Jealousy, Sabotage & Controversy

My, I had no idea what crowning Brian would provoke but I like it!!!

From Dad:

I need to throw myself on the mercy of the court.  I have been weasling with Tricia -- to no avail.  So, today I had eye surgery to remove a cataract.  Thus, I am now officially in rehab.  Among the things I can't do is lift anything over 25# which is like saying you can't do any work.  Mom has complicated that with spaghetti and meatballs, mince pie and Krispy Kreme donuts.  I know Eric will do his part, but it seems that Brian has found some unexpected source of commitment.  Hence, I've lost one of my lifeboats.  I'm now totally dependent on Eric. Since I know that age, infirmity and rehab won't help me with Tricia -- she would be a match for negotiating with the Jews and Arabs -- I need a little help here.  

 

Dad

Missy's First appearance:

Daddy, don't you think are failing to recognize the power of weaponizing Mom. Simply fly Mom and a pie plate to various strategic locations around the country and then...... Wah-Bam! It's Mince pie hangovers for all!

Dad's retort:

Then who would prepare my evening tea and cheesecake?

adding kerosene to the fire with his first appearance, our leader, Brian:

O ye of little faith!

What does a cataract weigh anyhow? Your weight will probably have to be adjusted accordingly; Tricia?

Making a strong claim to the bonus dialogue points with these witticism's - Eric

Your honor,

I’d like to make some objections / comments / suggestions.

I need to throw myself on the mercy of the court.

Send the defendant to the gallows.   I believe there is a special purgatory for father-in-laws.

I know Eric will do his part,

I am redoubling my efforts.   Complete depravation / austerity.

I'm now totally dependent on Eric. 

I understand that the FDA has just approved a topical ointment for this condition.

  - Eric

a retort from Dad, shamefully ignoring Eric's 11 pound weight loss, 

All,

 

This is getting serious.  First, none of us needs to fear Eric "redoubling" his efforts.  Although I am unaware of the first doubling, it is of no consequence.  Surely, a professor of engineering is aware that doubling an infinitesimal results in an infinitesimal.  Hence, the treat is a little like Obama's Red Line.

 

Second, I know of no ointment to cure a terminal case of "father-in-law itis".  If there was, I wouldn't need it since I have been so consistently reasonable.  Now, if there was one for sons-in-law -- that would be a boon to mankind.

 

Now, I know Eric is claiming exercise points for riding his bike to and from work.  Anyone who has visited Casa MacDonald knows the only stress going to work is experienced by his brakes.  So, those points should not be granted.

 

To conclude: I issue the following challenge.  I will lose as many pounds as Eric or I'll pay double.  This is quite an advantage for Eric as he has SO MUCH MORE to lose than I.

 

Old, infirm and recovering in Quinlan,

 

Dad

Neil's First Appearance

Thanks to you guys and your power of will in this contest, I too, while not officially IN the contest have decided to suck it up and eat better knowing full well the benefits therein.  Instead of my usual 2^nd post-breakfast snack of cookies.. ..I simply had one.

Neil

Bill's reply

Actually….

While I am normally a sucker for a bag  ( or two or three) of Oreo’s, seeing that stack of nothing but creame filling is a bit overwhelming and quite honestly not very appealing.

Maybe it’s the overdose of vegetable’s talking, but I don’t think I even want any.

Thanks for the help Neal!!!!!!!

Dad's Retort

Bill,

 

This sounds serious.  You may need some professional help. Don't tell me you are actually drinking that awful looking stuff Tricia posted.  The Super Bowl is coming up, you need to get in better snack shape.

 

Brian

You may have noticed Dad did a lot of retorting today, not bad for old, infirm and recovering. Dad, if you can name one single good habit you have attempted to master during this challenge I will gladly consider it for points.

this is fun, love you all!

STANDINGS WEEK 2, WE HAVE A NEW LEADER!!!

In the lead this week with 18 points ......

BRIAN CULLEN II
With 5 points from last week, 5 for blood work compliant, 5 sugar free days, 1 water compliant point, 1 Bible Study point, and 1 point for most weight lost (2 pounds which ties him with Dad)

Weight: 193 down 6 pounds total from the start of contest

2d place AMY CULLEN I
17 points
10 from last week, 6 sugar free points and 1 water compliant point
weight: 146, down 4 pounds from contest start

3d place BILL TURPIN
14 points
10 from last week,  1 point for water, 3 points for sugar
weight: 185.9 down 2 pounds since contest start

3d place TRICIA TURPIN
14 points
5 from last week, 8 points for sugar free, 1 point for water compliance
125.8 down 2 pounds since contest start

4th place DAD CULLEN
13 points
 0 from last week, 1 point for being the top loser this week, with 2 pounds down, 5 push-up points, 2 Bible Study points (1 from him and 1 from mom) and 5 bonus points for being the best contributor to the dialog for 2 weeks running

5th Place ERIC MACDONALD
12 points
11 from last week, plus 1 for water compliance
weight 231 down 11 from contest start

6th Place  JULIET MACDONALD
11 points
10 from last week and 1 point for water
weight: 144


This demonstrates that this is anybody's race and the weekly contests make a BIG DIFFERENCE!!
As is my custom, I make up points to award as I see fit, and you may notice that Dad earned 5 points for contributing to the dialog. I also reconsidered my position on awarding Bible Study points when I saw that Brian, Dad & Mom had done it.

So if this doesn't provoke you people into commenting, nothing will.

Good luck and don't forget your veggies, for breakfast, lunch & dinner. We are turning green in the Turpin household!

Looking ahead: get your date night in, me and Bill are heading out on Saturday. Haven't decided to do what yet, but its on our calendar and I'm leaning toward a fun night at Dave & Buster's!

Report Week 2 Points/Weight & LOOKING AHEAD!

Good morning! Today is the end of Week 2 and the NO SUGAR CONTEST!  Please report your weight and no sugar compliance tomorrow, and if you did 7 days of push-ups for the bonus point, report that too. Sadly, I forgot to do them on Saturday.

Dad: if you have done significant outdoor farming labor I will give you your push-up point.

Looking ahead: Next Week is the 8 Veggies a Day contest.  

Tips:  look to soup for veggies, I have several recipes I can share that give multiple vegetable servings. Right now I'm roasting the veggies for 2 different soups in preparation for the week:

butternut squash, acorn squash and onion, roasted till soft, boiled in chicken broth with spices and then pureed

and

sweet potato, onion and pear, prepared the same way

These are pureed soups and I drink them for breakfast like I would a cup of coffee. I pour them into a pitcher so in the morning I pour it into a coffee mug and heat it up in the microwave and I can take it to go.

There is also traditional vegetable soup, minestrone etc. I like soup better than salad, especially when its cold out, and its just super fast and easy.

The Week After next is Date Night, so if you haven't done it yet, look at your calendar for the next 2 weeks and carve out a date night.

When you send in your weight and compliance please also send the number of points you have. That will be last week's total plus 5 if you are sugar compliant, plus 1 if you are push-up compliant, plus 1 if you remained water compliant, plus 5 if you have had blood-work done in the last year and haven't gotten those points yet. 

The point system will be tricky to keep up with, especially Dad's, so if you can send me your totals that would be great!  Once I have everyone's weight I will know who gets the 1 bonus point for most weight lost this week.

EXTRA POINTS:

Next week you can earn 1 bonus point by remaining water compliant and another if you reduce your ordinary sugar consumption by 75%, this way you can put back in some sugar but continue to reap the benefits of substantially reducing sugar in your diet. So that's 2 extra bonus points up for grabs next week.

The Blogger's Life is a lonely one ... I have the No Comment Blues

Please see Dad's comments below, he has another interesting perspective on the contest:

Tricia,

There is something un American about the new contest.  I really think that such basics as donuts, gum drops and beer should not be trifled with.  On the other hand, I did cut down from four orange slices to three for my afternoon snack.  That also means that I will only have one beer.  So, that's progress.

Also, I think I should get some extra points for living with Mom.  She can eat all she wants and not gain weight.  She also likes to make pies, cakes, hamburgers, omelettes.  All of these, I am gracious enough to consume --as a courtesy.  I really have a greater challenge than the rest of you.

Me

I was quite moved by Dad's e-mail suggesting that the Challenge was not easy. So I took it upon myself to research further into what a Challenge really means.  (And I might give myself bonus mental acuity points for it)

Nothing came up under: simple, painless or undemanding

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that frequent synonyms for Challenge include:

test

defy

brave

face up to

These are strong words, but can we really be expected to "test" our ability to forgo orange slices, donuts, and gum drops?

Can we truly be expected to "brave" the elements of available pastries?

I was truly concerned at the suggestion that I was running an Unpatriotic contest, so I rushed to the web to search for Patriotic Symbols of America, the Flag, the Bald Eagle and the Liberty Bell appeared, yet I could not find donuts, gum drops and beer!

And I was quite alarmed at the dangerous environment Dad finds himself in with all the cakes and pies, hamburgers and omelettes. Then I found an article in the Journal of Psychology that says the single most important element in maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a happy marriage. 

I don't know about the rest of you, but when Bill starts making me omelettes, burgers and pies, I'm pretty happy.

So Dad, I'm sorry to say that I will have to decline your hardship request. But I might give you extra points for publishing a food journal that will tempt my real competition.

Day 4 No Sugar Week, the toughest day!

Today is Day 4 of No Sugar and typically the hardest day for me. it is when my planning has run out but my addiction hasn't. 

My biggest tip for today is Do Not Let Yourself Get Hungry!!!!!  You will make a bad choice!

 Eat good food constantly today. Have fruit or veggies with you at all times and out on the counter, eat some every time you pass. Have nuts with you if you like those. Drink an all natural smoothie, this morning, this afternoon etc.

For lunch have a huge salad with oil and vinegar dressing and a huge piece of protein.

Do not worry about calories today, if you are going sugar free your calorie load is already so low it doesn't matter.

And as an added incentive, I am vulnerable tonight. We have 5 girls sleeping over. I'm trying to serve all foods I don't like and I've already nixxed Krispy Kreme donuts despite the fact that M & K have assured me this will ruin them socially, but there really aren't any desserts I don't like.  

No Sugar Week

All right the consensus is to keep the blog and I will act as Dad's scribe and cut and paste his comments into the blog.

From Dad: How am I supposed to balance zero sugar with beer and gum drops?

Me

Cut and pasted below my e-mail from earlier.  Please review the post & comments from Tuesday and let me know if the rule change below seems fair/unfair.

Next week is 8 vegetable servings a day. Does anyone want  5 of 7 compliance for this one? I would vote no as adding veggies is way more manageable than No Sugar and no whole food, but I'm willing to listen.

I am up to 3 push-ups, which Bill says is totally lame since I had to do 50 in my Cross Fit workout today, but hey, rules are rules. (until of course we change them)

And, Missy has an argument against counting Agave as natural, but I have suppressed her comments until I win the no sugar contest.

How is No Sugar week going?  I'm doing well and just had a sip of my morning tea 
with unsweetened coconut milk and agave and it tastes MUCH better than it did 2 
days ago, so I know I'm starting to kick the sugar habit. I have also maintained 
the water habit as has Bill.


Since this is a tough contest we will do daily points. If you are sugar 
compliant all 7 days you will get a bonus point for a total of 8 points. If 
sugar compliant for 2 days = 2 points, 4 days = 4 points etc.


For me the sugar is the number one weight obstacle AND overall body messer 
upper. When I get off the sugar I sleep better, eat better, have less stomach 
upset and, after about 4 days more energy, and NO afternoon grogginess.

Do give it your best shot, even though it's really hard!!!!

WEEK ONE STANDINGS

Eric MacDonald IN THE LEAD WITH 11 POINTS!
231.7
Weekly weight loss: 11 pounds
Total Points: 11. water compliant, blood work compliant and Bonus point for most pounds lost this week.
Contest Strength: The ability to lose 11 pounds in one week without resorting to the intentional catching of an intestinal parasite. (don't think i'm not keeping that trick in my bag)

Amy Cullen, Tied for 2d Place With 10 points
146
4 pounds lost, water and blood compliantContest Strengths: anything to do with good nutrition, so primed for the No Sugar Contest

Juliet MacDonald. Tied for 2d place with 10 points
144.1
2 pounds lost, water and blood work compliant
Contest Weakness: trying to go sugar free with 6 kids in the house, or is that a strength as its gone before you have sat down?

Bill Turpin, Tied for 2d place with 10 points
187.9 
1.5 pounds lost, water and blood work compliant
Contest Weakness: 3 business dinners this week to navigate


Brian Cullen, 3d place with 5 points
195
3 pounds lost, water compliant (need bloodwork done!)
Contest strength: He has chosen to participate and therefore must conquer

Tricia Cullen, Tied for 3d place with 5 points
126.8
down one pound, not water compliant, but blood work compliant
Contest Strength: the ability to add contests to garner additional points, (see the push-up contest)


Dad Cullen 5tth place (doesn't that sound better than last?) 0 points  
           OR 
First Place with 2,000 points, half of which were donated by Mom.

201, up a pound!
             OR 
down 214 pounds

not water compliant, not blood-work compliant (if you are let me know!)
Contest Weakness: Sugar!!!
Contest Strength: His ability to turn anything he does or does not do into an argument for bonus points

I have done my 1 push-up for the day. Dad makes a good point, not everyone will want to do a push-up. Pick one thing, exercise related, that you will add daily and if you comply you will get the extra point. (not really 5 points, just 1)

Tuesday Weigh in & Compliance & Total Points

Bill: 186.2, 100% Water Compliant, Blood work-up = 10 points
Tricia 126.8 Not Water Compliant, blood work-up = 5 points

***Remember if you have had a blood work-up in the past year to include the 5 points for this. Once everyone has posted I will know who wins the extra points for biggest loser on the week.

Good Luck with Sugar Free Day!!

Week 2 Looking Ahead

The great water contest ends on Monday. Please post or send me your weight and water compliance. I would also love to know what you thought of the contest and whether it helped you in anyway.

Looking Ahead:  Week 2 is a doozy:

NO ADDED SUGAR: this means naturally occurring sugar found in fruit, honey, and maple syrup is permitted, but you cannot add sugar to anything, not coffee, not tea, and you can't eat anything that sugar has been added to like cereal, bars, desserts.

Start planning ahead.

Also a question has been asked about the Date Night & Live Music contests. These contests may be completed either during or before the week that they are scheduled. But not after.  Date Night is currently scheduled for the week of January 21st but I will switch that to the Week of 28th to give you more time to get it in. The vegetable challenge will be moved to the 21st and will actually be much easier to complete than you think coming off the no sugar week.

Live Music isn't until April 1st, so you have plenty of time to get that in.

We also have some new information from Dad about his weigh in, I would like to call it more accurate information, but ... well you decide for yourself:

Now that I have returned to Texas, I have weighed in.  I weighed in at 200 this morning which is a full 5# less than when we left for Colorado.  Which means that I don't get credit for all the exercise, Bible reading and puzzle solving I did last week.  That hardly seems fair.  Accordingly, I may report what my weight probably was on last Tuesday.  I get this by linear interpolation which Bill can explain.

 

Dad

I would like to give Dad a shout out for using the term "linear interpolation" which I think is a fine example of why we all need to work on our mental acuity.

Our First Official Sponsor of the Wildly Popular Cullen Family BLC

I knew it was only a matter of time before the sponsors got interested in our contest. See below, the stakes have never been higher!!!

Premier Cullen Family BLC Sponsor releases this news:

 

In the interests of encouraging the participants, I will donate $40.00 to round the pot to $200.00.

 

Good luck, good eating, good sportsmanship!  I especially enjoy the family camaraderie.   

The  Biggest Loser is actually the biggest winner.

 

Love you all,

 

Mom

SETBACKS!!!!!

My Girl Scout adventure over to the Lake Oconee and a friend's birthday party last night have set me back a little and unless beer and wine count toward my 50 ounces I'm out of the running for this week's contest!

What's that you say Julie? You want to make 5 out of 7 days sufficient compliance? I do recall such a petition being proposed.

What say you all?  What Julie and I did talk about is 5 out of 7 days being compliant, and a bonus point for anyone who is compliant all 7 days. Julie fears that if someone messes up the first day they won't bother with the contest for the rest of the week, which I found shocking!

So it's time to "weigh in". Bill has been 100% compliant this week, anyone else?

Anyone vote for "substantial compliance sufficiency" or 5 out of 7 with a bonus point?

DAY 4 OF THE GREAT WATER CHALLENGE

We have finally received Brian's weight of 198 which was his same starting point last year. Brian's got some room to pick up some weight loss points. Eric is reporting 10 pounds lost in 3 days, I am suspicious that perhaps he weighed himself on dad's homemade scale before leaving Telluride.

I am swimming along with the water challenge. Thanks Amy for posting the link to some yummy infused water recipes.

Tonight I am vulnerable, going on a Girl Scout trip with pizza, hot chocolate and s'mores on the menu. I will be happy if I can just resist seconds!

DAY 3 OF THE GREAT WATER CHALLENGE

I'm down 6/10 of a pound and I'm drinking like crazy!
Bill was struggling with the great water challenge so I accidentally added 3x the right amount of cayenne pepper to my Paleo chili and he had no trouble getting past 50 ounces, and let me tell you it was better than 3 weeks on the cleanse for cleaning out my system!

A huge added benefit of the water challenge for Bill: he is down to 2 diet cokes a day, (from a peak of 10) he now thinks that he just wants something to drink, not the diet coke, just something. He is carrying around his FLORIDA GATOR (KING of the SEC for co-ed kick ball as I"m sure you all know if you watch sports center) Tervis cup and just refills it all day at the water fountain.

Post your victories and your challenges!

Brian I am waiting on your weight.

Hunter is at 169 which is even below his ending weight of 172, so Hunter gets 10 points for maintaining a healthy weight.

DAY TWO OF THE GREAT WATER CHALLENGE!

All right today I am determined to get my 50 ounces in before 6 pm, so I'm not up all night going to the bathroom! Good thing I didn't pair this one with the 8 hours of sleep a night!!!

I'm sipping on my Lemon/Ginger/Cucumber/Mint infused water concoction that my friend Lisette hooked me up with. I am going with a Basil, strawberry, limeade tomorrow. I am so winning this week!

Also got some new weight information.  

Julie, our former BLC champion is weighing in at 144.1, up from her 136 contest winning weight, but way below her rookie weight of 153.1 Look for Julie to be vulnerable on the weight loss angle.

Eric is tipping the scales at 243, he has clearly seen the value of bulking up prior to the initial weigh in and has positioned himself very favorably in this contest. His rookie weight was just 226.

Week One KICK-OFF of the Cullen Family Biggest Loser Competition with a twist!

The Contestants:

Front Runner Tricia Turpin, weighing in at 127.8
Contest Strengths: Exercise, cooking, water
Contest Challenge: sleep, I never get enough,

Bill Turpin, weighing in at 187.9
Contest Strength: Sleep, he's asleep before his head hits the pillow
Contest Weakness: exercise, he hates it

Amy Cullen, 150
Contest Strengths: anything to do with good nutrition
Contest Weakness:

Dad Cullen, weighing in with his ski boots, parka, poles, extra long skis and holding everything he can hold on a homemade scale: 415 pounds
Contest Strengths: The likelihood of his doing his final weight check in Florida, in a bathing suit, on yet another homemade scale
Contest Weakness: Sugar!!!

Brian Cullen
Contest strength: sheer will, the ability to survive on bugs, and his proximity to Amy
Contest weakness:

Juliet Cullen
Contest Strength: Experience as the Returning BLC Champion!
Contest Weakness:

Eric MacDonald
Contest Strength:
Contest Weakness: pissing off the contest manager with his SEC commentary

Hunter Conger
Contest Strength: His willingness to donate $20. (It wouldn't be the same without you!)
Contest Weakness: He is in way too good a shape. (but will have a distinct advantage on the Date Night, Live Music and all things FUN)

REMEMBER TO SEND IN YOUR WEIGHT TODAY & DRINK LOTS OF WATER, THIS WEEK IS THE GREAT WATER CHALLENGE