What´s Your Peak?

Yes, I dare ask.

What is the best you have ever felt? Have you ever reached that place, and then for what seems like forever, can´t get back? Is it even possible to get there again? What is your peak?

Do you have that picture in your mind? Now, I am not talking about a picture of a model. No, I am talking about your best. When did you feel your best? You can get there. You can achieve this goal. You don´t have to believe the lie from Satan that you will always be this way.

It starts with prayer. A desire to change. 

Surround yourself with support. 

And get moving. 

I have started a challenge over at Peak 313 to get ready for my own Christmas Crunch Challenge. That´s right, I am doing two challenges at the same time. They promote the same thing! You get double the support, double the fun, and double the prizes!

Here is what my workouts will look like this week. (even though I got sick on Monday and Tuesday)

Monday - Mike Chang´s Chest and shoulder workout 6 sets of 10 bench press with 10lbs, no rest between and 10 squats with the dumbbells on shoulder. Only resting 15 seconds between super sets.
V-cut Abs and Butt workout - 10 one leg dead lifts with 10 sec. hold at end of set / 10 lung hops each leg - Repeat 10 times.  30 min. workout.
Stretching

Tuesday - warm up and then Mike Chang´s cardio work out 1 minute rounds -15 minutes. More cardio, marching, jumping rope, twists etc. 10 min. / Mike Chang´s ab 5 minute ab workout and stretching.  30 minute workout

Wednesday - Rest

Thursday- Weights and super sets Legs/ and upper body / Mike Chang´s cardio / Cardio Ab workout

Friday -  Run 5k

Saturday - Six Pack Abs DVD - 40 min.

Sunday - Rest

I am eating  high protein, high fiber foods, and cutting back on my portion sizes.

The challenge isn´t just to get and stay physically strong, it is about being strong  internally too. We are all about being strong here, but it doesn´t amount to anything if you are not spiritually strong on the inside. We are memorizing a verse a week. Awesome!

Don´t forget to sign up for the Christmas Crunch Challenge. We start crunching on Monday!

Reaching for my peak, crunching it!

Jump Start To Christmas

Ladies, are you tired of that lethargic feeling? Have you been needing to step up your exercise routine and make some changes? Maybe, just like me, you need a jump start? Even though, I have been at this for over five years now, I still need a good kick in the pants to keep on this fitness journey. 

Whether you are just starting out or need motivation to keep going, this is the challenge for you. We focus on healthy disciplines, group encouragement and inspiration from the Bible. 

We track our daily exercise, water consumption, healthy eating, weight loss and volume toning by earning points. Participation by blogs and our special facebook page also earn you points. We have an easy- to- use point system you can print at home or use on your computer. Every 30 days the one with the most points will win a $10 online gift certificate. There will also be other prizes along the way. 

You can sign up at www.faithfitnessandfun.blogspot.com  by clicking on donate by Pay Pal if you want to participate for the prizes. If you want to participate for encouragement only, you may sign up by commenting here or at Faith Fitness and Fun. 

Looking forward to crunching it with you,

Hills, Friends and A Toro

Tonight´s escapade  late evening jog was met by many hills! This normally would get me running the other way in search for an easier way, but a new friend and her sons wanted to come out with us tonight, so we tackled these hills!

Yes, I said "us". 

Typically, I jog with our dog, Toro ( which means "bull" in English), He pulls incessantly and is as stubborn as a donkey, but he keeps me company when I go jogging at night. Tonight, however, all three of my boys and their friends decided to take Toro out with me. Which means, we all were going to the park together. 

 " There goes my peaceful jog to think and listen to music!" I thought, but instead I joyfully  hurried the troop out the door to the great outdoors. It was, after all, getting late.

My new friend and I managed to do two big laps, (3Km) and some abdominal exercises, when out of nowhere our Toro comes running to give my new friend a kiss right on the nose!


"Hey, I don´t even know your name," she laughs out loud. 

Oh, thankfully she likes dogs. 

The boys are laughing, throwing each other around, swinging and zip lining as if it were a summer night! It was so hard to tell them it was time to go home. 

I love this park, where I used to take my little boys. It was as if I heard their laughter from a time past. 

What was only to be a quick 30 minute jog, turned out to be a fun, chaotic adventure! That´s what happens when the hills meet 6 boys and a Toro! 




Check out how you can also be strong in your fitness journey at my other blog www.faithfitnessandfun.blogspot.com
.........and
Check out our BE STRONG Ministry at www.bestrongmissions.blogspot.com

Joining every Monday with,

On the Road Again!

It has been a long time since I have run 5 kilometers. It has been a long time since I haven´t been in pain while running. It has been a long time since it hasn´t RAINED!

But, I am on the road again! I am running!  I feel like a little girl getting out in the fresh air, looking down the road, and just wanting to go far!

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I ran with Toro, our bull dog mix. He is so fun to run with now, even though he stops dead in his tracks to smell something foul.

There is a 5k woman´s race every year in June to promote breast cancer awareness which I have ran 3 years in a row. My goal is to run it better than the first year. This will be a stretch because, it was my top time ever at 29 minutes.

My back didn´t hurt last night as I ran the longest I have ran this year yet (1 1/2 miles). I was so surprised to be able to be to keep going.

What are your fitness journey goals? It is important to set them and work toward them little by little. It gives us motivation and discipline.

Dani Joy

Are you ready?

Sign up by commenting here with your e-mail address or writing me at danijoy2spain@gmail.com

We have a private fitness blog and FB page where we journal our progress or you may choose to blog your progress on your own blog. 

Let´s keep on our fitness journey.

for His Glory, 

Let ´em Flow!

For awhile now, words have been coming to me, however slowly. Often only in a whisper, but they are coming. Wanting to be shared. Some screaming without an audience. If only for the release and relaxation of it; "Let the words flow," but also mainly for edification and upliftment. 

Do I really think I can come back to writing after such a long hiatus? Will I have time? Can I stick to a schedule? Bombarded with these doubts, I pray and post only when it is in the means of my schedule and not to its demise. 

My two main goals will be to post a Fitness and Faith post from my Fitness Challenges, as well as at least one post about the Good Morning Girls Bible study in Colossians. (button on my sidebar) 

I also hope to update more on our Be Strong Ministries and little growing church that we began in Gijón, Spain. So much has happened in this past year, I look forward to assimilating it all, and sharing what great things God is doing. 

Oh, yeah, We also homeschool! Did I mention school starts for us finally this Monday? We had a lovely summer and I do believe we are ready to get back to the grind. Ask me again on Tuesday, though.

I would love for you to join me in my next Fitness Challenge or even on this fall Bible Study. You can join on Facebook or even on your own blog. Post a comment if you would like to join either one of these. I will be giving more information about the fitness challenges in the following posts. 

Wow! It feels good to have actually written something. Of course, I do write in a journal,too, and that helps, but I actually missed the interaction of blogging. *gasp*

May you have a wonderfully positive day, 

Bring Your Body Under Subjection

"But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." 1Corinthians 9:27

This isn´t the easiest verse in the Bible to apply. Really, if you start to apply it in one area, you have to apply it to all areas of your life. I do think though, that is what the apostle Paul is trying to convey to us, that we need to bring all areas of our lives under subjection. So does that mean our diet and physical health too?

Yikes! I guess, I am stepping on my own toes here. I am a perfectionest in character and sometimes if I can´t even get close to a goal, I give up without even trying. That´s what they call a failed perfectionest. However, I have found with diet and fitness that, if I have a bad day or I am too busy one day, it is just like any other discipline, we get right back at it the next day. It is a lifetime discipline. It is a journey. I like to call it my fitness journey for life.

Would you like to join me in getting our bodies under subjection? This may mean different things for different people. You obviously are not just like me and I am not just like you. You may not even have to lose any weight at all, but want to be fit and healthy. Whatever your goals maybe, just keep plugging away at them just like we do with our spiritual goals. I believe our spiritual goals are directly tied to our physical bodies as well. What goals are you working for with God´s strength? Don´t let past failure keep you from going forward.

I would love to invite you to Spring in-2 Shape with us!

Just e mail me your e mail address so that I can send you all the details and invite you to our private fitness blog.

I look forward to Springing into Shape with you!

Are You Ready to Be Challenged?

How are you doing in fitness and overall health?


Have you considered joining a support group or a diet center before?


Well, those cost money. This fitness challenge is free and you have a possibilty of winning prizes at the end.


Ladies, would you consider joining us for this 10 week fitness challenge that may change you for life?


If you haven´t decided yet and need more information, read on, then post a comment with your e mail or send it to danijoy2spain@gmail.com .


If you have decided and have let me know by Facebook, then I have you on the list.

Please read on for all the details, even if you don´t think you will be commited or you are still unsure. Take a step of faith and give it a try.


What is the Chrismas Crunch Challenge all about anyway?


First, what the CCC is not.


1. It is not a diet! - You choose your methods and what works for you.


2. It is not a gimmic! - It´s what you make of it. What you put into the challenge is what you will get out of it.


3. It is not a magic pill! - It will be work.


The CCC is -


1. A Christian fitness and health support group. - We stay in touch and encourage one another by an online private fitness blog


2. A Challenge - We race each other, and we work for goals and points. (another way to stay accountable and fun competition)



How does it work?


1. Prayer - We make praying for one another a priority


2. Points - 4 catagories

• Inches/ Cm - 1 inch lost = 2points 1cm lost =1pt
• Pounds/Kilos - 1lb lost = 5pts 1Kilo lost = 10 pts
• Exercise - every 20 minutes of uninterrumpted exercise = 1pt
• Posts - Every blog post you write on our private fitness blog = 1pt (2 journal posts a week and 2 diet, exercise, inspirational, video, or fitness tip per week allowed) Maximum points per week in this catagory are 4 pts.

3. Praise- We give glory to God for what He helps us to do, and we also comment on journals and praise each other


If you do not have a method of getting fit and healthy, I urge you not to go on any drastic diets. Just do these simple steps


1. Cut out all or as much as you can of white sugar and processed sugar. (read lables)


2. Cut in half what you normally eat if you haven´t done this already.


3. Cut out White Flour/processed white breads and pastas. (bad carbs) Replace them with high fiber whole wheat (no sugar) breads, cereals, and pastas.


4. Add in fun treats only for you that are healthy. sugar free/fat free. (go sparingly so they last) yogurts, cheeses, sf chocolate, nuts ect.


5. Add in 20 min. of exercise more a day. Sweat! (if you are active, but are not losing and want to see results try adding High intensity cardio to your workouts)


6. Have one free day a week.


Of course there is so much more out there, and we have a wealth of fitness and health knowledge on our fitness blog. Once I have your e mail and you are on the list to do the Christmas Crunch Challenge, then I can invite you to this fitness blog. I will be sending out an e mail as to how to go about getting on the blog, about blogging, and how to keep points.


It is very rewarding, ladies! Remeber it is a Fitness Journey for life. It is about taking care of our temples for the Lord Jesus. We are His servants. We want to take care of ourselves so we can serve Him better. I praise God for the added energy and strength He has given me since losing 40 lbs and getting in shape!

Don´t wait for next year´s resolutions! Don´t wait till even the next day. Let´s plan to do something today!


Love in Christ,

 

*** For those who are already on our fitness blog and are gearing up, you may get your testimonies ready to post. Please don´t publish them till Monday or Tuesday of the starting week. Remember to lable them. Then you may measure, and start getting ready. (there is an article on the blog on how to measure)

IT TAKES WORK!!!

"Heigh ho, heigh ho, it´s off to work we go"

You remember how it goes. Right?

But, why WORK???

Oh, NO!!!

Isn´t WORK a four letter word! We can´t say that word!

Or can we???

WORK! WORK! WORK! 

Yes, I am talking about  fitness, and health!  It takes work. Just like our spiritual Christian walk is work, discipline and healthy living takes work.

I received an article from a friend taken from the newspaper The Messenger, written by the president of YMCA El Paso, Kevin Pearson. He writes that even Peter in the Bible tells us to WORK.

2 Peter 1:5 states that we are to be diligent in adding to our faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance (self control! ouch), patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. You will notice that godliness doesn´t come until we have that SELF under control, and that takes WORK!

Kevin Pearson continues to encourage us to just get started.

"Getting started is most certainly the hardest thing to do. Once we commit ourselves to something, it is easy to continue, but getting started... that is tough."

He states that there are many excuses out there. "Not enough time", "long day at work", "not in shape", "pain", but most of all, he states,

"The biggest barrier that we all face is the fear of failure. We can´t stick to the program. If we are not consistent, we´ll fall off the wagon. We won´t reach our goals. Fear of failure is an extremely powerful negative influence, but as they say, "it´s all in your head".

Start with a simple goal - "I am going to do something"... The goal should be to get started. ... Stay on focus with the task."

I totally agree! Many of you have started. Now we have to keep on. If you are struggling with starting and keeping on, that´s ok. It is normal. Keep starting new everyday.

"It is of the Lord´s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion (not food) saith my soul; therefore will I hope in HIM." Lamentations 3:22-24

Last year, I hosted a fitness challenge and started a Christian fitness blog. We will be gearing up for another challenge this October. The Christmas Crunch Challenge was a huge success with many getting started on their own fitness journey and many keeping on through the whole year. This Christmas Crunch Challenge will start October 6 and go till December 22. A 12 week journey that will change you!

If you are interested write me at danijoy2spain@gmail.com .

Praying for our spiritual and physical health,



Linking up with

Running The Race!!!

Yes, I know, it may seem a little different in the line of missions, but I am using it as a means to get to know more ladies in the community. I pray to use training for The Race for Women, every year to meet more and more ladies.

This year, I ran alone, got to know a few ladies, met my goal, got my prizes, and went to church. Next year however, I would love to have a group from our church sign up, and have a verse ironed on our shirts with the church´s name!

A little bit about The Race for Women. It´s a  5 kilometer (3.2 mile) race to promote breast cancer awareness and to raise money to help support research for the fight against it. There will be a total of 9 races throughout Spain this year. This has been the sixth year that the Race for Women has taken place. Gijón had a great turn out of about 3,000 women! It was amazing to participate in something so beneficial and widespread. It even was on the city news this afternoon. I actually saw my head pass by the camera.

Here I am before the start, bright eyed and bushy tailed! literally.

My cheering section! It was so great to see their faces when I crossed the finish line!

I am behind the that lady in front. hehe (my dh tried to get pictures, but someone always got in the way.)

Came in at 29 minutes flat! possibly in the top 200 or so!

Here´s some of the ladies that came in after me.

I finished! Praise the Lord!

The verses that have gotten me through many soccer practices, difficult situations and now my first race is,

Psalm 121: 1-2

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth."

Let´s keep running the race that is set before us. I am remembering that the spiritual race is far more important.

Keeping our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith,

Happy Mommy, Happy Home

They say "When Mama ain´t happy, ain´t nobody happy." Bad English ,but how many of you have experianced this? We as moms have a great responsibility. Don´t we?

Well, I am realizing more and more how my attitude and perspective affect my crew. Praying to be more possitive for them and to help them over come the complaining spirit that tends to destroy our good intentions. 

Last night after church, we got to go out for a lovely bike ride. Of course, as always, there was some drama. Our second son´s bike is too small for him and was having technical difficulties. I struggled keeping patient with the small interuptions that this bike posed for us, and having to stop more often than we wanted. We got them fixed, though, and had one of the best rides yet, biking for almost 2 hours together.

Here are some of our pictures.

The bike trails go by so many pasture lands and rivers. It´s like riding in a story book!

So Mommy was happy and we were all happy!

*** I am also  joining Nan on her Making Your Home Sing meme.***

She is hosting a summer cleaning frenzy. I plan to clean a room a week, so the house is clean for the new school year. I will start with the boys room this week.  Here is what I plan to do this week.

- organize toys ( throw junk, give away toys they have outgrown)

-clean closets (sort clothes and give away clothes they have outgrown)

-clean behind and under beds

X - clean and organize book shelves

X - scrub the ceiling where there seems to be growing some mold. uhhhggg

X -scrub the windows inside and out

Plus, I must record and average grades this week!

Ok it´s posted, Nan. Now I am accountable.

Let´s pray for each other. Is there an area in you home that needs a cleaning frenzy? Join us. We will encourage you and pray for you too. 

Staying happy, singing praises to Jesus,

Wanna Get in Shape and Stay There???

You can!

Studies prove that losing weight and working out in a group increase the success rate. I am living proof of that. Hosting two fitness challenges already, I have had the opportunity to stick with my fitness journey for over a year, and be encouraged tremendously by those who were involved. They became an incredible support team. If you are one of them, you know what I mean.

Also, we have the greatest Support ever in the Lord Jesus Christ, He gives us the strength to continue on when often times all we want to do is sit down and vegetate. 

What are you waiting for?

Starting May 12 - June 30 2010

Write me your email and I can get you started right away, sweating off any excess fat, or just keeping off what you have already gotten off.

What are you Eating?

This week for Fitness Friday, I want to encourage everyone to make healthy food choices.

On our Spring into Shape challenge this week it´s Nix the Fix - Week 6!

It means we get a point for every good healthy food choice we eat and negative 2 points for every unhealthy, fatty, sugary food choice we eat.

It has been very eye opening. I think if we all stop to journal the food that goes into our mouths we would be surprised.

Here is a two day sample of my food journal.

Wed. am - 2 pieces of ww cereal bread w/ salt free butter and honey. 1/2 an apple. 2 pts

snack - 1 piece of sf chocolate w/ almonds coffee 1pt

Lunch- Chicken soup w/ veggies, 2 pieces of ww bread, sf yogurt(desert but counted as a snack)4pts

Dinner- Protein drink, 1/2 an apple, 2 pieces of cheese, 20 almonds 3 pts

neg. 2 points because my son gave me a gift licorice stick. Before I remembered it would be negative points, I broke off a piece to eat it. Then remembered too late. =( Gave it back to my dear sweet son so he could eat the rest.

I Jogged 30 min. and did the level 3 shred making a 1hr. workout.  I am shredding it with Nina at Portugal Bound! Even though we are in neighboring countries, we can exercise in spirit.

Thurs. am.  - oatmeal w/raisins and a little brown sugar and skim milk, coffee 3 pts

Snack- 1 apple , When we went visting I had a coffee. protien drink after workout 2pts

Did I mention I love coffee!! especially Spanish coffee! I either drink it black or with milk and very little sugar substitute.

Lunch- Potatoe and egg omelett, cheese, 1 tomatoe, veggie roll/sauce. 3pts

sf yogurt no ,had a couple of olives too.

Dinner- ww bread, light cheese squares, ham, green tea mix at night before bed. 2pts.

No negative points.

Did level 2 shred and walked to make up 40 min. I think level 2 is harder than level 3. At least I burned slightly more calories and felt it in more places. What´s up with that? Going to be doing level 2 and 3 now alternating.

Well, hope you all stay encouraged to do our food count and maybe do a food journal. Something I am noticing is that I am still eating a lot more than I think. I need to still cut back a little bit.

Let´s get on that Fitness Wagon! Your heart will thank you!   Let´s also remember that that our inner heart is more important, and that we need to feed our spiritual bodies as well.

Nightmare Flashback

This is my nightmare flashback!

In this flashback, I dream that I will always look like this picture, that I can´t ever get back to the way I was before my pregnancies. Some days, I actually think that I still look this way.   To be honest, I was in denial back then. I did not think I was that heavy. In fact, I didn´t really know I was very unhealthy. I still thought I was athletic and somewhat fit as I had been the majority of my life.

Until one day, I came to grips with the fact that I was overweight, unhealthy and unfit.  I prayed and asked God to help me at the beginning of  last year, and He has!

My story, for His glory, is being posted today on one of my favorite fitness blogs.

In fact, this blog´s author, Sandy, is Fitness Friday Girl. She asked me to do a guest post on how I lost 35 pounds. Thank you , Sandy, for giving me this oportunity to give Glory to God for what He has done in my life.  

Interested on how it happened? Want to see real incredible before and after pictures? You can´t miss it. 

Head on over to God Speaks Today to see for yourself.



Just know you are not alone in your fitness journey.
Let´s encourage one another.