End of First Side Challenge

Good morning & happy weekend, girls!  The side challenge for this week has been to plan an ACTIVE date night or an ACTIVE girls night out or adventure.  I am so happy that so many have done this- 11- that's incredible!  Just think what this commitment to a healthy lifestyle communicates to your family, to your friends, to the new YOU.  I love it :)  Here's what everybody's got planned in the order in which I received them, and I edited specifics to keep this as safe as possible:

JEN R:  DANCING "[My husband] and I are going to go dancing (ward dance in Feb, specifically). If that ends up not happening, we will go Contra Dancing by the end of Feb (13th, 20th, or 26th all available...). I commit! :)"

AMY: SNOWBOARDING "[My husband] and I have set an all day date for Jan 26. We are going snowboarding... I'm going to take a lesson since I have never snowboarded. [He] is dusting off his boards as we speak!"

KIM: SKIING, RACQUETBALL, & BOWLING "Well my husband has been trying to get me on the mountain for several years now and teach me how to ski. Everyone in my family either skis or snowboards and I am the last to learn. I usually play the cheerleader role and go up and take pictures and cheer them on but this year I think I will be brave and finally learn...We are going to go play racquetball ...and then we are going to go bowling. Boy my husband is going to be exhausted by the end of the night with skiing, racquetball and bowling all in one day! It should be fun and I am really looking forward to it and I'm glad I have another week to muster up some courage to learn to ski..."

LESLIE: SWIMMING "[My husband] and I have decided to go swimming at the YMCA for one of our date nights-- instead of eating out, like we usually do. I think it will be fun to change up the usual date-night routine and do something active together."

SHANDA: DANCING "My date night is going to ballroom dance class with [my boyfriend]! Learning the merengue is amazing and such a great workout then we stay for the group lesson so we are dancing for about 2 hours. We always leave class a little out of breath and smiling. Afterwards we go home and cook a healthy dinner together experimenting with fun new ideas and foods."

ABREY: ROCK CLIMBINNG, TENNIS, SWIMMINNG, ROPES COURSE, ZIP LINE, & SNORKELINNG "We have planned for our cruise on ship : rock climbing, tennis, swimming, also [my husband] and my sister have committed to workout with me on ship at least once each!! Off shore in Cozumel we are doing a ropes course, zip line and snorkeling adventure!!"

TARA: SLEDDING "I am off to a girls weekend this weekend in Galena and we are going to go sledding tomorrow morning after breakfast."

JENN P: WALKING, RUNNING, & HIKING "Since my husband is [overseas] I can't do a date night with him until the end of March! (He'll be coming home for a couple weeks on leave!) But I do have a friend/family that we do a lot of stuff together--our kids are close in age and have a lot of fun together. This week the kids were out of school for three days so we (both families) went to the ocean for two nights. We spent hours walking the deserted boardwalk and chasing our dogs in the sand. That was my fun/active time. We are also planning on taking a mountain hike together when the rain stops here."

MEGHAN: ROCK CLIMBING "I've been wanting to try some indoor rock climbing for a while and I thought that would make a really fun date. I found a place ... they offer climbing until 10 pm M-F. -perfect for a date night! [My husband] and I are definitely going to check this out!!

CHERISE: WALKING/HIKING "My active date night idea is to go for a walk/hike. We've got a lot of great parks around here and I would love to just go for a walk with my husband!"

SARAH: SNOWBOARDING "My hubby and I are going to give snowboarding a shot the 2nd week of Feb (deals on Tuesdays for beginners' lessons).  He's never tried it and I had a disastrous first attempt 7 yrs ago!  We are going to be so sore, but it should be a hoot!"

AND THE WINNER IS...........

Feel Good Friday

Good morning, fabulous ladies!

For the side challenge, send me your active date/girls night out idea sometime today!  I'll post and do the prize tomorrow morning :)  So far I have them from Jen R., Amy, Kim, and Leslie.

This weekend Abrey, Meghan, Amy, & I are running a team marathon relay- good luck us :)

Today's feel good post is about success stories.  Reading other people's success stories can really motivate us in our own weight loss journeys.  "Wow, they lost SO MUCH weight and yes, it was hard, but they did it.  Yes, it took them a long time, but they did it.  I too can challenge my excuses."  I love it. 

Please search online and find a success story that you really like, then comment with the link to it for all of us to see (we did this last session, too, but I can't get enough of it, so do it again :) ).  Here's a ton of them from Women's Health in a slide show.  I really like this one and this one.  Stuck?  You can look through Women's Health, Fitness, Shape, Runner's World, Bicycling, Prevention, and probably a million others. 

From this article, 20 Weight Loss Motivation Tips, check out #7 regarding success stories, "People who lose weight are not super-human.  They just decided to go for it and then never gave up!"  Reading these success stories remind you of that.  Re-dedicate yourself to have a fantastic and healthy weekend, girls!

Feel the Burn Thursday

Good morning, sweating & shrinking divas!

What workouts have you done this past week?  What do you have planned for this weekend?

One of the best workouts you can do for your body is.....SLEEPING!  If you don't get enough sleep (sorry, mommies of newborns, this might be impossible), then you're more apt to come down with illnesses or injuries in your workout regime.  This Bicycling article is pretty good. It suggests 8-10 hours!  Whoa! This RunnersWorld article says getting enough sleep (again, 10 hrs) will improve your reaction time and speed in running.  This WebMD article suggests that getting enough sleep actually affects 2 important hormones in our body that affect appetite, so if you don't get a good night's rest, the next day perhaps nothing you eat will be satisfying or perhaps you'll be ravenous.  And the thing we probably all knew, this AFPA article says that sleep is needed for our muscles to repair themselves (when you workout tiny muscle tears happen and then your muscles rebuild bigger and stronger).

The other great component to a successful weight loss program is....WATER!  We know that often our bodies confuse the signal for thirst for the signal for hunger.  Sometimes when you think you're hungry, your body is actually thirsty and dehydrated.  Being sure to drink enough water will decrease your hunger & probably the amount of food you eat b/c of that. It will also increase your energy, increase your metabolism, cleanse your body, be easier on stomach bloat than diet soft drinks, and will just overall make you feel better.  How much is enough?  The old, well-known recommendation is 8 8oz glasses of water + any you drink during a workout. This RunnersWorld calculator that I like a lot actually customizes that generic recommendation for your gender and body weight, so it results in a little bit less water intake for me than the 8x8=64 fluid ounces/day.  But this smaller calculation still has the addition of + anything you drink during a workout.  And another cool tip is that if you sip ice cold water throughout the day, you'll burn a few extra calories from your mid-section as your body spends energy to warm up the water temp in your stomach to an absorbable and usable temperature.  And I've heard that if your body feels thirsty, you're already dehydrated- so drink drink drink!  Any tips for how you get in your daily water?  There's actually a free iPhone app called "8" that tracks your intake of 8 glasses of water a day like a checklist- kind of fun :)  I like a big glass of Crystlal Light w/ dinner, too :)

So the point of this post is not just to hear about what workouts you're up to (which I LOVE hearing about), but it's also a SLEEP CHECK and a WATER CHECK!  How are you doing in both of those departments?

Whatcha Eatin' Wednesday

Good morning, healthy ladies!  What have you been eating lately?  Any yummy new snacks to share or healthy recipes that you like?

For those with kiddos, eating healthy to lose weight is extra hard when you have to cook yourself a "separate" meal from the family.  Have any of you had success getting the whole family to eat your healthy foods and meals?  Check out this link for Feeding Picky Eaters and then check out the "related links" down below the article.  I think the "peaceful plate" is kind of a neat concept, but generally chaos reigns w/ hungry munchkins, so it would take a lot of effort.  Is this all "roll your eyeballs" and "dream on" tactics or do you think that it could work or is worth experimenting with your kiddos?  Share some things that have worked for you in this department.  What healthy snacks/meals do your kids love?

Tuesday Motivation

Good morning, girls!  Today's post will be a little rambly :)

Going into the second week here, we want to keep up that phenomenal momentum from last week.  Be really proud of your accomplishments, not just any weight you may or may not have lost, but the accomplishment of giving this blog a shot, the accomplishment of trying really hard to watch what you eat and fit in a few workouts, the accomplishment of being conscious of your choices & excuses.  Be really proud of all the great habits you've started!  Be your own cheerleader! 

This old article, 10 Tidbits of Weight Loss Wisdom from the Biggest Loser, touts just this as the second tid bit, "Be your own high-stepping, baton-twirling majorette!"  Ha ha, I love that mental image :) 

Life coach Dale Smith Thomas said in her motivational email yesterday that we need to be our own biggest fan: "Remember what Eleanor Roosevelt said, 'No-one can make you feel inferior without your consent.' You need to become your...biggest fan. Everyone needs a cheerleader...do it yourself! Talk yourself up...A strong, positive self esteem is essential for achieving the goals we have set for ourselves."  

Today, keep in  mind how freakin' awesome you are and then decide that you ARE going to be successful.  "Whether you think you can or think you can't - you are right." -Henry Ford

Think that you CAN and think that you WILL!  You can do it, ladies!

And I think a little self-confidence tends to cultivate even MORE self-confidence.  It snowballs. "If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced." -Vincent Van Gogh


YOU can be a healthy version of yourself.  Clean out the negative thoughts, doubts, fears, etc.  THIS is a fresh change, a healthy lifestyle start for you, something that you CAN keep up and maintain the rest of your life, something that you WILL succeed at and feel WONDERFUL from.  Stay just as strong this week as you did last week! 
 
Everyone comment and let us all know a cheer from you to you, since you're your own biggest cheerleader (this might be hard & awkward, but that's the point)!  You can also let us know any change that you've felt within yourself physically, emotionally, mentally, etc. either via your entire weight-loss journey or via this first week on the challenge here.  It will build us all up and help us see that the change we are bringing about is internal and not just external, and that it all STARTS WITH US! It all starts with a decision. Challenge your excuses!

Monday Morning Check- In

Good morning, shrinking sistas! Today's the first weigh in. Let us
know how much you're up or down in weight or how you're feeling after
your first week :) What's your commitment for this week? Anything you
plan on doing differently?

Happy Birthday

HaPpY BiRtHdAy to TwO AmAzInG WoMeN!  JeN R's BiRtHdAy WaS JaN 9th & MeGhAn'S BiRtHdAy iS ToDaY!!!!!!!  WiSh ThEm a HaPpInEsS & PeAcE tHaT's As SwEeT & BeAuTiFuL aS tHeY aRe :)