Real Men Do Kick Boxing

It was late in the evening and Carrie Mae and I still had to get our cardio in for the day. With two boys in bed, we had to come up with a way to do it inside because we both couldn't leave the house to get our exercise in. Carrie pulled out an old VHS tape (I guess I don't have to say 'old' and 'VHS' in the same sentence) with a kick boxing routine. My first thought was, I am not dancing to the beat of a different drummer... guys dressed in tighter than usual clothing. But I needed the points so dancing we did. Five minutes into the routine my calves were burning and I had to turn on the fan.

So when it's late, the weather is bad, or you just feel like dressing in tight clothes, then dig out your old VHS tape of mullet men/women dancing to the eighties... and get the cardio on.

Can we fix it?

Beau and I went to Applebees the other day. I love their oriental chicken salad, but I was a good girl and ordered off their Weight Watchers menu. It was a pretty small serving. For dessert, we ordered the W.W. chocolate cake to share. The waitress thought we were crazy. When she brought it out we knew why. It was the smallest piece of cake that I have ever seen at a restaurant before. This challenge has really opened up my eyes to how much I used to eat.
I have been using small bowls for breakfast instead of the regular sized ones and smaller cups. It really makes a difference. I agree with the posting that mentioned plate size-portion size.
Just because I was raised with six boys doesn't mean that I have to look like them. :)

Quoting the beloved Bob the Builder, "Can we fix it? Yes, we can!"

On The List

Everyone at work and many of my other friends know about the challenge. Every time I get something to eat they ask me if it is allowed. I lost points today because I went to the Jazz-v-Mavs game with my boss' family. I couldn't resist the Churros. Since Mexico I hear them calling my name every time I step foot into an athletic event.

11:58PM... all points received

I made it. It's 11:58PM and I got my run in. It's 50 degrees outside. Perfect running weather. Cool enough that your sweat isn't running down your face and warm enough that your sweat isn't freezing on your face.

Wow... I can't keep these late nights just to get my exercise. What's more healthy... sleep... or cardio? Answer: Both. Dilemma.

I'm actually having a lot of fun doing this. I'm in a better mood these days... as long as Tate is doing what he's told.

water logged

so last night was another one of those nights that by 11:00pm i still had to work out and drink 3 glasses of water before midnight!! have any of you guys had that happen yet? i'm sure you have. it's so irritating because you know you'll be up all night going to the bathroom! grrr!
-hayley

Food for Thought

1. Variety Encourages Consumption - The more choices you have the more food you'll consume. This is why we eat so much during Thanksgiving. Mmm...mmm...good.
2. Aromas Increase Appetite - Certain scents, such as the waft of creamy cupcake frosting, will literally make you salivate.
3. Color Cues Hunger - Red means stop - except with food, where it signals your brain to start eating. So don't buy red paper plates for parties.
4. Names Create Cravings - Potato salad is instantly more appealing when it's called "homemade German potato salad."
5. Plate Size Boosts Portion Size - Dodge's trick. You'll eat whatever amount of food fills a plate - even if you're stuffed.
   

why so many fruits and veggies?!

when i made my diet plan i knew i needed to be eating more fruits and veggies. i looked at the mayo clinic website and it said i should be eating 3 fruits and 4 veggies (and that was to lose weight--the least amount that i should be eating). i don't think i've EVER eaten that many fruits and veggies in one day!! another one of my goals is to not eat after 8pm. well, last sunday (the first day of the challenge) at a quarter to 8 i still had to eat 2 fruits and 1 veggie to meet my goal. i had to cram down 1 cup of apple sauce (which was from the fridge and super cold to down it fast!) and 1 carrot. i was so stuffed! there have been several days that i've had to do similar things to get my fruits and veggies in. it sounds pretty reasonable... just eat a fruit for every meal and veggies for lunch, dinner, and snacks....but it's not that simple! i've learned that i need to be getting up earlier... not at 9:30, because by the time i have breakfast, it's lunchtime and by the time i eat lunch, it's almost time for dinner.... and then i have to cram in all the fruits and veggies i can by 8pm! all in all, i'm glad i chose to do this because i feel so much better eating healthy. now i need to work on timing it all so i'm not stuffing myself at the end of the day. last night i made monte cristo sandwiches for dinner. they were so good!, but i knew i still had 2 fruits and 4 veggies to eat as well. i only ate half of the sandwich (i REALLY wanted to eat it all!!) and the rest of my meal was 1 fruit and 3 veggies. at 7:30 i had vanilla yogurt with frozen blueberries (YUM-O!! the frozen blueberries freeze the yogurt, so it's like you're eating ice cream) and a carrot. i've learned that i need to eat the required foods first, then i can reward myself with the other stuff.... if i'm still hungry, which i'm usually not. i've also been working out everyday for at least 30 minutes. i know it's only been a week, but i feel great!! and my clothes are fitting much better!! i have tons more energy. i definitely want to keep this up after the 10 weeks! it's also fun because the kids see us eating healthy and they want to eat what we eat. (it helps that we don't have lots of junk-food snacks in the house.) if the kids want a snack, they get to eat fruits and veggies. even though the kids aren't doing the challenge, they are being effected by it. whoa! this post ended up being pretty long! i'll stop now. good luck. love you all! -hayley

I put the blog together at work on Saturday. I was showing my boss and telling him about the competition and he said, "Inaugural just means that you are going to revert back to your old ways. It shouldn't be inaugural." In a way he is right. I hope that this family fitness challenge is a starting point for most of us. I hope that it is a change of lifestyle for good. I hope that we all are more conscious of the way we eat and how little we exercise. Maybe we should keep a log of how many hours a day we watch TV or sit in front of the computer (away from work). I'm sure that would be a big eye opener. If you look up "inaugural" in the dictionary you'll see it defined as "serving to set in motion." Lets use this challenge as a way to better our lives, not just during these ten weeks, but for the rest of our lives.

I can still try, can't I?

Wyatt's Christmas Wish List: Bigger shirts.

I saw this video and thought it was very fitting as we kick off the Family Health Challenge. Just when you thought there was a chance...

Marc

This is great ! It's really fun to see everyone's posts.

to Marc

Thank you for setting up this blog. It's a great way to see how everyone is doing!!!

for Beau

Wow, 2 1/2 miles in 5 minutes----does that mean you can sustain a 5 minute mile?

My biggest goof of the week was the first day, Sunday. I thought Carrie Mae had said that we needed to drink 10-12 ounce glasses of water. By the time I got to glass number seven I was doing the numbers----10-12 ounce glasses of water is 120 ounces or 15 cups. There are 16 cups in one gallon. No way could that be right. Well, I kept drinking. By glass number 8 I was really not liking this. I went into the computer room and checked the letter from Wyatt---sure enough---it was 8-8 ounce glasses----hurray, hurray!!!!

Happy running.........MOM

saturday's run

on saturday, 12/15, at 9pm i ran around the west valley fitness center track. each lap was 1 1/3 miles. it took me roughly 35 minutes to run 2 laps. i can run about 2 1/2 miles in 30 minutes.

in louisiana, i had been sweating like crazy when i ran. the temperature there ranged from 66' to 82'. in salt lake, saturday's low was 13' and the high was 28'. i thought, "i should be fine if i run in shorts and a t-shirt. my sweat should dry off perfectly, and my heart/bloodflow should keep me warm." boy was i wrong. my hands and arms were freezing. so after one lap i quickly got my lightweight hoody from the van. the next lap was perfect. shorts work out great. but short sleeves do not.

beau

tuesday's food log after monday's wake-up call

tuesday's food log:

• 1 banana
• 6 oz strawberry yogurt - light
• 8 oz oj
• beef burrito + refried beans + chips
• 12 oz dr pepper
• ruby tuesday's broccoli & cheese soup
• ruby tuesdays salad bar
• 64 oz of water

after monday's wake-up call you can see i was more aware of my diet. for dinner at ruby tuesday's i had soup, salad, and water. not bad. and as punishment for eating right, ruby tuesday's gave us the worst customer service i have ever seen in my entire life. i don't think anyone will ever be able to top the service we received. it was one for the record books.

beau

monday's food log

here was monday's food log:

• 2 12 oz cans of dr. pepper
• 2 eggs - sunnyside up
• grits - very large portion
• 3 slices of bacon
• 2 8 oz glasses oj
• hershey's candy bar
• small pizza flavored pringles - single serving size
• jason's deli roast beef croissant sandwich + tomato + lettuce + mayo + mustard + swiss cheese
• 2 strawberries

all of this by 1pm

for dinner:

• tj ribs babyback ribs - full rack
• 1/2 carton of vanilla ice cream
• 2 glasses of dr. pepper at tj ribs

and 64 oz of water

i think the main reason for keeping a daily food log is for awareness. at least for me. i didn't write anything down until 1pm. i hadn't realized i had eaten so horribly until i had to write it down. what a wake up call.

i'm hoping my 30 minute run at 5:30 ran off everything i ate on monday. shyea right.

beau

first 30 minute run

on monday, 12/10, at 5:30PM i did my first run. i ran behind the embassy suites hotel in baton rouge, louisiana.

i ran through some small business parking lots and down a street with slow traffic. after running for what i was sure must have been at least 30 minutes, i looked down at my cell phone to check the time. i had run 3 full minutes. no joke.

luckily there was a park, and i also found a large residential community. the gorgeous homes seemed to make the time fly by as i ran. i was able to run in the community for 3 straight days in a beautiful neighborhood with immaculate yards. i'm sure the owners loved seeing me running accross their lawns. albeit the small section in front of their sidewalks.

beau

First Post

This is a test post for the DiVall Family Fitness Challenge blog.
Check it out.