I grouped up with some of my friends and committed to going meat free last month. Since my diet is mostly turkey and chicken - I don't eat fish, and I am not in love with beef, I figured this would be a no-brainer. The first half of the month I payed specific attention to meal planning, and it wasn't so hard to manage the challenge. I even supplied my sisters with homemade vegetable soup!
The end of January was a little more difficult. Fighting fatigue from fibromyalgia, I fell down on planning and slipped up a couple of times. Two times were with chicken breast, but the recipes were full of vegetables and not processed foods. Where I had my biggest slip ups were when we were on the road. Alternatives when traveling are difficult. My sister is Pastoring in Cleveland, Ohio and we make that journey twice a month. On the way home this past Sunday, we discussed the difficulty with on the road food choices. (In that vein, be looking forward to an upcoming review on EasyLunchboxes). Overall, I did fine with this challenge.
Now I have entered a 21 day Mommy Blogger Weight Loss Challenge with Dustin Maher from Fit Moms For Life. The system Dustin has created is based on creating healthy habits and his goal is to help 5000 moms get endless energy to outplay their kids this year.
One of my first tasks is to measure myself following the instruction provided on the Fit Moms For Life workout and nutritional DVD; then weigh in AND TAKE MY BEFORE PICTURE (I'll share it all here - well maybe not my exact weight, but the rest of it. lol)!
Yes, that is a scary thing, but to give me encouragement, several of my blogger friends are taking the challenge too, and you can encourage us by clicking on the links in the next three weeks and leaving your comments, advice and questions!
The end of January was a little more difficult. Fighting fatigue from fibromyalgia, I fell down on planning and slipped up a couple of times. Two times were with chicken breast, but the recipes were full of vegetables and not processed foods. Where I had my biggest slip ups were when we were on the road. Alternatives when traveling are difficult. My sister is Pastoring in Cleveland, Ohio and we make that journey twice a month. On the way home this past Sunday, we discussed the difficulty with on the road food choices. (In that vein, be looking forward to an upcoming review on EasyLunchboxes). Overall, I did fine with this challenge.Now I have entered a 21 day Mommy Blogger Weight Loss Challenge with Dustin Maher from Fit Moms For Life. The system Dustin has created is based on creating healthy habits and his goal is to help 5000 moms get endless energy to outplay their kids this year.
One of my first tasks is to measure myself following the instruction provided on the Fit Moms For Life workout and nutritional DVD; then weigh in AND TAKE MY BEFORE PICTURE (I'll share it all here - well maybe not my exact weight, but the rest of it. lol)!
Yes, that is a scary thing, but to give me encouragement, several of my blogger friends are taking the challenge too, and you can encourage us by clicking on the links in the next three weeks and leaving your comments, advice and questions!
Way to go on taking the 21 day challenge. I am excited to be on board too! We can do it!
ReplyDeleteI am excited as well, and really grateful for all of the encouragement of so many people working together! It's like having a group of good friends working together!
DeleteGood luck on the 21 day challenge. Good job on trying meat free for a month. I tried it some back during the summer. I felt like I was eating tons of beans...which were fine, but seemed to get bored after a bit by my menu. I do like substituting other things at times for meat, but still like to have meat at times too. Now I am just trying to make those dishes healthier, or make sure to watch the portion size of them. Good luck to you!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Colleen! I am going to post today on my progress. I did the meat free challenge in January but I prepared a lot before hand, so I had a variety of options for meals. I think what helped me is that I come from a gardening and farming family, so I have lots of ideas about food that grows from the land. I agree with you about portion size! I feel like that month helped me realize how unbalanced our plates can become with meat weighing far more than anything else. Oh well, back to the drawing board!
DeleteI am glad to be taking the challenge along with you :)
ReplyDeleteThat is quite a task going meatless! my husband would not be so happy with that choice. He is a red meat fanatic. Sigh...in time I will show him through my healthiness that well life is better and one can be full of energy!
A word about on the road food: Our road food is usually Mcdonalds. Doing our best to pack and prepare lunches for us before going to church. It seems that on the road it just feel SOOOO EASY to just order from fast food. Looking forward to your EasyLunchBox review! :)
Yes, it does feel easier to order from a window already prepared easy to eat foods on the road. I am going to be packing on this coming Sunday in the EasyLunchBox, so my review will be coming soon. I am searching now for what I think will be easy to eat, taste good, and also go well with travel. I can't wait to see how it goes!
DeleteMy 13 and 7 year old love McDonald's. I am not excited about processed foods, and try to discourage them, but I don't force them. They are beginning to make better choices outside of home on their own. Making healthier food choices is not easy, and it can become expensive. It is such a one step at a time process.
Good luck on the 21 days. We can do this!