This contest and giveaway is now closed.
One of the top questions that my husband and I get is, “How on earth do you not weigh 300 pounds?” Our friends and coworkers all know how much I love to bake, yet we both seem pretty fit (of course, I could probably still lose another 10 pounds!). The answer, quite simply, is diet and exercise.
My husband has been swimming since he was about 6 months old and swam competitively in middle school and high school. He is a member of US Masters Swimming and goes to the pool at least twice a week.
I, as many of you know, figure skate. I’m at the rink at least 3 times as week and usually skate for 45-60 minutes at a time. Although the rink is usually cold, I can work up a really good sweat when I’m practicing my jumps, spins and edges.
In middle school, I was one of those people who drank soda just about every day. I didn’t maintain a healthy lifestyle in college and definitely gained the dreaded “Freshman 15.” It wasn’t until many years after college graduation that I started making some life changes. I eliminated soda and only drank water, milk or 100% fruit juice, and I also tried to avoid foods that were high in fat or sodium.
Today, my husband and I have joined a CSA and try to eat more vegetables and fruits. We don’t have any soda in the house, and we do our best to cook at home 6 days out of the week. When the weather is nice, we like to take walks around the neighborhood with our daughter. And that is how we both don’t weigh 300 pounds.
My friends at SlimKicker recently contacted me about hosting a contest and giveaway, and I was excited to be a part of this. SlimKicker is a website that helps motivate you to stay healthy by turning your diet and fitness goals into a game with points, challenges and rewards. They also offer resources such as a food tracker and a calorie tracker app. We did something very similar at work called the Get Fit challenge, and it was a lot of fun (our team came in 13th overall out of 500+ teams!).
To enter this contest and giveaway, leave a comment below with a suggestion on a fun, creative fitness or diet challenge (examples: cut out soda for 4 weeks, take the stairs instead of an elevator, or do 20 sit ups every night for a week). SlimKicker will pick their favorite and give the winner a Hamilton Beach Deluxe 6 quart slow cooker.
The contest will end on Friday, June 8th at 12pm ET and is open to US residents only. Each person may enter only one time (don’t forget to leave an email address where I can contact you). I will contact the winner individually after SlimKicker has chosen the winning idea. I can’t wait to hear about your great suggestions for a diet or fitness challenge!
Good luck!
Disclaimer: I am not receiving any compensation, discounts or merchandise for hosting this contest and giveaway. I simply believe in the company’s mission to help individuals maintain healthy lifestyles and want to do my part to help our country get fit.
I refereed local high school lacrosse games, which provides quite the workout.
I like to make sure I have a breakfast loaded with protein and fiber so I don't eat junk all day long and I make sure to pack healthy snacks like fruit, veggies and nuts for when I do get hungry!
Commit to 30 minutes a day of exercise, be it parking in the furthest spot from the store/office and walking or taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
Park in the furthest spot in the parking lot!
Drink a glass of water before every meal. It really does fill you up!
I'm going to start doing push ups, sit ups, squats, etc. during tv commercial breaks. My husband will probably think I'm crazy, but that's a good 20 minutes per hour!
Three days a week I wake up an hour early (5am) and go for a brisk walk around the community with my neighbor. The first two days is around 45 minutes for 3 miles. The last day is a 5 mile walk for around an hour. The time and miles fly by as we find all kinds of stuff to talk about. I enjoy it so much that I also try to walk during the weekend with my wife. If you don;t have a walking partner, plug in your headphones – just be aware of your surrounds, and stay out of traffic.
Cut out all pop, including diet sodas, and drink water instead. I like to add lime or lemon to give the water some flavor, changing it up a bit. I don't purposefully exercise much. Okay, at all. But chasing my almost 1 year old all over the place or carrying around that little butterball is all the exercise I need. 😀
I need a slow-cooker in my life! My health tip would be to eliminate butter, and swap with low-sugar jams on my toast.
Go for a walk first thing in the morning even if it's only a 15 minute walk. Eat breakfast everyday so you are not snacking throughout the day. Substitute applesauce for half the butter in baked goods.
Muscle burns fat. And once you get over 30, each year the body loses muscle mass–unless you're doing something to combat that! My father-in-law and I both do our age in push-ups every day. The number is easy to remember [your age!] and by doing your age you end up adding 365 more push-ups each year.
Wow, not just a giveaway but a contest! My best tip has to do with your food anyway. When you are unloading the groceries from your car, don't load up your arms. Just take one or two bags and make multiple trips. It is like weight training!
Cut out sugar (even hidden sugars) that isn't naturally occuring (i.e. in fruit) for 30 days.
My challenge idea would be to do a different exercise everyday, alternating between strength and cardio.
Hi Jennifer – you are the winner of the crockpot! Please contact me so you can claim your prize!
I like to walk and on the days I work from home, I walk 2 to 3 miles on the treadmill with interval training every 5 minutes. I also do ab and lower body excercises three times a week. Also, cut out any soft drinks and switch to six to eight 8 oz glasses of water a day. This is my challenge idea.
Walking at least a little every day! 🙂
Go on a one week breakfast smoothie challenge. There are all kinds of delicious and healthy smoothie recipes out there. It's so much better that skipping breakfast or choosing a less healthy option. And who doesn't like smoothies?
Drink a lot of water and every time you have to go to the bathroom, go up and down all the stairs in your office before you use the restroom. If you have a dog, take them for a walk a couple times a day. They love it and you're getting out and doing something.
When watching TV during commercials jump rope, do jumping jacks or situps.
Fun!For one month, limit your TV/movie watching to only the time you spend exercising. For example, you exercise 30 minutes a day, three times a week–you get 1 1/2 hours of TV/movie veg time a week. That will get some people moving!
Hi Stacey! The original winner of the contest never contacted me, so you are the new winner! I couldn't find your email address, so please email me.
I cut desserts to once a week and only on the weekends. As well as limit alcohol to maybe once per week if that.
Goodbye chips that I always eat at BBQ's and bring on fresh ingredients instead! I've also started pilates classes which are a lot of fun!