Christmas Gift Ideas for Health-Conscious Gifters and Giftees!

I hope you haven't finished your wish list or your shopping yet because I have some great ideas for you .... either to pass along as gift ideas to your spouse or children on YOUR wish list, or to gift to others you know that are excited about improving their health.  

1. Omron Pedometer - I have recommended this, gifted this, and owned one myself for over 5 years!  It's a great way to up your fitness level by adding more and more steps to your days.  Setting a mileage or a step goal in the new year would be a great method to use in getting healthier. My most common goal is 10,000 steps a day.   LOVE this pedometer.  Mine has traveled all over with me counting my steps and miles!  Currently 41% off right now on Amazon, listed at $20.50 .... a great deal.  

2.  Kitchen Scale - This has been a great product in helping me understand correct portion sizes.  It's helped me understand how much protein I should be eating, understand how many almonds or other nuts really equal a portion size, and so much more. I love the "tare" feature - I can put any bowl, dish, or glass on the scale first, press "tare" and it will set to zero.  Then I add my food or liquid and can see the exact weight.  It measures ounces, pounds, grams, and kilograms.  Super cool product and soooo helpful!  I grab my favorite water bottle and "tare", then fill it up with water to see how many ounces I'm really drinking.  Very helpful since I'm not all that great in guessing just by sight.   It's another reasonably priced item, especially on Amazon, currently listed at 44% off... only $25, and it comes in five different colors even.  I promise, this is a great investment!  

3.  Dr. A's Habits of Health, book and workbook - This set is an amazing find!  I've been looking and looking for more science, strategies, and tools to help you all make better choices and cement your health habits.  This is a super great set of books that is well worth the investment... since the ultimate investment is in YOU!   Written by Dr. Wayne Scott Anderson, this book will change the way you think about food and give you the skills and knowledge to obtain optimal health and STAY THERE for the rest of your lives.  LOVE this set!  I wish I had found this to share with you all in our earlier rounds of our fitness challenge, but it's never to late to learn more.  This is GREAT material that you should definitely put on YOUR wish list, or share with someone you're trying to encourage!  A $45 investment in a lifetime of health!

4.  Herbal Tea - A great way to get more water in!  I love throwing an herbal tea bag in my water to change things up.  These are some wonderful winter holiday flavors.  Herbal tea is great gift to give to "health conscious" friends, neighbors, and family members.  Many people recognize that you are working hard to change your health, and this is a great way to encourage them, too, instead of giving a plate of sweets as a neighbor gift.  Buy the set and split them up to share different flavors around the neighborhood.  :)  Yummm!  Plus, you won't be so easily tempted to snitch and slave over baked goods for neighbors that you KNOW won't be helpful to you or them!  Here's another one that is lovely, too:  Gingerbread Spice Tea.  Only $3/box and soooo many calories saved! ;)

Enjoy the holidays, in a HEALTHY WAY!  

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P.S. For some of you that live close, I am a member of amazon.com Prime, which means I have already paid for shipping for the entire year.  If you'd like me to order for you, I can get free shipping on anything you're interested in.  I can also get the books with free shipping.  ;)  Make sure you give me plenty of notice to make sure we get your stuff on time for Christmas!

(Original idea from SixSistersStuff.com and a 

few revisions made by Bonnie & Team)

This is an 8-Week Challenge that starts on 

MONDAY, JULY 9.

Points are for the following healthy habits:

Contact with a team member

Drink 64 oz. of water daily

Stop eating before 9 p.m.

Eat 2 servings of fruit (2)

Eat 3 servings of vegetables

Don't eat treats / sugar (6 days of the week)

Journal - keep a record of all you eat and drink

Exercise at least 5 times a week (30 minutes = 5 points; 45 minutes = 7 points)

1. There is a weekly point calendar for each of the 8 weeks.  This can be printed out or accessed online.  Participant enter their scores online or keep a paper copy and report their points weekly.
2. Beginning on Week #2 there is a double point challenge (highlighted in yellow on our calendar)
3. Participants can exercise each day, but will only receive points for exercising 5 days a week.
4. Participants can choose to not each sugar/treats each day, but will only receive points for not eating sugar on 6 days (everyone needs a free day!).  
5. Our group will define “sugar/treats”  for our own challenge before we begin.
6. There is a sample food journal that participants may use or their own kind of food journal to keep track of what is eaten.  (There is a food journal on the last tab of our spreadsheet)
7. Participants weigh themselves each Sunday and tally up all points by 9 PM. Participants make sure to weigh themselves under the same circumstances each week (for example: Morning/Night, Empty/Full stomach. Bonnie suggests Sunday mornings, first thing).
8. The team leader (Bonnie) will be the only one to see the participants' weights. Send a weekly email/text (to Bonnie Morey at myownfitnessteam@gmail.com) with your weight on Sundays.   All weight loss percentages (no actual weights are published) will be updated on the spreadsheet (by the team leader) while all points will be visible by participant number on the first tab of the score spreadsheet.    Here's the link to the spreadsheet we'll be using for our points:  ROUND 2 CHALLENGE TALLY
9. Joining our Facebook page (optional) is a great way to stay connected with teammates and to cheer each other on!
10. Daily contact with teammate: It’s amazing the strength that comes from encouragement from teammates! Daily contact includes emails, phone calls, or texts or even exercising together with someone on the team to encourage them to have a healthy day. It helps knowing that we are all in this together and makes us more accountable for what we do or don’t do. 
11. A dollar amount is determined as a "participant fee" to enter the challenge. (Probably the same as our first challenge, which was $25 each). This becomes the winners' prize and must be paid in advance (check, cash, or PayPal). 
12. Cash prize money will be divided equally between the person who loses the largest percentage of weight AND the person who has the most total “healthy living” weekly points.  If there is a tie between “healthy living” points, the second half of the winnings will be split between those that tie.