Be Successful!!!

Being successful in anything starts with having a plan. Now, some might criticize Panera Bread for seeming like a healthy place to eat, but you can really make good choices there if you have a plan and have done your research. Today, I did just that. I got on http://www.panerabread.com/ this morning before I left for the day. I looked at the nutritional information, found something healthy /low in calories, and before I got there I knew how many calories I was going to consume. In the dot com world that we live in there is really no excuse not to have a plan for eating out. Here is the link for my favorite lunch destination once again http://www.panerabread.com/ , now what is yours...Applebee's, Subway, Bob Evans? Take responsibility for what you are putting in your mouth and next time do it knowing it was a smart, pre- planned choice.

Speaking of being successful, today there was a wonderful article in the Liberty Tribune about a group exercise class I created one year ago. It made the front page and featured several wonderful moms who work their butts off (literally) every Tuesday and Thursday. The class is called Burnbabyburn and is a boot camp style class for moms and babies. After several months of struggling with a room at the Liberty Community Center that would fit our group, and other technicalities, I finally feel like this class is a success. I felt like God was confirming to me that I am doing exactly what he wants me to do. That, to me, it the most successful thing ever! My passion is to help moms get back into shape', live a healthy lifestyle, and understand that they can be a walking testimony of Christ's love and beauty rather that being obsessed with a body like those post natal celebrity moms. Below is the article:

Burn baby burn
Fitness class offers mothers workout time with their little ones
By Natalie Shelton Thursday, January 24, 2008 4:12 AM CST

Fitness instructor Mendy Shriver isn’t always working out with the moms in her exercise class at Liberty Community Center.Instead, while she guides them in lunges and leg lifts, she’s holding babies or making sure little ones are happy in their strollers.“In case you need me,” she shouts to the mothers in Liberty Community Center’s gymnasium as she holds a baby girl, “I’ve got another arm.”About 15 moms had gathered last Tuesday for their twice-weekly session of “Burn Baby Burn,” Shriver’s class designed for mother-and-child bonding and for mothers to lose baby weight and relieve daily stresses. Nineteen are enrolled in the class.The moms began the session pushing their children in strollers, followed by leg lunges as they pushed their wee cargo. Soon, they lined their babies along the wall in strollers so they could watch their moms exercise across the gym.And then, the real fun began, as the moms brought their children out of their strollers and incorporated them into their routine.On their knees, they lifted their children up and down in front of them in an exercise Shriver good-naturedly called “baby biceps.” They did squats while holding their babies. They laid some of the younger babies on the mats underneath them as they got on their hands and knees and had some floor time exercising and bonding.“I love it,” said Jaree Vansell, whose 21-month-old daughter, Bella, attempted sit-ups at her mom’s side. “There’s a good variety of exercises each session; it’s not the same thing every time. We work different muscles, different core groups. And Bella takes a good nap afterwards.”The class is practical for moms since they don’t need to find child care to exercise, and it also offers them insight on developing exercise routines at home while incorporating their children. Children in the class should be between 6 weeks old and 24 months old.Shriver, who is group-exercise certified, also teaches an early-morning “boot camp” class at the community center and a “turbo tone” class. She’s also a certified personal trainer, mostly to post-natal moms.“My passion is helping moms like me with pre- and post-natal exercise,” said Shriver, a wife and mother of three boys, ages 7, 5 and 3. “The core of my belief is that women shouldn’t be measuring themselves by Hollywood’s standards of thin. It’s not about being skinny or about poundage; it’s about moms who want to be healthy for themselves and for their kids.”Burn Baby Burn meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 to 11:50 a.m. For information, call the Liberty Community Center at 792-6009 or e-mail Shriver at mendyshriv@sbcglobal.net.- Mendy Shriver also is offering a fitness class that combines Bible study with low-impact exercise at Pleasant Valley Baptist Church beginning Wednesday, Jan. 30. For information, contact Cathie Simpson at Pleasant Valley Baptist at 781-5959, ext. 322.Staff writer Natalie Shelton can be reached at 781-4941 or nshelton@npgco.com.