I must be in very philosophical modes when I tally up points--as I did today I was struck by how each of those points was an external reflection go good choices. It's impossible to put point values on choosing the right, but it's kinda fun when we can do it in a small way. (Can you tell I was in Primary last year? Choose the Right!) So it was fun to type up numbers like 381 and 455 and...500!
So ramblings aside, congratulations to our winner BRITTANY! and two second place winners JEN and JEN. I love it. I'm so happy for you guys. I'll cash the checks today and send your prizes on their way.
Not that it mattered in the total point run, but sorry about the confusion on the "20 points" yesterday. I should never email at 6:30am after being up all night with sick kids. I should have made it more clear that yesterday was an extra day to get those blog points, if you hadn't already commented or posted. Not an extra 20 points, just extra day to get the regular ones. Sorry. Thanks for all the feedback though. Every challenge has its plus and minuses and it's interesting to see what people like or don't. If any of you ever host a challenge, email me and I'd love to participate.
So thank you all for a wonderful challenge and best of luck to you for the rest of this winter. Happy Valentine's Day!
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
A time for every season
I don't know if anyone will read this now that the challenge is over, but I need to write it out for me. I totally checked out of the challenge this week. I didn't exercise a single time, and I ate multiple desserts every day. Let me go back up though, to the beginning of this story. Around Christmastime, when my daughter Grace was just over 2 months old, she started crying during every feeding. EVERY FEEDING. I was completely overwhelmed, and cried all the time for her, and me. :) I had no idea what to do, and everything we did didn't help (priesthood blessings, change of diet etc). I had started exercising a few weeks before (6 weeks postpartum), and took a break over Christmas vacation and then started right back up again for this challenge. I also put myself on a diet of absolutely no desserts at the beginning of the year. So basically, this challenge should have been a piece of cake for me!
I worried about Grace, I worried that I would lose my milk because I was exercising too much, but I was so focused on me, and my weight loss, that I pushed it aside for the first weeks of January. Grace continued to cry for 50-100% of her feedings, and I was constantly mentally exhausted. I was losing my appetite, and definitely not getting enough calories in during the day, always hurrying to get a big snack in before 8 PM, and it just wasn't enough.
I asked my husband for a blessing at the beginning of February, and Heavenly Father told me that if I listened to the spirit, it would tell me how to help Grace. I sent an email to my family members asking them to pray for Grace. I stopped exercising, and I started eating desserts again (mostly at the urging of my husband - he didn't think it was healthy to stop eating any desserts just to binge whenever I finally started eating them again, which I totally would do). I prayed for guidance and started swaddling Grace every time she ate, and made sure that my 2 year old was playing a game or watching tv so that he wouldn't disturb her when she ate, because she's so sensitive to noises.
And prayers were answered. Tuesday last week we went for an entire day with zero crying during feedings. She even took a 2 hour nap in the afternoon, which hasn't happened for months. She has cried at only 2 or 3 feedings total in the past week. I'm eating many oatmeal cookies everyday, and not even considering exercise, and my daughter is happy. I actually weigh a little bit less now than at the beginning of the challenge.
I cried a little bit as I wrote this out. It has been such a hard few months. But I know that HF was looking out for me, and he had to get around my selfishness of wanting to lose the baby weight and look just like my old self, in order to bless me and my family. It has certainly made me appreciate my body more, and the miracle of what I can do with it to give birth and feed my children. I realized that this is not the season for me to be vain about the way I look - now is the time to be taking care of my children in the way that they have need of it. Listening to the promptings of the spirit and the promptings of my body and my mother's intuition has made a huge difference. Reading my scriptures every day has made a huge difference. My body might not look any different right now, but I know my spirit and testimony are stronger. Thanks to all of you for your encouraging words. Thanks to Angela for putting this together. May God bless you in all of your goals.
I worried about Grace, I worried that I would lose my milk because I was exercising too much, but I was so focused on me, and my weight loss, that I pushed it aside for the first weeks of January. Grace continued to cry for 50-100% of her feedings, and I was constantly mentally exhausted. I was losing my appetite, and definitely not getting enough calories in during the day, always hurrying to get a big snack in before 8 PM, and it just wasn't enough.
I asked my husband for a blessing at the beginning of February, and Heavenly Father told me that if I listened to the spirit, it would tell me how to help Grace. I sent an email to my family members asking them to pray for Grace. I stopped exercising, and I started eating desserts again (mostly at the urging of my husband - he didn't think it was healthy to stop eating any desserts just to binge whenever I finally started eating them again, which I totally would do). I prayed for guidance and started swaddling Grace every time she ate, and made sure that my 2 year old was playing a game or watching tv so that he wouldn't disturb her when she ate, because she's so sensitive to noises.
And prayers were answered. Tuesday last week we went for an entire day with zero crying during feedings. She even took a 2 hour nap in the afternoon, which hasn't happened for months. She has cried at only 2 or 3 feedings total in the past week. I'm eating many oatmeal cookies everyday, and not even considering exercise, and my daughter is happy. I actually weigh a little bit less now than at the beginning of the challenge.
I cried a little bit as I wrote this out. It has been such a hard few months. But I know that HF was looking out for me, and he had to get around my selfishness of wanting to lose the baby weight and look just like my old self, in order to bless me and my family. It has certainly made me appreciate my body more, and the miracle of what I can do with it to give birth and feed my children. I realized that this is not the season for me to be vain about the way I look - now is the time to be taking care of my children in the way that they have need of it. Listening to the promptings of the spirit and the promptings of my body and my mother's intuition has made a huge difference. Reading my scriptures every day has made a huge difference. My body might not look any different right now, but I know my spirit and testimony are stronger. Thanks to all of you for your encouraging words. Thanks to Angela for putting this together. May God bless you in all of your goals.
Monday, February 11, 2013
It was going to be my perfect week. Then, Thursday night with friends, I took a bite of a cookie and happened to glance at the clock onthe wall. It was 8:20pm. Worse, I suddenly remembered that my VTers had brought me some Valentine treats and I had eaten a serving earlier. Double whammy: two treats in one day, and after 8pm. Oh, the agony of mindlessness!
The one frustrating thing, in my opinion is that the first mistake is so painful (4points!) that it causes me to lose motivation in that area. What's one more point for one more day?
But I have really enjoyed this challenge, even though it was harder for me than I thought. I learned a lot, lost my 8 pounds (and a little more), and had fun, too. Thanks Angela, and everyone else! Let's do it again sometime!
The one frustrating thing, in my opinion is that the first mistake is so painful (4points!) that it causes me to lose motivation in that area. What's one more point for one more day?
But I have really enjoyed this challenge, even though it was harder for me than I thought. I learned a lot, lost my 8 pounds (and a little more), and had fun, too. Thanks Angela, and everyone else! Let's do it again sometime!
Extra 20 points?
Did I understand that message right? We get an extra 20 points for giving our feedback again today? Ok. I'm game!
I loved the challenge. My favorite and hardest one was the not eating after 8. I loved the habits it established. I agree that slipping up one day can be discouraging from a point total point of view, but I don't see another alternative that would be better. I liked seeing how these habits led to to my weight loss goals as well. Thanks for putting this together!
Jen
I loved the challenge. My favorite and hardest one was the not eating after 8. I loved the habits it established. I agree that slipping up one day can be discouraging from a point total point of view, but I don't see another alternative that would be better. I liked seeing how these habits led to to my weight loss goals as well. Thanks for putting this together!
Jen
Just some thoughts on Logistics
So, Angela said we could post any feedback about the challenge and I thought I'd post my two thoughts concerning the logistics of the challenge.
1. Rule in Question: One serving of sweets a day
So, my issue with this rule is the all or nothing bonus points accompanying it. I messed it up on Monday...and then on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday I didn't even try that hard because I knew I wouldn't get the points anyway. Kind of funny (my husband though so anyway). Not sure how I would have changed it, but that one week where I was weak at the beginning ended up making it worse for me the whole week.
2. Rule in Question: Personal Goal
I loved having my personal goal to commit to and work on. It was something I really needed, and this challenge gave me the motivation to really work towards it. My difficulty with it (and really the constant challenge rules), was the points. If I did it all 7 days, I got my 20 points. If i missed ONE day, then I was down to 12 points. That was pretty discouraging almost every week. Plus, it made me feel like I couldn't catch up point wise. There were people who had already gotten more points than I COULD get, even if I did get 100 the rest of the weeks. Once again, that made me feel like, why try? I understand giving additional extra points for getting a 100, but it made the challenge really spread out. Maybe just 1 point per day; or 2 points per day. But make it per day. Maybe an additional third if you get all 7. I don't know. But it just made it difficult for me mentally.
And those are my two points of feedback. They're things I've been saying a lot to friends and to my husband when I talk about this challenge, so I thought I'd share it with y'all. Did anyone have similar findings? thoughts? How did you overcome this?
thanks again everyone! And Angela! :)
-Amber
1. Rule in Question: One serving of sweets a day
So, my issue with this rule is the all or nothing bonus points accompanying it. I messed it up on Monday...and then on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday I didn't even try that hard because I knew I wouldn't get the points anyway. Kind of funny (my husband though so anyway). Not sure how I would have changed it, but that one week where I was weak at the beginning ended up making it worse for me the whole week.
2. Rule in Question: Personal Goal
I loved having my personal goal to commit to and work on. It was something I really needed, and this challenge gave me the motivation to really work towards it. My difficulty with it (and really the constant challenge rules), was the points. If I did it all 7 days, I got my 20 points. If i missed ONE day, then I was down to 12 points. That was pretty discouraging almost every week. Plus, it made me feel like I couldn't catch up point wise. There were people who had already gotten more points than I COULD get, even if I did get 100 the rest of the weeks. Once again, that made me feel like, why try? I understand giving additional extra points for getting a 100, but it made the challenge really spread out. Maybe just 1 point per day; or 2 points per day. But make it per day. Maybe an additional third if you get all 7. I don't know. But it just made it difficult for me mentally.
And those are my two points of feedback. They're things I've been saying a lot to friends and to my husband when I talk about this challenge, so I thought I'd share it with y'all. Did anyone have similar findings? thoughts? How did you overcome this?
thanks again everyone! And Angela! :)
-Amber
Good luck!
Just wanted to wish everyone good luck on their health journies. I've found new healthy recipes and actually prefer to eat the healthy stuff over the junk. Hopefully that lasts.
I think my favorite habit is drinking more water and not eating past 8. It feels SO good.
I think this challenge has helped me feel a lot healthier and better about myself, which was my ultimate goal. So thank you Angela for the contest!!:)
I think my favorite habit is drinking more water and not eating past 8. It feels SO good.
I think this challenge has helped me feel a lot healthier and better about myself, which was my ultimate goal. So thank you Angela for the contest!!:)
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Permanence
Hooray for healthy habits! I'm hopeful that I can make this permanent. For the first time I've been consistent enough with exercise and eating well to begin seeing some results. And I feel that I am motivated enough to keep these results. I have been surprised that I haven't craved sweets more, don't get me wrong there were times when I wanted my bag of chocolate chips but I realized that I could do something else and I would forget about it. (Granted my real challenge will be if I can keep this thinking up when the chocolate is back in my cupboard!)
I am also learning to stop when I'm satisfied. And to question myself if I am really hungry or if I'm just in the habit of eating/grabbing a cracker, etc. Most often it was out of habit or "not thinking."
I think with slight modifications (mostly to allow some occasional treats!) I hope to continue this. The results are too nice to give back in!
Thanks for all your support, motivation, and advice.
I am also learning to stop when I'm satisfied. And to question myself if I am really hungry or if I'm just in the habit of eating/grabbing a cracker, etc. Most often it was out of habit or "not thinking."
I think with slight modifications (mostly to allow some occasional treats!) I hope to continue this. The results are too nice to give back in!
Thanks for all your support, motivation, and advice.
Last dinner
For the last meal of the challenge, I made a fruit-and-veggie-full meal. I'm pretty sure we all got our four servings at that meal alone! We had spinach salad, hummus with carrots and bell peppers, and green jello with pineapple. It was awesome.
My perspective on meal planning has changed- I'm definitely seeing fruits and veggies as less superfluous than before. My snacks are soooooo much healthier than they were. (My Costco sized bag of edamame is gone!) I have loved being hydrated. I'm not as hungry as I thought I was in the evenings. Unfortunately, exercise hasn't caught on as well as I had hoped. But I did survive my month without chocolate! (Even though I could've used the therapy a number of times)
Thanks for all the fun ladies!!!
My perspective on meal planning has changed- I'm definitely seeing fruits and veggies as less superfluous than before. My snacks are soooooo much healthier than they were. (My Costco sized bag of edamame is gone!) I have loved being hydrated. I'm not as hungry as I thought I was in the evenings. Unfortunately, exercise hasn't caught on as well as I had hoped. But I did survive my month without chocolate! (Even though I could've used the therapy a number of times)
Thanks for all the fun ladies!!!
Benefits of external motivation
Apparently I am in desperate need of external motivation to get started on things that I know are good for me, but aren't necessarily easy to do. This challenge, along with another weight loss challenge I am doing simultaneously has given me just that motivation I needed. While some may tell you that the best motivation is internal, one that does not require rewards other than the ones you gain by achieving your goal, I REALLY needed something extra to get me going.
Now that I have been living these healthy habits, they have truly become habits for me. (Well, maybe not the not eating after 8, but it has gotten MUCH easier) I do find internal satisfaction from doing the challenges that I didn't at first. So, thanks for the extra motivation! And I just may stop feeling guilty about bribing my kids to do things that I hope will establish good habits such as doing chores or eating healthy dinners. Maybe they are just like their Mom and need that little extra to get them started...
Now that I have been living these healthy habits, they have truly become habits for me. (Well, maybe not the not eating after 8, but it has gotten MUCH easier) I do find internal satisfaction from doing the challenges that I didn't at first. So, thanks for the extra motivation! And I just may stop feeling guilty about bribing my kids to do things that I hope will establish good habits such as doing chores or eating healthy dinners. Maybe they are just like their Mom and need that little extra to get them started...
Saturday, February 9, 2013
A Good Routine
This challenge has been so good for me. I feel like things got into a good rhythm and that is what carried me through. Drinking water and more fruits and veggies led to eating less of "other things." Which helped me gain closer to a pound a month instead of a week with this pregnancy.
And then I decided that instead of my afternoon nap I had to be on the eliptical during my daily lunch phone call with Ryan. By the time we were finished I was awake again and ready to keep going. I would save all my desserts for the evening, but usually finished putting theboys down after 8 pm and couldn't eat it then anyway!
And since I was starving by 10 I would usually go to bed instead of staying up too much later. Having to record my daily thoughts for my personal goal meant I had my iPod, which meant I set an alarm, which meant I woke up before the kids in order to pray and read scriptures. It has been so great!
That said, I am thrilled to go back to my exercising only 3-5 days a week. And I hated having to shove my fancy dinner down before 7:59 last night because the restaurant took longer than expected to cook our meal (and since we hardly ever go to restaurants I was a bit bummed!!).
And then I decided that instead of my afternoon nap I had to be on the eliptical during my daily lunch phone call with Ryan. By the time we were finished I was awake again and ready to keep going. I would save all my desserts for the evening, but usually finished putting theboys down after 8 pm and couldn't eat it then anyway!
And since I was starving by 10 I would usually go to bed instead of staying up too much later. Having to record my daily thoughts for my personal goal meant I had my iPod, which meant I set an alarm, which meant I woke up before the kids in order to pray and read scriptures. It has been so great!
That said, I am thrilled to go back to my exercising only 3-5 days a week. And I hated having to shove my fancy dinner down before 7:59 last night because the restaurant took longer than expected to cook our meal (and since we hardly ever go to restaurants I was a bit bummed!!).
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