First Place 4 Health

I am a few weeks into my first round of teaching a First Place 4 Health group and I must say it is awesome! I still have a lot to learn, but I love the program! What is even more amazing to me is that I am able to sit down a few times a month and brainstorm with and listen to an amazing group of women including Carole Lewis, author and national (more like international) director of First Place 4 Health! It is not everyday you get to sit and have great conversation with an author like her! What an inspiration!

I have to admit, I used to really REALLY despise Houston, but I have recently come to realize the blessing it has been in my life. Just the other week I ran into Beth Moore at Olive Garden of all places! We attend the same church and went and enjoyed our after church lunch at the same place! And guess where First Place 4 Health is headquartered?...Same church!

God truly does have a plan!

I highly recommend this awesome program and would be happy to answer any questions if you've got em'!

In the meantime! Keep moving, keep praying, and keep up your motivation for your health and fitness goals!

Top 10 Fitness Trends for 2009...

...according to ACE Fitness.

I was referred to a link in a newsletter for an article from ACE Fitness outlining the top 10 fitness trends for 2009.

They are as follows:

1. Boot Camp-Style Workouts
2. Budget-Friendly Workouts
3. Specialty Classes
4. Getting Back to Basics
5. Circuit Training
6. Kettlebells
7. Boomer Fitness
8. Technology-Based Fitness
9. Event or Sport-Specific Exercises
10. Mixing It Up

It made me happy to see these as the top 10 as Stroller Strides fits into a number of them and there are some locations that do offer classes that fit into all of the trends!

How cool is that?!

Do Not Attempt!

I was reading the joggermom.com blog and came across one post called Stroller Bloopers. There are a few pictures posted of bad form and just plain old bad ideas when dealing with a stroller. This pictures made me laugh out loud and stare in amazement!

Seriously, don't do this!

I mean....why???

March for Babies

I received an email yesterday from our local March for Babies chapter for our Stroller Strides leaders to lead a family warm-up before the walk! I was so excited and honored that they asked us to do this! We did the walk last year with a small Stroller Strides team as we were still pretty new here. Our small team raised $650 for March for Babies that will be used for research to study and prevent premature births.

While I am all for any charity that helps children, this one is especially close to my heart as one of my three was a preemie. My son Joshua was a little over three pounds at birth and while he was small, he was one of the biggest ones in the NICU. We brought him home just two weeks later and as I was elated to have him home, my heart broke for the many that were to stay for much much longer.

Last year's walk was immensely eye opening at how many lives are affected by premature birth. We saw thousands of NICU graduates proudly riding in their wagons and strollers and we saw thousands that were a memory pictured on t-shirts and posters. I made it through last year's walk without breaking down (and believe me I wanted to), but I wasn't in my car for more than a few seconds before I could no longer hold back the tears. I was so grateful that we had a healthy preemie, small but strong and I was so heartbroken for the families who could not say the same.

This year we will be walking again and I am looking forward to our bigger team and an even more successful fundraising campaign!

I know that money is tight these days but every donation helps, even if it is as low as $5. Please donate if you can to well needed research by clicking on the March for Babies widget in the sidebar.

If you would like more information about March for Babies or would like to sign up for your local walk, go to marchforbabies.org.

Thank you all for your support.

-Valerie

Joshua 11-28-04

Joshua 4 years old

Eat at Awesome Restaurants...Cheap!!!

I found a recommendation for a website that is almost too good to be true...but it is true!

The site is Restaurant.com and there you can enter your zip code and find a list of restaurants and purchase $25 gift cards for $10. There are a limited number of participating restaurants but I assure you there are some good ones for every town! There are restrictions/terms for using the gift cards at the restaurants. Most of them require a minimum purchase of $35. You pay $10 for the gift card and $10 for difference (35-25) and you end up spending $20 for a $35 meal.

THEN, I went to another recommended site called couponcabin.com. There you can do a search for discount codes for restaurant.com. Right now you can click on a link that takes 50% off the total instantly and there are other codes for 30% and 40% off your purchase. That makes your $25 gift card cost as little as $5. Talk about savings!

Use your yummy discounted meal as a reward for achieving those fitness goals or just go and enjoy a date night!

Running for Moms

Today in class we talked about a subject that I've noticed can evoke some strong feelings, both good and bad...running! Running is hands down one of the simplest and best exercises you can do. It is also one of the most painful, tedious, and at times unpleasant, right? I myself have the dirty little secret of not always being a big fan of the run!

You don't have feel this way though! Seriously! The key to enjoying a good run is to (what's the first step) start and start simply! If the last mile you ran was a cumulative few speedy steps over the past few years, then going out and tackling a mile today is not the best approach! Start small! Run for 2 minutes a few times a week to start. Sounds like nothing, but if your lungs and heart are not seasoned it will be the longest two minutes you'll have had in a while! Then bump it up to five minutes, then 7, then 10, etc. Build up your cardiovascular fitness gradually and you'll find that after a few weeks you actually will love running! You'll feel energized like you could never imagine! Think you don't have the time? Remember, 2 minutes!!! You can tackle 2 minutes of running in a day's time, I promise you!

When you run you work your heart, lungs, legs, abs...pretty much every part head to toe! It is a great exercise and will love it over time!

A few tips to making those first runs less unpleasant:

1. Wear good shoes!
A lot of the pain and injury associated to running can be associated to not wearing the proper shoes! You don't have to pay a fortune for them either! If you go to Overstock.com or online outlets you can find last year's model with huge discounts!

2. If you have one, bring your mp3 player.
Play your favorite music or music that gets you moving and let that occupy your mind while you run! For me I need something a bit "stronger"! I like to listen to audiobooks or podcasts, it requires a little more attention on my part! *I also use my ipod for housework time! It makes laundry folding and floor scrubbing a little more bearable!

3. Run with a friend.
Sometimes you just need that extra push (sometimes just to get out the door) and having someone to encourage you and vice versa can be a big help!

4. If you run with your kids (either in a stroller or beside you) use this a time for fun and reward! Go for a smoothie afterwards and marvel over how fast you can go (even at a snails pace they love it)!

A great resource for running for both beginners and advanced runners is runnersworld.com. This site offers everything from shoe reviews to fuel-filling diet plans! There are also several great mommy runner blogs and sites such as SeeMommyRun.com.

I'm routing for ya mamas! Get your run on!

New Giveaway - Healthy Child Healthy World book

I want to first congratulate Cherice for being last week's giveaway winner!
Cherice is the winner of a box of Luna Bars! Congrats Cherice!


This week's giveaway is a free copy of the Healthy Child, Healthy World. I had the privilege of speaking with the author Christopher Gavigan on a conference call last year and he has a very genuine interest in the safety and well being of our families. This book is filled with many eye opening statistics and facts as well as practical options for turning your home into a healthy environment. I wish I could give one away to all moms!

For more information about the Healthy Child Healthy World organization, go to healthychild.org

Our giveaway will start today and the winner will be announced next Monday, so get your entries in!

For review, to enter, just leave a comment in the comments section. You can increase your chances by doing a number of things: subscribe to our feed, refer a friend, grab our badge and post it on your web page or blog, post something on your blog about our giveaway with a link, you get the gist!

Good luck!