Tracking Your Own Success

In order to meet your fitness / lifestyle goals, you have to “know yourself”. Know what you will struggle with, what will help you get through the struggles, what areas you can improve on, what your goals are, and you need to know what foods and exercises work for you!

MANY people start a fitness/weight loss program. Whether they succeed or not sometimes can be due to planning and accountability.

The difference between success and failure is knowing oneself. It’s knowing when times get tough, you know what to do to push through, how you should eat to make lifestyle changes, know what exercises will change your bodies and know what motivates you to keep going – PERSISTENCE!

If you are having trouble reaching your goals, here are some simple steps to ensure you reach success:

1. Keep a Food Log – one of the most effective strategies to weight loss success. At the end of every week, check to see if you were successful and then look back to see what was working and what wasn't working and make the needed changes.

2. Measure Each Week – have someone measure you, or do it yourself. Take your thigh, chest, arm, waist and hip measurements. Just because the scale doesn't move, doesn't mean you aren't losing fat or inches. Try to do at the same time, same day, same measurement tool and track your results along with the food journal to see if you are moving closer to your goal or further away.

3. Track your workouts – write down how much you did, how much time you invested, how many reps and sets if using weights, how long it took you and how much rest you took. You should be increasing intensity and begin increasing weights when comfortable. Push yourself. You should be getting stronger and recovering quicker.

How many times are we discouraged because we don’t see results? Are you using these tracking tools? Chances are you may be skipping a workout, or not using enough intensity OR you aren’t meeting your diet requirements. See where you can improve and where you fell short on your program.

YOUR WEIGHT LOSS SUCCESS IS UP TO YOU – YOU HAVE THE KEYS TO SUCCESS BUT YOU MUST EXECUTE

If you messed up, no worries, move on. Your next meal still counts so make it a great decision.

As always we love to hear from our readers so comment below answering:

What has helped you succeed?

To Your Health, 

Naturally Mom and Dad

Workout Shoe Health

How to Pick the Right Shoe for your piggies!!!

If you’re like me, the tendency when shopping for workout shoes (or any shoe for that matter!!) is to first go by the look – the color, design, etc! But how my feet feel in those shoes are what matters most. So what’s the secret to finding the right shoe?
Shop for workout shoes late in the day because that’s when your feet are the largest! Be sure there is a half inch of space in front of your longest toe. You should also be able to easily wiggle your toes. Compare the shoes with your bare feet. If each shoe isn’t noticeably wider and longer than your foot, try a half-size bigger shoe.
And the best of both worlds is when you find the right-fitting shoes that look great too!

We LOVE to hear from our readers!!!  Share in the comments where you go to get your athletic shoes.

Naturally, 

Mom and Dad

Top 3 Energizing Tips!!!

We all want more energy, right?  Here are my TOP 3 favorite tips from thebettermom.com.  Read through these tips and if you like them, share our blog with your family friends.  And of course, the best conversation happens in the comment section.  Please comment about what you do for more ENERGY!!

1. Make Real-Life Friendships a Priority

Even if you’re an introvert like me, friendships are a necessity. Make them a priority. Ask your friend over for lunch. Say “yes” to the park playdate. Call or text your friend to see how she’s doing if you haven’t heard from her in a while.

Now, I must be quick to say that, if you’re a social butterfly, you might be burning yourself out by having too much social interaction. You might need to cut back and set some boundaries on how many social engagements or ministry opportunities so that you have more margin in your day.

Find a healthy balance that works for you. But whatever that healthy balance is, I promise you that it does not consist of you hiding away in your home as a hermit!

2. Get Up Early

I dare you to try getting up 15 to 30 minutes before the rest of your family for 3-4 weeks and just see if it makes a difference. If you’re anything like me, you’ll end up having a lot more energy and productivity by getting a head start on your day.

3. Take Care of Yourself

It’s not selfish to take care of yourself; it’s necessary for your sanity and health — and it will likely benefit your family and marriage, too! You see, if you don't eat well, exercise, and get enough rest you’re not going to have very much energy. And that’s going to directly impact your mothering and marriage.  Nutrition is so important!

In addition, take a little time to shower and make yourself presentable everyday. I know that sweats are comfy, but I promise that you’ll feel better if you take just a little time to look good for your family.

Enjoy these tips?  Check out our Women's Wellness Webinar on Replay for more practical ways to be the best ENERGIZED you!!

Take me to more energy tips NOW!! :)

Lots of love,

Naturally Mom and Dad

Holy Sweet Stains!!

There are hair pulling moments as parents.  And, about a month ago, I came home one evening from running errands to a medium sized purple stain on the carpet.  Keith tells me the boys spilled a berry berry smoothie on our plush beige carpet.  In my brain, I was yelling at the top of my lungs.  (Do you ever have the feeling, if I have one more mess???)  I took a deep breath and said, I will deal with it tomorrow.  I am beat.

So, I'm sure you are seeing the purple stain along with the green streak and smudges.  Yes, the saga continues!!  The next morning, MIC (Mom in charge), the boys found green paint and had a fun loving time! We have 'beautiful' paintings hanging on the fridge along with our perfect looking carpet becoming less and less perfect by the minute.  I paused to wonder how many times the widow who sold the house to us had to clean stains from the carpet.  I am guessing, not too many times....

I pulled out my Shaklee, Get Clean cleaners and started scrubbing!  Thank goodness I could use cleaners in the playroom that are nontoxic and I can feel rest assured the space would be safe when the boys would play in the room.  Now take a look at the dark spot of green.  That was one HUGE blob of green paint.

See my foot (I'm wearing gold flats.)  Right above my foot was where the green blob WAS!!!  So our carpets look as good as new.  And, hopefully we've learned our lesson:  WATCH the boys better when they have berry berry smoothies and get rid of the paint!!

(I used a Shaklee mixture!)

(Okay, so we'll still let them do painting projects.  Noah and Eli are lucky they are cute!)

Enjoying drinks in the kitchen!

Ironically, on the night I typed this blog, my friend Kara had a hair pulling 'mom' moment!  She said her kids were lucky they have Shaklee scour off!!!

~Naturally Mom and Dad
(P.S. Keith was glad I did the scrubbing!)

Vitamin D~Are you getting enough?

Vitamin D

Are you getting enough Vitamin D?

Check out this link to see if you are getting enough Vitamin D.

http://images.shaklee.com/fb/vitad/

The most common medical condition in the WORLD, with often devastating and even fatal consequences, is Vitamin D deficiency. This disease affects OVER 200 MILLION people in North America alone! NOW, YOU should NOT be one of them! TAKING TIME TO REVIEW THIS INFORMATION COULD DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH AND MAY EVEN SAVE YOUR LIFE!

In the book, "The Vitamin D Solution" by Dr. Holick, "Fat cells, too, have vitamin D receptors, and fat cells can be more metabolically active (burn more calories) if they have more vitamin D."

ASK YOUR DOCTOR about the overwhelming research that is currently making headlines in numerous published clinical studies and the stunning information found in virtually every respected medical journal in health care!

One wellness doctor, Dr. Cobb, M.D. explains that there are 3 vitamin D levels:
Stone Age recommendation:  greater than 33
20th Century: 50-100
Now~Wellness level: 80-120

Increasing the amount of Vitamin D in the body can prevent or help heal a remarkable number of ailments:

Arthritis
Asthma
Autism
Back Pain
Cancers
(Breast, Colon, Prostate)
Chronic Fatigue
Dental Problems
Depression
Diabetes
Fibromyalgia
Heart Disease
High Blood Pressure
Hypertension
Kidney Disease
Lupus
MS
Muscle Cramps

Obesity
Osteoporosis
Psoriasis
Seasonal Affects Disorder
Thyroid

I have a personal story about how Vitamin D has helped me as a woman!!  Message me at www.facebook.com/naturallymomandad and I'd be happy to share that story with you.

What Shaklee calls the "The Shaklee Difference"  What I call, why Shaklee is the "Right Fit" for my family.

Check out this photo:  The capsule on the left is the "fish oil drops" Vitamin D3.  The tablet on the right is Shaklee's Vitamin D3.  Read below to see how Shaklee sets the standard:

“What is the difference between Shaklee’s Vita-D3™ and other Vitamin D3 products on the market??”



Vitamin D stand alone supplements have usually been in the form of fish oil drops or oils encapsulated in soft gelatin capsules. We use a very stable, compressible form of powdered vitamin D3 in
our new Vita-D3 formulation so that we can make tablets, not capsules, as the desired dosage form for this product. By adding an aqueous film-coating, we can make them easy to swallow.
There is physically only a very small amount of vitamin D3 in each tablet because it's such a biologically active molecule - 1,000 IU are delivered by only 25 micrograms of the vitamin! If we were to
put this small amount of active ingredient into even a small soft gelatin capsule, it would have to be diluted with quite a bit of an edible oil to fill the capsule and this would contribute unwanted extra calories. In a tablet, we can use non-caloric diluents such as dicalcium phosphate (which also acts as a source of calcium) and microcrystalline cellulose.  The compressible powdered form of vitamin D3, which has ingredients added to it to provide ongoing stability from oxidation and protection from heat during tablet compression, is more stable than vitamin D3 dissolved in  oil, which needs to be protected from oxidation at all times. Once in the stomach, the powdered vitamin matrix in our tablets breaks down and releases the fat-soluble vitamin D3 so it can be absorbed easily in the intestine.  The other Shaklee Difference of course is that each raw material and batch of tablets is tested to very high standards of quality, including checks for purity, potency and identity.

Check to see if you are getting enough Vitamin D...

http://images.shaklee.com/fb/vitad/

~Naturally Mom And Dad

P.S.  Remember Dr. Shaklee taught building the foundation for our bodies first which is quality raw protein.  Amino acids build new cells.  Along with the protein a wonderful vitamin strip for feeding our cells to keep them healthy.  Shaklee's Vita-D3 would compliment a solid foundation for building excellent health.

Indoor Park: A community project

Indoor Park

While living in Lawrenceburg (Hidden Valley) I had the awesome opportunity to bring the boys to a church that provided Indoor Park.  Basically, it is safe and fun place where parents can socialize and kids can play with toys and other children.  They would split a large auditorium in half with chairs.  One side had riding toys (tricycles, cozy coupe cars, mini slides, walking toys, big body activities) and the other side had kitchen workshops, tool workshops, large trucks, imagination spaces, and even a craft table.  This place was free of charge to any family!  What a blessing to have a place to bring my kids to burn off energy and I could talk to ADULTS!!!  Win, Win!!

With our move, I wanted my kids to have those opportunities to play with other kids and get out of the house.  With the zoo, children's museum, ect being a couple hours away now, I felt God calling me to start an Indoor Park in this area to serve as a ministry to the families living here and moving.  It is amazing how fast the word spreads, God love small communities.  So, we hadn't even made the second move (first move to my Mom and Dad's house until we found our new home), and I was invited to attend a New Neighbors meeting because they like my Indoor Park idea.  And, the rest is becoming reality very quickly.  Old neighbors welcoming new neighbors sums up the philosophy of New Neighbors of Southwestern Auglaize County.  I started pulling the Indoor Park TEAM together, and our space for Indoor Park was just approved today!  So exciting!!! So exciting, that it is almost midnight and I am still wide awake!  Toy donations are starting to pour into my inbox, so I feel we should be able to start Jan. 22nd.  Indoor Park will be held once a week on Tuesdays from 10am till 1pm at St. Paul United Church of Christ, NB.  Once the weather turns and it is nice, there will be scheduled outdoor park days once a week to substitute for Indoor Park.  

A big thanks to: 
St. Paul United Church of Christ-support and providing space
Southwestern Auglaize County Chamber of Commerce & New Neighbors of Southwestern Auglaize Co.
Indoor Park Ministry TEAM Members: Sara Kremer, Amy Woehrmyer, Donna Steineman, Linda Tinsley, Tracy Moeder, Bert McDermitt, & (I think another might be coming on board, I'll keep you posted.)
Anyone who donated toys!!

We are still growing our TEAM, so if you or anyone you know is looking to provide ministry to your community please contact me (419) 953-4887.  We'd love to explore if Indoor Park could be a fit for you.  Toy donations are still being accepted as well.

Indoor Park is free of charge for children ages 0-5 with a supervising adult.  Each adult is allowed to bring up to 5 children.  A registration form must be on file for each family during Indoor Park Season, if you are bringing someone else's child, please contact me because the registration form MUST be completed by the child's legal guardian.  We ask that each family donate a roll of paper towels and/or craft supplies.  (Thank You!)  *These guidelines were established to help Indoor Park run smoothly and be a positive experience for everyone.  Thank you for adhering to them.

Snow Days!!

 Snow Days!!

 And snow has arrived at our house!  It looks like a winter wonderland.  Noah and Eli are so excited.  I love days when I get to bundle my kids and take them out to sled and build a snowman.  It is awesome to feel like a kid again and live vicariously through them.

 It was awesome to shovel a flat driveway this year!!  Hidden Valley friends, you know what we are talking about.  And, our house came with a snow blower.  Laura would always say that we had already had one...

I had spent a good majority of the day removing snow at the shop and was relieved when I came home from work to see she had 90% of the driveway cleared.  She had figured out how to start it earlier that day and was really happy about how fast it went.  Right at the end, she ran out of gas, brought the kids in the house and said the rest was mine.  I could handle that small amount with a shovel!

  One of our best days hanging out in the snow was New Years Day.  We took photos of our gigantic icicle hanging from the gutter and then Noah knocked it down.  I really wanted to see if it would make it to the ground....darn kids!

Check out the huge icicle to the left of Noah!  It was a fun family activity to check how big it grew everyday.

The kids love being pulled in the sled and Laura & I tag teamed pulling them around the yard.  Of course, she is a kid too and wanted a ride.  How can I say no?  And, then they wanted me to take their picture making snow angels.  Eli was a riot, Laura put him in the snow and we told him to move his arms and legs.  So, he just started waving his hands in the air.  Too bad, we can't find our video camera charger (it went MIA in the move), because it would have made hilarious video footage.  Here are the snow angels:

Kids bundled in their snow gear, too puffy to move is about the cutest, funniest sight ever.  We'll have to get out and enjoy the snow a couple more times before the temps warm up this next week.  We'd love to hear about your too puffy in snow gear to move, snow day activities.  

-Naturally Dad