VP Health & Fitness

Tuesday I wrote about how a Pedometer can help you walk and extra mile a day, so to help you with that I have two different links that I would like to share with you.

#1. John is Fit’s Win a Pedometer Contest - (entry deadline morning of Dec. 20th) the prize… a very cool top of the line Omron HJ-720ITC Pedometer, it’s very easy to enter (just write a post about his contest). 

http://www.johnisfit.com/2007/12/13/i-am-giving-away-a-pedometer

John is on a quest to lose weight.  He has lost 29 lbs so far.  Great job John!!!!!!!

#2. My Heart Now - complete a short survey and they will send you a FREE pedometer

=========

And here are a couple more walking resources & tips that I have found:

- Wendy Bumgardner from about.com has a great article that shows you how to set your pedometer. She tells you how to calibrate a pedometer so it gives you an accurate measurement. Wendy even clues you in to using the Google Map Pedometer to check your measurements.

- 8 Week Just Walk 10,000 Steps-a-Day Program: Cornerstone Fitness packages a pedometer walking program for individuals, groups, or corporations. The eight-week program encourages you to wear a pedometer, log your walking steps, and build up to 10,000 steps a day.  Just Walk 10,000 Steps A Day Program

- Top Picks for Pedometers

- Pedometer Walking Programs

- Step Counters Pedometer Walking Program

Related Articles

- Pedometers Work to Motivate Fitness and Weight Loss

- Pedometer Walking Programs Top Picks

- State and Local Walking Programs Motivate Walkers

- Never Gain Another Pound - Walk 2000 More Steps a Day

Popularity: 40% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I just had to pass this along!!!  There are no strings attached… PROMISE!

All you have to do is pop on over and register  your name and email address at http://www.12daysoffitness.com and then you’ll be able to download a lot of FREE reports from top fatloss & nutrition experts including a sackful of videos, audios, ebooks and special reports on just about every area of Diet and Nutrition to Mindset and Motivation, from Fat loss to Female Fitness, Mom’s workouts to Men’s bodybuilding and everything in between.

And what’s really great is that they will have them in all kinds of formats from printable PDF to downloadable audios to follow-along-at-home streaming videos that’ll walk you step-by-step through specific exercise routines and stretching.

Thanks to Jason from Meal Plans 101 for letting us know about this!

Merry Christmas!!!

~ Vilma

Popularity: 16% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Well, it’s been a while since I wrote an update on me.  I’m still under the weather - believe it or not… it’s been a pretty crazy & bizzare month.  I am feeling a whole lot better though and I hope to be good as new by my birthday next Wednesday (December 12th).

I’ve also been getting a lot of Christmas shopping done and I have a personal goal of finishing by next week to avoid all crazy last minute shoppers.  Thanks to my frugal & cheap butt self… i’ve been finding some awesome deals online (Ebay, BlackFriday.net, Amazon, etc…) and not I’m not surprised that we’ve managed to stay within our $350 budget this year (all CA$H). Off the top of my head these are the steals that we’ve purchased so far:

Via BlackFriday.net

• New Dell Inspiron 531 Desktop Computer w/ a 24? Dell Widescreen LCD
  Monitor for only $659 w/ a Free $100 Gift Card and Free Shipping! (does not fall into our Christmas budget)(Retail Value: $1200) 
  • Savings: about $541

Via Ebay.com

• New Logitech S510 Cordless Desktop Wireless Keyboard for $18 (does not fall into our Christmas budget) (Retail Value: $79.99)
  • Savings: $61.99
• New Babyliss Hair Setter 20 Roller for $34.77 (Retail Value: $57)
  • Savings: $22.23

Via shopping the stores after Thanksgiving between the hours of 12AM and 6AM:

• Old Navy Mens Wool Jacket for $29 (Retail Value: $60)
  • Savings: $31
• Old Navy Womans Cropped Toggle Peacoat for $40 ( Retail Value: $75)
  • Savings: $34
• Old Navy Jeans for $14.99 (Retail Value: $30)
  • Savings: $15.01

So…. as you can see, i’ve saved A LOT! Just with these items i’ve saved over $700!!!!

I was reading an article the other day by Christian financial advisor, Dave Ramsey and I found this interesting: he said that “Over 50% of Christmas shoppers will spend well over what they planned to and will go further into debt.” Ramsey also mentions that “more than $70 billion, over half of what was charged last year, ended up as revolving debt and the interest on last year’s gifts are still being paid today.” On average, “two-thirds (65%) of shoppers overspent their budget by $100-$500 and 75% overspent by $50 - $100.”

This was a HUGE eye opener for me because it was how I used to pay for my gifts. But not anymore…. My advice to you, open up a savings account at your local bank and start adding some money through out the year.  When the next holiday season comes around, you will have enough cash saved up to go shopping.  Before shopping, do your research, shop around & sacrifice a few hours of sleep to get to the BIG after thanksgiving sales.  It’s well worth it! 

Here are a couple of tips from Mr. Ramsey:

• Make a list of everyone you are buying a gift for and put a dollar amount by every name. Total it at the bottom. This is your Christmas budget. The people in the mall have a plan to get your money – get a game plan for your shopping so you can keep some money. There is no excuse for financing Christmas.
• PAY CASH – put the total from your budget in an envelope and when the cash is gone, stop spending. This will help keep you on budget because if you overspend on Aunt Sue, Uncle Harry won’t get a gift.
• 69% of Americans bought a gift for themselves last year. DON’T BUY YOURSELF A GIFT! This is the season to give not to receive…from yourself.

Most importantly take the time to stop what you are doing and remember the TRUE meaning of what this season is about - God’s gracious and abundant gifts to the world; the gift of life, family and friends, good food, music, worship, and the greatest and most important gift of all: God’s Son, Jesus CHRIST.

These are the real and meaningful things that make life satisfying. So this Christmas may we all be reminded to enjoy God’s gracious gifts, to cherish the beauty and wonder of life and this season—these will leave you feeling much more satisfied and debt free!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

~ Vilma

Popularity: 24% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Hubby & I have been thinking about buying a new computer for while and we have been keeping our eyeballs open for a really good deal. Well… BFAds.net has just found a beauty of a deal! Although i’m still not sure if we are going to take advantage of this deal, here are the details for those that have the $$$ and want to:

It’s a Dell Inspiron 531 Desktop Computer w/ a 24″ Dell Widescreen LCD
Monitor for only $659 w/ a Free $100 Gift Card and Free Shipping!

According to BFAds, there are cheaper computers available on Black Friday however, they are all significantly inferior to this configured Dell Inspiron 531 and none of them have a 24″ Widescreen LCD Monitor included. This will be the cheapest you will be able to get a computer and a 24″ monitor for awhile. The 24″ Dell LCD monitor retails, by itself, for nearly $470, which is like getting the entire computer for only $190. And on top of that, you get free Ground Shipping and a $100 Gift Card! Heck, my current PC cost me about $400 alone without the monitor about 5 years ago, so this is a STEAL!!!!!!!

To get this deal, just follow these simple steps:

- Click here to Start Configuring your Dell Dimension 531 Desktop Computer: http://bfads.net/Link/267

- On the Select My Processor page, choose the option: AMD Athlon=99 64X2 Dual-Core 5000+ [add $70]

- On the Select My Monitor page, choose the option: 24 inch E248WFP Entry Widescreen Digital Flat Panel Monitor [add $290]

- On the Select My Video Card page, choose the option: 128MB NVIDIAGeForce 8300GS [add $50]

- Continue configuring your Dell Inspiron 531 as you please. When you are finished, click on Buy Now and then Add to Shopping Cart

- On the My Cart page, where it says, “Enter coupon number,” enter the coupon code: 4J1M7748R2RRV6 and then hit Apply Coupon

Your cart total should be $659.00 (if you didn’t add any extras) and the following discounts should appear in your cart, “Save $350 on all Inspiron Desktop purchases over $999″ and “Get a $100 Gift Card on systems $999 - $1248 (cards to
arrive in 6-8 weeks)”

* Remember: This coupon expires after 4000 uses, so it will go by fast.

To see the post about this deal, click here:
http://bfads.net/Dell-Dimension-531-w-24-Widescreen-LCD-for-659-w-100-GC

Here is a thourough Cnet.com review from the experts!

http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/dell-inspiron-531/4505-3118_7-32486097.html

Happy shopping!!!!

~ Vilma

Popularity: 16% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!