{be well, my friends}

Hey everyone! I know we haven't posted a blog yet this week. I've been fighting off a cold the last couple of days. I {hate} sore throats! But thank heaven for Traditional Medicinal's Throat Coat Tea! <---link here! It's seriously the only thing that has been keeping me going. I dug through the cupboard and organized all my tea boxes into one convenient container [a suggestion from Yvonne] and I was {so surprised} to find out how many different types of tea I have! I've made a new goal to {{drink more tea}} and less coffee. 

I am not a doctor, but I can say that we all know that a cup of tea can soothe the soul and the body.

Chamomile is a great sleepy time tea.

Green Tea aids in weight loss and other health issues

[read this report from Mayo Clinic]

Marshmallow Tea can help clear your lungs.

Mint Teas settle upset stomachs.

Fruit Flavored Teas are great for when you're under the weather.

Black Tea is an awesome pick-me-up.

Trust me, the list goes on! There are {{so many}} different varieties and flavors of tea that even if you just want a yummy low-cal beverage you're bound to find something you love. <3

Drink Tea. Be Well, my friends. 

<3 

Meg

{seventh weigh-in}

(February 23, 2013)

It's officially our week 7 weigh-in! Next week we will have our monthly measurements again, so stay tuned! Here's the breakdown:

{Megan} completed her first week of Weight Watchers and lost 2.4 lbs, weight in at 246.4.
   "FINALLY! Ha, I felt like that was never going to happen and I hope this is the change I needed."

{Yvonne} weighed in with a slight gain at 207.7
    "I expected the scale to look like this today since I kind of pigged out last night on a caramel apple w/pizza, haha. Next week!"

{Karen} weighed in with a slight gain at 151.6.
    "I've hit a plateau, but hopefully will see progress soon."

Our over all progress is going well! We've all had to make some slight {adjustments} to figure out what is working for us right now, but things are starting to fall into place and will only get better. {Everyone} will have a gain week, a plateau week, or even month sometimes! When you're on this journey it's not always going to go down consistently, but it will go down if you're patient with yourself and don't give up. You're worth it! <3 Happy weekend everyone!

<3,
Yvonne, Meg, & Karen

  T.F.S.

   {the fitness sisters}

p.s. we'd love to hear from you. You can email us at thefitnesssisters@gmail.com or leave a comment below! Connect with us on facebook at www.facebook.com/thefitnesssisters or on twitter at www.twitter.com/thefitnesssis

{looking back: part 3- megan}

My story is complicated, but I hope you stick with me and I hope it will help some people who have suffered with the same issues <3

I have battled PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) from the time I started my menstrual cycle (about 15 years ago.) PCOS was a fairly new diagnosis then, and I was treated with birth control and metformin. The birth control caused me to gain sixty pounds over the next eight months. My mom decided to take me off of it, and I continued to battle heavy and long menstruation and was never able to lose the weight. Many people with PCOS struggle to lose weight due to the increased amounts of insulin produced when eating foods that are higher on the glycemic index. Generally, PCOS is considered a pre-diabetic condition and it is recommended to lose weight (which can be very difficult.)

I've battled my weight since the age of 16. Because some of my weight issues were not related directly to consumption, food became my mortal enemy and I haven't always had the best relationship with it.

The turn around really came in 2010 when my sister, Yvonne, gave birth to her first child. I had a defining moment when I realized I wanted to be healthy enough to play with my niece, and I wanted to have energy. I was tired of being out of breath. After a longterm sedentary (and stressful) office job, I was at my highest weight of 318 pounds. I began to search and experiment with ways I could lose the weight and beat PCOS. It turned out to be eating non-processed foods. 

After changing over to what I called my 90/10, I began to lose weight quickly. This meant for me eating 80% non processed (no bags, boxes, cartons, containers, cans.) Everything in that 90% needed to be whole foods (which I considered fresh fruits & veggies and lean meats such as wild-caught fish and organic chicken.) I realized that I had less difficulty losing weight while eating organic, so that's what I did. The other 10% could be anything I wanted- crackers, cheese, etc; but it could only be TEN percent of my consumption.

I also began light exercise which entailed walking, girly push-ups at home, 3lb free weights at home, and squats. That's it. Between January 2011 and July 2011 (seven months), I dropped from 318 lbs to 251 lbs. I worked really hard to lose weight the {healthy} way and I felt really proud of my accomplishments.

My setback came at the end of 2011 and on into 2012. Over the summer of 2011 I was visiting France when I began to experience severe abdominal pain when I ate. I was hospitalized in France and released with a diagnoses of dehydration. When I returned to the states I had 7 more "attacks" that sent me to the hospital and each time I was released with no diagnosis. In September, 2011 I was admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis of gallstones. They had become so severe that it was effecting my pancreas and I had to stay in the hospital on IV only (no food) for 6 days before they could even perform the surgery to remove my gallbladder.

Between July and September I was having difficult eating anything other than than the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, and dry toast) and even then I would sometimes have severe pain. During this time I dropped to 233 lbs, which was my weight when I was admitted to the hospital. When I was discharged I was at my lowest weight of 224 lbs. 

Between September of 2011 and January 2012 I settled back into a normal and healthy routine and my weight settled at about 235 lbs (after recovering from surgery.) I was ok with the 10 lb increase because it was the weight I was at when I had entered the hospital originally.

My second setback came in February of 2012. After surgery and several hospital visits for food allergies (ones that I have newly developed), I grew an increasing fear that eating would cause pain or harm me. My official diagnosis is OCD in relation to food.

My OCD spiralled out of control and I was having severe panic attacks every time I would eat or take a bite of anything. The fear was controlling me. I couldn't eat anything. I started labeling food as safe or not safe (at random) and foods that I felt were "safe foods" tended to be unhealthy. My weight increased to 250 pounds where I pretty much have stayed through the latter half of 2012 and into 2013 so far. I have finally started to get a handle on food again and the healthy eating and lifestyle is working its way back into my life.

My over all thoughts are that since developing food related OCD, eating is going to be more of a struggle for me. I am VERY proud of my accomplishments from 201, and even though I hit some snags in 2012, I know I can make it through the rest of my weight loss journey.

I've been struggling to get down past this 248-250 lb mark that I've been stuck at for awhile, and I joined Weight Watchers this week to try a new approach for now, something that will give me a little more leniency with food until I'm ready to jump back in completely. I'm confident that I will see progress soon. In the meantime, I'm just happy to be sharing my story with you <3

xo,
Meg

{cinnamon pecan streusel cake}

(February 17, 2013)

I love to {bake} and have been trying new things for years, but I have always made high sugar, fat and calorie desserts. As I have been losing weight these last 2 years, I have been very careful not to eat anything that I bake and ruin my diet. If I did eat anything, I would only allow myself to eat 2-3 small bites. So, I went on a quest to find low calorie desserts! I found some awesome recipes and will now be cooking them for you and posting the recipes right here! (and on the recipe page) <3 

This first week I made a cinnamon pecan streusel cake. It was a really easy recipe and turned out {so} good! I would recommend it with a nice hot cup of coffee! All the ingredients were easy to find and it wasn't very time consuming. My overall rating for this is 4.5 stars (and only because I am not a huge fan of nuts in my desserts.)  Enjoy!

This recipe comes from the cookbook "Guilt Free Sweet Treats (Woman's Day)" and was tested out by Karen!

What you need:

STREUSEL:

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup uncooked quick-cooking oats

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp light stick butter, softened

1 tsp water

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

CAKE:

1 3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) light butter, softened

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt 

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cup each, all purpose flour and whole wheat flour

1 container (8 oz) reduced fat sour cream

Directions: 

1) Begin with Streusel- Mix brown sugar, oats, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add butter and water; rub between fingers until evenly moistened. Stir in pecans; press together to form small clumps.

2) Cake- Heat oven to 350*F. Line a 13x9x2 in. baking pan with nonstick foil, letting ends of foil extend about 2 in. above pan on short ends.

3) Beat sugar, butter, spices, vanilla, baking soda and salt in large bowl with mixer 3 minutes until blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each. Alternately beat in flours with sour cream on low speed until just blended.

4) Spread batter evenly in pan, sprinkle with streusel and bake 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Lift cake by foil ends onto cutting board. Cut into 24 squares.

{Karen's notes} I found that this took 45 minutes to cook, not the 35 suggested by the cookbook. I would set the timer for 35 minutes to check it, but not be concerned if it needs to stay in for an extra 10 minutes! I thought it was really good and I personally would serve it as a breakfast cake with coffee rather than a dessert!

{sixth weigh-in}

It's Saturday again and we all know what that means! Yes, it's time to jump on the scale and see how we've done this week. Here is the breakdown:

{Yvonne} is doing amazing on Weight Watchers and lost another 1.5 pounds this week! Karen and Megan were just saying how proud we are of her for sticking to the plan and already losing nearly 15 pounds since we started this blog 6 weeks ago!
       "I'm just happy that I'm continuing to make progress!"

{Karen} lost about half a pound this week! Progress is progress- no matter what! No loss is small.
        "I'm really happy with my half pound loss this week, especially since I allowed myself to indulge on Valentine's day."

{Megan} gained this week, but will not be giving up or getting discouraged!
        "I have been trying really hard and gaining weight still. I'm going to try a new approach! My sister, Yvonne, is doing so well on Weight Watchers {WW} that I just signed up for 3 months. Hopefully we will see a difference next week!"


We {all} just want to {encourage} everyone to stick through the hard times. Weight loss doesn't always go as planned no matter how hard you try! Sometimes you just have to re-evaluate what is going on in our lives. The three of us are giving it our best shot and regardless of the results we are making the lifestyle {changes} that are healthy for our bodies! We are so proud of each of our sisters- no matter how much we've lost (or haven't). The point is, we're trying and eventually we will figure things out!

We're {so happy} to have you all along for our journey. Don't give up on yours! Don't get discouraged if things aren't going as planned. We will all get there eventually! <3 Please leave us a comment with your feedback, thoughts, encouragement, or if you'd like to share your own story!

<3
T.F.S
   {the fitness sisters}

{looking back: part 2- yvonne}

I have always struggled with my weight, but not to the extreme I do now. When I was a teenager I definitely had to watch what I ate, but I wasn't overweight. Over the last few years, and {two pregnancies}, I have been up and down quite a bit with my weight and never was quite able to lose weight from my first pregnancy. This year, and another baby later, I made a commitment to myself to start a {healthy lifestyle} change. I am aware that life can get in the way of great intentions, so I'm trying to be so had on myself by "dieting," but just making overall better choices and incorporate exercise into my life. I want to be healthy and set {good examples} for my family! And let's be honest, I would love to look good in a swimsuit this summer! Two pregnancies or not, I don't want to be the chubby girl in my group of friends anymore. I look forward to seeing my {progress} this year and shopping for clothes I actually like and want to wear! Good luck to all of you out there doing the same!
<3
Yvonne

{fifth weigh-in}

(February 9, 2012)

We've made it just over a month and although it's been a bumpy start, we are all starting to settle into our new routine of living healthy.

So let's get straight to it!

{Karen} is down 2.8 lbs this week!

"This shows that just getting up and moving will get you results, can you imagine what I could have done if I had eaten right too?"

{Yvonne} lost 1.8 lbs this week!

"I'm actually shocked at my loss this week because I have not been on my best behavior with food last week. I'm going to count my blessings and refocus this week!"

{Megan} is down 1 lb this week!

"I'm really struggling with losing as much as I'd like since the beginning of this process, but I'm confident that I will find my way, just like I did in 2011."


All of us are focusing on {healthier} food choices this week! Karen and Megan are kicking it into high gear with the Couch to 5k (and 10k) programs! We will be doing a post on {running} soon. In the meantime, stay tuned for part two and three of our "looking back" blog to see what Yvonne and Megan have to say about motivation and progress. Find part one where Karen shares her story by clicking here.

You can also follow our daily progress on our twitter account: www.twitter.com/thefitnesssis or on facebook: www.facebook.com/thefitnesssisters <3 And as {always} feel free to leave us a message below or send us an email: thefitnesssisters@gmail.com

<3,
T.F.S
   {the fitness sisters}

{looking back: part one - karen}

 
 (February 8, 2013)

What happened to the motivation I had in 2011? I started that year out with so much motivation that I was able to lose 40 pounds in one year. Then 2012 came, and all was lost. So what happened? When I started my weight loss journey in 2011, I was at the heaviest weight I had ever been at: 187 pounds! I was ready to just be healthy again! I stuck to my plan and came really close to achieving my goal that year. However, in 2012 things changed when I started having some health (gi-tract) issues, then the holidays came around, and I didn't have the same drive anymore because I was at my lowest weight of 147 and I had become comfortable with my weight. Throughout 2012 I fluctuated between 147 and 157, unable to lose any more weight than I already had from the year before. My goal weight is 135 pounds, which is healthy for my height of 5'4. I'm not going to let another year pass in 2013 without progress! It's time to get my motivation back! This year I need to work on losing my last 15-20 pounds and toning my arms and tummy. Another thing I realized is that it's really important to make yourself look good in order to feel like getting out and doing things. I'm going to make an effort to do my hair and makeup, and get out more and feel more inspired to look my best!

Leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts! 

<3,

Karen

{new beginnings}

(February 6, 2013)

In 2011, we were highly motivated to get healthy. Seriously get healthy with lifestyle changes! Megan began her journey at the beginning of 2011 and Karen joined her shortly after. They lost 100 lbs and 40 lbs respectively during the course of the year. And then the year ended.

For all three of us 2012 was a really rough year health-wise. Not only did we not meet our fitness goals, but we also had some genuine health issues which delayed our progress.

Karen battled some serious GI issues as well as a car accident injury.

Both Megan & Yvonne had their gallbladders removed in late 2011 & early 2012.

Megan battled food-related OCD as well as ongoing PCOS and a large ovarian cyst unrelated to the latter.

Yvonne became pregnant (which is not a health issue! But definitely delays weight loss!) -- she has two beautiful children now <3

After a year of on and off road blocks in the realm of health and fitness, we all fell off the band wagon. We all gained weight over the holidays. We tried to hit reset a couple of times but, we seemed to have lost our motivation. In the next few blogs we are each going to take the time to talk to you a little about our inspiration in the past, our lack of motivation in 2012, and our future goals. Because it's {{TIME!}} We hope you read our stories and share yours.


<3
T.F.S.
{the fitness sisters}

{january vlog}

(February 6, 2013)

Hello friends <3

Last month was a little rough for me (Meg) and Karen, but Yvonne did amazing and lost a total of 7.5 lbs using Weight Watchers, and we are so proud of her! Hopefully this month we all will see great results!

After hours of editing videos, our weight loss vlog, "Losing It," is {{finally}} up on YouTube! But I'm going to put it here for all of you. If you want to subscribe to our YouTube account you can do so by clicking this heart <3. All of the videos are organized by playlist (we have two previous seasons!) Or you can click on the "vlog" tab above for easy access.

Enjoy!

Please leave us a comment, subscribe, and share if you desire to do so! <3 We {{always}} love to hear from you beautiful people!

<3,

Meg

{fourth weigh-in}

We've officially made it to our one month weigh-in! Honestly, some of us have not had the progress that we hoped to have for our first month, so for February we need to reevaluate what's going on and try again. There will always be ups and downs in this process and that's part of changing your lifestyle. This isn't about a fad, it's about a real change and we will persevere even through the rough spots.

Because we are at our one month, we will be sharing measurements as well.

{Karen} gained this week but has maintained her weight for the month. She did however lose a total of {2 inches} from her waist, bust and thigh and bicep.

 Measurements- 

Waist 37 in, {Hips 42 in}, 

Bust 38 in, {Chest 34  in}, 

Thigh 24 1/2 in, {Calf 14 1/2 in}, Bicep 13 in

"I'm glad I only gained a couple of pounds this week because I had a really bad week and I took it out on food. In February I'm going to work really hard to get on track."

{Yvonne} lost 3.2 lbs this week, putting her at a total loss of 7.5 lbs for the month, yay! She lost a total of {4 inches} this month!

Measurements- 

Waist 43 in, {Hips 45 in}, 

Bust 48, {Chest 36}, 

Thigh 25 1/2 in, {Calf 16 1/2 in}, Bicep 13 1/2in.

{Megan} lost two pounds this week and maintained her weight for the month. She lost {1.5 inches}.

Measurements- 

Waist 43, {Hips 48.5 in}, 

Bust 44, {Chest 39.5}, 

Thigh 30 in, {Calf 18 3/4 in}, Bicep 15 in.

"I am disappointed with my results this month, but I am not going to beat myself up over it. I plan on making the most of February and exercising regularly to see if that changes my results."

As always, feel free to {comment} below or send us an email! We would love to hear your thoughts and stories. We are a community, a sisterhood, a support system! <3

{super bowl- make it a choice}

(February 2, 2013)

Photography by Meg (Paris, France)

I wish I could say I came up with all kinds of healthy alternatives to the typical Super Bowl party food (and I know they're out there), but the truth is I haven't even tried. I am going to have a house full of people including a bunch of hungry beer-drinking men! So I have stocked up on all the "bad" foods: chicken wings, potato skins, chips & dips, hot dogs and everything else you think of as typical football party food.

I was starting to feel very stressed about how I am going to handle Sunday, but that's when I decided to make a "CHOICE" day. I'll repeat, that's {{choice}} not cheat! I have lost over 10 lbs since I started my new healthy eating plan. I do {not} plan to overeat or stuff myself, but I have decided to make the {choice} to enjoy my house party without thinking about counting calories or points.

The {key} is that I have made a promise to myself that all the leftovers the next day are {{off limits!}} I am fine with giving myself a day to indulge once in awhile, but that cannot turn into a whole weekend or longer of eating poorly. It is {so} easy to slip back into bad habits.

Well, good luck to all of you this weekend whether you are sticking to your plan or giving yourself a one day brea! Just remember, the scale will still be there next week to keep us accountable! So if you choose to let loose a bit, make sure to get back on track! No need to feel guilty about a choice day. Cheating has a negative connotation, so make sure you're making it a choice! Enjoy!

<3,
Yvonne