Whatcha Eatin' Wednesday

Good morning, ladies!!!  So much excitement going on right now I can barely contain it!  First, My Fitness Pal app is now available for the iPhone/iTouch!  It's awesome!  I've been playing on it this morning.  It's so quick and I like that it shows net calories clearly at the top of the daily diary, and that the food & exercises are all on the same one page diary instead of on different tabs like on the website.  Second, this snow is AWESOME!  It's outrageous. Hubby's picking up a shovel for me today to go to town on it, maybe our patio and the sidewalk in front of our building :)  I really really want to go sledding tonight, too!  I just need to borrow someone's kids...and a sled... hahaha!  Third, the Biggest Loser finale last night was NUTS!  I am so happy about the outcome!  The person who won is the person I wanted to win (I'll keep that vague for you DVR'ing divas)! I think Tracey looked creepy, and Rebecca is much more beautiful as a brunnette, but overall, WOW!  It was so inspiring!  Michele & I kept texting back & forth, "WOW!!!" and "OH MY GOSH!!!!"  Something like that, watching so many success stories, it really amps me up and makes me motivated to push it harder & stronger in my resolve & workouts.  Incredible!  I think I'm going to run the stairs tonight for my workout!

Ok, so what have you ladies been eating lately?  Share some good new recipes!  Continuing on with yesterday's post & incredible comments about de-stressing to improve our health & wellbeing, here are some really cool articles on foods that you can eat that help to calm and relax you. 

Foods that will help keep you calm
Stress-busting snacks
What to eat for better sleep

Just made up last night my dinner meal plan for the next 7 days and will grocery shop tonight.  Unfortunately  most of them are NOT new recipes- they're all ones I've posted on here before- but just our favorites:

Meatloaf Mugs w/ Sweet Potato Fries
Thai Chicken Pasta (from Janis!) (my favorite meal!)
Feta-Topped Chicken w/ Pureed Cauliflower (hubby's favorite meal!)
Stuffed Pepper Soup (from Amy F!)
Sweet Potato Turkey Meatloaf w/ Steamed Green Beans
Steak Salad w/ Lemon Walnut Vinaigrette (hubby's 2nd favorite meal!)

And for breakfasts/lunches/mini-meals/snacks:

Pumpkin Pie Smoothies (had one for breakfast this morning- yum!)
Reduced-Fat Triscuits w/ Laughing Cow Bonbel Cheese Wheel & Honey Crisp Apple
Multi-Grain Cheerio's w/ Skim Milk
Roast Beef or Sliced Chicken or Turkey Sandwiches w/ Sara Lee 45 calorie Multi-Grain bread slices, Lettuce, Tomato, & horseraddish
Leftovers from dinners

Sweet Potato Fries recipe:
1 sweet potato
olive oil
paprika
cinnamon
3 truvia packets
*Peel sweet potato, cut into skinny shoe string fries, a few inches long.  Toss in bowl w/ just a tiny drizzle of olive oil until it's all lightly coated.  Spread on cookie sheet (we used baking stone).  Sprinkle on cinnamon, paprika, and about 2-3 truvia packets (zero calorie stevia sweetener).  Bake about 25 minutes at 350 ish, flipping/shuffling them halfway through.  SO GOOD! 

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie recipe:
1/4 cup canned Libby's pumpkin
1/4 cup fat free evaporated milk
1 single-serve container of light vanilla yogurt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 gingersnap cookie
1 truvia packet
*Combine all ingredients in a magic bullet or other blender.  If you want it thinner, add a half cup to a cup of skim milk.  Without the skim milk, though, it's about 198 calories.  And SO GOOD!

Tuesday Motivation

Did any of you feel the burn shoveling snow this morning?  YOU WILL TOMORROW :)  I hope everyone drives safely in the blizzard we're expecting tonight here in my neck of the woods. 

Today's post is about de-stressing and chilling because that will help you lose weight, be healthier, and be happier.  Check out this article from Women's Health: Zen Commandments.  And these articles from Fitness Magazine: Happy People and Lose the Weight and Stay Stress-Free.  And WebMD: De-Stress and Eat Less.

We all have experienced that when we're stressed to the max, we say "screw it all," and make poor decisions.  I know I have done that more times that I'd like to recall in my life.  Stress is a diet-buster, exercise-de-motivator, sleep-inhibitor, and mood-killer.  And so much of it we do to ourselves.  When we're eating healthy and exercising, though, it seems stress is lower.  And when stress is lower, we eat healthier and exercise more.  So which causes which?  Which came first, the chicken or the egg?  hahaha  We can always control how we react to different situations that arise in our lives, even if sometimes those situations are out of our hands.  We decide if we're going to let stressful situations sabotage our goals and our healthy decisions.

What ways do you ladies keep stress at bay?

Monday Morning Check-In

Good morning!!! Weigh in this morning (not measurements-that's next
week) and let us know how much you're down or up and how you feel
about it. Let us know what your game plan is for this next week and
what you plan to do to make it phenomenal. Make it a great week!!!

Feel Good Friday

Good morning, Beauties! 

"Our aspirations are our possibilities" -Robert Browning

Are you dreaming big?  Can you teach your kids to dream big & be positive?  How much would that help you hit your goals if your family fed back positivity vibes to you?

Check out this article about teaching kids to be positive, written by Jon Gordon:

"I’m not naturally a positive person. The research says it’s not my fault. Turns out some people are born with a more positive disposition while others are born with more of a negative disposition. But there is hope. The latest research in neuroscience and positive psychology demonstrates that we can mold our brains and ourselves to be more positive, which is great news for me and my children.


For the past eight years I’ve researched and practiced countless strategies to enhance positivity...  I’ve seen the fruits of these efforts in my life and in the people I’ve taught—most importantly my own children. I’ve seen how simple strategies and daily rituals can make a tremendous impact on their mindset, belief system and outlook on life.

I believe that positive kids become positive adults and as parents we can play a significant role in shaping our children’s perspective and mindset. In this spirit I want to share with you several tips to develop positive kids.

1. Success of the Day - Each night before bed, at dinner or while taking an after dinner walk ask your children their success of the day. The success could be a great conversation, an accomplishment at school, something they are proud of, a situation where they helped someone, etc. The important thing is to help them focus on accomplishments instead of failures. When we help our children expect success, look for success, and celebrate success they find more success and gain more confidence. Of course they need to learn from their mistakes and failures, but let’s help them to not dwell on them.

2. Bedtime Prayer - A ritual such as this provides your children with a foundation of peace, security, and confidence that gives them the strength to take on the daily challenges of being a child.

3. Implement the No Complaining Rule - It’s a simple rule that says you’re not allowed to complain unless you identify one or two possible solutions to your complaint. This empowers children to become a driver of their bus instead of being a passenger griping on the bus. They also learn to use complaints as a catalyst for positive change and positive action. Visit www.NoComplainingRule.com

4. Teach them the Positive Shark Formula, E + P = 0 - This is from my latest book, The Shark and The Goldfish, which is a story about a nice and positive shark who teaches Gordy the goldfish how to overcome his fear of change and find food. After all, Goldfish wait to be fed. Sharks go find food. The formula reveals that we can’t control the (E ) Events in our life. But we can control our (P) Positive Response to these events and our response determines the (O) outcome. This formula helps children develop a strong locus of control which is a perspective that through their beliefs and actions they have an influence on their life. They come to believe that they are not a victim of circumstance but rather a hero in their own inspirational tale and that they can turn their challenges into opportunities and transform bad events into good outcomes. This helps them stay optimistic and believe that their best days are ahead of them, not behind them.

5. Feel Blessed instead of Stressed - As parents we need to realize that children, like adults, deal with a lot of stress...and stress is the enemy of positivity. Well, the great news is that when you are feeling blessed you can’t be stressed. The research says we can’t be stressed and thankful at the same time. Thus, a simple ritual is to help your children identify 3 things they are thankful for each day. You can create a gratitude journal together or you can encourage them to write these blessings on their blog, diary or simply talk about them at dinner. And anytime they are feeling stressed you can encourage them to recall something they are thankful for.

I encourage you to think of your child’s mind like a garden. Each day you want to help them weed their negative thoughts and plant positive thoughts. One day of weeding and planting won’t do much. However if you practice these strategies each day, over a week, a month, a year, a lifetime, the garden grows more healthy and vibrant. Nurture your child. Take time to coach them and nourish them with lots of love and positive energy and you shall see the fruits of your efforts."

Obviously I'm not a parent, and let me know if you think this article is total bunk, but I thought it was kind of cute.  The fact that you can help over time to create a positivity nest within your own home is so intriguing to me, because if you have that nest of positive vibes, can you imagine how that would in turn make you feel about hitting your goals, whether they be physical/weight loss, or not???

Then take that thought a little further, what are some family workouts that you can do together that don't seem like workouts???  A friend of mine (in the summer) would jog next to her kids while they rode their bike through the neighboorhood.  The kids' encouragement as they would wait at each street crossing, "C'mon, Mom!" would push her to run faster & longer.  With snow coming up, what if YOU were actively sledding with your kids, instead of sending them w/ Dad or waiting for them at the bottom of the hill?  Could you run up the hill with them in the snow?  Killer burn and your kids would LOVE it.  What about YOU jumping on the trampoline with them?  What about YOU riding bikes with them?  What about YOU playing sports with them?  Laughing burns lots of calories.  So does swimming, building a snowman, making snow angels, going for walks, etc.  I'm going to pull out one of Nicki's favorite quotes here, "Action expresses priorities," -Ghandi (I think I have that right, right? :) ).  So if physical fitness and family time are priorities for you & things you want to teach your kids to value, then actually DOING the physical fitness and family time show and prove that those are priorities for you. 

What fun family fitness ideas do you have??? Can you fit any in this weekend?

Feel the Burn Thursday

Good morning, fearless females!  Check out this article: Staying Fit During the Holidays.  Scroll through all 12 pages/slides.  What stood out to you the most?  For me, it was 3 things, 1) wow, I need to eat more apples :), 2) I need to be sure to keep myself non-sleep deprived if possible, and 3) I need to hit the weights more than I am. 

So weight training, strength training, resistance training, whatever you call it, is key to shedding fat.  Doing calorie cutting alone, you're more likely to lose muscle weight in addition to fat weight.  Incorporating cardio & strength training will help you maintain and gain muscle while just losing the fat weight.  But what if you find weight training really....blah ba humbug?  Me, me, me!  One solution would be to find fun new strength training workouts that don't involve repetitious bicep curls w/ dumbells.  Try a physically intense yoga routine with lots of planks and leg lifts.  Try a Bosu or Body Sculpting/Pump class at your gym.  Try a new DVD routine using a big ball.  Try a Kbell/Kettle Ball workout DVD.  Try to mimic some of the unusual moves they do on Biggest Loser, like jerking ropes up alternatingly, rolling a tractor tire, sledge hammering a tractor tire, pushups on the treadmill, kettle ball swings, pushups w/ dumbells under your hands and lifting each side once you're up at the top of your pushup, etc.  Here is a home strength plan by Shape magazine but it does require quite a bit of home equipment like a medicine ball, bosu ball, pilates ball, resistance band, etc.  This is another strength training program but just consists of 3 upper body moves, also by Shape, but I have all the equip to do this at home, so I think I'll try 3 times a week for a while!  Hold me accountable :)

Another great option is this ab workout from Women's Health magazine, that Nicki & a few others of you have tried out and liked before in this challenge.  Or try putting yourself on the 100 Pushups challenge or 200 Situps challenge or 200 Squats challenge (each of these has an app for the iPhone to do & track the challenge). 

How do you ladies get in your strength training?????????

(BTW- I forgot to set up for the side challenge this 2nd week, so there will be just one and it will be in the 4th week, with a fun prize from Amy C. for the winner!)

Whatcha Eatin' Wednesday

Good morning, ladies! With this cold winter weather finally upon us
today, it has me thinking about soups & stews! Do you have any cold
weather healthy favorites?
I made this veggie soup recipe this week that has a lot of flavor and
is really yummy.
6 large green onions
2 green peppers
2 cans of diced tomatoes
3 carrots
1 container mushrooms (10 oz)
1 bunch celery
Half head of cabbage
1 pckg Lipton Onion Soup Mix
2 cubes beef bouillon
48 oz can of V8 juice
Pepper & Garlic salt to taste
Slice all veggies into bite size pieces. Saute just the green onions
in cooking spray in your soup pot. Then add green peppers and cabbage.
Finally add all the ingredients and up to 8 cups of water. Cook for 2
hours.
It's really hit the spot this week-even the hubby likes it :)
And did anyone see Biggest Loser last night? I really want that veggie
chili recipe that they filled the baked potato with- looked delicious!!!
So...what have you been eating this week?

Tuesday Motivation

Good morning, girls!  Have you ever heard of "muscle memory?"  It's basically when you're doing the same workout routine over and over but you're not seeing the results you used to see because your body has neurologically and physiologically adapted to it (our body's natural coping system).  To keep calorie burn maximized, shake things up!  Check out this article that talks about just that & the need to keep your workouts diverse.  And this article equates shaking up your workouts with the necessary "confuse your body" concept.  So shake it up this week with the workouts, ladies!  Try something new!  Try lots of new things!  Pepper in some dance workouts with your usual yoga or running or cycling.  Here are some fun dance workouts I found last night on You Tube.  I LOVE the first one, the brazilian samba workout :)  They're all really short video clips- just have fun!  Or you could check out some workout DVDs from the library.  Just get the heart rate up and have a great calorie burn :)  Do you have any other fun workout ideas that help keep you out of a workout rut?

Sambaerobics

Zumba

Ballywood

Zumba HipHop

Cardio Kickboxing

Jumprope Cardio

Tae Bo

Cardio Hula

Ballet

Monday Morning Check-in

Good morning! It's the first check-in for this six week challenge.
Weigh yourself this morning and enter in that new weight in your My
Fitness Pal. Your badge on the blog will automatically update. How
did you do over probably the most difficult weekend of the year??!!
Tell us all how much you're up or down. What's your game plan for this
week?

Feel Good Friday

Hi!  MIA blogger- sorry :)  Vacation is so awesome, though, even if it is just with the in-laws in Illinois.  I got to sleep in today, then did a ladder type interval session on the elliptical machine followed by some ab work.  Then out for brunch, then out to a farm to cut down our Christmas tree, then we went ROCK CLIMBING!  It was soooo exhausting on my upper body.  It was AMAZING!  I went my my father-in-law, sister-in-law, & brother-in-law to an indoor rock climbing gym all afternoon.  I climbed all the way to the top on three different routes!  There were lots of others that I didn't get to the top on, but that's ok.  It was the craziest workout I've ever done.

So, being all crazy metaphorical, and because I'm a little loopy from my exhaustion still, I see a little of our fitness/weight loss journey in rock climbing.  Sometimes we have our eyes set on a goal and we see the path clearly.  We plan on following the path undeviatingly (if that's even a word).  We set up a zero-sum-game for ourselves.  We tell ourselves, "Well, there's the plan. How simple is that? Even an idiot can do it if they stick to it."  I mean each handhold and foothold is color coordinated for the path you're attempting.  But then what happens?  We start climbing and we might get stuck, not able to find a good handhold or foothold within reach.  Sometimes when we're climbing, our arms and legs start shaking because they're so spent.  Sometimes we climb and the wall above us is blocked from view by a protrusion.   Sometimes, we're so scared standing on the ground that we don't even put our first foot up on a grip.  Sometimes, we look over and see phenomenally talented climbers zoom up the wall while we're still struggling on a lower grip.  And then WE feel like the idiot.

But be gentle with yourselves, girls.  Set your sights high, and believe in yourselves, but be gentle with yourselves.  This journey towards our goal weight or our goal fitness level is going to be crazy.  It's going to have its ups and downs.  Sometimes when we're progressing, we will find ourselves stuck, and it may be hard to see that the solution is to go down a step and then over, and then you can continue up.  How many of us (Me &  Meghan for sure) have had a great go of this weight loss journey already, but have gotten to a place where our old workout and old foods just aren't showing us the results we need.  What if we stuck over on a different path?  Tried new exercises, new routines, new food strategies, etc.? If you're on one path and you get stuck, look over to a different route to the same goal, and be strong & adventuresome :)   Sometimes we aren't forgiving enough to ourselves for slipping.  Ok, so if we had a breakdown kind of a couple of days, ate a lot of chocolate, whatever your demon is, and then what do you do?  Do you toss in the towel and say forget it all?  "The whole 6 week thing's shot."  No!  You can and you should get right back on the wagon of working out and making good decisions!  Love yourself more than that.  Forgive yourself quickly and get back on.  Starting out on this journey, standing at the bottom of the rope, have the courage to take the first step, but also, have the love and forgiveness for yourself that if you stall or stumble, you will swing until you get back onto that wall and continue climbing up.  Don't lower yourself all the way to the ground again- you can pick up where you left off!  Losing weight is hard.  Keeping it off is hard.  BUT you are capable of it.  You were designed beautifully.  You were designed with the capacity for great things.

Be courageous, adventurous, light-hearted, forgiving, loving, and believing :)  Have a phenomenal weekend, girls!

Feel the Burn Thursday!

Happy Thanksgiving, ladies!  How did the Berbee Derby go for you, Amy C., Meghan, & Abrey???!???!??  I hope it felt great.  You should be really proud of yourselves.  I just got back from a great relaxing jog here on a bike path by my in-laws.  A change of scenery is so nice!  

I LOVED this article I came across about bouncing back from a Thanksgiving feast.  If running isn't your workout of choice, you could easily change it to elliptical training, spinning, biking, walking, anything :)


I love how it's so positive- that our carb loads today can be changed into a great workout tomorrow! 
"Alas, you really did get intimate with a gravy boat yesterday. On the bright side, however, your body is perfectly primed for a workout that can burn off a chunk of last night's meal. "With all the potatoes and stuffing, Thanksgiving is a big carbo-load," says McMillan. "That means the glycogen stores that fuel your muscles are full to capacity." In addition to lots of muscle-fueling carbs, your feast contained a good amount of protein, essential for rebuilding muscles that break down during a long run."


They point out that the key, though, is keeping it long and easy, relaxing and cleansing.  Try a slow jog outside or yoga!


I am so pumped up for some great workouts this weekend!  Burn off all that turkey dinner & then some :)  Rejuvenate your resolve.  Continue to be thankful.  


What workouts have you been doing this week?  What are you going to fit in this weekend?  Decide now what workouts you're going to do Friday & Saturday :)

Whatcha Eatin' Wednesday

One of my favorite days of the week- when we all swap snack ideas and recipes :) 

First, though, here's a little ditty about protein from a post we did on October 14th.

Protein 101: Eat LOTS of it. According to Runner's World magazine, if you want to lose weight, about 25% of the calories you consume each day should be from protein sources, and furthermore clumped to just after your workout. Benefits of getting in your daily protein include:

• Making you feel fuller for longer,
• Helping to build and maintain lean muscle mass,
• and Repairing your micro-tears in your muscles following a workout.

How do you get in your protein each day?  Skinless chicken is always a good bet, as is yogurt, skim milk, low-fat cheese, low-fat cottage cheese, lean meats, fish, etc.  Some prefer protein powders and shakes, though, or Clif bars, etc.  What has been your protein strategy?

Check-in with what you've eaten the last 3 days, what yumminess you've bought or made, any delicious new healthy recipes you've made.  Did you know you can do a recipe analysis online?  There are several ways to do it and different sites you can google that do just that, but I prefer to just use My Fitness Pal, jump forward to a blank day, enter in the full recipe's ingredients like I was eating the whole batch, then divide my totals by the # of servings the recipe makes.  For instance, if I'm making a big batch of soup, I'd enter in a whole 48 ounce container of reduced-sodium V8 juice, a whole head of cabbage, 4 carrotts, etc.  Then when I got all that entered in as a meal, I'd take the total calories, total fats, total proteins, etc. and divide that by the 20 servings or whatever the recipe makes.  You can save your homemade recipes in there, too, for future use.  Or you can jot down the totals on your paper recipe. 

Here's a granola recipe from Tara:

Honey Cinnamon Granola

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups whole oats (not quick cooking kind)
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
Handful of Craisins

1. In a small pot, combine honey, brown sugar, and vanilla. Heat over medium until sugar and honey are combined and smooth. Make sure to stir it a couple of times.
2. In a bowl, combine oats, wheat germ, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well.
3. Pour honey mixture over the oat mixture and stir well.
4. Pour granola onto a sheet pan that has been sprayed or has a silpat.
5. Bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Make sure you stir the granola often. Maybe every 5 minutes or so.
6. Let cool on sheet pan. Stir in Craisins and enjoy. Could add chocolate chips. You could also try dried apple slices!
7. Store in air-tight container.

Last night I tried a new recipe that someone posted on the My Fitness Pal recipe forum and it was YUMMY! My hubby and I both really liked it.  Served w/ a big mound of steamed green beans.  I forgot to take a picture, though- sorry!

Sweet Potato Turkey Meatloaf

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1 pound ground turkey breast
1 large egg
1 small sweet onion, finely chopped (I only did about a tablespoon of chopped onion)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup honey barbecue sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 slices whole-wheat bread, torn into small crumbs (I had to use 4 pieces)
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1 tablespoon salt, or to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 2 quart baking dish.
2. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the sweet potato, and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Drain the sweet potatoes, and mash or whip until smooth.
3. Mix the ground turkey together with the egg, sweet onion, garlic, barbecue sauce, ketchup, Dijon mustard, and whole wheat bread crumbs in a large mixing bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the sweet potatoes, and stir until evenly combined. If the mixture seems too wet, add more bread crumbs. Use your hands to form the turkey mixture into a loaf shape and place in the prepared baking dish.
4. Bake in the preheated oven 1 hour. Slice the loaf to serve. {Serves 4)

Per serving:
Calories: 336
Total Fat: 2.7g
Cholesterol: 123mg
Sodium: 2478mg
Total Carbs: 43g
Dietary Fiber: 5.3g
Protein: 33.8g

I'll bet you could make this dish with leftover sweet potatoes and leftover turkey from Thanksgiving!  Probably just put it in a food processor or Magic Bullet to grind/puree.  And I think it could serve 6 no problem. It's pretty big.

And forgive me- the posts Thursday & Friday will most likely be late in the day, not bright & early :)

Tuesday's Motivation

Good morning, ladies :)  How are you awesome challengers doing?  Did you succeed at day 1?  Did you get in any workouts? Is anyone having problems figuring out My Fitness Pal?

Something I forgot to mention previously, is if you're currently a nursing mom, be sure to add in about 500 extra calories per day to your diet above and beyond what MFP suggests :)  And that's just a result of Googling the subject- I'm sure you all know more than I do on the subject!

So as the intro pointed out, the format for posting and discussions I try for is Check-ins on Mondays, Motivation on Tuesdays, Recipes/Snacks on Wednesdays, Workouts on Thursdays, and Motivation on Fridays. 

Forgive me, but this week all that's on my mind is Thanksgiving!  I am so excited for a little getaway, new trails to run on, maybe more rest & more workouts than usually afforded in a work week.  Thanksgiving tends to be such a food-centered holiday.  America plans to wear their "stretchy pants" to the feast and gorge themselves uncomfortably and painfully full.  Our "I'm full" valves don't function on the last Thursday of November.  I've been thinking a lot about it, thinking of what my strategy is going to be that day around all my mother-in-law's yummy goodness and sinfully scrumptious dishes.  Obviously we could all get in some extra workouts and having a Thanksgiving feast not affect us much in the weight department. But it bugs me about myself that at such a family schmorgusboard as Thanksgiving, I make myself uncomfortable.  I want to be comfortable.  I want to not be clutching my tummy.  A good taste of everything should be great. So for this Thanksgiving, I am going to enjoy with thankfulness and happiness a serving spoon of everything, but that's it.  No mountain 'o guilt piled high on this plate.  The holiday is not about the food.  It's about spending time with family & friends, about sharing your blessings, about recognizing the little things in life that bring you joy.  What are your strategies and thoughts?

Here are some non-food-centered ways that you can really celebrate Thanksgiving in a spirit of gratitude this year:

1. Make a Thankful Turkey: From Meghan, "Every November I make a "Thankful Turkey". It's simply an empty tissue box decorated to look like a turkey with a slit in the top for you to put papers inside. We sit the turkey in the center of the kitchen table with a tiny stack of small papers and a pen next to it. The idea is to write down things you are thankful for and slip the paper into the turkey. Whenever we think of something, we slip it into the turkey. On Thanksgiving, we "carve" the turkey and read aloud all the things we are grateful for. It's a lot of fun!You are all inside my turkey waiting to be read aloud on Thanksgiving Day!

2. Take a Thankful Walk (& continue this throughout the year): From Jon Gordon, "Take a simple 10-minute walk each day and say out loud what you are thankful for. This will set you up for a positive day."  Maybe you could take your families out for a group Thankful Walk!

Fill your heart with gratitude and you'll be healthier!!!!  Here's an excerpt from an article/newsletter from Jon Gordon, a motivational author & corporate consultant, positivity guru, & whose idea the Thankful Walk was up above: "THANK YOU. They are two words that have the power to transform our health, happiness, athletic performance and success. Research shows that grateful people are happier and more likely to maintain good friendships. A state of gratitude, according to research by the Institute of HeartMath, also improves the heart's rhythmic functioning, which helps us to reduce stress, think more clearly under pressure and heal physically. It's actually physiologically impossible to be stressed and thankful at the same time. When you are grateful you flood your body and brain with emotions and endorphins that uplift and energize you rather than the stress hormones that drain you. Gratitude is like muscle. The more we do with it the stronger it gets."

Did you know there were so many health benefits to being grateful?  Slap that smile on your face, lace up those gym shoes, and revel in all of those blessings in your lives, INCLUDING an amazing body with wonderful potential for strength and willpower.  And of course, who couldn't use more endorphins?!? :)  Have a fantastic day, ladies!

Day One!

Good morning, ladies!  (Usually this will be posted earlier in the morning than today- by 7 am)  I am so excited to start up this new challenge!  There are some pretty awesome new challengers, so check them out on the right side-bar.  I hope you all read the previous post about instructions for getting started- but let me know if you have questions or if you're having a hard time getting the My Fitness Pal profile set up or finding the badge code.  I'd be happy to walk you through it.  This morning you should have weighed in before breakfast if possible, and measured whatever body parts you want to monitor (we'll measure every 3 weeks only, and weigh in every Monday).  Enter in your starting values in My Fitness Pal.  If you didn't this morning, no problem, try it tomorrow morning.  Check out the link on the left sidebar for accurately weighing and measuring yourself.  And at any time when you're on this challenge and it's your time of the month, do yourself a favor and don't step on the scale.  Still be good and work hard of course, but just wait and report bigger #s the following week :)  The My Fitness Pal (MFP) is kind of a free version of a weight-watchers calorie counting system with a big database of foods and exercises (& of course you can add your own).  You'll see you can eat whatever you want as long as you account for it.  Whatever calories you burn in exercise you get to eat over and above your daily calorie allottment goal.  And over time you'll learn the more wholesome or nutrient-rich your food choices are, the more bang of energy and satisfaction you get for each calorie.  It will be a journey of learning and adjusting your body to a healthy lifestyle.  Accept now that it won't be without stumbling blocks, plateaus, learning mistakes, etc.  A healthy lifestyle change or a weight loss kept off for life journey is a marathon, not a sprint. 

I love the mantra "Challenge Your Excuses."  This is vinyl lettering on the wall of my office.  It's positioned right next to a mirror for maximum in-your-face-ness and self reflection :)  If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got.  Each of us has excuses for why we didn't get fit before.  Some of ours are the same; some are unique to our individual life.  "I'm too tired to workout." "My job is too stressful to eat healthy foods." "Fast food is so much easier than cooking." "My kids only eat junk food." "I will do it tomorrow." Figure out what your excuses are.  Maybe write them down.  Then make the consious decision to challenge them.  We make our own stumbling blocks and only we can overcome them.  Challenge your excuses every day.  It's a decision every day when you wake up.  Are you going to let your excuses win or are you going to beat them?  Believe in yourself and in your capacity to beat them- because I know you can ;) We were designed to be in control of our bodies, not the other way around, not to be constant victims of our bodies' whims & cravings.

The BEST thing about this free little group blog is that we're all in the same boat.  We're all working to get fit, to let our healthy selves find the way to the surface, and to find that sometimes ellusive self-confidence that hides behind the pounds.  Encourage each other.  You'll get to know the other challengers a little bit, what they struggle with, what they are doing that works, etc.  Celebrate in their successes, be happy for each other, pump each other up.  Know that we can't wait to hear all of your joys and little milestones.  Swap ideas, recipes, tips, & tricks with each other.  There's really only one rule- try to keep comments on here as positive as possible.  If you're having a horrible, rotten, good for nothing kind of day, perhaps your describing in detail the ooey-gooey five pizzas you downed all by yourself might not be that uplifting for all of us.  Attitudes are contagious.  We all have bad days.  Still try to find something little that you can say to build yourself up or others up.  Or just sit back and let the spirits of the other challengers lift you up.  You'll all come and go in cycles.  Sometimes you're up and you help lift others up.  Sometimes you're down and you are lifted up by others.  But that is why this group is so awesome, and why I think this group works so well.  We're all on hear waiting to hear how you're doing!  We're uplifting each other and keeping ourselves accountable for what we said we were going to do.  In light of Thanksgiving, here's a little excerpt from an anonymous Thanksgiving poem I recently received, that made me think of this challenge just starting up fresh and the need to challenge our excuses and be happy on this journey:

Be thankful for your limitations because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary because it means you’ve made a difference.

So anyways, that being said, here we go! Day 1!  How are you feeling?  Are you excited!!!!????  Please share with us all by commenting on this post why  it is that you want to lose your weight goal in this challenge (even if you shared it with us in previous sessions).  What are you going to feel like when you hit this goal?  What is your motivation?

Next Challenge!

Time to start up fresh our next Ten in Six Challenge on Monday, November 23rd! 

The Ten in Six Challenge is a friendly & free blog support group for positive women looking to lose 10 lbs in 6 weeks (or other fitness goals). The idea is there is a post each day with an article, study, quote, tip, discussion starter, etc. and then the particpants in the challenge will comment on it daily or as often as they want. We hold each other accountable to our stated goals and committments. We cheer each other on, offer support during each other's challenges, answer each other's questions, share our ideas and tricks, and celebrate our collective successes. Each time someone comments, you will be emailed it, thus keeping our challenge and healthy encouragement at the forefront of your thoughts throughout each day. This next Ten in Six Challenge will run from Monday 11/23 through Monday 1/4.  It may be the trickiest yet running through the holiday season! But I know you're up for the challenge :) Generally, Monday mornings are check-ins, Tuesdays are about motivation, Wednesdays are snack and recipe swapping, Thursday are about workouts, and Fridays are about motivation. There is nothing about fad diets here, it's just slow go lifestyle changes of watching calories and burning calories.

Interested in possibly joining our challenge? We'd love to have you! Check out the set up instructions below:

1. Create a free personal profile on the My Fitness Pal website. This is what you'll use to enter in your goals, weight, measurements, calories consumed, calories burned, etc. If you already have a profile, zero it out by deleting the past weight measurements (Click "Home, "Click "Check in," Click "Edit Past Entries," at bottom, delete all old entries).

2. When you're in the My Fitness Pal profile, click on the tab that's called "Tools." Then click on the link in the middle of the page that says "Get Your Personalized Weight Loss Badge Now." Then the second badge on the left down from the top, copy & paste that code to me in an email.

3. Email me (sarah.a.weight at hotmail dot com) your first name (or screen name if you want to stay anonymous), badge code, and what you want in your little bio on the right side bar. I'd love to see what your favorite workout is, what your favorite healthy snack is, what your goal for this challenge is, and what your reward will be when you succeed (non-food). Also let me know if you want your email address added to the blog so that whenever another challenger posts, it goes straight into your email inbox (THIS IS FULL AS OF 11/18). I am however limited to 10 email addresses, so first come first serve.  The other option is to just be emailed once per day when I make a daily post, again limited to 10 email addresses (THIS HAS 6 AVAILABLE  AS OF 11/18).

4. On the morning of Monday, November 23rd, log into your My Fitness Pal profile and enter your starting weight and all the starting measurements you want to (read the instructions for the link on the left of the blog that says "How to Accurately Weight & Measure Yourself"). Start tracking calories consumed & calories burned through workouts. Check in daily to the blog here to let us know how it's going, what you're up to, share your successes & encouragement, etc. I'll ask for specific things in the posts for you to add your comment on or to check-in on, too.

Other things to note: Weights will be private (unless you want to share) b/c we'll just be reporting how much weight and how many inches we drop; no one will know the starting #s. No references to last names for security purposes please, or neighborhoods you live in, or which trail you're going to be running on at a specific time in the future, etc. Just be smart. I don't want to have to go private with the blog. Let me know your favorite songs on your workout play list and I'll add them to the workout playlist playing at the bottom of the blog. I will also be doing 2 side challenges (one the second week and one the fourth week) for fun prizes. There is a "topics cloud" over on the left sidebar- click on any of the topics and it will take you to a list of the posts that discuss that topic. The bigger the font on it, the more posts there are about that topic.

If you were on the last Ten in Six Challenge and want to continue, just remember to zero out your info & send me any updates you want to your bio and what your new reward is going to be :)

If you were on the last Ten in Six Challenge and DON'T want to continue, just let me know and I'll delete off your bio, badge, & email address for comments posted.

So go out and get all your girlfriends, moms, sisters, etc. to jump on the challenge here and decide now to challenge their excuses and reach the fitness goals they want to hit! I am so excited for this to start up a fresh round :) Let me know if something's unclear in the instructions above.

Final Check-in!

It's the end of our 6 week challenge- how did everyone do? Both this
week and all around? I hope you are happy with your outcome :) Love
you all and have a wonderful day feeling invincibly proud of
yourselves!!!!!

Reflection Friday

"I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday." -Abraham Lincoln

It's our last weekend of this challenge!  Based on Amy C.'s comment earlier this week about how her thought processes have changed when she thinks more now about what she's going to eat, I'd love to hear all of your reflections on how your body and your mind have changed over the last almost 6 weeks.  How is the new you different from the old you?  What have you changed about the way you think about healthy living?

Check out this article about changing our thought processes to effectively lose weight and keep it off: The Weight Loss Solution: Think Thin.

What do you like or not like about this article? Anything you can pick out that applies to your situation specifically?

I liked these especially:

• "When [they] reach a plateau or lose motivation, ... welcome the opportunity to ... be honest with themselves about the areas in which they can do better. Since hurdles and dwindling motivation are certain to happen both at camp and at home, teens learn creative ways to reconnect with their goals and experiment with new weight loss strategies." 
• "Negative affirmations can be replaced with a new, encouraging internal dialogue such as “It won’t be easy, but I can do it.”"
• "Thoughts lead to emotions, and emotions lead to actions...By changing the thought processes, we can control the bingeing and emotional eating. That is the process of lifestyle change." 
• But the best of all is ths one: "Long-term weight loss is as much about thinking thin as it is about looking thin." 

So what do you think it means to "think thin?"

Make it a phenomenal weekend, you thin hottie you :)

Feel the Burn Thursday!

"Believe that you can run father or faster.  Believe that you're young enough, old enough, strong enough, and so on to accomplish everything you want to do.  Don't let worn out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself."    -John Bingham, "Tools and Rules," Runner's World

Sub in whatever workout you like doing for the word "run" in the quote above, and you could sub in "excuses" for "worn out beliefs."  Believe you can do it and do it :)  Amy C., I'm so happy you were able to be an inspiration for your nurses group! 

How are the Pushups & Situps challenges going for you?  My knee pushups are getting harder, that's for sure, but I'm proud to say I've made a lot of progress in my arm and shoulder strength :)

So you may have heard that strength training, resistance training, or weight lifting will increase your metabolism and cause you to burn more calories while resting- heck I even posted an article about that at the beginning of this challenge- sorry.  Well, it kind of will, but just a couple calories more, nothing huge.  This really cool article points out that it's a myth that 40 mins of strength training will burn more calories than cardio work, but the real kicker for losing weight is reducing your calorie intake and getting in great runs/walks/cardio.  This article points out that it's a myth that you can weight train away a specific spot (i.e. saddlebags, spare tire, etc.), but that fat loss actually is a body-wide thing.  Weight train and do cardio for your entire body and you'll see the results.  This article points out that weight lifting or resistannce training is important to maintain your lean muscle while dieting, but that it's not the sole solution for weight loss.  You've got to still get in great sweaty cardio sessions and reduce your calorie intake. 

So, the bottom line?  We all are AMAZING with our 1) watching our calorie intake, 2) watching our calorie expenditures in workouts and 3) toning our bodies/preserving muscles with pushups and situps. 

Keep on rocking, ladies!  You're all doing so great!

Whatcha Eatin' Wednesday

Good morning, ladies!  Thanks for all your wonderful comments and also for voting in the poll.  Looks like 11/23 is winning by a landslide, but we'll wait and see what it looks like come Monday.  I came across this saying in a John Maxwell book and thought it was neat, "Pessimists and optimists usually get what they expect."  So what are you expecting out of this last week of the challenge?  And similarly, about our interactions in our day being positive or negative, "Your interaction with others sets the tone of your day.  It's like the music of your life.  When your interaction with others is poor, it's like having to listen to cacophonous music.  But when you place a high value on people and you treat them well, it's like listening to a sweet melody as you go through your day."  I for one love the interactions on this blog.  When I'm on here, or when I read your comments, it's like my tank is getting refueled.  But then when I turn away from the computer screen and back into real life....well...sometimes it's hard to remember positive vibes.  Sometimes the resolve and determination are clouded out.  Try really hard today to carry the positive feelings you get from this group of awesome ladies out into the rest of your day.  Share with us how you find ways to do that!

Ok, onto the yummy healthy goodness :)  Share what you've been eating lately or share a good recipe!  I'm trying Kim's shredded chicken this week w/ avocado, lettuce, and black beans in whole wheat tortillas w/ fresh lime juice.  There are 2 recipes here that I wanted to share that I've done in the past and just put on the menu for this week (went grocery shopping last night:) ).

Steak Salad w/ Lemon Walnut Vinaigrette
(originally from Shape or Fitness this spring)
3 oz steak
1 lemon juiced
1 T olive oil
2 T walnuts
1 t dijon mustard
3 cups baby spinach
Grill or broil steak until it reaches about 160 degrees F (medium done) and slice.  In a food processor (I use the magic bullet) pulse the lemon juice, walnuts, and mustard until smooth.  Toss spinach and steak slices with dressing.  Serve w/ whole grain roll. (Serves 1)

Chile Chicken and Basil
(originally from Men's Health in March 2009)
1 lb boneoless, skinless chicken breast
2 serrano chiles
1 t soy sauce
2 cups fresh basil
1 T fish sauce (I left this out)
3 cloves garlic
1/2 T peanut oil or canola oil (I used sesame oil)
1 t sugar
1 tsp fresh cracked pepper
1/2 T red chili paste
Brown rice
Whole-wheat tortillas
Chop the garlic and chiles finely.  Then use the side of your knife to press them together into a rough paste. Add a pinch of salt to make this process easier.  Preheat a wok or stainless-steel saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add the oil and the garlic-chile paste you just made and fry for 2-3 minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic.  Chop the chicken into small pieces and add them to the pan, cooking them until they're lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes.  Add the soy sauce, fish sauce, chili paste, and sugar- continue to cook until the chicken is done all the way through, another 3-4 minutes.  Add the pepper and basil and cook until the basil is just wilted, about 2 minutes.  Serve immediately.  Makes 4 servings. Serve with 1/2 each of steamed bok choy and prepared brown rice (I serve w/ brown rice & tortillas instead, eaten fajita style).

Can't wait to hear what yummies you ladies have been up to!

Tuesday Motivation

We all fight our own battles, but check out this article about getting back on the bandwagon after a setback: Dieting Setbacks: How to Get Back on Track After Regaining Weight.  Again, the best measurements of progress are not the scale but the way clothes fit and how your body measures.  Don't despair if you've gained- we all have weeks like that.  Don't use one rough weigh-in as an excuse to let the whole week spiral down the loo- you can start fresh right away.  You are in charge of your decisions and your body.  Don't be so rough on yourself- you're all pretty darn awesome :)  It's a marathon, not a sprint.  She who holds on longest will hit her goals and find success :)  Here's to a great last week!!!!!

Monday Check-in

End of 5 weeks! I can't believe how fast it's flown. How have you
done this past week? Did you have a good weekend? Can't wait to
hear!!!