Week 7 - Rippin' and Sprinin'

I am not a fan of Jillian Michael's and I don't promote her lifestyle, but her workouts have made a difference in my physique in the past. This is why her Ripped in 30 video came to my mind this past week.

Some how a pact was made with my hubby over the weekend, and now I am pressing play on this dvd for 30 days!  "Ripped in 30 is comprised of four 24-minute workouts based on Jillian's best-selling body shredding 3-2-1 interval system: 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of abs."   These workouts are intense! Want to join me?

The upside is, I have been active and have been working out already. The dvd's just make me get more intense and consistent. Do you remember a dvd or workout that changed you? Are you willing to go there again to get the change you desire? We need to encourage each other to "JUST PRESS PLAY"!

I am still cutting out white sugar (except for a couple free days, I allowed myself) white flour and the extra carbs. Pasta is so hard for me to cut out totally and I occasionally still take a fist full.
Our HEP has to keep getting cleaner and better in order to make changes in our physique.

This is the end of week 7, so please weigh in and measure! There should be more change happening. If not, we should be seeing what is working and what is not. Share with with us, brain storm with us, and lets keep springing to the end!

Be encouraged!

~Dani Joy

Week 1 S2S 2018

Happy spring! How have you started out? What is your HEP ( Healthy Eating Plan)? Are you planning your exercise? What have you been doing so far? These are the kinds of things that motivate me.

When I read what others are doing, I get inspired and try harder. It is so important that we share our victories. The verse that came to my mind was Hebrews 10: 24

“Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.”

You may share as a comment here or email me privately. Your spread sheet is to keep track of your measurements as well as your points. ( be sure to measure. It is worth it) 

There is a mistake on the spread sheet. It is 10 pts for 1 pound lost not 5.

Place your exercise points on the spread sheet in tally marks every consecutive 30 minutes = 2pts. NO HALF points here. This is to push us a little bit more. (me included)

We measure again on Friday and write our first points on the chart. There won’t be a lot of loss of inches or weight but, we can be clocking that exercise. 😊 Please comment your points on Friday's post. 

Springing with ya,

Dani Joy

PS I will share my HEP and my exercise plan in Friday's post. Meanwhile check out this blog post where I shared during a previous challenge. MY HEP

Gearing up!

Literally, biking and changing gears today for my fitness journey was a nice change up to my running and gym schedule. The view of the ocean and Catalina Island was amazing as we peddled 9.5 miles along Huntington beach.  There is nothing like the fresh ocean air and exercise!

Springing In-2-Shape Challenge will be under way starting this Monday, so we all should be gearing up! Getting measuring done sometime this weekend or Monday morning, and planning your HEP (Healthy Eating Plan) and exercise. I know it can be "painful", but we all have to start somewhere.

Time to be REAL!

What does being real have to do with fitness and health?

 It has been a theme at our school, Brethren Christian High, this year. "Be real with yourself, others and God."  How can we apply this to our health? Should we? 

Hmmm... maybe we don't want to go there...

In life we are so concerned with images, but it's not the image or the outside I am referring to. It's the opening up to others about our daily struggle to be healthy and fit. (aka disciplined) It is a bear! Our whole being tells us we aren't as healthy as we should be, while there's a lie in our heads saying "Oh, its not that bad, or you'll never look like that!"

It is time for me to be real.

Are you in need of a push?

Well, it's a little more than a month to summer! If you're anything like me, you may need a push to get exercising and eating healthy again, Or maybe you've been at it and just need that push to go harder and stronger. That next level.

Back in 2009, I joined a blogging friend for her Getting Fine in '09 fitness challenge. This was a huge boost for me. We blogged weekly about our progress and the winner got a $10 gift card! It wasn't much, but it made all the difference in the world to me.  I lost 11 pounds in that time... I think it was 10 weeks. It was my first big weight loss since I had had my 3 babies. I was on a roll and didn't want to break the streak. You can see my journey HERE.

There is nothing like accountability and encouragement from those who are on the same journey! We are in this together, this fitness journey for life. Something that I believe with all my heart is that we were created by a loving, holy, all powerful God who wants to equip us to care for our bodies. (2 Corinthians 6:19-20) He wants to give us all we need so that we can be our best for His glory!

Then let's get to this SWEAT'n OFF the FAT business!

IN PAIN?!?!

Maybe some of you can relate to constant pain. I truly couldn't until this past year when my lower back started to constantly hurt from a combination of being out of whack and walking crooked from a heel issue. I just thought I was going to have to live with this pain the rest of my life.

We hadn't been able to find a chiropractor yet in our area, and I just didn't want to spend the money to go. So, I just kept dealing with the uncomfortable pain, walking slightly crooked, struggling to turn over in bed, hurting when I ran (if I could run). It was discouraging to say the least. 

You may have read that I did the Advocare 24 day Challenge back in February. Yes, I keep talking about it. I truly love it! It made me feel great and I can't wait to do the cleanse again. 

Well, one of the products in this challenge is OmegaPlex, an all natural and superior source of Omega 3 fatty acids. It is one of the products that Advocare sells that helps overall core function.

An added bonus, is that I no longer have lower back pain! 

This product along with the 24 Day Challenge has increased my stamina and has helped my strength in training and running. I just ran 5k last week for the first time in almost a year! I have been working up to it and was so excited to be able to run this distance with no pain! 

It's so important to me to share this with you, today. I want to help you eliminate your pain. I believe this product can help you. It just might be what you need, but how can you go wrong? It's all natural! It's good for you! 

   

Give it a try today. CLICK HERE 

I am so thankful to the ones who shared Advocare with our family! God is using it as a tool in our lives to stay fit and healthy. 

~ Dani Joy

Do you want to Sweat off some Fat?

SWEATIN OFF THE FAT 2014 fitness challenge is for you!  

Total of 5 points a day.
1pt - 30 min cardio or weight training
1pt- 30 min free low impact or high impact cardio or weight training
1pt - 1 liter water
1pt - post / journal on fb page
1pt- HEP following your healthy eating plan. No cheating. Set your plan in your first journal.
Keep track of volume and weight lost for additional prizes.

To sign up, comment here. If you want to invite other ladies please include their fb names so I can invite them. Share this with your friends. Let's keep healthy and fit for God's glory.

New Challenge!

Well, Ladies! Are you up for a new challenge? 

Here‘s what I am doing. I have 15 weeks before I go to the States. I will break it up into 3 intensive 30 day challenges! Starting week 1 on February 10. 

Our goal is to check in once a week! That's all. Let us know what you are doing. Let us know how we can encourage you, and in doing so, you encourage others too. 

At the end of each 30 days all those who have checked in and have met their own personal goals, will be eligable for a chance to win an Amazon gift card. (Amount to be disclosed later)

Check in must be by Sunday night your time every week. You may check in anyime during the week, though. I will keep track of those who check in every week. We check in on our facebook private fitness page HERE. 

If you are joining in, please comment below or ask to be invited to the fb page. Invite others too. You may start now or later in the week.

My personal goals are
1. to spend alone time with JESUS every day, PRAY.
2. Exercise 5 days a week for 30 minutes or more.
3. Eat clean 6 days - No sugar, No white flour.

Hope you will join me.
Springing into Shape
~ Dani

The Pilgrimage!

Look what we found! 

It´s amazing, but you can pretty much walk anywhere around our area and find the Camino de Santiago. It is a pilgrimage path that goes from France all the way to the farthest eastern border of Spain, ending in the city of Santiago de Compostela. 

We have never done the pilgrimage, but we have visited the beautiful city of Santiago. It is said to be the burying place of James the apostle, who is considered to have brought the Gospel to the Iberian Peninsula and who miraculously saved the Christians from the Muslims. 

It was very much by accident last Saturday that we stumbled on part of this path. We decided to hike where we had never hiked before. Seeking adventure and new sites. 

However, the sites brought back many wonderful memories of the country orchards where I grew up in New York. 

Our dog, Toro, had so much fun! 

It was a good two hour hike. I calculated only the 20 minute intervals that I was constantly moving. There were even some hills! That was some good back end workout there!  

It´s a very relaxing and enjoyable way to fit your exercise into your weekend. While the weather is still nice, let´s get out there and enjoy it. 

Have you been hiking lately? 

What Do You Do, Anyway?

Maybe, some of you are wondering, 

"What do you do on that Christmas Crunch Challenge, anyway?" 

I know that it can be difficult to get started. It takes baby steps, little changes at a time, but never turning back. Even if you cheat a little on the weekends, don´t let go. Don´t give in. 

I made a life style change 5 years ago. I eat healthier, but there are days, I cheat. I eat whatever I want. I don´t believe in diets. They blow up in your face. They make me rebel. So I invented the Christmas Crunch Challenge, to challenge ladies to have good healthy disciplines in their lives. Healthy eating, fitness, and good spiritual encouragement. Check it out HERE. We just got started!

This is what I ate today for my big meal of the day. My own creation. I just had to share it.

Sauteéd Chicken, onions and peppers over a bed of spinach with tomatoes, Spanish blue cheese, and a little bit of italian oil for flavor. It almost filled my plate! And the best salad ever! You gotta try it!

Breakfast was two pieces of whole wheat no sugar added toast with queso fresco (like cottage cheese but smooth) and the other piece with sf peanut butter with a little honey. It is very important to get some protein in the morning too.

I had green tea and some high fiber chocolate no sugar added cookies for snack.

For dinner I had an egg with a salad on the side with more cheese. I am a big cheese eater!

This is what I did for my workout tonight.



And I am not going to bed hungry!

Remember you are not in this alone. I am memorizing a verse for the "Living and Active Challenge"

"Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken." Ecc. 4:12

Crunch it, with me! You can do it!

  


*I do not endorse, support, or condone, Jillian Michaels. *

Inspiration Sweating!

"Therefore, my beloved sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." 

1 Corinthians 15:58 

This is our theme verse for this week! I needed this encouragement today. It seems that no matter how hard I try, come the weekend, the pounds just come right back on. I know, that the increase in exercise and weight training will jump start my metabolism, so I will keep on!

 I will try to increase my exercise to a full hour each day this week.

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, running and abs at home, Tues, Thurs and Saturday weight training and running if I can on Saturday. 

We need to keep cutting out those excess carbohydrates. I think that even the whole wheat bread is keeping me from losing weight. 

Let´s encourage each other on our journey! It is so important to have this support in order to have success. We must rally around each other, empathize with each other and cheer each other on. Check out what each one is doing on our facebook page and please leave encouraging comments! 

Be Strong and Consistent and you will reach your goals! 

Sweatin´it with ya, 
Dani

Winners, Running, and Look out Summer Here we Come!

The Spring-in 2 Shape Challenge ended April 1, with two winners of the Amazon gift card!

Sharon Livingston - She did both 30 day challenges with a total 189 overall points and 9 pounds lost! 
She is an active mommy of three very young boys!   Way to go Sharon! 

Hannah Hill - won the second 30 day challenge with a total of 148 points- She is 29 pounds down... 14 inches @ the waist & 10 inches @ the hips... she has been working @ this for 14 weeks now... 

A big shout out to these two very brave ladies! God will bless your discipline and hard work! Keep on for His glory.

In our fitness journey for life, sometimes we get a little sidetracked and waylaid. This has happened to me recently. Even though, I never stopped exercising totally, I let a lot slide. I started eating a little more and before I knew it I had gained back 10lbs!

 It has been almost 3 years since I got the 40 pounds off . I have worked too hard to have it come back on! I refuse to let it! God help me to stay disciplined and strong. 

Running is not my thing, but it has become my thing. It is the only way to really truly lose the belly fat and inches in the lower end. 

Today, I hit a personal record. Thanks to a friend who runs very well,  we ran an 1 hour and 10 minutes! I just had to share our trek! I kept saying, 

"My help comes from the Lord," every uphill climb. 

The blue graph is the hills we climbed! 

Of course, this is not my first run. Please, be sure to work your way up to such a run. I have heard that the Couch to 5K is a great program to get running. Also, I use www.Dailymile.com to track all my miles. A friend of ours uses Nike +.  

Most importantly, don´t forget to stretch and drink lots of water.

It is still really cold here, but look out summer here we come! Stay posted for our up-coming Sweatin´ Off the  Fat  summer fitness challenge.  I hope to start it  the second week of May! 

Do all for the glory of God! 

Staying fit for life, 

Dani Joy

Mix it up and Just have fun with IT!

Weights and jump training! Weights and jumping rope! Weights and abs! It´s so much fun to mix up your workouts. Here is a good way to do it. Jillian Michael´s 3,2,1 circuits work great! 3 minutes of strength training, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of abs, then repeat this cycle 3 times. You have done a 30-40 minute workout without even getting bored! Don´t forget the 5 minute warm up and cool-down. 

Here is an article from Livestrong.com. - 

Aerobic exercises mixed in with weight exercises are a type of workout commonly known as aerobic circuit training. The benefits of aerobic circuit training are numerous. These types of workouts can add variety to your routine, sculpt muscles, burn calories, are time-efficient and can be done at home or in the gym with a pair of dumbbells. According to fitnessmagazine.com, aerobic circuits can burn up to 10 calories per minute.

Combining Weights with Aerobic Exercise

Combining weights with aerobic exercise in a circuit-type fashion helps you burn more calories and increases your cardio benefits. An aerobic circuit workout consists of several strength and cardio exercises repeated one after another, two or three times with little or no rest between sets. To complete an aerobic workout, you will need a pair of dumbbells, a stopwatch and any aerobic equipment you will need.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/365917-aerobic-workouts-with-weights/#ixzz2NYqkpQpG

Dani Joy´s first Exercise Tip - Video

MY favorite dvd as of late -  Jillian Michaels 6 Week Six- Pack Abs



I did it yesterday and today, but only half. Today, I did some extra marching with weights and bicept and shoulder work. Tomorrow I will do it with my workout group that meets Tuesdays and Thursday! we are growing! I love it! It has been so motivating. I am praying they will keep on and also want to do our challenge. Also praying to be an encouragement to them too.

This type of workout isn´t for everyone and of course I do not advocate Jillian Michaels in all she does. Please, take care before doing this video if you have not done any heavy cardio before. Start out with Leslie Sansones Walk This Way. This is what I did before I started Jillian´s workouts or when my back was hurting.

Remember whatever we do to do it consistently and with all our hearts! ;)

Springing It,
Dani Joy

From my fav. Trainer

The Rule of the Game: Intensity
If you're looking to shed stubborn pounds, the rule of the game is to increase the intensity of your workouts. I want you to be working out at 85 percent of your maximum heart rate (MHR). However, you may have heard the "fat-burning zone" theory that encourages you to work out at just 70 to 75 percent of your MHR. The outdated assumption is that your body is drawing predominately on fat calories for energy — WRONG! It's completely misleading and it's time to lay the "fat-burning zone" myth to rest.
During physical training, your body has three possible sources of energy: carbs, fat, and protein. Protein is a last resort — of the three energy sources, your body is the most reluctant to draw on your protein stores.

Whether your body takes energy from glucose, which it gets from the breakdown of carbs, or fat depends on the intensity of your workout. Training at a high level of intensity forces your body to draw on carb calories for energy — they are a more efficient source of energy, and your body goes for its premium fuel when you're working hard. If you are training at a low level of intensity, your body doesn't need to be as efficient, so it will draw on a higher percentage of fat calories for fuel.

Sounds like low-intensity training would be more effective when it comes to losing fat, right? Wrong. These physiological facts are the ones that spawned the mistaken belief that low-intensity activity is better than high-intensity activity when it comes to burning fat and losing weight. These days we know that even though the ratio of fat-to-carb calories might be higher during low-intensity exercise, fewer calories are used up overall. High-intensity exercise burns the biggest number of calories.

JILLIAN'S TIP OF THE DAY

Feel the Burn

Not only do high-intensity workouts burn more calories per session, they also trigger higher postworkout metabolism rates and fat afterburn. This means you'll continue to burn calories and fat for longer AFTER your workout too. How great is that? Having sung the praises of high-intensity sessions, I have to say it's also true that carb calories become fat calories after a while anyway, so when it comes down to it, a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. Forget the notion of a fat-burning zone. There is only one moral of the story: Burn as many calories as possible whenever you work out.

Prayfit?

If any of you are not familiar with Prayfit, I would recommend a brief article.
http://www.prayfit.com/?p=9348
Up & down describes my weight. On & off describes my level of commitment to REALLY losing the weight. Last Resort (SADLY) describes how I've felt about going to God CONSISTENTLY about my battle with food, exercise & my weight!
As I'm writing these words I feel this enormous weight being lifted off of me. I am realizing FINALLY that if I would just go to God every day & EVERY time I am tempted to make a bad food choice, He would be SO happy to help me! My Heavenly Father loves me more than the best earthly father loves a child & he WANTS me to succeed in this! He WANTS me to be healthy!
It's hard to believe, understand & admit that even having been a Christian for 30+ years since I was a child there is still SO much that I have to learn about the Lord & the Bible...but more than that, how much I am learning to love the Lord & want a Close, PERSONAL relationship with Him...not just spending time reading the Bible to check something off a list or praying before meals & at bedtime to *set a good example* but consciously thinking about whether the choices I make please Him...the same way that I would consider the thoughts & feelings of my spouse/best friend & making that relationship stronger by SHOWING my commitment, not just saying it! WOW!

Checking in!

Well, this week hasn't been totally great. A big minus, for eating anyway, was that my son had his birthday. I ended up and made cinnamon rolls for his breakfast, and a chocolate cake for his dinner. He did choose a healthy dinner, but the cake took away from the healthy choices at dinner. I haven't been eating much dessert for a long time, or even much flour, but eating that really messed me up. My stomach hasn't felt right since then. I even cut a very small piece for myself, which made only about 4 bites. OK, enough of sweets for me. It reminds me of that verse Rev. 10:10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

I have been exercising with Jillian, walking several miles one day with my son out in town, and shoveling snow. After our huge snowfall, we have had snow twice. We didn't have much accumulation (2-3 inches probably), but still it was enough to take about an hour to clear. I feel like I should have big arm muscles from lifting, but so far it isn't happening.

Here is a tip for those that get bored of doing the same routine over and over. My daughter, Ashley, always exercises with me, and she was really starting to dread exercising. I remembered that we had picture in picture on our TV. We don't listen to Jillian anyway while we exercise. So we found a TV program she was interested in, and then put Jillian in the little picture in picture box. I told her she had to still do all the exercises, or we wouldn't do it any more. She exercised really well, and it did seem to help the time go by more quickly.

Tips to loose belly fat

I thought this article was pretty good. If you're like me, my belly is always a problem area. :) While they are pretty basic and most all of them we know, I thought it was a good reminder!

42 Best Ways to Loose Stomach Fat

A look at the church's role in health and fitness

Hi Ladies,

Since coming to Russia a little over 11 years ago, my husband and I have both noticed a very intersting fact. There is a huge difference in size comparing the average Russian to the average American. Even though we already knew there was a huge obesity problem in the states, it becomes much more obvious when you go to a foreign country where it is unusual to see very obese people.

As an RN, I have become so concerned about the people in the churches that support us across the country. We have so many people who have health problems at a young age that could largely be prevented by regular exercise and proper eating habits.

I read an interesting article along this line just the other day. I must put a disclaimer on it, that I am not endorsing the doctor or the ministry that he is working with. I just thought it was a very interesting article, and worth the several minutes it will take to read. I know Dani Joy will especially find this interesting, as I know she has such a burden for the ladies in the churches she visited last year.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-daniel-amen/how-to-stop-churches-from_b_1021901.html?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl1%7Csec3_lnk3%7C107962

Tami

Don't Quit!

I saw this on Pintrest the other day and really loved it! It's so true and a good reminder for us all to keep going. I know so many days I think, "What's the point? I am just destined to be this way." I know that's a lie that the enemy wants me to grab hold of. We are made for so much more. Keep it up....don't quit!