A few weeks ago I found out by email that I was selected as one of the 3 moms to be a participant in the let’s go mommy Kroc Center Fresh Start Challenge and as part of being a participant I get to share what I’m doing to make this new year be my fresh start for life. To start, I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Marcie. I am a mom of 2 children ages 4.5 and 2, wife (married to Steve for 8 years) and work a full-time job as a real estate assistant manager. I love all 3 of these things, but most importantly being a mom comes first. If you are at all like me, it’s quite a struggle to find time between all of life’s daily needs to find any moment and time to take care of yourself. That’s why I’m so thrilled to have the opportunity to do the Fresh Start Challenge and have the accountability of sharing my experience. Plus, knowing I’m in a competition, I want to give it my all!

On Tuesday January 9^th, I met up with Carrie and Stephanie (the other Moms who were selected) and had a tour and informational orientation at the Kroc Center for the Fresh Start Challenge. Our tour guide was Fitness and Sports Supervisor, Aric Riedemann. You could tell that Aric was passionate about health and fitness and he was eager to make the challenge fun, educational and worthwhile to all of us. To start the challenge, we had to come back at the end of the week for our starting weight weigh-in. We will weigh in one more time at the very end of the challenge and a winner will be decided based on body fat percentage lost. What I’m liking about the Fresh Start Challenge thru the Kroc Center is that every Tuesday Aric has put together a 1 hour program for the participants. Not only have I received a Kroc Center membership for the duration of this challenge, but we will also be trying out a wide variety of classes from goal setting and fitness classes to touring Festival Foods and learning how to make smart, health-based decisions.

So, I did my first weigh-in on Sunday and about died when I saw the number on the scale. Yikes! But, as I think of it, the number should only go down from here, so today I take the steps towards a healthier me and that means I take the steps towards a healthier family, teaching my children how to be healthy, eat well and still have a blast doing it! As Jane Birr, Personal Coach at the Kroc Center said at our Goal Setting class, “Make yourself have a victory”. I LOVE this, as to me it means don’t let excuses get you down. Go to that class when you’re tired, eat the banana over the donut, or if you do eat the donut, make better decisions the rest of the day and congratulate yourself for doing a good job.

Lastly, to put it in writing, I wanted to share my personal goals with you. I personally plan to walk/jog a 5K every 2 months in 2018. I’ve signed up for my first one in February. My second goal is to eat 3 healthy meals a day (5 days a week, at least). To accomplish this, I am food prepping on my weekends and packing all my foods for work. Lastly, I am looking to get into shape and have set a goal of getting to the gym and working out 3-4 days a week. Having a membership at the Kroc Center will help with this goal tremendously since there is free child care while you work out. This is an unbeatable value to me and I’m so happy to take my family on this journey with me!!

Stay tuned on Monday to learn more about Marcie as the featured Monday Mom! You will also hear from her again in a couple of weeks on her progress. Next Friday you will be hearing from another one of the Fresh Start Moms.