Tag Archives: challenge

Home stretch…or is it?

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Photo CREDIT

The above mentioned photo cred is to an article on network marketing, however, you’ll see it has the same tools to get to ANY goal….commitment and accountability in surrounding yourself with like-minded folks.

Proverbs 27:17

Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.

Today I find myself heading into Week 5 of the Peak313 challenge and for me, it’s been a GREAT springboard for getting my heart (mind and body, too!) back into the healthy frame o’ mind.  Instead of this being “The End”, it’s rather a beginning, to keep marching forward!

And like the article in the photo above, this challenge, along with fanTABulous encouragement through Clare, seriously make-you-sore exercises and the important scriptural foundation, commitment and accountabilty have contributed tremendously to my staying on track.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not naive and I’ve been in “this place” more times than I can count.  I FULLY expect to continue to be tempted and challenged along the way as I strive toward my “Healthy goal”, it’s a lifelong exercise……..just as it is with our spiritual Walk, budgeting goals, raising children, cultivating healthy marriages, and so on.  Anything worthwhile is worth working on!!  Each day presents its own challenges, and in facing each day as it comes, I find it’s easier for me to keep focused when I keep the one-day-at-a-time mentality.  The choices we make TODAY contribute to where we are tomorrow…we canNOT focus on the worries of tomorrow which haven’t even occurred yet!!    We canNOT focus on the failures of yesterday.  Today.  One step at a time, one foot in front of the other.

And so….to wrap up this week, here is a quick summary:

Exercise:  I modified my plan according to what the day brought.  I had my “plan” and as with anything, sometimes plans fall apart.  This is where Plan B came in.  Modified.  Life changes.  Adaptation is key.  I did.  I was sore.  I got in my time!!

Food:  I planned.  I ate in moderation.  I kept cravings in check and when I simply HAD TO HAVE IT……moderation.  Case in point:  Spontaneous dinner date with Hubby Friday night…healthy choices @ dinner, but skipped the bread and ate in moderation….including the coconut cream pie.  A few bites, savored and enjoyed and I was satisfied.  Moderation not deprivation.  We have to live, people.

Scripture:  Above all things, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.  Proverbs 4:23.  How true, how true.  Especially after my dear friend’s dad underwent open heart surgery this week.  Physically and spiritually, heart=life.  Guard it likewise.

And this week we have….

Wishing you much success, peace and strength in the coming week(s) ahead!  Blessings!!

Over the hump….week 3!

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If I did not simply suffer from one moment to another, it would be impossible for me to be patient; but I look only at the present moment.  I forget the past and I take good care not to forestall the future.  When we yield to discouragement or despair it is usually because we give too much thought to the past and to the future.  St. Therese of Lisieux

We are heading into Week 4 with the Peak 313 5 week challenge and I am pleased to say that Week 3 was a FAR better effort in every manner (for me).  I KILLED it in exercise, mainly cardio however, I did squeeze in serious sets of lunges during a cardio session and hit my abs as well.  The biggest deal (for me) was that I ate amazingly well.  The key was simply…..plan.  Wow.  It worked.  I was ready each day with my snacks and I wasn’t hungry and get this…..I had energy.  Crazy, right?

The scale deal for me is I’m not weighing until the end of the challenge.  The scale is a deal breaker for me.  I can be doing EVERYthing right and if the scale isn’t where I want to be….I’m done.  I will hit Dunkin’ Donut, Starbucks, whatev….because…why? Apparently I like to derail myself.  Therefore, as I get older (and hopefully wiser), I aim more for how I feel, in my clothes and and my skin.

This week, I have my snacks and lunches pretty much stocked and ready to go.  We are changing up a kiddo routine which calls for adjustment in my lunch hour, but that’s life…fluid and ever-changing, if we can’t adjust…..we’re sure to combust!

Stay focused this week!  Here’s this week’s Scripture verse….

 

Mid-week JUMP!

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This week has been drastically different, in a good way, as far as exercise and food choices go. Of course, it’s only Wednesday…..however, one major change is that I’ve (so far) been able to wrap my brain around “One day at a time”.  Eating that elephant in small bites is a lot easier than tackling the entire thing.  Therefore, my planning for lunches has helped tremendously–especially at work when I hit the “hungries NOW” AND making it through the evening without that little “somethin’ somethin'”.

While I can’t say I’ve gone CLEAN EATING so far, I have absolutely cut a lot of junk and made some substitutions, i.e. brown rice with my sausage and spaghetti sauce instead of pasta.  Not quite the same, buuuuuuuuut, extremely filling and satisfying.  And I’m curious for those of you out there who have “cut the processed stuff” and gone clean….how long did it take you to lose the “craving” for sugar and junk?

This articleby Candace Cameron Bure via Peak313 was great, and my favorite “vision” in fighting against temptations is this excerpt:

In my book, Reshaping It All, I talk about “the eye covenant” found in Job 31:, “I have made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I look upon a young woman?” Using Job as a role model, many committed husbands, like mine, have decided to make the same covenant with their eyes. If a beautiful woman walks by, a man may take notice, but if he gazes at her for a while, his mind will travel to places it shouldn’t. So rather than looking her way, he turns his eyes and his attention to something else.

If this covenant helped Job overcome lust of the flesh, it can also work for us in regard to food! Instead of fantasizing over lunch, or spending the evening meditating on what dessert we’ll have, let us turn our thoughts and attention to something else. Use this covenant of the eyes to avoid the snack isles while shopping, passing up free samples instead of stopping to consider them, replying “No, thank you,” the next time someone passes a brownie your way and to stay focused on the car ahead of you when you drive by a fast food chain.

Thankfully, this week’s challenge Scripture verse is ALL about cravings and I find God’s timing is once again perfect.

1 John 2:16

For everything in the world, the sinful cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does, comes not from the Father but from the world.

Monday mourning..

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Blah.  At some point perhaps I will try a boring weekend and see if that makes Monday more palatable.  Naaaaahh….

This Monday starts week 3 of the Peak313 “5-week challenge” and I’ve got to say, so far, I’m sucking.  OK, well, not a total lie…the first week was pretty good…with room for improvement on the food choices, but the second week.  Blech!

  • Sick child
  • Hubby dealing with some personal issues…which I then take on (because that’s what I do..I empathize to the point of making it MY problem) and then revert to comfort food and busy-ness wherever I can find it
  • Open house for the Elem school
  • Change in soccer practice, unexpectedly
  • Super busy at work

Nothing truly earth-shattering, however, life got in the way and I let it.  Bummer.  It derailed my exercise AND my eating and so I fully experience the saying “when you fail to plan, plan to fail”.  And fail I did.  When you fall (or fail) you have to get up, brush yourself off and get back on the path.  One day at a time.  One foot in front of the other.  And so on.

Somewhere around Friday I began to rally mentally.  Better food choices.  A little exercise.  Saturday was a busy sports day for the girls with LOTS of driving, however, better food choices and a decent mental outlook on the day as a whole.  Sunday was the RESTART:  Mass.  Walk. Grocery shop.  Pre-cook for lunches for the week:  Baked chicken breasts, brown rice, quinoa, hard-boiled eggs, cut up some veggies for the kids to snack on (and me).  I also made some treats for the fam–not exactly “clean eating” but a treat…moderation, right?  Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies–I’d give you my recipe, but it’s a little of this, little of that kind of deal but you could use this one from A Sweeter Thing.  I made the cookies for a treat for the week (we’ll see if they last that long!) and I made a peanut butter pie for dessert last night.

Moving on….we have fruit and veggies in the house…I’ve got food prepared for the week…I can’t wait to try this pumpkin oatmeal recipe for breakfast this morning… I’ll be hitting the gym @ lunch today…we have a healing mission @ church tonight. Day 2.  Week 3.  It’s ON!

This challenge is motivating and encouraging and I am also EXTREMELY motivated by Socially Fit’s blog and Twitter feed throughout the day.  Focus.  Focus.  Focus.

I’m off to start the morning rush…..How’s your week looking?

Peak 313..Week 3 Scripture verse!

Sick days bite!

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Our youngest had another little sore throat sneak up this weekend and being a veteran of strep throat for far too many episodes, I absolutely believe her self diagnosis as she is SPOT ON.  EVERY.  TIME.

I went ahead and called in to my work yesterday so they’d have time to get coverage and hopefully not shaft my friend and co-worker in my absence..I think it worked out and was far less stressful on me having to jump ship to get our girl to her doctor appointment AND figure out who’d watch her today.  It all worked out.  In the end, her appointment was at 2 in the afternoon so I had a lot of free time on my hands as a result.  Sadly I can’t just chill, nap and read (though I’d LIKE to!) so I tackled some tedious little tasks I’ve been “meaning to get to” forEVAH…

And the cat was truly enjoying snuggling up on humans all day….after he slept off his all-night out and about the neighborhood, that is…

Sleeping off his big night out

he’s snuggling me or my laptop…either way it’s really hard to type like this.

 

  • We had several bags of clothes to donate to our churches thrift store, so I went through my closet and dresser and added several more  bags AND….delivered them.  To the thrift store.  I know, right?  The delivery is key to purging, otherwise it’s just moving it all around.
  • I had so much room on my side of the closet so…….I reorganized and color grouped my shirts and blouses.  I’m a nerd.  I know.  However, it looks really good.  I might actually be able to FIND something when I need it!!
  • I did my Abs and Arms routine, 3 sets each.  I’ll be walking while our oldest daughter has soccer practice, therefore that makes a good start to Week 2 for Peak 313‘s 5 week challenge.  And I DID eat and log my food today which, BTW, is a huge struggle, especially while at home tempted by all the choices.  Add a little restlessness in and it’s a potential recipe for disaster.  I made it through.  Phew!
  • A month ago we had to cut down a magnolia tree in our backyard (it was diseased and dying) and had to replace it with a new tree.  We did that yesterday with an elm in the front yard.  I called the city to come inspect it and check us off the list.  I hate those silly phone calls.  It’s done.
  • Deleted MANY, MANY duplicate albums clogging up my iPhoto library.  Still lots more to do, but I made a HUGE dent today.  Tedious, tedious, tedious..Don’t even ask how it happened…it’s still a mystery!!
  • Then I took the girl to the office and dropped off her antibiotics and then since I was home….the taxi was in full motion…pick up older daughter, pick up youngest son, pick up antibiotics, now to get dinner going and then off to soccer…dang, I need a nap!!
  • I did manage to give myself and my girl a pedicure….garnet and gold toes for my ‘Noles and pink for her.

Peace out, peeps.  We’re off to soccer!