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SPRING FITNESS CHALLENGE: Week 1 Wrap-Up

Week 1 Challenge Theme: ACTION.

Week 1 of the challenge is quickly rolling to an end. It’s been an awesome week of: ACTION! This time last week, I was so nervous knowing that my “Accountability Pictures” would be going live Monday morning. But obviously I had nothing to worry about. You guys have been so supportive.  Posting those pictures was exactly what I needed to hold myself accountable this week. Every time I felt myself starting to slip, I thought about those pictures and how proud I want to be of myself when I post my final set. If you haven’t posted your own pictures yet, head over to the forum and get to it.

It has been a great week! I am so proud of myself. Based on the conversations over in the forums, it sounds like you guys have been doing awesome, too. I want to give a big shout out to three challenge participants in particular—Stephanie, Michelle, and Brad—who have been kicking ass & taking names. So proud of you guys!

No action, no change. Limited action, limited change. Lots of action – Change occurs. —Catherine Pulsifer

Week 1 Progress

My goals & results for the week:

  • Five minute meditation each morning before I do anything else – YES!
  • Twenty minutes of non-stop movement each morning (stretching, light cardio, light weights) – YES! (except Wednesday)
  • No fried food (except for stir fry) – YES!
  • No eating out – Almost! 😉

Here are my accomplishments from Week 1:

Stopped eating out. Eating out has been an ongoing issue for me.  In the past, I’ve tried to eat breakfast at home every morning, but sometimes I run late and it’s “so easy” to stop at the convenience store & grab a buttered roll and juice.  It’s unhealthy and it makes me feel like crap.  Eating while driving is wrong on so many levels, too.

I knew that if I wanted to stop this habit, I had to find a replacement that would really satisfy me.  So I did.  Every morning this week, I made myself a delicious bowl of 100% Whole Grain oatmeal made with soy milk, a scoop of natural peanut butter, and a handful of fresh blueberries.  Delicious!  I had to leave myself a few extra minutes to make it each morning, but it was so worth it and I had no temptation to stop at the convenience store!

Eating out at lunchtime has been another problem for me.  I love running out on my break and picking up a bowl of soup from the grocery store or a couple of sushi rolls from the Japanese restaurant.  But this week, I made it a point to bring my lunch from home every day.  I made sure to pack something delicious & nutritious.  Again, this took a little extra time in the morning but it was so worth it—not only for the health benefits but also for the benefit to my wallet!  😉

Trail mix. Trail mix was my secret weapon this week.  One of the reasons that I tend to overeat during meals is that I allow myself to get so hungry.  However, this week I made myself a delicious trail mix every morning—dried bananas, dried cranberries, and pumpkin seeds—and snacked on that throughout the day.  As a result, I never got hungry during the day and I did not overeat during any meals!  This is a huge accomplishment, because I typically overeat all the time.  In addition to the appetite control, the light snacking throughout the day seemed to help keep my energy up, too.  Bonus!

Exercise. I really wanted to devote twenty minutes each morning to continuous movement.  I feel good about the progress that I made because I hit my target every day except for Wednesday (because I had a life coaching session from 7:15 to 8:15 a.m.)  What I found, however, is that even with waking up an hour early, it was still difficult to squeeze the morning workout into my schedule.  I’m going to re-evaluate my exercise goals & plan for Week 2.

Week 1 Slip-ups
I’m really proud of my Week 1 progress.  I feel at least ten times better this week than I did last week.  Just by cutting out fried foods and eating out, I feel lighter, healthier, and more energized.

However, I did have a couple small slip-ups.

  • I had a box of Girl Scout cookies in my cabinet and had one too many of those this week.  Luckily, they’re gone now so that won’t be an issue for Week 2!
  • On Wednesday, something really wonderful and important happened to me (more on that later).  And as a result, I went out for a celebration dinner on Wednesday night.
  • And finally, I’m not 100% content/impressed with my exercise routine for Week 1, but I will improve that going into Week 2.

Looking Ahead to Week 2

The SPRING FITNESS CHALLENGE is off to an amazing start.  I am truly overwhelmed by all of your positive feedback and participation!  I’ve got a lot of fun & exciting things lined up for the rest of the challenge, so please stay involved & stay pumped.

Action was our theme this week, and we nailed it.  We are implementing positive change in our lives.  We are getting healthy.  And we are getting happy!  I am so proud of myself and so proud of all of you.

In Week 2, we are going to step things up another notch!  I’ll be posting my next set of goals on Monday.  In the meantime, start thinking about your own individual goals for Week 2.  Have an awesome weekend.  Stay strong & keep up the great work!

In love & light,
Dena

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  • · ·

    Are You Oblivious, Aware, or Getting It?

    This is a guest post from my friend, Andy Feld.

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    As I travel and meet new people all over our country, it seems most everyone falls into one of the three areas mentioned in this month’s title. What am I talking about? It’s the societal evolutionary change which is now in progress, although admittedly sometimes imperceptible. It is easy to see that violence rarely leads to anything but more violence. Overt materialism, absent integrity, brings happiness and abundance to very few. Additionally, centuries of male dominated insensitive energy added to a populace unwilling to take responsibility has us at a precarious tipping point.

    So, do you sense what I say is true? Are you oblivious to these changes in the air, or are you ahead of the curve and already taking the steps necessary to not only survive, but thrive in the years to come? Frankly, I am often greeted by individuals with long faces who tell me they will be happy again when things get back to ‘normal’. Normal for many means simply getting back to a life dominated by financial gain and the purchase of new things, but those days may be long gone. Banks are not lending money, our population is increasingly unemployed or aging and dependent, houses are not selling, there seems to be an oversupply of everything and worldwide competition is greater than ever. What if today is the way things will be for the next 20-30 years or longer? What are you going to do to be happy, prosperous, and emotionally abundant?

    Make no mistake, everything is changing and just about everyone is affected. Personally, my income does not approach what I once earned as a corporate CEO, my car is not as new and shiny as it once may have been, and I visit fewer restaurants, but my life has never been more pleasant. Would you agree that now is the time to not only re-evaluate, but also re-create our lives? If so, you are GETTING IT loud and clear, but if not, let’s look into what we can do about it.

    1. We are all One, connected with a common thread of spirit. When I say WE, I mean ALL humans, animals, plant life, earth, and stars. We all are of the same source energy, and understanding and respecting this Oneness is a key to thriving in our new age. Allowing all else to be, with love and respect, and without judgment of unique individual differences will open our portals to Universal Light. One cannot mistreat another human, the earth, our vegetation, and the animals without also mistreating oneself. We are all connected and what we put forth to others is what will always come back to us.

    2. Listen to our heart, our Inner Radar as I call it in my books, without the fear of judgment from others. We are all unique and different, and learning to reach within and hear that guidance we all individually brought forth to this lifetime allows us to grow and prosper in alignment with our life’s purpose. There is no better way to accomplish this than a regular practice of meditation and contemplation.

    3. Understanding the process for manifesting our life’s dreams. It takes quite a bit of practice and self-discipline, and you may be getting tired of hearing me speak about it, but we are the product of our thoughts, emotions, words, and actions. Very little we desire will manifest without the alignment of these four elements. Believe in this, practice and have faith and you will embrace your life like never before.

    4. Learn to appreciate all that you have. From hot running water, to clothes in your closet, and food in the refrigerator, most of us have so much to be thankful for yet rarely acknowledge. The beauty of nature, our relationships, our health and the list should go on and on. Write it down and truly rejoice in how many ways you are blessed.

    5. Diligently work on balancing your male and female attributes. We are all a combination of both masculine and feminine, and the more we keep these two in balance the more we vibrate with the earth.

    Yes, everything is changing. First, become aware and then jump on board, but it will always be the choice of the individual. No one, other than you is responsible for your rescue.

    Whether it is a business, an organization, or individual, the time for changing the status quo in right now. How to go about it in this new environment is what I speak about and teach. I would love the opportunity to work with you or your group.

    With much love and appreciation,
    Andy

    ———-

    Andy lives in Morrison, Colorado outside Denver. He travels the country as a frequent speaker on life inspiration and business sales. He is also a regular guest on radio programs across the United States and on local TV.

    You can read more about Andy at his website, Simple Happy, and you can find his books on Amazon at the following links.

3 Comments

  1. Sounds like a good week all in all, the first week of any fitness regime is always tough…you have various goodies (girl scout cookies) around yelling your name and, of course, you just can’t let them go to waste. 🙂

    Hang in there and keep on chuggin’

    Reply

  2. Great job this week Dena! I would say you rocked even with the few minor “slip ups”. On my journey one thing I have learned is that those things happen, but as long as I don’t dwell on them (like I am so known for doing) I’m usually okay.

    I’m very analytical so it’s hard for me not to want to make a bigger deal out of my mistakes and analyze how I messed up. I’m usually way too hard on myself but have lightened up a bit in the last 8 weeks.

    I did find out on Wednesday that I could no longer do weight training because of my “frozen” shoulder, but I’m not letting that stop me. Since that leaves me with the cardio option I decided to really push myself and will be doing P90X’s Plyometrics workout 3 times and Kenpo X 3 times each week with a final rest/stretch day. Plyo is one killer workout so to do it 3 times in one week will be difficult but totally worth it.

    That workout alone has given me more results than I ever expected. IF you check out my latest post on Enemy of Fat you’ll see a photo of me doing what they call X Jacks. I’m not only able to do all 10 of them, but all 4-5 times during the workout. I can jump so much higher now and that photo MOTIVATES ME. I’m so pumped that I can get my 280 body that high off the ground that many times.

    In 7 weeks I have lost 18 pounds and I’m looking forward to my week 8 weigh-in on Monday. Great week Dena!! Keep up the great work!! 🙂

    Reply

    1. @ Lou – Thank you so much for the words of encouragement. I was a little down on myself for sure, but you’re right — the first week is always the hardest. And it’s that much more reason for me to go even harder next week! 😉 And you’re right about another thing too… we can never let Girl Scout cookies go to waste!! haha

      @ Brad – Thanks so much & I especially thank you for your support despite my slip-ups! 🙂 WOW! Just checked out those K Jacks pics — holy mackerel! You are really blowing me away, man. You have come leaps & bounds — literally! — since you started training just 7 weeks ago. YOU ARE BRINGIN’ IT. You continue to amaze & inspire me daily, Brad. Here we go, I’m ramping up for Week 2, baby! 😀

      Reply

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