100 Day Walking Challenge

I have discovered how important it is to have a team of friends and family cheering you on no matter what - they keep you honest, push you when you would rather stop and walk beside you through rain or shine. I picked up an idea from a Walking Adventure Tour website about a 100 Day Challenge - you pick the distance or timeframe but you walk for 100 days every day. I decided this was exactly what I needed to get my mind off the scale and on to a healthier me. I started the challenge on August 12 - just over 20 days ago. I dragged myself out of the house every evening after work and every weekend, rain or shine. I never regretted my walk after I crossed that magical finish line each day but I sure mumbled a lot on my way out the door. When browsing on the weight watchers website (I am an online member) I discovered an area where you can launch your own challenges. I thought - why not. I didn't think I needed this but I figured if anyone was interested it would be fun to have them along. I now have over 40 people in this challenge, cheering for each other; holding everyone accountable in a gentle way (LOL); and, experiencing amazing results. I have consistently lost 2 to 3 pounds every week while eating all my points plus the added ones from activity. I have also discovered why so many advise that it is much easier to meet a challenge when you have a team helping you along. I never realized how my natural tendency to isolate would affect my ability to keep on my journey to health. So, my team of 40 plus women are walking the path with me every night as we connect virtually every day to post our green check mark along with our encouragement or prodding. Hurray for the Team!  I have lost 18 pounds since joining weight watchers July 17. A phenomenal victory!



My walking has mostly been urban and mostly in my neighbourhood but today we hustled our butts out to Kananaskis Country. What a beautiful place to spend an afternoon. We picniced (homemade olive & dried tomato bread with chicken and cucumbers - yum!) at the trail head to Troll Falls - an easy, five kilometre hike along a gentle sloped path carpeted with pine needles. We were finished in about 1.5 hours - took a half hour for photo ops! We also stopped at Mnt. Lorette ponds - a lovely little area with trout ponds and paved walkways for wheel chairs and tricycles! A real Rocky Mountain High kind of day.

The main player on my team is my honey, Raouf. He plans,shops for and cooks every single meal. I am so grateful for this simple change - I cannot tell you how much it helps me stay on program! I have shared a picture of some of his creations - Cranberry Apple Bran Muffins and the recipe is below:

I have given myself permission to eat muffins again - a scary step as I tend to pig out on anything home baked! This is a recipe from the newspaper giving hints for kid's lunches. Well, count me in as a VERY happy kid! Only TWO POINTS people! I would encourage you to try it.
1.5 cups All-Bran Original cereal or favorite bran cereal; 1 cup 1% milk; 2 eggs; 1 cup all purpose flour; 1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar; 4 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp cinnamon;1/2 tsp each nutmeg and salt; 1/4 cup canola oil; 3/4 cup chopped frozen cranberries (do not thaw) - we used blueberries; 1/4 cup diced McIntosh apple (not peeled - 1/4 inch dice) - we left it a bit bigger. Combine cereal and milk in a bowl and let stand for 2 minutes until softened. In a separate bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside. Add eggs and canola oil to cereal mixture; beat well. Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. Fold in cranberries and apple. Portion batter evenly into 12 non-stick muffin pan cups, lightly coated with cooking spray (we used paper cupcake liners). Bake in 400 F oven for 20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.