Welcome to the Strong Healthy Mom Challenge update! Wondering what this is? Check out this post to join us. Then read on to find out how to enter to win this week’s giveaway and join us for a little accountability!
Sorry for the late update this week! We ended up traveling for the holidays…and I’m having some trouble catching up! It’s been a little stressful, and to be honest, I haven’t fared so well. The great reminder is that this is a journey. I read an interesting article by Jade Teta of Metabolic Effect this week, and there were several things that stuck out to me, but I really love this.
He says:
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“Be a detective not a dieter: To achieve real and lasting body change, you need to know how to read the signals of your body and adjust your approach. Hunger, energy, and cravings give you a reliable source of biofeedback. Correct these sensations first, and then you are in a position to see lasting change
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Understand self-control: If you want change, you need to make room for change. Psychologists tell us that self-control, just like our muscles, is fatigue-able. If you are doing too much, you will do nothing well. Before adding to your life, make sure you subtract.
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Design a lifestyle that is easy: Body change requires making changes that are as easy or easier than the things they are replacing. If you think you can go on doing the same old things and get a different result, you are sadly mistaken. You must change, and that change must be doable over the long run.
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It is all about ME, meaning you: It does not matter if your friend can lose weight eating Fruit Loops and Frappucinos. There is nothing fair or logical about body change. Learn, practice, and master what works for you. No matter what any article, guru, friend, or anyone else tells you, filter EVERYTHING through your own metabolic tendencies, personality behaviors, and psychological preferences. This is the core teaching of Metabolic Effect.”
Read the whole article here.
Anyway I love thatt! It’s a great reminder that we are all unique, and it is crazy to think the exact same plan is going to work for all of us! Here is how I did on last week’s goals.
1) Continue forcing myself to go to bed by 10:30 PM! – Made this goal about 1/2 the time again. Christmas traveling got in the way!
2) Continue with the Eight-Week Fat Loss Plan for Busy People from FitnessBlender.com. – Accomplished!
3) Eat mindfully and slowly. – Let’s just say I really did not do well in this area. Several super-stressful situations occurred, and I went back to some old patterns. Here’s to a fresh start in this new week!
New Goals:
1) Drink at least 10 cups of water each day to help detox from holiday eating.
2) Continue with the Eight-Week Fat Loss Plan for Busy People from FitnessBlender.com.
3) 2 Liquid (soups, smoothies, etc) meals each day to help with detox.
If you’ve missed the past few weeks, here is a recap of what the challenge is all about:
Strong Healthy Mom Challenge: Holiday Edition
From now through January 11, I will be posting weekly goals and sharing updates on how it is going. Even better, I want to invite you to share your goals and progress…and be eligible to win. Here’s how it works: 1) If you haven’t yet, leave a comment on the first week’s post with your long-term goals for the next eight weeks. (This post will be open for comments throughout the challenge.) 2) Leave a comment on this post about how your week went. Then, share your goals for the next week. That’s it! Each week, we’ll just share and be accountable to each other. To keep it fun and mix things up, I’ll be throwing in a giveaway each week. There will be things like Amazon Gift Cards, Jillian Michael’s DVDs, Fitness Blender programs, Trim Healthy Mama books, and Starbucks gift cards. These winners will be randomly chosen from the comment section on each week’s post, and I will share those winners each week. Each weekly post will be open for comments until the following Sunday at 8 PM CT. Our “big” giveaway will be at the end of the eight weeks. Those who have commented and joined in with us for at least four of the eight weeks will be eligible for that giveaway. The winner will be able to choose what they want from these three options: $100 Gift Card to Amazon, $100 Gift Card to Trim Healthy Mama store, or a $100 gift card to Target. The final winner will be chosen on January 12, 2015! I will be posting on Instagram (you can find me here) under the hashtag #stronghealthymomchallenge. If you are on Instagram or Twitter, there will be a special giveaway at the end for those who use the hashtag, so use it so we can find you! You can also join our Facebook group – Strong Healthy Mom Challenge!
Last week’s winner of the $10 Amazon Gift Card or Jillian Michael’s DVD is: charlotteedwardszhang@.
This week, I’m just sticking with a $10 Amazon Gift Card giveaway to make it simple! There are just two weeks to go, so be sure you comment on at least four posts to be eligible for the $100 gift card!
Have a beautiful, strong week!
Theresa says
I love those tips from that book!
Thank you for always being real and honest in your journey. I really believe that is the best way to support each other (as women and mothers)! We’re all just chugging along fighting the good fight. There’s no reason to make it a contest or competition!
After our craziness right before Christmas, last week I wanted to try to be asleep by 11:30pm, eat mindfully and run at least 10 miles. I’m not sure I hit the bedtime very well and I’m sure I ate more Christmas junk than I should have but I did run a total of 12.5 miles.
This week my goals are
1) Increase my fluid intake, including at least 3 cups of green tea daily. I’ve already started doing this. I’m still allowing myself a cup or two of coffee but I think I feel less tired than if drink coffee all day.
2) Loosely count calories. I feel like I eat more mindfully when I stop to think about how many calories that treat really has.
3) Still attempt to get a decent amount of sleep at night (My life long journey!)
4) Run at least 10 miles a week.
Mandie says
I am on track with my goal! Since starting the Strong Healthy Mom Challenge, I am down 19 pounds and am 6 pounds away from my 25 pound goal I set. Since starting my new healthy lifestyle journey on October 1st, I am down 45 pounds and 43 inches! I am 5 pounds away from my ultimate goal. I baked Christmas treats for my kids and didn’t have one bite. There will be time for occasional treats when I reach my goal, but for now, I am a mom on a mission to take my life back!
My goals this week:
1. Increase my veggie intake.
2. Increase my water.
3. Get 8 hours of sleep.
Jessica says
I’ve been really bad at keeping up on here. My goals the last time I posted were to do sit ups (fail!), to do my own quiet time (I’ve been really hit or miss with this), and to do my kids quiet times with them (I’ve been hit or miss here too).
My goals for this next week are the same with the quiet times: to do my own every day and to do my kids’ quiet times with them every day. This is important for spiritual health! I’m going to try to do sit ups at least once this week (I’m starting really small with that now since I’ve just been failing with that). My final goal for this week is to go to bed (without my phone) by ten each night.
Sara says
I ditto that on the tips from the article you posted! It really helps to put things in perspective.
I did not do well this last week with the holidays. For some reason, when the day before Christmas hit, all of my good eating habits went out the door and the bad ones flooded in, big time – and they haven’t stopped! It doesn’t help that I ended up getting sick right after Christmas and am still not all the way better – you’d think that with being sick, I could give up the sweet tooth, but that only happened for one day and it’s back with vengeance today! I did really well with my goal on exercising until getting sick. So that was mostly a win and I did slow down eating with some of my meals, which is an improvement for me.
My goals for this next week:
1. Get better by taking it easy and not pushing myself back into the normal routine too soon.
2. Once better, get back on track with my 90 day exercise challenge.
3. Stop eating so many treats! (I may just need to throw them out so the temptation is no longer there)
Sara says
Well, with all the cold weather & rain, the ants decided that the inside of our house was a much nicer place to be than the outside and they *really* thought that the cookies left on the counter were a yummy treat! That makes throwing out the treats much easier for me when they are covered in little black crawling things 🙂
mlc says
I, too, greatly “enjoyed” too many treats. I think Christmas/family, etc. has a lot of emotional impact/baggage that gets labeled as “celebrating”. I am looking forward to January, when sanity returns…I hope 🙂 I really like the reminder from Jessica about sticking to a quiet time. That has fell by the wayside for me as well these last two weeks and I know it is desperately needed. So, my goals for next week are (1) to keep up my exercise (I did get in two days last week) (2) Stop with the sugar treats – return to correct portions/calories (3) Get in my quiet time at least 3 times this week (in hopes of working up to each day.)
Cristina says
Thanks for this it has keep up me on track of sorts – yes I have indulged in some sweets and Christmas treats but I have not overdone it this year – this has made a difference. Unfortunately I haven’t kept up with the exercise – with my husband and kids at home – it hasn’t happened.
This week;s goals:
1. Exercise at least 3 times
2. Drink more water (5 glasses) a day
3. Sleep more than 8 hrs a night
Amy says
Did okay with exercising and healthy eating choices, though I did have some sweets. We did better at eating fruits and vegetables even while traveling this time.
This week:
Exercise four times.
Make healthier eating choices–fruits and vegetables included.
Thanks.
Charlotte says
Thanks for the gift card!
I enjoyed the Metablic Effect book by Dr. Teta and his brother and like listening to them when they are guests on the Cut the Fat podcast (it hasn’t been update in a long time, but there’s lots of great information).
I did okay on my goals last week. A terrible cold sore kept me from eating much and in an attempt to get rid of it faster, I was brushing after all three meals a day instead of just morning and night. A freshly cleaned mouth somehow cuts down the urge to make an iced coffee! I think I’ll keep up this habit.
For this week:
Drink green tea with fresh lemon juice every morning to help my liver.
Continue 3 JM workouts a week and 60 of walking daily.
Be in bed by 10:30 every night.
Sherri says
Doing pretty well with water intake and getting outside and walking. Been down with a cold again so have been resting pretty well and relaxing. Am going to work on getting well and continue to be consistent with walking, relaxing, getting enough water.