Blubber Bloggers - Homeschool Blogger

How NOT to Vary Your Exercise!--C.S. Lewis

Thu, 8 Jun 2006 21:12:00 -0500

Here is an interesting post on walking from a fellow Blubber Blogger. I liked it because it was about C. S. Lewis, one of my favorite Christian authors. You can read more from Denise's blog by clicking here.

I've been going through some boxes of books I had still packed away from out move here. One I'm reading through again is called
Faith-based Fitness by Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper - the medical program that uses spiritual motivation to achieve maximum health
and add years to your life. It is quite interesting, esp. for the
beginner exerciser. But I was surprised to see a quote from CS Lewis inside entitled A lesson in How NOT to Vary your Exercise.

The Cambridge don and popular Christian philosopher C.S. Lewis

was a great walker, and he enjoyed sharing his walks with others

who could carry on a stimulating conversation. But on one

occasion, he made the mistake of varying one of his outings by

taking along a less than compatible companion. Here are some

excerpts from a letter he wrote to his brother on March 20, 1932.

You asked Mrs. Moore in a recent letter about this Crashaw man.... I had to go for a walk with him.... it seemed good to him to take a bus to the

station and start our walk along a scrubby path between a factory and a

greasy strip of water.... He is a ladylike little man of about fifty, and is to a

T that "sensible, well-informed man" with whom Lamb dreaded to be left

alone.... I blundered at once by referring to the water as a canal. "Oh, could it be that I didn't know it was the Thames? Perhaps I was not a walker?"...

A conversation on weather followed, and seemed to offer an escape from
unmitigated FACTs. The escape however was quite illusory and my claim
to be rather fond of all sorts of weather was received with the stunning
information that psychologists detected the same trait in children and
lunatics. Anxious to turn my attention from the unpleasing fact, he begged
my opinion of various changes which had recently been made in the river.
As I had never seen any of the mentioned places before ("But I thought you said you were a walker...?) this bowled me middle stump again...

But I must stop my account of this deplorable walk somewhere. It was the

same all through-- sheer information. (a very effective public school

education hehe) Time after time I attempted to get away from the torrent of

isolated, particular facts; but anything tending to opinion, a discussion, to

fancy, to ideas, even to putting some of his infernal facts together and

making something out of them-- anything of that sort was received in blank

silence. --from W.H. Lewis ed., Letters of C.S. Lewis pp 150-151.

Lessons from Lewis on exercising with a companion:

One of the best motivators for sticking with an exercise program is to find a "soul mate" who can make you look forward to each outing.

One of the biggest deterrents to an exercise program is to dread having to meet a companion who is "out of sync" with you. I expect that if Lewis had been forced to face the prospect of walking with this particular man every day, he would have given up walking altogether and perhaps turned to a treadmill instead!From
Faith-based Fitness p. 158.

Do You REALLY Want to Drink Pop???

Thu, 8 Jun 2006 20:58:00 -0500

Hi Ladies, This is a post from FlyLady that one of our members sent to our email support loop. It talks about the dangers of drinking pop, soda, cola, or whatever you happen to call that fizzy carbonated beverage in your neck of the woods. :-)
Besides being bad for us for weight loss, the caffeine acts as a diuretic. Then add the risks that this post talks about, and you may have some added incentive to give up drinking pop! (Ohio's pop is Boston's soda and Mississippi's coke...) lol

Dear FlyLady,

I always drank some water but couldn't break my addiction to 2-3 Diet
Cokes a day. As a hundred pound weight loser, I drank a Diet Coke
whenever I wanted excess food. When I lost my voice last summer, I
was diagnosed with gastric reflux disorder, impinging on my vocal
cords. As I sing professionally, this was a major crisis. I was given
a list of foods to avoid -- citrus, tomato, spicy foods, caffeine --
but first on the list was carbonated beverages, especially colas, diet
or otherwise, caffeiniated or caffeine free.

I never thought I could give up my Diet Coke habit, but the fear of
losing my voice and career overcame my fear of losing my crutch. I am
here to report that there is life after Diet Coke. The first few weeks
were very hard, but now I don't miss it, and I have definitely
increased my water intake.

For those of you who are not professional singers, you should know
that the acid in colas can cause problems in your esophagus which can
lead to a precancerous condition. My doctor (ENT) said that Diet Coke
was terrible to drink but pretty useful to clean your car battery.
That should tell us something.

Best to all who are working on eating (and drinking) in a healthy way.

A FlyBaby in Maryland

Walk Across America Challenge!

Wed, 7 Jun 2006 19:35:00 -0500

Hi Fellow Blubber Bloggers,

As you all know, I had planned to have a Walk Across America Challenge, and with all that has been going on, just simply have not had time to complete my plans for it, most importantly the graphics that would have made it fun to see how far each time had progressed. However---I just found a really cool website that is very similar to what I had planned, and would make this really easy for us to do. It will even let us do it as teams so that we can compete as I had originally planned.

Please check out the site at http://www.4woman.gov/whw/woman/index.cfm and let me know if you would like to be a part of this. I know that we are registering late, but we can still see which team can go the furthest toward their goal! You do need to have a pedometer to do this or a conversion chart if you don�t have one. I haven�t looked yet, but I would bet anything there is a chart on the web somewhere that would convert miles to steps for those of you who don�t want to purchase a pedometer. I bought one that is very accurate for $15 a few weeks ago, so they aren�t terribly bad price wise.

If you are interested in participating, please let me know asap, and we�ll divide into teams, get registered, and get walking! This ends on July 7, so we still have a month that we can have fun with this. I sure wish that I had found this site sooner, and I wouldn't have had to try to reinvent the wheel!!!

Hugs to all,

Kathy, Your Blubber Blogger Moderator

I'm Reading a Really Good Book~!

Sat, 3 Jun 2006 19:52:00 -0500

I just got The First Place Challenge book in the mail yesterday, and am devouring it. It is SO GOOD!!! When I get done, I'll post a review for you to read. The thing I like about this program is that it focuses on balance and control in all areas of life---spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental.

There are other good things in this series, too. I have the original First Place book, which is excellent, and am just starting another of the series of First Place Bible Studies, which also include tons of diet/fitness information, menus and recipes, and a CD of Scripture memory verses for each week.

These are books that fellow Blubber Bloggers may want to check out!

Have you wondered where I've been???

Sat, 3 Jun 2006 19:42:00 -0500

I wanted to let you know that I am back. The past couple weeks I have been sick, and finally was diagnosed with a really bad case of diverticulitis. I'm on meds and a restricted diet now, so hopefully I'll be feeling better really soon. There is so much that I want to do with Blubber Bloggers this summer, so please pray that I get well really soon.

If you would like to read about my recent adventures, visit my blog, Through It All. I have several recent posts telling all about my CT Scan, my nasty tasting pills, my corkscrewed colon, and the worry of waiting for a diagnosis. These were experiences that I would have much rather not had to blog about!

I want to thank each and every one of you for your prayers! I would have been a worse basket case than I already was without them :-)

Hugs to all from Kathy

A "Sloggy Day" Report

Tue, 23 May 2006 20:59:00 -0500

I wanted to share a post that one of our Blubber Blogger members shared on our email support loop. I thought that it would be meaningful and helpful for many of you who read our blog and aren't a part of our support loop.
If you find this kind of help and encouragement is something you would like to be a part of, you can sign up for our email support group over on the sidebar of our blog.
Blessings to all,
Kathy

Hey ladies,

Just wanted to give you a �sloggy day� report. I woke up in an unmotivated, cranky mood. I did NOT want to drink any water. I did NOT want to walk. I did NOT want to eat healthy.

I grudgingly started to walk a 2 mile workout, resenting every minute. My 3 year old got into some math manipulatives during the early part and I had to go rescue them, and was so grumpy that I just quit walking.

My wonderful friend Christine badgered me in love until I grudgingly drank a little water.

Eventually I had a 2nd cup of coffee � I think I was in early caffeine withdrawal, which for me includes some major discouragement and lack of motivation, as well as headaches and fatigue � and started to feel better.

By this evening I had finished my 8 cups of water AND decided to go for a walk with the children. I did 2 miles in 45 minutes, which isn�t really �brisk� but I was pushing at least 50 lbs of children in a heavy double-stroller AND carrying 20 lbs of infant in the backpack, so I�m calling it moderate exercise. AND I�ve managed to stay within my points allotment today.

So what� my point in sharing this with you?

We won�t always feel like it. BUT if we surround ourselves with loving encouragement, and are �tied in� to some helpful programs/plans/support groups to give us goals and guidelines, we CAN press on, by God�s grace, even in those bad, sloggy days. None of today has been easy for me, but now that it�s getting near bedtime I can say I�m glad I stuck with it, chose to drink my water and eat healthy.

But I sure hope tomorrow is better, LOL!!!

I do need to learn to cry out to God more, rely on Him more, instead on on myself and my moods. I am so thankful that He is gracious and merciful to me!!!

:-)
Kim
http://www.andfam.net/walk <- Walking Challenge
http://www.andfam.net/kimblog <- currently being used blog
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MuckFootMom

Tonight's Chat

Fri, 19 May 2006 09:24:00 -0500

The chat tonight will be at 9 P.M. EST. and will be using AOL's Instant Messenger. Jeannie is staying at her mother's, and her mother has AOL, so that was the deciding factor in which one to use. There is a free version to download on the AOL site, so hop on over and download it if you would like to participate tonight.

To be involved in the chat, I have to invite you to the chatroom, so I have to have your screen name in order to invite you. YOU HAVE TO SEND ME YOUR SCREEN NAME TO PARTICIPATE!!! There is no way I can invite you without it. The best way to let me know is by private email at mkin@udata.com. Just put your screen name in the email, and put CHAT somewhere in the subject line.

If you have a question to ask Jeannie please send it to me, as I would like her to see as many of the questions ahead of time as possible. That way she can look up information for her responses.

Thanks, ladies, and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in the chat tonight.

Kathy, your Blubber Bloggers Moderator

Foward to Victory in Weightloss

Mon, 15 May 2006 11:33:00 -0500

I would like to introduce our first guest lecturer, Jeannie Fulbright, the author of Apologia Elementary Science and a personal fitness trainer. Thank you so much, Jeannie, for being willing to share with us here at Blubber Bloggers!
After you have read Jeannie's lecture, please feel free to submit questions for our group chat. You can post your questions here on our blog in the form of a comment to this post, or you can send your questions to our email support loop. We invite anyone struggling with weight loss and fitness issues to join our group so that you can be a part of this group chat. Simply click on the logo on our sidebar to join.
I will be letting you know the date and time of the chat as soon as I confirm it with Jeannie. In the meantime, be sure to read her lecture carefully and think of how to apply it to your own weight loss and fitness program, and be sure to ask any questions that you would like Jeannie to respond to in our chat.
Blessings to all the Blubber Bloggers,
Kathy, your BB Moderator

Foward to Victory in Weightloss
by Jeannie Fulbright

So what does it take to really lose weight? What does it take to become thin, once and for all? Most of us would say it takes exercise and a low fat diet. As a personal trainer and one who has been extremely overweight in my lifetime, I would submit to you that this is wrong. What it really takes is three things. First, an understanding about food and its primary role in weight loss. Second, an understanding of exercise and its limited roll in weight loss; and third, that weight loss must encompass a total change of attitude.

The most important factor in weight loss is food. Yet, buying low fat food does not result in weight loss. In fact, those who choose to quit buying low fat food, end up losing more weight than those who are dedicated to a low fat diet. The culprit is not fat; it is high glycemic index carbohydrates. Sadly, many of the low fat options are high on the glycemic index. High GI foods actually make you fat, thus fat free or low fat foods make you fat. A multitude of studies have been done that show this to be true. One study involves obese teenage boys. Over the course of weeks, they separated these boys into three groups. One group was fed a low GI breakfast (eggs), the second was fed a medium GI breakfast (fresh wholegrains), and the third was fed a high GI breakfast (cereal). Then, they offered the boys a snack before lunch. Every day, the boys that were fed the high GI breakfast chose and consumed more than twice the number of snacks as those who were fed a low GI breakfast. The mediums were about average. The reason this happened is because high GI foods trigger a sudden insulin release that later triggers a hunger reaction. The higher GI foods you eat, the more hungry you will be throughout the day.

Here is how this plays out in my life: I eat a high GI food because I skipped breakfast and was really hunger - say a bagel or a muffin at Starbucks, or crackers with my salad or even a little sweet somewhere - then I�ve set my life on a downward course. It�s like rolling a ball down a hill. It�s really hard to stop it. This often happens when life gets really busy and I don�t have time to think about food. If I�m not intentional about it, I won�t think to stop this rolling ball until I�ve gained several pounds. You see, because of the insulin high and sudden hunger streak, that bagel or those crackers set my body up for extreme hunger in the evening. Then, I overeat dinner. Then I�ve stretched my stomach�s capacity for food and I am starving at breakfast. I may just make some quick oats (high glycemic), then I�m starving before lunch and need a snack. I�ll grab some chips while I prepare lunch (High GI). That feels better. Now I�ve set myself up for another hunger attack. It hits at later, and I eat twice as much as I normally would eat � and have inadvertently consumed more high glycemic carbs that set me up for another hunger attack in a few hours. The cycle does not end until I choose to exercise self control and let myself live through a few days of hunger until I can handle eating healthy foods the entire day.

The most important thing you should know about the glycemic index is that most foods that have had the fat removed, have added items that increase the glycemic index of the food. The fact is, anything that has been processed, even to have the fat removed (except milk itself) is very likely a High GI food. Lowfat and nonfat makes you fat. It is far better to eat foods in the way that God made them, as pure to their original form as possible. Eat butter instead of High GI margarine; eat real mayonnaise instead of low fat; eat real salad dressing instead of low fat. The most rewarding part of doing this is, you will feel satisfied longer and have less desire to snack or overeat at your next meal.

High GI foods are all cereals, potatoes, rice, pasta, corn (especially popcorn), processed breads and anything with sugar in it, including high sugar fruit. I wouldn�t even eat whole wheat bread from the store in the first month of your diet. Keep away from these for a few months. Medium GI foods are freshly ground whole grains, beans and lentils. Low GI foods are nuts, dairy (even high fat dairy), some fruits and vegetables and all meats. Stay far away from anything from a box or bag, except frozen veggies. If you cover your veggies in butter, that�s far better than adding a potato to your meal: You will feel full and satisfied for many hours.

Have you ever noticed that after two or three weeks of your diet, you hit a wall and don�t lose anymore? Well, another important, but little known fact is, after two or three weeks, your body will lower your metabolism to match your new eating plan. Your body wants to stay the same weight. God designed our bodies to adjust to periods of famine. If your body thinks there is a famine coming on, it will be able to operate and maintain the same weight on less food. So, how do you deal with this? The only, only, only, only way to deal with this is by tricking your body. You are smarter than your body. You must use your knowledge. Since you are now eating low GI foods, and staying away from all those evil snacks, your body thinks its time to adjust your metabolism. Well, to trick your body, once a week you must give your body all your old foods so that it realizes there is no famine in the land, and it can continue on its journey forward to thinness. Once a week, only once a week, eat whatever you wish � cake, ice cream, potatoes, whatever. I know that this is hard to believe, but it really and truly works. Just try it for twelve weeks, and you will be amazed.

Exercise is an incredible gift to our bodies. God created us to be moving � going down to the well and carrying up heavy water jugs, walking hither and thither to procure the items for housekeeping, churning butter, plucking the chicken or skinning the calf, grinding the wheat by hand and washing the clothing. All these could easily be traded for any weight training routine. Though we are in love with our technologies, they are contributing to our undoing physically. Weight training and aerobic exercise does contribute to a healthy body, mind and spirit. When I feel overwhelmed with life, I go workout, coming home renewed and rejuvenated. In fact, yesterday, upon hearing of my dad�s health issues I lied down on the couch and wanted to sleep. My husband forced me out the door to the health club, and I was so thankful he did when I was done with my workout. Exercise and weight training decrease your risk for heart disease, cancer and many other illnesses, while increasing your life span, the quality of your life and your bone density. Though all the studies show how good exercise is for your health, most people are not aware of its limited roll in weight loss. Many studies have confirmed that diet has more to do with weight loss than exercise. In fact, one particular study that I site on my website shows three groups of women. One group dieted, but did not do any exercise. Another group dieted and exercised, and the last group only exercised. The end result? The group that dieted and exercised lost the exact same amount of weight as the women who had dieted only. Back in my overweight days, exercise gave me a false sense of security. I felt that since I had exercised, I could eat what I always eat. That was why I could not lose a pound, and continued to add to my girth even as I diligently speed-walked several miles a day.

Additionally, however limited exercise is, weight training is much more helpful in weight loss than aerobic exercise. You see, if you build muscles, your body will increase its metabolism. That is because muscles need energy just to exist. Even while you sleep, muscles �eat.� Adding muscle is like adding little fat consumers in your body. Now, they can�t do miracles, you still have to consume less than your muscles are eating if you want to lose weight. Yet, if you are going to enjoy an exercise routine, spend more time lifting weights than cardio training. Get a book on how to lift weights, like Body for Life or a book on different weight training exercises.

Finally, I believe that one�s attitude about themselves plays a huge role in weight loss. Often, I have discerned self-unforgiveness in those who struggle with staying true to eating correctly, and not sabotaging their own efforts. God is very serious about the forgiveness issue. The fact is, we have all done highly ridiculous things, things of which we are most ashamed. However, if we can�t forgive ourselves, and give ourselves a break for being imperfect, then we let a bitter root grow up in our hearts towards ourselves. The Bible says that a bitter root that springs up will defile. Also, the enemy is given access to our lives when we do not forgive. Ephesians tells us that when we do not forgive, the devil gets a �place� in our lives. (The NIV retranslates this as a foothold). If we hold bitterness towards ourselves, we also have given access for the enemy to speak his evil lies and accusations at us. We may call this negative self talk. I call it Satan, the liar, telling me how awful I am for the choices and mistakes I�ve made.

The assumption here is that I should not and should never have done wrong things. It helped me to remember that I�m not so great, so wise and discerning, that I should do everything well. Without God I�m nothing but a total fool; even as a Christian, if I�m not walking in the Spirit, I�m a total fool. So, it should be no surprise to me that I have made foolish choices. Who am I to think that I�m so great that I should not make bad choices? That�s pride. It�s so important that we begin the process of weight loss by going back over our lives � make a list � beginning from the first time you remember doing something with which you are ashamed. Then go over the list, first asking God to forgive you for not forgiving yourself for that thing (it�s a sin not to forgive someone, even yourself), and then choose to forgive yourself. Choose not to be mad at yourself anymore. Remember that without God we will do nothing but destroy our very lives with bad choices. It�s humbling, but so freeing. Repent of unforgiveness, repent of the bitterness you have held towards yourself, and then tell the devil to scat. Tell him that you are taking back the place you gave him and to be gone. If you feel tempted to rehearse negative self talk, resist the temptation by reminding yourself and the enemy that you have forgiven yourself, and you are human � perfectly capable of all kinds of evil without God�s intervention. With your mind cleared of self defeating words, you can move on in victory towards your goal of weight loss by eating correctly.

Having an understanding of how foods are responsible for increasing and decreasing weight, the limited role of exercise in weight loss, and the importance of having a right attitude towards oneself, you will be fully equipped to lose weight once and for all. You are God�s beautiful prize, his gorgeous treasure; don�t let a lack of knowledge or the enemy steal any longer. Move forward in victory. As Columbus said after days of sailing with no end in sight, �Adelante!�

Warmly,

Jeannie Fulbright

To learn about elementary science - visit:

www.jeanniefulbright.com (be sure to sign up for my newsletter!)

To hear my daily thoughts - visit:

www.homeschoolblogger.com/JeannieFulbright

"And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children." Isaiah 54:13

From the Blubber Bloggers

Sun, 14 May 2006 12:25:00 -0500

     Happy Mother's Day
     and
     God Bless You!

Where Does All the Lost Blubber Go??? Huh???

Sat, 13 May 2006 22:07:00 -0500

Fellow BB's. I was pointed to a funny post that mentions us by name. The blogger, TC, has given me permission to repost her entry here for your reading pleasure :-) LOL!!! And you were wondering where those lost pounds ended up? Now you know! Be sure to visit TC's blog, Fish in My Hair, for more great reads.

Kathy, your Blubber Blogger Moderator

I'm a Victim of Irresponsible Fat Lobbing

My pants don't fit and I'm going to find the person responsible.

I know my recent weight gain cannot possibly be my fault, because I grew up hearing my father's theory on the problem of weight - "The Theory of Floating Fat." Before I elaborate on The Theory, let me reveal that my father's disdain of real science can be detected in the following statement that he made to me, which I quote here in its entirety:

"Whaddya mean, 'wash your hands before dinner?' Ever since you took that microbiology class you've been a nag about handwashing. Hey, I grew up in the Depression. We couldn't afford to wash our hands more than once a week, and that was without any fancy-shmancy soap. Look at me now, I'm healthy as a horse. Handwashing - BAH!"

It should also be noted that this is a diabetic man with heart disease who thinks that checking his blood sugar once a month is enough; ice cream should be taken daily, like a vitamin; eating half a cheesecake never hurt anybody; and recounting whole episodes of "Everybody Loves Raymond" counts as exercise. So keep that in mind when you hear The Theory.

The Theory of Floating Fat

1. Fat cells are a source of energy, and

2. There is a constant amount of energy in the world, therefore

3. There is a constant amount of fat in the world.

4. When someone loses weight, the fat leaves their body and attaches itself to another person, who then gains the same amount of weight.

5. The attachment usually happens to the person in closest proximity to the one losing weight.

Since no one in my family or circle of friends has recently lost a significant amount of weight, the only logical explanation for my weight gain is that someone at HSB has been lobbing fat at me, and I'm pretty sure it's one of those sneaky Blubber Bloggers. When I catch the skinny little runt who's been chucking fat at me via my blog, I'm gonna make her pay.

I'm sending her my father.

How Much Weight Have YOU Lost???

Sat, 13 May 2006 21:49:00 -0500

We would love to have a section of our beautiful new blog (designed by Kris and Amber, both BB members) devoted to the amount of weight lost by our members. Would our members please either drop a comment off here on the blog, or in a post to our email support loop, letting me know how much weight you have lost since joining Blubber Bloggers??? Then I'll get Kris and Amber to post this in a neat spot on our blog where everyone can see what a wonderful job we are all doing!

Each month we will then post an updated number. Just think how many pounds we will lose as a group! It should be fun to see the numbers add up! Even if you have only lost a pound or two, when added to everyone elses, it will make our numbers climb!

I personally have lost 16 pounds since JenIg started her funny posts about Blubber Blogging, and that is the time that I consider myself to have become a Blubber Blogger. You can count your weight from whatever time you feel you were a Blubber Blogger at heart, and not necessarily the date you joined the email loop. Just let me know either here or on our loop, ok, ladies???

Kathy, your Blubber Blogger Moderator

Guest Lecture Just for YOU!!!

Sat, 13 May 2006 21:37:00 -0500

Announcing the first ever Blubber Blogger Guest Lecture! Jeannie Fulbright, of Apologia Elementary Science and a fellow HSB, has graciously agreed to be our very first guest lecturer. She will be "speaking" on Healthy Eating and High Glycemic Index Foods this upcoming week, right here on our Blubber Blogger Blog, and also on our Yahoo Groups E-Mail Support Loop.

Jeannie not only writes the elementary Apologia books, but is also a personal trainer, so has extensive knowledge on this subject. I am so very excited that she is willing to share with all of us, and help us in our weight loss/fitness journey. If you have read Jeannie's science books or visited her blog, you are well aware of her love for the Lord, and it is an added bonus to have a Christian sister helping us learn more about the proper foods to eat for a healthy and fit body.

You will see her lecture here on the BBBlog as soon as I receive it from her. Please take time to read it over, and discuss it here in comments or on the loop.

The coolest part of all is that Jeannie has agreed to do a follow-up chat with us after the lecture. After you have read the lecture, think of questions you may have for Jeannie. Send them to me at mkin@udata.com, or post them on the loop, with the subject heading "CHAT QUESTIONS FOR JEANNIE." That way Jeannie can research her answers. I will give her the questions in the chatroom (fire up your AOL instant messengers or download the free version, ladies, if you would like to participate in the chat). After she has answered, you may give a couple follow-up questions on the same topic. Then we will move to the next submitted questions, followed by another couple follow-ups, etc.

This should be an experience that we will all learn a lot from. Please feel free to join our group over on our sidebar so that you can be a part of this learning experience. We'd love to have you join us!

Kathy, Your Blubber Blogger Moderator

Logo Winner!!!

Sat, 13 May 2006 21:17:00 -0500

Look up there at the top of our blog and you will see the prize-winning logo for our logo contest!!! It was designed by Blubber Blogger member Kim Anderson. Kim has her own Walking Challenge site, too, which I know you will want to visit. Many, many of the Blubber Bloggers use Kim's wonderful Walking Challenge and the cute tickers she has for both walking and water intake as motivation in their dieting, fitness, and healthy eating programs.

So many people have commented that they liked Kim's logo design because the letters get skinnier and skinnier, and all of us Blubber Bloggers would love to see our bodies and our clothes' sizes shrink just like those letters do :-)

Be sure to stop by Kim's blog and congratulate her on having the prize-winning logo. And a big thank you to the other people who entered designs. Any one of them would have been a wonderful addition to our blog, and I appreciate the time you all took to create your entries.

To join our wonderful group, please sign up on our sidebar! You'll be amazed at the help and support you will find with this amazing bunch of women. I hope that many of you will join us as we attempt to make our bodies a fit temple for the King!

Kathy, your Blubber Blogger Moderator

Sneak Peak

Mon, 8 May 2006 23:36:00 -0500

Just a few odds and ends to put on here and there, but here's what it's basically gonna look like. Kim and Kris did most of the work, I'm just putting it together, they deserve all the credit:)

God Bless,
Amber

All Members! Time to Vote in Our Logo Contest!

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 20:39:00 -0500

Here are the 5 wonderful entries that we have received from talented members and/or their family or friends. If by some chance you sent a logo and you do not see it below, please let me know asap. I did find one of the entries trapped in my spam filter, so want to be certain that all of them are here on display. Please vote on only ONE logo! Voting will be open until 12 A.M. Friday of this week. The results will be announced, and then Kris and Amber can get busy decorating our blog! To vote, simply go the our Yahoogroups homesite and click on Polls. Vote for the logo of your choice. You can change your vote up until the time the poll closes. Please let all of our fellow Blubber Bloggers know that they need to vote. We want the winner to be representative of the wishes of ALL of our members :-)

Have fun with the competition. May the best logo win! The blinkie contest will be posted as soon as I can figure out how to get the blinkies to save in a format that flickr will accept. Some were sent to me in formats that aren't saving properly and I have to wait until my son can tinker with them a bit when he has time.

Logo A is below

Logo B is below

Logo C is below

Logo D is below

Logo E is below

Honey, We're Killing the Kids

Sat, 22 Apr 2006 22:01:00 -0500

I mentioned in a previous post on my own blog, Through It All, that I had set the TiVo to record a new program, "Honey, We're Killing the Kids," which is a new TLC series. I was pleasantly surprised to see how well this program was handled. Hopefully this show will help many parents realize that they are, indeed, killing their kids.

The family featured last night was totally out of control in many more ways than just eating! The 8 year old son had never once slept in his own bed---straight from his crib into his parents' bed with mom---it didn't really say where dad slept... Both parents were chain smokers. The boys both played video games non-stop, and the family had no concept of going out and doing things together. There were no chores or family responsibilities for the boys at all, and they were not required to do anything to earn privileges. The youngest son was developing behavior problems that were directly linked to caffeine and high sugar intake.

The doctor on the program, a nutritionist, feels it is her life goal to make parents realize that allowing their children to be out of control in their eating and other areas of life that contribute to obesity is really killing their children. She wants to make them understand that they are in control, and they are responsible for their children already being in a situation that threatens their health.

To accomplish this, she uses state-of-the-art computer imaging to show the parents what their child will look like each year until the age of 40, if they do not change their current behaviors. This is done after she analyzes the family via hidden cameras in the home for a week so that she can get accurate information about their lifestyle. In this program, the boys, 8 and 12, were non-stop eating machines, and the oldest was 3 times the weight of a normal 12 year old boy. The 8 year old was also severely overweight, and was pre-diabetic and asthmatic (yet the parents continued to smoke while he had to be on a nebulizer!)

Even I was shocked to see the appearance of these boys as they aged via the computer imaging, as were the parents. They were told that by not taking control of their sons' eating, they were in effect, taking 15 years off their lives, as if they continued their present lifestyle, they would most likely die by the age of 60.

The rest of the program showed a week by week program of improving their family's lifestyle, which lasted 3 weeks, and then the boys were re-evaluated. Some of the rules the doctor gave were get rid of all junk food---completely pitch every bit of it, the parents were to stop smoking, youngest son sleep in his own bed, start exercising by enrolling in a boxing class, parent alone time, earn privileges by having a chore chart, eating healthy meals that they were given recipes for, and so much more.

It was fun to watch as the boys changed their attitudes through the three weeks from "this is like prison" to being excited about their new lifestyle. The oldest son lost 15 pounds during the 3 weeks!

On re-evaluating the boys, basing the new computer imaging on the assumption that the boys would continue their new lifestyle, it was exciting to see the handsome men they would become---and with a normal life expectancy!

Moms, if you have children who are obese, especially if this is a generational thing for your family, and you yourself are not able to control either your own eating and/or your child's eating, I encourage you to watch this program. You just might learn something that could add years to your child's life!

Need a Buddy???

Wed, 19 Apr 2006 19:44:00 -0500

Would you like to have a Blubber Blogger Buddy??? I notice that some of our Blubber Bloggers disappear now and then, and often it is because they have �fallen off the wagon� with their weight loss/fitness program, and are drowning in the depths of despair. Just when they need their fellow Blubber Bloggers the most, is when they seem to want to hide.

Thus the idea of a Blubber Blogger Buddy! If you disappear from the email loop for any length of time, your BBBuddy will check in on you at your home on the blog and/or email you to see what�s up, make sure you are ok, and pray for you; and you will do the same for your BBBuddy. This is the best form of accountability and support---having a partner to care about you when you need a helping hand.

If you would like to have a BBBuddy, and be one in return, please let me know either here on the BBBlog, by email, or on the loop. I�ll take the names of all who are interested, match them up with a buddy, and let you each know who your buddy is. I hope that this will help and encourage each of our members, knowing that someone is personally looking out for you and praying you through the tough times.

�Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his floow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.� Ecc. 4: 10

Another Contest Winner!

Tue, 18 Apr 2006 19:08:00 -0500

As you may have read in a post down below, we were on a quest to find the 36th member of the Blubber Bloggers email support group. And she is-----Sheryl from Taking the Challenge! And would you believe that she was one of the originators of the online support group??? She had been away from her home on the blog while moving, and without internet access, but once she got back to civilized living again, lol, she faithfully joined Blubber Bloggers, and somehow hit the lucky number! Sheryl will receive her choice of First Place books as her prize. Be sure to visit her blog and congratulate her!

The Blubber Bloggers now number 39 strong. If you are having weight loss, healthy lifestyle, and/or fitness issues in your own life, we invite you to join us by clicking on the yahoogroups logo on our sidebar. We'd love to have you!

Walk Across America Challenge!

Tue, 18 Apr 2006 18:50:00 -0500

Our first big Blubber Bloggers event is going to be the Walk Across America Challenge, which will begin in May! We would love to have any homeschool blogger join in the fun. To be considered for membership, just sign up over on our sidebar, and you, too, can join in the fun! It's going to be motivational and fun to see which team can walk, jog, run, climb, bicycle, and swim their way across the country first.

In order to make this competition close, and therefore more motivating to all who participate, I need to know several things from each of our members. Please cut and paste the following into an email to the group, adding your answers. I'll be forming the teams and the "Official Rules" in the next couple weeks, and then let the games begin!

Be certain to send this information to the Blubber Bloggers email loop, so that I am sure to receive it. The address is BlubberBloggers@yahoogroups.com

1) My first name (or screen name if you don't use your real name online) is: 2) My blog address is: 3) My email address is: 4) My age is: 5) My fitness level is what I consider to be, on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the poorest and 10 being the best I can be, a number: 6) I engage in the following fitness activities, or would be willing to do so---please choose from walking, jogging, running, bicycling, swimming. This includes walking, jogging, running on a treadmill, or bicycling on a stationary bike. 7) I have a pedometer to either count the number of steps I take each day, or the miles I walk each day....yes or no: 8) I plan to work out ______minutes a day on the average this spring and summer. 9) My goal is to lose _______pounds by the end of August. I currently weigh _____pounds. (come on, there are no secrets amongst us Blubber Bloggers...lol, and pounds lost and/or percentage of weight loss will be the climbing part of our challenge) 9) The state I live in is (this is because we want to have a cyber-visit with you as we travel across the country): 10) I consider myself to be a pretty motivational type of woman, and would consider being a team captain or co-captain...yes or no. That's all for this time! Be sure to blog about the Blubber Bloggers on your own blog, and hopefully we will get as many members signed up before the competition as possible, so that all can benefit from the fun that is being planned. Thanks for your answers! Kathy, your Blubber Blogger Moderator Visit my personal blog, Through It All Visit my March of Dimes Walk America site, in memory of my granddaughter Ellora. This is one of the reasons I walk!

Cool Weight Loss/Fitness Tools for You!

Thu, 13 Apr 2006 18:46:00 -0500

Here are some of the cool links that you will find on our featured weight loss blog this week. Try them out, then run over to MamaTrish's weight loss blog to find more cool stuff!

If I want to walk 3.5 miles in one hour, it will be 17 minutes per mile.

If I aim for 60% of maximum heart rate, which is good for a beginner, I should have a target rate of 100, and range of 92-142.

At my age, body height, and weight, and being moderately active, (as opposed to nearly sedentary just 6 weeks ago), I would need 2760 calories to maintain my body weight. I do NOT WANT to maintain my body weight, so I am aiming for 1500 per day.

If I go with 1500 calories, then they should be broken down into 600 calories in carbohydrates, and 450 each in protein and fat....not sure I agree with this one... what do the rest of you think????

It says 32%??? My scale says 42% ....I wonder which is the more accurate???

33...Is this number supposed to be close to the body fat percentage number? How are they different?

135...that's what my average weight was in college and the early years of marriage, so this is probably pretty well on track, but being realistic, my body is not the same as it was way back then, so I would be very, very happy to be in the 140's.