Challenge #5: It All Adds Up

What a week. First I had an enormous seder meal for Passover with my husband's family, then Easter brought more chocolate than I could resist. And while I did eat a lot of food, I didn't let myself become "stuffed" and so I don't think the damage was all that bad. Truthfully, it's hard to really do a lot of damage to a diet in a single day. Better to let yourself have that free day to enjoy a special meal with family and friends, then go right back to your good habits the next day, right?

For those who celebrated holidays this past week, how did you do with the food/family/time crunch onslaught?

Diet:
This week's diet challenge is so simple, yet has the ability to make such a difference. For this week, all you have to do is measure out everything you eat. What I mean by that is, if you want to snack on some chips, you'll read the serving size, count out how many servings you want, and then eat them. Grabbing the entire bag and eating from it is a big no-no, because it's too easy to lose track of how much you're eating.

So many of us will keep munching on food if it's in front of us, so remove that temptation by selecting the amount you want to eat, putting it on a plate or bowl or whatever, and then putting the package away.

Fitness:
This week's fitness challenge is courtesy of Deb. She has created these amazing 10 minute challenges you can do throughout your day, during commercials, or whenever you have a few moments to spare. I absolutely love this idea, and can't wait to try these this week. Here is Deb's explanation:

Ten minutes challenges are very simple idea: Do a movement for one minute and repeat it 10 times throughout the day. These are fairly simple exercises that can re-energize us and inspire us -and our families- to get moving.

This week:
Monday: Steps 2x2. Head up a flight of stairs 2 at a time; then walk down in normal fashion. The first minute try to complete this task 4 to 6 times. No need to race on this one; concentrate on pushing up on each step.

Tuesday: Push Ups. Everyone can do some form of pushup whether you push up from the counter's edge, from a wall, or from the floor, on your knees or your toes. No time set on this one. Do 10 pushups each time. By the end of the day, you'll have done 100 pushups!

Wednesday: Jumping Jacks! Remember how much fun these were? See how many you can do a minute, then see if you can do just one more each time.

Thursday: Bird Dogs. On the floor, on your hands and knees. Keeping your head straight (looking down not out) raise your left arm and right leg straight out. Hold for 5 seconds and return arm and leg to floor. Alternate sides.

Friday: Foot Push. Stand erect, hands on hips. Lift one foot slightly off the ground; balancing on one foot. Keeping the foot parallel to the ground, gently push the free foot forward as far as you can while maintaining your balance. You can bend the support leg but do not lean forward. Try for 3-4 times on each side in your minute.

These exercises were designed to give you a little touch of a full body workout. First your legs, then your arms, next some cardio and core and finishing with stability. Want to head outdoors one day? Play either a game of HopScotch or Leap Frog!

Personal:
When I'm feeling really down about myself, I sometimes find it difficult to find what I like about myself, no matter how hard I try. But if I take the focus off of myself for awhile and do something nice to benefit someone else, I find that little light inside of me again.

For this week's challenge, your goal is to practice random acts of kindness every single day. Look for opportunities to help those around you, or take the time to give a genuine compliment to someone else. That little effort on your part will not only make you feel better, but it could be the best moment of that person's day - and maybe karma will return the favor to you soon.

A reminder on how to play: choose one challenge from the three listed above, do your best to follow the challenge, and report in at the end of the week. Leave a comment or e-mail me the link to your results post, and I'll link them up in a round-up results post.

Good luck!

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