Day 20-27: Turn OFF your addictions

I have decided that this challenge is for a week.
I want you to get off of Facebook, Pinterest, Blogs, Google, WHATEVER you spend too much time on and live a little. Go outside, enjoy a book, spend much needed quality time with your loved ones! Now this is obviously within reason, I start school on Tuesday so I will need to be on my computer, but I will NOT be on Facebook, Pinterest, or writing on my blog. It will be tough, but I know we can all do it!

See you in a week! 

Day 19: Get up and finish a project you started

I don't know about you, but I have so many unfinished projects. So today I am sitting down and finishing one project!

Day 18: Review

Go over each day and try to combine what we have done into one day. 
Drink water through the day. I have noticed that as I drink water throughout the day I become less hungry. The water is kind of filling me up so I eat less. Also, try eating your fruits and veggies first before you eat your meal. This way you fill up on the healthy stuff before you go to the main dish.
Exercise, I have continued exercising and I love the way I feel!
Eat healthy food, your body will love you for it!

Keep going I will be posting pictures of what I have done soon! 

Day 17: Smile

Sorry I'm behind my son got strep throat so I was taking care of a very sick boy.
Today I want you to smile all day long! A Smile goes a mile!
I know over the last week I have had a hard time smiling. It is hard to see the child you love so sick, and he only had the flu, but to keep us all sane we watched funny movies and when he got down I would try to make him laugh. Keep smiling! It gets you through a lot!

Here is some info about smiling. 

Check this out! I guarantee at least one good laugh! Let me know what you think!

Day 16: Eat healthy fat

Eat healthy fats, carbs, and whole grain. I use to think that whole wheat didn't taste near as good as white anything, until I tried it. Unless I make my own noodles I only use whole wheat pasta now. I have also made the switch with bread, crackers, and tortillas. Fish is a great way to get your good fats in. Check this out for five reasons we need this good fat.

Day 15: Don't go cold turkey

 Don't tell yourself you can't have something. Telling yourself you can't have something reminds me of when I was 16 and my mom and dad told me I couldn't be out past midnight. What did I do? Stayed out past midnight just because they said I couldn't. Telling yourself you can't have something only makes you want it more. I have tried the no soda thing several times. I went 4 years with out it... Then met my husband. The key is to try to eat/drink less. Instead of drinking soda all day, drink five sodas a day, then down to two then only one. You may start to find yourself craving it less and less. Remember though, these things take time. It doesn't happen over night.

Day 14: 20 minutes of exercise

Love this poem!

 Slow down mummy, there is no need to rush,
slow down mummy, what is all the fuss?
Slow down mummy, make yourself a cup tea.
Slow down mummy, come and spend some time with me.

Slow down mummy, let's put our boots on and go out for a walk,
let's kick at piles of leaves, and smile and laugh and talk.
Slow down mummy, you look ever so tired,
come sit and snuggle under the duvet and rest with me a while.

Slow down mummy, those dirty dishes can wait,
slow down mummy, let's have some fun, let's bake a cake!
Slow down mummy I know you work a lot,
but sometimes mummy, its nice when you just stop.

Sit with us a minute,
& listen to our day,
spend a cherished moment,
because our childhood is not here to stay!

Rebekah.Knight (c)2011

I wish my boys would stay like this forever! 

Day 13: Spend the day with your family

With all the craziness in our lives we have to take time with our family.  My husband works full time and it is hard for him to spend good quality time with us.
Sundays are a good day for spending time together as a family. No one has school, some don't work, it is just the perfect day for some people to do it.
So what can you do as a family? You will want to help keep them entertained.
1.  Get to know them- talk to them. Obviously some teens are very closed and will not want to talk much or spend time with you, but remind them that family is important.
2.  Play games- If you can turn off the TV and play a good old fashioned game of Monopoly, Clue, or cards. Video games can be fun, but (in my opinion) there is no one on one contact with the people you play with.
3.  Make healthy snacks- have fun teaching your kids how to make healthy snacks. Good habits start at home so teach them.
4.  Go for a walk if it's not 7degrees outside.
5.  Look through old pictures.

These are just a few ideas, let me know what you come up with. :)

Day 12: Try a pin

Okay I know some of these posts may be repeats, but I really want to eat healthier. We all just need to take it slow. Changing your eating habits doesn't just happen over night (trust me I've tried). Small changes each day make big things happen. It takes time to make good habits stick. That is another reason for this challenge, it is to take something new each day and work on it until it is habit.
 So today I want you to try a new recipe. Pick one of the ones you have pinned on Pinterest. If you don't have a pinterest account, don't get one! Ha ha ha, you will be on it all day and all night!

Here is the one I tried. Soo good!

Day 11: Well.. Read on...

Okay, I totally know how stay at home moms gain so much weight. On the husbands days off he decides he wants a snack so he goes to the store and comes home with ice cream, cookies, and chips. Then he goes back to work. After a stressful day of chasing kids around, cleaning house, doing laundry, a teething baby, and crazy two year old, I finally lay the kids down for bed. Then what do I do? Go straight to the freezer!

Does this not look AMAZING!??!
Oh my gosh and it tasted soo good too! So what is the problem? I ate it at 9 pm! Remember this goal?  Okay well, I think that needs to include no late night snacking!
So Day 11: No late night snacking, unless it is a healthy treat (apple, orange...)

I think I may need to find another way to keep my husband's mind off snacks on his days off. My body can't afford his snack cravings!

Day 10: Pick a new workout

I don't know about you, but I get so bored with the same workout over and over again. That is one negative thing I noticed with the Insanity workout. I follow the schedule, but feel like I'm doing the same routine over and over again.
So... today I want you to look up a new workout.

I personally don't like my thighs. They have gotten really especially after I stopped running when I got pregnant. So today I will try this workout.

If you don't normally workout, my challenge is for you to get up and do a simple workout.

Challenge yourself, don't settle for easy.

You are of Great worth!

I don't know who wrote this, but I love it!

A well-known speaker started off his seminar holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this."

He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, "Who still wants it...?" Still the hands were up in the air. "Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We may feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.

Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE. You are special-Don't EVER forget it."

Admit it!

Okay I am so guilty of this! I had to laugh and share!

Day 7: Don't skip breakfast! Day 8: Eat an early dinner. Day 9: Eat a meal with family

Day 7
Sorry, I'm a little late getting this up, thank a crazy day and lots of snow.
Today I want you to make sure you start eating breakfast. I know it is so easy to skip, but it really is the most important meal of the day. You need that brain food, and energy to get you through the day. Then as you go through the day eat smaller meals.

Day 8
I have found thought that I don't like eating late at night. It makes my body feel heavy, full, and uncomfortable come bedtime. So my goal has been to eat dinner by 6 every night. If I get hungry after that I eat a small healthy snack like an apple, orange, or some carrots or celery. It may not be much but it holds me over until morning.

Day 9
Eating dinner with family is good for you in many ways. Not only does it bring new conversation to the table, but it brings you closer as a family. I remember sitting down for dinner and enjoying talking with my family about my day, sharing jokes, or listening to anything they had to say. It was good for my siblings and me. We were all so busy and never really got the chance to just sit and talk except at dinner.
I challenge you to turn your TV and cell phones OFF! Sit with your family and have a nice quiet meal.
Discussion ideas:
1.  Ask each family member how their day went, what they learned, accomplished, or what they enjoyed most about their day.
2.  Plan dinners out for the week. Have each family member mention one dinner that they would enjoy having.
3.  Share jokes, everyone likes a good laugh! It livens up your mealtime and gives your family another good excuse to keep eating dinner together.
4.  Use this time to express how much they mean to you and you love them.
5.  If you have young children you can have fun with it and make it a royal dinner. Make it fun by making king and queen hats. Use this time to teach your children. You can teach them manners. "Kings and Queens chew with their mouths closed." "Kings and Queens use forks not hands." It can be fun and a good learning experience.
6.  Don't bring up anything you may fight about. If you are trying to eat together as a family you must make it an enjoyable time. Don't bring up anything that will offend, or embarrass another. This takes the pleasure away and they won't want to keep eating together.

If you would like to see health benefits from eating as a family read this article.

I hope you will all try this! Let me know how it goes!  :)

Day 6: Portion Control

 This is a big one. It has been so hard for me to not go back for seconds with the foods I love. So I started taking small portions. It may sound crazy, but I actually started eating less and noticing I had more leftovers. I grab a SMALL plate, put one scoop on my plate, and when I go back for seconds I only get one more scoop. It is the same as if I were to put a whole scoop on my plate.

So today I would like you to try taking smaller portions and if you go back for seconds, just get a small amount.

Day 5: Try a new HEALTHY recipe

How many times have you started a diet? I know I have like 4 or 5 times. How long does it last? Like 3-4 days or until my mother in law makes her chocolate chip cookies for me. I have come to find that diets are hard to stick to unless you have a good support system (even then it is hard!).
The truth is I don't think you really need a diet to help you lose weight. If you wish to continue your diet, by all means please do so. I hope it works out well for you. I have learned that eating healthier is key to a healthy lifestyle.
Today's challenge: Add variety to your life.  Add color to your meal (meaning add fruits and veggies), try new foods or recipes, If you are use to something branch out and try something different. Instead of a TV dinner, try a fresh home cooked meal. My experience:  Having grown up on pasta, it is hard to spread my wings and try new foods. My husband grew on a farm so his meals mostly consisted of meats, veggies, and homemade bread. I was shocked when my husband told me he was sick of pasta. WHAT? How can anyone be sick of pasta? Okay so we had been married for a little over a month and we had some type of pasta everyday for that whole month, with one day of meat in between. That is when I learned I had a problem. I loved pasta so much even if I made meat I HAD to have pasta on the side. My husband (Ryan) finally told me I had to take a break from the one food I loved most! Since then I have made Ryan and myself a promise, pasta is only cooked two times a week.

Would you like to see what we tried tonight?

Here is the recipe.  
Instead of cheese we put mushrooms, celery, and onions in it. It was so amazingly good! I would seriously suggest you try it!

Day 4: Get up!

Today's challenge is to get up and off the couch, bed, chair, whatever you are sitting on, and MOVE! Go up the stairs a few times, walk in (or around depending on your temp, I'll stay inside it's only 12 degrees outside!) your house, place of work, or wherever you are! Start your day off by moving around at least 10 minutes a day.

I worked out for 35 minutes today! We are starting on week 6 of the Insanity workout. It has been AMAZING to see the transformation my body has gone through. I will post some before and after pictures once we finish the whole thing. 

Even when I'm not doing the Insanity work out, I am still trying to get up and move. Have you ever just taken the time to turn on music and dance? Call me crazy, but that is one of my most favorite things to do. I have a 2 year old and he loves for me to hold him and dance with him. I shut all the curtains in the house and just go all out crazy dancing. He loves it, and boy let me tell you, it is a GREAT workout! 

Side Note: I'm never using shampoo again! :)

PS. I wish I could give credit to the person that made this, but I don't know who it is. But thank you person who made this! It made my day!

Day 3: Picture Time

I was always okay with pictures being take of me, but after 4 pregnancies and 2 kids I really don't like my picture taken now. I'm breaking out of my shell today and taking a picture of myself. For you to see a change in yourself, sometimes it takes a good picture. But since this isn't just a physical change we are going for I'm doing something a little extra with it.

Today I would like you to take a current picture of yourself and then list 10.... yes 10 things you like about yourself when you look at it. Dig deeper than physical appearance.

We are our own worst critics, don't let any negative thoughts into your head about yourself. We all have weaknesses. That is why I am doing this, to help over come my weaknesses and feel more confident with myself.

Hang this somewhere you can see it daily to help motivate you and keep you uplifted.

Part 2: Ask a spouse, friend, co-worker, family member, someone you know well to write down 10 things they love about you.

Self Esteem comes from within, but is influenced by those around you. I never really had a good self esteem, even to this day I have problems with it. My husband can always tell when I'm having a hard day because I am slumped over and don't say much. He is always so good about telling me what I need to hear. Because of the relationship I have with him and my kids, I have been better than ever. I mostly have problems when I am around others who are skinny, well dressed, are confident, and have such good self esteems that it makes me feel worthless.

So have someone write down 10 things they love about you and hang it with your picture. Then you can see not only what you see in yourself, but what those who truly know and love you see in you too.

Today and all year I am working on my self worth, confidence, and self esteem. No one can bring me down. 

Day 2: Make a list

I have never been a big fan of lists, but over the last few years that seems to be how I run my life. If I go to the store I make a list, I have things to do there is another list, doctors visits, people to call, something to remember, there is always a list hanging around my house. It gets very annoying trust me. But somehow everything manages to get done. Huh, imagine that.. Things get done..
So for day 2, I am making 2 somewhat specific lists.
The first list is what I want to do this year, I guess you could call them New Year's resolutions. I really don't like those words though (especially for this challenge) because I have never done well completing my resolutions.
Here are a few on my list as an example:
1.  Challenge myself to do something good everyday.
2.  Learn something about myself that I didn't already know.
3.  Get on a schedule and stick with it.
4.  Make a meal guide and stick with it.

Easy enough right? Now the hard part is going to be sticking with it. That is always my hard part. Which is why I'm sharing them with you. I need someone to hold me accountable.

The second list is to write down your daily routine. I did each day on a seperate piece of paper because each day I do something a little different.
Here is what I did for example.
Master Schedule:
7 am wake up, read scriptures
730 Exercise
8 Breakfast
830 Chores
11 Lunch
.... So on.
Monday
830 Laundry, Deep Clean sons room, vacuum all house, and dust
Tuesday
830 Sweep, Mop, Clean Bathroom and Spare room
I think you get the idea now.

After I broke everything down my load seemed a lot lighter. Each day I'm doing something productive to keep up with all the chores, but this helps me so I don't have to feel overwhelemed with all of the work.
Two things to be sure of, MAKE time for 10-30 minutes of exercise! This is a must in every daily routine! The second is a good bedtime.
Now the trick is to stick with it!

We can do it! Let's start off our year the right way and keep going all through the year!

Day 1: Drink 64 oz water

Today is all about Water!
Our bodies are 60% water. This water helps with digestion, absorption, transporting nutrients, circulation, creating saliva, and maintaining body temperature. When your fluids are low it is harder for your body to perform its duties.
Here are a few reasons to drink water:
1. Helps maintain the Balances out body fluids.
2. Helps lose weight: If you choose water over a drink with calories, you are saving your body from absorbing unneeded calories.
3. Helps muscle performance: If you don't get enough water your muscles suffer. They need the fluids to help keep them energized.
4. Helps improve Skin appearance. Lack of water can make your skin look dry and wrinkly.
5. Helps flush toxins out of the body: read this article.
6. Helps to not be constipated!
7. Helps your heart.


These are just a few. It is so important to drink water!



 So for day 1 the challenge is to drink 64 oz of water daily! Start today. Carry a water bottle around with you! I have two different types. My favorite is the 64 oz jug I got from Walmart for a buck!
The second is a 32 oz bottle that looks like this

This one is a little more expensive, but it is a little smaller and less awkward to carry around.

So starting today drink 64 oz of water every day and I promise you will start to feel better from the inside out!

365 Day Challenge!

Okay so I have started a new Challenge. I'm calling it the 365 day challenge to a better me!
I really want to start some healthy habits and keep them going so my children can grow up seeing my healthy choices.
I have always been kinda a health freak, but I have several weaknesses. I intend to turn my weaknesses into strengths. But I know it won't be easy. It will be hard, but so worth it.
Lately I have been doing the Insanity work out. I am on week 5 and LOVING it! It feels so good to know that I am getting stronger everyday. I can literally feel my body changing! I can see a big difference and I feel so much happier for it. It does not take much time at all. Just 40-50 minutes a day. I want to take what I'm doing now and turn it into a lifestyle. I once heard that it takes 21 days to make or brake a habit. Who knows if it is true or not, but I would like to work on one small thing daily until I make a habit of it.
So for this challenge I will post something each day that will help us (see how I put us, I don't want to do this alone!) be a little healthier and happier! Here is to the start of a New Year and New US!

little Break

Sorry I took a little break for the Holidays. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!