Weight Off My Shoulders In The News...

I'm wicked honored whenever anyone wants to chat with me about my weight loss, fitness or running journeys. Now I figured I should keep the pieces together in one place so I can truly cherish how lucky and blessed I am!! ---

September 21, 2011

Inspiration Of The Week - Just Weighing In And Moving On Blog

December 28, 2011

How I Lost It - TimeOut Chicago

April 3, 2012

Real Life Biggest Losers - FUDiet.com

May 14, 2012

BEE Active - Athlete Interview - Bee Well For Life

May 29, 2012

Biggest Loser Blog - "Losing It On Their Own" - phillyburbs.com

June 1, 2012 

Blogger Of The Month (June) - Sparkly Soul Headbands

September 12, 2012

TransformationPics.com

September 17, 2012

Weight Loss Success Story - Half Size Me Podcast

October 3, 2012

CHANGE Spotlight  - TrulyJess.com

October 16, 2012

Twitter Can Help You Lose Weight - FOX 25 News

December 20, 2012

Fitfluential Ambassador Spotlight - Fitfluential.com

Fitbie.com - One of the web's best weight loss stories of 2012

February 1, 2013

Featured Fit Friends - DivaOnADiet.com

February 14, 2013

Runner Spotlight - RunToTheFinish.com

March 21, 2013

Blog Post: A Boston Marathon Virgin - Runkeeper.com

March 29, 2013

Featured Blogger Friday - RunStretchRepeat.com

Dani Holmes-Kirk; How She Got Her Start - Fit-Journey.com

April 9, 2013

Marathon Profile: Dani Holmes-Kirk Runs For Stroke Awareness - SomervillePatch.com

April 15-22, 2013 - Boston Marathon Posts

Boston - MrsFatAss.com

Boston Marathon 4-15-13 - BusinessOfLosingWeight.com

Finish Line Heartbreak (For Boston) - FoodFoodBodyBody.com

Red Sox can help Boston cope - FOXSports.com

Phone Interview - Chicago Tribune Live

May 27, 2013

Featured Sneakers #28 - SneakersAndFingerPaints.com

May 29, 2013

I Lost Weight - HuffingtonPost.com

November 20, 2013

{Runners Who Rock} Dani - ThisCrazyLifeOfMine.com

December 16, 2013

I Wanna See You Be Brave - TheValentineRD.com

January 2, 2014

Blogger of the Month (January) - Sparkly Soul Headbands

January 8, 2014

1,150 Miles In 2013 - Runkeeper.com

January 23, 2014

Faces of Assembly Row (Video 5) - Youtube.com

February 22, 2014

Dani Holmes-Kirk Story - DietsInReview.com

March 31,  2014

Why I Run: Dani Lost 64lbs - UniversalSports.com

April 9, 2014

Why I Run: Meet Dani - UniversalSports.com

Meet Team X-1: Dani Holmes-Kirk - X-1.com

April 17, 2014

Boston Marathoner Spotlight...Dani Holmes-Kirk - LittleFancyNancy.blogspot.com

April 25, 2014

Feature Fridays: Dani Holmes-Kirk - OnFireFitnessPT.com

May 27, 2014

Running Toward Her Goals - WeightWatchers.com

June 26, 2014

Guest Post - Running for Fun vs. Time… Can it be both? - CMDot.Blogspot.com

August 3, 2014

[GUEST POST] Top Threeve Things I’ve Learned From My Weight Loss Journey - TheFFKid.com (Fotographing Fat Kid)

August 10, 2014

Runner Spotlights #98 - RoadRunnerGirl.com

September 26, 2014

Health Nut Hero: Dani - HealthNutInTraining.com

October 10, 2014

Blogger Spotlight: Dani "Weight Off My Shoulders" Holmes-Kirk - 300poundsandrunning.com

November 13, 2014 Weight Loss Success Story – Dealing with your “Before” when you hit your “After.” - Comeback Momma

November 24, 2014

Motivational Mondays: Dani of Weight Off My Shoulders - CMCDOT.Blogspot.com

January 16, 2015

9 Bloggers Who Changed Their Lives One Post at a Time - DailyBurn.com

Disney - Day 2 - Magic Kingdom

Did you really think the only thing we would do on Day 2 in Disney would be the Walt Disney World Half Marathon? Heck no!! ;)

We had to put a full day in at Magic Kingdom after the run.

After I refueled with a shower, breakfast and my low fat chocolate milk.

It was time to grab the shuttle and head back to the Magic Kingdom ;) but this time to enjoy some rides. :P

Ohhh the memories had already started on Day One (Race Expo/Hollywood Studios) and during the run, but they were going to continue...

We walked through the gates and it was a madhouse. I think all of the Half Marathoners (who had run that morning) and the Marathoners (who were running the following day, Sunday) were in the house. It was busy, but we were ready.

Heading down Main Street after having run down in it hours earlier in the pitch black was surreal and I couldn't stop smiling. :)

Seeing the Castle in the sun was just as thrilling as in the pitch black of the early morning. Again, I haven't been to Disney in about 12 years, but the Castle still took my breath away.

Our game plan was to enter the Park and immediately head to get a fast pass for Under The Sea ~ Journey Of The Little Mermaid, which we did. After securing the fast pass, we hit up Philharmagic (which was located directly next to the fast pass machine).

Philarharmagic was a cute and enjoyable 3D cartoon complete with Disney staples of Mickey, Donald and Goofy.

After Philharmagic we had to see It's A Small World, which happen to shut down for the day right after we walked through the gates.

Once we finished It's A Small World, we headed back to Under The Sea ~ Journey Of The Little Mermaid, which was a delight.

Clamshell cars take you through the ride

Following Mermaid, we headed to Space Mountain, which shockingly only had a 30-minute wait (pretty low for that day), Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, which was hilarious and did a great job improvising with audience participation, Stitch's Great Escape! and finished up with Pirates of the Caribbean before heading to dinner.

For dinner we met back up with my parents and treated ourselves to the Character Dinner at The Crystal Palace!! While the food was nothing to write home about (typical buffet fair) you realize you aren't there for the food. :P You are there to see the characters and we had the crew from Winnie the Pooh! YAY!!

My absolute favorite Disney character is Eeyore so I was WICKED excited when I found out who we would be seeing!

It takes about an hour to an hour and a half for all of the characters to make it around the palace.

and last, but of course not least in MY mind

After dinner we had grand plans of hanging out for the 8pm Wishes spectacular then the 9pm Main Street Electrical Parade, but the 2am wake up call was starting to take a toll on the wife & I. So we opted for one final ride before heading back to the Hotel.

The wife wanted to go on Mad Tea Party (aka tea cups) and for some reason I agreed. Even though we JUST had dinner. So it wasn't our best decision, but it was still fun!

How can they not be?

After steadying myself post tea cups, we headed back to the bus area to grab the shuttle to the hotel.

We ended up stopping to have a drink at the pool bar at the hotel "Centertown" area. Since Magic Kingdom is booze free, it took until about 8pm for me to finally have my post-race celebratory beer. We sat down and enjoyed a bit of Hercules while I relished in my victory beer.

Since the wife was really getting tired, we headed back to the room. She immediately passed out, while I continued my celebration a little longer.

Yup, I'm klassy with a capital K!

Before I knew it, I too was fast asleep with dreams of Epcot the next day dancing through my head.

Oh, but don't let me forget to tell - and show - that despite all the action of the day I still got my Plankaday in ... in costume no less!

My 30s Freakin' Rock So Far...

We are just 3 months into my 30s and I already have a Top Ten list of moments that have happened! Whhaa??

Am I serious?

Hell yeah.

Since my 30th Birthday weekend in September, I have had some freakin' awesome experiences.

So I decided to share the Top 10 so here goes:

10) Climbing 2,000 stairs in honor of this blog's Facebook page hitting 2,000 likes

[embedplusvideo height="281" width="450" standard="http://www.youtube.com/v/vu2XJX5kk6A?fs=1" vars="ytid=vu2XJX5kk6A&width=450&height=281&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=" id="ep3115" /]

I still can't believe that happened and I am still so thankful for each Facebook like my little blog has!

9) Completing my first Warrior Dash the day before my 30th Birthday

(Yes, I am including anything that happened in my 30th birthday weekend as fair game ... my poetic license! ;))

On that day, I faced many fears, but the biggest one my fear of heights - by climbing up the Big Wall on a rope and climbing down the Big Wall via a ladder. At first I didn't trust my arm strength - or lack thereof - to get over the wall, but then as soon as I got to the top - it happened. The cape on my Batman socks got stuck and for a moment, I panicked and thought I would have to live atop the wall for the rest of my life.

8) Earning enough votes to join Got Chocolate's Milk Team REFUEL

I filmed a video at Fitbloggin' in September 2012 and begged, pleaded and went to social media to try and earn enough votes to make the team and on October 26 it was announced that I was in! YAY!

I couldn't thank everyone that voted for me enough.

I am honored to make the team and can't wait to see what comes next...

7) Being selected to run The 2013 Boston Marathon with Tedy's Team in honor of the American Stroke Association

I am running in honor of my Stroke Heroes - my grandparents - and am so thankful to be able to spread the risks/warning signs/tips about Strokes to the masses. As well as, raising $5,000 for the American Stroke Association.

So far I have raised just over $1,500... if you are interested in donating, you can do so here.

6) Attending Fitbloggin' and meeting some of my Social Media Icons in person

When I got home from Fitbloggin' I really didn't think I had deserved to be at a conference with such amazing bloggers, but since climbing out of my pit o' insecurity I realized I really did belong there. I was meant to go there, get out of my comfort zone, meet some of the most incredible people I know IN REAL LIFE and have my world changed forever.

Plus, it didn't hurt that I got to have one amazing road trip with Tara and Meegan, get amazing hugs from Alan and room with the phenomenal Sue, Steve & Kia (my bedmate)!

To pick a favorite moment from that weekend isn't possible - there are too many to list and just thinking about that time puts a big ass smile on my face!

Now is it time for Fitbloggin' 2013 yet? ;)

5) Appearing on Fox 25 News with Dr. Sherry Pagoto To Talk Weight Loss & Twitter

If you missed the segment, here's the video.

I never thought I would be in front of the camera. While working in PR, I was great at putting other people in front of the camera so it was a tad shock to be on the other side of the situation. But, boy was it fun!

I couldn't believe how quickly the 4-minutes segment went. It was over before I knew it.

I owe a huge thank you to Dr. Pagoto for suggesting me to be a part of the segment in the first place.

4) Something I NEVER EVER EVER thought would happen ... I tried on a bikini and shared the picture with the world

This definitely happened before my birthday, but it was tied in to the milestone of hitting 30 that I conquered the fear and finally walked in to Sports Authority and tried on a bikini.

The whole experience is documented here.

I still don't know if the bikini will see the light of day. But at Spin the other night my friend Linds said something that gave me a moment that maybe it may some day.

Linds: "I'm going to keep Spinning for every Pina Colada I will have in Aruba."

Dani: "Well I don't have a vacation coming up. So what am I pushing for?"

Linds: "To make sure you wear that bikini next summer."

Dani: "Hmmm..."

Anything's possible, right? ;)

3) On December 12, I hit the lowest weight since probably Junior High

I weighed in 0.4 lbs lower than the day I hit Goal (which was my previous low) on January 10, 2012 (153.8). Wow, I was so excited I started crying - not to the point of an ugly cry - but pretty close!

Hard work + Believing in yourself + Weight Watchers = Impossibilities become Possibilities

2) Savannah Marathon

2 feats: for beating my previous marathon time by more than 2 hours and for finishing in under 4 hours

Again - things I never thought possible actually happened. With each mile that passed in the race, every time I saw my dad cheering me on along the course, I got a little push that I could do it. That it just might happen.

And it did.

And after catching my breath (that took a lot longer than usual), I wept and wept - big happy tears. I had done it.

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It comes down to this! The number one event since turning the Big 3-0 is...

Drum Roll Please

1) Hosting my own charity 5k for my 30th Birthday

Is anyone really shocked at this choice?

I didn't think so!

That day was one of the best of my life. I still can't get over that it really happened.

Feel free to relive it now - here.

And the great news is????

I'll be doing it AGAIN in 2013!

YYAAYYY!!

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Wow, just reading this list again makes me so excited for what is still in store. I mean this was just the first 90 or so days of being 30 ... I have a lot more to go!

Are you 30? Have you had a decade or age you feared turning, but then it happened to be amazing? 

Dynamic December

I am jumping on board with many of my fellow bloggers and coming up with some goals for December (just a week late ;)). But, now I am looking forward to a #DynamicDecember (I like alliteration so sue me :P).

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So here are the three challenges/hashtags you will see me using in the upcoming month:

1) #hlgDec2Rem - This challenge was designed by Jan (@HealthyLoserGal) and one of my favorite people in the world. :) For this challenge, I am really working on getting #back2basics, sticking with tracking (#trackstar) and getting in my Good Health Guidelines. I'm not going to beat myself up if I miss a day (since I did miss 3 of the 8 days in December), but I'll just try to do my best!

Jan is one of the best motivators, and people, around!!

2) #plankaday - This has been life changing for me. I am not one for crunches, especially with that back injury back in early 2011, so this is a great way to get some core work in without sitting and doing a bunch of crunches - I don't want to do - on the floor.

This program was started by Dr. Sherry Pagoto (@drsherrypagoto) and is open to interpretation. For me, I work on doing at least two planks a day and keeping the variety up! Front forearm plank, front straightarm plank, reverse plank, side forearm plank or side straightarm plank.

I started with a 30 second front forearm plank back in August 2011 and hit my PR of 5 minutes & 15 seconds in November 2012. Anything is possible... :)

I am going to continue to do my #plankaday every day. I am enjoying the versatility and loving the #plankaday community.

3) #100ozchallenge - This is actually the first challenge that I started on my own! I have had at times upwards of 50 people participating. Woo! I feel wicked cool. Okay, that wasn’t cool. Dammit!

Anyway, this is a pretty simple challenge: drink at least 100oz water a day. That’s it. Keep yourself hydrated during the winter months. I just saw on twitter today that “Dehydration can cause ageing & can slow down metabolism as much as 3%” – I am here to not let that happen! Stay hydrated!!

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I set these goals for myself because this is the person I want to be. The person I want to strive to be. The person I will work to be ... one day at a time.

And because of you - my family, friends, Facebook crew and twitterverse - that will hold me accountable, will support me and will keep me going.

The hashtags help to build a community. It opens the doors to new relationships, tips and most importantly more support.

So for me, this is what I will be striving for in December.

What will you be doing for you?

Variety Is The Spice Of Life...

Cardio is my safe space. Since really starting my fitness journey a few years back, I have always gravitated to the safety and familiarity of the cardio machines:

*treadmill

*elliptical

*stationary bike

I always feared the weights floor at my gym, as well as, fitness classes.

For too long, I let my weight hold me back from trying new things.

Then one day in late 2010 I somehow gathered up all the courage I had and attended a Spin class.

After just one class, I caught the Spin bug.

I was hooked.

What had I been so scared of? Why had I let the fear of the unknown consume me?

So from that point on, it was time to break out of the comfort zone and try new things ... especially when it came to fitness.

And you know what? I survived.

And now I LOVE the variety of my workouts. I'm no longer in a cardio funk. I now have something different every day, which keeps me interested and rejuvenated.

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So what did my last 10 days of workouts look like? Here it is...

November 14, Wednesday: Comcast On Demand class - Kickbox Power

November 15, Thursday: Comcast On Demand classes - The 12 Minute Blend & Cardio Dance

November 16, Friday: Pure Barre

November 17, Saturday: Zumba

November 18, Sunday: Spin and Body Pump

November 19, Monday: Pure Barre in AM and Spin in PM

November 20, Tuesday: Walking

November 21, Wednesday: 5k run

November 22, Thursday: 5k run & backyard touch football

November 23, Friday: Pure Barre

November 24, Saturday: 10k run

November 25, Sunday: Spin and Body Pump

(Note: My core work is the same circuit each day at home, including #plankaday!)

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I love how in the past 10 days I have really worked all parts of my body, which keeps my muscles wanting more and my head doesn't get bored with the same old same old.

AND what's even more exciting? I'm finally starting to see some muscles now that I am making weight training a bigger part of my workout routine...

So if you are feeling like you are in a workout rut, I recommend switching up and trying something new!

Also, if you've wanted to try a new class and are too nervous to attend one at the gym, try to find it on On Demand and give it a whirl in the comfort of your own home. That's what I did with kickboxing. So when I whacked myself in the face at one point, the only people who noticed were the dogs. :P

How do you keep your workouts fresh?