GET HEALTHY Giveaway Winners!

Yay! I have picked the winners of the Get Heathy Giveaway using the quite handy Random Number Generator. And the winners are . . .

1st Place: Jake and Ellie's Mom at I Invented Motherhood
and
2nd Place: Beth from Around the Funny Farm

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Let's go over some of the great "get healthy" tips you all came up with:

Jake and Ellie's Mom says to find something you enjoy and do it often! This is a simple but PERFECT tip. I remember reading about an overweight young woman who did DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) for fun every day after school not because she needed to lose weight, but because she just thought it was fun. In the end, she DID lose weight! A bunch of it! This goes for biking, walking, running, dancing . . .

Tootsie Farklepants suggests avoiding eating anything that comes out of a box. Makes sense--this stuff usually is highest in fat, calories, sugar, carbohydrates (and not the good kind), and sodium.

Tulip Mom (CONGRATS TO HER! She just had a baby girl!) suggests lowering carbs and sugar (so does Amy!) intake in general. Work for many of us who are sugar addicts!

Jill and Becky and Pam (who recently lost 22 lbs.!) suggest eating small meals throughout the day. Works to help keep that metabolism ramped up! And don't miss breakfast! This is your most important meal of the day (BTW, pop tarts don't cut it!).

Lindsey and Kimmylyn and Erin and Marmarbug and Becky and Tommie drink lots of water. That along with voiding getting all your calories from soda and juices, which are often high in calories and contain lots of sugar, are fantastic tips!

Sass E-mum suggests meal planning. Great idea for stopping those impulse buys. I'll add that I HAVE to go shopping AFTER I've eaten, otherwise I'm like, "Look at all the pretty colors. Me must have . . . " and I grab at anything I can get as I speed down the grocery aisles. Sass E-mum also suggests farmer's markets, finding a good butcher, and MAKING your desserts--that way you'll be more inclined to make it last longer after you put in all that effort. Hmm... the reason this works for me is because I usually EAT all the left over frosting (which, surprisingly, there is a lot) after making my cakes.

Rachel suggests 100 calorie snacks! Great idea to watch out for portion control. She says that eating those smaller version 15 cookies felt like she was eating so much more than the 2 big ones, even though they are the same in calories. That's how my mind works! It is a mental thing, but it is so true!

Heidi and Krissy try not to eat after 6/7 PM. Heidi suggests keeping yourself away from the food by keeping yourself busy.

Beth and Angela and Nap Warden and Stella and Painted Maypole are all about MOVING. Beth believes that if she has time to sit and watch TV for 30 minutes, then she has time to walk/run on the treadmill. Painted says she moves throughout the day, waiting for tea to microwave or bouncing her legs, playing with her daughter . . . the key is to MOVE!!! And Kathryn, well, she's a running machine! And Amy is a big supporter of strength training. Jennifer is walking ALL THE TIME. She lost 40 lbs.! WOW!!!

Kristi suggests eating sugar free Jello to curb that sweet tooth! While Word Vixen suggests Kashi pizzas to curb that undeniable hankering for pizza.

Lori, Kathryn and Fran believe everything in moderation. I HATE denying myself anything. I believe that if I do, I might go hog wild once I even have a taste! (It happened with potato chips!).

Pregnantly Plump (is this not a great name?) stopped buying snacks and instead snacks on fruit. Also, like many other commenters, she is getting outside and walking now that spring is finally in the air.

Huckdoll has a great idea. Do not deprive yourself of your favorite snacks. Buy the most expensive type of snack you love and then SAVOR it. She, along with Stella and Jenn, also suggests Weight Watchers (which has helped her tip the baby weight). My sis-in-law lost a ton of weight using the WW point system after YEARS of struggling with just about every other diet out there.

Kami has a goal she needs to reach. What is it? I'll give you a hint. It starts with a b, ends in an i and has ikin in the middle. Yup. Sometimes that (and eating and exercising like a mad woman) is all it takes! Go Kami!

Just Jamie is nixing red meat--it makes her feel yucky. I'm in the same boat. Major tummy troubles abound when I eat red meat . . . 30 Minute Mommy takes it to the next level and says NO to dairy and is all about going vegan.

HRH is a yoga fan. What a great way to relieve stress and get healthy at the same time. She swears by it! She says she is, "stronger, look much better and way more relaxed about life." Kristen is a fan of The Biggest Loser videos. She says, "My muscles have gotten tighter . . .[and] is starting to feel like the hot Mama on the block." Whoo hoo--go Kristen!

Our Crooked Tree suggests lots of sex and coffee. Yup. She said it. BUT, she was kidding! However, did you know that you can burn an average of 300 calories per romantic interlude (moderate interlude, that is). Seriously, check it out for yourself and click HERE. Anyway, she actually suggests cutting out sugar and caffeine and eating on smaller plates (this really does work! I love mind games!). She also suggested using MyFoodDiary to hold yourself accountable. Angie also suggests SparkPeople for a free food journal that she finds has helped her change her eating habits.

Steph made a great suggestion for keeping yourself motivated--TELL PEOPLE what you are doing. It keeps you honest and you just might find you have a lot of support.

Phew . . . lots of GREAT ideas! Here is to fitting into the bikini getting healthy and living well!

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Finally, CrazyMomOfSix is hosting her first sponsored giveaway (I heard about it through Cecily's blog). She is giving away a Purse Pal. I saw a mom with one of these and thought it was the coolest thing. She looked so cool, calm, and together while here I was with stuff scattered to the four winds. I'm thinking this awesome accessory might just make me seem as if I know what I'm doing!