February Fit & Healthy Focus

Sunday was the 21st day of "21" Meditations & Motivations to Get You Moving! I didn't miss a day of working out in 21 days! Now I'll go back to my regular plan of working out 6 days/week and a rest day on Sunday.
Doing the "21" plan on the "21" Group Page on facebook worked out well.
I'm planning another Fitness Challenge for the spring. Let me know if you want to join in on that one. Hopefully, by then, those of you in "snow country" will be able to get out and hop, skip, jump...walk or run!

Some of us are still posting our daily workouts on the FB Group Page. And others posted on my running blog ~ www.seemymomrun.com 
(Yay! Sonja and Mindy and Tracy!)

For the month of February I am going to post a weekly Fit & Healthy Focus. 

For this first week the focus is to increase your fiber intake to 25 grams a day. (Women ~ 25 grams and Men 35 grams. I'm working on my husband! He's agreed to up his fiber intake.)
I got 29 grams in today and what I have noticed since increasing my fiber this week is that I naturally eat less. When you choose to eat an apple with peel (I buy organic apples.), you get a little over 4 grams of fiber and then you really don't reach for a cookie or two or five.
Here is a good site that includes a list of high fiber foods.


If you want to join in on the February Fit & Healthy Focus, leave a comment. And if you are on FB, "friend me" and join our Group Page. You'll recognize a few fellow bloggers there!

"21" ~ An Invitation

 I am currently writing a 21 day plan to a fitter you. Are you interested in joining me on this journey? The plan starts NEXT Monday, January 17th. I will have the plan available in a pdf to download Sunday, the 16th. 

“21”

Meditations & Motivations to Get You Moving!

“21” Meditations & Motivations to Get You Moving! is a 21 day plan which gives a daily scriptural Meditation, a health/fitness Motivational tip, and your fitness goal or Mission for the day. Each “Mission” should ideally be a minimum of 30 minutes of daily exercise. You choose the work-out plan you like best. I am not a certified trainer nor am I a physician. I am a 47 year old wife and mom who has embraced the gift of discipline as it relates to exercise. Running is my preferred work-out but it’s not for everyone. The plan goes for 21 days based on the research of establishing habits.

Why am I doing this?

• I am passionate about walking alongside people who want to make a positive change.
• Running is a God-inspired gift that has helped me in grieving the loss of my son, Andrew.
• As I have run with God these past several months, I have developed a closer walk with Him. Because of this I have a “book” in me about the messages God has spoken to my heart as I have run 3 miles a day.
• I am hoping this mini project will spur me on to write the “book.”
• And while I mostly run alone, I do occasionally enjoy company on the journey and I’m hoping this time it will be YOU!

Each entry provides:

* Meditation in the form of a scriptural passage relating to: the body, walking, running, strength, or endurance.

*Mind This! a mental focus correlating with the scriptural passage

* Motivation in the form of a quick tip based on the latest research regarding health and or fitness. I do the research and you get it in a bite sized form!

* Mission is your daily minimum of 30 minutes of exercise. You pick your plan: walking, running, dancing, gym or DVD work-out, etc. 

You record your daily goal and upon completion reflect how you feel.

I, personally, like to work-out 6 days a week and take a rest day on Sundays. However, in the spirit of “21” I will be taking a restorative 30 minute walk on Sundays.

My personal fitness "mission":

Run 3.5 – 4 miles 4 days/week

Spin class 1 day/week

The 30 Day Shred 1 day/week

Sundays – 30 minute walk

Leave a comment if this is a plan in which you would like to participate. I'll have more information for how to access a hard copy of each day's entry if you want one. 

My Body

January 1st I was hoping to run 4 miles. My usual mileage has been to run a minimum of 3.1 miles 6 days a week. I wanted to start the year off with a 4 miler. 
But stuff happens. In this case stuff was my catching some kind of virus and I thought it best to rest my body rather than pushing it to run and feel worse. 
Today I am in the planning process of goal setting. A few days ago I visited "only a breath" and read that Melanie is making quarterly goals. Setting quarterly goals seems much more manageable to me than setting them for a year.
So far my categories are:  My Body, My Spirit, My Creativity and My Household. I'm sharing the My Body goals today. 
Last April I started running again. I knew that in the grieving process I had to take action to get my "healthy" back so that I could be the kind of wife to my husband and mother to my children that they deserve. (Visit my running blog here.)

Running Goals (1st quarter) ~ 3 1/2 - 4 miles 5 days/week

Strength Goals (1st quarter) strength training ~ 1 - 2 times/week

Spin Class  Goals (1st quarter) spin class at the Y ~ 1 day/week


I'm still thinking about what changes I want to make toward healthy eating. But certainly any goals I set in that category will involve cutting back on sugar. I did this last year and it was doable and after a few days, EASY! One thing that is helpful in decreasing sugar intake is to plan ahead. Pick the special occasions in which you will PLAN to enjoy a dessert. The next family birthday we will celebrate is my son Avery's 17 birthday in February. This morning I have announced that I will not be making any desserts until his birthday. He has already given me his "order" ~ homemade chocolate chip cookies & ice cream sandwiches.
What about you? Do you have any fitness goals for 2011? If setting goals for the entire year seems too daunting, why not set a quarterly goal?