This meal plan is what Olympian Annett Davis will be eating during week one of the 2012 Spring Into Shape Challenge. You are not required to follow this meal plan. Feel free to make your own. The only requirement for the Spring Into Shape Challenge is that you follow a healthy eating plan (even if you create your own). Plan to Succeed, and make sure you have a meal plan. Click here for a FREE PDF template for making your own meal plan. On the menu below if it says “fme” that means the recipe is in the FMFKC ebook you should have downloaded when you took the pledge on the right sidebar of the website.

Click here to download the Spring Into Shape Meal Plan Week 1 with the links to the recipes!!!

*** The picture below of the meal plan is just an image, therefore you cannot click on the recipe links from the image.  You must download the PDF using the above link in order for to access the recipe links.  Plus you’ll have a nice printout to put on your fridge.

Feel free to make any adjustments due to allergies. If you don’t eat meat, no problem, just substitute with your favorite alternative protein (soy, veggies, beans, etc).

***Before changing your diet, consult your health care professional. This is NOT a diet plan. We are not doctors and are not giving advice. You must calculate your own calories for what your body needs. This is not a weight loss plan. The goal of this meal plan is healthy eating. You determine your portions. Here’s a “handy portion guide.” To determine your daily caloric needs you can click here.

This meal plan was shared on OrgJunkie.com.

From time to time we have giveaways specifically for your kids thanks to Kidtoons! Kidtoons plays family friendly films and even gives you coloring pages, activities, and movie talking points to discuss themes with your kids on their site.  Another awesome thing about Kidtoons is that if you join their birthday club you can get a special gift coupon on your child’s birthday!

This month Kidtoons is proud to present: The Gruffalo at a theater near you!

The Gruffalo Synopsis
A mouse is taking a stroll through the deep, dark wood when along comes a hungry fox, then an owl, and then a snake. Since the mouse “looks good” to all, he explains that he’s meeting the Gruffalo! As Mouse explains, the Gruffalo is a creature with terrible claws, and terrible tusks in its terrible jaws, and knobbly knees and turned-out toes, and a poisonous wart at the end of its nose. But Mouse has no worry to show. After all, there’s no such thing as a Gruffalo.

You can win a fabulous gift pack thanks to Kidtoons by filling out the rafflecopter form below.  (Trouble Shooting: If you don’t see the title Gruffalo Giveaway on the top of the form, hit the title of this post and it should show up when your page is refreshed.)  There is one mandatory way to enter…you must leave a comment in the comment section, and leave your name/email (so we can contact you if you win) in the rafflecopter.  Plus, there are many other ways to get extra entries!  Good Luck!

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Wanna know what this Fit Mom has been up to lately? A lot. A full schedule and a lot of saying no. Just ask Annett I said no to her “Better Me Challenge.” Because right now being a better me required me using my no muscle. It was a great challenge with a lot of great ideas and wonderful encouragement. But it was one of at least 15 Opportunities/requests I had gotten over the last few months – I started counting because I was preparing to teach a workshop at a conference about saying no. All the requests were good things – from blogging requests, to school volunteering and fundraising requests, to speaking requests, to two different fitness challenges . . . NO!

In January and February when all these other requests/opportunities rolled in, I was already leading and team teaching Bible Study at my church on Wednesday mornings (and sometimes Wednesday nights) and hosting a weekly college/young adult life group at my house. And then there is always the everyday life stuff like THREE CHILDREN, a sweet husband, cooking, cleaning, exercising, nurturing my relationship with God, and squirrel watching. Being overscheduled and overcommitted leads to mama meltdowns which benefits no one so I had to say no to a lot of good things.

And despite all my no muscle usage, I still had one solid MBD (mental breakdown day) in there with all the stuff I had previously said yes to. I am a work in process.

So I am here to encourage you overcommitters of the world to feel free to say no. No one will hate you unless he/she is a jerk in which case, who cares? The world will continue to spin and life will go on even if you say no!

After you have evaluated your schedule and made sure your priorities are in line and you have room in your schedule then . . .

Here are five questions that can help you to decide if you should say yes to that opportunity:

1. Does it fit your personality?

2. Does it fit your passions?

3. Does it fit your giftings?

(Chapters in the Bible that talk about spiritual gifts – I Corinth. 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4, I Peter 4)

4. What does the sane and spiritual person in your life say about it?

(In my world, that’s my husband.)

5. Is God calling you to it?

(If you don’t believe in God, you’ll have to make up your own #5 )

And with that, I am signing off from being a writer for Fit Moms Fit Kids. While it fits my personality, passions, and giftings . . . right now it doesn’t fit into my schedule. I will be devoting more time to speaking (with more traveling) in addition to trying to keep up on my own blog. Please come visit me in the blogosphere or facebooksphere. And please check out my speaking schedule to see if I will be speaking in your area – maybe we can meet in real life and do some push-ups or something.

Thanks to Annett for allowing to take up space here and for her passion for Fit Moms and Fit Kids!

Wendy Hagen, Author "Totally Desperate Mom: Keeping It Real In The Motherhood"

Today I was sitting on my couch relaxing watching the NBA channel, and they were playing “Wilt 100.”  Even if you aren’t a sports fan you probably know that a man named Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a basketball game 50 years ago today!  The story brings both joy and sadness to me because my father played for the New York Knicks the same night Wilt scored his historic points.  No he didn’t guard him the entire time, but I do remember my dad always telling me, with a grin, that the hoop was big for everyone that night. (My dad scored his season best that night) 

You can see my dad, Cleveland Buckner's, points on this old newspaper.

A few months ago I wrote a blog post called “Lessons I Learned From My Dad“.  He is basically the reason I started Fit Moms Fit Kids Club.  Please take time to read that post, you’ll better understand my story and his.  I had some “daddy issues” and when you read the post you’ll see why.   I realize that he was just human, imperfect (yet wonderful all at the same time).  A great man, but just like you and I, he made some poor health choices over the course of his life.  I thank him for teaching me so much in my life.  Some of you ladies may feel like you or your child’s weight issue is beyond changing.  Maybe you feel like you’ve eaten this way all your life, and you cannot possibly change now.  Let me tell you what my dad would have said.  He would have said, ‘NOW IT’S TIME TO GO TO WORK!” It doesn’t matter what you used to do, or what you did 5 minutes ago, NOW is the time.  You can change your choices.  And, as my husband always says “Change your Choices, change your life”.  You can do it!

Today I wanted to just honor my dad, to thank him for being such a wonderful father.  I congratulate Wilt for being such an amazing athlete doing something that will never happen again in the NBA (for many reasons).  My dad used to tell me stories about Wilt, and how big he was.  He used to tell me what an amazing athlete he was.  Here’s to you Mr. Chamberlain, you deserve some praise today.  You inspired my daddy, Cleveland Buckner, and you still inspire many many young (and old) athletes today. Your 100 point game will never be forgotten.

Annett Davis, Olympian & Founder of Fit Moms Fit Kids