What Sparks YOU to Get Fit?

If you're like me (and most other people)
you've got some health or fitness goals
that you'd like to achieve. That's why
I wanted to tell you about the SparkAmerica
Challenge over at SparkPeople.com, a FREE
website for people looking to improve
their health and fitness levels.

SparkAmerica is a yearlong fitness challenge
designed to motivate Americans to improve
their health by consistently taking small,
positive action steps. The focus of this
campaign is a 1 billion fitness minute
challenge that makes fitness fun, keeps
you motivated and helps you reach your goals.

By Joining SparkPeople You Get:

- Calorie Counter & Meal Plans: Take the
guesswork out of what to eat with these
powerful customizable tools.

- Personalized Fitness Plan & Exercise Demos:
Burn calories and tone your muscles with routines
you can do at home or at the gym, plus online
exercise videos.

- Active Support Message Boards: Get help from
thousands of other people like you who are
losing weight with SparkPeople.

- Advice From Our Experts: Our programs are
designed by registered dieticians and personal
trainers, who are also there to answer your questions.

- Member Created Goal Teams: Find others with similar
goals and work towards success together.

- Recipes, Articles, Tips and More: Thousands
of articles and over 60,000 recipes to learn
more about eating right, staying active, and
sticking to your program.

Join SparkPeople Now For Free!
www.sparkpeople.com
Please use CowgirlBlues as your referral.

Exercise Makes All The Difference

Dieting alone can shed pounds...but you might
also be losing muscle and not just fat. I lost
the first 25 pounds by diet alone and can see
a difference! But I also know that I have not
added one bit of muscle.

Muscle burns fat faster by raising the metabolism.
It certain looks better, that's for sure. So I
joined a gym and have just begun the muscle toning/
building process. I'm totally excited.

I've found that even a little bit of success in
the weight loss helps to motivate me to keep going.
It took way too long to lose the first 25 pounds
by dieting alone. Adding exercise will speed up
the process quite a bit. Plus, weight bearing
exercise builds bone density. I have osteopenia
which is the precursor to osteoporosis. Adding
calcium twice daily with weight bearing exercise
will clear up this problem straight away.

Exercise also helps lower cholesterol levels! And
I really need that, too.

Not everyone can get to a gym. Home exercise can
be every bit as effective. I found a program that
a friend is on and it Rocks! It's called Turbulence
Training and from what I see, it's pretty amazing!

If going to a gym doesn't fit your schedule or
perhaps you have kids at home and can't get
out as much as you would need to, I urge you
to check out Turbulence Training!

What Price Flat Abs?

We all want a flatter stomach, but is this
going too far?