Have you packed your wagon???

In 1846 my pioneer great,great, great,great grandparents decided to stay at the base camp and not continue on with the Donner Party. Thank goodness they did or I might not be here today since so many pioneers tragically did not survive crossing the mountains that winter.

When I think about them traversing the continent in a covered wagon. I can barely fathom the hardships they faced. Overcoming obstacles like crossing rivers, rolling through prairies filled with grasses taller than the average man, hacking through dense forests, sucking on pebbles to quench their thirst in burning hot deserts, and climbing steep snow covered mountains. It must have been daunting! But the hope of building a new life inspired them onwards, upwards, over, or around each obstacle they encountered during their journey westward.

Just like my pioneering ancestors dreamed of a new life, Farm Girls that dream of living fitter and commit themselves to building healthier lives will face obstacles in their journeys. Some may be small like crossing a babbling brook, others long with no end in sight, or daunting like crossing the great Sierra Nevada mountain range. The question is how do we overcome these obstacles and arrive at the fitter life we are dreaming of? The pioneers had guides to help them all along the way. We are here to be your guides as you journey towards your new fitter life.

Let's begin by planning ahead. Proper preparation helped the pioneers avoid known trouble spots and it will help you too.  Meal time is a plethora of obstacles. What to eat? How to cook? No time to cook or shop. The list goes on and on. However a little bit of preparation can eliminate many of these common meal time dilemmas.

What to eat? Start small by changing your old unhealthy staples for new healthier options. Love american cheese? Find a organic mild cheddar and use it in place of your old standard. Drink whole milk? Switch to 3% and make it an organic brand or source it locally. Commit to adding 1 veggie to each meal. If you must drive through, look at your favorite go to fast food joints and find the healthiest option you can. If you are a soda drinker, drop the pop and try a sparkling water instead. Cutting soda cuts 100's of calories out of your diet.

Look for ways to makeover your favorite recipes or search online for healthier options. Try one new healthy recipe a week and see if you discover some new favorites. Recipes will help you when you create your shopping list. No time to cook? Try a slow cooker. Drop in the ingredients in the morning and come home to a dinner that has cooked all by itself. Make two veggie lasagnas at the same time. One to eat and one  freeze for a quick dinner on a night you are too busy to cook.

Grocery shopping can be a huge obstacle course! Always go with a list. Never go when you are hungry. Avoid eating the samples. If you are looking for new favorites to replace old unhealthy items give yourself time to read the labels. Remember if it's not in the house you can't eat it so... put down the processed preserved prepared "foods" and pick up ingredients instead.

The pioneers needed every calorie they could consume and happily cleaned their plates. Us Farm Girls need to resign from the "clean your plate club." We don't want to waste but we also don't want it to go to our waists. What to do? Take smaller portions to begin wit,, use a smaller plate so it looks full, ask for lunch size portions or box half the meal when eating out, or use it in your compost if you have a compost pile.

Another big obstacle faced by Farm Girls is finding time to exercise. On a good day pioneers average upwards of 20 miles of walking and moving forward. On a bad day when they were facing rain or mud they might not even move at all. Luckily we don't have to walk across the country to get fit. Farm Girls are discovering "covert" ways to "sneak fitness into our daily routines by using common objects found around our farms or homes. (Did you know that a 5 gallon pail of water weighs over 40 lbs? A gallon of milk is just over 8 lbs?)

We are also learning to take care of ourselves first so we can better take care of others be they critters or family and friends. Make an appointment with yourself to exercise and keep it just you would a date with a good friend or an appointment with the dentist. We are committing to becoming living examples for those  around us. When we lead by example it is easier to recruit the family to jump aboard and join our wagon train as we journey towards the fitter life we have been dreaming about.

Often the biggest obstacle we will face is what to do when we have fallen off the wagon or worse crashed it. We may need the help of a guide to repair a broken wheel or show us a different trail that may take a little longer but will get us there just the same. We may cry out for help from our fellow travelers. What we will not do is to despair. We will not quit because of the obstacles in our way. Just like the pioneers we will circle back, dust ourselves off, remember why we started this journey in the first place, and climb back aboard.

Perhaps a trip across the continent is just too much to face right now and you are feeling overwhelmed. Why not pick just one small thing to change. Face that one small obstacle full on and conquer it. One small step at a time, one obstacle at a time, slow and steady, moving forward, you will journey towards being fitter and living a healthier life.

The pioneer's trip across the United States was a slow one made step at a time. Our journey to a healthier, fitter life is also made one small step at a time. One good choice after another. Ultimately, the accumulation of your good choices will move you from where you are to where you want to be.

Whether you are you just starting your journey or you are already half way there, we want to hear from you. What obstacles are you facing? What tools have you packed in your wagon? Share with us the things that keep you on the right trail. Comment below or on the facebook page.

Check out my website to learn more about me:www.theksystem.com, or find me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/korihendrix FREE Shipping FITBIT

Check out Cindy's website to learn more about her: http://www.jacobsreward.com/, or find her on Facebook:http://facebook.com/cindy.beardsley.telisak

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