"Let me help you reach your goals Mom."

I am about a week in to my 30-day health challenge, and my family is paying attention. My eight-year-old went on a walk with me "to help you reach your goal". They know I am tracking my steps and are encouraging me to succeed. I love having little cheerleaders!

I continue to meet with my friends every Monday night. They have so many good ideas and recipes. My high's this week were starting the 30-day challenge and running 8.4 miles - the farthest I have ever gone! My low's were eating two Blue Lemon sugar cookies (a girl has got to live, right?). I allow myself to have "cheat moments" every once in a while. I am not saying goodbye to carbs and sugar - I am saying I don't need them to feel good. I am rewarding myself in other ways.

Some fun ideas for my favorite comfort food, the pancake:

You can buy this bag at Costco.  One serving has 190 calories, 2 grams of fat, and 14 grams of protein. If you prepare it with milk and eggs, it has 21 grams of protein!

Egg pancakes (you are blending it all together to make the batter, carmel dip is optional)

Everything is awesome! Everything is cool when your part of the team.

Well, the Lego Movie has real-life application for me this week as I started a 30-day health challenge with some friends at work. The rules are simple and for the first time - a challenge that is based on points you can earn daily for healthy living - rather than pounds or inches lost. I love the idea! Participants can earn up to five points daily by doing the following:

• 1 point for logging your food on MyFitnessPal (there is that app again!)
• 1 point for staying under your calorie goal on MyFitness Pal
• 1 point for 6,500 steps
• 1 point for getting up to 10,000 steps
• 1 point for hitting your own personal goal (I chose to drink 64 oz. of water.)

I was already doing some of these things, but with my fitbit I can log my steps and water and sync it to MyFitnessPal. To get all five points has been challenging, but fun. I have gotten up from my desk at work and walked around. I have played more with my kids outside. I take the stairs. 

It's becoming a lifestyle. And that's awesome. 

Watch the Lego Movie trailer here: Lego Movie trailer

To learn more about the challenge, follow the30dayhealthchallenge.blogspot.com

The Big 4-0

Even though I don't turn 40 for a couple more years, I recently have lost that many pounds! It feels good. It feels DANG good. I am learning so much and continue to struggle and conquer every day. 

Some good tidbits from the group last night:

1. We watched a clip from "The View" that featured the weight loss story of Tory Johnson. It was amazing. My favorite quote from Tory:

 "A 'diet' is a temporary pause on bad behavior."

She tells her story of losing 80 pounds in her new book The Shift. I plan to buy it and post a review when I finish. She was inspiring - and actually was interviewed while walking on her treadmill desk. I seriously don't know if I could walk and work at the same time!

Find Tory's clip on The View here: Tory Johnson's story

2. My friend shared the story of Noelle Pikus-Pace. She took the silver in skeleton at Sochi in 2014. Years of setbacks - including a major injury - prevented her from competing earlier. In a talk called "Your Four Minutes" by Gary E. Stevenson, he explains why her dedication established her as a world-class athlete. My favorite quote from Gary:

"It may seem unfair that Noelle's entire Olympic dreams hinged on what she did during just four brief minutes. But she knew it, and that is why she prepared so diligently. She sensed the magnitude, the urgency of her four minutes, and what they would mean for the rest of her life."

Noelle also recently wrote a book called Focused. This is another must-read for me. Review to come!

Find the complete talk here: Your Four Minutes

3. I bought a fitbit flex. Can't wait to track my steps and get a great picture of my health. I like that it buzzes when I reach my goals. I also love my pink wristband :). 

A couple other apps I LOVE: MyFitnessPal for the food aspect (which I see that fitbit has that as well) and Strava for running. So many tools are available to help you succeed!

A couple of yummy recipes with "fake" peanut butter:

Lunch box 

No-bake cookies

My name is Laura, and I have joined a weight loss support group

Four friends and I decided to get together every Monday night to share high's and low's, tips and tricks, and healthy recipes. What do we have in common? We are women and we are mothers. That is where the similarities end. We all have different stories but we want the same happy ending - to be healthy. 

Our inaugural "meeting" was last night. We weighed in, shared stories and LAUGHED. There is something cathartic when you realize you are not alone in your successes and failures. One friend shared that she had an ice cream cone at DQ - her failure, yet a success for her family who wanted to go there this last month. Another said goodbye to carbs last week and lost 5.5 pounds - picking up where she left off in February. One got home from a vacation and took a "vacation" from healthy eating, but managed to go running with a dear friend. One ate eight cookies just that day. And yet another had surgery and her progress is slower than she wanted it to go. 

I won't tell you which one I am.

But I FEEL like I am each one of them - can't we all identify with these "low's"? I look forward to posting a summary each week about this group. We even came up with a cool name and t-shirt idea (I've been sworn to secrecy for now, shh). Needless to say, we are each getting three t-shirts: one for right now, and then two of the next smaller sizes for later. 

Because there is going to be a later. I can't wait!

Monday night's recipe

Greek Yogurt Cheesecake

Lunch in a cup

No, it isn't a liquid diet - it's a salad shaker! These fit easily in your cup holder in the car, your fridge, etc... It's an easy way to get a healthy meal on the go. Who said being healthy wasn't convenient?

There is also something to planning ahead the day before. Did I mention my husband made my lunch for me? It makes my mornings so much easier to have my running clothes set out and breakfast and lunch made and ready to go. 

I actually had time to put laundry away this morning before work. (Gasp!)

Why are we getting fatter?

National obesity rates are rising, and while Utah ranks 5th lowest in the nation - we are no exception. Our rates have doubled in the last couple years. I had a chance to talk about my weight loss journey on KSL last night. 

KSL story on obesity

Helping others reach their goals

It was just over a year ago that my sister started training me. She actually went to school, got her bachelors in training and coaching from Southern Oregon University, and started training in her home. She is a great example of health to me and I felt comfortable sharing all my numbers with her. She is strong and tough - but she is nice. I just wasn't into being judged or yelled at by a trainer. She really set me down this path and helped me take my first steps.

I had my fourth baby seven months before, and knew I had to take my health seriously. I didn't lose any weight breastfeeding (bummer!) and had to take matters into my own hands.

Her gym is where this picture was taken:

I wanted a "before" picture that adequately reflected how I felt - I completed my workout, but it was HARD. I had a couple of sessions a week, and would work out at South Jordan Rec Center a couple of days as well. I started seeing small results. 

This was just the beginning...

My sister moved and is now expecting her first baby. I am so excited for her! Though the training sessions stopped last Fall, I credit her for starting me on this path. Thank you!