New Challenge to BEGIN Wed. 9-8-10

NEED to hear from Carlyn and Emmalee about the last contest.

NEW competition begins tomorrow - Wed. Sept. 8!!

Ara DiAnn - lay out some of the guidelines like,

1) Must home cook every meal - breakfast - lunch - dinner?? or carry something that was made from home - sandwich, etc.

2) Do not buy fast food or drive thru for 2 weeks.

3) If invited out by friends or already invited to an event - exceptions are made.

4) Try a new recipe each week.

5) etc. - confirm these guidelines and any others

Looking forward to the challenge!! Love ya, Mom

Mom's Results

I can proudly say that I passed the sugar test. My only slip up was when my sweet husband offered me a cup of morning coffee on our 33rd Anniversary morning. He was so sweet, I just couldn't tell him that I wasn't supposed to have the creamer in the coffee. That was the only cup I had with creamer - the next 2 were black.

I also have to say that I haven't even craved any chocolate this week. My chocolate jar is still full at work for my peers and they love me for it, but this week I continued to pass by the jar and not take one piece. Truthfully, I haven't craved sugary items this week at all. I just pray that this continues.

Congratulations, Kevin and Ara D. give yourselves a star for completion. Give me a star also.
Need to hear from Carlyn and Emmalee. Love to you ALL, Mom

Challenge Results - Ara and Kevin

Well, Kevin gets an F...... well I'd maybe give him a D- because he only messed up a couple times (that I know of). And it's not that he forgot - oh no..... he just has a huge sweet tooth I guess!

I did pretty good with the help of Stevia and Jamba Juice. They were good to help curb the overwhelming urge for sugar!!! I avoided all sorts of cookies, drinks, and even desserts that people offered to buy for us!!! It was a tough week but it really made me realize all the times I had to actively turn down sugar. Its in a lot of stuff we eat!

Plus - Kevin and I have both seen a drop in our weight since we have been focusing on our Protein!! Its really amazing! I've seen a scientific drop on the scale and Kevin says his pants are feeling looser. We are both really excited about knowing our metabolic type. Its really changed a lot of the things that I cook and things we order at restaurants. I nearly always go for the pasta and we always eat bread. Plus at home we can go through a box of Wheat Ritz like a tornado through a trailer park! We thought they were fine because they were wheat.... but its just not good for our type of metabolism!!

Hope everyone else did great on their challenge!!! Love you guys!! -ara

Idea for Next Challenge....

I had an idea for the next challenge..... but I want you working ladies opinions on it! It would take a lot of planning and effort but might be worth it.....

Two Weeks Eating NOTHING but Homemade Food

This came into my head because its sooooo easy to grab frozen foods or go by a fast food place and its never good for you. I think it would be a huge challenge to make all your food for 2 weeks. And I say 2 weeks because we want to make these things habits right??? And I'm not saying we should never eat out BUT if we force ourselves to find time to cook healthy things or prepare things in advance maybe we'll find its not as hard as we thought and do it more often??

Also I would add to the challenge that each week (so 2 times total) you will need to make something you've never made before..... a healthy something. And then you can post the recipe you used on the blog and say if it was easy or hard to do and if you liked it. Then we can steal each others recipes for cooking in the future!!

Disclaimer: I know events come up in our lives where friends or invite us out for dinner... don't be rude and go ahead and go with them. But eat light and healthy and DO NOT bring home leftovers. The biggest thing is not planning to eat out on your own.....

So what do you guys think? When would be a good time to start it for you guys?

Carlyn's Metabolic Type!

I took the test and I am a mixed metabolic type, but I am planning on taking it again, after I have focused more on what I have been eating and how it makes me feel afterward. I will keep you updated!

I have been keeping track of my food and calorie in take and have been doing pretty well, with eating when I am hungry, not when I "want" to.

I am in for the challenge and am ready to make some changes!

Ate shrimp tacos tonight! YUMM!!! I have an awesome roommate!

Mini Challenge - NO Sugar

Ok, Dad has a Protein Metabolic Type and I am Mixed. So, I think we will focus on the Protein Type at first and see how I do with that. Haven't seen a blog entry from Carlyn or Emmalee yet. Please post your Metabolic Type so we have it recorded.

I have a mini challenge for this week. In your e-mails I will send another document called "The Top 10 Most Common Nutrition Mistakes" The first 2 items mentioned in this document are about sugar and artificial sweeteners. The mini-challenge I propose is that this week, beginning, Mon. August 16th:
We avoid ALL artificial sweetener and added sugars for one week.
We have all completed this challenge before, but if you were like me, you went right back to the old ways - flavored creamers in my morning coffee, diet sodas, crystal lite teas, etc. As you will read in the 10 mistakes document, once you wean yourself, then the cravings will go away.

I can't put the Metabolic Test or the 10 Mistakes document out on this site, because I purchased them from a company on line, for my family. Anyone interested in purchasing these documents themselves the website is www.thedietsolutionprogram.com .

I know that you have all been doing well and I encourage you to continue. We will ALL be winners in the end. Love to all, Mom

Metabolic Results for Ara

I am the protein type!!!

This is what I learned after taking the Metabolic typing test. Which makes sense. This morning I had a breakfast of wheat ritz crackers and it feels like I had nothing!! Looks like its a lot more eggs, dairy and meat for me! Just have to watch out for the bad fats and such!

Off to the grocery store!! Exciting!!!

Oh - also... just had Kevin take the test and he is a Mixed type. So he agreed that we are going to try following the protein type model for awhile and see how he feels. And he can add in some more carbs here and there if he feels he needs them!