Spring Chick Challenge 2012, Week Two Check In and Week Three Goals

Find out more about the Spring Chick Challenge 2012 by visiting Real Chicks Getting Fit

It was a challenging weekend for me.  On Friday my husband had a doctor's appointment in the "city" which is an hour and a half away, so instead of just going into town for a doctor's appointment we made a full day of it.  We left our house around 7:30 AM with kids in tow, went to the doctor, took my youngest son to the eye doctor, went to the mall, went grocery shopping, and didn't return home until after 10 PM at night.  Since we were gone all day we ended up eating out twice, McDonalds for lunch and Outback for dinner.  It was easy to avoid the calories at McDonalds by making smart choices, but Outback was a bigger challenge for me because we don't eat there often I wanted to treat myself.  I ended up going with a small steak and a baked potato.  I should have done the steak and a salad but....Oh, and the bread, yeah that was a problem...

On Saturday morning we went to look at new living room furniture.  Of course we bought some and they could deliver it on Monday.  Great!  Except for the fact that Saturday afternoon we had to move all of our old furniture out of the living room, touch up the paint on the walls, and shampoo the carpet.  Which didn't leave much time for making a very healthy supper...

Then on Sunday we ate lunch out  after church.  Again, making smart decisions while eating out is going to be my downfall...

This week we will only be eating out on Sunday so I think I can handle that.  Hopefully I won't have another "perfect storm" weekend where I can't really control my calorie intake.

Exercise is still a huge pitfall for me so for week three my goal is to hit my exercise goals.  I also want to challenge myself to not go over on calories this week.

The weekly challenge for the week is to eat no sweets at all.  I am going to do my best with this challenge.  I don't eat a lot of sweets at all, but I do eat them in small portions here and there.  I like to bake, and am constantly baking sweets for my kids.  I think my best bet is to make sure I have plenty of fruit in the house to help avoid the sweet pitfall.  Last night's bedtime snack was a mixture of blackberries, strawberries, and grapes.  The kids loved it and so did I!

Menu Plan Monday, January 16th to 22nd

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I think I am just going to rename my menu planning posts Menu Plan Wednesday instead of Menu Plan Monday because I just can't seem to get it together on Monday's to get my menu plan up.  Although in my defense I have had my menu plan in my head all week, I just have gotten a chance to blog about it.

Last week's new recipe for us was the Chinese Honey Chicken that I found through Pinterest a while back. I must say it was AMAZING!  We all really liked it, although I did sweeten up the sauce by adding more honey than it called for and a little bit of brown sugar.  It will definetly be a recipe we keep around, but it won't be one that we use when we have to get supper done in a hurry.

I also got in a little baking this week (Yes, I know I am on a diet!!!).  I had about 3 bananas that were going bad (see I have been eating bananas!) so I used them to make the Clementine Bakery's Banana Cake from The Wednesday Chef.  I had a can of cream cheese icing in my pantry that I used for the icing.  I tried a little piece, it was a teeny tiny one, I had to make sure that it was okay before serving it to my family and it was the best banana cake I have ever ate!  My family loved it as well.

Here's what we have planned for this week:

Links to recipes are in red

Monday - Soup and Sandwich Night

Tuesday - Italian Sausage with Green Peppers and Onions, Baked Beans

Wednesday - Easy Crockpot Vegetable Beef Stew (recipe coming soon), King Arthur Flour Bread Machine Bread 

Thursday - Monterey Chicken, Cheesy Hot Potatoes, Peas, King Aruthur Flour Bread Machine Bread

Friday - Beef Stir Fry served with White Rice

Saturday - Turkey Breast and Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Corn, Yummy Dinner Rolls

Sunday - Eating Out After Church, Leftovers For Dinner

Spring Chick Challenge Week One Check In

Check out the Spring Chick Challenge 2012 on Real Chicks Getting Fit.

This week has been better than I expected it to be food wise.  My only really "bad" day was yesterday when we treated my daughter to a special lunch at a Chinese Buffet.  I ate non-fried foods, plenty of vegetables, and tried to maintain portion control.  I had only one plate of food, and drank water with lemon instead of a soft drink.  I am not sure how I did on calories, this is one area where I am going to have to work on as we do enjoy eating out quite a bit.  I am also suppose to attend the same Chinese buffet next week with Little Man's class to celebrate the Chinese New Year.  Maybe I can do some research to make some good choices on foods when we go then.

Other than that I have maintained my calorie count on a daily basis, and sometimes have struggled to get the 1200 calories needed for the day.  As I am eating more fresh fruits and vegetables I am finding that I am eating more food with less calories than before.

As far as the water intake goes it has went about as well as expected.  I really need to work on this.  I also need to work on exercise.  I had several big orders this week and haven't had much time for exercise.  So my goal for the week is to really make a bigger effort in these areas, as I am not hitting either my target fitness times or water intake levels.

Menu Plan Monday - January 9th to 15th

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So I know it's Wednesday, not Monday, and that I am a little behind the ball here but I felt the need to complete a meal plan for the week no matter how late in the game it is.  I really need to get back in the habit of meal planning.

Last week went really well, even with me being on a diet.  With several of the dishes I just made adjustments to the recipes for my portion of the meal.  On the night that we had tacos, I had a huge salad with just a little bit of meat, and no taco shell.  On the night that we had the Monterey Chicken (which my family LOVED) I just covered my chicken breast with a little bit of salsa instead. 

On a side note, it felt really good to have a menu to follow last week and have everything I needed to cook supper on hand.

Here's what I have planned for this week:

Links to recipes are in gray

Monday - Chinese Honey Chicken (New Recipe), served with white rice

Tuesday - French Toast with Bananas and Walnuts, Turkey Bacon

Wednesday - Tacos

Thursday - Dry Rub Pork Chop With Honey Barbecue Sauce, Mini Pommes Anna, Corn

Friday - Eating Out

Saturday - Breakfast:  Rachel Ray Basic Quiche using ham

Dinner:  Sloppy Joes, Mashed Potatoes, Corn

Sunday - Lunch:  Stove Top Easy Turkey Bake

Dinner:  Smoked Sausage AuGratin Skillet

Spring Chick Challenge 2012 - Goals and Guidelines

As I said in my weekly menu planning post there are going to be big changes around here this year.  One of those big changes in going to be me! 

When I first found out I was pregnant with my daughter I weighed 105 pounds, and the day that she was born I weighed 179.  After she was born I dropped down to 135 only to get pregnant with my son.  After the birth of my son I was never able to lose the weight again.  In addition to that my uncle, and both of my grandfather's passed away.  My husband was in a car wreck, and is now on permanent disability.  For an emotional eater this was disaster. 

I am now at 195 pounds (gulp!) and know that I have to lose the weight now.  I know I will never reach that 105 pounds again, nor do I think I should, but I would love to make it to 135 pounds. 

But I am tired of living like this:



So I am going to join the Spring Chicks Challenge 2012 at Real Chicks Getting Fit.  The challenge runs from January 2nd to March 19th.

This week is all about setting your goals for the challenge. 

Commit to a NSV (non scale victory) to be assessed at the start and the conclusion of the challenge.

I have two pairs of jeans that I received for Christmas presents last year that are size 16.  I would love to fit into them by the end of this challenge. 

Also my arms are huge.  I hate looking at them in pictures.  I am not sure how big they are right now in inches but I want to lose inches off of them.  (I will be taking measurements tonight, and will decide then how many inches I want to take off of them.)

How many calories daily or weekly? - 1500 calories daily that will be tracked through Sparkpeople
How much water will you drink daily? Here is my weakness.  I don't drink water.  I am going to take baby steps with this and at this point I am going to shoot for 32 ounces of water a day.  I know I need way more than this but don't want to set myself up for failure by not being realistic about what I can do at this point.
Commit to a set of exercise parameters. These can be as loose or as flexible as you feel work for your personality, schedule, etc.

In last month's Redbook magazine was a pull out "Loose the Belly Plan" poster that show 6 exercise moves that can be done with hand weights that I will be using.  I think that not only will these exercises work on my belly they will also work on my arms.

I will also be using an exercise program that came with my exercise ball that uses handweights and the exercise ball.  

I will also use Wii Fit to help with cardio.

My goal is to do at least 90 minutes of cardio a week with at least 710 calories burnt during that time.
Commit to blogging at least twice weekly and 1 of those times must be you check in with a complete up date on your progress. All other blogs could include new insights, results of weekly challenges, or just letting others know how you are doing. Will do!!!

Commit to support... both giving and receiving. Check others blogs and comment as you feel motivated to do. Not a problem!

Current weight - 196 lbs

Target goal- 135 lbs

My plan is to lose at least two pounds per week.  With there being eleven weeks in this challenge I plan to lose 22 pounds during this challenge.



Menu Plan Monday - January 2nd to 8th, 2012

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It has literally been months since I have done an official meal plan.  My grocery budget, and family have noticed.  When I started my Etsy shop in October it took off like gangbusters (no complaints here, believe me) and I found myself just trying to get all of the holiday orders completed with no time to do any meal plans, much less cook.  So with the beginning of the new year are coming some new changes. 

The first, meal planning is going to be a priority.  When I don't make meal planning a priority I find I spend more at the grocery, can't figure out what to eat for dinner, and often end up just ordering out. 

Next, I have gotten away from using new recipes and cooking from scratch.  In the past I have always tried to cook at least one new recipe a week.  I haven't tried a new recipe in a long time.  So trying at least one new recipe a week, and cooking from scratch are going to be a priority again.

Three, I have gotten away from couponing and stockpiling.  I haven't been doing a lot of true grocery shopping and the meat in my freezer is running low.  I am going to have to start couponing and stockpiling again this month.

I also really have to start planning snacks for the kids.  When the kids were younger I did a really good job of planning out what the kids were going to have for a snack each day, now it seems like it is always just whatever they can find is what they have for snacks. 

Last but not least, my pantry is an absolute mess.  I really need to reorganize my pantry.  In addition to reorganizing my pantry, I am going to be participating in the Pantry Challenge that Jessica is hosting at Good Cheap Eats.  I have soo many things that have just been hanging around on the pantry shelves and need to be used up soon.  So for the month of January I will be focusing on using up my items that are in the pantry, and organizing my weekly menus around that.

Sooo, here's what I have planned for our first week of the brand new year...

links to recipes are in red

Monday - Soup and Sandwiches

Tuesday - I am cooking a 20 pound turkey that I have had in the freezer.  We will eat part of it for supper and the rest will be packaged for use in the future.  Stuffing, mashed potatoes, and toasted bread will be our sides.

Snack: Brownies

Wednesday - Shake and Bake Pork Chops, Cheesy Hot Potatoes , Peas, Cornbread

Snack: Orange Jello

Thursday - Monterey Chicken (new recipe), Mashed Potatoes, Corn

Snack: Cinnamom Muffins

Friday - Tacos

Snack:  Chocolate Chip Cookies

Saturday - Cheater Chicken and Dumplings

Snack:  Popcorn

Sunday - Lunch:  Chili

Dinner:  Crescent Roll Breakfast Wreath (New Recipe)

Snack:  Super Easy Peanut Butter Cookies