Monthly Health Challenge for June 2012!

WHAT ARE MONTHLY HEALTH CHALLENGES?

These health challenges are designed to empower you to create health in your life.  Anyone is welcome to join at any time, and the challenges are absolutely free!  What do you have to lose?  The winner of the challenge will reign on the Health Royalty page of this blog as the king or queen for the following month until the next challenge winner is chosen.  Email me or leave a comment below to let me know you've joined!

June's monthly health challenge is a fun one, and is brought to you with this quote in mind:

Goals are dreams with deadlines. 

~Diana Scharf Hunt

Too often, we don't allow ourselves to dream out of fear of failure.  What if we believed in ourselves enough to speak our dreams and follow them through to accomplishment and possibility?  It's not too far fetched, we just don't allow it.

Here is June's monthly health challenge:

My interview on Good Day Oregon!

Mission Possible: Sugar Addict Detox

Are you a sugar addict like I am?  I have learned the right way to struggle with those cravings, but I still struggle with them.  The books tell us to keep sight of WHY we chose to avoid sugar in advance of our cravings -- it could be losing weight, controling diabetes, or simply feeling better. Sometimes, keeping your eye on the prize isn't good enough in the moment that craving is overwhelming you beyond your control.   After you have avoided sugar-ridden treats for a while, your cravings will subside enough to bring your motivation back into focus in those moments.  But, clearly, getting to the point where you can chose your motivation over sugar is a bigger struggle than a lot of us can handle when we first make our choice to avoid sugary treats and get healthy.  That struggle to detox from the sugar is why a lot of us fail. 

A friend forwarded me an article that I thought had some great ways of avoiding cravings... and here they are:

No one gets in the way of your goals!

There's nothing more frustrating than someone telling you "You're not good enough." What's more frustrating is when people don't acknowledge your achievements when you have been working so hard towards your goals. We all need a little affirmation while we're achieving our goals, even the small steps are important to be acknowledged -- whether that's stepping on a scale and watching the number drop three pounds from last week, making the choice to go for a walk instead of eating that cookie, or going to a movie and choosing not to have butter on your popcorn. Not everybody recognizes how important those things are to us. What's worse, sometimes people sabotage you and the self esteem that you've been working so hard to create for yourself by doing things like taunting you with treats at work because they think it's funny to watch you squirm.  

Discovering ways to deal with those situations head-on, instead of letting them sabotage your hard work is key! People have no idea how effective encouragement and discouragement are. Here are ways I deal with those discouraging comments:

Lasagna (health program approved!)

I just tried this recipe my health coach sent to me.  It was so, so good.  The kids even asked for seconds!  This is a perfect dish for leftovers! It is extremely filling -- you might need to split your Lean & Green serving for the day.

Also, a word to the wise, you'll need to start the lasagna about 90 minutes before you want to eat.  It takes about 20-30 minutes of prep time and 60 minutes to cook and cool.  You could do the prep work the night before to save some time.

Nervous on weigh in day

Today was my weigh in day.  I gained a little at my weigh-in last Sunday because I induldged a little on my date night the Friday before (just living' life!).  After staying focused all week, I was able to take it right back off -- and more -- without dieting! 

Crockpot Chili (health program approved!)

This is my own version of an old family recipe for chili. 

(This picture is chili with beans, which is not health program approved, but the recipe below tastes the same without the beans.)

I usually throw all the ingredients together in the crockpot the night before, stick it in the fridge, then pull it out in the morning and start the crockpot.  It's super easy and the kids love it!

Meatballs & Mash (health program approved!)

I made up this recipe the other night and thought it was good enough to share!

This recipe is health program approved too!

Healthy Sundaes

For those of you who have decided to join me in reaching your optimal health, here are some dessert recipes that use brownies and soft bakes from my health program.  They taste as good as they look!