you’re down to just one a week. If you normally take 2 teaspoons of sugar in your coffee, use the same routine, cutting down to 11/2 teaspoons for a week, then 1, then 1/2. Eventually, get to the point where you’re using artificial sweetener if you still need the sweet taste. The more sugar you eat, the more you’ll crave. So cutting down slowly is the best way to tame a sweet tooth gone wild.
2. Go half and half. Mix half a regular soda with half a diet soda. Half a carton of sweetened yogurt with half a carton of plain yogurt. Half a cup of regular juice with half a cup of seltzer. Do this for two weeks, then cut back to one-quarter sweetened to three-quarters unsweetened. Continue until you’re only drinking the unsweetened version.
3. Grant yourself a daily sugar “quota,” and use it on foods where it matters most. For most of us, that means desserts. Don’t waste it on dressings, spreads, breakfast cereals, and soda. Not only will this reduce your sugar intake in a day, but it will help you lose your sweet tooth. Sugar is incredibly addictive: The more you eat, the more addictive it becomes and the more it takes to satisfy you. The opposite is also true: Train your taste buds to become accustomed to less and you’ll be satisfied with less.
4. Establish rules about dessert. For instance, only have dessert after dinner, never lunch. Only eat dessert on odd days of the month, or only on weekends, or only at restaurants. If you have a long tradition of daily desserts, then make it your rule to have raw fruit at least half the time.
5. Similarly, establish rules about ice cream. A half gallon of ice cream in the freezer is temptation defined. A rule we recommend: No ice cream kept at home. Ice cream should always be a treat worth traveling for.
6. Instead of downing sugary-sweet drinks like lemonade, make your own “sun tea.” Steep decaffeinated tea bags in water and set the pitcher in the sun for a couple of hours. Add lemon, lots of ice and sugar substitute for a carb-free summer quaff.
7. Buy dietetic condiments at the grocery store. Given that 1 tablespoon ketchup can contain about 1/2 teaspoon sugar, buying sugar-free condiments can make a big dent in your sugar consumption. Most condiments and other packaged foods for people with diabetes are made without sugar or with sugar substitutes.
8. Remember these code words found on ingredient lists. The only way to know if the processed food you’re buying contains sugar is to know its many aliases or other forms. Here are the common ones: brown sugar, corn syrup, dextrin, dextrose, fructose, fruit juice concentrate, high-fructose corn syrup, galactose, glucose, honey, hydrogenated starch, invert sugar maltose, lactose, mannitol, maple syrup, molasses, polyols, raw sugar, sorghum, sucrose, sorbitol, turbinado sugar, and xylitol.
9. Look for hidden sources of sugar. Cough syrups, chewing gum, mints, tomato sauce, baked beans, and lunch meats often contain sugar. Even some prescription medications contain sugar. For a week, be particularly vigilant and scan every possible food label. You likely won’t forget what you’ll find.
10. If you must eat sweets, eat them with meals. The other foods will help increase salivary flow, thus clearing the sugary foods from your mouth faster and helping prevent cavities. Of course, this does nothing for the calories you’re imbibing and won’t affect your weight, but at least you’ll have a healthier mouth.
Just wanted to say hi to my fellow blue team members! I'm sort of a newbie here, and I'm very, very excited to be a part of TBL with all of you. I look forward to getting to know you all better and, of course, kicking butt!
Hey all, I thought it would be cool if all the blue team members had consistent tickers for the challenge - you know, kind of like our "uniform" - easily recognizable wherever we may be on this site. So I'm going to copy Chellez's, and while I know it's a personal decision, it would be cool if we all had a ticker id'ing us as participants in the challenge. SO Chell, I'm not stalking you, I'm copying yours on purpose for the image of the team!! lol You can keep your other personal or total progress ticker up too if you have one, we're all allowed 2 in our siggy. What do you guys think??
I am so excited and very ready to get this party started!
Go Blue team, let's kick some butt ladies!
I look forward to getting to know each and every one of you and about the ticker...I'll wait and see what everyone else says about taking Chellez's...but I like the idea.
Hello fellow blue team members! I am very excited about the start of this challenge, and I'm looking forward to seeing the blue team beat the red team by .01 pounds, after a fierce competition!
I am going to be doing WW @ Home since I already have all the tools and it's what I know best. I'm also going to be counting calories along with my points. Gonna cut sweets, and white foods (Breads, rice, potatoes, & processed foods). I will concentrate on eating my fruits & veggies and also since I am an emotional eater, everytime I feel like eating because I am stressed out or upset, I'm gonna do the 2 mile WATP (Walk Away The Pounds). I am also going to think of other way's of rewarding myself besides a treat from DQ, LOL! Good Luck everyone!!!!
Here is a email I recieved this morning with a lil' tid-bit:
Whether you're new to the Zone or a longtime follower, chances are the New Year finds you setting weight-loss goals for the months to come. In fact, a study released by the Mayo Clinic shows that 40 percent of all Americans make New Year's resolutions with weight-loss and fitness-related goals topping the list.
At the Zone Diet Online, we know that rapid weight loss never results in a loss of body fat — which is your ultimate goal. So while people on other diets may boast of shedding 5 pounds in a week or 15 pounds in a month, those "lost" pounds are probably due to lost water weight or even muscle mass, neither of which leads to permanent weight loss. By contrast, Dr. Sears advocates a weight-loss rate of about 1 to 1.5 pounds of fat per week (the equivalent of six sticks of butter)! At this rate, your five-week total could be 10 pounds.
While setting your sights on a realistic goal, be sure to pay attention to the other rewards of living in the Zone: Within five days you will feel less hunger and tired, for instance, and within two weeks you'll notice that your clothes fit better, especially around your waist.
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I don't do the Zone, but I do find their advice very helpful, so I thought I'd share.
TBL "New Year/ New You" - Blue Team Chat
Wooooo Hooooo! Go 
Sorry about that. This is a chat just for the 
I'm so freekin' excited!!!! We are going to kick butt! 
Just wanted to say hi to my fellow blue team members! 
I'm sort of a newbie here, and I'm very, very excited to be a part of TBL with all of you. I look forward to getting to know you all better and, of course, kicking butt! 
to everyone!
