Planning, Prepping, and Cooking

One of the goals that i wrote in my journal on tuesday was to learn how to be a better cook. i am a terrible cook. i went to catholic school for elementary and middle school and never had a culinary class offered to me. and i had no interest to learn in high school. i still really have no interest, but i am going to try really hard to enjoy it!

last night, i went through all the recipes shared with the group and picked out a few to try to cook. i wrote down the meals and jotted all the ingredients down that i needed on my grocery list. i went grocery shopping this morning and picked up pretty much everything. i did forget some key items and get mixed up with a few items too!

i decided to make the lasagna soup today since it is so cold. i opened the laptop, brought up the recipe and poured myself a glass of wine.

tim watched me and taught me a couple things as i started preparing the meal (he is the cook in the family.) i will be honest and share that i have never worked with sausage before. i was super grossed out taking the sausage out of the casing.

i made a few mistakes with the soup. i completely forgot to buy spinach to throw in it. and i didn't know there was a difference between marinara sauce and just any jar of sauce you can buy in a store. i bought a four cheese classico jar of sauce. whoops!

the soup still turned out really delicious! Thanks Kim for sharing this recipe! i'll be bringing leftovers to lunch on monday! during the rest of the week i am going to work on chicken soup, chicken pot pie soup, and some banana muffins! thank you for all your recipe ideas!

Get Healthy 2018 Challenge

I have been doing a lot of thinking about this challenge and all of you! Some of you are looking to exercise more. Others are looking to lose weight. We all want to feel healthier and be more comfortable with ourselves and our lifestyles.

Every single January since 2001 (except the two Januarys i was pregnant!), i have done this weight loss thing. my weight is something i struggle with all the time. it will be something i struggle with for the rest of my life. this is the very first time i am doing this with a group of women. i am excited to see what changes can be made in all of our lives over the next couple of months!

Here it goes! This is the challenge... I hope you jump on board and stay with me!

We will be eating healthier and exercising for 100 days straight. This will take us into early spring and past Easter! It will start tomorrow and end on April 11th. The other part of the challenge is for the group to lose 100 pounds total by April 11th. I know not everyone has to lose weight, so if you are not interested in doing this... you can just read the weight loss updates and cheer us on! :)

If you can, try to do the following things everyday for the next 100 days:

1. Take a picture of yourself in front of a mirror (YES! EVERY DAY! It only takes a second!)-I hate looking at pictures of myself. i hate taking pictures of myself. however, the changes you will see over the 100 days will make you LOVE it. Make a weight loss album in your photo books on your ipads or iphones. add your daily photo to it every night!

2. Check off every day of  the challenge that you completed in your calendars. there is something amazing about checking off a successful day. knowing you want to check the day off helps you stay focused on your goal.

3. Date your journal and write something you did for yourself that day. it can be a sentence. it might be " i walked away from the cookies on the table at work today!" or "i exercised for 20 minutes even though i felt like staying in my pjs for the night!" or "I took an amazing bath and enjoyed reading a book"

If you can, try to do the following every Tuesday for the next 100 days:

1. For those wanting to lose weight, step on the scale and record your weight in your journals.

2. Write a small goal you want to accomplish for the week in your journals.

3. Write if you accomplished your small goal for the week in your journals.

You can choose any weight loss plan you want that works for your body! i am jumping back to the sugar thing because i know i have BIG problems with it. You can absolutely join me if you want!

You can also choose any exercise plan you want that works for your body! i am going to start the 30 Day Shred tomorrow night since that always gets me focused on exercising again. You are more than welcome to join me, but feel free to do any other exercise you love. i love the idea of running again, but this time of year is always so hard for me to get outside and do it!

Post as much as you like to the Group! Share your successes, struggles, recipes, exercise routines, goals, pictures and thoughts!

I will put a post up to add your Before and After pictures on Day 50 and Day 100 if you feel comfortable to post! I will also put a post up every Tuesday to share your weight loss if you so choose to do so!

FitBit Challenges will be starting today... I plan on having two groups... One group that is competitive and one group that just wants to keep an eye on steps and keep moving. Let me know which one to add you to in the comments below!

Thank you for joining the challenge! There is no money involved, but i think EVERYONE should treat yourselves to a new shirt or a trip to ULTA to freshen up your makeup every month to keep you motived through the 100 days...and to keep focused on making yourself a healthier and better you!  I know I will be doing it!

Do you accept the 100 day challenge?