And The Winners Are....

Congratulations to Kay, Heidi and Jaelynne for getting 100% of the points throughout the entire competition. That is amazing!! You three have definitely earned the 1st and 2nd place prizes to be divided between each of you.

Jen Matthews will be getting each of you your $136 prize. You all inspire me.

The 3rd place prize goes to.......Becky Pond! You truly were a motivation and inspiration to everyone.

Jen Matthews will be getting you your wonderful prize of $72.00.

Congratulations to everyone for completing the challenge and developing healthy habits.

If anyone is interested in doing another challenge just let me know, I have heard from a few of you that you would like to do another one. If you have ideas of things to do differently let me know that as well. With summer right around the corner I know I would like to set a few more goals myself.

Where did the time go?

I can't believe it's been 9 weeks! When we started March seemed so far away. I apologize for my disappearance. I didn't mean to be so incognito. The second week of the challenge, I found out I was pregnant. I knew I had a few weeks before the sickness set in and thought I would be okay. However, the farther into this I got the more sick I felt. I have been eating for survival only. I should be eating healthier for baby but I am eating anything and everything I can that doesn't make me nauseous or throw up-which is not much! I am so proud of how well everyone has done. It has been fun to stay connected and hear the challenges and triumphs. Thanks for all your inspiration and support!

On a side note-I have a friend who is hosting another challenge beginning in a couple of weeks. The rules are a bit different and so is the length. If any of you are interested in giving another one a try-let me know!

Congrats to you all for your individual successes!!

Health Challenge Wrap Up

This has been a wonderful and challenging 9 weeks. It seems to me that everyone really enjoyed the challenge and hopefully developed some new and healthy habits. I have been so inspired by everyone.

A few final items to wrap up.

1. Please submit your final points to me by tomorrow (Tuesday March 27th).
2. Please email me your vote for third place by tomorrow (Tuesday March 27th). My email is wardjen@ldschurch.org
   
3. Wednesday I will post the final winners!!!!

Thank you everyone for your words of encouragement and motivation.

Thank you!

I am so grateful that I participated in this challenge.  I thought this would be a perfect week for me, however life made other demands on my time AND someone slipped homemade rootbeer in my cup at the ward overnighter.  Dang, didn't give it a second thought.  Oh well.  I got in a lot of exercise that I know wouldn't have happened during these past 9 weeks, so thank you for hosting this challenge.  Good luck to all as you continue to pursue good health.

So, this is it!

I can't believe this is the end. This week's challenge was the easiest for me. It was something I didn't even think about. Every other challenge I have had to remind myself everyday what I have been doing and this week I would go days without ever thinking of it.

This has been a fun experience for me. I know the areas I need to work on and what I need to be more conscientious about. Thanks for including me in the challenge. Good luck to you all!!

I made it to the end!

What a Great Experience!

I am grateful I got to participate in this challenge.  It has been tough, but well worth it.  The lessons I have learned have changed my life.  I am so happy I am choosing better foods and portion sizes, and that I am moving more.  I am enjoying a quality of life that I wasn't before.  Thanks to each of you for your posts and comments.  I have learned from your thoughts and insights.  Good luck continuing on! 

Time Flies

I can't believe that we have been doing this for nine weeks! As I look back, I think the most helpful challenge for me was the first week--keeping a food journal. Myfitnesspal.com is invaluable in helping with this!! It really opened my eyes to the bad choices I was making.

Except for the no refined flour or sugar week, I actually enjoyed every challenge. My kids were also caught up in it..."what's your challenge this week mom?" "Mom, can I have some apple juice? You can't have it though because of your challenge!"

My husband really liked the veggies week. I'm not a huge fan of veggies--I serve at least one serving of them for dinner every night, but since we had to eat so many, I served more. He was in heaven. (I sure wish I liked them as much as he does!)

Thanks to all of you for your encouraging words and helpful posts. It really has been a pleasure!

IT'S ALMOST THE END...

This is the next to the last day, and in some ways it seems as though the entire challenge has lasted a long time, and in other ways it has flown by.   This has been my easiest week--I haven't had to think about drinking soda or juice because it is not a thing I do regularly.  I've been so grateful for this whole challenge--some things have been easier than others (as you all know), and it's especially great not to have to worry about the sleep thing at this point of my life!

I admire each of you and appreciate your perseverance and commitment--both to your own better health and to caring about one another.  It's been a privilege and a blessing.  Thanks.

Thank You

Thank you for letting me join your group and participate in the challenge. I can't believe the nine weeks are almost over. 

I have to admit that I am looking forward to eating and drinking and sleeping without thinking- Is this okay, or Is this enough?

Jen (Matthews) told me about the challenges that she has participated in, so I was excited when she asked me if I wanted to sign up this time.  Some of the weeks have been easier than others, but they have all been eye opening.  I have tried to incorporate all of the healthy habits (drink more water, eat more vegetables, get more sleep etc.) that we have experienced in the challenges into each week. The hardest has been finding time to get 5 hours of excercise. Now the challenge is to keep it up!

Good luck to all of you, and thanks again for letting me join your group.

What a headache

I had an AWFUL headache on Tuesday. Usually, one of the first things I do if I get a headache is drink something with caffeine in it because it sometimes seems to help. But this week I did not have that option. I'm not sure if it would have helped, but I didn't give in and just suffered through the day with a lot of laying down and a few ibuprofen.

Hello Healthy Women!

It has been such a blessing for me to be part of this challenge! A sincere thanks to each of you. I am trying out these new, healthy habits and exercising and feeling much better!

I am not much of a pop drinker but I have wanted juice this week, just because it is on the don't list!

My sister in law is a nurse and has told the pop drinkers in my family that before they drink pop they should drink a glass of water. She also says that it is better to drink the real thing and not the diet versions.

We know we need to drink water and when we drink pop we drink less water so be sure to get your water in and then try to keep the pop in moderation.

Keep up the great work ladies! I hope we keep doing these healthy things forever!!

Rebecca

FINALLY - An Easy Challenge For Me

I struggled again last week because I was on a road trip to AZ and whenever I visit my sister I try so hard to eat well but it was almost impossible to get that many veggies in each day. I did get that total in fruit and veggies every day but not veggies.

Now this week is a piece of cake for me. I gave up soda (specifically caffeine) about 7 years ago. I have never felt better. It was honestly the best thing I have ever done for my body. I also rarely drink juice so I am set there as well.

Best of luck everyone! For all you soda drinkers I highly recommend you keep it going after this week because the first few weeks are the worst. Then you will feel better, you will drop 3 pounds, and you will have twice as much.

With a Little Help From My Friends

I am so grateful I decided to participate in this health challenge.  It has really helped me see ways I can change my habits and improve my quality of life.  I can't believe we are to the last week!  Great job everyone.  We are almost there!

This past week, it was tough facing the fact that I needed to repeat last weeks challenge.  Monday morning, I was still lacking the determination I needed to press on when, Kay Little, my sweet neighbor and fellow challenge member, made and brought me a dozen delicious "kosher" muffins.  Her thoughtful act got me moving forward again.  Then, just an hour or two later, Rebecca Pond, another friend and fellow challenge member, called to let me know she was going to show her support by repeating the challenge with me.  I protested her insanity, but she insisted.  We both passed up some delicious looking homemade pie and ice cream at Relief Society.  What a friend to be there for me like that.

I hope I can be more like these ladies and reach out to others as they reached out to me.  I have felt an outpouring of love and support from my family, friends, and even those of you who only know me through this blog.  Thank you.

Let us all press on!

One more week. This is going to be the easiest of the challenges for me. My beverage of choice is water. I rarely drink soda and drink juice even less. I am amazed it is over after the coming week, it went much faster than I thought it would.

It has been a good thing for me, even though I have grumbled a ton!

Last week here I come! I am so excited for this week to start. This will be my easiest challenge so I think it's kind of perfect it's the last. It has been fun competing with you all.

That's a lot of vegetables

5 servings of vegetables is a lot!  I only got to 3 a couple of days, so low points for me.  But  I can honestly say that the $20 to join this challenge has been some of the best money I've ever spent.  It really has helped me to get out and exercise when, otherwise I probably wouldn't have.  I am feeling great and am noticing little changes in my body composition, which I love!!!  I can't believe how quickly these 8 weeks have gone and that we only have one challenge left.
I rarely drink soda or juice so this week will be pretty easy for me.  I wish you all luck.
And. . . my congratulations to those of you in the 260 point range--what an accomplishment!   That is truly awesome and amazing!

The anti-health challenge

This upcoming week my husband has stated that he is going for the anti-health challenge. That means he plans to drink even more sodas than he usually does. I'm sure he is going to love this week, because he always acts annoyed when I drink "his sodas". He has even got our daughter trained to tattle on me when I am drinking a soda or she says, "Mom! That's dad's drink."

Five a day!

I just finished feasting on my celery--I had thought this challenge would be a little easier than it has been.  I can probably truthfully say I rarely eat 5(!) vegetables a day.  One thing that helped is that I went shopping and got a number of different veggies that I really like--raw or cooked.  I used my left-over ranch dressing and dipped some of them in the dressing.  Hopefully I didn't overindulge in the "dipping."

Hope you all enjoyed the challenge...I'm actually looking forward to no soda or juice.  Since water week I have only had a few sips of soda!  Hope to continue that when we've completed the challenge.

Good luck to all. 

Happy Weekend

It is the weekend again.  I know it is just Friday, but the weekend starts as soon as everyone gets home from school on Friday afternoon.  I especially love the long weekends when we have Monday off.  (For those of you not living in the area, it is the end of the term in Davis County and there is no school on Monday.) However, it is harder for me to remember and stick with the challenge when I have my family home and my schedule is changed.  Meal times are not fixed like they are during the week and I have to be more aware of what I am eating-or not eating.

So, enjoy your long weekend-those of you with children home-pray for at least one sunny warm day, and enjoy your veggies.

A Healthier Cookie

Now that we can have sugar and white flour again, I wanted to share a cookie recipe that is a healthier choice. You can even make it without sugar if you use Splenda and natural peanut butter!

No-Bake Cookies

1/2 cup soft canola spread (butter will work too)
1 1/2 cups sugar (you can use Splenda)
3 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup low-fat milk
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups rolled oats

Mix the canola spread, sugar, cocoa, salt, and milk in a pan; cook on medium heat until the mixture comes to a full boil. Let the mixture boil for 90 seconds (no more!). Quickly remove from heat and add peanut butter, vanilla, and oats. Drop by spoonfuls onto aluminum foil or waxed paper. Let cool for 20 to 30 minutes or eat them warm with a spoon. Makes about 40 cookies.

These cookies are higher in fiber, protein,m and healthy mono-unsaturated fats than your average cookie. That doesn't mean you can eat a whole batch or that you should eat them on a regular basis, but it does mean you can enjoy a cookie here and there without the guilt.

Nutrients per cookie: 110 calories, 5 grams fat, 1 gram saturated fat, 1.5 grams fiber, 3 grams protein

Enjoy and keep up the good work!

Rebecca

A cup of carrots

I'm sitting here eating a cup of carrots while I compose this post. Such a difference from mere weeks ago when I sat at the computer eating chocolate!!

I've learned a lot about myself these past weeks. I committed to do this challenge with every intention of "slipping up" on the no sweets and no sugar/refined flour week. I just didn't think I had it in me to do it--by desire or willpower. It turns out that I do! And you guys are a big part of that. Even though I don't know most of you, I have really been buoyed up by your blog posts.

I really hated last week, I'm not going to lie. As the week went on and I had made it through yet another day, I just kept telling myself that if I could do it for one day, then I could surely do it for one more.

I am in the zone!! People are starting to notice that I have lost weight. I'm usually pretty self-conscious about that, but this time around it is actually motivating me to keep at it! I'm down 12 pounds since we started. My goal was to lose 10-15, so I'm happy about that!

I'm excited about this week's challenge. I am definitely NOT a veggie person. Some of them I love--carrots, broccoli, corn. Some I hate--tomatoes, peppers, peas. Most I just tolerate. I'm trying to include a wide variety of veggies in my diet. Asparagus has been on sale, so I'll be cooking up some of that. I'm also going to add different veggies to my green salad.

Honestly, it's such a relief to be able to eat things without checking the labels! I'd probably choke down a tomato over doing that again. :) Good luck everyone!

My Apology

I am sorry for my most recent post about being honest.  I was so angry at myself for slipping up and that negative emotion came through in my post.  I hope no one read that and felt like I was accusing them of being dishonest because that was not what I meant.  Please forgive me.  I want to just delete that post, but I don't think I can because it was the only post I did for the week.  Now that I have had a day to simmer down I recognize that I was wrong.  I hope you will accept my apology.

Good luck everyone!  We are almost done!

POINT TOTAL UPDATE

With only two challenges left to go, you will notice on the right hand side I have re-ordered the Points Total category by highest to lowest.

I am still missing a lot of points from last week so things could change later today as more people report their points.

I have to be honest

This challenge is based on the honor system.  Some of the challenges have had room for interpretation, while others have been more black and white.  For me, I have chosen to keep my standards strict so that there isn't any question of if I was 100% or not.  Unfortunately my strict standard is eating me alive tonight.  I had a slip up.  It was so minuscule many would think it was nothing, (if they even noticed it at all) but I can't say to myself that I was 100% therefore I am crying over that fact that I am going to repeat this challenge for next week.  If I can do it 99.9% one week, I can do it again, but 100% this time.  I am kicking myself in the pants because this was a difficult week for me.  The only silver lining I see is that the two challenges I get to double up on go hand in hand nicely.

The RDA for sugar is less than 25% of your calories.  For a  2000 calorie diet that is 500 calories or 125 grams.  That sounds like a whole lot after eliminating sugar completely.  And I am looking forward to biting into at least 100 of those grams tomorrow.

I have found that other foods taste sweeter without all the sugar to hype up the tastebuds.  And I have discovered that although I won't eliminate refined flour and sugar completely from my diet, it is a place I can cut back--they are SOOO prevalent in packaged food.

Good luck this week!

Yes! It's over

This week was rough, especially when we decided to have pizza, ice cream and cupcakes for Kate's birthday - I just watched. I wouldn't want to keep to the "no refined flour and sugar" goal for much more than a week, but it did bring awareness to me of how much food contains refined foods. I found myself even questioning some foods and just deciding to not even chance it and I would eat a fruit or vegetable instead - probably a wise and healthy choice. Even though I learned this week about what I should and shouldn't eat, I still have a cupcake waiting for me that I plan on eating Monday morning.

Almost done

Here it is the last day of this challenge and I realize it has not been so bad. I  went into this challenge thinking that it was going to be harder than it really was. The problem is I failed! Not intentionally either. It started on Monday. I made my family a delicious spaghetti dinner.I went to Costco and bought the whole wheat pasta. Usually with this dinner I make some sort of bread to go with it. This time I didn't. On Wednesday as I was reading through the recipe to make dinner, I saw that it required a measly two teaspoons of sugar. So I did the obvious thing, and that was to not put it in. I called my husband in to taste test, and he said it was a little tart. DRAT!!! In goes the sugar. It was then that I realized Mondays dinner had sugar in it!! I was so mad! When I made the spaghetti dinner, I pulled from the freezer my  frozen sauce, and put it in the pan. (I do this with my sauce. I make a huge a batch and then freeze about 12 bags, this makes for an easy meal.) I immediately sent my sister in law Jen a text telling her how ANGRY I was. I was ready to quit!!!

Jen is amazing! She gave me the best words of encouragement to finish the week. I took her advice and ran with it. It would have been easier for me to stop the challenge right then and there, because Friday morning we left for Texas. I have had a doggone road trip planned since Thanksgiving. This is when the challenge got REALLY hard. Snacks in the car are very limited. I can't just grab a string cheese, or a greek yogurt. No cottage cheese, or my home made whole wheat bread, made with kamut and honey. How was I going to survive? Well, here it is Sunday and we are still driving and I am glad to report that I even though I unintentionally messed up at home, I have not on our trip. :)

Can I say I will be glad for tomorrow morning when I no longer have to read a bunch of labels just to see that sugar is one of the top five ingredients on something I want. Ordering at a restaurant, will be a lot less complicated. I really appreciate this challenge and saw how cutting out the refined flours and sugars assisted in some easy weight loss. In the first three days, I lost a pound. What woman doesn't love that?

Some things that did get me through the week, whenever I had the sweet tooth craving was the Annie's Organic snacks, and the costco all natural fruit leather. I also believe that by choosing to eat mostly organic a year ago, it was an easier challenge for me. :) Thanks again for the challenge!

I HATE this week's challenge!!! I know hate is a strong word, but many days that's how I felt. Some of the other weeks were hard but nothing in comparison to this. I just wanted bread so badly I couldn't stand it. I stuck with it and held out but I was pretty miserable. I am glad today is it and we're onto something else.

I can do hard things. I choose not to do this hard thing again. I knew this weeks challenge would be hard long before we got to it I was right! I don't like eliminating things from my diet completely. I want them even more because I can't have them. All things in moderation is a better way for me to adjust my eating. Better luck next week. Like someone else said earlier in this challenge.....i do better with "do's" as opposed to "don'ts"

Not as hard as I anticipated...

This week has been easier than I thought it would be!  Thank goodness for cottage cheese and pears, good "legal" whole wheat bread, lots of asparagus!, and crisp apples.  I passed up the girl scout cookies (of course I ordered the ones with coconut because I don't care for it), but at other times in my life I would have just "forced" myself to eat one, just because.  Some of the things that have happened to me have been completely unexpected.  I've gone from drinking Diet Coke on a VERY regular basis, to having none since our water week.  I like the things that water does for me.  I'm blessed to have been able to walk, even though it might be slower than it used to be...  Not the least of my blessings has been to watch you all and be inspired by the things you are doing and some of the changes I see.  And thanks to Jen and Jen!

Failing Miserably

This has been the worst challenge for me so far. I have had so many things come up this week that made it impossible for me to avoid processed flour. I had signed up months ago for a cooking class at Harmons to learn how to make pasta.

No way did I pay all that money to not test the pasta so that I know what I am looking for in the future when I make it myself. It was worth it for sure but I have messed up a lot this week. I might try to get the makeup points next week but I think that will be even harder as I will be on a road trip to AZ for a long weekend.

Hopefully I have make it through the next few days. Ahhhh

We're on the downhill side...

I think the no sweets week helped me prepare for this week. We have been able to eat all of our meals as a family-the only thing I miss is the treat.  Finding meals has not been hard, but the desire for something sweet to top it off has been the hardest for me. 

We only have 3 more days left after today.  The weekend will be the hardest- I will start planning activities now that will keep me out of the kitchen.  The weather should be beautiful, so it will be a good time to go for a walk or start the garden.

Keep up the good work-

What saved me today...

For those of you who are struggling like me with this challenge...here is what saved me today...100% orange juice popsicles! Just mix up a batch of 100% juice and freeze them into popsicles. It was a great treat!

I also made some whole wheat french bread and ate it with real butter and honey on it. Yum. I got the recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and just substituted whole wheat flour for the white stuff.

French Bread:

4-5 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbs. active dry yeast
2 cups warm water

Combine 2 cups of flour with salt and yeast. Add the water and mix until blended, scraping the sides constantly. Then mix for 3 minutes. Gradually add remaining flour until dough is no longer sticky.

Raise in a warm area until double in size.

Punch down dough, divide in half and let rest for 10 minutes.

Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and sprinkle cornmeal lightly on it. Shape the dough into long french bread loaves. Cover and let raise until double in size.

Cut diagonal lines into bread, if desired. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Take out of oven and butter the tops. Return to oven and bake 15 minutes longer. Butter tops again when finished.

It's yummiest fresh out of the oven.
2 cups warm water

3 days down! We can do this! Thanks for all the encouraging words and great recipes!

Hard but worth it!

Hello! We can do this ladies! I went to a meeting today and was given an Oreo cupcake! I kindly said thank-you and took it home to my insatiably hungry 15 year old! He loved it.

I have enjoyed this challenge so far because it just makes me feel skinny and healthy.

A couple of recipes to share:

Gringo Taco Meat (from the Worldwide Ward Cookbook)
Beef, cut into cubes (can be a cheap cut)            Chili powder to taste
1 8 oz can tomato sauce or salsa                         Cumin to taste
1 onion, chopped                                                Salt and pepper to taste
Garlic to taste
Combine all ingredients and cook over very low heat until meat is tender and liquid is absorbed; you can also cook the meat in a Crock-Pot for several hours. Serve with hard or soft tortillas and condiments such as lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and avocados.

I served it on Whole Wheat tortillas. It was very good!

Yesterday I made legal Peanut Butter Cookies. I was so excited to find a cookie I could make and eat! (My kids loved them but perhaps I like sweet better than them because they weren't my favorite. I think they would be improved with some natural sweeter like Agave which is sweeter than sugar and works well in baked goods...according to the label.)

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 c softened butter                                            1 tsp vanilla
1 c peanut butter ( natural)                                 4 c whole wheat flour
1 1/4 c honey                                                    1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs                                                               2 tsp baking soda

Blend butter until smooth. Add peanut butter and blend again. Add honey and blend again. Add eggs one at a time and beat until well mixed. Add vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Roll into balls and put onto ungreased cookie sheet. Use a fork dipped in cold water to flatten and make a criss-cross pattern. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes on the top rack of the oven. Remove from pan immediately and cool.

Have a great week!

Rebecca

Happy Oreo Day!

Today is the 100th birthday of the oreo cookie. Do you know how badly I want an oreo? This challenge is KILLING me! (And could I be any whinier??) I vacillated back and forth about whether or not I was actually going to do this. I finally concluded that I have done it every week and I would be such a wimp if I didn't at least attempt to do this challenge.

I have felt better. I am no longer eating Hershey's mini kisses for lunch or a piece of cake for breakfast. I have to have a little treat every day though (except during the non-sugar weeks, of course). I've found that if I allow myself to do that, I am far less likely to binge on the weekends. I'm on my way to achieving that balance that motivated me to even do this in the first place. But sometimes it is a daily struggle. I think because I even considered sitting this week out, I'm not on my mental game. I'm going to try and conquer that!

The stress levels around my house are running high right now. We are under contract to buy a house in West Kaysville. We close a week from Friday. Plus we are trying to sell our current home. I really need some chocolate! And when I saw that today is the anniversary of the oreo cookie, well that just made my mind think about oreos. Double stuff. Golden. Mmmmm. I'm going to stop.

We have a birthday party for my niece this week, and Sunday dinner at my parents' house. Both are going to be huge temptations for me to cheat. I can do this, right? It would be so lame of me to have worked so hard this whole time only to be taken down by the most difficult challenge yet. Hopefully all of you have more willpower than I do at this point! Good luck!

A little inspiration

Well, I only did slightly worse at getting enough sleep than I did at not eating sugar.  I didn't think I'd have one day with 7 hours, turns out I had 3--woohoo! 

My son showed me this video and I thought I'd share.  It reminds us not to give up when things don't go exactly as planned--just give it all you've got.

Here's a quick recipe:  Steak and a baked potato with a green salad on the side.

Good luck this week! 

Ok, time is running out. I have to get my post in and I have to get to bed in 25 minutes to end the week getting enough sleep. UGH!!!

The coming week is a little intimidating I must admit. I read Jen's helpful hints about the refined sugar and flour and I am feeling a little better, but still worried. When I did the grocery shopping on Saturday I read the labels for everything so I hope I am ok.

This challenge has been great at giving me something to focus on and really try to improve!

Week of seven hours of sleep? NO PROBLEM!

Well this past week has been the easiest and best challenge yet. As a matter of fact, it has been easy peasy. I don't have little littles that keep me up at night. My youngest is 8! She and her sister go to bed about nine every night. My older two kids know when they are supposed to be in bed, so I seem to have it made. Even on the weekends. I tend to be a home body and not wanting to stay out to late.

Something that I have found that works really well for me is to exercise at night. For five of the seven nights I go on a power walk. I live on a Mountain and all roads that lead to my house are up hill. Each night I walk between five and seven miles. I leave my house at 8:30 and get done about 10:00. This makes one like me super tired. I found that since I started to exercise in the morning and evening, I feel so much better. I recommend trying it, if you continue to have a hard time falling asleep in the future. :)

NOW on to this week......

Sleeping is never a problem for me and this week was no different. I wish all weeks were sleep weeks. I guess that wouldn't be much of a challenge then, huh? Bring on the next challenge....I hope i'm up for it. I think this is going to be the hardest one yet. I guess it's only right that I go from my easiest week to my hardest. Wish me luck! (it can't be any harder than no sweets week can it)? i hope not.

I thought I would send you into next week with a couple of news articles and a little inspiration thought from Thomas Jefferson:
"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude."

What are refined sugars
The ugly truth of white flour

Good Luck and good digestion!

Sleep Review and Lunch Idea

I didn't know how this past week would go for me.  I tend to stay up late, not wanting the day to end.  This was a good way to get me to go to bed at a decent hour.  I was so paranoid about getting all the hours in that I woke up a lot each night just to check the clock.  It was nice to have a non food challenge this week, so I could gear up for next week.

And speaking of next week, I am already nervous that I am going to slip up with some silly lick of a spoon or something.  This will be a challenge for me.  As for a meal idea, veggie burgers on wheat bread.  I was at Costco and they had samples of Dr. Praeger's all natural California Veggie Burgers.  They are tasty.  That burger and some strawberries make for a nice lunch.

I did a google search to learn more about refined sugar and wheat.  These pages had some information.

http://www.noflournosugardiet.org/

http://www.noflournosugardiet.org/unrefined-sugar/

Good Luck!

I have decided this has been my hardest week--I've barely made the required time each night as I usually have to get up to help my husband at least twice and sometimes three times a night.  Fortunately there have been a couple of nights when he's only awakened once!  Wouldn't be too bad if it was a short time, but sometimes it takes up to 40 minutes.  Makes it hard to plan!

Been thinking about the coming week (hasn't everyone?).  I received the latest Taste of Home Simple & Delicious magazine and decided to try a recipe out of it as I realized it would work for next week. 

Slow-Cooked Fruited Oatmeal with Nuts

Prep:  15 min.   Cook:  6 hours   Serves:  6
3 cups water
2 cups old-fashioned oats
2 cups chopped apples
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup fat-free milk
2 tsp. butter, melted
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
6 Tbsp. chopped almonds, toasted
6 Tbsp. chopped pecans, toasted
    Additional fat-free milk

Combine first eight ingredients in a 3-qt. slow cooker coated with cooking spray.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until liquid is absorbed.  Spoon oatmeal into bowls.  Sprinkle with almonds and pecans; drizzle with additional milk if desired.

Nutrition Facts: 1 cup equals 306 calories, 13 g fat, 4 mg cholesterol, 28 mg sodium, 45 g carbohydrate, 6 g fiber, 8 g protein.  Diabetic Exchanges: 3 starch, 2 fat.

I tried the recipe out and have several observations.  I used grannie smith apples because that's what I had but I would use a different apple as they were just too tart for my taste.  I also had my cooker on slow for overnight and it turned out it was about 10 hours.  That was really too long, because it stuck to the bottom.  In the morning I realized that my Ocean Spray Cranberries were sweetened, so would need to get unsweetened ones.  I have some golden raisins that are not sweetened and I think I'll try them next time.  My husband didn't like it--wasn't sweet enough for him--and I did add sugar to his bowl.  I'm looking forward to making it again!

I think I can do okay next week because I don't have a family to please, so I wish you all a great week.

Love This Challenge

I love sleeping, especially in the winter when it is cold. I love curling up in bed and getting cozy. This week will be no challenge for me whatsoever. I love sleeping and I have no life so getting 7 hours is no problem-o.

I do have to remember to put my phone on silent or I might get a call around 9:45 which is when I have to go to bed in order to get 7 hours.

Sleep tight everyone!

Someone suggested that we all share a menu idea for next week, mine is Stir Fry.  You can add whatever veggies you like and serve them with a little rice or soy sauce.  I like it because my family can eat it too, so I'm not making two seperate meals.  They will probably smother it with sweet and sour sauce, but we can eat together. I noticed that there are a lot of veggies on sale this week at the different stores.  Or you can always buy a bag of fresh veggies at Sam's Club.

So far getting to sleep on time hasn't been an issue; but I still have the weekend and it will to be the hardest. 

When the challenge first started I wondered why the blog was so important.  I have come to realize that the blog has made me more committed because I have to report to all of you! Thanks for your support and encouragement.