New Year Challenge: Week 3 Recap

Today I am sharing my final recap of the New Year Challenge! Creating and participating in this challenge has accomplished what I had hoped!

Challenge Tasks:

• Drink 90-120 oz of water daily

I did this most of the time!

• Walk for 30-60 minutes/week

I reached the goal of 30 minutes!

• Track nutrition daily, 5/7 days each week

Did it and stayed within my nutritional ranges as a bonus!

• Blog weekly challenge updates

Completed this all 3 weeks!

Weight Loss Goal:

My first goal of this challenge is to get back to 224 lbs and maintain that weight until my next challenge starts. My “shoot for the moon” goal was to lose 7 pounds because, why not?

Challenge start weight: 227 lbs.

Week one weigh-in: 226 lbs.

Week two weigh-in: 225 lbs.

Final weigh-in: 224 lbs.

I sure am glad that I shot for the moon. While I didn’t make it, I still landed closer than I would have otherwise! 

I met my goal of getting back to 224 lbs. and I’m super proud of that! On to the next challenge!

Dinner Meal Plan: Jan 18 - 23

Happy Sunday! Just popping in to share my meal plan for dinner this week!

Dinner Menu

Sunday: Turkey Chili + Cornbread 

Monday: Salisbury Steak + Mashed Potatoes + Mixed Vegetables 

Tuesday: Potstickers + Miso Soup + Edamame 

Wednesday: Wing Night!

Thursday: Chicken Sausage Fried Rice  

Friday: Tacos or Homemade Pizza

Hope this helps give you some meal ideas! Have a great day!

Thoughts From My Walk

While I was walking by the lake, I let my voice-to-text roll and just started talking. Here are some of my thoughts from that walk.

I have noticed within the past week or so that I am thinking about healthier choices more in general and seeking opportunities to make healthier choices. For instance, every day last week when I dropped off my youngest off at Preschool, I went for a walk immediately after. Part of this is because it’s winter time, and the weather was finally favorable enough to do it, but at the same time I could’ve chosen not to. I saw the opportunity and seized it, and I’m very proud of myself for that.

There’s something different about this year, 2026, I can feel it. I believe that I will succeed. I believe that I will reach my goals. In years prior it was always more of a wish or hope when I would set weight loss goals, almost knowing that it was only a wish because of my circumstances. I was in the baby-toddler trenches at the time. 

My kids are a little older now, ages 5 and 10, and I have a little more energy and opportunity to focus on myself again. I’m seizing that opportunity now; I’m doing it and I will continue to do it. 

Life is shifting in ways that are bittersweet for me. My children will both be in full-time school next year and so I will have even more time to focus on me. Of course we never know what God has for us but I do believe that the upcoming shift in our family, while a little heartbreaking for a mother, will produce good fruit because God is faithful.

I am so excited for what this year has for me and I am going to continue working to seize every opportunity to make healthier decisions and give myself grace in times when I don’t. 

During this entire journey of trying to lose weight, which has been my entire adult life and even longer if I’m honest — it has all led to this season of success. 

I have learned so much over the years I have learned how to fail gracefully and get back up again and that’s good because I’m sure I will do that many times this year, but I also know that life has shifted enough and is continuing to shift in a way that provides opportunity for me to continue to grow and finally reach my goals. 

I’m looking forward to this year and the growth that will come!

What I Ate Monday: Jan 12

I know it’s Friday, but today I am sharing everything I ate on Monday, January 12.

In the morning, I had a hot cup of tea with a tsp of raw sugar. I also had water with a pinch of salt and squeeze of lemon. I didn’t eat anything for breakfast but had lunch around 11am.

Since I didn’t eat breakfast, I had a large “everything” salad with grilled chicken for lunch. It came out to 670 calories.

In the afternoon, I had an oat milk latte. This came in around 145 calories.

For dinner, I made burger tacos. These were about 540 calories all together and worth every single one of them!

My evening snack was a serving of spicy queso Popcorners with some cottage cheese which came out to about 210 calories.

I have been having a sweet tooth most evenings and so I ended the day with one of my homemade chocolate chip cookies which is about 120 calories. They are the perfect mix of salty and sweet!

The total calories for the day came out to around 1700 calories, which is a good calorie deficit for the day!

Nothing Changes if Nothing Changes

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you may have noticed that I love Tim Horton’s cold brews with cold foam. I posted quite a few of them in my blog last year (before we got an espresso machine at home). They are so tasty and were my go-to coffee treat for many years.

Sometime last week while I was ordering a couple Timbits for my daughter, out of habit (and because I saw that I had a coupon) I started to order myself a cold brew with cold foam. 

As I was adding it to our mobile order, I saw that this drink comes out to 400-something calories. Wow! This was something I’d do all the time last year. Often without thinking much about it, and almost always because I had a coupon that made it less than $2.

Before I submitted the mobile order last week, I had this thought that “nothing changes if nothing changes” and I thought about whether or not I really need this cold brew right now, or if I was just doing it out of habit (and because it’s a deal).

Truthfully, I was doing it out of habit and because I had a coupon that made it under $2. It wasn’t really something that I needed at the time so I removed it from the cart. Besides, I can make a latte at home for under 200 calories and they are amazing!

Yes, I am working on my latte art ;)

Now, at a later date I might really “need” a cold brew and that’s OK, but on this date I removed it from the cart based on the fact that “nothing changes if nothing changes”.

I saved myself $2 and 400-something calories, and felt proud of my intentionality. 

One day, I’ll get a cold brew again, but it won’t be “just because”, it’ll be because I am looking for it and have room for it in my calorie deficit, and not just mindlessly adding it to the cart.

My Favorite Salad Shortcut

Holy smokes! I have two things that I just discovered that are my current food MVP’s!

Taylor’s Everything Chopped Kit + 3 oz. Soules Flame Grilled Chicken 

I have been using Taylor’s salad kits for a couple of months now but this was my first time trying the Everything style and it’s just got the best flavor! Pair that with some quick and easy flame grilled chicken and it’s a full meal. 

Truly so filling and satisfying. I don’t usually eat the entire bag of salad mix myself but on this day I didn’t eat breakfast and went straight through to lunch. This was worth every single one of those 670 calories!

What I Eat After Eating Out: Snacky Date Night

This past weekend, my husband and I got out for a snacky date night at a brewery and it was the best time! 

We ordered pub pretzels, chips and beer cheese; a flight of different beer, and; a flatbread pizza. That doesn’t sound like something someone on a diet would eat, right? Good thing I’m not on a diet ;)

Today, I wanted to share how I ate the day after we went out for our snacky date night. 

Spoiler alert: I didn’t do or eat anything out of the ordinary. I just went on living and eating like normal.

Since I had some beer, which is rare nowadays, I started the day with a large cup of water with a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon. I made sure to drink a gallon of water throughout the day.

For breakfast, I made an omelet with 1 egg, 2 egg whites, ham and pepperjack cheese. I had a side of rye toast with butter, and a cup of coffee.

For lunch, we had meatballs, sausage, Italian bread, salad and a cupcake. We ate lunch at my mom’s house because it was my brother’s birthday. I had an extra helping of the protein and skipped the rigatoni. I thoroughly enjoyed the cookies and cream cupcake for dessert!

Lunch was pretty filling, so a cup of miso soup with dumplings was the perfect lower-calorie dinner.

A couple hours later, I was hungry for something sweet again so I ended the day with a homemade chocolate chip cookie.

This day ended up coming in around 1,840 calories and I feel good about how I handled “getting back on track” after eating out of the ordinary. As you can see there was no “restricting” or “making up for eating out”. I just went on with my day, working toward a slight calorie deficit, as usual.

New Year Challenge: Week 2 Recap

Hello, and happy Monday! Today, I’m sharing my week 2 recap for my New Year Challenge! 

Spoiler alert: it was a great week!

Challenge Tasks:

• Drink 90-120 oz of water daily

I nailed it this week! Got in 90-120 oz every day! 

• Walk for 30-60 minutes/week

Crushed this one! I walked for 20 minutes on the treadmill on Monday, and 20 minutes outside on Wednesday and Friday! 60 minutes done!

• Track nutrition daily, 5/7 days each week

Did it and stayed within my nutritional ranges as a bonus!

• Blog weekly challenge updates

Week two, done!

Weight Loss Goal:

My first goal of this challenge is to get back to 224 lbs and maintain that weight until my next challenge starts. My “shoot for the moon” goal is to lose 7 pounds because, why not?

Challenge start weight: 227 lbs.

Week one weigh-in: 226 lbs.

Week two weigh-in: 225 lbs.

I am making my way to that goal weight of 224lbs! It’s the last week of this challenge! Let’s keep going!

What I Ate for Dinner: Jan 5 - 9

I thought it would be a cool idea to show you all of the dinners I made and/or ate this week! I think it’s good to see that losing weight doesn’t mean you have to eat perfect or boring meals.

Monday: Creamy Chicken Pot Pie Soup + Biscuits

Tuesday: Potstickers over Fried Egg/Cabbage Slaw

Wednesday: Family Night Out / Wing Night!

Thursday: Savory Beef, Rice and Vegetables

Friday: Panini’s

Honestly, this was a week where almost every night I was wondering… “what should I make for dinner?” It wasn’t super planned out but it all came together each night!

I know sharing this will help me to look back on when I need some meal ideas, and I hope it helps you, too!

2026 Weight-Loss Goals

I don’t really do “new year resolutions” but as I settle into January a bit more, I started thinking about the year as a whole. 

Only God knows what this year will bring, and despite what comes, I am comforted because He is faithful.

In 2025, I started blogging again and began re-prioritizing my health. I lost 16 pounds last year and I’d like to set a weight-loss goal for this year.

As I enjoy doing, I will set my actual goal and an additional “shoot for the moon” goal. This is a fun way to challenge myself while still prioritizing grace.

• My weight loss goal for 2026 is to lose 25 pounds, weighing in at 200lbs by the end of the year.

• My “shoot for the moon” goal is to lose 50 pounds and weigh in at 175lbs by the end of the year.

I plan to do this by keeping up with my seasonal challenges. My winter challenge begins on Jan 20 and will run through March 20. Feel free to join in!

Weight-loss isn’t my only goal for the year, but it’s the first one that I feel ready to settle on and share. I’ll be working on narrowing down some others and perhaps I’ll share them soon!

Winter Walking Outdoors

Yesterday, after I dropped my youngest off at preschool, I ran a couple of errands and then went for a winter walk.

This walk was such a blessing to me! I prayed for a majority of it, and was so thankful to be able to move my body outside, breathing the fresh air. Outdoor winter walking is usually the last thing I want to do, but it’s always so refreshing when I do it!

I have a general rule for myself when it comes to winter walking. As long as the temperature is above 30°F and there is minimal wind, it’s a good day for a walk! 

On this day, it was 37° and sprinkling rain toward the end. I always tell myself “just 15 minutes” to convince myself to do it, but like this day, I almost always go a little longer. It was such a great walk, and my entire day went better for it!

What I Ate Monday: Jan 5

Hello! Today, I wanted to share what I ate earlier this week as I worked to get back on track with my nutrition and back to tracking it.

I started out the day with a cup of tea, and a tsp. of sugar. I was drinking water most of the morning and wasn’t hungry for breakfast.

After I took my daughter to preschool, I cleaned up the house and checked my work emails while walking on the treadmill. I told myself I’d walk for 15 minutes and ended up walking for 25 minutes! After my walk, I sat down for a stretch and of course the dogs had to join me.

I noticed I was starting to get hungry just as it was time to pick up my youngest from “pretty school” (as she calls preschool) so I grabbed a Premier Protein for the road.

For lunch, I made myself a make-shift meatball sub with a slice of rye bread, three meatballs, and a slice of pepperjack cheese melted on top. I hand a small handful of green beans on the side, too.

For my afternoon “snack” I had a butter pecan latte made with my husband’s homemade simple syrup and oat milk.

I also had a Fresca as the afternoon went on.

As I was making dinner, I was craving something sweet so I snagged a few Hershey kisses from the cupboard.

For dinner, I made chicken pot pie soup and drop biscuits. The soup was so creamy and delicious! It was packed with vegetables, too!

After dinner, I made some homemade chocolate chip cookies while the kids and my husband built a snowman outside. I ate 2.

My entire day came out to about 1700 calories, which is a great calorie deficit for my current goals!

New Year Challenge: Week 1 Recap

Let me tell you, week one of the New Year Challenge was rough. I remember now why I don’t really challenge myself during the week between Christmas and New Year. 

Getting through that week is a challenge enough as we work through holiday leftovers, celebrate my husband’s birthday, and snack on all the good snacks during New Year’s Eve! See: photo of the NYE spread I made!

Regardless, here’s the update:

Challenge Tasks:

• Drink 90-120 oz of water daily

I certainly wasn’t perfect but I did this most of the time!

• Walk for 30-60 minutes/week

We went to a water park and I definitely got my steps in!

• Track nutrition daily, 5/7 days each week

Definitely did not do this during week one. Oops! I did stay mindful, though.

• Blog weekly challenge updates

Week one done!

Weight Loss Goal:

My first goal of this challenge is to get back to 224 lbs and maintain that weight until my next challenge starts. My “shoot for the moon” goal is to lose 7 pounds because, why not?

Challenge start weight: 227 lbs.

Week one weigh-in: 226 lbs.

Challenge goal weight: 224 lbs. - 220 lbs.

Week one, I hung on for dear life and still lost a pound. I’ll say all of the swimming and walking around the water park helped. 

Week two is already off to an awesome start and I’m excited to see how it turns out. Let’s keep going!

The End of Winter Break

Happy Monday! Today is the first day back to a normal schedule for our family since Christmas break began two weeks ago! It’s a bittersweet feeling to have break come to an end.

We had so much fun during our break together as a family. We celebrated Christmas, of course, which had us visiting a lot of family. I am reminded of how much of a blessing that truly is to have family to celebrate with this time of year.

We also celebrated my husband’s birthday, and rang in the New Year with a small family gathering at our house. 

After that, we had a two-day family vacation where we stayed overnight at Splash Lagoon. The hotel, and restaurant where we ate at were all connected to the water park. It was such a gift (from my mom) to be there during some of the coldest and snowiest days of winter break!

Now that we’re back to our normal routine I’m going to be focusing more on my New Year Challenge. Week one’s update is coming up next!