The 12-Week Challenge is Over!!

First of all, the babyproofing I put off for so long is now here to haunt me!

Eli loves the freedom that comes with crawling (he still loves to walk, but only when I'm able to be right by him in case he tips over). Now he into EVERYTHING! Especially cords - from the computer, from cell phone chargers, the cordless phone base, whatever he can get his little hands on. I'm rapidly trying to find solutions for getting these out of his reach, but some things are a little tricky. Eli is much happier though going wherever he wants to without depending on me to hurry up and help him!

Second, the Healthy Living Challenge is officially OVER!! Remember these?
I had one for breakfast (well, two of them actually :).
Yesterday I was counting down the hours til midnight when I could take a bite of my favorite treat, but ended up falling asleep before that and thus ate it for breakfast. I am happy that I did the healthy living challenge, but SO glad it's over! I haven't had a can of pop in 12 weeks. And I've suffered through exercising while sick and drinking WAY too much V8 (1 serving of V8=2 servings of vegetables - with the challenge I had to get 3 servings of veggies a day - so V8 helped a ton).

Things I (hope) to continue now that the challenge is over:

• Getting 7 hours of sleep each day
• Drinking 64 oz of water each day
• Exercising daily
• Eating lots of fruits/veggies (but not caring so much about getting such large quantities)
• Staying away from sweets/junk food

I am happy with my personal results - this morning before I put the coconut patty in my mouth, my official end of the challenge weigh-in put me at losing 9.5 pounds! I went down one pant size, but still need to tone my stomach more so I won't feel so flabby when I sit down :)

It's amazing how good you feel when you don't eat things like coconut patties or chips or other foods that aren't the best for your body, but instead fill up on healthier options. Hopefully I won't go too far off the deep end today enjoying all the sweet treats I've neglected lately! Last week I had to use my free points on exercise (because I was still sick in the beginning of the week), so I was really craving something sweet by this weekend.

I was so sad because I forgot to email my points in on time the week Eli was hospitalized (I totally lost track of what day it was), so I didn't get the bonus point (for sending points in by Mon. night). That put me down at second place (tied with some others). I haven't heard what the exact breakdown is of how much $$ I won.

Sorry to bore you with all of this - I'm off to eat some jellybeans that I bought before Easter (but haven't had the chance to indulge on until now!). Yum!

Sick at Home and Watching TV

I have been home sick with bronchitis all weekend, which was so sad to me because yesterday was Easter and my Gram's 83rd birthday. We had planned on having my family at our place for dinner, but ended up not getting together since I was so sick.

Ben was nice and took Eli out with him to different places, so I got some breaks and was able to rest, but I also ended up lying on the couch watching a lot of t.v. I watched some shows that I had recorded on the DVR, but soon was ready for something besides Law and Order reruns. Last night I scrolled through the guide and two shows caught my eye - "I Can Make You Thin" and "Play Piano in a Flash." Here are my reviews.

I Can Make You Thin - it's a new show on TLC where British weight-loss guru Paul McKenna discusses 4 simple techniques that will connect you with your body's hunger signals and help you have a healthy relationship with food. Apparently this show has been a huge hit in Britain. Here are his rules:

1. When You're Hungry, Eat!
2. Eat What you Want
3. Eat Consciously
4. When You Think You're Full, Stop

Ben and I both feel like we have a tendency to overeat, especially if we're at a restaurant or eating takeout. It was really interesting to hear this McKenna's suggestions for becoming more in tune to when you're hungry and full. He emphasizes that this isn't a diet, but he does feature people on his show who have lost a lot of weight after following the guidelines.

This week we're going to practice one of his suggestions: when you take a bite of food, chew it a quarter of the speed you normally chew, and with each bite, put the fork DOWN! (McKenna says this is key) We tried it at dinner last night, and it's hard to do! I hardly ever put my fork or spoon down because I feel like I need to hurry and help Eli or get things cleaned up. The other thing McKenna suggested - try eating with your eyes closed! He says you will be way more in tune when you are actually full. (And if you don't eat a lot in one sitting and you're hungry 10 minutes later, go back and have more to eat, but only until you're full).

Overall, I thought the show was interesting and plan on watching the rest of the shows in his 5-part series. This is the 12th and last week of the Healthy Living Challenge... while I am a little tired of following the rules, I do want to continue being healthy.

Play Piano in a Flash: this was on a PBS channel. It caught my eye because I took years of piano lessons but have lost most of my piano skills. This show apparently is in its ninth season, but I was tired of it after the first eight minutes. Piano Guy Scott Houston gives LENGTHY explanations on everything and it was painful to watch. I finally turned it off when I couldn't stand it anymore. So much for relearning how to play piano in a flash :)

Let me know if you have any favorite new shows to watch... I am always looking for something different to put on our DVR list!

Healthy Living Recipes

That was a mean trick to entice you with the sweet foods that were tempting me (did any of you give in?? I want to hear how the recipes taste!)... but today I'm posting some links to a few healthier recipes that I posted on Pimp My Dinner.

Potato and Leek Soup - very simple, with chicken broth instead of cream, and delish!

Squash Quinoa Soup - (soup pictured above) I first had this at Stephanie Roger's house. I love the flavors and the delicate nature of the quinoa - and this soup is so pretty! I have substituted diced sweet potatoes when I haven't had squash, and it's turned out just as well.

Butternut Squash Pasta - so I'm not very diverse in my posting...two soup recipes and two recipes with butternut squash. But it's so good! I make this pasta all the time and love the herb smells. Yum....

It's Hard to be Healthy

I just have to say - I have been on this healthy living challenge for a whopping one week (11 weeks to go), and it is HARD!! I've realized that before this week, I was eating a lot of junk along with the healthy stuff. Last week I had many pangs for something sweet, but then feel happy when I was able to resist the urge.

Tonight we ate at our favorite bbq place (Merle's) and in the past, I would always get their tasty fries along with the bbq pork sandwich. It was ROUGH watching Ben enjoy the basket of fries while I chowed on bbq pork and a salad. I almost gave in and used one of my three free points for the week, but that seems dangerous when it's only day one of the second week of the challenge.

The good news is I did lose some weight last week, and I feel better from exercising each day and eating just healthy foods. It's amazing how not-so-great you can feel after snacking on the sweet/salty stuff. But it's also amazing how STARVING I feel by the time I go to bed (since I don't eat anything after 8:30). My body is still adapting to these better habits... :)

Healthy Living Challenge

I have a friend here who has organized what is called a "Healthy Living Challenge" - basically a contest where everyone pays $20 and embarks on a 12-week challenge of eating, sleeping, and exercising well. Here are the rules in case you want to start something like this where you are:

Daily Habits - 8 points/day or 56 points per week maximum

1. Drink 64 oz. water
2. 30 min. exercise (doesn't have to be consecutive)
3. 7 hours sleep minimum (doesn't have to be consecutive)
4. 3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit (in general, 1 C. = 1 serving)
5. No sweets: no candy, cakes, donuts, etc.
6. No unhealthy snacks and no soda
7. Healthy food choices at meals (at home and dining out)
8. No eating after dinner/8:30 p.m. (no eating after you're finished)

*Each week we'll have 3 free points to use for any missed points. The total # of points though will never exceed 56 points/week.

*There are 3 sick days during the 12 weeks - so all points on the day are free (like on Fast Sunday).

*Sunday you get a free exercise point

Each week we'll email our points to the challenge host and she will post the spreadsheet of results on Google Docs. At the end of the contest, the top 8 winners win money. (the actual prize winnings are dependent on how many people sign up)

So it's Day 2 of the challenge. Yesterday went pretty well, but I think I'm in no-sugar detox at the moment... it's rough not eating sweets!! My goal is to lose the rest of my Eli weight, to strengthen my abs and get my cardio ability back to where it used to be (pre-Eli). The biggest food challenge will be avoiding candy and getting 3 cups of vegetables in each day.