Boot Camp...Day 33

Well, it has been a good day today! Here is how things went...

Wednesday, January 30

workout - Leslie Sansone Miracle Mile
B - popcorn/spoon of peanut butter
S - none
L - few bites of mac & chs. and chicken pot pie
S - piece of cheese
S - scallops (fried in butter flav cooking spray and lemon/pepper - not bad, also not my favorite), whole wheat pasta/sauce/chs., and green beans

I have had a really bad headache for the better part of the afternoon and into tonight, so when I got home I had to take some medicine and did not want to do so on an empty stomach. I had a mug of Lipton noodle soup - and I feel like I'm about to bust! Head feels some better though.

So, I am trying something a little bit tough for the next two weeks!!! Yes, two weeks! Are you ready for this???

Are you really ready...

Okay, here goes...

I am going to do a "boot camp" for the next two weeks. It will consist of the following:

Absolutely nothing but HEALTHY food, i.e., salads, vegetables, fish, lean meats, skim milk (if any), fruit. I will allow myself peanut butter, but only when accompanied by a fruit. ONLY whole wheat bread - and you can say that it is the same to eat just WHEAT bread, but it is absolutely NOT THE SAME! Unless it says WHOLE WHEAT you just might as well have white!

As far as workout time goes I will be working out every day if possible, skipping only Sunday if necessary. There is no reason that I cannot at least do a walking video every day.

I will be starting this boot camp on Friday of this week when I am able to get groceries. We are having a soup contest at our church Sunday, so I will also positively, absolutely, for sure, be taking that day off of the boot camp for that one day!

The reason I am doing this is because for the last few weeks I have been losing really slowly. It is good to lose slow, but honestly there is no reason I should not be losing one to two pounds a week, other than just being too lax in the routine. I am using this kind of as a tool to get me to 30 pounds, that is kind of a short-term goal for me at this point. At the end of two weeks I would like to have finally achieved a weight loss of 30 pounds. My total weight loss goal is 77 lb, so 30 lb would be a good portion of that total goal. It will also just be good to see how much of a difference it makes to eat nothing but healthy food and to exercise every day. And I'm not just talking about being active like I said in the previous post; I am actually going to be "working out" every day during this two weeks. I cannot wait to see what results this will produce!

One of the really, really great things about getting healthy is that I feel better about myself. I don't mean just because I'm looking better, I mean because I know that I'm taking care of myself and making good decisions each day. This has made me more confident in my ministry too. I used to have such a hard time singing at church because I knew that people would have to actually see me, and that really held me back because I was so ashamed of myself. Well, first of all, that was wrong! I know that our ability to minister is not based on how we look, but on how we allow God to use us, how we seek Him. But, not feeling bad about myself before I even get up there just gives me more freedom to allow him to use me. For too long I had my focus on the wrong place - on me, but now I am able to quit thinking "Oh, they are thinking I look horrible." I was always so afraid that by being overweight, that when people saw me they just thought I had no self-control. Honestly, I had no self-control! But, my weight didn't have anything to do with whether or not God used me, with whether or not he uses anybody. All he asks is that we are open and willing vessels for Him to work through. We need to remember that it is not about "us", it's about Jesus working through us to reach others for Him. And by the way, thankfully, I have some self-control now (it's important, fruit of the Spirit you know!)!

I am choosing to do this "boot camp" for my health. I talk about it on this blog to encourage others who are trying to do the same thing, and to help me to stick with it knowing I will have to talk about it. But, this is not my focus. My focus is on what I can do for Jesus to reach others. When we stand before God, it will not make any difference whether we weighed 100 lb, 200 lb, 300 lb, or more (it could quite possibly make a difference in our life span!), but it will make a difference how many people we told about Jesus, how much we shared the truth of His love. As a christian we have the hope of a perfect body one day, we have to make sure though that we are sharing that hope with everyone we meet. Each day should be a "boot camp" for Jesus too, not to see how many pounds we can lose, but how many people we can reach!

Everyday Teachers...Day 32

Woo, it feels like I have not been on here for such a long time!!! I have been really busy and have not even kept up with my journal, so I am not going to try to catch up for the time lost. So there will be three days missing from my journal. I am starting at Day 32. Here is the latest...

January 29
B – Oatmeal
S – Spoon of peanut butter
L – Whole wheat pasta/sauce
S – Popcorn – tuna (not right at the same time)
S – Chicken pot pie YUM!!!
No workout

This morning when I went to do my workout (Day 33) my kids could not wait to do it with me! I did the Miracle Mile workout with Leslie Sansone, which is pretty fast paced, and we got to about three minutes into it and my 7 year old said "I'm tired, my legs are tired!" So he stopped and did other things. He came back for the push-up part. For some reason he thought that was big fun. I think the best part for him was probably laughing at my pain, as push-ups are about my LEAST FAVORITE thing to do!!! Anyway, my little girl hung in there with me and really had a good time, I think she thought it was like dance class or something. She said, "they're all wearing white shoes", so she had to run and get her white and pink tennis shoes out for her workout! When I took off my shoes because the mat work was coming up, she got a really sad look on her face and said, "oh, I really wanna take these shoes off!" It is fun to get your kids involved in your fitness goals. And it is so important that they see your example of healthy living every day. We cannot go around saying "I am so fat!" or talking about other people, "she is so skinny", because our children are learning from us. They are little sponges soaking up everything that we say. I used to talk that way and still have to watch it now, but my kids were picking up on it. I don't want my little girl to be ten years old asking me if she looks fat in her outfit. That would break my heart. I don't think my kids even have an ounce of fat on them. It amazes me how fit, how lean and muscular they are! And it is not from doing exercise videos, it is just from being active. We have got to be more active. Instead of me asking my son to please get the milk out of the fridge for me, I need to go get it myself. Instead of saying, "do you want to check the mail", I need to walk out there and get it. All of that activity really adds up at the end of the day.

You know we teach our kids so many important things. The most important thing that we teach our kids is about Jesus - teaching them to love God and serve God, teaching them that He loves them more than anything - teaching them to walk in love daily and live for God with everything that we have in us. But, we teach them many other things from day to day, we teach them how to treat people by how we treat people. We teach them how to talk to others by how we talk to them. We teach them how to be generous by letting them see us give to others. We teach them to take care of themselves, of their bodies, by how we take care of ours. We may not have a degree in teaching, but we are teachers nevertheless, and it's high-time we take that responsibility seriously!

Even if you miss your workout, maybe you don't have time for your video or time for the gym, take some extra time to be active with your kids. Go out and run around with them playing tag. Yesterday my kids and I played hide-and-seek, and it was so FUN! Just do something to get active. If you have to go to the store, park far away. Just because you miss your "exercise time" does not mean you have to sit down and veg-out. Get up and get moving. The important thing is to stay active!

A little progress...Days 27 and 28

I don't know why I'm having such a hard time posting every day. I keep giving ya'll two days at a time. Sorry!!! Here is the update...

Thursday, January 24

B – Egg and Cheese wrap
S – None
L – Taco Bell – crunchy cheesy Gordita (or something like that! Steak instead of ground beef), steak and cheese taquito YUM!!!
S – None
S – whole wheat pasta/sauce, green beans, a little peanut butter
No workout

Now for today, I finally have lost another pound!!!!

WOOO HOOO!!!

For a grand total of

24 lb!!!

And I am still going...far from done yet!

So here is how today went:

Please keep in mind it was really, really busy day, so my schedule for my food was quite chaotic!

Friday, January 25

B – None
S – Spoon of peanut butter
L – whole wheat pasta/sauce/chs., English peas, piece of cheddar, five cheetos, few bites of apple S – Popcorn
S – Scrambled eggs, few bites of mac and cheese

Leslie Sansone walking video

I am very, very excited about making some progress again today, but I am not going to be writing any more tonight. My husband and I are both feeling pretty poorly, and have just taken some cold medicine, so I will be falling asleep at the computer if I don't wrap this up! Have a great weekend! Show the love of Jesus to everyone you meet!

Oh, and just a quick word before I go... When I started this back in November, it was hard to imagine me being 24 pounds down in January. It's so exciting. But there were times that I wanted to give up, that I didn't feel like I was doing any good or making ANY progress. I hung in there and now I have seen some really good results. So just remember to hang in there and keep going, small steps are steps nonetheless, and you will see results if you just keep on keeping on!!!

Counting the Cost...Days 25 and 26

So here is the lowdown on the past two days, sorry for the delay, again...

Tuesday, January 22

B – Nothing early
Workout - Power walk with Leslie Sansone – YAY!
Brunch – Egg and Cheese wrap
L – Tuna w/light miracle whip, whole wheat pasta/sauce/
S – Lipton chicken noodle cup-a-soup
S – Tilapia filet (baked), English peas, whole wheat pasta/sauce, piece of cheddar

Wednesday, January 23

B – Egg and Cheese wrap
S - None
L – None
S – popcorn
S – Tilapia filet stuffed w/shrimp(baked), green beans, whole wheat pasta/sauce,
No workout...:-(

Still at 23 pounds down, no more weight loss yet. But I can tell such a difference in my clothes. Usually when I put my jeans on I have a bulge at the top hanging over a little bit. I put on a pair of those jeans yesterday and the waist was loose, and the pants overall were just fitting much better. I am really happy with the results. I just have to say that working out makes such a difference in your body!


Okay, now I have to just go to a really very serious note. I know this is a weight loss journal, but I just have to share this because I think it is really important:

I found an article in our local newspaper about a woman who had been missing in our area, and they had found her body. Well, I had heard that they were trying to find out who she was, and when I saw the article with her picture I realized it was someone I used to work with at a store about 12 1/2 years ago. At that time we used to talk quite a bit and our job and I had invited her to church. She came with me one time, but that was all. I moved away the following spring to Nashville, and did not see her for a very long time. When my husband and I moved back here I would see her at the grocery store, or in passing at other places, mainly just shopping was the only time I saw her. And in all of that time I never, ever invited her to church again. I never tried to talk to her about Jesus again. It absolutely broke my heart to see that she was gone, and I would never get that chance back. It was a loss I cannot even put into words. All of those times I had seen her, I had just been busy, just been focused on me, caught up in my own problems or own concerns, dealing with my kids in the store, etc. And I didn't take the time to talk to her, time to wonder how she was, time to tell her that Jesus loved her. I will never, ever get that chance back. I don't know what her life had been like, I just knew her from when we worked together. All I know is that I didn't take time for her, I only had time for me. I failed her.

I have kept the article from the newspaper, complete with her picture, as a reminder to me of the cost - the cost to Jesus as he walked up the hill to the cross, the cost for me as I take up my cross daily, and the cost of just one soul lost - something that can not be taken back. I don't get a do-over in this, and I will have to live with my failure in that. I was so upset and just wanted to beat myself up over it, but instead, I will just keep this article and pic, and remember that each person I see, each person I come in contact with, is my missionfield. I will make it my mission to reach as many people as I can, not worrying about what they may think or say about me. Our pastor told us this past Sunday that we are responsible for each person that we see, to tell them about Jesus. He said when we stand before God, and the lost are being called before the Judgement Seat, we don't want to hear them say, "But God, Aprille didn't tell me about Jesus. I saw her every day and I never knew I needed You in my heart." Because then God will turn to us and say, "Why didn't you tell them about me?" And we will have no excuse. There is no reason good enough to not share the love of Jesus, we should have all the time in the world to share Him, make time to share Him!. I am so heartbroken over people in other countries who never hear about Jesus, when people here need Him just as much!

Once again, I cannot say where this young lady was in here life - maybe she had already accepted Jesus. The point is that I didn't take the time to find out, the time to just ask her simply if Jesus was her Lord and Savior. Time is short and the need is great, it is our responsibility to share the love of Jesus. We never know when there will be no more chances, when it will be too late.

Less than Perfect...Days 23 and 24

Whew! Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. Here is the catchup...

Sunday, January 20
B – White Chocolate Strawberry Yoplait Yogurt
S – None
L – Lobster delights, whole wheat pasta/sauce/chs., salad
S – popcorn
S#2 – filet of Tilapia, baked
S – Vegetable beef soup, serving of sandwich meat (ham/turkey), slice of cheese, few chips
MESSUP – PIE :0(
Workout – walked to the kitchen and back quite a few times during the day! LOL!

I had no morning snack, but had two in the afternoon - not the best idea, I know. The pie was such a terrible, horrible, devastating idea! I am on a fast - fasting sugar! HELLO! I really messed up. I kind of beat myself up over that because I felt like that was more of a spiritual failure, and I was so tempted to just eat more sweets to deal with those feelings. Instead, I confessed my mess-up to a friend (thanks Michelle!) and she said, "so, just get right back on it, move on." That kind of helped me to gather myself back together.

And you know what? That is just how God is too. We are so far from perfect. We can try and try, but it still seems that we mess up. And sometimes we just want to give up, we just think we can never reach what God wants us to be... But all the time, God is just wanting us to say, "I'm sorry God" and turn away from it, dust ourselves off, and move on in our walk with Him. Our God is so good. It is so good to serve a God that loves us more than anything!


Now, on to the next day...
Monday, January 21

B – Whole wheat spaghetti/sauce/chs. – I know it’s crazy, but I was craving it, it was actually
brunch!
S – None
L – Cheese pizza, few chips
S – popcorn
S – Lobster delights, English peas, mac & chs., pineapple
After supper mess-up – two chicken nuggets, sorry, but didn’t feel too awfully bad about that.
Workout – None

Really felt bad about not getting that workout. Knew I would pay today!

Just remember, and hopefully by posting this I will remember too, that if you mess up, don't give up! If you fall down, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back on track. This is a marathon, not a sprint. These are lifestyle changes that we make in order to achieve long-lasting results. One mess-up will not ruin the hard work you have done, unless you decide to stay in that place and give up...

In a Hurry...Day 22

I am trying to get ready for church, so just a quick review of yesterday for you...

B – None (coffee - is that a food group?)
S – None
L – sandwich (wheat/turkey, cheese, veggies), chips/dip
S – popcorn/spoon of peanut butter
S – Baked Tilapia, salad, whole wheat spaghetti w/ sauce and parm. chs.

Workout – Hip Hop Abs Total Body Burn

Getting a workout in today is really iffy, so I'll just have to see how it goes. My kids are coming home tomorrow from their grandparents' house, and I have much to do before then. I may need to workout just to find a little more energy!

Happy Sunday! Thank Jesus today for all He has blessed you with, most of all, for His love. Praise the Lord!

A Little Goes a Long Way...Day 21

Well, another quiet, boring day at home... YEAH RIGHT!!!

I had a very nice anniversary with my hubby yesterday. We just stayed home, but the kids were at their grandparents' house and we had a quiet evening with a good supper, and just some good quality time with each other.

Then today we got up early and went to our church, we had a work day there. We were joking there about not needing to work out because we were getting so much exercise there, but I went ahead and worked out anyway. I'm really glad I did, it just feels great!

Here is yesterday's menu...

B – Wheat Chex /milk
S – Popcorn
L – potato salad (like half a cup) - two sugar free York peppermint patties
S – spoon of peanut butter
S – Beef enchiladas, salad

Workout – Hip Hop Abs Fat Burning Cardio
My weight did fluctuate up today, a little disappointing :0(

Okay, so I said on my previous post that I was allowing myself some of my chess pie for my anniversary. Well, it took a long time to get it right. I stuck it back in the oven two times before I finally got it cooked to the right conistency. It was delicious though, even before I got it right. I tried it last night in its nearly liquid form, but didn't actually get to eat the pie properly cooked until this morning. Let me tell you what, if you can get to where you skip sugar, just cut it out for a while, then when you finally eat some it doesn't take much - a little will go a long way. I ate two sugar free York peppermint patties yesterday, they are small, and it was SOOOO sweet - even though it was sugar free. A serving size for those is three patties for 80 calories. I was only able to eat two.

That is something I just have to stop and talk about just a minute before moving on. I used to just eat and eat a cake or pie or ice cream, or whatever, just for the sake of eating it! Sure, it was good, but after about two or three SERVINGS of it, it's enough to make you sick. Ya know? I have bought a box of Danish Wedding cookies, and really gotten nearly sick on them. That is nothing but pure binging. The point though to this is...just because the serving is 1/2 cup of ice cream, or one whole candy bar, or five cookies, or 20 chips, DOES NOT mean that we have to eat the whole serving size. Really take time with your food and enjoy it, listen to your taste buds before you keep packing it in! I knew after that second piece of candy yesterday that if I ate another one it wouldn't even be as good, not because it would taste different, but because I had satisfied the craving and that was exactly what my body was wanting, and I was ready to be done with it.

Case and point... I got the pie out this morning (Perfect, did I mention that???), and I started eating that, and let me tell you it was SO DELICIOUS!!! Really good stuff. But after a few bites I could have stopped, I was really done as far as my taste buds and my body went. But it was like I had this thought in my mind that "this is the last dessert I will be eating for a while", and it was like I went into panic mode and had to eat some more. I didn't really want it, I was just eating it purely for the sake of eating it. And guess what, I ate a few more bites, and I felt like I was going to be sick! Literally wanted to throw up!!!

So, just a word to the wise, think about what you're doing and stop before you hurt yourself!!! Someone told me once that the key was to get used to feeling just a little bit hungry. Not starving. But stop eating before you feel full. It feels so much better to feel not quite full, than to feel weighed down and bloated from your food. It saps your energy and just makes you want to lay down and take a nap.

Pay attention to your body and how you're feeling. Pay attention to your food, not to the TV, or paper, or whatever. You will find it easier to stop.