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Month: June 2006

40 Days of Focussing On Health

Where is my head? Well it isn’t in blogging, that’s for sure! I can’t write about lessons as we’re still in a time of rest, a Sabbath rest. This means that I am not striving toward lessons or the planning of them. This is great but I don’t have any great plans to share. 😉

So, what have we been doing? (Aside from traveling 1500 kilometres to move house and have John start a new job?) Well, I’m on a new fad! Actually, it’s not really new…it’s just taken me awhile to be able to put things together and implement the plans. It isn’t about homeschool or my faith but of course, God is my life and can’t be removed so…

I’m trying to get fit and become healthier in the process. I have been influenced by Bill? Phillips book, Body for Life and also by fellow homeschooler, Jeannie Fullbright. I started my own 12 week challenge! 12 weeks with a slight difference. I feel that a full 12 weeks is too much for me to focus on – I need to see the light at the end of the tunnel. So, even though I’m doing a 12 week challenge I’m doing it with focussed attention for 40 days. Then, I’ll reassess and set some new goals for another 40 days. Sounds weird? Maybe…but I think it will help me to achieve success more so than seeing a looong 12 weeks ahead of myself.

So, what am I doing in this 40 Days of Focus? Well, one must have a goal in order to achieve anything so my goal is to tone my muscles, lose a little weight, regain some fitness and regain a sense of wellness. My new goal is to lose 6 kgs by July 25th. In order to achieve this I have mapped out a plan that I hope to stick to. Here it is in an outlined form:

My Nutrition Guidelines and Sample Meal Plans

  • Eat 5-6 small meals per day, six days per week.
  • Drink 10-12 glasses of water everyday!
  • Supplement meals with Spirulina and Multi vitamins.
  • Each meal should contain a serving of protein & complex carbohydrate.
  • Have either a serving of fruit or 2-3 servings of steamed/raw vegetables or a salad with each meal.
  • Protein serving: fits in the palm of my hand…same thickness.
  • Carbohydrate serving: the size of my fist.
  • I’m aiming to exercise on the treadmill 3 times a week and with weights 3 times a week, on alternating days where practical (I am a homeschool Mum!!!) Sunday will be my free day where I don’t exercise and I can eat what I want to. I occassionally also visit the Neuropathy Relief Guide website to gain some insight on how I could improvise my exercises.

Amidst this, we’ve been establishing new routines, discovering our new city and taking time to continue to build our family relationships-some of which is leading to exciting and life-changing processes but are too intimate to share on a public blog. ~wink~ So, I hope ya’ll don’t mind if I share my learnings and thoughts which may be related to my journey of health and fitness.

Working out, Intensity, high points…a way of life.

Bill Phillips talks about how we should strive to hit a ‘high point’ in our workouts. That it is the intensity in which we train, not the duration. He mentions how some fitness people suggest upping your workout routines from 30min to 40 and then to 50 min and so on, as to be more effective, as in More is Better, etc.

He asks, “Why?” He then says “What is that? What’s the objective? To work out all day???” To which he responds that he hoped he could get fit, stay fit AND have a life!!!!! My thoughts exactly!

He talks about hitting high points and efficient workouts, etc. Gee, this sounds a bit like my homeschool- instead of wanting to do lessons and booky stuff all day every day, I want to do our lessons efficiently, hit some high points AND have a life!!!

It all has to be achievable and maintainable eh? It has to become our lifestyle.

Working out…in our homeschool.

We’re learning more about the Human Body through my latest interest than we ever could through a book!

I’m starting this venture (40 Days of Focus) with my 15yodc…this child is a great help to me. However, the other children were feeling a little out of ‘it’. So, they arose early yesterday morning and came out on the back verandah to join 15yo and myself. Yes, it did get a little crowded but it was all good fun to watch them do some stretching and do some walking on the treadmill.

13yodc is trying to tone their abdominals so set about doing some abdominal crunches and then after our workout we had a great discussion on the differences between a cardio workout and toning/strengthening muscles.We talked about the differences of them and how important it is for the function of the heart…how important it is especially as they get older.

For a few of the children this was simply putting some *mental hooks* in place whereas 13yodc already had a few mental hooks, but was able to place this information on those hooks, and then connect a few more dots. They learnt much more than had we simply had read a book. How? Because it was real- they DID it and not just read about it. Also, they can see it. They see the truths of it when they look at their mother who is often in pain and lacks fitness and strength.? Sure, they’ve read about it all before in books – for some children it was the book reading that put up those mental hooks. But, it is in the practical experience of it that makes it come alive – makes it REAL.

So, what did we do for lessons yesterday? Well, we did do some other things but the most impactful lesson was on the functions of the heart…and that happened at 7.30am.

p.s. my 40 days of focus has nothing whatsoever to do with the latest fad book by Rick Warren.