Neck Shots

I was just thinking it's been a while since I took pictures. Like maybe a week or so ;) This is my summer look. I found these hair bands at Old Navy. They tie in the back and you can make the band really wide or really thin. I have been wearing them when I run and pretty much all the time. Love them!

Confession: Sometimes I just stare at my neck in the mirror. I turn my head all different directions and simply admire the lines that never used to be visible. I know, weird. Weird, but fascinating.

Here are my trackers from the last 3 days:

I'm glad this challenge is starting tomorrow! Tonight--I toss the zucchini bread.

Ready for a Challenge?

Okay. I thought I had learned my lesson about doing month-long challenges. Lesson (I thought I) learned: I never finish them. Well, that's true. But does that mean I should quit trying to do them? I guess I don't think so because I am going to do a June challenge and I'm inviting everyone reading to join!

I read along as Josie did a challenge for the month of May: 30 for 30 (30 minutes of exercise, everyday, for 30 days) I decided to sit out on that one because it is very difficult for me to workout EVERY single day with my husband's schedule and my lack of will-power to do a video or treadmill with the kids at home.  So, I didn't do it.

But I think the eating well challenge will be great for me. Yes it is a pretty big deal to commit to 30 days of this. Not "most days of the week" but 30 days! But I don't think it's an unreasonable expectation to set for myself. After all, that is the ultimate goal for me--to make eating well, everyday, the norm. I love the terms of the challenge, basically whatever "eating well" is for you, that is what you are challenged to do for 30 days. For me that will mean:

1. Posting a tracker for every day in June
2. No more than one 'up' or 'down' arrow per tracker
3. Only choosing foods of my "Choose Often" list

Wow. That is really raising the bar for me. But I am ready to commit to this challenge. I have been doing the tracker faithfully for the past few weeks. That's been like a warm-up. Now it's time to focus even more on the content of the tracker and really strive to hit all of the elements precisely.

So that's what 30 days of Eating Well is going to look like for me. What would it look like for you? Would you like to join the challenge? Read about it in more detail here.

I think a challenge like this is good for two reasons:

1) Accountability: We can check-in every week at Josie's blog. We can post about the terms of our challenge on our blog. We can lay it all out there and then BAM! Instant accountability. (Knowing that I am going to have to post my tracker has saved me from several binges!) Accountability is something that we all need to be successful.

2) Encouragement: If accountability is the chocolate cookie part of an Oreo, encouragement is the white stuff. They just go together. Josie is a great encourager, has always been to me, so you can be sure to find that on her blog throughout the challenge. We will also have the opportunity to encourage others who are committing to the challenge. There is something special and helpful about encouraging others. We are made to give as well as receive encouragement.

Tomorrow is June 1st. Thirty days later it will be July 1st. I challenge you to make those thirty days count. Head on over to Finding It and accept the challenge! And please pray for me--I really want to succeed at this challenge! I will do the same for you :)

Stop and Pull the Onions

Another weekend...come and gone. Well, almost. Most of us still have a tough day tomorrow to get through. But I was just thinking, it's kind of silly and sad that every holiday (which usually exists to honor or celebrate something wonderful) has to be such an obstacle. I'm always talking about how I'm going to "get through" it. Tomorrow I am going to an all-afternoon party and plan to take a big salad to contribute. I'm going to stay away from the snack table and enjoy the celebration.

"Do or do not...there is no try." -Yoda

The past two days have been pretty funny on the tracker. I have eaten a lot of "extra calories" but I have exercised every day and I'm feeling great. I'm sorry to keep bringing up the tracker BUT...It is helping me stay in control. When I write down what I ate after each meal, even the really bad ones, it helps me adjust what I eat for the following meals. I think because I see that it's actually not as bad as it seems, that  I'm less likely to blow it the rest of the day. I see that it's salvageable and I salvage.

Here are Saturday and Sunday tracker:

As you can read in the notes section of the Sunday tracker--the church potluck got me! I don't really regret it though. I haven't had a piece of the real-deal fried chicken in a couple years and let me tell ya, it was finger lickin' good. I went and ran it all off and finished with a gigantic smoothie. No more food tonight!

Something happened on my run that I thought was really funny. To preface, yesterday I had been to my aunt's garden where I was gifted with a huge sack of fresh veggies. YAY! But when I was standing in the garden I noticed the onion plants looked very much like some weeds I always see on a particular route that I run. So this afternoon I went that route and when I got to the weeds I stopped and tried to pull one. It took a while but finally it came up. Low and behold! It was an onion! The whole road is lined with them and it's out in the country so they are just wild onions. They were there last year, too, I just didn't know what they were. I thought that was so cool.

Happy Memorial Day. Buckle up!

Shopping, Snake & Shower

I made these tonight since I was cooking for one! No one else in my family would eat them :( So filling and delicious. 

Had a great run this morning, did some marathon shopping with my 2 year-old, found a snake in the chicken coop and took one of my epic "big showers" (where I do everything: shave, wash and condition hair, exfoliate, scrub feet, moisturize...and more!) Now I am watching episode 17 of Glee on Netflicks and about to hit the hay.

Tomorrow presents the challenge of lunch out. I will survive...

Small Change, Big Difference

I have to say, I was really scared of making the decision to post my tracker everyday. I thought I would have a very difficult time making myself do it. While there have been a couple of days I really didn't want to, for the most part I am actually enjoying it.

I know from my experience in the education field that we all learn in different ways. Every person processes information uniquely and in order to maximize student potential, it is best to be sensitive to each unique style. Herein lies the challenge of being a great teacher.

In the case with the tracker, my brain needed a different layout to record and track what I am eating throughout the day for me to want to use it. The tracker I created has nearly the exact same content as the one I have been using for so long but it is simply arranged differently. Simple--make it work for you!

When someone asks "What is the best kind of exercise for me to do?" The answer is so easy. Do the exercise that you WILL do. Same here--arrange your tracker so that you WILL use it. I never would have guessed such a small change could make such a big difference.

 

What is just not working for you right now? What small change could you make? Small change could = a BIG difference. Think about it and let us know!