Challenges are... Challenging!

So I was supposed to start my 18 week challenge today! But..... I didn't, well not yet anyways, I plan to start at dinner time. I know, I know... PATHETIC that I can not even start when I planned to but the reasoning behind this is because Anthony and I received a box from Puerto Rico yesterday containing 6 large avocados and he REALLY wanted to make a very large Spanish meal. So we made the meal and it took all the energy out of me and I was much too tired to chop veggies for salads afterwards. So I will do my chopping later today when I get home from work!

I have also decided to change my challenge up a little bit because sometimes life hits you in the head... like yesterday, I went to Publix to buy all the stuff for my salads I am going to be eating and I FORGOT to get the fat free turkey! So Anthony suggested I just cook up some chicken and throw it in there, I thought about that and then realized what would be the big deal? This challenge is more about self discipline than it is about losing weight. So if I go over calorie limits or don't lose weight, it won't matter just as long as I stick to the guidelines (which I changed).

Before I was going to be eating the same thing everyday in the same amounts, with little variation depending on what vegetables and fruits are on sale. I had it all set up per oz and everything to where I would have a good amount of calories for losing weight, but now I am not so much wanting to focus this on losing weight as I just want to focus this on eating healthy and getting my gastric issues under control.

So now, I am using the following guidelines and not worrying about the amounts I eat or the calories I consume as long as I ONLY eat what is in this list I will feel like I accomplished what I set out to do.

Here is the list of the things that I will be consuming over the next 18 weeks -

*Vegetables (fresh only, no canned or jarred or frozen or processed)
*Fruit (fresh only, no canned or jarred or frozen or processed)
*Dressing (in small amounts only)
*Gatorade
*100% Fruit/Vegetable Juice (NOT from concentrate with NO additives what so ever)
*Water
*Brown Rice
*White Rice
*Tri-Color Pasta (with salt and pepper only)
*Whole Grain Pasta (with salt and pepper only)
*Whole Grain Bread
*Turkey (fat free lunch meat)
*Chicken (cooked with nothing but salt and pepper)
*Tuna (packed in water only)
*Soy Sauce (low sodium only)
*Coffee
*Non-Dairy Creamer

And there may be things added to the list along the way if I feel that they are healthy enough to eat. It seems like I keep thinking about more and more things that would be okay to go on the list or things that I HAVE to have on there, like coffee. But never the less, the challenge is to eat healthy and within the guidelines for 18 whole weeks and if I see good results with my stomach issues, I may just even stay on this diet forever. Because I have been searching for a diet that works with me. And I would really love to eliminate as much processed food from my diet as humanly possible. (Yes I know dressing and Gatorade are proceed but those are things I just HAVE to have).

I also decided that not only am I going to be tracking my stomach issues but I am also going to be tracking what I eat everyday so I can see if there is a link and if a certain food or food group is irritating my stomach. I decided to to this on my email calender so it can be digital, because it is REALLY hard for me to keep track of stuff on paper, but it seems digital is no problem.

The fun starts at 5:30 PM today! :]

Muffin Tin Monday

Ok, ok I will admit, I am a little too old for Muffin Tin Meals, but I just love them too much not to do a MTM post every Monday on my blog.

Some of you may be wondering "What in the world is a Muffin Tin Meal?!?" or thinking "Muffin Tin Monday... I never heard about that!" but fear not! as I have a wonderful link to the original creator of everything MTM that tells you all about the details, what it is, who made it, what inspired them, etc. This blog also has lots of cute Muffin Tin Meals displayed and lots of fun ideas, so be sure to check it out.

What is a Muffin Tin Meal and what is Muffin Tin Monday: http://michellesjournalcorner.blogspot.com/2009/06/muffin-tin-monday-faq.html

The original creator of MTM's blog home page: http://michellesjournalcorner.blogspot.com/

 All though I do have TONS of fun creating these meals for myself, I can't help but to be sad whenever I make them because I know Seth would enjoy this a lot. I do still plan on making these on a regular basis. I feel as thought running away from things that trigger the thoughts of Seth is not the way to go, but rather to face them head on. I do not avoid actives because they remind me of him, I just do them anyways and attempt to overcome my sadness. I will not say that everyday is a challenge, because really its not, I tend to suppress all my thoughts and memories of him (yes I know this is extremely bad but if I did not do it I don't think I would get through the day). There are times however, times like these where I make Muffin Tin Meals that the suppressing just does not work and I find myself simply wishing he was here to enjoy the fun with me.

I will admit, I do not actually have a muffin tin, as mine rusted. Don't worry it was a cheapo Dollar Store one anyways :) And since, Anthony and I are currently in a financial hard place due to me having to take off two months of work for the birth of our son coming up in January, I do not have have the funds to buy a new one. So I this a cute fish plate in place of a muffin tin and wasn't able to buy items for a specific theme.

My Muffin Tin Meal
Top: grapes & habanaro white cheddar chunks
Right: hotdogs & banana pepper rings
Bottom: salad and mild cheddar cheese chunks (love my cheese!)

I cant wait to give one of these to Anthony once he moves in with me and see his reaction. He's such a manly man lol so I think he may get a kick out of me serving him what some people may see as a toddlers meal :) I am also very exited to try these out on Bear! I just cant wait for his big arrival and spending every precious moment possible with him! Only about two more years until he can enjoy Muffin Tin Meals but I think its worth the wait, in the meal time I'll just stick to making them for myself and stock up cute ideas for the future.

FRUIT FLY UPDATE: I came home from Kissimme this weekend to find (almost) all of the fruit flies were gone! I didn't see any in the kitchen and only found about 3 in my bedroom. The trap that I made had no fly corpses in it at all, so their disappearance is a complete mystery to me! But hey I'm not complaining! :D

ROOMMATE UPDATE: Remember how exited I was to find out that my roommates were moving out? Well turns out they didn't get the house :(. This is good and bad. (but mostly bad). It will mean I will have more much needed money but it also means my house has to stay a wreck for longer than expected. SIGH. And I was so epically exited to clean the place and start my nesting process. Lets just hope they are gone by December 1st. If they are not gone by then, I will have a real problem on my hands as my baby's due date is quickly approaching and I need to get the house and nursery ready for his big arrival. We shall see what happens.