Monday, February 16

Are You There For Yourself?

Here's another great post on Charlie Mike. It was a great encouragement to me and I hope you'll appreciate it as much as I did. Check it out:

Charlie Mike

Tuesday, February 10

I'm not disappearing!

Although, I wish I could say that about my body fat. LOL!

I just wanted to post that I've been really busy with work lately and I'm still a stay-at-home-mom, too, so I haven't had as much time to blog recently. But I promise to blog as often as I can so please keep checking back!

Thought for the day - since I'm feeling the need - STRETCH! Have you stretched today? I love to stretch and we should all take the time to stretch, but don't overdo it. You can overstretch and then cause problems for yourself, so make sure you're not pushing yourself too hard when you stretch. (How many times can I say STRETCH in a sentence???)

I usually take about 10-15 minutes to stretch, before and after I workout. It seems like a long time, but it seriously makes me feel so much better! You don't have to stretch just when you're working out - you can stretch any time.

Another stretching tip - warm up before you stretch. I usually get on the elliptical or recumbent bike for 10-15 minutes before I stretch. Then my body stretches a whole lot easier. Try it! It really does make a difference!

Tuesday, February 3

The Anti-Diet

I know - it's been awhile. Busy-mom syndrome has hit again.... As well as a cold.

I thought I'd blog about the Anti-Diet --- diet soda. I was thinking about it the other day because I really love Diet Pepsi. I could drink it all day long. But I know how bad it is for me. Carbonated drinks inhibit our body's ability to absorb vitamins. When we're deficient in our vitamin intake, we don't have as much energy and don't feel as good. Everyone knows that the sodium makes us retain water. And not only that, but our bones can be effected as well.

One thing I have noticed, when I'm really strict with my nutrition, is that when I drink diet soda, I hold 2-3 pounds. I say "hold" because it comes right off the second I stop drinking the soda. Well, maybe not THE SECOND I stop drinking it, but soon after.

I've been sick and I love to drink ginger ale when I'm sick. So I've been drinking soda lately and I'm thinking a good way to start dropping the 5 pounds I put on over the holidays would be to just stop the soda intake.

It made me think of back when I was a teenager and I was skiing with my family. My brother wanted to ski the Cornice, so we went up the gondola and got off and as I stopped at the top of the hill, I was suddenly scared to death. It wasn't just a smooth hill you ski over to and start going down. This was a ledge. With a drop. And then you ski.

And it was steep.

So what I ended up doing was just going for it, with the expectation of falling halfway down the mountain.

But once I got over that cornice, it was much easier to ski. I really enjoyed it and ended up skiing that run over and over. So I think, in regards to my soda, if I stop drinking it and drop the few pounds it makes me hold onto, I'm jumping that cornice on my weightloss plan.

I think it's a great challenge to any of us who are drinking soda. Give up the Devil Juice, the Anti-Diet, the 2-3 Pounds that just want to hang around.

My alternative suggestion - Crystal Light mix-ins for bottled water. You can get a box of packets for $2.50 at Walmart. They're $6.50 at the grocery, so it's worth the trip to Walmart. And they make water WAAAAAAY more appetizing.

Happy drinking!!!
 

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