6 Week Fitness Challenge - Complete!

Results for week 6

• Sunday - 15,549 steps, 48 min exercise
• Monday - 12,192 Steps, 75 min exercise
• Tuesday - 22,158 Steps, 96 min exercise   
• Wednesday - 17,129 Steps, 95 min exercise
• Thursday - 22,108 steps, 130 min exercise (watched Washington beat Standford!)
• Friday - 19,014 steps, 81 min exercise (more College Football - BYU)
• Saturday -24,665 steps, 136 min exercise (Oregon vs Washignton St)

Major Achievements

• I made it a point to walk on the treadmill every evening.
• I learned that my treadmill will stop once it reaches 99 minutes and 59 seconds.
• Started a program and completed it! 6 weeks of exercise everyday!

Weight Loss

• 2 pounds for a total of 15!

Next week:
Even though the Fitness Challenge is over I will continue to work towards my goal. 15 pounds is a great start and I'm super excited that I stuck with it for 6 weeks.

• I'm not tracking actual steps anymore - but I will make it a point to exercise everyday for 45 minutes
• I'm walking in the "Race for a cure" breast cancer walk on Sunday morning in Denver. It should be a lot of fun and I can't wait.

Are y'all still with me? Are you working towards your goals? How are they coming?

Week 5 (One to go)

Results

• Sunday - 11,687 steps, 60 min exercise
• Monday - 12,934 Steps, 30 min exercise
• Tuesday - 20,968 Steps, 70 min exercise   
• Wednesday - 11,999 steps, 30 min exercise
• Thursday - 22,527 steps, 97 min exercise
• Friday - 16,942 steps, 110 min exercise
• Saturday -25,326 steps, 240 min exercise

Major Achievements

• It was a rough and very busy week at work. I did manage to exercise everyday!

Weight Loss

• 3 pounds for a total of 13

Next week:
I really need to kick it up this next week. I want to lose 2 more pounds this week. That will put me at 15 pounds for the 6 week challenge (my original goal).

• Continue drinking more water
• Make time for exercise 30-45 min a day
• Make time for me!

What are your goals for this next week?

Week 4 (I think)

Results

• Sunday - 11,597 steps, 60 min exercise (Walking)
• Monday - 16,882 Steps, 90 min exercise  (Kettle Bell + walking) 
• Tuesday - 16,023 Steps, 60 min exercise  (Walk / Jog 3+ miles) 
• Wednesday - 15,622 steps, 85 min exercise  (Kettle Bell + walking) 
• Thursday - 17,083 steps, 80 min exercise (Walk / Jog 3+ miles)
• Friday - 11,525 steps, 60 min exercise (Kettle Bell + walking)
• Saturday -20,003 steps, 125 min exercise (Walked while watching Standford beat USC and then the Voice)

Major Achievements

• 5k workout on Tuesday and Thursday: Walked 5 min, jogged 10 min, walked 5 min, jogged 10 min, walked 5 min, jogged 10 min, walked 5 min
• Walked 5+ miles Saturday night watching TV

Weight Loss

• 2 pounds for a total of 10

Next week:
The next 3 weeks are going to be awful at work (I'll be doing my job and covering for someone else.

• Continue drinking more water
• Make time for exercise 30-45 min a day
• Make time for me!

What are your goals for this next week?

1/2 way there...

1/2 way through the Fitness Challenge - not 1/2 way to my weight goal. I'm a little bummed - I only lost 1 pound last week bringing the total to 8 pounds. Yes, I realize that 8 pounds averaged over 3 weeks is great. It's just kind of a bummer to not see the scale move much. This week I plan to really kick it up a couple notches and see what I can.

Results
Sunday - 11,036 steps, 40 min exercise
Monday - 16,631 Steps, 112 min exercise
Tuesday - 13,362 Steps, 85 min exercise
Wednesday - 21,557 steps, 116 min exercise
Thursday - 11,435 steps, 50 min exercise
Friday - 13,575 steps, 75 min exercise
Saturday -15,046 steps, 180 min exercise

Major Achievements
Completed all 3 cicuits of the kettlebell workout Tues & Thurs

Weight Loss
1 pound

Next week:
Continue drinking more water
Exercise 45 min a day
Jog / Walk atleast 2 miles everyday
Kettlebell workout MWF
What are your goals for this next week?

Week 2 down... (UPDATE)

Wow - another week has gone by. Last week I challenged myself to drink more water and exercise 45 minutes a day.

Updates in blue.

I LOVE myfitnesspal.com
It is awesome and helps me track everything I eat. I have the program on my phone, Kindle, and use it online. The phone app has a bar code scanner - just scan the bar code and it will enter all the nutritional info. The database has lots of restaurant meals. When we go out to eat - I look at the menu, put in what I *think* I want and decide if its ok or worth the extra workouts...

Results
Sunday - 11,390 steps, 60 min exercise
Monday - 11,772 Steps, 65 min exercise
Tuesday - 14,832 Steps, 95 min exercise
Wednesday - 13,202 steps, 80 min exercise
Thursday - 16,340 steps, 155 min exercise
Friday - 11,152 steps, 55 min exercise
Saturday -15,662 steps, 85 min exercise (walked on the treadmill during the 1st part of the duck game - until it got too hard to txt Daniel and walk)

Major Achievements
Drank at least 9 glasses of water everyday
No soda this week
No headaches - not tired - feeling great

Weight Loss
I usually weigh myself Monday AM at the Fitness Center at work. I'll post an update tomorrow after I get into the office. I started with that scale, so I want to be consistent.

Down a total of 7 pounds in two weeks. I'm hoping I can keep loosing 2 pounds a week. Things have been going so well, I'm expecting a plateau at some point soon - that just means working out harder/longer.

Next week:
Continue drinking more water
Exercise 45 min a day
Do all 3 circuits of my Kettle Bell workout at least two days

Something to think about...

As you go through out the day think about this:

Are you sitting when you could be standing?
Are you standing when you could be walking?
Are you walking when you could be jogging or running?

6 Week Wellness Challenge

Work is having a 6 week wellness / fitness challenge. I figured - "Hey why not, I'll give it a shot... again."

• I got a group of gals together and formed a team. (Support group)
• I've set my goals for the 6 weeks. (Lose 10 pounds)
• Set my reward. (1/2 spa day)

I'm taking things one step at a time. This week I focused on exercising more (making time for it) and eating better. I didn't set hard boundaries of how many times a week to exercise or how many calories. I just made a conscious effort to eat better and move more.

Tools I used to help me:

• www.myfitnesspal.com
• bodybugg

Results

Steps on Sunday - 13160

Steps on Monday - 13310

Steps on Tuesday - 9446

Steps on Wednesday- 12511

Steps on Thursday- 16317

Steps on Friday - 14716

Steps on Saturday - 11629

Major Achievements

Only 1 can of Pepsi (NO Super Big Gulp Pepsi Vanilla)

Lunch / Dinner at Golden Corral (no rolls or desserts - ate lots of salad)

Next week:

Focus on drinking more water

Exercise 45 min a day

SPRING - it's not just for cleaning!

Spring is here. I just love it, although in Oregon the weather doesn't really change much from winter (it still keeps raining). But to me it's a time of new beginnings. It's as good as New Years for starting something new. This is the time our walking picks up, and I feel more energetic. And some days you get to get out and enjoy some sunshine.

Welcome Spring! (Hope everyone is still working on things.)

Chicken Soup for the Soul

I signed up again for Spark People - lasted about a week.
I went to Curves - haven't quite made it through the trial week.

But, I'm a reader so I got a book -- Chicken Soup for the Soul--
Shaping the New You -- I love the stories. They make me
laugh and cry, and I've already seen myself in many of them.

I guess the key is to start with what you enjoy, and for me
that is reading. If you enjoy it, you'll stick with it. I'm sure
it will provide more direction for me along the way.

Good luck everyone - hope you are sticking with it.

Becky

p.s. loved your valentine's day savenger hunt, elizabeth!

The Finish Line

Back in December of 1992 there was an article in the New Era featuring Michael. This was a follow-up type article to one written in Sept of 1988 about Coos Bay and the youth.  As I was reading this article again, I thought how true it was. There are general steps we can all take in everything we do. If you feel like reading the article, the link is here:  http://www.lds.org/new-era/1992/12/the-finish-line?lang=eng.

Here are the “CLUES”:

• Stick with it.
• Listen to those who know best. And work hard.
• After you do the best you can, support those ahead of you.
• Try, you never know what you can do until you try.
• Stick to your standards.
• Sometimes you have to put up with jobs you don’t like to earn the goal you do want.
• Finish the race.

I did it...

Well I did it. I signed up for a St. Patrick's day 5k. I'll be jogging it with a friend from work.  We'll be far behind another friend - but we'll be there.  Mandy and I completed our Week 1 Workout 1 today. We have 3 workouts / training sessions each week for 9 weeks. We can do this!

My only goal is to complete the full training sessions and to complete the 5k without walking (a slow jog is acceptable - maybe even a crawl... but no walking.) I'll use this 5k as a baseline for the Arbor day 5k in April and the "Longest Day" 5k in June. I'm actually pretty excited.

So Laurie, if you read this, I need a recommendation for a good running shoe. I don't need anything too fancy. I have a pair of everyday tennis shoes that I use for running. Maybe new shoes will help with the motivation.

If it is to be...it's up to me!

If it is to be, it's up to me. I love this quote and it is so true. Just think about this for a minute.

If I am going to lose weight, no one can do it for me. It's up to me.
If I am going to organize my house, no one will do it for me. It's up to me.
If I am going to exercise, no one is going to do it for me. It's up to me.
If I am going to cheat, no one will know. That too is up to me.

We can get help by way of encouragement and we all need that every day but in the end if we want to do something chances are, no one is going to do it for us. We have to do it our self. This is what is keeping me going for the time being anyway.

I don't know when we are going to move, but I know we are going to and we keep saying we are going to get rid of A LOT of unnecessary junk. I really don't need to take all this extra junk in the way of weight with me so I better get busy.

Attitude

I've already started implementing my word (Change) by changing my word. My new word is "ATTITUDE". After spending the last 3 weeks at home going back to work was suppose to be fun and exciting. I was ready for the New Year - bring it on! Within 4 hours I had all I could take.  My head was throbbing, people were ticking me off, and I was ready quit. "Take this job and shove it" didn't seem strong enough. On the way home I was thinking about how I could possibly make it another day. 


I'm always telling the kids (esp MaKenna) to check their attitude and watch their attitude... I need to take this same advice. We've made signs and posted them by the door that say "Attitude is Everything". 

• Attitude is a little thing that makes a BIG difference.
• If you can’t change your fate – change your attitude.
• Life is 10% what you get and 90% how you take it.
• The happiest people do not have the best of everything – they make the best of everything they have.
• Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure.
• The only difference between a bad day and a good day is your Attitude.
• Ability is what you are capable of. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.
• A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. (Love this one!)

What Are You Looking For

So, sisters of mine, and daughters as well just what are you looking for in this blog? What do you want to see and is there anything special you want to learn? Do you want to report weight loss and gain? Do you want quotes or links to websites on dieting? Do you want photos? Just what would you like to see? Let me know and I will try to make it happen. As best I can anyway. Thanks for your help.

My Word For 2012...

I, like Elizabeth love the idea of the word for the year. Thank you Laurie for the suggestion and for starting us off. We did this several times in Relief Society but I never thought about doing it here. DUH!!!
I have given this a lot of thought since reading Laurie's post and Elizabeth's comment and I have decided that my word for 2012 will be "COMMITMENT". Here are a few of my reasons, in no particular order:

1) Commitment to myself. To get healthy and lose all that weight again. I have done it before and with every one's help and of course the Lord's help as well I can do it again.

2) Commitment to family. I want to be a better wife, mother, grandmother, sister and aunt. I need to be better as an example and put family first.

3) Commitment to serve. I am going to be a better Sunday School teacher and try as Calvin says to learn to love the teenagers (yuck) that I have been called to teach. I am also going to be a better visiting teacher and do what is asked of me to do outside my calling.

I think 3 major "changes" and the "calmness" that will come from working on these three areas will make a big difference for the better in my life. I am sure there are more areas I need to work on but 3 seem overwhelming right now.

NOW what is your word for the year?

First Things First...

Some very sweet person came in and updated this blog with a beautiful rose background. Thanks so much. It is beautiful and I for one love it. I am guessing it was Laurie, but it could also have been Elizabeth. Whoever the sweetie was I thank you.

What's your word?

I have a friend who, starting this year, is done making New Year's Resolutions.  She is tired of making the same goals and then falling short and feeling bad about it.  Instead, she is adopting, from another friend, a one word theme to live by for the year.  The word she chose is Purpose (if you'd like to read exactly what she has to say, just click HERE.)  I'm not a big fan of resolutions, mostly because I've never made them and wouldn't even really know where to start, however, this one word mantra seemed like a good idea for me.  It's something that I can focus on and apply to many aspects of my life and hopefully when the year is over I can look back and realize that my word made a difference.  Today, I chose my word and wrote it on the chalkboard in my kitchen.  My word is CALM.

I wanted a word that was positive and peaceful... a reminder of the way I'd like to be.  The thing I didn't expect was how it would affect my kids, who, since reading it on the chalkboard have been trying to be calmer (if only this would last, ha ha).

I'm not saying that resolutions and goals are bad or should be replaced, but I just thought I'd throw another idea into the mix.  You could pick absolutely any word... just something to reflect on day to day and apply to your life.  A few suggestions:  Strong.  Healthy.  Happy.  Patient.  Love.  Complete... really the options are limitless.  If you decide to pick a word, feel free to share it with your loved ones, share it on here or keep it to yourself, just make sure to reflect on it daily and attempt to become a better you by applying it to your life.  Hope your new year is off to a great start, be happy & healthy and be your best you.

DRINK. SMART

You probably think I am talking about sodas or booze. WRONG... I am talking about water. Yes, it is important to drink 8-10 glasses of water each day. But drink it throught out the day. Yesterday, I drank 6 large glasses of water in about 3 hours, just before going to bed. You guessed it, I was up going to the bathroom about every 90 minutes through out the night. On the good side, I did lose 4 pounds.
Just use common sense in whatever plan you choose.

My Compass for Weight Loss 2012

Okay, so here is my corny idea for 2012. I'm using a compass - N-S-E-W, for my weight loss tracking.

N is for nutrition. Each day I'll track what I've eaten. My goals are to cut back on fast food, and later (when I've got things in line a little better) I'll start tracking calories.
S is for SUGAR. My biggest weight loss problem area. Each day I'll track whether or not I've eaten any sweets (candy, cookies, cake, ice cream). This will probably be the hardest area for me to work on.
E, of course, is for exercise. I don't intend to work out every day, but my goal is to exercise five days a week. After I lose 25 pounds, I'm going to look into a personal trainer (maybe once a month, haven't really thought this part out completely-it's a little ways off), so I can add different types of exercise in addition to my walking.
W is for water. My best weight loss results have come when I'm drinking more water, so I'm going to track my water consumption every day.

A little corny, but it's something different and maybe that's just what I need. And, it will be easy to track N-S-E-W.

Good luck in 2012, everyone.

STYLES: THINK OF YOURSELVE IN 2012!

1st: Yes, I know Yourselve isn't a real word - but it rhymes with twelve...

I agree with Becky - we need this blog again. Maybe we each take turns posting status updates, tips, help, etc.

Here's mine...
It's January 1st - again, and we all know that means time to set new goals and dream of a great year to come. Then typically on the 2nd of January - we get bummed out because we broke our resolutions or didn't get the start we wanted on our goals. I for one am going to skip all that mess with the 2nd or 3rd of January. I plan to start mid next week. Not on the 1st of the month and not on a Monday. So... 1-10-12 is the magic day for me. This gives me time to get the kids back in school, get my exercise "plan" worked out, work on menu's, go to the grocery store, Rose Bowl party is over, etc. I need time to think of every excuse about why I "can't" and then work out a plan so that I "CAN".

According to one website, the 5 most common resolutions made for New Year Day are:

1. Lose weight and/or get fit 
2. Quit smoking and/or drink less 
3. Save more money and/or get out of debt 
4. Spend more time with family and friends 
5. Get more organized. 

Those seem pretty typical and I've probably had everyone of them at some point - well except number 2.

My goals for 2012 -
1.  I really really want to lose 30'ish pounds.
2.  I want to be in better shape for the Warrior Dash in August. (Now that I read that... Goals #1 and #3 are realistic and measurable. Goal 2 is not really measurable. What does "better shape" mean?
New Goal #2 - Complete the Warrior Dash (5K) in 40 minutes or less.
3.  I want to apply for at least one new job. (This means updating my resume and getting off the fence...)

What are your goals? When is a realistic date to start? Ya know, the date that you have time to prepare for and get everything ready for with no excuses?

Happy New Year

Yvonne,

We need you back here! Liisa and I want to get started again with the New Year! We really need your help.

Thanks to Elizabeth, too, for all the motivational quotes.