Way to Go In The Burg!!!!

Cheers to you and your exercise efforts Sara! I know that my Masters degree year was very challenging (actually about the most challenging time of my whole life) so it is great that you already have the tools at your young age to know how to destress and take care of yourself! It is cool that we are all on a journey to maintain our "temples" for life and service and all of the joys that God has for us. I also think that this Dec., Jan., Feb., stretch is the difficult one and then we hit Spring. I just wanted to let you know that I am very proud of you!!! I am proud of all of us and the choices that we are making!! Go TEAM! A.

Recommitment in the BURG

Hi All!

Thanks to a friendly prodding from Miss Kelly R...I am back and ready to post more frequently. I am back on track with a workout schedule after a very busy weekend of interviews for community advisor positions. I headed to the union workout room this morning and did some cardio on the elliptical and the StairMaster and finished with some abs work.

The semester continues to get busier and busier, so I too am feeling the pressure to sleep in or skip out on a workout if I am tired or after long days (I have had meetings with students both planned and unplanned until well past 10:30 pm all nights this week). However, I do have to keep focused on the end result...being happier and healthier for myself...putting myself first.

I will be heading to the union workout room Thursday evening and Friday morning, so I am definitely focusing on making time for myself...or I will go crazy! Love you all lots and look forward to more posts coming your way :)

~SJ

Working Hard in Wisconsin

Hi All:
I have been walking all this week and each morning I do several workout dvd's, toning and weights. It definately gets me going. It is still so cold here I want to go somewhere warm!!!!Tonight I have Zumba at 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. Sara got me hooked on the Ocean Spray diet juice, only 5 calories cranberry and grape are great. I should sign off and get ready head to class.

Love to All,
KRJ

Checking In and Waiting for news from the Burg and from the windy city!

Thanks for checking concerning the Zumba DVDs Kathy! We have been getting just a little snow each day since Friday, but haven't had very much accumulation. Just a 1/2 inch to an inch that accumulates each time. I did finish the end of last week strong with my exercise. I did not exercise on Sunday or Monday, so plan to get in an hour tonight. To increase my workout intensity I decided to try uping the pounds on my hand weights a little. I already have different sizes. I will try my 6 pound weights. One of the healthy eating choices that I have been making the last two weeks is in my choice of breads. We have a store near Zeman that makes fresh breads. It is called the Grain Bin. I found out that they have good sales on Monday! The breads are delicious and help me to get in my grains and for some of the choices also some fiber. I start my N-Lighten NE accountability on Sunday. Looking forward to hearing some news from the "Burg" and from the "Windy City"! Glad that you are enjoying your exercise Kathy! Good News - I have only two more progress reports to finish and I will have completed all for the First semester! Love to all! Anita

Another Deep Freeze In WI

Hi All:
We do have an instructor for our Zumba class. She is a parent of a student but is certifield to teach the class. She learned through instruction, but also with DVD's. I will get the name of them and let you know. She said we could borrow them if we wanted so I might do that. Friday evening I walked inside at school for 1 1/2 hours with my friend and did a video in the a.m. The weather on Saturday was -30 wind chill, so I did several exercise videos ( I was joined by my wonderful husband for 1 of them.) I also did some tone work and weights. Today, Sunday I did two exercise videos a step and one to tone. Tonight I will do some weights. It was -27 wind chill today also. We went to church to the store and home to hibernate. REMEMBER TO DRINK YOUR WATER!

Love to All,
KRJ

Questions From NE

I'm glad that you had a great time Zumba dancing! Do you have an instructor or are you using a DVD to learn from? If you know of a good Zumba DVD let me know. Perhaps in Feb. I will be brave enough to try on a swimsuit and hang it up for motivation! Way to go Kathy - I think that you are leading the pack in motivation! I'm glad most of all that you are having fun in the process! I did get in a 45 minute walk today, and am signing off to get in 30 minutes of my high intensity workout! Girls just gotta have fun - and so do guys!!!! Keep moving one and all! A.R.

Zumba Was GREAT

Hi All:
I had my Zumba class last night and it is really fun and great exercise. One male was even there. It is alot of dance moves which doesn't make it seem like exercise at all. I have been faithfully walking everyday and have done one or two videos each morning. The weather has been better here, but the weekend also sounds very chilly. I really enjoyed watching the Inauguration! I do have a new swim suit hanging up to keep me motivated.

Love to All!
KRJ

Excuses In NE

Hi Family,
I put in an hour of exercise on Sun. and 30 minutes on Mon., but have not exercised on Tues. or Wed. My excuse was that I have a slight cold and need my rest. I went to a friend's house for supper on Tues. evening and went to my Bible study tonight. I think perhaps I am making excuses, because I really would have had time to put in at least a half hour of exercise both Tues. and Wed. if I would have made it a priority. I thought I would share this helpful info. from the N-Lighten NE website in case any of you run into your own excuses.

"Tackle Your Obstacles
There are as many excuses to not exercise as the day is long. From being too tired to not having enough time, the list is endless and excuses creep into our minds and easily convince us to skip our daily fitness session. Your goal this week is to admit to those obstacles and find ways over, under, or around them!

First, take several minutes and make a list of all the reasons why you don’t engage in more physical activity. Make sure to be very honest with yourself. Then, next to each activity write at least two possible solutions. It’s important to write these things down so you have a solution list to refer to whenever you face a possible road block. "

I know that another excuse for me is that I am busy with a lot of paperwork for the end of the semester right now. My excuses are fading, because I know that a 30 minute period of exercise is not too difficult for me with my cold and if I change my choice of activity to walking - an hour would also not be too difficult. As for my paperwork. Physical activity actually helps a person de-stress, so the activity is even more important now. So hopefully you will hear me report in some exercising between now and Sunday! I have no excuse to not get in an outdoor walk tomorrow. We are supposed to reach 50 degrees tomorrow and then drop again drastically on Friday and stay cold through at least Tues. If Marj and Jim are walking in 0 degrees and happy about it - I think that I can get some fresh air on a mild day. Thanks for the motivation! The theatre night out sounded like a lot of fun! Take Care all, and my next blog title will be a positive swing letting you know my progress. We will be fit and have fun! Anita

Excited to be Above "O" degrees in Chicago

Greetings! Jim and I are excited that we can walk outdoors again with
the temperature finally above 0 degrees. We've made use of our health club
membership this week for two visits & plan to get back again tomorrow.

I find I am more conscientious about my eating habits when I am exercising.
It seems I'm more likely to decline empty calories if I know I am going to
totally erase my effort on the treadmill with a couple bites.

We're looking forward to attending a play this evening at the Steppenwolf Theater
called Seafarer with John Mahoney (played the Father in Frazier). A nice treat after
a wintry week. We plan to walk part of the way to the theater to get some more
exercise. Definitely one of our strategies for exercise is to walk to our neighborhood
businesses and fun spots.

Love,
MJH

Deep Freeze in NE also

Brrr... I can relate. The wind chills were very cold today and we are supposed to start out even colder tomorrow. I have been getting in 4 hours of exercise per week, but dividing it up in different ways. Most weeks I exercise an hour each on 4 days with 3 days off. Usually I have 3 days on which I do an aerobic exercise DVD - 30 minutes moderate and 30 minutes high intensity and then one day a week do a 60 minute Pilates DVD that focuses more on toning. Kathy, let me know how you like the Zumba dancing. I have looked at Zumba dancing on You Tube and it looks like fun, but I haven't tried it yet. I have been pretty good about my eating habits until this week. I have had a little too much sugar Mon., Tues., and Wed., so have promised myself to watch the sugar intake tomorrow. I am glad that you enjoy your students and coworkers at the "BURG" Sara! It sounds like you have a very sensible exercise routine going. Kathy and Wayne enjoy your weekend with Ben - with the trip back to Madison. Brandon has now had 3 days of classes and likes his schedule this semester even better than last semester. Happy exercising to all! I hate to keep repeating myself - but this blog is really helping to keep me motivated. Thank you one and All! AR

From the DEEP FREEZE

Hi All:
It has been really cold here, but we did have outdoor recess today and I had many crying children to contend with. They have already cancelled school for tomorrow because of the weather conditions. That seldom happens. I have been able to walk at school, but mostly have been doing videos at home. I have off for five days because of the cancellation of school tomorrow and only am classes on Friday and we also have Monday off. We will take Ben back to Mad town on Saturday. I sure hope it gets warmer so I can walk outside.

Love To All
KRJ

Update from the BURG

Hi All :)

Sorry for my absence...busy getting back in the swing of things at school! Today was the first official day of classes, so it is definitely nice to have all of the students back and in the halls. It is also nice that I can now get into a daily routine with the majority of my schedule outlined.

As for Mission: FITpossible the following has been my activities:

Wednesday: morning run, and long walk throughout the BURG with Kelly...and lots of chatting :)
Friday: pilates video and taebo in my apt
Saturday: morning run
Sunday: morning run and afternoon walk with Kelly and friend Kiley
Monday: morning run
Tuesday: 45 minutes on the elliptical and pilates video

Gotta keep committed to the plan and making sure I have my workout scheduled!!!

Love to all!

SJ

Exercise the "Cold Away"

Hi All:
I walked this week Monday-Friday and Sunday. I have been working out to some different DVD's also. Wayne & I danced alot on Saturday at the Anniversary so I think we burned a few calories. I am starting a "Zumba" class at school on Wednesday evenings. I am excited and will let you know how it goes. Today it was about zero when we walked, but it is so much better outside than walking indoors the fresh air is GREAT. It was good to see Wendell. He has lost some weight and I shared with him about our BLOG so hopefully he will join in also. Wayne is back to running also and will share more soon.
Love to all.
KRJ

I Feel Nifty at Fifty

Hi: I do feel nifty at 50, and hopefully exercising will help to
continue those feelings. I have had a great 5oth Birthday week-with
lots of cards, phone calls, gifts, dinner, and more! I am so blessed!!!!!!!!
Thanks for all your acts of caring!

Jim & I have exercised at our Health Club two days and have also taken
a couple winter walks. We walked back from the Health Club today in the
snow, so hopefully we burned extra calories. It has been snowing & snowing & snowing...

We were sorry that we were unable to travel to Larry & Mary's 50th anniversary party with the inclement weather. I think our health club membership will come in handy next week......with zero and subzero tempertures predicted. I know setting exercise times on my calendar is
a good strategy for me, especially in the cold weather.

Love you all lots. MJH

A Toast To The Nifty Fifty Mission Fit Member

Happy 50th on Thursday Marj! A Toast to Marj the caring, kind and loving "Wife", "Sis", "Aunt", "Daughter", "Friend", "Co-worker" and most of all "Co-Sojourner" in this walk of Faith in God! Thanks for who you are to all of us! You are a blessing and a present to our lives! Have a wonderful day, a year of promise, hope, and of course fitness (after all this is a fitness blog)! Looking forward to your next blog post and thank you Kathy and Sara for your recent posts! I took a rest from exercise on Monday, but have fit in an hour of exercise on Tues. and Wed. Hope all went well with your travels Sara and that you and Kelly have had a chance to enjoy some exercise already in Warrensburg. Kathy I'm sure that you and Sarah F. have a lot to catch up on after a holiday break. It is cool that like mother - like daughter you both have your exercise partners. And of course Marj has Jim as an exercise partner so that is cool too. On Feb. 1st I start my N-Lighten NE accountability group with my co-workers. So my next question is I know that Wayne is great at fitting in his running. Is he following the blog at all? Hats off to Wayne for keeping up his running through all the years I can remember! I know that Wayne is also a great walking and exercise partner for Kathy and that you help each other in your commitments! Love to all! Anita

Back in the swing

Hi All:
It is good to be back walking with my friend Sarah. Monday we walked outside and today inside because I had a church meeting at 5:15 p.m. It was a sad day also as Sara went back to MO, but what a great Holiday with family. I have set up my workout schedule and will have Ben help me with the electronic end of things so I am ready to go in the morning. I have enjoyed the "blog" alot and look forward to it's continued motivation.

LOVE TO ALL,
KATHY

Kudos All Around!

Thanks Anita! You have been great at planning fitness into your schedule too...and I hope that the return to school went well for you today!

As for me, I ventured out for a final "cold weather" run today before returning to MO. It felt good to get outside as the temperatures have not allowed for outdoor activity in the past few days. I hope to get a run in tomorrow when I get back to Warrensburg.

Happy Monday/almost Tuesday Everyone!

I close with a quote, "What have you done today to make you feel proud?" -Lyrics from the song Proud by Heather Small, The Biggest Loser Theme Song

Kuddos to our fearless Mission FIT leader

Wishing you a safe trip back to MO! Wow you have a great plan! An exercise buddy, exercise membership, color coded exercise schedule times, best wishes for a FIT 2009! I don't think you have left an stone unturned! With admiration, A. in NE

Routine/Appointment in MO

Thanks for the updates everyone! I too will be setting aside an appointment in my schedule for working out. My friend Kelly and I are going to join the Warrensburg Community Center, so I feel that paying for the membership and having an exercise buddy (we have been good motivators for each other during first semester), will be very helpful towards the mission. Working out will be an official part of my color coded schedule :) I will label it appointment FIT...Happy New Year!!!

More From NE

Wow! I guess this is the year for close bowl games. I watched most of the Husker game in the Gator Bowl yesterday. I know that Missouri won NW in overtime. The Husker's barely pulled off a victory. Clemson was so close to a touchdown at the end of the game. It could easily have gone either way. I still haven't done any shopping since being back in Lincoln, so haven't gotten any exercise mall walking. Kathy I think that you are wise to establish an exercise plan or routine. I did great yesterday and today getting in my exercise, but next week when I start back to my full time work routine it will be more difficult. I found another good word of wisdom on the N-Lighten NE site. It fits with Kathy's scheduling idea. Here it is: Making an appointment with yourself:

I suggest you look at your calendar and make an appointment with yourself. Block out a time each day or several days a week that is your time with yourself to do whatever physical activity you choose. Physically write the appointment down or type it into your electronic calendar. Putting things in writing means we are more likely to do them. Then, treat your appointment with yourself as a high-priority meeting. Do not reschedule, put off, or cancel this appointment. Treat it with the utmost importance.

Think of it this way. The reward for your time will be incredible. Stress relief, better sleep, increased energy, and a general sense of well-being are all benefits of regular physical activity. Not to mention, all of the health benefits that are also associated with increased physical activity.

Whether you are just starting out or have been engaged in regular fitness activities for a long time, making an appointment with yourself will help you to increase the amount of physical fitness in your daily life.
I know that my blogging will also slow down next week when I am back at work. The site has been very helpful to me with accountability this week and thinking through when I can have my exercise appointments next week. Love to you! Anita

Fresh Start for the New Year

Thank you Anita for the update and the information. I also like a variety of exercise and plan today to set up a program for daily variety. Iwill of course continue to walk daily, but in the mornings I will motivate myself to do something different. We had a quiet New Year with my mom, but we did stay up until after midnight. Enjoy your day!