Slim Down Saturdays... Come Join Us!

Hi everyone this is Jennifer from Teaching with Grace!

I am so excited! This is the year that I am going to get back on track with my weight. How many of us say this? I know it's possible because 2 years ago I lost it all... and then life/stress/commuting got in the way. I'm going to get back in the swing of things and hit it hard this year to lose the weight (again).<br />
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<a href="http://thirdgradetidbits.blogspot.com/2014/12/slim-down-saturdays-are-coming-back.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLl4hTY_7j0DcLbQ8VywExooeEwNJldY-JX3tcOluoTSkegCsFWhHUazpjG1ehGknFzrp1_AHLffp5Lu_49CSBHqpuMRDVBtOyN0dttS_MwunUsUSz35PyJB7rN5ZG_SsUpaCN75M7onw/s1600/slimdownbutton.png" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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To help hold myself accountable, I am going to join in with Gina at <a href="http://thirdgradetidbits.blogspot.com/2014/12/slim-down-saturdays-are-coming-back.html" target="_blank">Teaching with a Touch of Pixie Dust</a>&nbsp;for her Slim Down Saturdays. Here's my first weeksish....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTV_WyTuU7fakepubKGNh5yRXXZ9xC5HXajXnkI98lfK1reLjRE4gcb4TSDPhzooHGCfW76GeV9LvaPXGkgWqrv0okod4sDMFritACaykI_OTKMq8SgyILWrHfGjNVXTlj8wReI1WoQDY/s1600/saturday+slim+down.001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTV_WyTuU7fakepubKGNh5yRXXZ9xC5HXajXnkI98lfK1reLjRE4gcb4TSDPhzooHGCfW76GeV9LvaPXGkgWqrv0okod4sDMFritACaykI_OTKMq8SgyILWrHfGjNVXTlj8wReI1WoQDY/s1600/saturday+slim+down.001.jpg" height="320" width="241" /></a></div>
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Do you have the same goal? Head over to get accountability too!</div>
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A Step or Two in the Right Direction....

While everyone seems to be steering their lives towards healthier ways.... I've been eating loads of chocolate. Anyone else with me?

I thought about doing the 3 weeks and no cheats deal...and then I ate more chocolate.... maybe not the best idea right before Halloween!

After talking it over with my husband, he surprised me with an awesome treat yesterday:

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0095PZHZE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0095PZHZE&linkCode=as2&tag=teacwithgrac-20&linkId=N2MPFJXXQ6VFBG3Y"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B0095PZHZE&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=teacwithgrac-20" ></a><img src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=teacwithgrac-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0095PZHZE" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0095PZHZE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0095PZHZE&linkCode=as2&tag=teacwithgrac-20&linkId=N2MPFJXXQ6VFBG3Y">Fitbit Zip Wireless Activity Tracker, Charcoal</a><img src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=teacwithgrac-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0095PZHZE" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />

It's a perfect size! Plus it's more affordable (for me at least) than the bracelet...even though I might upgrade at some point. It's definitely motivating to have it on and see how close (or far) I am from 10,000 for the day!

Definitely a step in the right direction!

Moving and Losing!

Hi there! This is Jennifer over at Teaching with Grace.  I am so excited to share with you my journey that I'm on!

This is me about 2 years ago. I had already had my son and my daughter was about 10 months old. I had lost some weight but wasn't really trying hard. I definitely lacked the motivation between teaching, mommy duties, and other home stuff. 

I've always been the "gee I want to be that fit" kind of girl... never really the "get off my butt and get it done" girl. In the past year that has changed, a lot! It hasn't been so much as a 'how I want to look' deal as much as a 'get healthy' deal. There is still some of the 'I want to be skinnier' in there though.

Just over a year ago, my grandmother got really sick and within a week passed away from a little known disease. Lots of if's, but's, and other questions circled for awhile. Then, 10 months later, my mother passed away from cancer. My motivation is for my own children to not have to feel this heart ache for a long, long time. I don't want them to lose me or my husband when we are only in our 50's.

So, with my motivation firmly in tact, I started running. I have a friend who is a runner and I've always wanted to be a runner. So this summer I simply started out by walking in the evenings... 1 mile, 2 miles, 3 miles. Then I started to see how far I could run before I had to stop to walk. 

I use a track at the school by my house. So I would set goals up for myself: 

"Run to the tree and then you can walk."

The next time it would be farther.

"Run from the pathway to the well cover."

Little by little I have improved and become a (slow) runner. I also made the ultimate investment:

Yep, running shoes! These babies are pretty... and they cost a pretty penny too. But, I won't (hopefully) be getting injured because of having faulty equipment on my feet while I'm running. I even went on a 5 mile run last week with my friend. Never thought I could do that and WHOA was it awesome!

Side benefit?

Losing 

Now, running definitely helps with that but I've also been counting my calories. I have a splurge every now and then (Barq's root beer last night and a tiny ice cream sundae :) ).

I also make sure to give myself rewards for what I've earned. New clothes!!

So, ask yourself, when you want to begin.. WHAT is your motivation? I'm doing it for me and my family.