I originally learned about Together Counts last year at Type-A Parent Conference. They were one of the sponsors and offered morning walks and provided our healthy breakfast one morning. I truly believe that kids today need more active time in their day. Too much screen time has resulted  in kind who don’t even want to go outside anymore. we, as parents need to find fun and creative ways to get the whole family active. Our family has 3 favorite activities. Swimming, playing corn hole and visiting theme parks. We live in Florida so swimming is a given. we don’t have a pool, but my parents do and we spend as much time as we can in the pool. Corn Hole is a fun game the entire family can play together. Last year we got our own corn hole set and now we can play whenever we want. Theme Parks take a lot of walking, on an average day at Walt Disney World we walk 5-7 miles! That is real exercise.  What does your family do together to stay healthy and active? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Together Counts is holding a fun sweepstakes on their Facebook page  to celebrate their first anniversary. Prizes include gift cards, George Foreman Grills and a membership to Anytime Fitness. You can also find Together Counts on Twitter  and Pinterest.

Join Together Counts as they celebrate Child Nutrition Month at a Twitter party on 4/3 from 8-9 PM EST. Prizes include $50 same-as-cash gift cards. For more information and to RSVP, visit http://resourcefulmommy.com/8856/together-counts-twitter-party/. I’ll be there and I hope you will too!

Disclosure: I have written this post as part of a sponsored campaign through Global Influence. I am being compensated for my work and all opinions are 100% mine.

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While creating our schedule for the fall…I made scheduling exercise time a priority and I scheduled it when it will actually work in my schedule. I have tried many times to be that person who gets up early to exercise before her day begins…that is just not me. I have added late afternoon exercise time to my daily schedule and that will work much better. Exercising after homeschooling and after work is a great way to re-energize for evening activities and to focus on me for a bit in the middle of my day. We started school this week and my fall work schedule goes into effect on Monday so that is when the true test of this schedule begins.

As far as the scale goes…it didn’t move this week. Honestly I didn’t do much to make it move, so I can’t complain. I weigh in on Tuesday so yesterday’s 2 workouts count for this week This morning I’m headed out to Publix to pick up some fruit and more Zone Bars to keep me going.

So, how was your weight loss journey this week? Write a post and link it up over at Confessions of a Snowflake so we can encourage each other.

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How was your week? make sure you click the banner above and link up with Alicia’s Weight Loss Wednesday linky.

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I’m sorry of you are not interested in this journey but I need accountability and this is one place I can be publicly accountable so please…encourage me along the way.

Why am I trying again?? This time I have a concrete goal and it is a big one lose 30lbs in 88 days! This would just be the first step to me getting healthy since I have a lot more than that to lose but I need to begin somewhere. Just over a week ago my husband informed me that we were going on a cruise to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary! We will be gone October 2-9th!

Now, this weight loss thing isn’t a vanity thing. It is an I want to do this for my husband thing. You see, he really wants to go zip lining and so do I. Depending where we chose to zip line, I am currently just at or over the maximum weight limit For my own safety I want to be under that limit! Sites like the Best online shop to Buy adipex online overnight delivery cheap cheap without prescription would be more than helpful for the weight loss goal.

Last week I started eating better and I have even added yogurt to my diet for the first time in my life. I am using the MyFitnessPal app on my phone to track my food intake, my exercise and my water intake. Since this is an ambitious goal for week 1 I have stood on the Scripture Philippians 4:13 (NIV)  “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” During week 1 my eating was good and my exercise was lacking so I will focus on that more this week but…I am down 1 pound for week one.

Next week topic is healthy treats…I have plenty to tell you about those and again it leads back to Type-A Con!

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My eating has been good, I’m getting in 2-4 fruits a day, which is amazing for me! Water isn’t a problem at all, as long as I start drinking it by 10am I can easily get in 100+ ounces a day. Last week one of my favorite meals was when hubby surprised me with Subway for dinner while I was a t a meeting!

My other goals for this week are to comment on at least 10 of my Sista’s Mamavation posts and to make it home in time to be a part of Mamavation TV tonight…I’ve missed 3 weeks in a row cause I haven’t been home in time…hopefully tonight.

I spent part of this weekend pondering if I should apply to be a Mamavation Mom again this round since this is application week…but I decided the timing isn’t right for me, maybe next campaign, there just isn’t enough time in my day to fully commit to the program right now with my summer job and some large projects looming. I can’t wait to see who applies this time. If you want to know more about applying for the Mamavation Campaign click here.

Have a blessed week!

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I also started a new job this week, I am filling in for our church office manager for the summer, so that means 24 more hours a week of mostly sitting! I try to get up and move around the office at least every hour but it is tricky. This also means I am trying to fit exercising in to my new schedule.

I received an awesome birthday present from my parents to help me towards my healthy goals! We went to New Balance and I was fitted for a pair of walking shoes with the proper inserts to help with my plantar faceitis…thanks mom and dad!

I’ve done great on my water and this week’s goals are too…add more water (add another liter a day), eat well, get in at least 10,000 steps a day and get more sleep.

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I am not done trying to lose weight though. I feel I did well this week. I got in all my water every day, I worked out 2 days and I bought a pedometer. I made mostly healthy eating choices (except for Thursday’s lunch at Friendly’s). Wednesday night I had a yummy sandwich from Subway! I also had no soda…again!
I lost 1 more pound this week! This brings my total to 8 pounds, which is only half way to the goal I set at the beginning of the Move It & Lose It Challenge but…oh well.

This week’s challenge will be birthday cake and soda. Tuesday is my birthday, Wednesday I will be at Walt Disney World and I can only lug so much water with me and I can’t stand the water they sell at WDW sooo…I need to see how I can make this work. Saturday is my son’s and my father’s birthday and our large joint birthday celebration will be next Monday 5/31.

Overall, this week is much less busy than the last 2 have been so I am still striving towards the goal of working out 4 times a week. I bought a new Leslie Sansone Walk at Home workout dvd so I’m excited to start that. I also keep bidding on and losing the Zumba Beginners dvd on eBay. Here’s to another week of Moving and Losing!

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To top it all off..I lost 3 pounds this week for a total of 8 lbs in 6 weeks!! I am so happy !

This is another crazy week…graduation week. As homeschoolers we have the pleasure of directing our children’s education, choosing their curriculum and making sure it lines up with our faith and our values. I have recently learned that it also means a lot of work for the parents when graduation time comes around. Aaron, my 17yo will graduate with our homeschool covering on Thursday night and with our homeschool support group on Saturday morning, thus bringing his 14 yr homeschooling career to an end. I am proud to say he has already completed 20 credit hours at the State College of Florida-where he made the Dean’s List for the spring semester. Due to the fact that everything is parent-directed we have had to help plan both graduation services, design the program, choose the music, create the photo montage, organize mementos for his senior table, plan food for both receptions, create the invitations and plan his graduation party. Phew. Most of that is done but this week is filled with last minute details and rehearsals the 2 services and the party, and shopping for presents for some of the other graduates. I’ve been finding some cool stuff on OpenSky, have you checked it out yet? I’m going to start selling there this summer too so keep an eye out for my new store!

My challenge this week will be fitting in exercise, some of my days are filled to the minute and not over indulging at the receptions and party. My mother-in-law ordered a fancy cake for the graduation party and I’ve already been told I need to try each of the flavored layers-I am planning my food to allow some wiggle room without crashing and burning. I will continue to drink my water, move as much as possible and make wise eating choices this week. I would like to know what you eat for healthy snacks between meals (please don’t say yogurt I can’t stand yogurt). Please let me know in the comments cause I need some help finding good snacks.

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Now, even though I won’t be the next Mamavation Mama I 100% support the program and all of its participants so I want to join the Sistahood!I want to support and be supported by my sistas who are on the journey to health with me. I have enjoyed tweeting with many of them this week and sharing our healthy successes both big and small.

My biggest successes last week were in the water department. I love using my “8 glasses a day” app on my iPod Touch to help me keep on track of my water consumption. My biggest area of failure was eating Easter candy. This week my goal is to get in 8 glasses of water a day, work out 30 minutes 5 days a week and stay below 1700 calories eaten in a day. I also plan to daily tweet and encourage my sistas in their healthy living goals.

Even though I wasn’t chosen this round I want to congratulate the 5 finalists! Please visit the Mamavation website to view the finalists videos and vote for who you want to be the next Mamavation Mamas! Don’t forget to tune into Mamavation TV tonight to meet the finalists and see who wins a great prize from EA Sports Active!!

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In case you don’t know what Mamavation is, here is a description from the website:

Mamavation is a social experiment and weight loss campaign in social media with the goals of teaching moms healthy living lifestyle choices so they can share with their family. Mamavation is a two part campaign: (1) a virtual healthy living boot camp for two moms and (2) the home of the first virtual healthy living sorority in social media, the Sistahood .

As a healthy living bootcamp, Mamavation is an opportunity for two moms (Mamavation Moms) to change their lives together by entering into a 7 week healthy living boot camp created to give them the tools they need to succeed. The will receive a professional nutritional plan created by a physician that specializes in nutrition, Dr. Renna, and a fitness program created by Tracey Mallett. They will also receive a treadmill from Smooth Fitness, Earth Footwear, an EA SPORTS Active, Tracey Mallett and Tae Bo DVDs. The program is managed by @bookieboo, with the goal of teaching moms how to live life better. The Mamavation campaign plans to give them the tools they need to succeed, in hopes that they will create a healthy lifestyle for themselves and their families.

I gained my last 20 pounds between September 2009 and mid-January 2010 because I suffer from plantar faciitis in my right foot and there were many days when I could barely walk let alone exercise. Since finding the cause of the pain I have been stretching, wearing supportive shoes and receiving treatments from my chiropractor, my pain has decreased dramatically and I can now exercise again.

On March 1, 2010 I weighed in at 244 pounds (ACK! I can’t believe I just wrote that). I have been a yo-yo dieter for years but on that day I said “The buck stops here!” Today marks 4 weeks of my personal campaign and I weighed in at 238 today! YAY ME!! I need to be healthy for my family. My boys are teenagers now and I know I haven’t set the healthiest example for them in the past. I only have a few years left with them living under my roof…I hope heehee. I want them to see how I can set my goals, work hard and achieve them one step at a time. I want to be able to keep up with them as we do our comando Disney trips. I am tired of telling them to “Slow down, wait for me, I need to rest.” I want to be back at the front of the pack, where I belong leading my family-instead of my big rear bringing up the rear.

I have been reading about the #Mamavation campaign on Twitter since it started and now my time has come. I know I will succeed with the support of my family, friends, the Mamavation Sistahood, and you my loyal readers. I promise, if you help me get chosen I will share every success and failure with you. I will motivate you towards your goals as you share them in comments on my Mamavation posts and through Twitter.

I need you to start right now tweeting, “Hey @bookieboo! I want @MomMaven to be the next #Mamavation Mom. She has my support!” (tweet this as often as you can without spamming your Twitter stream.) I need @bookieboo to know I have a support system and to be chosen as one of the top 5 moms. Then when I make it into the top 5 I need more tweets from April 5-12 because that is when the two moms for this campaign will be chosen. I cannot do this without you.

Here is my application video:

THANK-YOU for your tweets of support!!
Hugs,
Cindy

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