One Word | April 2013 prompt

Well - this is a late post for the April prompt.  Still, here it is - and it's good as long as you need it.

This month - sometime soon - get out a piece of paper...any size, any color...and write one of the following words:

enough
worthy
good

Write big - fill the whole page (leaving just a little room around the edges).  Write with a marker, a paint brush, a crayon, a pencil.  Color it in, decorate it up, spend some time connecting with this word.

Now,
just above the word (or inside, or on the side, or on the bottom) write these two small words:

I am.

Put your piece of paper where you can see it.

Put you and your piece of paper in front of a mirror and take a picture.  Or ask someone to take a picture of you holding your paper with some of these words on it:

I am enough
I am worthy
I am good

How does that feel?  Repeat this phrase every time you see yourself in the mirror, or reflected in a car window, or anywhere.  Try it for a few weeks.

Eventually you will put it in your folder or notebook.

Say a little prayer, or call me if you forget these messages.  I am here to remind and support you.

Healthy Habits - What I'm learning

I'm involved in two healthy habit challenges right now and I love it.  Last week was the first week of my Healthy Habit Challenge with friends from work and family.  I was so motivated and I notice that the support really helped me stay focused.  I still ended up with two treat days (all it took was having to taste a piece of chocolate to see if I could use it in my recipe...oh well). I still got in 5 days of exercise and I can tell choices.

I'd love to hear what you learned from this experience.

Here's what I learned: 

1) I don't get in as much fruit and vegetables as I thought

2) On the weekends my timetable for eating shifts down and I often don't finish eating by 9pm (this was a big surprise)

3) It didn't take long for my body to adjust to the extra water - and now I am better at identifying that thirsty feeling

Thank you so much for doing this with me.  I am LOVING the extra motivation and support.

Healthy Habit Challenge FAQ

This is the beginning of my week 3 on the healthy habit challenge and I am really happy with how my clothes are fitting more loosely - already!

What a great day it was yesterday - I drank lots of water and got in a great work out, and I'm hearing that you did too!  I really appreciate your support.  I am learning that it is really important for me to have an accountability structure in place.

Answer to some frequently asked questions. 

1) Eat as many fruits and vegetables as you want - making sure you eat a minimum of 2 fruits and 3 vegetables to earn your points

2) A sugary treat or dessert is something like ice cream, candy, cake, cookies, jello, pudding, chocolate, gummy bears...  It is NOT: a little sugar added to your Greek yogurt, sugar in your coffee or tea, foods that have sugar in them (granola bar).  We are not giving up sugar!  We are rewarding ourselves for reaching for a healthier choice over a sugary food choice.

3) You can eat sugar/drink alcohol as many days as you want each week - but you only earn points for avoiding sugar/alcohol 6 days of the week.  During the first few weeks you may want to reduce gradually - going to three days, then two days and then one day each week.  It's all up to you.  And I am NOT taking a point handicap because I don't drink alcohol! :-)

4) You earn points for exercising only five days each week.  If you want to gradually build up the amount of exercise you do, that's fine!  The point is sustainable shifts, not dramatic and often injury-inducing hyper exercise.  Slow and steady!

5) I've heard some people are concerned about integrity since we are self-reporting our points.  I trust that we will all be honest since, as Linda D said, "The challenge is really me against me."  In addition, the weight loss component will act as a check and balance.  When we make these positive/healthy shifts, our bodies will shift too.

Some portion guidelines:

1 vegetable serving = 1 cup raw vegetables or 1/2 cup cooked vegetable

1 fruit serving = 1/2 cup - 1 cup fresh fruit, 1/4 cup dried fruit (raisins, etc), or one piece of fruit - bananas are typically two fruit servings.  Your call

These foods do not count as anything (not vegetables, not fats, not illegal): pickles, ketchup, 1 tsp sugar, salt, 1 Tbsp honey, mustard

1 protein serving = 2 Tbsp peanut butter, 1 oz cheese (1/4 cup shredded cheese), 1 oz meat, 1 egg, 1/4 cup nuts, 3 pieces of bacon

1 fat serving = 1/4 avocado, 1 tsp butter, 1 tsp mayo, 1 Tbsp salad dressing, 1 Tbsp nuts, 1 piece of bacon, 1 Tbsp cream, 1 Tbsp sour cream, 1 Tbsp cream cheese, 1/4 cup olives

1 dairy serving = 6 oz yogurt, 6 oz milk

Until next time - Keep up the terrific work!

Healthy Habit Challenge

We are starting the Healthy Habit Challenge April 8, 2013

Come on along for the fun.

Here's a .pdf file for you to download and print out.  Fill in your points every day and send me your scores every Sunday evening.

Leave comments and questions below and check back for rankings next Monday.

Enjoy!

Challenge pdf


Also!  I need to give credit to Six Sister's Stuff.  I used their healthy challenge printable as the basis for the form we are using for our challenge.  Thanks ladies!