Thanksgiving Challenge

Healthy Choices Thanksgiving Challenge Day 5

Well Today is the last day of the Healthy Choices Thanksgiving Challenge. Friday after Thanksgiving is always a big leftovers day for our family. We basically just eat off all the left overs, and this is where my choice yesterday to not cook as much broccoli casserole was a good thing. Cuz this is the day I usually eat a lot of it.

But…my 10 yo son helped me out with that. By the time I made it downstairs to eat, he had polished off all but about a tablespoon of the casserole. So, that was a choice I didn’t have to make.

Exercise wise, I was sore from yesterday’s mini-workouts and all that standing, so I did a lot of stretching today and worked in several mini-workouts (Fat Loss Quickie style).

Food wise, again I tracked not only what I ate, but when I ate it, still trying to get a grip on when I’m eating the bulk of my calories/nutrition.

11:30 am Banana

1 pm Thanksgiving leftovers – 1/2 sweet potato, mashed potatoes, a tablespoon of broccoli cheese casserole, and turkey, all with some leftover gravy.

8 pm – 9:30 pm Munched on a bowl of strawberries with sugar. this was basically a pound of strawberries, minus 3 that I gave to my kids.

(I bought this as my treat, instead of the dark chocolate w/orange candy bar that I seriously considered buying. The kids were disappointed that Iwouldn’t share the strawberries, but this time I wanted them just for me.)

9:30 pm Homemade Veggie Pizza (whole wheat, high fiber pizza dough, topped with 2 carrots, 1 medium zucchini, a 3/4 cup broccoli florets, and two or three handfuls of spinach, plus a few handfuls of cheese.)

10 pm – midnight 5 Twizzlers, 4 handfuls of Ruffles potato chips, 3/4 cup light sour cream, a pinch of onion soup mix, and a couple handfuls of M&Ms. (obviously I didn’t do so well here…)

2:30 am  Banana

The Verdict for the Day

Well… I did really well making good choices up til movie night and then I regressed into the whole potato chip, dip, and candy thing.  Normally I would fight this off by just not having it in the house, but we did have it in the house, and well… not so good.  But there is a success there too, I didn’t eat the whole bag of twizzlers or chips myself.  (yes, I’m grasping for straws here…)

In looking back at what I ate and when, I think maybe one of the problems is that I didn’t eat anything from 1 to 9:30, that’s 8 1/2 hours with no food, just diet soda, water, and sparkling water.  That is too long. I need to eat something small every few hours. I think I would have been better off doing that, then having all this food after 9:30. Something to work on, I guess.

Anyway, Overall this challenge has been good for me. I’ve been more aware of when I’m eating and by logging my food and exercise I’ve been able to be more aware of all the choices I’m making. Just for kicks I’d like to do a nutrition analysis on some of these days, but just haven’t made the time. Would love to know the calorie, fat, & fiber contents for each day.

Healthy Choices Thanksgiving Challenge Day 4 – Thanksgiving!

Well, today was Thanksgiving – Day 4 of my Healthy Choices Thanksgiving Challenge to make healthy choices and eat smaller portions.  

Even though this week, I’ve done pretty well, I really felt like I needed to be more diligent today – simply because there was so much more food choices than normal.

So I started off the day, just making some different choices in how much food I served: 1/2 of a pie instead of the full pie, 1/2 as much broccoli cheese casserole (my favorite), and serving plain baked sweet potatoes instead of a sweet potato casserole.  I also realized I needed to get more movement in, to offset the extra food I was going to eat.

So Exercise wise: I did several mini-workouts,  Fat Loss Quickie-style.  I also used my exercise ball for a chair for about 2 hours of our long Phase 10 card game.

But I think I over did it, because by the time dinner came around, my legs were killing me and my low back was threatening to shut me down.  Thankfully, some stretching on the ball and the floor and a 1/2 hour of resting made a difference.

Food-wise, I tracked the same as I have for the last few days – not only what I’m eating, but when I’m eating it. Again to raise my own awareness of where the bulk of my calories/nutrition is being consumed.

10 am – Diet Coke for a break-fast snack (there’s that morning soda again…gotta break this again!)

11:30 Brunch: 1 half white, half- whole wheat waffle with homemade cinnamon applesauce on top, 3 pieces of turkey bacon, 2 pieces of turkey sausage, and a 1/2 cup of scrambled eggs. Oh, and a cup of homemade hot cocoa with a couple mini-marshmellows.

11:45 am – 3:30 pm  Snacked on baby carrots, a couple stalks of broccoli,  about a dozen black olives, and a 2 inch square of coffee cake. Had about a tablespoon of fat-free ranch dressing for dip.

4:30 pm Thanksgiving Dinner: Turkey, jello, whole wheat roll, mashed potatoes (w/skins but full of butter!), broccoli cheese casserole, 2 baked sweet potatoes w/ about a 2 teas real butter, about 4 slices of peaches, and homemade gravy (made with a butter roux and turkey broth) on both the turkey and the mashed potatoes.

6:30 pm Dessert: a thin slice of Marie Callendar’s Chocolate Cream Pie (think 1/6 of 1/2 of a pie)

A plus here: We also had Chocolate Muffins (made with pumpkin and devil’s food cake mix) available, but I decided to just freeze mine for another day.

9:20 pm Several handfuls of Carmel Corn (from cub scouts popcorn sales) and a couple handfuls of roasted almonds.

10 pm  1/2 bag of popcorn

1:30 am  a banana as a bedtime snack (this week I’ve discovered that I like having a peice of fruit as a bedtime snack. hmm.)

The Verdict of the Day

Today was good. I felt good about the choices I made. Of course I had it easier because I was in control over the menu and oversaw the cooking, so I could control the ingredients. But I also felt good about the choices I made – both food wise and exercise wise.  It was a good day and I have much to be thankful for.

Healthy Choices Thanksgiving Challenge Day 3

Well, it’s Thanksgiving Eve - The day before the big holiday, and Day 3 of my challenge to make healthy choices and eat smaller portions this holiday week.

I started documenting this on Monday (Day 1) because I had a social event (a tea party) that could have easily caused me to derail. And I’ll continue with this through Friday to make sure that I not only get through the holiday, but also the day after – with all the holiday leftovers – on track.

Last night, I stayed up really late – until 3:30 am talking to my hubby, so I started the day really late. And as usual, it derailed my morning exercise.

Exercise -wise I only did a few of my morning stretches, did a couple stretches this evening. Most of my movement today consisted of doing kickbacks, Y-squats, and other movement while I was waiting for waffles to cook. (I’m famous for burning food because I leave it go check something quick and forget about what’s cooking - so exercising while making waffles helps keep me in the kitchen.)

I also got some walking in while out grocery shopping with my daughter, parked the car way in the back of the parking lot, just so I could get a short walk in. The cooler weather is really causing stiffness, so I’ve got to keep some movement.

Food wise, the day started out good and deteriorated from there. As I have been throughout this challenge, I kept track of both what I ate and when I ate it, so I can raise my awareness and get the calories and nutrition in earlier in the day (rather than late at night). So here was today:

11:30 am Diet Pepsi – (darn it another soda for breakfast…need to break this habit AGAIN.)

1 pm 1/4 of a plain homemade, whole wheat, high fiber waffle (I was hungry, having not eaten anything yet, so I pulled a section of my daughter’s first waffle.)

1:45 pm 3/4 cup of roasted potatoes. My daughter made these, so they were peeled and in more oil than I prefer, but again, I was hungry and these are a yummy snack. She had actually given me more, but I shared with my 7 yo, who apparently has a hollow leg (he’s always eating something, but then again, he’s always moving too.)

2:30 pm After making everyone 2 or 3 waffles each, I finally sat down to eat mine.

I don’t use butter or syrup on my waffles, so instead I topped mine with warm, stewed apples, which I had simmering on the stove while I was cooking the waffles.

So… 1 whole wheat, high-fiber waffle with apples stewed in water, a tablespoon of sugar and a dash of cinnamon.  Yum, and filling.

6:30 pm  A bite of carrot after I was done grating carrots for my son to use in the dish he was cooking for the family dinner.

7:30 pm a Banana. My daughter and I were out doing grocery shopping and deliverying a meal to a new mom, but we were starving so I grabbed a banana at Kroger (our first stop), to hold me until we could stop and sit down for a snack.

8:00 pm… and here’s where things go wrong… We went to Arby’s and I ended up eating fried food. I just couldn’t resist the curly fries, but I was hungry so I ended up eating not only the curly fries, but 4 pieces of popcorn chicken and 3 of my daughter’s mozzerrella sticks.  <ugh>

9 pm As a reward for their help with unloading and putting away the groceries, I split a York Peppermint Patty with 3 of my children. So I got 1/4 of a piece – just enough to get the taste and that actually was all I needed.

Midnight – And while I was typing this, I did grab a banana as a quick snack.

So Today’s Verdict:

So in all, most of the day was okay as far as choices go. Though I really need to eat more of the food earlier in the day. But that Arby’s run sunk me. Good thing we don’t go out that often. 

Exercise wise, it was poor, but I did spend most of the day on my feet, instead of my usual sitting, so that is better, but not great.

Tomorrow is the big day. I’ve already cut the chocolate cream pie in half and stuck half of it in the back of the freezer to save for Christmas – simply because it’ll be too tempting tomorrow. I figure a half of a pie, split across six people, will be much easier for me to manage temptation wise.

So here’s to making healthy choices for the holiday!

Have a great Thanksgiving!

…Shannon

Healthy Choices Thanksgiving Challenge Day 2

Day 2 of our Thanksgiving Challenge to make healthy choices and eat smaller portions.  Today (Tuesday) I didn’t have any social obligations, so in theory it should have been easy, right?  Well…each day is it’s own, with it’s own temptations.

Exercise wise, I let the cooler weather and the stiffness I was experiencing prevent me from doing any serious exercise. I did do my morning stretching (otherwise it would be hard to move), and did end the day with more stretching, a plank, and a few bird dogs (core exercise).

Food wise, again I tracked both what I ate and when I ate it, simply because I have a HUGE struggle with eating early enough in the day, and I really am working moving the bulk of my calories/nutrition intake to earlier in the day. So here goes:

9:30 am Diet Coke (hmm… need to get back to work on starting the day with something other than a soda)

I had slept late, and woke quickly remembering that I had to be on a webinar in 30 minutes -oops… Grab a diet coke and run kind of morning, a habit that I thought I had overcome…hmm…

9:45 am a 2 inch square of my daughter’s garlic cheese bread, made on homemade, whole wheat, high fiber pizza dough. Only the dough is healthy here. She puts a lot of butter on this, but it was a quick favorful, quick breakfast snack.

10:15 am A corn muffin – my daughter made them for me, so I have no idea if she used whole wheat or white flour, but it was a quick breakfast while I was on the webinar.

10:30 am a 1/2 cup of Yoplait Vanilla Yogurt – my 10 son brought this to me, as a treat while I was working. Yum!

2:30 pm 1 sweet potato – made as sweet potato fries, so a little olive oil along with it.  This actually was a pretty filling snack that along with water held me for a couple hours.

4 pm 1 slice of cucumber and 1 broccoli floret (I was putting a veggie snack for the kids, and swiped a bite)

5 pm Stir fry veggies, 1 cup homemade chicken broth, and 2 cups rice. YUM! (veggies were 2 carrots, 2 cloves of garlic, 1/2 cup sweet onion, 2 cups sliced cabbage stirfried in a tablespoon of olive oil and seasoned with a dash of kosher salt and the chicken broth).

 I love this as a snack or even a meal, but it takes time to prepare and make.

7:30 pm It was Taco night – so for me that means Vegetarian Tacos. I prefer to use the Whole Wheat Toritilla with flax seed (for the Omega-3s).

I normally use either vegetarian refried beans or pinto beans, but I was out. So instead I grabbed some kidney beans from the freezer and used that as my base protien, combined with rice. 

 Then I topped the beans and rice with salsa, non-fat sour cream, sliced spinach (my kids won’t eat lettuce, but they eat spinach – go figure.), and a sprinkle of cheese. So before I folded it up, it looked like a big heap

But once it folded up just fine. And tasted yummy.

But I was still hungry, so I made a second one. But by that time my family had demolished off the spinach and most of the cheese, so the second one consisted of mostly beans and rice, salsa, and non-fat sour cream

This held me for the rest of the night, but my  hubby did tempt me with my favorite treat – popcorn. So we split a bag at 10:30 pm.

 The Verdict for the Day

All in all, this was a good food day from a choices standpoint. I’m still not starting off strong, and that’s causing me problems.  I’m also a little disappointed that I didn’t get any extra exercise in today outside my normal stretching and core exercises.  I need both healthy food choices and exercise to lose weight. Something to keep working on I guess. Tomorrow is another day.

Healthy Choices Thanksgiving Challenge Day 1

Okay, so Angie (Losing It and Loving it) suggested we do a Thanksgiving challenge to focus on healthier choices and smaller portions. And since today was my first social gathering of the holiday season, I thought I better start. 

So, I got a good start off today, getting up early and getting in the full 1 mile Get Up and Get Started walk with Leslie Sansone (Walk Away the Pounds). But for some reason within 30 minutes I was so tired I went back to sleep for an hour  – weird. 

But I got my exercise and stretching in this morning, so I felt better about having it done early in the day. No nagging sensation that I have to “work it in” somehow.

Food wise, I decided to log exactly what I ate and at what time (I’m struggling still with making sure I eat enough early enough in the day.)

7:30am Banana

11:20am Oatmeal w/ 2 tsp brown sugar & homemade whole wheat, high fiber waffles

Noon Banana

1 pm  A single cucumber slice (a gift from my daughter – she was sharing)

2:15 pm Stir Fry Veggie Soup (olive oil, 1/4c onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 carrots, and 2 cups cabbage, plus 2 cups homemade chicken broth) – YUM!

3:30 pm (TEA Party) 2 cups of herbal tea (with a splash of half n’half), 2 mini pecan pies (think mini muffin size), and a very thin slice of apple cake.

A Whole plate of those mini pecan pies was sitting right in front of me, and they were soooo good, but I resisted and just limited myself to 2. Get the flavor and enjoy the experience, but not indulge and binge – or at least that was my intent.

7:45 pm Half a plate of spinach, carrot, and tomato salad (no dressing, just fresh ground black pepper). White rice, italian chicken (baked chicken in a marinara sauce sprinkled with a tiny bit of mozzerella cheese).

11:30 pm Banana (I needed a quick snack)

I did also get in another round of stretching and sitting on the exercise ball this evening, while I was talking to my hubby. And I’m about to go up stairs and stretch again before bed.

So in all, I’m happy with my day.  How’d yours go?