I wonder if it will get easier to say no to goodies.

It seems to take every ounce of discipline in me not to eat two handful of cookies like I used too.

Maybe next week will be easier.

I had a health teacher in college who always said his favorite motto for a healthy lifestyle was "clear and copious!"

I won't say what he was talking about... probably not appropriate... but thanks to this challenge, mine is "clear and copious!"

Yay for water!

one=not so good...one=great

Dinner: Chicken Sandwich from McDs=not so good

1 hour ride on the bike=great!

Week 1 thoughts

So it has been almost a full week of this Challenge. And I sort of feel like this cartoon. Can I just sleep through this part? I am being overly dramatic, obviously, however, wow hard week.

Finally...signing on

OK, so I'm not quite the last one to sign on to the blog.  I'm Belva (my husband Chad and Audrey's Chris are on a cycling team together).  I've taken a few months break from being a "gym rat" to recover from having a baby, I like to read, shop, cycle (with Audrey) go out to dinner, and garden...  I have 3 crazy boys and 1 adorable little baby girl born in December.  I need to change my habits due to the several past months (year) of eating what I wanted since I was "big" already and not regularly attending the gym since the baby was born.  As of two days ago, I'm back at the gym (sore muscles)...check that off the list.  But as soon as I said yes to this challenge I've been eating birthday cake all week and bought a 6 pack of coke (I VERY rarely drink it).  So Monday...Monday I'll start over.  Here's to the next two weeks ladies...

Brussels Sprouts Salad or Roasted Zucchini

As Shared by Melissa

Salad: 1 tsp butter, add some shallot/onion for flavor, then 1/4 cup low fat chicken stock, break up and cook 6-9 sprouts on low with lid until softened (about 4 min). Add kosher salt & pepper to taste. Top with cranberries and roasted pine nuts or salted peanuts.

Zucchini: cube 2 zucchini, toss in 1 tbsp olive oil, kosher salt, pepper, 1/2 tsp sugar, thyme. Roast at 425 for 30/40 mins. Toss mid-way through.

Mama has arrived

I think this old mama has finally broke thru to post. I am the crazy mother of five wonderful kids and seven grand babies. I am looking forward to getting to know you all better and trying to get healthier. I am an empty nester now, so maybe I can now take care of myself. Never had time for the gym...too many nights at the ball diamond, soccer field, tennis court, wrestling mats etc,....watching. Too many nachos, hot dogs etc. etc, But I will never regret supporting my kids in all their endeavors. Oh, by the way, Audrey is my oldest child and I'm very proud of her. Thanks for putting this all together.

Better Late Than Never...

Hello!! I finally made it! This past weekend I moved, was fridge-less until Wednesday and internet-less until yesterday! Needless to say, I haven't been too on track and I just read all 50 or so of the new posts from this week, last night!

Anyway, my name is Chelsea and I am a little sister to the best big sister ever, Audrey. I pretty much have always struggled with my weight for as long as I can remember. My brothers used to always tease my about my "pot belly" and to this day I always feel like my stomach is the last to go when working so hard to be smaller.

I always seem to get on a really good track and then something always happens and I completely fall off the bandwagon. I am a firm believer in life-style change, not dieting, so this challenge is something I really love. Being healthy makes me feel so much better in everything I do so I am excited.

Now that I have regained my own kitchen, my food, etc. I plan on getting this nasty body back in shape so I can FEEL better by being HEALTHY.

Forgive me for being late!

Oops! I Did It Again.

This morning I had a little four year old over for a tea party.  She brought me Peanut M&Ms.  I thought I could resist.  Then she asked me to open them and share with her.  And we ate them together. 

It rained all day and I didn't get out to exercise.

I didn't feel like cooking so we went to Moe's {burrito joint for you non VA folks} where I ate a ginormous burrito - but I got a whole wheat tortilla instead of white and had light lemonade instead of soda!  I cannot drink another ounce of water today because my stomach is so full from the burrito which was at least 1200 calories.

I am not proud of myself today, whereas I had been most of this week.  I'm  chalking this day up as one of my freebies and starting anew tomorrow.

Belch.

Birthday Weekend

So it is my daughters 15th b-day on Monday the 15th!  She decided that she is going to spread this out over the entire weekend.  How does this affect me you ask?  Because tonight she picked "Not Your Average Joes" as her choice place to eat! Are you serious????  That is what I said to her.  I completely blew it.  Have you ever had their Peanut Butter Thing dessert?????  I have before and I did tonight :)   I won't even go into what I had before.  So tomorrow I am going to have to be the meanest mom on the stinkin planet and say "no" to going out to eat.  Because obviously my will power lay in shreds at the moment.

Hope everyone else has had a great Friday!  Looks like we are in for a rainy weekend here in Northern Virginia.  I will be praying for lots of will power.

Mission Possible

Today at 4 pm, I'm leaving the safety of my kitchen to go on a 3-day church retreat with our Youth Group. The meal plan consists of Chipotle, lasagna, mac-n-cheese, something called Death by Oreos, waffles, bacon, pop tarts, homemade cookies, chips...well, you get the idea.

The good news is that I'm leaving with my secret weapon in tow: a bag of healthy fruits, popcorn, raw almonds and fruity herbal tea. But, yes, I've saved my free-range days for this weekend.

Make this TODAY

Here's a little something that's filling, yummy and easy to make.

Egg White Omelet
1 large egg
3 egg whites
approx. 1 tbsp. milk
1 tsp butter (to coat the skillet)
1/4 cup cheddar
1/4 cup salsa

It's as easy as

One:

Two:

Three:

And only 270 calories. Double that salsa and it only adds 30-40 calories depending on the type of salsa. Or if you're feeling super hungry, just add more egg whites. They're only 17 calories each, so go ahead and pig out!

I caved. I blame the Queen Vee.

So... turns out I can't resist a good deal. I blame The Queen Vee. She called yesterday and said. "I can't believe you passed up such a good deal! That is crazy! You should go buy it for your guests!" And since I am a complete and total pushover, I went right back to the store (the grocery store here is called King Sooper. Isn't that the silliest name? especial the "oo" part!) and bought a container of this:Now I will list all the reasons why this is acceptable. Because I am a pushover, and pushovers are good at justifying.

-It's my mom's favorite flavor and she arrives tonight. If she doesn't find acceptable treats in the house, she WILL make us all go to Wal-Mart tomorrow to buy some treats, becuase that's what grandmas do, they buy treats. And I would rather lick the bottom of my shoe than go to Wal-Mart on a Saturday.

-At Wal-Mart she would likely buy full-fat treats that I love love love. Rocky road is one of my least favorite flavors. I can totally have just one serving and not feel completely deprvied.

-One Serving = 1/2 Cup = 120 Calories. I can totally make room for that in my calorie budget!

See? This was a smart choice after all! Right? RIGHT?

Now let's discuss how ridiculously small a portion a half cup of ice cream is.

Let's all be "Dids" today!

Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda

All the Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas
Layin' in the sun,
Talkin' 'bout the things
They woulda-coulda-shoulda done...
But those Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas
All ran away and hid
From one little did.

--Shel Silverstein

Deep in the Throes

How are you tracking your calories? I've been using the MyFood-a-Pedia site when I don't have label information. It's pretty awesome! Not only does it tell you the calories, but it also tells you how much of each of the different food groups you're getting. I just discovered a cool site that will give you nutritional information for any recipe you enter. All you do is enter the recipe items and what serving size you want to know (for me I wanted to know how much each meatball was in my Sweet & Sour Meatball recipe) and the Recipe Calculator spits the information right out at you. Suh-weet! For my food journal I've been using the MyPyramid Worksheet. All you do is click on your recommended calorie range in the right hand column and it will load a pdf file.

Since I joined late I've only been tracking my food for two days, but I've found that while I've been able to stay under my 2000 calorie limit, I'm not eating enough fruits and vegetables. Living in a town of 500 with a tiny little store really limits the produce selection on hand. And the cost is atrocious! I went to the store yesterday and paid $11.00 for a bag of grapes, a 1lb bag of mini carrots and 4 apples. Fortunately I'm visiting Salt Lake this weekend and plan to hit Costco and stock up on some good fruits and veggies.

Now, about those weaknesses. I'm a sugar freak through and through. I love baked goods, especially sugar cookies and brownies and cake and fudge and bread. Part of my problem is that baking is not just about the food, it's about making something my family will enjoy. I enjoy the process and I enjoy seeing the pleasure on my family's faces when they taste the yummy goodness. And I like the yummy goodness, too. My 3-year-old Amelia has been begging me to make sugar cookies for weeks. It's a fun activity to do with the kids because not only do they get to cut out the shapes, we go all out and decorate them with frosting tips, the whole 9 yards. See?

I know, I'm just a mean woman posting a picture like that.

So I made the cookie dough on Tuesday (thinking I'd be smart and only make half a batch so there wouldn't be too many cookies to eat) and after snitching probably two cookies worth of dough (almost 300 calories) I shoved the dough in the back of the fridge and put Amelia off over and over about baking them. Now it's Thursday night and we're no longer at home, so I dodged that bullet. Also, I told my husband to dispose of the rest of the brownies while we were gone. The crazy man doesn't like brownies so they'll be going straight in the trash. Ugh, I can't stand the thought of throwing away such lusciousness!

Has anyone found a workable solution for baking treats for your family but not pigging out on them yourself? Please share the secret of the universe with the rest of us!

I discovered an absolutely DELISH treat at my Mom's house tonight. This:

Plus this:

Equals sheer decadence for a girl deep in the throes of sugar withdrawl. Even with a really greedy serving of whipped cream, it's only 20 or 30 calories! Maybe I could live solely on this stuff. I'd better see if they carry it at Costco!

I just looked up the definition of throes and it says, "violent pangs of suffering". Word.

Just Jenn

Or as a dear friend occasionally calls me "Jelly Belly Jenn". Okay, not really, well once, because we had a pizza eating contest, which I would've won if a ringer wasn't brought in at the last minute (pizza is a weakness of mine).

I'm a little late getting started on this site, but I made it! I'm Jenn. I LOVE candy, hate chocolate. Love bread and pasta, don't like lima beans or peas. Love anything with cheese in it, especially if it's cake. I drink hardly anything throughout the day even though I do prefer to drink my calories. I'm just not all that thirsty. I have GINORMOUS boobs and they're real, unfortunately (if they weren't, I'd just have them taken out). I decided they compromise the majority of my weight...oh fine, my butt, thighs and gut contribute as well. To be honest, I've come to terms that after three kids, regardless of how much I weight, I will never fit into the pant size I was in high school, if only because things have just moved. Nothing is in quite the same place it used to be, and that's okay. However, I really do need to incorporate a healthier lifestyle for myself and my family and that's my goal here on this blog (weight-loss would be a nice side effect).

As for this current challenge, I haven't tabulated anything and I'm probably not going to. I know, I feel slightly guilty, but only slightly. I mean come on, it's spring break next week and we're heading to mindelicious's house and she's a good cook. Plus there will be a birthday party there, and St. Patrick's Day. And my husband will be smoking 2 racks of ribs. How can one pass up succulent, juicy, tender, lip-smacking ribs?? Not to mention all the sides that go with BBQ. And the birthday cake? I can't. I think those are all valid excuses...yes? So, this will most likely be my only post until the next challenge. (I'm thinking my real challenge this next week will be not to gain 10 pounds, wish me luck)

I just turned 32...it's cheesecake. It's also 11:56 at night and now I'm salivating. Great.

ANYTHING CHEWY!

I hope to get the points for this post, but definitely wont for cleansing my home from my weakness. I crave anything chewy. And let me tell ya, the majority of foods fall into this category. I never really realized it until this last summer, but it hit me one day how much I just really enjoy chewing food. Things like cheetos, a perfectly baked cookie (crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside), granola bars... those types of things I especially crave. It isnt so much a taste because I love the taste of most all delicious foods, but for me, the weakness comes from the texture and the act of chewing the foods. I love food! I love the taste, the smell, and the act of eating it. Good thing is though, that with this love, comes a love for eating heathy foods too... I love to bite into a crunchy apple, or string cheese.

needless to say, it will be impossible for me to cleanse my home from all the foods that are a temptation for me. we would pretty much starve! But, I am doing my best to avoid those that I need to stay away from - and keep my calorie intake for the quality foods! :)

Meh.

That little non-word sums up how I'm feeling about day 4.  I did my exercise.  I'm two glasses away from meeting my water goal.  I ate three meals today - two of them really healthy and dinner so-so.  But right about now I want to shove a bag of oreos down my pie hole and call myself a happy girl.  I miss feeling happy about food.  Sad, isn't it.  So I'm eating poor man's trail mix to fill the void.  A few pretzels and a handful of raisins before 9:00 when the two hour before bedtime thing kicks in.

Tell me this will get easier.

C is for Chris's Cookie

Day 1 was so easy, I thought, ok I can do this. Haha This is tough. My big downfall, loft cookies. I am not a sweet tooth girl, but those cookies are my fall. I NEVER have them because of that. Yesterday was one of my hardest days. By hard I mean, if I counted B,L,D, a candy bar would have been lunch. BAD day. I had an open house for Southern Living at Home at my house, so I ran to the store to pick up just a couple of things to have out. Problem, ran to store, stressed at dinner time. What did I come home with, fruit, started well, petite brownies and a package of loft cookies with white frosting and green sprinkles. NOOOOO, yes I ate them, and then quickly fed my kids the rest, they are no longer in my house.

Time to get back on track. All those sweets went to school with the kids, we ignored the "no sweet" rule at the school, because my will power is lacking. How many laps do I need to do to get those off of me. UGH!

OK, one day is off. I am back on track today. WHEW good thing it wasn't a sam's club size box of those cookies. At least I did not wash them down with a Diet Dr. Pepper right. ;)

Words of my Wisdom: From My Soap Box

3 MEALS A DAY VS. 5-6 SMALLER MEALS

You choose what's best for you

Yep, sounds like we are all a little hungry and learning how to eat within a normal calorie range. See how easy it is to get off course.

If eating smaller meals or having snacks in between meals helps, DO IT! But make smart choices.

Hear are some things that I've learned and STILL WORKING ON that may help you too.

1) Don't eat to light in the morning, especially if that is when you workout. You'll set yourself up for overeating later. Once you allow yourself to eat again you may overindulge because you've waited to long to eat. And eating heavy at night isn't ideal.

A good rule of thumb is to eat every three to four hours.

2) Have a healthy snack if you feel like it, you don't want your blood sugar to drop too low because that zaps all your energy and we all need as much energy as we can squeeze out of our bodies.

3)Think about what your snack is...make the choice and call it good. I can't tell you how many times that I went for an afternoon snack and continued to eat until dinner time...I may not even eat dinner because I'm so full or maybe it was too yummy to pass up. Seriously, I know why I look the way I do. NOT GOOD my friends.

4)DO NOT THINK THAT EATING COOKIES, CAKE, YOU PICK THE POISON IS EATING A MEAL. AHHH! That one rubs me the wrong way. The reason we have such a hard time fitting in our fruits, veggies, whole grains, dairy, and protein into a small calorie range is because we fill it with so much other stuff. It's amazing how easy even the good whole grain carbs add up.

I'm not saying don't have a treat or that you'll never have treats again!!!!! But, make sure you are eating a healthy meal and make it a small addition, not the meal. Don't skip a meal so you can have a treat later either!!!! If you know you're going some place that will be serving dessert have smaller but healthy meals throughout the day that allow you to only go over your calorie range by a small amount or not at all. I'm talking something that you can fix with a little extra exercise or cutting back a little more again the next day.

Don't fall off the wagon from one mistake and don't get back on!!!!

Ok! I'll stop. Sorry

I Did It!!!

I finally fit in exercise last night. A major accomplishment for me. (I still use my c-section in Jan as an excuse to sit around.) I went to the store, avoided the treats and ice cream isles . My body was soooo craving my daily sugar intake. Anything chocolate or fried is my weakness. So I avoided even looking at it so not to be tempted to buy it. But those oreos on display were calling out to me, screaming my name as I walked right on past. Yeah for me on 2 accounts!

Oops!!

Getting rid of soda lasted for a day!! Life has been stressful w/ sick kids and I was finally out of the house for a little while alone. I really wanted to grab for a bag of chips or a yummy chocolate treat, which I would have done if it weren't for this challenge!! So instead, I opted for a diet soda instead! It could have been worse!

As for a weakness, I would say sweets!! Yesterday I had a sugar cookie and it about melted in my mouth!! To get rid of the weakness, I sent the rest over to my neighbor's kids! I have realized that I don't have to give up any types of food, instead I have to make good choices. So I can have the sugar cookie, I may just need to have something smaller for another meal. I am keeping sweets in the house, I am just using this challenge to keep me from devouring them!!

FYI - another great site to count calories is calorieking.com.

Two Veggies I Used to Think Were Gross

Brussells sprouts and zucchini. But I'm a fairly recent convert (give or take a year). Warm Brussells sprout salad and roasted cubed zucchini (Mind you: I am the only one in my family who will eat these items). Hey, with a cheese toped baked potato, it fills a plate and your tum, but doesn't suck up the calories.

For me, this is the new yummy! Can you tell that I'm obsessing about food of late?

What isn't tripping me up should be the question!

I couldn't wait to post this picture. This is me on Saturday downing the end of the 2 litter bottle of diet coke I shared with my dad during his visit. I'm pretty sure that I drank most of it but this is about 1/100th of what I use to drink last year. I've been cutting back diet coke all year with great success.

I will get on my soap box about that at a later date.
This little buddies are what put me over my calorie range on Monday. My sweet friend Jan brought me home some from Utah by request. I had been eating only a few here and there, with total control. When I broke out the bag Monday it was the first time that I couldn't resist going back. So, I ended up eating the whole bag to get them out of my house so I wouldn't continue to have the problem all week.

I'm a believer of dumping the junk, however I can recall at least two times that dumped oreo cookies (in ziplocks) and pulled them out of the trash the next morning to eat more.

Yesterday as I was in the cookie isle looking for a treat for my boys I was having a hard time coming up with an acceptable choice. Either I was going to eat them too or they just weren't worth buying....so I didn't buy any of them. If I don't need them, neither does my family.

This morning as I looked for something to trash there wasn't anything....a few weeks into this and I'm already making better choices at the store!!!

Don't worry, I'll still buy candy for my kids for Easter....but the day after Easter the second round of challenge starts and it will be gone.

Heavy Cream

Any sauce with heavy cream is heavenly. Any pasta dish with heavy cream sauce is delish. Quiche is almost all heavy cream. Heavy cream is also so yummy on oatmeal and in warm beverages. And it's a liquid, so it seams harmless. But it's not: 50 cal per tbsp! Last night I made rib-eye steak with a cream sauce. Needless to say, I only put one tablespoon of sauce on my fist size portion of steak. The trick for me is small amounts of what I crave, rather than get rid of it all together. It's the reward at the end of the day!
--Melissa

We all scream for it....

Ice Cream.

Boy howdy, do I LOOOOOOVE me some ice cream. I stood in the freezer section today, hundreds of delicious flavors in front of me. I stared. They stared back. I picked one up, looked at the nutrition info, died a little inside, put it down, and walked away.

I even had a coupon! I could have gotten a container of Dreyer's/Edy's for $1.99. I can't express how difficult this was for me. I love a good deal so much that once I bought frozen diet fish fillets just because they were a great deal. Today I was able to walk away from a deal that was good for my wallet, but not my waistline. It's a mid-week miracle.

PS- Tonight at 7:51pm I stuffed a cup of raw broccoli in my mouth just to meet my fruit and veggie quota for the day. Barf.

So my weakness has always been baked cookies. I usually bake at least every other day, and then I make sure to eat plenty of cookies. I LOVE THEM!!!

This challenge has made me more aware of what I am eating, but it also seems to make it harder to resist my urge to bake. So instead of baking, I have replaced it with sewing. It is working for now, but I am not sure how happy my husband will be when I take my third trip to the fabric store this week.

Maybe I should distract myself with exercise?

Weakness or bad habit

My eyes have really been opened to the amount of food I put in my mouth without even a thought. I was getting my sons snack ready for school and popped about 5 Cheeze Its in my mouth, I was giving the babies Cheerios and took a small handful and ate them...Luke didn't finish his waffles, so I finished them rather than waste food, Levi left half a cup of chocolate milk so I drank it....then I sat down to eat breakfast. When did I become the garbage disposal? I realized that I do this all the time. I have to actually think about what I am doing when I prepare meals for the boys, which is difficult most days. Now that I am writing everything that goes in my mouth down on paper, the truth has hit me in the face....I eat too much and exercise too little. Well...now thats all gonna change. I had a bump in the road today because I ate lunch at a friends house and it was difficult to try to determine the calories in the soup and sandwich. I did pass on the Coke (very difficult) and dessert (even more difficult). I'm proud of myself for baby steps though and so proud of all of you amazing women...Keep it up and we can all pose for the Healthy Wife swimsuit calendar!!

Chocolate . . .

My weakness is chocolate.  And since I did not get my full water amount today, I need the extra five points for admitting it.  How do I purge my house of chocolate when I just bought the world's biggest bag of Tollhouse chips from Costco to make cookies for my little people?  And when I have four boxes of Girl Scout cookies in my freezer - the Samoas and the ThinMints?  It is a true weakness, as in I CAN NOT just throw it away. I am a three chip at a time stealer.  And I feel like I deserve a cookie every now and then.  Is this bad?  Am I a slave to my weakness?  I guess I'll just have to settle for five instead of ten. 

Well, I am glad that I am not the only one that is having a reality check already. I had a stressful day at work and my sister took me to dinner last night. It was great, but I was off the wagon as far as calories, and the rest. This morning I skipped walking, (a first in about a month). I guess I will have to climb back on again. How do you resist chocolate, when it stares you in the face?

weakness

my biggest weakness is sweets which encompasses a whole lot of stuff.  It is hard for me to purge stuff out of the house because I don't own the house.  i have learned to just try and walk away and pretend it is not there - hello thin mints in the freezer!  Tonight I broke down and had a bag of those stinkin fruit snacks from costco.  You know the ones I am talking about!  So i exercised an extra 30 minutes.

Ms. Thunder Bumper's Challenge #1

What's making you fall off the wagon?

Three days in and you're realizing that you maybe have been eating more than you thought you did.

Here is Challenge #1

Post about what you're weakness is when it comes to eating healthy. Is it the cookies you made for your kids that you ate your fair share of? Is it the treats a nice neighbor dropped off?

This is a two part challenge.

5 points. For posting you're weakness. (or adding a comment to someones elses post)

5 points for actually disposing of this weakness if its in your house or an explanation of how you've kept it out of your house these past few days.

You know you're jonsin' for something in the cupboard. Get rid of it!

You can do it.

You have 48 hours from the time you read this to share.

Hi, My name is Sue and I wear a Girdle

I am the 34-year-old mother of 3 and I live in rural Wyoming. I'm a little late joining the challenge; I wasn't sure I was willing to commit to counting calories. But after 8 weeks of exercising several times a week and seeing no results, something needs to change.

I met Audrey's husband Chris when we were teenage Army Brats living in Heidelberg, Germany. Audrey and I mostly just know each other online, but I'm hoping to crash the Carlson family reunion this summer and hang out with all the Carlson women!

My latest love affair with the girdle actually began with the Carlsons. I attended their Uncle Kirk's funeral at the end of September 2009 and it was the first time I had seen them in several years. I had a 9-month-old baby and was feeling super chubby. I didn't have anything nice to wear that didn't make me feel like a heifer (Audrey, totally hearin' you on the lack of Sunday wardrobe), so I spent two hours at my sister-in-law's house trying to find something suitable to wear. Everything I tried on showed the giant gut, which, when you view it in profile without sucking it in, sticks out further than my boobs. Not cool. Finally my SIL suggested I try a girdle. It's one of those corset types that would double as sexy lingerie if I actually had the bod for it. But I digress.

Here I am with Melissa, Victoria, Mindy and Samantha 5 months ago:

This is me just a couple weeks ago at my daughter's baptism (Audrey, I think Lily and Jonah are less than a week apart). I stopped highlighting my hair because it was a luxury I couldn't afford to keep up, but I'm thinking my natural dark brown actually makes me look fatter.

In January I decided it was time to get serious about losing the baby fat so I started exercising diligently. The sad, sad news is that exercise alone is just not enough at my age. A true tragedy. Over the last couple of weeks I have just tried to control my portion size and eat fewer treats, but that hasn't done much for me. So now I am committing to the tedious task of keeping a food journal and counting calories.

I am 5'5" and 158 pounds. After consulting the MyPyramid website I determined that my recommended calorie intake is 2000. I was pretty stoked and thought, "That's a ton, I can totally do that." Yeah, well, after adding up yesterday's calories (when I wasn't committed to this challenge) I discovered that I had eaten over 2700 calories. And I had even been somewhat "careful" yesterday. Today I have already surpassed 1200, it's only 4:00pm and I'm STARVING! This is going to suck more than I thought. Did you know that one measly turkey and provolone sandwich (on multi-grain bread, thank you very much) with mayo is 592 calories? Holy crap, that's almost a 3rd of my daily recommened intake. What a bummer! I expected the high calorie counts for things like brownies (which I made on Sunday and are now taunting me from the kitchen) at 170 calories for a 2" square, and frosted sugar cookies (my weakness) at about 200 calories a pop. But a sandwich and grapes for lunch hit over 700 calories? Ugh. This is gonna be hard.

But having had this calorie revelation, I'm now realizing why I haven't lost any weight. Like Sam said in a previous post, I guess it's not OK to eat all day, every day. And like Melissa mentioned, age is slowing down our metabolism so we really have to work a lot harder than we did in the glory days.

Ladies, let's kick this fat to the curb! My goal is to go from a size 12 to a size 8. Not in 3 weeks, of course, but I'd like to at least not have my jeans feel painted on when they're fresh out of the dryer. That would be a good start for 3 weeks.

A Growling Stomach Solution . . .

Is it just me, or is everyone else's stomach a bit more rumbly since beginning the challenge?  Maybe it's my body's way of telling me that I should be hungry because normal doesn't mean feeding my face non-stop all day long.

Today when my breakfast had worn off, but lunch seemed eons away, I grabbed a favorite snack:  a peeled banana and a spoonful of peanut butter.  Healthy{ish} and somewhat desserty.  Hit the spot!

I'd love to hear some of the other fave snack ideas for this challenge.

Plumbers and pretty

The plumber arrived late, forgot a part and then stayed late too so I thought no gym today, but then I remembered those old exercise DVDs and I popped one in (while the plumber was there). When I was first starting to exercise again post-baby, I divided the work out time: 10 minutes in the morning, 10 during nap time, and 10 right after dinner. 30 minutes all at once was just too hard. Sometimes my kids would lie down on top of me during the abs portion which was OK as it would just make the workout harder.

Isn't that water bottle inspiring? It's new from Target and reminds me of spring and new beginnings. Lunch: tuna melt with cherry tomatoes and lemon plum (so yummy and only about 30 calories!)

Harder than it Looks

I never knew how hard it would be to get all that water in me! At least I never was a big soda drinker, so that one isn't hard for me. But I tell ya that the exercise is hard. When all 3 little ones are down for naps, I just want to lie down and take one too. Does chasing after 2 energetic, mischief makers count as exercise? I know it doesn't but dreaming can't hurt.

Day 1 was good, day 2 not so much. Most of yesterday was spent in the car. It is difficult to eat all your fruits and veggies while traveling. Also getting 3 meals in on day 2 was impossible. But I promise to do better today!

Are you talking about me?

So I'm one of the few that hasn't done a bio and since there are a few of you that don't know me I thought I needed to do it too!

My name is Audrey. I'm 36, mom of two boys (8 & 4 1/2) married 15 years.

This is me a Jonah's baptism last Saturday. Two things you should know. Yes, I'm hiding behind Jonah so you can't see my muffin top. And, unfortunately, this winter has been hard for me because most of my church clothes are to tight to be presentable.

I've always been able to dress to hide the weight as it's come on but not anymore and I can't afford a new wardrobe.

Other important things you might want to know. I like to cook, bake, exercise, ride bicycles....blah blah blah. Most of all I like to eat. I'm passionate about how food taste.

Lastly, some of you may know that in my former life I was a dancer. Cheryl, my cousin, who is also apart of this group is a dancer too. Even dancers can let themselves go. I think it makes it even harder because you know what to do, how to do it, but actually doing it isn't easy.

Sooooo.....I'm a great motivator and actually know my stuff. I read a lot about exercise, fitness, and even have some education to back it up. Now if I could actually implement it on myself that would be great.

I hope that any information I may share you will find useful. If not, chalk it up to me on a soap box.

THANK YOU FOR TAKING THIS CHALLENGE WITH ME. THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT BEING ACCOUNTABLE TO YOU THAT I HOPE HELPS ME AND YOU AS WELL.

GOOD LUCK.

For the New Mommas . . .

Just read that a nursing mother should add 300 calories to her daily intake during the first 1-6 months of nursing and 400 calories for the last 8-12 months.  Can I do a little happy dance about that?

Problems with the daily plate

Is anyone else having problems with the daily plate? I was accessing it just fine yesterday, but today before it redirects me to the login page, it comes up with a notification that says it might be unsafe to proceed. Not sure what to do.

The healthiest meal this week

To jump start the week, I started by making the healthiest meal on the menu. Salmon with a honey/curry glaze, rice pilaf, roasted asparagus and cherry tomatoes. I have to say that when you're thinking about food all day, dinner is tastier than normal.
--Melissa

It's rough getting healthy!

Only 19 points yesterday! I've got to do better. I ate dinner, played with the kids for a while, but was not feeling well so I asked my husband to put the kids to bed while I layed down....then we would work out. I fell asleep for the night. Oops. No posting yesterday, no vitamin yesterday, and I kept getting on the elliptical to work out and lasted about 3 minutes. A few hours later, I tried again. I lasted 3 minutes. Today is going to be better. At 6:00 am I jumped out of bed, ran down stairs to total up my points, write this post, and I am doing an arm work out right now!! In three, two, one... Wish me luck. Hopefully I'll last longer than 3 minutes. Have a great day today everyone.

I hope you feel better Rebekah.

No Dr Pepper for me!

My husband almost fell over backwards in his chair when I turned down a Diet Dr Pepper at lunch today and instead opted for a vitamin water, the low calorie one!! I also managed to make it to the gym tonight after being home all day with sick kids, that would have never happened if it weren't for this challenge. I even stayed away from kid's post Dr. appointment treats! First day down, 20 to go!!

Hi to all of you,

I am Julie, Audrey's Aunt. I have two grown daughters, (I have had the baby fat a long time), I don't count years or calories, I don't know how to post (that is why I am behind everyone), I don't take multivitamins (they mess with the other meds) and I eat what and when I want. But change is a way of life and it is time for some positive ones in my life. So here I am joining the gang. I do have one advantage, I don't drink Pop, or soda. I walk on a daily basis (almost) and I don't have to worry about anyone messing with my routine besides myself. So for today.... 27. There is room for improvement.

Tomorrow's biggest challenge, staying away from the choco-covered raisins on my co-workers desk. Maybe tomorrow I will figure out the picture thing.

A whopping 20 points for me today!
I had a rough first day.
I think I have the flu.

I woke up in the middle of the night with my stomach gurgling so loud it even woke up my husband! It was after I ate the cantaloupe this morning that I finally threw up. So, I score big on keeping below my calorie limit, I did horrible at eating my fruits/veggies - drinking enough water - well.. pretty much everything else. Do I get to count the baby/child hauling up and down 3 flights of stairs all day while barely being able to stand up as my 30 min of exercise???? *wink*
no?
well ok, I will do better tomorrow.
I quit soda back in highschool 15+ years ago, but today I was craving a diet coke to help settle my stomach - I didnt give in though. So, all in all, it was a rough start to the challenge, but I'm optimistic tomorrow will be better. It has to be better, right?!

Hi!

Hi Girls! (I hope I'm doing this right, and I'm sorry if I mess up the blog, Audrey).

My name's Missy. I just moved to Ashburn, VA from NC, and met our sweet Audrey. I'm excited for this blog because it will keep me accountable to someone - and it's great to have support from friends. I've been married almost 14 years, have 3 kids ages 11, 8 & 5. I kept 15 pounds with each of them as they were born and have never lost it! I'm a musician and am always on stage so, I want to feel my best! I'm performing in Branson, MO in May and my mantra through all of this is "I REFUSE TO BE FAT IN BRANSON!" I look forward to this journey with all of you!

Easy...hard

Easy: No soda, take a multi-vitamin.
Hard: Drinking all that water and having to use the loo again and again. I do not like the taste of water except when I'm pregnant. Is that weird?
--Melissa

Day One Down . . .

My random thoughts from day one:

• must add crystal light to my water in the coming days or I am going to die of water boredom.
• carrots taste yummy dipped in hummus.
• thank you weather for warming up so I could take my baby on a walk and get my 30 minutes of exercise.
• I'll never be the champion because I can't count calories.
• multivitamins make me constipated. What, I'm just sayin'.
• this is what made me happy today:

hope you had a great day ladies!  keep it up.

why???

So on my first day of this challenge I walked into work determined to make it through the day without making a side trip to Lola's for a treat.  I was successful with that one but was tempted all day with a huge bucket of mini, twix, milky ways, peppermint patties and the list goes on.  I work with a very generous person who means well and likes to make sure everyone is happy.  This particular person feels that the one way to do this is bring in treats and they are always good ones.  The problem is that I have to walk by this persons desk all day long.  If I could go another way I would.  So why is it that these scrumptious little treats felt like they were staring at me all day?  Kind of like those Geico commercials with the wads of money with eyes on them that follow people around :)  

I only broke down once and had a peppermint patty, luckily they are the mini ones :)  I will have to remember to bring an extra piece of fruit to work tomorrow to try and fend off the temptation!  How did everyone else do today??

Great First Day!

I hope everyone had a great day! I actually made it back to the gym today after 2 months of driving past it and thinking "I really need to get back to the gym". While waiting for the bus...Marci and I gave each other a little pep talk...much needed. I single handedly carried the twins up two flights of stairs with a 2 year old hanging on one leg and a 5 year old trying to race me up. At 3:00 my caffeine clock kicked in and I pouted a little over no coke...then I ate an apple and had another bottle of water. I made it through the day and earned my 30 points...whew..I am thankful for a group of ladies with the same goals and hope we all had a successful day!!

POSTING! Yes, it's worth 5 points!

There are two ways to earn your 5 points for posting.

1) Post something on the blog. A story, something that motivated you and kept you going that day, a funny....

Pictures are always a plus.

2)Nothing big to share that day? Just comment on someone elses post for the day.

I'll try to post something every day for everyone to post on in case no one else does.

Why is it so important to post or comment and why is it worth so many points. Well, this is about supporting each other and building a community to be accountable to!

Hope you all had a great first day!

How did it go?

I am not sure how this works exactly with the daily post, but since I am rockin the points for day one, I am posting. :) I am guessing it may be harder as the week goes on, biggest thing I missed today was my diet dr. pepper. May have big headache tomorrow. haha. Hope everyone had a great Day 1!

Hey gals!

Another sister-in-law reporting! My name is Mindy (username: Mindelicious) and I'm the momma of three of Audrey's favorite nieces, Whitney (8), Olivia (5) and Tessa (almost 2.) We live in the Denver area and, as some of you may know, were lucky enough to have Audrey for a surpirse visit recently! I pretty much hate exercising. After Tessa was born, I lost my baby weight by doing Wii Fit and Dance Dance Revolution. You heard me right, laugh if you must. That's how much of an amateur I am. I've never counted calories (is this why I've always been big-boned?) and I'm already finding it extremely tedious. Did it take anyone else 10 minutes to tabulate their calories for lunch? One more thing, I have family visiting for two of the next three weeks. How can I resist making and eating delicious food with family in town?! Yikes!

The Time Is Now!

Hi Ladies!

My name is Rebekah and I am looking forward to getting to know all of you and to join in this endeavor together. I just had a baby in November - our last of 4 - sniff sniff... and I am SO ready to get MY body back! 75 pounds heavier than I was after I had my 1st, I have SO much weight to loose. I need to loose 55 pounds, ideally 65 and I'm ready. I am nursing so finding my calorie amounts has been a little challenging but I think I have figured it out and I'm ready to go! I have a goal to run a 1/2 marathon in June or July and do a triathlon in August, so this challenge will be excellent to help me stay on track!

Getting Younger

Hi everyone! I'm Melissa. Sister-in-law to chief motivator Audrey. Sister to participant Samantha. I have three children and a husband. We all love really tasty food (and you know that means heavy cream and lots of cheese). I'm also older than most of you. So my metabolism has started slowing down. I need a steady stream of motivation to eat right, exercise and drink more water. I want more muscle and endurance to stand up straight, beat my 9 year old in a running race, not get winded after more than two sets of stairs, and successfully tickle my husband. Oh, and there's that dream to have abs too.

Let's go!

My name is Cheryl Wentzel and I'm out of shape. I'm Audrey's cousin if your wondering about my connection. Having 3 kids in 4 years (ages 3 years, 1 year,and 2 months) is destructive to a body. I never really got back into shape between kids so I have a long way to go. This is going to help because I have a huge weakness for sweets and fries. Why does everything that tastes great have to be on the unhealthy side? I know what I should be doing but haven't done it yet. I've used the excuse of birth in January to stay on the couch a little bit longer.Anyway, I need the accountability factor that this challenge is going to provide.
Thanks Audrey for getting it started !

Grateful!

Hi all!  I'm Samantha, long time friend to Audrey and blessed to be her sis-in-law through one goofy older brother.  I don't have a ton of recent pictures, but this is me six months ago, and this is why I need Audrey's challenge.  I had a baby at 36 years of age and I feel like I've been sitting on the couch, just like this picture, ever since.  I have not moved my body in exactly twelve months.  I huff and puff from exhaustion when I play Just Dance on the Wii with my kids. My back hurts and my hormonal post pregnancy body wants to eat everything in sight, especially after 7:00 at night when the baby's in bed and I can chill out with my Hubby. I'm ready to get my physical and emotional self back in gear and I know this challenge, accountability and set of goals are just what the doctor ordered.  Thanks Audrey for doing this . . . I am grateful. 

My name is Jen Fernando. I am so excited to be joining the Healthy Wife Happy Life challenge. After having 3 kids in less than 2 years I gained a lot of weight and felt too tired to put the effort in to get it off. My two year old has had a lot of health issues and we have spent many months in the hospital. Stress and snacking on comfort food has also helped me put on some extra pounds. I actually had a really hard time finding a picture because I avoid the camera. I am excited to join and get some motivation and accountability. I'm ready!!

So I guess I won't be getting all my points if I continue to eat food like this hu??? Dang it!! My name is Jodie. I met Audrey when I lived there in Ashburn 4 years ago. I live in Colorado Springs now, my husband is in the Air Force. We will be moving to Florida this summer, so this challenge comes at a great time! No one wants to see me in a swimsuit right now, especially me!! I have 3 kids ... 9,7 and 4. Last year I found out I have thyroid cancer. In November I had my thyroid removed. Since then I've been dealing with getting my thyroid medication figured out and have gained 10 lbs!!! It's been hard to deal w/ so I am hoping this will help motivate me to get out of my funk and get healthy again! Confession though, the thing I fear the most, NO SODA!! I love my Diet Dr. Pepper, so any advice on how to kick the pop to the curb would be greatly appreciated!! Looking forward to a lifestyle change and having fun friends to do it with...GOOD LUCK TO US ALL!

Hello Ladies. My name is Marci Green and I am ready to be accountable. I have 4 kids, love anything artsy, and really enjoy working out. I've been a huge slacker though, and am grateful for you, Audrey, for doing all the work and setting this up! Can't wait to get to know you all better!

Hi My Name is Chris

Hi All!

I am excited (aka hesitant) to be part of this. It will be fun to do this with others and have a goal and a time frame to work with.

I have four kids and I want to take the "baby" fat off from my new little one who just turned 7...eeek, that would be 7 yrs not months or weeks. :)

I enjoy walking (outside,not treadmills), Shopping, hanging out with a good friend or two and an occasional craftiness. I am in the process of remembering who I am now that all my "babies" are gone all day.

Looking forward to week 1. Good luck!

hello

Hello everyone!  I am Susan and I am excited to be a part of this group.
A couple of things I like to do are going to the movies, reading, going on walks/hikes and just being outside in general makes me happy, but only when it is nice out.  I have a 14, soon to be 15 year old daughter who keeps me very busy.  Good Luck to all on the first week of this challenge!