March!?

Woah. Where did February go?! My February goals went really well I think.  March will be much of the same (Lent and all), also going to try to do more food prep on Sundays.  What's in store for March? So much, but I'm trying not to focus on them too much. Just one day at a time, one meal at a time! I'm feeling confident in what I'm doing - eating and in the gym, so I don't want to jinx it really by talking a bunch about it.

Here's what's on tap:

Maybe some C25k. I have registered for two 5ks that are taking place in May. I hope to be able to run a full 5k by then.

Reaching my fitbit goal of 7500 steps & 10 flights of stairs every day.

Weekend water goals -- I have no issues during the week with water intake.

Read one (1) book.  Don't judge me that it takes me a month to read a book. :) 

What are your active, healthy, wellness goals for March?

Ash Wednesday

Awaken us, Awaken us
Stir in our hearts your truth
Awaken us, Awaken us
That we might live for you
We are ashes, we are dust
Awaken us

My prayer for lent.

February

Pondering what my February goals should be... Yes, the first day of the month is already over, but there's 27 more days to attack what I want to accomplish.

Focusing on eating. I'll keep going to the gym and start logging my miles again, but going to focus on clean.

No candy
No cakes
No chips
No white bread
No fast food
No chocolate
No ice cream

To make it more significant and more of a habit, I may continue this through lent (which begins February 18).

What do you want to work on for February?

Abs are created in the kitchen :)

January

Remember when I told you my verse for the year?

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.  Joshua 1:9

At the beginning of January, I had lunch with my Sondra (my Pastor's wife). I always call her 'my Sondra'. Anyway, I was telling her my verse for the year and explaining what 'Stronger' would look like January 2016. The next night my church hosted an intimacy service (prayer service). The verse the Pastor focused on was Joshua 1:9.  Wow!!! What a confirmation that it was supposed to be my focus!

Focus on the Prize

Children's Pastors Conference

We just got back from Children's Pastors Conference in Chattanooga. I cannot even tell you what an amazing experience it was this year!! I left encouraged, inspired and blessed. For the first time in a long time, I felt like God is getting ready to do something big. I don't know what, but I feel He is working. I haven't felt like that in a very long time... I can't even remember when.

I love spending the week with like minded people getting ideas, sharing stories, and going to "big church" ... twice a day!! :)

I can't wait to put into practice what we gained and what we learned.

God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called.

2014 In Review

I've been pondering this post for a few days. I'm not sure what to say about 2014.  In between the good trips we had, it was pretty craptastic.  I only did one race and was not motivated about 'being healthy' at all.  This is shown by how I feel after 'starting over' last week with the trainer.  It's also shown by my blood sugar numbers... my check up was supposed to be on the 16th, but because of how I've been feeling and my numbers - the dr moved it up to the 5th.

Some good things from the year

• Road trip to California in February to attend Children's Pastor's Conference. Amazing scenery! Included going to Spring Training on the way home.
• Many trips to Nebraska to see my favorite man. He is what I never knew I wanted. :)
• Being able to attend ALDS Game 3 at the K! A postseason game is obviously on my bucket list and unless I come into some money, the World Series is out. :) But being there when the Royals won it to move on to the ALCS was classic and one of the best baseball moments I've had.

Other than that... there was loss.  CJ's dad passed away in July. After being with her family all week to help where I could, her dad's funeral on a Friday -- my mom called on Saturday to say that my grandma had passed.  Since then CJ's family has had even more loss, even up until a few days ago.

I know I'm blessed to have what I have, but 2014 was also a struggle. I have never struggled with singleness as much as I did last year. I'm not sure if it was my age inching closer to "mid-30s" or what. I can't even describe it really.

Moving on to what is hopefully a better year.

Step It Up

I love the chats I have with my trainer during workouts.

No, really.

Ok... mostly.

We have a good time.  She gives me crap for eating crap.  She punishes me for not working out enough. You know the drill.  This week was no exception.  The only difference was tonight... I got homework.

As in - this is what you're doing for the week and before we start our next workout, you're weighing in.

Bah!!! She's on to me! It's good - for her. For me - I'm scared. ;) So here's this week's homework in case you were wondering:

Monday - W/ Michele
Tuesday - Praise Moves (Christian yoga)
Wednesday - Home workout provided by Michele
Thursday - 3 mile walk
Friday - OFF
Saturday - 30 min workout video
Sunday - walk or off

On my off days I'm to do work with the foam roller - stretching and such. So it's time to get off my duff. Oh - and quit eating crap.

Pretty sure I'll be starving by New Years.

Clean Up

You know there are times in your life when you need to clean house. Most 'normal' people do this in the spring. However, I'm very much at that moment. I feel like my life is chaos.... Unorganized... Cluttered. I don't know if it's the crazy year we've had or what. Starting today I'm cleaning house.... Starting with the closet and dresser. Getting rid of clothes and stuff I don't need or use.

Might include some phone numbers. Maybe some conversations that need to be had to get off my chest. We'll see what the coming weeks bring, but I hope that this will accomplish at least some sense of order. And keep me from getting depressed and "funky" during the remaining winter months.

What tips do you have for avoiding the winter funk?

Starting the year off right.

New Year, New Word

For the last couple of years I've selected one word to focus on for the year. I didn't pick one for 2014, but have decided to do one for 2015.

My word for 2015 is STRONGER.

The verse to go along with it is:  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”   Joshua 1:9

I'm not necessarily going to voice goals or anything, but will be sharing struggles and successes in my life as a whole.

Cheers!!

Faith & Fitness Week In Pictures

They had a photographer come out one day and take pictures of us in the gym, plus some of my own. This is such a small, small taste, but I hope you enjoy!!

Leg Pressing 260 pounds

At the end of the week with Austin & Ken

Jenn, me, and Vanessa getting ready for our nutritional session

Our swim teacher, Kelli

Water workout!! I'm probably concentrating on not drowning. ;)

Our beautiful group, including trainers!

Me and trainer Charline

John kept telling me if I locked my knees one more time he was going to slap me...
And he would yell at me when he couldn't hear me breathing... :)

Faith & Fitness Week: Food

Wow. I didn't realize I hadn't finished posting this. :) So a month later... lol

I have to tell you, this was truly my first experience where healthy food could be SOOOO good!! There were several things that we had during the week that I've been scared to try, so I was excited about that.

Here's the new stuff I tried:

French Toast - Multigrain dipped in egg whites. We had it with berries and sugar free syrup. So good!

Quinoa (a grain, like rice). I would definitely buy it to make for myself and cook it in a low-sodium stock to give it more flavor.

Salmon - I've wanted to try it forever, but when you eat somewhere, you don't want to pay for it, just in case you don't like it! This was seasoned with tomato-basil Mrs. Dash and it was YUM!!! I could have five things... but I think that would defeat the purpose.

Egg White Omelet w/ spinach and cheese: They do one whole egg, and then some egg whites. I never thought egg whites could taste so good, but this was yum!! They also suggested cooking it just like you're frying the egg and having it with whole wheat toast or english muffin -- we had this one day also.

Kashi Go lean Crunch - I had mine with skim milk. I loved this cereal, it tasted like the puffs I had as a kid. :)

Other than those things, we had chicken, salad, brown rice, and veggies galore. :) I learned about some different things, some I already knew about, but it confirmed I need to try them!

PB2 - powdered peanut butter, good for shakes, but you can add water to make it paste-like.

Oatmega Protein Bars - Organic, with not as much sugar. Have to buy them on amazon.com, because apparently they only sell them in Texas.

Plain Greek Yogurt - Typically I buy the flavored ones, but they gave us ideas on how to make them good without the added sugar, etc. 

Since coming home I have been eating egg whites - yesterday for breakfast I had egg whites, one piece of toast, and a tomato. I also learned that when you snack, if you have a fruit you need a protein to go with that. At camp we always had string cheese or almonds with apples or a banana. I miss that little bubble when I didn't have to count anything and it was all portioned out for me! It was so easy -- but I guess if it was easy, everyone would do it. :)

Faith & Fitness Week: Our Trainers

I cannot praise our trainers enough! All of them were so attentive and amazing! I was blessed by each of their stories for different reasons. It was appreciated and didn't go unnoticed how vulnerable they were with us all throughout the week. Whether it was stories during meals, or sitting with us one-on-one to go over different things.

The trainers of the week were (pictured left to right):

John: Is the 2013 Mr. America... yes, a body builder. He has such an amazing heart for God and is completely focused on the person he is helping. He forced (I mean pushed) me to leg press 260 pounds at the end of the week. He took time to learn about us so that he could know enough about what we could do.

Laurie: I was so blessed by her spirit! The very first night she took me aside and asked if I wanted to talk. I was a tad intimidated, but said yes. Again, she asked so many questions so she could learn about us and our struggles. She taught us a lot about at home workouts. No more excuses of you can get to the gym!!!

Charline: I love this lady! She is a Team Beachbody Coach. Her story spoke to me so much and she was such an encourager. She did the very first workout with us and I'm sure was a little scary for her, too! :)

Kelli: Is actually the wellness director at Southwestern Assemblies of God University (where this event took place). She took time out of her busy schedule to do water workouts with us and even help out during the various sessions.

Alex from this season's Biggest Loser was also there to help us throughout the week. She did an amazing job at teaching us what she learned while on BL!

Faith & Fitness Week: Gains and Loss

I'm sure this is the first of many posts about Faith & Fitness Week, I'm just so unsure of where to start.

Let's start with what I lost.

1. According to their scale -- 4 pounds, Sunday night to Friday morning.
2. My Fear -- I don't feel intimidated by things I can't do or things I've never tried.

Now, what did I gain?

1. A greater sense of peace about where God has me headed. Every morning we did prayer walks where I literally prayed and worshiped the entire 45 minutes. Then every night we had service and small groups. Never have I been with God so much! I can't even describe to you what it feels like to finally have HIM in the center of this journey.
2. More confidence to try new things -- I did two spinning classes!! It was never something I wanted to try. I thought I was going to die 5 minutes in, but I did it... TWICE!! :)
3. I found my love for the water -- Every single day we had a water workout. When I was younger (before I gained my weight), I LOVED swimming. I was a fish! As I gained weight I was in the water less and less. Kelli, our swim instructor, even told me I was great in the water. 
4. Great friends -- A new support system community that were great spending time with and have been great encouragers since I got home!
5. Knowledge about working out, eating, and my faith.

There were so many aspects to the week and I'm going to go into detail about them, each in their own post, because there's so much I want to share!

Stay tuned for more!

Online Dating

It's been a couple of weeks since I last blogged. Sorry about that - I'm having a heck of a time in this journey called life.

Anyway, I thought I'd post about an insecurity I'm having this week. I thought I'd bite the bullet and join the online dating scene again. My mind tends to play tricks on me, so I'm not sure why I torture myself this way. ;)

For instance. Say I email a guy... the system tells me when he's read it. Instead of thinking maybe he thinks we won't click, I immediately become insecure in my skin and think it's because I'm not a Barbie.

Part of my problem I realize, but it's how I think. Maybe someday I'll get my head on straight. Until then, I keep praying that God will change me. :)

Tuesday's Wisdom

I love this. Something to chew on. Hope your week is going great!

Weekend Activity

Do you find it harder to get your activity in on the weekends? Depending on what's happening, this is mostly true for me -- especially Sundays. It's rest day don't you know! I spent this weekend in Nebraska for a cousin's wedding and this gal was my exercise buddy:

She's my brother's dog and doesn't get out a lot, so I took her for walks and played in the yard with her. :) It was beautiful weather for it, too!

Reminder

No matter where you are in your journey, always remember .... 

I'm talking to myself, too! :)

No Joke

Last week I had my three month follow up with the endocrinologist. My a1c was slightly elevated than last time at 5.9. My doctor was positive and said what I was doing is safe for me. Then he asked if I'd lost weight, to which I laughed. He said he had something else up his sleeve...

A weight loss pill.

Not surgery like last time (ugh). Anyway. I'm still unsure if i want to go that route. It's not covered by insurance and not reimbursable by my cafeteria plan. I really want to do this right. I can't help but think that there has to be something else going on inside my body that's preventing my weight loss. So far no tests have confirmed this. It's frustrating and mildly irritating. I know you've all heard this from me before and I'm sorry to whine about it. I just don't know what else to do!

So far I've been mostly unsuccessful at keeping my goals in check and then I get in a funk. It's a vicious cycle this journey... None the less, I've made my workout schedule for the month of April, including a couple of morning walks. Thursdays being my only day off. I've also upped my trainer sessions to twice a week. We'll see what happens.

Pressing on. Running the race.

My Life Without Facebook

Happy Easter!! I hope you had a great time of worship this morning, thinking about your small sacrifice for the last 46 days. Last night CJ made a comment that got me thinking. She said "I can't wait for you to get back on facebook so we have something to talk about."

This sounded kind of sad to me. What is our world coming to that our conversations revolve around what people post on Facebook? We learn about our friend's lives on Facebook. I'm not saying it's bad! I have a lot of friends spread out across the country, so I LOVE Facebook and the ability to keep in touch with everyone.

But - to base our conversations on what it says? Or what people write?? If we don't talk about what people post, apparently we have nothing to talk about. What does this say about what our society and culture has become?? I think I'm going to keep with this fasting... Every Sunday I will fast from the land of Facebook. This journey of mine is all about making ME better for myself and for my future family. I don't want to have the family that eats dinner in front of the tv. I know it'll be difficult, but I don't want us to conform to how the world does things. Spend time together. Have CONVERSATION... What a concept.

Here's to restarting the battle.

First Things First

In just shy of three days, I will officially be BRACE FREE!!!! After two years and three months I am so ready to have these things off. Everyone keeps asking me what things I'm going to eat first. It's sad how much our world is consumed by food that it's the first question. Anyway - I digress.

Gum. I used to be a chronic gum chewer and can't wait to have a stick!

One of our kids gave us a gift card to the movies and I'm pretty sure there's a box of milk duds calling my name!

Small things that we never think about, I can't wait to eat an apple without cutting it first. Or corn on the cob without cutting the corn off. ;)

I will, however, miss being able to use my rubber bands as an excuse not to eat. Have a fabulous Easter Sunday, everyone. Make good choices around the table or be more active after the big lunch!