Down 40!

Well, I did it! I hit the 40 mark. Not 40 years of age, not the 40th time getting lost while driving around Ann Arbor, or not even the 40th time I have picked up the toys after the boys. I have lost 40 lbs since last December. Just thought I would let my admirers know! I haven't fit into these pants since before the children came! Merry Christmas to me!

Get Lost!

Hey everybody, or just Denise, hahah. I don't know just all who is reading this blog yet, but whatever, this is to all.

Click on the Photo on the right tool bar and it will take you to a government ad council page. On this site on the right side, there will be a list of things under a Caption of 'Television" click on any of them. They are commercials that the government has begin to run to help fight the enormous amounts of food advertisements like Burger King and others.

They are hilarious and give some great simple small steps we all can do to improve our health.

Denise's Goals - Getting Back on Track

I'll post my "trimming" goals since they have been on my mind for awhile. Thanks Darin for the reminder to take it one step at a time. It is not realistic to post that my goal is to loose 50 pounds, (however true that may be) but to take small steps that will bring big payoffs. So here they are for all of you to see and to call me on later:

1. Recommit to journaling all my food intake (should be doing anyways for WW)
2. Exercise for 30 minutes, 4-5 times a week (flexible amount to account for children interference, Sundays and holidays).
3. Make meal planning a priority (another thing I have slipped away from) to offset the pizza night, microwaved food or the dreaded meal-out-of-a-box.

That's it. These are the items I have started working on this week. I am feeling a little bit more committed since I am sharing them with you. Hope you will do the same.

The Nike+ Challenge

Anybody up for a challenge to exercise over the holidays? I am doing this little challenge presented by Nike & Finish Line. The challenge is to run a marathon's worth of miles (26.2) by New Year's Day. This challenge can be walked, ran, crawled, or skipped. :) You may even find an equivalent distance in swimming, bike riding, or on an elliptical machine.

Just an idea to get us up and moving. Good Luck!

One Step At A Time.

It is no surprise to any of us that we live in a day of instant gratification. With drive through every things, to high speed Internet, to freeways, to cell phones, and fast food, it is no wonder that we have conditioned our lives to want things done fast. We each want what we want and we want what we want now. In nearly every aspect of our lives today, that is possible. But we each must realize that our bodies were not built to match the trends of immediacy that we see so much of today. I would like to apply a principle of the Gospel to this idea. As far a budgeting and financing is concerned, God has revealed through his mouthpieces, that we each need to be able to decipher between our wants and our needs. We need to be able to push aside the wants that may supply some form of immediate but short feeling of happiness, and focus on the long term needs. We each may WANT to have a six pack, or WANT to loose those love handles, but more importantly we NEED to improve our overall health. We may WANT to look better in a swimsuit, but we NEED to make sure our heart and lungs are in good shape to prevent so many possible future health problems. If we can focus on what we NEED to do with our health, there will be less disappointment when our bodies fail to comply to our impulsive desires. The cool thing about our bodies is, that as we diligently focus on the NEEDS of our body, it will eventually reward us with our WANTS. No matter where each of us are, we each can take a step in a healthier direction. Just look at your daily routine, and decide now on one thing to work on. Whether it be to drink one less pop a day, or to stop all together, or to take a walk with the kids each day, or to run for that extra 5 minutes, or to not biggie size those fries, i promise that if we each just take one step at a time it will lead to that one pound at a time. I love you all and i wish us all great success with all of our health goals.

Let's Start at the Very Beginning*

We are all familiar with the movie, Sound of Music. I wanted to open the family weight-loss blog with one of the songs that will help get us started. You are welcome to sing along, cause I know you want too.

Lets start at the very beginning,
a very good place to start.

Nowadays we don't want to start at the very beginning. When it comes to reaching our goals we want to skip the intro stage, hit the fast-forward button, and get to the finish line ASAP. But so often we miss some important information by not wanting to be a beginner - a beginner will get more guidance because others will want to help him or her succeed.

Do you think it's a sign of weakness to ask for help? Most people are willing to help; we just have to ask! So today, right now, ask for help. It will make it easier for you to get closer to your goals if you can have help.

So where do you want to begin? What do you want to accomplish in this adventure we are all starting? Not all of us need to loose a lot of weight, some might just need to focus on eating better or some other aspect. It is time to focus on exactly what you want to do and to tell us about it so we can help each other succeed. Goals are best achieved if you share them. Share away!

*thoughts come from Weight Watchers' "Shot in the Arm" booklet.