Spring is here!  We have had a busy few weeks.  School activities, church activities.   Bible study is coming to a close and boy has it been good!  We have our huge brunch on Thursday.  It is a feast and so delightful.  Such a terrific group of women that are seeking and growing a relationship with Jesus.

With summer coming I thought it would be fun to share tips and ideas for getting in shape, not only physical but spiritually too.   So whenever you see the logo above you will know that’s what we are chatting about.  I just want to toss out what has worked for me.  I am in no way certified, hold no degree’s and do not have any credentials behind my name.  I am just a gal that struggled with her weight, lost the weight (with lots of hard work and lifestyle change) and has maintained the weight.  I also have found that when I am out of bible study, because most studies take a summer break,  I tend to fall into pits.  With that said, let’s share!

First, I want to tell you that I am looking at new habits to toss into my daily schedule.  I don’t want to take things away cold turkey because I know I will fail, but if I implement a new good habit, maybe the old will fade. 

1.  Start drinking more water.  I am an ice tea drinker.  Not sweet tea, I use Truvia.   So I bought a new water bottle and drink 3 bottles a day.  Cut down on my coffee too.

2.  Start a summer bible study.  This is will be a new adventure.  I am going to host and it will be in the evening so dad’s can be with kids.  Gotta stay in God’s word.  It is crucial to our spiritual health and growth.

3.  I have started making smoothies in the afternoon to curb my munchies.  I like to toss in a scoop of protein, good for your muscles.  I found this website with tons Smoothy Recipe’s and this site for other skinny recipes.

4.  Sign up for a 5k.  Now, I am not an outside runner.  I can run on a treadmill but if I run outside I get horrible knee and hip pain.  So I will be briskly walking a 5k.  On the hunt for one in my area. 

5.  Resistance training with weights.  I have really come to enjoy tossing around weights.  I love to challenge myself.  Do you lift weights?  It is the best way to transform you body.   

Again, I am no expert.  I just want to share what I have learned in my journey to get healthy and stay that way. 

Have a wonderful week.  Share what you are going to do to get healthy, in your faith, nutrition and fitness!

I have had several friends and family ask me “so, what’s the secret for weight loss?”    Well here is the secret…there is no secret.  We Americans are a super size, quick fix society.  We want to take a pill or drink a “magic” shake to loose weight.  We don’t want to do anything that will cause us to be uncomfortable.  We don’t want to do the work.  Make things easy and don’t make us sweat.   Well loosing weight will take work.  The calculation is easy for weight loss.  Burn more calories than you eat.  We need to get up and get moving.  We need to change our eating habits.  Change our lifestyle.  Make living healthy a lifestyle!  I have had to make BIG changes.  I am more cautious of what I eat.  Whole grains, fruit, veggies, lean meats, chicken and now more fish.  I have cut out most processed foods.  I run 5 days a week and lift weights every other day.  I attend a fitness class that mixes it up.  We do kickboxing, boot camp, strength training. 

You see, you have to keep things fun.  Make your “workouts” fun.  Try a new class.  Ask a friend or spouse to join you.  Set some goals and strive for them. Have an accountability partner to keep you on track.   Have your kids help you grocery shop and explain why junk food is bad for you.  Have your family help you cook.  Use it as a teaching time.  We need to remember that we are setting examples for our kids.  They are our next generation and we want them to be healthy.  

Challenge yourself this week.  Start with small goals and see what happens when you achieve them!  Make the change….Live Healthy!!

We are coming to the summer season.  Some of us are excited and some of us cringe thinking about shorts, tank tops and the dreaded swimsuits.  I know for me my weight loss journey has been an adventure. 

I have become addicted to the reality show, The Biggest Loser.  I think it’s such an inspiration to many people out there.  So who do you think is gonna win.  The final two are Helen and Tara.  America is going to decide who contestant #3 is.  It’s between the father-son team, Ron and Mike.  I think that America is going to pick Mike.  I also think that Helen could win this.  It is based off of percentage of weight loss, not pounds.  Who is your pick?

I was pretty thin and in shape when my hubby and I met.  Life was good, just he and I.  Than we got married.  No, no…that is great…but the weight began to creep on.  Little bit here, little bit there.  Than, baby #1.  I gained so much weight with my first child.  I was on bed rest for 10 weeks.   I got depressed, ate and than ate some more.  Well after you have a child you are so busy being the perfect mom to that baby, you yourself go out the window. 

Than my daughter suffered her injury and we lived in a hospital for 12 weeks.  Hospital cafeteria food is NOT healthy.  There I also was depressed (for a good reason if you need one to be depressed)  and I ate.  I came home with a severely disabled child and ate some more. 

Well over the years I have ping ponged with my weight but in 2006 I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease.  This is a disease of the intestines.  Things got bad.  Two hospital visits and stays.  I did loose weight with that but it was not a healthy way to do it and it came back.  In 2007 I had a bowel resection to fix complications with my Crohn’s disease.  I lost weight again only to put some of it back on.  I joined an aerobics class at our church called:

I began to loose weight and inches.  Tammy is the instructor and she has  a passion for fitness and nutrition.  She is adorable on the inside and out.  I contribute much of my weight loss to her.  Her classes are so much FUN!!  She encourages  women in her class to press on, work hard and have fun.  She is such an inspiration.  Tammy loves Jesus and shines for him.   She offers  cardio mix, cardio kick boxing, step aerobics, strength training and  some dance (similar to zumba).  I adore this class.  It is offered twice a week and has been a blessing.  She has really encouraged me, pushed me  and become a great friend. 

In April 2008 a friend of mine invited me to go to Weight Watchers.  I told her that I would go but I knew I would not do the program.  Well…once I got there and saw how inspiring and encouraging it was I decided to give it a whirl.  I joined and fell in love with the points program.  It became a game to me.  I would take my counter to the grocery and stand figuring out points.  I attended meetings and weight was coming off.  Two pounds here, three pounds the next week.  I couldn’t believe it.  I was loosing weight.  I knew I needed to be healthy to be able to care for Natalie.  I had to be in tip top shape.  This was crucial.  This was my new goal.

In August 2008 I became a lifetime member with Weight Watchers.  This was HUGE for me.  I set a goal and achieved it.  I have lost 30 pounds and feel great.  I did have to make some changes to my life and I will be blogging about that soon.  Take a look,  

Please feel free to share.  I would love to hear about books you have read.  Exercise routines you have tried and loved or not.  Recipes.  Anything that worked for you or didn’t work for you.    Looking forward to chatting about this for a few days.  Summer is right around the corner!!!  Oh, and go ahead and throw out who you think is gonna be the next Biggest Loser!!