Friday, April 11, 2008

Kick Ass? Or Ass Kicked? How Was Your Week? 8-week challenge

Frump...frumpity frump frump frump. I usually don't do the frump posts, because...well, I guess it's because I break most of the frump rules, as shown here. I'm more of the frame of mind that if you feel good about you, then looking good will follow. Its the inner frump I'm talking about.

This is what I think the 8-week challenge is about. The 8-week challenge for many is getting in better shape and being healthy, thats what it is for me, but it can be anything that you need to do to make yourself feel good. Because seriously, confidence is sexy and very un-frumpy.

To help you on your quest to be healthy, I had intended to talk a bit about eating healthy on a budget, but wow, its just really hard to do that. Kashi is working with
this organization to teach families how to prepare healthy meals on a budget, but for the life of me I couldn't find anything on the site to help us. So... here are a few tips I found elsewhere.

  • Buy produce that is on sale, and go for the big bags as opposed to the single priced per lbs kind.
  • Buy produce in season. Its cheaper
  • Plan your meals around your produce. If you buy tomatoes and use them in salads, sauces and snacking.
  • Plant a garden (thats my tip, I grew up with one). Makes things so easy to just to run out to the garden and grab a tomato.
  • Make your own single serving snacks, don't buy the little packs. I know their intention is portion control...Of course if you're like me you would probably find yourself sitting in front of a box of 100 calorie cookies, opening them one after another and pouring them into my mouth. So just skip these all together.
I bet Ashlee has better ideas than me, she plans her meals a whole month in advance. How do you eat healthy on a budget?

That question just brought a little side tangent to mind. When I was working in inner city Detroit, one of my fellow slaves students had a freak out moment. She began crying and ripping the Eat Organic sticker from the bumper of her car, yelling about how the people we worked with would never be able to afford to buy organic. And she was right, is right. It is freaking expensive to be healthy. A chicken sandwich from McDonald's is $1. Can't beat that. Ok, tangent over.

As far as how I did on my goals? Well, I modified my one sweet a day rule to one sweet per sitting. So, after dinner I had 1/2 a piece of cheese cake and 1/2 piece of chocolate cake. I was at a pot luck, I can't choose between cheesecake and chocolate!

Plus I ran FOUR times this week, and my run today was the BEST RUN EVER! Almost every time I start running I think I'm going to die, but by the time I hit 1/2 mile mark I'm usually ok. Today, however, I didn't even feel tired till after a mile. I had added
this song to my workout and it made me feel like I was flying. Today... I ran TWO AND A HALF MILES! I'm feeling very proud of myself right now and I can tell you, I already feel a difference in my body.

I'm also going to add the goal to write one creative piece per week, because, quite frankly, I feel much better about myself and life when I'm being creative. I'll just post it over at Ghostwriter's Haunt, which is getting a new home here. Fiction Friday has been reduced to a once a month thing, so you'll still have to suffer through it the pleasure of reading it here.

One last thing before I hand the floor over to HB. Did the
mid-week check in help out at all? Or was it a waste of cyberspace? Let me know if I should continue doing a mid-week pep or not. Just a quick shouting out to keep you on track and see how you are.

Ok, this is Sister Sassy Signing off.

Grandma Jean has been here all week. I'm not sure if you you realize it, but she's a southern girl who knows from cooking. I had a decision to make. Enjoy her cheesy broccoli cornbread and southern taters and slow cooked meats and dump cake, or...abstain. It's really all about choices and I choose to look good and feel good. So I compromised.

I ate a protein-rich breakfast every morning. I took a low-carb, low-calorie lunch to work. And then I chose to enjoy smaller helpings of Grandma Jean's dinners. I didn't want to hurt her feelings after all. That's why I'm her favorite daughter. (This is Sassy rolling my eyes)

I also cut my caffeine intake in half, which is huge for me. AND, I have been going to bed before 11:00 every night. I haven't been taking my vitamins, nor have I exercised as much as I want to. But my clothes fit better and my tummy feels flatter. Baby steps, no?

AND! And. I have a job interview this morning! So I have all kinds of life-improvement activities going on this week. Please send me your prayers and "Rock that Interview" vibes.

My goals for Week Two: Exercise 4 Days, Salad for One Meal each day, VITAMINS, Protein Rich Breakfast each morning.

Tell me about your week. Did you stick to your food and exercise plans? What good thing did you do for yourself? What good thing did you do for someone else? What challenges did you face and how did you handle them?

Week Two is going to ROCK. (Thank GOD Grandma Jean's going home!)

Do you want more frump fighting tips? Go here!
What's that? You want to comment? Just click on the itty-bitty words below that say "Gimme Some Sugar". Can you see them? Good. We can't wait to chat with you.

13 comments:

Valarie Lea said...

Sassy - I like the Mid week thing. It reminded me to get off my butt. So since it hurts my knee to run, I jumped rope. I know you would think it would hurt my knee, but it doesn't its quite odd.

SHB - I am so glad you have an interview. Putting up lots of prayers. :) And your right week two is gonna be great, so lets get going.

saintseester said...

I completely punted this week. But, I didn't overeat either. I just didn't get in the exercise that I need so badly.

Today, I am heading out to the store to load up on the fresh.

Here's an obvious tip: I have a few good casserole recipes that are calorie-light and freeze well. So when I make it for dinner, I freeze half for that lazy day you know is coming. Then we don't have to order pizza because mom won't cook!

Musings of a Housewife said...

Way to go on that fitness challenge!

Kendra said...

I have done Horrible this week. I have about 10-15 pounds to lose before we leave for vaca in 6wks. Things aren’t looking good for me right now! I procrastinate in everything I do. Lol
I am going to try your advise this week and hopeful next week will be better for me. **Fingers crossed**

Good luck to ya!

Ashlee said...

I like the mid-week check up. Keeps us on our toes! :0)

Sassy, I cook low fat. A lot of people "diet" differently. So, a lot of people don't agree with the way I cut fat from my diet. I always agree about the fresh fruit and veggies. :0) I DO know that if you plan a healthy menu for your month, you are less likely to go out and eat naughty fatty food, and/or cook the quick fatty foods just to get dinner on the table at the last minute. I buy only ground turkey. Including for grilling burgers. We eat turkey burgers around here. You can't tell the difference. :0) I buy the fat free version of MOST products. Some of them are just plain nasty. Salads aren't as good as we think they are. Well, the veggies are, but the dressings are so BAD for our goals. SO, I don't eat them much unless I use my Fat Free Catalina dressing. It's the only one I've found that I like. :0) I had a grilled cheese sandwich yesterday for lunch with some pretzels. It was a 2 grams of fat lunch. I put two slices of fat free sliced cheese on a bagel. No slathering the butter on the outside of the bread either. Butter is fattening! Yummy! BTW...only the sliced fat free cheese will melt. The shredded stuff won't AT ALL. I don't like it. :0)

Honey Bunch-I think your eating plan was splendid! :0) I would have eaten my mommies food too. How can you pass it up. If you plan your other meals around the more fattening one, you can still eat the "naughty" food. You've kept your calorie intake at the levels you still want it by adjusting how many you ate earlier in the day.
I am praying your interview went/goes well! Just remember that if it doesn't...it wasn't the job for you...it wasn't meant to be and God has something else out there WAY more fabulous for you.

Anonymous said...

OK, now I'm inspired. I hope you're able to stick with your plan because it sounds like a good one - plus you're doing so well. :)

Anonymous said...

Definitely "ass kicked" for me. I don't know what's going on with me lately. All this old crap from my past has resurface and I'm dealing with guilt and shame and regret, all of which makes me want to lie on the couch and EAT. Sigh. I've done well today, and I'm hoping to get a run in after work. Great job, Sassy, on your running!

PhotoChick said...

i haven't even thought of Fighting the Frump from the inside - really, really great post! Now if there was only a way I could get my hubby to read this...

Jen said...

Way to go, you two! I've been on vacay this week, so my eating has been icko, but I DID have at least one salad meal each day and got lots of exercise each day. Ready to get back on track on Monday.

Sister Sassy said...

Val-do you try running on a treadmill? The impact is so much

Seester-good tip!

Dcrmom- Thanks!

Kendra- you still have 6 weeks! You can do it!

Ashlee- have you ever tried the Light Done Right dressings? I love their ranch, but have a hard time finding it these days. I hope its not gone.

Christine- I love it when we've inspired someone. Hope it carries you through your goals!

Jen- Tell your head to shut up and be nice :)

Photochick-Thanks for stopping by, I really appreicated the comments ;)

Jen- I hope you're having a great time on vacay! Aren't you supposed to gain weight when on vacation? isn't it, like, a rule or something?

Anonymous said...

I like the mid-week check in. I did so so during the close of the week. I am going to make some new goals re: exercise for next week.

Anonymous said...

As much as I would like to say that I could cut my caffeine intake by half....

I would NEVER purger myself online.

And so I will say -

"I wish you well, Sisters. You are more WOMAN than I will EVER be."

Anonymous said...

Sorry - I missed the mid-week check-in. I would love to say I was out running but that would be a complete lie and I couldn't live with myself. So, I didn't exercise until Friday and Saturday this week but tried to eat right. Now I am back to the weight I was before Springbreak and before last weekend at my sister's. My resolve this week is to not let the weekends sabotage my diet like I have been doing.

How did the interview go?