Christmas Challenge

Healthy Choices Christmas Challenge – Day 5

We’re half way through our Healthy Choices Christmas Challenge  and I’m finding that the challenges that I thought I was going to have are not the ones that I’m having.

On Day 5 (Tuesday), exercise wise I actually found pain relief in doing core exercises and some marching in place. Not only did I have the hip pain today whenever I changed from standing to sitting, I also had signficiant abdominal pain. But I found that spending time on the exercise ball, doing lower ab work (like roll outs) and low back exercises (like bridges and pelvic tilts) actually helped with the pain. I have no idea what’s going on physically, but I was happy that a little exercise helped.

Food wise, well… pickings are getting a little slim around here. Again we’re saving for Christmas and my daughter’s birthday and the kids ate all my fresh fruit (good for them, sad for me). So as you’ll see my choices haven’t been the greatest.

10 am  1/2 peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread (this was the last of the peanut butter, and only about a 1/2 tablespoon, so I’m okay with that.)

11:50 am two 2in squares of my duaghter’s cheese pizza (think butter, garlic, and cheese on my whole wheat high fiber pizza dough)

Noon to 3 pm  3 handfuls of almonds

3:30 pm 4 cups of white rice, plain

7:30 pm 1 piece of corn bread with margarine, white rice, pinto beans, corn, salsa, and a sprinkling of cheese

9 pm 2 mini York peppermint patties (the third was shared with my daughter)

Verdict for the Day

Aside from the fact that I felt miserable all day and I had to really focus through the day just to get my work done and not snap at the kids, I think that exercise wise it was a success because I chose not to let the pain stop me from getting in some exercise.

But from a food standpoint, this day just sucked. No fruit, no veggies to speak of. I did get in LOTS of water, mainly because I was hoping it would help the muscle spasms. But really I need more fruit and veggies.

Tomorrow I’m supposed to be figuring out what goodies we’ll be making on Christmas Eve and Christmas and at this point, I’m thinking I really need to not have a lot of sweets around, as much as I would like to have a taste of fudge and divinity, it would be better to spend the money on fruit instead of candy making ingredients.  We’ll see if the family will buy into that. Wish me luck

Healthy Choices Christmas Challenge – Day 4

Day 4 (Monday) of our Healthy Choices Christmas Challenge 

Exercise wise I got in a variety of “at home” walking exercises while making a double batch of waffles.

Food wise, again got a slow start. Started off with a diet pepsi and a handful of almonds while I took care of some stuff upstairs.

Between noon and 1pm  ate 4 quarters of my kids waffles to keep the edge of the fact that I was hungry. So total 1 homemade whole wheat, high fiber waffle.

1:30 pm 1 waffle with about 2 cups of homemade sweetened, stewed apples (I stewed them with 1/4 cup of white sugar, just because I needed a sugar kick.)

2 pm  7 almonds

3:30 pm 1/2 peanut butter sandwich (on whole wheat bread) & a 1/2 roasted potato fries (my daughter made them so more oil than usual.)

4:30 pm 1 sweet potato, roasted as sweet potato fries

5:30 pm 2/3 of a Good Humor ice cream bar (the other 1/3 went to the kids)

8 pm rotini pasta, broccoli, carrots, garbanzo beans with a homemade garlic paremesan alfredo sauce and a sprinkle of parmesean cheese.  (The alfredo sauce had grated carrots and mashed garbanzo beans in it as well, for an extra nutritional kick.)

11:30 pm 8 tortilla chips with 1 tablespoon of cheese

1:30 pm 2 cups of tortilla chips with cheese and salsa (my husband made them so I have no idea how much cheese he put on them.)

Verdict for the Day

I’m not that happy with this day. We’re running low on groceries and have rediverted the rest of our grocery money for Christmas brunch and dinner and my youngest daughter’s upcoming birthday (the day after Christmas). And that seems to be affecting my choices.  Wish I had bought more fruit.

I’m still dealing with hip pain too. But I’ve been able to find a few exercises that doesn’t bother it as much. I’m really trying to not be a complete vegetable during this, so I do consider that to be a successful choice.

Hope your day was better than mine.

Healthy Choices Christmas Challenge – Day 3

 Sunday was Day 3 of the Healthy Choices Christmas Challenge, and I’m happy to say I seem to be pulling myself out of that  icky, sluggish place I’ve been for the last two weeks.

Saturday night I was up really late (4:30 am), but my family let me sleep in and I actually slept well. So I started my day off good, with energy and focus, not foggy like it has been for the last few weeks.

Exercise wise, I’ve decided not to let this hip problem continue to hold me down. I experimented some with the exercise ball and found a few exercises that doesn’t inflame the pain, and actually eased it. (yeah!). 

Yesterday’s visit to the Chiropractor did help, but I’m still experiencing some intense muscle spasms when I shift from sitting to standing or from standing to sitting. It’s probably worse because it catches me off guard. But I’ve got to get through this.

Food wise was an okay day. Still didn’t eat anything right away, so again need to work on that.

2:55 pm  Handful of Almonds

3:05 pm  Two veggie burgers (3 homemade veggie burger patties split between four pieces of  Whole Wheat bread, with a tablespoon of ketchup on each)

5:30 pm 1/2 of a peanut butter sandwich (on whole wheat bread)

6 -7 pm 3 handfuls of Almonds

7:30 pm A bowl (about 2 1/2 cups) of tortilla chips with melted cheese and about 1/2 cup of salsa on top

9:00 pm  1/2 of a 3 Musketeers Mint (yum!)

10 pm 2 french fries pinched from my husband’s McDonald’s meal (again I was good and decided not to get anything – yeah! I’m getting better at saying no)

11:30 pm 1/2 peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread.

Verdict for the Day

Overall I’m happy with just the fact that I’m conscious of my choices.  When my husband handed me the bowl of tortilla chips and cheese, I made the decision to add salsa to it – for added nutrition and, more importantly, because I knew the added flavor would help me be satisfied with just that for dinner.

And this challenge is all about just being aware and making conscious choices. So in all, I’m going to call the day a success.

How are you doing? Need any help or encouragement? I’d love to hear from you.

Healthy Choices Christmas Challenge – Day 2

Day 2 of the Healthy Choices Christmas Challenge was much better than day 1. 

Exercise wise I still didn’t get any exercise in, but I did make it to the Chiroprator to see if my hip will stop freaking out. So I’m hoping that I can salvage this challenge from an exercise/movement perspective.

I do some walking today, about 15 minutes worth. Fairly slow pace, but it was movement, which also helped my hip.

Food wise, it definitely was better than yesterday:

10:20 am  Banana

2:30 pm Banana and a handful of Almonds  (Scott Tousinaugt’s tip to keep nuts and fruit on my desk is really working well!)

3 pm 1 Homemade Veggie burger (adapted from a recipe in the Hungry Girl cookbook) on a 1/2 of an Orowheat bun and a slice of fresh tomato. About a tablespoon of ketchup.

5:30 pm 3 onion rings pinched from my husband’s Burger King meal (I chose not to get anything – yeah!)

6 pm 3 homemade veggie burger patties in a whole wheat torilla

( A success here: Knowing I was going out with my son to a fast food place, I chose to eat something healthy and relatively filling before hand so that I wouldn’t be tempted by fried greasy foods)

7:30 pm about 5 french fries pinched from my son’s Happy Meal and dipped in barbeque sauce for flavor, one McDonald’s Fruit n’Yogurt Parfait (with granola), and one McDonald’s Hot Fudge Sundae (with peanuts)

I thought I was doing good with this McDonald’s run, but in looking at the nutrition facts for the McDonald’s Hot Fudge Sundae – not so good. It is 375 calories with the peanuts and 13.5 grams of fat. 

I would have been better off getting the kiddie ice cream cone for only 45 calories and 1 gram of fat. Lesson learned. Next time I get the cone.

9 pm to 10 pm a bag of microwave popcorn

11:30 pm  a mini Babe Ruth candy bar

Midnight a Good Humor ice cream sandwich

4:15 am 7 almonds

Verdict for the Day

Again, exercise not so hot. But I’m happy that I got the adjustment, so maybe I can be free from this hip problem and get back to my stretching and exercise routine.  Foodwise, much better, much more even distribution of food intake and I was conscious of my choices. So that’s good. But I suspect that if I put this day through a calorie counter that I’ll come in above the 2200 calories that I’m aiming for. So, tomorrow’s another day.

How’s the weekend  going for you?

Healthy Choices Christmas Challenge – Day 1

Today was the kick off for the Healthy Choices Christmas Challenge, and I got a very slow start. But each day is all about starting a new. And actually for me, I’ve discovered that some days I have to start anew multiple times a day. 

Exercise wise, I did nothing. yep… nothing. pretty bad.  I do have an excuse (lots of hip pain) but that’s all that is – an excuse.  I could have done isometrics, or stretching, or even just sitting on the exercise ball. But no. I sat in my recliner for most of the day. I even worked for five hours on my laptop in the recliner. 

Bad! – I’m not going to lose weight if I keep this up.

Food wise, I was okay, once I started eating. But as you can see from my log. I got caught up in work (yep, from the recliner- ugh!) and didn’t do anything but drink Diet Pepsi  (3 of them) until 3:30.  But I made the choice to not lose the day completely. So here’s how the day ended:

3:30 – 5:00 pm  Five homemade drop biscuits and  a 1/4 cup scrambled eggs

9 pm My Friday night homemade veggie pizza (with spinach and carrots)

10 pm to midnight - one 10 ounce bag of Doritos, one mini Crunch bar, one mini Babe Ruth candy bar, a diet pepsi, and a handful of almonds

Verdict for the Day

Well… the point to this challenge is to be aware of the choices we are making and to make healthy choices.  So I did realize that I was totally sabatoging myself and decided to pull myself out of it.  I purposely chose to to buy a small bag of Doritos rather than get a big bag of chips, and chose to stick just two small pieces of candy. 

So, in all, while not a stellar day. I’m happy I pulled myself out of the ditch and consciously made healthier choices for the evening. But overall, I really feel that I need to do better about eating earlier in the day. This day was the perfect example of how I killed my metabolism and gained the weight. I’ve got to do better.

So, how’d your day go?