This Weeks Challenge

Okay, so we are beginning a new week so here is our new challenge. This week I want you to be more conscientious of how much you put on your plate. Now I am not saying don't fill your plate with your first (and only) helping as high as you want. Just figure out about how big your servings are. So this week as you are filling out your weekly food chart put down about how much you ate of each food. For example-Dinner- 3 cups of pasta with 1 cup of sauce and 2 cups of salad and a nice thick slice of bread with 2 tbls of butter(seriouly I would eat that much, maybe more sauce and parmassen cheese). Now I am not asking you to measure it out, just guess (unless you want to measure it, I just hate measuring things. It makes me feel like I'm on a real diet, and I am not, I am having a "Life Style Change").
Sounds good????? I haven't decided how many points this is worth yet. Let me know what you think. We could either do an overall weekly points or a point per day you do it.

Weigh In-Week 2

Sorry I am so slow this week at getting things posted. My interent has been down alot this week. How was weighing for everyone? As we know poor Jenn didn't do so well. I had a trainer tell me once you can exercise all you want but if you eat bad you are not going to loose the weight. Exercising is just suppose to help you loose weight along with a healthy diet. I am so excited to see how Jenn does next week.
This week I did pretty good. I stuck to the diet pretty well. I did miss a couple snacks and I have to say that makes it harder to get through the day. I got a couple good workouts in. I ended up loosing another 3 pounds this week. I was pretty excited. I was expecting to have lost about 1.
I am excited to see how everyone did this week. Please let us know.

Challenges-Does anyone find these helpful????? Do you want me to continue to make weekly challenges?????
Heres to week 3... Bring it on.

You Can't Out Train a Poor Diet

Welp I have gained 4 pounds this week and let me tell you what! I am bummed!! A little bit anyway:) I spent the week very proud of myself because I have been working out HARD every single day!! So I figured I would sacrifice a few points for some missed snacks or some not so healthy dinners. This turned out to bite me in the hinee!!
I have been reading a lot about eating habits and foods in particular. Since it is soo much easier to say what needs to be done, rather than to DO what needs to be done I will enjoy this post!

Do Not cut all your carbs out of your diet! They are needed in moderation to ensure proper nutrition!

Protien,Protien,Protien!!! This helps build muscle which in turn helps burn fat which is yay!!! Don't think you have to cram meat and chicken. Try some Tofu! Peanut Butter,Salmon!! Google it! There are tons of different types out there!

Fiber!!! Yea I know it sounds poopy! But it really is a fantastic thing in the world of your diet!!Fiber helps keep you full!! Apples,Kiwi!! Great Snacks!!!!!

WATER WATER WATER--- This should really be called the nectar of the gods!!! Drink Drink!!! Did you know that some times when you feel hungry you are actually dehydrated!?? Drinking cold water 20 minutes before you eat can help you in your quest to eat less!!


So there are some tidbits of things I have read over the past week while working out and eating crappy!! This week I am making a serious change!! Not even any cheats!! No missed meals!!

Lets see if I can pull myself out of the ditch I have driven into!!!

Ups and Downs of week Two

I can't believe its already Wednesday and Jenn and I have not posted since Sunday. If we have any loyal viewers I am sorry we have been absent.
Monday I was feeling pretty good. I remember last Monday going to bed feeling sooooo hungry. That night I felt content. Maybe even a little haughty that it was so easy. Well Tuesday rolls around and I think I felt starving the whole day long. I realized it was getting really bad when I was driving to the gym at 9pm trying to talk myself out of driving to Burger King to get a giant hamburger, fries, and wash it down with a tasty milk shake. So when I got to the gym I grabbed a food magazine and looked at all the tasty food I wasn't going to be eating. The upside of Tuesday was I got all my points. 15 baby. I spent over an hour at the gym and felt awesome.
Today I had a melt down. And my poor husband got the brunt of it. He was kind enough to dish me up dinner as I was helping the kids get their salad. I informed him I needed more. He made some kind of comment like "whoa that's a lot." Well I blew up. "This one serving is less then you will have in two serving. I only get one serving and you can get as much as you want." You know it's bad when your little girl says "mommy you are being really mean."  I realized soon after that he put way more on my plate then I had realized and I ended up putting some back. We spent the rest of dinner apologizing to each other. I am so thankful to my loving, supportive husband. He loves me whether I am the weight I am now or the weight I was when we got married.
How is everyone else doing? Keep up the good work. Jenn and I both passed on some super yummy pies tonight at our youth group activity. I think Jenn knew I would take another picture of her. There was some left over pie so I have it hiding in my freezer waiting for Sunday. Yippee Free Day!

A new week

So is everyone excited to start the new week?

I have to say I am.

After gorging myself on cinnamon rolls today

I am ready for a new start tomorrow.

I have decided I like the way I feel so much better when I am on the "diet" then when I am on my day off. Today I feel sluggish and icky. I almost feel like those 3lbs I took off is sticking back to my belly. As I was eating dinner tonight I realized I was eating my very first vegetable of the day and that I hadn't had any fruit. Yuck. Plus I feel dehydrated. I guess I am thankful for today to remind me why I am doing this life style change. Not only to loose weight but to feel better. I am excited to go work out tomorrow. I need my water so bad.And give me a juicy crisp apple. Thank You

So how did everyone do on the challenge for this week? Don't forget to give yourself the extra 5 bonus points if you put any effort at all into this Life Style Change.
Okay for next weeks challenge... Like I said before it is going to go with eating at the dinner table. Now I know for some (Shereen) this is super hard. Some work crazy hours and is running from one thing to the next. So this is what I suppose. Everyday that you eat a meal at a table you get a point. Now it can be your table at home, a table at a restaurant, a table in the breakroom, anything works. As long as it's a table and not at the couch while watching t.v or the console of your car while you are heading somewhere. And it can be any meal. Now for those who this is super easy, try to make sure you get all 3 meals at the table for that one extra point a day. I often find myself eating breakfast at the counter while packing lunches or eating lunch at my computer desk when my dinner table is 3 feet away. So my goal is all 3 meals. Good luck.

WEEK 1. The morning mommy

Well this week went fairly well. I lost some weight, but most of all I feel really good. I have a ton of energy because I have lowered my sugar,carb and caffeine intake! YAY!

While the eating thing has been soooo hard the working out part has actually been bearable which is really different than it was before. I was putting so much pressure on myself to be a morning person. You know the person! Wake up, work out, shower, make breakfast and clean the entire house all before the rooster crows! I tried, I really did but I found myself saying things like "i hate the world", "kill me now" and "well I didn't work out this morning so it's too late so I will tomorrow" I know I am not the only one out there! I would much rather stay up late,do my thing and roll out of my bed at the last minute to take the kiddos to school.


THE GRIEVING PROCESS

I took a deep breath and let the thought of being the perfect morning mommy go and did the opposite and I have decided that *gasp* I am a night person!!! I actually already knew that but I was in denial. Since I have come to the acceptance part of this grieving process I have made a new schedule for myself and so far it seems to be working! I work out at night!! Sometime between 8 and 9 I either go to the gym or put in my P90X . It gets done well. I feel great. The kids are already in bed by then and I can just do my thing.

Since I have been able to let go of the "morning mommy" dream I feel like my house and family has been running so much smoother than before. I KNOW I have been doing better making it to the gym! Try and step out of the box. Maybe something a little abnormal works better for you!!

How Eating at Home Can Save Your Life

I found this article on my cousins blog. I found it very interesting and thought you all might like to read it.
I also added a link on the side bar "I make Family Dinner a priority". My cousin put 10 tips to make meals matter. Very helpful.
How Eating at Home Can Save Your Life
The slow insidious displacement of home cooked and communally shared family meals by the industrial food system has fattened our nation and weakened our family ties. In 1900, 2 percent of meals were eaten outside the home. In 2010, 50 percent were eaten away from home and one in five breakfasts is from McDonald's. Most family meals happen about three times a week, last less than 20 minutes and are spent watching television or texting while each family member eats a different microwaved "food." More meals are eaten in the minivan than the kitchen.
Research shows that children who have regular meals with their parents do better in every way, from better grades, to healthier relationships, to staying out of trouble. They are 42 percent less likely to drink, 50 percent less likely to smoke and 66 percent less like to smoke marijuana. Regular family dinners protect girls from bulimia, anorexia, and diet pills. Family dinners also reduce the incidence of childhood obesity. In a study on household routines and obesity in U.S. preschool-aged children, it was shown that kids as young as four have a lower risk of obesity if they eat regular family dinners, have enough sleep, and don't watch TV on weekdays.
We complain of not having enough time to cook, but Americans spend more time watching cooking on the Food Network than actually preparing their own meals. In his series, "Food Revolution," Jamie Oliver showed us how we have raised a generation of Americans who can't recognize a single vegetable or fruit, and don't know how to cook.
The family dinner has been hijacked by the food industry. The transformations of the American home and meal outlined above did not happen by accident. Broccoli, peaches, almonds, kidney beans and other whole foods don't need a food ingredient label or bar code, but for some reason these foods -- the foods we co-evolved with over millennia -- had to be "improved" by Food Science. As a result, the processed-food industry and industrial agriculture has changed our diet, decade by decade, not by accident but by intention.
That we need nutritionists and doctors to teach us how to eat is a sad reflection of the state of society. These are things our grandparents knew without thinking twice about them. What foods to eat, how to prepare them, and an understanding of why you should share them in family and community have been embedded in cultural traditions since the dawn of human society.
One hundred years ago all we ate was local, organic food; grass-fed, real, whole food. There were no fast-food restaurants, there was no junk food, there was no frozen food -- there was just what your mother or grandmother made. Most meals were eaten at home. In the modern age that tradition, that knowledge, is being lost.
The sustainability of our planet, our health, and our food supply are inextricably linked. The ecology of eating -- the importance of what you put on your fork -- has never been more critical to our survival as a nation or as a species. The earth will survive our self-destruction. But we may not.
Common sense and scientific research lead us to the conclusion that if we want healthy bodies we must put the right raw materials in them: real; whole, local; fresh; unadulterated; unprocessed; and chemical-, hormone- and antibiotic-free food. There is no role for foreign molecules such as trans fats and high-fructose corn syrup, or for industrially developed and processed food that interferes with our biology at every level.
That is why I believe the most important and the most powerful tool you have to change your health and the world is your fork. Imagine an experiment -- let's call it a celebration: We call upon the people of the world to join together and celebrate food for one week. For one week or even one day, we all eat breakfast and dinner at home with our families or friends. For one week we all eat only real, whole, fresh food. Imagine for a moment the power of the fork to change the world.
The extraordinary thing is that we have the ability to move large corporations and create social change by our collective choices. We can reclaim the family dinner, reviving and renewing it. Doing so will help us learn how to find and prepare real food quickly and simply, teach our children by example how to connect, build security, safety and social skills, meal after meal, day after day, year after year.
Here are some tips that will help you take back the family dinner in your home starting today.
Reclaim Your Kitchen
Throw away any foods with high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated fats or sugar or fat as the first or second ingredient on the label. Fill your shelves with real fresh, whole, local foods when possible. And join a community support agriculture network to get a cheaper supply of fresh vegetables weekly or frequent farmers markets.
Reinstate the Family Dinner
Read Laurie David's "The Family Dinner". She suggests the following guidelines: Make a set dinnertime, no phones or texting during dinner, everyone eats the same meal, no television, only filtered or tap water, invite friends and family, everyone clean up together.
Eat Together
No matter how modest the meal, create a special place to sit down together, and set the table with care and respect. Savor the ritual of the table. Mealtime is a time for empathy and generosity, a time to nourish and communicate.
Learn How to Cook and Shop
You can make this a family activity, and it does not need to take a ton of time. Keep meals quick and simple.
Plant a Garden
This is the most nutritious, tastiest, environmentally friendly food you will ever eat.
Conserve, Compost and Recycle
Bring your own shopping bags to the market, recycle your paper, cans, bottles and plastic and start a compost bucket (and find where in your community you can share you goodies).
Invest in Food
As Alice Waters says, food is precious. We should treat it that way. Americans currently spend less than10 percent of their income on food, while most European's spend about 20 percent of their income on food. We will be more nourished by good food than by more stuff. And we will save ourselves much money and costs over our lifetime.
To learn more tips for taking back the family dinner and using your fork to effect change in our world visit http://www.drhyman.com/.