Hi, I'm Nicki.

First of all, kudos to Angela for setting this up!  I'm always looking for ways to improve my health and set goals, so this is perfect.  Next, I have a confession.  I love healthy eating!  And I carry a water bottle with me everywhere I go.  So when I read through the five challenges I was thinking, "Easy peesy!" Then I stopped and stared at the one about exercising 30 minutes per day six days each week.  STUMPED.  I've never been someone who works out.  I daydream about being one of those people all the time...but it has never translated into actually doing it.  So I decided to seriously think about whether or not I was ready to commit to this.

The next morning I rolled over in bed at 5:00am and, as usual, my husband was already gone.  At the gym.  He's my hero!  Six days a week he's at the gym for 1.5-2 hours...before I'm even out of bed.

That morning I decided to join this challenge.

I was still sleepy, so I also made my personal goal to be out of bed by 7:00am every morning.  Apparently I was feeling really hard core, because I definitely love my sleep.  Here's to goals and pushing myself!

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I majored in Global Studies and Business at BYU and worked as the Assistant Director of the Alumni Association at UVU for two years.  My husband and I have been married for 3.5 years.  We met at BYU and were married a year later in New York City.  It was unbelievably amazing!  We now live in Draper, UT.  Eight months ago I had a beautiful baby boy.  He was eight weeks early because I developed a life-threatening condition called HELLP Syndrome.  Luckily, modern medicine is amazing and five weeks later we brought him home from the hospital.  He's an absolute riot.  I'm now home full-time and I can't get enough of him!

I love photo editing, clean eating, essential oils, reading, and laughing really hard.

Not computer savvy

My name is Jen and I live in Texas. I  recently moved from the Dallas area to the Austin area and am missing my friends a lot!  I have 4 young-uns: 3 boys ages 9, 6, & 4 and a baby girl who at 20 months, rules the house.
  Contributing to this blog may be the hardest part of the challenge for me; as my close friends can attest, the computer is not my best form of communication. I am definitely needing some external motivation currently in my health goals. I have already been surprised by how difficult it is to not eat after 8 pm. It used to be my absolute habit to go get myself a reward (something sweet) for getting the kids to bed. Also, book club meets late and always has tempting goodies so wish me luck! Looking forward to meeting these goals and working together!

Shawna

My name is Shawna. Camile is my roommate and she's friends with Angela.  I live in Phoenix Arizona and love food and don't really care for exercise ...

Camile and I made curry noodles tonight! With carrots, red and orange peppers, onions, and green beans.  Yum! Lots of vegetables, even after fasting :)

Brittany

Hi, I'm Brittany...the other sister-in-law to Angela in this challenge.  I live in Texas with my husband and 3 1/2 year old boy.  I'm excited for the challenge as I'm in desperate need of motivation.  The reporting and accountability is really something I need.  My personal challenge is no sweets/treats/candy and only 2 snacks per day.  I love my treats and I had to make my husband go through the house and hide any and all candy...mainly the chocolate chips, they're my afternoon downfall. I've decided that it's a now or never time for me.  If I can't commit to eating good/exercising and developing better habits....my pants are only going to get tighter.  I love the challenge of this, that if you all can do it, I can too!  Thanks for the motivation this week.  And keep it coming!

Kelsey

Hello, everyone!
I'm Kelsey. I'm the mother of two rambunctious kiddos (Jared- 3, Rosie- 1). I live in Indiana, so I really prefer not to leave the house much between November and March. I'm deeply in love with my nerd, Ken. I love being social, chocolate and having adventures.
I do not love running. Last year, I had a goal to run a half marathon (for my 25th birthday) and I did! Just pretty slowly at the end there. But because of a crazy tight IT band, I haven't run more than a couple of miles since. Also it was hot out. And now it is cold. (I don't cope with extreme weather very well!) So this year I am trying to mix a bit a running with Pilates on days when I just can't get up the courage to go outside before the sun is up.
My worst health habit is probably eating in the evenings. I eat when my husband isn't home (at work or at camp outs, mutual, etc) and when he is I like to watch a movie with him with plenteous snacks of course. And then the snacks alternate between sweet and salty right?
My personal goal is to not eat chocolate. Which is hard. I'm a chocolate snob, so when my husband wants to woo me he brings home some Lindt or Ghirradellis. I am pretty positive I can do this (I've already braved a Relief Society activity and a baby shower). The question is, can I be a nice person without it?
Hurray for goals!

Hello from one of the Jennifers!

Hello!  I also am very excited about this challenge and I am also expecting, along with Jen Paulsen.  I live in Texas as well, and have a very active 3 year old boy.  He keeps me on my toes.  Currently, I am 33 weeks so hopefully should have a baby just after this challenge is finished. :)  I have found that I have become a garbage disposal of an eater and needed a new challenge to help me get through these last weeks.  The New Year has been sort of anti-climactic, in that I feel like there is nothing that I wanted to work on until after this baby girl comes, but this challenge has helped me realize that even in my pregnant state I can work on and improve my habits for the future.  I think the hardest thing for me will be exercising everyday, because I am TIRED!  Thanks for the posts, they are inspiring!

My name is D'Lonna Nelson and I have a problem

A problem with sweets.

I love to bake and eat sweets!  I really am my own worst enemy.  I tend to over eat too.  Not a good combination.

I do LOVE to exercise!  I could run for hours and be happy as a clam, but I undo all my hard work with eating.  I am excited for this challenge to keep me honest on the weekends.  I am a night-relaxer eater, so the 8 pm no eating will be good for me too.  Also, I find myself really thinking about my choice in treat for the day.  I want to make sure it is a good one.  Myfitnesspal is an awesome app to record and calculate calories for the day.  My personal goal is to log in my food intake everyday.  This should keep me honest with my eating Friday through Monday when I tend to not keep track and over-eat.

I have a family history of diabetes. On my husband's side of the family, it is even more prevalent.  I want to form good habits and be a better example for my four boys ages 12 years, 10 years, almost 8 years, and 5 and half years.  I would like to help stop this medical history.

Marylynn

I am excited for this challenge, and looking forward to having a support and accountability team!

A little about me; I grew up in Idaho, went to school in Utah, and in 17.5 years of marriage have lived in Utah, Montana, Japan, and now Texas.  I have a 15 yo daughter and 5 yo son.  

I come from a big sports-playing family, and was very active and fit until I turned 30.  Since then, I have had some frustrating health issues (thyroid, infertility, etc) that have affected my weight, body image, energy level,  and confidence.  Also my closet!  Most recently, I lost 35 pounds and gained back 15 in about a year; two steps forward and 1 step backward, always!  It has been very discouraging, and my efforts to reach and maintain a healthy weight seem counter-productive at times.  I am trying to start small and be grateful for every little success.  If nothing else, I have fabulous blood pressure numbers!

Can't wait to see how this works!

Round 2

Hey everyone!
This is my second time around and although I do not play to win, I definitely benefit from being somewhat accountable for my activities and from the knowledge that we are all doing this together.  I love this challenge!  My personal goal is to get 8 hrs. of sleep each night.  It is REALLY hard for me.  I have 4 kids, aged almost 7, 5, 3 and 20 months.  In the last 7 years I have racked up quite the sleep debt in terms of lost sleep.  So, I'm intending to get more sleep and benefit in all the areas that I know sleep affects.  Mental function, mood, energy level, metabolism, etc.  Happy to be here with all of you!  Good luck everyone!

I need some more clarification

Sorry to be redundant, guys, but I still need some help. I went to the choosemyplate.gov site and made a supertracker profile and all, but I'm still not sure on what a serving is. I mean, I can calculate how many cups of veggies/fruits I'm eating a day, but how many actual servings is it? is 1 cup a serving? or 1/2 Cup? or what? I'm just not quite sure if I'm calculating it right, or if I need to eat more stuff. So, anyone who has experience or knowledge, please let me know! thanks!