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Hey loves!
Well, Christmas is behind us and a shiny new year is just around the corner. And you know what that means! Time to make resolutions. According to a Harris poll conducted in 2012, 21% of resolutions made are weight-loss related. [source]
That being said, my blogger bud and palsy-walsy Sheila at Making the Most of Every Day is sponsoring a health challenge. I have signed up and you can, too. Here’s what’s involved.
Step 1: Sign up! You can do that here on Sheila’s blog.
Step 2: Decide on an eating plan. Weight Watchers, works for me if I will just do it. Had called to cancel my online membership but calling today to cancel my cancellation! You can sign up for the online program and/or to attend local meetings here. Sheila suggests Trim Healthy Mama, which you can check out here. Another blogger buddy is doing Beach Body Twenty-one Day Fix, more on that here. But really, who wants a beach body? Oh, yeah right! And FitnessPal has a free calorie counting app, here.
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Sheila emphasizes that you need to decide what changes you need to make to your eating that are sustainable. NO DRASTIC FAD DIETS HERE! As a former anorexic, I totally agree!! We need to do this healthily.
Step 3: Decide on exercise. For me, this is more than half of the battle. I am not looking to drop ten dress sizes or fifty pounds but I am looking to get in better, healthier, more fit shape. Stronger. And that means a combination of cardio workouts mixed with strength training/weights. Sheila reminds us that adding a third element – stretching – is a good idea, too but several of these programs include stretching so we are not counting it as a separate category. I am very guilty of never stretching. Need to do that in the form of some kind of warm up. I tend to call walking into the gym my warm-up stretch. Ha! There are all kinds of videos available for free on Pinterest. My personal fav is Fitness Blender. You can build your own routines by telling the Fitness Blender, which areas you want to target, at what intensity and for how long. As in whole body, couch potato, 30 seconds. Which explains why I am here!
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In El Paso, Planet Fitness has gym memberships for the same monthly fee as a McDonald’s Big Mac meal, number one on their menu (had to ask PC about that). Check them out here.
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I am using a FitBit to encourage more walking. I have set my goal for 10K steps and do pretty well (except on Christmas vacay) getting those every day. We bought ours through Amazon.com. Sheila recommends picking an event to train for, so if you run or walk, maybe you can pick a local 5K race. If you bike or swim there might be a similar type of event you can train for. I have been diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease Stage II (2 not 11), thank goodness. I am setting my goal on a 5K run/walk to benefit kidney disease research this spring. More info here.
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Step 4: Find an exercise partner. For me that is my Prince Charming, PC. But I also have connected with friends and family through Fit Bit and we can cheer, challenge and taunt one another through the app. Good for accountability and often times, P will guilt me into going to the gym when I don’t want to and vice versa. And whether PC knows it/likes it or not, he will be eating WW-friendly meals, too.
Step 5: Weigh in. Sheila! Really??? No bueno and no fun. But a necessary evil. As Sheila wisely explains your weight (and age – my input) is just a number and it doesn’t define you, but it’s helpful to know where the start is so we can measure our progress! It’s a good idea to take some measurements as well. (No me gusta – me again) Sometimes the number on the scale doesn’t change much but as the body is transformed, those numbers can change a lot. And finally pick a piece of clothing (my boot-cut Levis) that used to fit but now may be a bit snug. That can often work as a better measuring stick.
Step 6: Start! Collect your points! We will be using a points system to help us stay motivated. I have borrowed Sheila’s graphic with permission.
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You can pin it to your health board on Pinterest, print it for the frig, your full-length mirror. And post your successes to the private FB page, Sheila will be creating.
Please read more about the point system on Sheila’s blog, here.
So, who’s in? Looking forward to feeling better about myself and would love for you to join me.
Hugs and kisses,
Carrie @ Curly Crafty Mom
This sounds like a lot of fun!! I can’t wait to hear about your progress. The points part sounds fun. I need to start thinking about the New Year… I am going to work on monthly goals this year!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Well, three days into our health challenge and I am doing pretty well. Back on Weight Watchers. Haven’t exercised today like we usually do but that’s ok. I want to jazz up my monthly goal setting this year. Thinking of writing them on a black board or white board and taking a pic of them. Hope the water and flooding in your area has receded. Happy new year!
deena
We’ll have to do more fitbit challenges!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Yes! I have been slacking over the holidays but do better about getting my 10k when I work.
Caesy Miller
Great blog, keep up the good work!