Exercise

People often ask me what I do for exercise. My answer is “Not much”.

I do not belong to any gym, dance teams or boot camps. I used to do zumba classes twice a week but that did not work for me. It kept me energized but I never lost any weight in several years of doing Zumba.
I do not do yoga. I am not against people doing yoga and know that it has a lot of balance and strengthening benefits, but as a Christian, I choose to stay away from it.

So, What do I do?

I WALK. I do a lot of walking. For example: I do not try to park close to the door when I go shopping. We will park at the top of the parking lot and walk. If there are other stores around, we walk to those instead of driving the short distance. I mean, if you walk there, you got to walk back. Right?  Unless of course I'm alone, Then I will park as close to the door as I can for security.
In the afternoons, my husband and I will take a fast pace walk around the neighborhood. We do almost 3 miles in about 45 minutes. I try do do this every day. We enjoy this time together. We love to walk and talk about our day, greet neighbors and pet dogs along the way. It’s not only healthy for our heart, its healthy for our togetherness.

I Hula Hoop- I love to hula hoop on my fitness hoop. When I thought I would never be able to hoop, I purchased an adult size hula hoop. It’s weighted and padded and I was able to work it! Ha. It’s crazy how with the right size and weighted hoop I was able to bring back that childhood fun again. The hula hoop works great for toning abs and legs. I put music in my ears and hula hoop for about 20-30 minutes. On top of that, I have been doing a 30 day challenge using an app called FXP Fitness for strength and stretch.


 Fitness hoop - Walmart  (I actually got mine here at TJMaxx)

When I want to play, I grab a regular hula hoop. This is more like the toy. It’s light weight and thin. It’s so much harder to keep going but since I’ve done a lot of practice on my fitness hoop, I can now keep this light one up and going. I have even learned some new moves and trick by watching YouTube videos. 

Hula hoop -Santana Hoops.  Exercise ball- Walmart 

Exercise Ball- I recently purchased the exercise ball. (AKA stability ball, yoga ball, or Swiss ball). I was going to use it for an office chair. It suppose to help with core strength, balance and posture when used as a chair. However, after getting the thing pumped up, It’s way to big to big to just toss in my car and take to work. I decided to use it at home instead. I found a great stability ball workout app that takes me through a routine of moves to either loose weight or tone up. You can pick a workout to target the areas you want to work on. 

There ya have it. So far, all of these activities work to help me keep active and toned.

For those that are able to workout, what are some of your workout choices? Do you go to the gym or workout at home? What are some ways you keep moving? 



Smores Dip with Nutrisystem

This is another post for all those on the Nutrisystem diet.

I’ve been on the Nutrisystem diet for over 3 years now. I no longer order monthly meals. I have lost the pounds I wanted. I am currently on the maintenance plan in which I just order from the A la carte menu and eat a lot of meals on my own which I admit, is dangerous for me sometimes because things like this happen.....

SMORES DIP


For the record, It is made with Nutrisystem’s NutriChocolates found on the snack menu. 
It’s delicious milk chocolate wafers and it’s OKAY!!!! They are perfectly portioned and protein packed to keep you losing the weight. 

I just had to put a twist to it. Because that’s WHAT I DO! Ha. I play around with my foods to make more varieties. Besides, since Nutrisystem meals are ready to heat or eat, I actually miss experimenting and cooking in the kitchen. 


If you are not on Nutrisystem, you can do the same thing with a Hershey bar but don't go crying if you gain a few pounds.

“It doesn’t get any SMORE easier than this”

First add the chocolates to a small dish such as a ramekin or soup mug. 
I just so happened to have this adorable little corning-ware dish from the thrift store.


Add marshmallows. I was able to find a little single pack of marshmallows. 
It was just the right amount to keep me from over doing it. 
Because I WILL over do it at times. 


Place in toaster oven until marshmallows are toasty. 
The chocolates will be melted by this time too. 
You can try it in the microwave but I would not suggest it 
because it will NOT make the marshmallows brown and toasty and may only make a mess. 


Carefully remove from oven and dip your favorite graham crackers. 
Its ok, you can eat it all! Just take it easy on the crackers. 
Two sleeves is a serving suggestion. 
You do not have to share which I ended up doing. 
My husband gave it two thumbs up. 

This dessert counts as:
1 snack (Nutrichocolates)
1 smart carb (crackers)
1 extra (marshmallows) 

Be sure to visit the tabs at the top of my page to see other food ideas using Nutrisystem and read about my Nutrisystem journey and how it has worked for me.