Fitness Challenge

Summer Ready Health Challenge


There are 6 categories in which you can earn 1 point per day.　　

1. No Soda (even diet!)
2. No Treats: We are being realistic with this since I want this to be something we can really stick to or at least help change some bad habit and not simply do for 8 weeks then give up on.　 It’s not NO SUGAR altogether.　 Honey, Jam, cereal, granola bars (even the kind with chocolate chips) . . .　 are okay types of things.　 By treats we are talking candy, cookies, brownies, baked goods, ice creams　 . . . . the stuff that we all love and tend to overindulge in that really don't offer much (if any) health benefit to our bodies.　　
3. Water Intake: 80 ounces of water a day.　 It’s not just 64 ounces, since that’s what everyone should be getting at the very least . . . since this challenge will also include more exercise . . . we should be drinking MORE water than the average person.　 80 ounces of water a day.　 That is 10 cups.　
4. Fruit & Veggies: 5 servings (1/2 – 1 cup each) a day! :)
5. Spiritual Goal: This challenge is about healthy living and our Spirits are　KEY!!!　 This should be something you can do DAILY . . . and it’s also personal.　 No one else has to know what it is.　 Examples are: daily prayer, scripture study, meditation, act of service, act of patience, whatever you choose for yourself . . . .　 something you can do daily to earn your point.　　
6. Challenge Point: There will be a new challenge every week.　 It’s something you will have to do daily . . .

Week 1:　 Take a multi-vitamin every day
Week 2:　 Floss every night.　 Flossing is a good habit to get into and having healthy gums is important too!!
Week 3:　 Eat a healthy Breakfast every day.　　
Week 4:　 Get 8 hours of sleep each night.　 Most of us have kids and cannot control how often they wake us up.　 But if you know you have to be up at 6am, you need to be in bed by 10pm with the　intention　of 8 hours of sleep.　
Week 5:　 50 push-ups a day.　 You don't have to do them all at once or the exact same type for all 50, but pushups are great for the body!
Week 6:　 Daily food/calorie log.　 This one is hard but eye opening.　 My Fitness Pal is a great app that makes it pretty easy!
Week 7:　 No eating after 8pm.　 A good habit to get in to!
Week 8:　 Complete a 1/2 marathon!!!　 Doesn't have to be all at once, but walk/jog/run/skip 13 miles this last week - to earn your 7 points at the end of the week.　 Hopefully the weather will be nice enough this week to enjoy some time outside for this one!!! We will end our challenge with a BANG!!!

There are 2 more categories:

1. Exercise:　 You get 1 point for every 30 min of exercise.　 The cap for this category is 14 points a week - so you don't get credit for any exercise over 7 hours a week.　 Moderation in all things right?　 So keep a total of what you do each day and add it up at the end of the week.　 It does not have to be consecutive exercise.　 10 min. 3 times a day is as good as 30 min. all at once.　 So on those hard and busy days, break it down and you can still get those points!

2. Weight Loss category:　 Weigh yourself at the end of each week and you will add your weight loss PERCENTAGE to your weekly total points.　 Example.　 I weighed 153 lbs and went down to 151.5.　 My weight loss percentage is .98.　 If you got ALL your other points for the - 56 - you add .98 to your total for your weekly total at 56.98.　　
If you need a weight loss calculator - there is probably an app for that :) - you can use:　　www.fitwatch.com
Go to　www.fitwatch.com　 Find the tab: Calculators and Tools, then go to Weight Loss Tools and Calculators, then Calculate your weight loss percentage.

As you can see weight loss is not really an emphasized part of this challenge.　 If you have weight to lose, then that will be a nice benefit to getting healthier.　 I don't recommend losing more than 1 - 2 lbs a week because anything more is hard to maintain.　 Our goal is to be all around healthier and feel good about ourselves, and scales don't necessarily reflect that all the time.　　

FREE DAY!!!　 We all need a free day to indulge ourselves and have something to look forward to! :)　 You get 1 free day a week - doesn't have to be the same day each week.　 You automatically get all your points for that day.　 The only things that don't come free are the exercise and weight loss points - those must always be earned.　

This competition is a PARTNER competition.　 You pick a partner and your totals for the week will be added together as your partnership competes against the other teams. We are always more accountable to someone else instead of just ourselves and this will make us all be a little stronger.　 Partners can encourage each other - or just have someone to vent to when it’s an extra hard day to be healthy!　 :) 　 If you want to participate and don't have a partner let me know and I can match you up or let you know who else is looking!　

Every Monday you need to email or text me with your point total - and I can send out the standings for the week.　　　 To join the competition it will be $10 person/$20 per team - so once again we have more incentive to really do this and the winners (at least 1st and 2nd place, may be more depending on how many teams participate) will receive the cash prizes!

The challenge will start Monday, April 1st and end on Sunday May 26th.　 Perfect timing before the lazy days of summer!!　 Please respond ASAP - teams and money are due this Sunday March 31st.　 I will send each participant a spreadsheet they can use to track daily points before Monday April 1st.

I am really excited and hope you are too!　　 It is fun doing things with a partner and in groups to stay motivated and have support!!!　 Anyone can participate if you have other friends or family that are interested!　 Let me know if you have any questions!!!　　

Thanks friends!!!

beef soup

1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 lbs of ground beef
1 chopped onion
3 carrots sliced
4 diced potatoes
1 pkg of dry onion soup
1 can of water
2 tsp of beef base
2 tsp wosr. sauce

On a roll!

146 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 My weight loss jounrey is on a roll.

All of my hard work is starting to pay off!!!!

Yippee!!!!!

Update

I stepped on scale this morning, I'm now down to 148.50 lbs. I have lost one pound! I thought for scale that I had gained another pound because I have been eating like crazy. The baby is getting up at night to nurse maybe due to a growth spurt. Anyways, I thought that I had gained weight but I managed to be under 150 pounds with my clothes on! I'm almost positive that the weight will stay off this time. I'm even hungry at the moment even though I ate a ton last night. Trying to breastfeed plus lose weight is so damn tricky.

My workout Plan: I pulled my shoulder muscle yesterday trying to pick something off the floor. So, I'm not going to be able to lift weights until it heals. I was schedule to do weight lifting plus kickboxing. Due to pulled muscle, I might just run on my treadmill. Arghh, I always seem to hurt myself.

This week:

Tue: walk
Wed: run
Thu: walk
Friday: run
Sat: run

I would like to add in weight lifting but I will have to wait and see what happens with my pulled muscle.

Yippe!!!!!!!!!!

All of my measurements are still the same except for hips: I'm now down one inch! I wish it was more but maybe things are starting to move in the right direction.

Fatty Me!

I started to work on losing weight about two week ago. It's been kinda crazy, I really wanted to get out of the 150's but my weight just kept on yo-yoing up and down. I lost three pounds but I gained it back. What's going on, I figured it must be muscle gain. On Sunday, I gained back two pounds but on Monday I lost the two pounds. I'm now weighing in about 149lbs. I don't ever want to be back in the 150's again.

I'm hoping to work on changing my diet. I want to try for a diet high in protein and low in carbs. Yes, at the bbq it was all carbs. I went back to livestrong.com and start tracking my calories. I would like to lose up to two pounds a week. I would love to be back to my old weight in about 12 weeks or less.

I'm back to running three days a week plus weight lifting the other three days. I'm going to try to squeeze in some walking plus sit ups.

Leroy did point out that he thought my arms were starting to look more muscular. So, maybe my weight gain was due to muscles.

I willn't give up. I'm so not happy with my body. I'm older and the baby isn't coming off on it's own. It didn't come off with Leah either. Oh well, only hard work will make the difference. I will not give up. Only losers quit. I'm not a quitter!

Post Baby Body

10 weeks PP I gained 35 lbs, I lost 12 lbs Starting weight: 153 lbs Current Weight: 149.50 lbs Chest: 39"-breastfeeding! Thigh: 20" Waist: 33" tummy:39" Hips: 39" Arms: 12"

Cancer Challenge 5k Report

Sorry, about the crazy hair pictures! Okay, now to the race report. I'm so freakin excited about my time. I thought I would have a bad time. Let's back track a little bit. I haven't ran a 5k since last year. Yes, it's been over one year. I had been focused on training for two half marathons but then I ran into all kinds of running injuries. It's been a long recovery plus my knee is still bugging me.

The weather was perfect plus the course was really flat. I forgot to charge up my running watch so I just ran it with all of my heart and mind. I really thought I would be slow. I was so shocked when I round the corner and saw the finished line. It was in the 27:?? on the finish line clock. I did my fast hard sprint to the finished line and my chip time was 27:40. I thought I PR but it's not sooooo. My fastest 5k PR was back in 2009 at War Eagle of a time of 27:26!

I'm going to try to bet my time with another 5k race either next sat or in two weeks. It's so awesome to end on a positive note.

I did come in 3rd place for my age group which is even better! My running buddy came in 1st place for our age group.

Life is good!