H+O+O

The First 5 Point goal

I am resuming the water drinking in earnest. My skin is very dry in the winter and, as much as I dislike the continuous bathroom visits, I know that my body needs the water and that, when it comes to trips to the loo, clear is the winning color.

For me, water drinking is one of the hardest. Anyone joining me in the Water Club this week?

A little Rose-bud pep talk!

Sometimes I have to give myself a little pep talk.  It's therapeutic for me and perhaps, if you are going through the same thing, you too can find some encouragement from this.

I have been trying really hard to stay on task with the good eating, exercise, drinking water, etc.  I have met my goals successfully this week, in fact exceeded them some days.  One day, I exercised out more calories than I took in.  Way to go Rose-bud!  Right?  Well, the frustrating part is that I have gained back 3 lbs!  What's with that!!!  Seriously!  I have been so good!  B-day party snacks offered:  nachos, carrots, celery, cake and ice cream, water.  I chose water and celery...where's the pay off?

Here's where I have a choice.  I can choose to feel like a failure, feel frustrated and give up, or...I can choose to have hope and be realistic.  This is where I turn to the lessons I have learned in life and apply them to myself.  You see, through all the challenges I have faced in my life, one of them is that I want everything on my own time schedule.  When it seems I am conquering a certain challenge, I expect to always make progress, or at least see the progress.  I have expectations, and when those expectations aren't met, it's easy to get frustrated, depressed or hopeless.  If you're shooting baskets with a basketball, how many times are you going to miss the basket before you give up.  You know that if you keep trying, eventually you will get better and more consistent...and perhaps if you just change something about your shot, you'll be more successful!

So, I choose... to believe that what my body was thinking and what I was thinking were two different things.  My body was not used to the more nutritious intake and the sudden change was a shock to it.  It's taking a little bit longer to adjust to the healthy changes I'm making.  So, patience in the process!  Just a little Attitude Adjustment, right?

I have to take the same Attitude Adjustment with Jake and his chemo.  He is suppose to have a long, overnight chemo session every three weeks.  We were given a schedule (and expectation) that chemo would be over with by April 12, 2011.  But if his counts are not high enough, we have to postpone another week, so it sets back the day chemo is over.  He has had no chemo during the month of February!  So far, his chemo has been set back to May 1st.  As a mother, many of you can relate to the heartache of being the caregiver of a sick child.  Nothing you can do to make it all better, and sometimes you have to be the one that inflicts the pain your child has to endure to help them get through the illness.  As I'm sitting here writing this, I'm having a good cry session (a good 4 tissues so far)...which tells me that I've been bottling up some feelings.  It's good to cry sometimes, not because you feel sorry for your self, but it's a way to process sorrow and grief...and pain.

There!  I've owned my feelings today...my feelings, my body and my heart.  I've done some great things this week!  I've made some very healthy choices, which means that I CAN DO THIS!!!  Planning ahead is key for me!

Thank you for being there for me and for letting me have my little therapy session this morning.  I feel much better now!

Big Hug!

EVERYONE NEEDS TO POST POINTS

Post Your Points!!! Let's find out who are winner is! Then I'll let you know who won our consistency challenge and will be the proud owner of a new charm necklace!!!

Plus! Get ready for SUNDAY! Do you know what you're doing yet!?

Managing Deprivation

Let's face it, dealing with food can be a lifetime struggle. I've just bottomed-out this session. I'm still exercising, because I NEED it everyday to just stay sane, but I've just about given up on controlling my eating. It's been a stressful few weeks coming to grips with my financial reality (Reader's Digest version - I got in waaaay over my head buying inventory for my pseudo-scrapbooking-business, and now I have a TON of debt). I was talking to Sue today, and she reminded me of something I'd said to her when she and Dan were struggling through their financial crossroads months back. There's just only so much deprivation you can manage at any given time. And the food is falling off my radar as something that I have the mental strength and energy to deal with. I hope that once the dust settles in a month or two, and a regular plan is in place, and I've managed to clear out some of the inventory, that I'll be able to press on and get back on track.

Black Eyes

I have (hopefully) found a way to prevent black eyes!  It's white, giant, and tight.  It's a sports bra for "well-endowed" women.  It seems like I've tried every single sports bra with absolutely no success in keeping these puppies contained.  I usually just fall out the top because of bouncing and it's not a pretty sight, plus it's a bit painful.  In fact, I'll embarrassingly confess that after having a session of fun with the Xbox kinect, I actually had blisters under my boobs where my underwire rubbed because of all the bouncing (I should have followed the advice the xbox gave me when it told me to take a break).  Not fun!!  So you can imagine my joy at finding a company that specializes in big boob bras (sports only).  So I checked them out, it all looked good and I ordered one.  Now I most likely should have ordered a custom bra, but it was more money and I figure I'll give it a try with a normal one.  If it's half-way decent, I'll order a custom one (it's impossible to find anything in 32i, but I'm hoping that once I lose this baby weight, I'll get down to a 34h, not that that will be any better, but at least it will help, wish me luck).  It came in the mail yesterday.  It doesn't fit quite right, but it's better than anything I've ever had!  So...starting Monday, I'm going to try my hand at something I've never done...run.  That will be the ultimate test (actually, jump roping would be, but I can't do that anymore because my knees are WAY too bad).  So goodbye black eyes!!!  I'll let you know how it goes.  And for those interested in the company, it's called Enell.

BIG NEWS! BIG NEWS!

Can you believe that that March is our one month anniversary of Healthy Wife Happy Life? I can hardly believe it. Many of you have been around the whole year and some of you have joined us more recently. Whatever the case I've got something special in mind for you!!!

STARTING SUNDAY~~~ we will be doing a 5 week continuous challenge. Don't freak out yet! Just listen :-)

So often we really want to succeed but trying to do it all good all the time can be crazy. Usually I'm really good at eating but can't get my exercise going, or if I get all my water in I'm eating like crap. We are going to take the next 5 weeks to focus.

Starting Sunday you will pick ONE goal out of our points list to work on. You will get 5 points for every day that you succeed at keeping this goal.

The second Sunday you will then add another goal to work on in addition to the goal that you set for the first week. You will receive 5 points for each goal achieved each day giving you 10 points for that day.

You will continue to do this for 5 weeks. That means you need to start thinking now about what those 5 goals are that you will want to work on.

I'M REALLY HOPING THAT SOMEONE OUT THERE KNOWS HOW TO POST A PDF TO THE BLOG SO YOU CAN EACH DOWNLOAD THIS SPREADSHEET I'M CREATING TO HELP KEEP TRACK OF POINTS. OR I'LL EMAIL IT TO EVERYONE.

Now, you will still get 5 points for each day that you comment. And 2 points for each posting that you do. What are you going to post about. Well that's easy. I want you to post every week about what goal you picked and why and then you can tell us how you did that week, or of course anything else you want to share.

I think this will be tons of fun and different that what we've been doing.

There are many readers who don't participate or those that have wanted to but it's hard to be doing all the things at once. I think this is a great way for you all to participate without it being to overwhelming. Let you're friends know!!!

If you have any questions let me know, and if you know how to post a PDF let me know!!!

Can't wait to see who the winner is this round and who gets the cumulative prize for the last two months!!!

LOVE YOU GUYS

To Tri or Not to Tri...

My sister-in-law has invited me to do a sprint triathlon the end of August. It sounds like it would be a lot of fun and I really want to do it but here is my hangup. I am NOT a swimmer. Not that I am at risk of drowning near water, I took swimming lessons all through my youth but the last time I got in a pool to swim laps (4 years ago, eek!) I thought I was going to die. I couldn't get the breathing thing down, I felt awkward with my strokes and turns etc. Needless to say I felt like a fish out of water. My sister told me that getting in the pool and just swimming laps a few times will cure my problems but I am scared to go to a public pool with anyone around. Not because I am afraid of donning a swimsuit but because I am afraid I will get kicked out of the lap pool for holding everyone up. Is that completely silly or what?

Paying the price!

I am the proud owner of some sore muscles today!  I pulled out my workout with weights tape!  Much harder than I remember!  I forget...is it no brain, no pain or no pain no gain?  I don't necessarily aspire to be a lean, mean fighting machine, I just want my hugs to be a bit less squishy!

I'm a bit stopped up from my change in diet.  What do you girls suggest to clean out the pipes...that's legal and safe!

Blog ya later!

Rose

Hello my new friends!

Hi!  My name is Rose!  I live in Lehi, Utah and am a friend of Jill's.  I get paid for what I do, but in blessings, not monetary means!  I live with 5 boys ages 13-21 (one set of twins), a dog and an awesome racquetball partner!  He's my sweetheart!  He backs me up on the court and off.  We love it here in Lehi!

I have been following your blog for a awhile and like what you ladies are doing!    I admire those of you that run...away from food!  My main exercise is on the racquetball court, but if I feel I haven't worked hard enough I put in a good 20-30 min. of cardio.  I'm looking forward to warmer weather because I like uphill runs!  I am determined to get back to my Healthy Self! 

I'll admit, I have a good 40-50 lbs to be back to my healthy weight.  I've discovered that my downfall is a lack of planning!  I sat down with a friend last week and planned out a week and a half of meals.  My boys are very skinny (family trait that only last until age 25) and I have one boy that is going through chemo treatments that has lost a lot of weight. Jake's BLOG   My challenge is to fix healthy food to fatten them up, not me!  So far, so good!

My sis-in-law wanted me to do the hCG diet with her.  I looked over the diet plan and decided it just wasn't reasonable or healthy.  My gym was offering a Biggest Loser program, but I wanted to focus more on healthy intake.  I looked over the Weight Watchers program and that looked like a more reasonable way to go...with a more healthy twist.

So off to the grocery store to stock up on fresh veggies, fresh fruit and some fish (because there was no such thing as fish in my freezer!).  I had already given up on white bread and found a fabulous whole wheat bread that satisfied my carb cravings with just one piece!  The kids weren't too keen on some of the veggies I was fixing, but they ate some of them!  I tried out the Tilapia recipe I found here on your blog (FABULOUS!).  For the 5 people here, 3 loved it, 2 didn't.  I was thinking last night that I didn't want to get tired of the 4 veggies I had been eating this week so I went to Costco and raided their frozen veggie section!  I'm excited to try some new (easy) stuff!

The good news is...after a week of doing all the right stuff, I have lost 8 lbs!  I was so surprised!  I kept weighing myself to make sure it wasn't a fluke!  I didn't starve myself, I didn't do any fad diets, I didn't take any diet pills and I didn't feel like I was too restrictive!  I did have a piece of cake, I did eat 2 fun size candy bars, I did eat salads and veggies, fish and meat...and I did lose weight and I feel great!

You guys were right all the time!  Healthy Wife, Happy Life!

Here's to many  more healthy life choices! :)

Aspirations

Okay I am on this inspirational kick right now. I am just so grateful to find so many wonderful and inspiring things around me especially as of late. This latest one comes from a blog I just happened upon today. It was just a little poem in the side bar but I loved it so I'm sharing it with all of you.

Aspire to become...

Women of God can never be like women of the world.
The world has enough women who are tough;
we need women who are tender.
There are enough women who are coarse;
we need women who are kind.
There are enough women who are rude;
we need women who are refined.
We have enough women of fame and fortune;
we need more women of faith.
We have enough greed;
we need more goodness.
We have enough vanity;
we need more virtue.
We have enough popularity;
we need more purity.

Margaret D. Nadauld

Also did you check out Trainer Momma's latest post? Another good one. Click here to check it out.

Invictus

Can you guess what movie I watched tonight? I really enjoyed it. I was expecting to be bored out of my mind thanks to reviews from several friends but I liked it. It was inspiring. Maybe not 100% true to life but what movie ever is. After watching the movie I was curious about the poem that inspired Mandela so I googled it. I also wanted to know what invictus meant so I looked that up too. The word invictus is latin for "unconquered".

As I watched the movie there were two things that really stood out to me, the first was a line (sorry I can't quote it exactly) that basically said, "We must inspire people to be better than they think they can be." How often do we sell ourselves short because we don't believe we can accomplish something. We tell ourselves something is too hard or even impossible. I have seen some really amazing things from you ladies on this blog and I am sure there are a lot of amazing things I don't know about each of you. We can and we are doing hard things, which takes me to the second thing that stood out to me from the movie. The last two lines of the poem read:

I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

No one else can make us do it. It is up to each one of us. That is not to say that we can't get support along the way but ultimately we choose how we react when the going gets tough.

Keep being amazing ladies, you can do hard things!

Here is the poem for anyone interested in reading it.

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley

Done!!!

Yes, the taxes are done and e-filed, and the refund will be coming. Sue came this weekend and helped me work on the mess of inventory in my garage, so that gives me a focused project to tackle in my wannabe-business. But that's another story/epic-saga-of-stupidity-and-impulsiveness. Let's just take a minute and celebrate being able to financially get through the next 3 months of my husband's work training for his new job, where his paycheck is cut nearly in half. Sigh...

Going, Going, Crash!

That pretty much describes last week. Things were going well. Exercise, check. Eating, check, kind of. Friday morning I did an early morning spin class and then enjoyed the warm weather by getting a head start on some much needed yard work. By the time the afternoon hit I was spent, like I need to go to bed kind of spent, but I had to take Jonah to swim team.

I managed to get home, walk through the door and strait to bed. It was 5pm. Chris walked up and asked when Jonah was getting dropped off from swimming. I told him I had driven that day and the boys were playing outside. I pretty much slept for the rest of the night. I don't know if I had a freak bug or if my body had just had enough, but I'm doing much better.

Sorry I haven't been on the blog the last couple of days because of that but I'M BACK!

Blending old habits with new...

Thanks so much for inspiring me to do better, ladies! Your protein powder posts inspired me. This week I bought one of those snazzy hand held blenders (that Audrey recommended I get) and I've been making smoothies for all of my family, and protein shakes for my hubby and me.  My sweetie especially likes the chocolate protien power with some banana and a dab of peanut butter in it.  Audrey, you'll be proud, I even bought spinach to throw in the smoothies - I'll do that tomorrow morning for breakfast.  So far, so good...hopefully these healthy treats will continue to please my family. 

I've also worn out every pair of sneakers that I own, (that's a good thing, right?) So after tears and anger, I broke down and bought me some new running shoes.  I can't wait for it to stop raining so I can use them and not ruin them on my first jaunt in them.  Wish me luck!

so much to do...

How do you start? Where do you start? I have a million things to do today and I am sitting at my computer not knowing where to start first and what to ignore since I can't get to it all. My mind has such a hard time knowing how to organize things. I can clean but organize? That's a different story! At this rate I won't get any of it done and the stress will continue mounting. UGH!!!

How do you do it????

Gum

Not very appetizing, I know, but I feel kind of like a recovering smoker - I gotta have my gum! It's a crutch in the battle with the munchies, but it really, really helps. The only downside is that my 2-yr-old keeps swiping it, and I have to hide it so she doesn't keep popping it in her mouth like, well, popcorn.

P.S. Still working the taxes today. What am I doing writing about gum? Oh, well, The Queeen of Distractedness is what I call my teenage daughter. The apple did not fall far from the tree on that one. Marci, that really was a fabulous post! Sorry I was a crankpot last night, but I'm slightly, only slightly better today. I could really use some athletic goals. Maybe when we catch up financially with this tax return (why I'm working so hard on it!), I can get my gym membership back, and get back on track.

Flax Facts

Just so you all know I have enjoyed my Quinoa Crunch. I did get a vanilla flavored Greek Yogurt and used yummy fresh raspberries. This was my delicious breakfast yesterday after I returned home from my spin class.

Now for some of you nay sayers here is a little food for thought. First, try something new :-) Second, it may seem like a lot of calories but think of the calories that you should be getting from your whole grains and it's right in line and very healthy option instead of a "white" carbohydrate.

Now, Cammy and Chelsea made some very interesting comments about how to eat Flax. I had heard some of those before so I decided to look up some details for you. Next time I will grind my flax to put in my crunch!!! Thanks for the heads up!

FLAX is a great way to get omega-3 fatty acids without having to eat salmon every day or take another vitamin. I've added some information that I found during my search. I hope these tidbits help you on your path to healthy eating.

Don't let the tiny, unimposing size of the flax seed fool you. Packed inside every teeny seed is a mountain of nutritional benefit. For instance, flax seeds are excellent sources of calcium and fiber. They also contain lignans, plant compounds scientifically found to stave off cancer. What's more, they contain heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Unfortunately, there's a catch--if prepared improperly, flax seeds offer virtually no nutritional advantage to your system.

Mix ground flax seeds in yogurt, or sprinkle into the batter or dough for various baked goods, such as muffins, bread and more.

Eating flax seeds whole offers no nutritional benefit. Whole flax seeds are very difficult to digest and will pass through your system whole. Flax seeds in whole form can aggravate digestive problems, such as irritable bowel syndrome and diverticulitis.

While it's possible to purchase flax seed oil, it's prone to becoming rancid and usually doesn't last long, even in the refrigerator. That's why it's a bit more nutritionally advantageous to draw out the flax seed oil from the whole seeds yourself.

I don't recommend buying a bunch of pre-ground flax seed because it will go bad faster than the whole seeds. So here is how you can grind your own seeds.

Grinding Flax Seeds

1Take 2 to 3 tbsp. (one serving) of flax seed and place in a food grinder

2 Grind the flax seeds until they are fully broken up into small shards

3 Eat immediately alone or mix with the food of your choice

4To prepare more than one serving of flax seeds, repeat Steps 1 and 2 above, then store the ground flax seeds in an air-tight, opaque food storage container.

5 Place the container in the refrigerator, or in an area where it won't be exposed to any amount of heat above room temperature.

Inside Marci's head

I've been thinking a lot lately about how we can set ourselves up for success in whatever exercise goals we have chosen to accomplish. There are some things I have discovered about myself that hold me back, and other things that guarantee I'll get closer to my goals.

Here's one of my goals:

I signed up for a Marathon. It's really far away...268 days away to be exact. Running a marathon was something I said I would never do. It never seemed necessary, in fact it seemed kinda stupid. I didn't understand the motivation for me until now, and I think that motivation is different for everyone.

My husband has been out of town for the past FOREVER. I actually can't remember how long it's been. Maybe 10 weeks? I've lost count. He gets nervous when I tell people that he is gone...but I've got a big dog to protect me. I'm sharing this because having him gone has made it very tricky to accomplish some of my goals, especially when it comes to exercise. When he first left, I struggled with many things, but in relation to exercise and my running goals, I was at a loss of how I was going to get all my runs in with out him home to help watch the kids. I don't have a gym membership...too expensive, but I do have an elliptical in my house, and a wonderful double jogger to run with during the day when I only have 2 kids home. I sat down and wrote out a plan to success, since my training needed to begin right away for my first goal this year... a half marathon in March. Most of my training has taken place while he has been gone, so I thought I might share what has worked for me to help me achieve my goals, and what hasn't.

First, find a work out partner. If you know someone is counting on you to meet them for a work out, you will go... no matter what. I have a friend who goes by the name "Mercedes" who shows up at my house every night during the week for a work out session in my basement. (I called her to be sure it was ok with her if I shared her success on the blog. She's very humble about her accomplishments and I told her I wouldn't use her name). In the 4 weeks that we have been doing this she has lost 15 lbs. Isn't that just amazing!!!! She knows I am expecting her, and I know she's coming over, and it guarantees success, for both of us. Plus we get great benefits from having someone to talk to and cheer for. I also have another friend that I run with on the weekends. It makes 12 mile runs so much fun and do-able. Last weekend I had to run 11 alone...it was much harder. Get a workout partner, or 4!!!! The more the merrier.

Next, write out your workouts for the week. I do this every Sunday. For some reason, if it's written down, you'll do it. My kids are the same way, and if I make a visual schedule for them, they will do whatever is on it...even the toilet cleaning. By writing out my week, I know every workout has a purpose, and I can schedule rest days in too so I don't get burned out.

Sign up for a race or a team of some sort. If you like volley ball, or soccer, sign up for a team. My mom just started running a couple days a week. She's in her...oh, I almost told you how old she is. She'd disown me if I did that. She called me this morning for a little pep talk because she started to doubt herself. We talked about how she might benefit from having a race goal. In this conversation I discovered that she has always wanted to do a race, so we committed to meet for a 5k and run it together. She hung up the phone with a renewed desire and a new motivation.

I usually run in the mornings, so another thing I do is put my workout clothes on right when I wake up. It helps me remember what my focus is that morning, plus I am always eager to get a shower in and get ready for the day, so I quickly get my run in so I can move on.

These are things that work really well for me, and pretty soon working out becomes a habit. About every 4 weeks I take an easy week, where I scale back and take a break. I feel like this helps me get more out of my future work outs.

Now, let me tell you what my biggest downfall is...FEAR!.

Fear doesn't help us get any closer to our goals.

I have a lot of fear when it comes to working out. In fact sometimes when I am pushing through a workout, I just want to stop. I'm afraid of pushing too hard...of getting too tired. This is when I have to remind myself that I need to make every minute count, that time is valuable, and that I have goal that I can achieve. Sometimes I even yell out loud at my legs to get moving, or cheer for myself...it helps me focus on the task at hand instead of the fear creeping into my legs and mind. Having a workout partner really helps for conquering fear too...it's priceless to have a cheerleader. It's one reason I'm so grateful for this blog, we have the best cheerleaders whenever we need them.

Thanks for letting me get my thoughts out. There are times when I just plain don't want to work out... but often those work outs end up being my best. Keep up the good work ladies. You are all so amazing and an inspiration to me. Thanks for always being there for me to "talk" to. Now get out and workout!!!!!

Also, if anyone who lives close to me ever wants to join in for a work out, we meet every night at 8:00. Plus, you'll get to meet this mysterious "Mercedes" and have so much fun working out!!!

We Have A Winner!

Congratulations Marci! You're doing an excellent job training and eating healthy!!! We're all so proud of you and you're example!! Keep up the good work!

Keep working on this next two week challenge then keep your eyes open for a March change-up. We're going to shake things up a little and get more focused...

Protein Powder

Mostly this is a post to invite others with more experience to help me get a clue. 'Cause there is just too much to do today, and I can't surf the 'net for 2 or 3 hours trying to figure things out. I've been thinking lately about getting more protein in my diet, and I especially like a low-cal, natural fruit smoothie (made with lowfat milk & frozen berries). Why not add some protein to it? The only problem is that as I have cruised the aisles of my local grocery store, there is a confusing variety of protein powders, and all of them see to be geared towards being stand-alone shakes, i.e. lots of added fillers and sweeteners. Could I just get the protein without all that extra junk and calories?

So I went surfing on Amazon today - and this is what I found:

Also, I found a website that listed all the nutritional/ingredient info in great detail:
http://www.vitacost.com/Garden-of-Life-RAW-Protein
Seems like a winner to me - 80 calories and 18g protein per 1 scoop serving and all kinds of allergy-free features (gluten free, dairy free, soy free, etc.), if you need to watch that sort of thing (Marci?)

Any opinions or advice before I order it?