Tired of doing the same old videos but want to fit a good, heart-pumping workout into a small space of time? Here are 5 Pinterest inspired plans you can do quickly and without any extra equipment!
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115 pounds later...Mary-Ellen's Journey to Health
I was always the “big girl” growing up. Not really obese, but certainly bigger than I should have been. Out of a family of five kids I was the only one who wasnʼt physically fit. It was after I got married that I really put on a lot of weight. I basically ate whatever I wanted to and did very little physical activity. Three kids and several years later I found myself weighing 278 pounds.
I knew that this was not what God intended for me and that I needed to do something about it. I watched “The Biggest Loser” on TV and came to the realization that these were people just like me. Maybe if they could do it, possibly, just maybe I could do it too.
I had bought a couple of “Biggest Loser the Workout” DVDʼs before with good intentions, but I never followed through. In May of 2011 I decided that this time I wasnʼt going to fail. Enough was enough! I wanted to be able to do things with my kids and more importantly to be a good example to them. I wanted to be a godly example, but I wasnʼt taking care of my “temple”.
And so it began. I used things I learned from “The Biggest Loser” and from the internet and began my journey. It wasnʼt easy. I made the decision right from the beginning that I wasnʼt going to “go on a diet”. I was going to change my lifestyle and the relationship I had with food. I started a food journal and wrote down everything that I ate and calculated the calories that I took in each day.
What an eye opener that was. I set a daily calorie goal and tried my best not to go over. Sometimes I failed. More often I found that I could actually do this. I did a workout every day.
Was it hard? Yes. Did it hurt? Yes. Sometimes I wanted to give up. Sometimes I didnʼt want to do one more squat or lunge. But getting on that scale every morning kept me motivated. It sounds so obvious, but when I ate right and really pushed in my workout the weight came off. Amazing. I was really doing it.
In the winter of 2012 I decided to try something that I never imagined I would ever do. I dusted off the treadmill that I had bought with good intentions a few years earlier and started running....well jogging....very slowly. But it was a start and was just what I needed and the pounds kept coming off. I started running 3 times a week and then I added some P90X to my routine and every once in a while Iʼll get brave enough to do some Insanity (itʼs called that for a reason :) ).
Iʼve lost 115 pounds. Iʼm not skinny, but Iʼm healthy. I feel so much better about myself. What Iʼve learned is that it doesnʼt take some amazing person with super willpower to lose weight. It just takes a one day at a time commitment and a good amount of prayer doesnʼt hurt either. I know
itʼs cliche, but itʼs true...If I can do it anyone can do it.
Feel free to leave a word of encouragement or a bit of your own experience in the comments!
If you have a story you'd like to share, please send me an email at walkingredeemed@ gmail.com. It doesn't have to be a dramatic weight loss to be inspiring. Reclaiming our health will look different for each of us!
Tips to Get you Running
Running is one of the most basic forms of exercise, yet it carries with it a whole plethora of misconceptions. Being ranked in the high-impact category, it often gets tossed aside as simply not do-able. I’m no expert, but I wanted to offer a few tips for those of you who are interested but have always been too intimidated.
- Get a good pair of running shoes that are suited to you! This cannot be stressed enough. If you just toss on any old pair of sneakers and take off running, you are very likely to find yourself in pain before you get too far. If you are able, go to a store where the employees have been trained to fit you according to your specific gait. A good shoe will get you off to a great start. A bad one will have you sidelined almost before you really get started.
- Ease in. Don’t lace up those new shoes, strap on your iPod and expect to sail through 10 miles before heading home to hit the shower. It doesn’t work that way. At least not for us normal people. Give yourself time to ease in to this new adventure. Short, slow runs are better than a long, fast run that kills your joints and has you hobbling around for days afterward, especially when you're just getting started.
- Don’t expect to love it right away. I think so many of us jump into running expecting it to become an instant passion. It’s easy to romanticize the experience and picture yourself running like a gazelle down the road toward super-fitness. The reality is you may look and sound more like an exhausted elephant (no reference to weight here, this is just what I felt like when I started!) staggering to a slow death. And that’s before you hit your first hill! Give yourself time. Be patient. Be realistic. The elephant will give way to the gazelle if you are determined and keep at it slow and steady!
- Give yourself rest days. I, personally, am following a half-marathon training program just to give me some guidance. According to this plan, I only run 4 times a week and all of them have a day off in between except one. Those days off give my joints time to recover and my legs a chance to rest. I do fit in cross-training types of exercises on the days I’m not running. This way I’m not over-exerting myself but exercising all parts of my body in a given week.
- Stay hydrated. This really should be at the very top. When you run, you will sweat. That’s a good thing, but those fluids need to be replaced with fresh, clean water. And lots of it. You are less likely to cramp during your run when you’re well hydrated. You are also less prone to muscle soreness when you’re supplying your body with ample water.
- Run with a partner when possible. It is not only safer, it’s more fun! I drag my son (okay, okay it’s really more like he’s dragging me!!) or my husband and sometimes even my neighbor. Running with somebody tends to make the time go by faster. It also encourages you to push through hills at a (slow) run that you might otherwise tend to walk.
- Speaking of walking, don’t be afraid of it. There is no shame in alternating running with walking. The first two weeks after I got started, I did a walking warm-up followed by alternating 3 minutes of running with two minutes of walking. Then I started making goals for myself. For example, I’d tell myself I’d run to the end of a certain road and then walk until a certain driveway where I’d begin running again. I finally got to where I could run the whole time, even the hills! I’m not gonna win any medals for my amazing speed, but I’m running!
- Mix up your route. I get bored running the same exact path every time. My husband went with me for a drive and measured out different distances using varying routes. This keeps me from getting bored, but it also throws off anybody who may be looking for a pattern to my running (aka the bad guys!).
- Keep your perspective. I think it’s really important to
remember why you are doing something. For me, I certainly wanted to
lose the baby weight I’d being clinging to since the birth of my twins.
But even more than that, I wanted to feel better. I don’t mind
admitting that I’d prefer to look good for my husband. But I also know
it doesn’t take much for him to think I look good!
It’s key for me to remember that I am doing this for my health, not
in an attempt to gain attention for my slowly evolving trimmer figure.
Don't miss your chance to get entered in the Trim Healthy Mama giveaway!
{This post was pulled from the archives of my other blog, Walking Redeemed, and edited slightly}
Finding Your Beautiful...and a Trim Healthy Mama Giveaway
This modern age has us racing through life in the fast lane. Drive-thru convenience food makes serving dinner a snap! We can fill our stomachs, clog our arteries, widen our backsides and add to that muffin top--all without getting out of the car. And when our bodies finally crumble under the onslaught of grease, fat and calories and we need a prescription filled to get us back on our feet, there is even a drive-up window for that. No need for taking more steps than absolutely necessary in a world that seems determined to kill us by both diet and inactivity.
But what happens when you want to take a stand against this deadly lifestyle and you start to implement change that seems drastic or fanatical to others? You hear things like:
"Oh, I could never do that! I like my soda too much!"
"What's the fun in living if you can't even eat the things you enjoy?"
"I don't have time to exercise. I'm lucky just to get through the day doing what I have to do."
"My husband loves me just the way I am and that's all that matters!"
It's easy to lose steam and motivation when there are naysayers at every turn. But don't let them sway you! It is 100% Biblical to be in your best possible physical health! God created all things beautiful and that includes you. Taking care of yourself is a key aspect of the Christian life. Period!
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. {1 Corinthians 3:16-17}
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. {3 John 1:2}
It isn't prideful to want to shed that extra weight. It's not vanity to want to lose the pallor that poor health casts over your complexion. And it isn't conceit that makes you want to catch your husband's eye again. It's God's design. Why are we so determined to make excuses or find a way around it?
You don't need any special equipment to exercise. Tie on your tennis shoes and go for a stroll around your neighborhood. Drop to the floor and do a few crunches, challenging yourself to add a few more each day. Pump out push-ups one at a time until you can do 20. And then 30 , 40 or 50! Set small goals for yourself and go after them!!!! Do not be defeated!
Of course, it's pretty silly to intentionally exercise if you're going to be stuffing yourself with poison disguised as food. Proper diet and physical activity must go hand in hand. Throw out the ugly notion that the word "diet" is a cruel torture to be endured for a small space of time to achieve a short term goal. All lies!
Diet is simply the food and drink that a person consumes.
It doesn't have to be torture. In fact, it shouldn't be torture. It can be delicious, satisfying and fun. And it should be!
This week I want to give you the opportunity to win a FREE copy of one of the HOTTEST books to hit the shelves lately...Trim Healthy Mama! This book is stuffed full of winning recipes that will leave you wondering where exactly you are having to sacrifice in order to clean up your diet!! You can read the review that Jacinda from Growing Home recently posted here. She has had fabulous success getting whipped back into pre-baby shape as the result of implementing many of these recipes for her family. They were designed to be user friendly, cost-efficient and extremely tasty!
Don't waste another minute wondering if you're cut out for a healthier life. Or trying to figure out if you have time for it. You are. You do. YOU CAN!!
{You can find the THM website here...there are product resources, various forms of the book, support forums and more!!}
{You can find the THM website here...there are product resources, various forms of the book, support forums and more!!}
{Linked up with: What Joy is Mine, A Mama's Story, The Better Mom, The Modest Mom}
Dusting off the old treadmill!
I think if a poll were taken, the treadmill would likely be the most common piece of gym equipment found in homes today. But, sadly, so many of them sit unused. True, walking in place for any length of time is not exceptionally thrilling. And running on the unforgiving surface of one can be extremely hard on the hips and joints. But there are ways to spice up your treadmill workout to give you the calorie burn you’re after without the burnout!
- Grab some hand weights and walk with an exaggerated arm pump. This way you are working the legs, which are a large muscle group and really get the heart rate elevated, but you also sneak in an arm workout! Once you’ve got a rhythm going, you can start alternating in some curls to hit your biceps.
- Go Anaerobic. You can squeeze in some interval training, giving yourself small goals that make the time go faster. Walk with your hand weights {or without them but at an incline} and alternate 90 seconds of walking with 30 seconds to a minute of running. (When you are at a run, you can put your weights down.) This way you are giving yourself a chance to recover from the faster pace but still working as you let your heart rate come down some before the next burst. You’ll get a huge calorie burn anytime you work anaerobically.
- Hook up to iFit.com. Many newer treadmills are compatible with iFit, allowing you to follow popular trails and routes without ever leaving your home. This sure beats mindlessly walking or running in place!
- Use an app on your smart phone or ipod that maps out a "trail" for you. You can even find a couch-to-5K plan that will give voice prompts as you make your way through the course.
- Put on some music that inspires you and run/walk to it. You can walk the verses and then pick up your pace for the chorus. You’ll be surprised at just how quickly the length of a song (or a bunch of songs) passes this way! This is one of my favorite treadmill workouts!!
I'm putting together a post with non-traditional ways to utilize your treadmill. This under-appriated piece of home-fitness equipment has MANY functions beyond simply running or walking on it. Stay tuned!
Identifiying your addictions
And others battle cravings. To sugar, caffeine, chocolate, FOOD.
My name is Kasey and I am addicted to Coke. (coca-cola, that is.)
There, it's out. This has been a life-long addiction for me and it's perfectly ridiculous. I have broken the habit more times than I can possibly count. Which means I have also backslidden just as many times.
Why? How is it possible that a fizzy brown liquid in a shiny red can could turn me into a powerless ragdoll?
I can't explain the science behind addiction, I only know the power it wields over it's unfortunate victims. And I know that the answer is not in simply accepting our vices. It is in conquering them.
This morning. And then again this afternoon. And this evening. Only to conquer them again tomorrow.
Victory isn't always a one time event. In this case, it is ongoing. Day in and day out, we must CHOOSE to tap into the super-power God has blessed us with: the power of the will. Exert your will for good and He will always meet you where you're weak. ALWAYS.
But as soon as you start choosing to ignore the small voice encouraging you to make good choices, help of another kind shows up with guns blazing. And those guns are pointed straight at you!
Today, identify your addictions, your weaknesses and your harmful cravings. But more importantly, re-introduce yourself to the blessed gift of Willpower. Coupled with prayer, it is a force to be reckoned with that will find victory every single time!
What do you struggle with?
Linked up with: Growing Home, Jill's Home Remedies, Little Natural Cottage, The Modest Mom
Cravings Identified...and giveaway 2 out of 3!
My biggest hurdle in maintaining a weight that is both comfortable and healthy isn't food or lack of exercise. It's making poor food choices as a result of misunderstood cravings. We all crave but can we always identify what we're truly craving or do we just grab a snack to quiet the urge?
Here is the publisher's description of the book Made to Crave:
Made to Crave is the missing link between a woman's desire to be healthy and the spiritual empowerment necessary to make that happen. The reality is we were made to crave. Craving isn't a bad thing. But we must realize God created us to crave more of him. Many of us have misplaced that craving by overindulging in physical pleasures instead of lasting spiritual satisfaction. If you are struggling with unhealthy eating habits, you can break the 'I'll start again Monday' cycle, and start feeling good about yourself today. Learn to stop beating yourself up over the numbers on the scale. Discover that your weight loss struggle isn't a curse but rather a blessing in the making, and replace justifications that lead to diet failure with empowering go-to scripts that lead to victory. You can reach your healthy weight goal -- and grow closer to God in the process. This is not a how-to book. This is not the latest and greatest dieting plan. This book is the necessary companion for you to use alongside whatever healthy lifestyle plan you choose. This is a book and Bible study to help you find the 'want to' in making healthy lifestyle choices.That describes me to a T. Full of good intentions and great planning, but easily overwhelmed by the busy-ness of life. I'm always re-starting what I should never have stopped! God never intended for us to sit stuck on the conveyer belt of good health. He's given us both roots and wings...there is still time to be who He intended us to be!
As part of this launch week of giveaways I am offering a free copy of this book! Use the rafflecopter below to get entered!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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