1. Head over to the MasterCard Facebook Fan Page sweepstakes app, The Cubs Pledge: (http://on.fb.me/JCfyVn)
2.  Pledge what you’d do to support the beloved Cubbies. Every Pledge is automatically entered to Win Prizes! (My pledge is going to be to volunteer one hour of community service for every Cubs win in May – that could be up to 29 hours!)
3.  Prove it.  Post a pic or video of you fulfilling your Pledge on the  Facebook app. Every Proof is entered to win Priceless Cubs experiences.
4.   Win. You could win tickets to games by simply pledging. Prove your pledge for a chance to win Priceless Cubs experiences.

I feel very grateful to be MasterCard’s on the ground contact for the Cubs Pledge program.  Along with some of my favorite social media friends, we get to be a part of a few of the wining experiences so we can see first hand how cool the program is — as if we didn’t already know!

Check out all the cool people I get to hang out with this week:

@aliciamarie112, @momonashoe, @elenka29, @blm03, @Hoo_dee_Hoo, @thedomesticexec, @evolvingstacey, @gochris, @dccrenshaw , @lisanoel03, @michellemreed and  @nightowlmama

Keys to a Good Pledge

Technically, any pledge is a fabulous pledge, but if your eye is on the big prize like taking part in batting practice ON THE FIELD before the game or  a family clinic, then you’ll need to prove your pledge.  So, keep it simple and easy to prove.

Lisa Noel’s pledge is so rock star I thought I would share it with you.

Here’s why it’s so awesome:

1. It’s cute and cleaver
2. It’s very Chicago and very Cubs
3. It’s easy to fulfil. The Cubs win on Wednesday and she’ll be at the ball park on Thursday. BAM!
4. It’s easy to prove.  I’ll be on hand to take a pic of Lisa downing the Chicago dog. (I’ll be the one eating the hotdog  WITH a liberal helping of ketchup – forgive me, I grew up in the North Shore)

Here are Some of the Priceless Cubs Experiences You Could Win

• Pair of Cubs 5/17/12 Terrace Tickets including pre-game batting practice & lunch to be determined by Sponsor (ARV=$510)
• Baseball 101 Clinic for winner & (1) guest & (1) pair of Cubs 6/13/12 Terrace Tickets (ARV=$510)
• Family Baseball Clinic for winner & (3) guests & (2) pairs of Cubs 7/14/12 Terrace Tickets (ARV=$1,020)

So why are you still reading this post!?  Go and make your Cubs Pledge!

p.s.  Once you make your pledge, come back and let me know what it is.  I’d love to hear.

http://on.fb.me/JCfyVn

Why are some people so small.  Ultimately, if people found out about the project — no matter how they found this out, it’s a good thing.  It was like they were saying, “Look at me, look at me.”  Whatever.  They came across as looking very small. I had two people call me laughing about it and telling me how silly it made them look.

I hope this person is able to take a BIG, deep breath and realize that there is enough room for everyone to be successful and they don’t need to do silly things that show they are jealous and not a team player.  Ok, now that that’s off my chest, back to being awesome.

TICKET GIVEAWAY

Comment below and let me know your favorite non fattening way to have fun.  The reply with the most “likes” wins the tickets ($90 value.)  So be sure to tell all of your friends to like your comment.

We’ll announce the winner Tuesday at 5:00pm  

so make sure to enter soon!!

SPECIAL TICKET PRICE

Tickets for the Skinny Socials launch party are currently $45, but if you email  megan@skinnysocials.com and mention Digital Megaphone you can purchase tickets for $35!!

CHECK OUT THE SKINNY SOCIALS WEBSITE!

Skinny Socials is about more than parties. Check out their website for information about healthy coking, restaurant reviews, health tips and more

What did I do different?

1.  I started working out regularly as part of my health club quest.  More on that later, I’m very tired right now.

2.   I also started taking diet pills prescribed my dr.  Don’t freak out now.  all is good.  More on both these changes later.  Right now I need to get some sleep and just wanted to update everyone because it has been a while.

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The Jog Bra

For me, who’s a bit on the more full figured side, the particular sports bra that Jockey sent was perfect for light activity, such as power walking, but not ideal for high impact sports.  I did appreciate the wicking feature which helped to keep things dry post workout.  I would highly recommend Jockey’s sports bras in general.  You can check out their sports bras here.  They very conveniently have them listed by low – high impact, so you can choose which fit is best for you.  Keep in mind, they typically run small in size.

Save 20% off Jockey Sports Bras

Click here to register to save 20% off your next Jockey sports bra purchase

Purex Crystals

I don’t normally use fabric softener, so it was nice to try something different.  The crystals have a pleasant, but not overpowering scent and made a huge difference in the softness and smell of my clothes.  The most noticeable difference was my pillow case.  It was so soft and smelled so good that it made it hard to get out of bed.  On the washing of the wicking jog bra front, I learned something new; the oil that is in most fabric softeners ruins the wicking.  It was refreshing (pun COMPLETELY intended) to find out that Purex Cyrstals are 100% oil free and 92% natural.

1.  If you are going to a house party, make sure there will be healthy options.  Call the host and ask them what they plan on having and what you can bring.  That way, you will be sure to have something you can eat, which will avoid you grabbing for unhealthy, high-calorie snacks because they are your only options.

2.  Fill up on veggies first.  No need to completely avoid all of the unhealthy, but likely delicious party foods.  Just go for them once you’ve had a few servings of veggies.

3.  When going for the unhealthy foods, use a small plate.  Much less will fit on a small plate, so by default, you will be eating less.

4.  Stay away from the food table. This one may seem like a no brainer, but the further you are away from the treats, the less you will crave them.

5.  Limit the adult beverages.  Lots of drinks are packed with extra calories.  Look for low calories options like light beer or my favorite, flavored vodka and diet coke.

Having a good time, doesn’t need to be fattening, it just takes small adjustments that most people won’t even notice – ’till you start dropping the lbs!! Have a great time!

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth is Reality Show starts today and will run for the next 8 weeks as we watch 8 people work with trainers, each taking a very different weight-loss paths.  The show will air on Saturday’s and Sundays at 1:00pm on NBC Nonstop.

The best part of the show is that it shows a variety of weight loss options including the Chicago Chocolate Diet (I know, awesome!), the pAGG diet ( the pAGG diet combines pills with healthy eating.  I’m looking forward to learning about these) and a raw diet from Karen’s.  All contestants, of course, will be working out with their trainers on a work out regiment.  As extra motivation, constants are paid $10 for every pound they lose.

Check out more about the contestants and their trainers at the links below and follow along with me as I watch the show on twitter.

Make sure to also follow Put Your Money Where Your Mouth is on Twitter and Facebook!

I didn’t weigh in last week or this week because I gained weight.   I was frustrated, so I made an apt with the Integrated Medicine Group at Northwestern with the hopes of getting diet pills or some other solution as to why I’m still fat.  An hour of my time and a $20 copay later, I left with no prescription or new knowledge!!   The dr. I saw stated the obvious — you have to eat less and work out more – DUH!!! That’s all I have to say for today.  I’ll be continuing my health club reviews next week so that should help get me back on track.

Lesson learned the past two weeks:

don’t go to an integrative medicine dr. if you want diet pills

• Keep track of what I eat every day at www.caloriecount.com
• Eat less than 1,500 calories a day
• Take 70,000 steps a week – this is an average of 10,000 a day, but some days will be more and some will be less
• Work out 3 – 4 times a week
• Have healthy snacks on hand so that I’ll reach for them and not chocolate and cheese, my current go to snacks
• Laugh more

It’s a short list for now, but I wanted to do something I could realistically follow.

This post was inpired by Trop50 Resolutions!! Check out more information about Trop50 resolutions below.

AND!! There’s more excitement…

Thanks to the generous folks over at Trop50, one of you will win a $25 visa gift card AND a coupon for a free Trop50 so you can try it out yourself.  Share your resolutions (weather you’ve broken them or not below.)  The resolution that makes me laugh the hardest wins!

About Trop50 True Resolutions: Trop50 True Resolutions celebrates the real reasons behind New Year’s resolutions. Share your secret motivation behind your resolutions over at Trop50′s Facebook page and you’ll earn a coupon for $1 off Trop50 for yourself and 50¢ off coupons for up to 50 of your friends. You can even submit incognito with a fierce disguise. Bonus: Whether you submit a resolution or not, you can also enter a sweepstakes to win a $1000 gift card.

About Trop50!
Trop50 has 50% less sugar and calories than regular OJ  I’m not a huge OJ drinker because of the sugar and calories so I went to the store and purchased some (I’ll receive coupons for Trop50, but have not received yet and I wanted to make sure to let you know what I thought of it in the post.)  You know what?  I like it!!  It’s not as heavy as regular OJ and nice to know it has less calories and sugar – two things I’m trying to limit.

Disclosure:  I was compensated for this post, but all opinions are mine.