Kami 1/7/10

Meals:

hard boiled egg/ whole wheat sweet potato muffin

apple/string cheese

salad with veggies, a little turkey and a little egg white-whole wheat roll (0 fat, 0 cal dressing)

protein bar

grilled chicken breast and grilled zuchini

Today's workout ROCKED! When I went to bed last night (with a heating pad and tylenol) I worried that the intense muscle pain might hold me back, but thankfully when I woke up I was much less sore. The upper body workout was a lot of fun. I kept invisioning these cute, "cut" arms developing. Wouldn't that be fun? I can live without that arm jiggle for sure! I am actually looking forward to tomorrows workout instead of dreading the "push". It feels so good to work hard!

Gratitudes:
I too am so grateful for a supportive family who is enduring changes as well. My husband is encouraging even though this might mean a that he gets "less" of a wife for a while. In the long run this is the best thing for everyone in our family and hopefully will inspire them to want to be healthier as well.
I am grateful for a mom and sister who have always been good examples of exercise to me. My mom had us exercising with her when we were very young. In fact I take my kids running down the same road that she used to take me! The need to be active was instilled in me from my mother. Sundee has always had much more endurance than me and is a great exercise partner because she pushes me. She is always looking for ways to be healthy and sharing them. I love that about her. Today is a GREAT day! If you believe you can achieve!

Tips for getting on the blog

I thought I'd put together a little note on here for those who were struggling with posting on the blog. Here are a few things:

1. Go to the email that you received from Leslie about the blog. The subject says, "You have been invited to contribute to Leslie Groft's blog. Follow the link in the blog and it will take you to the blogger website and ask you to log in. You will need a google id for that - but it will walk you through that too if you need.
   
2. After logging into the blog you will be taken to a place called the "Dashboard". If you are a member to any other blogs it will list those here. If not - it will just list our blog "Leslie's ONE-Month Challenge".
   
3. If you are going straight to the blog and have already registered as a user - to create a new post you will click on the letter "B" in the top left corner of your screen. This will also take you to a place to sign in and then on to the "Dashboard" where you should see "Leslie's ONE-Month Challenge" listed.
   
4. Here you will click on "New Post". This will take you to a window where you will type up your post. I would recommend that after you type your post that you also give it a label. At the bottom of the window where you've typed there is a spot that says "Labels for this post:". In that line just type your name. That way you will be able to read through your posts based on your name. (I'll add a bar on the side that will list all of our names - that way if you wanted to print it out later or something - for your own records - you could.) After typing your post click on "Publish Post".
5. You will then be taken to a screen that will have the option to "View post". Click on that and make sure everything looks alright and you're done! If for some reason you want to change anything you can click back and there will be an option to "edit post" and you can do what you need to.

I hope this helps some...If you have any questions you can ask and I'll help best I can.

-Joanna

Joanna - 1/7/10

Food I'm planning to eat (I'll post my actual food in the comments at the end of the day):

1. yogurt & string cheese
2. protein shake made with water and 1/2 banana (blech! rethinking this one....)
   
3. lean cuisine w/ carrot sticks
   
4. cottage cheese w/ apple
   
5. Omelet made with veggies, a little cheese, whole wheat toast w/ honey
   
6. fruit and yogurt shake made with carb master yogurt

Exercise:
The upper body workout was great! I felt it but I loved that Leslie pushed me a little. When I got there this morning I felt sick to my stomach, but by the time I left I actually felt better! The "old me" would have skipped out on working out and gone back to bed. It felt good to be rewarded by feeling better. It was so helpful to have Leslie working through the moves with me - I loved it.

How I'm feeling:
Gross from the shake I just choked down....but other than that - good. I had a few moments last night where I fell apart and said "I can't do it it all." Those moments are hard for me. Not just worrying about the exercise, eating right - but for me it's more of the every day things that are hard for me to keep up with. And adding these new changes on top of it all is hard for me. I no longer have my vices (junk food/excessive soda pop) to fall back on and that's hard. I'm needing to find new ways to "cope". Even last night when I was upset I was proud of myself though for not having another Diet Dr Pepper even though it might have taken the edge off a bit :).

Gratitudes:
Organization. That doesn't mean I'm organized right now - but I'm grateful that I have been @ other times in my life - so I know it's possible again.

Preschool - I'm so grateful my son went back to preschool today after the Christmas break. I love him, but it's nice to have someone else watching him for a couple hours a week. And tomorrow my youngest has school too. We might be getting back to a routine!

Connections - I'm so grateful for the connections I have in life with people, with knowledge and with goodness.

Mindy - Thursday 1/what's the date today???

So I haven't worked the last 2 days so I don't know the date. How pathetic is that?

Anyway...the work out today was awesome. My arms are dead. I'm afraid I won't be able to wash my hair. Maybe I will go to work stinky. Just kidding. Gross.

Cardio seems to be getting a little easier. Time doesn't seem to c-r-a-w-l when I'm on the treadmill anymore. Maybe it's cuz I can talk to Leslie instead of focus on the ticking seconds?

I've decided to go to Dallas. I'm excited to go. It will be fun.

Meals:
Meal 1: Whole wheat English Muffin/honey, cottage cheese/pineapple
Meal 2: Yogurt, string cheese
Meal 3: Baked chicken, mashed potatoes
Meal 4: Protein bar
Meal 5: Snapper fillet, carrots, brown rice
Meal 6: I don't know...

I'm feeling really good. I'm surprised with myself that I've stuck to the diet and not cheated once. I know Saturday is coming and it makes it easy to eat clean. I'm feeling guilty sometimes that I am putting myself first and really doing this diet/exercise thing. But this is what I have to do for ME right now. If I'm happy with me, then I can take care of everyone else and do it better. It's OK to be selfish for a very small portion of my day.

I'm grateful for the weather that is so nice. I'm grateful to be outside with my kids and see them playing. I'm grateful for a husband who doesn't make me feel guilty about what I'm doing now and seems genuinely excited for me to continue on.

Sundee 1/6/10

Meals that I ate today
Breakfast- Omlett with mushrooms,green peppers, onion, and a little cheese.
1/3 cup Coaches Oats with milk

Mid Morning Snack- String Cheese and apple

Lunch- Two chicken tacos.

After noon snack- Snickers protein bar. (Ok I think these taste so good but are probably not super good for me. They probably have to much sugar. They have 200 calories and I think 15 grams of protein. I just really needed a treat and it totally hit the spot.

Dinner- Lean cuisine- 160 calories, 1 cup zero point soup 21 calories and 5 strawberries.

Wont be having the 6th meal. Is it ok to miss this one? Any suggestions welcome.

Keri 1/6/10

This is my first post but it is not because I have not been doing what I am supposed to!! I have actually been doing really well. I am soooooo sore but I love it!! I haven't had a pepsi since last Friday but I haven't really missed it yet. I am sure it will catch up with me though!

My meals for today:
M1-Carbmaster yogurt, cottage cheese
M2-Chicken and brocolli
M3-String Cheese and whole wheat bread
M4-Chicken, brown rice and broccoli
M5-not sure yet

I am feeling awesome except for the fact that I can't sit on the toilet or walk up or down stairs but other than that I am great!!

I haven't had too much trouble with the eating except for a couple of times I was wishing I had some sort of a treat. Any good ideas?
It sounds crazy but I am actually excited to go to Leslie's every day, never thought I would say that!!
Good Luck to everyone, I know we can do it!
Keri

1/6/10

I am having so much fun. You all are working so hard and it brings me so much joy. These next two weeks will be a little challenging due to fatigue and soreness, but know that, that doesn't last forever. Withing a short time it will be just gentle soreness. The kind that makes you happy that you are growing in strength and determination. Till then, make sure you let me know how you are feeling. It would break my heart if you stopped coming because you felt like it was too hard. Please talk to me, have patience with the process, and know that every ounce of work you are doing will give back more than it takes! I am proud of you for honoring your right to change and to build a healthier you. All of us go through ups and downs on our path to change, IT IS NORMAL. Some days are going to flow easy and you are going to feel on top of the world, but other days you will have to battle your way through. Hold tight to the vision you have for yourself. Know your purpose for wanting change and think of it often. Know now that things WILL come up. You may get sick, get an injury, have to go out of town, be in a bad mood, suffer a loss or many other situations, but you need to remember when those curves pop up in your journey, that you just need to ride them out and know that those things are not a dead-end. You can and should still honor your committment and DO IT ANYWAY. There is always going to be a million reasons why you can't keep your goals. I know because I've used them all, but you need to decide the FEW MAJOR reasons why you should and DO IT ANYWAY. I'll be cheering for you. You can do hard things.Make this a great day, Leslie