On the Road Again

Well, it's been quite the long hot summer. We (the kids, myself, and my mom) leave tomorrow for Rhode Island. Given the traveling with kids part we'll be taking three days and arrive there on Wednesday. I'm hoping to see lots of beautiful fall leaves on the way up the GA heat has really gotten to me and I'm ready for a break. Newport is having weather in the 40's and 50's already! Buying complete new wardrobes for all of us is on our list of things to do shortly upon arrival.

This has been a good summer though, a lot of healing has taken place for me personally and with my family. A lot issues have been sorted out and I feel so good about everything. I feel better about life than I have in YEARS and it's consistent. I haven't had the deep depression that I was dealing with for about a month and a half now. I went to a wholeness retreat in August and the results have been remarkable.

I have jumped back into my fitness goals with new gusto and with a new outlook. This isn't a summer change, this is a life change. This is changing ALL aspects of my life and putting things back in their proper place and order. My relationship with Jesus has changed and grown so much. He needs to be the center and the other things are becoming much easier. I need to care for my spirit and heart next and then everything else just falls into place. My inner joy is just welling up and helping me to be a more positive wife and mother and caretaker of myself too. So here is the new and revised (yet again) plan. :)

I need something I can do every day. The thing I can always be aware of is what I eat. So, guidelines and portions! I met a great new friend that has similar weight goals and we're long distance accountability partners. This has been HUGE! If I have to call someone to ask if I can have dessert, well then, I just don't eat dessert! I still enjoy the things I enjoy, for example beer, but now I have guidelines and everything is much more manageable. On this alone I've lost 6 lbs in two weeks.

Here are my rules: (not in order b/c I can't find my card)

1. Portions, portions, portions!
2. Don't eat my kids food that they don't want.
3. No sweets unless we ask accountability partner.
4. Exercise 4 times a week for 30 mins.
5. No more than 2 beers a night, not to exceed 4 per week. Compensate the next day with a lighter meal or a walk.

Now I'm sure all my faithful fans who have put up with my infrequent posts are curious about my results for the summer. I have lost 19.4 lbs. I have last 24 1/2 inches total!!! And best of all, I FEEL better, I'm happier, and I have so much HOPE.

"But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard - things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely"

Galatians 5: 22-26, The Message

Been Awhile

I realize that it's been quite some time since I've updated my blog. This past 6 weeks has been very challenging as far as situations go and personally. We had a lot going on as a family. Daniel lost a good friend, house hunting, sick kids, not a lot of private time, etc... My personal favorite coping mechanism is to shut down, so I did, a lot. Didn't work out, didn't stick to my eating plan, etc... So as far as I know I haven't GAINED a lot of weight back but I also haven't weighed myself recently and last weigh in, in spite of everything I was down two more pounds.

ANYWAY, all that being said, I've realized/remembered that, I need accountability and I need to set for myself a routine that I can do anytime, anywhere, and create a new habit to be accountable to myself and to value myself enough to keep taking positive strides in my life. So tomorrow morning I'm starting over with the new goal of reasonable changes that I can make that will see big results over time. I'll keep you posted.

Another Week

Another week come and gone. Another week of feeling basically like a failure in my resolve to meet my goals. It has been a challenging week in so many ways. Daniel lost a good friend who was deployed to Afganistan to an IED. Everything has seemed off kilter and I've felt essentially out of sorts all week. Today was probably my first really good day in the gym this whole week. I haven't done NOTHING but I also haven't been doing enough or staying disciplined with my diet in the manner I need to. I need to remind myself that getting back on track is just a decision away. Choosing NOT to drink the beer or choosing to go to the gym despite my feelings at that precise moment in time. I also need to remember that I feel so much better after going to the gym and working out. The three plus miles on the treadmill and an hour of yoga had me feeling a lot better about things. Now to take it a decision at a time and keep choosing what is going to help me reach my goals not shoot myself in the foot. The only thing I'm not liking about the yoga class I'm taking is that every now and then I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and I pretty much look like Mrs. Potato Head compared to everyone else in there. I try to remind myself that I am seeing positive progress even with all the derailing. I can now wrap a normal sized towel around myself and have it close all the way, my jeans are noticeably looser, and walking around the neighborhood doesn't have me out of breath like it did when we first got here.

Weekly Weigh In

Okay, so I didn't weigh yesterday because I was seriously down on myself. In the spirit of being totally honest and risking a serious tongue lashing from my trainer I was very bad at being strict with myself last week. This includes things like fried chicken, macaroni and cheese (a small serving!!!), a Milano cookie, and TWO Tequila Sunrises. Oh, and ribs. And sweet potato casserole. Top that with being totally inconsistent with working out and I was seriously bumming.

I wasn't going to weigh at all but was talked into it and so this morning I weighed and I've lost another 3 lbs for a total of 12 so far. I'm GLAD I lost more weight but I also wonder what it COULD have been had I stayed on my routine and eaten more strictly. There were some extenuating circumstances that contributed to my straying off of my plan but I could have done better.

This morning I got back in the gym and hit my routine hard. Got all my cardio in, did 3.25 miles today, 2 of them outside. I can't beat myself up, gonna keep moving forward and realize that it's a process with ups and downs but I feel like I am really making changes.

Changes

Today was my last session for the month with Cristen, my trainer. In the last month a lot of changes have been made. I'm working hard and feeling good and I feel like I'm off to a decent start. It's hard not to get bogged down in how far I have to go.

We leave on Wednesday to head up to Augusta to spend the rest of Daniel's vacation with his family. I'm a little nervous about having to work out on my own and I hope I can keep up this pace. It's gonna take cracking down from the day we get there and setting myself on a routine. I'll check in with Cristen via email and meet up with her every at LEAST every two weeks to make sure I'm staying on track. It is nice that we'll be closer to a gym at my in-law's house so it'll be easier to get more time there. I want to do more of my cardio inside as it's consistently in the 100's here.

I'll weigh in again and measure on Friday to see how much progress I've made this first full month.

Weekly Weigh In

So, I've lost 2 more lbs! I was hoping for more like 32.... :) It's still forward progress and I shouldn't be discouraged that I didn't lose another 7. My goal for this week is 5 more. Gonna have to really work hard to achieve that! AND NO "CHEATING"!

Wish Me Luck

Weigh in tomorrow. Yikes.