New Traditions & Holiday 2006 Challenge ~ Let us Give Thanks & Enjoy the Holidays

2006 New Traditions & Year End Holidays ~ A Lifestyle Challenge!


Let us Give Thanks & Enjoy the Holidays

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson


Remember to take the time each day to make yourself a priority ~ this year will fly by too fast!  Try to set aside some personal time to focus on you, how you eat, and to get your exercise in, your own needs... 

If you are shy on time and doing your normal routine is just impossible because you just don't have an hour to spare right now, look for moments to get a little extra physical movement into your life :)  Look for alternatives!  Just don't give up and abandon all of your goals.  Enjoy the Holidays ~ the people, friends & family :)  They are important ~ not the food.

Worth repeating ~  Here are some gr8 tips for dealing with emotional eating!  Thanks Willow :)

And lest we forget the wise words of Erma...

• "What we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets.  I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?"  - Erma Bombeck, "No One Diets on Thanksgiving"

Happy Holidays! 


~ super food of the week ~ Turkey!

Turkey ~ did you know it's considered a super food ~ the skinless breast meat that is!  Even leaner than chicken, 3 ounces of the skinless turkey breast meat only has 115 cals and 0.2 grams of saturated fat (71 mg cholesterol) ~ Remarkable!  Highly Nutritious, low in vat, inexpensive, versatile and always availble, perhaps we should eat turkey all year :)   

The recipes are never ending ~ from the delicious holiday turkey recipes to the endless variety of left-over recipes :)   Turkey ~ Truly a culinary delight!  

So many ways to lighten the calories and fats in our Holiday meals and the all-time favorite recipes really are easy to adapt with simple little changes and a few ingredient substitutions.

~ inspiration ~

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." - John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Part B Exercise

• I have a hate/hate relationship with exercise.  When I was 10 I was flat chested.  When I was 11, I was a D cup.  They didn't have sports bras back then.  Needless to say, I could only do sports that didn't require a lot of running...I actually liked volleyball and tennis.  I also don't tolerate heat well, and get physically sick if I get too hot, so outdoor sports have never really been my friend. 
• Physically I suffer from bad knees and "carpal tunnel syndrome" in my right arm, tennis elbow in my right elbow, and some type of repetitive motion perpetual strain in my right shoulder.  So exercising for me is no fun at all.  I did join a gym last year and took up swimming which is easiest on my body, but found it to be too much of a pain in the a$$ to go to the gym, change, get wet, take shower, change go home.  Now, if I didn't look like a beached whale in my bathing suit, I may have enjoyed it better.  I actually LOVE the water and I believe I will do this again after I lose a significant amount of weight.  Plus, I just learned that I live near a public pool, so I can use that with no (or little) charge.  Eventually, I want to learn scuba diving, but definitely want to be in better shape for that.
• So, the exercise I get these days consists of walking my dog and doing floor exercises in my home.  Walking my dog is a big project.  He goes on three 45 minute walks per day during the week with an additional 20 minute walk on Saturday and Sunday.  Jeff takes the morning walk & I do the rest.  I live in a very hilly neighborhood so we treck up and down hills and this has done wonders for my knees.  I can feel them getting stronger & stronger.  At home, occasionally (although I shoot for 3x/week) I do floor exercises (back, abs, arms, etc) to strenghten my body.

Part B, Meal/Food plan/Other priorities:

• My main emphasis is healthy, wholesome, high fiber, low cal, lowish fat foods with as much heart healthy ingredients as possible (i.e. omega 3's, olive oil, yogurt, etc).  I am trying to wean Jeff off cheese, which I will never do, but I need him to cut waaaaay back. 
• I shoot for 1650 calories a day +/- for me, I don't count Jeff's
• I try to stay out of the fast food joints which are my major weakness and the reason I've gained weight EVERY TIME since high school.
• The emphasis here is that I now PLAN my meals instead of flying by the seat of my pants - cuz if I don't PLAN there is a lot of fast food and take-out in my diet.
• Other priorities?  I can only focus on a couple at a time.   Right now it is to lose weight and quit smoking.

Part C, Just this week (Goals):

• Lose a pound or two (done! down 1)
• Stay away from fast food (done!)
• Wear the smoking patch and quit smoking (or I'd be happy with cutting way back for the time being) (done - cutting back)
• Do at least 2 days of floor exercies (couldn't get those in cuz I was sick this week & couldn't breath, so that will be goal for next week)
• Stay away from halloween candy (failed miserably)

Part D, Next 30 days (Goals):

• See Part C above, repeat weekly
• I would LOVE to be 179 by Thanksgiving.  I am flying to parent's home & I'd just be more comfortable on the plane if I was 179 instead of 185.
• Have bunches of fun with 2 brothers Todd & Drew (need them to kiss & make up due to family feud so we can have a Happy Thanksgiving Meal at Mom's - another long stupid story)
• Show step-dad lots of love while I'm there - he misses me terribly & wants me to move back yesterday.
• Be a more attentive wife to my husband.

Part D, Special Thoughts:

• Back in the day....I used to look forward to the period between Thanksgiving and New Years as I ALWAYS lost whatever weight I had gained during the year during that time.  Boy, wouldn't it be great if that started happening again!  I guess I was just always so busy, and I didn't really have a sweet tooth then (why I have such an active one now boggles my mind), so I "under" did it instead of "over" did it.  And I loved my step-dad's mom's veggies.  She was a great cook.

Part E, the rest of the Year:

• Repeat part C & D and...
• Realistically, I'd like to be at 174 by the end of the year. 
• I'd like to be up to 3 days per week of strength training/floor exercises.
• And, I do not want to take a vacation from my food plans.  Even if Jeff & I go to Mexico for Christmas, which we might do, I want to be diligent in my eating goals.  Afterall, I will need to live off 1700 calories per day for the rest of my life if I want to be 110, so might as well start now.

Part F, Holiday Traditions...

• We celebrate:  Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years
• This year I will be going to FL for Thanksgiving (Jeff is not going, he will be home happily working on the boat and taking over my dog walking chores)  I'm only gone from Wednesday night thru Saturday eve.
• Christmas, We usually have Jeff's Daughter from Christmas to New Years, but this year due to internal conflict, I believe we will just go to Mexico for Christmas & then just get plastered here in So Cal for New Years.
• Because we've moved so much over the years, I don't have any real 'traditions' these days, parties to throw or attend, etc, so maybe we will work on that for next year.
• If I was alone, I believe the holidays would cause me emotional discomfort as they have in the past, but I'm not so they don't now.
• Holiday food doesn't concern me.  I'm approaching it differently this year and I am sure I will succeed to not make a pig of myself as I have the past few years.

UPDATES, GOALS, REPLIES, IDEAS:

Favorite Quote:  "Imagination is more important than knowledge"  Albert Einstein

Hey shel!

DDR is a video game. When you play it, there are arrows on the screen and you have to step on the corresponding arrows on a pad that comes with the game. The arrows go to music and it can get very hard but it's REALLY fun!

Count me in, Getting late though, I'll be back in the morning

Hi

I'd like to join.

about me: I'm 55, work part time, married, have 3 girls, two sons-in-law, and 4 grand children. 

 I found this site in a search.   I need to loose 5o lbs to help cure some other health problems.

  For this week I would like to make better choices and drink more water. 

 Over the next 30 days I would like to continue doing the above. 

 For the rst of the year I would like to be loosing weight (hopefuly be at 145) and getting healthy. 

My holiday traditions from Oct to Jan are: four major eating celebrations, and 6 birthdays.  My church has a  Holleween hot dog/popcorn/candy give away for the community and a Thanksgiving dinner for the community in wich my husband and I act as table hosts, my daughters serve Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners and my husband would like me to fix them here at home for us as well.  My hometown starts the Christmas season the first Saturday in Dec with an all day event starting with a pancake breakfast, open houses, craft shows, and tour of the local businesses (with food) no need to eat at home that day.

• Part c) Just this week? What are your goals for this week that you plan to do? 
• Finally bust into the 170?s.
• Run for 27 minutes at least once
• Donate  blood
• Spend more time on homework than on CC!
• Part d) Just this Month of November?  What are your goals for the next 30 days? 
• Lose 6 pounds Which means I want to weigh 176
• Be able to run 3 miles without stopping
• Work-out 5 times a week
• Keep drinking at least 96 ozs of water daily
• Maintain a 500-800 calorie daily deficit
• Fit comfortably in a pair of size 15 jeans I have
• Don't miss more than three classes.
• Don't fight with Kyle over trivial things
• Part e) For the rest of this year!  Where do you want to be at the end of the year???
• Be prepared for the holidays
• Be able to run for 45 min.
• I would like to weigh between 176-170

Well, first I will tell you this is just my 2nd day with Calorie Counters....but I am finding it more interesting as I peruse the site and write down what I eat, and  then I saw this forum, so as I read it, I wondered if there are "old" people like me using the site!  I will turn 71 this month, and I have reached the ungodly weight of 319 lbs. 

 The last few years have been difficult as far as exercising goes, because I have both knees replaced, fell and broke both sides of my ankle and was in the cast of "poor me", ffor a few months, say from December to April.  In June of last year, 2 months after the cast removal I couldn't walk again, so had xrays on my ankle and the joint where my ankle flexes had filled in solidly with arthritis.  Back to the hospital, operation to fuse ankle, and now 6 bolts in my ankle, and another Christmas and Easter spent in a cast and wheelchair, I am out and walking.  I wish I had broken my jaw or something so I could still exercise better, and couldn't eat everything in sight!  My doctor gave me an ultimatum...Diet or loose the T in the word. 

 I am very young looking for my age,and have been a widow for 13 years.  I am grandmother to 15 and great-grandmother to 6.  I  have a great sense of humor, watch a 2 year old grandson 3 days a week for 12 hours a day, enjoy my life, go to soccer games where I have to walk from parking lots fairly far from the fields, my grandson plays on. 

 I am a carb addict, and to have to limit my bread, pasta, rice, bagels etc. is difficult but I had started journaling and watching my intake on November 1, 2006, and needed a calorie counter.  I found this site looking for a calorie counter...SURPRISE!  That is the name of the site, I got so much more than I expected.  I plan to only weigh once a week, but I am knowlegable on the nutrition angle, just haven't been abiding by the rules!

I've taken too much of your time, with this, but you can count me in on this forum.  I need y'all to walk with me as we lose together.

Count me in. I will work on the challenges tonight and post tomorrow hopefully. Can't wait. I love CC.

Hugs
Mary

::jumps up and down, waving hand::  I'm in !!  (Did you honestly think I'd not participate?  lol)

Give me a lil time to think on some of the answers then I'll post them.  Are these challenges set up similar to the last challenges?

Thanks for dropping by my journal and letting me know about the 'new traditions' challenge - sounds like fun!  Can't wait to get started.

Ok.. I am SO in on this, but will also need some time!! Will get back with some answers. It is SO time to do this!!

Feel Free to double back or just join us now ~ That's ok :)

2006 New Traditions & Year End Holidays ~ A Lifestyle Challenge!

Next edition coming soon (sorry, due to a bit of technical difficulty) ~ but don't let that stop you! 

Feel free to join late (double back and catch up if you want to or just join us now :)  If you have to skip a week, don't fret!  Life happens this time of year.  Let's do the best we can to have a gr8 end of the year instead of the same old, same old eat our way to New Years!  Gah!  Let's send this year out with a bang!  A Healthy bang :)

Time to set your goals for this week!  Make them something you can do!  Will Do :) Can be 1, a few or many! Eat well, Exercise, Attend to Life!!! 

How did last week go?  Did you meet your goals?  If not why?  Didn't like em... can't do em?  Scale back and set goals for this week that are appropriate for you! 

Or did an unexpected event happen that kept you from eating or exercising like you wanted?  No biggie!  Pick your knitting back up and get going!  Get up, dust off, make adjustments & move forward!!! 

Sometimes we all land on our rumps... this year, let's get up & keep going instead of staying there :)  

Watch for the rest tomorrow!  & let's have a gr8 one! Here! Together :)

I am probaly writing a lot, but I feel reinforcement each day I do something to improve my resolve.  I realize that I must add more protein to my diet.  I am still overloading with carbs, even though I am getting A's in nutrtion, and staying well within my caloric count.  Good grief, looking at the calories and adding each bit up...yow!  No wonder I am lugging around another person.  I am soooo glad I found this site!  Exercise coming up!  Stay tuned!

Gosh it's gr8 to see everyone participate!  It will get harder as we get busier!

Try to make yourself a priority everyday ~ spend a few minutes exercising and make the best choices you can each meal & snack :)

Cheers!

click here for my story!!!!! 

2006 New Traditions & Year End Holidays ~ A Lifestyle Challenge!

Feel free to join late (double back, pick up the prior weeks here and catch up if you want, or just join us now :)  If you have to skip a week, don't fret!  Life happens this time of year.  Let's do the best we can to have a gr8 end of the year instead of the same old, same old eat our way to New Years!  Gah!  Let's send 2006 out with a bang!  A Healthy bang :)

Smart Goals ~ Smart Choices!

Here come the Holidays!  Eating out!  Gettogethers ~ Extra Food.  Extra Shopping.  Never enough time or money.  Can we say stress???  How do we get all our normal stuff done and all the extra fun stuff?  How do we organize and prep and arrange and pull it all off without loosing our cool?  Tearing our Hair Out?  Gaining 10 lbs???

Smart Choices!  Adjustments!  A little planning & little focus, a little time each day to take care of our own needs, a few changes and perhaps a little support here :)

This week let's talk a little more about Goals!  Let's start thinking about adapting all the holiday and winter foods!  Let's start thinking about alternatives ~ for eating and exercising!  Let's take a peek at 2oo7 that will be here before we have a chance to catch our breath!

Ready?  Gr8!  Let's break it down.  Take a part or 2 a day, follow the links for a few extra tips & easier reading!  And please, remember to come here and share your thoughts and strategies!  We all benefit from new ideas and sharing support :)

Part a) Tips & Tricks!  How do you carve out extra time?  Keep your family on the move?  Fit everything in?  Click here for some ideas!  What are your strategies?  Share your favorite strategies!  Any ideas you want to try this year :) 

Part b) Last Weeks Goals!  How did you do?  Did you meet your goals?  If not, why?  Were they realistic?  Did you want to do them?  Did it turn out you didn't like the goal?  Life interrupt?  Were your goals S.M.A.R.T. Goals?

• Specific ~ state exactly what you want to achieve, how you want to do it and when you want to do it.
• Measureable ~ some way to tell that you did it!  Like walking the dog for 10 mins each morning and night... Take a watch ;)
• Attainable ~ Before you actually set your goal, is the goal reasonable for you?  Do you have the time and desire to do it?  The $$, the energy? The umph???
• Realistic ~ Goals should be within your ability to do it within your personal limitations (physical ability, food preferences, likes & dislikes).
• Trackable ~ Tracking can keep you motivated.  Encourage you when you look back and see the changes!  How do you track?  A food or activity log?  Weight Log?  A list of goals and gates met?  A list of problems solved?  A list of Hopes and Dreams?

Click here to read more about goal setting from the Mayo Clinic.  The tips apply to more than just weight loss ;)

Part c) This weeks Goals! ~ Time to set your 1 or more eating, exercise, health & life goals for what you want to do this week ~ same as before or can change!  Daily or Weekly!  Long or Short term!  It's all about {{{you}}} ~ what you want and need to do this week :)   

Just this week? What are your goals for how you eat and exercise? 

• Will you exercise?  Tackle a project?  Eat a certain way.  Do something different?  Keep everything the same?  _______?  
• Goals should be attainable ~ what you really can do and intend to do... but not necessarily the same old thing? 
• Do you want to keep things the same or try something new?

Part d) Adapting Recipes!  Let the Baking Begin!  The sales will hit soon.  Spend $100 and get a free turkey!  Buy Walnuts! Get your roasting pans, goodies & spices and everything delicious!  Seems like we're overwhelmed with advertisements, tips, new recipes, bombarded with ideas. 

So do you know what you plan to bake?  Make and take to events?  For the special feasts?  The same old traditional way?  Or would you like to consider adapting the recipe to a healthier version? 

It's pretty easy to reduce the calories and fat without reducing the taste, texture or quality of the recipe!  Afraid you'll do the wrong thing and end up with dense, soggy baked goodies?   Don't substitute oil for butter!  Forget the whipped or tub-style margarine.  Instead, replace 1/2 the butter, shortening or oil with the same amount of applesauce or prune puree (that's right, prune puree ;) 

Don't really know where to begin???  Then click here for 5 gr8 ways to make your recipes healthier (tips and tricks) from the Mayo Clinic, and click here for more ingredient substitutions!

This week's challenge!!!

• Pull out one of your favorite traditional recipes. 
• Put it through the recipe tool here on calorie-count and analyze it.   
• Then adapt the old recipe using the tips and put it back through the tool.   It will give you a link! 
• Share the new recipe here :)

[Note: If you don't have time this week, share a recipe next week :)  Adapting recipes can be done any time of the year.  Some people prefer to eat the old traditional foods on feast days.  But what about the other days?  Perhaps then you'll be inspired to adapt and create your version ~ your new favorites!!! ;]


Part f) Exercise & Alternative Exercise!  On the move!  Running from dusk to dawn?  Burning the candle at both ends?  Can't get to the gym? 

Your challenge this week is to do your normal exercise routine or alternative exercise!  Keep moving!  Find creative ways to get up & move :) 

What are your alternatives?  If you are moving then you are exercising!  If you are not laying down sleeping, then you are exercising.  Maybe not so much while you are chained to a desk, but what about during breaks? 

Sometimes, it's hard to break away for a full exercise session!  Can you break it down into smaller chunks?  Like quick walks for 10 mins 3 times a day will keep your metabolism revved up!!!  Have you considered slipping in a little something extra like doing a set of 10 wall pushups or other little exercise once each morning, afternoon and evening, maybe when you go to the bathroom or take a break?  Check out the "Browse our Exercises" for some ideas! 

Consider dancing to your favorite holiday music?  Talking on a cordless phone and walking around the house while you talk?  Park the car 3 blocks away from work?  Take the stairs instead of the elevator? 

Your challenge this week?  What are your strategies & alternatives? What holiday activities will you do?  Share here :)

• Can you *guestimate* the calories burned?  Find a similar exercise listed here to see what kind of calories you might burn? 
• For example:  would wrapping packages be like paying the bills or drying dishes?  What about when you take a drive and look at Christmas Lights?  There has to be calories burned then like when you watch tv, eh?  What about standing around chatting at parties?
• Think about your holiday activities, plan your strategy & share with the group :)

Post your goals, ideas, and replies here!  Each week, whatever you want to share with the group :)  

Click here for week 1 of the New Traditions challenge :)


~ inspiration ~

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill

This week my goals will stay the same with the addition of drinking more water.  

When I bake I replace oil in any recipes with applesauce.  For the holidays I use chicken broth for water in mashed potatoes and the heart healthy soup for the green bean cassorle

I walk every day and will be adding streaching at night

I am in!

My name is Deborra and I found CC when I was looking for a receipe analyzer. I started my weight loss journey about 6 years ago. I was steadily gaining weight after I hit 30 years old. I did Jenny Craig for about a year and lost about 25 pounds till they said they could'nt help me anymore and I got burnt out on the food. All the while I was Jazzercising twice a day for about 10 hours a week in exercising.Then I tried Max Muscle for a few months but didn't follow it strictly as I didn't want to be a muscle woman! The last 15 pounds were the last to go and I struggled with what to do to get it off. I tried a combination of things I tried the low carb diet, in combination with periodic juice fasting to clean out my system and detox at the same time I realized my birth control pills were keeping me fat. So I stopped taking them. I dropped 10 pounds within the next month. I maintained my weight loss for 2 years until this last year when I got pregnant. I was devastated! I had a goal to be my ideal weight by 40 and now I was going to be 9 months pregnant by my birthday. Pregnancy has never been kind to me I have always gained 50 lbs or more.I  ended up having a c section and gained 20 lbs since i had the baby Jan 22. I have been struggling and waiting since you can't really diet or take supplements when breastfeeding. I have to do something now because I am steadily gaining. I think I am not eating enough and my body is in starvation mode. My main goal long term is to get back down to my ideal weight and look fab and be healthy! I am finding it hard to get to jazzercise with the little one now and am hungry alot.

My goals for this week are:

to drink 1 gallon of water a day

Get to Jazzercise or gym at least 4x

be faithful to my food log

Think before I eat