The finish line is right around the corner, and now the race to the end will be an interesting one. Thanksgiving week had me really worried that I would pack on some of the pounds that I have lost, I really enjoyed myself more than I should have but oh well it was a holiday. So to my surprise I was still able to lose 2 lbs this week! I couldn’t believe it, I was so excited. It did make me realize that goingoff the diet a little bit wasn’t too bad and that you can have a normal life eating, as long as you know how and when to eat. And that is where I have been so impressed with ClubCube and my trainer Lynn. The knowledge that they have provided me with has been tremendous and it is something I will be able to take with me and use the rest of my life as I continue my lifestyle change. Having the gym and all the weights in the world doesn’t matter if you don’t know how to use them as well as how to eat, and ClubCube is the only place I have been able to have ANY success in my life losing weight.

I have currently lost right at 40 lbs and am just out of reach of my goal of 50 lbs. I will work very hard the next two weeks and see what happens, hopefully I can reach my goal as well as drive away in a new car!

I ventured on to catch a few sales the day after Thanksgiving and noticed a sign on one of my favorite large size clothing stores which stated an additional 40% off of all clearance items.  Well I couldn’t pass that up - I had to at least step in and see what was available on that clearance rack.  I picked out a few items and proceeded to the dressing room.   Everything that I picked up was too big!!!!!  Wow - you can’t even imagine how happy I felt.  I switched the pants for the next size smaller and was even more surprised that these were loose as well.  I tried on the next smaller size and couldn’t believe that I could actually zip and fasten them up.  ( I decided that they were a little tight and bought the second pair)  I was thrilled to realize thatI could get into pants 2 sizes smaller than the ones that I bought at the same store this past summer.  This was incredibly motivating, it really is working!  I walked out of that store doubly happy - got some great deals and bought a size that I haven’t worn since I was very young.  I initially put this store on my mental list as one to definitely shop at on that Friday after Thanksgiving next year but on second thought, hopefully I won’t need to shop at the “Plus Size” stores next year!!!

Don’t know what else to say right now! I was really not looking forward to the holidays because of all the food. I went into Thanksgiving telling myself I wasn’t going to gain a pound.  I missed 1 workout on Wed. because of travel, we got home Sun. and went to the gym Mon. morning. I got on the scale and couldn’t believe it I lost 8 lbs. I really, really watched what I was eating the entire time we were gone. I was really nervous about all the desserts, I limited myself to 2 tiny slices of pie and a half slice of pumpkin roll.  I did work out but it wasn’t like I was at Club Cube.  This is the biggest loss so far for me and what a time for it to happen!!  I now know that I CAN make it through the holidays!!!! It is all in the mind, go in with a positive attitude and good things will come out of it.  If I can do this so can all of you!!! We only have 2 weeks left lets all finish this thing strong!!! Good Luck!!

Susie

P.S. Thanks Lynn for all the confidence you have helped me gain!!

I know how you are feeling Gayle. It is a very scary time. It would be sooooo easy to fall off the band wagon!  My brother-in-law announced to me that there will be 7 different pies at Thanksgiving!!??!!  I need some very very strong will power right now. The other hard thing will be, we will be out of state until Sun. So I won’t be in the gym until Mon.  My Dad has a treadmill and a bike but just not the same as Club Cube. Say a little extra prayer for me, we’ve all come too far to let a few days get in the way!! Good luck to all and remember what are goals are!

Susie

I think that the next 6 weeks are going to be very tough.  Holidays and end of year = FOOD!   Ok Thanksgiving is going to be bad enough, but at least I will be doing most of the cooking and I know that I can do some things along the way to make that meal a little healthier (even the pies can be made with some splenda instead of sugar) and a little less dangerous to the weight loss plan.  But the signs are going up at my work site announcing all of the potlucks (there is even one scheduled for December 15 which I believe is final weigh in day)  This next month is going to require some will power.  But, with what I have seen, I believe that all of us “losers” are up for this one more challenge in front of us.  I will try to keep in mind something that my doctor told me when I first started on this journey:  ” when you get tempted to eat something that you know you shouldn’t, think of how long you will need to stay on that treadmill to get rid of it”  It has worked for me before.  Good Luck and Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Well now is not the time to be gaining any weight.  Had a bad week, I was struggling with being sick and just not able to work out as hard as i would have liked to.  I also made some bad food choices and need to stay on track this week. We are traveling out of town and I will not be able to get my normal workouts in. With only a few short weeks I need to step this game up and finish strong!!!  Everyone have a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Susie

I have to admit that I have been very frustrated with ups & downs that scale has shown me the last couple of weeks.  Thank you Lynn for all of the support & encouragement and for keeping me on track!  I do however have a sucess that I am very happy with and would like to share.  Many of you already know that I am a diabetic and worry about the progression of this disease (one of the main reasons why I need and want to lose this weight).  The last couple of weeks I have been very concerned with my blood glucose readings.  Not because they were too high but, because they were too low!  For any that may not be aware, low glucose for a diabetic is a horrible feeling: for me it means that I get very shaky, I sweat even while sitting down, and genearlly feel out of sorts.  After several of these low attacks (glucose readings of 42 - 60) I went to see my doctor.  Usually my doctor’s visits go something like this: “Gayle, you have to loose some weight, you have to control your diet, you have to exercise more, we may need to increase the dosage of your medication”.   Not this time - this time it was “I am so proud of you, you have lost weight, are you exercising? how did you do it?, we need to eliminate some of the medication that you are taking”.  I am hoping that getting the glucose levels back under control will help me get back on track with the weight loss.  You can’t imagine how happy that I am to be moving away from those dreaded insulin shots rather than towards them.   Thank You Club CUbe!!!!!

Wow, how fast the time goes.  Weighed in on Sat. and didn’t even lose a lb. Can’t complain I was just glad I didn’t gain.  We went to Oh and I had a hard time controlling what I ate.  When we got back Mon. night and woke up Tues. I didn’t want to work out. I had a little talk with myself and hopefully I’m back on track.  Lynn has a little talk with us too on Sat. about our attitudes.  She talked about how hard we are working and that sometimes there might be a setback but push forward and always stay positive!  We only have a little time left in the contest and I’m going to try to end this with a GREAT attitude and keep going!!  I can’t wait to see what my results will be by next summer. Everyone have a good week.. Missed seeing you on Sat. Gayle. Hope all is O.K.  What ever you do we have come too far to give up!!

Susie

Hello everyone, I have had a rough 3 weeks (weight loss wise) so I haven’t been posting on here in a while. I have seen my two lowest weeks last week and the previous one, with a 2.5 loss and a zero loss. I was devastated when I weighed in those two weeks knowing how I have stuck to the diet as well as how much I had worked out, I felt great physically but the numbers weren’t there. Even though I saw Gayle and Suzie go through a similar time the weeks before me I just didn’t think I would have a “plateau” problem, but Lynne assured me that this was what was happening to me.

Since our team was all struggling Lynne decided to break down some facts and numbers with us to help us understand that it’s not all about the lbs, but results in other areas. She did the measurements for me and I was pleased to see that I have lost 35.5 inch’s already! She also was able to calculate that I have lost 49 lbs of fat, and I have gained 19 lbs of lean body mass which is great too! So after getting the results my spirits were lifted once again and I didn’t want to give up, it made me want to work harder to get through this difficult time. We then decided to shake up my diet and try to jump start my metabolism once again, and as always I made sure I got good workouts in all through the week.

Well yesterday was weigh in day and I went in with a goal of 1 lb, I just wanted to see something negative. I lost 5.25 lbs! That was a great relief for me and made me feel like all this was worth it once again!

Hello everyone, this is Lynn Pendley RD.  I am the owner, dietitian and fitness trainer at the Club Cube in Prospect.  I’ve had some difficulty getting logged in on the blog so I’m logging in under Melissa’s name.  Anyway, here I am and I am SOOOO proud of the group of 3 over at Prospect!!!  They have shown great persistance in adopting a new and healthier lifestyle that includes wise food choices, regular cardio exercise AND strength training.  Every week we talk about the changes that are happening inside their bodies to bring about a permanent body fat loss.  There are 3,500 calories stored in just one pound of body fat and it is a huge accopmplishment to steadily decrease by even a couple of pounds per week. 

 At Club Cube in Prospect we have a progress chart on the wall that my participants:  The very competitive Susie,  the barrier breaker Gayle, and the super intense Chad--They check off that they are getting in 6 days of exercise every week, they drink 64 plus oz of fluid daily and several other important catagories.  They are doing it and it shows!  I remeasured them last week and through % body fat calculations revealed that they are indeed losing fat.  Susie has decreased her body fat by about 5%, Chad by 11% , and Gayle by 4.4%.  The key to losing fat is in maintaining your muscles and your metabolism.  This means eating well by spreading your intake out over the day, getting the right amount of protein, carbs and fats, plenty of fluid and include strength training in your workouts.   

Remember:  Consistency is the key!!!!  Keep doing what you need to do and keep your eye on the long term goal of better health.  Where will you all be NEXT summer?

Keep up the great work (and workouts!)

About Halloween– a fun size packet of peanut M &Ms has 90 calories, Fun size butter finger-85Fun size Crunch bar-85 fun size snickers (1 small bar)-80, Fun size twix-80, 3 Muskketeers- Fun Size 2 peices-95, 1 oz candy corn-100. 

For today:  Either steer clear of it all together OR You could Substitute 2-3 of the Fun Size bars for a bread starch or a fruit on your meal plan and have them spread out over a two hour period.  If you have trouble with this but want a little something sweet then you could have a few dum dum pops for 25 calories each and chew gum while everyone else is taking in about 1000 EMPTY calories in a short period of time . A Kingsize butterfinger has 500 calories, 28 grams of fat, 5th Ave bar, regular size-270 calories, 13 grams of fat!  People it is all about portion control and we don’t eat candy to fullfill hunger (any type of hunger)    

Happy Halloween!

Lynn Pendley, MS,RD,LD

Club Cube, Prospect KY