Cincinnati Losers - Join Us on Facebook

Just a quick note to let everyone know we've created a fan page over on Facebook for Cincinnati Losers. Our hope is that this will allow us to be more "in the moment" with our efforts and it can be a place where we can all (you too!) share our successes, challenges, insights and concerns.

We hope you'll come join us!

Cincinnati Losers on Facebook

Look at These Losers

Was going through folders on my computer and found this picture of the Cincinnati Losers from August 2008.  Oh how I'd like to weigh now, what I weighed then.......

Check out the press for Cincinnati Losers!

Cincy Chic Magazine's "Geek Chic" issue profiled the Cincinnati Losers! Go check it out!

Look at us being all SATC in front of the McAlpin.


Thanks so much to Cincy Chic for the opportunity to share our stories. Now, maybe I'll actually start losing weight again....

Confession Time - Shannan

I have a confession. I have been hiding behind guest posts because I've not been happy with my results, or should I say, lack off results.

I think I got to confident. The first few weeks I was watching every morsel I ate, writing it down, being good and the weight was falling off. I was walking at lunch - eating right and I'd lost 10 pounds in 5 weeks. I was feeling good.

As the weight started falling off I think I became complacent. I started allowing myself a bite or two of the things I shouldn't be eating, I used "special occasions" and "events" as excuses to break free from my diet plan. I found myself too busy to talk a walk at lunch. Worst of all - I have yet to really use my Weight Watchers membership.

I have decided that today is the day I get back in the game.

I am 15 pounds away from my goal weight. I don't want to fail this time. I want to loose the weight. I want to weigh what I did before I had children. I want to be that girl again.

This weekend I had a conversation with a friend that really put me back on track. I won't name names because I know she didn't mean it the way it sounded, but here it is in a nut shell:
Friend: Picking up photo off kitchen counter "Wow. When was this picture taken?"

Me: "Back in 1999. I was in Ft. Lauderdale for Spring Break. We were getting
ready to go out to the bars"
Friend: "Wow. Look how thin you were.
I can't believe it."
Me: "I know. It's been 10 years...."
Friend: "I mean,
look at your arms. You were thin."

Truth is, while I know she didn't mean it the way I heard it, it hurt my feelings. Had I changed that much? Other than aging (gracefully) do I look that different?? I don't have the photo electronically but I will try and get it scanned.

So, this week my goal is to get back into my eating routine, use my Weight Watchers membership and start walking at lunch again.

Current Weight: 150

Goal Weight: 135
Total Lost: 10 lbs

Guest Post ~ Deconstructing Cravings

How exciting, our first guest post! Please join us in welcoming Phyllis McCarthy, a Certified Health Counselor fron Northern Kentucky to Cincinnati Losers.

The body is an amazing source of intelligence. It is always there for you, pumping blood, never skipping a heartbeat, digesting whatever food you put in it and maintaining homeostasis. Is this reliable, intelligent bio-computer making a mistake by craving ice cream or a hamburger or chocolate? Are cravings due to lack of will-power or discipline? I’d like to suggest that cravings are not a problem. They are critical pieces of information that tell you what your body needs.

The important thing is to understand why you crave what you crave. Perhaps your diet is too restrictive or devoid of essential nutrients. Perhaps you are living a lifestyle that is too boring or stressful. Your body tries to correct the imbalance by sending you a message: a craving. A craving for something sweet could mean you need more protein, more exercise, more water or more love in your life. The key to stopping the sugar craving is to understand and deliver what your body really needs.

Your body knows best and is always trying to create balance. However, products like refined foods, sugar, caffeine, alcohol and drugs (which have little or no nutritional value) are confusing to the body. They throw the body off-balance and can create serious cravings as your body tries to get what it needs to restore internal harmony. The more your food is whole and healthy, the easier it is for your body to stay in balance and provide you with a happier, healthier life.

No book or theory can tell you what to eat. Only awareness of your body and its needs can tell you. Of all the relationships in our lives, the one with our body is the most essential. It takes communication, love and time to cultivate a relationship with your body. As you learn to decipher and respond to your body’s cravings, you will create a deep and lasting level of health and balance.

The next time you have a craving, treat it as a loving message from your body instead of a weakness. Try these tips to respond to your body:

• Have a glass of water and wait 10 minutes.
• Eat a healthier version of what you crave. For example, if you crave sweets, try eating more fruit and sweet or root vegetables.
• What is out of balance in your life? Is there something you need to express, or is something being repressed? What happened in your life just before you had this craving?
• When you eat the food you are craving, enjoy it, taste it, savor it; notice its effect. Then you will become more aware and free to decide if you really want it next time.

Phyllis McCarthy is a Certified Health Counselor and loves helping people create happy, healthy lives in a way that is flexible, fun and free of denial and discipline. Visit www.cincyhealthcoach.com to learn more about health counseling, sign up for the Healthy Habits and Happenings newsletter or check for upcoming events including the Sugar Blues tele-class on October 8 and October 20. If you want to gain control of your sugar cravings without willpower or deprivation, check this one out!

The awful Truth: Shannan

This week I managed to get back on the horse and stick to my diet.

One thing I did do this week that is important in my dieting was pick up a new scale. I've been using one of those cheap $10 scales for years. You know the kind - the weight varies based on where you place it on the floor (best spot is to the left of the toilet). Well this weekend I picked up a digital scale and right away it confirmed my suspicions. My old scale had been lying to me. Telling me big FAT lies - almost 10 lbs worth!

I had kind of suspected it and had been accounting for it in my weight reports but I hated seeing my suspicions confirmed. It had been fun (and ego boosting) to think I was close to my goal weight.

This week I am going to explore healthy snacks (in particular the ones involving chocolate!). I am hoping to put together a list of things that you can eat that taste good and satisfy those chocolate cravings.

Weight lost this week (no idea how this happened): 2.8 lbs (please note my old scale was lying to me, this is based on what I thought I had lost and what I actually weigh subtracted from what I thought was my starting weight..... Does that make any sense???)
Total Weight Lost: 7.8 lbs

A Big FAT Giveaway!

Contest is Closed. We'll announce the winners on Monday!! Thanks to all who entered. We appreciate your support!!
Shannan

Last week Amy posted on Weight Watcher's Lose for Good campaign that launches this Sunday, September 7th. For six weeks (September 7 - October 18), for every pound lost by its members, WW will donate the equivalent of one pound of food to Share Our Strength up to ONE MILLION DOLLARS.

So why am I posting this information again??? Because the good people at Weight Watchers have given us two complimentary memberships to Weight Watchers Online to giveaway! That's right people. Just leave a comment with the silliest diet you ever tried- perhaps you only ate grapefruit for a month or you lived on carbonated water and h pixie sticks, whatever it was, share it in the comment section and you'll be entered to win.

We'll announce the winners here on Friday, September 19th. Two lucky people will be on their way to being losers, just like us!

Note: You must be a resident of the U.S. to enter. Please include your email address in your comment if it is not attached to your user name.