Day 5: Blessings Ahead

  My schedule got a bit crazy last week so I paused on the devotional.  I read Day 5 everyday, just so I could keep it fresh in my mind.

You know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work
(James 1:3-4A)

  In this food related trial, what is the blessing we can receive by living a healthy lifestyle? The answer is in the question! First off, being healthy.  Eating right and exercising are two very good things we can do to keep our physical body in tip top shape. And they most likely will help us live longer so we can enjoy life to the fullest.

  My other goal is to teaching my girls to make health choices.  I grew up in the environment that everything goes, all the time and however much you wanted.  Its a wonder I didn't grow up with more of a weight problem!  I am more strict with what my girls eat than myself, but I would rather them not have my struggle.
  In the devotional she talked about signposts along the way that help us persevere.  

1. PROTECTION - "I might not be able to see the blessing right now, but this trial may be a protection, shielding me from something in the future that I may not see."
2. PROVISION - Things that you would have never found had you not started down this pathway; a camaraderie with an accountability friend, a love for new foods (hummus, avocados, spinach). My new obsession is with Jillian Michaels podcast. Great to listen to and keeps me mindful and motivated. Check it out!
3. PROCESS - To make lasting changes, its a step-by-step process. There are no short-cuts or quick fixes. 

"Most importantly, I've realized this isn't as much about losing the weight as it is gaining truth --- the truth of who I am in Christ and how I am made for more than this constant self-defeating struggle. its the truth that reminds me a scale can measure my physical body but never my worth as a woman. And its the truth that God loves me the way I am, but He loves me too much to leave me stuck in a place of defeat." (Made to Crave Devotional)

  Last week I stayed active and even went for a run. I measured it later and realized I ran a 5k for fun! Boy oh boy was I sore the next day, but I was quite proud of my accomplishment.  One of my previous posts mentions my very busy Saturday. I am also proud to say I went home quite happy with myself. I had a salad at the first buffet and enjoyed Hawaiian Pizza at the second.  

  Its a new week and we have nice summer weather coming our way. My goals this week:

1. Stay active. I have a huge landscaping project planned to help me keep this goal. 
2. Say NO to sugar! I have cookies in the house that I might have to toss if I can't say no.
3. Lose 2lb. By the end of the week I will announce my weight. I am praying I reach my goal.

Dear Lord, we need your wisdom today. Help us to pause and think about the choices we make, from the smallest to the biggest. We want to please you with our walk today. Amen.

Day 4: Consider It

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds (James 1:2)

  This one is coming at the right time! I have a lunch with my Church family on Saturday and than Dinner with my Husband's family that evening. Both at very yummy and naughty restaurants. I need to have a plan before this day comes and not just go into it with huge hungry eyes! 

  Today's devotional spoke about how hard it is to consider it pure joy when we have the option to make a healthy or not-so-healthy choice. Most of the time we don't feel joyful about ordering a salad when everyone around us is eating burgers, pizza and fries.  To be truthful and honest we feel deprived or jealous and secretly wish we could change our order.  

  Lets look at this closely. What will we find to cause joy to spring up in us, at the fated family meal?  If we stick to our guns, and continue on with healthy and obedient living, we have gained self-control over the situation! Think about it! When we fall and choose the unwise/unhealthy choice we feel pretty sick with ourselves in the end. Don't kid yourself! Usually guilt and regret are my attackers in those moments. For true joy, make the right choice and when you leave the meal you will not have regret or guilt on your back.

  Today I was tinkering around on Pinterest and found this easy, yummy and healthy recipe for Chicken.  

Chicken with Dijon and Lime.  Take a look! I wished I would have taken a picture of our meal. We used boneless, skinless chicken breasts for our meal.  I made a salad to go along with the chicken and of course Tater Tots for my wee ones and not-so-wee one!  Lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, chicken and feta cheese, Oh what a beautiful display of color!  I am enjoying making wise decisions for myself and my family. 

  So far I have stuck to my goals. The girls and I enjoyed a 4 mile walk today. We saw Buffalo, Long Horn Shaggy Steer and cows.  We picnicked outside after that, at which our dog ate my sandwich, which to say the least was very disheartening!  

  Than nap time came into play and I went outside. I spent a tremendous amount of time and sweat transplanting hostas and cleaning out my Peonies bed.  After everyone had enjoyed our supper there was only 2 tater tots left and I gladly delighted in them.  The girls got some candy from the Easter baskets and I am proud to say that my eldest daughter shared her bounty with me.  I did however cease after 2 mini chicks and ducks.  All in Moderation folks.  

  As my daughter says, "The froggets are singing and the stars are up. It's time for bed!"

Day 3: The Right Questions

  Reading this day's devotional was a challenge to myself.  It was directed at how we feel when we jump on the scale and see that we haven't lost as much as we'd like or gained instead of lost.  Most of us respond with disgust and go grab the nearest container of ice cream and give up on the fight. 
  I confess,  I have done this myself. Especially after the 3-day diet I tried recently with a friend.  It had great results when I was in the diet but the days after, I would gain most of the weight back.  I didn't appreciate the dance my scale was doing, 3 steps forward, 2 steps back!  
  Today's devotional suggested that when the scale doesn't produce the number we want, we should ask ourselves questions, The Right Questions:

• Did I overeat this week on any day? No.
• Did I move more and exercise regularly? Yes.
• Did I eat in secret or out of anger or frustration? No.
• Did I feel that, at any time, I ran to food instead of to God? No.
• Before I hopped on the scale, did I think I'd had a successful, God-pleasing week? Yep!

  If your answers coincide, than we need to pat ourselves on the back and not go on a Calorie binge.  The scale can't show us everything that our bodies are going through. Maybe you are retaining water weight from too much salt. It definitely can't show the swap of 1lb of fat to 1lb of muscle! And lets not forget for us ladies that our time of the month can throw the scale for a loop. 

  What I am taking from Day 3 is that obedience is better than the scale.  Its hard to switch from that mindset, but in the long run I think it will have the most staying power. The all powerful scale or the All Powerful God?? My goal this week is to move more (enjoying our amazing weather) and cut my sugar intake in half.  With the recent holiday, the candy is still around and beckons to me daily. And I can't pass up the clearance candy!

Sorry for the delay

My computer has been down and I fell behind. I will be back up soon. Starting fresh this Monday. No more 3-day diets because they didn't stick. Everyone have a great week.

What if I Let God Down?

Thought of the Day: I wept as I realized this would be one of the most significant spiritual journeys of my life. A spiritual journey that would yield great physical benefits.

With any battle we face the fear of failure. But what is worse, is when others are counting on you. Failure doubled with Guilt! Your family and friends know the struggle you are facing, see you fight it everyday. But what about God? I am making this statement very public myself. I am posting this trial on the Internet with hopes that it will hold me accountable.  I am coping this from the book "And why in heavens would I want to add spiritual guilt on top of my physical guilt? Why would I risk the shame of making God look bad too?"

Guilt always comes when I make poor choices and I could see the results of those choices on the scale. I have to be honest with this. When I am not at peace physically, I am not at peace spiritually. How can we think that one aspect of life doesn't affect another part of our life?

To the thought of letting God down. How can we let HIM down when we weren't ever holding HIM up? This shouldn't even be a thought in our heads. Isaiah 41:10 Says Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

Unsettled

I received my Made to Crave (by Lysa TerKeurst) book from Amazon.com. It's a 60 day devotional and I would like to share my thoughts and feelings while reading these short passages.

Thought for the Day: Unsettle me in the best kind of way. For when I allow your touch to reach the deepest parts of me - dark and dingy and hidden away too long - suddenly, a fresh wind of life twists and twirls and dances through my soul.

After reading today's devotional I found myself thinking of the game Jenga.  I compare it to my life. If you have ever played this game you know how towards the end, the tower gets in quite a precarious situation. The bottom has lots of spaces in it and with the slightest touch it will fall over.

I feel it's like my life because I know I have spread myself too thin and there are lots of open spaces in my foundation.  I have all these horrible habits in life; eating, discipline, self-control (which I am now seeing mirrored in my daughter). I know that continuing through this devotional I will find a way to fill in those empty spaces with Godly "blocks".

Well here is to reinventing my self!

Last Chance Workout & 3 day diet

I decided to up my game this week and switch to a Jillian Michael's workout. No more easy Weight Watchers 20 min (warm-up) workout.  I about nearly died! I have always said that no one can work me out like Jillian. Boy am I out of shape! Well, that will be true NO LONGER!

She has the plan set up for 6 wks. The workouts are broken down as the following;

• Warm-up (5 mins)
• Last Chance Workout (25 mins) - Blast fat and beat the scale with Jillian's signature circuits that alternate short burst of cardio with strength intervals.
• Upper Body Sculpt (10 mins) - Super-sculpt your arms, shoulders, chest, and core with Jillian's favorite moves that slash mega-calories and carve lean muscle.
• Lower Body Tone (10 mins) - Jillian revs up the fat burn with dynamic Last Chance lower body combination that blasts the legs, glutes, hips, and waistline.
• Cool Down (5 mins)

The 1-2 weeks you alternate between the Last Chance work out and the Upper & Lower body workouts.  Obvious Warm-up and Cool Down included.  Monday-Saturday

Weeks 3-4 will have Last Chance workout everyday with an additional Sculpt or Tone alternating.  Again Monday-Saturday

And the final 5-6 weeks has them all! I foresee getting up very early these weeks. Monday-Saturday.  

I am in the middle of at 3 day diet. I never thought I would see myself trying something like this but I am glad I have.  Its not a starvation diet because you are eating 3 meals everyday. Breakfast and Lunch are pretty small meals but I have all I can do to eat everything for Supper. But no problem with the 1/2 cup of Vanilla Ice Cream!! Check it out for yourself. The following is the link to the web page.

http://3daydiets.net/

~JL

Not missing anymore

(I started this post on Friday, January 27th. Than got very busy and didn't have time to finish it)


Last week ended with a 2lb gain. I was disappointed but I didn't let it get me down. I climbed back on the wagon this week and hit it hard! I am proud to say that the 2lbs I gained last week are gone.

I spent alot of time thinking about my upbringing and how I viewed myself. I can clearly remember that by the age of 12 I was already obessed with my image. I had this little belly bump below my belly button and I remember thinking about cutting it off! WHOA!! I know it shocks me too. I thought the whole procedure through. How I could cut it off and stitch it back up.


I want to live a healthy life and be active not only for myself but for my beautiful daughters. I don't want them to go through what I went through.  I know if I live it before them they will develop healthy habits and my struggles won't be theirs.


I have always been conscience of what they eat. For snacks they get healthy choices (apples, Cheerios, bananas, hard boiled eggs, WATER...).  I try to stay away from those sugary snacks like fruit snacks, sweet cereal, cookies. Yes they get sweet snacks every now and than, but its usually not something we have in our house.


My oldest daughter made me a very proud Momma when at a wedding they were offering snacks. Cookies, chips, apples, and bananas. My little gir,l when offered a cookie, said she wanted a "nana".  Our house keeps a healthy supply of fruit because of this occasion.  You can't have enough healthy choices when we are bombarded with unhealthy ones at EVERY checkout line! Yes, I am a victim of last minute snack purchases at Wal-Mart


Here's to not missing it this week!
~JL

Monthly Monster

So, I must honestly confess this week is not gonna be a good one.  I can say that before I had kids my monthly was very mild.  You can ask most of my friends, I never liked chocolate. Weird, I know! But during my 2nd pregnancy I craved Chocolate cake the whole time.  Now I am curled up on the couch, sipping on some ice water and dreaming about pulling a Bruce Bogtrotter (Matilda).

This monster messes with my attitude, makes me tired, and throws curve-ball cravings.  I fear that this is going to be a constant battle. I am going to focus on "beating" down these cravings with looking at the reason why I want it.  It's mostly because I feel so awful and the trained thought that sugar, chocolate or candy makes everything better.  

Day to day I struggle with my food choices but this week is always the hardest. The idea of texting my husband to bring home some ice cream has crossed my mind multiple times. I made some healthy and some bad choices but I made up for it by staying active and moderating what I did eat.  While I let my daughter have a cookie, I did eat one...or three myself. Tonight's meal plan for this mommy is salad with a hard boiled egg.  

My goal this week is to maintain.  I am still working out every day and even added in a dance session with my girls today.  It always helps to have fun while you stay healthy.  I will do my best to beat up my Monthly Monster.

On Friday we'll see if I was successful!
~JL

Weight Loss

Well it's the big day. And I am glad to report I have lost 2lbs! Only 1lb away from the wt I was last year when I found out I was pregnant with Elise. And it's also the wt I was at when I ran in a 4mile race.

After being very happy about that, I think I over ate tonight and now I feel terrible. I think I need to do a work out tomorrow to make up for it.

I stayed very consistent and worked out mon-fri this week. Which is very huge for me since I am waking up early to do so. But the work has paid off.

I know you might say 2lbs, big whoop but I usually fluctuate from 160-162. Never have I gotten to 158. So this is a step forward on my decision to be healthier this year

Can't wait for the cold and snow to go away. I am itching to go running again. I also am hoping to get in a 5k or two this year.

Time to put the girls to bed.
Good night world!
~JL

Muddy Monday

Had a great day today. Did my workout in the morning and felt great about the discipline it took to get up early and start my day right. On a Monday no less. I ate a light yogurt than later had a banana. I stayed on my feet doing laundry and dishes and other house hold cleaning duties. By 11 am I was famished. I decided to have a Special K bar which helped me get thru until lunch.


I kept trucking on with cleaning my house. I used a Bible app on my phone to listen to several chapters today. It was Genesis 1-3 and Romans 1. I found my day went better after having God's Word read to me.


Lunch consisted of leftovers my Hubby and I got yesterday. A bucket of ribs! Such an unhealthy choice and not diet conducive. After I had 2 ribs I felt satisfied but not full. Along with the ribs we got 2lbs of French Fries.


Since I have 2 beautiful girls that think they are the next best thing, I heated some up for them. Admittedly I took 8 of them but I still enjoyed them. The thing is I can't eliminate all foods. With a family I need to moderate what I enjoy. So I had some but not near as many I would have liked to.


We are loving our current "Winter" weather here in Wisconsin. We enjoyed ourselves today. Selah harassed the chickens. Elise and I strolled around the yard. And than we went for a walk around our 8 acre farm. Selah seemed to be drawn to the mud and water holes. I kept having to shepherd her away from them after she nearly slipped in one.

She loves to touch their tale feathers, along with bopping them on the back!!

After Selah saw Elise in her Moby she went inside and had to bring Malinda along for our walk. 

When my husband came home we enjoyed steaks and salad. I spent the rest of the night using a Rembrandt teeth whitening kit. We picked them up from Walgreens on Sunday. With coupons, I bought 2 kits for $17.00.


I have decided to claim Fridays as my weigh-in days. I have also picked up some reward M&M's for when I lose my first 5lbs.


Goodnight world
~JL

Wood Pile

  Been pretty busy with my sick baby. But I stayed very active.  Even played outside with my 2yr old when we had a warm spell here. I also was stuck with my work out routine except for yesterday.  I had to take my daughter to the clinic to get check out.  Nothing to report, she is just a very unhappy sick girl.

  Today after a good breakfast for eggs, ham and cheese, which I split with my 2yr old, I helped my hubby stack wood.  What a workout!! Who knew running up and down stairs carrying 2-3 pieces of wood would really give me a burn.  I put my all into it because I wanted to enjoy some fresh air while my girls were sleeping. I ended up a bit dizzy so I had take a breather.

  Now I am trying to warm up and enjoy some fun times with my girls.  I had planned on going to the Dollar General because my brother scored an AWESOME deal on All Detergent, but their coupons are gone.  Blast, now what to do with the rest of my day??

Bring it!

Last night I didn't get time to do my 2nd workout video. Mommy's out there will understand. My 8 month old is suffering from a nasty cold and only wants to be held by Me. Which makes getting anything else done nearly impossible.

I made Pork chops and corn last night. Made sure I wasn't over eating and by the end of the night I felt great. We gave the girls a bath and than snuggled down to watch a show.

After a while I heard the container of ice cream call to me. I thought about all the reasons I deserved a big bowl of it. My daughter was tasking me, it tastes so good, and last but not least, it would make me feel better. HA! Why do we believe that lie?

I am proud to say I fought the urge and after the sick one went to bed, I snuggled closer to my 2 yr old and tried to find joy in that. (She fidgets a lot!)

My goals today:
• eat healthy (of course)
• drink 3 mugs of water (each one is about 20oz)
• workout, I have a wide selection of videos but I am starting out small. This one offers a variety of 20min workouts. Lower body today and if I find time I will hit the Core Cardio again.

Girls are still sleeping so I better get a jump on today!
~JL

New Years Resolution

  Of course it happens every year.  New Year's Eve rolls around and the big question is on my mind.  What is my resolution??  It wouldn't surprise me that it's always to lose weight, become healthy and enjoy life.  So this year I turn 30!! And I am trying not to let it freak me out....
  Since I have graduated high school, I am proud and ashamed to say that I have gained 20lbs.  Proud because it could be worse in the 12 years since I've been gone. Sad because, well, lets face it. Weight gain is uncool all the time unless your are pregnant.  
  I have had 2 beautiful girls and they are the reason I have a smile on my face.  With my first I gained a whopping 40lbs and lost it all in 2 wks and than some. My 2nd I gained 30lbs and she is fast approaching 9 months old and I have 3lbs to go.  
  Being brutally honest I weigh 160lbs but my body knows (and looks it) that it should be at 140.  I have a severe sugar addiction (who doesn't?) and that is my big downfall.  Like today. I did my 20 min workout but I still ate a bag of peanut m&m's, puppy chow and a cup of pudding and it's not even supper folks!!
  I was listening to Focus on the Family today and it really inspired me.  We were made to crave! That's why in this fast, get it now generation obesity is so prevalent.  Those fast food french fries are so quick and they do the trick.  
  The Bible says that we are not to worry about what we are going to eat or drink and that God knows what our needs are. Than it goes on to say that we are to SEEK the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. (Matt 6:33) In earlier translations Seek was literally the word CRAVE.  
  Like what the speaker on Focus on the Family said I also fill that need with food. I need to get to that place where that need is no longer being met by food but by God, His word and His fellowship.  


Look I know this is a lot right now but I felt I needed to get off to a right start and have people I can encourage and have encouragement too.  I might not reach my goal weight by June 1st but you can bet I am going to try my hardest. 
~JL