New Years' Resolutions

Fay and Kay are going to resolve to make their health a priority for 2011.  They are going to work on fitting in their 30 minutes of activity 6 days a week and challenge themselves to keep their heart rates up even longer than the 5 minutes each time.  The girls are going to work on reminding themselves of the importance of those little food changes such as reading the nutrition information and limiting their fries, dessert and drinks.

This year Fay and Kay resolve to take the few minutes that is required each day to complete their daily exercises.  They will do them all!

25 sit-ups and obliques
25 jumping jacks
10 pushups - real ones
10 lunges on each leg
prone extension for 25 seconds
25 leg lifts, with side lift, on each leg

Fay and Kay are going to have a great year!

Merry Christmas!

Well this week has been crazy getting ready for Christmas.  The girls missed their weigh in but decided to set a new life improvement of getting back on the wagon right after Christmas.  Fay and Kay will review the life improvements they have set for themselves and commit to getting back on them right away.  Merry Christmas to everyone!

Just Like Mom Always Said

Wow!  Kay had a great week!  She lost 2 pounds and is now only 1 pound away from losing 20!  Give Kay some praise... she has been working hard!

This week Fay and Kay had only one of their favorite high calorie drinks.  Fay picked hot chocolate from Dunkin Donuts... yummy!  She then had to refrain herself from getting it again later in the week... it was so cold in NY!  But she didn't get any more and besides saving the calories, she also saved $2.

The girls are adding a life improvement that would make their mom proud (it does... really... they talked to her today.)  They are going to work on their posture.  Both Fay and Kay have some "assets" to be proud of and therefore, both girls are slouchers.  Fay and Kay are going to focus on sitting up straight as much as possible.  The girls think this life improvement will strengthen their backs and their stomachs and even show off their improving figures a little bit.

Brrrrrr... It's Cold Outside

Fay and Kay didn't have a great week.  Fay gained one pound and Kay didn't lose any.  Fay is still reeling from her Disney trip, but is back on the wagon again, so hopefully she will lose that gained pound by the next weigh-in.  And Kay is recovering from double birthday parties and double leftover cake, but she is ready to see another lost pound or two for next week as well.

This week Fay and Kay found themselves very tempted by the yummy looking drinks being advertised around their neighborhoods.  Especially the warm, yummy looking drinks.  It has been so cold outside and the girls do enjoy a nice, cozy hot chocolate.  This week the girls are going to allow themselves only one high calorie drink per week... this includes the hot chocolate, latte and cappucino that are calling their names.  This also includes the homemade version of the same drinks... they may be saving money, but they aren't saving any calories!!  Other hot drinks, like coffee and tea, are still ok though.  And the once a week treat will be even more enjoyable!

Vacation Blues

This week, only Kay did her weigh in.  She lost a pound!!  Fay and her family spent the week in DisneyWorld and, sadly, Fay's room did not have a scale.  After enjoying a few buffets (brownies for breakfast?!?!) Fay was not so sorry that they didn't have a scale... in fact she was a little relieved to have an excuse not to weigh in this week.  Fay will get back into the workout and non-Disney-buffet life and be back on track for next week.

The girls did not find it at all challenging to drink only one glass of wine per week.  Fay did celebrate her anniversary with her husband with a bottle of Dom Perignon they received as a gift, but one glass was plenty for her anyway!  This one is still a good life improvement, so the girls are happy with their commitment.

This week, Fay and Kay are going to expand on their "jogging to the mailbox" routine and will begin jogging throughout their house while completing household chores.  Need a kleenex?  Jog there.  Have to go potty?  Jog there.  Carrying valuable dishes to the cabinet?  You can walk that one I guess, but you get the point!  It seems that the girls are benefiting from the quick exercises that they are able to incorporate into their busy lifestyles and they hope to keep themselves active all winter long!

Really Thankful

Thanksgiving... what can I say.  This is never a good week for dieters.  But for Fay and Kay, it was a pretty good week.  And for that, they are THANKFUL!  Fay lost two pounds and Kay didn't gain or lose!

This past week Fay and Kay entertained their neighbors by jogging out to the mailbox to check the mail each day.  The neighbors must think they are pretty crazy... especially because Kay's mailbox is only a short driveway away and Fay jogged out to the mailbox even when the mailman had delivered the mail to her front porch a couple of times.  But the jogging paid off and the girls had a good Thanksgiving week.

This week Fay and Kay will begin limiting alcohol to one drink per week.  This won't be too challenging most of the year, but once a month Fay will have to use her self control at the neighborhood ladies' Bunco night and Kay will have a challenging time when she encounters the homemade eggnog at all the family get-togethers coming up in the next month.  We will see if the new life improvement gives the weight loss a little boost for the holidays!

Maybe we should check the mail twice today.

This week was a little disappointing for Fay and Kay.  Fay didn't gain, thankfully, but she didn't lose that pound she gained last week either.  And poor Kay gained two pounds, so she was not too happy about that.  The girls do have one silver lining though... this is the week they get to blame Aunt Flo!  Next week should be a good week for the girls!

The girls did not get to use last week's life improvement much this week.  Kay does have a few of the yummy caramels she makes every fall still around, so she avoided them most days, but Fay hasn't received or baked any more Christmas goodies, and her kids ate all the caramels she got from Kay, so she didn't get to focus on holiday goodness/badness much at all.

This week Fay and Kay are going to start jogging to the mailbox to get the mail.  Usually both girls stop at the end of the driveway on the way home and grab the mail then, but not anymore.  The girls will jog from their home to the mailbox every day.  Maybe all the Christmas goodies arriving in the mailbox won't seem so yummy when the girls think about all the jogging they will have to do to burn those calories back off!

Who wants to spend Thanksgiving on the treadmill?

Those side leg lifts were more challenging than the girls thought they would be.  Both Fay and Kay have sore rear ends.  However, only Kay lost a pound this week... Fay actually gained a pound.  Hopefully a pound of muscle from all the hard work!

This week Fay and Kay are going to put forth an effort to resist the temptation of the holidays that seem to be arriving early this year.  In fact, Fay has already received a holiday gift in the mail of homemade candy... from Kay!  The girls will be thinking about each treat that arrives and deciding if the treat is worth the extra work to burn it back off.  They are hoping that the holidays will not wreak havoc on their new life changes this year.  So when you wish the girls a Happy Thanksgiving or a Merry Christmas, please also wish them a Good Diet!

Scared of Thunder (Thighs)

Apparently taking a break in the middle of every meal really made a difference for Fay and Kay.  They both lost a pound this week!  The girls agree that when they stop eating for awhile during a meal, after a few minutes, they no longer feel the need to continue the meal.  So this week they lost weight and had a lot of leftovers!

This week Fay and Kay want to add another exercise to their daily routine.  They are adding a side leg lift to the rear leg lifts they are already doing.  Now when they work on their rears by raising their leg toward the sky, they will do some thigh thinning work by lifting their knee out to the side and up as well.  Let's hope Fay and Kay can do away with their thunder thighs before next summer!

Hide the Halloween Candy Too!

The new sit-ups were tough.  Really tough.  And that's a good thing.  Fay and Kay enjoyed challenging their bellies with the oblique crunches and changing up the daily exercises a little bit.  Fay reaped the benefit with a one pound weight loss, but Kay saw the result of her last few weeks of stress and time constraints with a two pound weight gain.  Kay is recommitting to sticking with the plan and would love to hear your suggestions about fitting in her daily 30 minutes of activity while caring for her girls and working.

This week Fay and Kay thought it would be a good idea to take a break from each meal about halfway through and decide after a few minutes if they are still hungry.  This will, hopefully, allow the girls to make better choices about the quantity of foods they are choosing for their first helping.  Kay tried it for a day before suggesting it to her sister and she found that she often felt too full to even want to finish her first helping... sounds good to me!

Switch Up the Sit-Ups

Fay and Kay didn't have much success with switching to egg whites only last week.  Kay gained a pound and Fay didn't lose anything.  The girls discovered that they don't really eat that many eggs, but both girls did get one chance to avoid the yolks and found that it was an easy switch.  It just didn't give much of a weight loss boost.  Hopefully the health benefits will make the switch worthwhile!

This week Fay and Kay are going to switch up their sit-ups.  They were doing 25 straight crunches each day.  Now they are going to be doing oblique crunches instead.  The girls are looking forward to trimming up their bellies a little more!

No Yolks About It

This week found Kay a little swamped preparing for a big church festival (which was a success by the way), so she forgot to weigh in on Friday morning.  However, Fay weighed in and did not gain or lose so the girls are just going to pretend that they both stayed the same this week.

Fay and Kay really enjoyed the 5 Minute Room Rescue they did this past week.  Fay insists that her house has never been so picked up!  This week they are going to switch to an egg white diet.  Both girls have eggs with their kiddos occasionally during the week, so they are going to do away with the yolks and hopefully do away with a pound or two.  They will still be allowed baked goods with eggs in them as long as they stick to the rest of the life changes, but when eating eggs, it's all whites!

Can you vacuum off pounds?

A great week for Fay and Kay!  Both girls lost another pound!  I guess cutting the cheese really did make a difference!  It wasn't easy for the girls either.  Kay admitted that after making taco soup for her family one night, she found herself a little disappointed that she couldn't sprinkle a tiny bit of extra cheese on it, but she didn't do it and that lost pound makes her so glad she didn't give in to her craving!

This week Fay and Kay are going to take a hint from Fly Lady and her 5 Minute Room Rescue and spend five minutes each day cleaning one room in their homes quickly and efficiently.  During that 5 minutes, the girls are going to run, scrub, dust or organize and get a cleaner home while also burning a few extra calories.

Cut (Out) the Cheese

Fay had a great week... she lost two pounds!  She deserved it after not losing for the past few weeks.  Kay didn't gain or lose this week, but she was only one-tenth of a pound away from losing one, so it was very close!

The girls did OK with increasing their heartrate for five minutes instead of two.  Well... Fay did OK with it.  Kay forgot about it!  But Kay has been doing longer than two minutes each workout anyway so she thinks she can handle five minutes starting this week.  Both girls have found that their stamina is significantly increased and they feel pretty good getting those hearts racing.

This week the girls are going to make a point to not add cheese to every meal.  Fay and Kay both love cheese.  Not just eating a slice of cheese, but shredding it and putting it on everything... yes, everything.  The girls agreed that starting this week they will still allow themselves to eat cheese when it's in things (like lasagna), but they won't add cheese to every meal like they have been doing.  The girls hope to reap the rewards of cutting (out) the cheese.

Speed Up!

This week Kay lost another pound. Fay, once again, did not gain or lose. The girls are satisfied with their week, but are getting very anxious to see those pounds coming off a little faster!

This past week, the girls took teeny, tiny bites. Fay found that doing this eliminated her desire to go back for seconds. Kay found that she often discovered that she was full during her meal... not even finishing what was on her plate. Awesome job girls!

For this week, Fay and Kay are going to step up in the exercise department. They are currently doing 30 minutes of activity at least 6 days a week. During that 30 minutes, they are making sure their hearts are really pumping for at least 2 minutes. Starting this week, they are going to make sure their hearts are really pumping hard for at least 5 minutes. This is going to be a tough one for the girls, but they are ready for the challenge!

Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny...

This was a blah kind of week for Fay and Kay. Both girls didn't gain or lose this week. Fay and Kay understand that they are bound to have some weeks like this, but it sure is frustrating to feel like you made such an effort and not see any results. Fay thought for sure she was going to lose at least one pound after the long hike she joined her friends on last Wednesday!

This week Fay and Kay are going to address their inability to follow the life change they set in place weeks ago to eat slower. Both girls find that they have trouble eating slower and are having a hard time not being the first one done all the time. This week the girls are going to make sure they eat slower by changing the size of the bites they take... to itsy, bitsy, teeny, weeny... which, coincidentally, is the size they are hoping to be at the end of this program! Tiny bites means longer meal times so these life changes will work together to help the girls realize when they get full.

No More Cushie Tushie!

Fay lost one pound this week bringing her grand total to 30! She is now down to single digits of weight loss left to go! Kay didn't gain or lose this week, although she had high hopes since she felt she had done a lot of activities and really stayed on the program. Overall, it was a decent week for the girls.

So this past week the girls did a review week where they looked over the list of things they are supposed to be doing every day or week and reminding themselves to actually do them. It was amazing how many of the items Fay and Kay were not consistently doing. The daily exercises were the ones that the girls didn't seem to have any trouble remembering, but some of the other activity ones were being overlooked on a regular basis. Both girls had a good week staying on track and doing what they were supposed to. The review was a good idea. Perhaps this will be added into the rotation occasionally.

This week the girls want to add another exercise to the daily rotation... butt lifts. The girls have noticed nice improvements in their abs, legs and arms from the daily exercises and both girls would love to see a little butt improvement too! To do this exercise, you need to get down on all fours and then lift your bended leg behind you in the air (the bottom of your foot up towards the ceiling) 25 times on each side. Fay are Kay are looking forward to seeing some serious results from this one!

Let's Review

This week was a pretty good week for Fay and Kay. Fay lost two pounds, however since she gained two pounds last week, she is really just back where she started. Kay didn't gain or lose this week. The girls agreed that eating only one serving of bread each day was surprisingly difficult. Kay found it to be a challenge because her husband baked numerous loaves of homemade bread this week which was very tempting to her. Fay found that the new life improvement required planning ahead for meals, which she admits doesn't always happen at her house.

This week Fay and Kay need a little refresher course. Both girls find themselves forgetting some of the prior life improvements and, as a result, not consistently making all of the changes in their lives. The girls are wanting to make these improvements be something that they can continue for the rest of their lives so that they will not gain back their weight and so that they can be a healthy example to their children. The girls' life change this week will be to review the changes they have previously put in place and make sure they are putting forth their best effort to improve their lives in these ways.

Poor Aunt Flo... always the scapegoat

Uh Oh. Fay had a bad, bad week. Fay somehow managed to gain two pounds this week despite actually feeling like she had a good week. Kay did much better, not gaining or losing. Fay is inclined to blame her old standby for her bad week and is hoping to see a much better number next week.

Fay and Kay enjoyed last week's challenge of making your housework really work. Fay did a bunch of extra trips up the stairs during laundry time, which, with three kids, is ALL the time. Kay used her old step areobics step, which hasn't been used in a little too long, to fit in a workout in front of the sink while doing the dishes. Both girls did a little house jogging when travelling from room to room and they both thought last week's challenge was pretty fun!

For this week, Fay and Kay want to limit their bread intake to one serving each day. This essentially means one slice of bread or one dinner roll each day. The girls will have to switch to open faced sandwiches or plan ahead if they are having yummy French bread with dinner, but they are willing to make a sacrifice in the name of better health.

Wax On, Wax Off

Fay and Kay both had great weeks. Fay lost one pound and Kay lost two. Apparantly eating slowly really makes a big difference... except that both girls admit to rarely actually remembering to eat slower this week. They promise to try a little harder in the upcoming weeks to remember all the new life changes!

This week, Fay and Kay are going to make a small change right in their own homes. They are going to make their housework really count as work by putting a little extra effort into it. The girls have a lot of freedom to interpret this new change however it works for them, but Fay suggested that when running the sweeper, you can dance or jog your way from room to room. Kay suggested taking out some laundry and folding it then going back for more instead of piling it all in a basket for a single trip. The girls hope to burn a few extra calories while barely noticing that they are doing more exercise... and even having a little fun in the process!

The Statue of Liberty has a 35 foot waist.

Fay and Kay spent this week together and had a wonderful time! Kay brought her daughters up to visit Fay and her family in New York. The girls took their five kiddos and went fruit and veggie picking at a local farm, spent a day in NYC seeing the Statue of Liberty, took a walk along the Hudson River and went hiking at Fay's favorite Nature Museum. The girls did all their daily exercising and squeezed in an extra workout on the one day they spent more time chatting than doing physical activities. They also did pretty well with their other life improvements... except getting to bed by 11:00... that just wasn't in the cards. Sadly, the scales weren't impressed by Kay's mountain hiking and the multiple flights of stairs in took to get to the top of the Statue pedestal, so despite what Kay thought was one of her best workout weeks, she weighed in this week with a 2 pound weight gain. Maybe it was all muscle... carrying a sleepy 3 year old around NYC has got to count as raising your heart rate... right!?!

Fay and Kay are going to get right back into their life improvements after their vacation. Both girls are going to do their best to be in bed by 11:00 and to remember all of their changes. This week they are going to also try to start eating slower. Both Fay and Kay admit to being "snarfers". What!?! You've never heard of "snarfing"!?! It's when you eat really fast and then realize that everyone else still has half their meal to go and you finished yours ten minutes ago. Fay and Kay are going to start eating slower and give their bodies time to realize they are full before they eat too much. Of course, they agreed to this new rule late Thursday night and then Friday morning they both finished their breakfast long before the kids... hmmm... maybe this one will take some work!

Lullaby... and Good Night

Got Milk? Fay and Kay do... and they both lost weight because of it! Fay and Kay drank a glass of milk before dinner every night... well, every night that they remembered. Fay thinks it helped her with the tasting while cooking dinner and Kay thinks it helped her with portion control. Both girls think drinking milk played a part in their weight loss this week.

This week the girls want to give themselves the opportunity to increase their energy. Fay and Kay both feel that having a little more energy would help them feel like fitting in a 30 minute workout even when they have to do it in the evening after a busy day. To make this happen, the girls want to try to go to bed by 11:00 at least 6 nights a week. Of course, if there are extenuating circumstances such as a much needed date night or, let's say, your sister is coming up from Texas to visit you in New York for a week, then this rule goes out the window, but the girls will make an effort to not stay up late watching TV or scrapbooking when they could be building their energy instead!

Milk... It's What's for Dinner

Fay was sure glad when she didn't gain any more this week. However, she was a little disappointed to see that Kay is following in her footsteps. The girls didn't have a great week, despite the fact that they both thought the new life improvement of keeping your heart rate up for two minutes was challenging and made them feel strong. They are determined to keep making their life changes and know that they will reap the benefits in the long term.

This week Fay and Kay want to find a way to curb hunger before meals. They have decided that they will drink a glass of milk (2% or better) about an hour before dinner each night to dissipate their hunger and encourage them to consume fewer calories at a meal that they both have some trouble controlling their portion sizes at.

Fay and Kay could use some encouragement since they both seem to be struggling with overcoming the plateau they have been resting comfortably on for a few weeks. Please send them good vibes... or even a few comments... to help them move forward.

Run, Run, Run

It appears that every week we end up posting later and later. We promise to try and get next week's post out on time!

This week was pretty good... for Kay at least. She lost one pound. Fay, on the other hand, gained a pound, so she's is hoping to do a little better this week. The girls did well with eating two servings of raw veggies during the week. A salad for a meal here and there and veggies dipped in hummus for a snack every one in a while was easy to squeeze in so Fay and Kay both thought this week's challenge was not too difficult. Fay even got to take advantage of the prior week's life improvement when she took her kids to the mall and got to take the stairs instead of the elevator.

This week Fay and Kay would like to make sure they are getting the most from their 30 minutes of activity each day. They decided to add that during that 30 minutes, they need to make sure their heart is really racing for 2 minutes. For Fay, this means that during her walks around the neighborhood she needs to run, really run, for two minutes. And for Kay, while she is playing tennis, she needs to actively keep the ball going for two whole minutes. Fay and Kay are both confident that they are ready for this step up in their workouts.

So Much for Creamed Onions

Sorry for the late night post today. Fay spent the day celebrating her youngest's birthday and spending the day at Chuck E. Cheese with 25 six year olds apparently wiped her out!

Fay and Kay both lost again this week! The weight loss was not the result of last week's stairs-instead-of-elevator life change though since neither girl had the opportunity to try out this new change. But the girls were very happy that prior weeks' life improvements were still working for them!

This week Fay and Kay are going to start eating two servings of raw vegetables every week. Both girls currently eat their veggies, but they usually eat them with butter, salt, cheese or some other not so healthy topping. The girls don't want to limit themselves to salads all the time, but switching a couple side dishes to vegetables in their raw state will improve the girls health and, hopefully, give them another pound next Friday.

What if we go to the Empire State Building?

Fay and Kay had an interesting week trying to limit one meal a day to 250 calories. Both girls tried to make breakfast their 250 calorie meal as often as possible. Fay had Multi Grain Cheerios with milk and Kay stuck to her favorite of Frosted Mini Wheats with milk. It was a challenge for both girls who love cereal but usually eat quite a bit more than 1 cup! But Fay and Kay both stuck to the challenge and Fay lost another pound!

This week the girls are going to take the stairs instead of the elevator whenever it is an option. Fay and Kay don't go to a lot of places where there are elevators, but when they do, they want to sneak in some extra calorie burning. Fay is just hoping she doesn't go visit her husband at work anytime soon though since he's on the 32nd floor!

You can still have the Bacon Egg and Cheese Muffin at Subway

This has been an interesting week for Fay and Kay. Fay lost one more pound. She is to the point where she feels like she is doing a lot of work for not much weight lost. A pound is a pound, but Fay hopes every week to see a smaller number on the scale and that darn scale keeps just barely inching down. Kay found it tough to keep with the improvements early in the week when her husband made cheese fries for dinner one night and she found herself face to face with a large Dr. Pepper one afternoon. Kay buckled down later in the week and ended up not losing or gaining for the week. Overall the girls are satisfied but not thrilled.

Fay and Kay both thought the "Superman" pose was pretty easy. They saw some benefit to the pose when, after only a few days, both girls had strengthened their cores enough to be able to do their pushups with only one or two breaks instead of the usual four. By the end of the week, Fay did 10 pushups with no break and Kay only needed one break. Awesome!

This week Fay and Kay want to delve deeper into the calorie counting. For the last couple weeks, Fay and Kay have been looking up the nutritional information for everything that they eat. They have now familiarized themselves with the calorie counts for many of their favorite foods. This week they want to limit one meal a day to 250 calories. This is a pretty strict limitation, but the girls think it will add an extra boost to the weight loss for them. Obviously this limitation will be most easily executed at breakfast with a average size bowl of cereal with milk. But the girls are leaving their options open by allowing the calorie counting to be done at any meal... which is good since this plan was agreed to by the girls after breakfast this morning!

Look... Up in the Sky...

Well, Fay and Kay stayed focused on their goals this week and it really paid off. Fay lost one pound and Kay lost two! The girls found their new life improvement to be pretty interesting. They took the time to read the nutritional information for everything that they ate and Fay and Kay learned a few things. First, they learned that "serving size" is very misleading. Did you know that a single cup of prepackaged grapefruit slices is two servings? No? Neither did they. Secondly they learned that you can't judge a chicken tender by its cover. Fay ordered the 3 piece chicken tenders from KFC one afternoon and went home knowing that she had probably consumed way more than is appropriate only to be pleasantly surprised that she had only a 340 calorie lunch... perfectly appropriate (and filling too).

Fay and Kay are still struggling with their boy pushups. One major factor is that the girls find that their midsections are not as firm and buff as they once were (you know... back when they were 5). The girls think that if they strengthen their core, they will find the other exercises to be a little easier. So this week Fay and Kay are doing a core strengthening move... the prone extension Kay calls it... Fay calls it Superman... whatever. Lay on your tummy with your legs straight and arms extended above your head. Now lift your arms and legs off the ground and hold for 25 seconds. "It's a bird... it's a plane... it's Fay and Kay a little bit skinnier than before!"

Not Unexpected

Fay and Kay knew this week wasn't going to be great. Fay felt like she didn't do too well in the eating area and Kay skipped a few days worth of activities. But both girls were satisfied that they didn't gain or lose during the week. And both girls are going to stay focused this week and make those life improvements really mean something!

Fay and Kay had a good laugh about last week's improvement... boy pushups. The girls have found that switching to boy pushups has equated to having to take alot of breaks in order to get all 10 pushups in. Three or four breaks to be exact. But Fay and Kay did every one of those pushups and hopefully it will only take a few weeks before they can do all 10 without a break!

This week Fay and Kay would like to start getting an idea of how many calories they are consuming with their new life improvements. This idea came about when Fay purchased mini muffins for her kids. She ate four mini muffins and still felt hungry, but a quick glance at the nutrition information revealed that she had already consumed 440 calories... more than a humongous bowl of cereal that would have been much more filling. So this week, the girls will begin reading the calories for everything they eat. Every... thing. If they eat at a restaurant, they can look up the menu in advance or look it up after they return home. Fay and Kay are not planning to write it down, though you can if you want to, but they just want to see how many calories are in the foods they are choosing. Perhaps this life change will help the girls know what the better choices are.

Meeting Some Goals!

Well something is going right. This week Fay lost 3 pounds, bringing her total to 2o, and Kay lost 2, taking her back past the 10 pound mark. Great week girls!

Did anyone try measuring out chips and french fries last week? Well, Fay and Kay did. Kay premeasured her chips and enjoyed them ratably over the week. Fay premeasured hers as well and skipped all opportunities to eat fries. However, Fay did have fries today and is already down to only one more ounce for this week!

Fay and Kay decided that this week they will make one of the daily exercises a little tougher. Right now both girls are doing their 10 pushups on their knees... like, you know.... girls. From now on though, those 10 pushups will be up on their toes... Fay and Kay call them boy pushups, but you can call them arm flab eliminators!

Time to Tackle the French Fries

Whew! Fay and Kay both lost weight this week! The girls were a little nervous at weigh in this morning after what happened last week, but they were pleased that the numbers are headed in the right direction again!

Fay and Kay enjoyed the new exercise routine. Fay fit in quite a few walks around the neighborhood and Kay got lots of swimming and tennis in. Way to go girls! Both girls let Thursday be their "off" day for exercise this week. Kay found a way to make swimming with her little girls more exercise. She swims one lap while they sit on the side cheering her on, then she plays with them while she recovers from the tough swim. Repeat over and over. Kay (and her girls) are happy with the new plan. Fay found a way to fit her monthly Bunko night into her new lifestyle. She skipped dinner and allowed herself to enjoy the evening snacks as dinner. She still stayed away from the sweets though as she only gets three bites of those!

For this week, Fay and Kay want to limit their intake of chips and french fries. These items are hard to resist, but just aren't the healthy choices that Fay and Kay want to be making. The girls agreed that 2 oz per week of these items is plenty. Go ahead and measure it out... 2 oz really is plenty. Kay decided to measure her 2 oz of chips out in advance and eat as she pleases from that one bag each week since she rarely eats fries anyway. Fay thinks she will measure as she goes since fries are more likely to show up on her plate. She will, however, have to find a way to measure before she eats. Hmmm... maybe that will end up being too much trouble and she will just not order them... hmmm... maybe that was Kay's plan when she suggested this improvement... hmmm.

They Don't Want to Talk About It

This morning was bad... very bad. Fay and Kay both gained this week and they are not too happy about it. The girls are going to blame PMS for the terrible weigh in. And if you tell them otherwise, they will also blame PMS for their yelling and crying, so let's just avoid that by agreeing with them. Poor Fay and Kay!

Fay and Kay are kicking it up a notch by increasing their 30 minutes of activity from 4 times a week to 6 times a week. Fay is looking forward to hiking season with her neighbor friends and Kay's neighborhood pool just opened, so both girls think that they can handle the exercise increase. And hopefully next week, Fay and Kay will have better numbers to show for it!

Kay Lost 10 Pounds!

Kay reached 10 pounds lost! Fay is so proud of her sister... Kay is pretty pleased herself! Fay lost two more pounds also. Thank you to everyone who left an encouraging comment... the girls really love reading them. Keep 'em coming!

Fay and Kay both did pretty well with the additional exercising. The lunges weren't too terrible, though the girls' did possibly discover that there are some muscles hiding under all that junk in their trunks!

This week Fay and Kay are committing to making good choices at restaurants. What constitutes a "good choice" will be left up to each girl, but Fay suggested ordering a normal meal and putting half in a to go container for the next day. Kay suggested ordering off the dollar menu at fast food places for a smaller portion size. Sharing a meal with a friend (or sister) would be a great example too. In addition to being more healthy, this life improvement will also save the girls a few bucks!

Let's Get Physical

Fay and Kay both had great weeks. Fay lost another two pounds, bringing her total to 15. Kay did her weigh in on Thursday because she was visiting family out of town on Friday and realized after she got there that they do not own a scale. (Who doesn't own a scale you might be wondering... someone who stays at a perfect weight fairly easily, that's who.) Anyway, Kay lost another pound, but felt good that she might have lost two had she been somewhere with a scale on Friday.

Having only one healthy snack a day is a pretty easy change for the girls. Since they had already eliminated eating after dinner, both girls were usually only snacking once a day already, so making a healthy choice was not too hard. They are continuing their activities and are feeling strong and good!

This week, Fay and Kay would like to add another daily exercise... lunges. Ten on each side seems doable for the girls. Fay and Kay are hoping that their legs will get as strong as their arms have been getting! Maybe their rear ends will reap the benefit as well... it wouldn't hurt (except maybe it will!)

Encouragement Needed!

Fay is very pleased with her two pound weight loss this week. Kay, however, is not as pleased with her continued plateau. She is having a bit of a struggle with a few of the life improvements... especially avoiding those second helpings. Please leave Kay a comment to encourage her as she keeps working towards her goal!!

The girls have spent the last week parking a little farther away to try and sneak in some extra exercise. This life improvement is easy... when they remember to do it. More than once this week, Fay has come out of a store and remembered this improvement as she was walking to her car... which was not parked as far as it could have been, safely and reasonably. They will continue to work on this improvement.

The girls have decided that this week's life improvement will be in the form of snacking. Fay and Kay will only have one healthy snack per day. "Healthy" is being left up to each girl's judgment, but Fay and Kay are confident that, though it isn't defined, they will know it when they see it. Sadly those Girl Scout cookies that are still on Fay's kitchen counter are not going to be a good snack option!

Can Everybody Say "Plateau"?

Ooooh... that's not good. Neither Kay nor Fay lost a single pound this week. Both girls insist that they stuck to all the life improvements, but still nothing. Fay and Kay are still pleased though, as neither girl gained a single pound either! Fay had been warned by her husband that at some point she would hit a plateau and it might take something big to get over it, but she didn't realize it would come so soon!

Not eating second helpings at meals has been interesting. Fay caught herself going back for seconds at breakfast last Friday morning... that's right... the very first meal of the very first day of the improvement. But she caught herself and put her plate in the sink instead. Kay had a little trouble one night when she made homemade meatballs. She put a single helping on her plate but was really thinking she would want more... a lot more. But after she finished her first helping, she sat at the table a while and then realized she didn't really want any more. Both girls are really happy with this improvement and feel confident that this one will help them get where they want to be. Just as soon as they get over this plateau!

Fay and Kay are really challenging themselves on the life improvements that are exercises. The pushups are still tough for Fay. But on two nights, she did her pushups without taking a break, so Fay is sure her arms are getting much stronger. Kay has been doing great at her pushups... she has strong arms already, but she has really been pushing herself with her sit-ups. She has improved her form and is doing them all without a break.

This week Fay and Kay are choosing to park farther away from their destination in order to sneak in some extra walking during the day. The girls will be parking as far away as is reasonable and safe. This will be an easy way to get a little extra exercise in while they do their mommy chores. And hopefully this will kickstart a great week!

Up, Down, Up , Down

Wow! Those pushups are tough! Fay discovered this week that she has absolutely no upper body strength. She found herself taking 3 or 4 breaks during her pushup stint. If you are counting, that is resting after every 2 or 3 pushups. Ya... that's right... no need to judge! Kay did a lot better and was able to do all 10 pushups without a break by the end of the week! Go Kay!

The girls did pretty well this week. Fay and Kay both lost one pound. One day Fay did stop at McDonalds for a small caramel Frappe because she had a coupon for a free one. She realized a few sips in that this blended coffee beverage was a little too sweet not to count as dessert so she drank half and gave the other half to her better half. She later was very pleased with her decision when she looked up the nutrition information and discovered this drink has 450 calories and 20 grams of fat. Not worth it... very yummy, but not worth it!


Fay and Kay decided that this week they will "just say no" to second helpings. They will get one helping at each meal, and that's it! The girls will have to teach themselves what one helping means and be careful not to take double sized helpings on the first try, but they are pretty confident that they can handle this one!

Milestone

This was an exciting week for Fay and Kay. Fay reached 10 pounds lost and Kay reached 5 pounds lost! The girls are having fun changing their lives together and are talking on the phone nearly every day discussing their ups and downs.

The consensus for this past week's life improvement is that drinking 4 big glasses of water really does help you lose weight... by making you walk at least an extra 10 miles a day back and forth to the bathroom! But the girls are sticking to it and will hopefully see reduced water weight fluctuations in a week or two (or three).

Fay and Kay agreed that this week was a good week to start working on those flabby arms. Who thinks Fay and Kay will be ready to bare sleeveless shirts by the summer!?! So the girls are doing 10 pushups each day. The real ones, too... no fake pushups here! All the way down and all the way up. If 10 gets too easy {nervous laughter} then they will increase the repetitions to 25, but for now we have to start with something that is actually doable for Fay and Kay, so 10 it is. Ready, set, go!

Yay Fay and Kay!

Wow... what a great week for Fay and Kay. Kay lost 3 pounds and Fay lost 2! Way to go Fay and Kay!

This past week's improvement seemed pretty simple... 25 jumping jacks every day. But things are not always as they seem. Fay did her jumping jacks every night before her shower and by the end of the week her thighs and rear were killing her! And poor Kay... they just don't make a strong enough sports bra for Kay to do jumping jacks. She suffered through them but a few nights Kay's arms got a whole different kind of workout keeping her ladies under control!

The eating improvements are getting to be second nature to both girls and Fay even made it through a night of neighborhood Bunco without snacking at all. (Luckily, wine is still on the diet!)

For this week, Fay and Kay are going to start drinking four big glasses of water every day. Water is supposed to help fend off hunger (which both girls could still use some help with in the evenings) and Fay and Kay heard that it might also eliminate the bloating that makes it tough for the girls to lose any weight one week a month.

Fay has heard from a couple friends that they are reading this blog and joining along. If you are joining Fay and Kay on their life improvement plan, leave us a comment. We want to know how you are doing!

Hey... Where's Kay?

Today is the day for Kay's husband to have his surgery. Kay had to miss her weigh in this morning since they stayed at a hotel close to the surgery center last night, so Kay is getting a reprieve from the scale for one week. She will rejoin Fay on the scale next Friday!

Fay lost one pound this week. She is happy to have lost anything, but a little disappointed as this week was a tough one for her. Fay went to bed every night feeling like she was going to starve to death since she is so used to eating after the kids go to bed. The first evening, Fay was washing the dishes and saw some sliced apples on the counter left over from dinner and just popped one in her mouth, out of habit. She realized her error and spit it back out (ewwwwww!) and couldn't help but laugh at how this week's improvement was going to be a real challenge! Fay really thought she would lose more than one pound, but one pound is better than nothing!

Fay and Kay both stuck to the other life improvements pretty well. Fay has her kids home for Spring Break so she was able to get some good playtime activities in. Kay had great weather and was able to get her little ones outside for her activity time... frisbee!! Both girls are finding the earlier life improvements to be not as challenging now... even the three-bite rule. Neither girl is craving sweets anymore... MIRACLE!

This week's life improvement is to do 25 jumping jacks every day. Combined with the 25 daily sit-ups, the exercises should still take less than two minutes each day, but are really having a great impact for Fay and Kay. Good luck this week and please wish good luck to Kay's hubby this morning!

Getting Tough

Another week down. Fay lost another 2 pounds and was super excited... until she called Kay and discovered that Kay didn't do as well this week. Kay did all her sit-ups, and her no cokes, and her three-bite max on desserts, but she didn't have a good week for activity. That, combined with eating out a few extra times got her in a little bit of a slump. That's OK though. Kay is going to figure out a good routine and get right back on track.

Fay and Kay both agree that the three-bite rule is getting pretty easy. Kay found that putting three bites on a plate and taking teeny tiny bites made it last longer and... well let's just face it... made it more fun. Four activities a week was a bit challenging though. Fay rode bikes with the kids three days but found herself chatting with other moms instead of riding and had to ride a little extra to make up the full 30 minutes. But then the weather took a turn for the worse and it got too rainy and cold to ride bikes so Fay had to complete her activities with a 30 minute dancing/ jogging in place activity while watching CSI Miami. That was pretty fun!

This week Fay and Kay are adding a life improvement that will be a big challenge for Fay... no eating after dinner. The reason this is such a challenge is that Fay likes to have dinner with her family and then after the kids go to bed, she likes the calorie equivalent of a second dinner while she watches TV, talks on the phone or blogs. But today is the first day of the new improvement and Fay is sitting here blogging without a snack! It's a miracle! Fay and Kay did agree that if you save your three sweet bites until after the kids go to bed so that you can enjoy them in peace and without three little mouths asking for a bite, then you can still have that... just no snacking!

2 Girls, 2 Weeks, 2 Pounds!

Two more pounds each! Wow! Fay is starting to really get excited!!

This week Fay and Kay only ate three bites of sweets each day. This was, by far, the hardest life improvement so far, but both girls did pretty good. Kay did have one forgetful moment when her family came over for dinner, but she made up for it with the first ever "Fay and Kay Consequence Day"... she had to walk a mile the next day! What made this week so challenging was that Kay lives in Texas, where the Girl Scout cookies are already available. Uh Oh! Fay and Kay agreed that one cookie is about 3 bites unless you have Thin Mints... then you get two (hey, we have to be reasonable here). Fay will put this to good use soon enough since she placed her cookie order before Fay and Kay started trying to get skinny. They should arrive in New York pretty soon. Wish Fay luck!

The new life improvement that Fay and Kay came up with was to do 30 minutes of any activity at least 4 times a week. This doesn't mean running on the treadmill or Sweatin' to the Oldies... though you are welcome to do those if you wish. Just any activity where they are up moving. Taking a walk, riding bikes with the kids, playing Wii... anything that means they aren't sitting around. But Fay and Kay don't get to slack off on their sit-ups. Got to get those abs bikini ready! (Or at least down-one-jean-size ready!)

First Weigh In

Fay and Kay had their first Friday Morning Weigh-In and they both lost 1 pound!!

Fay and Kay both stuck to the life improvements pretty well this week. Nobody drank any soda at all. In fact, Fay thought that switching her afternoon Sprite to water was pretty easy and not a big deal. Fay and Kay both did all of their sit-ups as well, although Fay admits that she forgot to do her sit-ups on Thursday so she had to do 50 today... ouch! When she admitted her failure to her sister, Kay, Kay admitted that she did double sit-ups this week too. Yay for sisters with bad memories!

Interestingly, Kay thought the sit-ups got a little easier as the week progressed, but Fay got some seriously sore abs and thought the sit-ups got a little harder. But both girls got a little stronger!

Fay and Kay have come up with this week's life improvement... no more than three bites of dessert/ sweets each day. Three REGULAR bites... we don't want anybody choking to death on the biggest bite of birthday cake you have ever taken in your life! Though this week will likely be a more difficult challenge for both Fay and Kay, they are ready to make a little change that will make a big difference!

*Fay admits that she may have had a visit from her dependable Aunt Flo and that it is possible that she lost 1 pound of uterine lining, but whatever... a pound is a pound!*

Fay and Kay Have a Plan

Fay and Kay have some work to do. They need to lose quite a bit of weight so they can stop having pain in their feet and stop wearing their fat jeans as their regular jeans. But they aren't too good at diets. So Fay and Kay came up with a plan. They would change their lives one week at a time!

So, on March 3, 2010 Fay and Kay agreed to make one life improvement each week. Each week would bring a new, small change that they could incorporate into their lives. Some changes will be to their diets, other changes will help them be more active, and others will simply change their lifestyles in a positive way. As the weeks progress, they hope to see big changes coming from their little changes adding up.

Follow them or join them!

Meet Kay

Kay is a kind girl. She is the older sister and grew up playing music and dressing like a clown to entertain children and the elderly. She is married to a chef. They live in Texas and they have two beautiful daughters. She also works part time.

Kay's motivation to lose weight is her husband. He will be having a sleeve gastrectomy in the near future and is going to be losing a lot of weight. Kay would like to join him in his journey to better health!

Kay's starting BMI is 38.1.

Meet Fay

Fay is a practical girl. She is the younger sister and spent her childhood dancing, dancing and dancing. She is married to a CPA and lives in New York. She gave birth to three kids in 16 months and she has the belly to prove it!

Fay's motivation to lose weight is her husband. He has been steadily losing weight to improve his image in the business field. He is now dangerously close to the same weight as Fay... only he is 5 inches taller! Yikes!

Fay has a beginning BMI of 28.8.