Why wait until January 1st?

2012 is fast approaching. Have you made your New Year’s resolutions yet?  In the past, I’ve waited right up until the very last minute to write them down. Not only that, it was the same thing year after year up until this year. Lose weight, eat better, save money….you know the usual. This year I’m doing things a whole lot different! First- I’m not waiting until January 1^st to write my list or to get started! I’m working on my goals right now! Why wait? There’s nothing stopping me from starting now except me. I was talking to a co-worker the other day and we were talking about how people wait until the new week to start exercising or eating right, and I told her I used to be the same way until it hit me that my body doesn’t know what day it is, and it doesn’t really care if I start exercising or eating right on Sunday, Monday or Friday. It’s the mentality that we have that says it’s easier to start in the beginning of the week. My challenge to you is this -why? I used to tell myself that I can eat what I want the rest of the week, or start researching  or whatever I’m trying to accomplish, and I’ll just start fresh on Monday.  Really? That’s not a valid reason to wait to start to improve your life. Now is just as good a time as Monday. I’m not only changing the time I start, I’m also changing the timeline. I used to give myself the whole year to get my act together and every year, by March- I’d usually give up, or forget or week after week I’d say- I’ll just start on Monday… the next thing I knew the year was over and I MIGHT have accomplished 1 or 2 things on the list.

What I’m saying to you is…. Not only make your list right now, but start it today! Give yourself a timeline to get it done. Put it somewhere so you see it every single day! If you need help or you have difficulty with this, you can always get someone to help you and hold you accountable.  We all have different ways of handling things. Most people spend 40+ hours working hard for someone else, but when it comes to taking just a little bit of time to work for ourselves, we come up with every excuse in the book not to have to do it. Aren’t you worth it? Of course you are!  I’m worth putting 30 minutes to an hour daily taking care of me and making sure I’m meeting my goals. I don’t meet all of my goals every single day, but I accomplish more when have my goals clearly written and I can see them. My goals are that important to me. Some of my goals are easy and can be accomplished right away. Some are on a longer timeline 6 months to a year, and I even have some goals for the next 5 years. I know that I have a lot to do and it can seem overwhelming at times, but if I don’t do anything towards achieving what I want.  Why would anyone else want to help me reach my goals?  If you need help accomplishing your goals get in touch with me. I’d be very happy to help you establish your goals and help you reach and possibly exceed them.  Anything and everything is possible. Just trust yourself.

What do the holidays mean to you?

It’s that time of year again. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s .The holiday season is once again upon us. This time of year is my favorite. I always enjoyed the family time, the food, the gifts, and the celebrating. I grew up in upstate New York and I even loved the snow…. At least on Christmas Eve… J That however has changed a bit for me this year. Thanksgiving this year means more to me than family, food, and fun. When I prayed on Thanksgiving this year, I had SO MUCH to be thankful for. I’m thankful that I’m alive, that my children are here to celebrate with me, and that I have great friends and family. God blesses me EVERY single day. This past year has been a SEASON!! What a year! However, because of my faith, I have been able to survive all of it! My faith has been truly tested, but my God protects me and has kept me in the game fighting and winning!  So in addition to my daily thanks, I’m giving extra special thanks for you Lord. Thank you that I have gotten so much closer to You than I have ever been. Thank You that I finally got the courage to make the decision to get baptized.  Thank you that this year my children gave their lives to You and my oldest daughter also got baptized. Thank you Lord that I have so much to give and because of you, even with my past I’m able to let go and not be afraid to give myself. I’ve learned so much from my past mistakes, and You have not held them against me, but you use them to help me grow and become stronger.  Your mercies are new today, tomorrow and always. Thank you!! I can never thank you enough for all You’ve done and that you continue to do in my life.

Christmas is such an amazing day! It’s the birthday of our savior! We should be rejoicing and celebrating this day with such love for him! I admit that until a couple of years ago, I was “commercialized” in my love of Christmas. I loved the shopping, the gifts, the tree, the decorating, and everything else that went with it. That has changed for me the past couple of years and for my children as well. I have attempted to show them about the importance of Christ in Christmas and that it’s not just about getting the newest and best game, or outfit. I want them to understand how important Jesus Christ is to us, and how giving back is more important than receiving. Not just at Christmas but all year long. I bring them with me to feed the homeless whenever I can. I also encourage them to give their time, clothes, and money to help those less fortunate than us.  Whenever I volunteer at The Bridge Ministry or do Adopt -A Block, I give thanks that I’m able to help and that no matter what I’m going through – I’m blessed! I have a home, a job, a car, my health and food to feed my children and I’m loved. Thank you Jesus!

With the New Year once again upon us, I have reflected on this past year and I must say that this year I have stepped out of my comfort zone. A LOT -I had goals and dreams, and a plan. I did two 5k’s and started the plans for 4-5 businesses. I wanted to develop a closer relationship to God.  I’m not done, but I’m closer than I was a year ago and I’m thankful that I did not give up and walk away. I wanted to, many, many days…. I wanted to give up on all of it and just walk away. When that happens, I think of Joshua 1:9 - Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” That is one of the many verses that continues to give me the strength and courage to continue fighting through all of my trials and tribulations. I’m still in the process of working on my goals, and I always will be. I’m not waiting until the New Year to begin working on the new goals I’ve set.  I will never stop setting goals for myself.

Setting goals may seem hard or you don’t have time, but believe me. When you have goals that you write down daily, and you check off what you’ve accomplished the feeling will make you keep doing it. I get a sense of accomplishment every time I complete a task. You don’t have to start big. Write down small goals like doing the laundry, working out for even 15 min a day- it’s better than nothing. Bring your lunch to work if you have financial goals. Add a fruit to your diet if you wish to change your eating habits. Read a verse a day in the Bible. Stay around positive people who will encourage you and help inspire you. They will keep you motivated. Whatever you want to accomplish in your life, don’t ever give up! You can do it!

Easy ways to begin an exercise program

Have you decided to lose weight or get in shape and you’re not sure where to begin? Beginning a fitness program is not an easy task. There are so many different forms of exercise and you see so many diet programs and infomercials on TV, it makes it difficult to know where to begin. They make it look so easy on TV then you get the program do it once and never look at it again. I can’t tell you how many programs I have collecting dust.   You want something safe and fun that doesn’t really feel like exercise right? That’s how I felt when I got started. I’ve lost 21 pounds so far, and I continue to lose. I’ve combined a few different exercises to help get started and hopefully they will help you.

Getting started

The first thing you can do is walk. Walking is the easiest on your body and if you can’t find a full 30 minutes, you can break it down into 2- 15 minute sessions. You don’t need to join a gym and you can do it at your own pace.  If you need additional motivation if you have a dog or children you can walk with your children or walk your dog and your kids and dog will also benefit from it! It’s a great way to get your kids involved in a fitness routine as well. You can walk trails or at a park. Just 30 min 3 times a week and you can make a significant change in your body.  

If you’re feeling a little more adventurous you can also try jogging. Jogging is a wonderful way to get in shape and it’s a little tougher than walking, but the feeling of completing a jog even if it’s for a few minutes will make you feel great. I started by using the Couch to 5k running plan www.coolrunning.com  and in 9 weeks, you can be jogging/running a 5k (3.1 miles). I completed my first 5k in April 2011. Before then I was not able to jog more than a minute without giving up. If you find this difficult to do on your own or you can start the plan with a friend. You can be accountable to each other and that will also help keep you on pace. Before long you will find yourself looking forward to your runs. I use my runs as a time to think, clear my head and let go of the stresses of the day.  I also have a running partner that I run with once or twice a week. So even if I skip a run or two I know that he will keep me on track with the runs we do.

If you know you’re not disciplined enough to do it on your own.  Another thing you might want to consider is hiring a personal trainer. Personal trainers are people who have gone to school specifically for training and can not only help you, but they will make sure that you’re doing exercises in the correct form to prevent injury. A personal trainer can be a great asset. They can design a program specifically for you to help you drop weight, get in shape and build muscle. They will also design an eating plan to help you manage your diet as well. You can find personal trainers in gyms, as well as through private business.

Yet another thing you can try is Zumba (Latin dancing) or another form of dance. They have different types of dance class that will peak almost anyone’s interest. To me Zumba is the most fun…. I can dance and have fun and it does not feel like exercise at all!! You can go to www.zumba.com to find classes everywhere.

As you can see, there are plenty of programs you can choose from to help get you started.  The key is to start slowly so you don’t get overwhelmed and give up. Even if you can only start by doing 10 minutes a day and build up to 30. Something is better than nothing. Pretty soon you will be losing weight, feeling great and it will be all worth it!!

Heart Disease - The NOT so silent killer

My mom was 44 when she had her first heart attack. Subsequently she had 2 more and a devastating stroke that left her paralyzed on her left side.  All of this occurred before she was 53 years old. My mom lost her battle with heart disease at the age of 59. Way too young. Unfortunately it’s a statistic that keeps growing yearly, especially among women. Heart disease is the #1 killer of African American women. A woman dies from heart disease just about every minute.  Women are often misdiagnosed and subsequently do not receive necessary care. Being misdiagnosed is something that should not be happening in 2011. This makes it even more important for us to make sure we are doing everything possible to try and prevent heart disease before it affects us. We need to take more responsibility for our health and do whatever we can to help ourselves. The risk factors for heart disease are smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, physical inactivity, stress and being obese and overweight.

So what can you do right now?  You can start by making small healthy changes in your lifestyle. I personally do not like the term diet. I think if we incorporate changes a little at a time and not “shock” yourself by cutting out everything it will be much easier.  Add a piece of fruit, switch to Light Mayo, and try low fat or fat free milk. Little changes like that will make a huge difference in your health. For me losing weight has been a challenge, but the thought of having my first heart attack at 44 was enough to get me to a point where I wanted to do something about it. So far I’ve lost 18 pounds, and I’m continuing to lose. I’ve always been a bit of a jock (I know don’t faint) so being active wasn’t the problem, it was stress and my diet. Changing my diet was a lot harder than I anticipated. My family loves to eat and eating was always a comfort for me when I was stressed or upset. So changing that was and is a challenge. But I want to be around for my children so it’s worth making some sacrifices.

There are some myths about heart disease that you may not be aware of:

1)      Only older men and women have heart disease.

·         Heart disease does not know any age…. It can strike anyone at anytime

2)      If heart disease isn’t in your family, you’re not at risk.

·         A family history does increase your risk, but there’s always a first! Just because your mom or grandmother doesn’t have it does not mean you’re safe.

3)      You can’t do anything to stop heart disease.

·         Yes, you can!! Anyone can significantly reduce your risk of heart disease if you have the information you need, know what to ask your doctor, and have the support to make smart eating choices in your life.

We have to take control of our health and not rely on medication to “fix us” if something goes wrong!!  Please take control of your health and if you can prevent heart disease, do what you can now before it’s too late.

How to stay debt free in these tough economic times

In today’s economy we struggle daily to keep food on the table, gas in our cars, and paying our mortgage/rent. With the price of everything rising fast and our jobs are not giving us raises to compensate, how do we keep our finances and sanity during this economic downturn? It’s a question that we all struggle with on a daily basis. Companies are cutting jobs, they’re not giving raises, and they’re cutting benefits. The cost of food and fuel is constantly rising and we sometimes don’t know where our next meal is coming from. So, what can you do to stay out of debt and build savings?

The key- as simple as it seems is to cut out things that are not a necessity and to stop using credit cards. Credit cards are causing our nation to be billions of dollars in debt and sometimes the credit card payment is as high as another car payment or your mortgage.  It’s easier said than done right? Here’s where discipline comes in. Coming up with and sticking to a budget is the most effective way to keep track of and control your spending. Most of us do not like the idea of going on a budget, however if you look at your finances and don’t like what you see, you should at least try a budget. Most people think that when you go on a budget, you have to give up everything fun, that’s not true if you put it in your budget.

The key is to make a realistic budget. A lot of people have certain things that they budget for and they just wing the rest. That’s not the best idea. There are several places online where you can get blank budget forms to help you. I personally have been doing Dave Ramsey and the program works. It’s not easy by any means, but if you have the discipline and you really want to change your financial outlook and feel secure in your finances, you really should give a budget a try.

The first thing you should do is keep track of your spending for 2 weeks to a month. Keep all receipts, everything coming in and going out. By doing this and actually seeing on paper where your money is going, you will see where money is wasted and where necessary cuts can be made. I didn’t realize how much money I was wasting on little frivolous unnecessary things until I saw it on paper.

The second thing you need to do is sit down and write out your budget. The forms you find online make it relatively easy and painless to do a good budget. It took me less than 20 minutes to do my budget. I will tell you this, when I sat down, it was not fun after always telling my children how fiscally responsible they need to be, to realize I needed to follow my own advice.

The third thing you need to do is follow the budget!! I’m not going to sugar coat it and tell you it will be easy, for some of you it might be a breeze. For me personally it took a few months for me to actually get to a point where I was happy about not being to spend like I was used to, with no thought or care. As long as my bank account had a balance I was spending. Now I find myself looking at things differently. I don’t impulse buy any more. If it is something I feel like I have to have, I go home and think about it. If I’m willing to drive all the way back to the store then it will be worth buying. Of course 95% of the time I don’t go back to the store.

 Starting and sticking to budget can be a useful tool to also teach your children to be fiscally responsible as well. The earlier you start teaching them; they will get a great start at learning finances and will hopefully get a great start to building their own financial wealth. I will tell you a big change I noticed in myself, as my savings balance began to rise, I actually felt better knowing that there was some saving going on. I find myself now to a point where I closely monitor everything coming in and going out and I like watching my savings rise. 

One final thing – don’t get discouraged if it takes you a few months to get used to being on a budget. Whatever you do, don’t give up!!  The benefits will be so worth it in the long run. Before you know it, you will have some savings and will feel some relief and a better sense of balance in other parts of your life.