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.

Dani´s Fitness Journey

 Before    and     After  35 lbs lost in 11 months.

I am totally thankful to the Lord, who has been my strength and Joy through this fitness journey. The more I got in shape, the better I felt to serve Him and my family. In no way, do I want to put fitness before service to Him. My check and balance is my Hubby and you all.

My dear sweet friends, let´s continue to keep our focus on the Lord Jesus and how He made us. Psalm 139 is a psalm I have needed since I was a teen. We are perfectly made in His image. He knows us, but this doesn´t mean we let our bodies go down the drain.

I will explain more in later posts the blessings of being fit and healthy in so many areas. Let´s keep our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. 

Now...

Who am I?  I now know who I am to be for the Lord, but here is the testimony of my journey.

A country girl:  I grew up in upstate, "hickville", NY. I was never a very heavy girl, but there were some who made fun of my big butt. I was a little self conscious about that. I played soccer and softball in high school and this helped me stay fit. I loved being active. I loved sports!

When I went to college I vowed not to gain the freshmen 15. I actually lost weight. It was great! However, as  a short term missionary in Paraguay the summer of 1995, I was in a car accident. Thank God for saving my life. All I broke was my collar bone, but between that and the Dulce de Leche (like pure carmel spread) I gained 15 lbs. yuck! But, I was young. Got it back off fast and furious!

A Collegant:  Best shape I was in college. Weighing in at 117! Played soccer, softball, basketball and swam! Don´t think there was anything I didn´t try. Had to do it all! That´s me in the front in the white, trying to get as close as I could to my boyfriend. That was off limits at PCC as many of you know. :)

A Married Women: Mrs. Joseph Contreras! Yes, I got married before I finished college but, I was the happiest graduate around!

We then went on to teach and preach (my hubby did the preachin´of course) at Sun Valley Baptist Church in El Paso, TX. We had a great year!

Then we wanted babies! Joseph remembers me saying, "I want a baby." I deny it now, but I guess, I really wanted to start having a family then.

A Mommy: Well, this is what my first pregnancy did to me. Or I did to me. I am not proud of this picture, but I have to face it. We were on deputation, traveling all over the place, eating badly, and not exercising. Oh, we tried to exercise and eat better but look at me! It didn´t work. It wasn´t enough. I did not stay fit. I was in denial. and for many years after I would be in denial or down about my size.

 Since my babies were born ( the last one in 2001), I have tried to get all the baby fat and weight off.

Here are my babies! Yes, they are worth it! But I just knew I could feel better about myself.

Isaiah is now 14

Andrew is 13

Michael is 11

Yes, I had a baby a year! It about wrecked my body! Can you believe, not only did I get bad vericose veins, and extra weight, I also lost the hearing in both ears? Praise the Lord, they were operable. I now have a prosthesis in both ears. 

Basically, I had been at the weight loss yo- yo for about 8 years. Every time we would go to the states I´d gain weight.

When we got back to Spain, in July 2008 after our second furlough, I really tried to get in shape. Jogging on the beach, early morning swims, and biking, but then we started home school. From the end of August 08 to January 09, I sat on my sofa in the evenings studying for the next day or just vegging and munching. This routine got me frustrated and wanting to do something about it ONCE AND FOR ALL!

Missionary, Mommy, teacher,  January 2008:

 (163 pounds, 74 kilos)

 It was after much prayer and after much desiring to be back to my healthy pre- baby self, that I embarked on my fitness journey. I much prefer to call it a fitness journey as oppose to a diet. Diets change, and that was my problem. My body kept changing. I needed something permanent, long term. That is why I am calling it my fitness journey for life.

We had purchased a stationary bike last year and I hardly got to use it because I was so exhausted all the time. My hubby even asked me if we should sell it. That upset me. I knew I was going to use it. Just didn´t know when or how.

January and resolutions. I really am not one for making and sticking with resolutions, because I know that by February they are moot. I just would rather quietly start something between me and the Lord, maybe even write it down. 

This is how my Fitness Journey began. It was a prayer at the time. Then right at that time I found some friends who were starting to lose weight too. Some of them were bloggy friends I had never met before, but I began to realize I needed this encouragement.

I cut out all white sugar and added more veggies and fruits. Started eating whole wheat breads and lot less empty carbohydrates. This alone started the weight loss on a roll.

It was March, when I joined Sarah F´s  Getting Fine in ´09 challenge,  at All Pain and No Gain, I had lost 10 pounds and wanted to keep going. Wanted to encourage others and needed the encouragement myself as well. Sarah, had so many great ideas. I loved how encouraging she was. When I saw how many calories she was burning, I upped my work out. It was another bench mark in my weight loss. Here is my picture after that challenge, which I amazingly won! 

In August, I ordered four things that would change my outlook on exercise and change my muscles drastically. The book, Making the Cut, and three dvds by the author, Jillian Michaels. She is not a conservative girl, but she knows fitness and health.

Right away, I put myself on her 30 Day Shred dvd and her 30 day diet. The combination of these two, changed my muscles in one month! I dropped one inch in all areas! It was incredible! It was at this time that I reached 30 pounds lost.

9 months into my fitness journey -

 Before                and...              After 30 lbs lighter and toned!

I have my sights set on a picture of myself playing soccer my junior year of college. Why not? Why not shoot for my best? That was the best I had ever felt in my whole adult life. That´s several inches and another 5-10 pounds. I will keep on my fitness journey for life. It´s a must!

So who am I?

 I´m Danielle Joy Contreras – A Hip hoppin´ Missionary Mamma , aka - Dani Joy

This is me in August 2011, minus the 40lbs! Keeping my weight at 123, and working out at least an hour 4-5 times a week. 

I have gained a bit back, but my ultimate goal is 122. I just want to say I got back down to my college weight. I see it possible this time around. Also, I see how hard it is to maintain. I need all your encouragement.

June 2011 - Women´s 5k race

December 31, 2012  Isaiah (14) Michael (11)Andrew (12 1/2)
 Me in the middle weighing about 132 lbs. 10 lbs over my  ultimate goal.

 2014 with my 14 year old son Drew! Still at it! I turn 40 in August of this upcoming year, my bucket list is to hit my peak weight and fitness! 

I am glad you decided to join us for our seasonal Challenges! You will get what you put into it.

 So ladies, LET´S CRUNCH IT, Spring it, and Sweat it all year long!

Dani Joy

Seventh Inning Stretch

Good morning Ladies!  We are going into Week 7!

 Let´s do a ...

Seventh INNING Stretch 
bonus week!

No more Nix the Fix bonus but, keep eating right and implementing those great habits.

Seventh Inning Stretch rules -
Weight loss and Activity will win runs this week! 


Four Runs = a Grand Slam =4 points!

GRAND SLAM #1.  Every pound lost =  4 runs (4 bonus points added on to the normal 5 points) (this is such an odd number + 1 more point for good measure! ) 10 points per pound!


Grand Slam #2 - 40 minutes of higher impact exercise in one cession = 4 runs (4 bonus points in addition to the 2 normal points)  total- 6pts 
(does not include stretching nor leisurely walking - higher impact only. Heart rate must go up. We must sweat!)

Grand Slam #3 - 4 Journal posts allowed this week! For a total of 4 runs - 
total 4 points. 


Tips only still equal 1 point and only still 2 per week. 

Grand Slam #4 - 4 points for 2 liters of water drank a day! woo hoo! only this week so get your water in, Ladies!

Have fun with it, Sweat it! And do it for God´s Glory!

Dani Joy

How to take Measurements

Excerpt taken from Making the Cut
by Jillian Michaels pp. 3-4

This is one of my favorite ways of tracking progress because it´s a motivational tool that doesn´t require any fancy equipment – It´s just you and a tape measure, baby!

Here´s what to do

• Start by getting naked! If you measure while dressed, wear thin clothes and make a note of what you´re wearing so you know to wear the same clothes the next time you measure.

• Pull the tape snug but not too tight. It should never squeeze your body.

• Measurements taken around the hips, thighs and upper arms should be taken around the largest circumference. Stand with your feet together when taking hip and thigh measurements.

• Never flex or tense your body while you´re taking measurements. Don´t suck in your stomach to take waist measurements. Relax, let it all hang loose, and enjoy knowing that very soon you´ll be able to see your progress both on paper and on your body.

The specifics:
• Bust: Measure around the chest right at the nipple line, but again, don´t pull the tape too tight.

• Chest: measure just under your bust.

• Waist: Measure a half-inch above your belly button or at the smallest part of your waist.

• Hips: Stand with feet together and place the tape measure around the biggest part of your hips.

• Arms: Measure around the largest part of each upper arm.



Starting Date-                   Each week:

Weight:

Bust:

Chest:

Waist:

Hips:

Right Thigh:

Left Thigh:

Right Arm:

Left Arm:

Total cm/in. lost.

Testimony/Introduction Alice aka Madridmom

I am without internet at home and will be away enjoying the long weekend till Tuesday so I am reposting my introduction post from the last fitness challenge and will give more of an update when I post my measurements and recent photo next week. I did manage to get down to 129 in the summer but since the weather has turned cooler I have found some of those pounds again by eating too much comfort food (ie. carbs) so I hope to lose them again and get firmly entrenced back in the 120's weight wise.
Glad to be back!


Hello. My name is Alice and I was motivated by a friend to join this group for the Christmas Crunch Challenge. You can see my introduction and testimony for that one with my true "before" picture here. During that challenge I lost over 10 lbs. and 17 cm which was half of what I had decided was my weightloss goal. I gained some back at Christmas and joined up for the Spring into Shape challenge and you can see my updated before picture and testimony here. For some reason things never really clicked and I did not check in and participate very well in that challenge, but I must have been doing something right in my eating (exercise is still not a regular part of my daily schedule) and I did quite a bit of walking doing lots of touristy things with some friends and family during the last 4 months. I realized today that my starting weight for this Summer Sweatin' off the fat challenge is a full 10 pounds less than my starting weight on Jan 20 for the SSFC. And here I thought I wasn't getting anywhere. I am only 1 pound away from the "goal" I gave myself in January and 3 pounds away from my original 20 lb. weight loss goal back in October. If I reach that goal (133 lbs.) I will be content but since I have seen this much progress so far I have decided that the goal weight that the BMI calculators tell me is ideal for my height and age is not so far fetched as I thought. So, my new goal is to get down to 129 lbs. I really love the idea of going from the 150's to the 120's!
My husband and daughter just returned from spending almost a month in the States. The bad part of that is that they brought back at least a suitcase or more of food .... hardly any of it stuff that is good for me. Of course, I have to share those Apple Jacks with my kids so I won't get too much of it, and when it is gone it will no longer tempt me.
The good part of my hubby's trip is that he came back with a huge pile of clothes for me. I haven't tried them all on but some of the stuff is very nice and really looks good now that I have lost weight. I think most of the stuff I like the most should still fit me even if I lose the extra 7 lbs I hope to. There are also 3 summer dresses that he brought home for me 2 years ago that still bulge in the waist area. Those are my motivation to lose some more of this weight -- especially the tummy bulge. I had a pair of dress pants that I kept trying on in the fall and finally got into with the Christmas Crunch. These summer dresses will be the same for me in this SSOF challenge. They need to be altered a bit up top, and I will spend the money to do so, IF AND WHEN the gut is gone.
Here are a few pictures of me over the last year.

My hubby and I in France after our annual mission conference. So glad I won't be looking like this when I go to the conference this summer. Look at those rolls!

Nothing "angelic" to me about that shape.

On the beach at Normandy. Wearing black and standing slightly sideways helps camouflage the weight ... a little.

I will be looking for a new winter coat next year. This one is huge on me now, PTL.

Down about 10 lbs from the start, but the shapeless Christmas vest doesn't show it off very well. I think I'll get rid of the vest before next December.

January 2010 getting ready to head to a concert with a good friend.

February 2010 On a whirlwind 2 days of walking till I dropped in Paris.

March 2010 in Cartagena over Easter break. I'm liking the thinner arms and waist in this picture but would like to see more tone and definition before summer.

April 2010 Sightseeing with my sister. We both started at about the same weight and have gotten down to within a pound of each other. Wish lived closer to walk together.

April 28, 2010. On a whim I tried on a straight, very unforgiving (read: no stretch fabric) jean skirt that I haven't worn in years. It fit! But a couple more pounds lost would make it even more comfortable to wear.

Last Post for Sweating off the fat!

Hasn't this been fun! With the new challenge this week, Gen and I actually ran our 3 mile course! I am not a young woman, nor am I in good shape, but with Dani Joy's encouragement, I was able to run. My 7 year old daughter said, "Mom, you ran?" Not very good when your own family doesn't believe you, but I have Genevieve for a witness. I have had the desire to loose weight and be more physically fit as I enter the latter part of life. I definitely don't want to be a fat grandma, nor a unhealthy burden to my children. This challenge has given me the push I needed. I especially appreciate Dani Joy's encouragement about "not believing the lie" that I can't be slender again. Now, I have a very long way to go, more than 50#, but looking at the photos of Dani Joy at the race in Spain is remarkable. It looks like she has lost half of her weight since I last saw her in person a few years ago. Thanks Dani for your testimony of God's faithfulness in giving you success in fitness. You look great! I want to be part of the next challenge and the ones after that since I have a long way to go! Thank you all for your encouragement and testimonies. I did the last challenge and didn't have much success since I was stressed in the middle of a big move. We may be moving again, but I am going to keep exercising and eating better.

Running the Race!!

Yes, I know, it may seem a little different in the line of missions, but I am using it as a means to get to know more ladies in the community. I pray to use training for The Race for Women, every year to meet more and more ladies.

This year, I ran alone, got to know a few ladies, met my goal, got my prizes, and went to church. Next year however, I would love to have a group from our church sign up, and have a verse ironed on our shirts with the church´s name!

A little bit about The Race for Women. It´s a  5 kilometer (3.2 mile) race to promote breast cancer awarness and to raise money to help support research for the fight against it. There will be a total of 9 races throughout Spain this year. This has been the sixth year that the Race for Women has taken place. Gijón had a great turn out of about 3,000 women! It was amazing to participate in something so benificial and widespread. It even was on the city news this afternoon. I actually saw my head pass by the camera.

Here I am before the start, bright eyed and bushy tailed! literally.

My cheering section! It was so great to see their faces when I crossed the finish line!

I am behind the that lady in front. hehe (my dh tried to get pictures, but someone always got in the way.)

Came in at 29 minutes flat! possibly in the top 200 or so!

Here´s some of the ladies that came in after me.

I finished! Praise the Lord!

The verses that have gotten me through many soccer practices, difficult situations and now my first race is,

Psalm 121: 1-2

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth."

Let´s keep running the race that is set before us. I am remembering that the spirtual race is far more important.

Keeping our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith,

Wednesday

Well, I am pleased to say that the 133 I saw on the scale a week ago was not a fluke but I am consistently keeping from going more than a half pound over that. i am flirting with 132 lbs. and hope I can be firmly there for the end of this challenge. I got the crazy idea the other day since I am getting closer to my pre-marriage weight and since my anniversary is this weekend, I thought I would see if I could fit into my wedding dress. HA!!!! There was a significant gap keeping that zipper from going up. I was daydreaming about renewing our vows for Tim and my 25th anniversary and thought "wouldn't it be cool if I could wear my wedding gown for that?" Well, I don't know if that would ever happen, even if I did lose a bunch more .... i'm thinking that after delivering 4 children that enough may have shifted that my waist will never be the same as it was prebabies. And if so, that is OK since my "babies" were more than worth it.

Did OK with eating today and walked for 70 minutes this morning. (wk3 day 3 of C25K plus more) Unfortunately I am craving junk food right now as I watch a dvd with the family. Can I resist????

This is getting fun!

One more post for one more point this week. I was discouraged since I only lost 8#, so I decided to measure myself. I hadn't posted anything for the last measurement loss of 9.5 inches earlier and measured myself today with another 12 inches total loss. Praise the Lord! I still want to loose more weight and inches and am so glad that Dani Joy has invited me to this blog. Also, for you thin people, it is a long journey left for me to be a normal size so stay encouraged. Can't wait until the next challenge. Thank!

Tuesday's Nix the Fix update

I am glad for the awareness of what I am eating that this week has given me but I am glad that today was the last day to be counting points and dealing with the immediate "punishment" for little slips of "forbidden foods".

Exercise: 70 minutes of exercise. C25K jog/walk and then I walked to the area of town where the bulls were going to run through the streets on the way to the bullring. I took some video then followed the crowd into the bullring to take some more pictures of the crazy people taunting the bulls and then running. I just shake my head at all of it. Then I walked home the round about way. +2

Food:
Breakfast poached eggs on whole wheat toast. Juice +3
Snack before exercising whole wheat toast +1
Lunch: lean meat hamburgers on whole wheat, no chips (aren't you proud of me?) watermelon +3
Dinner: homemade pizza with ham and pineapple, water, diet soda 0
Snacks: Watermelon, raisins +2

post +1

Total +12

I uploaded the following video of the people running with the bulls to my facebook right after I had posted my workout from the C25K program. My brother made me laugh when he commented "I see your workout didn't include 90 seconds of running with the bulls."




To see my facebook photo album of the bulls click on this link

Hannah and Esther's Testimony

Our health and fitness life style started about 3 1/2 years ago when we started reading food labels. We stared doing more research on the concerns of preservatives and additives in our food, we felt convicted to a more biblical diet of God made foods then man made junk! Our love for exercise began when we lived in the city and there was not much left to do but go for walks, this also has built us a great sister relationship with each other. Upon moving to the country 2 years ago we have kept up that walking and also added swimming, Pilates, some running and other fun things such as jumping on our trampoline. Our goal in joining this group is to keep us moving and to have a little fun!

As sisters we have enjoyed cooking and baking together. We love to make healthy tasty recipes and started our own cooking blog , you can visit us at http://www.delkitchen.blogpost/. Please leave a comment and let us know that you visited! Just this year we have started making our own sourdough bread and also raw milk cheese and yogurt. Some of our favorite foods are Greek and Asian Salads, 90% dark chocolateJ Sourdough bread with almond butter, oatmeal with bananas, pb, raisins, and cinnamon, as well as home made pizza on the grill. This next year we are hoping to have a cook book published called “Oats Redefined”, the recipe are all breakfast/brunch recipes with a creative healthy twist.

Thank you Dani for letting us join even though it has been going for a while!

I will Not be Derailed!

WEll, my weekend wasn´t the best. But, I am praising the Lord for many many things.

I will not be derailed!

1. I praise the Lord for good church services yesterday. God really spoke to my heart.
2. Praising the Lord for wonderful sisters who cooked for my family yesterday. They didn´t even know my back was out. Well, didn´t know my back was going to go out. I think I have a muscle spasm in my lower back. But I will be getting it checked out today by a Physical Therapist.
3. Praising the Lord for you all! For the encouragement that you bring to keeping on the fitness journey.
4. Praising the Lord for a restful morning even though the baby I have been taking care of has a cold. God had her sleep her naps well.
5. and most importantly, I praise the Lord for a wonderful wonderful Husband and family!

So I will not be derailed. AFter I get my massage, I pray to do some upper body workout and maybe some walking. I need to do some stretching too. resting.

Lord willing, I will be back at it tomorrow. And then Run another 5k practice Wed. and then On Friday. Then rest on Saturday for the big day on Sunday.

I took a free day yesterday as well on food and exercise, but I am back at the food part today. Good eating! healthy eating! IT´s for Life, ladies!

I will also be joining up for another challenge  in July that I see even more important than this fitness journey. I will be reading through the Bible in 90 days with Mom´s Toolbox.com. Of course my fitness journey will not end, but I have been trying and trying to get more disciplined about my Bible reading ie. reading it through in a year, but failing, that I was so excited when I found this blog! She has done several challenges and many many have completed or "graduated" as she puts it. Want to join in? the schedule is there on her blog.

Have a great start to a wonderful week in Jesus,
Dani Joy

Starting anew on Monday

My desire was to get up early and get my walking/jogging in first thing, ending my walk at the part of town where they run with the bulls through the streets. We are in day 3 of 4 days of town fiesta days and each morning they run the bulls through the streets to the bull ring where they have a bullfight later on in the day. I woke at 7 am when my husband stirred but then must have fallen asleep again immediately because the next thing I knew it was almost 9 and he had already left for work. The bulls run at aprox 9:30 and I wanted to get more workout in than just 15 or 20 minutes, and did not want to be just starting the workout after the bull running was done. So I did the C25K program for today and kept walking quite aways to bring me to 1 hour and 15 min this morning. I will set the alarm for tomorrow so I can get both things in ... I like to take pictures of the bull running to share when we are in the States on furlough.

Exercise -- +2

Food:
Breakfast - bran flakes with raisin and semiskim milk, juice +3
Lunch - chicken parmesan with potato wedges (not fried), water +1 (chicken was frozen patties so not the best and was fried in oil before adding the sauce and cheese)
Dinner - lettuce and tomato salad, watermelon +3

Snacks - banana, wheat crackers, peaches +3

post +1

Total: +13

Sunday Update

Wish I could count this as a free day but since I didn't see that option in the rules for Nix the Fix, I will fess up and take my deductions.

It is Sunday and I am not feeling good (coming down with a nasty cold) so I didn't do much today but go to church and rest.

Food Never seem to make time to eat breakfast at home on Sundays. When I was buying donuts at the bakery for my husband's SS class, I got a "trenza" for myself for breakfast. It is a braided roll with sugar on top. -2

Lunch I did get some meat in the crockpot before I left for church. Microwave baked some red skin potatoes and made peas to go with it. Picked the smallest potatoes for me and went very light on the butter. Skipped the sour cream. +3

Snack while walking to the car from church banana +1

Dinner Had peanut butter sandwich made with small slices of whole wheat bread +1

Evening snack my hubby and daughter made frosted brownies. I had managed to resist snacking on candy and chocolate earlier in the day when the family was raiding the stash but decided the warm brownies were worth the penalty. -2

snack I don't drink enough milk normally but I had a glass of lowfat milk tonight +1

I thought about starting the next week of C25K but ended up just staying on the couch all afternoon/evening. I hope I am able to breath better tomorrow and plan to do it first thing in the morning. I need the points and I need the activity.

Total for the day: +2

Saturday update

Food: Breakfast -- poached eggs on whole wheat bread, juice
Lunch -- The kids had pepperoni and cheese on Spanish bread but I bought myself a whole wheat roll and filled it with turkey. Water to drink
Dinner -- I wasn't feeling well so my hubby scrounged for supper from what we had in the fridge... Spanish sausage and scrambled eggs. I also had a slice of oatmeal bread.
Snacks: apple, almonds,

I am in the crunch time with preparations for our annual VBS and I am still translating lessons so I was stuck at the computer for most of the day -- no exercise today. :-(

Today's points: post +1 meals/snacks +10 chorizo -2 total +9

Friday Update

Today was the unofficial last day of school for my kids.Technically they have a school day Wednesday (no school mon and tues because of town fiesta days) but it is just going to be games and water games and we have told them they don't have to go if they would rather just sleep in ... they already have their report cards. After the end of the year program the AMPA (like the PTA) is in charge of setting up tables and providing snacks and soda. I was very good and did not take even one bite of the chips on the tables and wasn't going to drink anything but found a bottle of diet soda so I had a glass of that, and then water. After school (which was done by 1 pm) the kids and I got changed and I made a picnic lunch to bring with us for the rest of the day. We picked my hubby up downtown and drove over to the zoo and bought our annual family passes that will get us into the zoo, amusement park, and teleferica for free till the end of the year. We can also go to the water park near our house for just 2 euros a person on weekdays this summer. I packed turkey sandwiches on whole wheat for myself, with just a half slice of light cheese. I was smart and did not take even one corn chip that was packed in the lunch for the kids but brought red pepper slices to nibble on for a crunch. We each had a water bottle and refilled it when it was empty and walked around the zoo for a couple of hours. Then the kids talked their Dad into leaving the zoo and heading about a mile down the road to the amusement park where we walked around and rode a few rides for another couple hours. In all, we were walking around the 2 parks for about 6 hours. I think I will just count 1.5 hours. My hubby decided to go to Pizza Hut for supper and I did not notice that I could have bought a salad for myself until after we had our pizza. There was no option for diet soda so I will have to lose a couple points because I drank some regular Pepsi as that was all we had.

Today's points: exercise +30, meals +6 snacks (plums, pepper strips, nuts) +3 pizza, Pepsi -4 post +1
Total +36

Journal - June 17th

Hello my Inspirational Friends!
How has your week been? I have been loving that school is "out"! The kids and I get out and they ride their bikes and I ride the scooter (to keep up) mostly every morning and then hubby and I get our evening walk!
Goals:
exactly the same =(
Measurements:
Weight +1
Bust -.25
Chest same
Waist -.25
Hips same
R Arm same
L Arm +.25
R Thigh same
L Thigh +.25
Total 0

Food points: total wash ... Wed. breakfast- healthy +1, Pepsi -1, Lunch - healthy +1, fries -1, Dinner - healthy +1, ice cream sandwich -1. total for the day 0 (right?) Thursday -2 already!
It's good to remember these points, though. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll be doing better. =)

Have a great week!

Dani Joy´s Nix the Fix day 1 - Involvement!

I am soooo excited about the involvement I see! It seems that many of you are jumping on the extra points. How fun! It is motivating isn´t it?

Today, I started out so well. Had wasa crackers with soft cheese, half a banana, and my coffee. And lunch too was good lean pork, veggies, and a couple of potatoe wedges. 2 good snacks, cherries, and some sugar free chocolate. But by the afternoon, I bought the boys some candy and had one in my mouth without thinking. uhhhgg. they were my favorite licorice. -2  Then I had a small piece of home baked fresh white sub bread with my omelet. -2  Soo, my food points are 8 today.

My exercise was really exciting. My men got on their bikes while I jogged. It was so fun. Joseph biked the route with me. (pictured above) This helps me so much. Walked home. total of 43 min. Then I got home and did 17 minutes of ab workout. There´s my hour.

Be encouraged ladies. Exercise profits little as the Bible says ,but discipline is so important. Spiritual Food, and  exercise along with physical food and exercise. Let´s get it all in balance.

Welcome to the challenge Hannah and Esther. I hope you really enjoy the blog and have a wonderful fitness journey for life!

Sweatin it,
Dani Joy

Hi Every one!

Thanks for the encouraging extra points this week. I didn't see the point counter worksheet and got it from my daughter Gen this morning. Our friend Hannah just joined the blog and told Gen she exercises 90 minutes each day. This motivated Gen and I along with my oldest son to walk our normal 30 minute course twice. I was so tired after the second walk that I said I was done for the day, but after sitting here at the computer I may be able to do another 30 minutes later when it gets a little cooler. Thanks Hannah, Gen and Dani Joy for your encouragement!

A little humor to motivate us

Here's a little comic to make you smile .... I love the fact that I am not just trying to lose weight by a certain date to win a prize, but I am trying to develop a habit of healthy choices that will allow me to not only reach my goal weight but MAINTAIN it for the long haul.