8 Week Get Healthy Challenge: Final Evaluation

So I'm a little late, but last week was the final week of our diet. And boy was I happy about that. I can finally eat sugar again! :) But I learned a couple things from this experience:

• I never drank enough water during the day and now I really like to.
• I also never ate enough fruits and vegetables during the day, but it's not hard to, and eating the right amount isn't as many as you think it is. (our challenge required us to eat 3 servings of vegetable a day with a "serving" defined as 1/2 cup)
• Eating fruits and vegetables is delicious! 
• I love working out. I kind of already knew that, but being required to work out 5 days a week helped me remember that I need to do it more, because it just makes me happy.
• I hate keeping a food journal. I even use My Fitness Pal (an app I use on my Kindle Fire) and it's not that exciting. It's boring and it seems pointless. 
• I love sugar. And forcing me to only eat sugar once a week isn't a good idea, but I was actually very good at following that. :)
• My uncle loses weight way too easily and we should never go in a weight loss competition with him ever again. 
• It's a lot easier than I thought to lose weight.

Seriously, that last one is true. Because... I LOST EIGHT POUNDS DOING THIS CHALLENGE!  Yay! And now, since I'm able to eat sugar again, I've gained it all back! Just kidding, it only feels like it because I've been splurging on sugar this week. I still want to lose ten more pounds but since I didn't even notice losing the first eight pounds, it shouldn't be that hard to lose ten more. I'm setting a goal for myself to lose the ten pounds before my wedding. Which gives me a lot of time (at the rate my boyfriend is going for getting me a ring). That even means I can get through the major holidays coming up the next few months, and then lose my weight after (I'm only being realistic, I know how much candy I eat at Christmas time). 

So to help me lose my ten more pounds, I'm starting my own challenge with my readers! I'm going to figure out what it's all about then post more information later. But if you want to be a part of my challenge to lose ten pounds, please leave a comment to let me know you're interested. 

I love my readers! Thanks for stopping by!

--Kaylee

Product Review: Jillian Michaels Extreme Shed and Shred!

So I started doing this workout video. There are two levels, I've done level 1 a couple times and level 2 only once. But my goodness, this really is an extreme workout.

Extreme Shed and Shred is designed to give you a strengthened and toned body fast! When you buy the DVD it comes with a meal plan to help you get all over nutrition and fitness to give you the perfect body. The DVD is my mom's so I haven't done the meal plan. But combining this video with the 8-Week Get Healthy Challenge that I'm currently doing, and I think I'll be okay.

Everyday I wake up sore because of this DVD. I don't know if you've seen The Biggest Loser at all, but Jillian Michaels is tough. "TV's toughest trainer" as some people call her. This workout is definitely hard core.  If you're looking for something to really tone you, I would highly recommend this video.

What's more, most workout DVD's I can't even finish. This DVD, I can finish it. I'm a sweaty, exhausted, sore wreck after it, but I can finish it. Which is a big accomplishment for me. It's hard work, you can feel it working, but it's not like any of the moves are impossible to do (which in some videos, that's what it seems like). My abs get so sore, so I'm hoping this will help me get my six pack abs. :)

I know there are youtube videos of this workout, so if you want to check it out more, just look it up. You can also find more on the website: http://jillianmichaels.shop.sportstoday.com/Dept.aspx?cp=14308_39474.

--Kaylee

8 Week Get Healthy Challenge: Week 1 Evaluation

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I've posted, but I'm back with lots of things to tell the world about. First on my list is this 8 Week Get Healthy Challenge my family is doing (original blog post found here: http://whenthe-cows-comehome.blogspot.com/2012/08/8-week-weight-loss-get-healthy-challenge.html ).

Okay. This get healthy/ weight loss program is really cool. it focuses more on being healthy than losing a ton of weight. It's a competition between my family members and the friends competing in it. This program was found on http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/ but my aunt started it for our family. I'm told we have 29 people participating!

So we all finished our first week of the program. Here is a list of what we have to do:

• Make contact with a teammate (1pt)
• Drink 64 oz of water (3 pts)
• Stop eating before 9pm (3 pts)
• 2 servings of fruit (3 pts)
• 3 servings of vegetables (5 pts)
• No sweets/ sugary treats (5 pts)
• Keep a food journal (5 pts)
• Workout (30 minutes = 5 pts or 45 minutes = 7 pts)

My total points for this last week was 194 out of a possible total of 205. Not too bad. But then you get 10 points for every pound lost and 5 points for maintaining lowest weight. 

I've lost 2 pounds this week because of this program.

Honestly, this wasn't a major change. I worked out the same amount I would have any week. I even thought I ate more food this week than usual, trying to get all my fruits and veggies in. But I lost two pounds. I'm so happy! I'm not the only one with results. My mom lost 3 pounds, my dad lost 4. This program really works to boost your body into getting healthy!

I highly recommend this for anyone. You can find all the information and the printable plan here: http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/01/8-week-printable-weight-loss-get.html.

Yes, this is the photo that came up when I typed "healthy" into Google. :)

--Kaylee

8 Week Weight Loss/ Get Healthy Challenge!

So this is really fun because I'm doing it with my family. It can all be found through this link: http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/01/8-week-printable-weight-loss-get.html. So my aunt and uncle did this about a month ago, and they're starting it up again with my family. My uncle lost 28 pounds after this! 28 pounds! He said it was the easiest weight loss program he had ever done!

Now I'm only trying to lose about ten pounds (more would be nice, but everyone thinks I'd look anorexic if I lost any more than that), but this program is great because it's teaching you habits that you should already have for a healthy life. For example, the program requires that everyday you:

• Drink 64 oz of water
• Eat three servings of vegetables
• Eat three servings of fruit
• Work out 30 to 45 minutes
• No sugary treats/snacks

This program/challenge is really easy, but it's really good because you are doing it on a competitive level! Everyone in my family participating put in $10 and the winners win the money! When you're in a competition, you're more likely to work harder. 

I'm going to keep all my followers up-to-date on how I'm doing in the challenge. I hope this inspires you to start the challenge as well! 

--Kaylee