And the winner is ... Toni!Way to go girls. I am glad you guys found a way to fit in your exercise. There weren't a ton of entries so this tells me a couple of things.
1. It IS really hard to fit in exercise.
2. You can't really motivate other people to exercise, even if you offer them money.
Even with the pressure of not sounding like a hypocrite on my blog was not enough motivation to overcome the busyness of life. So somehow we have to make the time and make exercise a priority. It takes a lot of discipline. When you find out the secret, let me know!!
So here is a recipe...
strawberry and date vinaigrette
Little less than 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Little less than 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
3 medjool dates
5 frozen strawberries
Blend in blender till smooth.
** This is great with a fruit/green salad. Some possible combinations:
1. spinach, pecans, strawberries
2. romaine, apples, raisins, walnuts, thinly sliced red onion
3. mixed baby greens, pear, almonds
Here is how we had it last night:
mixed baby greens, apples, raw pumpkin seeds
So first up: the contest! If you exercised 3 times since last Friday make a comment telling us how you fit in your exercise. You need to comment by midnight tonight and then I will randomly choose a winner. I will announce the winner Monday. I barely got in my 3 days of exercise and I feel very sheepish about it. I definitely need to step it up a bit.
One way I have been fitting in exercise is to walk up and down my stairs for 5 minute increments throughout the day. Sometimes I feel like this is a little silly but having a baby I can't break away for more than 5 minutes some times. But it gets my heart pumping and my leg muscles burning so I assume it is helping.
Next up: I weighed myself this morning and I am CRABBY. I GAINED 1 pound! I kind of stopped paying attention to what I am eating and I think that is one of the culprits. My friend and I were just talking about this yesterday. It is really easy to overeat the not so best of foods and a lot of time you don't even realize you are doing it. So that is why most weight loss programs encourage you to keep track of what you are eating. I was doing that for a while and then I stopped. I mean keeping track is not the funnest thing but I see it's benefits. So this next week I am recommitting myself to keeping a food journal. Next week on my blog I will document what I am eating. (I know you can't wait!!) So my next challenge to you is to keep a food journal. Try for one week, but even doing it for one day I think can be beneficial.
** Well, I better go. A is trying to run away from home and E is running after her crying. Just another fun-filled morning at our house!
The scary dungeon
So today I weighed myself. Oh yeah, remember I was supposed to do that every Friday? Well, I fell off the diet wagon a couple of weeks ago and I just couldn't bring myself to weigh myself because I didn't think I could handle any more bad news with the state I was in. I was already feeling pretty down by a discouraging appointment with my spine doctor, which is why I fell off the diet wagon in the first place. Why, oh why does my eating have to be so connected to my emotions? Grrr.
Anyhow, I braced myself and weighed myself today and I have lost .8 pounds since the last time I weighed myself, which I can't ever remember when that was. Anyhow, I am feeling a lot more peppy and positive now and I am back on track with my eating. I am also getting back on track with my exercise.
I have always loved exercising but with being a busy homeschooling mom it is hard to fit it in. Lately I have realized that there really is no ideal way to do it. You always have to make some sacrifice to exercise. Right now, mine is that I let my kids watch a video during Baby G's second nap while I exercise down in the "dungeon." This is not ideal in so many ways.
1. The dungeon is kind of scary.
2. I would really prefer my kids only watching one video a week.
But oh well. I know I could exercise at in the early morning or at night when the kids are still in bed. But let's be realistic, here: That is never gonna happen!! It is what it is. I mean I need to exercise. I mean I really need it. Not just how we all need it but if I don't exercise that is when my back starts acting up and my family can't survive with me out with back problems.
So I exercise and I want you to, too because exercising is one of the major keys to good health. So here is the contest. Everyone who exercises 3 times (at least 30 minutes each) by next Friday can leave a comment next Friday sharing how they fit in their exercise with all their other demands. Then I will randomly select one commenter to win a $15 gift card to Amazon.com.
So go start exercising, even if you have to exercise in a scary dungeon. It's worth it!!
