Halloween-Christmas Exercise Challenge

I know between Halloween and Christmas is the busiest time of the year. And as a Mom, we always get caught up in taking care of everyone besides ourselves.

So today I’m making a commitment to exercise for 30 minutes everyday between Halloween and Christmas. No requirements on what type of exercise, as long as it’s INTENTIONAL movement for 30 minutes every day. It can be biking, running, an exercise dvd or video game, playing with the kids, or even slow walking. One thing- shopping doesn’t count, dang it!

This challenge will let me enjoy a few treats come Thanksgiving and Christmas with no guilt. When you think about it, that totally makes it worth it!

Let me know if you’re going to take the Fat Fighting Mom Halloween to Christmas Exercise Challenge!

Plan It Panic

Remember when I promised to keep it real? Well, after 3 months the excitement and novelty of meal planning has worn off. I still want to do it and think about it all day long, but can’t keep myself focused enough to make a set list. I have like 3 partial lists around here somewhere. It’s driving me crazy because everything could fall apart quickly without our meal plans. I just get so distracted when I try to make them...like to stop and write this blog post. Hahahahaha!

Please send me advice on how you handle your meal planning time. When do you plan? What’s your system? How do you keep the kids occupied so you can stay focused? Do you plan each week or month? Any advice is appreciated.

Cotton Candy at the Fair

We went to the fair last night. TT7 asked for chicken on a stick, cheese fries, and cotton candy. I told her the chicken was okay, but she needed to choose between the cheese fries and cotton candy. Of course, she chose the cotton candy.

We went to buy a bag of the fluffy stuff. So they wouldn’t feel restricted instead of buying 1 large bag and making her and SB4 share it, I allowed each of them to get their own medium-sized bag. They were super excited! I was having a minor panic attack inside, but hopefully hid it pretty well. I’m really trying my best not to give my kids any lasting “food issues.”

So they left the fair each carrying and chowing down on their cotton candy. They each ate about 1/3 of their bags. When we got home I told TT7 she would have to save the rest of her bag for Friday night when we have sweets. Her response, “I don’t want it.”

WHAT?!?! DID SHE JUST SAY THAT?!!! I’m still in shock. My sweet-toothed little angel just turned down cotton candy. I thought I was going to fall over dead.

I don’t know the reason she turned it down. I didn’t want to press the issue, but I’m so incredibly proud of my little princess. She has come a long way in this fight right along with me. I pray I’m teaching her good habits instead of scaring her for life. It really is such a fine line when dealing with a daughter and food.

I just keep praying for guidance and leading by example. Did I WANT a funnel cake last night? OMGOODNESS, I’ve been thinking about a fair funnel cake for MONTHS now. Did I eat one? Nope. I can’t ask my family to do anything I’m not willing to myself.

Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae

I found this photo yesterday. A hot fudge brownie sundae from Ghirardelli is no longer the best thing in the world to me. 

Oh the things that are better:

1. My health

2. Running with my family

3. Not eating all day long

4. Not being hungry all the time

5. Closer, tighter hugs

6. Comfortably fitting into clothes

7. Watching my kids participate in sports unashamed

8. Not having to constantly rest

9. Knowing my family is proud of me

10. Hopefully, inspiring others!

3 Month Update! Curious?

So it’s been 3-months, are you curious how things are going? Think we’ve given up?

NO WAY! We are doing fantastic with our new relationship with food. I feel like a slave set free. Sugar/carbs/processed foods no longer control my life. It’s such an amazing feeling!

Top 10 developments in the past month:

1. TT7 asked to go out walking/running twice!

2. People are starting to notice and comment on our weight loss.

3. The kids’ energy levels have tripled.

4. I have memorized my list of healthy snack foods and I make sure we always have in the 

pantry.

5. We have NO junk food in our house.

6. Fast food meals are not everyday. They are a special event.

7. I’m still struggling with the crock pot. I have mastered bbq chicken, roast, and my taco soup needs tweaking but it’s pretty good.

8. GBD has tightened his belt to a place it’s never been before.

9. I had to toss a pair of my pants in the donate pile because they’re too big!

10. I made an Emergency Meals List. When we are super busy or when I’m sick GBD can use it to shop and prepare our meals. Super busy or sick no longer = fast food.

 

My total weight loss in just 3 months = 26 pounds!!!

It’s so hard for me to believe. I keep thinking I’m going to wake up one morning and it will all be back or that 1 bad meal will put me back at the beginning. It’s weird how it takes the mind a while to catch up to the new body.

 And best of all it’s been completely free, hasn’t included taking pills, and I haven’t counted the first calorie! 

Thank you all for reading and for your support during the past 3 months. Honestly, it's been tough and I wouldn't have made it without the encouragement and support of my readers. I'm so thankful for each of you. 

Finding the Right Balance

It has taken a little while, but I think our whole family has settled into a new and healthier “normal for us” eating pattern. We eat super healthy Mon - Fri afternoon. Then we eat out/allow treats Fri night - Sun night.  

During the week, we stick with whole grains, protein, fruit, veggies, reduced fat dairy, and nuts for all meals. Or as we call it “foods that make us feel full.”

We also make sure all of our carb rich foods have at least half as much protein in them. If a cereal bar has 10 grams of carbs, it has to have 5 grams of protein. This is an awesome little trick to use when grocery shopping!

Then on weekends I take a break from cooking and we eat out for most lunches and dinners. We usually continue to make healthy choices like fruit instead of fries, but if we really want an ice cream cone (or fries, candy, a snow cone, etc.) we go ahead and have it.

I’m totally in love with this schedule!

During the week, I look forward to taking the weekend off from cooking. I’m naturally spontaneous and having weekends free balances that restricted feeling that comes with healthy eating. Weekends off also allows us to eat something more than a salad when out with friends. Plus, since I grocery shop on weekends I can swing by grab a bite to eat and head to the grocery store. So I never shop hungry and can make rational, healthy food choices.

It’s also nice being able to tell the kids that we don’t eat chips on Monday, but wait until Friday night and you can some if you still want them. It keeps unhealthy food from being an all day every day thing.

The only thing I need to warn you about is guiding your kids and yourself back into Monday-mode takes some willpower. You may even get some tears (gracious, try to control yourself!), but overall this plan just makes sense to me as a good balance for our family.

Note: Weekends off doesn’t mean we allow ourselves to eat all the donuts we want/can. It means if we want a donut, we have ONE really good one. We still embrace our healthy eating lifestyle, but allow a few treats. Don’t go all carb-loading on me!

Am I Killing My Kid with Food?

I just love Dr. Phil. Like a dork, I sat down with pen and paper and made notes from his show "Am I Killing My Kid with Food?" I edited some of the lines below and rearranged them. I hope these words help you as much as they have me. I love that I can hear his voice repeating in my head when I'm faced with a moment of weakness.

He doesn’t have a weight problem. He has a parent problem.

Being overweight is unhealthy mentally, emotionally, socially, and physically.

You are sabotaging your son’s health, well being, and future.

You couldn’t be sabotaging him more than if you snuck in his room at night, set up an IV and pumped him full of toxins.

Who brings the food home? The parents do. He can’t eat what isn’t there.

Regarding giving in to a child who cries for junk food:

“So in other words you know this is the same as giving this child poison, but if it keeps YOU from being emotionally uncomfortable to h*ll with him…Keep yourself comfortable. It’s unpleasant to hear so you go first, he goes last. What kind of mothering theory is that?”

For you to say I’d rather do what makes me feel good than what makes him healthy- that’s very selfish.

You’ve taught this kid to be completely hedonistic. Kids want what they want when they want it. And they want it right now. It’s immediate gratification. There’s no delayed gratification for kids. That’s the reason they have adults in their lives. Because you’re the ones that are supposed to provide the maturity which recognizes the choices you make in the moment can have consequences that last forever.

I don’t want him to be the fat kid in school. When he says ‘kids don’t like me because I’m fat’ it breaks my heart.

If I could change, I would change my weight. Kids at school call me chubby. That makes me sad. I wish I was skinny instead of fat. If I was skinny, I could run without getting out of breath.

Eating habits are learned. Anything that is learned can be unlearned. But it takes maturity on your part. It takes the two of you being a unified front. It takes you being good role models. You need to get yourself in shape. You got to change what you eat. You’ve got to break a sweat. You’ve got to start doing some things to get yourself under control.

You CAN get this under control. Are you ready to do the work?

You have to be CONSISTENT!

 

My favorite line from a past guest (who eventually had her child removed from her home) :

And yes, I gave him a darn cookie, okay?!

Dr. Phil: No, not okay!

Preach it PBS!

Last week I spent time with SB4 snuggling and watching his tv shows. I was pleasantly surprised that all 3 of the shows we watched (Sesame Street, Sid the Science Kid, and World World) taught kids that eating a lot of sugar is unhealthy. And the shows weren’t just saying to eat less of it. They actually taught that processed foods with sugar are bad and fruit is a better choice. Sometimes I feel like a mean mom with my anti- cookies, cupcakes, and candy stance so it was nice hearing them get the message from someone besides me!