Tuesday, 27 April 2010

Finding The Fun In Exercising With Your Children

Last Saturday, Robert, the children and I all went for a picnic in the park. Our friend Helen came too and brought three of her four children. She also goes to Slimming World with us, so we made sure to pack healthy food for our lunch.

It was a wonderfully fun day out in the sunshine, and we found various ways to get some exercise that felt more like fun than exercise. I, for one, was walking around after the children all day trying to capture photos and video of them, so I got a lot of walking done that day. (I also got a mild sunburn, despite the sunblock I had applied before we went out.)

Here is a short video clip showing just a small amount of the many ways we found to exercise without feeling like we were exercising. Helen rolled down the hill with the kids, Kayla (one of my teenage daughters) chased after little Cameron, Robert carried Cameron on his shoulders for a bit of weight training, and Helen pushed the children on the swings. There were lots of other ways that we played with the children and managed to be exercising at the same time, but the video would have been too long if I shared them all!



What things do you do with the kids that could count as exercise?

Tuesday, 20 April 2010

Super Slimmers!

A lot has been going on here at Skinny Dreaming in the last week. First off, Skinny Dreaming is now on Facebook, and is just a small number of fans away from reaching 100 fans! Please go and fan Skinny Dreaming over there and help us reach 100 fans!

Second, Skinny Dreaming has started a new page that's all about inspirational stories from people who've beat the odds and lost a lot of weight. It's called "Super Slimmer's." My hope is that these interviews from Super Slimmers, along with their before and after pictures and words of wisdom will help inspire you and anyone who needs inspiration to stick to a healthier lifestyle. I know, for me personally, it was the stories of others who had managed to lose a lot of weight and set themselves on a healthy lifestyle that helped to inspire me to achieve my own weight loss.

With that in mind, Skinny Dreaming is looking for future Super Slimmers to feature! Are you a Super Slimmer? Want to be featured on Skinny Dreaming's Super Slimmers? If you're selected to be featured, you will get a Super Slimmer mug for the month that you are featured in. Criterea: Must have before and after photos and have lost at least 50 pounds (3 stone 8 lbs). Just e-mail me through the e-mail link on the sidebar here and put in the subject line "Skinny Dreaming's Super Slimmer Interview." Go ahead and take a peek at the Skinny Dreaming's Super Slimmers site now. You can even "follow" it if you want to be updated when new interviews are added.

Our first Super Slimmer interview is already posted and available to inpsire you! Jennifer lost over 160 pounds and her interview is a must-read!

And third, several more recipes have been added to Skinny Dreaming Recipes, so go and have a look and see if there is anything there that you might like to try. Every recipe added to the site has been made and tasted by myself and my family before being added.

Tuesday, 13 April 2010

Skinny Dreaming Is On Facebook!

I've added a page for Skinny Dreaming over on Facebook. Please go and become a fan!

So far, it's just a bare bones version, but I intend to add recipes soon and links to informative posts from all over the Internet. I'll also do occasional giveaways from the Facebook page.

Let me know in the comments anything you'd like to see at Skinny Dreaming on Facebook.

Also this week, I'll be featuring the first of Skinny Dreaming's Super Slimmers! It's a woman who's lost over 160 pounds, and hopefully, I will be able to share many more inspirational stories like hers in the future with you.

Saturday, 10 April 2010

Exercise & Daily Life

Robert and I went for a lovely walk in the sunshine today. Mercury, our dog, loves it when we take him to the park with the lake; it's only about two miles to walk to it from our house. We usually walk all the way around it and around the lake before cming home, and today was no exception.

Mercury 10 April 2010 sm

Because it was so bright and sunny outside, we decided to bring the camera. We took some photos of Mercury and, when we passed by some sheep, I couldn't resist taking some photos of the little black lambs.

Photobucket

Why am I telling you about this beautiful walk? Because I want to share the concept that exercise doesn't always have to be a chore. You can find ways to fit exercise into your day that won't feel like drudgery, that you won't want to hurry through to get over with.

I exercise on the elliptical crosstrainer almost every day. I used to hate it. I couldn't wait to just get it over with and done so I could enjoy the rest of my day. But then I taught myself how to read while using the elliptical crosstrainer. In my daily life, it is usually hard to find time to read, and I love reading. So now, I look forward to my time on the crosstrainer as it is time I get to spend reading.

Yesterday, Robert and I took the children to a play center with lots of climbing, sliding and tumbling types of play areas for the kids to play in. Between us, we had to do a lot of lifting of the baby and following the kids around, helping the younger ones with some of the equipment. It was fun and it was a form of exercise.

Taking the kids to the park afterward, Robert pushed them on the swings for a while and then helped to spin them around the the merry-go-round. Again, it was enjoyable time spent with our children, and it was a form of exercise.

There are many enjoyable ways to fit exercise into your day. What are some ways to exercise that you find enjoyable?