Congratulations on your NEW YEAR´S 30 DAY CHALLENGE FINISH!

For all you, Ladies who finished!
Presenting Jillian Michael´s Ripped in 30 Meal Plan -
Click HERE and print! It has some wonderful recipes!

I thank God for you and your encouragement, Ladies! God bless you on your fitness journeys.

Dani Joy

Little Engine That Could

If the first week of November was a complete victory.  This past week was the opposite.  I struggled all week.  I spent a lot of the week in tears.  Satan accused me of so many things. I felt defeated.  I gave up and allowed my emotions to control me.  For me when one thing is wrong it seems like I allow everything to fall apart.  So it did...

By Wednesday afternoon though things brightened up.  I was reminded that I am in control of my life.  I get to choose how I spend my time.  That God loves me if I'm having a good day or a bad one.  Thursday my husband, son , and I went for a 3 mile walk and had a wonderful time.

We all get to choose if were going to allow Satan or circumstances to defeat us.  My hope and prayer is that as I grow physically, spiritually, and emotionally stronger.  I will spend less time defeated.

"Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees!" Psalm 119:5

Praise Report!

Praises for this week:

This really has been a great week.  First off I was able to accomplish all my goals that Chantel Hobbs from her book Never Say Diet wanted me to do.  I was able to exercise five days in a row for 30 minutes each day.  I ate breakfast within 2 hours of getting up each day this week.


Second  I drank at least 64 oz. of water each day this week!

Third I was diagnosed with Anemia and I am now on iron pills which is really helping with my energy level. 

I think the highlight of the week though was going to my first Zumba class.  If you never heard of Zumba it's a dance class that's a lot of fun and you get a great Cardio workout.  This was my first time going to an exercise class and I really enjoyed it.  If you love to dance then you would love Zumba.  The class was an hour long so I got an extra 5 points.

I give God all the credit for all the hard work I was able to do this week.  God really encouraged me to do my best and He would bless it.

Medhelp

Yesterday Dani Joy mentioned some great online tools to help with weight loss.  I wanted to share what I use to track my information.  It's called Medhelp it's a place you can go to track a lot of different kinds of information.  I use mine to track my water, exercise, menstrual cycle, mood, and weight.  They have over a dozen different trackers. You can also use the site to ask medical questions or join a support group. I'm not involved in that part of the site. You can also get medical information from real doctors. I like how I can see my progress.  Here is a picture of there site.

http://www.medhelp.org/

I Have a Plan

I decided that if I want to make fitness apart of my life that I needed to follow some type of plan.  I always do better when I have a plan to follow.  So I have decided to follow a plan written out by Chantel Hobbs called Never Say Diet.  Chantel has lost over 250 pounds and has kept it off.  She loves the Lord and wants others to be victorious in their weight loss.  I purchased her book and workbook.  Her workbook is a 16 week plan to achieve your goal of a healthy lifestyle.

 I'm working on week one that talks about how our value is based on who we are in Christ not a number on the scale.  God created us and knows all our inner and outer parts.  "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made, your works are wonderful, I know that full well...When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes say my unformed body." 

Psalm 139: 14-16

Chantel's Week 1 Goals:

* Commit to the five Brain Change decisions written in her book

* Tape a picture of yourself to the workbook so you can see your progress 

* Take measurements

* Weigh yourself

*Cardio exercise five days in a row for at least thirty minutes each day.  She stresses five days in a row because it's easy to take day's off and not get all your workouts in if you don't do it this way.

* Eat breakfast everyday within two hours of waking up.  

I really like Chantel program so far.  It's seems like something I could follow for the rest of my life.  I know as the weeks progress the program will get harder but I'm really up for the challenge. The great part is when I make it to the end of the sixteen weeks it's the week of my husbands birthday and I'm going to take him and I out for a couples message.  To celebrate his birthday and our commitment to having a healthier body. 

Interview With My Husband

Sometimes all the help we need to loose weight and be healthy is right in front of us.  For me my husband Marc is my biggest inspiration to loose weight.   Over the past six months Marc has lost 40 pounds.  I interviewed him to ask what are his secrets to his amazing weight loss.

Q. What made you want to loose weight?

A. I got sick and tired of the way I felt.  My back was always bothering me and I felt tired all the time.  I didn't like the way I looked. 

Q. So what did you do first to start loosing weight?

A. First I started by eating less.  I stopped snacking throughout the day.  I started using a smaller dinner plate.  I love peanut butter and would take bites of it from the jar throughout the day and I stopped doing that.  I also started drinking more water.  Now I drink 3 or 4 bottles of water a day.  When I start to feel hungry I drink some water and that usually really helps.

Q. After you changed some of your eating what did you do next?

A. I started walking the halls of my school each day.  Every morning before the kids and teachers start coming in I walk a mile.  I have a route around the school building that adds up to a mile of walking. Then when each class period bell rings.  I walk another lap and by the end of the day I've walked two miles.  It takes me about 15 minutes to walk a mile.  The route includes some stairs.  Great cardio workout.

Q. How many days a week do you exercise?

A. Every week day Monday-Friday.  Sometimes on the weekends I go on walks with my family.

Q.  What do you do to enjoy your walks?

A. I bought myself a MP3 Player.  Now I can listen to music while I walk and it makes walking more enjoyable and the time goes by faster.  Sometimes I even forget what lap I'm on. 

Q. Anything else you do?

A. I also do some situps. A few day's ago I went bowling.

Q. How do you feel now?

A. Most of the time much better.  I feel like I can move more freely.  I feel better about the way I look.

Me: You look really handsome!

Marc: Thanks!

Me: I love You! 

Marc: I love you too! 

So here are some tips from my husband to help with weight loss:

* Drink water at least 48 oz. a day
* Exercise 5 days a week for at least 30 min.
* Watch what you eat
* Stop snacking throughout the day
* Get up and move more especially if you have a sitting job

Marc is married to Rebecca and they will celebrate their 11th wedding anniversary in November.  They have one son Josiah who is nine years old.  He works at a middle school in Central New York.  Fixing any kind of computer problem imaginable. Plus a hundred other computer things that I could never explain to you.

Before

 

 

 

 

After

 

Winter is not meant to be a meltdown

6 Ways To Survive The Winter Blues

 Winter is fast approaching.  I tend to feel more tired and sad during the winter months.  I found some helpful tips for stopping the winter blues and wanted to share them with you.  The nice part is you can follow these suggestions year-round.

1. Daily multivitamin, Omega-3, and Evening primrose oil: Our brains need a steady supply of omega-3 found in fish.  Most adults don't get enough fish in their diet and omega-3 can help. Evening primrose oil helps with PMS and gives your brain an essential fat called GLA.

2. Think Positive!:  Depression leads to rumination.  Rumination is when you think about negative things over and over.  When you start to feel yourself thinking and talking negatively.   Occupy your mind with some engaging activity like spending time with friends, crossword puzzles, reading a book, the list could go on and on.

3. Physical Exercise:  Need I say more?  Try to get 35 minutes 5 days a week of heart pumping exercise.

4.  Let the Sunshine In!  Did you know getting outdoors for 15 minutes a day can help decrease the winter blues?  Make sure you bundle up.  Even in the winter outdoor light is much better than indoor lights.

5.  Be a A Social Butterfly!: As American we spend too much of our leisure time in front of a box computer or television.  Stay connected with friends and loved one.  If you have lost touch with them try reconnecting with them.  I'm sure they would love to hear from you.  Each week I challenge myself to have a conversation with someone different after church.

6. Sleep! Another need I say more.  Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep each night.

7. ??? What are some way's your going to fight the winter blues?

Suggestions come from the book The Depression Cure by Stephen S. Ilardi PH. D

Happy to be here!

Hi my name is Rebecca A.  I'm so excited about being apart of the Christmas Crunch 2010.  It's just what I need to help me start loosing weight and being a healthier person.  My starting weight as of this morning is 221.5 pounds. This is my first time on Dani Joy website.

A little about myself:  I am 34 years old.  Married to the best husband in the world Marc.  We will celebrate our 11th Wedding Anniversary in November.  We have one child Josiah who is nine and in the 4th grade. I have been homeschooling Josiah from the beginning of his school education.  This year I came up with the idea to make a photo journal of our 4th grade homeschool year.  You can check it out on my blog http://rebecca-meaningfulliving.blogspot.com/.

A little about my struggle with my weight:  As a young child I was sexually abused.  At the age of 12 I was raped. Because of what happened I really hated my body.  I had a hard time looking at myself in the mirror.  I would never take care of my body.  I tried to ignore my body.  I even had some issues with self mutilation.  This continued into my marriage. Then I started going to counseling and started the healing process of my mind. Now I feel it is time for me to start the healing process of my physical body as well. I realized in counseling that it's not wrong to have a physically fit and attractive body.

My goals:
Exercise each day.  Eat healthier foods.  I don't have a goal weight. I had a physical last week and the paper the doctor gave me said I was obese.  I want to be able to see the doctor next year and not have the word obese written on the paper.

I'm really going to step out of my comfort zone and show you a picture of myself and my son Josiah that was taken last Monday October 11th.

Off to exercise!

Rebecca A