Guys! Guys! My shoes came! I am so excited! They are so WEIRD looking, but I LOVE them. I wore them all day yesterday around the house, and today....
Today I ran in them outside.
Today I couldn't bear to take them off.
Today I wore them to the golf range.


Chad said my golfing improved by 50%. The last time I went golfing was a year ago. 50% means I hit 2 balls instead of 1.

Guess why I am so much better at golfing now?...


My shoes!

Tomorrow... well tomorrow I just might have to wear them to Church.

Really though, I felt so much more tired after my normal running routine this morning. I can already tell that my muscles are going to thank me for wearing these shoes. Check them out here.

Keep up the awesome work ladies. You are all so amazing and inspire me every day.

Put your point totals here!

Monday through Sunday Points here!

Breakfast? Dinner? Snack?

I could eat cereal any meal but they are seriously misleading. Here I was eating Raisin Bran thinking I was being good! I read an article a while back that took about 50 cereals and compared calories, fat, sugar, protein, etc etc. Here is a list of the some of the "worst" cereals.

• Honey Smacks (Kellogg's)
• Corn Pops (Kellogg's)
• Apple Jacks (Kellogg's)
• Franken Berry (General Mills)
• Trix (General Mills)
• Eggo Cereal Maple Syrup (Kellogg's)
• Basic 4 (General Mills)
• Smorz (Kellogg's)
• Oreo O's (Post)
• Froot Loops (Kellogg's)
• Cocoa Puffs (General Mills)
• Count Chocula (General Mills)
• Waffle Crisp (Post)
• Reese's Puffs (General Mills)
• Mini-Swirlz Cinnamon Bun (Kellogg's)
• Frosted Krispies (Kellogg's)
• Cocoa Pebbles (Post)
• Fruity Pebbles (Post)
• Cookie Crisp (General Mills)
• Frosted Flakes (Kellogg's)
• Golden Grahams (General Mills)
• Lucky Charms (General Mills)
• Rice Krispies Treats Cereal (Kellogg's)

Here are a list of some of the "best" cereals.

• Cheerios (General Mills)
• Shredded Wheat (Post)
• Fiber One (General Mills)
• Grape Nuts (Post)
• Wheaties (General Mills)
• Total (General Mills)
• GOLEAN Cereal (Kashi)
• All-Bran (Kellogg's)
• Wheat Chex (General Mills)

Pretty much all the ones I eat are on the "not the worst, but not the best" list. I won't lie though, I do enjoy some of the worst ones.

Here are a couple they figured would be the healthiest, good tasting cereals.

1. Post Grape-Nuts Trail Mix Crunch: 5 grams fiber, and 22% calories from sugar. The first three ingredients are whole grain wheat, malted barley, and sugar, followed by raisins and wheat bran.
2. Fiber One Bran Cereal: 14 grams fiber, 0% calories from sugar. First three ingredients are whole-grain wheat bran, corn bran, and cornstarch. This cereal only appeals to some people. I would suggest enhancing the flavor with cinnamon, fresh or dried fruit, and/or roasted nuts.
3. Fiber One Honey Clusters: 13 grams fiber, 15% calories from sugar. The first three ingredients are whole-grain wheat, corn bran, and wheat bran.
4. Quaker Oatmeal Squares: 5 grams fiber, 19% calories from sugar. The first three ingredients are whole oat flour, whole-wheat flour, and brown sugar.
5. Shredded wheat: 6 grams fiber, 0% calories from sugar (for a generic brand). The only ingredient is 100% whole grain cereal. I enjoy this with added fresh or dried fruit and nuts. If you opt for the frosted variety, it has 6 grams fiber and gets 23% of its calories from sugar.
6. Frosted Mini Wheats: 6 grams fiber, 24% calories from sugar. The first three ingredients are whole-grain wheat, sugar, and high-fructose corn syrup.
7. Raisin Bran: 7 grams fiber, 40% calories from sugar (in Kellogg's brand). The first three ingredients are whole wheat, raisins, and wheat bran). Sugar is listed fourth in the ingredient list, but many of the calories from sugar come from the raisins.
8. Kashi Heart to Heart Honey Toasted Oat Cereal: 5 grams fiber, 18% calories from sugar. The first three ingredients are whole oat flour, oat bran, and evaporated cane juice. This is a higher-fiber alternative to Cheerios. I think they taste better, too. But that may be because there is more sweetener added (the evaporated cane juice).

What cereal do you eat? I find myself drinking more protein shakes and less cereal these days, but I still do enjoy a nice bowl of cold cereal.

(P.S. Did ya'll vote me out? My name disappeared.)

GOT WATER?

Melissa sent me an interesting email with a link to THIS STORY regarding a coffee drinkers hatred of drinking water. This was me last year. Well ok, not just last year but I can tell you last year I'm can think of weeks that I only drink diet Coke or milk from my cereal. It was a good read but the long and short of it is you need to drink water. There is no magic number of ounces. It varies by size of person, weather conditions, exercise. 64 ounces is a good rule of thumb, some people say way more. The point is you need to drink water and here are a few important reasons why:

The human body is made up of approximately 60% water depending on size. It serves many functions. Some of them are the riding your body of waste kind but when it comes to being healthy it's important to understand why your insides need water.

Functions of Water In the Body
Water serves as a solvent for nutrients and delivers nutrients to cells, while it also helps the body eliminate waste products from the cells. Both the spaces between cells (intercellular spaces) and the spaces inside cells (intracellular spaces) are filled with water. Water lubricates joints and acts as shock absorbers inside the eyes and spinal cord. Amniotic fluid, which is largely water, protects the fetus from bumps and knocks.

Water also helps the body maintain a constant temperature by acting as a thermostat. When a person is too hot, whether from being in a hot environment or from intense physical activity, the body sweats. When sweat evaporates, it lowers the body temperature and restores homeostasis.

Sometimes when we first start drinking more water we may feel like we are retaining water. Sometimes we do retain water because we are taking in high amounts of sodium. Whatever the case you need to continue to drink a good amount of water, that actually helps get rid of the water retention. Water retention is just another of your bodies survival mechanisms.

Drinking water helps control appetite. You may not like the taste of water but it may help you not want to TASTE something else.

It's even more important to drink extra water when you exercise and when the weather is warmer. You body loses more water in perspiration during those time and you need to make sure that you're replenishing it.

Can you drink to much water? It's pretty hard to drink to much water but it can happen. Most often it happens in babies who drink to much water or diluted formula. The other is in long distance runners (or other endurance races.) Usually if someone is participating in an event like this they need to make sure they are taking on sports drinks along with water. Sports drinks have electrolytes that keep the body in balance. Drinking to much water dilutes the bodies electrolyte balance.

The only other case in which you may disturb this balance is if you drink to much water at one time. I'm talking copious amounts at one sitting. I can't even imagine sitting down and drinking that much at one time. I'd probably get sick. But, I'm trying to fuller inform. It's important to spread your water intake throughout the day and not chug all the water at one time.

So keep drinking that water ladies. It does your body good!

Ms. Thunder Bumper's Challenge #1

Ladies it's time to do it! We've all talked about it and now I'm giving you big points as motivation to get it done now!

Before Monday night you are to measure your body. Yep, we've all been working hard and sometimes we don't always see the changes on the scale. Some of us see the physical changes, clothing fits better, the popover muffin is slowly turning into mini muffin top.

I bet you're losing inches. Muscles may weigh more than fat but it also takes up less room.
So take your measurements or have someone take them for you and we'll see what it's like in another 6 weeks.

This is worth 20 points, that's how important I think it is to do this. To bad many of us didn't do this sooner.

I AM a runner!

Well ladies, I did it. I registered for my first race. I'm going to run the famous Bolder Boulder 10k on Memorial Day. I have never done anything like this before in my whole life, and I'm giddy with excitement! Six weeks ago, I thought it would have been impossible, but then I read Alicia's post about running. It was so inspiring to me, I put my shoes right on and ran out the door. I was surprised to find that I ran about 2 and a half miles in under 30 minutes, and I felt like I could do much more. The next day I decided I would just run until I got tired. So I ran about 4 miles in 50 minutes, still felt good, but was bored and didn't know where else to go so I went home. At this point I began to entertain the thought of running the Bolder Boulder. I've always wanted to do it, but as a walk/jogger. I NEVER thought I could run the whole way. I've just never considered myself athletic enough. I looked up 10k training schedules to see what it inolved, and if I had time to get ready. Most of the schedules designed for beginners were 8 weeks long, but started with 2 or 3 mile runs. I decided I would just follow a schedule two weeks in, and see what happened. It's been four weeks and I feel totally prepared! I've run 5+ quite a few times now, and did 6.5 last week. I am AMAZED that my body can actually do this! It is SHOCKING to me. If you knew me, you'd understand. I'm sort of clutzy/lazy/uncoordinated. I was the kind of kid that was picked last for sports. The only organized sport I've ever participated in (besides church basketball) was intermural softball at BYU. I think I made it on base once all semester. Granted, running doesn't require a whole lot of coordination. But still, for the first time in my life I feel physically CAPABLE of something I once considered difficult. And for me, that's miraculous!

2 Months-13 pounds-2 Sizes

It's been nearly two weeks since I started writing this post. I was really excited to share some good news, but after the first day I just fell into a funk and I've had a hard time getting inspired to write. My days are mostly full of exercising (or not), washing dishes, doing laundry, counting calories, sweeping up messes, cooking healthy meals, jockeying for computer time with my kids (no TV at our house) and taking naps. Not only have I been feeling more tired, sleep is an easy escape for me, one that tempts me on a daily basis.

Finances continue to be a huge stress. I did have a talk with my hubby after I wrote that post whining about his job status. Unbeknownst to me, he has been calling and trying to find work at other law firms for months, but no one has work right now. He assures me that passing the patent bar exam is not the Golden Ticket that I think it is. The problem is just the downturn in the economy. I'm trying to be patient, but some days the anxiety is more than I can face, so I sleep.

The lousy weather hasn't helped my mood much, either. I was really enjoying exercising outside, then it started raining and snowing and hasn't stopped for two weeks. I think I must have been a solar panel in a past life just like Melissa. Today I was finally able to get out with the little ones in the bike trailer and that seemed to perk me up some. I've also decided that I need to get more involved in the community, so I signed up to help with some school stuff and I volunteered to coach T-Ball in June. I know absolutely zero about baseball, but they were desperate for coaches and assured me that all I have to do is set the kids up in front of the T and let 'em go at it. I'll coach Amelia's team so she's super excited.

Ok, everybody ready to dance a jig with me?

About two weeks ago, after deciding that my size 10 jeans were getting pretty loose, I dared to open my bucket of "skinny" clothes. I tried on a pair of 8's and SUHHHHH-WEET! They totally fit! I kept trying on more until the stack of pants, capri's and shorts had grown to 15 pair!

I was so excited, saying to the girls, "Check it out, I can wear an 8!" They came into my room and watched me try on all the pants. Once, as I admired my rear in the mirror, I said, "My butt is totally cute in these pants!" Lily was like, "Mama!" Maybe I shouldn't be encouraging my girls to examine what their butt looks like in a pair of jeans... In addition to the sensational feeling of fitting into smaller pants, there's the totally awesome fact that I have at least tripled my wardrobe!

On the right is 5 pairs of size 12 pants, which I was wearing when I started this challenge at the beginning of March. In the middle there's just two pairs of size 10 jeans. For some reason I didn't have much in the size 10 category so I've been pretty limited. But now, oh baby, I have options!

One of the things I came across was a pair of capri workout pants. I stored them away last Spring after I realized I really had no business wearing them in public since they were so tight my panty line was cutting into my butt cheeks and bulging out for all to see.

April 23, 2009

Now I have a little room to spare in the thighs and the rearview is no longer as offensive.

May 3, 2010

Much to Lily's annoyance, I made her take a picture of me modeling my size 8 pants:

When I started this challenge my goal was to go from a size 12 to a size 8. I really didn't expect to get there this soon. And I didn't expect to reach a size 8 and still feel like I have a long way to go. I feel like I'm finally living a healthy lifestyle, and that feels awesome, but now I want to shift my focus from losing pounds to losing inches and getting toned. I have some new goals and I'm doing new things with my fitness. I'll share all about my new direction in my next post.

I love how this blog is helping me reach my goals, become a healthier woman and move forward with new goals. There is no finish line, just a continual journey. I'm glad to share it with all of you!

1 out of 5 a Success

I am so excited to report that tonight was a success. Some friends of ours wanted to meet at a Bakery for dessert. Here was my plan: I only left myself 100 calories to spare. I know that's not a lot, but I thought it was doable. I was planning on sampling three bites of my husbands and kids plates. I also brought a water bottle with Crystal Light Lemonade in case I was tempted by a sweet flavor. I knew I couldn't eat a whole dessert because, I've got to get up in the morning and do some P90X Plyo. A workout that always drops me to the floor. When I walked in, I saw a small bowl of fruit! BINGO! Problem solved. No dessert eaten, and fruit solved any "I feel awkward because I am the only one not eating situation". The great thing was, I don't think anyone even noticed. I think it was so helpful to have a plan and knowing people here were rooting for me.
Tomorrow is going to be a bit more of a challenge. A friend of ours just graduated from Law School and they are having a huge party at the Mayan Restaurant. (GAG, opps, did I say that out loud) I've searched for the calories on line, but nothing. The menu is limited because it is a catering party. I really don't want to waste my free day on gaggy food. Any suggestions?

The Bike Ride: An Analogy

This is me with my bike...and my girlfriends that also rode with my last Saturday. It was suppose to be a simple 50 mile bike ride through a pretty flat area around Richmond, VA. I say simple because last year I rode 100 miles for the same race, not so simple. Also, everyone touts how "flat" it is.

We took off on time but before we were even a mile out we hit the two toughest hills that were on the course. Now, I knew these hills where here because we started from my half way point last year and I remember them. But, my riding partner didn't encounter these last year because we started on the other side of the race course. Why do I ramble so...well this can be a shock to your body when you're not warmed up. When I finished the two hills my legs were not happy and I was breathing heavy. I slowed my pace warmed up and moved forward. There was a stiff breeze but we were moving.

We stopped at the first rest stop, took on water and moved on. By this time the wind had picked up and the trees where whipping around. The next area we rode through was a beautiful park, however because of the wind there were small branches falling all over and most of them you could not avoid. Sharing the rode does not allow you to swerve to avoid all things.

At mile 27 we stopped at our next rest stop. I had just refilled my water bottles and had 1/2 a pj&j. I was talking to the other girls when you heard a VERY LOUD POP. Everyone heard it...and it sounded like it came from the area over where I had laid my bike. As I walked my way over there I found out that my tire had exploded. This is VERY unusual. It's standard to carry a tube and air in case you flat on a course but people don't bring spare tires. The mechanics on site didn't have any but said they thought someone out on the course may but they didn't know which mile marker. I thought my day might be through. The SAG support car took my car back to the start and I rode with my friends husband who was at the rest stop with her kids.

Don't stop here there is more. So when I got to the beginning I find the mechanic that was set up as support for the 50 mile rest stop for the 100 mile riders come from the other side. After a little bit of confusing the realized that I was from out of town and really wanted to get back out on the course and finish my ride. And that's what I did.

I called my friends to tell them I was going back to the rest stop I had ended but they asked me to come meet them at the next rest stop they had just got to. It's a good thing I did. It was so windy that we needed each others help to finish the race.

So here is my analogy. There are several things I could have done that I didn't. Sometimes when I'm first faced with a challenge or trial that is hard I just throw the towel in and give up. Some people may have seen that first hills and thought are you kidding me I just can't do it. But guess what. Sometimes you just have to get started to get headed towards your goal.

I could have stopped at mile 27 and said. My day is done. I'll do this another time. I've had so many days that I've eaten something I should have and said oh well and then just started chowing on anything I could get my hands on. I'd tell my self I'd start tomorrow again or next week instead of forgiving myself, thinking mmm that was good but stay on track for the rest of the day. No, I forged forward fixed my problem and got back on the course. Yes, I missed part of the race but I didn't quit. Even if they would not have been able to fix my tire at least I tried.

The last 14 miles of the race were brutality windy. We were all getting whipped all over the place. After we dropped one of our friends I felt the need to go back and get her. It's not easy to ride in the wind alone and when you are trying to do something that is challenging you need support to keep you going. When I got to my friend I told her to ride on my wheel and let me know if I got to far ahead. She stayed right there. We were one anothers support. Could we both have finished on our own? Yes, but were were more successful doing it together, Just like this blog...yes, we could do what we are doing on our own but with each other we don't feel alone and are less likely to give up when it's hard.

I only finished 41 or the 51 miles but I did it. I could have stopped. I still burned over 2100 calories and felt not a single bit of guilt eating the cookies they provided along with BBQ pork sandwiches at the end of the race. I also didn't feel guilt eating cheese and bacon on my baked potato that night or the small bowl of ice cream I had at 10pm to keep me going until midnight. Sometimes hard work reaps it's rewards.

I had been thinking about this analogy when I stumbled yesterday. It was my son's 5th birthday and I had been preparing myself to take him to CheeBurger CheeBurger for his birthday dinner. He had been asking to go there since October and we don't go very often because there are very few healthy options, it's a bit more expensive and in my opinion the healthier options are not very good.

Everything was going well until I ate one of those large chocolate chip cookies from Costco. He had taken them to school and their were left overs. I had a little panic and then thought well I should just take a free day and start eating, but then I thought about my little analogy again and didn't. I stopped right there and didn't have another thing. We went to dinner and I had a small hamburger with no fries.

I knew with a killer workout I'd be within my calories so I put the boys in bed and got on the trainer and rode for 1 hour 15 minutes. I didn't sabotage myself with one cookie and I didn't start to beat myself up either. I took a minute to think and made a new plan.

I hope that when you all have moments like this you can move forward and not quit. You're body and your mind will thank you for it.

If I was on death row and I had one last meal...

... it would be this:

Avocado on toast with salt and pepper.
This is my favorite thing to eat.
Ever.

The creamy avocado, the smell of the pepper, the crunchy toast, oh baby I'm in heaven! At 180 calories, it's not a bad snack or small meal if you pair it with a fruit or veggie. Avocados were 3/$1 last week at my favorite grocery store, so I've been eating this everyday. I know avocados have a lot of fat, but it's MUFA fat. Traditionally, I like it best on sourdough bread. But now that I'm trying to be healthy I've been having it on wheat bread, and it's just not the same! I don't really like wheat bread because it's too sweet. It's good with PB & J's but who's eating those anymore? Not me. Luckily I found this:(image courtesy www.foodforlife.com)

Have you heard of sprouted grain breads? They are supposed to be really good for you. According to one maker (Food For Life) here's why:

The process of germination changes the composition of grain and seeds in numerous ways. Sprouting increases vitamin content. Sprouting neutralizes phytic acid – a substance present in grains – that inhibits absorption of nutrients and more important Sprouting neutralizes or "predigests" if you will, grains through enzymatic activity. The enzymes produced during our natural sprouting process "in effect" breaks down amino acid protein bonds to promote digestibility of the entire grain.

Sprouted grain bread has numerous advantages over "enriched" wheat flour breads. These breads are made from the endosperm of the wheat kernel (the inside portion), which contains primarily carbohydrates and few vitamins and minerals. The milling of grain into white flour requires the removal of the bran and the germ. This results in the loss of natural fiber, bran and 22 vitamins and minerals. To compensate, five vitamins and minerals (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, iron and folic acid) are added back in, "enriching" the flour. Sometimes calcium is added back as well.

I don't know about all of that, but here's what I do know: It's a very filling, heavy bread. It's delicious. The kind I bought was savory and slightly sour, in a good way. It's the perfect healthy partner for my avocado. All is right with the world once again.

What's Your Vegetable for Dinner Tonight

Swiss Chard?

I'm going to give this a try tonight. Have you ever tried this? I haven't, but found this how to video that made it look very appetizing:

http://www.danispies.com/archives/101_video/chard_101_-_video.php

It's supposed to taste a bit like spinach. The six year old loves Spinach, so we'll see how this one goes!

To all the Amazing Women at Healthy Wife Happy Life

A tribute to you!!!

http://stepbystepsupport.blogspot.com/2010/05/ready-for-challenge.html

Having a hard time taking your vitamins?

This is a picture of all the meds my daughter had to take after her bone marrow transplant last year. She took 18 pills every morning and 12 pills every night. (Yes, she would swallow them all at once!) That doesn't count all the I.V. meds she walked around with all day!

I just thought this could give us all a little perspective on how EASY it is to take the few vitamins we need :) Plus, it's an easy point too!

Hi all!

Back when you all started with challenge numero uno I was invited to join but thought to myself:

"Self - I can do this just fine on my own. I have enough to do and this will just be one too many things to worry about".

SOOOO - after not doing much of anything on my own I am getting off my in high and independent horse and joining the next challenge.

I am pretty good at getting myself to the gym or getting out on my bike but I am really not paying attention to what I am eating...and I LOVE to eat....lots.

SOOOOOOOO - I am now going to try to be more accountable for what I am consuming. Gulp.

Thanks Audrey!

AND THE WINNER IS...

Alicia!
Congrats to our latest Challenge Winner! You rocked it girl!

Will the next challenge winner be you?

Wonder Woman

I'm taking a healthy wife sabbatical this time around. Going to test my healthy wife super powers on my own for a stretch. I'm going to fend off junk food with the bracelets, tote water bottles and healthy snacks in my invisible plane, and rope myself with that golden cord to stay true to my healthy life style. And I'm gonna be smokin' hot in that awesome outfit.

P.S. Thanks Audrey for the Wand of Wonder! You are my hero!

A favor

Have you heard about the new mormon.org? My husband was a part of the team that came up with the concepts for the re-design. The new site will launch in June, and there are some major changes! They're implementing a social networking component in the new site. It's an opportunity for church members to share their testimonies with investigators by making profiles and answering FAQ's. Problem is, we need members to register and create profiles. We're trying to get 1000 profiles completed by the end of May. So, if you're reading this and you're a Mormon, do me a favor: register and create a profile! You must be 18 or older, and you must have your membership number. You can find that on your temple recommend, on last year's tithing statement, or from your ward clerk.

Just go here to create your profile. Matt has been very prayerful about his work with the church, and has definitely felt guided by the Spirit. I think his co-workers would say the same thing. As you answer the questions on your profile, please pray for the guidance of the Spirit, too.

Thanks Ladies!

30 Point Challenge

Kind of weird to admit, but this weekend I've been thinking a lot about what my 30 point challenge should be for the next three weeks. I've been going back and forth, trying to figure out what would be a good goal for me. I've come up with a few ideas, but here is the final decision: I have five social events this week starting on Wednesday. FIVE! And, they all revolve around food. Saying that I'm nervous about them is an understatement. Maybe I should use the word panicked, but that seems to extreme. But, I am panicked. When I am out of my comfort zone, in an uncontrolled environment, I always go into panic mode. How am I supposed to eat within my calorie range, but most important, how am I supposed to keep my emotions in control? I don't want to go away every night having the anxiety of feeling like a failure, coming home and binging the rest of the night away because I blew it anyway. Bad attitude I know. I'm working on that. (Maybe a good challenge for another time) So, here's where the challenge takes place. I'm going to come up with a written plan, each morning, of how I'm going to conquer the social event that night. Here's the part I'm asking from you: I need some ideas? Here is my normal pattern: when I have an activity that involves around food, I tend to have the blown it attitude before the event has started. I know I'm not going to succeed for the activity, so I mine as well blow it big for the rest of the day. In the moment I don't care, but when it's all said and done, I feel sick, I can't sleep at night, I feel depressed, and a whole bunch of other emotions. Not only that, but it is so hard to break away from the attitude the next day. So I need a plan, and I need to stick to it. Any suggestions? What do you do in social eating events to keep your emotions, and eating under control?

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

Just wanted to say Happy Mothers Day to all the wonderful ladies on this blog.  It is great getting to know everyone.  I really love the support system and am grateful to be able to participate in this challange.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Mothers Day!