Good morning party people!! 🙂

I’m pretty to excited to announce my very own giveaway on WhatMommyDoes.

If you’ve been a reader since last year, you will know that I spent all of 2013 focused on my health. As of today, I’m maintaining at 55 lbs down.

On the Way to Losing 75 Lbs Total

After getting to this point about 5 months ago and maintaining it (with some ups and downs on the scale along the way), I’ve determined that my ultimate goal is another 20 lbs to lose if I want to get to a fat percentage level I will feel comfortable with (i.e. no belly fat hanging around when I wear a bathing suit! LOL). 

I’ve been working out so hard and for so long, my body is kinda getting used to my routine, so I’m shaking things up a bit.

7-Day Dancing Challenge

One thing I’m doing is adding in some dancing. I resumed regular Zumba classes with my favorite instructor, and I found this dance challenge through Shazzy Fitness that’s 10-minute workouts each day for 7 days.

Ten minutes doesn’t seem like much, but when I realized that dancing just 10 minutes a day could burn around 60 calories a pop, I was in!

I’ve always loved giving myself little challenge like “do 20 extra crunches each day” or “do the elliptical for 10 minutes after the end of every workout” because I like the thought of those extra calories adding up over time.

60 calories a day for 30 days = 1,800 calories. Since you have to burn an extra 3,500 calories to lose a lb, dancing just 10 minutes a day will help you shed an extra 1/2 lb alone!

I don’t know about you, but I find that on non-exercise days I tend to pig out. So doing just 10 minutes of dancing will help curb my cravings. It will also encourage me to workout more because once I start moving, I don’t like to stop! Considering the alternative, 10 minutes of dancing might help me lose/keep off at least a couple lbs a month!

Preview of Shazzy Fitness

Here’s a little video to give you a peek at the dancing and music styles you’ll find with Shazzy Fitness:

If you are a Christian who also likes hip-hop music, you will appreciate the non-violent and non-sexual lyrics and good beats. I know I did!

Initial Thoughts After Day 1

To be honest, I thought a 10-minute dance workout wasn’t going to do anything for me. I am used to hitting it hard in the gym for up to 2 hours at a time, sometimes taking a class and THEN lifting weights.

But I wasn’t pleasantly surprised by this video. I found the moves to be slightly more advanced than I could do, so I struggled to keep up during the first two songs and finally got it together by the third.

I liked that the music and dance moves were so fast paced. That’s what got my heart rate up and had me sweating by the end of the workout.

I totally meant to write about my thoughts on Day 1: Genesis yesterday, but I was so tired from hitting the gym (Leg Day!) AND doing this dance routine, I couldn’t keep my eyes open past 9 p.m.! :=) So I’m saying that this workout was an excellent addition to my daily routine.

I’m eager to see what Day 2 will bring!  I will do my best to post updates throughout the challenge, at least on Facebook. After I complete the challenge, I will be giving away my gently used set of Shazzy Fitness DVDs to the next person who wants to take the challenge.

Look for the giveaway next Wednesday!

Disclaimer: I was provided a complimentary set of Shazzy Fitness DVDs for this 7-day challenge. All opinions expressed are my own.