I have given you TONS of tips and ideas on how to get your body in motion.  I hope you will make them a habit in your quest.  NOW, let’s move onto eating habits.

The first thing to learn for healthy eating is portion control.  Our nation has gotten out of hand in this area.  We need to reconnect ourselves to how God intended us to view food.

The **SECRET** to portion control:

We MUST understand and apply to our lifestyle that there is about a 15 minute delay that exists between when we eat and when our bodies tell us that we are FULL!

This is why it’s SO important to slow down and enjoy our food.  We need to look at our meal time as a festivity.  This is the time we can honor and send up praise to our Father for “Giving Us Our Daily Bread” and a time to rejoice with our family, the way God intended meal time to be.  When we take the time to pray, praise, laugh and enjoy our family, eating becomes second and it gives our food time to travel throughout our body.

Learning to stop eating a little early will NOT come instinctively.  Just as we have trained ourselves in daily Bible reading, prayer, making our homeschool schedules we must train ourselves in eating right.

If we can apply the 15 minute delay to our meal time your quest for health and fitness just got off to a SUPER start!!

Approach to developing portion control habits

ä    Serving Size—Take the time to educate yourself on what a portion size is.  Remember this

     Serving Size Equivalents…

     Meat- a deck of cards

     Potatoes, pasta or rice- light bulb

     Fruit or vegetable- tennis ball

     Butter, oil or dressing- 9-volt battery

     Dessert- cassette tape

ä    Smaller Dishes—If you switch to smaller plates you will eat smaller.  But remember, when you finish your one plate, walk away!  If this seems hard for you to do then start with one meal till you have accomplished this habit for ALL meals.  You MUST set goals for yourself!!

ä    NO More Seconds—Make sure there are NO seconds to go back for!  If your family is still hungry keep fresh veggies on hand.  If they don’t want them then they’re not REALLY hungry after all.

ä    Soup or Salad Anyone?—Having a salad(easy on the dressing) or small bowl of soup before your main course will help give you a full feeling.  Remembering to drink a glass of water about 20 minutes before meal time will help also.  Don’t forget to stop and enjoy your family after your salad or soup.  There is NO hurry to be finished with dinner in 15 minutes.  This will help with the 15 minute delay as well.

Just like teaching our children takes discipline so does our quest for health and fitness.

Blessings Everyone!

Exercise AND Have a Clean House??  YES, You CAN!!!
Here are some indoor activities that'll get your housework done and start you on the road to fitness!!

• Suck It Up. Vacuuming is great exercise, especially if you make a conscious effort to concentrate on tightening your muscles as you push out and pull back in the machine. Your carpets — and your biceps — will thank you for it!  **TIP**  Stick to the old vacuum cleaners, the kind that is NOT self propelled.  Your body will thank you!!
• Squeaky Clean. Washing your windows makes for great stretching and toning exercises; the combination of up and down movements will work wonders on your arms and shoulders.
• Get Organized. Been putting off that major reorganizing project? Call it exercise and get it done! Take the contents of your pantry, book shelves, linen closets, etc. out, then reach up and put them back in, in order. You're getting in another great upper-body workout!

Wipe, Breathe, Wipe, Breathe
Now the trick is getting your heart rate up. No problem, with these suggestions from Cory Everson, California-based fitness expert and six-time Ms. Olympia:

• Let's Go To the Videotape. Exercise tapes and DVD's are great utilities for rainy days, mothers with toddlers and extreme heat. You can choose from beginner to advanced and pick a different video every day (pilates, aerobics, beginner kickboxing — just about anything you can think of), to challenge and motivate yourself. If your routine gets boring, pull out a fun one, such as salsa dancing or disco aerobics and let the children dance along!
• Step to It. Instead of going to step class, use the steps in your house. Vary the moves: First, step up and down on the bottom step for two to three minutes; rest a minute or two and repeat. As an additional approach: Holding onto the handrail, walk up and down the first three stairs (great for butts and thighs). When you get the hang of that, try walking briskly up and down the stairs a few times (use the hand rail for support). **TIP**(This is my favorite one!!)When you need to use the bathroom…take the STAIRS!!  That’s right!  If you’re drinking your 8 glasses of water, chances are you are visiting the bathroom lots more.  Don’t use the closes one…take the stairs!
• Whistle While You Work. Crank up the music and take on the quick clean challenge. While you're at it, take little breaks to do these moves:
  
  Stair Dips. Sitting on the bottom step, knees bent and leaning on your heels, put your weight on your hands and lift your body up and down 12 to 25 times to work out your chest, triceps and shoulders.
  
  Crunches. Lie on the carpet or rug with hands across your chest and your chin tucked; do 10 to 30 crunches, lifting your shoulders slightly off the ground and squeezing in your stomach muscles.
  
  Wall Push-Ups. Do 10 to 20 push-ups — off the wall! Or do them the traditional way.
• Join the Circuit. Circuit training is a great way to burn calories. Walk in place at varying speeds for ten minutes. Follow with 10 minutes of toning exercises. Then, another 10 minutes of aerobic exercises (maybe a videotape), and the finish: 10 more minutes of toning.

Make "Me" Time
The phones ring, the kids are calling you, sometimes it seems impossible to catch a minute's breath. When everyone you know needs you for something or other, here's how to work in your much-needed private time.

• Work out before your kids wake up, or do it after they go to bed.
• Make your workout part of your social life — do it with your buddies!
• Take the phone off the hook or let your calls go to voicemail. You'll get back to whoever called later.

 Remember ladies:

**FACT** The ONLY way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you eat!!

Energy balance means that the energy you put in your body — from all the food and drink calories you consume — equals the energy you burn to keep your body going and perform your daily activities. Consider these tips to achieve that balance:

Energy In

• Choose food portions no larger than your fist.
• Choose a checkout line without a candy display.
• Eat a low-fat, high-fiber breakfast — it may make you less hungry later in the day.
• Cut high-calorie foods like cheese and chocolate into small pieces and eat fewer pieces.

Energy Out

• Take the long way to the water cooler.
• Buy a set of hand weights, and play a round of Simon Says with your children — you do it with the weights, they do it without.
• Choose "labor-spending" devices instead of "labor-saving" devices: Wash the car by hand instead of going through an automatic car wash.
• Go on a family bike ride or hike.

**TIP**: I NEVER eat off a regular plate anymore.  I use a salad plate.  The salad plate is smaller so less goes on it!!  Give it a try.

As homeschool moms we are the “queen” of organization and scheduling, so why is it so HARD for us to find the time we need to stay fit??  Let me see if I can help you.

Fitness CAN be obtained simply through our daily activities.  If you are short on time try turning your house chores into an unscheduled workout.

Cutting your lawn and doing yard work are great forms of exercise.  I love this one.  We make it a family activity to do yard work.  I made a deal with my darling husband, if he weeded the flower beds I would mow the lawn.  I hate to weed the flower beds and this gives me a way to burn some calories.  If you still have energy after doing your yard work, try taking the kid's out back for some
Frisbee, throwing the old ball around or even to the pool.  You would be surprised how much exercise you can squeeze into your day.

Did you know the activity goal for the average person is 30 minutes per day 5x per week, or 20 minutes of vigorous activity 3x per week?

Yes, it's true and as you plan your day, set a brisk pace for yourself to follow, and sneak in a few exercises when and where you are able. Let's say you have several errands to run and the house needs to be cleaned.  When running your errands be certain to park at the FAR end of the parking lot and walk quickly to your destination.  I have made this a habit for myself.  I never use up my time any longer trying to find the “close” spot by the front door.  The only exception I will allow myself is at Christmas time, but then I have set a goal for myself to have ALL of my Christmas shopping done before Christmas!!

If you need to wait in line do some toe raises while in line.  Don’t worry if people think you are strange, the key to fitness is to keep at it no matter where you are. 

Washing the dishes or cooking provide excellent opportunities to perform for what I call “the butt squeeze.” While standing in front of the sink or stove, contract all those muscles in your butt, squeeze them, now squeeze some more, and hold for as long as you can. Repeat that process. You can even do this move while chatting on the phone. This one is EASY and does work!!

Oh, don’t forget to work those abs while you sit!!  As a homeschool mom I can do a ton of sitting.  Proper posture while pulling in those ab muscles will get you toned in no time.  I set a goal for myself when I first started out to spend 5 minutes each day with proper posture.  Each week I took it up a notch by 5 minutes.  You will be AMAZED at how proper posture will not only become habit but will help you get fit in the tummy area.

Here’s another favorite…TV commercials!  Do some kind of exercise during TV commercials. The average 30-minute show has at least two breaks for commercials. Each break may last three minutes. That’s 6 minutes of prime exercise time during one show.  Many people find that exercising in front of the TV is such a wonderful distraction, they continue past the commercials and actually exercise throughout their favorite shows! 

Tomorrow I will post exercises that are great to do while watching TV.  Stay strong everyone!!

Here's a move that will tone your thighs and buns all at once! And the best part is that they're easy!

Just grab a chair and stand in front of it with your feet a little wider apart than your hips. Keep your back straight, your abs tight, and your hands on your hips. Bend your knees and slowly lower yourself until your butt taps the chair, like you're going to sit down. While lowering, keep your knees in line with your toes and raise your arms out in front of you for balance. Be careful to keep the entire movement controlled and smooth — don't bounce! When your buns barely touch the chair, straighten your legs and return to the starting position. Repeat two sets of eight to 12 reps each, resting for 15 seconds between sets.

You'll be admiring your rear view in no time!