A Sugar-Free Cookie Extrordinaire

With my new healthy lifestyle, I try to limit my sweets and desserts to one day a week. And then I try not to pig out all day long that day. But after being good for three or four weeks, I was craving some sweets so badly! So I turned to Pinterest and searched for a sugar-free recipe that looked palatable. Now I wasn't expecting miracles, but was hoping for something that didn't just use a sugar substitute. I bought some Stevia and tried to make my own hot chocolate. Yeah, it was nasty. Still need to try it in something else though - I don't want to judge it on that sole experience.

I found this cookie recipe that is not only sugar-free, but also flour, egg-free too. It is mostly bananas, so if you don't like those you should probably skip this recipe. I don't like to eat bananas on their own, but like them in bread, pancakes, etc. I love the oats in this recipe too! I did add a dash of salt and little Stevia to sweeten things up - just a single serving packet. The batter tasted great on it's own, and I wondered if it was even worth baking the cookies. Out of the oven they were okay, but the next day or the day after they were fabulous - just needed a day to meld I guess. I couldn't help but pass this recipe on. I give full credit to Once a Month Mom. You can find the recipe here. 

The cocoa and oats really satisfied me and kept me out of the real treats that do not help me!

Ending 2012 with a Loss (a good one)

This is a hard topic for me to discuss, but I'm on a roll and am hoping for some long-term change so it's time for me to go public. I have steadily been gaining weight since college & our wedding (11 years ago), and I have hit several unhappy milestones that I swore I would never pass. Yet I did. And I just didn't know what could turn me around. Then I heard about a weight-loss challenge that some people in my ward were putting together and I decided to join. That was two months ago and things have gone extremely well.

 

 

 

We used this system here, where you earn points for good behaviors like exercising, drinking water, skipping sweets, etc. We skipped the first two weeks of the challenge so we could finish by Christmas Eve. Everyone puts in $10 as a show of participation and the pot gets split between the top points winner and the top weight-loss percentage winner. And I was the points winner! I lost fifteen pounds! I liked that so many of my friends were all doing it together so we could encourage each other, as well as compete. I was actually quite motivated by the competition - more than I would have thought I could be. Once I was in first place after the first week - I didn't want to give it up. It was also a huge help that my husband, Aaron, did the challenge with me. He was so supportive in everything. I normally hate it when he encourages me to go to the gym or to eat less sweets. But since it was part of the competition and he was doing it all too... well, I couldn't have done it without him.

Worst part of the challenge: eating fruits and veggies. I know you are supposed to integrate these into your meals, but I had a hard time with this and I'm not a big salad eater, which is where some people get their veggies. I'm glad it's winter though - I love cauliflower or butternut squash soup! I found myself stuffing down veggies and/or fruit at 8:30 most nights - which is 30 minutes before the no-food limit. I need to do better at this.

Best parts of the challenge: working out at the gym. You get the maximum points for exercising 45 minutes five times a week. I have finally caught the joy of the gym and I still have a long ways to go. I've been doing the bike (so I can read at the same time), walking on the treadmill (but want to work up to running sometime), and the elliptical. That elliptical machine is hard! And I have to do 45 minutes. Man it's good exercise! I look forward to trying some Yoga and Zumba classes soon too. Another great part of the challenge: drinking 64 ounces of water a day. I have come to really enjoy this and it makes me feel a lot better. I love that the challenge is set-up to reward good behavior rather than penalizing you.

I am going to use my winnings to buy some new exercise gear and maybe some running shoes. I am loving the new looseness to my clothes and some subtle changes to my body. We're starting the challenge again in a couple weeks and I'm hoping for at least 15 more pounds of loss. Maybe then I can set some kind of target weight goal. I am amazed at how natural my new behaviors and habits are starting to feel - except the no sweets. But I'm learning about moderation. I'm really looking forward to a new year and a new, healthier lifestyle for me!

Is It a Middle-Aged Thing?

As of my last birthday, I am officially counting myself as middle-aged. Granted, I am at the very bottom end of that spectrum, and other people might not put me in the middle yet, but I am not in my twenties or my early thirties anymore. And it feels good. I have no dismay over my age (other than my baby turning 4 yesterday!) and in some ways it feel nice to consider myself a full-fledged grown up now. Dad, if you're reading this, I still reserve the right to borrow money at some point in the future. You're still my father.

One of the things I have never done in my life is see a dermatologist. I know lots of teenagers go to one for the standard teenage acne stuff, but I just saw my pediatrician or GP for all of that. And as I age I am more concerned about wrinkles and skin cancer than acne. But not exclusively.

So I made my appointment, waited in the waiting room for AN HOUR, and finally had my turn to be examined. And in the end, I kind of felt like I had wasted my time and money. Here's what I came away with:

• I need to wash my face morning and night. Duh. I knew that (but still don't do it).
• Wear sunscreen. Um, yes, especially in Arizona. I did find out my daily 15 spf should be higher.
• Use good lotion/moisturizer EVERY time after you wash your hands. Apparently it's worth the effort and the excema problems on my fingers (under my rings) will probably be fixed by this.

And that's it. I found out that so much of what we fight is genetic & unless you want to drop money on cosmetic work (I might) then there's not much you can do about it. But I am hoping to do better at the above three things - wish me luck - and I think the most important thing I did was get an entire body inspection for skin cancer.  Which is a bit embarassing/uncomfortable but so important. That was worth the money by itself. Have you ever done this? I hear stories of people getting skin cancer in strange places and not noticing and I wanted a good baseline to start judging by. So I guess I will plan to get checked regularly now that I am middle-aged. Maybe every 3-4 years? What do you think? Do any of you go regularly? How often? Or are all my five remaining readers still in their twenties? You babies!

Also, what are your favorite products for face wash, daily moisturizer (with high spf), hand lotion, and eye cream? My dermatologist recommends Neutrogena.

My New Look

This is what tired looks like. This is what's left on the living room floor after spending an evening with my friend, Jane, who is graciously hosting my entire family for two weeks. Yes, two weeks. She's a generous soul, my friend.

I'm rethinking the whole proposition now, since Jane took me out walking last night. It's true that we only walked. And it's true that our pace was very moderate. But it's also true that the most exercise I've had for the past 6 months is looking at the elliptical machine my sister-in-law is storing at my house. So I am tired. And sore. Not only from the walk, but from carrying my baby up and down hundreds of flights of stairs at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House yesterday.

I soaked my legs in a hot bath for as long as I could last night, but didn't make it very long as I was in danger of falling asleep and drowning. Did I mention we walked for and hour and a half! I was shocked. And I am insisting that our route was three miles, but Jane says it's not. We will measure it today and I hope I'm right. We're planning to do this every night (mostly) in preparation for a 5K run/walk on my final day here in Utah. The Lavender Festival is supposed to be very pretty and fun for the whole family. I don't know how much fun that 5K will be for me, but at least I'll be able to cross #21 off my list. And let's hope that all this exercise contributes to a new look for my body.

Happy Birthday to Me, Part 3

Are you getting tired of this theme yet? Not me. Presents every day! My sweet hubby was home on Monday and Tuesday this week. Monday afternoon we took all our boys to Target to check out a BIG gift for me.


Remember when I talked about doing one hundred push ups? And I mentioned that I planned to start riding bikes to drop my oldest at preschool. It's been kind of hard without a bike, although we've walked a few times. At Target we bought me this:

It came all assembled, we just took it off the rack and wheeled it out the door, after giving it a few spins around the aisles. I took it for a test ride that night and was thrilled with feeling the wind on my face, because I'm so fast. I'm pretty sure I can only ride half a mile, but I'll get better. Of course, we had to get me a new purple helmet and fancy bike pump too.


This morning we hooked up the bike trailer, tossed the pajama-clad boys in, wearing their helmets, and took off to preschool. We moved along at a snail's pace, constantly urging my four year old to ride a little faster on his ironically named Rocket bike, complete with training wheels. We finally made it, and I was able to pick up a little speed as I took a quick tour around the neighborhood. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to walk again in a few days. Just in time for more birthday presents.

Bike riding with my boys Works For Me! It will be a way to enjoy the outdoors, spend time together as a family, and hopefully help me get in better shape (& even more hopefully that will translate to losing weight). For other Works For Me Wednesday tips, check out Rocks in My Dryer.

Today is the last day to enter my Halloween decoration giveaway.

How Many Push Ups Can You Do?

When my husband came to me with the idea of doing push ups together, I was mildly excited. I'm not a big exerciser, but I always say I want to be. And silly him, he believes me. And silly me, I always think I want to get in shape too. And I do. It's just that it's so hard!


But doing something together with my husband sounded kind of fun so we took up the challenge. Check out this website for the details, but essentially you take an initial test (see how many push-ups you can do at once) and then follow one of three levels of work-outs, all of which supposedly lead you to being able to do one hundred push-ups. All at once. I am a bit skeptical, but after only two weeks, I am impressed that I have kept with it and my strength and endurance have increased a lot. My favorite part is not feeling like a failure. As long as you do the three work-outs a week, you win. The website is great at allowing for different levels of fitness. You re-evaluate several times, and can drop down or move up a level. And it says if you have problems with one week, just do it over. Which feels good to me. So maybe it will take me longer than six weeks, but I want to get there. And my husband & I like cheering each other on.

Right now, push-ups are working for me! For more Works For Me Wednesday tips, check out Rocks in My Dryer.

The Rest of My Fitness Plan (just to get this down in writing):

Right now I'm in serious need of getting my body in shape. Sure, I need to lose weight, but mostly I need my body to act more put together. I've had mild back problems on and off, and sometimes a knee or ankle hurts - and I'm pretty sure most of these complaints could be resolved with good old-fashioned physical fitness.



Here's my plan for the fall. My oldest just started preschool three times a week, within walking distance from our house. He can ride his bike there while I put the other two in the bike trailer and I can either walk/run with them, or pull them behind the bike that I hope to be buying soon. And after we drop off at preschool, there is 30 minutes for me to exercise before the baby needs to take a nap. Good plan, huh?

But push-ups work right into this plan. And hopefully some other strength training soon too. Any suggestions?

I Did It!

Hooray for me! I completed my first 5K event. I was worried about even doing the whole thing since I hurt my ankle, but I was okay and I even ran a bit. It was lots of fun because there were tons of people walking - even little kids and parents with strollers. Of course some of them were way faster than me, especially the kids! My time was 41:30. I hesitate to list it because I'm so slow, but hope this will motivate me to run more and be able to boast about my improvement. I would like to run another 5K soon and maybe actually run it. And maybe I can move up to a 10K once I'm done having kids and I've run out of excuses. A special thanks to my friend Jeanna who ran with me. Well, not with me since she actually ran the whole thing. But she did come back and find me and ran the last .1 mile with me. And a thanks to those who inspired me: Lindsay, who has been doing triathlons lately, and Shannon, who runs 10Ks like they're going out of style. You guys rock! I want to be like you. Anyone else who runs, please leave a comment so I can be more inspired.

My Best 5K Intentions

Tara thinks...
that if someone finally commits to run a 5K, their ankles should cooperate.

Just a few belated rantings. I've always wanted to be a runner. They all seem so fit and wholesome and I have fond memories of when I used to run cross country - you know, in 8th grade. But I was good! And if only I can get over the laziness and self-indulgence I can totally be good again. I figured a 5K was a good place to start and have been wanting to try one for a couple years. But between being pregnant and nursing the opportunity hasn't come up until now. I've been saying since I got pregnant with Emmett that I would run one the spring after he was born. So it's the spring and I searched out an event that would work with my suddenly crazy schedule and actually signed up and paid. I was running at the YMCA a lot (for me) and actually doing a 5K several times. Now when I say "doing," I mean a combo of walking and running 3.1 miles. It was taking me just over 40 min. and I was starting to increase my run to walk ratio. All very good for me. I didn't realistically think I could run 3.1 miles, but I was getting there. And then disaster struck! An injury. I might be the only person around who can sprain their ankle just standing there. So it's been 2 weeks and I've been slowly healing and not going to the gym. But I went today! I was definitely held back by the ankle, not by the fact I haven't worked out for 2 weeks. I did some walking and running, but could only do one and a quarter miles. Unfortunately that's a far cry from 3.1 miles, but I'm hoping things will improve this week and hey, I'll walk it if I have to. A big thanks to my friend Jeanna for signing up with me, although I hope she doesn't feel like she has to stay back with me.