JAZZ up your June: HLG June Challenge!

We made it, friends! We're in June and at the halfway point of 2011!  How're you doing with your fitness and weightloss goals?  Did you stall out a tiny bit during the winter months as I did and blogged about? Were you able to get yourself on a new path last month and set things straight?  Even if you didn't make all 24 days of the MayDay Challenge, did you feel good about what you did achieve?  I hope so! :)

So the June JAZZ challenge is all about three things:
Journaling
Activity
and getting your ZzZzZzz's!

While I would never lie to anyone, I find I am really great at lying to one person: me!!  I'm finding maintenance of my weight loss to be really difficult if I don't do one basic thing: journal my food and activity!  I tend to say "well, I'll log my dinner tonight tomorrow afternoon..." or "I don't need to weigh that chicken breast, I think it looks like 6 oz.".  Mhm.  Bald face lies.  I know darn well if I don't log my food the day I eat it, I won't be logging it the next day.  And eye-balling portions still doesn't work well for me because I tend to WANT that 9 oz of chicken breast to be 6 oz and know it truly isn't.  Ugh!  So... Step one of the June JAZZ Challenge = JOURNAL your food and your activity.

If you're not journaling now, this part of the challenge may be a little... well... challenging! LOL  (I couldn't resist!)  So, just like we've done in past challenges, we're not looking for perfection here, just progress.  If - by the end of June - you can get into the habit of journaling often, try to have the final week of June be a week of complete journaling of your food (time of day, meal or snack, portion size, calories, fat grams is what I do...) and your activity (the length of time, the activity I did, the time of day and the estimated calories burned is my method).  I can suggest two online sites I like for online journaling.  One is fitday.com and the other is on the Live Strong site and called MyPlate which used to be the "Daily Plate" site which I've used for about 18 months now.  Both are free and easy to use. 

Photo from womensquest.com
Step two of the June JAZZ challenge is getting in 24 days of some sort of activity during of 30 days of the month.  In June we're so blessed to have a multitude of choices for fitness and activity!  Play tennis or go for a long bike ride or play frisbee with the kids, go hiking, kayaking, learn how to fly fish, up your running miles... whatever will be a little more challenge for you activity-wise this month... GO FOR IT! :) 

And finally, the summer months tend to lead us to want to pack everything into the longer days of light... and we end up burning the proverbial candle at both ends which isn't too great for those of us who want to lose or maintain or weightloss.  Step three for June JAZZ is for us to try to get at least 6-7 hours of sound sleep a night. Research suggests that a solid night's sleep boosts levels of leptin, a hormone that suppresses hunger. This simple fact is detailed in many health articles in magazines including Fitness Magazine's 5 Steps to a Good Night's Sleep found here.  You can also take a quick peek at why you need your ZzZzZz's in Prevention Magazine 60 Second Solution video!  Take 60 seconds by clicking the video below to realize why getting a good night's sleep - even in the summer months - is especially important!

So there you have it - - the #hlgJuneJAZZ challenge.  1) Journal  2) Be active for 24 of 30 days and 3) Get your ZzZzZzs!

I'm looking forward to June... I'm setting the bar high and I will journal all 30 days, get great sleep and write down on my calendar tonight what my definite 24 days of activity will be! C'mon and join me and let me know if you're "in the June JAZZ challenge" either by leaving a comment here or on Twitter ( @healthylosergal) or on Facebook ( HealthyLoser Gal).

By Dreaming BIG, Believing in ourselves, and going for it - we can Achieve anything we set our minds to! :)
Here's to our health!
Jan / HealthyLoserGal

It is true! I love Lemons! :)


I drove into my driveway after work tonight and, lo and behold, there on my porch was a package! "Oh cool," I thought to myself, "someone sent me a birthday present!" 

I decided to fore go taking in the mail and bringing in the groceries before checking the package and was surprised and delighted to see that the bright yellow box was a surprise sample package from the people at True Citrus and the product I love called, TrueLemon - it truly is a birthday present - they just didn't know it! : )

I am going to be thrilled to try out the new products in their line including... drum roll please... Raspberry Lemonade (okay, I'm trying that tomorrow a.m. first thing and taking it to the office with me for friends to share)!!  What is a better pairing than raspberries and lemonade... hello? Nothing for this gal! lol

And - if you follow me on Twitter - you KNOW I am always nudging friends to drink water!  (I know 'nudging' is a nice way to say it... I get kinda pushy about it! *grin*)  And that is where I first started using TrueLemon... I have their little easy to store into the purse or gym bag packets and add it to my big water bottle when I feel like changing things up a little bit - and it is MmMm delicious!  0 carbs / no fat / no calories. What is NOT to like there, huh?

So... over the next couple of weeks as I'm sampling the abundant box of presents I received tonight, look for my tweets on what I liked the most (because I have a feeling I am going to like them all, honestly!).  And, I'll read thru the literature I was sent, too, and let you know a bit more about the background of the product... this much I know without reading it - it is all natural and was developed originally by a chef and tastes great! :)

If you have NOT tried TrueLemon, and you're one of the first eight to let me know in Comments here AND follow @TrueLemon on Twitter or, if you don't tweet, Like them on Facebook (plus, when you Like TheTrueLemon, you get a free coupon - all good!) I will send you a packet in the mail for you to try.  It is my birthday and I'm giving away the presents! lol

Tomorrow morning starts a new challenge, friends... it will be called June Jazz and a hint about it is that it is about taking care of YOU! ; )

Drink up that water and...

Dream. Believe. Achieve!
Jan / HealthyLoserGal