Weekend Woes or Weekend Wahoos?

Have you ever finished a week and by Friday night you're ready to just chill out, change the pace, or even cheat eat? For the entire weekend! It's good to have rest but don't let your body and mind deceive you into "chilling" with the habits you are creating in E&E: exercise and eating.

This past weekend was a pretty big mental struggle for me. I had a big event on Friday night and by the time I got home I said to myself, 'I'm just going to stay in all day Saturday and recoup'. That's dangerous to my plan. I work so hard Monday through Friday to have structure in my new healthy lifestyle by planning my meals and getting to the gym, and I know that if I don't have a plan, I will munch on food all day and (choose to) forget about the exercise. So for me, Saturday was a bust. But by the time Sunday rolled around, I was refreshed by God's word at church and headed straight for the gym for a great workout. I planned my meals for the week and made two recipes ahead for the week out of my favorite Hungry Girl cookbook.

I had to remind myself that "messing" up by not eating right or not exercising isn't the end of the world, and we all know that it happens, but is that the kind of lifestyle I want to live-- where I can "mess up" on the weekends? I don't think so. I choose to stay strong and enjoy every day just as much as the one before. I want a Wahoo! weekend:)

Quick Quote of the Day

"Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." -----Aristotle

Super Sister!

I received a phone call from my sister today. The first words out of her mouth were, "You didn't text me your gym workout yesterday." (I actually did, but she needs a new phone because she doesn't always get texts and messages) Even though my sister lives over 500 miles away, she is still willing to call and check in on me. I could lie and say i've been to the gym when I haven't, but that is only hurting me. There is no point. I'm thankful for her accountability and encouragement!

"It's better to have a partner than go it alone. Share the work, share the wealth. And if one falls down, the other helps..." Ecclesiastes 4:9-10a

My New BFF

Today was my weigh in day and I was pleasantly surprised to see that I lost 2 pounds since my last weigh in. (which is a total of 4 pounds) It wasn't all that easy. I felt like most of the days I chose to eat well, but over the weekend I munched a little more than I should have. I am proud to say that I did do well on the consistency of my workouts. (which, if you know me, is very close to a miracle)

Since that time, i've come across a new best (online) friend! If you haven't checked out My Fitness Pal you need to stop reading this and click on over there! (when you're there, 'friend' me! kelhchap) Don't get stressed, it's not all about exercise. It's like a facebook for individuals who want to change their lifestyle by loosing weight and exercising more. You can link it up to twitter or facebook if you desire and get the app for your iphone or android. The best part about this site? IT'S FREE!

As you probably know and as I am continuing to learn, accountability is key in this journey and the free, online program is one additional way to stay accountable. Check it out! Let me know if you join and i'd love to be virtual accountability partners:)

Happy Mother's Day!

Today I continued to build my resistance muscle by fighting my urge to take a "break" from exercise because it was Mother's Day. I had no excuse in all honesty. I'm not a mom (yet) and my own mom lives out of state. So with a little encouragement from the Holy Spirit, I headed to the gym after church and got on that elliptical. When I was done, it felt good. My resistance muscle is starting to bulk up!

On another note, I wanted to share some thoughts from the sermon today. If you'd like to hear Pastor Chilly's sermon podcast click here. The topic was very sensitive and not what you'd expect on a "Mother's Day" Sunday, but it was needed and Christ centered. The points that Pastor Chilly gave stood out to me as something I can apply to my life where food is involved. His main points were:

1. Make a pact with your eyes.
2. Smash sinful thoughts.
3. Run from all temptation.

1. Make a pact with your eyes. We all know the saying "my eyes were bigger than my stomach". But I think that if we let our eyes eat whatever we see, our stomach will be bigger than our eyes. We need self control. (a fruit of the Spirit-Galatians 5:22-23) Don't let your eyes be in control of what you eat.

2. Smash sinful thoughts. Food is not going to fill any void. Only the Holy Spirit will fill the void in your heart. Don't feel sorry for yourself when you "deny" yourself food you think you deserve. Keep Christ at the forefront of your mind and actions.

3. Run from all temptations. Plan ahead when it comes to eating and cooking and grocery shopping. Don't let those grocery aisles get the best of you. As God for strength as you push that cart right past those cookies. If you don't purchase the junk at the store, you have eliminated so much temptation in your home.

Although these sermon points were focused on a totally different topic, the Lord used them to speak to me in a different way and I'll be holding to them!

I hope you had a GREAT Mother's Day and got in some good exercise as well!

A Day of Rest and Test

I had a full day today. I decided early on in the day that it would be my one day "off" from exercise this week. I fought myself on that decision. (even as I drove by the gym to work) In my mind, I was concerned that I was making excuses just to avoid exercise. I don't believe I was. Instead, I was able to spend more time in God's Word. That was so refreshing and good mental and spiritual exercise.

I also stopped by the bookstore and picked up Candace Cameron Bure's book, Reshaping It All.

I'm starting the first chapter as soon as I finish typing this post:) I'll let you know what I think! My prayer is that when I wake up tomorrow each choice will be God honoring and pleasing to him as I continue on my journey to live a healthier life.

I Failed

Take a look at the date of this post. Now check out the date of my very first post. look at the year....yep, it's been over a year and I failed. I just re-read the very first post of this blog and thought to myself, how the heck did I let myself 'fall off the bandwagon' again! I should be so upset and frustrated (which I kind of am) but the thing I am proud of right now is that I can answer that question. I can actually answer why I have failed over and over and over again at loosing weight and changing my eating and exercise habits.

I have been, for the past 12 years, trying to fight this gluttony battle on my own. Yes, I've had my family encourage me and friends do their best to support me, but it's not their problem so at times their accountability wavers. The only way I can live a healthy life is with the help of Jesus.

This past Sunday, my pastor preached a message that many would view as uncomfortable. (I did) But it's necessary. The series topic is "Hidden Desires". The sermon was called "Secret Shame". You can only guess that my mind went to my eating habits. That is my secret shame. Pastor Chilly made a comment, "To have a healthy ministry, I must have a healthy life." That hit me hard. I work in ministry, yet I don't have a healthy personal life when it comes to diet and exercise. I want to though.

What am I doing about it. (notice I didn't say 'going to do' about it) Yep! I already started on April 26, 2011. I have joined a gym, signed up (and paid extra) for a kick butt class 2x per week and am counting my calories. But what got me super excited is i've joined a ladies small group at my new church home. They are forgiving, understanding and honest. I have, in small ways, mentioned my desire to loose weight and exercise and I think I have found a group of ladies who will be an encouragement to me as I journey through this.

Then to top all of that, I came across a Candace Cameron Bure's facebook page for "Reshaping it All". It looks so good! Then I read that they are doing a 65 day challenge. From a Christian Perspective!!!!! That's where Jesus comes in! Only HE can change the way i'm living my life. So I may have failed over and over again, but with Jesus I WON'T FAIL!

I'm looking forward to this 65 day journey. I encourage you to join me if you'd like and pray for me as I become the woman God has called me to be.

Getting into a Rhythm

I am starting to feel the rhythm of the eating well. Note that I didn't just say "eating", we all know that too well i'm sure. What I mean is that I'm constantly looking for good recipes on line or in magazines and filing them away for the near future. Every Sunday, I pull them out and decide what my meals will be for the week. This helps so much. I try to use what is already in my cupboard or fridge. (this saves money and time) But if I have to run to the store for a couple of things, no big deal. (just make sure you don't go to the grocery store hungry! Trust me, you'll buy things you shouldn't) Also, if there are things that you can make that are good to freeze or store for left overs, do it! Sometimes I'll make something for dinner and have the left overs for lunch the next day.

Tracking what I eat each day is still something that I do and will probably always do since I see how much it is helping. I weighed in at Weight Watchers tonight and lost 2.6 pounds. I'm at a total of 9 pounds in 3 weeks. I'm very excited! But I know what looms in the future...exercise. I'm really skimping on that right now and I know that I will get to a point where I have to exercise. That is my biggest problem. Doing it. Putting on the tennis shoes and just walking down to the basement to start. I am going to exercise when I wake up in the morning. (I'll let you know how that goes).

TV Munchies vs. TV Crunches

This week has been a stronger week for me. I have tracked my eating every day and I know that it is bringing to light how much I ate just 3 weeks ago! I HIGHLY recommend writing down everything you eat each day. Do it before the end of the day too because by then you could have downed a lot of stuff that adds up and you may not even know it!

The one thing that I still haven't done well with is exercise. I know, I know, I have a tv and dvd player now that is dedicated to my exercise videos. It's getting fat just sitting there...So I blew up my exercise ball and brought it into my bedroom where my tv is. I have decided that this upcoming week, instead of munching on food while I watch tv, I will do crunches on my ball during the advertisements. So, the ball is sitting, waiting by the side of my bed for me to use it. I will start tonight. I have to or I never will. Plus the Winter Olympics start tonight so it's a good way to watch them. Maybe those extremely talented athletes will motivate me:)

Superbowl Success!!

I had a very busy week last week and an even crazier weekend with friends visiting and the superbowl of course! I stayed on track with my eating this past week. Then the weekend came. I was determined NOT to mess up and go all bingey with the friends and parties. So, I opened up my Weight Watchers Magazine that has some amazing recipes in it and made a wonderful, spicy spinach cheese dip that you can eat with baked tortilla chips. Everyone like it (and I didn't tell them it was low fat)! I was very proud of myself.

I still am having a very difficult time finding time and motivation to exercise. I think in my head the night before that i'll get up early and when the alarm goes off. I roll back over and sleep my way through the exercise time. I hate myself by the end of the day for not doing it in the morning because by night time, I have NO energy to exercise and talk myself out of it:( Any suggestions? One neat thing that happened this week though was that my parents knew I wanted to start exercising but needed a tv to hook up to my dvd player so I could dust off those old workout dvd's and get going. Well, they went on craigslist and surprised me with a great tv and stand! So, my plan is to come home from work tomorrow afternoon and do one of my dvd's. I'll let ya know!

The most encouraging thing happened for me tonight. I weighed in at the WW meeting and had lost 6.4 pounds! I was actually amazed. It was over a 2 week time! So that is motivating me to exercise because I tell myself how much more I could loose if I were exercising regularly!

Half a Day of Wins

I heard a person once say that you should look for the 'wins' in every part of your day. It may be that you got up early and actually made your bed before work or school. Or you didn't complain or maybe you made supper for the family.

Today I had a few 'wins'. I ate everything that was on my meal plan for today. I was exact! I felt so good about it. Try it and accomplish it and you'll know what I mean. Another win for me was that I drank 8 glasses of water. I find that getting a larger water bottle (mine is 32 oz) helps me actually drink water faster. I guess it's the straw?

I guess if you have "wins", you will inevitabily have "losses" too. If you don't have any "losses" in a day then give yourself a star! I'm sorry to say that my loss was not exercising. I was so tired when I work up and then I had extra hours I worked today. I can't make excuses. I need to find a way to ignore the excuses I come up with in my head.

It's a New Week!

I am very pleased with my actions today.
EXERCISE......
It was so bitterly cold outside I wasn't about to walk outside, so I drove to the mall and walked for 30 minutes. If you use the excuse that you can't walk because of the weather, remember GO TO THE MALL. Plus, I see it as an additional motivator because as a female who loves to shop, I can do my "window shopping" while i'm walking and the time flies by. Just make sure you look ahead every so often so you don't plow people down!
EATING......
I stuck with the Weight Watchers plan today. I was actually left with 5 points and wasn't hungry. I know you are suppose to eat the exact points a day, but oh well..i'll try and do better with that tomorrow.
EDUCATION.......
I went to the WW meeting with my mom tonight. SHE lost 3 pounds! I stayed the same. I have to admit, I was upset. It took me about half of the meeting to get over the fact that I didn't loose any weight, but I got over it and didn't run to food to satisfy my emotional state.

So, as the evening comes to a close, i'm looking at a very busy work day tomorrow and potential tempting options...to hopefully kick the temptation in the behind, I have already decided what I will eat tomorrow and that I will exercise as soon as I get up. I guess you'll have to hear if I do it tomorrow. I challenge you to the same thing. Until tomorrow....

Going Public

I'm sick and tired of it. It consumes my thoughts, my actions, my reactions. It controls me. When I think I found my victory in the day or even the moment, it throws a cheap shot my way and I cower and give in.

IT is my weight.
I haven't always been this heavy. Growing up, I was a very active child who ate very healthy thanks to my parents. As I got a little older, I gained a little weight and by 10th grade I was a size 12. But for my 5'8'', large bone build, it was a good size and weight "according to the doctor". All of my friends were shorter and weighed less than me. I never once thought I was thin. Today, looking at those high school pictures, i'd give anything to look that way again. It was in college where I let myself go. If you went to college then you know.......the college cafeteria. I never knew before that time that you could get "all you could eat" in the meal plan or get "all you can drink" from the soda machines. It was fun and I was in control. Or so I thought.

Now, I am 31 years old, single, and very unhappy on the inside. My friends and family would probably be shocked to hear those previous words I just typed. "unhappy on the inside". I have heard them describe me as a "funny, loving, caring, hard-working person". I would agree, but because of my weight I rarely feel "confidant, secure, at peace" on the inside. What do you do when someone wants to take a group picture? I'm a little taller, so I say that I should stand in the back(to hide my body), stick my neck out like a turtle so my fat doesn't show (as much) and smile big. I have tried EVERYTHING. Weight Watchers, Medical Weight Loss Clinic, Grapefruit diet, Cabbage soup diet, eat less diet, prescription drugs for weight loss. Some of those things worked..for only a period of time. Then I'd go back to my bad habits and let my emotions eat.

At this point, you are probably asking yourself, why the heck am I still reading this depressing woman's story? I would be asking myself that too. But here's what I've decided to do. I need you're help though. I have decided to be completely 100% honest on this blog about my daily struggles and victories as I journey through my next year. My goal is to loose weight. I can't say how much because I want to do it right this time. I know I need to loose a lot. So here's the deal. I joined Weight Watchers 1 week ago, last Monday. I followed the plan 2 days out of the 7 day week. That really sucks, right? Tonight as I was sitting in bed watching t.v., I said to myself "this is it". If i'm going to change, i'm going to change! I'm going to exercise and eat right. I will be posting recipes that are good for weight loss and don't taste like cardboard. Try them and let me know what you think. I'll let you know what kind of exercising i'm doing. Give me your comments, ideas and help keep me accountable. In turn, I will do the same.
Tomorrow starts the new me. New attitude, new initiative, new focus. Do you need that? Start with me!
The thing is, when I push the "publish" button..this is it. It's for good and in "cyber space" forever. I can't take it back. Don't let me. I'm going public. I want the weight to be OVER!

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