Wednesday, September 30, 2015

PiYo


I have been doing a few of these PiYo workouts that a friend lent me over the last couple weeks and they are awesome!

We did one called "Drench" together the other day and I was definitely drenched in sweat and sore the next day.

PiYo is a combination of pilates strength work and yoga flexibility with movement so you burn calories. I highly recommend it!

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

I had a really hard time with not eating late. My husband won't quit working until there is no daylight left to accomplish any farm work and since supper is the only meal we eat together I have gotten in to the habit of having a complete meal sometime after 8pm.  I tried eating earlier and then just pushing around some veggies while he ate at his usual time w/o much success.  Who wants to push veggies around when there is a cake waiting to be cut? Wish I could go back to my childhood; my dad worked nights so our routine was supper at 5 pm.  At the time I hated to quit playing with my friends to go eat, but the rule was if you weren't in your chair before the blessing you didn't eat that meal.  That was a much healthier way to live.  Hmm, how could I change 50 years of husband's work habits?

GYM

I'm so excited for the group challenge this week! I recently moved and after a long discussion concerning our new (very small) place, and our desire to be more fit and healthy, my husband and I decided to join the Gold's Gym that is just down the street from us.

Some of the reasons we joined include the fact that they have a ton of great Les Mills classes, also a lap pool, a steam room and sauna and a hot tub. I'm still managing a very inflamed bursa in my hip and having the pool, plus options for some heat therapy were a huge pull to getting the membership.

This morning I tried a new class at the gym. Besides the fact that it was at 5am I really enjoyed it! The instructor was GREAT. It was just enough of a challenge for my fitness level right now. It was great! I hope to take advantage of all the classes offered there as well as the lap pool!

I have definitely felt my push and drive for perfection waning the last few weeks. I am doing everything I'm "supposed" to do...but not seeing the changes on the scale anymore. But....I'm NOT giving up! Like I said last week....I'm in this for the very long haul.

I hope everyone has a great week!

Monday, September 28, 2015

Mary here a little late with my check in!
I seem to be doing good with my points but struggling to loose the weight!
I've been at a plateau for awhile now and just keep waiting to see the inches and the scale move!!
I keep telling myself that I'm coming off a 30 lb weight loss and should be patient but dang its hard.
At least I am making good habits and not gaining!

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Good thing we are girls

I second the challenge that LauriAnn just posted. I am loving the exercise. It forces me to make time for myself and gets my heart rate up.  However the phrase physical changes are made in the kitchen not the gym really resonates with me. I think part of my struggle is that my nursing days are numbered and cutting calories takes a dramatic hit to my milk supply. For my challenge this week I counted calories and went on veggie overload. I did cut myself some slack and factored in an additional 300 calories or so (1600 total). I am curious to see if the scale budges tomorrow morning. My personal goal next week is to focus on clean eating. Tips and recipes appreciated!

Eating eating eating.....

The last 2 weeks have been a battle between me and food and I am losing! Big time.  I have been awesome at getting 6 sessions of 60 minutes in a week.  I have even met my original goal of waking up early and running several times a week.  Now it is time to conquer my eating habits that got a bit out of control the past week or so!
Hi ladies.

This week I chose to do the no eating after 8:00 and more veggies and fruit challenge.
I find it a little difficult to stomach so many veggies ( not a veggie fan.) But overall feeling better after I do it.

It has been a bummer for me to not see the scale move & not see a difference or feel it in the way clothes fit. However I did come into this knowing I haven't had luck  inching the scale down over five year span. More linked to hormonal/health issues then lack of activity.

I'm trying not to let the number on a scale define my progress because overall I feel better and have more stamina. It has taken literally, years, to get to this point where ( yes I'm struggling through high impact workouts or long workouts) but at least now I can finish a 45-60 minute routine!

Up until my treadmill went crazy, last October to this May, I went a solid 8 months building up endurance. Although I'm not the fastest or the fittest, I know the hard work has to eventually catch up with me physically.... So here is to keeping it going..

Keep on swimming...

This week I chose no eating after 8 and calorie counting. It went pretty well. I did have some trouble with exercising because sometimes my knee just can't take it and I have to give it a rest. So I didn't get my full exercise points, darn it! The weight has SLOWLY been coming off, but it's what I expected with not being physically able to bang out high calorie burning workouts every day. I can get a about 3 of those in and then I have to embrace the low-impact workouts. I'm not going to lie and say that doesn't bother me. But you do what you gotta do!

This weeks challenges were easy to pick. I'd become lazy watching what I eat on weekends. And I bought fruit at one store, forgot i had, and bought more at another. Happy to say this weekend has been better than the past couple, and no spoiled fruit.

Healthy!Healthy!Healthy!

Hi all,
This week I was out of town for work.  It is hard to eat every meal out.  I guess when I weigh in the morning I'll find out if I lost any weight.  I tried to make healthy eating choices for every meal and I got my hour of exercise every day - yea!!! Let's all have a great week:)

Exercise

I notice I go through a series of thoughts while I get through my 60 minutes of exercise.  First I am energized to begin my workout, and this feeling lasts about 20 minutes.  The next 20 minutes I am talking myself out of finishing, telling myself 30 -40 minutes is all I need for a healthy me.  And the last 20 minutes, I am once again energized.  I can see the finish line, and I know I will feel a sense of accomplishment when the workout is over.

At the end of week 5, I have lost the momentum.  I am still doing everything I need to do to get my points, but I am loosing steam.  I know this is just my halfway slump, and once week 7 rolls around, I will be pumped up to finish.

Jessica

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Un-progressed!

So this week I have not made the progress I hoped for. I weighted in at the beginning of the week, and had gained about a pound from last week. My inches were close to the same with the exception of my waist, but I haven't changed anything else but my workouts. I had been going to the gym this week and last and doing kettle bell and bootcamp classes, so I hope this problem is more of a muscle gain than an age thing.
The challenges I chose for group, were fruits and veggies, and not eating after 8. A bad combo for me since I really don't like veggies as much as I thought and have been pushing to get them all in before 8. Gotta figure out how to make them into some awesome healthy cookies, although I am pretty sure those words don't go together : )
I am looking forward to next weeks challenge! It is by far my favorite since I am always looking for new workouts, and it is always fun to see what other people find and love. Good luck ladies, keep up the hard work!

Friday, September 25, 2015

Sooooooooo Sore


AND YES, You MUST look angry while doing these exercises!

So this week I tried 2 new classes at the YMCA.  I tried Y-Firm, which included 16 sets of 20 second wall sits...ouch!

AND NO, This would not be me!
And then today I tried TRX.  I loved it!  I may not be able to walk in the morning, but it was a great class.  I was surprised because even though there wasn't a lot of "cardio" my heart rate was at a high level the entire workout.  I could not do any of the core exercises at all without major modifications.  It's tough to plank with your feet off the ground!

I'm excited to get going with this class a few days a week and build some strength.

Any other TRX fans out there?

P.S.  Thanks to everyone for sharing healthy recipes last week.  I did all my meal planning this week with new ideas from all of you.  Heather's minestrone soup fed me for 5 different meals, and it was delicious!  Also, the peanut butter yogurt dip!  YUM!  I haven't tried everything yet, but I'm looking forward to more recipe trying.


Wow!!

I can' t believe we are half way there.  This is when I usually start slipping so I am going to set a goal to count calories every day for the rest of the challenge.  No treats!!!
Hi everyone, so the 2 challenges I picked this week are to eat more fruits and veggies( which is hard for me) and no sugar drinks.. So far I'm doing pretty good. My struggles come on the weekends when we're out and about and my hubby likes to have soda around. I always think i need some.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Thanks Steph! You're so much fun! I bet your kids look forward to doing these videos.
I also saw a lot of success the first couple weeks and not so much since but I kind of knew from past experience that my body would do that. I'm just happy to see that what I am doing it working, even if it's slow, and I'll eventually get there. The best part though is that I feel better. I've noticed I'm not as tired during the day and I have a lot more energy. :)
Sarah

WOW!

WOW! Stephanie you never disappoint with those awesome prize videos! You are an AMAZING leader! Thanks for all the recipe sharing ladies! Heather I got the ingredients for the Minestrone when I went shopping this week! I intend to make it this week. I saw some huge changes on the scale early in the competition, but lately there has been little to no change. I'm in this for the long haul (way after the challenge ends I'll still be counting calories!) so I'm trying to take it in stride. I sure hope you all have a fabulous week!

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Week 4 Standings and Prize Video

Wow!  This challenge is flying along!  Keep up the good work everyone!  Feel free to share any success you are seeing on the blog to help keep us all motivated.  A huge shout-out to you 4 ladies tied for first place that have not missed one single point so far!  Elise, Jenni, Nicole and Susan!!!

Here are the results after Week 4:
(I'm waiting for Linsey's Week 3 and Karen J.'s and Mary's Week 4....when you send them in I'll add them to your scores)

1.  Elise             376
1.  Jenni            376
1.  Nicole          376
1.  Susan          376
2.  Cheree         370
3.  Karen L.      368
4.  Sariah          366

5.  Sarah           362
6.  Jessica        356
7.  Artesia        355
8.  Heather        350
9.  Stephanie    339
10.  LauriAnn     321
11.  Roxana       315

So my boys and I have made a lot of prize videos over the past challenges...but this one stretched our creativity to a whole new level!  We had too much fun.  So without further ado, here is the Week 4 Prize Winner of the $10 Target gift card:



Monday, September 21, 2015

Halfway through!

I decided to make my 2 goals this week to not go over my calories, and nothing to drink but water. These arent super hard goals for me, but i find myself gradually getting laxed and i don't want to do that right now at the halfway point! I was able to fit into a pair of pants this last week that I havent been able to in a year....SCORE!

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Kabobs

I LOVE summertime because it means easy grilling and more clean eating. My husband makes the best kabobs with either chicken or pork. Plus mushrooms, peppers and onions. We got more adventurous and started adding pineapple!

My eating and exercise were good but I totally flopped on the challenge and sleep points! I am a total night owl and basically dinner before 8:30 is unheard of with our tribe. Off to bed so I can get a sleep point in because it may be the only one I get all week.

Good Week

This has been a better week for me. I really enjoyed the challenge and was able to do it every day. Yea! Have a great week everyone!!!!!

Chocolate!

Dark sea salt chocolate is my healthy snack! I crave sweets ALL the time, so I may as well indulge in something that will satisfy me in small doses and is mostly good for you! I also like the dark chocolate covered raisins from Trader Joe's but I find it harder to limit myself with those!

Scale Shmale

I had a great week.  It was a super busy week, it wasn't a week filled with totally healthy eating, but my workouts were hard and I felt good.  Then I weighed in.  I had gained close to 5 pounds!  How is that possible?  Water retention, right?!  I'm trying to move forward and not think about it too much.

So I've been enjoying chicken salad these last few weeks for lunch.  I make it with a can of chicken chunks from Sam's Club.  I add in a whole chopped apple, a cup of grapes, pickles, cucumbers, 2 celery stalks, and a few Craisins if I have them.  I pour in a bit of pickle juice and use only 2 Tablespoons of Light Miracle Whip.  The apples and grapes add so much good flavor you don't need much dressing.  I usually eat it over a bed of spinach greens and lettuce.  One batch can be used for about 3 servings for me.  It is a super low calorie lunch, but tastes great and gives me a little energy boost.  Plus tons of fruit and veggies for the win!

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Hummus

And since Cheree asked, here's my favorite hummus recipe.


Hummus
(from The New Moosewood Cookbook by: Mollie Katzen)

Plain
2 medium cloves garlic, minced finely (I like to roast the garlic before, just to take out some of the bite. The easiest way to do this is to leave the skin on the cloves and put into a dry skillet heated on medium high. Move them around so they toast on all sides, and when you have some brownish, dark spots, take them out and let them cool on a plate. Take off skin and throw in your food processor.)

3 cups  cooked chickpeas (or 2 15 oz. cans, rinsed and well drained, save some of the liquid in case you want to alter the consistency of your finished product)
6 Tbs. tahini (if I'm out of tahini, I have also used olive oil and it works well. It changes the flavor of course, but it's still delicious)
6 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
¾ to 1 tsp. salt (to taste)
Optional:  cayenne and a little cumin, to taste

Minestrone Recipe

Thanks everyone for the new recipes and especially chicken ideas! I'm excited to try some new things.

I am hoping to get organized this next week and actually start meal planning again. To help with the budget and healthy goals I am going to plan a few vegetarian meals. I have squash, herbs and greens from my garden and some from a friend, so I plan to make minestrone this week. It's getting cooler, so it can be soup weather, right?

Minestrone
Heather Herrick (Serves 10-12)

1 yellow onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
sauté until tender in 2T. olive oil

Thinly slice & add:
3 celery stalks
2 carrots
1 large parsnip (optional)

Put in:
2c. chicken or veggie stock
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 c. water
1 small jar flavored marinara

One of my healthier go to recipes ( if you can call it that) would be my shredded chicken salad.  I loveeee chicken, shredded/you name it. It's just easy to slow cook (  or pressure cook ) it and have it just fall apart. I always toss in garlic powder, black pepper, and some lemon pepper to taste.

Once chicken is finished I just toss it onto some lettuce of choice, half of an avocado, bit of shredded cheese and lemon or lime juice to toss in. You can adjust quantity and add veggies of choice, For me I just love the lemony taste with this. I tend to eyeball it and not really follow a lot of recipes unless it is necessary. But it is filling. You can forgo the cheese ( if you are just totally strange that way lol.) Who doesn't love cheese!?

If you have to have dressing, I hear greek yogurt makes for a great sour cream substitute. =)

Veggies of choice for me would be corn, peppers, and spinach to spruce it up.

Healthy veggie recipe

I cut up broccoli, carrots, cauliflower.   Throw in a can of olives and a carton of grape tomatoes. Then I slice up four string cheese, in to small disk shapes. Then I mix 1/4 c. red wine vinegar, 1/4 c. EVO, and 3 TBS dry ranch dressing (1 packet). Mix the dressing over the veggies.  This is soooooo good! It is even better the next day.....but most of the time we have no left overs.  I also love to use pepper jack cheese instead....a little kick is always good.

Friday, September 18, 2015

Mary here with my go to chicken recipe.  It's kinda like cafe Rio chicken it's great in salad, burritos pretty much anything.  I usually just buy a large bag of frozen chicken and throw it in the crockpot.  
Zesty chicken
 8 ounces zesty Italian dressing 
1 tablespoon chili powder 
1 tablespoon cumin 
3 cloves garlic (I use the kind in a jar found in produce)
5 pounds chicken (can use larger bag if desired)
cook together then shred meat
Also good with lime and cilantro 

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Hi everyone,  Elise just showed me how to set up a blog account. Thanks Elsie :). Anyways I am excited to be apart of this challenge.  I have 2 kids and moved to Greeley one year ago. That is however when I decided to pack on a few extra pounds.. But I'm in this challenge and so excited about it..

So here is my dessert / light lunch.  Yougurt, with cottage cheese and fruit..  It keeps you full and is great for a treat as well.

Slow Cooker Enchilada Quinoa Bake

Let's face it, I am a lazy cook and I know it! If I can throw it in the crockpot and forget about it until it's done I will. I love this recipe, it is filling and really easy! Sometimes I add chicken also if the husband is home and don't want to hear "where's the meat."

http://www.cookingclassy.com/2014/12/slow-cooker-enchilada-quinoa-bake/

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Snack time

So one of my favorite snacks are apples dipped in peanut butter, but recently I heard of mixing equal parts of peanut butter and vanilla greek yogurt. Then you dip the apples in that. It is so so so good!!! and the best part is that it's less calories than using just peanut butter. Also, I really love cooking from a website called "Our Best Bites." They have really yummy recipes that are pretty easy.

Sarah

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Week 3 Standings and Prize Winner


Last week was an impressive week!  Here are the Week 3 Standings:

1.  Elise             282
1.  Jenni            282
1.  Nicole          282
1.  Susan          282
2.  Sariah          276
2.  Cheree         276
3.  Karen L.      275
4.  Artesia        273
5.  LauriAnn     272
6.  Stephanie    269
7.  Sarah           268
8.  Jessica        267
9.  Heather        258
10.  Mary            255
11.  Roxana       231

If I didn't hear from you before this was posted, just let me know and I'll add to your tally for next week.  I have received everyone's money now...so I'll be depositing checks this week.

Who will win this week's prize of a movie pass?  We had a lot that were eligible this week!

Week 3 Prize Winner:


receipe

I use pinterest for my recipe book. I was looking through them all and not seeing anything that was super healthy. For me, when it comes to healthy eating, I cut out the eating out. I try to have my food all homemade, and I don't usually fry foods at home anyways so that is easy to cut out. I'm sure everyone has seen this recipe before, but I love it. And my 5yr old loves them too! They are an awesome replacement for the sugary snacks she usually goes for. They are the No Bake Energy Bites.
1/2 cup dry oatmeal
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I use the mini)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
mix together, roll into bite sized bites, refrigerate to set.
You can also put coconut in them, but I'm not a fan of it so I don't.
Super easy to make, super easy to pop in your mouth as a snack alternative.
Happy healthy eating!

Smoothies for the win!

I, like Elise, really love my smoothies to get in a ton of veggies. I also use a kale and spinach blend. Coconut milk + banana + leafy greens = easy and fast meal.  I do get to a point where I just can't eat another bowl full of veggies, so a smoothie is a life saver.

I recall sharing this in a past health challenge, but my go to healthy snack this time of year is sliced cucumbers and tomatoes sprinkled with Tajin seasoning - because those are the vegetables coming out of my garden! I know it's not a fancy recipe but simple is how I like it.

Hope everyone is hanging on strong!

Sariah

Here's a vegetable recipe that has become a staple to take to potluck meals.  When I overheard one man telling another man to be sure to try the carrots because they were really good, I knew I had a quick, easy winner.  I assume it's called Mexican because of the green chiles.
                                       Mexican Carrots
2 lbs cooked carrots
1 onion sliced
1 can tomato soup
1/4 c. vinegar
1/2 c. sugar
salt to taste
4 oz can chopped green chile
Stir together & simmer to blend flavor

Monday, September 14, 2015

Breakfast Burritos

In the past I would google "healthy recipes" or "healthy dinner ideas" and I would find page after page of recipes, but nothing that I would actually want to make.  I am not a short order cook, so anything I make for dinner has to be kid friendly for my 2 and 3 year old.  And all the recipe ideas I came across just weren't family friendly.

I finally found the perfect source for dinner recipes.  Our local grocery store puts out a health and wellness magazine each month, and inside is always two weeks worth of dinner ideas.  The two weeks of recipes are developed by culinary nutritionists, and the calorie and nutrition information is listed right under the recipe.  This is now my go to source for healthy dinner ideas, no more googling for me.

Here is a link to the latest issue -

https://www.heb.com/static-page/article-template/my-heb-health-and-wellness-sept-2015

I plan on making the batch cook breakfast burritos for dinner this week.  I love breakfast for dinner, and this looked perfect.  All the ingredients are simple, and pretty much staples in our house.



Jessica


snack idea!

I recently saw a recipe for a fruit dip and tried it and LOVED IT. Pumpkin, cool whip (i used the coconut kind. Better for you and it tastes yummier) and vanilla pudding. I also added cinnamon and nutmeg. To my surprise, this wasnt super sweet. My kids actually ate it up like it was going out of style! Now this isn't something i would eat every day, but it was a good thing for when I was craving something sweet but not overly sweet! I dipped applea and bananas in it! I am also remembering my love for hummus! If any of you guys have a hummus recipe that you really enjoy, please share i5 with me!

New Ideas

I recently started a new way of eating that has inspired me to some new snack ideas. In reality a 'meal' when you are eating healthy really is just a 'snack'. I mean, if you eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day - they aren't very big meals.

Anyway. I have two ideas to share. One is old news for a lot of people, but may be a good reminder. I like to have a daily protein shake. When I make this shake I ALWAYS add 2-3 large handfuls of greens. Spinach and kale are my regular choices. To be honest getting the vegies and fruits in last week wasn't too bad for me because I add SO many greens to my shake, and then I make sure to have some vegies with my lunch and dinner meal. And really the fruit isn't so hard!

My other idea/snack to share is very new to me and I've really started to like it! I take 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt and mix it with 1/4 cup peanut butter. This sounds yucky - but it is great! I use it as a fruit dip. Usually with apple slices. I really look forward to this treat! Try it! The yogurt is an awesome source of protein and the peanut butter is a good amount of fat and sugar and sweetens it up so well!

I hope everyone is having a good week so far! I know it's only Monday - but every single day counts! I'm looking forward to another week of good changes in my mind and body!!

Sunday, September 13, 2015

All in...

This challenge has been great.  I notice that either I easily got in the extra fruit and veggies or I didn't eat a single one all day! Healthy eating begets healthy habits for sure.  In a related note, I loved my personal challenge too.  I chose to not eat out at least 5/7 days this week.  I saved money and eating out felt like such a huge treat rather than a result of my lack of planning.  

My healthy recipe is super simple...  I am not the best cook as you can quickly see.  One way I added fruit to my diet this week was to skip the jelly on my morning peanut butter toast and add a 1/2 cup of blueberries or a sliced banana.   

Loved the challenge this week!!!

Hi All. This week was a great challenge.  I love fruits and vegetables and this weeks challenge was a great reminder to eat healthy and correct portions.  I did well 5 of the 7 day - woo hoo!!!:)
Hi ladies Roxanna here,

How is everyone doing with the group challenge? Does anyone else have trouble choking down extra veggies this week?  Personally...I never realized how hard it is to get a consistent 2.5 cups of veggies and/or fruits a day! Not that it's a bad thing, (I need to continue doing this) Give me that in chocolate or ice cream and there is NO struggle getting that down!!! HA!

On another note, I thought I was safe from this cold yuck. My youngest had it a week ago. Husband got it for a few days and complained of throat pain. Must be going around.  Both kids have this nasty cough that won't seize. I don't exactly feel sick but for the last two days I have that dry itchy tickle in my throat. I hope it clears up quick. Not fun working out when throat feels like it has caught fire. =/



Saturday, September 12, 2015

hello

Mary here checking in.  Its been a tough week for me I've had an awful cold.  Trying to stay on track but it's been hard to exercise when I can't breathe and have to keep running to the bathroom so all workouts have been low impact like walking and yoga.  Hopefully this week I can get back to more fat burning!  I've missed working out with my workout partner.

Friday, September 11, 2015

Friday?

I can't believe it is already Friday! This week I have really struggled with wanting something sweet after a meal, and I'm not talking fruit. I like to bake but not the same five things the kids like, so in trying new things there are often a lot of extra to freeze or hope someone else likes. I have been using a blog that has a lot of recipes with natural sugars, but the calorie content is still high enough that I have to choose to not eat them, or workout harder/longer. Another thing that has bothered me, is that I often don't wake up hungry, a problem that usually didn't happen to me. Obviously I eat too late, so I am looking forward to next weeks challenge and waking up hungry.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Extra motivation

Just got news that we have a wedding coming up in the family....Maybe that can be my extra motivation for the next few months!!

Who Needs Sleep?



I have lost more sleep points this challenge than any other thing!  I saw this poster on yahoo news today and felt like it applies to me!  And all this time I just thought I had early on-set of Alzheimer's Disease.  I know it is a critical part of my overall health, but the night owl in me has such a hard time putting down the book, stopping a project, and putting down the phone at night.  And then when I do go to sleep it seems like there is always a kid waking me up, or me jumping out of bed and running down the hall when I have the recurring nightmare that I don't know who my husband is in the middle of the night (true story).

SLEEP.  I NEED SOME.






(Infographic: Erik Mace for Yahoo Health) 

Exercise

My favorite part of this whole challenge is that I am now motivated to exercise every week.  Before this challenge, I could easily talk myself out of exercising that day with excuses of "I'm tired," or "I'm too busy," or "the last 10 minutes has been really hard, I need to relax!" Another favorite, is "I will start on Monday." But now I am part of a community of women who are all working towards a common goal - to be a healthier version of ourselves.

I now do 5 days a week/60 minutes a day of exercise. I have experimented with what time of day works best, and I found that 2-3 in the afternoon is my golden time. The two older boys have just woken from their nap, and are content to play with toys. My baby usually naps from 2-3.

I also have found that my favorite form of exercise is the P90X program. It is interval training utilizing cardio and weights. The 60 minutes is broken down into 2 minute exercises so it keeps me engaged the whole time.

Ever since I started consistently exercising 3 weeks ago, my back no longer hurts when I wake up in the morning. Exercise really is the cure for all problems!

Jessica

Right reasons

So I've been thinking a lot about doing the right things for the right reasons. You can relate this topic (and normally I do think of it in this way) to righteous living. However over the last day or two I've started thinking about it in the context of healthy living. Am I eating healthfully and working out JUST to get thin? Is getting the pounds off the ONLY reason I want a healthy lifestyle?? We could chat about this topic all day....because OF COURSE I want a thin body! OF COURSE I want to shed some of these unwanted flabby pounds!!! But at the end of the day, week, month, year....or chapter of my life....what I REALLY want is a healthy outlook on life, to be an example of healthy living to my children, to have a healthy heart and mind. I want to be strong in a lot of aspects of life. I do not want to be obsessed with a number on a scale and allow it to control how I feel about myself. Anyway. Something to think about. Are YOU doing the right things for the right reasons?

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

I've really struggled finding a good time to work out.  I'd like to go in the morning but my baby wakes up between 6:30 and 7:00 to eat, then we get our boys out the door. Luckily we have a clubhouse with a treadmill where we live but even with that it's so hard to get there with these two little ones. Today was an awesome workout though because they both somehow managed to fall asleep on our walk! Then I was able to run on the treadmill without any interruption! If only every day could work out so well.
Sarah

Nicole

I try not to keep easy to reach sweets in the house so I have to reach for the veggies and fruits to snack on. At the store I buy whatever fruit my daughter wants so she is excited about eating fruit too. We are usually very well stocked in strawberries and grapes. We have plenty of apple trees around and those are ready to pick too. I better get to picking to have them to snack on too.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Week 2 Results and Prize Winner

Hello Ladies!  I want to start off by letting you all know the prize breakdown for this challenge!

There are 17 of us participating.  That made for a total of $425.
I will be using $85 for weekly prize drawings.  The $85 also covers $5 I'm saving for shipping fees to mail out prizes.  The remaining $340 will be divided among the top 5 winners at the end of the challenge.
1st place:  $125
2nd place:  $100
3rd place:  $75
4th place:  $25
5th place:  $15

Here are the results after Week 2!
1.  Elise             188
1.  Jenni            188
1.  Nicole          188
1.  Susan          188
2.  Sariah          186
3.  Cheree         182
3.  Sarah           182
4.  Karen L.      181
5.  Artesia        180
6.  Stephanie    179
6.  Jessica        179
7.  LauriAnn     178
8.  Heather        177
9.  Mary            168
10.  Roxana       151
11.  Linsey        123
12.  Karen J.     115


Week 2 Prize:  
This week my camera is not functioning, so there will be no prize video (but don't worry...we've got big plans for the following weeks).  My son did the drawing tonight while I took pictures with my phone.
The names in this week's drawing.


Insert sheepish smile here...I PROMISE we are honest with these drawings!
Speaking of prizes, remember to complete the group challenge to be eligible for the movie pass next week!

Monday, September 7, 2015

Intuitive Eating

I blogged about the book Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole in the last challenge, but I had a success related to one of the theories in the book.  Tribole asserts that sometimes giving in to our cravings actually helps us eat better overall.  If you constantly are avoiding a cookie or cupcake, Tribole says that many times you fufill that craving with something less satisfying, but more of it.  She says if you want to eat 12 Twizzlers, you should occasionally just do it.  Most times you will find that you quickly get tired of it and haven't eaten a bunch of unsatisfying calories that didn't sate your craving.

So, I caved at the grocery store and bought my toddler Lucky Charms.  The Lucky Charms started to haunt me, but I am pretty dedicated to the breakfast menu I already have (oatmeal, ha ha), so I decided not to eat them.  Finally, one morning I ate my breakfast and then TWO bowls of Lucky Charms.  I immediately berated myself.  But, at the end of the day, I realized I was still on target for my calorie count and I felt totally satisfied that day, which is not always the case.  Tribal was right.  I gave into the craving, didn't overcompensate for the desire with other foods, and now the Lucky Charms mystique is gone!

Life Saver

Almost all summer long I have had a very difficult time drinking the tap water from my house. I would try to explain to my husband that it tasted moldy and I was literally having to gag it down. After a bit of snooping online I think the tap water is a victim of algal bloom, as explained in this article -

http://www.thekitchn.com/the-weird-reason-why-your-tap-water-may-taste-like-mold-in-the-summer-176384

Basically, in the warm summer months, algae grows in the local water sources. By the time it reaches our homes, all of the growth and nastiness has been cleaned out - but NOT the taste. So its safe to drink, just really gross tasting. I guess some people are more sensitive to the taste than others.

But I still had a problem, even though I know its safe for me to drink, I really would rather not drink water that tastes like licking a shower tile that hasn't been scrubbed in a few. And I didn't want to add additive after additive to make it palatable. So we got a water cooler!


So fancy right? ;) Anyway, I owe all of my success to this last challenge of water/milk only to the water cooler.  I have to say, not having a daily coke zero with my lunches this week was actually nice. When I decided to treat myself after my success on it's completion, my vanilla coke zero didn't taste very nice at all. I don't see myself going back to a daily coke habit. Which is funny, because I used to go for YEARS without a soda. I don't know what happened! 

Also, for my personal challenge, I decided to adopt the following cleaning schedule to see how it went - 

I am a task oriented person who functions very well with lists. But if I don't have a physical to do list and some sort of structure, I flounder and end up running around very busy but not really accomplishing anything.

I found this particular  schedule something that fit very well into our daily routine. I feel much more accomplished at the end of the day. 

Hope everyone found their groove this week and is kicking butt! 

Sariah

week 2

Week 2 was kind of a killer for me workout wise. I got sick on monday with a stupid cold and every day i worked out, it got worse! By wed/thurs I had a slight fever. Needless to say, I didn't get as many workouts in as I wanted. I also had to remind myself to drink water. I just didn't want to drink at all! I stuck to my nutrition and tried not to go over my calories, and I even saw some results....small ones, but even small results are results! Here's to a better week HAHA!

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Happy Sunday Everyone!

 I hope everyone is progressing well with the challenge. I have had my stumbles along the way this week. I have done better then even I expected myself to do. Still, some things like lack of coffee were killing me...I thought I was just dependent on the caffeine jolt, but come to realize, I absolutely just LOVE my coffee. The aroma, the taste..Just love it ..end. of...story....

That being said, I folded and gave into a handful of mini semi sweet chocolate chips this week, also a half cup of Joe =( It is pretty hard to give it up completely when my husband drinks it every morning.. (yes I will partly blame it on him.) ha ha...

Anyway,, small steps..big changes...I am hoping. Hang in there everyone! 


I'm starting to feel the muscles back in my legs again!!! I'm so excited about this. I've been running a lot, training for a half marathon in November. This 10 week challenge came into my life at just the right time. It's helped me get way more motivated. This week has been a pretty good. Holiday weekends, BBQs, and eating out didn't help but it hasn't been too bad. Music really helps pump me up and get moving. This week "St Elmo's Fire" by John Parr did just that. Awesome 80s music 😄
I look forward to next week. Good luck to everyone.

Saturday, September 5, 2015

Thursday, September 3, 2015

1 AM

It is 1 AM, I'm not getting my sleep point tonight!  In fact, I haven't gotten one yet this week...sleep is killing my score.

Anyway, today was busy.  At 11 PM I trudged downstairs to the treadmill to get my hour in.  While I was working out I was flipping the channels between "My Big Fat Fabulous Life,"

 and "Donut Showdown."

 It wasn't until my husband came down to say goodnight and started laughing at my choice of shows for workout motivation, that I realized how ironic and funny it was.  Both were motivating in their own way.

Not my best workout ever, but I burned a few calories, met my goal of 10,000 steps per day, so eh, whatever works I guess.

Week TWO!!

Hello all!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm super excited to find out how many of us are REALLY in this - so Stephanie can tell us about the prizes!!! I must confess I'm very temporally minded (sometimes) and am motivated by the prize at the end of the journey!!!

I LOVE reading all the posts from you all! I enjoy reading about what you're doing, what works and what doesn't! I can relate to Sariah in the slippery slope of evening eating habits! AH! I'm working on that one too!!

I had a super successful week one!! But I haven't seen the same results this week. BUT - never fear - I WILL NOT GIVE UP! The work outs, the carefully planned meals and the positive self talk WILL ADD up to success!!!

I'm feeling overwhelmed with how much weight I really have to lose. But, in time, it will come off this physical body of mine. I wish you all good luck this week! Keep up the good work!!!

What is it about free food?!



This has been a crazy, busy, exciting, week of work and to bribe treat us they have been catering breakfast, lunch and even dinner this week! With that I have blown through my "daily" allotted calories by lunch.  I still have been tracking and it is not pretty!  Any hoo, I have been killing it in the gym to hopefully balance out the damage I have done to my diet this week.   

One plus of being pregnant or nursing for the last 11 years I have kicked any diet coke habit I may have had.





Never noticed!!

I never noticed that Ethan looked so much like his mother until...  He put on a brown wig!! Burning extra calories from laughing at the video.

Love this weeks challenge!  I usually don't have a problem but this summer I had a class that caused me to drink to much dr. pepper.  It usually give me migraines, but during the summer it had to keep me a wake!!! (Best teacher EVER!! NOT) So this is getting all that extra yuck stuff out of my system.  I had a class this week that went until 10 PM... No pop just water and apples.

By the way I want to know more about the nutri-system box.....  How much did it cost and did you lose weight doing it.  Has anyone tried that program long term?  Didn't know Wal-mart carried it!!

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Nicole G

I knew the no sweet drink challenge was coming, so I've been trying to cut back on my Vanilla Dr. Pepper addiction. So far so good. I work one night shift a week at work, and I always take my Vanilla DP with me. Last night was my night shift, and I went strictly water! Big step for me. I'm trying to not have any sweet drink this week, not just 5/7 of the days. We shall see how it goes...

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Week 1 Standings and Prize Winner

Great job on Week 1!  Wow!  So many of you with perfect points.  Keep up the good work, and don't get discouraged...just take it one week at a time!

Here are the standings after Week 1:

1.  Cheree         94
1.  Elise             94
1.  Heather        94
1.  Jenni            94
1.  Karen L.      94
1.  LauriAnn     94
1.  Mary            94
1.  Nicole          94
1.  Susan           94
2.  Sarah           92
2.  Sariah          92
3.  Stephanie    89
4.  Artesia        88
5.  Jessica        87
6.  Roxana       78
7.  Linsey        75
8.  Karen J.     56

I'm still waiting to get money from a few more people and then I will let you know what the prizes will be at the end.  Hopefully by this Friday when I send out the group email I can let you all know.  If you sent me a check I will deposit those early next week when I receive them all.

Watch this video to find out who won the Week 1 Prize ($5 Subway gift card).  And remember to get all your exercise points this week (25) to be eligible for the Week 2 prize drawing!

I'm sure this will motivate you to go out and shred Week 2!

Mmmmmm pumpkin!!

Thanks Sariah, you have my longing for pumpkin now. Most of which is healthy of course jk. I can't wait for fall though, it is my favorite time of year, and the best season for good long productive workouts. I will admit, same as always, I am excited to see summer go! I love the time the kids get off school, but hate feeling hot and sticky all the time. Fall is also the perfect time to bake, which makes it harder to keep those pounds off, but I recently came across a blog called mywholefoodlife.com that has a lot of no sugar added type baking. The perfect solution! All of the stuff I have tried on it so far is quite awesome considering the fact that it is missing the "american drug."

Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eater



Sometimes I just can't handle thinking for myself. The idea of planning and measuring out food this last week was KILLING me, so I cheated. I picked one of these things up at Wal-Mart - 




I know in general it is not the most flavorful and natural way to eat. But sometimes, if it comes down to jumping ship or eating a prepackaged and pre-calorie counted meal, I will do it. I don't plan on living off of these things during the entirety of this challenge. But I do plan to have a few options on hand when I am brought to the brink (you know what I'm talking about). Are there better choices out there? Well yeah, but this one has cookies.  

This week my personal challenge was to stop eating before 7. I know there have been recent studies that say it doesn't matter, weight loss wise, if you eat that ice cream at noon or at midnight. However, night snacking is a slippery slope for me. If I start eating in the evening, there is a high chance I will not stop. I figured it was best just to put down the fork and back out of the kitchen at a prescribed time.  

I hope everyone's first week treated them well. This no soda challenge for me will be interesting, as I enjoy a delicious and ice cold carbonated beverage on a hot and sweaty day. 

Sariah

Heather needs to get her groove back . . .

I am having the slowest start to the school year ever. The kids are happily adjusting to the back to school schedule, but every day, even if I don't show it, I'm just whining on the inside. It's horrible. The fake it 'til you make it approach just isn't working. Maybe it's because it was far too recently that I was ziplining through the Island forest of a tropical paradise?!

 (Side note, whenever I would come to the end of the zipline I would come in backside first. My daughter commented about it and the guide said, "There's a physics reason for that, but you probably don't want to hear it." I already knew the reason . . .because my bottom half is heavier than my top half, as it has been since puberty hit a few decades ago. It's okay buddy, it's not news to me. But thanks for pretending to want to spare my feelings.)

Trying to remind myself to have an "attitude of gratitude" and get involved and do all the stuff I'm supposed to do. . .

So I am trying to get back into a rhythm where I feel happy doing the daily things. I need to attend PTA, meal plan, grocery shop, finish unpacking the stuff we shoved into the garage, use all the tomatoes that are growing in my garden to make salsa or something delicious, read with the kids, help them do the homework, walk the dog, keep up on the laundry, log my food, exercise, drink water, go to bed, etc. No big deal . . . I got this. Waaaa (Inside voice whining . . .)

And this week I'm expected to do all that without any chemical boosts for help, eh? Well we'll just see how motivating those 10 points are. Hopefully motivating enough, hopefully.
(Yay, school's back in session . . . no sarcasm intended.)