Healthy You 2008 Challenge Week Four

Ohmy goodness! I forgot to check in on week four (my 2nd week) of the plan! My son’s friend was killed in a car accident and his memorial service was on Tuesday. Now there is something that takes your breath away. Life can change in an instant. Friends since kindergarden, the boys graduated high school in June of 2006…. young men, 20 year olds, not really boys… but when you think about the shortness of his life… he was a boy. 

Earlier this week my 22 year old (boy with the broken heart), announced he’s moving out to the midwest. Ohmy goodness… I have mixed emotions here. First of all, he took a break from college. I want him to complete his degree before he completely leaves the nest, but I can see that isn’t happening this next year. He’s leaving a very good job…  I know he can go out there and find something in his field, so that doesn’t concern me as much as it seems.  I don’t want to be an over bearing mom, I’ve let my children do what they think they need to do. So I’m not saying much to him about this. I expressed my opinion to him, and I think that’s the best I can do right now. It didn’t change his mind. He’s packing up his belongings and heading east in a few short weeks.

I’m not anywhere near meeting my challenges this week. I could easily blame it on stress. But the plain truth is, I simply didn’t try to stay with the program. I wonder why I have this mentality… when I go off plan with one food item, all of a sudden I think, well I blew it today, so I can have whatever I want to eat the rest of the day.  I know it’s something I need to work on. I haven’t figured out a sollution for the problem.

I have been getting in more exercise, but 30 minutes straight hasn’t worked out very well this week. Partially because I think I’m somewhat depressed. I’d rather stay in bed… curled up with my fluffy comforters and a good book or watching television. I have a real ‘take me away from it all’ mentality this week. However, I make myself get up, shower, and get ready for my day as if I’m heading out the door to go to something important. Right now, I wish I wasn’t a stay at home mom… I wish I had something I had to go do every single day. Sitting home alone sure isn’t working out for me right now. 

Okay, enough of the pity party. I’m going to take my fat butt out of this chair and go work off some of this stress… 

Oh and while I think about it,  Join with thousands of women, companies and organizations and cities across America on National Wear Red Day, Friday, February 1, 2008… tomorrow! Ha… maybe I’ll put on my red dress and hit the mall tomorrow. That sounds like a plan to me!

A Bowl Full of Orgnanic Flax Omega-3 and Fiber

It’s Nature’s Path Organic Flax Plus Raisin Bran. Oh doesn’t that just sound yummy. Every time I see that box of cereal in my kitchen pantry, I wonder why… what on earth was I thinking when I bought that stuff. 

Let me tell ya, I didn’t want to open the package this morning… but then again… I was curious. Curiosity always gets me. 

After reading the nutrition label, I was a little surprised that I actually liked this cold cereal.  Eleven grams of fiber  and 650mg omega 3’s in one little 3/4 cup of cereal. I thought this is way too good to be true… it’s far too healthy to taste good. I figured it would taste like a bowl of shredded wood chips and powdered vitamins. But it’s pretty good. The bran flakes are thicker than the post bran flakes. There aren’t a whole lot of raisins, but just enough to add a little sweetness. It didn’t get all mushy in the milk. It’s a keeper in my breakfast menu.

I think it was actually the flax in the cereal that got me. So there ya go, add flax to anything and I’ll buy it.

Healthy You 2008 Challenge Week One

Well, let me see what did I do this past week…

First of all, I’m not weighing in this week. I stepped on the scale a few days ago and I was thrilled with the results. But as far as that goes, my main focus here isn’t about losing the weight. I know if I continue to get up and move on the commercial breaks… and work out on a regular basis, the weight will come off.  After giving it some consideration, I have decided to weigh in on the first Tuesday of each month. 

For the most part I stuck with my plan. I’ve cut out most white foods. White flour, meaning soft white bread sandwiches are off the list, white pasta is off the list, and most anything from the  bakery is off the list. But I found some good whole wheat and nut bread I like. That is one trade off I enjoy! Whole wheat pasta… well, I’m not so hooked on it, but I’m willing to try out different varieties. Surely there will be one I like.

I didn’t stick with the no white rice this week. We had take out teriyaki one night. I didn’t have the extra sauce, but I did eat about half the rice served with my meal. As far as the soda… okay. One day I had soda. Why? It wasn’t even that great. Diet Dr. Pepper just doesn’t do it for me. I don’t think that will be a problem in the future. Now, regular Pepsi, Mt. Dew, or Dr Pepper might be a problem, but not the diet stuff.

I’ve done got up and moved… and that’s my main goal. I feel good about my first week!

Week #2 goals:

• ZERO soda
• Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.
• Cut out the white stuff… sugar, white flour, white rice, white potatoes
• Enjoy the exercise! 30 minutes 3x this week added to my regular commercial breaks!

Okay, I’m off! I hope to visit several of my fellow challengers! I love the encouragement I’ve received so far, not only here on my own blog, but I’m talking about the encouragement I have received from reading your posts. You are all so amazing to me! Thanks!

Eating Out

Well, my son’s birthday party was postponed… of all the cruel things, a girl broke his heart on his birthday. She knew today was his birthday, but she chose to break the news of her seeing someone else today. So my kiddo called me and asked me to cancel. He didn’t want to see anyone tonight. He came home and crashed into bed for awhile. Later he was feeling somewhat better. We ended  up with us all going out to dinner.

This is the 2nd night in a row we’ve eaten out. I think I made great choices as far as the meal went. I had a small portion of lean meat, and a couple servings of vegetables. Last night it was steamed broccoli and a salad, I brought the dessert home for my son to enjoy. Tonight it was a variety of vegetables and a lot of them. Dessert wasn’t included in tonight’s dinner. Oh thank goodness. The way I was feeling, I probably would have eaten mine and my hubby’s dessert. Both nights  I went with water as my drink. So far so good!

I made it through a stressful day without going off plan. Okay, so I still have a party to look forward to on Sunday. Now I’m feeling like I have what it takes to skip the dessert the rest of this weekend.  

Hopefully my son is actually looking forward to a party with friends and family.