Project Momma: 12 Weeks

Family Selfie at the LDS Payson Temple Open House

So I am mid-vacation and I have to say I am pretty darn proud of myself.  Despite the fact that I ate about a third of my week's worth of treats today, I would say it's been pretty successful.

Since I did not change my goals for my vacation, I still tried to eat my fruits and veggies with limited treats.  And you know what?  I actually made my 10 treats goal!  I didn't bring them in my car and I didn't get a McFlurry or a Blizzard during our stops.  You know what I did buy?  A salad from McDonald's.  It wasn't the best salad ever, but I got a serving of veggies and it came with a pretty big piece of chicken which is better than I would have expected.  I would have NEVER done that had I not made that goal.

I didn't search for treats, but I enjoyed them with my family when we ate together.  As I already mentioned, today was an "extra-social" day... with a stop at the Purple Turtle after lunch and a Farr's soft serve after dinner, I had my fair share of milkshakes and ice cream today, but it was fun and I enjoyed it.  However, this is exactly why I like to allow myself a specific amount of treats for the week.  I enjoyed today, but will now limit my choices for the rest of the week and I don't feel guilty.  I even realized that as I ate the milkshake from Purple Turtle, it wasn't as great as I remembered and it was a little bigger than I really needed.  But that's also exactly why I don't deprive myself of things I really want.  Next time I'm here, I really won't crave it.

In my career as a personal trainer and wellness coordinator, I've worked with a lot of people in the past who dream about desserts and treats they remember having, but they don't want to be "bad" and eat it.  However, if they just allowed themselves to eat it and really asked themselves if it was as great as they remembered, a lot of times they would say no and wouldn't feel deprived anymore.  For that reason, I rarely, if ever, eat candy (unless is good European chocolate), sherbet or other non-dairy frozen treats, store-bought cookies and cakes, and even soda.  I know that some of you are disagreeing with my "not worth it" choices, but that's the point.  Everyone has different tastes and preferences.  Eat what you enjoy and don't eat what you don't love. If you don't think something is good, then why are you eating it?  I would much rather enjoy my rich, chocolate brownies, homemade cookies, and Ghirardelli chocolate any day.

With that said, I'm going to use the six treats I have left this week and enjoy them. (Hopefully they're just not all in one day...)

I have also realized this week how important it is to have a support group of people who have similar goals and habits.  I have loved spending time with my family talking about our latest workouts, food choices, and future goals.  We eat healthy dinners, and enjoy good desserts.  We go for runs and walks together.  In fact tonight, after the husbands played 18 holes of golf this morning, we (the wives) treated ourselves to PF Chang's and Farr's.  Then, instead of coming home and chatting in the living room, we went for a walk.  It was late and chilly, but felt so good to get our blood flowing and walk off some of that rice and noodles.

My thoughts and goals for the coming week:

1.  Run two times before Saturday.  I am doing a 5k and haven't run in a few weeks.  We'll see how my knee holds up, not to mention the 4,000 foot altitude increase I will have to account for.  That'll be fun.

2.  Although last week I made the goal to only eat treats in social situations, I am going to be a more conscious social-eater this week.  Do I really want it?  Even though everyone else is eating ____ doesn't mean that I need to.  Could I make a healthier choice and physically feel better afterwards?

3.  Catch up on my scripture reading.  I mentioned a few weeks ago that I have a goal to read the Standard Works this year.  I was consistently falling behind in my Old Testament reading schedule, but would catch up.  Now I am way behind and feeling a bit overwhelmed.  Instead of thinking about how I am 45 pages behind schedule, I will just read as much as I can, but more than the 4 pages a day minimum to start catching up.

I think I need to view my "Happy Momma" goals that way too.  Do what I can do today.  Don't think about how I still want to lose 20 pounds and how overwhelming that is.  What are the choices that I can make today to get me closer to that finish line.  Take it one step at a time.


Spiritual Moment
With that thought.  I was reading in 2 Samuel 22 yesterday and I love one of the verses King David wrote while praising the Lord.  He said in verse 20 "Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not slip."  The Lord can help us take bigger steps.  He can enable us to do more with what we have so that we don't fall.  I love knowing that the Lord is on my side, even if it's just a worthy goal to treat and love my body the way that He loves me.

 The whole Farnsworth family.  With 12 kids under 7 and one on the way, we can be a crazy group, but I love every one of them.

Project Momma: 11 weeks

So this week was awesome, at first.  Then it was just okay.  You know what though, I am focusing on the positive so here are my milestones.

1. Only 6 treats Monday through Friday:  The ice cream bars were a great game plan.  I thoroughly enjoyed them and had only had 6 treats until Saturday, I was on track to achieving my goal for the first time since I set it about a month ago.  And then I went to a party with a chocolate fountain.  Exactly how many dips into the fountain constitutes a serving?  Okay, so I stopped counting, but I still had fun and made better choices on Sunday.

2. I lingered longer, but didn't eat! After three hours of church at 4:00 in the afternoon, yummy treats start to sound pretty darn good.  However, I saved my treats for evening when I knew I'd really be craving it.  I even brought a huge plate of cookies.   I was so proud of myself I didn't eat anything.

3. I lost a couple more pounds: It has helped not focusing as much on the scale for the last couple of weeks.  So when I weighed myself this morning and found that I was only 171 pounds, I was excited.  It's kind of hard to tell because I don't own a digital scale. I usually have to weigh myself a couple of times and balance out the still with a little manual dial at the bottom.  I know, totally ghetto.  I had a hard time spending more than $10 on a scale when I had to buy one, so I got the old-school dial one.  Either way, my weight is going down, so it's all good to me!

4. I didn't eat the whole carton of ice cream.  So today was a long, single-mom day.  I had a headache and I was so done for the day.  Instead of going for a Magnum bar (an easy one-serving choice) after my kids were in bed, I grabbed the carton of really good Chocolate Extreme Moose Tracks and a spoon, (never a good choice).  There was still about 1/3 of the ice cream left in the carton when I took it out.  The ice cream was really good and I was definitely emotionally eating at the same time.  BUT I was still consciously eating and only ate about half of it.  Okay, maybe a little more than half, but there's still plenty left.  I'm proud of that too.

With some great milestones this week, I'd say that I'm still headed in the right direction.  I'm really starting to make some great habits I've never had or been able to keep. However, the next few weeks involve not one, but two road-trips.  It would be super easy to rationalize letting go of these habits for the following reasons:

1. Eating at fast-food restaurants is what you do on road trips (not many fruits and veggies there).
2. So is eating treats and junk food.
3. Eating out is what you do with family and friends when you visit.
4. Exercising is not. Okay, sometimes it is with my family, but not as much as I would normally do at home.

How is that for optimism?  Always smart to have a game plan though, right?  You want to know my game plan?

1.  Eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day.
2.  Eat 10 treats a week
3.  Exercise as much as possible (that's about all I can do until my knee gets better.  Hopefully after another couple of weeks I'll be good to go more often).
4.  Enjoy being with friends and family.

My tips for roadtripping with goals in mind

1.  Pack healthy car food.  Fruits and veggies are actually great snacks for the car.  I go easy on stuff like candy and chips.  It's mostly because I don't want my kids to eat it, but let's be honest, I don't want to eat it either.  And if it's not there, I won't eat it.

2.  Go grocery shopping. It can be really tough to keep your goals when the food you want to eat isn't around.  My little family eats a lot of fresh produce.  My kids love fruit and with my need to have 5 different fruits and veggies every day, it can become difficult.  Oh yeah, and my husband is a smoothie-holic. So the easiest thing to do is run to the grocery store when we get there. That way even if Grandma has stocked up on my favorite cereal and the kids' favorite fruit snacks, there's plenty of our favorite healthy stuff and I can't blame anyone except myself.

3.  Only eat treats in social situations. I know this sounds silly, but it's really hard to not eat in social situations. If you're spending time with family and friends, don't waste eating unhealthy foods by yourself. If it's just me hanging out in the kitchen looking for the left-over homemade cookies, I'll try to find something else to eat (or something else to do).

4.  Make exercise a family affair.  My mom and I love to go for walks together with the kids in the morning.  I also love to go to gym classes with my sisters.  Even though running at 4,000 foot elevation is almost torture when I'm used to sea level, try making family memories with more than just good food and parties.

And I actually just forgot to take a selfie this week.  Since it's almost midnight and my phone is currently charging and without enough battery to take a picture, here is a snapshot of my date with my little man.  A whole 30 minutes spent at Chuck-E-Cheese because that's how long it took to go through $10 worth of tokens so he could get a cheap little 1/2 inch plastic lizard with his tickets.  He didn't even want french fries or pizza, just a sucker.  So we went home and got him a sucker.  He was super happy.  

Spiritual Moment:

I had a few different moments lately when I've realized that my personal prayer has not been a priority.  I've heard a couple of talks and lessons about it in church and I've realized that it's something I need to be better at.  I've never been good about remembering to pray in the morning.  And then at night I'm "too tired" to kneel next to my bed.  Really??? Well for a while I was "too pregnant" and now it's because it "hurts my knee."  Well, I have a pretty awesome life.  I have an incredible husband, three amazing children, we are all (mostly) healthy, we have a beautiful home that fits our needs.... I could go on and on.  So why am I not taking the time to thank my Heavenly Father for these things?  Why can I not take the time in the morning to ask Him how I can help Him that day?  Well, that's my goal for this week, improve my relationship with my Father in Heaven through prayer.  Specifically: morning and night, on my knees, conversing with Him daily.  It's the least I can do after all He has done for me.

Project Momma: 10 weeks

My baby is 10 weeks old and she's pretty cute.  And since my selfies look pretty much the same as last week, you can enjoy a picture of her instead.

So after five weeks of keeping track of my goals and sharing my progress through my blog, I want to share some ideas about goal making and goal keeping.  This past week I have some good examples for different outcomes and how to deal with them.  Here we go:

Successes

I am now an herbivore.  No, not a vegetarian, but a regular plant-eater!  On most days I have at least five servings of fruits and veggies and it's not even that hard.  I can't even tell you how many years I have tried to make this a habit.  Why did it work this time? Here are a few ideas:

- Commitment- I made the goal publicly and therefore was holding myself accountable (as well as all of you).  It also means that I keep a log throughout the day.  Some days I'm almost positive that I have eaten enough to meet my goal, however, I'll realize I'm still one or two servings short.  

- Availability- I make a conscious effort to have plenty of fresh fruit and veggies in the house.  I've realized that if I have a salad at some point (which I love), it's pretty easy to meet my goal.  However, by the end of the week my back-up is frozen veggies.  My kids love them and when I run out of fresh stuff, those are always handy.

- Variety- Since I have my I-can-only-eat-a-certain-food-once-a-day unspoken rule, I need have a variety of fruits and veggies at my disposal.  So I've gotten creative.  Today's snack: strawberries with plain greek yogurt (I use it instead of sour cream all the time so I only buy the really big tub from Costco), a teaspoon of jam, and blueberry flavored craisins (yes, they do exist).  Adding the tiniest bit of jam and craisins make it super yummy.  It's less sugar than when they flavor it themselves and I already have all the stuff.  Crumbled graham cracker is a good way to spice it up too (or sugar it up, whichever you want to call it.)

Roadblocks

So last week I made a speed goal with my running.  I was excited because I'm planning on doing a race in a few weeks, so it was perfect.  Well, my knee has been bothering me.  It's nothing serious, but the doctor told me to go low-impact for a couple of weeks until some swelling has gone down.  GGaaahh!  So frustrating, right?  Well, the worst part is that it actually doesn't hurt while I'm running, just afterwards... Either way, I'm trying to deal with that.  So needless to say, my cardio goals will have to be adjusted for the time being.  He also said that working on my core strength and flexibility will help... does that mean I might actually break down and go to a yoga class???? We'll see.  That might very much be a goal for this week... 

It's frustrating when you make a goal and something out of your control prevents you from keeping it, but you do what you can, right?  Adjust and don't too discouraged because... that's life.

Plateaus

This is my tough one.  I think this is a constant and very common issue for people when they make a goal that is difficult to meet. Can you guess which one is mine?  Limiting my treats to ten a week.  This week I ate fourteen.  I know that seems ridiculous. but I want you to remember a few things.  

a) This is not a temporary thing, so I need to be able to make goals I can keep FOREVER!  

b) I'm not looking to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks.  I gained about a pound a week during the last six months of my pregnancy and that's how I plan to lose it.  My doctor said that for me, doing it otherwise would be difficult to produce the breastmilk my baby needs.  

c) If you kept a food log of every piece of candy you ate, every cookie, spoonful of cookie dough, servings of ice cream (usually at least 2), I bet you eat at least fourteen treats every week too.  Maybe more.  Or maybe you don't and it's me.  I'm just sayin.  You might surprise yourself.  There's a lot to be said in the power of the Food Log.  

So what is this week's game plan?  Are you ready for this?  

Don't hate me for posting this.  But they are currently on sale at Costco so I bought two boxes.  I originally had them in France, then I saw them here in the U.S. They are amazing.  Did I sell you on them yet?  :)  Well, before you get too excited, they are 310 calories per bar.  Yeah, I know, not like the skinny cow ones.  But this is good because I will have one of these instead of two servings of ice cream in a bowl (roughly 500 calories since 1/2 cup of ice cream is usually about 250 calories).  

So in helping me to meet my treat goal this week, a few strategies:

- Only eat one serving of whatever it is (ice cream, cookie, etc.)  There were a few times this week when I had two of something and easily could have had one and therefore would have been a lot closer to ten. 

- Only eat it if it's really, really, good.  (Hence the Magnum bars)

- Try to forgo the dessert after lunch.  This one is tricky, but I will try to satisfy that craving with something else first like fruit or a piece of gum so that I can enjoy something after dinner instead.  

What are your plateaus?  Ask yourself why you aren't meeting a specific goal.  However, your answer cannot be because you aren't disciplined.  We can't blame everything on discipline.  Is it because you:

- Eat emotionally?  Find something else to make you feel better.  Call a friend, read a book, say a prayer.  Although chocolate is awesome, it won't make you really happy.  

- Eat habitually?  As soon as my kids are in bed I walk to the fridge and then turn on the t.v.  I can imagine some other moms are the same.  Habits might be okay as long as they are conscious decisions.  Believe me, I consciously decided on that ice cream bar long before my kids were in bed and it was my only treat today.  I'm right on track!  

- Eat subconsciously?  If you haven't tried it yet, a food log can really open your eyes to what, when, and how much you might be eating. 

Try these types of questions for whatever your goals are.  Why aren't you working out?  What is holding you back from good scripture study?  I'd love to know what you discover!  

Spiritual Moment

So my post last week was a little bit of a downer and I had a few people reach out to me. (Thank you friends!!!!)  Well today I had left my "Sunday" cd in the van and we listened to it on our errands.  I was listening to a version of "I Need Thee Every Hour" bu Kenneth Cole. I absolutely love those words.  I love knowing that my Father in Heaven is there whenever I need Him, "in joy or pain."  Here is a really cool version I found online.  Enjoy!  

Sam Robson I Need Thee Every Hour

Lyrics

1. 1. I need thee ev'ry hour,
   Most gracious Lord.
   No tender voice like thine
   Can peace afford.
2. (Chorus)
   I need thee, oh, I need thee;
   Ev'ry hour I need thee!
   Oh, bless me now, my Savior;
   I come to thee!
3. 2. I need thee ev'ry hour;
   Stay thou nearby.
   Temptations lose their pow'r
   When thou art nigh.
4. 3. I need thee ev'ry hour,
   In joy or pain.
   Come quickly and abide,
   Or life is vain.
5. 4. I need thee ev'ry hour,
   Most holy One.
   Oh, make me thine indeed,
   Thou blessed Son!
6. Text: Annie S. Hawks, 1835-1918
   Music: Robert Lowry, 1826-1899

Project Momma: 9 Weeks

Please give me patience.  This past week was pretty crazy.  My kids were probably the normal dramatic 4-year-old Princess and restless 2-year-old Super Hero that they always are, but I had an off-week.  Oh yeah, not to mention my angel baby 2-month-old, she's an amazing baby, but when I have no patience, I don't even have patience for a super-easy baby.  

My husband was out of town for a few days and I yelled quite a bit louder than I ever have before.  I even got to the point where I said something like, "Lucy, if you ask me 'why?' one more time I will not answer you." I may have left them screaming in their beds as I sat down to a 2-serving bowl of my really good ice cream. 

Sure, there are times when you have days like that, but it lasted most of the week, even after Ryan came back into town.  You know, when you have moods that you really don't want to change.  You know you're in a bad mood, but you just want to sit in it for a while.  To top it all off, I started waking up with a sore throat near the end of the week and didn't feel like working out for a few days.  

I woke up this morning and went through a whole routine to make sure that my weekly weigh-in was "accurate" (post-morning pee, pre-water drinking) and I was down a pound.  Shouldn't I be happy?  Nope, I was bummed that I wasn't down two pounds.  So dumb. 

The problem is, I don't work out to lose weight, (it's a nice side-effect), I work out because I feel sooooo much better when I do.  This morning as I went for a run and I was listening to "Phoenix" one of my favorite songs to run to, I looked up at this super-long hill and I felt like I could conquer anything.   After thirty minutes of serious intervals up and down hills, I felt so much better.  

My conclusion: I'm not going to weigh myself every week. 

I haven't ever weighed myself regularly, especially not right after I've had my babies.  It has taken me 6 months to lose all the weight with my first two.  I don't know how much I weighed at this point, but it's a little depressing and it's not something that I need to worry about.  

With that said here are the SUCCESSES I had this week for the things that I had control of.

Selfie: 

Food Goal: I think it's safe to say that my five fruits and veggies a day is more like a habit and a way of life now.  I LOVE it!  I had five days of meeting that goal, no sweat.  The other days were pretty close, and I'm feeling awesome about it.  

As for my ten treats this week, I ate twelve and a half.  But I am super proud of myself.  Not only was this the week of Easter (candy everywhere), but it was a week of a ward party that I made cookies for and then attended.  When I had almost met my limit, I attended a wedding reception that had just about every dessert possible and I only had one.  Oh yeah, and I had to save some desserts for my General Conference rolls.  And did I mention that it was a pretty emotional week?  I am so proud of myself that I only had twelve and a half.  So there's that.

Fitness Goals:  I did seven push-ups, and I held a plank for a minute and a half.  Boo-yah.  My new goal is to speed up my 3-mile run.  I'm actually going to run a 5k (3.1 miles) in about a month and would love to get a sub 28-minute time. I need a new goal that I can focus on and push towards so I can measure progress, so that's it.  

Spiritual Moment: While I was having this super-emotional, impatient week as a mom, I got to end it watching eight hours of General Conference on Easter weekend, double bonus.  I haven't been able to sit down and watch the whole thing for a while.  I even took some notes!  At the end of the sessions, they played some family ads, you know the "Family, isn't it about time?" type ads.  I watched a a few of them thinking, "Yeah?  Why doesn't the dad play with his kids more?"  And then they played the one where the mom didn't take time to play with her kids.  I felt a little guilty.  Not only did I have no patience with my kids this week, but when did I ever take time to play with them.  Since then, I have tried to take a few minutes where I sit and play "family" or pretend like we're riding in a train, or role-playing"Anna and Elsa."  I'm not great at it and it doesn't last that long, but I feel like I'm trying.  

I clicked through some of the Church's ads after watching some of these.  You have probably seen this one around Mother's Day, but I needed a little reassurance this week.  Enjoy Momma ad.  Warning: I have watched it three times in the past two days and I cried every time.