Ten in 10: Week 1 Recap

All kinds of changes are going on here in the Sandmuffin household. Eloise just started eating baby food so I have been busily steaming and pureeing vegetables and she has been sleeping for longer stretches at night (last night she slept from 10-4!). I've been reading about potty training and Helen should be starting next week! Derrick has begun writing a book which is fabulous, but also taking up a lot of free time (and by free I mean when he's not teaching, practicing with the band, or doing grad school stuff!). And lastly, I have been really making a concerted effort to stick to my Ten in 10 goals.

I did really well with cutting down significantly on snacking and have kept the little snacking I have done very healthy. I've also really been working on incorporating more whole grains into my cooking- this week we had vegetable and bean soup with barley, veggie pizza with a whole wheat crust (amazing crust recipe can be found here), and whole wheat pasta with roasted vegetables. Breakfast has been my most dramatic change with my eating- I have been eating plain fat-free yogurt with kashi and a few toasted almonds- a huge improvement from my inclination to eat something super sweet to start the day! I also stuck to my plan of allowing myself a small portion of the sweets I made and giving the rest away.

I also started The 30 Day Shred. Wow! It is just as hard as I thought it would be! Today is day 6 on Level 1 and I can already feel a difference in my endurance. My plan is to do it for 30 days straight because I know that I can find 20 minutes every single day to fit it into my schedule. There are days when I really don't feel like doing it, but luckily I'm doing it along with Tracey of Tracey's Culinary Adventures, Jessica of A Singleton in the Kitchen, and Pamela of Cookies With Boys and we have been able to keep each other motivated on Twitter! Speaking of Twitter, I have found a lot of support and inspiration in the tweets with the Ten in 10 hashtag: #10in10.

As far as physical results go, I've decided not to weigh myself because I tend to get a little obsessive. Instead I'm just going to base my results on whether or not my clothes seem to fit better and, more importantly, if I'm feeling more energetic and stronger. The clothes seem about the same but I definitely feel better! 2010 is off to a great start!

Ten in 10

Yay! It's 2010! Happy New Year everyone! I love the beginning of a near year- the last three years have been very exciting for me: in 2007 I turned 22, graduated from college and got married to my dear husband, Derrick, in 2008 I had my adorable and energetic daughter, Helen, and in 2009 I had my lovable, cuddly daughter Eloise- so I'm hoping to keep 2010 a little more low key! I decided to kick off the new year right by joining Lori's challenge Ten in 10, you can read all about the challenge here. In short, over 200 people have pledged to spend the next ten weeks getting healthier- there are no guidelines or requirements- everyone sets their own personal goals.

After back to back pregnancies and two c-sections I am more out of shape than I'd like to be (that's putting it kindly!) and I am still stuck in my fat jeans with a whole closet full of clothes that I haven't worn since college. I really want to get in shape this year- I worked out all the time in college but everything is so much harder to do with little kids so I'm trying to make feasible goals.

1. Exercise everyday with hard workouts 3 times a week- even if I can't do a long work out dvd or run on the treadmill- I want to get moving every single day without exception. I was walking at least 2 miles 5 days a week for awhile but that tapered off as I got busier and busier with the holidays. I love walking and so do the girls so I certainly want to get back into that habit! I'm also going to try to do The 30 Day Shred- but I'm not including that as one of my goals just yet because I really want to try it out for a few days and see if I'm in good enough shape to go for it or if I need to get into a better exercise routine for a few weeks before starting it. I love working out and miss the feeling I used to get after a really hard workout in college.

2. Stop mindless snacking- Ok I'm still breastfeeding so I can't stop eating between meals completely, but I am going to try to limit my snacking to fresh fruit and veggies.

3. No eating after dinner and go to bed earlier- evening is when I am most likely to binge on junk food. I know that the only reason I eat between 6:30 and bedtime is because I'm exhausted and what I really need to do is get in bed.

Now here's what I'm not going to do:

Count calories- I have struggled too much in the past with becoming unhealthily obsessed with calorie counting. Instead I'm going to pay attention to portions and try to always choose fresh, nutrient rich food over empty calories.

Give up anything- I'm not going to stop baking (although I do plan on cutting back) or eating sweets. If I make cookies I will eat a cookie, not five cookies. If I make a pie I will have a slice, etc. When I limit myself I end up craving carbs, or sugar or whatever it is that I had intended on giving up. In fact I'm hoping to try to expand my cooking repertoire significantly this year to include healthy, flavorful ingredients that I've never cooked with before (and hopefully start blogging a lot more about the recipes I try out!).

Give up if I fall off the wagon- Too many times I have skipped a workout or eaten unhealthily and then decided that I messed everything up and that there is no reason to continue. This time around I'm going to be reasonable- if I go to a party I'm probably not going to eat carrot sticks, if I get a horrible cold I might not feel like lifting weights that day- so I'll just have to pick up the next day where I left off.

I feel so excited about Ten in 10 and I'm really loving all of the great support on Twitter and through Lori's blog!