Weight Loss Weekly

Weight Loss Weekly is a weekly collaboration between me and two other bloggers who are trying to lose weight.  Join us as we discuss tips and strategies, as well as our successes and failures on our weight loss journeys.

Last week, the girls and I decided to take Weight Loss Weekly in a slightly different direction by setting specific exercise goals for ourselves to achieve during the week.  

One of Sunny's goals amazed me, one minute of push-ups!  Let's see how she did!  "I guess I don't hate exercising as much as I thought I did. I did pretty darn well this week, for me..." more at www.ThatExtra20Pounds.blogspot.com

Bernie was trying a varied approach to exercise with both walking and elliptical training planned but got sidelined by inclement autumn weather in Australia.  Did she make her goal?  Find out at Yo-yo No More.

My goal for last week was to take four 20 minute walks during the week.  I had planned to walk in the mornings as my evenings often get busy and had planned to walk Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday with a one day cushion of Sunday if plans got sidelined during the week.  Monday morning came bright and early last week.  Let me share with you my inner monologue.  "Six o'clock already?  No, no, no, no, NO!  Whhhhhhyyyyy????  Okay, you just made this goal YESTERDAY, you cannot bail already!  Oh, all right...."  After dragging myself our of bed, I actually had quite a pleasant walk.  The weather is getting warmer, the sun was shining brightly, birds were tweeting and there was hardly anyone out in the morning.  I thought to myself, "Hey, this isn't bad!  It's actually quite nice!"

Tuesday morning came and although I hadn't planned on walking, I decided to get out of bed and go anyway.  It's a good thing that Monday had been so nice because Tuesday was windy and cold!  If it had been this way on Monday, I definitely wouldn't have gotten out of bed on Tuesday to walk, but again, the walk was nice and now I was two down for the week.

Wednesday morning came too soon.  I didn't get out of bed this day but because choir practice was short on Wednesday evening, I decided to use the extra time to my advantage and went on a 20 minute walk.  3 down!  I can do it!

On Saturday, I did not walk, but used one of Sunny's ideas in vigorously cleaning the house to exercise.  I cleaned the bathrooms, cleaned under the bathroom sinks, swept and vacuumed the floors and ran about 5 loads of laundry.  Not walking, but I felt an accomplishment at the exercise and the clean house.

Sunday afternoon I did finish my goal although it wasn't formal exercise.  I need a new area rug for under my kitchen table and spent about 4-5 hours walking through furniture stores.  Although I didn't get my heart rate up, I was walking and count this as an achievement of my goal!

My goal this week is to again take four 20 minute walks throughout the week.  I will again try to walk in the mornings on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  This week however, I was inspired to add on a little bit of exercise by Sunny's push-up goal from last week.  Having two small boys, I actually have pretty strong arms from lifting them up.  However, when contemplating the push-up goal, I realized I can't do push-ups not because I lack the arm strength, but because after having kids, I lack the core strength to hold the plank position during a push-up.  This week, in addition to my four 20 minute walks, I am adding 10 crunches, 10 reverse crunches and 10 push-ups (against the bathroom counter.  Easier when you lack the core strength) on the days when I walk.  Oh boy, that does mean tomorrow doesn't it?  I'm a little panicked, but I can do it!

Would you like to join me in my goal?  Just e-mail me at joiecancook(at)gmail(dot)com and we can cheer each other on!  Also, if you have been inspired by Weight Loss weekly and would like to set your own exercise goal and post it on your blog, just link to this week's weight loss weekly post (all of ours) leave a comment with your post URL, and we will link back to you.  We can cheer each other on towards our goals!  Good luck this week!

Arrowhead Mills Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Mix Review

A few weeks ago, I conducted a pantry purge ridding my pantry of products containing "faux" ingredients such as hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup.  The products I had the most trouble eliminating were convenience mixes such as chocolate pudding mix and my favorite, Bisquick.  After a trip to my local health food store, I was able to find an all purpose baking mix that did not contain hydrogenated oils, Arrowhead Mills Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Mix.  At $7.25 a box, it was quite an investment for me (I have since found it in the $4 range in the health food section of my local Fred Meyer grocery store).  On the good side, the batter and the waffles were fluffy and browned very nicely.  The mix came together extremely easily and quickly.  The waffles also had a faint anise flavor that was quite pleasant and they smelled wonderful.  On the bad side, the waffles had a slightly gritty texture.  They seemed dry but I think that was the lack of gluten that made them feel slightly powdery in the mouth because physically they weren't dry, they just seemed that way.  The bottom line is that if you are gluten intolerant, this product was perfectly acceptable as a replacement to Bisquick, it was quick and had nice flavor.  If you are not gluten intolerant however, the gritty and "dry" texture of the waffles was off-putting enough to keep looking for a more acceptable alternative.  The search continues...

The good and the bad of the Pasco Farmer's Market

The Bad

Two weeks ago our local farmer's market opened.  As it has been an unseasonably cool spring, the pickings were pretty slim.  However there was a new vendor there selling Old Iron Wine, a label specifically bottled for the Pasco Farmer's Market.  The vendor called it a "young, farmer's table wine" and at $6 a bottle, I was willing to give it a shot.  Buyer beware!  For $6, all you are getting is a cute label on a bottle.  The wine was completely undrinkable.  For starters, when I opened it, it fizzed out like a champagne which has been uncorked improperly.  A carbonated red?  Still, I was willing to give it a taste test (stupid me!).  Upon first sip, I immediately spit it out.  Unfortunately, despite the offending wine being ejected from my mouth, the sickly sweet aftertaste kept building.  The whole bottle was dumped down the drain.  What a waste of the farmer's time and of a good $6.  If you frequent the Pasco Farmer's Market and come across Old Iron Wine, skip it!

The Good

On the upside, the farm I buy my eggs from slaughtered some of their chickens on Saturday and I bought a few.  I had never had fresh chicken before and I was curious to taste how they would differ from grocery store chicken.  Boy, the taste was incredible!  They were so much meatier than store chickens and cleaner too.  The juices of store chickens often get slimy feeling, but the fresh chickens were clean and soft feeling.  I put them on the grill and they were just wonderful.  After picking the carcasses clean, I put them in a stock pot and now have a good 10 cups of wonderful stock on hand as well.  Nothing goes to waste!  If you are living in Southeast, WA and are interested in fresh chickens or eggs, Greene Hills Farm has it going on!