20 Things I have learned

Here are some things that I learned WORKS! They may not work for you but they work for me:

1. What may be a "healthy food" for you, may not be a "healthy food" for me. We all have different bodies with different chemistry.
2. Wheat does not agree with me in any shape or form. I avoid it.
3. Drinking two glasses of water with a slice of lemon first thing in the morning helps me start my day.
4. Presentation is KEY to enjoying foods. Make your presentation pretty and it will taste better. Make every meal special.
5. Laughter and good company make food taste even better. Focusing on the company rather than the food however, feeds the soul. 
6. Drinking coffee instead of making the effort to prepare a snack when I am hungry is counter productive. My body does not thank me for it.
7. Grocery shopping when I am tired or upset is not a good idea.
8. Serving your water in a fancy glass with a slice of lemon or lime turns it into a treat.
9. When you need to talk, get together with your BFF, husbands are not your BFF. They want the bottom line, reader's digest version, BFF's want details, details, details. Don't get the two mixed up! 
10. Listening is harder than you think, it takes practice.
11. Friends are treasures that cannot be replaced.
12. Kids think you are not listening to them when you don't stop what you are doing and look at them. Wives think the same when husbands don't stop and look at them. Making the effort to stop and look is worth it.
13. Being compassionate to yourself is not a bad idea. It helps you empathize with others.
14. It is the little things that count and there is no such thing as perfection, unless you are talking about ice cream!
15. Life and Death are in the power of the tongue...and an encouraging word goes a long way.
16. Music makes mundane tasks so much more fun
17. Smoothies are the best thing ever! 
18. Sometimes doing what you love and loving what you do needs to be defended, but it is worth fighting for. You never know what adventures lie just around the corner.
19. Stepping back and looking at the big picture helps me to cope. I tend to get emotionally involved in what I do.
20. I love blogging.

Make your own list !

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Melony Teague a freelance writer and columnist and motivator who lives in Canada with her husband and two young children.
Founder of "Secrets of Body Transformation from the Inside Out" 
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Overcoming Challenges within Challenges

30 Day Challenge

New Rule: You are allowed ONE rest day. Use it wisely! 

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Day 8 & 9

Day 8 Regina, Canada

Day 8 - Tuesday November 20,2012

1. Mel - Upper body and core Strength Training Toronto. Ontario, Canada
2. Mallory - Viral chest infection - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
3. Crystal - 25 dance; 15 Nordic track. Didn't note how long I was walking. - Regina SK Canada.
4. Goanna - Twisted my knee - she has a degenerative tear posterior horn meial meniscus extending to the articular surdace. Sounds scary!
5. Lis - 25 minutes yoga (Earth series) and 10 min Abs Blaster SP New You Bootcamp video   -  San Carlos, Mexico.
6. K -30 minutes treadmill- Detroit- Detroit, MI
7. Ishii -35 mins of Jillian Michaels Power Yoga. 1 hr intermittent walks throughout the day as well! -Orem, UT
8. Tanya -"Right this moment I am having an energetic dance party of 1 while making Thanksgiving food. It will be more than 15 mins" - NYC
9. Lily -Russian Twist: 96 reps and Scissors with Hold (Beach Scissors):96 reps; High Knees:
   96 reps and then did some walking.
10. Jill -Walked for 40 minutes this time!-Toronto
11. Tofodil-  Cathe's Upper Body Workout
12. Bella - Rest Day - Ottawa, ON Canada.
13. Lilith - 25 minutes of dance aerobics  -Chibougamau, in the James Bay Region of Northern Quebec.
14. Sheila  -60 Minutes Aqua Aerobics with resistance noodles and dumbbells. FitBolt odds - App downloaded onto computer reminds me every 30minutes to step away and do something - exercise or stretch - it all adds up! - Cape Town, South Africa   

Some of our 30 Day Challenge participants are having some challenges within the challenge. How to overcome them?

• Adapt and re-evaluate - If you get sick or sustain an injury you have to adapt and re-evaluate. Adapt your physical activity. When I sustained a shoulder injury in 2009, I spent the year doing kicking in the pool and did not use my arms much at all, I had to adapt. Anyone who knows me in the pool knows how much I detest kicking. I'm not very good at it, but backstroke on the other hand is closer to being my forte.
• Be realistic - Remember it is all about cultivating a mindset of intentionally introducing activity to your life. If you are burning yourself out, you clearly need more rest and more intentional, focused activity. If you are more active than you used to be, you are making progress, but keep it balanced. Rest is just as crucial to help your muscles recover and your body to adapt.
• Fuel your body right. Make sure you are getting the protein you need to sustain your added activity. Stay hydrated and do so throughout the day, not just in the hour after your workout.
• Get up and go, if you missed a day, no biggie, that does not mean you are a failure, it means you missed one day. Don't give up, just get up and go at it again! Watch those fitness minutes accumulate again and be encouraged! We are all in it together.
• Try something new - now I am not suggesting you do something dangerous or potentially risky but how about adding something different to your workout routine. You know, get out of your comfort zone? I know that for myself I would rather just get on the treadmill and run, without having to think, than start a new regime of something that might take a little bit of mental energy to master. I have had to overcome that mindset and try new things. I even tried rock climbing once, even thought I am afraid of heights! 
• Write down your progress and keep track of it. It will motivate you and you will want to reach higher, go further and run faster. (or even lift heavier weights.) 
  

Have fun! Make it fun! Decide to have fun, doing something begrudgingly is counter productive. 

Some of the participants are heading toward a weekend filled with family and food. Thanksgiving in U.S.A. is this weekend and I wish all the participants and their families a Happy Thanksgiving.

You might want to check out these recipes:

• Pumpkin Spice Garbanzo Cake 
• Cheesy Pumpkin Bread 
• Pumpkin Latte
• Pumpkin Smoothie
• Pumpkin and Cinnamon Crepe Recipe 
  
  

  

  HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
  
  

  Day 9 (Wednesday, Nov 21, 2012)

  1. Mel - Core strengthening workout (See below)- Toronto. Ontario, Canada
  2. Mallory - Viral chest infection - Drinking lots of hot tea - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  3. Crystal - 35 min dancing - Regina SK Canada.
  4. Goanna - Twisted knee
  5. Lis -25 min yoga (reverse planks) and 8 min upper body sculpting (SP New You Bootcamp) -  San Carlos, Mexico.
  6. K -30 mins Amy Dixon's Breathless Body DVD- Detroit- Detroit, MI
  7. Ishii - 27 mins of Extend Barre workout and a walk- Orem, UT
  8. Tanya - 15 minutes Abs workout - NYC
  9. Lily -Body Weight Lunge:
     total 70 reps; Let Me Ins:56 reps in total; Incline Push-Up: 42 reps in total and
     Walking:
  10. Jill -Walked  -Toronto
  11. Tofodil- 5 km run!
  12. Bella - 3 miles with Leslie Sansone (48mins) - Ottawa, ON Canada.
  13. Lilith - 40 minutes walking and 15 minutes of aerobic exercise. -Chibougamau, in the James Bay Region of Northern Quebec.
  14. Sheila   -60minutes Aqua Aerobics - we got new Aquatic Hand Weights as well as Noodles; 60minute BodyWorx - no weights today - used Body Weight - cardio and ST
      30minutes Walking - to recycle bins- Cape Town, South Africa  
      
      
       Day 9 : This is what I did:
      

www.melonyteague.com 
To subscribe to my consolidated newsletter, Click here 
Melony Teague a freelance writer and columnist who lives in Canada with her husband and two young children.
Founder of "Secrets of Body Transformation from the Inside Out" 
Join me on facebook.