Marching On....

So is anyone remembering to march?!

I admit,  I've only done so twice - it's an easy one to forget about!  My wonderful, supportive husband (albeit reluctant at times) has also earned two points.  The first time, I got a call from him Monday night.  It was a little odd because I was at home working on the computer and he was in our bedroom, so when I answered, I asked, "what are you doing?!"  He answered, "marching."  Isn't he fantastic?!  He'd just read the challenge on the blog and got right on it!  And then, this morning, he had taken Zoey to her dance class when I needed to call him.  There was kind of a pause after he answered and he explained that he'd had to go around the corner to start marching because he didn't want any of the other parents to think he was weird. 

Thank you, Sweetie, for overcoming Lazy!

It makes me think that just maybe I should call each one of you and remind you to march during our entire conversation so everyone will get at least one point!  I wouldn't make it a short conversation, either.  I'd drone on and on about all the cute little things my girls are doing and the plot twists of the latest book I'm reading.  Heehee.

Siguen adelante, mi familia... March on, march on...

Forward... March!

March Challenge:

Stand up and march in place during 1 or more phone calls each day until the end of the month.

I would like to challenge you to do this during ALL calls, but I'll be pleased if you do it during at least 1 call a day.

You get 1 point for every day that you march in place during at least 1 phone call until the end of the month.  So keep track of how many days you have a marching phone call and let me know.  Counting today (Monday) you can earn up to 6 points!

I already marched today!  Actually I only left a voice mail, but from the moment I dialed the number until the end of my message, I was marching!  I only felt a little silly.

But more than anything, I felt PROUD that I'm Overcoming Lazy! 

By the way, this will really help those of you keeping track of your steps with a pedometer!

So Proud Of My Golden Sneakers!



Future Golden Sneaker Winner!

Thanks to all those who completed their goal surveys! 

Wasn't it quick and easy and fun?!  Well, those are the first words that pop into MY head, anyway!

I hope you found it helpful in making a plan to set your goals in motion.  Just a warning:  I plan on using these surveys a lot this year in helping us report progress and get/give feedback, etc.

The reason I say I'm proud of you Golden Sneakers is that you've let me know through the blog posts and the surveys that many of you are off to a good start.  Most of you indicated you have a positive attitude going into the Challenge this year.  Several have gotten tools (like pedometers) to help them achieve their goals and signed up for events (like Lazy [Wo]man Triathlon) to stay focused and motivated.  Good job you guys!

Upcoming events:

• Another (the quickest one yet) survey! Woot, woot!  Look for it in your email tomorrow!
• Another Monthly Challenge for the final week of March! (remember the first Challenge this month, worth 1 point, is to fill out your personal goal survey).
• National Rub Your Tummy and Pat Your Head Day.  Okay, I made that up, but it would be fun to celebrate, no?

Keep up the good work, mi familia!

Wanna work your forearms? Do some rock climbing!

Thanks to our niece, Grace, on the Johnson side, several of us got to try a new activity that challenged us a bit physically, I'd say. For her birthday party, we went rock climbing! I hadn't dressed properly to do any climbing, but I knew I'd regret it if I didn't at least give it a try. Especially after watching Grace's Dad, Travis, make it to the top of his wall and get to triumphantly ring the cow bell.

So I kicked off my flats and surprised myself by making it to the top of my wall as well. This one didn't have a cow bell, so I just had to utter a primal shout of victory... right before I made the mistake of looking down and whimpering for my Mommy. I was higher than I realized!

We all had a great time and I got one step closer to accomplishing my goal of trying 3 new fitness activities this year. First one down!

Healthified Mac N Cheese

Mac N Cheese. My girls love it. It's easy to make. It's cheap. But I feel guilty every time I serve it to them because it's not a nutritional all-star.

But, I've found ways to adapt it so I don't feel nearly as guilty when I cave in and fix it for them.

First, while the noodles are cooking, I will throw in some frozen veggies. Usually peas because it's always fun to say to them (EVERY SINGLE TIME), "eat your mac n cheese n peas.... please." Then, when I make the sauce, instead of butter or margarine, I use Brummel and Brown spread. It has 50% less fat and calories than butter and tastes great! For the milk, I will often just use our skim milk but I will usually use Almond Breeze (or Silk) unsweetened almond milk when we have it on hand. It has way less calories and sugar than milk and, again, tastes great!

Well, we certainly know her version
ain't exactly healthy!

Lately, I've made another addition because it always bothers me that the pasta is not whole grain. So I tried sprinkling in some ground flaxseed into the sauce. This boosts the fiber and protein plus gives you the bonus of those healthy Omega-3s. I started off with just a tablespoon to make sure the girls would be OK with it and they didn't say a word! Gobbled it up like usual, so I've bumped up the amount to about 2 tablespoons.

With these changes, I'm convinced that this is a pretty well-balanced, decently healthy meal. And the modifications are so simple, it's still super quick and easy!

Healthy convenience. Love it!

Challenge

First off, thanks for those travel tips. They will come in handy when I have to travel some more at the end of the month. But the main reason for my post is that I wanted to share with everyone a challenge that I have signed up for recently. Through school they are doing a Lazy Man Iron Man Triathlon. The rules are that I have an entire month to complete an Iron Man triathlon. That is a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile run. At the end I get a t-shirt if I complete everything. But that isn't what I am excited for, I am excited because I have something always staring me in the face. It isn't a one and done kind of thing. I will have all those miles staring me in the face for a whole month. And I will get to check them off my sheet after each workout. I am excited to see my progress. This will be kinda hard to get all of this in, but I am up for something challenging. Oh and I convinced my roommate to do it with me too so that I have some support. The challenge starts the 5th so I will have a little time to find my bike helmet. I didn't think that I would be needing to find that so soon. This should help me to start finding routes for cycling and such. Oh and if anyone wants to join in they are more than welcome, though I don't think I can get you signed up for the shirt. You have to be a student at BYU.

Travel

This weekend I went on the worst possible road trip known to man. Ok maybe it is just the worst oe I have been on. I went with the soccer team down to Phoenix for a soccer tournament. We left Friday at 1:00pm on a bus and then got in to the hotel at 12:30am. We then had breakfast at 9:00am and got ready for our first game which was at 1:00pm. We then had lunch and had an hour break before getting ready for our next game. Which was at 7:00pm immediately after the game we got on the bus at 9:30 and had pizza on the bus. We then arrived back in Provo at 8:30 Sunday morning.

All of my efforts to be healthy were completely undermined this horrible weekend. The sitting for almost 12 hours straight was hard, but the worst part was my diet. It is hard not to snack when you are confined to a bus seat for that long and especially hard when you don't have a choice of what you are going to have at meals. I should have brought some more healthy snack foods with me, but I thought I could handle it. Boy was I wrong about my level of resolve. And I should have tried to get a workout in when we were at the hotel. I am curious though, does anyone have any other tips for traveling and maintaining your healthy habits?

The Surveys Are Getting Personal

Coming to you this week (some of you may have already received them) in your email:  Your own, PERSONALIZED survey to help you put your goals into action.  Many of you listed some great goals, but they were a little vague, so these surveys are designed according to your specific, individual, personal goals.

Yes, I will be a little put-out if you don't take the time to respond to these quick, easy surveys (none have been longer than 6 questions, so far) because they're taking me a bit of time to execute for every single one of you.

But it's a labor of love because I really want you all to have some success and satisfaction this year!  Unless you don't respond, then it becomes a labor of loathing.  I will hate you if you ignore your personal survey.

So that's March's first challenge worth 1 point:

Complete your personal Golden Sneaker 2012 goal survey.

Thank you!

And Then There Were Five...

Okay, I've received everyone's goals!  Well, from all the cool people, anyway.  The feet-draggers (ahem, Devin, Rebecca, Lynn, David and I'm gonna add Jerica to this list o' losers - she needs to get in on the action, too!) can redeem themselves if they act quickly.  They'll miss out on the points :( but they still have a chance to join the cool crowd.

Most of you managed to post onto the blog (I'm impressed!) and Amy emailed me hers.  Here are her goals:  Don't eat after 9 pm (unless blood sugar is low), have veggies take up more room on the plate at dinner time, try a new healthy recipe 1x/month, exercise 12 x/month.

Some of you already have a plan of execution for your goals and we'll be working more on that for everyone.  So, watch out for emails/messages/notifications on Monday for our next Golden Sneaker progression.

Plus I figure we'll need the weekend to let the stragglers officially submit their goal(s).  C'mon, you five!  We all want you to join in!