F.I.T- Book Review and giveaway

Just like many people in this world, I have a love hate relationship with food.  I love how it tastes, hate the weight it can put on.  Ironically, I have a similar relationship with exercise.  Love what it can do for me, hate doing it.  Anyone else?  I also have a history of being at a weight I am happy with, gaining weight and not being happy and...well, repeat every few years.  It is seriously getting old.

That is one of the reasons the book 10 Steps to Your F.I.T.- Faith Transpired Transformation. interested me.   F.I.T., written by Km Dolan Leto, is about a transformation journey.  Not a yo yo diet book, "you can loose 20 pounds in 20 days" promise, or a list of recipes sure to make you thin.  I quite frankly have had enough of those.  Instead, F.I.T. is the story of how Kim realized she needed to make life changes and how, with the help of her faith,  she made those changes in her life. Permanently.  Kim, one of the most photographed fitness models in America, will encourage you to reach your health and fitness goals, no matter what age you are- focusing on what God has for you, not what he world says.

From Kim-
"My faith is such an integral part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle,” Dolan Leto says. “After years of failed diets and frustration, it felt so freeing to hand over my health to the one I knew could fix me for good. Now that I am on the other side of the dieting and madness, my passion and heart’s desire is to help as many women as possible also achieve confidence in their bodies and comfort in Christ.” 


This 159 page book has 10 chapters, Kim calls them steps.

• Step 1- Stop Dieting (Don't you love it already?)
• Step 2- Renew Your Mind reminds us to see ourselves through the Word, not the world.
• Step 3- Commit to the F.I.T Power Hour.  Here I learned the biggest obstacle I have to face- find the time!
• Step 4-  Dress Yourself With Strength, talks about specifics of exercise.
• Step 5-  Set F.A.I.T.H. Goals begins with seeking God and asking for wisdom in your goals.
• Step 6- Eat God-made, Not Man-made Foods gives some good ins and outs of the foods we eat, as well as some healthy choices for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.
• Step 7- Choose Self-Control  Are you asking what THAT is?  Kim teaches about the 5 Ps you should practice at every meal- Pause, Pray, Portion, Practice and Plan!  
• Step 8- Change Your Perspective  It is all about joy, which I was kind of an eye opening for me, since that is the word I chose to base my year on!
• Step 9- Overcome Setbacks teaches you just that! Let's face it, we are all going to have mess ups from time to time.
• Step 10- Celebrate Every Victory tells us we need to retrain our minds to look for our victories instead of our mess ups!

Every chapter starts and ends with scripture with many sprinkled throughout as well!  There are also reflection questions at the end of each chapter for you to answer, space provided for you to write in, as well as clear strategies listed to help you get started.

So why did I like this book? 

Reading this book is like talking with a friend!  You can hear Kim's passion for your health in every chapter, and you feel like she is literally cheering you on.  It is uplifting and motivational.  Because she is in her 40s, you also do not feel like you are being talked down to by some cute teeny bopper who has not done life yet.  Sorry, I am a mom who needs to know that there are other moms out there who have "been there, done that" and come out victorious on the other side.  We are all not going to become supermodels or fitness experts, but we can all become F.I.T!

 Here is something that Kim says that has really stuck with me- 

Chasing perfection only made me unhappy, because perfection is an insatiable lie the world tells us – that what God made isn’t good enough.

Wow!  Here is what I have come to accept- what God made me IS good enough.  But, yes, I must do my part as well.  By living the life He intended for me, I will become the healthy person he desires me to be.  Inside, and out.  And THAT is good enough!

Family, Faith and Friday readers have been offered the opportunity to win a copy of Kim's book. Enter the rafflecopter below- a winner will be randomly chosen on Friday!

About the author-

Kim Dolan Leto is a fitness expert, writer and speaker with a passion for leading women to experience faith-inspired transformations that affect their physical, mental and spiritual wellness. She is the director of family health and wellness for the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA), holds a degree in business, is a certified fitness trainer and nutrition specialist, has completed Dale Carnegie’s High-Impact Presentations speaker training course, and has been recognized as one of the most-published fitness professionals. Kim is devoted to Christ and desires to make His name famous in the world of fitness. She resides in Scottsdale, Ariz., with her husband and their beautiful children. 

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N is for No More Excuses

I have struggled in writing this post.  As a matter of fact, my Monday posts are usually written pretty far in advance, but this one - last minute.  It has been swirling in my head for a few weeks, but getting it down on paper has been a challenge.

I need to lose 15 pounds.

Yep, there, I said it.  Out loud.  In front of the world.  Or just my readers. ;)

I lost weight few years ago right after my hysterectomy and in my struggle to get healthy again.  But here I am a few years later and almost right back where I started.

Why?

Well, let's see.

Stress has gotten the best of me. (excuse)  There has been a lot going on in my life and in my head, too, many irons in the fire, and when that happens I seem to mindlessly eat.  Pain has also gotten the best of me. (excuse)  For the past 5 months I have been struggling with hip and leg pain that has had me on medicine, on a heating pad daily, in physical therapy, attached to a TENS unit, and now waiting for a shot.  A lot of time sitting has equaled a lot of time to eat.  Because of that pain I have not exercised since March. (another excuse)  Oh, I have exercises from my PT gals, but they are strength things, not really get-in-shape stuff.  My daughter also has a "new to us" wheat allergy and we have been buying different foods she can eat.  (bad excuse)  Yep, potato chips and tortilla chips are two of the few snack foods she is eating and if they are in the house, I am eating them too.  No will power. (is that another excuse?)  Plus, I have five other people to feed, three meals a day and I hate fixing different foods for everyone. (excuse)  And at this point I am extremely frustrated and ready to hide under the covers. (excuse, but seeing a trend here?)

Wanna hear something even worse?  Right now I am a part of an online group to lose weight.  Instead of being encouraged, I sink further into frustration with every picture they post of smoothies.  Who eats like that?  I do not like smoothies no matter how hard I try.  (excuse)  Milkshakes, yes, smoothies, no. The gals in the group are doing great.  Me, not so much.

Oh my, I could go on and on but the bottom line is, I can excuse myself all the way to the 15 pounds and probably more if I keep up this trend.

Time for a change.  And no more excuses.

The plan?  Well, that may be where the hard part comes in.  I do not have one. Yet.  But starting tomorrow, things have got to change.  They will!

I am thinking mostly salads for lunch, and only meat and two veggies at dinner.  Breakfast is my hardest...remember I don't like smoothies.  Carbs are out the door as are the chips with lunch.  In the past, counting calories is really the only thing that helped me.  "Eat healthy" - for the most part we do, except the chips.  "Don't eat out" - we hardly do.  "No sweets" - not usually an issue for me.  "Limit processed food" - got rid of that stuff several years ago.

So my problem?  Eating too much of even the "good stuff."

The answer - stop eating so much.

No excuses.

Wish me luck.

And if you want to join me, let me know what your plan is.  Misery loves company! ;)

Blessings,