How do you eat an elephant?

One bite at a time. I have fallen off the radar for a few weeks mostly because I have a horrible confession. I could not, would not write down what I was eating. It probably had a lot to do with the bag of Andes mints and Carmel cups that I kept eating one at a time all day. I was stressed and it was PMS week.

I occasionally read my husbands "trade" magazines. He is a credentialed "school nutrition specialist"(he's a lunch lady with an education). Anyway, one of the articles in his magazine from the School Nutrition association was about how askew our ideas of "portions" has become and that they fight this even in the school. My husband was also sharing how he had a few parents insisting that the portions of food were insufficient and they felt their children needed double lunches. Although they are allowed all the veggies and fruit they could want, they usually just want a second main item. For others of you this might not be an issue but I realized it is really one for me. I want a nice big portion of everything! And especially the good fattening stuff. It's all in my perception. So this week I have worked on adding veggies. I am trying to focus on keeping the size of my portions on my main item down. When I want more I try to go for veggies. I have noticed I eat less if I hurry put dinner away and let myself have fruit awhile later for dessert.

So now to the great news! I have been keeping up the walking/running and after a few weeks of only being able to run 1 full lap around the track and walking 5, I started really pushing myself to run a little farther ( my husband broke 7 miles Monday, I really hate him for that) and today I was able to run 3/4 mile without stopping! No small feat for a big girl like me! My plan is to be up to a mile next week.

I got on the scale and had a pleasant surprise too. I lost about 4lbs. Woo Hoo!

So how is this elephant eating away at herself? One bite at a time!

a loooooooong day!

Can today just not count? Here I sit on the couch, lap top where it should be...on my lap, chowing down on a delectable double chocolate muffin from Costco. Its an attempt to recover from today. Three kids at home, bickering non-stop, piles of laundry higher than Mt. Everest, and a kitchen that has now been cleaned 4 times today. We've gone on 3 walks around the block hoping that might ease some of the stress....it obviously didn't because I'm here drowning myself in chocolate and calories and thinking about how I should be down on the floor doing 100 crunches instead.

Here's to tomorrow and a clean slate!

Speechless....

So, I was rummaging through my stack of "I'll organize it when the pile takes over my counter"pile this morning and saw a mailing from Similac, you know the baby formula people. My little Corbin is on their Alimentum formula because of allergies, so I knew a long awaited $5 off coupon would be inside. I opened up the envelope with the intent of finding the coupon and throwing the rest of the "how to be a GREAT parent" advice (from people who probably don't have kids) in the trash, when one little flyer caught my eye. The picture is a mother from waist down walking out the door of her home, she's dressed in business attire....a nice black skirt and heels, in one hand she has a laptop case and diaper bag, and in the other hand she's holding the infant carrier with her, what looks like, 4 month old smiling, chubby, happy little baby. The caption under the picture reads, "This Mom has things to do!" Wow! Things to do? Like what? Be a mother? Hold and love and sing and hug, and kiss this little one who has no idea she's about to be dropped of in daycare? Sorry, I know some of you may use day care or even work as day care providers and that is great, it can be good when it is needed. I'm not here to argue whether or not daycare is good. I just think that this little blurb sends the wrong message to us and our daughters, that being a "mother" is not enough.

I know that had nothing to do with fitness, but its all I've got on my mind right now :)

So, back to the challenge. I have had a few successes the past few days. My biggest success is that for the past 3 days I've stopped eating 2 hours before bedtime! I've always been a big, get the kids in bed and sit down on the couch with a bowl of ice cream, type of person. But I got to thinking how many extra calories I was adding to the end of my day....wow! So instead of the bowl of ice cream, or toast with chocolate milk (one of my all time favorites), I've started to dry bananas....and oddly enough they quench the night time snack craving.

Karen, you inspire me! I feel the heat and go right back in the house...maybe today I'll brave the heat and take my boys for a walk :)

Where is everybody?

I think we've gotten off to a bit of a slow start here. I loved the introduction posts from you ladies. They were inspiring. Jessica's class about body image was so important. I totally needed to hear that. And Margie - you going out and exercising in this horrible heat, while committing to writing everything down that you eat was a big step, I know. I know even Ann is giving it her best even though she's got a big trip coming up with all the stresses that go along with that.

I hope this blog can continue to be an inspiration/motivation for all of us. But it can only be if we use it!

I don't know about the rest of you, but my committment wanes if I don't feel a sense of accountability. For me, that's what the blog is.

So, I hope we can all use this blog daily to share our challenges, achievements, funny stories, whatever works to keep us all on track.

Today is weigh in day for me - we'll see if I've done any good.

I hope everyone has a great day! I'm cheering for you!

ugh

So, today was really rough for me. I tried working in my yard for exercise this morning, and did for a while, but I had to come in...it was just too nasty outside. I'm hoping the rain we got today helps cool things down a bit so I can walk in the morning.

I had a really hard time staying under calories and eating all my fruits/veggies. Blah!

But! Tomorrow is another day.

I'm going to go to bed so I can get plenty of rest and feel refreshed tomorrow.

Here's to a better day tomorrow!

This is me

Hey I am Karen's sister Ann. She and I started doing a challenge at the beginning of the year with some ladies in my ward and one by one they dwindled down to just Karen and I. I just have to tell you, any of you that might not be totally "into" this, that this is an awesome way to loose weight and get fit. It takes the focus off of the loosing weight and it is exciting to see the changes that you begin to make.

I am leaving for vacation on Friday, so for me my focus isn't quite there, but you can bet when we get home I will going strong. So good luck to all of you ladies, and thanks for giving this little challenge a chance. If we get more particpates we might want to try teams, that's what worked really great for Karen and I, so if you like what we're doing recruit your friends!!

My kids WILL remember me as being the "fun mom"!

I hope to be one fit chick! Not necessarily a size 6 chick or a chick with chicken legs, but a chick who jumps on the trampoline with her kids, who is willing to run through the sprinklers with her kids; and if they want to run a 5K, I'll be right there with them.

A little intro, I suppose. My name is Jessica, and I'm out of shape :) I'm married to my best friend of almost 10 years. We both grew up in Utah and moved down to the valley of the fiery inferno almost 4 years ago. We have a 6 year old daughter, Riley; a 3 year old son, Gage; and a 4 month old son, Corbin. Life is a bit crazy....okay, a lot bit crazy.

When Karen first asked if I'd like to join the challenge, I was all for it! I have baby weight that is preventing most of my clothes from going on smoothly....Oh, I could get them on if my husband were to liquefy me and pour me in, but thats not the look I was going for. I wanted to be that size 6, to be the one who everyone says, "wow, she just had baby?" But this past week two experiences have changed my objective. The first was the opportunity I had to attend a Body Image class put on by my church. They spoke of what the "world" wants us to look like and the extremes some people go to achieve the pre-pubescent body figure and the lengths magazines go to, to change a woman's appearance (through airbrushing) to make her look "perfect". Then they went back to our two purposes for coming to Earth. (1) To gain a body, and (2) To be tested, then they went on to say, what seems in my mind to be over and over again (probably because its the part I needed to hear most) that our body is NOT the test. What? OUR BODY IS NOT THE TEST! It made sense, it clicked. Do I need to exercise? Yes, to ensure my body is healthy. Do I need to be a size 6? No. Do I need to stress about my rolls and stretch marks? No, they are badges of honor from growing 3 perfect babies inside of me! This body of mine is PERFECT, perfect for what I need to do while I am here!

The second experience happened this past Tuesday night when we received word that my husband's cousin had lost his 2 year old son due to a tragic accident. I looked at my own little ones and then thought about how much time I spend in the presence of my children but absent from what is going on with them. I want to have fun with them, I want to enjoy them, I want to cherish every second of life with them.

So, my goal with this challenge is to get into shape. If the rolls and stretchmarks choose to stay, so be it, but this chick is getting fit, this chick is going to enjoy life!

Great Start!

So, I got up this morning, laced up my WORN OUT walking shoes, got the dog on the leash and walked Hannah to school. I walked around the neighborhood for a little while afterward, too - 40 min. in all. It's sticky and nasty outside today, so I took along some water (next time I need to bring a bowl for my picky pooch who won't drink water out of the gutter - even tho I poured it fresh from my water bottle).

This was me after my walk

Don't hate. I know - I'm gorgeous! The bright red,sweaty face is the evidence of my walk today.

And now...for a quiz...

In the following picture my shirt is drenched because...

a). My dog jerked the leash away from me while I was drinking my water - a clear act of defiance seeing as I forgot water for him.

b). My body is a highly efficient metabolizing machine, and any amount of exercise produces massive amounts of sweat!

c). someone drove by and threw a water balloon at me.

If you guess correctly, you can count an extra point for the day!

Have a great day, everyone! And good luck on this challenge. I'm excited to be back in the game with you.

For this, the first day of the rest of my life I want....

You fill in the blank. To eat healthier, to exercise, to be happy. I am so excited for this new beginning with Karen.

So just a little about me. Mom of two, wife to one insanely busy guy I value serenity and balance though I struggle to achieve the two . I have never been a fad dieter. I try to exercise some of the time. I am not so keen on counting calories. I don't drink enough water. I have quite a few pounds to loose. I am a very non-competitive person unless I am competing with myself. Mostly I just want to get into a healthier routine and have better life habits. No diets for me, please! But this is a great opportunity for me to start somewhere.

I started back last week to my exercise routine and was pretty proud of myself when I figured I had 51/2 miles in. I tried to count calories one day in anticipation of this for Karen and pretty much crashed and burned. I think I just have too much fear about actually seeing what I am eating. I guess there's no better time than the present for overcoming that.

So my goal for this week is not necessarily to count calories but to write down everything I eat. For me this is a big step in moving towards counting calories. That combined with my morning exercise is what I want for the first day of the rest of my life.

The Time Has Come

It's time for Karen to have a little healthy competition!!! So here I am, I am Ann, Karen's sister. I live in Henderson, Nevada. I am ready to get the ball rolling and give Karen a run for her money. Who's with me??

Is Anybody Out There?

Hello - lo - lo - lo?

*tap, tap, tap*

Is this thing on?

Hey Ladies...
where the heck are ya?!

I guess I'll keep a-postin' and rackin' up points for myself.

Today was good. I'm ending with quite a few calories left over today (a strict day for me) which makes me happy. It's been all I can do to not get myself a little piece of 'secret toast' ("Nanny McPhee), but I was strong and I'm happy I was able to resist.

I need to finish my exercise for today. I switched my 'Active' to Low intensity and my workouts are usually only about 20 minutes long. Normally, that's not a problem because I walk Hannah to and from swim team and that takes up at least the other 10, but I had to be somewhere early this morning, so I think I'll help Rachel get some stuff done for camp, then do a little 'Just Dance' on the wii.

I was thinking I wasn't going to get in all my fruits/veggies today, but then I cut up the most delicious watermelon! It was so delicious, and 2 cups - only 100 calories (the same as the 2 hershey kisses I ate after lunch - I don't really like kisses but I was seriously dying for some chocolate).

I sure hope to hear from someone besides myself on here.

Good luck, ladies.

Ready, Set, GO!

Okay Ladies, here we go. I am really excited to be starting this new challenge. I have participated in another very similar (almost identical) blog over the past couple of months and have really enjoyed the spirit of competition, and the support that the blog group provided. I hope you all enjoy participating as much as I have.

So, here is something I think make your life a little easier. One of the ways to earn points is by staying within your calorie range. I had no idea what my calorie range should be but my sister, Ann, told me about this website - www.thedailyplate.com where you can put in your height, weight, and age, and then you tell it if you want to lose, maintain, or gain (as if...but if you do...good for you - you're welcome here) weight. At the daily plate, you can also do your food journal. You just type in the food you ate, and it tells you how many calories it has. It also tracks how much sodium, fat grams, sugar, etc. and shows you on a little graph how you're doing each day. There's also a way to track how much water you've been drinking. I LOVE being able to see how I'm doing. Using this site acts as my food journal.

Over the past year, my husband has lost about 45 lbs. There are just a couple of things he has done, that I can share and hopefully that will help you.
1. Eat breakfast - and eat it right when you wake up.
2. Eat a fruit or vegetable with every meal. It should be about the size of your fist. He always takes a small portion of the main dish on his plate and then a huge portion of veggies/fruit. If he is still hungry when his plate is empty, he will have more veggies/fruit. He rarely has 2nds of the main dish.
3. Keep a food journal. He didn't count calories, but he has a little tiny composition book where he writes down EVERYTHING he eats. He keeps it in his pocket all the time. I'm not joking, either - if he eats 1 m&m, it goes in the book.
4. Exercise...obvious. Needs no explanation.

I'm hoping that all of us will use this blog as a place to post tips, recipes, successes and even failures. It's the best way to support each other as we go. I am certainly not an expert on anything (but what NOT to do), but I have tried doing this and it has worked for me. It's a slow process and it's hard work. I always joke with my husband that it's going to take me 42 years to lose all the weight I have to lose...if it does, so be it! I'm just committing to getting on the right track and staying on it.

Good luck to everyone this week!