Calling for Guest Blog Post Submissions!! :)

It's your turn to brag on how you've been doing this year! Send me a message with what you would like to post about what you've been doing, what stumbling blocks you've come across, what motivates you and where you hope to be mid-year and end-year.

I will have follow ups to these posts around July and December. At the end of the year, there is a good chance we will vote on the most inspiring story! So submit your posts now at strnadl@yahoo.com or message me on Facebook. Great job everyone!

Weekly Challenge 2012 - MOST EXTREME CHALLENGE OF THE YEAR SO FAR...

Welcome back! This week's cHaLLeNgE is the most extreme that I've asked you to do yet. I have an alternative suggestion for those of you who are not yet ready for one of the magnitude! No worries - work at your own pace. What you are doing is something nice for yourself - how nice are you going to be to your body and state of health??

SO, we are now going into March this week - I can't believe it! I hope you all have been doing well at incorporating some or all of the challenges and would love to hear how it is going. Drop me an email or message me on Facebook. Hopefully it's working for you, or at least causing you to be more aware of your health, fitness and overall life wellness and participation. I know writing this has kept me on my toes in my journey (and now in line toward fitting into a fantastic wedding dress which I bought this weekend!). I started doing p90x and have been eating plenty more vegetables. I've been trying to get more sleep, and truth be told, I'm feeling quite better about myself and my health than I was even a few months ago.

For Lent, I decided to give up any and all fried food, as well as dessert with meals. I was still having things like toasted spinach ravioli and a couple of devils food cookies with lunch. I didn't think it would be extremely hard for me, but necessary and challenging, especially when I eat lunch every day with friends at school and do go out and socialize in dinner setting with friends quite often.

HERE IS YOUR CHALLENGE:

• Give up SOMETHING UNHEALTHY for ONE MONTH

I know that many people do not participate in Lent, so this challenge has nothing to do with it, but it inspired it. Give up something that you know is unhealthy for you. You can grade this challenge by making it really easy and giving up something that you only do once in a while or go the extreme route and give up something that you do every day - completely up to you. How strong are you? Really challenge yourself this time - believe in yourself because YOU CAN DO IT.

Because this challenge lasts for a month, I will not be posting new challenges, rather I will be blogging about how my 'give up' is going and reflecting on ways to stay motivated. I would absolutely welcome comments about you - how you are doing and what strategies you are using to stay motivated. This blog has now had almost 3,500 hits and if you want to write a guest blog to brag a little about your year of moving toward health, I will post it for you!

***Everyone benefits from inspiring stories!!***

Keep up the great work and see you next week.

Week #6 of 2012 CHALLENGE!

Gear up for this week's challenge - it's hard! Many of the people that have mentioned that they follow the blog are parents (and some brand new parents! - congrats!), so for this challenge the key is to do the BEST YOU CAN. Nap when the kids nap, etc. Prioritize what's important - if the dishes need to be done, but you were up all night and will function better and be more productive after a nap, do so! No feeling bad for trying to stay healthy!

Week #6 of 2012 Challenge

• Sleep 8 hours each night

Short and sweet, yet SO important for good health, overall wellness and longevity. Here are just a few of the ways sleep impacts your day to day functioning:

• Keeps your heart healthy
• Proven to be associated with a decreased risk of developing cancers
• Reduces inflammation and stress hormones
• Decreased risk of diabetes
• Increases your memory and brain function
• Decreased risk of depression
• There is a strong connection between sleep and overweight/obesity!!! If you want to lose weight and you aren't sleeping, there is a good chance it won't happen or it will take a lot longer than you want.

Some ways to get better sleep:

• Set a 'regular' bedtime and attempt to get up at the same time every day. Our bodies actually crave routine and function best when you can achieve this.
• Increase your exposure to daylight during the day and limit the use of television and any electronic screen use (including your cell phone!) an hour before you go to sleep.
• Limit naps to 30 minutes to avoid feeling drowsy afterward
• Keep your room cool and make your bed as comfortable as possible
• We are all adults here - so use your bed for sleep and sex only. Keep a TV out of your bedroom (should improve that love life!)
• Have a bedtime ritual (short is fine) - listen to music, take a warm bath, etc. and try to do the same thing every night
• Avoid alcohol, caffeine and big meals before bedtime
• Exercise regularly, but avoid it in the hour before you go to bed.

Have a great day and enjoy the Super Bowl!! Keep the snacks healthy or TASTE the not-so-healthy stuff :) See you next week for Challenge #7!

Lauren