don't quit.

So over the last few weeks I've been kind of lax about what I eat and how hard I exercise. It hasn't really shown on the scale at all. I've been thinking, "Oh yay! My metabolism is still keeping up." I hadn't LOST any weight but I hadn't really gained any either.

Well...this past week all of that caught up with me. I exercised a little better and a little harder this week than I had been and tried a little not to eat so much. On Saturday, though, we went to the Clover St. Patrick's Day Fair and ate funnel cakes and pizza and cotton candy.

That put me over the top. I have officially gained some weight.

So...today I went out and busted it on the track and went 3 miles and did 6 sprints. I also am having a lunch without the fat free chips that I love.

It's now time for me to get serious again and get this last 15 pounds off. So I'm doing it. Less food, more exercise. Speaking of the exercise bit...I have become a little wimp about doing my strength training...my arms are looking like relief society arms again. Time to amp up the weights on my triceps!! So I also did some pushups and situps today. Tomorrow I'll be working my triceps with the full three reps of weights instead of the wimp out one rep I've been doing lately.

SO...All of you who have wimped out this month...you know who you are....

Just because you haven't been posting every day that you work out this month don't lose heart. Remember that there is a bigger contest going on to get you healthy.  (Not to mention that swimsuit season is coming up...and you KNOW you want to go to the pool...)  The yearly contest counts too! Remember the details? Don't give up posting as often as possible:

Contest for this year:

The winner will receive a full day with me. It can be a Day with Davina or it can be a full day of a photo session with me. You get to choose. It will also include other goodies that we will add onto the winner's package through out the year. You will want to win this!

To win:

*Be the person that posts the most often on Move it Monday through out the entire year.

*Keep a journal and have at least 12 entries by the end of the year. (That's just one per month...this is about getting some consistent habits.)

*Check in every week on Move it Monday comments.

*Get 20 minutes of exercise at least 4 days a week.

*Start eating off of smaller plates...or at least eat much smaller portions at every meal.

Now, I know that you can't do this every single day of your life. Take it a day at a time. Do the best you can. Don't give up. The person that does the best at developing consistency will be the winner. It's not really about being the one that loses the most weight (although I think that it will be a natural thing that will happen) it's about changing your approach to food and moving your body.

Get back in the contest!  Do it for YOU!

healthy. LIFE.

'Desk'ercise.

I don't know if there is anyone that doesn't spend wayyy too much time at their desk or in front of a computer. We all sit and sit and sit and stare and stare for hours at a time. We type away like crazy and the muscles that get the most exercise are our fingers.

My awesome health insurance company just sent me these great 'desk'ercises. Try them out!  And remember...these exercises aren't meant to be your main workout of the day but they will move those "sweet muscles" (said in my best Arnold voice) of yours and keep you from having atrophy set in while you wile away your day working like crazy.

Remember the March contest! Don't forget to come back here to this post every day this week and tell us in the comments what you've been doing to stay healthy...

Have Fun!

Feet and Legs

Toe raises. Lift your toes while keeping your heels firmly on the ground. While you can do this exercise standing, it works very well while seated.

Football foot drill. At practice, football players practice rapidly tapping their feet in place, simulating a run. Do the same thing while seated, for 30 seconds at a go.

Take the stairs. If you need a harder workout, try taking them two at a time — you’ll get a chance to stretch your legs more than you would otherwise.

Calf raises. Stand in front of a desk or other piece of furniture you can hold on to for balance. Raise your heels of the floor and slowly lower them.

Lunge. While walking, take the widest step you can and lunge forward.

Hip flexions. While sitting in your chair, lift your right foot a few inches off of the floor. Keep your knee bent at a 90 degree angle and hold the position as long as you are comfortable.

Walk the hallway. Walk down the hallway as fast as you can without actually running.

Plié squats. Point your toes outwards and take a wide stance. Slowly bend your knees in the direction of your toes. Once you can no longer see your toes, slowly stand up. While plié squats are more graceful than regular squats, give them a pass if your work attire includes a skirt.

Leg extensions. While sitting in your chair, extend your right leg until it is level with your hip. Hold as long as you are comfortable and then relax it. Alternate sides.

Hands and Arms

Shadow box. Stand up and take a couple of jabs at the air.

Arm pump. Pump both of your arms over your head for 30 seconds.

Shoulder raises. Raise your shoulder to your ear, hold and then relax. Repeat, alternating shoulders.

Wrist stretch. Stretch your arm out in front of you with the palm up. With your other hand, grab your fingers and lightly pull them down to stretch your forearm.

Triceps dips. Put your arms behind your back, resting on your chair and slowly raise and lower yourself.

Elevated pushups. Lean on a sturdy piece of furniture and slowly push your body off of it in a sort of standing push up.

Hand stretches. Tense and relax the muscles in your hands. Make fists, spread your fingers and bend your fingers.

Flapping wings. Stretch both of your arms up and back, as far as you can. Bring them forward until they meet and stretch your arms out in front of you. Repeat.

Water bottle weights. Use a full water bottle as weight to increase the difficulty of your work out. You can do front raises, overhead presses and bicep curls with a water bottle.

Torso

Back twist. Sit up straight in your chair and place your right arm behind your right hip. Twist to the right and hold. Alternate sides.

Wall sits. Rest your back against a wall and move your feet away from the wall. The wall should be supporting the weight of your back and your knees should be bent. Hold the position as long as possible.

Gluteal Squeeze. Tense up the muscles of your rear end and hold for a count of 10.

Curls. Cross your arms over your chest and sit up straight. Tense your abdominal muscles and curl your shoulders towards your hips. Hold for a few seconds.

Abdominal stretch. Sit on the edge of your chair and stretch your arms out in front of you. While keeping your back straight, contract your abdominal muscles. Relax and repeat.

Neck rotations. Drop your chin and roll your neck. Raise your chin up and bend your neck to each side.

Full Body

Low-impact jumping jacks. Raise your right arm and tap your left toe to the side at the same time. Keep your right foot on the floor. Alternate sides for a full minute.

Pretend jump rope. Hop either on both feet at once or alternating feet.

Pretend jump rope, version 2. Move your arms as if you are turning a jump rope while tapping one foot in front of you. Alternate feet.

Chair dips. (Don’t use a chair with wheels.) Place the palms of your hands on your chair and your feet on the floor. Move your rear end off of the edge of your seat. Bend your elbows and lower your body. Straighten your arms to return to the starting position.

Chair squats. (Don’t use a chair with wheels.) Lift your rear end off of your seat and hold for a few seconds.

Feet and Legs

Toe raises. Lift your toes while keeping your heels firmly on the ground. While you can do this exercise standing, it works very well while seated.

Football foot drill. At practice, football players practice rapidly tapping their feet in place, simulating a run. Do the same thing while seated, for 30 seconds at a go.

Take the stairs. If you need a harder workout, try taking them two at a time — you’ll get a chance to stretch your legs more than you would otherwise.

Calf raises. Stand in front of a desk or other piece of furniture you can hold on to for balance. Raise your heels of the floor and slowly lower them.

Lunge. While walking, take the widest step you can and lunge forward.

Hip flexions. While sitting in your chair, lift your right foot a few inches off of the floor. Keep your knee bent at a 90 degree angle and hold the position as long as you are comfortable.

Walk the hallway. Walk down the hallway as fast as you can without actually running.

Plié squats. Point your toes outwards and take a wide stance. Slowly bend your knees in the direction of your toes. Once you can no longer see your toes, slowly stand up. While plié squats are more graceful than regular squats, give them a pass if your work attire includes a skirt.

Leg extensions. While sitting in your chair, extend your right leg until it is level with your hip. Hold as long as you are comfortable and then relax it. Alternate sides.

Hands and Arms

Shadow box. Stand up and take a couple of jabs at the air.

Arm pump. Pump both of your arms over your head for 30 seconds.

Shoulder raises. Raise your shoulder to your ear, hold and then relax. Repeat, alternating shoulders.

Wrist stretch. Stretch your arm out in front of you with the palm up. With your other hand, grab your fingers and lightly pull them down to stretch your forearm.

Triceps dips. Put your arms behind your back, resting on your chair and slowly raise and lower yourself.

Elevated pushups. Lean on a sturdy piece of furniture and slowly push your body off of it in a sort of standing push up.

Hand stretches. Tense and relax the muscles in your hands. Make fists, spread your fingers and bend your fingers.

Flapping wings. Stretch both of your arms up and back, as far as you can. Bring them forward until they meet and stretch your arms out in front of you. Repeat.

Water bottle weights. Use a full water bottle as weight to increase the difficulty of your work out. You can do front raises, overhead presses and bicep curls with a water bottle.

Torso

Back twist. Sit up straight in your chair and place your right arm behind your right hip. Twist to the right and hold. Alternate sides.

Wall sits. Rest your back against a wall and move your feet away from the wall. The wall should be supporting the weight of your back and your knees should be bent. Hold the position as long as possible.

Gluteal Squeeze. Tense up the muscles of your rear end and hold for a count of 10.

Curls. Cross your arms over your chest and sit up straight. Tense your abdominal muscles and curl your shoulders towards your hips. Hold for a few seconds.

Abdominal stretch. Sit on the edge of your chair and stretch your arms out in front of you. While keeping your back straight, contract your abdominal muscles. Relax and repeat.

Neck rotations. Drop your chin and roll your neck. Raise your chin up and bend your neck to each side.

Full Body

Low-impact jumping jacks. Raise your right arm and tap your left toe to the side at the same time. Keep your right foot on the floor. Alternate sides for a full minute.

Pretend jump rope. Hop either on both feet at once or alternating feet.

Pretend jump rope, version 2. Move your arms as if you are turning a jump rope while tapping one foot in front of you. Alternate feet.

Chair dips. (Don’t use a chair with wheels.) Place the palms of your hands on your chair and your feet on the floor. Move your rear end off of the edge of your seat. Bend your elbows and lower your body. Straighten your arms to return to the starting position.

Chair squats. (Don’t use a chair with wheels.) Lift your rear end off of your seat and hold for a few seconds.

And Remember to VOTE every day until March 31st!  CLICK HERE....

healthy. LIFE.

winner.

#5 Nicole.

"The thing that has been keeping me motivated is my coffee!! Odd huh? We recently bought one of those Tassimo single cup coffee makers. It is AWESOME!! I can make an amazing Macchiato at home!! BUT, i will not let myself have one unless i get my butt on the treadmill or in front of a work out DVD!! Even my kids know the rules!! They don't let me forget!! :)"

Congratulations, Nicole!  Thanks for giving us all great advice and for being part of our group of Move it Monday women! 

March Contest:

The person who comments the most on each Move it Monday post wins.  The post that you make needs to be from each day of the week letting us know what you did that day to be healthy or get some exercise.  This is your chance to tell us how consistent you are being!  So...take a 5, 10, or 20 minute walk every day or eat only 1/2 of that hamburger instead of the whole thing, or have an apple instead of the candy bar.  Then just post on the week's Move it Monday post every day and tell us what you did.  The person who posts the most days through out the month of March will be the winner.

I'm excited to see how well we all do this month!  On your mark.  Get set.  GO!

The person who posts the most consistently this month will win a $100 gift certificate to their favorite store...and with the economic climate the way it is...I'm going to throw in "The Total Money Makeover"  by Dave Ramsey.

healthy. LIFE.

who wins?

We've had some great ideas this month!  Yay!  I think some of my faves were the snack ideas.

 We've had a lot of people nominating the same ideas so I decided to go with the ones most nominated.  I promised that you would all have the final vote so here they are along with the voting poll.

The poll will only be open until tomorrow (March 10th) at about noon. 

So make sure you get your voting in... I will announce our March contest tomorrow along with the winner of this contest!

#1 Karen.

On my 24 hour bus trip to DC, my friend and I brought an entire bag of apples, w/ a jar of PB, and other healthful snacks (carrots, strawberries, etc) so when we were taking our break every 4 hours, we simply opted to snack from our bag, instead of getting gas station JUNK FOOD. Benefits? 1) cheaper 2) healthier.

#2 Laura.

I just signed up to train for a thirteen mile walk in order to raise money and awareness for Leukemia research and hopefully a cure! My niece Elli was diagnosed with leukemia last year and it has been a long road. In addition to Elli's illess, my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer a month after we found out about Elli. My goal is not only to walk for them, but to walk for me. For my sanity, for my health, for everyone who can't. Walking for a cause is also a great way to fitness. There is lots of training support to help you through it. http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/rnr09/lcottril

#3 Deb.

Music, good music always makes me feel great and gets me moving. Every year I pick a band for the year that I want to listen to more, last year it was The Cars, their music always makes me happy. This year it is Fleetwood Mac, they are oh-so-good! I think you need to feel happy on the inside before you can feel happy on the outside and amazing, upbeat music is a must for me. One of my favorite websites is pandora.com. You put in what band you want to listen to and it plays that band and band like them, so you hear lots of great stuff and learn about some new bands you never knew you loved!

#4 Karen.

Reading a book whilst I bike (in the gym of course!) helps me to bike longer than I generally intend ... books on MP3 are even better! :-)

#5  Nicole.

The thing that has been keeping me motivated is my coffee!! Odd huh? We recently bought one of those Tassimo single cup coffee makers. It is AWESOME!! I can make an amazing Macchiato at home!! BUT, i will not let myself have one unless i get my butt on the treadmill or in front of a work out DVD!! Even my kids know the rules!! They don't let me forget!! :)

#6 Gwendolyn.

When you’re on a trip, plan meals and then cook together.

#7 Rosaura.

French toast oatmeal

today.

It snowed today..which  means there was no school OR work here in the great state of South Carolina.  YAY!   I've taken a bunch of pictures and done all kinds of hang around the house things today...including eat too much.  None of those things included going out for my walk today.  I'll be back with it tomorrow!

Today is the first week of March so we need to decide who wins for February's Move it Monday.

(You can see the Move it Monday posts from this month here.)

Everyone send in you favorite piece of advice or help you've gotten in the comments this month.  We'll go with the top 10 and I'll post them in a poll this week.  By next Monday we'll have a winner!  Yay!

So...tell me in the comments or email me:  davina at davinafear dot com

win. LIFE.