Update From Samantha...

Hello all,
I am writing to let everyone know that there has been some serious family issues going on for a while. We have been through alot lately and are trying to get back to our normal day to day lives. It may still take some time so we ask that you all continue to check in until we are posting regularly again. We appreciate everyones support and we are sorry for letting you down. Thank you for your understanding and we hope to be back soon better that ever...
Sincerely,
Samantha

Second Week Weigh In for Samantha...

Hey everyone, have to write really quick today because I'm so super busy! This has been a really hectic last couple of weeks. Please forgive us as we try to deal with some personal issues in our lives. I will write again as soon as I am not overwhelmed. I weighed in today and have only lost 1 more pound:( But a pound is a pound and I would have been even more upset if I had gained a pound so have to stay positive and there is always next week to hope to loose more. Thanks to everyone that has stuck with us and look forward to chatting and more to come:)

Update On Family

(Added a pic of my doggy Sailor cause she's a sweety and always cheers me up. She never gives me any trouble and animals can be a good companion in stressful times.)

Hello everyone. As Faith wrote in the last post we had a family emergency...which ended up turning into several. Alot to take in in one week. Sorry we haven't been able to post. We will be back to posting again tomorrow. I am going to be discussing dieting and exercising while under stress or dealing with traumatic events. Until then, I would like to hear from all of you about how you are doing and any tips, advice or comments you have. Love hearing from you guys and hope you continue to read our blog. We will be doing our weekly weigh-ins on Wednesday of every week now so looking forward to this weeks results. Have a good Monday everyone:)~Samantha

Sorry...

Sorry about the delay in post this week...We had a family emergency. We will post again as soon as possible.

2 Healthy,Yummy, and Quick Breakfast Drinks

I was given these recipes by a friend and thought I would share them, because they are so delicious and simple.

Strawberry/Orange Drink:
- 1 cup strawberries
- 1 glass orange juice (about 1 cup)
- 1 glass skim milk (about 1 cup)
- 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Blend all ingredients in blender until mixed thoroughly.

Strawberry/Banana Smoothie:
- 1 banana
- 1 cup strawberries
- vanilla yogurt (add to desired consistency)

Blend all ingredients in blender until mixed thoroughly.

*If you would like you can also add ice and blend it in with either drink.

~Faith

Faith's First Week Weigh In

Well, according to the scale I have lost 3 lbs....I went from 245 lbs. to 242 lbs.. It has been a rough week (we had a death on my husband's side of the family), so I was actually surprised that I lost 3 lbs.. This is the 1st time in quite sometime that I have seen the numbers on the scale going down instead of up, so I am pretty excited. So far it has been a pretty simple strategy that I am sticking to in order to lose the weight: I am watching my portion sizes, I am not eating past 8 PM, I have restricted my daily calorie intake to between 1,500 and 2,000 calories, I am watching what I eat (I do however allow myself one cheat day to eat some of the foods I enjoy, but I now consume them in much smaller portions), I am walking on my treadmill for half an hour to an hour each day, I am drinking 6-8 glasses of water a day, and I am trying to be more active. Hopefully, by this time next year I will be healthier and at a much healthier weight.
~Faith

First Week Weigh In (Samantha)...

Hello all. Today I weighed myself which I am now choosing to do on Wednesday of every week to check my progress. I am super excited to report that since Memorial Day weekend I have lost 12 lbs!!!!!!!! I couldn't be more excited. I know I can do this now. I just wanted to share what I have been doing and changed to get from 223lbs to 211lbs...First off, I cut way down on soda intake. I have no more than 1 a week. I drink water like crazy. I make sure to have at least one glass of milk and orange juice a day though. Next, I began taking a women's multivitamin everyday. Third, I did what I told you all about in my last post as far as not having any junk food in the house. I cut it all out. I don't eat perfect yet but I make sure I DO NOT ever eat cake, cookies, pies, candy etc. I also started walking and riding a bike. I realized I was doing too much in the beginning. If you start out doing something that is too hard for you it will bring you down and discourage you. You have to start with something easy. I used to think that walking really wasn't going to help me lose weight but I realized its the best way to begin exercising because its easy on your body but prepares you to step up to more difficult exercising such as riding a bike. I try to walk at least once a day, even if its for only 15 minutes and I am currently biking about 3 times a week. I will gradually increase my activity as I get more used to it. I also have been eating 6 small meals a day as apposed to 3 large meals a day. I'm sure you have all heard this before but it really does keep me going better through the day. Try my tips out if you like and keep me updated on your progress and how your doing:)