Freeze Tag!

Friday, March 16, 2012

I went to the gym today and you know what, we have one of those annoying 18 year old trainers who finds ways for you to improve every move you make. Boy is he a pest. Okay, okay, he is helpful, but now my back and shoulders are screaming at me. They want me to run and hide the next time we see him coming around the corner. If he wasn't such a nice guy, we might even stick our tongue at him.

I think I got just as much of a workout in tonight playing freeze-tag at the teen night though and I may have even stuck my tongue out at a person or two. We had a blast. No one wanted to stop when the game was over. I'm so glad. That will keep them coming back.

breakfast: spelt bread, coconut oil, thin salami, cucumber, actimel

snack: celery, peanut butter, craisins, fat free cream cheese

lunch: 1oz corn chips, .5 cup lentils and rice, tomatoes, lettuce, bell peppers, 1 slice low fat cheese, jalapeņos, 2 Tbs Low fat Quark (mixed with water till smooth) , seltzer

snack: cappuccino, quinoa sandwich cookie ( 104 cal ), nuts - and my daughter's little visitor to keep me company

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Triggers - Assignment #4

Thursday, March 15, 2012

It has only been recently that I have noticed that I do have an emotional trigger. When I am stressed, I am too busy to eat. When we have company, I can't talk with my mouth full, so I don't eat much. When I am angry, I don't have any appetite. However, when I am hurt, I have a pity party and look to food to make me feel better. I never thought I was an emotional eater, but when it comes to this one emotion, I am.

Food triggers - Oh my. Have you noticed that Easter is just around the corner. Thankfully, my all-time favorite candy is not available here and we are rarely in the states at Easter time, so that is one trigger that I won't have to tackle any time soon. Another trigger though is candy coated or chocolate coated nuts. And they are everywhere right now. They are multiplying like Easter Bunnies and popping up in every aisle of every store I have been in during the past two weeks. So far, so good. I just keep chanting "100% compliance, 100% compliance" as I march right past them. I am not going to lie to myself and say that I can just have a couple each day. Nope! Been there. Tried that. Failed. Not this time.

My other trigger is onions. When I have onions, I want my favorite soda to go with them. So, I generally avoid raw onions. Too bad since they are so good for you. But I know as long as that onion taste lingers in my mouth, so will the craving for a sugary drink. I have had some success with drinking seltzer instead though. But, that is why you will never see onion on my tacos or in my salads. Maybe one day, somewhere down the line, but not today or tomorrow.

Breakfast: the usual- 2 pieces spelt bread, plum fruit spread, coconut oil, ham, cucumbers, actimel

morning snack: green tea, celery, peanut butter, fat free cream cheese, cranberries I had fun making these for the head of our health food co-op today. Yesterday when I picked up my order she asked me what I do with the celery since she had never eaten it before. So, this morning, when I made my snack, I made a stalk for her too and dropped it off on my way to teach. I am looking forward to hearing how she liked it.

lunch: wrap- 4slices ultra thin turkey salami (58 cal), tortilla (120 cal), cream cheese ( 30 ) lettuce, turkey (42) red bell peppers, 1oz tortilla chips, seltzer, small tangerine

snack: coffee, soy milk, quinoa-cocoa cookies (117 cal) macadamia cream (60 cal)

dinner: bean and rice soft taco, seltzer

Thankful today for:
-dd got her acceptance letter for the high school of her choice
-2 new students
-my kitchen media center

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Assignment #3

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Pre-challenge assignment #3 asks me to list all the reasons I want to lose weight.

During the next 8 weeks, I want to lose inches and be able to comfortably buy some new jeans. Lets just say the ones I have, have seen better days, but I keep putting off buying new ones because I want to lose weight first.

I need to make my supplements a habit again. I know from experience that when I take them, I feel more rested. I have more energy. My gout doesn't flair up. This is what I want. The strategy that I used before isn't working anymore. As our life and schedule has changed, the habit of taking my vitamins got lost on the sideline. I am going to take them each day with my morning snack and again with my afternoon snack. At mealtime, I am focused on the rest of the family, but snack time is MY TIME, so I should be able to work them in a little easier.

I want to be able to jump rope 100X without messing up. I am up to 37 right now. When I was a kid, I couldn't jump rope to save my life. When I was in high school, I finally learned how to really jump rope and I loved it. It has been a long time since I did that though. So, I started jumping rope with my baseball kids. I challenge them and we jump together. They are getting better and so am I. Our best teammate got up to 21 on Monday. Now, I just need to make sure I stay ahead of him.

I want to reach 20,000 steps on my pedometer 3-4 times a week and 10,000 on the other days.

I want to burn 3000 calories 3 days a week.

I want to prove to that guy at the gym that I really can do it!

I want to model a healthy lifestyle for my kids so that they don't struggle with the same issues when they grow up.

Today's meals:

breakfast: oatmeal, apples, cinnamon, actimel

snack time: coffee, soy milk, 2 oreos

lunch: veggie pizza (350 cal) added ham, mushrooms, green peppers, tomatoes, side salad with olive oil and apple cider vinegar

supper: bruschetta mushrooms recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detai
l.asp?recipe=651249 , ciabatta with brushetta recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detai
l.asp?recipe=715060 Check out these huge, gorgeous mushrooms that they had at the market today. Woo Hoo! Three of us loved these mushrooms. The other ones got some chicken. My girls picked these up and ate them like cheeseburgers. When I first picked up these mushrooms, I was thinking of carb-free pizzas, but these were so good. My ds said he wasn't really hungry for supper until he started eating and then it was so good, he couldn't get enough. Ah, music to my ears.

Thankful today for:
-huge mushrooms
-yummy garlic
-muscle rub - Ah!

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Assignment #1

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

I'm a little late getting started on my Spring Challenge assignments, but better late than never. Here goes!

All exercise and diet equipment is dusted off and ready to go.

My exercise plan:

Mondays: dance aerobics + 15 minutes rowing + 10 min stretching
Tuesdays: at least 30 minutes of walking, running and/or rebounder
Wednesdays: strength training + cardio at the gym
Thursdays: at least 30 minutes of walking, running and/or rebounder
Fridays: pilates at the gym + cardio
Saturdays: nordic walking, family fitness fun
Sundays: day of rest

I will be following the MyLine diet plan. Ordered lots of goodies from the health food co-op. REady to go.

I will be connecting with my fellow teammates via friend feed and blogs at least once a day.

Will post at least 3 reasons to be thankful each day.

Will post pics of my 5 meals each day - must stay accountable!

Thankful today for:
-patient teachers
-ibuprofen!
-Freedom!

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Evolution of the Salad Bowl

Thursday, March 08, 2012

Years ago, when our kids were little and we started adding salad to the meals, we used a small mixing bowl to mix up our salads. Then, at some point, we upgraded to a real "salad bowl". This past summer I began to realize that we were outgrowing our "salad bowl". I didn't want to have to buy another, bigger bowl, so I had to be a little creative and serve salads "buffet style". Tonight it hit me, if our soup pot is big enough to feed all of us, it should work great for salad as well. Perfect! Though I laughed when I carried it to the table and dd asked if she should get a trivet to put it on.

I am so thankful that my kids eat salad for supper and don't think that is weird.

breakfast: the usual

snack: spelt bread, coconut oil, boiled egg, cappuccino - notice the heart on top - Hubby made it for me in honor of International Ladies' Day. So sweet.

lunch: spaghetti, lean beef, fresh sauce, sprinkled mozz, green tea

afternoon snack: apple, cream cheese, peanut butter, cinnamon, green tea

Okay, now here is where the day turned sweet and sour.
International Ladies' Day is celebrated here in all the stores and anywhere you go in public today. Unbeknownst to me, one of the classes at school yesterday had a little flea market targeted at offering the kids things that they could give as gifts on "Ladies' Day". My Princess Arwen bought me a snack-time gift. It was so sweet and I was blown away by her thoughtfulness. The sour part . . . I had already had my afternoon snack, but didn't have the heart to turn her gift down. Needless to say, I was busting at the seems when I went to teach my afternoon classes. Remedy: salad for supper.



supper: corn salad, ham, feta cheese, tomatoes, peppers, iceberg lettuce, olive oil, apple cider vinegar

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