O, Fitness Tree

This is my first post as part of the Works For Me Wednesday's (WFMW) Weekly blog party over at We Are That Family. I'm a new blogger but a long-time reader of We Are That Family and am happy to join in!

I'm on a health and fitness journey in the last six months or so and I have been noticing major changes, one in particular: I no longer head straight for the junk food when I am feeling all stressed out. No, I have not been perfect in my eating, I know I have not been doing the kind of damage that I USED to do when the stress was piling up. In fact, I am turning more toward exercise than anything else! It has been keeping me sane and motivated!

Want to know a secret? This time of year is also a hard one for me. Long story there, for another time. But I created something new for ME this year to help me feel those positive endorphins that come from exercise:

O, Fitness Tree

 I Googled "printable Christmas count down calendar," found one, printed it out and stuck it on a nail in my breakfast nook. Beginning with Dec. 1, my goal is to count down the days till Christmas through EXERCISE! For every day I exercise, I add an "ornament" to my tree. (Pssst.. they are really just images cut up from peel and stick gift tags from the dollar store.) My goal is to see my tree completely decorated. Here is how it looked as of yesterday (today there is already another stick on Day. No. 7 from my walk this morning).

Folks, this little tree has kept me moving. When things are hard and for those days I have to really struggle to just hold it together sometimes, getting a sticker on this tree has kept me on my feet, energized, feeling strong and feeling proud. I can't wait to see this thing all decorated!

What works for you to keep you moving during the holiday season? Maybe you'd like to create an O, Fitness Tree of your own!