15 Week Challenge Q&A

Q- I had a question this morning come in via email asking how many participants there are.
A- Well, there are 161 dedicated, hardworking people that are going to make this challenge a success!
**EDIT There are 164 participants. Revised list to be posted soon**

Those of you who have sent in your week 1 WI's already... I have them, and they will be posted this Sunday.

Q- When should I check your blog for updates?
A- Sunday's, Monday's and Wednesdays for sure! Sunday will have the week's results, Monday will have the Weekly Challenge and you can't forget workout Wednesday!

On a completely non Q&A note, I've been able to add 3 more prizes to our list of for the winner. I'll elaborate more on that later!

Day of Rest

With Canada Day falling on Wednesday, I decided to take an extra long weekend. I had a nice little sleep in this morning and woke up naturally around 8h30am. It was wonderful. The heat has finally broke, so it was wonderful to wake up with a breeze coming in.

Breakfast was a green monster.

and some toast with peanut butter on Weight Watchers bread, and a peach.

I knew I wanted to take Jersey for a swim today. Yesterday I turned my back for 30 seconds and saw this:

Needless to say I was shocked! That girl loooves the water. I hosed her off to get the chlorine off her, but I still wanted to let her go for a good swim to make sure she was well rinsed. We headed to a trail near my house that runs along the Ottawa River. I let her swim for a while, then we ran about 5 or 6k until she was dried off. I actually ran without a watch, or music. Which is a big feat for a technology dependant runner. I'd be lying if I said it was a good run. I hate listening to myself breathe!

I came up and made a lunch featuring these. I got them at Costco. Each sausage has 130 cals.

I served on a bun with a little old cheddar, raw veggies and a side a fruit.


Supper tonight was not my favorite. I actually don't really care for chicken wings, but I will tolerate them if they are BBQ'ed. I peeled all the skin off them before eating too. On the side: a baked tater topped with Epicure potato topper, and zuchinni topped with goat cheese and Fig Balsamic dressing. Thanks for the idea Ang!

Desert tonight is a small cheese plate using up the leftovers from the weekend. I haven't ate it yet, but it sure does look good!

Its looking pretty grey out there. I think we're going to get another thunder storm. I'm going to snuggle with my hubby and watch some tv. Here's to a great day #1 of the 15 week challenge. :)

Weekly Challenge and Workout Wednesday Q&A

Q- We need to make the recipe, blog about it, and post it and email you by the end of today? Or does weekly challenge mean we can have it done by the end of the week?
A- You don't have to have it done by today, but by next Sunday.

Q- My weigh in day is today. So, I need to wait and email you after I've completed the challenges?
A- I would prefer it that way, to avoid getting a kazillion emails. But, I suppose its not the end of the world if you guys send a extra email or 2.

Q- Whats the criteria for Workout Wednesday?
A- You're right. I haven't talked much about Workout Wednesday. Basically, I am going to create quick mini workouts that will take you 10 mins, and will require little to no equipment. I just thought it would be fun to add a little something extra. Don't think you're getting off too easy though, some of the Weekly Challenges will be verrry physical! :)

Q- Are the Weekly Challenge & Workout Wednesday optional?
A- OF COURSE! If the challenges don't interest you, or you don't have time... don't worry! As I mentioned previously, 25 bonus points will help you earn an additional 1% to your total weightloss at the end of the challenge.

The Weekly Challenge - Week One

This week, I challenge you to recreate one of your favorite sinful recipes to make it figure friendly. This is something that I loooove to do. If you check out this post you can see one of my examples. It dosn't have to be a fast food recreation; it can be a fat laden pasta dish, a cookie recipe, or something as simple as adding some extra veggies to beef up the nutritional info.

This challenge will be worth 2 bonus points.

Each Weekly Challenge will be posted every Monday and you will have until the following Sunday to complete the challenge.

How do you report the completion of this challenge? I ask two things of you:

1) Add a comment to the Weekly Challenge post so that everyone can see what you recreated. I think this is the best way to share information!

2)To avoid getting 3 separate emails from all of you, I would like you to send me one email each week telling me the following information
1) Your Weight
2) Did you complete the Weekly Challenge - link if you have a blog
3) Did you complete Workout Wednesday

I know with this being the first week, things may be a little wonky... but just bare with me. It will get easier!

Rest assured, I'm getting all of your emails. I will be on top of everything by the end of the day. I promise!

The final spreadsheet will be posted this evening!!

GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL! This is going to be a wonderful 15 weeks. WEEEEEEE!

15 WEEK CHALLENGE BEGINS TOMORROW!

This is your last night of freedom. The 15 Week Challenge begins tomorrow!!

Stay tuned for your first "Weekly Challenge" tomorrow morning. Woo hoo!

FYI: Anyone can borrow this image for use on their blogs! ;)

Backyard Treats

I woke up this morning feeling pretty unhealthy. Best solution? Nutrients in a glass!! Today's mix was:

1/2 cup almond breeze, 1 frozen banana, handful spinach, strawberries, blackberries, pineapple and a blackberry yogurt. The pineapple made it a little tart, but refreshing. I am still feeling a little in the party mode, so I classed it up a notch and drank it outside in the sunshine in a red wine glass.

Here is our new patio set. Pretty eh?

Another angle.

And the new grill.

It only took Andrew about 3 hours to put it together. Glad it was him, not me!

I'm heading to the gym for an intense sweat session. I feel like there is cheese in my veins! Then we're off to a friends place for the afternoon for a day by the pool. I looove summer!

LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP FOR THE 15 WEEK CHALLENGE! WEEEE!

A great summer day!

Its days like today that make me looove summer! I went to the gym with Lisa, had a great workout despite feeling very weak.

I had a Purple Monster when I got home. Strawberries, blackberries, banana, almond breeze, spinach and a little frozen yogurt.

Andrew enjoyed one too. He had a busy day assembling our new BBQ! We also bought a new patio set which he assembled also. Our yard looks fantastic. We have a wonderful back yard, but have never really used it to its full potential. Pics to come!

We had some friends over for some nibbles tonight. Here is my spread.

A veggie plate.

Homemade guac, multi grain tostitos and an anti pasto spread.

Foccacia sticks, wheat thins and rosemary crackers.

Ciabatta and a baguette

Apples, cherries. straberries

And the star of the evening... CHEESE. Oka, Smoked gouda, brie, aged cheddar and gorgonzola.

A pitcher or 4 of Sangria.Our friends brought over this amazing Rolo cake from a local bakery. I'd be lying if I said I didn't LOVE every bite.

A great day indeed!!

I've extended the deadline for the 15 Week Challenge until tomorrow night at 6pm.

SIGN UP NOW!

Tweet

Lots has happened in the last 24 hours. Long story short, after threatening to cancel my contract (and paying to get out of it) they offered me a good deal. I checked out their website only to find out that their deal wasn't really that good... and that someone signing up off the street would be getting a better deal then me as a 10 year customer. I called back to ask them to match that deal, and well, by the end of the call I cancelled every single service we have with Bell.... which is ummm all of them: Phone, Mobile, Internet and Satellite. It felt great at the time, but now I am panicking somewhat thinking about having finding a new provider. Ah well, live and learn. Oh and one more thing: Eff you Jazz, agent number 6023232 and you inability to provide decent customer service. You work for the retention department, you may want to work on your RETENTION skills.

Now I have a Blackberry Curve in RED. Thats for you Jen. I hope thats not the one you hated??

All the cool kids are using Twitter these days. I never used it before, because pretty much every site in the universe is blocked at my place of work. However, now that I have a secret means of connection via blackberry I decided to join the revolution/cult.

Follow me @ AmysQuest.

Question for all you blackberry users: Tell me about your favorite blackberry feature.

I would usually task my amazing husband to do this, but he's a little busy BBQ assembling... more to come on that later!

Guacamole Recipe

Its no secret that I'm having a love affair with guacamole of late. Avocados tend to get a bad wrap for being high in calories and fat, but if you read here, you'll also see they are full of nutrients!

I thought I'd pass along my "recipe".... I use the term recipe loosely, because I just kinda wing it.

1 mashed avocado

1/2 edamame beans whizzed in the blender

1/4 cup salsa, or chopped tomatoes

2 tbsp fat free sour cream

fresh chopped cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

squeeze of lemon juice.

Mix all ingredients. Its THAT simple.

Calories and fat come primarily from the avocado. Adding edamame is much like adding spinach to Green Monsters, it dosn't alter the taste but ramps up the nutrients!

Delicious!

DON'T FORGET TO SIGN UP FOR THE 15 WEEK CHALLENGE! EMAIL ME!

And as a FYI: You are not required to have a blog to sign up!!! :)

I resisted the pub grub....

We played 2 games of baseball in the sweltering heat tonight. Hit up the pub afterwards for a few bevvies (diet coke for moi!!) and nibbles. I didn't eat a single thing! Woo hoo!

...but I made my own when I got home.

I made homemade guacamole and nachos for Andrew and I.

You can't win 'em all right? At least I avoided the deep fried goodness! I'm over it.

Operation Beautiful and Stuffed Peppers

I have continued to be moved by all the notes posted on Operation Beautiful. I was reading Oh She Glows today, and Angela wrote about her insecurities about sweating. I too, am very insecure about my sweat glands. I sweat like a madwoman, and often make a bee line to the changeroom after my workout to avoid too many people seeing my soaked t-shirt and flushed face.

Today I decided to embrace my beautiful, sweaty self.

I read about stuffed peppers on someone's blog... I believe it might have been Ashley's. Ever since, I've been CRAVING them!

Today I decided to create my own! Into the skillet went:

1/2 lb extra lean ground beef

1 turkey/chicken sausage

chopped onion

zuchinni

red pepper

mushrooms

handful frozen edamame

frozen peas

1 can mixed beans

1 can of tomato soup.

I cut 2 green peppers in half, filled with the stuffing and topped with some shredded cheese. (no pic sorry!)

Its a kazillion degrees here today, so I opted to cook them on the grill so I didn't have to turn on the oven.

I also grilled up some asaparagus to serve with it. It was a great meal indeed!

**EDIT - YES, I typed suzhinni instead of asaparagus. Can you tell what veggie remains close to my heart?? **

Don't forget to email me to sign up for the 15 Week Challenge!!

Have a wonderful evening!

15 Week "Q&A"

Q- Is the comp open to overseas people?
A- Of course it is! In my opinion, the more the merrier! The only fall back is that some of the prizes may not be valid overseas; ie: Subway gc.

Q- If I drop 1.5 lbs I report that I've accomplished 10 per cent of my goal for that week?
A- Please send me the number of pounds that you lost that week, and I’ll take care of the math for you.

Q- What sort of thing would be involved in a weekly challenge?
A- The weekly challenge will vary each week, but will be centered around healthy living. I already gave out one teaser: Take a sinful meal, and recreate it to be figure friendly. Sometimes it will be food related, sometimes it will be exercise related and sometimes it will be a challenge that is good for the soul! :)

Q- I am confused about the Starting Weight and Week One weigh in. I am a Sunday weigher, so if I send you what I weigh right now as my starting weight, my next WI falls on Sun. June 28th, before the challenge hasn't actually started. So it seems like there is a day missing in there, which is my regular WI day. So is my week one WI actually on Sun. July 5th?
A- Yes, that is the way its going to work. When I designed the challenge, I kinda forgot about the people that WI on Sundays. Consider it a few extra days to lose! :)

Q- Do you give us workout plans too? Or is it more of a personal thing?
A- For the most part, its going to be a personal thing. However, each Wednesday I’m going to post a feature called “Workout Wednesdays” which will be a little workout created by moi. I can only speak for myself, but I’m ALWAYS looking for new and fresh workouts... so when coming up with the challenge, I thought you guys would appreciate it!

SIGN UP TODAY FOR THE 15 WEEK CHALLENGE!!

After much preparation, I am thrilled to launch the 15 Week Challenge. Get ready for 15 awesome, but challenging weeks! Are you ready to learn more?

Here’s the scoop:

1. The challenge will run from June 29th – October 19th.

2. Weigh-in days will be your choice. The weight you see on the scale next week, will be your “Week One” weigh-in. You will weigh yourself once a week and send it to me via email at amysquesttoskinny@gmail.com ALL WEIGH-IN’S MUST BE REPORTED BY SUNDAY AT 5PM.

3. Because everyone has a different goal in mind, participants will be ranked based on the overall percentage of weight loss.

4. Participants can boost their percentage of weight loss by participating in The Weekly Challenge and Workout Wednesdays. For every 25 bonus points earned, you can add and extra 1% to your total. Each weekly feature will outline how to earn your points and provide instructions on how to report your participation. How is that for incentive?! :)

5. Registration for the 15 Week Challenge begins TODAY and will close on Saturday, June 27th at 5pm.. This will allow me some time to get my trusty spreadsheet ready to go for the beginning of the challenge on June 29th.

6. The winner will receive a FANTASTIC prize package with items from amazing products from: Tupperware, Dove Chocolate, Amazing Grass, Agatsu Kettlebells, Smart Wool Socks, Paul Plakas, Subway, and many more to come!

The most important question: How do I sign up? Send me an email at amysquesttoskinny@gmail.com and tell me the following:

- Your name

- Your blog address

- Starting weight

Kapish? I've reread this post a kazillion times, and I think that I have been pretty clear. If you have any questions or clarification request, please don't hestitate to contact me. I'll be happy to help!

Green Monster Tips

The Green Monster has really taken off in blogland of late. I can only speak for myself when I say that I'm whipping through produce like its nobody's business.

To get a better bang for my buck... I buy a HA-UGE bag of spinach from Costco for $3.99. Its triple the size of the one at the grocery stores and a few dollars cheaper. I store it in my Tupperware Fridgesmart container to ensure it stays crispy.

Another $$ saving tip... I look for the 50% off bananas at the grocery store. I got 7 bananas for 80 cents! They are very ripe, but thats perfect for the green monster. I cut them up and freeze them for easy use.

Just thought I'd share these tid-bits of info.

The 15 Week Challenge will be unveiled in just a few hours. :)

Busy Busy Busy!

Well.. the weekend FLEW by! Wedding was fantastic (aside from having to DD my hammered snoring husband home) and Fathers Day was lovely.

Jersey came along with us to my Dad's house and posed for pictures:

...and went for her first SWIM of the year!

Because my weekend was so frickin' busy needless to say there wasn't a lot of time for grocery shopping. As a result, I had no nibbles for today!

I procured a 12 grain bagel with light cream cheese from Tim Hortons and had it with a grapefruit drizzled with agave. I should note, I was thankful to have wet ones at my desk because peeling a grapefruit like an orange is pretty much THE messiest thing ever!

For lunch, I had a Wine'n'Cheese salad from Green Rebel. Deeelicious!


I had a TON of errands to run tonight after work: bank, Best Buy, Costco, Loblaws and Walmart.

I didn't want to get hungry, so I had a slice of toast with cinnamon raisin pb before I left.

I didn't get home from my errands until 8pm. I immediately grabbed Jersey and headed out for a sweaty yet fast 5k. Summer is officially here. I hate sweating.

Due to the over exertion I totally lost my appetite for a big meal.

Instead I had a green monster. Into the blender went:

1/2 cup orange juice

tons of spinach

blackberries

strawberries

1 source yogurt

1 banana

ice cubes

I also made a plate of nibbles: grapes, Oka cheese, wheat thins and some celery with Teddie PB.


Remember this from about 6 weeks ago?

This is the new summery do.

I don't love it, but I don't hate it either. The cut is amazing though!

In other news: The 15 Week Challenge will be posted tomorrow! WEEEEEEE!

For those who inquired, I enabled OpenID so that everyone can comment on my blog... thanks for pointing that out!

Have a great evening. I have a sneaking suspicion sleeping may be an issue this evening due to late workouts and energizing green monsters!