Point Posting Time and Christmas Musing

Congratulations for completing another three week challenge. We'll start some two week challenges in the new year.

Please post your points. Even if you only worked on this for a few days. Everyone who post any points at all will be put in the drawing for the second necklace. You have until Monday night to post points.

Healthy Wife Happy Life is in it's 10 months and has evolved as it's gone along. Thank you all for making it so successful. What I love most about this blog is that it's not only about losing weight...although may of us have been doing that or are still trying to do that. Being Healthy is not solely about a number on the scale. I love that we've been able to embrace that it's about being well rounded.

This past session my goal was to put more Christ in Christmas for my family and it's been very successful.

Being Healthy is about spirituality, mental and emotional states of mind and how well our body works. Balance is a vital aspect to life and one that often gets out of whack but we can always work on finding that balance. Finding balance requires constant adjustments, it's not stagnate.

A well rounded person is a person who can take on all sorts of challenges in life and can bounce back from being knocked down a few times.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy spending time with family and friends.

Thank you, thank you for being such great women and wonderful examples.

Rambling Video Post #2

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Seasonal Affective Disorder

Well, Melissa had it right with her post today - we are definitely all affected to one degree or another by the weather and the change in daylight exposure. I think our bodies are programmed to kind of shut down during cold weather and lower levels of daylight exposure. Winter is designed to save our fat! Dang it! No wonder we love carbs so much in the winter.

Thinking about weight loss efforts in years past, I was asking myself, "Why do I have such a hard time losing weight in the winter, in fact I tend to gain weight, but it's much easier in the spring and summer?" Plus, in relation to my battles with anxiety and depression, I knew I had harder times starting in late fall and going until spring. And click! I put the two together, weight loss struggles and depression, and I think it's related to the season. I may want to start using some form of light therapy and see if it makes a difference. Melissa, could you tell us more about the light lamp you have, and where you got it from?

Here's an article about SAD I found on Wikipedia: Seasonal Affective Disorder, if you want to read more about it.

KILLER ABS!

Very literally, my abs are killing me! I've really been trying to focus on good running form this past month and a half. What difference has this made? Well, hopefully the biggest is simply.... better form. I am finding as a side effect of good form, my abs are crying out. They are so sore the rest of the day, sometimes for even a few days, after my runs. I was worried I was doing something wrong, but after doing alot of research and talking to "people" and "professionals" it appears that I am getting a kick butt core workout every run! :) Maybe one day when all my baby belly fat melts away, I will discover a firm, flat belly underneath!

Until then... I will keep pounding away at the workouts!

My gift to everyone, would be killer abs. I wish I could afford a hard core workout instructor who could give us hard core workouts individualized to our own unique weight loss needs. :) Until that day, I (and we) all have running! Hey! At least it's free, right?!

Baby, It's Cold Outside

My number #1 complaint in the winter: I'm cold. Specifically, my feet, my hands and my nose. {Closely followed by complaint #2: not enough mood-enhancing sunlight.} Being cold makes me want to eat sugary treats. It's like my body is saying "You need to pack on some extra pounds to ward off the cold."

But, really, it's not the extra pounds I need. It's exercise. Exercise improves circulation which, in turn, keeps your body warmer, including fingers and toes. My close to congealed blood is forced to perk up and start moving around in a frenzied fashion. That makes me warm. I am quite literally at my warmest in the winter right after I exercise (even warmer than having just stepped out of the shower.)

Of course there are other ways to stay warm too: good socks, hot cocoa, a fire, snuggling, a warm bath. {And if you need some more of those, go to the Dragonfly's December Give away fast!) These are all good too, but, for me, they only provide temporary relief, not the more long term solution I crave. So when the hot cocoa and socks just don't cut it and you feel the cold deep in your bones, time to rev up the circulation the old fashioned way and exercise.

As to the sun light, I received this awesome Happy Light as an early Christmas Gift this year. It brightens my day and lifts my spirits almost instantly. If I close my eyes, I can almost imagine the sand, the sun and the azure blue waves lapping the shore.

Somebody hand me a fruity concoction with a pink flamingo in it, please.

Calling All Slackers!

How can you tell if you are getting a good workout? Wear a heart rate monitor! After my digital scale, it's my favorite workout/healthy-living gadget. Since winter has set in, just about the only exercising I get is on my Gazelle strider machine. It's completely user-driven, which means that if I'm daydreaming I don't get a really good workout, especially when my heart rate falls below 100/min. My heart rate monitor is kind of my drill seargant, telling me when I'm slowing down too much. So go check out those last-weekend-before-Christmas sales online at Overstock, Amazon, Sports Authority, REI etc. and get one for your stocking!

Shred

I finally took the cellophane off of Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred and popped it in the DVD player. Several of you have written about her rockin' three twenty minute workouts. I only did level one and I was breathing heavilly. The arms, legs and abs were all keeping up nicely, but I have a hard time with intense cardio, even in short bursts. I start wheezing pretty quickly. So I've decided to stick with level one for a week before even attempting level two. All this to say that mixing up your workout routine, even just a little, can be a pretty humbling--and healthy--experience.

Also, there's this: sorry Jillian, but the word "shred" always makes me think of food first.

My gift to you...

I have yet to learn how to pull images off the computer SO after trying for 30 minutes I gave up and am posting a picture of my daughter with SNOWSHOES on :)


My gift would be snowshoes. Why? Because it gives you a great healthy activity to do in the winter time. It gets you above the inversion and into the beautiful sunshine. 
Our family bought them a few years ago and have had some really fun Saturdays up in the mountains. 
On our first trip out,  Emily was SO excited to go snowshoeing with her new pink snowshoes...when we got to the spot she yelled, "HEY, this is just like HIKING! I HATE hiking!" We had to convince her it was an ADVENTURE and she could take pictures of all the little treasures she found.
Even, Emily who "Hates hiking" had a good time!
I have realized I need it for therapy. I NEED sunshine in my life to make me a better mom, wife and person all around.
I wish I could buy them for you and we could somehow get together and go out for a day in the mountains. Now that would be a FUN day!!!


MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Small, but mighty

I've thought about this quite a bit, hoping to write about some miracle kitchen gadget that would have you all transfixed. But, fact is, my little kitchen secret is indeed little and unassuming: the humble 1/2 cup prep bowl. It's all about portion control. I can plop anything in there and know that I've got 1/2 a cup and that that's plenty big to satisfy my appetite. Most often these get used for fruit, yogurt, dry cereal, crackers and nuts (I only fill it half way for nuts). By putting the snack item in a little bowl immediately, I avoid reaching in the box for just one more handful.

If you ever come across more stylish half cup prep bowls on the internet, let me know.

MY wish for you

I really love my Wii Fit.

I was definitely a little sceptical when I first learned of this little item. How could a video game help you lose weight? But, my interest was also piqued. Since we already had the Wii, I asked for the Wii Fit for Christmas last year.

It has really, really helped me get in the exercise. I don't have a gym membership. They're always a waste of money for me. Summertime in Las Vegas is HOT HOT HOT, and I barely make it outdoors to water the plants, let alone to get in exercise. This has been the thing to keep me going.

I love the strength training and yoga exercises. When I was doing them four or five days a week (earlier in the year), I could totally feel the difference it was making in my health. I felt better. It was much easier to climb the stairs at work. 

The other games on it are fun too, and certainly help to break things up, keep you from getting bored. The upshot is you're getting in a workout while having lots of fun.

So, that's my wish for all of you, if you don't already own it. 

The Wii Fit.

You asked for it...can you make it one more week?

Becky...you wanted to see why I think you should be working your best...besides for the benefits of good health this is what's up for grabs.

Chris, the hubby, designed the "I can do hard things" and his Aunt Sylvia made the charms. She thought that the Eiffel Tower was a great thing to put on the other side because it was hard to make. I agree...and it makes the charm versatile.

I know this is a hard time of the year to try to fit in exercise...and food choices are abounding. But we need to make sure these changes we are making are lifestyle changes...not short lived.

Being able to stick to these habits even during the toughest times will only improve our lives in the long run. We can all do hard things. And after a while, they won't seem so hard...but something else will and you can do that too!

Hang in there for another 5 days and then get ready for a break. Will you keep some of these good habits going into the new year? I hope you do.

So, there are two charms up this round. The first one goes to the winner. The second goes to the winner of the drawing of everyone who post points. I mean any points. Only kept track of points for 6 days...what were your points. Keep at it the whole time but it was tough....tell me you points. I want everyone to have a chance to win!!!

YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS! I know you can!