Like...gag me with a spoon

This morning on a local radio station, the question was asked, "What food did you not like growing up, that you like now?" This simple question brought back all sorts of memories for me. And not memories of myself, but memories of my sons earlier years. Maybe, just maybe the fact that I registered him for his (gag) SENIOR year yesterday has me all sorts of emotional.
So now I ask the same question to you, because it was fun to read the responses. What food did you dislike as a child, but now you enjoy? Dixon answered with "pizza." YES. PIZZA!!! His gag reflex was sooooo strong, that he would just LOOK at someone eating a slice of pizza and he'd gag. He'd never try it. He'd ATTEMPT to try it, but even the crust touching his lips caused major gagging. HAHA! It's funny now, but poor kid probably didn't get his first slice of pizza down til he was easily 8 years old. Hopefully this won't be the reason for therapy later in life. He had some strange food faux pas. For instance. McDonald's. We would have to order him a "plain cheeseburger, no meat." That means, he had a bun with a slice of cheese in the center.McDonald's doesn't discount that by the way. Pancakes were tricky. If he wanted PANCAKES, he wanted cinnamon/sugar on white bread under the broiler. If he wanted CIRCLES, he wanted, what you or I would call, pancakes. EXHAUSTING! Hot dogs were a hit until about 5 years old. Easy Mac too. Not now. For lunch, when he was in preschool-kindergarten, I'd pack him a home lunch, being a "plain sandwich" which was simply 2 slices of bread (and he'd eat them like a sandwich), and a banana. He HATED HATED HATED chocolate. His first "hey this ain't so bad" run in with chocolate was a small tootsie roll, and his teacher sent home a note from school telling me he ate it without vomiting. Then he got brave and tried chocolate milk at school. When he eventually made it through the whole carton without issues, we found that Macey's carried the same brand and same size of school milk for .33, so our Family Home Evening activity was to go to the south end of town to purchase 6 chocolate milks for Dixon. It's just so funny to think back to where he was, to where he is now. Not just with food stuff, but my little boy is basically a man. And I'm a mess!
But really, comment. Tell me what food is on your eat list now, that wasn't before. For myself, it's avocados, and that's just VERY recent. I'd say, the last year or so. I didn't use Salt or pepper until I was easily 25. "That's just too sophisticated," I'd say.

From yucky to yummy:
Salt
Pepper
Avocados
Tomatoes
Onions
Shrimp
Pizza (Yes. Me too.  I didn't like the toppings as a child,  just the sauce and crust, but mostly the crust.)
Squash
Steak (I eat beef MAYBE once a year)

From yummy to yucky:
Olives
Gingerale
Raisins
Hawaiian Punch

Mind full? or Mindful?

If I asked, are you "Mind full or are you Mindful" what is the difference? This week we are going to figure that out. 

We are at week 3 already! Time for another weekly challenge. And yes, I realize I have been posting on Monday but I didn't. Instead, I went SHOPPING!!!!! And I got A LOT of steps in. 

Before we know it, It's going to be spring. It certainly has felt like spring here in Northern Utah for a few weeks. In fact, I have zero snow in my yard. But since spring is on the way, why not focus this weeks challenge onto walking, or as I like to call it, "Some spring in your step!"

 I very much dislike the word "exercise." In fact, as a weight watcher leader, I really try hard not to use that "E" word. I call it "Activity" instead. Just sounds...funner, even though funner isn't a word. 

For some, a walk is something you're already doing and a short walk may seem too simple.  I never said it needed to be short though. What I'm challenging you to do, is to take a MINDFUL walk. 

I know. "What in the world is a 'mindful' walk?  Mindful walking is more a practice (think yoga,) as opposed to just getting in your cardio exercise. Mindful walking means you are aware of your breathing, thoughts, steps, and you clear your mind of cluttered "to do" lists, or a MIND FULL, and put aside worries about unfinished tasks.  With each step, just enjoy the simple pleasure of walking.  

We've all experienced the "I don't feel like exercising," day. (Eeeek. The E word) but guys, we all can walk. I am often reminded of a saying, when I'm having those, woe is me type days. 

"I had the blues because I had no shoes until upon the street, I met a man who had no feet."

It's not about having the best shoes, or the time, or anything like that, but more of a matter of are you WILLING to walk? Are you willing to make it a priority. Yes. You  may have to schedule it in. Again, are you willing?

During the spring and summer months, and even into early fall, I made a personal goal for myself. My goal was to walk wherever I was going, IF it was less than one mile away. This meant I PLANNED  to leave 8-10 minutes earlier. And I didn't stroll. I really really pushed it. So...I walked to work (School work, not WW work) and church, and to Dixon's school. And I enjoyed the breeze, and the birds, and the sunrises, and yes, even some sun sets. And walking in a rainstorm or even a snow storm can be quite refreshing! The bottom line is to stop making excuses for why we can't get out and walk, and start making walking a priority.  Park in the furthest stall away from the store entrance and do laps around Walmart. Whatever you do, make this your mantra:  "Today, I WILL walk, more than I did yesterday."

Let your thirst guide you

We often hear it. "You should drink 8 glasses of water per day." Sounds easy, right? I guess if those glasses are made for smurfs, than yes. How many of us actually drink those 8 glasses?  And we're talking drinking water in its purest form -- not from the fountain of fizzy waters, which is what I'm 1 bajillion percent guilty of.  

The reason most people fail at developing this new habit of drinking eight glasses per day is because they try to add them all at once. I've tried that. I can't tell you how many new water bottles I've purchased, thinking that a fun new bottle would make my water consumption more enjoyable.  It is DANG HARD to go from drinking little or no water to drinking eight glasses. I end up feeling frustrated, let alone, nauseous, and honestly, who likes running to the bathroom all day! Actually, who likes running? Anywho...  Baby steps people. Remember that "all or nothing" mentality we are trying to get away from. Just add 2 glasses to your day this week. Preferably one when you first wake up, and another before dinner. Your body was gone through a fasting state for 6-8 hours depending on how many hours of sleep you get each night. Having gone those hours with no fluid also places your body in a state of mild dehydration.  One of the very best things you can do is drink 8 ounces of water as soon as you get up.  A splash of cranberry juice, lemon juice or any other natural flavoring will add some zip if you simply don't like it plain.  The glass before dinner is perfectly timed because by that point in the day many of us are already behind on our water intake.  We may be in a state of mild dehydration and a glass of water is just what the body needs.  Drinking a glass just before dinner has the added benefit of helping to control your appetite so you consume a slightly smaller dinner. If you are already a water-drinker, great!  Keep on doing what you are doing -- instead, focus on getting those two glasses in at those strategic times -- first thing in the morning and before dinner.  Whether you drink four, six or eight glasses per day, the ultimate goal is to stay well hydrated.  

Are you up for the Challenge?

I mentioned to a friend recently, that I was going to start issuing weekly challenges, mostly for those that follow my Fonz Flabuless Warriors or Tuesday Transformers Logan pages on Facebook. These challenges are mostly for myself, but anyone and everyone that wants to "play" is certainly welcome.  Some of these will be health related, while others won't. I think it's good to always find ways to improve oneself. Breakfast was one of those things I needed to improve on when I began trying to become a better version of myself. It's also the thing I find I slip up at when I let other things, like life per say, get in the way. Now before I begin, let it be known I am not a resolution setter. I do believe in making a goal, achieving a goal, and setting another. There's always, always, ALWAYS room for improvement. I will NOT be 100% at these challenges, but I will be better. Take for instance, water drinking. BLECH! BUT... if I'm only getting 32 oz. of water in per day, I'm going to try my dangdest to get that up to at least 33 oz. JK! 34.
What I'm saying is, I don't expect anyone to take these challenges and think they have to do them 100% each and every day. Just do a little better than you did yesterday. And if you don't quite get it day one, guess what, you have 6 more go's at it. You pickin' up what I'm puttin' down-yo?
So without further ado...
Weekly Challenge #1 (January 1st- January 7th)

FILL UP WITH A HEALTHY BREAKFAST

Before #myforeverjourney, there were some mornings where it was everything I could do to will myself out into the real world aka go to work all the while, grabbing a fist full of dry cereal or even a left over cookie as I rushed my way out the door. It's not like a gourmet breakfast is a realistic everyday goal. But dry cereal fills me for about 3 minutes, and a cookie just leaves me wanting another cookie. A healthy breakfast actually requires very little prep time. Since the start of #myforeverjourney, I've enjoyed breakfast more. I actually crave my breakfast of choice, so I end up eating it for dinner some nights.  Protein is the key to a healthy and filling breakfast. I found when I uped my protein, my hunger cravings were minimal as well as sugar cravings. I also found I didn't need as big a lunch, so my calories (not that I'm a calorie counter) were lower for the entire day. I'm such a fan of eggs. And especially now that eggs are part of the zero point food list on the #wwfreestyle plan, (*WeightwatcherplugIleadonTuesdayeveningscomeandseeme) I eat a LOT of eggs! Scrambled with extra lean turkey, tomatoes, spinach and a pinch of cheese rolled into an Ole' Extreme low carb tortilla....YUM and 1 smart point.  Poached over two slices of Sara Lee toast (2sp) with 1.5 TBS Dean's guacamole (2 sp)...YES PLEASE and 4 smart points. Hard boiled...YES! Mix that hard boiled egg with nonfat greek yogurt, mustard, salt, pepper, dill, red onion, and celery  to make an egg salad type of sandwich. (2 sp for the bread, as the eggs, yogurt and seasonings all come in at a whopping zero point value!)  And yes...even egg muffins are easy to eat as I head out the door. To make an egg muffin, you need one egg per muffin cup. So...if you were to make a dozen for the freezer, you guessed it. You'd need 12 eggs. Math. YUCK! I add fresh veggies like onion, tomato, and green pepper to our egg muffins. Then I like to add diced ham. I use 1/2 oz. of John Morrell diced ham per muffin cup. I will put cheese in 6 and leave the other 6 cheeseless. Spray your muffin tins and bake in a preheated oven at 350 for 20 minutes. And guess what folks? These little gems are 0 smart points for one if you choose to eat them cheeseless. And if you have 2, which is what I do, it's only 1 smart point. HELLO!!!! I like to have cottage cheese on the side. This breakfast gives me 25 grams of protein. A great start to the day!!!! And a 2 smart point breakfast. (1 for the 1/2 c. viva fat free cottage cheese, and 1 for 2 egg muffins.)
We need the most energy at the beginning of the day, and the least energy at the end of our day, Thus the saying, "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper." It's not an old wives' tale. It actually makes perfect sense. But I've been guilty of skipping breakfast, which leads to an all out pig out come night time. I'm ready for this weeks challenge. Are you in?


#WeeklyChallenge1
#eggcellent