So what then for today?

It seems that Monday morning is always a chance for a new beginning. For some reason I usually start the week with a renewed sense of purpose.

This morning I am in need of just that; new beginning and renewed sense of purpose. I have been slowly slacking off on things over the last week or so. It all started with not doing the stairs as often at work; then I only hit the gym 2 times last week; then I started to eat some junk food. Just a little to start. Which then progressed to pizza on Sunday. AND I didn't walk on the treadmill at all. And as if this isn't bad enough; I didn't keep my food journal as accurately as usual. So as you can see from the account I have just laid out; I'm on a downward spiral that kind of crept up on me. No damage on the scale................yet. But that really isn't the point now is it?

Isn't it funny, how quickly you can veer right off the path and not even realize it until you purposely take a look and review the progress or lack of it I should say.

Needless to say, I packed a nice healthy lunch today and walked my first round on the stairs this morning. 2 more rounds to go. I usually walk them 3 times a day to get myself up and out of my chair to get my blood pumping and clear my head.

So what then for today?
Today I am.........

• Getting my mind back on my healthy lifestyle goals
• Renewing my commitment to exercise daily
• Walk the stairs 3 times a day
• Go to curves 3 times a week
• Walk the treadmill 5 times a week
• Eat healthy choices
• Keep track of what I eat

Scripture for today: 1Corinthians 15:58

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

My Prayer for today:

Father, this verse is referring to the resurrection of Christ; reminding us that all we do is a work unto the Lord. The sting of our own death is avoided by the victory of Christ's death and resurrection for us. If we live according to our flesh, we live in vain. If we are steadfast in what you show us for our lives; that effort is not in vain and You will be glorified through us. Help us Father, to glorify you and honor Christ's efforts to save us from our sins.

Off to the stairwell for round 2!!

Trust or Fear?

That is the question of the day. Will we trust the Lord to do what He says He will do or let fear and unbelief keep us stranded in our own ways?

Proverbs 3:1-6 sets a stage for us to follow what He teaches us. If we follow him then he will make our paths straight.

1 My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, 2 for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. 3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:1-6

This whole set of verses is power packed but verse 5 really grabbed me today in relation to my lifestyle changes of incorporating healthy habits. Trust and acknowledge with all my heart and in all my ways. This gives me the impression that He is very interested in the daily choices that I make because He wants to "prolong my life and bring prosperity if I follow His teachings (vs 1).

Definitions:
Trust - 1. To have or place reliance; depend: "Trust in the Lord". "Trust to destiny". 2. To be confident; hope. To have or place confidence in; depend on. 3. To expect with assurance; assume

Acknowledge - 1.To admit the existence, reality, or truth of.
2. To recognize as being valid or having force or power.
Synonyms: admit, own, avow, confess, concede. These verbs mean to admit the reality or truth of something, often reluctantly. To acknowledge is to accept responsibility for something one makes known: "He acknowledged his mistake".


My scripture for today: Phillipians 3:12-14
12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

My prayer for today:
Father, Forgive my fearfulness and unbelief. Today I am choosing to depend on (trust) and (acknowledge) recognize your authority. I have confidence to leave my ways of the old lifestyle (and old fears) behind me and press on toward doing what is right and healthy for my physical body. You have laid out the goals before me. I acknowledge the many teachings you have given us on how we should live our lives and the ways we should follow. Teach me your ways, Lord, write them on my heart that I might press on toward the goal for the prize of your upward call and allow you to set my paths straight. Amen

A Brand New Day...

Today is a brand new day; a day to experience things from a new perspective. A day to rejoice that you are alive and well for one more day.

A day to celebrate all of our victories great and small!

A brand new day to appreciate family ties and friends who still love us; sometimes in spite of ourselves.

Today is a day to seek and find the silver lining of our lives. Then stop to really let what that is sink in.

What is your silver lining? What are you thankful for?

Today, my silver lining is that God is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow. Now that is something to rejoice about!

My scripture for today: Romans 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

My Prayer for today:
Father, I'm thankful that your love doesn't change or depend on my successes or failures. It isn't more or less; it just is. Thank you that your grace and mercy are new every day. Thank you for this brand new day...I WILL rejoice in it.......and count my blessings." :)

Down to the Wire

Well Ma, I said I would do a post today. In typical fashion I have waited until the last minute :p While you will be reading this the day after you requested to see it (unless you're up late) I am still within my agreed upon timeline!

I am very glad that you are believing for this week to improve. I too am believing for an uplifted spirit as I head into my new job very soon. There is a sense that this field, now fallow, will shortly blossom as the fertilizer and seeds of growth incomprehensible to me at times even in the recent past, have nevertheless been tirelessly at work. It is time to work. Yay! And simultaneously, Boo!

Went grocery shopping the other day. It will be a lot easier when we have more income. One good victory, neither Janel nor I have had a fast food binge in over 5-6 weeks. There was a point before I came up to Massachusetts where I would eat fast food every day for a couple months at least! That is a victory I claim in Jesus' name :)

The last few days have been tough with bridal showers for Nicole and just a sense of blah. Janel has been sick and now I am sick. But we are staying focused and really wanting to succeed. No fast food, no sir! Eye on the prize and really looking to expand physical activity soon. That is a big road block for me at the moment and I could use some prayer to get started!

Love you all - and great job keeping this going Mom. I read whatever you have to say almost as soon as you say it! Keep it coming!

Adam

Hoping VS Believing; where do you stand?

Hoping for a better week this week. I wonder how long it will take for my hair to grow back and for me to feel back in balance again.............so sad.

Correction: BELIEVING for a better week this week. I will be in balance again soon!! God is good and I am believing that all things work together for good for those who love HIM and are called according to his purpose. I AM CALLED!! And I say yes, Lord, yes, yes, yes!! Thanks for the encouragement today Adam!!

Scripture for today: Romans 8:26-28
26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;

27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

My prayer for today:
"Father, help me to always remember that you have given us your Holy Spirit who actually does intercede for us when we are overwhelmed and feeling lost. We don't even need to have the words because you know the words; we just have to come and be in your presence and allow your Spirit to intercede for us. So Father, I come just as I am to be in your presence and trust that you will cause these "things" in my life that are troubling me to work together for good. Amen and Amen."

Tough week.........

this week has been a roller coaster of emotions for me. It's one of those things that is hard to put into words so I'll spare the ramblings and just say that I could really use some prayer. I'm struggling to keep my eyes on the Lord. Maybe because I haven't been to church in a couple of weeks. The week-ends have been full with "summer busy" activities; which were awesome and I wouldn't trade them, but now I can sure see a difference in my outlook and focus. UGH!! It's not pretty, that much I can tell you.

Scripture for today:
What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. 1 Cor 14:26

My Prayer for today:
Father, help me to remember to think of others and not just myself. Sometimes in the midst of a trial, even if it's a little "t" trial; bringing a song and scripture or word of encouragement to someone else is the best way to improve our focus and get our eyes back where they should be......on Jesus!

Godspeed!

Down, down, down...........

I had a "weigh and measure" at Curves on Friday night.....yeah, I know, BEFORE the week-end. UGH! But I did manage to lose another 5.25" and another 1.25 lbs. Not a big weight loss, but I'm loving the inches going down especially when the big losses were the arms and hips.....oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about!! :) It' funny because I'm always shocked by the inches going down; I NEVER feel like I lost much but the tape measure doesn't lie now does it?

***************

So I'm in phase 3; trying to eat 2000 calories a day. Most days I'm just under that but it doesn't seem to be budging the scale any. Yesterday was a HUGE fried food day......coming home from the beach, we stopped at Ronnie's Seafood. SOOOO YUMMY. I just HAD to have my favorite fried scallops and chicken fingers..........Oh and of course a soft serve.....BUT I did only have a kiddie size (which by the way was still over a CUP of ice cream). Well, let me tell you, I had NO trouble hitting 2000 calories yesterday AND I did NOT get sad face on my chart for NOT eating enough fats. YUP, you guessed it, I got PLENTY of fats in. LOL However, I will say that I did get sad faces for cholesterol and sodium. OOPS :) I gotta feeling the scale will be MOVING now........ hahahahaha

****************

Back to reality today, but no regrets for yesterday. When I think of where I've come from; I used to eat that way 2-3 times a week!! NOT GOOD. Now I only treat myself once every few MONTHS... VERY GOOD. smiley faces for me!! :)

Thanks for reading. What's your story this week? I'd love to hear all about your ups and downs........or maybe you're doing great and don't need support? What's up?

Scripture for today:
"Now may the God Who gives the power of patient endurance (steadfastness) and Who supplies encouragement, grant you to live in such mutual harmony and such full sympathy with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus". Romans 15:5

My prayer for all of us:
"God, please help us to remember that you have given us the "power of patient endurance (steadfastness)" to do your will. And I know that it is Your will for us to care for our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit whom you have also given to us. Help us to be faithful stewards of what you have blessed us with! Amen

~M

Phase "Colorado"

Well, traveling is typically the hardest time for me to make good food choices and this is no different. I think it is a combination of the social draw and the abundance of indulgent choices available when eating out. I have managed to try and make some good choices though.
I am looking forward to getting home to the safety and comfort of my "healthy routines".

Let me add that just connecting with you guys to talk about it is giving me renewed, resolve.

Nutrition: Striving for and Sustaining Healthy Habits

I found this great artice on sustaing healthy habits written by Gwen Stanley. One of the main points is to set a goal of being healthy and feeling good rather than focusing on the pounds lost. I really like that it calls out changing our mental status to achieve our goals.

Quote from article to wet your whistle.......
'A key component of the goal to feel good is that it is a very positive goal. There should be absolutely nothing negative about striving for and sustaining a state of feeling truly good and healthy. Yet the way almost everyone approaches making healthier choices is through a negative mental framework. The term, “I will cut down on my consumption of sweets and fried foods to lose some extra weight,” is far more common than the term, “I will purchase and consume more of my favorite fruits and vegetables, and walk or ride my bike every day.”'

The general concept is to mentally change the approach and consider what you will add to your healthy lifestyle rather than what you will "take away".
Make's sense doesn't it??!! Read the article in full at:
http://www.projectmana.org/node/3816

Let me know what you think!! :)

~M

Week 2 Recap

We had our week 2 weigh-in this morning (the start of our 3rd week.) Janel and I started on Fitday to get going logging our calories, and shifted to Myfooddiary.com at the end of week 1. Between the two of us we have lost about 15-16 pounds. Not too shabby!

We continue to take it slow and figure out what works best for us. There are things we like that we don't want to allow ourselves right now because we haven't really built up the habit support system we need for sustainable weight loss. It would be way too easy for me to have a few bad days in a row and then fall off the wagon. Janel is a really good role model for me and we are using each other to stay accountable.

Thanks to Mom for keeping this blog going and for leading the charge! I am sooooo proud of you Ma :) Make me catch you! I'm looking forward to a great week and I will have more updates to come shortly.

Love,
-a

Phase 3 this week for me...........

Remember I mentioned that going to phase 3 of the Curves weight management plan would increase my calories by about 500 daily. While I don't follow their food choices, I do follow the concept of their over outline which is basically divided into 3 phases. The thought is to keep your metabolism from stalling. The general outline is as follows:

Phase 1 & 2 are weight loss phases:

Phase 1: 12oo calories for 7 days

Phase 2: 1500 calories for 14 days

Phase 3 is maintenance phase NOT a loss phase:
Eat 2000-2500 calories for 2-3 weeks. During phase 3 if you gain up to 3 lbs you should drop back to 1200 calories until you lose all 3 lbs. Then go back to the 2000-2500. Don't let yourself gain more than 3 lbs. During this week you should weigh yourself daily (the other two phases recommend a weekly weigh in). It's good to allow yourself to gain up to 3 lbs at least a couple of times before going back to the phase 1 rotation. This will trigger your metabolism. The longer it takes in between gains the better your metabolism is working.

Another benefit of phase 3 is to let your body get used to the weight that it is losing and teach you the how to maintain on a regular basis so that when you get to your goal weight it will not be a new concept to maintian. Building good habits along the way are crucial to success. Because if we don't change bad habits we will only revert to those eventually.

The first time I did phase 3 I was very nervous about it but it was amazing to see my body respond well to it. We'll see how it works this time. :) I'll keep a post of my progress. I should really get some pictures up too.

Does anyone want to post before, along the way and after pics? Let me know. You all have access to create new posts. I'd love to hear about your journey.

Godspeed!
~M

And holding.......

Well, good news; I'm holding at 199. I did dip down to 198 for a minute but have not gone back up over 200. YAY!! So that means that it was a REAL loss and not just a quinkeydink. ;)

While there has been a challenge to keep a balance of the right mix for protien, fat and carbs, I have been fairly successful. My diary keeps telling me that I need more fat in my daily intake by about 1 or 2%.........I NEVER thought I'd struggle with that! LOL

Next week I go to phase 3 of my curves recommended cycle and will be increasing my daily caloric intake by about 500 calories.

How is everyone else doing so far?

Sweet!

ok, well, the day finally arrived. With great anticipation, I stepped on to the scale and low and behold.......199! I stepped off and back on 3 times just to make sure. Now I feel like the pressure if off even if I float back up a couple of pounds, which will inevitably happen. I usually ebb and flow, so to speak with my weight. #1 Milestone...........checked off the list! Now on to bigger and better.........oh, I mean smaller and better things. :)

I have to say, I am truly LOVING myfooddiary.com. I gave them a recommendation on FaceBook. I really like the smiley face encouragements and the added daily nutritional intake updates it gives you. Such a great tool for a small sum. Thanks to Adam and Janel for the referral!

Hope you're having a great day. I'd love to hear about your updates. Post a note here and share what's happening with you so we can all pray for each other and encourage one another. Pullleeeaasse!!!

Godspeed,
~M