30 Day Family Health Challenge

Week 3 mid-week

Still going strong here.  Not perfect by any means, but I do believe we are forming some good habits with this little experiment.

This weekend was a socialite's dream but a dieter's nightmare, but I survived without too much damage being done.  Once again I didn't take pictures like I should have.

I made the mistake of trying a small (maybe 1/2 c. portion) of some corn casserole at a cookout on Friday night.  THEN I checked the calories.  350!!!! :O


Saturday night was a boat night again.  We ate a light dinner at home before we left and all was well.  Then I awoke to the true test of all tests....

The Sunday church potluck, DOM DOM DOOOOM

Here's an example of what was out there

Here's my plate and dessert...


Not too bad, huh?
I even got to be the designated cake cutter.  Of course I did because I'm on a diet. :)

It was really okay though.  God is giving me the strength of Daniel when it comes to food and my choices lately.  It doesn't bother me to say no.  Every time I do and I walk away and look back it feels so much better than saying yes and regretting it later.

E has turned down things in the name of making a change too and I'm really proud of him.  I don't remember him ever going without a Dr. Pepper for this long since I've known him.  The dentist even told him his teeth looked better today and that could be why!

Today Grandma came again.  You know what that means?  We went to the pizza buffet.  I had salad from the salad bar and two slices of thin crust veggie pizza.  Then SOMEHOW we ended up driving through the Braum's drive-thru and ice cream cones magically appeared in the both Grandma and the kids' happy little hands.  I didn't get a picture but I really should have for evidence.  Grandma claims she has nothing to do with the eating that occurs when she's around.

I said no to that too, no problem. :)  See you after weigh-in day!

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Week 2 Weigh-in/Report

Everything is going very well.  The kids aren't always happy with dinner (like tonight).  I made beef tips in the crockpot, quinoa and fresh sauteed brussel sprouts.  I thought it was delicious, but they were mad at me.

Pictures are scarce this week simply because I forgot to take them.  I weighed in on Friday morning and lost 2 more lbs!  I'm feeling great and can get back into my beloved favorite jeans.  I'm not sure that I had entirely grown out of them because I never dared to try them on during this summer of weight gain, but I know they fit now and that makes me a happy camper.

The kids look for every opportunity away from home to skife some sugar.  I was a kid once so I'm not blaming them.  I think they are adjusting pretty well though and I love to hear them ask, "Hey Mom, can I have a peach?"  :)

I will get better at my pictures if there is anything interesting to photograph.  These were all I got this week...



I was just going to tell you how I know what every public restroom looks like in every place I've been in the past 2 weeks thanks to this guy!

And yes, A still plays with her food.


That's all, see you soon!


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Mid-week Week 2

Just checking in with a pretty good report.  I decided it probably isn't necessary to post everyday now that things are established and we are well on our way to Healthville.

First, I am glad to report that the last of these were used up today.



Good riddance you nasty, energy-draining, life-sucking pastries of doom.

I have had the most awesome helper this week at lunch time.  He decided cooking is his thang.


He's so cute. <3

I broke down and bought the kids some treats for the week, but much better than our past choices.


Dinners this week have been easy and healthy.  Here is a picture...


Tortilla soup and baked tostadas and tonight we had club sandwiches minus that annoying middle piece of bread that makes it so you can't actually fit the food into your mouth.

Still having my shakes and breakfast and afternoon snack.  Kids still having smoothies or fruit in the afternoon.  Breakfast is still a challenge.  Any recipe ideas?

Today we went to lunch with Grandma again.  Chick-fil-A...I got the usual.  The kids also got the usual. :-/  Then I have evidence that Grandma struck again.


Grandmas are just so sweet that sugar follows them everywhere they go, I guess.

See you after my weigh-in day! :)


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Day 9

Today was church and we slept a little late.  I found out when we sat down in our pew that neither kid had breakfast (remember the everyone for oneself rule on Sunday?)  I got to hear growling stomachs along with songs of praise and the sermon.  Poor kiddos.  I felt extra bad because the lunch menu was pretty lame.

I had my 1/2 a Big Bird as promised and J had the rest of his Porker (yes, that was the name of his panini)


 the top picture is the lame lunch I was referring to.  Leftover burnt bar-b-q chicken and spaghetti noodles with a little butter.  That's what E and A got. :-/

This was also in the building



Nope, I didn't have any.  What better place to pray for delivery from temptation than church?

This afternoon I had some more of the Snapea Crisps, they really are yummy!  Here is what they look like.  They are really light and crispy in texture, kind of like a Funyun.


I made some muffins for breakfasts this week.  They are Zucchini Banana Muffins.  I used applesauce in place of the fat.  Don't tell the family.


Tonight we had fajitas.  I used the Pioneer Woman's recipe for the marinade.  They were awesome and totally made up for the lame lunch.  They forgive me.  They had cherries for dessert.  I had one each of a beef and chicken fajita.  I had one on a low-carb tortilla and the other on a small corn to save some calories.


That's the end of our first weekend doing our new thing.  We didn't do perfectly, but we improved from our normal habits for sure!  


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Day 8

Today was pretty uneventful.  We slept in, I had a GNC shake, the fam had scones.

"A" left her retainer somewhere yesterday so we had to go on a rescue mission, and so we picked up some lunch on the way home because it was getting late and A was starting to look delicious.

I had half of this panini, no sauce.  Turkey, provolone, lettuce and tomato.  It was called a Big Bird. he he



The kids & E had similar items, it was tasty and I have to admit I wanted to keep going after that first half, but I didn't and now I have a lunch date with Big Bird tomorrow.  YAY!

Since I had a little more calories for lunch than I usually have and I didn't do any formal exercise (it's hard to count all of the mileage I put on in the house this morning walking from room to room clearing clutter), I decided not to have a shake for my snack.  This is what the kids and I had.



I had the Snapea Crisps and OH MY!  I will be buying them again.  They are so good!  The kids had the apple straws.

We had company for dinner, he brought chicken with him.  He is from Nepal and eats an Indian type diet so he brought chicken seasoned his way.  You should have seen the size of these chicken legs and thighs!  They were HUGE!  I told him they must have been Texas chickens. 


No, I didn't have the garlic bread, just the salad and a chicken leg.  That's pretty much it.  After that I took A to the stables for an exercise/discipline session with her horse.  The horse was being ornery.  Which causes me to be a little ornery, which in turn causes A to be a little ornery.  The life of a cowgirl's mom is not always easy.

Going to plan what I'm taking for lunch at church tomorrow.  Goodnight and thanks for caring enough to read all of this. :)

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Day 7

Week 1 weigh-in for me and I lost.........6 LBS!!!!!

(Happy Dance)

Breakfast today was the usual for me and the kids had leftover scones.

Here was my exercise



I jogged 18 min. and walked for 12.  Then we went to the ortho.  Good report. :)

The kids wanted a hamburger for lunch so they got one.  They thought when I said yes that we were actually going to drive thru somewhere and get the garbage we used to eat. mwa ha ha ha


We went to play with our friends in the afternoon.  I took along some snacks.


J found his inner-survivor man and opted for a more natural snack.


Yes, that's a grasshopper.  No, it was not my idea.  And yes it was cooked.  Apparently it was so yummy that he and his cousin S went out to hunt some more.  he he, those crazy homeschooled kids.

We had a quick easy dinner because we had plans to go boating.


Yes, those are chips you see there.  I didn't partake.  But collectively we decided to have one cheat meal a week.  So E had some and a big fat DP with it.  You know what he said though?  He said it wasn't as great as he thought it was going to be.  YAY!  He's learning. :)

I used this cool new product on the sandwiches (salmon salad by the way), it was really good and much lower in calories and fat than regular cream cheese.



Then we did go boating and we had such a good time.  Both kids got to tube (exercise) and we even got the opportunity to do our first rescue mission.  A poor family was stranded on the lake after dark and we towed them the boat ramp.  It was like that story about the little tugboat...our little boat pulling a big monster of a boat to safety.  It was cool.


That's my cheat item there in the corner.  I indulged and had two.  I guess it was worth it, it was living a real life which I need to learn how to do.  Moderation is the key. :) 

Have a good weekend! 


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Day 6

This morning I hopped out of bed and hurried to the kitchen as fast as I could to get my hands in some flour!  Well, something like that...I made scones for the fam.  Hardly any sugar and full of apricots.  They smelled SOOOOO good!  The kids approved.

They aren't exactly scone-shaped but it's the slavery that counts.

I had my usual for breakfast and lunch, the kids had leftover corndog muffins and E took leftovers again.  Pretty uneventful.  So, this would be a good time to mention My Fitness Pal, for those that haven't heard of it.  It's a website/app that you can get and log your calories and exercise.  I use it faithfully (starting 6 days ago).


The kids are on a smoothie at snack time binge this week so I was nice yet again.  I had a GNC shake.

This is the coolest part of the whole day.  It really is true that if your kids see you being enthusiastic about something that it is contagious.  Look at my awesome dinner helper.  We had chicken with green chili sauce and low-fat cheddar, broccoli and egg noodles with a small amount of real butter.  None of that icky margarine stuff for us.


I think it must be harder for teenagers to catch the enthusiasm bug, but I'm not giving up.
After dinner I decided to go grocery shopping today instead of my usual Friday.  I have a lot of fun on the agenda tomorrow.


Will you look at that cart?  No junk food.  So pretty.  My bill wasn't bad either.  I was really surprised.

J had a problem with an item...


Oh no, something green.  Quick, beat it up!

After I put the food away I noticed my bananas were getting pretty squishy (the ones from last week) and I am not making banana bread after all of those scones.  So, this is what I do.


Frozen bananas are awesome for smoothies.

Well, that's it and tomorrow is weigh-in day for me.  I'm not weighing the family.  I think I'm being annoying enough.  But I am checking for more focus and energy levels and I think I already see a difference.

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Day 5


I again started out the morning with the usual.  A (the daughter) and E (the husband) had mini quiche.  Those are gone now so I have to make something else tonight.
J (the son) once again found something unhealthy in the freezer...sigh...Oh well, at least these are all gone now.




After breakfast I went right to exercise because I was actually getting to go somewhere that required a shower and EVERYTHING!  So I did a walk/jog day.


I met my mom for lunch and a movie.  The kids ordered Chick-fil-A, which was a great choice (for me anyway)...


Yes that's mine on the top and yes that's J hiding behind his FRIED sandwich eating a FRENCH FRY and washing it down with a SPRITE!!!  A did the same with the exception of her lemonade.  G (that's Grandma) did the same as A.  E took leftovers from last night's dinner.

Then we were off to the mall theater.  But on the way this malevolent beast of a store jumped right in front of us!

G was very nice and bought everybody a treat.  Don't worry I said, "No, thank you." ...............Buttered Popcorn Jelly Bellies. :-(
It's okay though, I planned ahead and brought this for my snack.

We had fun!  I'd like to say the movie made up for the lack of junk food, but not so much.

Tonight I made yet another Pioneer Woman recipe.  This one was Stir-fried Beef with Snow Peas and quinoa.  It was SO GOOD!


Went to bible study at church tonight.  Afterward, someone broke out the chips and mango peach salsa.  It smelled good.  I had a tiny bite and will soon find a recipe to make some to put on some chicken.  No chips for me or E.  The kids (once again) chowed down.  I'm feeling like their hearts aren't into this project.

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Day 4

Started out the day with coffee and a GNC shake just like yesterday.  Then me and my personal chef started on dinner preparation...

Son slept in and by the time I saw him he was getting into these.  Yes, there are still some around. :-/


I let him have them, what was I supposed to do?  Take them away?  Look at that pouty face.  I'm having the hardest time with him.  Boy, do I have my work cut out for me with this one.

For lunch he ordered BLTs.  Don't worry, it's nitrate-free center cut bacon.  We didn't have any L...



He loves his bacon <3
I had the same but used a low-carb tortilla and put an egg in it.  I'm so proud of the kids.  They are used to having chips everyday with their lunch, but haven't seemed to miss them at all.


In the afternoon I was nice again.

I'm learning that all of this cooking is creating quite the dishload



I walked inclines today, I did two of these

Abbey rode her horse again and there is more exercise to come tonight out on the lake.  Is tubing exercise?

Dinner was fabulous!  Another Pioneer Woman Recipe Spicy Beef Tips with Cheesy Grits.  I know it doesn't sound very healthy, but I altered it with lower fat options and measured my portion.  Everyone else went back for seconds.  I love it when they do that.

I felt a lot of mixed feelings about this



I had to do it though.  This recipe called for a MASSIVE amount of grits and we had all of this left over.  I knew that if I kept them I would be tempted and no one else seemed to care about them that much.  "It's better for it to go to waste than to go to your waist," said one of my many Weight Watchers leaders.  Never forgot it.  Even though I didn't always obey it.

Kitchen is closed for the night.  Stayed within my calorie limit and feel great!  Kids and husband are doing good too.  They aren't even complaining.....very much.


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Day 3



Oh, coffee my love...I missed you so.

This was my breakfast.  A Total Lean 25 Shake from GNC.  It was pretty yummy and very filling.

The kids had mini crustless quiche.  This is a much better option then the poptarts or swiss rolls that have started to become the norm around here at breakfast time.  (insert shame here)

Then we went to the stables so the daughter could get her exercise while the son and I watched.  It was hard work....for the horse.

When we got home I made these for the kids...
It's muffin pan day. :)

I had this, my standard lunch.  The hubby took a sandwich and some fruit.


Then it was exercise time.  I walked/jogged today (about 1/2 and 1/2 for 30 min.  Here's the proof...


In the afternoon I made fruit and yogurt smoothies for the kids and I had another GNC shake.

I made these homemade jewels for dinner for the family, I am rather proud of their beauty.  Calzones and asparagus with lemon pepper...

I figured the calzones were not diet food, and since I am trying to lose weight and no one else is around here, I opted for something else.  Something easy since I just slaved away making the masterpiece shown above.
So, I heated myself up a new Lean Cuisine.

These are supposed to be 100% all natural and the ingredients are pretty good.  It wasn't bad at all.  A good quick option.  

I went to a meeting tonight where there were desserts and I did not partake.  I promise, I have witnesses.  The witnesses behaved themselves too come to think of it.  Good job, ladies!  

Having a spot 'o tea right now.  Yogi Green Tea Blueberry Slim Life is my new fave.  Want a picture?  Ok. :)

This is already getting easier.  Goodnight y'all. 



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Day 2
Today was church day, so a very busy morning.  Here is what I had...



Not sure what everyone else had.  Sunday is every man, woman and child for oneself day.  I know I'm planning to get the saintly mother award this year.

After lunch we had a small lunch at the church building instead of going out.  I brought our lunch.  Here's what I served the family...



It's a quick and easy Pioneer Woman Recipe.  Cheese and Green Chili Enchiladas or something like that.  See her site for it.  I would tell you the exact name but then I would have to get up and go look for it or click on my mouse several times to look it up, and I just don't have the energy.  I'm HUNGRY!




Here's what I had, look familiar?


THEN, things got ugly...


NO, I didn't have any, thank you very much!  But SOMEBODY DID!!!


Oh, well...I guess I can still feed them right under my roof anyway.  I will have to let this one slide.

No exercise today except for mopping.  I spilled half of the remainder of my pre-diet cleanse on the kitchen floor.  I was surprisingly grumpy and disappointed about it.

Planning to do leftover chicken and Greek salad for dinner tonight and probably those evil rolls again.  I won't bore you with dinner pics.  I will have salad and broccoli and some grilled zucchini again and then I will pass out and dream about the real food I will start eating tomorrow.  I decided I'm not a big fan of cleansing, but I do feel a little lighter and surprisingly more energetic today, so it wasn't all bad.  Hoping to see an affect on the scale as well.  LIKE 10 LBS!!!   






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Day 1

    Being the anti-procrastinator that I am, I decided to start today instead of tomorrow like he wants to do.  I went yesterday and bought the groceries, and my fridge looks beautiful…



Well, I think it does.  I’m sure there are those out there that could find something wrong with it, I even see some stuff that needs to go.  But we are in the process of improvement, so I’m happy. 

I started my day with this. :-/



Today and tomorrow I can only have this with water, broth, veggies and fruit.  You can pray for me right now if you feel so inclined. 

This was lunch…




I made the kids a sandwich and a greek yogurt and fruit smoothie sweetened with raw honey.  They said I was nice.  No picture to show you.  They snarfed them too fast.


Exercise:  Warm up is clearing off the laundry station.  I got some new snazzy shoes so I thought I would include them in the photo line-up.  Then of course, I posted my proof that I actually got on the beloved dreadmill.

I usually workout a little harder than this and burn around 300 calories, but hey, I'm HUNGRY!

Dinner was the biggest challenge, but I got to eat pretty well...





This was the part of the dinner in which I did not get to partake.  For some reason carnage is not allowed on a cleanse.   But I did have these and they were delicious!
I probably really shouldn't have had the olive oil and vinegar, olives and feta, but I didn't have a roll and OH MY, they smelled good.  So I forgive myself.


Well, that's Day 1, I will see you tomorrow.  I'm probably going to bed in about an hour. :)
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         It's not a surprise to the people that really know me that I have struggled with my weight for most of my life.  I do think that I have gotten more of a handle on it in my 40s than at any other time since, but still I'm not where I want to be.  I am married to a skinny person. :)  You know the type.   They eat whatever they want, sometimes that's not much (that's why they're skinny) and never exercise and through some sick twist of fate their weight always stays the same.  But lately he has put on a few pounds (which is okay because he had room to), but he's not happy with the way he feels.  
    I have been praying lately that I would get into a more healthy lifestyle, very healthy.  I should just get up and do it, but if it were that easy for all of us, wouldn't we all be buff?  I really couldn't figure out what exactly was holding me back until a couple of days ago he told me that for 30 days he would like to eat completely clean.  No chips, soda, sugar, beer or anything like that.  When I heard him say it….I pounced!
     So, this part of my blog is our 30 day journey to a healthier family.  My prayer is that at the end of the 30 days we will all feel so great that we won’t want to stop.  I am sharing this to inspire and encourage but also to keep us accountable.  Hope it helps anyone who wants to do the same.

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