PFP Week 10 Update

Hello everybody! Happy Monday and start of spring! It's nice to see some sun and warm weather, even if it's supposedly temporary.

I've kind of got a lot going on in my life right now. I'm finishing up my last class before I get my BS and start working on my MBA. My dad is wrapping stuff up in NC and is headed here shortly to help us finish the house in the next month. We're going to be moving back home to NC, so I've started the first stages of packing. I've also got the wedding planning almost done, with some hiccups along the way (including my dress ordered in the wrong size grrr).

I just want to let you guys know that I still love all of you, still love the blog, the blogging community, etc. but please understand if I'm not as active in the next few weeks with my posting and commenting.

My progress for the week:
I weighed myself mid-week and had gained, but weighed myself now and am 1 pound less than last week's weight. Phew! That's stil a -2lb. weight loss from the start. Enough with this yo-yoing!!! Still holding strong on the "no soda challenge."

Beth (aka Biz) checked in on Facebook:
She's down ANOTHER 2 pounds! A grand total of 8.8, and only .2 lbs from her 5% weight loss award from WW!!

Amanda updates:
She is staying the same, but would like to lose something next week. Her total weight loss is still around 7 lbs!

Menu Plan for the week:
I'm going to take a hiatus from the menu plan in the meantime. I want to work our way through the freezer and pantry before the move, so I'm going to be more in a "throw meals together" mode instead of planning and purchasing specific menu items.

Tip of the week:

There are some really great food documentaries out there. If you have Netflix, quite a few are on streaming, otherwise you can rent them.

Health wise I've watched Killer at Large: Why Obesity is America's Greatest Threat and Food Matters. Both of these really wake you up about some of the goings on in our bad health, FDA rules, food production, etc. Some obvious shock and awe bits, but for the most part they are really informative and compelling.

Entertainment wise I've also watched Kings of Pastry and Pressure Cooker. These are really awesome if you're into food and competitions. Kings of Pastry follows french pastry chefs fighting for the highest honor in France and Pressure Cooker follows a Philadelphia high school culinary class as the students compete for culinary scholarships to go to college.

There is a HSN Spring Weekend Event being hosted by Bon Appetit March 26-27th. Click here to check out the schedule, which features some well-known chefs, and some of the great products they're offering.

*Disclaimer - I'm receiving a $10 HSN card for posting the above notice and link. I'm going to be selfish and keep it for myself since we have the upcoming move and wedding which require tons of purchases.

PFP Week 9 Update

Hi everybody! Sorry this update is a day late. I was in Florida for my cousin's wedding and we just got back yesterday.

This is me with my little brother. Michael before the ceremony. The 3 piece suit and shoes he's wearing were my dad's from the 70's.

Here I am with my two cousins at the reception. The one on the left, Michele, is the Maid of Honor, and the one on the right, Alicia, is the bride (duh).

It was nice to be in some sunshine for a few days, I even got a little bit of a burn!

My progress for the week:
I weigh the same as last week. I was a lot more active in the past week with all the walking around airports, out with family, and shopping. I think that countered any of the good food I ate while out of town. I DID have one of those small airplane cups of ginger ale on the flight out. Technically that goes against the "no soda" mini goal, but my stomach hurt and it was such a small serving I went for it anyways. The rest of the trip and the return flight I successfully avoided soda.

Beth's update:
She has not weighed in because she feels like that will trigger some ED thoughts. She has successfully avoided binging and other set-backs!

Beth (aka Biz) checks in to say:
She is down another 1.8 lbs. She also ran her fasted 2 mile at 22:40, or an 11:20 mph pace!

Mel needs some motivation!
She is up another pound, but still down a total of .6. Let's help her out with some motivation here and on the Facebook page!

Laura checked in:
After a month of illness and teen drama, she is back, feels good, and is ready to go! She thought of healthy meals and made them, has been drinking copious amounts of water to cleanse her system, and walked her dogs 40 minutes.

Menu Plan for the week:
tuna noodle casserole (recipe will be posted soon)
New England Boiled Dinner (for St. Pat's)
Taco Pie (also posted here- Revisit: Taco Pie)
Meatloaf (J's request)

Tip of the week:

(Source)

Raw nuts! They're a great, healthy snack that packs a punch of super-filling protein.

Here is a great article about raw nuts (and seeds) here.

I highly recommend NutsOnline.com for all your nuts and seed purchases. Everything I have bought from them arrives quickly and they have amazing prices and quality.

The Ridiculously Delicious Challenge - Stage 3

Thank you for your votes, everybody! Because of you, I have successfully made it to Stage 3 of the Ridiculously Delicious Challenge, hosted by Marx Foods!

In this stage of the challenge, I had to choose one of the other 14 blogger's recipes who advanced and makeover their recipe utilizing three of my unused ingredients from the original eight mystery ingredients.

After perusing the widely diverse recipes, I chose to interpret the Moroccan inspired fish tacos and coleslaw by Lawyer Loves Lunch in a new way.

My makeover uses a different flavor inspiration - the lively Jamaican jerk seasoning. Jerk seasoning is such a unique spice/marinade. It uses sweet, spicy, hot, salty, all in one burst of unmatched flavor. I looked through recipe after recipe until I found a list of must-have inclusions. In place of the traditional brown sugar, habanero chilis, and black pepper I used the coconut sugar, Tepin chilis, and Szechuan peppercorns, respectively. I feel like these ingredients still represent Jerk seasoning's complexity, while adding a diverse spin.

Jerk seasoning:
1/3 cup coconut sugar
3 gloves garlic, minced
7 or 8 dried Tepin chilis, ground (more or less depending on your spice tolerance)
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp Szechuan peppercorns, ground
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground Thyme
1 small onion, minced (can use green onions/chives)
2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Coleslaw:
1/4 wedge of small green cabbage
2 Tbsp mayo
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp celery seed
salt and pepper, to taste

Additional:
1 lb. cod fillets
10 6" tortillas (your choice of corn or flour)

Begin by mixing the Jerk seasoning ingredients in a shallow glass dish. Taste and adjust seasonings to your personal preference.

Liberally cover the cod fillets in the Jerk and allow to marinate for at least two hours.

Chop the cabbage into bite sized pieces. Mix the remaining ingredients together with the cabbage. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours for the flavors to develop.

Heat a griddle pan to high. Cook the cod fillets through, until they begin to flake.

Plate your fish tacos using the warmed tortillas, generous chunks of the Jerk marinated cod, and a healthy forkful of the coleslaw.


This is such an explosion of flavors. The Jerk seasoning covers every tastebud on your tongue with heat, sweet, spice, warmth, salty, and peppery. The coleslaw is very tart and refreshing, a nice addition to the other complex flavors.


Only 10 of the 15 Stage 3 competitors will move to Stage 4, so wish me luck! There will be no voting for this round. The 8 recipes chosen the most times to be made over will move up and Marx Food's opinions will determine the other 2 advancers.

Edited to add: My 2nd choice makeover choice would have been Snippet of Sue's salmon.

PFP Week 8 Update

My progress for the week:
Up 1 pound. I stuck to my meal plan throughout the week. Then we ate unhealthy things over the weekend. Week 1 of no soda a success!

Janelle's progress:
Despite it being her daughter's birthday week, she was still down .8 pounds!

Beth (aka Biz) reports:
She checked in with WW for the first time in 3 weeks, since having to concur her husband's cancer and hospital stay. She only gained .6 pounds during all of that stress! She gets to keep her -5 pound sticker! Awesome news!

Jenn's goal this week:
To get her ass in gear and workout in the morning, despite not being a morning person.

Menu Plan for the week:
leftovers
I also need to do a freezer and pantry inventory

Tip of the week:

Water!!! When trying to get healthy it is so important to drink plenty of water throughout the day.

Some important health benefits:

• can decrease your appetite
• contains important nutrients and oxygen
• helps remove waste from the body
• helps regulate body temperature
• keeps bowel movements normal

To calculate how much water you should be drinking, begin with your weight and divide by two. The resulting number is how many ounces of water you should be drinking daily.


I have some "fun" glasses that I devote to my daily water intake . I chose these glasses because it's easier to get excited about drinking water and to remember to refill them multiple times throughout the day. Invest in a reusable, refillable water bottle. I never leave the house without filling up my Sigg.

If plain water starts to bore you, you can thinly slice lemon or cucumber to "fruitify" your water. It adds a crisp, refreshing taste without the unhealthy addition of flavored packets, added sugar, or empty calories.

One Click!

Hi everybody, please take a minute to CLICK HERE and vote for my Lucia Buns at Marx Foods blog!

It's just one click to vote, no registration required. Thank you!

PFP Week 7 Update

My progress for the week:
Somehow I'm down 1 pound. Not sure how or why. I ate CRAP - fast food, a frappachino, pizza twice. But I did use my under the desk pedal bike pretty much every day! This week I really need to get my food choices back on track.

Beth checked in on Facebook:
She had a cold/flu this past week that made her eating go out the window, too. She's frustrated with her poor choices and possibly erasing past progress.

Beth (aka Biz) let us know:
Her husband is finally home from the hospital! She did not go to her WW weigh in, but this week she plans on working out 4 days, staying within her points, and sticking to her meal plan.

Janelle has good news:
She's down another pound!

Mel updates us:
She is maintaining her current overall loss of -1.4 pounds. Her goals this week are no soda, cardio workouts during her lunch break, and menu planning!

Good job everybody! It seems some of us have hit a speed bump, or have had a lot going on with sickness (in our family or us). I'm really proud that we're still reporting to each other and making attempts to get back on track. Even if we stumble, it is such a good thing to acknowledge that and to make the effort to chug forward with new goals to achieve.

Menu plan for the week:
baked eggplant parmesan (already have the ingredients)
Stuffed Green Peppers (filming for a video post)
Vegetable and Rice quiche
leftovers

Tip of the week:

My mom has these old VHS exercise tapes. Two of them are awesome - 8 minute arms and 8 minute legs. I loved them so much I bought my own copy from Amazon and had Johnny upload them onto his computer then burn them in DVD format.

I get really discouraged/ADD when working out. These are really short and to the point. Each repitition is only 30 seconds, so just when I'm starting to get bored it switches. It even has a countdown and visual progress so I can SEE how close I am to being done!

The host's name is Jaime Brenkus (what a hottie! wink wink) and he also has 8 minute buns and 8 minute abs, although I haven't done either of those. Check for them on Amazon, and also maybe on Netflix or YouTube!

Short term goal:
How about we commit to a short term goal and report back in one month (week 11 update) to see if we succeeded? This was Mel's idea, and I think it's great to be able to meet small goals on our way to our overall goal. I propose that we don't drink any soda until the week 11 update! If you're in just let me know in the comments or on the Facebook wall!

The Ridiculously Delicious Challenge - Stage 2

I advanced to stage 2 of Marx Food's Ridiculously Delicious Challenge! Each of us that advanced were sent a mystery box containing eight ingredients. We have to use two of them in this recipe. I chose an unlikely pair: saffron threads and dried tart cherries.

While researching saffron I came across a Swedish tradition called Lucia Buns. These are rolls, laced with saffron, baked during the feast of St. Lucia, on December 13th. The rolls are traditionally formed into an "S" or a cross of two "S" shapes and studded with currants or raisins. I chose to replace the traditional dried fruit with the dried tart cherries.

I started with a plain yeast roll recipe and worked from there.

1/2 cup warm water
1 pkg (2 1/4 tsp) yeast
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter
1 egg
1 tsp salt
6 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp saffron threads
5 cups flour

1 egg
2 Tbsp water
handful of dried tart cherries

In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the warm water and yeast. Let sit a few minutes to dissolve and start to foam. Next, add the boiling water, cold water, and melted butter to the mixer, beating on low. Beat the egg and add that to the mixer with the salt.

In a small bowl, mix the sugar and the saffron threads. Using the back of a spoon, grind the saffron threads against the abrasive sugar. Work them together for a few minutes, breaking the saffron up until it becomes fragrant and mixes throughout the sugar. (A mortar and pestle can be used here if you have one.) Add this to the stand mixer.

Now, 1/2 cup at a time, gradually add the flour. The dough will be sticky and start to pull away from the side of the bowl. Let run for a few minutes on low speed until the dough gets a shiny, smooth look and is very elastic.

Oil a large bowl and turn the dough out into it. Let it rise in a warm spot for at least an hour until doubled in size. Punch down.

Form into 12-14 balls. With floured hands, roll each one into a cord about 8-9" long. Shape onto a greased baking sheet in the shape of an "S."

Mix the second egg with a couple tablespoons of water and beat. Brush lightly onto the tops of the rolls. Stud the center of each curl in with a dried cherry or two. Let rise another 30-60 minutes.

Bake in a 400° oven for 12-14 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack. Delicious eaten warm.



Johnny and I could barely wait for these to get off of the baking sheet to try them! They poufed up so beautifully, I was actually really proud of myself. This is my first success with baking rolls! I've never been able to get any results better than dried out, hard pucks.


The insides were speckled with a fantastic bright yellow from the saffron. I would say that the saffron's presence in the roll was more of an aromatic experience, tasted through the sinuses and the back of the throat, versus a strong flavor on the tongue. I loved the tart cherries on the top, it was a startling sour, chewy treat on an otherwise fluffy cloud of comfort.

I'm glad I didn't wait for December 13th to make these! Johnny and I will be enjoying them for breakfast and snacks for a few days.

Voting for the Ridiculously Delicious Challenge will be held March 1-4th. If you like my recipe, I will post links and tweet when it is time for you to vote!

PFP Week 6 Update

My progress for the week:
I'm up 2 pounds from last week's weigh in, which I anticipated. That 5 pound loss had to have been a fluke, but I'm still down a little over 3 pounds overall since the start of the challenge. I could have made wiser food choices a few times. Exercise this week was a lot more walking than usual since I've been out and about with the warmer weather. We also went roller skating Saturday night for about an hour!

Jenn updates:
She didn't exercise this past week, but is working on making a workout room that is all her own!

Beth let us know:
She is maintaining her same weight. She worked out HARD 4 days this week and her goal for next week is 5 days!

Beth (aka Biz) checked in:
She's had a hectic couple of weeks with Tony's cancer and surgery. She isn't too happy with her recent food choices and hasn't worked out in over a week. She has her food planned out for the next couple days, though.

Menu plan for the week:
Ratatouille Grilled Panini Recipe - Rachael Ray
Baked Crab Rangoon
breakfast for dinner

Tip of the week:
I recently saw a news article talking about the benefits of a portable desk pedal machine. I thought it was brilliant and they're relatively inexpensive, so I got one!! According to the article, dedicated pedallers can burn up to 500 calories a day, but the average is closer to about 20-30 minute pedaling stints, burning 180 calories. I'll take it!

(Ignore the dust and wires- under the desk shots aren't gonna be pretty!)

I only just got it Friday, but I've noticed myself using it a few times while in front of the computer over the weekend. It's cool to think something that used to be a sedentary act can now have the potential to burn calories! It was a little over $20 and through Amazon sellers you can get free shipping! It was a few twists of knobs to put it together, no tools required. Anybody with a desk job might consider getting one! It can double as an arm workout too, according to the instructions.

PFP Week 5 Update

Happy Valentine's Day everybody! Johnny and I celebrated yesterday by going to one of our favorite places in the world, Lincoln Park Zoo. My special gibbon friend, Caruso, had a baby, so we wanted to go check him/her out! Awww! Just one month old!


My progress for the week:
I have stopped weighing myself everyday because I'm not a fan of the constant reminder, or seeing it go up and down .2 pounds here and there. I am down 5 pounds since my weigh in last week, but I'm not sure how accurate that is. We did not eat out once this week, I made sure to stick to the meal plan. When others hanging out with us got fast food, I passed. We walked a lot at the zoo and also every time I go to the store I park at the end of the parking lot for the extra exercise.

Beth updated us on Facebook:
She is down 1.5ish pounds!

Jennelle is a new PFP member:
She has already lost 12 pounds on her own before joining the challenge!! She's down 3.8 pounds this week and accredits it to not drinking.

Mel has good news:
She is officially down 1 pound!

Jenn let us know:
She avoided temptations at work and bypassed the treats and extra large cookies from a luncheon!

Beth (aka Biz) reports:
She maintained her current weight loss this week and is neither down or up. (Beth's husband was recently diagnosed with cancer, so she's been dealing with the stress of that. I'm really proud of her for keeping on a healthy track despite all that stress! I know if it were me, I'd probably be living on a drive-thru diet.)

Menu Plan for the week:
(I still have some of the items from last week to get through. I'm going to list healthy items in this section and will get to them in the next week or two, since I haven't been good at cooking them up right away!)
Baked eggplant parm
Chicken and barley soup
Fish Creole

Tip of the week:


If you already have a Netflix account, it is a great place for workout and exercise DVDs. If you have streaming, all the better! I've streamed videos on my computer and through our Wii. I love it because you can try out a bunch of different types of workouts without the expensive of purchasing them only to find out you hate them!

The Ridiculously Delicious Challenge - Stage 1

Marx Foods has challenged me. And I accept.

The Goodie List

Kobe Beef Sliders OR Kobe Beef Burgers	Whole Quail OR Semi-Boneless Quail
Wild Boar St. Louis Spare Ribs	Pink Salmon Fillets
Kangaroo Burgers OR Ground Kangaroo Meat	Wild Mushroom Sampler (contents may change)
Live Oyster Sampler	Ultimate Chile Head Sampler
10lb Specialty Burger Sampler	Mega Pantry Sampler
Pekin Duck Breasts	Fresh Blood Oranges
5lbs Frozen Wild Huckleberries	20lb Heirloom Potato Sampler
1lb Fresh Daruma Wasabi	Specialty Sausage Sampler
14lb Dried Bean Sampler	1lb Bourbon Vanilla Beans
Superior Spanish Saffron Threads	2 Live Geoducks
Edible Flower Assortment & Microflower Blend

My first task: Choose three of the goodies above and answer "what would I do with them if I won?"

I hemmed, I hawed.

I pondered weak and weary. I nodded, nearly napping.

Finally, finally I decided on three.

(Source)

Duck ...


Duck ...

...Potato!?

Duck breasts because Johnny and I have fallen in love with roasted duck. I even made it for Thanksgiving in lieu of the oft boring turkey. I would roast a few of them, of course. I would also use my ever-growing collection of precious duck fat to confit them.

Sausages because it's in my blood. My dad has made sausage my whole life (and has even e-mailed Justin about trying it!) and I respect it as a true art form. The sausage sampler (containing many duck options) looks like a real adventure I'd like to partake on! To appreciate the sausages' true flavors, I would most likely cook them plain and pair with complimentary side dishes, like polenta.

Heirloom potatoes because they're beautiful! I've heard of heirloom tomatoes, but never heirloom potatoes. I can't wait to sample the different varieties and see their stunning hues on my plate! I think I'd try my hand at gnocchi again, but with a blue or purple variety. How cool would that look!?

PFP Week 4 Update

Hi guys! Hard to believe another week has flown by. We're a MONTH into the challenge!

My progress for the week:
I got out of the habit of weighing myself everyday when I went to NY. I need to restart that. I had been down about a pound (hard to tell when you weigh everyday), but seem to have gained that back. I have been making an effort to be less stagnant during the day and also have reset my sleep schedule, which I know makes me more active during the day. We'll see if this initiates any weight loss by next week's check in. I still need to make a real, conscious effort to exercise in some form (ie: DVDs, walks, etc.)!!!

Laura's update:
lost .2 and joined a gym

I am working out at least 3 days a week
full weight lifting circuit +bike before that and elliptical afterward
the gym is 24 hours a day so I can zip down anytime and burn off steam
I'm trying to do things that don't involve ankle stress
pain makes me eat, which makes me fat which makes more pain
what a vicious cycle!
So low impact cardio and strength training plus a good and healthy diet should really ramp up my weight loss

Debbie's progress:
She has been taking a 6 mile walk twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. She's been charting her walks on Dailymile to track them.

Beth aka Biz checked in on the Facebook page:
She did a 5k on the treadmill in 41:12 (on a day she didn't even want to work out!) and was down another .6 this week for her WW weigh in. She's down a total of 5.6 pounds in six weeks!

Beth also checked in on Facebook:
- after being sick, I restarted exercising, and began using my new Turbo Jams DVDs (which I looove). I've exercised for 3 days straight now. Yay!
- I'm tracking food intake and trying to snack appropriately between meals, and have been staying within a nutritious calorie range
- I'm down 2 lbs. since I last weighed 4 days ago -- wow!
- I'm feeling good in body, mind, and spirit ♥

Menu Plan for the week:
Baked eggplant parm
1 crust chicken pot pie
Penne with cauliflower sauce
Marx burgers (company for dinner that night)
leftovers

Tip of the week:

Freecycle is a community of people in a neighborhood by you, with one goal: avoid putting unwanted items in landfills.

It's really simple to use - you visit freecycle.org and join based on your location. Then you can post to request items or to get rid of items. Everything is 100% free, they just ask that you balance your wants to your offers to remain fair.

I'm telling you about Freecycle because I find it's a great place for exercise equipment. Many, many people have treadmills, bikes, DVDs, weights, etc. that they no longer want. I was able to get a dumbell set with a stand completely free from a woman a few miles from my home that I use with my workout DVDs.

PFP Week 3 Update

Hello everybody!

My progress for the week:
I avoid mentioning it on the blog beforehand, but I actually was out of town from Wednesday through today. For the roadtrip I packed healthy snacks like crackers with peanut butter, apples, Kashi bars, popchips, and a reusable water bottle I refilled many times. I could have made better fast food choices, but it's hard to eat a salad or chili while driving. My mom and I walked miles and miles around wedding venue options, so that counts as my exercise this week! Seeing myself in wedding dresses made me realize I need to add arm exercises to the regimen, too.

Debbie's progress:
Same weight but feel this is an accomplishment after all the incredible food on our NY trip!
Walked today even though it was my bday and I had just gotten home!
I promise tomorrow begins sit ups!

Menu plan for the week:
Just got back in town, need to regroup, then I'll edit this

Tip of the week:
One of my problems, which I know some of you have as well, is late night snacking. I will do great during the day and then add a lot of excess calories with snacking before bed. Something I've found that helps is brushing my teeth a little while after dinner. This leaves a minty, clean feeling in my mouth which deters me from wanting to eat. Also, I'm lazy and I know I won't want to make the effort to have to re-brush my teeth if I eat. Try it and see if it works for you too!

PFP Week 2 Update

Hello everybody! It's hard to believe we're already into week 2 of the challenge.

My progress for the week:
I didn't lose any weight, but I also didn't gain any weight. I stuck to my meal plan, except a few of the meals from last week will roll over into this week's plan because I always forget to account for leftovers! We ate out once and it was Wendy's, but instead of ordering that awesome new Guacamole Bacon Burger I thought of you guys and got the baked potato and chili instead. I stayed away from soda and sugary drinks - only consuming hot tea or water (sometimes spiked with a lemon slice).

Mel's report for this week:
This morning's weigh-in had me .8 of a pound less than last Wednesday. Not the best progress, but with my behavior (eating out way too much) over the past week -- it's better than a gain. .8 down / 32.2 pounds left to shed! (For future reference, Mel checks in with me on Wednesdays because of another challenge she is participating in.)

Laura reports:
yeah!! I lost 3 1/2 pounds this week
I drank 2-3 quarts of water every day
I watched what I ate making sure to enjoy the vegetable side of life too
I did indulge in chocolate twice, went out for lunch once and stayed away from
any super sweet coffee or cocoa drinks while out with a friend
my biggest challenge is moving every day because I am always 'on the go' I feel hard pressed to take that time to myself but we did go sledding for a couple hours yesterday
this week I plan to work on moving more, staying hydrated and avoiding the pitfall of feeling deprived

Jenn checked in to say:
I had a great week. I am on week 3.

Here are some things I did:

exercised 5 days
avoided food at work (cake, cookies, donuts)
Brought my food to work
Logged in my daily calories into www.myfitnesspal.com

Debbie emailed:
I walked almost everyday 3-4 miles
only ate fruit before bed
MUCHO veggies all day
seriously BAGS of veggies-spinach, carrots, celery, mushrooms
was bad on weekend
Pasta , bread, steak (jumbo helping)
more water, less wine
NO sit ups:(
lost 2lbs

My menu plan for the week: (incomplete)
cabbage nests
baked tofu

Tip of the week:

For those of you (ladies) interested in taking a multi-vitamin*, this is the one I have been taking for about 8 months. I have tried a few brands in the past, but they usually make my stomach hurt. I did a lot of research about what vitamins and minerals should be included and which amounts, and this seemed to be the most all inclusive with the added iron and calcium as a bonus.

The 90 tablet bottle is about $11 in stores by me. If tablets are hard for you to swallow, it also comes in a liquid softgel pill, which is more expensive (about $12 for a 60 pill bottle). Being the frugal gal that I am, I appreciate that they have occasional buy 1 get 1 free sales. The Sunday paper also has a $1 off NatureMade coupon frequently to clip. They offer a Wellness Rewards program on their site, where you enter a code from the bottle to collect points to earn prizes and coupons too!

*Disclaimer - I am not a health professional. Please talk to your doctor before taking a vitamin to see if it's right for you. This is just my recommendation for a brand that I have personally used and like.

PFP Week 1 Update

Hi everybody! I'm so glad many of you decided to join me in this challenge. I'm horrible at motivating myself, so hopefully this will finally do the trick!

• At the top of the page, just below my header is now a Pound for Pound Challenge tab. You can click that to see the PFP information, all of the participant bios, and I will add the update links to it weekly.

• Each Monday I am going to be posting an update, so if participants could please e-mail me any updates they want to share by Sunday, that would be much appreciated. You do not have to update every week, but I will try to check in with everybody as often as I can.
  

• The update post will include a menu plan for the upcoming week. One of the things I noticed is that I make bad choices when I haven't planned ahead and shopped accordingly.

• I will also include a tip to share for that week to keep us all moving in a positive direction. It could range from a product I like, an exercise, a healthy recipe, a motivating book or movie, etc.
  

• If you have anything you would also like to share with the group you are encouraged to do so! I have added all of the participants to a private Facebook group where you can chat amongst yourselves, share recipes, ask for support, brag about progress, etc.
  

I know this is a bit confusing in the beginning, so please let me know if you have any questions or need clarification!

My progress for the week:
Unfortunately, I kind of held off until this post for an "official" start to the challenge. Hopefully this will kick my ass into high gear since it's up and I'm being held accountable now. There were two days this past week Johnny and I had to go to the mall by our house (gag), which equaled a lot of walking around. I also tried to consciously make wiser meal choices, but could have been better. I just shopped and bought really great items, so that will make the coming week easier. I'm weighing myself daily and that has been fluctuating in a four pound window. For now I think it's safe to say I haven't lost anything yet.

My menu plan for the week:
Ground chicken tacos with fat free cheese and sour cream
Cabbage nests
Butternut squash soup (made with skim milk in place of cream)
Sweet and sour chicken casserole (in my head it's good!)
1 crust chicken pot pie (idea from Biz)

Tip for the week:
Dailymile is a terrific free resource for tracking your exercise progress. I have mine linked to my Facebook account, so it auto-posts to my wall. It allows you to select a workout, use Google maps to outline your routes, keep track of time spent working out, asks how you felt, lets you add notes about the workout, and calculates the calories you burned.

After you add your workouts, it compiles all of the information in an easy-to read progress report you can view by day, week, month, or at year's end. I used it during the summer when I was in North Carolina and loved it! It's a great tool to really see the time and effort you put into exercising, even if the scale doesn't always reflect it.