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Who is ready to watch a family friendly movie this weekend? I am! I’m excited to share with you about my friend, Candace Cameron Bure’s new movie, “Finding Normal”! It premiers Saturday, May 18th at 7,9, and 11pm EST on GMC (Gospel Music Channel). They will also be showing it on Sunday, May 19th at those same times if you are busy Saturday night!

Here’s a little bit about it!

Dr. Lisa Leland is a brilliant surgeon with absolutely no bedside manner. She is leaving her practice at UCLA Hospital to move to the Hamptons where she will join her boyfriend as a concierge doctor, treating the rich and famous. As she drives cross-country to her new life she hits a tractor in Normal, North Carolina and her BMW is wrecked. Dr. Leland is found guilty of speeding and ordered to do community service – as a doctor – in Normal, population 332. In a town with no wi–fi, no lattes and no credit cards, Lisa Leland begins to find herself and discovers what a meaningful life is all about.

And if you’d rather see her talk about it, check out this video of Candace on “The Today Show” earlier this week!

(Email/RSS readers click here!)

I can’t wait to see it! She was updating us often during the filming of it in January (via her facebook and twitter accounts) so I’m looking forward to seeing the final product! (Here is her summary of filming it from her blog at candacecameronbure.net)

And some fun pics from her instagram account!

Give a shout out if you think you can watch it this weekend!

“Clare, this company will take everything out of you. The more you feed it, the more it wants. You have to figure out YOUR limits and stop feeding the beast.”

It was a conversation I had with a co-worker years ago when I was working in corporate America. I was in a department that had gone through it’s shares of ups and downs. We had gone through a layoff and I was one of the few left to manage an overabundance of work, to say the least. I have a tendency to be a workaholic and since there was a ton of work, I was working all the time (This was before I was married and with kids). After 2 weeks of driving home in tears, I realized that something had to change. God sent that conversation with my co-worker to me soon after and it was an eye opening moment. I never realized the power my job had over me. I felt enslaved to it and when I was told that it was MY CHOICE to create the parameters of what I did, then I felt relief and freedom.

♥♥♥

I tell you this story because I feel like we are all really good at feeding the beast. The beast looks a little different for each of us, but we all have one. Many times we don’t realize that we are doing it, yet wonder why we feel so enslaved to something. Some things in our lives will take and take from us, never giving us reprieve. We keep feeding it, many times, because we don’t even realize we are doing so and other times because it’s the only thing we know what to do. It takes a hard stop and intentionality to move away from it.

Not sure what I mean by feeding the beast? I consider a beast something that is never satisfied (in a negative way) and has control over your life (in a negative way). Here are some examples I’ve had from various emails from you of real life circumstances.I could expand on each of these but that would take me 3 posts! I think you get my point. :)

Physical:

- The beast of a sweet tooth

- The beast of laziness/procrastination

Emotional:

- The beast of  approval

- The beast of apathy

- The beast of pride

Relational:

- The beast of toxic-ness (is that a word?!)

- The beast of comparison

HOW we feed each of these beasts look a little different for everyone. Maybe it’s lingering on the dessert page of pinterest, watching that reality tv show that displays everything you want on it, scheduling every minute of the day, or staying in a dating relationship just a little too long. Remember–none of these things in and of themselves are bad or wrong, but in the context of the beast in your life you may need to reconsider.

♥♥♥

3 Steps to Defeat Your Beast 

- Determine your beast(s)

Not sure what they are? Refer to some of the ones listed above or think through what ties you down emotionally and mentally. Ask someone close to you who you trust. What are you enslaved to that is not bringing freedom?

“for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him” 2 Peter 2:19

- Note your triggers

Once I resolved to stop feeding the beast of work, I needed to know what would trigger me to slide back into it. I knew that as soon as I had a pile of folders on top of my desk, that my natural tendency was to kick into overdrive. I had to step back at that moment, take a breath, and reevaluate. This is where it starts getting hard. It’s where we have to look at some things that have always been our “normal” and kick them to the curb.

- Stop feeding it (snacks included!)

Do you want to know the quickest way to stop a beast from growing? Stop feeding it…now. Stop with the small snacks, too. The more taste he gets in his mouth, the more the beast wants. He may seem happy at one point, but give him some time and you’ll be back at it.  Turn around. Walk away. Quit feeding it. Just do it.

I want to end by saying that if you are feeding a beast all day, every day, it means you aren’t feeding anything else. You are consumed by this problem that has a never-ending appetite and other areas are malnourished. Oh friends, I want nothing more than for you to be FREE of things that enslave and chain you. I know what it’s like to be in that spot and it’s a fight that I am often engaged in, however, it is so worth the struggle because at the end of the fight you have freedom and abundant life!

Please don’t try to do this alone. A hungry beast has a loud roar and a scary presence. He can cause us to do things we never imagined ever doing. You need a real life friend to keep you in check but also remember, you have the ONE living inside of you who has stomped on death and has already won! Reach out, hang out, and let the Ultimate Satisfier fill your need!

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may  have life, and have it to the full” John 10:10

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Do you have a beast in your life that is never satisfied? Would you mind sharing below? If you have gained victory over a beast, I’d love to hear about it too! Please share whatever God may lay on your heart! I will be praying for all you specifically who note something below!

Oh I’ve got another great product review for you! Introducing, “The Slide Effect“! It’s sort of like a Total Body Gym/Pilates/TRX system rolled into one! I am a big fan of using resistance cords/bands in workouts and this fitness product puts them together in a unique way!

First off, here’s what you get when you order one:

Now to see how it works. Check out this 2 minute video from their website!

Here is what I LOVE about this product:

- The Size

It doesn’t take up a ton of room and it is easily transportable! So you can move your workout depending on where you need to be. If you travel, this would be a great option for you to take to hotels (or long family weekends away!) too!

- The Variety of Exercises

I love that you can complete upper body, lower body, and core exercises with one piece of equipment. The beauty of it is that on many of the exercises, you hit more than one area. Score!

- It’s adjustable to meet your needs!

Since you make your own adjustments with the resistance cord, anyone can do this. So if you aren’t as strong with your lower body, then you can lighten it up. If you need more resistance for upper, then you can change that!

- Helpful Resources: 3 DVDs, a workout guide, and a nutrition guide

You get 3 DVDs that will take you through 3 different types of exercises ( Full Body 360, Cardio Burn, and Mind & Muscle Connection) along with a workout guide that shows you different types of exercises and gives you a sample weekly program using this system! I thought that was pretty cool. The nutrition guide is also super helpful as it gives you some basics along with some great recipes!

And in the spirit of total honesty with a review, here are a few drawbacks:

- Cord adjustment can be difficult

While I LOVE that it uses a resistance cord, it is a little hard to figure out exactly what level you should be using on each exercise. There aren’t any numbers to note where you are so you have to eyeball, try it, then eyeball again. Since it’s one long cord, you have to make sure you have both sides even and if that gets off then that’s confusing too! I think the more you use it, the better off you would get, but if you get easily frustrated, this may bother you

- The wheels on the omni- directional handles aren’t always the smoothest

This is a great challenge if you are someone who is stronger, as the moving wheels provide an additional workout, but if you are a beginner, you may get frustrated with these handles.

I think this system would be really good to introduce to your children if you are wanting them to get into working out, but don’t want them at a gym, or lifting heavy weights.  I personally loved doing the pilates and yoga routines with this! Such great core and hip training! If you are a trainer or group fitness instructor, I think this would be a useful piece of equipment to incorporate during a circuit station. Very easy to transport to and from your class!

You interested in buying one? Check out their website here. Great price point and worth the money!

Disclaimer: I received this product for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Have you heard of “bottom of the jar” recipes? I first heard about them from Rachael Ray. You can find quite a few recipes out there to make use of those little remnants left in the bottom of your jars! You all know that I love my nut butters–but the thing about nut butter (especially almond) is that it isn’t the cheapest thing out there! I want to get every last drop out of that jar, so one  morning I came up with this recipe!

Obviously this is only a one use type of thing, so first come, first serve with that nut butter jar. Hurry–go grab it before someone else does!

You can play around with the ingredients in here. There’s no right or wrong, so have fun with it!

Bottom of the {nut} butter Jar Oatmeal

Ingredients:

- Nearly empty {nut butter} jar

- Oatmeal

- Almond Milk (or milk of choice)

- Chopped Apple (or fruit of choice)

- Cinnamon

Make oatmeal per package instructions. After it’s cooked and still warm, spoon into your nut butter jar. Add your chopped apples, almond milk and cinnamon to the increments you like! Stir all together, scraping the sides and crevices of the nut butter jar and EAT!

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There are lots of other “bottom of the jar” recipes out there. What are some that you use?

I had heard about Quest protein bars in my fitness circles for a few months so when they contacted me to review them, I was ecstatic! I am all about finding great products that I can use for myself and recommend to you!

I got this mega shipment and it took everything I had to not tear into them. Haha. I love trying new products, especially ones that have a nutritional label that matches what I look for!

Protein bars and shakes are a very convenient way to replenish. Eating real, whole food would be my first choice for you in regards to protein replenishment, but let’s be honest. We don’t always have a well timed meal ready for us and if you are like me, my workouts are in between a million other things that I’m doing in the day. Grab and go is my middle name! :)

I’ve tried quite a few protein bars. Some I get from the grocery story, others from health stores. We all have different criteria for what makes a “good” protein bar. Mine include quality ingredients, high protein count, low sugar count, taste and price point.

Quest has 2 lines of protein bars–the “original” and “all natural”. The original line has sucralose in it and if you’ve followed me for any amount of time, you know that I don’t eat foods with it in it. So, I chose the natural line that has stevia in it! So glad that they give us these options! Here is a comparison of 2 of their bars from both of their lines.

The flavors for the all natural line (of which I tried) are:

- Coconut Cashew (my FAVORITE)

- Strawberry Cheesecake

- Cinnamon Roll

- Lemon Cream Pie

- Chocolate Peanut Butter

Don’t these sound yummy? I think your sweet tooth for totally be satisfied if you had one of these!

The texture/consistency of these bars are different than others that you may have. They aren’t “grainy” like many others out there. You can microwave them which will really soften them up! I know many people who take them and crumble them on top of their night treats, like ice cream or yogurt! Yum! I usually ate them just as they were right out of the package.

The only negative that I found was the aftertaste. Both my husband and I felt that they had a little bit of that but it wasn’t anything that lasted long and it was still worth eating the bar!

I can’t wait to try these peanut butter cups! I just pinned a recipe using them!

WHERE can you get these?

You can order them online, or check local stores for them! (Most GNC’s carry them) Price point: around $2.00 each

Disclaimer: I received this product for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

I am a monthly contributor to a site called The Better Mom. It is such a great resources for all you mamas (and dare I say, those of you who aren’t mamas, too!) I posted a 15 minute full body workout on it a few weeks ago and have a new post about Mother’s Day Gifts today!

Please be sure to check out what I got for mother’s day last year and some suggestions for you!

(And here’s the link to the 15 minute full body workout from a few weeks ago!)

We’ve hit our 20th Shed & Share story! Holla! I am so thankful for every single one of you who’ve shared your story. I love that there are all ages and different phases of life in them. Today, we are going to meet Beth. I am so thrilled that she decided to open up because she has a wonderful message!

{The Basics}

Age: 56

Profession: Administrative Assistant

How long have you been on this weight loss journey? Since June 2008

Weight Loss: 70 lbs.  -  From a women’s plus size 22 to a misses 14/16

Other medical: No more migraines! Menopause was a lot easier! Cholesterol from 285 to 219

Facebook: www.facebook.com/itcbeth

{Your Story}

What was your “low point”?

My mother died suddenly the night before my 31^st birthday and I steadily gained weight after that. I am an emotional eater.  At one point I was over 250lbs. I yo-yoed the same 20 lbs for 20 years. In 2007 I turned 50, a few months later my first grandchild was born. It was unbelievable the amount of effort it took to get in and out of a car or get up from the floor after playing with my grandson. I was so ashamed of the pictures taken with me holding my new grandbaby. In 2008 one of our sons was getting married and coming back to our hometown for a reception. I would be meeting his bride’s family and friends and of course, more pictures! How did I let myself get like this?

How did you get started?

The 20 years of eating through my pain had brought about an unhealthy obsession with food that needed to change. The internet is a wealth of good information. I searched diet plans and nutritional facts about food. My obsession with food was becoming a healthy habit. I found online communities with daily food logs that were very helpful to keep track of how much I was eating. There were web sites with nutritional information that helped me make better choices with the food that is most available. My husband was very supportive in my efforts to change our eating habits. He has never had the weight problems that I had but he agreed that for his health, he needed to change what he was eating.

About this same time, my pastor was seeing the effects of his congregation being overweight and malnourished. He was making hospital calls that almost always came from poor nutrition and being overweight. The Huntington WV area of which I live had just been named the unhealthiest city of the US by the Center of Disease Control. With all the love in his heart, our pastor spoke to us about the need to honor God with the way we treated our bodies. He used Romans 12:1-2 as one of the key verses in his sermon. He challenged us to join others in our church and change our health habits. TV Chef Jamie Oliver heard of our pastor’s plea and featured our church in one of his TV show’s “Food Revolution”. Soon after, our city started making changes and so was I!

My first 5k was while I was still at my heaviest. I walked in a community fund raiser and felt like a big old turtle huffin and puffin to get to the finish line. But I made it! Soon after, I started walking every chance I got. When the grandchildren came to visit, we would always go for a walk, even in the cold weather. My husband and I enjoyed taking walks in the evening and getting to know each other again.

Beth’s first 5K! Love her spirit! 

The year 2008 was the beginning of me becoming me again. I met weekly with a group at church where we discussed the Biblical reasons for keeping your body as healthy as possible. We also spent time exercising and going over nutrition. The leaders of this class encouraged walking/running as good cardio as well as strength training and playing games that kept our hearts racing. As the pounds started dropping the walking turned into running. At my age, maybe trotting is a better word for it. But I did trot my way through a half marathon last November. I can’t describe the thankfulness of being able to overcome the weight I had gained and to actually run a half marathon!

What is your workout routine and eating plan?

I have to admit, I occasionally eat chips and salsa or potato chips on a down day. But those days are less often and the majority of the time our meals are full of vegetables and lean protein. I eat a lot of soups with beans, chicken and veggies or salads. Breakfast is usually what my grandson calls a peanut butter banana hotdog. I take a piece of whole wheat toast and spread 1 tablespoon of peanut butter on it and then wrap it around a small banana. The grandkids love it for a snack when they come to visit.

My workout routine consists of my husband and me going to the gym 3 days a week. I’m concentrating on strength training with nautilus machines. I’m recovering from a knee injury that has kept me sidelined most of the winter but I’m easing myself back into running again. Hopefully I can run in Marshall University’s half marathon again this fall.

{Help us!}

What are your top 3 favorite resources that helped you along the way?

1. My “Big Losers” group at church combined with the book my pastor, Steve Willis, wrote “Winning the Food Fight”.  His book is amazing and it includes all aspects of food; Biblical principles, commercialization, agriculture, family dinner time, etc.

2. Healthy nutritional websites, food logging websites such as MyFitnessPal.

3. My husband, who wants me to enjoy good health.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone who is sitting on the sidelines and waiting?

I was already 50 when I saw the shape I was in. I feel like I lost 20 years of my life. Please get up now, whether you are 30 or 70, and make a couple of small changes right now. Walk around the block, then later in the day walk around it again. Take the extra time and walk to the store or church or wherever. Take your husband and kids or grandkids with you. They need the fresh air and exercise also. Then come home and cook real food. Stir fry some chicken in a little oil and throw some vegetables in there and serve it over brown rice. It’s that simple! Then make some soup with the leftovers. You’ve just saved a ton of money and calories by making that small change.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone who is in the process but is feeling discouraged?

It’s taken me 4 years to lose 70 pounds and I’m using the next year to lose another 20. Five years sounds like a long time. It’s taken me this long because I fell off the wagon a few times in between. One year I didn’t lose any weight.When you find yourself back to your old habits, pray. Ask God to give you the desire again to change. Food can be an idol for me. I read  verses in the Bible about false idols and that usually spurs me back into eating God’s food and not processed junk with its grease and salt. Then find some new recipes that are healthy and start cooking.

If you are a parent, how have you balanced everything?

My 3 sons are now 30, 34 and 35 and we have 2 grandchildren. Even at their age, we are teaching them by our healthy habits and food choices. Occasionally we take the grandkids to a fast food restaurant but it’s not the norm. My evenings though are usually with my husband and we enjoy the gym together and walking the dogs each night. Our cabinets have a few treats but for the most part, it’s pretty raw, whole food and not much processed.

Gorgeous!! :)

Every once in a while I like to post my real life workout on here. (Here are some here, here, and here!) Many of you ask exactly what I do for my routine so it’s easier for me to lay it out on a post! (Many times I do put it on instagram so you can follow there) My arms are seriously still shaking from this workout and it’s been 6 hours!

I’ve told you before that I split my strength routine by body parts to get a more intense workout in those areas. This is not something I recommend for beginners, or even intermediate folks. (My splits are usually chest/triceps/shoulders, legs/abs, back/biceps, and then one full body day) Please remember that I’ve been at this a long time and I also do this “for fun” (haha) so I may workout totally different than what is doable for you. I also love going to a gym and to have the variety of equipment to use. Some exercises I do may not be conducive to a home or group exercise setting.

Today, I focused on chest/triceps/shoulders. I use weights between 10 and 25 pounds depending on the sets and exercise. I do the burpees in between to keep my heart rate up and help burn more calories during and after the workout.

Remember–you don’t have to workout like this! Do what you can with your phase of life and interests!

(Most exercises you can google for info, but feel free to ask if it doesn’t come up!)

♥♥♥

UPDATE: After I posted this on facebook last night, I had a few thoughts. I’d like to share them here, too!

It’s not Monday, but guess what–I’ve got a new move for you! I’ve been adding this in my routine over the past 2 months and I LOVE IT! You can do it at the gym or at home!

I’ve added this exercise in my routine in 2 ways:

1.) At the end during an ab routine

2.) As part of a fast paced weight circuit

The other day I added this in combination with pull-ups, medicine ball chest passes to the wall, wall walk-ups, and medicine ball push-ups. Let me tell you–I was sore for 2 days!

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A description of how to do it is below!

Grab one weight. (I usually use between 15-25 lbs) Go to the floor in a plank position. Place the weight ahead of you as shown above. Reach one arm up and pull it straight down (as shown below). MODIFICATION: Use a lighter weight and do this on your knees.

Grab the weight with the same hand and drag it up to the starting position. Try to keep your hips square with the floor. Use a little force to get it up there! The higher up and further down you reach, the harder this will be, so REACH! Also, the quicker you drag the weights, the harder it will be, just try not to get sloppy with them. You still want to have control.

Do all reps on this side, then go to the other side. I also like to change which way I start the exercise, so sometimes on the second set, I start it at the bottom instead of the top.

*Note: The surface you do this on will make a difference too. I prefer a thin carpet but have done it on rubberized floor (A little trickier to control) and a thin wood floor may scratch. :)

Do 2-3 sets of 6-8 pulls on EACH side

We just finished up the spring clean eating challenge. I’m sure it was an interesting experience for many of you, especially if it was the first time for you to do something like this!

I hope that you all learned a few things about yourself as you went through this week. One of my favorite sayings from John Maxwell sums it up…

Let’s evaluate, shall we?

(If you don’t want to take the time to fill this form, would you write a few notes in the comments section below?)

(Email readers, you can’t see the form, click here to go directly into the post)

Many of you may wonder how you could keep eating like that long-term as it was hard enough for 7 days. The answer is that you may not! This was a clean up—and is not meant to be like this every day for the rest of your life! (Of course, that depends on how strict you were during the challenge!)

You are now faced with a decision…what now?

- Continue on with the challenge as-is

- Continue on similar to the challenge, with some modifications

- Go back to your old ways

I personally, will make some modifications to the challenge week but will continue on pretty much as I did last week! As I mentioned before, this diet is not too far off from my normal eating. I eat clean a majority of the time and “let loose” on planned occasions. I feel that the challenge has given me back control on some areas that got a little out of hand but am not quite ready yet to introduce some things. (Remember my post about moderation?! I have to take this into consideration!) I didn’t notice how good I felt until the last 2 days of the challenge! It was amazing to get back on track, and honestly, I enjoyed knowing that I had the willpower to say no when my body was saying YES!

If you are wondering whether or not you should insert “______” into your diet, I want you to ask yourself this basic question…
“Do I have control over it, or does it still have control over me?”

If you are not able to control when and how much of whatever it is, then it is probably not a good idea for you to re-introduce it. Give yourself some more time as you break yourself from whatever it is and work on that resistance muscle. As you get stronger, you can introduce it, but introducing it too early while weak will only bring defeat.

Many of you have written to me saying how much BETTER you feel. I want you to note that this challenge had nothing to do with exercise and I kept it out this time because I wanted you to see what better, quality food choices made in your life! I also didn’t want you to be zeroed in on counting calories because I truly believe that if we are feeding ourselves with real, clean food, then the calories fall into place! (Water consumption helps here, too!)

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I would love to hear from those of you who did this challenge! Would you mind commenting below with your thoughts and maybe even answering the questions above? Is this a challenge that you would want to have on the blog again? Will you continue the challenge through this week?

The beautiful thing about having a blog is that when you are in need of something, you can reach out to those who follow you and ask if they want to join you…and that’s exactly what happened last week! When I posted that I was in need of a sugar/junk detox,I had hundreds of people agree they were on board!

The last 3 weeks for me have included birthday celebrations (that would be plural), Easter, and Easter baskets. Just as I was going to get my act together, my daughter got this 4 day virus and my days were spent on the couch eating chocolate chips and goldfish. Glamourous, I know.

So anyway–in the spirit of “spring cleaning” (because I know all of you are on top of that, right?!), we are going to be doing a little spring cleaning of our own in regards to our eating! I figure many of you who had a New Years Resolution have fallen off the bandwagon totally, or are hanging on by a thread. We are moving into warmer weather so it’s a perfect time to snap it up! (FYI–this challenge will not be focused on exercise so just keep doing what you are doing!)

Initially, I was just going to do an “empty calorie” detox, which would have included getting rid of anything that is not adding benefit to your diet, but I got inspired by this idea instead! I want to keep it simple. I don’t have time personally (or on the blog) to have things in life too complicated. And quite honestly, I think we complicate things a little too much.

So here we go on this “Spring…Clean EATing” challenge! When I think spring cleaning in my house, 3 things (at least!) come to mind. Purge, clean, and refresh so that’s the model we are going to follow for our challenge! This is only 7 days (at least the purging) so commit and get to it! There is a printable to help you out, below, so hang in here with me ’til the end!

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Choose which of these 3 you are going to commit to. You may only want to purge this week, or maybe purge and add clean foods, or finally, purge, clean, and refresh! Each of us are at different levels in our journey and will be motivated by different things. One other note–some of you may want to detox completely–meaning of dairy, caffeine, and sugar. There are programs you can find out about online if you want to do that!

PURGE:

It’s time to get rid of all the junk in your kitchen. If you must keep stuff around because your family needs it, then have them hide their stuff, or purchase things you won’t be tempted by.

CLEAN:

We are cleaning up our diet…meaning that we are going to eat foods that are not processed and in their most basic forms. So not only are we detoxing from the sugars, chips, and savory foods that we may have been eating over the past few months, but we are going to be adding healthy foods. Everyone’s definition of “clean eating” looks different and that’s ok. Do your best and if this is your first time at it, don’t get too overwhelmed!

REFRESH:

Our homes always lighten and brighten as we switch out dark winter colors and move in fresh and new during the spring. We are going to do the same! It’s time to refresh some recipes…lighten things up, add some color, refresh some old snacks with newer, cleaner ones!

In general, I’d like you to follow these guidelines:

1.) Avoid any overly processed, sugary, “empty calorie” food.

Some ideas of these things? Cereal, granola bars, alcohol, sugar filled yogurts, pop, sugary coffee drinks…the list goes on and on. If you are questioning, “Should I eat this?” The answer is probably no! Ask yourself, will this get me closer to my goal, keep me neutral, or move me away? You want something that will move you forward.

2.) We are going to refresh with water!

The general rule of thumb is to drink half of your bodyweight (in ounces) in water, (this can include unsweetened herbal teas and even some fruits and veggies you have) and I know for some of you, that is asking enough! Just aim on increasing from what you normally do. Others of you do a great job, and this week, I am going to challenge myself to drink at least a gallon a day. I am going to mark a jug like I have pictured below to help me visualize. I’ll refill my cup from there!  Keep lemon slices at the house and add it to every glass you drink.

If you do this, it will be a work in progress! This is just an eyeball of times for my day. Will probably have to adjust as the week progresses!

3.) Check in with a partner (or two or three!) once a day.

It’s only 7 days. You can do it.

4.) Schedule a “congrats” treat at the end of the 7 days.

Here’s the thing though. I don’t want it to ruin your week’s hard work! Aim between 200-400 calories.

5.) Make your focus more veggies, lean protein, healthy fats, water, and fruit. (Grains/breads, I’d rather you go light on)

This will really help you snap back. If you can’t emphasize this now, that’s ok. Just go back to the basics of eating real, less processed foods!

6.) Stay strong because we will have a check in next Sunday night/Monday morning!

There is no “prize” for you but I think it adds a little more accountability on your end if you know you are coming back to let me know!

You are going to need some inspiration in regards to “clean eating”. I realize that some of you are going to struggle here. That’s ok. Here are some sites that have great info and recipes:

The Gracious Pantry

The Eat-Clean Diet

100 Days of Real Food

My instagram account (ignore the pics of ice cream and pizza! lol!)

This post from last week! 9 “30 minute or less” clean eating meals!

And now a few rah rahs from your fearless leader:

1.) This will be hard.

It’s supposed to be but it’s also why I chose only 7 days. Short and sweet. The first few days may be the roughest, but you can do it.

2.) You might mess up.

Actually, there’s a high chance that you slip. That’s cool. Just make the next choice the right choice and keep moving.

3.) Life happens.

Some of you will start this and 2 days into it, get sick, or have a child get sick, or have some odd unknown thing happen that will stop you in your tracks. No biggie. You can join our next challenge. Don’t beat yourself up. (Or do this in a week that works for you)

4.) Focus more on what you CAN eat rather what you can’t.

This will be PIVOTAL in your success this week

5.) Give yourself grace.

This may be frustrating for you and you may want to quit. You may walk away feeling really weak and defeated. I just want to encourage you to give yourself a little bit of grace. We are all works in progress and we are working on just that–progress-NOT perfection.

So let’s get started!

1.) Print off this printable. This will help you as you figure out YOUR plan!

2.) Get your partner!

3.) PURGE! Yes…get rid of it all!

4.) Make a trip to the grocery! This part is not necessary for everyone depending on your goals of this challenge. You may not get here for a few days into the challenge and that’s ok. Do your best!

5.) Thank God that He is with You through this whole challenge. If you think you can do this on your own strength, then you are sadly mistaken! Invite Him into your day and decisions as soon as those pretty little feet hit the ground in the morning! Commit the Bible verse that I have on the above printable to memory if you can!  (1 Corinthians 10:31)

I thought that I’d share with you my plan/guidelines for this week.

1.) Here is a list of what I’ll be eating. It really doesn’t look much different than my usual diet! I will time my carbs to go after my workout so that they are used most efficiently. (In the craziness of getting this together, I forgot to add healthy fats! Don’t forget those! One of my favorites to add to the list below is avocado!)

2.) I eat about 5 meals of about 200-400 calories a day.

3.) Here is my spring clean EATing plan. You may not be able to make it all out but you can get the point! (I thought of another that I’m writing down that I forgot until after I posted….NO EATING OFF YOUR KID’S PLATES!!!)

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Remember–I’m not an expert and what I’m doing may not work for you..and that’s ok! So are you with me! I’m totally doing it with you! If you are, please comment below and let me know what your main focus is this week and of any “clean eating” resources that you use!! Share with you friends. Misery loves company! HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Have you seen this phrase floating around?

I chuckle every time I see it because it kind of makes folks like me in the fitness world spin their heads a bit. I mean, honestly. Why are we spending all this time on our bodies if we are going to die anyway? Well, the point of this post is not to address that issue (because that will take another 1000 words!) but instead to address a bigger point.

I’ve struggled with my whole place in the blogging world ever since day 1. For 3 years, I’ve considered changing my message, watering down my message, or even shutting down. I feel like I tow this very interesting line in the fitness world. Christians may be put off by me because I urge them to push further in how they steward their body and energy and I don’t exactly go around wearing capri’s or long sleeve t shirts when I exercise. :) Non-christians don’t get me because I get all “Jesus” on them as I incorporate Scripture and a spiritual focused view of health. I have struggled for a while to figure out exactly where I fall!

But God has been very good to me over the past 3 years as He’s helped me sort out who I was and exactly WHAT my message is.

I am a fearfully and wonderfully made daughter of the King created with a unique talent, skill, and bend towards physical, emotional, and spiritual health.  I am doing exactly what I was created to do! I may be one of the few Christian fitness bloggers out there, but I’ve had a renewed energy this past year to really use the message that God has placed so passionately on my heart with vigor to those who God brings to me!

I am tired of the fitness name being marred and the priority of health to be viewed as shallow or vain.

I am tired of women treating their bodies like trash cans or like another god.

I am tired of satan chaining my dear sisters in Christ to guilt or a negative self -image.

I, so badly, want to represent a fresh way of thinking to the Believers in this world and any others who may find it intriguing.

But I also have another message. I want us to be ready for the REAL life.

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I read an article recently by Dr. Russell Moore in which he referred to our current life now as the “pre-life” and eternity as our REAL life!

“Your eternity is no more about looking back to this span of time than your life now is about reflecting on kindergarten. The moment you burst through the mud above your grave, you will begin an exciting new mission—one you couldn’t comprehend if someone told you. And those things that seem so important now—whether you’re attractive or wealthy or famous or cancer-free—will be utterly irrelevant in the face of an exhilarating new purpose, one that you were prepared for in this era but one that is far more than a mere sequel to your best life now.

Let’s talk about eternity. But it’s no mere “afterlife.” Instead let’s start thinking of this little puff of time, the next eighty or so years, as what it is: the pre-life.” Dr. Russell Moore

This is why I do what I do! Yes–God has given us these vessels called bodies to “do life”. We eat, walk, talk, and sleep with them,  but there’s a big trump card here that we all get to. Death. And because we are only on earth here for a short period in comparison to eternity, I want you ready for eternity!

This post has been processing in my mind for some time, but what clinched it for me was this total God moment. I am going through a Bible Study now by Beth Moore, “To Live is Christ”. We talked a few weeks ago about spiritual gifts. As we were watching Beth Moore speak on the video, a gal next to me wrote me this note.

It brought me to tears because I was like, YES! This is it. My gift is not wasted. I should not feel ashamed that I am not a super conservative blogger, or a self focusing fitness nut. I am just…ME! Beth Moore says, “Your spiritual gifts are given TO you but not primarily FOR you. Gifts are a way for God to be seen in you.” It gives me so much purpose to come alongside you and encourage you in these areas.

I realize that I am not going to appeal to everyone and that’s ok. I constantly tell myself to feed the people that God has brought to “my table”. For those of you who come to it every day–sometimes multiple times a day–I cannot tell you what it means to serve you. Thank you. If you ever think of it, please pray for me. I am a flawed, imperfect woman. I do not take what I do lightly and I can use all the spiritual support that I can get!

So that’s my heart. Do I want you to have a full, energetic life (that can run races, hold bags of groceries, and walk in full inner and outer confidence) — um–YES! But I also want you to get you ready for the real life because you are going to spend it somewhere for a long, long, long, long time and I want you fit for our King and a heavenly kingdom more than any 90 year kingdom on earth!

A month ago, I played a fun little game with those of you facebook friends!

The challenge?

Run to the grocery store and in under 10 minutes, get ingredients for a “clean eating” family dinner that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less!

You came through with flying colors! Some of you wanted to have these documented for future reference, so here are some of the dinners you came up with! (To see the full facebook post, click here!)

(If the directions or ingredients are vague, it’s because I took them directly from the facebook post. The awesome thing about “clean eating”, is that you have a lot of flexibility in regards to seasoning and cooking, so don’t feel tied down to any recipe!)

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1.) Fresh chicken tenderloins, broccoli, and sweet potatoes and season as desired. (I use lemon and garlic)

2.) Baked salmon with lemon pepper, organic red potatoes mashed with almond milk, horseradish &nature seasoning, Baked asparagus with some EVOO , salt and pepper, and maybe some freshly baked ciabatta bread to dip in some balsamic vinegar, olive oil & pine nuts.

3.) Pre-sliced portabella mushrooms, frozen roasted red potatoes and spinach. Broil the mushrooms with a few seasonings while you cook the potatoes in a skillet. Add spinach when they’re done.

4.) Spaghetti squash (microwave for 5 mins, then roast it for 30), ground turkey, organic tomato sauce and gluten free spaghetti seasoning packet. A family favorite at our house, and super easy!

5.) Spinach,eggs, and onions

6.) Fajitas peppers, onions, chicken (optional), cooked (or canned) beans (use lentils if you have), avocado. Cheese (optional), salsa and ranch dressing for kids!

7.) Tilapia, broccoli slaw, lime, garlic, green onion , avocado, cukes and cherry tomatoes, cilantro, Cajun and blackened seasoning and olive oil. Blacken and cook the fish, mix the slaw and veggies with some oil and lime and Cajun. You can make them into fish tacos , but I usually eat it without the tortillas.

8.) Coconut curry chicken – chicken breast, coconut oil, onions, red bell pepper, yellow and orange peppers, asparagus, curry powder, garlic powder, ground ginger, sea salt

9.) And here is one that I posted on facebook and instagram!

If you follow me on instagram or facebook, you saw that my husband and I attended one of Family Life’s “Weekend to Remember” conferences a couple weekends ago. I wasn’t going to blog about it, but decided that I would because I’m trying to give you all a better peek into my real life. (It’s not all about fitness and health, ya know!)

I’m not sure if you are familiar with this conference at all. You can find more information about it here, but it’s something that my husband (Kory) and I have been wanting to do for a while now. We passed our 9 year anniversary in October and our marriage is anything but blissful (as I wrote about here) so giving it a “hug” every now and again is so important.

We almost didn’t go. We had such a busy March and we have a lot of expenses and trips coming up over the next few months that this was put to the back burner. It wasn’t until Thursday afternoon (we left Friday evening) that I booked it.

We were coming off of a crazy week (what’s new?) so Kory got home from work, we packed up, and then met up with my in-laws to drop off the kids. We got into a little argument on the way to the conference and I texted one of my friends to ask her to pray, as the tension was already coming out. I’m thankful for technology that helps in a time of need and for a friend who really does take my requests to the throne of God! After we grabbed some food court for dinner (nothing like starting out the weekend healthy, right?!) and checking into our room, we piled into the conference room.

And because I know you are DYING to know if I worked out in the hotel room….I didn’t! Boo! I love exercising at hotel gyms but I just didn’t have time!

Family Life has a team of speakers that attend the conferences. We had 2 couples who alternated talking about the different subjects. They used a lot of humor to lighten the mood (You gotta know that there were some heavy hearts in there…not to mention some who were worried about what they were going to have to do!) and it really did help. They provide a workbook for each of you to guide you as the speakers were up there. It wasn’t a lot of filling in which is nice for those of you who hate doing that kind of stuff.

Their presentations used videos, music, humor, real life stories and of course, scripture!

Here’s what I loved about the conference:

1.) Every piece of advice is rooted in scripture.

They set the tone for what constitutes marriage and then use scripture to back up any words of wisdom they would give us. While you know these things, it never hurts to hear them again

2.) Very spirit lead.

While you are at the conference, people who volunteer or work for Family Life are in the back praying for us by name. They had been praying for those signed up before the conference too. I just loved that! Of course, they invite you to pray by yourself, and then pray with your partner. So there’s no doubt that the Spirit was moving in the hearts of those who were attending.

3.) They give you intentional time with your spouse.

The conference isn’t all about receiving information–it’s about taking that information then making it practical. So they give you break out sessions to go touch base with your spouse in regards to those.

Our very dear friends (parents to 4 girls!) were there, too!

Of course, I have some things of caution that you may want to consider:

1.) You will probably get into –at least–one argument during the weekend.

The lady speaker on Sunday morning opened up saying that if you think you are the only couple who had a fight last night, then you were wrong! When we bring up issues that have been deeply rooted, we are bound to have some dissension. As I always say, in order to fix a wound, sometimes surgery is needed which is messy, deep, and painful.

2.) This conference may prove discouraging for those of you with much deeper marital or personal issues that haven’t been dealt with yet, such as pornography, sexual abuse, rape, etc.

They do not dive into these issues (understandably so) from the speakers. They do reference them a bit and give some resources (and have people there to pray with you if you need) but I can see couples dealing with those issues walking away from the conference a little discouraged thinking, “yeah, we’ve tried all that but that doesn’t quite get to our issue.” Would I still recommend the conference to them? Absolutely. I believe the Spirit of God can work through both of you admist those problems and if anything, it gives you a renewed focus together to give you a game plan for the future.

3.) This is more logistical, BUT, if you have the option to stay at the hotel or go home each night, try and stay at the hotel.

We did that Friday night but went home Saturday night (and came back Sunday morning) to save some money. It wasn’t terrible going home, but it kind of ruins that feel of a special weekend when you walk in and step on a matchbox car and then look over at your pile of dirty laundry. :)

At the very last session, you actually renew your marriage vows. I was surprised at how this was so emotional for me. (Judging by the sniffles in the room, I wasn’t the only one) We grabbed each other’s hands and renewed our committments to our marriage. I honestly felt like I did when I looked into his eyes on October 18th, 2003.

Have we been through the thick of it since then? Absolutely.

Have we wanted to quit? Sure thing.

Have we pressed through? Indeed.

And I have to say, those words were so much sweeter saying them almost 10 years later…1 miscarriage, 2 kids, and a host of other things through in our path. Standing there–face to face, breathing the words that inspired us to get married in the first place was amazing.

We left with some new things that we are going to be doing in our marriage and with a renewed focus.

1.) Pray more together.

We pray separately. We pray with our kids. We pray with our friends, but we rarely pray with each other! The stats of divorce are significantly lower for those couples who regularly pray together and since divorce isn’t on top of my list of things I want to happen in my life, I think this preventive measure will be good for us. :)

2.) Work more on companionship.

I think every couple (at least in the small children phase of life ) deals with this. Mark Driscoll says that we work more shoulder to shoulder tending to the every day of life issues–and forget the face to face part–interacting, laughing, kissing etc. We become these family workhorses chugging away at the daily tasks, and forget the initial foundation that brought us together. Couples who stay shoulder to shoulder look at each other when the kids fly the coop 20 years later, wondering who the heck they are looking at. We really aren’t wanting to be in that category so we need to be intentional now.

I am a firm believer that Christian marriages need an overhaul. We are setting a poor example for our children and for the non-believers in the world. Why on earth would someone want to join this God-ordained union if half of these unions end in divorce, or are bitter and boring? If you and your spouse find yourself in that spot, I encourage you give it “a hug”.  Go away for a weekend, attend a conference, or visit a counselor. There is nothing wrong with any of that! We all have sickness—so go see the Doctor before it moves to a deep rooted disease!

Have you ever been to a FamilyLife Weekend to Remember conference? Did you enjoy it? Are there other conferences out there that you would recommend?

Last summer, while I was watching our city’s first marathon, I had a runner (mid-race) come up to me and say, “Hey Clare! I follow your blog and really enjoy it!”  (How she spotted me, I have no idea! I think it was my tall hubby!) I had no clue who this gal was! I looked at my husband and we both were trying to figure out if we recognized her, because surely, no one would recognize Clare from Peak313!  I got home and later that night, Abby emailed me introducing herself. She doesn’t live in my town now, but we have mutual friends. Small world! She has been an awesome supporter of my blog and has been on a fantastic journey with her health. Check out our 19th (19th!!!) Shed & Share story! Meet Abby!

{The Basics}

I wrote this Tuesday night after processing it for about 6 hours during the day. My heart has been very grieved over the past week for various issues that have appeared on social media and the reaction by many Christians. (I am careful not to expect a certain type of behavior from those who don’t claim to believe and follow Christ and His teachings, so they are not lumped into the category.)

From the response on my facebook page, I wasn’t the only one feeling this way!

“This past week has been laced with a few things that have many Christians uncomfortable, defensive, and to say the least–confused. I don’t think it’s by chance that it’s been a heavy hitting, emotional week as we come upon Easter–the main message of our faith! Satan knows that misspoken words & harmful stereotypes will cause a break in the unity of Believers. (& even those who aren’t Believers) He knows that casting doubt, fear& confusion in your mind will keep you from unity with Christ. What victory he would have this week as we harbor sin and grievances towards our brothers and sisters in Christ!

If you find yourself in that place tonight–maybe it’s time to step away from social media a bit and step into the presence of God. May we seek not to be right, to be righteous, but only to only be in right standing with the sinless Lamb of God. . The battle has already been won–satan isn’t getting that but he can take our joy, love, and effectiveness away. There’s too much on the line to present a mixed message to a hurting world. There was a big cost to my freedom & peace. I’m not risking it. Are you?”

“May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. ” – Jesus (John 17:23)

I want to share with you a video that really meant a lot to me a few years ago. I pray it is encouraging to you as we focus on our Savior and His death on the cross.

(Click here if you can’t see video)

Let’s face it. What we put in our mouths all day long, affects our bodies more than what we do at the gym or basement for 60 minutes. Eating is the hardest thing for people to get in control in regards to health and there are many factors that play into that.

Many of you, frankly, don’t enjoy being in the kitchen, but I want to help you find some enjoyment out of this “necessary evil”! Join me over at The Better Mom as I give you 6 ways to making your “abs in the kitchen” experience a little sweeter!!

Being a Fitfluential Ambassador gives me the chance to review some awesome health and fitness products out there. I’m looking forward to more of these in the future, so it can help you sort out all the stuff out there!

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I’ve been on a “more protein” kick for a year now, and have been finding ways to get it in my diet more. One way that I’ve done that is through protein supplements. Whey protein (more info about it here) is a great option for many people. (If dairy bothers you, then you shouldn’t use it. Try a pea/rice blend instead)

I’ve tried quite a few protein brands and I’ve found that Designer Whey always lands on top of my list! So imagine my excitement when I received this mother load at my front door!

Let’s start off with their protein powder.  As I mentioned above, I’ve tried quite a few protein powders. Designer Whey ranks at the top of them for  taste, ingredients, price point and availability! The french vanilla is our go-to flavor!

Of course, I use the protein powder for a number of things: smoothies, protein cereal, protein oatmeal (“proatmeal”), and of course, my protein waffles!

I had fun with the white chocolate protein powder. I whipped up this smoothie one day for a post workout and it was great!

1 scoop of Designer Whey’s WHITE CHOCOLATE protein powder

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1 cup fresh blueberries (frozen should work, too!)

Ice, to taste

Add all of it together in a blender, blend, and enjoy!

When protein shakes aren’t available, and I don’t have my usual snacks with me, it’s great to have a protein bar handy. I hadn’t tried their protein bars before this shipment, so was so excited to get them! They are a little higher in the sugar category than I would prefer, but a better option than grabbing a candy bar (and just as tasty as one!) I LOVED the chocolate caramel crunch. They also have Triple Chocolate Crunch, and Peanut Butter Crunch.

I also received 2 protein shakes to go! These would be perfect to put in your gym bag for a quick after workout snack! I noticed that they have sucralose in them, so I didn’t try them. (I don’t do well with sucralose!)

And the final thing in my box, were these “Protein 2 Go” drink mixes! I love this idea because these are perfect to keep in your car or purse for when you forget your snacks or shake and need something!

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I recommend Designer Whey 100%! They are worth a try if you haven’t found a protein brand that you love!

If you are wanting to try them out, then consider this starter kit at a low price! Also, be sure to check out all their recipes and their fitness blog!

Disclaimer: I received this product for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Hey all! It’s my birthday and I wanted to give YOU a present! What says love better than a kick butt workout, right? :)

Many of you have emailed me saying that you have a treadmill, but are tired of just running on it. You want to add some pizazz to your current routine but don’t know where to start. Here is a great option for you!

The workout goes like this! I take you through a hill interval during the cardio section, then giving you an active rest with some full body weight moves! We’ll end the workout with some unique ab exercises! There are 4 total rounds. (Props to my girl, Ann G, for taping me!)

Here are a few things for you to keep in mind!

1.) Once the treadmill starts, never stop it unless you complete the workout! Use the clock on it to guide you through your workout

2.) Take caution dismounting the treadmill! It’s still moving and I don’t want you to injure yourself!

3.) To make it harder: Increase the amount of weights you are using. (Consider having 2 sets beside you) and Decrease the rest period (increase the work period)

4.) Rest whenever you need to! Take a few second breather, and then get back to it until that time segment is up! (If you need to rest during the cardio segment, just step off the side of the treadmill like this so you can keep it running)

5.) Adjust the workout how your time allows! If you can only do 20 minutes, then just do 3 rounds. If you want to do 40 minutes, add another block!

Watch this video first before doing the routine!

(Click here if you can’t see the video!)

Print off your 2 page printable (pdf) and keep it with you! Here are the documents separately as jpgs!

Here are detailed instructions of each exercise!

1.) Squat with Overhead Press

Take 1 set of weights and squat down, holding the weights low, beside you. Squat deep into the heels. (Legs are hip width apart) Press up through the heels as you stand, then bring both arms up as you press the weights over your head. Repeat

2.) Burpee/Renegade Row/Bicep Curl

With a weight in each hand, jump down to the ground and shoot the legs behind you.

Row your right up and then your left arm.

Shoot your legs in and stand up. Once standing, do a bicep curl.

Keep the arms close to the body as you row up and down. Imagine you have an envelope in the armpit that you have to keep there!

MODIFICATION: Do the rows on your knees instead of on your toes.

3.) Step-Up with Tricep Press

Grab both weights and go near your treadmill. Step up on the side of it while holding weights to your side.

Once you are at the top, press the arms back, leading with the wrists pushing towards the ceiling. Step down and repeat on the other leg.

From behind.

4.) Plank Walk

Be very careful with these next set of exercises! The speed should be very low, and incline at 0 or .5! Rest when you need!

Start with both hands on the side of the treadmill.

Begin “walking” with your hands. Keep the hips square to the floor. No rocking and rolling! The further up you reach, the harder this will be. Also, be certain not to buckle in the lower back. Keep nice and tight in the abs!

5.) Bear Crawl

Start the same way as the plank walk, but instead of using your straight arms, go to your forearms! Reach higher and higher to make it harder! MODIFICATION: Plank Walk

6.) Push-Up with Alternating Reptile

Place your hands on the side of the treadmill. Do a push-up.

When you come back up, bring the left knee up towards the left arm as you crunch down with your upper body. Upper body and lower body meet in the middle! Return to starting position, and then do it again on the right side. Go back to the push-up and repeat! MODIFICATION: Do the push up on your knees.

Thanks for sharing my birthday with me! If you like my blog, and/or this workout, would you mind sharing it or my site, with your friends? Thank you!!

Sooooo….you know I love my protein. I am looking for ways to get it in my diet, all the time. I also love waffles. So why not mix the two?! I made this a few days ago and posted it on facebook and instagram and all y’all wanted the recipe, so here goes! The beauty is–your whole family will probably love it too! Mine did!

Vanilla Almond Protein Waffles

♦ 2 large eggs

♦ 1 large ripe banana

♦ 1/3 cup sliced blanched almonds (you can use whole blanched)

♦ 1/4 cup vanilla protein powder

♦ 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

Optional: 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Pre-heat your waffle maker. Put all ingredients in a blender (except chocolate chips if you are using them) and blend. (Stir in chocolate chips now if you want them) Once the waffle maker is ready, grease it up! (I use coconut oil) Pour batter into maker and start!

Makes 4 small waffles (1 large one) i.e. one pour

Have fun with the toppings! (But make sure you don’t go too over the top!) Top with maple syrup, fresh berries, pecans, almonds, bananas, peanut butter, almond butter, chocolate PB2, chocolate chips…the list goes on and on!

Here’s how I made it the first time around with a little drizzle of chocolate PB2

Enjoy!!!

“Everything in moderation”

It’s a phrase that we hear often and that many fitness folks throw around. But what exactly is moderation? Should we all have the same kind of moderation? What’s allowed and what isn’t?

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A few weeks ago, I was circling the snack table at my Tuesday morning Bible study. There are generally few foods that fit into my nutrition plan, but I always check it out. My eyes spotted a plate of mini chocolate covered donuts (with sprinkles!). I’m not a donut fan at all, but miniatures always get me and I happen to love a chocolate donut. As I was deciding if I was going to take any and how many I should take, a gal next to me said, “I think you can afford to eat 5 of those.” I responded, “5 MAY be okay, but 10 isn’t.” She looked at me confused. I told her that I know my propensity to overindulge on certain items and that “moderation” for me in this instance is better off at nothing. (Although, I admit, I did take one and scooted out of there). As she was contemplating what I said I chimed in, “You have to know yourself. And since I am a 0-60 kind of girl, moderation looks really different for me.” She nodded in agreement.

I talk to a lot of women who try to find out what really works for them in regards to moderation. I call it finding your “moderation prescription” or “Moderation Rx.” It looks just a little different for all of us. And the truth is, I don’t know any fitness or healthy person who doesn’t do some sort of moderation….it just may be on a different scale than yours.

I am not the moderation police. I can’t tell you if your piece of dark chocolate every night is okay, or if your Friday night cheat meal works, or your every other day bowl of chips and dip is okay.  I cannot tell you what you should and shouldn’t do. I can tell you what works for me. Why? Because I’ve failed enough times to know what is successful!

So how do you find your “Moderation Rx”?

1.) Consider your personality

This is probably one of the biggest areas people forgo when talking about this area. I’ve mentioned before how I’m a 0-60 kind of gal. There is no middle ground for me. So moderation will look different than my friend, Leslie, or my husband, Kory, who are both middle of the line folks. They can indulge in a small treat every day and let it be just that–a small treat. For me, a small treat ends up in 4 handfuls later, so I have to build my plan around my personality.

2.) Consider your goals

I could definitely eat more calories and empty calories, at that, in a day and have small bearing on my body. But that’s not my  goal. I am trying to build muscle mass and keep a very lean look. Because of this, my moderation plan will look different than someone who is trying to maintain their weight or trying to lose some. So yes, my friend was right that I could have eaten 10 small mini donut holes that day, but that wouldn’t have gotten me closer to my end goal.

3.) Consider your schedule

Maybe you know that every Friday night is pizza night with the family, or that Monday is a girls night out. Build those times in as your times for moderation so that you may enjoy those moments. Make it work for you, so you don’t feel deprived.

 Here are a few points of caution:

1.) People around you will not necessarily understand your Moderation Rx especially if they aren’t following one themselves.

They will look at you funny, probably make some sly comments about “living up life since it’s short” and a whole host of other things. So expect a little kickback and watch out for folks trying to get you to slide. You need to decide for yourself what works and then stick to it. (And tell them, kindly, that you are “living up” life–feeling healthy and strong, fitting into your clothes, and enjoying your moderation when it’s time to! :) )

2.) Your “moderation” may be what’s keeping that last “x” lbs on you.

Moderation is fine and dandy if you are happy with where you are in your journey, but if you are struggling and still need to lose weight, or get stronger, you may want to start evaluating your Moderation Rx.

3.) There will be times when you are just DONE with moderation.

You are tired of being disciplined. You are tired of saying no when others are saying yes. And yes–you want that cake tonight, tomorrow, and the next night! Expect these things to happen and if need be, throw it out the window for a while. Chances are, you’ll be back at it once you realize how good it actually was for you! (I’ve totally been there!)

 So what do you think? Have you found your Moderation Rx yet? Is it time to adjust what you are doing? I’d love to hear how moderation looks for you, so comment away below in the box!!

It’s time for our mid-week motivation! Meet Susan S–our newest “Shed & Share“! I love this story because it involves both a husband and wife getting in shape!

{The Basics}

Age: 40

Profession: Wife and stay-at-home/homeschooling mamma to 4 amazing kiddos, 2 boys & 2 girls, 16, 14, 7 & 5.

How long have you been on this weight loss journey? 1 year ago, February 2012. I had a hysterectomy at the age of 38, and gained about 20 pounds after that, not really caring about eating right or exercising at all. Last year going to the doctor and having them say that you are obese on the BMI calculator was a real wake up call for me.

Weight Loss/Inches: 40 lbs! November of 2011 I was weighing in at 200lbs and I am 5′ 9″. I have about 5 more lbs to go with my weight goal of 155. I am now in the normal range on the BMI calculator!! :)

{Your Story}

What was your “low point”?

My “low point” was having the Dr. tell me that I am at risk for diabetes, and high blood pressure. Our journey, and I say our because my husband has also lost over 60 lbs, has been one of health reasons. Our oldest daughter was born with spina bifida, and has had some health complications. October of  2011 she was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure, and we are facing a future kidney transplant. We both, my husband and I want to be able to be a live donor for our daughter, when the time comes. What started out as a  process of checking blood types and overall health turned out to be a blessing for us both. My husband’s cholesterol came back very high, the doctor basically said that he was a heart attack waiting to happen. That was a wake up call for both of us. We have since changed our diet and my husband started working out every day. I was a little slower on working out as diligently as my husband was, when I saw his results it motivated me to start working out also.

How did you get started?

I started out using our Xbox Kinect game, My Fitness Evolved, it is a workout game that is also a lot of fun. We also have a stairmaster that we use in the garage, and lifting weights for toning. We also use My fitness Pal to track calories, that has really helped me tremendously, it really makes you think twice before putting anything in your mouth.

What is your workout routine and eating plan?

My workout plan is cardio 4-5 days a week, and strength/core exercises 6 days a week. I am still experimenting and finding what I like. I really hated the stairmaster at first, but now I look forward to it, it is my time alone to focus on me. Plus I am loving the results, and energy I have to keep up with my four kiddos. We like to go on walks when the weather is nice, it gets the kids out too for fresh air and exercise. My fitness Pal ap on my phone keeps track of calories. My husband is my workout buddy, and we keep each other motivated, we have a common goal and focus on that, being healthy for my future with my kids, I want to live a long healthy life.

{Help us!}

What are your top 3 favorite resources that helped you along the way?

1.) My Fitness Pal app on my phone keeps track of calories & helps me watch what I am eating.

2.) My husband is my workout buddy, and we keep each other motivated, we have a common goal and focus on that, being healthy for my future with my kids, I want to live a long healthy life.

3.) Following fitness blogs/websites that I like and that inspire me. I can find different workouts, and lots of great healthy recipes to feed my family.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone who is sitting on the sidelines and waiting?

Baby steps, baby steps are my one piece of advice, start with one thing you can change, and each day it gets a little easier. Keep your goal in mind, for me it was being healthier, eating better, and making better choices with food for me and my family.

Teaching my children to make healthier choices now so they wont have to struggle with health issues when they are older makes it all worth it! (<—- Clare wants to give a big AMEN to this!)

What one piece of advice would you give to someone who is in the process but is feeling discouraged?

If you are feeling discouraged find someone to keep you accountable, a friend, your spouse, or a coworker. A workout buddy really does make a huge difference, someone that will encourage you to do more!

If you are a parent, how have you balanced everything?

As a parent I am blessed to be home and be flexible with my workout schedule. One thing that I read from someone, was if you wake up, and get dressed into your workout clothes your will be more likely to get that workout in, wake up early get it done.

Susan and her beautiful family!

Anything else you would like to share?

The other day my husband and I were reflecting back on the last year and both of us are very grateful for our doctor that gave us some really good simple advice. Get moving, and eat cleaner, more balanced diets, more fruits and veggies, little red meat, more chicken and fish. Simple baby steps. And I am thankful for the renal transplant team of doctors that were very truthful with us and said plainly that we both needed to loose weight and get our bodies healthier if we wanted to be a possible kidney transplant donor for our daughter. Sometimes the truth can be harsh, but it is still truth, and I am thankful for it.

♥♥♥

I love that Susan’s journey was shared with her husband! What a powerful message they are sending to their children! Thank you so much for sharing your story!

I am always looking for real women with real answers to their real weight struggle, so if you have a shed story that you would like to share, please contact me at clare@peak313.com!

(…and when I say “rocked” I’m not saying that in a bragging way. I mean it as a “Holy cow–it hit it like a ton of bricks” way! I share this post for a few reasons (which I’ll detail, below) but none of which is to brag. I hope you all know me by now to know that I want to be real, honest, and encouraging in what I say! And also, I am a little nervous to put this out there. Why? Because I’m not there yet and I’m still working on getting towards my goal!! )

A few months ago I posted a picture that my pilates students took while I was teaching. I downloaded it to my computer and then found another picture similar to it, taken just 12 months prior. Here they are.

It’s the first time that I really looked at what a difference this past year made. You may not see that much of a difference, but I do. (You know how that goes! You have a more detailed eye with your own body than with others’!) So it got me thinking about my journey over this past year!

February/March, 2012, I decided that I needed to kick it up a few notches. Yes–I had been exercising (generally 4 days a week). Yes, I had been strength training (2-3 days a week). Yes, I had been doing cardio. (2-3 days/week) But I was at a bit of a plateau. (To clarify, some of these things are combined on the same days) My body wasn’t reacting to what I was doing and honestly, I was a little bored. I was ready to kick it up and get serious. And as you can see, one year made a bit of a difference.

Here’s where purpose and intensity proved itself this year:

- My strength.

Man, I can really tell how much I’ve improved here. I used to go between 5 and 8 pounds with an occasional 10 pounds pushing it. I’m now doing 10-25 pounds (free weights) and using the olympic bar with additional plates on it depending on the type of exercise.

- My speed.

This summer, I ran a 5k and ran it in the fastest time I’ve ever done. In fact, I placed first in my age group! I wasn’t even trying to race until the end of the race when I realized that I was at the head of the pack and probably should really kick it in. LOL I know you are probably wondering why on earth I need to increase my speed. And you are right. Who really cares, but for some reason, it helps me train harder. I’ve noticed that the natural pace I would start at on the treadmill/elliptical etc is now inched up and I’ve got much more endurance and speed when I sprint.

- My eating.

This should be number 1 because while a workout is only 1 hour of my day, eating encompasses 80% of it! I learned more about protein, timing of carbs, and a few other things over this past year. I’ve played around with different combinations of what works, and can’t say that I have it down pat, but have defnitely found a few things that work..which includes,

-Additional supplementing.

I introduced protein shakes and BCAA’s this year. I used to do protein shakes YEARS ago, but found that it just puffed me up (because I wasn’t doing it the right way alongside my other nutrition) but this time around, it’s really been advantagaeous. I also use something called BCAA’s about 30 min before I workout.

- My Sleep.

Last year–and even a majority of last year…I was terrible at sleeping…and it used to be an area I took a lot of pride in! I had overloaded my plate so much that the only time that I could get things done was when kids and hubby were down. And honestly, when they were in bed, I wasn’t always “working” but just chilling and watching tv. Because of this, I was up late and then up early because as you know–kids don’t care what time you go to sleep! (They are still small) So I was very inconsistent with my sleep. It hasn’t been until the past 4 months ago that I’ve put it as a priority again. I’ve had to say no and step away from a few things, but honestly, I feel so much better when I get a solid night’s sleep and start the day early and refreshed.

Now let me show you a progress pic from just 8 months ago. Here’s a before and after of me doing pull ups at our house in September, and then again last week ,5 months later. I added some more muscle in that 5 month span just doing what I had been doing in the months prior. It. just. took. time.

And while we’re at it….

My weight has pretty much stayed the same, or even creeped up a few pounds, over this past year. My legs have also filled out with some more muscle so my “skinny” jeans feel a little more snug!  I have to be honest. This messes with my brain sometimes. BUT, when I look in the mirror and see my muscle, and am able to lift up and increase the amount of weight I have each week, I seem to be ok with it. :) Again, I’m in this process with you all and have the same struggles you do!

This year wasn’t all roses though.

- I had a few rough patches where I wasn’t training or eating as I should because, well, I live in the real world.

- The comparison game hit me harder this year than it had in a long time.

- At times, I was consumed with all the info I had been reading that it became overwhelming and stressful

Am I perfect? No.

Do I struggle? Yes.

Do I have it all figured out? Heavens no.

It’s like this odd puzzle  that I’m trying to figure out and fit and it honestly changes every week!

BUT–as you can see–you don’t have to be PERFECT to have change! Holla!

What’s the purpose of this post? I want you to know that:

a.) Longterm consistency is key

b.) A little bit of purpose to what you are doing will go a long way

c.) You don’t have to be perfect to have progress.

d.) Intensity matters. I’m working out the SAME amount of time that I had been years before. What’s the difference? HOW I’m doing it.

e.) You do not have to do what I do to have results. Don’t be disappointed that you can’t look like me or workout as much as me. Do what you can do when you can do it. And…refer to point c. :)

♥♥♥

Finally, (because you know it’s coming) I feel that I’ve been at a great spot spiritually in my life this past year. The energy, zeal, and intensity that I carry in one area of life, usually follows to others and I feel that they’ve all aligned well this year. My spiritual focus is what keeps me grounded when I am struggling with my self-image, or start to get my priorities out of whack. God has been faithful to me in these areas. And YES–I constantly ask Him about my physical life! Why not? He created these masterpieces so He knows how to work it best!!

I will keep at all this because now that I know what I CAN do, I want to do more. It’s fun for me. It gives me a good outlet for all this energy I have! :) And it is really neat to see progress over the months. Remember, my friends, we are in a marathon, not a sprint. You may THINK you are at mile marker 24 when you are really at mile marker 3. Just keep going. Do what you know you need to do until the race is truly over, or you are lead down a different path. You can do it!

Thanks to all of you who joined me in the “febYOUary”  challenge this month! I told you before that I was wanting to do the challenge because I was curious about a few things in my life. Here are some notes I made!

1.) I eat WAY too much sugar!

You know how you KNOW something, but you just need to see it down on paper to really believe it? Well, that was me. Of course it didn’t help that I started this during Valentine’s week, but who am I kidding. I know what I eat and I know enough that I needed to cut back.

2.) I drank more water on days I worked out early morning.

You may think that this is a no brainer since I am probably more thirsty since I’m exercising, BUT, I still exercised other days and it was still harder for me to get the water in the later in the day I exercised. I get what I need every day for the most part so I don’t need to do any major change, but I thought it was an interesting observation.

3.) My eating got sloppier towards the end of the night

I start out each day pretty good. I have a well thought out breakfast, snack, and even lunch. It’s after lunch where things go crazy. I’m not sure if it’s because my day gets crazier and i pay less attention, or because Im not as planned about it. My guess is it’s a mix of both.

4.) Food journaling is hard for me because of all the homemade food I make/eat

I eat a lot. And often during the day. I also make most everything I eat out of scratch, so it was really hard to figure out what to enter for the soup I made one night and the stir fry another. So that got exhausting and it was really hard for me to keep it accurate.

5.) I take lots of little bites here and there.

Having 2 kids doesn’t really help this (as you moms out there know!) This is one area that I tell moms to be careful of because you can have an extra 100+ calories added to your day without even realizing it. So trying to account for 2 bites of mac & cheese, or an apple slice, or one fruit gummy was hard. :)

You may note that I didn’t have anything up there about weeks 2 and 3–our personality and spiritual assessment. Why? Because I feel that I am constantly reviewing/assessing those areas and its what spurs me to write what I write here on the site! So I don’t have any new “ah ha” moments now—but I guarantee more will come!

Now that I have a better idea of what my day looks like, I can make a better plan. Wanna know what I’m doing?

1.) Sugar Detox!

I’ve been a tad bit sloppy (to put it lightly) with my sugar amounts. So because of it, I’m only having it on Wednesdays and Sundays. (This doens’t include my chocoalte protein shakes, nut butters, or sugar found naturally in fruit) But all those tiny butterfinger hearts, fruit snacks, bites of cookie here and there—outta here. Since I am a 0-60 girl (Personality assessment!) I can’t seem to control “bites” so I’m better off not going there. I’ve been on this for a week now and it’s going well. Feel much more controlled now!

2.) Inserting my 6am workouts 1 or 2x per week

I used to be a die hard 6am workout gal. I did it for 7 years when I worked full time outside of the home and now that I’ve been inside the home working for 7 years, it’s hit or miss. My husband took a new job this year and has to leave pretty early so I can only get in about 45 minutes, which is a bummer, but I’m finding that it still is good for me. It jump starts my day and I’m off to drinking and eating with focus. It’s a positive thing for my mental state! :)

3.) I’ve given myself a 12 hour cut-off at night.

To eat. This always works well for me (not everyone) but because I definitely get all my calories I need in the day, most calorires that I consume after dinner are just boredom or craving calories. (I would think differently about this if I really needed to eat!) So I work well with hard stops. It doesn’t play mental games with me (It may for some of you) so knowing I need to close the kitchen around 7 is good for me. And no–it doesn’t mean I can stuff in 4 oreos at 6:58!

4.) I’m becoming a night tea drinker.

But the the 12 hour fast doesn’t mean that I still don’t’ want something! I have been inserting a cup of hot tea every night. Does 2 things. 1.) Gives me something to look forward to 2.) Fills the need to “eat” Plus I’m sure there has to be something healthy in there!

If you missed out on this and want to go through the assessment, then here is the info with the free printables!

Introduction

Week 1: Physical

Week 2: Personality

Week 3: Spiritual

If you participated in this, I would love to get your feedback. Leave what you learned in the comments below, or write a post about it if you have a blog!

FITspiration Friday is here, but first….

I’m over at Roo today giving you a new upper body exercise to add to your routine! Be sure to click over and find out how to do it!

And now, some thoughts I had today….

My heart has been burdened the past few weeks for so many of my real life friends who are going through the thick of it. I want to encourage you with a scripture and song that has been on my heart in case you are there too.

“I know Who goes before me.

I know Who stands behind.

The God of angel armies.

Is always by my side”

(Chris Tomlin, “Whom Shall I Fear”)

It reminds of this scripture in Psalm 139:5
“You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.”

I am so thankful that God is before and behind me, protecting me and providing guidance. My responsibility is to trust in Him, allowing Him to guide as He sees fit. And when it’s dark and you can’t see before you, know that God is there. HE is our light. His Word a lamp to our feet. He is so faithful. We are never alone!

(Click here if you can’t see video)

We are on to our final week of “febYOUary“. For those of you hanging with us, I pray that this has been a bit of an eye opener for you in regards to your health and the unique twists that your personality, life, and interests bring!

If you’ve been following me for any amount of time, then you know how important I find mixing your spiritual life with your physical. As a matter of fact, my desire is for you to follow God daily, walking in obedience to Him, as you work out your physical life through it!

Through the years of working with lots of women, I’ve found some very interesting correlations between your physical life and your spiritual life. Here is another assessment that I’d love you to do as we tie up our FebYOUary challenge.

—> PRINT HERE

Next week, I’ll do a summary and give some advice as you look into making the right plan for you. I’ll also be sharing what I learned through these 18 days!

I think we’ve all been there. Days. Weeks. Months. Years. It’s when low self-esteem comes knocking on our door. It can go in waves for many of us and for others it’s more consistent.  Either way, it’s something we all struggle with.

I’m over at Candace Cameron Bure’s Roo Magazine talking about 5 practical ways to combat low self-image and help love your body! I tell you specifically 3 things I do that help me!

My favorite series of the blog is back with a new story! Meet Jinny S, our newest, “Shed & Share” story!

{The Basics}

Age: 32

Profession: Customer Service Rep

How long have you been on this weight loss journey? about 6 years

Weight Loss/Inches: 61 pounds

Blog/Facebook Page: I blogged about weight loss on realworldeats.blogspot.com, but converted over to my every day blog realworldgirl.blogspot.com in 2010. The weight loss blog is still up and anyone can go read back through some of my old posts {I do}.

{Your Story}

What was your “low point”?

I can remember being in my mid-twenties and laying in bed. My body hurt…while I was just laying there. I would get winded from walking one block. I knew it wasn’t right and that I had to do something about it.

How did you get started?

I joined Weight Watchers online. I didn’t go to meetings, but used their online service instead. I had to retrain my brain in regards to food and fitness. I also used Exercise TV online. I’m not sure it’s around anymore, but they had free workout videos that I used in the privacy of my own home. Peak313 is a great resource in the same respect, great workouts that can be done at home. Even if I could only do 15 minutes I would tell myself it was better than what I was doing before, which was nothing.

What is your workout routine and eating plan?

Today I try really hard to hit the gym three times a week. I switch it up depending on what I want to work on. I try to do weight training/circuit training one day, cardio another day, and yoga to stretch it all out. I’ve really enjoyed the classes offered at my gym, Zumba is a great class for beginners that helps burn the calories and its a lot of fun. I also enjoy the Les Mills Body classes, especially Pump (weights) and Combat (cardio). If I can’t make it to the gym or to a class I have work out videos I can do at home, Jillian Micheals 30 day shred is one of my favorites to use on home work out days.

I don’t have foods that I cannot eat. I’m not a ‘dieter’ at all. Weight Watchers really helped me teach myself what is acceptable as far as portion sizes. For example, I measure my creamer and sugar that I put in my morning coffee. In the past I just dumped it in the cup without having a clue how much I was using. I learned to give my body time to ’feel full’. I’m sure you have all heard that before, its really true. If you slow down and enjoy your food, you will give your body time to realize that you have had enough. I drink lots and lots of water. I have found new things to snack on, like cocoa dusted almonds or baby bell mini cheese wheels. If we go out to eat I might ask for a half-portion, or kids plate, or jr. burger.

Jinny’s first 5K!

{Help us!}

What are your top 3 favorite resources that helped you along the way?

1.) Weight Watchers – this was a big one.

2.) Exercise TV – might not be around anymore, but youtube.com is also a great place to search for free workouts (or Peak313.com)

3.) Google Reader – I know this is pretty general but really I searched for other bloggers like me..and there are TONS of us out there. They are sharing their workout routines and healthy recipes too, so find some like minded weight loss blogs and stick them in your google reader.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone who is sitting on the sidelines and waiting?

In your mind and in your heart you already know what you have to do. Its up to you to make it happen. Everyone else is simply your support system but the engine that powers the journey is always going to be you.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone who is in the process but is feeling discouraged?

My fitness instructor aunt use to always tell me ‘You didn’t put on all the weight over night. It isn’t going to come off over night either’. Think of this has a lifestyle overhaul. Not a diet. Not even a workout routine. Right now, you are re-teaching yourself how to life a better life. We learn through doing…so keep doing.

Jinny, her sister, and cousin at The Hot Chocolate Run, 2012

Anything else you would like to share?

I wish I could say that losing weight cured all my problems, but it didn’t. LOL. I still struggle with body image and unhealthy food choices. I deal with clothes not fitting right or feeling ‘fat’. I have days I don’t want to work out (so I don’t). I still have days of being unhappy. Losing weight didn’t make all of that go away. But I did gain a lot of self-confidence and more self-esteem. I walk with my head up. I’m better at looking people in the eye. I have more self-worth than I ever did before. It’s easier for me to shake off a bad day now than it was before. I just want people to know that being skinny, or skinnier, doesn’t fix everything. Living a healthier lifestyle doesn’t make life perfect, but it does make it a whole lot better. And it’s worth it. You are worth it.

Jinny and her husband, in Hawaii!

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Jinny,  thank you for sharing your story and words of wisdom.  What an encouragement you’ve given many of us as we’ve seen your determination to gain back your life!

I am always looking for real women with real answers to their real weight struggle, so if you have a shed story that you would like to share, please contact me at clare@peak313.com!

We are moving on to week 2 of “febYOUary“! How are you doing with your physical journaling? I am doing it with you and WHEW! IT has been a bit of an exhausting process! I have found that I eat a LOT during the day! LOL! It’s been good for me and I’m anxious to share with you what I learned through the process.

Remember–I’d love for you to keep doing week 1 for the rest of our time. 1 week isn’t the best indicator of a normal month for us, so the more info we can gain, the better off we are!

Let’s move on. This is where we get into some heavier things. This week will be a time of reflection. I ask that you find 10-30 minutes and grab a notebook, pen, drink of choice and a quiet spot. I’m going to take you through a set of 20 questions that I think will help each of us a little further in finding what works for us in regards to our health journey.

—–> Print off this printable !

Preview below!

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I’d love to hear your thoughts as you process the week. Please add any comments below!

I catch myself saying this phrase a lot lately, to myself and others…”You won’t always hit it out of the park.”

(Photo Credit)

What do I mean? You aren’t going to always be perfect. You aren’t going to always make the best choices. You aren’t going to have everything lined up at all moments of the day and days of the week.There will be certain phases of life that lend itself to this more than others. There will be times when you have access to better resources than others. But rarely are we 100% with it. But do the best you can.

And guess what? You don’t always have to hit it out of the park. Pardon the baseball analogy, but it takes singles, doubles, sometimes triples, and home runs to compose a baseball game.

If we look at life as a 9 inning baseball game, it isn’t home runs that win it. It’s the consistency in the small at-bats with a few perfectly situated home runs! (Fun fact: Around 11% of hits are actually home runs in a season!)

But even better–many singles can add up to scoring a run. A lot of little things can add up to the big success.

So how does this apply to our health?

1.) When you can hit it out of the park, do it.

When you are home with a full kitchen available and can make your food, do it.

When you have an extra 5 minutes to pack healthy snacks, do it.

When you have the time and energy for a high intense workout, go for it.

Simply, when you can, do.

2.) Don’t get hung up when you only hit a single or double.

Don’t beat yourself up when what you do isn’t 100%. For example, I am usually running out of the house every Wednesday morning in a hurry to volunteer at my son’s school. I can’t eat my normal breakfast so I put something together that looks like this.

It isn’t bad, but it isn’t the best. That’s ok though. A hit to first base will move me along in my journey to second and so forth.

3.) When you strike out, remember that there’s always another at-bat coming.

Let’s face it. Some days are just terrible. You missed the ball not once but three times and you are sitting back in the dark, dingy dugout. Remember that there is another at-bat coming. Brush yourself off, refocus, and make your next at-bat count. You can’t win every at-bat, and you can’t win every game. Each season of life will bring us different problems. Stick with it. Consistency wins.

♥♥♥

Here are a few things to consider…

- Do you have a tendency to give up if you can’t hit a home run?

- What can you do today to change this mentality?

- How can you set yourself up to hit more consistent home runs?

- Does this apply to any other area of life than health for you?

I’d love to get your feedback! Please comment below!

Are you a fan of chocolate? I thought so. Coconut oil and almond butter are all the rage so imagine my excitement when I found this recipe! Well–it’s not exactly the recipe I found. I made a few modifications to the original. Hope you enjoy! (This would be a great treat for Valentine’s Day!)

NOTE: These need to be kept chilled in a fridge or freezer, but if you are like me, they didn’t really have much hang time at either place! ha!

Crispy Chocolate Almond Butter Bites

♦ 1/4 cup coconut oil

♦ 1/2 cup cocoa powder

♦ 1/2 cup smooth almond butter

♦ 1/4 cup raw honey or maple syrup

♦ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

♦ 1 cup crispy rice

Directions:

Melt the coconut oil in a microwave or stovetop. Add all the ingredients (EXCEPT THE CRISPY RICE) in a blender or food processor. (I prefer my food processor) Blend. Dump in the crispy rice and stir.

Place the mixture in silicone trays or mini muffin tins with muffin tin wrappers. Put in the refrigerator or freezer to set. (Minimum 10 minutes.) If using a silicone tray and you want a smoother finish, really press them firmly into the tray. You may have to play around with a few!

Depending on how thick or big you want them will depend on how many the batch will make. If you want to give this to friends, you will probably want to double. If it’s just for you and hubby, just make one batch. I did place some in a thicker, larger silicone tray and WHOA!  That was one piece of spectacular chocolate! :) A little goes a long way with this which is awesome!

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I teach pilates at a college so I like to gift my students with treats every once in a while. I made these cute bags with the verse to give them!

Here are two verse printables for you! You can right click the image, save to your desktop and print, or do like I did, and bring them into keynote (powerpoint) or pages (word) and resize them and print! I created one that is a basic white background if you want to glue them to a colorful cardstock, or one with more design if you just want to print if off by itself! Enjoy!

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So here we are at week 1 of “febYOUary: an 18 day guide connecting YOU to your health“. This week will be the most tedious of the weeks that we will be progressing through as it will take day to day attention. Remember, I’m only asking that you do this for 7 days, but if you can commit and do it for the full 18 days, that’s even better! Here we go!

WHY journal?

You will have many different points of views about food/habit journaling. While many studies show that those who food journal lose more weight, more consistently, many other experts say that it’s not necessary to count daily calories to lose fat/weight. I am not a regular calorie counter or journaler. In fact, the last time I counted them was 13 years ago in a nutrition class in college! I have no idea how many calories I consume, or what my exact carbs/proteins/fat split is (otherwise known as “macro ratio”) HOWEVER–for the first time in 13 years, I want to know what I’m doing. I’m not trying to lose weight, so the journaling isn’t for calories per se, but instead what my macro ratios end up being.

If you have no idea how much you are consuming (and most people don’t–OR they used to and assume they are still at that same level when in reality they’ve probably increased) then it’s not a bad idea to do it here and there through the year just to take stock of what’s going on. You may find a few hundred calories (and type of calories) that are hanging you up with those final 5 pounds. And journaling is one great way to identify that! I am super curious to see what my numbers end up being!! However, if you are happy with your progress, pretty aware of the food you are intaking, understand portion size, and getting the nutrients and energy you need, then no need to fret with journaling.

WHY journal more than food?

You can see that I’m mentioning more than just food intake. Our health is made up more than just the calories we take in and out, and how we move. We have other factors such as stress, sleep, hormones, and cravings that do play a huge part into the equation. You rarely hear any fitness professionals dive into this part of the equation which is a shame, because I feel like it’s not taking a look at the whole puzzle.

If you have been following me for any amount of time, you know that I’m a huge fan of  The Metabolic Effect. I found their site over a year ago and have enjoyed every bit of info they put out. I got their book and remembered thinking that someone finally put into words (and scientific study) what I had been thinking for years! (except they are much smarter than me! Ha!)   They are big proponents of this other side of wellness and I will be referencing their material when I can. I recommend that you follow them on facebook and/or twitter, and pick up their book just to see if anything clicks with you.

With all this said, I’ve created an additional tracking method that I want you to use on top of your food journaling method. Print one of these off each week and fill it out every day. I’ve included one as an example below. You may not be able to articulate your thoughts clearly on some of the days, and that’s ok. Do your best. This is new and any little bit of info that we can find out about yourself will be helpful.

(Click image to print. You may need to change printer settings to landscape! Or click here for pdf)

Here is your example!

(Click image to print or click here for pdf!)

CRAVINGS….:

There is a section in the new printable where I ask you about cravings. I understand that it can get really confusing in regards to something being a craving (or as they list it below, emotional hunger) or actually real hunger. I found this on Metabolic Effect’s facebook page the other day and I think it does a great job of taking you through how to decipher!

Another way to look at it is: hunger is felt in the gut, cravings are felt in the head. (Metabolic Effect) Here is a great article that goes into that in much more detail.

IMPORTANT:

I have added a sentence prayer to the top of the printable that I want you to pray (at least) once a day. Why do I do this? Because I know the nature of the beast. I know what it’s like to be consumed with the physical body and forget that we have “another” life to live. I know that satan will do his best to draw us away from the things that matter most, cause doubt in our heads, and make us live up to unhealthy comparisons. So please, make sure you are taking every day to the throne of God. We should be doing this anyway, but I want us to really focus on it the next 18 days.

So here’s what you need to do starting NOW!

1.) Figure out which journaling plan you will use.

I will use myfitnesspal. some may prefer another software, while others will go old school and write it down!

2.) Print off this printable and starting tracking these additional items

Remember–we cannot fix what we do not know. And I’m convinced that many of us are walking around not really knowing what’s going on in our physical (and emotional/spiritual) make-up of our health. Once we find some key facts, and then can find specific solutions to them, we can be well on our way to a successful journey!

4.) Get to it!

Your best bet is to IMMEDIATELY write/note what you ate/drank/felt. If you wait until a few hours, you will probably forget or misjudge your portions! I know it’s going to be a pain, but it’s also a pain being unhappy with how your health state is. :) So choose which one you’d rather deal with!

4.) Meet me back here next Monday as we tackle your personality! (Oooh. What do I have up my sleeve?!)

REMEMBER: We are not trying to CHANGE our current habits these next 18 days. We are just trying to evaluate them. Try to keep to as “normal” of a food/exercise/schedule that you do. After the challenge, we’ll discuss what to do next!

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If you are in, comment below with what program you will be using to food journal! Feel free to post on my facebook wall, tweet, instagram, or email me with any thoughts or questions you have!

What’s up party people! :) I think I’ve told you all before that I really prefer facebook as my method of encouraging, motviating, and teaching you. Sometimes writing a blog post seems daunting to me. Not sure why, but it does!

ANYWAY—I’m going to start taking some of these “Facebook FITspirations” and share them with you. So for those of you who don’t have access to facebook, or happen to miss them in your newsfeed, you can get in on all my ramblings! :)

So here goes….2 “fitspirations” I had this week!

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(1)

Friends. I’m not gonna lie. You are going to have some really rough days when you are totally discouraged. Where the results aren’t matching the work , plan, and time you put in. (bank account, marriage, scale, job, parenting etc )

But I’m not sure where we get this mentality that things should be EASY just because we have a properly detailed and thought out plan in place? Maybe if you are lucky, but I’ve rarely seen it! (especially if you are “cheating” on the plan)

Anything worth having is worth fighting for! I “fight” daily for all the “big rocks” in my life. (And yes, that includes my health!) So my question to you is…is it worth it? If yes, get your gloves on, throw off the sin that entangles, and refocus so that you can confidently say at the end of the race,

“I have FOUGHT the good FIGHT, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7

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(2)

“The enemy can’t squelch the power of God so he tries to disable the servant of God” – Beth Moore

And one of the easiest ways to disable the servant of God is hardship. I know that some of you right now are feeling the hardships of life..far beyond your “ability to endure”..and living in great desperation. (2 Corin 1:8) Our Almighty Rescuer is standing sovereignly over everything wanting us not to just walk OUT of our hardship, but to walk INTO His presence.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corin 4:16-18

Many of you know that I took January off and didn’t do much with the blog but it’s time to ramp it back up! I’m easing us into things though with this month’s focus. It’s called, “febYOUary: an 18 day guide connecting YOU with your health”

I am convinced that there are loads of people going about their health blindly. Sure, they are starting great programs created by successful trainers and nutritionists but somewhere along the way, something doesn’t work. The exact plan isn’t going…..as planned. We find ourselves in that never ending crazy cycle of excitement —> reality —> disappointment.

So in an effort to prevent you (or lessen) from entering that crazy cycle, I want to help you out. I want to take you through a process of finding out where you are to get you where you need to be, after all, how can we change what we don’t know? We will take into consideration your current status, what motivates you, blocks you and much more! So get ready for your  ”state of the union”–or “state of the YOUnion”, if you will . :)

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Week 1: Physical Assessment

We are going to be journaling! This will be the hardest week, so get ready.I want us to journal not only what we are eating,drinking, and how much you are moving but also other physical factors such as sleep, cravings, and stress. I want you to commit for 1 week, but if you can, I’d prefer that you do this as best as you can, for the 18 days as 7 days in a month may not be a good reflection of how we are doing.

Week 2: Personality Assessment

 This is perhaps the most overlooked factor in finding a fitness plan that works for you. I’m going to be asking you a few questions about your motivators , roadblocks, resources,history etc to help you sort out what types of things keep you going and make you stop.

Week 3: Spiritual Assessment

You know I can’t get away with a challenge without this aspect! I see very strong connections with physical and spiritual health. I’m going to take you through some questions to see if you can find any relationship to them.

As we move into March, you should have better insight as to what works for YOU. I am a big believer that there is no one boxed plan that works for every person or every family. We are all each so unique with different histories, hangups, and highs. If you are looking to have a quick fix, then I am not the fitness site for you. I want you to find a workout plan that is SUSTAINABLE for your life. And looking further into each of these will help!

(If you already have a good plan going in regards to eating and moving, then I’d still love to have you join! I think it’s always good to evaluate what we are doing and see if there are any ways we can improve or change!)

WARNING: This won’t be glamourous. It isn’t going to give you results in 3 weeks. It’s a bit tedious and it may be painful. But I promise that you’ll walk away with some great insight and a strong foundation for your best health plan!

So here’s what you need to do for our start, Monday, February 11th:

1.) Figure out which food journaling program you are going to use. I will be using MyFitnessPal (which you can do online or with a phone app) or you can go old school and write it down in a journal! (I will also be supplementing one additional printable for you that I will have next week)

2.) If you have an activity tracker that you can wear, such as a FitBit, Nike Fuelband, or Jawbone Up (to name a few), then get it out! And if you’ve always been wanting one, now is your chance to get one! (If you don’t own one and don’t plan on purchasing one, no problem. You can guesstimate!)

3.) Ask a friend to join! It’s always better to walk through a journey with someone than alone!

*Keep your workout/eating plan normal for this month. You can veer as you normally might, but for the most part, no drastic changes.

Are you in? If so, leave me a comment below! See you back here next week!

It’s time for another “New Move Monday“! (It’s been a while!) Many of you have asked about using the BOSU ball. You see these at a lot of gyms, and many people have them in their homes. I love incorporating the BOSU ball to really challenge the core! I was playing around with it one day and came up with this combination.

Insert this exercise at the beginning, middle, or end of your routine! Do it after a cardio routine, or in a strength routine. Let me know if you try it!

(Video demo below!)

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1.) Grab the BOSU ball , place your feet on it and walk out into a push up position. Do a basic push-up

2.) To make it harder, stack your feet one on top of the other and continue the push-up

3.) And if that’s not hard enough…drive your knee to your chest as you come up on the push-up.

Make sure to switch legs!

REPS: Do 2-3 sets of 4-8 push-ups on each leg!

(If you can’t see video, click here!)

Everyone is renewing things in January—our budgets–our health–our schedules–our closets! You name it, something is getting a makeover! Well, is it time to do the same with your exercise routine? I’m talking about 4 easy ways to renew your workout at Roo Mag! Join me!

It’s been a while since I’ve had a new Shed & Share on here! I’ve got a few stories in my emails, but I just haven’t had time to get them out. It’s time for a new one!! I figure we could all use a mid January inspiration, so meet Cindy D!

{The Basics}

Age: 38

Profession: Wife for 11+ years, Mama to four sweet blessings; Stay-at-home and homeschool mom

How long have you been on this weight loss journey?  My weight has fluctuated up and down for most of my adult life; my turning point in this journey took place in August/September 2011

Weight Loss/Inches: 32 lbs lost so far; I didn’t start taking my measurements until after I had lost some weight, so those numbers will not be accurate; I have gone down about 3 dress sizes since January 2012

{Your Story}

What was your “low point”?

We adopted our youngest son from Taiwan in June 2011. It seems with both of our adoptions, I gained almost as much weight as when I was pregnant with my two biological children. Looking at photos from last summer and seeing my reflection in the mirror, it was just depressing. And when I stepped on the scale in August 2011, I realized I was at my highest non-pregnancy weight.

Here’s Cindy’s “turning point” photo. She thought the pink top looked nice on her until she saw this picture.

How did you get started?

In January 2012, I set a New Year’s resolution to get to the gym and workout 3 times a week. In years past, I had set a weight loss goal and usually gave up by the second week of January. This time, I just needed to get to the gym regularly. I stuck with that for a month (actually getting to the gym closer to 4-5 times a week). Then I got a heart rate monitor in February (I asked my husband to buy me one, instead of flowers, for Valentine’s Day) and started seeing my actual calories burned. Each month I set a new fitness goal. In April, I took a beginner TRX class. I had dropped about 20 lbs total at this point, and a friend/personal trainer suggested adding in strength training twice a week. What a difference! TRX is amazing. I get both a cardio and strength workout and my muscles are looking much more toned. I have finally lost all of my excess pregnancy (and adoption) weight. I am still a “work in progress”. My big goal was to lose 38 lbs before my 38th birthday in August 2012. I have almost reached that goal…but I am continuing to work towards it and have reached a point where the number on the scale is not as important as how I feel.

Cindy, before and after!

What is your workout routine and eating plan?

I take 2-3 cycling classes a week, plus two TRX classes. (TRX is my favorite class and has really helped me deal with chronic back pain.) I track my calories with My Fitness Pal, and I add or change my fitness goals about once a month. I still eat a pretty normal diet – no foods are off limits, but I track my calories and try to make the most of the calorie allowance given to me on My Fitness Pal. One of my New Year’s Resolution for 2013 is to focus on cleaner eating and better nutrition. I was successful with my 2012 New Year’s fitness resolution and want to keep my health and fitness on the right path. I am currently participating in a 3-week Nutrition Challenge hosted by Lindsey Fisher at Fit Envy NC Training and Fitness - http://fitenvync.wordpress.com/2012/12/29/january-2013-nutrition-challenge/

{Help us!}

What are your top 3 favorite resources that helped you along the way?

1.) My Fitness Pal - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ - This has been great for tracking my calories and watching what I eat.

2.) Blog – 100 Days of Real Food http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/ - In addition to trying to eat less and watch my calories, I am trying to feed my family healthier foods, too. There is so much good information about food and nutrition on this website.

3.) Blog/Facebook page of Fit Envy NC Training and Fitness http://fitenvync.wordpress.com/ - I’m participating in the January Nutrition Challenge through this blog/Facebook page. Good motivation and helping me stay on track.

Cindy and her daughter, before and after!

What one piece of advice would you give to someone who is sitting on the sidelines and waiting?

I stopped focusing on the number on the scale and setting a specific weight loss goal. Instead I committed to get the gym three times a week. The pounds came off when I was successful with that goal. And it was easy to measure and get back on track if I missed the goal one week. This year, my focus is eating cleaner and better. To help me get started, I signed up to participate in a 3-week Nutrition Challenge. I have found when I participate with others (whether in a class at the gym or in this nutrition challenge) I am more likely to stay focused and motivated than when I try to go it alone.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone who is in the process but is feeling discouraged?

Try a new class or set a new fitness goal. The class setting has really been motivational for me to work harder and become stronger. I look forward to working out now because I have found exercises that I enjoy, and made new friends in the classes at the gym.

If you are a parent, how have you balanced everything?

I am blessed that my kids love going to the gym and there are great childcare classes/staff for them. My elementary-age kids are able to participate in kids’ fitness classes 1-2 times a week and are developing a love for exercise. The gym is part of our daily routine, and my kids do well when we stick to our routine. If they start getting bored with the gym or someone is sick, I change up our schedule for a day or two and go by myself in the early morning or at night. I thought I would be taking away from my kids if I focused on myself by going to the gym to workout…but I am a better mom when I am taking care of myself and I have more energy for them, too. I have been careful to not focus on my weight too much around my kids. Particularly with my daughter, I want her to develop a positive self image and I worry if I focus negatively on my body image or dieting, it will be detrimental to her.

Cindy and her gorgeous family!

Anything else you would like to share?

I find I am eating out less and less these days. Eating at restaurants seems to always wipe out most of my calorie allowance for the day, and I can feed my family healthier food at home. On those special occasions when we do go out, I try and research the menu and nutrition ahead of time so I am prepared and don’t overeat.

Cindy –you are a girl after my own heart…asking for fitness equipment instead of flowers for Valentine’s Day! :) You are such an inspiration for many mamas out there (in more ways than one!) and I thank you for opening your story to us!

I am always looking for REAL LIFE WOMEN who are ready to share how they have shed weight and gained a new perspective on life!! If you have a shed story that you would like to share, please contact me at clare@peak313.com!

I am notorious for putting up quick thoughts on my facebook page. These are things that come to me that God has laid on my heart through the day, to encourage and uplift you. However, many of you don’t have facebook, or get a chance to see them, so I think I am going to start putting them on blog posts! Here is one I wrote last night. 

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“I’m supposed to be married by now. I’m supposed to be happy with my family and job. I’m supposed to be 10 pounds down by now.” Sound familiar? We are excellent at living in the “supposed to’s” of life!

As the quote below states, our lives are what they are….whether we got here by good/bad consequences, God’s leading, or anything in between. If you believe that God is Sovereign over all and that everything MUST pass through Him before it goes to you, then press forward with faith and confidence! Guard your heart (Proverbs 4:23, Luke 6:45) as it will be the biggest factor in coping with “life” that hasn’t gone as YOU planned. God DOES have an excellent plan for you–and you just might be living it, whether YOU believe it or not.

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How have you reconciled the “supposed to’s” of life with what your life really is?

Is there anything that you are struggling with right now that God may be trying to give you a fresh perspective on? Take a second and ask God to show you these areas, then give you a “heart change” as you move forward with them

Brussels sprouts are now my absolute favorite vegetable! I LOVE them just roasted with a little salt and pepper, but I found this recipe and it has been a great addition! My kids eat them this way and I think it’s because they are much smaller. NOTE: These aren’t exactly “shredded” as much as they are finely chopped, so do whichever texture you prefer!

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Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts

Ingredients:

♦ 1 cup coarsely broken walnuts (about 4 oz)

♦ 1 1/2 lbs. brussels sprouts

♦ 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

♦ 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

♦ Salt & pepper

♦ Shredded romano or parmesan cheese

Directions:

1.) Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350. Spread the walnuts on a small baking sheet and bake until toasted, about 10 minutes. Let cool.

2.) Meanwhile, using a food processor fitted with the slicing disk, shred the brussels sprouts (or halve them lengthwise and shred crosswise with a very sharp knife)

3.) In a large skillet, heat the EVOO over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 2 minutes. Add the brussels sprouts, 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper and cook, tossing well, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the toasted walnuts, sprinkle the romano/parmesan cheese on top and spoon into a serving bowl.

I made this last week and paired it with chicken breast and quinoa!

So, since I reneged on you all by doing a challenge here on the blog, I feel obliged to give you a list of other people who can help you out this month! The truth is, it’s not that hard to find health support groups right now as many people are looking to shed a few pounds and “cleanse” from the holidays.

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Visit some of these places and find the encouragement you need! (listed in no specific order)

Physically:

SparkPeople: Peak313 Group

Biblical Homemaking: Fitness checklist

My fall challenge:  ”Living and Active”

Spiritually:

Good Morning Girls Study: Luke

YouVersion Bible Plans

Don’t forget about these great books:

Reshaping It All by Candace Cameron Bure

Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst

Every Body Matters by Gary Thomas

Fitness Apps

MyFitnessPal

Nike Training Plus

Gymboss

I’ve got a few things, too!

Pinterest

Videos

Exercises

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Do you have any other resources to add?  Are you a health blogger? Please add anything, below!

And this is where I am supposed to be writing you all about the January challenge. It’s where I’m supposed to be giving you new exercises, calendars, recipes, and check-in spots.

It’s where I should be encouraging, motivating, and challenging you to be your best physically because it is, after all, January—the month of resolution…the month of HEALTHY resolution.

And I am…a fitness blogger. That’s what I do.

But here I am telling you that I’m reneging. I’m taking back my promise of a January challenge and telling you that there will be nothing. I’m starting January 2013 by failing you, my precious readers.

Have you ever been in a place in your life where everywhere you turn, it’s like you are hitting a wall? Your intentions are great. Your energy is high. Your motivation is loaded.

But the practical doesn’t work?

You pray. You seek counsel. You read God’s Word. You go for a run (ahem). And no matter your attempts, it’s like fitting a round peg into a square hole?

Well, my friends, that is what happened with this challenge. I had every intention to do one and had a good plan of what I was going to do, too. (I even told you all that we were doing one and got you all excited! :() But as I sat down to get through the material, things weren’t working. I couldn’t move past a few things with the challenge. Ideas weren’t flowing. Things weren’t fitting. And I tried. Believe me–I tried. But that round peg wasn’t budging!

But perhaps what weighed on my heart more than the practical roadblocks, was the lack of peace I had.

Sure, there were a few other things that came up that made it easier to drop but ultimately, it was the peace that God gave me when I said, “Ok, God. I’m listening. I’m walking away.”

But that was hard.

I have to admit. I wanted this challenge for you, but I also wanted it for me. Challenges are big for my site. My blog grows substantially each time I do one, so this is prime time for a fitness blogger, right? The one time of the year many people will actually listen to advice about fitness, I am passing to the wayside. Ouch.

But I’ve lived enough life to know that even if I have growing numbers from a blog, or pats on my back,  if I’m not where God wants me to be, I will have no joy. I will have no peace. Obedience to God is of utmost importance and how could I start off the new year in direct disobedience….even though my heart’s desire was a “good” thing?

I trust that God knows better than me. The honest truth is, I’ve been going hard, full, and fast for nearly 3 years with this site and it’s taken it’s toll. My life is really frazzled coming off the holidays and that means I’m leaving too many areas that I deem sacred, vulnerable. I want to blog with integrity! God knows that I need a break and that I need re-energized so that I can better serve my family, and you!   I love the quote below from Elton Trueblood…

So my first post of the year is not to challenge you physically, ironically. (Aren’t ya glad? Ha!) I think God is trying to prove a greater message right now. Are you being obedient to God in all areas of your life? Are there “good” things that you are involved in that you may be holding to tightly, but that God may not be wanting you involved in now?

Nothing will zap your energy, take down your mental clarity, or make you ineffective in life, than being in disobedience to our Almighty, Sovereign God. That may be the best piece of physical advice I can give you right now….live in direct obedience to Him!

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I will be keeping the blog up, and will be posting a little (along with my social media) so make sure you hang around. I’ve got a a few other ideas brewing in my mind…..:) Hang in there this month! You can do it!

(I’ll be sharing some resources/blogs to help you through January in my next post!)

Ahh yes-It’s that time of year for us to evaulate everything we do! A refresh is usually needed for us more times than January 1st, but this is an opportune time to take advantage of a new look!

I’ve created a bit of a self-inventory for us to review today as we enter 2013. Join me at Roo, as we go through a few things to refresh our old as it becomes our new….again!

I just got done reading an excellent book by John Maxwell called, “The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth”. He has so many great takeaways as to how to improve in many areas of your life, but one quote that stuck out to me was this.

” If you want to grow, don’t try to win big. Try to win small.” (page 74)

How does this happen and why is it so important? I talk more about it at The Better Mom today. I’d love to hear how you plan on “winning small” in 2013!

I posted these thoughts on my facebook page Sunday night and wanted to share them with you who don’t follow facebook, or didn’t catch it!

The words, for me, were more of a declaration that I needed to make out loud, even though I believed it with my heart. From the response I got, I’m not the only one struggling with the balance of fear and faith.

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FEAR. It’s what’s facing many of us as we send our children to school tomorrow. It’s what we think about as we sit in movie theaters, enter an airplane, or interact with someone a little different than us.

But FEAR is not what God has called us to…He has called us to lead and act with FAITH. May our FAITH be what pulls us through our desperation as we pray with hurting friends, hug a lonely child, or mentor a lost soul as we live out being the light of the world!

Father, may we understand and feel Your presence in our lives. Guide us in how we should display Your light and LOVE to those around us. And when satan comes lurking around with the whispers of fear in our ears, may we loudly proclaim that our God is GREATER! Amen

Unless you’ve been completely away from my facebook, twitter, instagram, or blog, you know that I had the AWESOME opportunity to visit Candace Cameron Bure last week! I’m sure you are wondering how it all came to be, why I went out, and what we did, so this post is going to answer all your questions!! :) (Beware: Very long with LOTS of pics!!)

People ask me if it was a surreal experience and the answer is yes and no. One minute I’d be having a surreal moment (see below) but then would be snapped back to reality by how down to earth and real she was!

Let’s start with the HOW I know Candace.

A little over 2 years ago, my real life friend Courtney from Women Living Well told me to put my name in to write the health/fitness articles for Candace’s new online magazine that she was going to be starting. Courtney was friends with Darlene, Time Warp Wife (also the co-author of Candace’s book, “Reshaping It All,”) and Darlene was going to be heading up Candace’s magazine. After some prayer, I put my name in and was accepted. Mind you, this is BEFORE I even had a blog! Peak313 wasn’t even in my mind, but it was in God’s!

After some convincing from Courtney and Darlene, I decided to start my own blog (enter Peak313) so that I had a spot that readers could come to find out more about me after reading my stuff on the new site. 1 year passed and it was time for Candace’s site to launch. The editor position came open and through a few interesting conversations, it was decided that Ruth (The Better Mom), Courtney, and I would work as a team to head up Candace’s site…RooMag.

Roo has been up for a year now, so Candace and I have had the chance to email, text, and chat on the phone during this time. We knew we had similar interests, but didn’t really know how similar we would be!

WHY I went out to visit her

Candace and I are personal facebook friends so she would see things pop up that I posted. I ran a local relay race and she saw my picture album of it and commented that I should come out and run the Spartan race with her. Didn’t think much about it until the next morning when I woke up with an email from her with all the details. After a few emails back and forth, I decided to book the flight (got a KILLER deal…a total God thing) and make my way out to California!!

WHAT we did

Friday

(Pictures are located below the explanations!)

I flew out on Thursday afternoon from Ohio and landed in LAX Thursday night. Got some well needed sleep and woke up Friday morning to the normal routine of a family! (Yes, I stayed at her house the whole trip. So sweet of her to offer!) After the kids (she has 3) got off to school, we decided to go to her gym to exercise. SURREAL moment #1. We took a core class and did some cardio on the elliptical. Chatted away the whole time and was getting to know each other. I remember sweating away in that class, looking to my right and seeing her thinking to myself, “Am I really exercising with Candace right now?!”

Lunch, errands, emails, shuffling kids…(sounds like your day, right?)  Dinner at a food truck and did some shopping!! We don’t have food trucks where I live and if we do, they certainly aren’t anything exciting, however these were great!

Got some yogurt at her favorite place. (For the record, I ate yogurt 3 times this weekend!)

Saturday

Woke up to a gorgeous view and some coffee. I was able to go on a family run with her husband and kids! (Her husband, Val, is a retired professional hockey player so the run was no JOKE!) We laughed that I was the fill in mom (Candace was busy) and on our way back, a few folks complimented “our family”! Hey. I’ll take it!

Then off to lunch with some friends I knew from OHIO! Here I am with Matt Lanter (Liam of 90210), his fiancee, Angela (I used to go to church with her when she lived in Ohio), and Candace. So good meeting Matt and catching up with Angela!

Now, if you were in LA, wouldn’t you want to visit the Goodwill?! GOOD! Glad I’m not alone! Candace took me to one of their Goodwills and it was her first time shopping at one! (She drops off there often though!) It was a total MISS day though. BUMMER! Fun times though! Surreal Moment #2: Am I really thrift shopping with a celeb?

Then we spent a quiet evening at home with an OUTSTANDING dinner prepared by her hubby. I made my avocado black bean dip for a snack Surreal Moment #3: Chopping away on a recipe with Candace that I typically make in my kitchen in Ohio! We stayed up late chatting away and laughing while her daughter watched “Full House” on tv. Surreal Moment #4: Sitting with “DJ Tanner” as I watched DJ Tanner on TV!

Sunday

RACE DAY! We were very excited and nervous all at the same time to do this thing called a Spartan Race. The weather had not been the best since I arrived and it wasn’t looking too promising for our race. We had a nice sized team called, “Muddy Buddies”! Candace arranged for cute shirts for us to wear and we looked tough! (except not in the pic below. We looked totally cute! HAHA)

You may recognize another member of my team. Think back to your Full House days…yes! It’s Kimmy Gibbler, otherwise known as, Andrea Barber! Andrea is a fit mama! She runs half marathons and has 2 small children. (Here is an article about her on Roo!) Such a sweetheart and I wish that we were able to hang out more. Next time! :)

It was time to head out to the race, held in Malibu at Calamigos Ranch. We parked then they bussed us into the race start. We were like a bunch of high school kids–with a bit of nerves!

Here we are with Candace’s friend, Rachel. We have stamps and our bib numbers on our heads so they can identify us if we are laying on the side of the road. KIDDING….or am I?!?!?!

Stopped mid race to get a picture. This was before we made our track up the muddy barbed wire hill!

“THE HILL”! (I’m to the left of the big bald dude. :)) Some of the other obstacles: swimming through a FREEZING, deep lake (twice), Hop up a muddy trail with a rubber band around your ankles, Bear Crawl up a muddy trail, throw a spear into a hay stack (one chance), 20 Box Jumps, Cargo net climb, Monkey Bars, Crawl OUT (over, under through) some huge walls…the list goes on and on. (If you missed or could not do any of the obstacles, you had to do 30 burpees. They had people manning each obstacle so they were on you!)

Here we are at the end! I love races, mud (wasn’t my first mud run) and obstacles, but I was so happy to be over! 3 miles, over 15 obstacles and 1 hour and 40 minutes! We stayed together as a team which made it awesome!

Here are some professional pics that were just posted by the Spartan race folks! I’m carrying a 10 pound sandbag in the pic below. Up, down, and through muddy trails, then over two high walls! :)

That fire wasn’t touching me! (As I nearly knock Candace out!)

Candace, Andrea, and I after the race waiting for the bus to take us to our car. We were FREEZING and STARVING here! Can ya tell? (Candace recapped the race in her post over at Roo!) Surreal Moment #5: Am I really snuggling to stay warm with 2 of my favorite childhood tv stars?

Now what would you want to do after you ran a muddy race? (After taking a shower, of course?!) YES–EAT! And what would you want to pound down? A burger and fries, right? Where else would I go if I were in California? In N Out!! Was so excited to try it out! Totally lived up to it’s reputation!

Monday

Final day in LA and it was another busy one! After some time working on the computer and cleaning up emails, we met Michelle Dozois for lunch. Now, if you follow my blog, you know how much I adore her and her work (after all, she is my fav aerobics instructor!) Michelle and I have built a nice relationship online over the past year and a half. When I found out that I was going to California, I knew that I had to meet up with her! I was trying to get to one of her classes so she could kick my tail in real life instead of on DVD, but it was not working with schedules. Anyway, our lunch was fantastic and it was great to put a real life face to the only person who can work me harder than I can work myself. :)

After lunch we were in major need of a massage and manicure. (We did talk about this during the mud run…it’s what kept us going!) So we stopped by this little salon that has CHEAP manis and pedis. ($10 each! RIGHT?!?!)

After our little spa session, we went home to freshen up and go out on the town! We went to this place called the Magic Castle (or as I kept calling it, Magic City) and met up with one of  Candace’s friends, Harris III, a master illusionist.  (To check out more of what he does, go to his site. Not only does he entertain you, he also does it with a message.You can even have him speak to students!  I’m ready to see him perform!) So he flew to town to kind of guide us through the place and we had a blast that evening! Summer, a fellow contributor on Roo (her own blog is Le Musings of Moi) drove a few hours to hang with us. It was so much fun! Lots of laughs and it honestly was the best way to end my trip!

My time had come to leave my 5 day adventure to LA. Such mixed feelings as I was leaving a new friend with fun memories, but so anxious to get back to my life with my husband, kids, and normal duties!  I think we were both surprised at how seamlessly we clicked, especially since we were together from sun up til sun down for 5 days! I’d say it’s a special connection that makes both of you feeling like you found a “long-lost sister”.

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I’d just like to say one final thing. Never in my life would I have written, dreamed, or imagined that I would be experiencing what I’ve been able to experience through this online world I entered 2 years ago. Only God could take a small-town Ohio girl and open her world up to reach many in the click of a button! I’ve had so many opportunities to connect with folks online and offline and I feel so blessed that God has allowed me to not only serve Him and help others, but also enjoy life in the process! I was in tears on my flight home, just thanking God for the life He’s given me. And this feeling is not only based on the “celebrity” connections but also what I have with my family, extended family, friends and much, much more. I am truly humbled. At the end of the day, this song sums up best what I feel…

When the music fades 
And all is stripped away 
And I simply come 
Longing just to bring 
Something that’s of worth 
That will bless your heart 

I’ll bring You more than a song 
For a song in itself 
Is not what You have required 
You search much deeper within 
Through the ways things appear 
You’re looking into my heart 

I’m coming back to the heart of worship 
And it’s all about You 
All about You, Jesus 
I’m sorry Lord for the thing I’ve made it 
When it’s all about You 
It’s all about You Jesus 

- Heart of Worship, Matt Redman

(My favorite DJ sporting a little Ohio pride! O-H!!!)

We are on the final week of the 21 days to a Hunger-Free {and Healthy!} Holiday! I have been such a bad cheerleader for you guys during this challenge. :( Last week’s trip to California to visit Candace Cameron Bure really put me off. (I’ll be posting all the details on that tomorrow!)

So I hope some of you are still on it, and if you aren’t, you can still make some great sacrifices for this final week towards the charity of your choice!

This final week we are talking about Jesus being our BREAD!

“Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35

Oh, we have such a hungry world, don’t we? We have it physically, as many in the states and across the world are without homes  or food. We have people who have homes and cupboards full of food hungry in their souls. Such an irony, isn’t it?

The true filler of our soul –the bread–the sustenance of our lives is Jesus–the exact ‘reason for this season’!

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life,and have it to the full.” John 10:10

I’d love to hear from you. At what point in your life did you realize that Jesus was the bread–the fulfillment–of what you needed? How did that impact how you shared with others? How did that impact what you turned to to replenish your soul?

Bloggers, link up below, everyone else, please comment! I’d love to know what you are learning, sacrificing, or sharing through this challenge!

Hey hey! I want to apologize that you haven’t heard from me much this week! If you follow me on facebook or twitter, then you know why, but if not, then I’ll tell you! I have been in LA since Thursday night hanging with Candace Cameron Bure! (and we ran a race!) I will fill you in on the whole trip later (complete with pics!) but for now, let’s move onto week 2 of the Hunger-Free Holiday Challenge!

(Here is a sneak peek. Our team- Muddy Buddies-Before! And yes, you do spot, Andrea Barber, a.k.a Kimmy Gibbler!)

I hope you all are faring well with the challenge. I’ve had some awesome responses with it! If you have messed up this past week, then no worries! Just start fresh today! Any amount of money that you end up donating to the charity of your choice is worth it!

And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Hebrews 13:16

Last week we talked about sacrifice and how Jesus is our greatest sacrifice and the best example of it! Today we are going to talk about sharing! What a simple concept that we learn from such a small age, but so critical in our lives!

I am thankful for people who have shared in my life be it financial, support, or their stories. They always fill a need in my life!

Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 1 Timothy 6:18

Today’s post is short, but I’d like you to fill in the blanks. Has anyone ever shared with you and met a need in your life? Do you have a story from this challenge that you could share? Let us know below, or link up a blog post if you are a blogger!

Being a girl and being into fitness is such a fun thing nowadays! There are so many ways to rock your workout look and still be feminine! I’m over at RooMag today discussing a few ways to add a feminine feel to your everyday exercise routine!

Hey all! I am so happy to see that this challenge excites you as much as it does me! I am ready to do a bit of a detox after a long weekend of Thanksgiving goodies and whacked out exercise! :)

Here is your checklist for this week:

1.) Get your jar/container that your notes and/or money will go in

2.) Print off the verses to glue on your jar or carry with you

3.) Establish a money or service amount that you will “pay yourself” every time you make the healthy decision

4.) Get to it!

Every Monday for these next 3 weeks, I’ll be talking a little bit about what I’m processing through this challenge. This week, I want to start out with the word SACRIFICE.

I want you to know that even though you are going after this with great intentions, it won’t be easy! We are indeed SACRIFICING something in our lives, be it our taste buds’ satisfaction, our time, or our talent.

(Photo taken by Grace Designs Photography)

But as our verse says,

“And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Hebrews 13:16

God is pleased with us doing good, and sharing with others. We are SERVING others, which means that we are humbly putting ourselves in a different position, sometimes bringing on heartache and pain, to help another. I guarantee you, that at sometime during this challenge, you will feel a little sting as you put that money or act of service in your jar! But as Christians, we are to be living sacrifices in everything we do…

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” Romans 12:1

The exact “reason for the season” is the greatest example of this sacrifice for us!

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:9-10

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

I am so thankful for the birth of Jesus–the One who sacrificed His life to take away my sins!

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I know that God will be teaching you some things through these 21 days and I would love to hear about it! Please be sure to check in on my facebook wall, twitter, or even in the comments below here.

Finally, I would love to have a tally of how many are going to take part in this challenge. Would you mind leaving a comment below telling me that you are in?!  (If family is doing it together, I’d love to hear that too!)If you are a blogger, feel free to link-up a post (be sure to add the button!) too!

Ready. Set. GO!!! 21 Days to a Hunger-Free {and Healthy!} Holiday has begun!!

P.S. It’s never too late to join us!

I forgot the link-up! Sorry! HEre it is!

It will be really easy for you to forgo your workout over the next month, which is the last thing we need to be doing! A quick workout is actually a great way to keep yourself healthy and balance everything else you have to do.

I created a full body workout for you using only a jump rope and your body! Do this one, two, or three times through depending on your time requirements. (One time through will take you about 8 minutes!) Join me at The Better Mom to find out more!!

Hey all! It’s Thanksgiving already! AHH! Many tend to binge on this day and eat everything out of house and home. I’m not here to tell you how and what to eat…eat what you want, but be prepared for the consequences!

Here are my tips for eating at big parties and holidays!

1.) Start the day with a big glass of water.

2.) Get an early morning walk or run (or even a stretch!) in if you can!

3.) Do not graze at the table! Put what you want on your plate and WALK AWAY!

4.) Only eat the foods you love. Don’t waste those calories!

5.) Going back for seconds? Go for protein and (non saucy) vegetables…if you can find any!

6.) Keep the breads/rolls to a minimum, and if you have to butter them, use a small amount!

7.) Drink some more water….then do it again.

8.) Just because everyone else is eating it, doesn’t mean you have to! Keep YOUR goals in mind!

9.) Your CALORIES don’t know that it’s THANKSGIVING so all rules STILL APPLY!

10.) Get back to your normal eating and workout routine ASAP. One day won’t be a HUGE deal in the grand scheme of things, but many days off will make a difference! (If you need help with eating during the holidays, then I invite you to join our 21 Day Hunger-Free and Healthy Challenge!)

Now, I’m ready to announce the 2 winners (randomly chosen!) for Karen Ehman’s new book, “LET.IT.GO”! Please contact me ASAP with your mailing address! clare@peak313.com

Finally, I want to leave you with a video that I posted last year. This touches me every single year. No matter the circumstance you are in, the body you own, the family you interact with, or the finances you do or don’t have…

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

(Click here if you can’t see the video)

I wasn’t planning on doing a holiday challenge since we just got done with “Living and Active” and since I’ll be working on the New Years one. HOWEVER–I think this idea was a total God thing. I was doing laundry when the idea hit me–and I’m not exactly sure what spurred it on, but it all flowed together in a matter of minutes!

I asked you all (via facebook) what one word described your health (not just physical) during the holidays. I got a mix of responses.

There’s no doubt that we are moving into a season which presents major challenges for many of us physically and emotionally!

The problem:

♦ We are surrounded by food for the next month. It is yummy, unique, and hard to resist!

♦ Food plays a much bigger part in our health than our exercise regime! So all the hard work we’ve been doing can be cancelled out pretty quickly in a one month holiday binge.

♦ There are 925 million* people in the world who are hungry, while 1 in 6* Americans face hunger. We are gorging. They are starving. Something’s wrong here.

Let’s do something about this.

(Photo taken by Grace Designs Photography)

Here’s how it rolls:

Starting Monday, November 26th, I am going to ask you to make a sacrifice so you can SHARE with someone else less fortunate this season! Every time you choose to say NO to an unhealthy habit or YES to a healthy one, I want you to pay yourself! Put this money in a jar and at the end of the 21 days, you’ll donate that to a charity of your choice! (There are many local ones that are fighting local hunger, but feel free to expand to further organizations such as Samaritans Purse, Skip1.org, and more) I’ve found that we are more apt to do something hard on our end, on behalf of someone else. It’s why so many people run races for cancer, or orphanages. We can justify our time and sacrifice if it means someone else can benefit from it!

For those of you who may not have extra money to set aside, you can use your time as currency! Volunteer minutes at a local food bank, write encouragement card to someone in need, or bring a meal to a hurting family! There is so much you can do!

(Examples of how to use the note pages!) 

I created these notes for you to print off and write your sacrifices and shares. You will want to do this if you are using time or  act of service so you don’t forget, but I also recommend it for those giving money. I think over the 21 days you’ll see some really cool things. :)

(Click to enlarge and print!)

Here are some ways you can “pay yourself”:

- Saying no to the speciality coffee shop when you are out Christmas shopping

- Stopping at only 1 piece of pie at your work Christmas party

- Refusing the cheeseball and crackers at 10pm whilst Christmas wrapping

The sacrifice doesn’t have to be food related either:

- Going to bed at a good hour instead of burning the candle at both ends

- Choosing “YES” to your workout instead of no because it’s too cold

- Keeping your daily time with God instead of allowing the hustle and bustle of the holiday to cut in

What you need to do next:

- Pray about it. I want you to take this seriously. It’s only 3 weeks—21 days. Since we are dealing more than with ourselves, I think it requires a greater sense of responsibility.

- Consider who could join you. I think this is an AWESOME thing to do with your family! If you don’t want to ask them, then ask your hubby, girlfriend, or neighbor. What a great way to share and serve together!

- Get a container to place your money /notes in (I will use a mason jar) that is visible to you

- Decide which money amount, or service, you will “pay” for your “sacrifice”

- Decide which ministry or non-profit organization you will give your money/service to

- Get some money! It may be easier to pay yourself if you have the money near you

What I’m NOT asking:

- To give up everything yummy this season.

- To share with the world the amount of how much you’ve saved

- To be perfect

What I’ll do for you:

- Provide a weekly spot, every Monday, for encouragement and motivation. We can share what God is teaching us through this challenge.

- Provide some tools for you to use and print off to help you along

- Pray for you! I’m in it with you!

I will also be memorizing these 2 verses during the next 21 days. I created this printable for you so you can paste on your jar (have fun decorating it!), or keep with you to keep you focused on your goal!

(Click to enlarge and print!)

“Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35

“And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices, God is pleased.” Hebrews 13:16

As you can see, this challenge is very flexible and can take on however fits with your family. You can give up a lot, or you can give up a little. It’s not my call. There will be days when you are able to say no easier than others.

Join me on facebook, twitter or instagram for daily insights, pictures and encouragement! And be sure to sign up to get the posts to your email! (See upper part of home page!)

This Holiday season does not have to be like all the other ones! You don’t have to walk away from 2012 an extra 5-10 pounds. Why don’t we purpose to walk into 2013 with some great habits established?!

Sooooo. Are you with me?! I hope so! Pray about it, ask a friend and the get yourself ready for next Monday! (Comment below, or if you are a blogger, write up a post, add the button and link up to let us know that you are in!! I know you’ll be dying to get rid of all that turkey! Gobble, gobble!!! :) )

(Right click and save picture, then upload, or grab code on the sidebar to add to your blog!)

*Stats from WorldHunger.org and FeedingAmerica.org

I found this recipe in Williams-Sonoma Salad of the Day: 365 Recipes for Every Day Of The Year, and couldn’t wait to get my hands on it! I am always up for a new recipe that uses quinoa and LOVED the sweet and salty combination with the cherries and pistachios! I have a feeling this will make it’s way into my side dish rotation soon!

Quinoa & Radicchio Salad With Dried Cherries & Pistachios

(serves 4)

♦ 1 cup quinoa

♦ 1/2 head radicchio

♦ 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

♦ 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

♦ 1/4 cup dried tart cherries

♦ 1/4 cup chopped pistachios

♦ 3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus a few for garnish

♦ Salt and freshly ground pepper

In a saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add the quinoa and reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer until the grains are tender and the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and transfer to a large bowl.

Core and thinly slice the radicchio. Stir the radicchio, vinegar, oil, cherries, pistachios, and parsley into the warm quinoa. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with the whole parsley leaves. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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It’s a Thursday and what better way to start your day than with a GIVEAWAY! The amazing and talented, Karen Ehman came out with a new book and 6 week Bible Study, Tuesday:  LET.IT.GO: How To Stop Running The Show and Start Walking the Faith. I had a chance to review and read this book earlier this summer. I found myself reading and highlighting the first few chapters. As a matter of fact, I tweeted soon after diving into it.

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Do you know Karen? She is the Director of the Proverbs 31 Ministries speaker team and is a contributor to Focus on the Family’s magazine Thriving Family. She’s the author of many books and has been on just as many tv and radio programs! You can find her blogging here. Be sure to check out everything this chick has blessed us with!

Here’s a little bit more about the book:

Women are wired to control. We make sure the house is clean, the meals prepared, the children are dressed, and everyone gets to where they’re going on time. But sometimes our strength of being conscientious can morph into the weakness of being a slight—or all out—control freak! This humorous, yet spiritually practical book will help you to:

• Take control of your schedule yet welcome interruptions from God
• Draw the line between mothering and micromanaging
• Influence your husband instead of manipulating him
• Learn to control your emotions when you can’t control the circumstances
• Stop pursuing the appearance of perfection and start pursuing the person of God

(If you can’t see video, click here!)

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Now you can win one of two copies!

To enter :

Leave a comment on this post.

For Bonus Entries:

Retweet, Facebook Share or Pin this post and then leave an extra comment for each thing you did.

Also, one random reader who comments on one of the blog tour sites can Win a Kindle Fire!! 

Giveaway ends Sunday, November 18th at 9pm EST.

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I’m also excited to announce that I’ll be doing a small Holiday Challenge and will be announcing it next week as well! So stick around, and be sure you are connected with me via facebook, twitter, or through an email subscription! (See above!)

I get asked often if I feed the same dinner to my family that I eat for the night. The answer, in short, is yes. I don’t have any desire to make multiple dinners each evening plus I think it is good for my family (especially kids) to be exposed to healthy and different foods at a young age. I am very consistent in putting the same kinds of healthy foods in front of them every week in hopes that they will “latch on” soon. There are days it works and other days it doesn’t.

Our husbands are also a huge factor in what we prepare. Thankfully, my husband enjoys all the healthy foods I prepare and in fact, would prefer me to cook that way as opposed to unhealthy. I realize that not all husbands feel this way. I’ve found many times, though, husbands have a PERCEPTION about what “healthy food” tastes like and are really missing out on eating good foods because they THINK they know what it tastes like. I digress.

Here are 4 ways that I adjust my family’s meals that help us all meet our goals or be satisfied.  (Note: These are ways that work for ME and MY fitness and health goals. You have to figure out gets you to where you want to be. This will not work for every family or person!)

1.) Quantity

This is generally used in the case of my husband. He eats much larger portions to fill up. So instead of 1 chicken breast, he’ll eat 2. Instead of my palm full size of pasta or carbs, it’s his palm full size. I do the same thing with the kids. They generally have anywhere from 3-6 bites of a food they may not attack.

2.) Ratio

Similar to the quantity above, I change my ratios from my family. So instead of eating a big handful of homemade french fries or a big spoon full of mashed potatoes, I put a very small amount of those on my plate. Then I OVER add on the veggie and protein for the night. So my plate ratios will look a little different than their ratios.

3.) Condiments

I don’t use a lot of condiments because that usually means extra sugar and calories. My kids and hubby, however, can get away with it. For example, when I make sweet potatoes, I put nothing on them, while they add brown sugar and a bit of butter. They may have ranch to dip some chicken in or use sour cream with their chili. I also don’t use crackers in my soup. This doesn’t mean that I never use condiments though! I do enjoy BBQ sauce, shredded cheese, greek yogurt (instead of sour cream) and different dressings. My rule of thumb is that I always try the food without the added flavors, and if I really feel it needs a kick, I’ll put no more than a tablespoon or two of the condiment on my plate. People can get into big trouble with the dips and condiments they use on their plate. Start inching it back!

4.) Beverage

Let’s not forget what we drink! I know a lot of families who have a huge glass of milk with their dinner, or a glass of iced tea, and even a glass of wine. My husband and kids usually drink milk with their dinner. I drink water.

I want to encourage you. We set the tone for meals in our house! We pave the way for what is perceived as “normal” for our kids in regards to eating! I know you feel that you are spinning your wheels figuring out healthy foods for everyone to eat, but keep doing it! What your kids are exposed to at an early age is so very important to what they consider normal. Keep at it mama!

What are ways you adjust your nightly meal to meet everyone’s goals and satisfaction?

Sunday, November 4th was, “Orphan Sunday“, a Sunday in which churches and Christians “celebrate adoption, foster care and global initiatives that reveal God’s heart.*”  There is an estimated 153 million orphans worldwide*…a number that should blow us away and cause us to turn internally asking God, “What would you require of us?”

“Defend the cause of the fatherless” Isaiah 1:17

(Click here if you can’t view the video)

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Meet Tom.

Tom has been friends with my husband for over 15 years. Imagine our surprise when we moved to our house 9 years ago and found out that he was our backyard neighbor! He is also a husband, daddy, business owner, runner..and most importantly, a Believer in Christ. God placed something on his heart in April that merged orphans and his love of running and he shares below a little bit about it.

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Why did you start Run4Kids?

Earlier this year in April, I woke up one morning and felt God lay on my heart James 1:27 which talks about looking after orphans in their distress. As I meditated on it and prayed about it, I just felt as though God was calling me to do something for orphans. At the same time there was a local marathon less than two months away that was happening for the first time. I had previously discovered running a couple of years prior and it had changed my life in many ways. I thought that raising money for orphans by running in the race seemed like a step in the direction God wanted me to go. Within less than a week, there were a series of events that led to the whole of idea of Run4Kids and God just opened one door after another to make it happen.

Ultimately, my convictions lie in that God has called us to look after orphans many times throughout the entire Bible and I think that there are so many people who already run for no reason other than to stay fit so why not build an organization and a group of individuals that can help defend the cause of the fatherless while doing what they enjoy. I believe that if we all just do a tiny bit that together we will be able to accomplish great things for orphans all over the world.

What are your main goals/purposes for Run4Kids?

The main goal for Run4Kids is to focus on raising money for organizations that are already working with orphans and doing good work. I want to be able to come alongside those organizations and help them raise funds for specific needs that they have. The more funds we are able to raise for these organizations, the more time they have to spend working with the orphans.

I also want to provide an opportunity for regular people who may not be called to go out and work directly with orphans to be able to make an impact by doing something they enjoy or by giving some people a reason to start running and get healthier.

I believe that when we stop focusing on ourselves and start focusing outward on helping others, that is when the real transformation begins. I want to give people an opportunity to not only transform their bodies, but to transform their lives by making a difference in the lives of orphans.

Tom running with his daughter and some kids at a local race!

How can we help or get involved?

The organization is just getting started but I’m looking for help in 3 ways:

1.) People who may already be runners and have never really run for a cause to become a Run4Kids runner and to raise money for orphans each time they race.

2.) People who want to be a part of helping to grow Run4Kids by reaching out to people who may potentially become a Run4Kids runner. In addition, I want them to come with their ideas on how we can reach more people and to really allow them to take ownership in helping to continue to define exactly what Run4Kids will be.

3.) I am also looking for organizations that are working with orphans who would like to become a part of the Run4Kids groups that will benefit from the efforts of all the runners involved.

My vision is to provide one place that ties all types of orphan organizations together and can raise substantially more money for all of them then they could ever raise by just staying on their own.

(Clare’s Note: You can also make a donation and/or purchase a runner’s shirt that these fine looking models are wearing! wink, wink!)

♥♥♥

Isn’t this cool? I love how running doesn’t have to be “in vain”! There can be much purpose in your passion to stay healthy! If you have more interest in investing in the lives of Orphans through Run4Kids, then please contact Tom here or leave a comment below with your email address!

*Noted from Christian Alliance for Orphans

What a privilege to be able to vote! Remember: exercise more than your body today and exercise your right to vote!

New Move Monday is back! And today, I debut the kettlebell! Some of you may not have a clue what they are, while others of you have seen them around but just aren’t sure what to do with them! I have been playing around with them for a little over a year now and really like how they provide a unique workout. I plan on adding some more KB exercises on here in the future, so stick around if you’d like to know more!

Today’s move combines cardio, strength and balance all in one. Review the instructions, then watch the quick demo video!

When to use:

I would add this in as an active rest or cardio burst in between weight exercises at the gym. I would also use this at home when I need to get in some quick cardio and a little bit of muscle work! :)

How To:

(Instructions below the picture)

Place the kettlebell on the floor beside you. Shift over to that side, leaning heavy on the bent leg. Reach across and grab the kettlebell.

Hold KB with both hands while you come center while standing on one leg.

Shift back to the starting position as you place the KB back to the same spot. (Land gently!)

Push off the floor, again, with the bent leg and return to a one leg position without the KB. REPEAT all reps on one side, then switch sides!

DO 2-3 SETS (each leg!) of 15 pick up/put aways.

or if doing for a cardio burst

Do 60 seconds each side, a few times!

(Click here if you can’t see the video!)

Hey all! I’ve mentioned a few times about my trip to Allume last week so I figured it was a great time to let you in a little on it! I had a wonderful time with real life girlfriends, online girlfriends and new friends, too! It was quite a bit of time to be away from the family, but I left them in good hands between my mom, father in law and hubby!

As my title referenced, there was a LOT of bacon, coffee (from Avodah!), cake pops and blogtalk! I mean–could there be anything better?! :) I indulged in all the above and want to share some of it with you!

Kristina (another fellow workout partner there!) and I living it up. We workout, so why not? :)

First off, WHAT is Allume? It is a Christian blogging conference. There were over 400 women in attendance. WOW! To think that the online world has exploded to this (and in particular the “Christian” market) is amazing! So none of us felt bad when our eyes were glued to our smartphones, or we were taking pictures of the weirdest things. This is quite normal for the blogger and it was refreshing to be in similar company!!

Get ready for a photo deluge!!

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Dinner once we arrived on Wednesday! (Ruth, The Better Mom)

Later that night, Ruth was pushing me around on a hotel luggage cart! These are the things you do when you realize you are kid-free for 4 days! LOL!

My real life friend and one of my roomies, Courtney (blogs at a Women Living Well)

My real life friend, Angela from Good Morning Girls. I got her to workout with me one day! So fun! She is the sweetest and has the most tender heart!

Here is Fawn from the Happy Wives Club. She hung out in our room most nights until midnight! We share a love of exercise, too!

We had about half of the contributor team from RooMag there so we had a little meet-up! Was AWESOME to meet these gals in person and thank them for their contributions to Candace Cameron Bure’s online magazine!

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Are you wondering if we did anything more than eat, laugh and take pictures? Barely, but here are some of the sessions and speakers I attended/watched!

Phil Vischer (creator of VeggieTales and current owner of “What’s in the Bible“) opened the conference with his story of how he lost his dream (VeggieTales) and what God took him through to get to “What’s in the Bible.” He asked us what our dreams were, then asked if we were OK with letting them go if that’s where God lead. Very challenging for us all.

I’m sure you recognize this lovely lady—Sally Clarkson! She is so very “real” and her heart is to encourage women and moms everywhere to be walking with God and being intentional with their children. I don’t think I’m alone in saying that we, as bloggers, have the challenge of balancing a ministry online with our ministry in our homes. It is a tension that I struggle with every day and I am so thankful for Sally to speak  the hard, but true words to us to keep us on track and to live a life of no regret with our families!

Did you know there was someone called a “Problogger”? Well there is and we had him at the conference! Darren Rowse was one of the few men at the conference who blessed us with his knowledge. (He came in from Australia!)He lead a couple sessions and gave a keynote. I expected to hear practical info about blogging from him, but DIDN’T expect him to talk about his faith! He was a Pastor before he was a blogger and his message was very inspiring.

How lucky are we, that we got to hear the ever-inspiring, Ann Voskamp in real life?! The conference was almost worth her 45 minute sessions keynote alone! I have a full page of notes from her which I’ll go into at a later date.

Here is the final slide of Darren’s presentation. I believe that this summed up the conference for me. It’s only when we feast on Jesus, that we live! If I do this, God will give me the wisdom to know where I should go with my blog. He will show me how to best serve my friends and family. He will guide, lead and protect. Jesus is the key to all things I do!

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Whew! Thanks for hanging in there with me! Depending on when you read this, you may still get a chance to vote for the Circle of Moms contest. Ends today (Thursday, November 1st) at 7pm EST (I had the time wrong before. Oops!) It’s been a close contest, but the honest truth, I am happy with any spot I take! I didn’t expect this little blessing in my life and am grateful for it in any capacity! Thank you all for your support!

Did you wonder if I forgot about you? I can see why! I was out of town nearly all of last week at Allume (which I will update you on later this week!) and am just now getting some space to get back to the “Living and Active” challenge.

I wanted to recap the the challenge for you and then give you the GRAND PRIZE winner! Woot!

We had such a great response at the beginning and then dwindled as the weeks went on. This is very normal and to be expected! :)

Week 1: 424

Week 2: 306

Week 3: 203

Week 4: 173

Week 5: 170

We had participants from all over the world!

~ Australia

~ Ecuador

~ Canada

~ Bahrain

~ Austria

~ Saudi Arabia

~ South Africa

~ Brazil

~ France

~ Ireland

and nearly each of the 50 states!

I asked the participants of the 5 week Living and Active Challenge to email me or note any successes they had these 5 weeks. To no surprise, there are a TON of them. What I love about the successes is that they aren’t just physical, but also spiritual. Here are a few!

♥♥♥

♦ I have gained muscle and lost a few inches, 2 in. off my waist. Thank you for helping me get this great new start. I will never go back to just sitting on the couch all day. I have my goal of 3 lbs a week to lose and reach my goal of 100 lb weight loss by Memorial Day! Thanks you so much again and God bless you!!

♦ I just feel better all around. I am also down a skirt size and a few pounds.

The winner is…..

KRISTINA BURKE

Please contact me at clare@peak313.com so I can get your info!

I had many many requests to continue this challenge and while we have a stop date, I will definitely do another one! (More than likely, for the new year!) You all have given me some great feedback and inspiration for future challenges and posts.

{Contest still going! Thank you for your vote!}

Have you ever joined a gym, then sat there wondering what in the world to do next? You aren’t the only one! I’ve had a lot of people email, asking what they should do once they purchase that membership. Join me at The Better Mom to find out 4 things you should do once you walk in those doors!

Also, if you wouldn’t mind voting for me at the Circle of Moms (again!) I would appreciate it! The contest is over in less than a week!

Hi all! I wanted to update you on a few things!

First off, please be sure to visit me today over at Roo, where I’m talking about “The Irony of Strength”… The secret to getting stronger in life may not be what you think!!

Second, I will be hit or miss around here over the next week as I’m leaving tomorrow for the Christian blogging conference, Allume! (formerly Relevant!) I am so excited to see what God has prepared for those of us going. If it’s anything like last year, I’ll come back filled in spirit, but exhausted in the body. LOL! I’ll be rooming with Courtney from Women Living Well, Angela from Good Morning Girls and Darlene from Time Warp Wife! There will be plenty of pics and I’ll be sure to write about it next week! If you are going, I want to make sure I see you! Leave a comment below so I can make sure to track you down!

Finally, would you mind taking a second to vote for me on Circle of Moms? (You can vote every 24 hours until the contest ends, which is November 1st.) I am thrilled to be considered a part of the “Top 25 Health & Wellness” Mom blogs!

I will be announcing the winner of the “Living and Active” challenge next week and will be giving some success stories too! You will be so encouraged by them! Thank you!!

This week, my husband and I celebrated 9 years of marriage. I posted a picture along with this phrase on my personal facebook page…

I got to thinking about this and thought to myself, “What a horrible phrase to describe our past 9 years?!” I feel some sort of responsibility to always speak truth and to be as open and transparent as certain phases of life allow me to be. I’ve seen too many marriages–Christian in particular–crumble over the years and I believe one large reason is that they believe that “everyone else” is doing better than them. What a disservice to our brothers and sisters in Christ! While some marriages may have little conflict or issues, my guess is that a majority of them have all sorts of it.

I am a multi-layered person. I go much further than fitness, so I’ve done my fair share of reading up on marriage over the years. Kory and I have had the opportunity to sit across from many people–married couples, divorced ones (or those in the process of getting), singles, and engaged. We have had many, many conversations and have had a chance to process what we’ve learned from them to help us out. (We jokingly say we need a sign on the front of our house saying, “Smith Counseling: Open for Business”! LOL! My husband is a high school counselor by profession though! :))

♥♥♥

So here are some thoughts I wanted to process and write down about our 9 years of “wedded bliss”.

1.) It’s not been all wedded bliss.

As a matter of fact, if you were a fly on our wall, my guess is you would actually wonder if we even liked each other at times! We are both strong personalities so when sparks fly, THEY FLY! We have had our share of ups and downs–more than I could count–in our 9 years. WE ARE NOT PERFECT.

2.) The comfort is in the commitment.

I heard a Family Life Broadcast a few years ago where Dennis Rainey mentioned that the “comfort is in the commitment”. There is such comfort in knowing that Kory is committed to me–no matter what we are FEELING. And because he tells me this, it makes me want to work harder at making this work! Commitment is a foreign word in so many ways nowadays and what a shame that is.

3.) We understand that we are BIG walking TARGETS.

Satan wants nothing more than to ruin our marriage. He knows that the BEST picture and representation of our relationship with Christ, is our marriage! Kory and I are daily in His Word. We are praying. We want to use the gifts God has given us. We have our own ministires we are involved in. Satan sees us–and our marriage–as a THREAT to him. I have to keep this in mind often! My fight is not against the “flesh and blood” but against something I don’t see.

4.) There’s a triple threat that we all bring to our relationships: our backgrounds, our past relationships, and how marriage was modeled to us…

All those things matter–and make an impact–when you are in your marriage. It’s really hard to pinpoint that unless someone can look from the outside in and tell you. Understanding –and diving a little deeper–into those things will only HELP.

My card to Kory for our anniversary this year. No comments from the peanut gallery! LOL!

5.) It will get HARDER before it gets EASIER.

There’s always a learning curve when you are trying something different. Your natural tendency is to go back to what is comfortable. (This is something to keep in mind when starting a new health habit too!) So in that, you have to be patient when trying something new. Many times this means it gets much harder than what it was before, but keep your eyes on the prize!

6.) We are better as a team than solo.

Teamwork works. (The Wonder Pets would agree!) We work better side by side, moving towards the same goal, as opposed  to nose to nose fighting for our own ways. This is something that 2 first-born, very independent, people have to remind themselves over and over again. :)

7.) It’s hard because we CARE.

If I didn’t want our marriage to not only work–but be thriving and successsful– then I wouldn’t care how the climate is in our house. I wouldn’t care if I carried a chip on my shoulder, or that he was feeling disrespected. Sure, many times I WISH I didn’t care, but I know that in order for us to stay together (because that is our ultimate goal) we HAVE to care. And because we do, man, it makes it rough!

♥♥♥

Before I get any haters on this post, I want to say that I understand. Not every marriage will work out. I am not the marriage police. At the end of the day, I am only responsible for my response to my relationship with my husband–not yours. I do not have all the answers! My prayer is that you would seek God DAILY in your marriage relationship and that you would be obedient to what He has called you to do. And if you have a marriage that is doing well, THANK GOD for that—often! I am SO thankful that my husband loves God and is committed to me! I am blessed beyond measure!!

Justin Bieber gives a little wisdom that I love, from one of his newest songs and I’ll close with this…

♬ But the grass ain’t always greener on the other side,
It’s green where you water it
So I know we got issues baby true, true, true,
But I’d rather work on this with you
Than to go ahead and start with someone new ♬

I created this graphic to summarize what we focused on over these past 5 weeks. Print it off, or save it to your computer so you can be reminded often!

I thought that the phrase:, “Word Fed, not Food Led, and Spirit Led, not Flesh Fed” best described our focus!

Some of you might be relieved and happy that this 5 week challenge is over.

Others of you may be sad and a little lost.

You’ve had this challenge to keep you focused. You’ve had someone giving you a spot to checkin and ask questions weekly. You’ve had a chance to win a rockin’ grand prize.

Now you are going back to life BEFORE the challenge. Life which was hard. Life that was…well…life.

We can’t live our lives in constant challenges. It is good for us to change things up a bit. Sometimes that means amping it up and sometimes that means taking a step back. I’m not sure where you are right now, but for those of you interested in staying in the game, here are my recommendations.

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Assess

Did this challenge work for you? How didn’t it? Do you need to dial back on the days of the week you exercised or perhaps, add more? Is it time to try something new? What did God teach you through these past 5 weeks as we moved through our 5 key points? Is it time for you to come alongside someone else along their health journey?

Applaud

Listen….This may be the longest amount of time some of you have exercised. Others of you have never memorized scripture before so the fact that you did 3 is awesome. Each of us have our own things that we can be happy about and you know what? Celebrate those accomplishments! If you haven’t done this yet, take a chance to applaud what you’ve done! If you did it with a group of ladies, go out to dinner together. If you did it with yourself, purchase a cute workout top. It is ok to be happy with the accomplishments over the past 5 weeks. But remember this—thank your Heavenly Father. He is the source of everything good in our lives! He alone gives us the strength and perseverance to keep these wondrous bodies going! Never forget that in the midst of your hard work!

Act

Here are some suggestions I have for you to act…again! This should not be the end of your journey, but just the beginning!

1.) Start a new challenge!

Make up your own rules. Choose your own verses. Give yourself a new goal and deadline. Add some new friends. Come up with a fun name and if you do this, be sure to share it with us!

2.) Find a new Bible Study or book to keep you focused on the spiritual aspect of the challenge.

3.) Give yourself a “theme” to focus on for the next 5 weeks.

Then find books, podcasts and more to help you out! (i.e. self-control, marriage, the life of David etc)

4.) Start a “healthy living” focused book club.

Meet once a week, or twice a month. Talk about your physical challenges and review the book.My suggestions? Try “Reshaping it all” by Candace Cameron Bure, “Made to Crave” by Lysa Terkherst, or “Every Body Matters” by Gary Thomas.

5.) Start (or keep) a facebook group to keep the accountability…or…

6.) Join an already made online group (such as this one on sparkpeople!)

7.) Take a break!

That’s right. If you’ve been going strong for all 5 weeks, then it’s ok to take a break for up to a week. Get refreshed and refocused and start again!

♥♥♥

Please do not let the end of this challenge be the end of your goals. Instead, let this be a spring board to lift you off to the next phase of your journey! Make the adjustments as necessary. I would love to hear your thoughts on what you will be doing since this challenge is over. Please write below!

Lastly, don’t forget to stay around here! I plan on doing more challenges in the future (and may do them more often..but possibly in different ways…) so we want you back!

(Would you mind taking a second to vote for me on the Top 25 Health & Wellness Mom Blogs over at Circle of Moms? Thank you!)

It’s time for another Shed & Share! Meet Jessica–a determined young gal with an awesome, inspiring story!

{The Basics}

Age: 30

Profession: 5th grade Language Arts teacher

How long have you been on this weight loss journey? 14 months

Weight Loss/Inches: 55 pounds, 19.75″

Blog/Facebook Page: Get Busy Living - http://www.getbusyliving.org

{Your Story}

What was your “low point”?

I’ve had a couple of “low points” that have caused me to try to lose weight, but this is definitely the longest I’ve actually stuck with it and made it a permanent change. This time, there wasn’t necessarly a low point. I was reading “Made to Crave” (Lysa TerKeurst) and “Reshaping It All” (Candace Cameron Bure) in the Spring of 2011, and they were the first Christian “diet” type books I’d ever read. Before reading them, I never really understood how my overeating and sedentary lifestyle were not only dishonoring to God, but actually sinful. Seeing my life this way is what gave me the wake up call I needed.

Also, in February 2010, I lost my husband to cancer. He had cancer the entire time I knew him, and fought an almost 5 year fight against the disease. His cancer was osteosarcoma, a rare cancer that affects mostly children and teens. The doctors offered no explanation as to why he got this cancer. The more research and reading and documentary watching I’ve done, the more I wonder how much of his cancer (and that of others) is caused by the toxic things we put into our bodies. This is my motivation for choosing healthy, organic foods. My husband’s cancer caused him to need a total knee replacement, meaning he – who was an avid soccer player – could no longer run. He wished desperately to be able to run and play sports, and that motivates me to keep going with my workouts.

How did you get started?

I have tried many types of diets – counting points or calories or carbs or anything. This time, I decided I wasn’t doing that. I know myself enough to know that I can’t spend the rest of my life counting every morsel that goes into my mouth. So, I adopted the “Eat Clean” lifestyle. I eat almost entirely following a Jillian Michaels motto – “If it didn’t grow from the ground or have a mother – don’t eat it.” I cut back on my portions and started eating clean, fresh foods. For the first 40 pounds, I didn’t track calories.  I just couldn’t do that mentally – I needed to focus on simply making healthier choices.  Then, when I hit a plateau at 40 pounds lost, I started using the MyFitnessPal app to track my calories.  It made a big difference in my weight loss and helped me get through the plateau!

I started working out regularly when I joined a local gym called Phases Fitness. It’s a unique setting where your monthly membership buys you a certain number of appointments each week. You make your appointments, and if you don’t show up – they call you! It’s the first time in my life I can say I haven’t skipped a gym day in a year! Phases also provides me with a new workout plan every 8 weeks, and they take my measurements and track my weight. They limit the number of people who can be in the gym at one time so you always get personalized attention. Plus, the owners Mindy and Brian, are encouraging, Christian people who I just adore!

Jessica, before and after!

What is your workout routine and eating plan?

Right now I’m training with a team from my gym for the Men’s Health Urbanathlon in NYC at the end of this month. It’s an obstacle course type race, so my training is all over the place! With this training, I’m doing 1-2 days of running, 1-2 days of strength training, and 1-2 days of stair/hill climb work. Typically, though, I go to the gym and do my workout plan 3 times a week. The plan includes core, upper, and lower body strength exercises mixed with cardio bursts of 3-5 minutes on the treadmill. It takes about an hour. I also try to run 2-3 miles once or twice during the week, and I like to take a yoga or BodyFlow class once during the week to help maintain flexibility.

With my diet, I’ve found it’s easiest to just stick with consistent things. Every single morning I make a “Green Monster” (1 cup unsweetened SoDelicious coconut milk, a big handful of spinach, a tbsp of natural PB, a tbsp of cacao powder, a few drops of Stevia, and 1/2 scoop 100 calorie protein powder) – it is really filling and gives me a lot of nutrition. I snack a few hours later on a piece of fruit or some carrots, along with almonds or a string cheese. For lunch, I typically make something on the weekend that is easy to pack – like a soup – and have a cup of that with some Greek yogurt and berries, and baby carrots. Dinners are a lean protein (I love the single servings of frozen fish) along with plenty of steamed veggies and a whole grain (quinoa and farro are my faves!). I wrote a blog post this summer with a day of my foods outlined! Check it out here.

{Help us!}

What are your top 3 favorite resources that helped you along the way?

1. Books – I already mentioned “Made to Crave” and “Reshaping It All” – if you haven’t read those yet, go get them! I still go back to those 2 all the time.

2. Blogs – finding blogs that contain healthy food ideas and exercise tips, are a great daily source of inspiration. Peak 313, (never)home maker, andDelighted Momma - are a few of my faves!

3. Bible – It never occurred to me that this book, and prayer, would be my most valuable resources in this journey. There’s encouragement and inspiration everywhere in God’s Word, and when you look at it through the lens of “health and weight loss” – it’s amazing all of the gems you can find! Inviting God into my weight loss has been huge. I pray daily for strength to concur cravings and carry me through tough workouts, and God absolutely always supplies.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone who is sitting on the sidelines and waiting?

Get up and get started! Even if it’s to walk around your block, or start cleaning the crummy food out of the pantry – just make one change and then get up and do it. And pray about! Ask God to help you, invite Him along on the journey. Don’t assume that your struggles with eating and exercising are outside the realm of God – He cares about these things! Romans 12 tells us that taking care of our bodies is an act of worship! Oh, and go read “Made to Crave” or “Reshaping It All”. If I haven’t said that enough already, those books changed my life.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone who is in the process but is feeling discouraged?

Find something to challenge yourself. I bounced back and forth between the same 3 pounds for four months. FOUR MONTHS. But I kept going. Then I found the Urbanathlon training. It’s totally different from the workouts I’d been doing, and in the first week, my body finally broke the plateau! In one week I lost 4 pounds, and haven’t put any of it back on. Whatever you do – don’t stop. Don’t quit exercising or stop at the drive thru on the way home. Think about the extra things you’ll have to undo!! I promise, it’s not worth it. You will get through it!

If you are a parent, how have you balanced everything?

I’m not a parent, but I am busy with school and volunteering at my church. The biggest thing that made the difference for me was scheduling appointments at the gym. If your gym doesn’t offer that, or you don’t belong to a gym, find a friend and make appointments together. Text each other when you’ve completed your workouts. Meet up at a local park to complete things together. Finding some way to hold myself accountable was the game changer for me!

Anything else you would like to share?

If you’re someone who is thinking about starting the weight loss journey, or if you’re already on it, just remember this: you are worth it. You are a child of God, and He wants what’s best for His kids! God has to be a part of your journey. Don’t leave Him out. He loves you, and He wants to walk this path with you!

♥♥♥

Jessica, thank you so much for opening up and sharing with us your story! I think we can all walk away with some wise words from you!

If you have a shed story that you would like to share, please contact me at clare@peak313.com!

This is it! Your final checkpoint! I am so proud of those of you who have stayed with us the whole 5 weeks!

Be sure to check in your last time. You have until Sunday, October 21st to get this last checkin completed. After that, I will be able to find out who is eligible for the GRAND PRIZE, then choose (randomly!) the winner! YAY!

If you can’t see the form, click here.

If you have a blog, be sure to enter a post on how you did this past week. It’s been great reading your thoughts! (Yes, I do read them even if you don’t get a comment from me!) I also know that it has encouraged many of the other participants!

I’ll give you all the details about where our participants came from, how many we had and some success stories next week, so please be on the lookout.

I know the next question that will be coming from many of you…now what?! Clare–you got me exercising consistently and now you are taking away any incentive to keep at it?! What do you recommend?

GREAT question! I will be addressing that in a blog post this week so be on the lookout!! :)

If you haven’t been a regular follower of Peak313 before this challenge, I hope that you stick around! I’ll roll back into my normal schedule of posting with more exercises, videos, recipes, tips and more! We’ve got Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner so you will need that motivation and encouragement to get you through! :)

Here’s a post that has nothing to do with fitness! (Do I hear shouts of “Hurray!”? LOL!) Over the years, my husband and I have had fun creating unique costumes that we’ve made on our own. I do not consider myself crafty so if I can do this, so can you! So whether you need a costume for Halloween, a Harvest party, or just fun, maybe you can find some inspiriation below!

1.) The Flintstones.

My husband and I were Fred and Wilma. My friend, Leslie, and her husband were Barney and Betty. I don’t think we did any sewing with these, but just cut and used lots of glue! (And yes, I did spray my hair orange and it all came out that night!)

2.) Shaggy and Velma (Scooby Doo)

I found most of these clothes at the thrift store! We both wore a wig. We had to cut my husband’s up a bit to get it to match Shaggy’s hair. I also popped out the lenses of a pair of glasses I found from the dollar tree! (My husband looks a little rough..and mean!)

3.) Basketball, ref and basketball player!

So the next year, I was pregnant with my first child. My husband took halloween paint and painted my belly. (Yes, that’s my bare belly. Sorry if this freaks you out) And then he went as a basketball player!

4.) Dash (from the “Incredibles”)

My son got into the Incredibles when he was 4, so this was a perfect option for him.

A few notes about this costume:

- I used 2 pair of black adult socks. One pair as his arm sleeves (Cut off the ends and wore gloves) and the other pair that went over top of his shoes that made them look like boots. I put some duct tape on the bottom to rough it up a bit because a sock on the ground was a little slippery!

- We enlarged and printed off “The Incredibles” logo from the internet and then traced and colored them on felt.

- We used a larger pair of boys boxer brief underwear for his shorts so that they stayed closer to his body.

5.) The Berenstain Bears

This was our costume last year and probably my favorite option because it involved our whole family. There’s a little backstory to this too. Besides the fact that we love them, we kind of mimic them. We’ve always called our kids Brother Bear and Sister Bear and have referred to my husband and I as mama and daddy bear. It was fun to walk around like this. My husband was a good sport! I got all of the clothing (except hubby’s overalls) at Goodwill!

A few notes about this costume:

- I took a $1 silly top hat from Target and wrapped it with felt and glued it to make Papa Bear’s hat

- My hat was a shower cap wrapped with fabric. I stuffed paper towels in between those layers to make it puff up more, then cut and glued circles on it.

Here is the comparison!

6.) “Chip” the teapot

This was actually for my daughter’s 3rd birthday. My son mentioned he wanted to be Chip, so my mom whipped this up!

Here’s the “how to”!

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I hope you enjoy these! We certainly have had our fun with them over the past 7 years!

In an effort for full disclosure (and to confirm that I am indeed, just like you!) I am going to share a personal story that I struggled with last week.

The fall themed marketing was hitting me hard at the grocery store and for once, I looked twice at that Little Debbie display. I rarely purchase prepackaged treats, so I thought I’d get a gold medal from the hubs and son when I came home with something from adorable Debbie. As I was perusing the shelves I came across  a box of these babies…

Ooh. They are probably the one thing on those shelves I would have wanted, but I resisted. How awesome of me, right?

But beside my beloved fall brownies were boxes of these….

Playing the safe side, I chose them, after all, both my husband and son would enjoy this rare treat.  Following my own rule of “don’t keep the enemy (and by enemy, I mean foods you shouldn’t have but could gorge on if allowed) in the house”, I threw them in the cart. I don’t even like Nutty Bars.

Self-Control: 1 Food Craving: 0

So I get the Nutty Bars home. Not even tempted to open them and chow down. The next day, my kids wanted a snack, so I opened the package and gave them one bar each. I decided to take a bite out of one to try it out. After all, it’s just a bite and I don’t really like these.

Oh wait. Maybe I do?

So then I had to take a bite out of the other bar. It’s only fair, right?

So as they are chowing down, my brain is going into overdrive. “I really want one. Just one bar. Just one. Not two. It won’t kill you. It does have peanut butter in it and you did workout today.”

So I indulge.

It went down so fast. Then one bar became two.

And then Tuesday became Wednesday and Wednesday became Thursday. Finally, I shipped up the rest to my hubby at work. I had to get them out! I succumbed to the Nutty Bars!! (cue music)

Self Control: 0 Food Craving: 3

So why do I tell you this? Well, it’s a learning experience for me and hopefully one for you.

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1.) The flesh is rarely satisfied…especially with sugar.

I thought that I could stop myself after one bar. I thought I could stop myself after one day. But I couldn’t. Willpower will only take you so far until you eventually break. Sugar is the biggest culprit for never leaving us satisfied! Each of us has to decide if taking that bite is worth it. Some of you have better self-control than others. It’s specific person to person.

2.) Don’t be surprised when something comes from outta left field and hits you.

I intentionally bought the Nutty Bars because I thought I’d do well with them. I did choose them over my first love, right?  It’s a good reminder that we should primarily fill our fridges with things that are good for us. When a moment of weakness hits, you may just reach for that one thing that you swore you’d never have.

3.) Eat like junk. Perform like junk.

I am not gonna lie. My workouts those days were BLAH. I felt really tired and “heavy”. Which is totally disappointing because I like to kill it when I hit the gym. I’m sure part of the “blah” was the disappointment in myself. It’s one thing to do that one day, but it’s another to repeat it, for two days.

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We are rounding the corner to Halloween which means candy, candy and more candy. (especially if you have kids and even if you don’t buy it for them!) It’s a good time for us to evaluate our plan of attack.

~ Should we indulge at all?

~ What’s our limit?

~ Are there foods worth cheating for?

~ What’s our plan to get us back on when we get off track?

Finally, I’d like to make the connection with junk and our flesh with our spiritual lives. Is there any junk that you intake spiritually that is leaving you with the same after effects as the physical junk? Is there anything that might fly out of left field that could knock you down? Are you noticing that your “spiritual performance” is a bit sluggish and “blah”? If so, then think through some of the things you are consuming.

Please tell me that I’m not the only one who succumbed to the Nutty Bars!! :)

We have come to our last week! Can you believe it?! These 5 weeks have flown by for me. We will have one more checkpoint next week, so be sure to do that in order to be eligible for the Grand Prize. Do I need to remind you of what the grand prize is? OK!

FIRST:

Time for week 4′s check-in! (Soul Food: Proverbs 4:23) Please fill out the quick form below. IMPORTANT: If you are an RSS reader or are reading this via EMAIL, then please click on this link to fill out the form!!

REMEMBER: In order to be eligible for the GRAND PRIZE, then you have to fill this form out EACH week, meeting each criteria. (If you don’t meet the criteria, you can still fill the form out! Use it as accountability!)

Spiritual:

Key # 5: Marathon Minded

Scripture Memory (aka, “Soul Food”) 1 Thessalonians 5:23

Here is your printable verse.

(Click Image to Enlarge and Print!)

And now a little insight…

(Click image to enlarge)

Get physical!!

You have a few options of workouts! I published a new schedule along with a new lower body workout and ab workout! Mix and match, or do your own!

Accountability!

For those of you with a blog, write up a post on how you did this week and link it up! I may not get a chance to comment on each of your blog posts, but I am reading them and I totally love it! If you don’t have a blog, feel free to comment below with anything you’d like to tell us. Remember–we are a COMMUNITY who are TIED TOGETHER,DAILY DEDICATED, CRAVING CONQUERERS  and HEART HEALTHY so let’s spur one another on with our personal stories!

Find me on facebook, twitter or instagram for daily insights, pictures and encouragement! I love the conversations we have going on there!

So…this is a few days late. I am so sorry! I also promised to incorporate a jump rope workout in here, but I won’t be able to get to that until next week!

I created a new lower body workout to match my 31:17 Arm Workout. I also switched up some things in this GUIDED workout plan below. Remember, you do not have to do this as I have listed. Just be sure

Don’t forget about the free {Christian!} videos, check out Revelation Wellness.

Here it is in detail: (Follow links to print printables and to view videos!)

(Click image to enlarge and print)

Workout 1:

31:17 Arms {Printable}

“Your Choice” Cardio: 20 minutes (walk, run, elliptical, bike etc)

Workout 2:

52:7 Lower Body {Printable}

Cardio Burst #2: (Video) Party Rock Legs and Abs x2 (MUTE if you are tired of my voice!)

Ab Routine #2 {Printable}

(Click image to enlarge and print)

Workout 3:

31:17 Arms {Printable}

“Your Choice” Cardio: 20 minutes (walk, run, elliptial, bike etc)

Workout 4:

52:7 Lower Body {Printable}

Cardio Burst #1: (Video) Jacks/Climbs/Steps x2 (MUTE if you are tired of my voice!)

Ab Routine #2 {Printable}

Not sure how to do the exercises for Ab Routine #2? Put the names of the exercises in the search bar on the homepage!

Many of you have seen and done my 31:17 Arm Workout, so I thought it was time to match a lower body workout!

Proverbs 31:17 tells us that our arms need to be strong for the task. Isaiah 52:7 tells us how beautiful are the feet that bring GOOD NEWS! We need strong legs to bring the good news to others, so let’s get to it!

Pair this up with the 31:17 arm workout, or do them on alternating days for a great full body workout!

Click here to get the printable!

Here are the basic exercises in the printable:

1.) Curtsy Lunge

Grab 2 weights as you stand with legs hip width apart. Take your right leg and “curtsy” behind the left leg. (Imagine curtsying to the king) Step back to starting position. Reverse to the other side by stepping your left leg behind the left. Repeat. Make sure that you don’t lean forward as you do this and that the front knee stays forward and doesn’t move side to side.

2.) Single Leg Lunge/Deadlift

Take 2 weights and stand near a bench or a step. Take one leg and place it behind you on top of the bench/step. Make sure the other leg is far enough out to support you. Lunge down and then come back up. Repeat. Do all reps of lunges and then move onto the deadlift. DEADLIFT: With legs in same position bend forward from the hips as you reach the weights to the floor, then slowly draw yourself back up.You should feel this primarily in the hamstrings. Repeat. Once you are finished with all your deadlift reps, switch legs!

3.) Rear Lunge Kick

Step backward into a lunge while holding a weight in both hands. As you come up to starting position, kick in the air (with control!) and then go immediately back into the rear lunge. Repeat all reps on one side, then reverse legs!

4.) Inner Thigh Lift

Take an exercise ball and find an open wall. Place the ball under your hips and keep one hand on the floor. Put both feet up on the wall straight beside you. KEEP THE HIPS STACKED. Turn the heels together in a “V” position and drop the bottom leg to the floor. (The moving leg does NOT touch the wall)

Bring the bottom leg back up to the top leg WHILE MAINTAINING the “V” position. As you lift your leg, focus on PRESSING the inner thigh up to the ceiling. Repeat the drop and lift. Keep your abdominals tight and your arms strong to keep you balanced. ADVANCED: Add some pulsing at the “top” of the move. Count to 8 while quickly pulsing your leg up.You can add the pulsing at the end of the first or second set of 15 reps.

5.) Ham Curl

Take the aerobics ball and go to the floor. Straighten the legs and place both heels on the ball. Curl the ball in towards your body and then extend it back out. Repeat. Be sure to not let the lower back/body “sag” as you do this!

6.) BONUS: Jump Squat

Stand with legs hip width apart. Squat down deep and then explode up into the air. Hands can stay to your side or raise. Repeat. Be sure to get some POWER with each squat which means you have to get deep (as opposed to a more shallow, fast squat)

Moving right along into week 4! Sorry for the delay in getting this up. Like I mentioned last week, my life has been crazy!!

FIRST:

Time for week 3′s check-in! (Soul Food: 1 John 2:16) Please fill out the quick form below. IMPORTANT: If you are an RSS reader or are reading this via EMAIL, then please click on this link to fill out the form!!

REMEMBER: In order to be eligible for the GRAND PRIZE, then you have to fill this form out EACH week, meeting each criteria. (If you don’t meet the criteria, you can still fill the form out! Use it as accountability!)

Spiritual:

Key # 4: HEART HEALTHY

Scripture Memory (aka, “Soul Food”) Proverbs 4:23

Here is your printable verse.

(Click image to enlarge and print)

And a little insight!

(Click image to enlarge and print)

Get physical!!

I am going to create a new set of exercises for you! That will be in the next post, so be on the lookout!

Accountability!

For those of you with a blog, write up a post on how you did this week and link it up! I may not get a chance to comment on each of your blog posts, but I am reading them and I totally love it! If you don’t have a blog, feel free to comment below with anything you’d like to tell us. Remember–we are a COMMUNITY who are TIED TOGETHER,DAILY DEDICATED, and CRAVING CONQUERERS so let’s spur one another on with our personal stories!

Find me on facebook, twitter or instagram for daily insights, pictures and encouragement! I love the conversations we have going on there!

We have a very special guest today talking about our Key for Week 3 of the “Living and Active” challenge: craving conquerers!

Candace Cameron Bure’s biography is filled with many many accomplishments, fame and excitement, but the awesome thing about her is that she goes much deeper than all of those. I’ve had the chance to work alongside her for almost a year as one of the Senior Co-Editor’s of her online magazine, Roomag. We’ve had plenty of phone conversations, texts and emails and I’m telling you—she is the real deal! It is so refreshing to find someone like her in Hollywood!  She is uniquely gifted and placed in this specific time to reach people for the Kingdom of God! I ask that you pray for her as she shines her light to those God has chosen to place her with.

And now, let’s hear from Candace!

Who doesn’t crave something? For some, it might be love, shopping, encouraging words or even working out.

But for most of us, when we hear the word “crave” we think food. I know I’m not the only one to shares cravings for ice cream, In&Out Burger and chocolate anything all year long! Cravings are fine, as long as we fulfill those cravings in moderation and those that are beneficial to us.

I was sitting on my couch alone, Val and the kids had gone to bed and I thought about having a sweet treat while I watched T.V. into the wee hours of the night. I wasn’t really craving anything… but the thought of something yummy kept popping into my mind because I knew it was there. I kept contemplating… should I eat it? I don’t really desire it. Yeah, but it will taste so good once you bite into it. No, I shouldn’t. I don’t need it and I’m not even craving it! But it’s there! And… the battle of the mind began.

Have you ever felt yourself in a situation where you didn’t even want something, but the more you thought about it, the more you convinced yourself that you needed it? I do it a lot more than I ever imagined once I became aware of it. The more I think about something, especially food, the more I’ve talked myself into having something I never really desired in the first place. So how do I keep myself from going on this mental journey that always turns into a battle?

In my book, Reshaping It All, I talk about “the eye covenant” found in Job 31:, “I have made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I look upon a young woman?” Using Job as a role model, many committed husbands, like mine, have decided to make the same covenant with their eyes. If a beautiful woman walks by, a man may take notice, but if he gazes at her for a while, his mind will travel to places it shouldn’t. So rather than looking her way, he turns his eyes and his attention to something else.

If this covenant helped Job overcome lust of the flesh, it can also work for us in regard to food! Instead of fantasizing over lunch, or spending the evening meditating on what dessert we’ll have, let us turn our thoughts and attention to something else. Use this covenant of the eyes to avoid the snack isles while shopping, passing up free samples instead of stopping to consider them, replying “No, thank you,” the next time someone passes a brownie your way and to stay focused on the car ahead of you when you drive by a fast food chain.

(Source)

The truth is, we may desperately crave something that isn’t beneficial, but we must decide to choose our action; give in or stand strong! If you stick with it, your body will eventually agree with your choice and you will crave to continue to do so.

We are moving right along in the Living and Active Challenge. We are on week 3 already! Over 430 of you have checked in for week 1…..WOW!! Let’s get to some housekeeping.

FIRST:

It is time for Week 2′s check-in. Same as last week. Please fill out the quick form below. IMPORTANT: If you are an RSS reader or are reading this via EMAIL, then please click on this link to fill out the form!!

REMEMBER: In order to be eligible for the GRAND PRIZE, then you have to fill this form out EACH week, meeting each criteria. (If you don’t meet the criteria, you can still fill the form out! Use it as accountability!)

Spiritual:

Now, let’s get to Week 3!

Key # 3: CRAVING CONQUERERS

Scripture Memory (aka, “Soul Food”) 1 John 2:16

Here is your printable verse.

(Click on image to enlarge and print!)

Also, be sure to check out Lysa Terkeurst’s book, “Made to Crave“! It has so many wonderful keys to helping you “satisfy your deepest desire with God, not food”! I love this FREE PRINTABLE Lysa provides giving us “Healthy Eating go-To Scripts”. Print it out and pray over them!

We will have a guest post on Wednesday talking about the very issue of conquering cravings! But for now, here are some of my thoughts!

(Click image to enlarge and read!)

Get physical!!

Well…..I didn’t get my new video up this week. It has been an unbelievably busy time in my life personally, on top of this challenge, so I’m trying my best! The goal is to get it up this week! Until then, do what is working for you and maybe change up a few videos or exercises! Next week I will provide a new set of suggested exercises for those of you who need it!

Accountability!

For those of you with a blog, write up a post on how you did this week and link it up! I may not get a chance to comment on each of your blog posts, but I am reading them and I totally love it! If you don’t have a blog, feel free to comment below with anything you’d like to tell us. Remember–we are a COMMUNITY who are TIED TOGETHER and DAILY DEDICATED, so let’s spur one another on with our personal stories!

Find me on facebook, twitter or instagram for daily insights, pictures and encouragement! I love the conversations we have going on there!

I have had some of you say that you are not receiving my posts in your email. Please make sure that you confirm your subscription to my site. If you do not do this, you won’t get them! (Check your SPAM box if you don’t see it in your inbox!)

Where are my pumpkin, pumpkin eaters?! Here’s a twist on your basic oatmeal!

(Recipe from “Skinny Rules“, by Bob Harper)

Fall Pumpkin Oatmeal

Ingredients

♦ 1/2 cup rolled oats

♦ 1/4 cup almond or skim milk

♦ 1/2 cup water

♦ 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

♦ 1/4 teaspoon nutmug

♦ 1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree

♦ 1/2 tablespoon ground flax seed

♦ 1 tablespoon chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, or almonds)

Directions

1. Combine the oats, milk, water, cinnamon, and nutmeg in small saucepan. Bring to a slow simmer.

2. Add the pumpkin puree, flax seed, and nuts.

3. Stir to combine and simmer until the oatmeal is done, 3 to 4 minutes.

Nutrition Information: 255 calories, 9g protein, 34g carbs, 10g fat

LADIES! I am so incredibly touched by the testimonies and emails I’ve gotten from you over this first week! You are so focused, determined and excited to get through these 5 weeks and I couldn’t be happier!

FIRST:

We need to take care of week 1 and have our FIRST checkpoint! REMEMBER: If you want to be included to have a chance to win the GRAND PRIZE, then you HAVE TO CHECK-IN with me every week!  (You also have to meet the 4 day/week exercise and weekly verse memorization criteria.)

Here is how we are going to checkin each week. I have created a very simple form below. Please fill out all the red asterik questions and hit “submit”! I will be able to keep an easy check each week to see if you come back or not. :) This form will be available and open for you to enter info in until next Sunday night! (If you can’t see the form below, please click this link)

Ok.. Let’s move onto WEEK 2!!

Spiritual:

Key # 2: DEDICATED DAILY

Scripture Memory (aka, “Soul Food”) Matthew 6:34

Click here for the printable that you can cut out and carry with you or hang up!

And now, some insight as to why I chose this as our Key for week 2!

Click image to enlarge and read!

Get physical!!

The routine is the same as last week. Feel free to mix and match as you please! If I get my stuff together, you may be getting a new 4 minute video this week! YAAY!

Accountability!

I will have a link-up each week (and it will stay up for a week, so feel free to add the post when you have time that week). IF YOU HAVE A BLOG, please write a post about how you are doing! If you don’t have a blog, don’t worry about this part. (But, please, browse through the links as you may find some awesome blogs!) You are also more than welcome to comment below with how you are doing or add it to my facebook wall or twitter! (#livingandactive)

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AGAIN: You HAVE to fill in the form above to be considered for the grand prize!! If I don’t have your name on there each week, then I won’t have any confirmation that you did the challenge requirements!!

So if you all are sharing your goals and plans, then I figure I need to do the same, right? Remember, we are all at different places in life. Please don’t be discouraged by what I do (or don’t do!) for my workout. We each have different goals, desires and resources to get it done!

I am moving into a new season and schedule just as many of you are. I’m starting back up at teaching so that always adds a twist to my workout schedule. May take some tweaking over the next few weeks to figure out what I like and what rolls. (Actually, I expect it to change!)

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Monday: Back/Biceps: Teach an outdoor fitness challenge class*

Tuesday: 4 Mile Run : Teach pilates

Wednesday: Chest/Triceps/Shoulders : Teach outdoor fitness challenge class

Thursday: Lower Body : Teach Pilates

Friday: Off or fill in what I missed above :)

Saturday: Long Run (i.e. 6-12 miles)

Sunday: Off

*Includes sprints, hills, bodyweight exercises, drills and obstacle courses. Essentially, a running outdoor boot camp

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Eating: Similar to when I told you back in April. Nothing major, although now that the summer has ended and the cool weather has come, I can see myself getting a bit sloppier in what I’m eating. I’ve stopped the grazing and focused on eating fairly scheduled meals and snacks (within 2-3 hours of each other. I veer on 3-4 on some days depending on what my body is saying to me!)

Spiritually: I started a women’s Bible study this week. I am going to be diving into Beth Moore’s, “To Live is Christ: The life and ministry of Paul”. I’m so excited as I’ve been hit or miss with our women’s Bible studies over the past few years and I have to tell you that the times that I do them are some of the richest times spiritually in my life!

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Now onto what you REALLY want to know about…the GRAND PRIZE package!! Remember, to be entered for a chance to win you must check in with me each week (more on that in a few days) saying that you worked out at least 4 days that week and have your scripture memorized. Then I’ll be able to randomly choose from those who did just that!

(Click image to enlarge and read better!)

Links to Prize Donors:

Michelle Dozois: (You remember that she is my fav workout instructor, right?)

Fitness Wholesale: I order ALL my equipment from them. They are fast and awesome to work with!

Michelle Myers: She may be a Star Diamond Coach for Beachbody, but this girl is much more than that! She has a heart for women and a love for God that is contagious!

Candace Cameron Bure: I’m sure most of you know her as DJ Tanner from Full House, but she is one rockin’ wife, mom and child of God! She wrote “Reshaping it all” (which many of you have told me that you have read and loved) and stars in many tv movies and shows. BTW…did you know she had an online magazine called Roomag? You should check it out because I’m also her senior co-editor over there!

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I’ll see you back here Monday (or Sunday night if I get on top of it. haha) with your NEW verse/printable AND your FIRST check-in!

There’s no better way to start off the “Living and Active” challenge, than to hear a new “Shed & Share” story! These are real-life women with real-life obstacles, finding real-life solutions for their real-life weight struggles! (Take some time and view the 13 Shed stories I have on the blog already!) I have had so many of you email me (or tell me in person!) that your goal is to be one of my Shed & Share stories. I LOVE THIS and as soon as you hit that goal, I want your first email to be me!! I am your biggest cheerleader!

Let’s get to Jennifer’s story. It’s awesome!

{The Basics}

Age: 32

Profession: Physical Education Teacher

How long have you been on this weight loss journey?

8 months, although I’ve been “trying” for the last 9 years to lose the baby weight!!!

Weight Loss/Inches Lost: 45 pounds

Other medical stats:

Before becoming healthier in the way that I live, I had frequent heartburn and high blood pressure (self diagnosed.) I ignored the symptoms, and didn’t realize how bad they had been until I decided to get healthy and the symptoms slowly went away. I was probably closer to being on blood pressure medicine than I cared to admit.

Blog/Facebook Page :

I’m not a real committed blogger, but I do keep them. One is about my family and the other is personal. You can find them at www.sixfryes.blogspot.com and www.just-call-me-momma.blogspot.com

{Your Story}

What was your “low point”?

We bought our oldest two boys iPods for Christmas. My low point came on Christmas Day, when I looked through the camera roll of their brand new gadgets and saw that they had been taking pictures when I didn’t know it. They were appalling. I didn’t recognize myself.

(One of the pictures taken by her son)

How did you get started?

I started by cutting back on carbs. My mom lost a lot of weight prior to my wedding. I talked to her about how she did it, and she said she had cut out sweets and white breads. She also said she just decided to not give up. So, I made the choice to finally stick with something. After about two weeks of counting carbs, I knew I needed more. I slowly introduced workout videos, and before I knew it, I was working out 5-6 days a week and in love with the emotional health benefits as well as the weight loss and other physical benefits I had.

(Jennifer’s 32nd birthday: the day she started her weight loss journey, weighing 199.5 pounds)

What is your workout routine and eating plan?

To be honest, my routine changes A LOT! I think that is the main reason why I don’t burn out on it. I currently am working my way through the 30 day shred, and I have been doing it 3-4 days a week. I run at least 3 days a week, but running is my favorite and so I tend to do it more like 5 days a week. My stationary bike is my back up cardio and I usually ride it once or twice a week. I don’t follow a strict eating plan. My diet is about balance and portion control. I don’t tell myself that there is any food that is “off limits” and that prevents me from feeling like I’ve given up if I have a splurge day once a week or so.

Jennifer’s after and before!! 

{Help us!}

What are your top 3 favorite resources that helped you along the way?

In the beginning I used an app on my iPhone called Calorie Counter by fatsecret. I would input what I ate and it counted my carbs and calories for me. I LOVED it! Then, when I took up running, I bought an app called Nike+. It has a GPS and it tracks how far I’ve run and my pace, etc. I love this app too, and each time I see my miles roll up I feel great pride in my accomplishments! But, my favorite resource has been my Facebook friends and the blogs that I follow, especially Peak313! Through the advice and tips from Clare, the encouraging stories in her Shed and Share and the support of all of my friends who have kind of watched my changes happen, I have found motivation to keep going! I’m so thankful for supportive people in my life, some of whom I’ve never even met face to face!

What one piece of advice would you give to someone who is sitting on the sidelines and waiting?

Take the first step! Momentum will build if you will just get yourself started. Then…don’t give up on yourself. Measure success in how far you have come instead of how far you have left to go.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone who is in the process but is feeling discouraged?

Remember why you started. Plateaus will happen both physically and emotionally. Don’t allow the stall to keep you from continuing. Never look back to a lifestyle that left you unhealthy.

If you are a parent, how have you balanced everything?

My husband!!! Most of the time, I work out when he is home to help. He is always willing to give me time, and he’s always so supportive. Most of the time, my workouts happen late in the evening, after my daily obligations have been met. It isn’t an ideal time to work out, but in this phase of life (four children ages 9, 7, 4, &3) it is what is necessary if I am going to model for them a healthy lifestyle.

Jennifer and her beautiful family, her “motivation to get fit and stay healthy”!

Anything else you would like to share?

If you want to be healthy, YOU can! I made excuses for myself for a long time… I like food too much, I don’t have time, I’m not built to be thin, I’m a stress eater… It finally clicked to me that I CAN! I am in control of how I deal with those weaknesses. And if you can pinpoint your weaknesses then you can also conquer them. I believe in you!

♥♥♥

The kids you teach and your very own children are so lucky to have you, Jennifer! What a great role model for us all! Thank you for sharing!

If you have a SHED story that you would like to SHARE, please email me at clare@peak313.com. I would love to get you up here!

Wow! We have so many of you ready to dive into this challenge. I am praying for you all often throughout the day, so know that you are not in this alone! Let’s not waste anymore time! (At the very top of my home page, I’ve put an area called “*LivingActive*” that will be an index for all the info in the challenge so it’s easy to access at your fingertips!

There’s  A LOT of info in this post to print and read today, so stay with me! (It won’t always be like this!)

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First off….

Print off this calendar. This is an easy way for you to keep track of the exercising you’ve done for the week and the scripture memorizing!

Now, onto the spiritual part….

We are going to be discussing some key points that God has given us in His “Living and Active” Word that will help you through your health journey.

Key # 1: TIED TOGETHER

Scripture Memory (aka, “Soul Food”) Ecclesiastes 4:12

Click here for printable that you can cut out. I included two sizes. The smaller one fits into something like this if you want to carry it around with you!

 And here is a little insight and challenge for you about this Key! (You don’t have to print this. Click on image to enlarge!)

Let’s get physical!!!

You can keep your own workout routine OR take this guided routine I have below. (This will be the routine for Weeks 1, 2 and 3 although I may come along and refresh things up a bit!) Feel free to mix and match as you don’t need to do them in this order. (just avoid strength training on back to back days) This is a pretty basic routine. If you’ve been exercising for any amount of time, it may not be as challenging, so add on as needed!

And for those of you who enjoy more free {Christian!} videos, check out Revelation Wellness.

Here it is in detail:

Workout 1:

Clare’s Fav Full Body Workout (Video): 3 times (Explanation of Exercises)

Ab Routine # 1 (Printable) *If you aren’t sure how to do these, then look for them in my search or “Abs” category!

Workout 2:

“Your Choice” Cardio Day (25-35 minutes): Choose between running, walking, kickboxing, swimming, your favorite cardio DVD etc. There are no intervals, hills or sprints here. Just keep yourself at a hard enough pace through the whole time that would make it hard to keep a long conversation.

Muffin-Top Makeover (Printable)

J.Lo # 1 (Video): 1 time

Workout 3:

NMM 1 Year +Push up with band and butt blaster (Printable)

Ab Routine # 1 (Printable: Same as Workout 1)

Workout 4:

Crazy Cardio: Go to an outdoor track, treadmill, elliptical, stair climber, bike, or even a big hill outside. Warm-up for 5 minutes, then do intervals where you sprint/run or move faster, then slow down. Start the intervals with 3 minutes steady state, then 1 minute of going all out. Repeat those intervals for a total of 15-20 minutes. Feel free to adjust the ratios if you need more or less recovery time.

Muffin-Top Makeover (Printable : Same as Workout 2)

J.Lo # 2 (Video)

Now, for some accountability…

This was a little confusing for some of you and I understand why. Our first official CHECKPOINT will be next Monday, the 17th. This is where, IF YOU WANT TO BE CONSIDERED FOR PRIZE, you have to check in. (I will detail that out next week what you have to complete for this) If you could care less about that, then no need to sign in each week, but I suggest that it will be a great source of accountability for you! And FYI–You DO NOT need a blog to be a part of this challenge!!

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If you are a blogger then link up below with a post letting me know what your workout plan is, who your accountability person/group is, and any other info you’d like to share with me! And if you don’t have a blog and would like to comment below with the same information, I’d love that too! (This is NOT mandatory, but this is where the community will encourage us!)

(A special thank you to Christina of Grace Designs Photography for taking pictures of my shoes and Bible! Yes..they are really mine!)

WHEW! This is a ton of info, so please feel free to ask any questions you have! Also, be sure to grab my button (above, or grab from sidebar!) and share the love with your friends. Which brings me to one final question…some will ask, “Is it too late to join?” No!! You can join at any time. The only stipulation would be if you didn’t exercise 4 times/week and memorize the weekly scripture for entry in the grand prize package. (I promise we have one! I am still tying up all the loose ends of it!)

I am so excited at the participation this challenge is bringing! I thought I’d answer some common questions I keep seeing and also give you what you can do in preparation for Monday!

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Q: I signed up to get your emails. What else do I need to do to participate?

A: Nothing! Just look for each week’s emails and when it’s time to be accountable (either via commenting or linking up your blog) then participate there. You can still participate “silently” without me ever knowing! (The only reason I need names will be if you want a chance to win the prize package!)

Q: I don’t have a blog. Can I still participate?

A: YES! If you want to check in with us, you can do that by commenting below the weekly accountability blog post.

Q: I am pregnant. Can I still participate?

A: YES! First, check with your doctor to see if you have any limits, but you should be able to do most exercises with modifications

Q: I am recovering from an injury or illness. Is this for me?

A: Sure is! We need to learn how to live a LIFE of health admist roadblocks and detours. You can do the exercises at a modified level or dial back and do less time.

Q: Is there a study that goes along with this?

A: No study, per se, but a weekly verse to memorize and a weekly devotional.

Q: I’m scared that I can’t commit for the whole time. Is that ok?

A: YES! As a matter of fact, I expect that many of you will fizzle out once we start because it’s the nature of the beast. DO THE BEST YOU CAN…even if it means not doing the challenge in it’s entirity! You may start out at 4 days a week and realize that it’s not feasible and need to drop to 3. You may be a part of another bible study group and have no time to memorize another scripture. That’s ok. This challenge is built for you and is very flexible. There is no right or wrong!!

Q: I’m not really “religious” or read my Bible much. Can I still do the physical part?

A: Absolutely! I’d love to have you along with us. We are all at different parts in our lives both physically and spiritually so this is a great time to join a group who is growing together!

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Here are some things I want to recommend for you to work in in preparation for Monday!

1.) If you have a friend doing this with you, nail down how you will keep each other accountable.

I’ve seen a lot of you saying that you will be doing this with friends and that is exactly the purpose! Erin, posted on my faceboook wall and said that she started a group in sparkpeople. What a great idea! Start a private facebook group, create one in sparkpeople, start an email group…whatever works for you!

2.) Figure out which days of the week you are going to exercise. (4 is the minimum to be entered for prize!)

Take some time to analyze what works for your schedule. I will be providing a guided workout for you. REMEMBER: You don’t have to do MY WOROUT to be a part of this!

3,) For those doing my workouts…

Purchase 1 or 2 sets of 3-10 pound weights, an exercise band and a big exercise ball. (I plan on adding a jump rope later on in the month so grab one of those too if you are out shopping)

4.) I don’t talk about your diet in this challenge but….

…this plays a HUGE part in your journey. I want you to consider a few ways you can tighten up what you’ve been eating (or not eating!) I’ll be guiding you through some things as the challenge continues.

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I want to remind you of one thing…this is YOUR challenge. You can modify it however you need to and still participate. You only need to follow the rules I have (Exercise 4 times/week, Memorize a weekly verse) if you want entered for a chance to win the prize package!!

Do you have any more questions? Please ask below!

It’s time for another CHALLENGE and what better time to do it than when we are getting back to school and in the swing of things! Every time I consider a challenge, I am so overwhelmed. There a thousand ways to slice it, and I end up over my head with dreams for you all….but…

God is good and one day in church, we were reading in Hebrews and came upon 4:12.

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

It hit me square between the eyes and gave me the inspiration to start this challenge: “Living and Active”.  My goal and passion is to get you into God’s Word which holds the keys to getting us Living & Active!

Here are the challenge basics:

Physical:

Many of you are already in an awesome routine with your workouts, so I want you to keep that up. But for those of you who need a little guidance, I’m here to help!  I will provide a set of workouts you can do from your home (or take to the gym!) All you need are one or two sets of weights, an exercise band (similar to this), and a big exercise ball. These are great basics to build your home gym. They are also fairly cheap! Most of these exercises will be derived from my New Move Mondays, but I also may add a few new routines, too!

CHALLENGE GOAL: Exercise (with your routine or mine) 4 days a week for the 5 weeks we are in it. (25 minutes is minimum time)

Spiritual:

My faith lays the groundwork for everything I do and the upkeep of my body and health is included in that!  So I want to take us through some key principles to get us “living and active” in both our physical and spiritual lives. I’ll provide a small devotional and insight to each principle along with a challenge for us to consider each week. Scripture memorization is also a great discipline, so we will be adding that on too! (I call that our “Soul Food”)

CHALLENGE GOAL: Memorize the new weekly verse/Soul Food (as well as maintaining prior weeks) and do the key challenge.

**A Bonus: For those of us who have children, we are going to be praying these same key principles into their lives!

Accountability:

This all is great, but if we don’t have accountability, then chances are we won’t stick with it. I have a few ways this is going to happen:

- Facebook: Periodically through the week, I will check in with you who are a part of this. This is your chance to check in, ask questions, claim victories, express frustrations etc. so make sure you “like” me on facebook!

 - Twitter: I’ll be doing the same thing on twitter with hashtag #livingandactive. Follow me there!

- Weekly Link-Up: If you are a blogger, this is your chance to write about your journey! Every Monday, I’ll provide a link up for you to write about how you did that past week. You can include healthy recipes, or exercises you like, or the victories and valleys. Set your own goals and measurements. Detail your specific daily diet and what you will be avoiding or adding. This is your place to make it your own! (If you don’t have a blog, you can join us in the comment section, letting us know how you are doing!)

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And guess what? This time I have a prize package! (All the goodies still being added up so I’ll share later!) For those of you who are 100% on the scripture memorization and exercising 4/7 days a week during this 5 week period, you’ll get a chance at winning the package!

We officially start next Monday, but you have some things to do now!

1.) Grab the button below, add to your blog and link-up a post telling me that you are in! (or just comment below)

2.) Grab a friend, sister, daughter, roommate…whoever…and ask them to join us! (HINT: Headstart to Key Principle #1!)

3.) Pray through your commitment! I want you to really be successful over these 5 weeks. If this is a bad season in life for you, then maybe this isn’t the time to join as it would leave you more discouraged than encouraged. But if you need a kick in the rear, get focused, dust off those weights or gym membership card and let’s get going!

So, are you with me?  Make sure you are receiving these posts in your email box (sign up at the top of the page!) so that you don’t miss a thing! If you have any questions, fire away! I know this is a lot of info, so please contact me! 

When I left the corporate world almost 6 years ago to stay at home with my son, I encountered something that I didn’t put on my “pros and cons” list…the munchies!! I didn’t realize that I would have access to food 24/7 and I didn’t realize that I would WANT to access that food 24/7 either!! What a dilemma when you are trying to be self-controlled in what you are eating! What’s an at-home (working or stay!) mama to do?!

Today I’m over at The Better Mom giving you some tips to help get you through those munchies! Join me and let me know–how do YOU combat the chance to eat all day long?

I got an iPhone about 3 months ago. Not sure how I managed to wait this long! It does things for me that I didn’t even know I needed done!

So I thought I’d share with you my 3 favorite fitness apps. I know there are a ton out there and there will always be more coming out, but let’s start here! (These are all available for both iphone and droid and did I mention…free?!)

1.) Songza

I love this app because it gives me a ton of music–sorted by moods, genre or anything else you can imagine—in playlists. I listen to this at home while cooking, cleaning or reading my Bible. I’ve recently started listening to it while running and it’s a nice change to my usual playlist. Here are some of my favorites. (I really like the 90′s music if you can’t tell! Haha!)

2.) Nike +Running

This should come as no surprise to you as a lot of folks seem to have this (and if you have a Facebook account, you know this is true!) I love that it tracks my distance and pace, keeps a history of runs and tells me (out loud) how far I’ve gone while running! And as an added bonus, you can turn on facebook interaction and as people “like” or comment on your Nike+ status, you get a cheer in your earbuds. Holla!

3.) Nike Training Club

So this gets the gold star of the year. As a matter of fact, if I ever created an app, it would look awfully close to this one! 

Start off by choosing which type of goal/workout you want or have.

Now you can choose from a few workout sets (and times!). Gives you great variety!

Read through each exercise (even view a video demo!), select your music and go! You can even work for rewards!

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So now it’s your turn! What are your favorite fitness/exercise/healthy eating apps??!?!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of the term green smoothies. Yes, I’m talking about those smoothies that have a rocking green color, but make you think twice about consuming!!

Sometimes it’s hard to get enough fruits and veggies in a day, so this is a quick and easy way to do it! Join me over at Roomag today as I share with you one of my favorite Green Smoothie recipes and get that skin (and body!) glowing!

PEACHES! What a delightful fruit! I have really been enjoying them lately so when my running partner and friend, Leslie, told me she was adding them to her daily strawberry smoothie, I was game!  It was delicious and gave it a nice flavor so I thought I’d share the love! (Thanks, Leslie!)

Use a smoothie for a breakfast option (great for you who “hate” breakfast!), a post-workout snack (plain greek yogurt is a great source of protein), or a way to sneak in some healthy stuff to your kids! I whip up a lot of smoothies, particularly when I’m on the go and need to eat!

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Creamy Strawberry Peach Smoothie

♦ 4-5 Strawberries (frozen or fresh)

♦ 1 Peach (Sliced, without pit. Keep the skin!)

♦ 1/4 Cup Plain Greek Yogurt

♦ 1 Cup Plain Coconut Milk

Add all ingredients and blend in a mixer! REMEMBER: smoothies are VERY forgiving! Play around with the quantities listed above to find which flavor and texture you prefer best! Makes around 8-10 oz I think!? It really depends on the increments you use!

Be sure to check out my other recipes!

P.S. I will be taking a bloggy break for the rest of the week. My oldest starts kindergarten on Friday, so I’ll be focusing on him. (So bittersweet!) Also, I have something up my sleeve for you that I am working on, and I hope to announce next week! See you around on facebook and twitter!

I end all of my Pilates classes with a plank series where we do lots of different variations of them. This combination is one of my favorites and is really hard (especially if you do the hip drop!). Add this into your daily workout!

REPS: 2-3 sets of 10-12

(You can combine this exercise however you’d like, doing one set of elbow to knees, then the next with hip drops, or mix them up each set!)

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Knee to Elbow: (to start)

Go into a plank position. (I use a straight arm, but feel free to stay on your forearms) Take one knee and touch the opposite elbow. Return to starting position, then repeat on the OTHER side. Alternate sides until reps are completed. Keep that tummy tight and remember to breathe!

Hip Drop: (make it harder!)

Take one leg and instead of going towards the elbow, drop (think “collapse”) the hip to make it parallel with the ground. Your arms should bend down a bit as you do this. Come back to starting position and switch to the other side. Alternate sides until reps are completed. (Don’t let the legs touch the ground!)

Age :    31

Profession:  Nurse/stay at home mom and wife

How long have you been on this weight loss journey?  

 My weight has gone up and down for the past 8 years but I have been successfully losing (and keeping off) the weight for a little over a year now

Weight Loss/Inches Lost:

I have lost 117 pounds since February of 2011. Along with that, I have gone down 4 shirt sizes, 8 pants sizes, and one and a half sizes off my wedding bands

Medical stats:

Went from two (almost three) blood pressure medications down to one

What was your “low point”? 

I have tried (and failed) more times that I can count to lose weight. I was never one of the skinny girls in school but I was active. I played volleyball in middle school and tennis in high school. I was on the track team in high school, too but I did not really run…I was a thrower. Sure, we had our warm up mile that we had to do with the rest of the team but we were not runners. I roller bladed and rode my bike everywhere I could but that was difficult to do once I started college and ventured out into “the real world”. I have always been overweight for as long as I can remember, but I could maintain my weight with little effort at all; I just couldn’t lose it. My husband and I got married in 2003 and in 2004 our daughter was born. I only gained 7 pounds during my pregnancy and was able to stay relatively active, too. I was teaching preschool so that meant a lot of moving around during the day at work. She was 7 lbs 15 oz so immediately after she was born, I lost all my “baby weight” and then some. The first “low” came with her birth – I needed a c-section so I was not allowed to do much for 6 weeks at least. I healed extremely slowly so those 6 weeks turned into many, many months. She was a year old when I got pregnant with our second baby. I was still teaching preschool. Logically, I figured I was going to gain about the same with the second as I did with the first…I was still active all day and now I had a 1 year old that I was chasing around the house, too. Almost 6 weeks into my pregnancy, I started bleeding. From that point on, what started off as a typical pregnancy was anything but typical. Within a matter of a few hours, I became a high risk pregnancy with a high chance of a spontaneous miscarriage. I was on bed rest frequently and the weight started to pile on. Our son was born in 2006 and from then on, nothing has been “normal” in our lives. To make a very long story short, he has a feeding tube, a tracheotomy, and is ventilator dependent. He has cerebral palsy and is unable to walk, crawl, or sit up. There are days when he struggles just to roll over. He is our world and I cannot imagine a day going by without him here. I guess the real start though was in February of 2011.

How did you get started?

In February of 2011, I had an appointment at my doctors office to check my blood pressure and have some general blood work done. My weight (along with my blood pressure) had been steadily going up but I was trying to tell myself that it was not as bad as it was. The nurse weighed me, and weighed me again, and then had the nurse practitioner that I was seeing that day weight me, too. She never talked down to me or belittled me, but she did ask how many calories a day I was eating and what I was doing in the form of exercise. I knew that I was not trying hard enough, I just did not want to admit it. Each of my kids have a song that is their song. My sons song is “When I See You Smile” by Bad English. That song came on the radio on my way home and it was at that point that I knew I had to change. He was fighting everyday just to breathe. I had legs and a body that worked and I needed to stop abusing them.  I loved walking so I figured that was a good place to start. My mom, aunt,and I were going to participate in a walk for March of Dimes in May so I was gearing up for that. I happened to see a flyer for a 5K that caught my eye. My cousin and her husband were active and had participated in some races so I though I’d give it a chance. I asked my mom and aunt if they would join me in the race and they agreed to. We signed up to walk the race and we had a great time. Everyone I have ever talked to says that racing is addictive but I never really gave it much of a second though. Immediately after I got home from the race, I started to find more of them to do. As it turns out, races are very addictive!! Including that first 5K that I did in June, I participated in five more races through out the rest of the year. My last race in November I ran the whole way. It was a slow run, but none the less it was a run. Ask anybody that knows me, I am stubborn. I was not satisfied with just being able to do a 5K, I wanted more. I registered to be part of the Ohio Challenge Series of races for 2012. In February of this year, I ran my first 10K but still, I was not satisfied because I knew I could do more. I knew that there was a half marathon coming up in April and I had friends that were running it. I decided on March 9th that I was going to do the half with them and on  April 15th I did my first half marathon.

Michelle, before and after!

What is your workout routine and eating plan?

Most days I get up sometime between 6 and 6:45 in the morning so I have time to run before I start my day. If I do not get a morning run in, I try to get one in later in the day but that does not always happen. On days that a run is just not in the books, I resort to DVDs. My favorite is kick boxing. I try to end my night with yoga before I finally crawl into bed but, just like running, it does not always happen. I would not really say that I am following a diet per say, I just try to watch what I eat carefully. I try to eat every three hours or so, that way I never get to the point that I am starving. Fresh fruits and veggies are staples in almost every meal. I drink a lot of water thought out the day as well. Sometimes if I feel myself wanting to snack on something, I drink a glass of water first. Thirst masks itself as hunger for whatever reason so if I am no longer wanting that snack, I know I was just thirsty.

What are your top 3 favorite resources that helped you along the way?

I found an incredible fitness website that I use called MyFitnessPal. The people that I have met on there are incredible and the support is amazing.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone who is sitting on the sidelines and waiting?

Why put off until tomorrow what you can start today. We never know from day to day how much time we may have left. Lose weight for your husband, wife, kids, parents, or whoever else gets you motivated if that is the way you need to do it.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone who is in the process but is feeling discouraged?

There are two saying that I have seen posted at several of the races that I have done; “No matter how slow you go, you are still lapping everyone on the couch” and “The miracle is not that I finished, it’s that I had the courage to ever start”. If losing weight was easy, everyone would do it. Everybody reaches a point when they just feel like giving up. Find a cute outfit that you want to fit into and use that as motivation to keep going.

If you are a parent, how have you balanced everything?

My husband is great. He is supportive of what I am doing and he encourages me every step of the way. He watches the kids so I have a chance to run when I am able to.  My daughter likes doing some of the DVDs with me so that is special time that just she and I have together.

Anything else you would like to share?

Don’t be afraid to start. I was 270 lbs when I started walking/jogging (wogging as I like to call it). I was embarrassed to “wog” when anybody else was around because I didn’t feel like I had any place trying to run. After all, running was something that only people who are in great shape do, right? Wrong. Put on a pair of headphones, find a silly song, and get out there. One of my training runs for my half marathon, I sang “There’s A Hole in My Bucket” for 11 miles to myself because it was silly and kept me going.

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Did you tear up on this one? I did!! Thank you for sharing your story, Michelle and for encouraging us to be thankful for our working bodies!! If you would like to hear more awesome stories like this, be sure to skim the other Shed & Share stories!

Do you have a Shed story that you would like to share? Please contact me at clare@peak313.com so we can get you on here!

If there’s one thing that has been consistent in talking about the Olympics, it’s that they’ve been inspiring. They’ve touched each of us differently and have caused some of us to do more than just sit in awe.

It’s caused some of us to go for the gold. 

For some, it’s inspired you to try something new.

I’ve never been a swimmer but guess what’s on my list for this fall and winter? Yup. Swimming at least once a week. What a great time to step into the unknown!

For some, it’s re-kindled a fire. 

Were you reminded what it was like to slip into your swimsuit, don your goggles and glide into the water?

Do you miss the comradarie of your high school volleyball or basketball team?

Did you catch yourself saying, “When I did that 15 years ago….”

Did it stir your soul?

Do you wonder if you still have it in you?

Then I want to encourage you, to get that gold, girl.

(A cake pop for a physically motivating post? Why not?!)

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I want you to take the momentum built from these 12 days of Olympics and let that take you into your next step in your healthy journey.

Start swimming at your community pool.

Lace up and hit that high school track at 6am.

Grab some friends and join a local volleyball league.

Sign up for a local race.

Volunteer coach for a community kid’s team.

There is no better time than right now to take it to the next level.

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So I want to know. What have the Olympics done for you? Are you working out harder? Are you getting back into your “first love”? Are you ready to try something new? Tell me below. Let’s encourage one another in our efforts to get that gold. 

I’ve been attending an outdoor fitness challenge/running class once a week over the summer with my running partner and friend Leslie. It’s so much fun even though it challenges me to no end! We run all over our town doing Indians runs, hill runs, sprints, bodyweight exercises and more. Last week we used some of these exercises so I thought I’d put them in a routine for you!

I prefer that you do this on an INCLINE. You can choose a grassy hill or a paved side road. You choose how far you want to run. The longer you run up the hill, the harder it will be, so it’s really easy to modify depending on how you feel that day. This is a quick and dirty workout that will get your heart pumping and legs burning! I was dying after Thursday’s class!

Do this workout alone when you need a quick one OR tack it onto the end of a long run or weight day!

4 Basic Exercises:

1.) Sprint. 

Gut it out as fast and hard as you can until you reach the top. Jog down. Repeat.

2.) Lunge with Tap

Lunge forward and lean into the leg as you tap down. You want to keep the focus on the front of the legs but don’t let the knee extend over the toe. Alternate right and left lunges up the hill. Jog down the hill once you hit the top.

3. ) Side Slide and Squat

Turn your body to face the sidewalk. Reach your leg out to the side as you squat deep and touch the ground. Bring legs together and repeat your way up the hill. Jog down. Make sure you switch and face the other sidewalk and repeat moving up.

4.) Squat Jump

Squat deep, tap the ground and jump forward. Repeat. Again, think of leaning forward and putting emphasis on front of legs without knees extending over the toes. Jog down the hill

I had been thinking about this for a few days so when I mentioned it on facebook and a few of you had interest, I decided to jump right on it!

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If you are anything like me, you are totally inspired by the body types of the Olympic athletes. They are AMAZING and the pinnacle of intentional eating, focused training and perseverence!!

There are 26 sports in total in the Summer 2012 Olympics. (I’m only going to show a handful of them below) You might notice that each sport has sort of a “typical” build. Even thought they are using their full body and all it’s muscles to do their sport, each will focus on different muscles which give the different looks. (Let’s be honest. The still shots don’t do these bodies justice!)

Of course, there will be outliers to each sport but I think you get my point! :)

Let’s take a look, shall we? (I will just be viewing the female athletes!)

Swimmers

Team USA’s, Claire Donahue

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Team USA’s, Allison Schmitt

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Volleyball

Team USA.

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Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh!

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Marathoners

Our awesome women’s marathoners: Team USA, Kara Goucher and Shalane Flanagan

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Check out those legs.

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Rowing

Team USA.

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Sprinters/Hurdlers

Team USA: Lolo Jones

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I’m not gonna lie. I feel much better about my muscular thighs and quads after looking at them! (below!)

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Whoa. Is there a gun show around here? LOL!

Gymnasts

I’m sorry but this is amazing. (Gabby Douglas)

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Team USA

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 A few random points:

♦ This is a great chance to sit with your daughters and show them the beauty of the “non-Victoria Secret” body! These women are strong, beautiful, healthy and probably not a size 0! If your girls are involved in sports, chances are they have more muscle on them than their peers and that can be an interesting thing for them to sort through in high school. (I experienced this growing up)

♦ I’m sure many of you are aware of this but just in case you have body envy—these ladies have spent (at least) the past year or two training for the Olympics as their job. They have coaches, multiple practices a day, and people creating nutritional plans for them. Don’t be so hard on yourself when checking them out! :)

♦ This is where “not the norm” heights, weight and body builds are celebrated. (I was listening to the height and weight of the beach volleyball players and they are by no means “tiny”!) But these numbers make these Olympic athletes exactly what they are–Olympic athletes. The best of the best! If you are taller, built in a bigger frame, have more junk in your trunk or broader shoulders (to name a few) then celebrate that!

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Did I miss any sport that you would have liked to see included up here? Are you inspired to sprint, swim and jump now? Next week we’ll be talking about what the Olympics has done for your inspiration in your workouts!

Disclaimer: My daughter is only 3 years old. I have no idea how she’ll turn out and if she’ll end up with a “complex” or not. These are just things I’ve seen from dealing with women of all ages and their struggles with their image over the past 10 years. Does this mean that if you do any of the things listed below, that your daughter will have issues? Not at all. But I’m here to tell you that what you learn and see (by example) as a young child DOES IMPACT how you view health as an adult!  I’ve spent many hours REVERSING the habits and thoughts that have been deeply ingrained in women since a young age.

And yes, you as a mom have the biggest impact and influence on your daughter! What an awesome responsibility!

1.) Live in extremes.

Don’t eat carbs for 2 months, then binge on them the next. Exercise every day for 3 weeks, then stop completely for 2 weeks. Lose 50 pounds in 6 months. Gain it back in 3. Forget moderation on your favorite foods. Show her instability and lack of discipline at it’s best.

2.) Talk about how much you dislike your body.

Talk about the fat around your belly. The wrinkles around your eyes. The stretch marks on your thighs. Obsess over it and make sure she’s around to hear it.

3.) Demonstrate how beauty is only skin deep.

Never talk about how your heart, soul and spirit needs to be strengthened and refreshed. When upset about something in your life, turn to food or exercise first, rather than to God. Let her see you look in the mirror more than you look to God.

4.) Don’t take compliments from anyone, especially your husband.

Let her think that you aren’t worthy of a compliment because you aren’t “there yet”. Let her see that even though your husband may see you as the apple of his eye, you don’t feel that you are worthy to be that.

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This doesn’t mean that your daughter (and sons!) shouldn’t see a mom who takes care of her body and is stewarding it well. It also doesn’t mean that the occasional slip-up in word or deed will ruin her for life! I actually want to be a good example of that for her because I don’t want her to take after what the world claims is healthy! It’s a fine balance and there may be times that we are more out of whack than other times.

Mother’s Day, 2012

Understanding that we will never be perfect and trusting that God will fill in the gaps for us… are there areas that you could improve in by being this example for your precious daughter?

What things have you found instilled into your thinking as a young child that has carried over to your mentality about health and body image as an adult? How does your example in healthy living affect your sons? Please share below!

Small video demonstration below!

REPS: 2-3 sets of 8-12 blasters

(Click here if you can’t see the video) 

Linking up with Women Living Well

(Let me start off by saying that if eating how I describe below (“grazing”) works for you, then by all means, keep doing it! There is no one right answer!)

I’m not exactly sure when the term became really popular, but “grazing” has made it’s way into a regular discussion about how we eat. I think it started showing up when we realized that eating 3 square meals a day wasn’t always the best option and that eating lightly and throughout the day was better for us. And up until about 6 months ago, I would have considered myself a grazer.

However, I kept running into a problem.

In an attempt to eat light and less, I actually consumed more.

In an attempt to take a more laxadazical approach to eating, it turned into an all day food-fest.

Granted, most of the food I ate still was considered “healthy”, but that doesn’t matter if you still eat more calories than you are spending!

Beautiful Animal. Beautiful Picture. But yes, horses graze!

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I decided to change this and be more succinct in how I eat through the day.

Here is how I used to eat:

Breakfast: 7am

Snack 1: 8:30am

Snack 2: 11:am

Half of a Lunch: 1pm

Other Half of Lunch: 2:30pm

Snack 3: 4pm

Half Dinner: 5:30pm

Other Half of Dinner: 7:00pm

Snack 4: 8:30pm

My goodness! I ate like a small nursing, newborn! LOL!

Here’s why grazing didn’t work:

1.) I never walked away satisfied.

I can’t say that I ever left the kitchen feeling like, “Yes, I just fueled my body well for the next 2-3 hours”. I felt almost a little deprived each time which brought me back an hour or so later.

2.) It lead me to sloppy eating habits

Oh snap. Yes it did. At first, I was pretty good about grazing. I was careful about when I did it. But I found that once I became a stay at home mom and had access to food 24/7, WATCH OUT. I was a beast! It was very easy for me to get sloppy and start picking up food every 45 minutes to eat….even if it was just 5 goldfish crackers here and there.

3.) I had no good grasp of what I’d eaten for the day

Putting something–anything–in your mouth that many times in a day gets a little hard to tally unless you are actually writing it down. By the time the afternoon came, I had to really think through if I had gotten enough protein, fruits or veggies in.

4.) I consumed more calories

And this is the killer. In an attempt to eat lighter and less, I actually ate more because I never was satisfied. And because I was consuming more (and I should say, more of the wrong stuff), then I wasn’t hitting my goals.

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Here is a normal day for me now: (give or take 30 min)

Breakfast: 7am

Snack: 10am

Lunch: 12pm

Snack: 3pm

Dinner: 6pm

Snack (rare): 8pm

It took me trying a new method (that got me new results) to realize that the “good” thing I had been doing, wasn’t really great! I found that having a pretty strict idea of what I was eating for the day gave me the best results.

I make sure I eat ENOUGH at one sitting and there’s no guesswork. I pretty much follow the 2-3 hour rule. (There are some fitness experts who say to do every 4-6 hours!) I do listen to my body as much as I can, as there are some days when I can feel my metabolism flying and my muscles needing fuel and others days when it’s a bit more chill.

Your turn! What works for you? Are you a grazer? A 3 square meal person? Do you plan your snacks and meals, or fly by the seat of your pants? Share below!

One day back in the fall, this gal named Charity started filling up my facebook wall with a lot of posts. At first, I thought that was kind of weird as she was the only one doing this, but then was very encouraged by her determination and willingness to “put it out there” often! I found out that she lived locally and after a few months of chatting via email, we finally met–at one of my Pilates classes! I was so happy to be at her very first 5K (picture below) and cheer her on. Her story is awesome and I know you’ll be encouraged!! Meet Charity, today’s Shed & Share Story!

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Age:  30

Profession: Stay at Home mom; college student :)

How long have you been on this weight loss journey? Since October 2011

Weight Loss/Inches Lost : 48 lbs /From a size 16 to a size 6-8 :)

{Your Story}

What was your “low point”?

My low point was probably a low year. . . or two.  Over the past couple years my weight slowly crept up on me.  I’d justify it with “just getting older”, or “that’s still not too bad”.  I’d buy bigger clothes and they’d look alright, so I’d become complacent again and keep up my poor habits.  In 2011, I spent most of the year “trying to want to” lose weight.  I’d complain to my doctor that I just couldn’t lose the weight and I insisted that I was, of course, doing everything I could.  In reality, I wasn’t doing anything at all.My low point came around our 10th wedding anniversary in October.  I still thought I was a solid 12 (thank goodness for stretchy jeans!?)  I wanted a nice dress to wear to a nice restaurant with the hubby.  I shopped several of my favorite old stores and they had nothing that fit me. The 12s were too tight, even some of the 14s didn’t fit.  I ended up buying a nice dress, which is in my before picture, mainly because it was the only dress I could find that fit at the store I had determined to get it from.

The night we got ready for our anniversary date, I spent over an hour and a half fussing, trying to get ready.  I had this nice dress, yet, I still felt so ugly.  Hubby told me I looked beautiful, as always, and reassured me that he loved me “just the way I was”.  Easy for him to say, perhaps, I now weighed more than I did when I was pregnant with either of my boys.  I was self-conscious at the restaurant.  When a girl complimented me on my dress I was convinced she was being sarcastic.  I didn’t enjoy myself that night because I was so wrapped up in my own self-criticism.  That was a Monday.So how did I handle it? well; the next day (a Tuesday) I ate a bunch of ice cream, probably made – and ate – a few cupcakes, a bowl of frosting. . . You get the idea.  That Wednesday was the turning point for me.  Wednesday morning I picked up the photos from the weekend and was sickened by the girl looking back at me in the picture.  That was me? It didn’t look like me.  It didn’t feel like me.  I held our 10 year anniversary photo next to our wedding photo.  This looked like 2 different people.  But I was at a loss.  I didn’t know what to do.  So, I did what I always do – I had maple pecan sticky bun waffles for breakfast and a drive through java chip frappuccino and apple fritter from starbucks.  Then I came home and dug into who knows what else.  But then, I sat down at the computer and got online.  Peak313 had posted what she called a new series – a  “Shed and Share”.  The girl on there, Nikki, I think, had lost 50 pounds.  She wasn’t some TV ad, it wasn’t a model, they were real pictures and all-out honest answers.  I shook my head. “If SHE can do it, I can do it.”

I ran through my brain what I could do, but whatever it was, I knew I had to start now.  If I said “on Monday” well, it would never happen.  I decided in that moment that I wanted to be a Shed and Share story too.  I wanted to feel good about myself again.  For once, I didn’t want to do it for someone else, or to fit into anything specific – I just wanted to be able to see myself and know I was healthy, fit and happy.  I loathed the idea of Weight Watcher meetings, but I knew I needed something to keep me on track.  As long as I know what to eat and what I can’t eat, I’m good.  So at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, I joined Weight Watchers Online.

Charity, before (in her anniversary dress) and after!

How did you get started?

So, sitting there mid-afternoon while the kids were at school, this computer screen told me I would get 29 points a day, plus some extras to use through the week, and more if I earned “activity points”. I plugged in what I had eaten so far that Wednesday and it came to 58 points – and I was only half way through the day! That was the first time I had realized why I had this problem! It had become so normal for me to eat that way!  It was also a moment of panic for me – I had no idea how to eat right.  I read through everything I could on the site.  I read about “0″ point vegetables, fruits, “power foods”, whole foods… everything I could about food.  And then I went to the store and bought a Lean Cuisine for dinner.  I wasn’t waiting for tomorrow to start over.  Old me would have figured I had blown that whole day, let’s just finish it off and start new when the sun comes up. No, I already had a new mindset – this was starting now.   (I went with a Lean Cuisine, because I still had no idea what or how to eat).

This is the part that took the longest for me – learning HOW to eat.  I started out by eating the same meals every day for the first month: Oatmeal with bananas, no sugar, for breakfast.  Yogurt, Salad, Fruit and raw veggies for Lunch.  Soup or Lean Cuisine for Dinner.  It was repetitive, yes.  Boring, yes.  But it kept me within my points, and without that strict “know what you’re going to eat before you eat it” regime, I didn’t know if I could stick with it.  So for the first month, I focused only on cutting back to within my points.  I gave up all sugar and dessert cold turkey that day too.  Instead of a brownie or cupcake, I’d have a tangerine or some grapes.  I didn’t reintroduce sweets into my diet until March 2012, until I knew I could take it slow, with moderation.Eventually, by playing around with the program and figuring out how many points things had, and by planning my meals and portions ahead of time, I was able to start broadening my food choices.

Choices is a key word for me, because I learned that I COULD eat whatever I wanted, but that meant I’d have to sacrifice something else or do some workouts to earn more activity points.

I learned that I NEVER ate vegetables and rarely fruit.  I had it in the house to make the kids eat it, and hubby was a big veggy/fruit eater, but I can’t remember before WW when I had eaten a vegetable with a meal and a fruit that wasn’t in a dessert.  I started making deals with myself that if I ate all that broccoli, carrots, apples, etc, then I could eat the potatoes.  It was hard for me, I think, because I had to completely change every part of my eating process.  It’s all completely different now than it was before I started.

What is your workout routine and eating plan?

The first month on WW I didn’t work out at all.  I was intently focused on food, on learning how to eat, how much I could have.  But starting November, I got a membership at the local Y and started heading there 4 days a week.  Two days a week I would do a workout video at home.  The weight started to come off, and I was starting to feel good.  By spring, I was only going to the Y for two kickboxing classes a week and doing the other 4 days of workouts at home – but I didn’t slack! I knew if I were going to work out at home, that I was my coach – my own personal trainer, and I had to kick my own tooshy! So I worked out, and still do, 6 days a week, and rest on Sunday.

As for eating, by now I probably have the points values memorized for half the foods in the supermarket, and I still track daily.  However, my big difference now is that I don’t eat for fun, or eat “to eat”, or eat because I”m sad or I’m happy. My food is my fuel.  I let my body dictate my hunger, not my “brain” because my brain isn’t always that reliable.  My brain thinks I need another chocolate chip cookie.  My brain told my husband just the other day that someone needs to make donut ice cream with chocolate chip cookie dough sprinkles.  But my body knows when I’ve eaten poorly, and while that still sounds delicious even here at 8am, I don’t really want it.I used to grab a bag of apples at the supermarket and the rest of my shopping trip went through the aisles.  Now, 60% or more of my cart at the store is from the produce section.  I eat A LOT of fruits and veggies: raw, in smoothies, steamed, cooked, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack.  And, dont’ feel bad for me, I am LOVING fruits and veggies.  ME? Right? Who knew!?  I balance it out with lean protein and I still abstain from bread at most meals, and only 3-5 bites of whatever starch we’re having.  But, lest you think I don’t eat “good stuff”, last night we had grilled hamburgers, grilled onions, oven fries and I finished it off with a half a Klondike bar! It was a good ol’ picnic meal.  The key is, that I don’t eat everyday like this. This was a treat! And a hard – earned one.  In WW terms I earned 51 activity points for last week and hadn’t used any of them to splurge, so this was my splurge.

Finally, twelve or so days into April, on a 70 degree day, I figured, hey, I’ll run. I put on my shoes, and I ran just under a mile.  That’s all it took.  The next day I wanted to go farther.  The next day, faster.  I started running 3 days a week through April and May, and then on June 2 I ran my first official 5K – I came in at #483, but I finished! ME! I now have 8 races on my schedule through September, including a 5 mile in July and 2 10Ks in September that I’m training for.  I am running 4 days a week, still doing my kickboxing, and this ROCKING pilates class (wink*) – and seriously, considering a half marathon in October.

What are your top 3 favorite resources that helped you along the way?

1.  Supportive family and friends.  One of the first things I did was tell people who could help keep me motivated and accountable.  I actually emailed (you) Clare right away and told you I had weight to lose and when I did it I wanted to be one of your Shed and Shares.  I told people the progress I was making, whether they wanted to hear it or not!  I used facebook to update people on my progress, and the “likes” and comments would keep me going on days when it was just a bit harder than others.

3.  CLARE  and Peak313!  As I said, I emailed Clare right away and told her I was doing this.  She kept me accountable, encouraged me, and challenged me (as if her new move Mondays were just for me LOL).  She offers sound advice on eating and moving daily on her blog and on facebook.  She reminds us of who we are in Christ and why it is so important to care for the bodies we have been given and to rely on Him for strength when our own is running thin!  And I found renewed encouragement through each Shed and Share she has posted along the way.  As I saw more and more people on the Shed and Shares, more REAL PEOPLE, losing weight and reminding me that If they can I can, it made my motivation soar!  I looked forward to each and every one.  And now I get to tell you – IF I CAN – YOU CAN! And believe me, I mean it – if I can do this, YOU can do this.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone who is sitting on the sidelines and waiting?

There used to be a Joe’s Crab Shack by us and on the back of the building they had painted “FREE CRAB TOMORROW!”  Of course, that’s funny because tomorrow never comes! Tomorrow is tomorrow, is tomorrow, is tomorrow.  And it’s the same way with waiting to lose weight.  We say Monday. Monday doesn’t get here. We say tomorrow, tomorrow isn’t going to get here! Start now. START NOW!  I think that’s what made this different than my other weight loss attempts. I started in the middle of the day, after I had already blown it way out of the ball park.  I had screwed up my whole day, my whole week, but at 2 PM on a Wednesday I decided I had had enough.  I didn’t wait for tomorrow.  I started right then.  And when I go back to it, that is one of the things that made the biggest differences in my journey.  It all became about the NOW and not the “tomorrows”.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone who is in the process but is feeling discouraged?

I had weeks where I lost nothing.  If you’re stuck on the scale or it’s just not going as fast as you like, step back and really evaluate: what is your overall weight loss?  How long have you been doing it? Find the average weekly weight loss.  You may not have lost much the past few weeks,, but you may find on average, you’re still doing really well! If that doesn’t hold up, are you taking measurements? I didn’t measure, per se, but I gauged my inches by my clothes. If you’re really stuck, change things up a bit in your diet – if you’re eating the same things over and over because they helped you lose weight before, your body just might want something new.  Same with the workouts – my key was preventing boredom with my workouts, so I had a plethora of videos, online tips, the YMCA classes, and my running shoes.  Try a new workout.  But the key is: DON”T STOP! DON”T GIVE UP! Just try something NEW!

And remember, it’s a journey – a lifestyle!  Once I had lost about 30 pounds I realized it wasn’t about the weight loss anymore.  I knew that I would continue to lose weight just because I wanted to continue living this lifestyle.  I stopped focusing as much on scale and I’m just living the new life I’ve been given.  It’s not a race, it’s a marathon. (haha, now i”m even using running analogies. oh my, don’t hate me!)

If you are a parent, how have you balanced everything?

Everyone is Busy.  You have to MAKE time.  But YOU ARE WORTH IT.  And your Kids having a healthy Mom is WORTH it.  You’re not just becoming healthy for you, you’re instilling values in your children.  Make the Time. You are Worth it.That being said, I get up an hour and a half before the kids most days to get in a video or a run if the hubby is home that morning.  I go to workout classes that offer childcare.  I’ll run at night after the hubby gets home from work… Or if none of those pan out, I’ll take the kids to a local park where there’s a playground in the middle of a walking track, and while they play, I run – and I can keep my eye on them the whole time.

Anything else you would like to share?

This is more than about weight loss. I know it’s a shed and share, but what I’ve learned about myself and my body through this has been just as important as the “shed” part!  I’ve learned that I LOVE to be fit. I LOVE to move, to work out.  My body LOVES fruits and veggies! (and chocolate!) haha! You can fit anything in anytime, anywhere, as long as you’re okay with looking goofy! (Yep, that was me doing yoga poses in the supermarket line, doing calf raises while pumping gas, and trying out my new pilates moves at the park while the kids play)  People think I’m crazy, but that’s one thing that I don’t think has changed much from before!! Don’t get upset if you take a few steps back!  I reintroduced sugar/dessert back into my foods back a few months ago; but in April I was starting to struggle with going back to having dessert every day- which is one habit I didn’t want to come back.  So I started over again cold turkey with no sugars for a few weeks until I knew I could handle it in moderation again.  I can be happy with one bite of chocolate cake now, and not the whole pan.Find suitable substitutions! I love me some starbucks. But I was having white chocolate mochas, java chip frappuccinos – you know, the stuff that has a days worth of calories and fat just for smelling it.  But now if I want something, instead of getting a venti java chip for 17 points, or a white chocolate mocha for 14 points, I may order a Coffee Frappuccino Light with Sugar free vanilla, for 3 points, or iced skinny latte for 2 points.  So, I still get to enjoy my coffee (I allow it once a week rather than once a day, which saves lots of money too!), and yes, it was an adjustment at first – but now my old drinks are gag-me sweet and I still look forward to my “splurge”!

Tomorrow isn’t an option; if you want this to happen you can start now!  And if I CAN DO THIS, YOU can do this, friends, so don’t wait! And Thank you, Clare, for all you do for your readers.  You Rock, Ms. Motivator!

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Thank YOU, Charity! I am so blessed to know you personally and am so proud to have a place for your to share your story!

If you have a shed story that you would like to share, we want to hear it! Please contact me for more info! clare@peak313.com

There are so many ways we can access a personal training workout without actually going into a gym! I’ve got a few ways to tap into quick and easy sources (You don’t always need a DVD!) along with some of my favorite DVD recommendations!

Join me at Candace Cameron Bure’s online magazine, RooMag today, to find out more!

The 2012 Summer Olympics are here! Yay!! I plan on spending some time watching all the awesome athletes. To kick it off, I have a high school friend of mine shedding some light on her favorite sport–and one we’ll soon be seeing a lot of–swimming! Mandy has a great perspective and sense of humor. She doesn’t have her own blog, but you’ll see why I’m encouraging her to start one! Enjoy!

Here we are in 9th or 10th grade at a youth group function!

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My name is Mandy and I hate running, and lunges, squats, burpies are of the devil, and while I enjoy Wii Zumba it bothers me to not know the words to the music I’m dancing to. No disrespect to those of you who find joy in such venues and I do understand the running fever. I ran cross country in high school and ran every 5 and 10K I could drive my bright blue Jetta to in college. While I was at least 2 heads shorter than other runners I was able to hold my own. But then one day I was walking around in a museum and I was bit by a radioactive spider and I immediately hung up my Sauconys (my then fave running shoe) and picked up a pair of goggles. OK that might not be how it happened but you must understand that I have two sons and have seen many superhero movies so the line between reality and fiction is getting dimmer by the minute.(I actually like it this way and hope it never ends).Anyway some biochemical reaction took place in my body and I fell in love with swimming. So I wanted to share a few thoughts on…

..why I love my sport

1) While running and other intense activities are great for cardiopulmonary fitness it’s about as good for your knees and ankles as carrying a Vampire’s baby is for your spine. Swimming on the other hand is like a nice long Swedish massage for your joints. Many athletes who are injured in another sport crossed over to swimming after experiencing the exstacy of non weight bearing fitness.

2) It’s Like a Bed in a Bag- After a good hard swim there is no need to come home and work your upper body or abs. In fact after a hard swim workout I have difficulty lifting a fork and please don’t make me laugh or my abs will tear apart.

3) I don’t frequent Bath & Body Works because I can’t think of anything else to do with my money. I like things that smell nice. One thing I noticed after I crossed over to swimming is that my car smelled less rancid as well as my laundry.

4) Swimmers are so awesome we have our own aerobics. I remember the first time I went to a water aerobics class and I was pretty sure I had entered the pool version of PBS’s Sit and Be Fit. But if there is one thing I have learned in 10 years of critical care nursing it’s Never underestimate the strength of old ladies. It was intense. Deep water running is excellent as well and most gyms with pools offer such classes. You will leave with your butt kicked I promise.

5) It’s good for your self esteem to wear a bathing suit year round. At some point you realize you are not filming an episode of Baywatch and you get over yourself. Also you will keep up with shaving your legs almost without thinking about it.

Getting Started

The first thing you need is water! If your town doesn’t have a gym with a pool see if your local high school has a swim team and where do they practice. Also since swimming is a summer sport you can always hit the lanes at your public pool. During the summer I often get my workout in while I have the kids at the pool. Granted my kids are 4 and 7 and I can have a friend keep and eye on them without fear that they will eat grass or strip naked whilte I bust out 15 minutes of sprints during adult swim time. Most public pool managers will also allow you time to lap swim either before or after regular hours. Just ask.

Next you need a suit. Unfortunately there are no great sports swim suits at Old Navy prices. Suck it up and go to a Sporting goods store and pay for a Nike, Speedo, or TYR suit. If treated with care they will last a long time and you will get your money’s worth. TYR is my least favorite brand because I like thicker straps. Then pick up some goggles and a cap. Oh and I saved the best for last: We have our own MP3 players for water sports. YAY!!! I got mine from Amazon. Don’t think I have ever seen them in stores.

Last but not least I realize that everybody was not raised by my mother and given the pleasure of waking up at dawn and being thrown into a freezing cold pool (Pool heaters must have been a post 1990′s invention) because it’s good for you to learn proper backstroke technique. If you have never been taught swimming strokes take a class. There are plenty of adult swim classes. How do you think Julia Roberts escaped in Sleeping with the Enemy?

My typical swim workout

It begins with 4 laps of each stroke (Butterfly, back, breast, and freestyle). I start with my least favorite- backstoke. It is my weakest stroke but also the stroke I notice the most improvement with the more I practice. Then I do 2 200meter IM’s with a small break in between cause vomiting in the pool is frowned upon. Next I work my upper body only and swim 2 laps with the foam wedge thingy between my legs. I do butterfly, backstroke, and freestyle. You really can’t do this technique using breaststroke arms which stinks cause that’s my favorite stroke. Near the end I do 4 laps of each stroke with a kick board. I love kick boards!!! Lastly, I do a little jogging in the water just to cool down.

Final Thoughts

While I enjoy a great weight loss story of triumph this is not it. I am not at my leanest now but I am also not at my heaviest. I am quite content with my current size while the crazy people who created the BMI classification(and clearly have it out for short people) would shudder at that thought. Fitness is part of my daily life and I do things I really enjoy. While my youngest son and I would love to live on a steady diet of Long John Silvers hush puppies, Tootsie Rolls, and coke we work hard every day to put some good nutritious food into our body’s and drink some water (and milk for him). My husband and my oldest son actually prefer healthy foods. ( Yes I have further evidence to support that this may not be there home planet but I love them just the same). As a girl with a Type B personality this suits me just fine.It’s good to know you are taking good care of yourself with obsessing over it. We Type B’s aren’t good at obsessing.  I also think it sets a good example. This is a busy time in my life and likely for the readers of this blog. I have a God to serve, a husband to embrace, kids to teach and train, lives to save at work, Legos to build and pick up, recipes to try, some cool new Phineas and Ferb songs to learn on my keyboard, and a Kindle full of Amish fiction that I can’t wait to finish. My encouragement to readers would be this : Find something you love , do it, put something in your mouth that grew in the ground or on a tree, and try to relax. One day you’ll be 80 years old and content to eat a half a cup of cottage cheese and half a peach for dinner. You’ll look back fondly on the days when you desired and could chew a Snickers bar.

Thanks for listening and thanks Clare for claiming to know me and printing this. In the words of Nemo’s Dad “Keep Swimming.”

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Thank you, Mandy! I love your humor and distinct way of capturing life in words! Don’t you all think she needs to start her own blog?! Do I have any swimming lovers out there? Which sport are you must excited to watch during the Olympics?

We don’t always have the money to add to our “home gym” so we have to think out of the box. Luckily there are plenty of household items that many of us have that will double as equipment! I’m posting at The Better Mom today with some ideas on how you can use what you have at home for a workout!

I even put together a quick workout (complete with printable!) for you to use! How many of these household items do you have at your fingertips?

“I was doing so good, then my kids got sick.”

“I was down 10 pounds, then went on vacation and gained 6 back.”

“I didn’t miss a workout for the longest time, but lately, I just can’t get motivated again.”

“I was getting ready to get a new plan and found out I was pregnant….again!”

Sound familiar?

In talking with women, I find that we are sick of the “start over”. We are tired of doing well, then falling off the wagon, then getting the motivation to get back on, knowing full well, we’ll fall off again.

We think that something must be wrong with us–our drive, our focus, our determination—since we can’t maintain consistency.

We ponder if it’s even worth it even more–after all, our bodies aren’t going with us!

Newsflash.

Welcome to Life.

Welcome to the real world.

Welcome to how 99.9% of people think, act and feel.

You aren’t alone. Stop thinking that you are. Shift your thinking!

Instead of thinking that this is a pain in the butt, think of it just as another start.

Instead of thinking that this is the end of the world think of it just as another fresh day.

Instead of thinking that you are worthless, unmotivated and lazy, think that it’s just been a rough spell.

Instead of hating the failure, expect it and embrace it.

A shift in your mentality will equate to a shift in your success.

♥♥♥

I am the mom to small kids. I expect to be lured in by the goldfish crackers instead of the almonds. I expect to be woken in the middle of the night with puking kids, meaning an exhausted next day. I expect feeling the draw of wanting to go to dinner with my girlfriends instead of attending that kickboxing class.

I EXPECT it because I’m ALIVE.

It’s ok. I promise.

Sometimes I make the right decision and sometimes I don’t. Just get back on it. Life will happen. You will fall off. Get back on.

One foot in front of the other….One step at a time.

Another real life workout. (Here are two prior ones!) I feel that one way for you to learn how to put together my new moves, is to see how I actually put together a workout!

Here is what this week’s workout schedule looked like for me:

Monday: 15 minutes hill runs/ 35 min Full body Strength Training

Tuesday: 40 min Partner Track Workout

Wednesday: 25 minute elliptical workout (varying speeds)/ 35 min Full body Strength Workout

Thursday: Off

Friday:  15 min stair climber (Man, I forget how hard that is!)/ 45 min Full Body Strength (below)

Saturday: 7 miles

Sunday: Off

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 Warmup/Cardio:

15 minute stair climber

Strength:  (I do an upper body, lower body, and ab move or plyo for each circuit) I move through each circuit 2 or 3 times, doing 10-12 reps of each. I use weights anywhere from 12-20 pounds.

Circuit 1:

♦ Bent Over Rows

♦ Front Squats with bar and 5 pounds added to each side

♦ Alternating Oblique Knee to Chest (Leg Raise Machine)

Circuit 2:

♦ Incline Push-Up on Bench with Side Twist

♦ Weighted Step-Ups on Plyo Box

♦ Box Jumps (plyo)

Circuit 3:

♦ Upright Row with kettlebell

♦ Hamstring Curl and Press with cable machine

♦ Burpees (plyo)

Circuit 4:

♦ Push-Ups with the band

♦ Plie Squat with bicep Curl

♦ “The Hover”

How was your workout week?

It happens to the best of us. You are going full steam ahead with your training. You are right on track with your eating. Then it happens.

No motivation

No results

Roadblock after roadblock

I’ve been there multiple times in my life. I’ve seen it happen to others just as many! Here’s some ways to re-start and energize to get back on track!

♥♥♥

Go drastically different.

If you’ve always been a runner, try strength training. If you’ve always loved pilates, try kickboxing. Do something totally different than what you’ve always been used to doing. You may find that you don’t like it, but on the other hand, it may be just what you needed!

Source

Get in a class.

Attending exercises classes are beneficial in many ways. I find that this is just what some people need to get them back on track. It’s fun to attend with a friend, or meet new people. Your body is challenged in ways that it normally wouldn’t be if you were by yourself. There are so many styles of classes out there too!

Sign-Up.

Pick a local race and sign-up! Go big or small! Try a mini triathlon. Having a goal to work towards helps people stay the course and get re-focused!

Find a friend.

This always gets me moving again. Don’t think that it has to be something of similar workout level to you either. Yes, you may only find something who is “fitter” than you, but I’d also like to encourage you to find someone you could motivate and encourage!! You will be surprised at how much it will benefit you!!

Get visual.

This is a tricky one, and maybe isn’t a good option for some of you, especially if you struggle with the comparison factor too much. But, bring out some pictures of when you were looking what you liked. Bring out that dress that you want to fit into. These usually snap me back into reality pretty quickly!

Be ok with your break.

Yes. You heard me right. Sometimes you just need a breather. If you’ve been going strong for a long time, it might be time to take a week or two break. By the end of that time, I’m itching to get back at it!

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I’d love to hear your tips on getting back on track after you’ve out of it for a while! Please share!