Overweight!!

I did it!!! I crossed the line!!


Hello Overweight. :)  I've missed you. :D

THAT skirt!!

So, funny story....

About 14 years ago, just after my 2nd baby was born, I bought myself a skirt. It was a skirt that was just a little too snug to wear, but I just *knew* I was going to lose that baby weight and it would fit me in no time.

I've kept that skirt tucked in drawers and closets all these years, making it my *goal* that I would ONE day fit in that silly skirt. It was BRAND NEW for cry...ing out loud, I was GOING to wear it. <stomps foot>

And, well, today I was rummaging my closet needing something that didn't fall to the floor when I put it on. Grabbed THAT skirt and..... <drumroll>......

 IT FITS!!! I waited 14 years for this day. Just a wee bit excited.

 

Shapewear

So, while we were out tonight my husband asked if I was wearing shapewear under my jeans. :D

Ahhh, nope.  This is the first time he's really said anything that shows he's seen a difference in my appearance and I was thrilled. :D

That's all.  1.5 pounds until that next decade. About 5-6 pounds until I say goodbye to Obese FOR GOOD!!

Please keep me pressing on strong, Lord!

Strong Start to the Week

This Monday started with a bang! Okay, not a bang, more like a big YAWN and Do I HAVE to???? whine when my husband woke me up at 5am to head to the gym. BUT, I did it and the rest of the day was stellar!

I was running quite a bit today for the children's activities.  I packed a quick lunch of pb & j for them with carrot sticks, bell pepper slices, pears, and soy nuts.  My salad was half a head of romaine, a pile of spinach leaves, soy nuts, and mandarin oranges.  Not as filling as it could have been, but I was short on time.

I made up for it at dinner, though!! Check out this beauty of a stir fry!

 

 

I make my own sauce with the juice from a can of unsweetened pineapple chunks and add vegetable broth to make 2 cups.  Mix in 1 tbs ginger, a few red pepper flakes to preference, 1 tsp (about) of Bragg's, and 4 tbs of cornstarch.  I must have been hungry for stir fry because I was loving this meal!!  The children ate theirs over brown rice. David and I just piled high the veggies!

 

Scale was DOWN today. Yahoo!  

Nutritarian Birthday Feast!

My oldest daughter turned 16 yesterday.  We had some fun shopping, then stopped for an express lunch in the van.  Instead of fast-food, we went to the local grocery store and built three huge salads for David, myself, and our daughter. Grabbed a loaf of bread, jar of peanut butter and jar of all fruit for the other children.  We were all excited to have good stuff to eat and cheap for on the road!

After that we ate our way through the apple orchard while we picked to fill our bucket of fresh apples.  Now, that's some healthy fun!

We cruised home for a Taco Bar night.  We tried something new by baking corn tortillas in the oven like this, making some great taco shells for our filling of black beans mixed with onions, garlic, mushrooms, collards, and seasoning, brown rice mixed with mixed vegetable medley, dried onion, garlic, and more seasoning, and of course, a giant fresh salad and salsa.  Everyone was quite happy with the birthday girl for giving us an excuse to eat such yummy food. :)

The best part of the meal came at the end, of course. She was so excited to plan out her birthday dessert, Nutritarian style.

She chose Dark Chocolate Nice Cream mixed with Raw Brownie Bites.  We called it Live by Chocolate Nice Cream. (spin off of our old favorite, Death By Chocolate Ice cream).

 

 Delicious!!  She truly is a genius.

 

I always tease my children that their birthday is also MY birthday. After all, who did all the work, right?  ;)  So, I was pretty happy to see the scale down half a pound this morning. I'm calling that a belated birthday gift to me!

Wowzers!!

After all that poor eating, I'm DOWN another pound! 

Yesterday was a great day with great choices.  I met a friend in the afternoon and we did a short hike with the children. Then we headed over to the apple orchard for some fun time.  While our friends munched on ice cream, we sampled apples and cider and then the girls munched on their Kashi cereal while I sipped my herbal tea.

Then we zoomed home so I could fix dinner. We had friends over for a meal and they eat ETL!!! It was WONDERFUL cooking for people that know and WANT to eat this way. No explaining, no defending, no need to feel *weird*.

I made a giant stir-fry with veggies from the garden, fridge, and cabinet.  Green beans, cabbage, peppers, onions, mushrooms, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, bean sprouts, Asian corn, and water chestnuts.  I mixed it with a sauce made of pineapple juice, ginger, red pepper flakes, a tiny bit of bragg's aminos, water, and arrowroot powder. 

On the table we also had brown rice, pineapple, and a melon salad.

Then came dessert. :)

My husband brought home a bag of freshly picked apples from my mother-in-law.  I just knew something creative could be done with those.  I peeked around at baked apple recipes on allrecipes.com and then went to work nutritizing one.

So, we cored the apples then sliced them in half.  Mixed some frozen blueberries with cinnamon and vanilla.  Fill the middle of the apples with the berry mixture. Bake at 350 for about 40-50 minutes.  They were amazing!!!! Everyone loved them.  The berries made this beautiful syrup that would be lovely over pancakes. :)

The best part, though, was having time to talk with someone using ETL and seeing her life change and feel better. We talked about how we see our physical bodies improving.  We shared ideas for recipes. We made a plan to get together to build our meal binders.  It is just so great to have a friend I can see face to face that embraces this lifestyle and *gets it*. 

This Month's Progress Pics Posted!

One month of before and after pics are posted!! Click on the button at the top if you want to see them.

I'm so excited that I can SEE a difference in my face, just like I was hoping!!

David looks amazing, like I keep telling him. :)

Today was good all around.  Food wise, I probably didn't eat enough. We were busy and on the go, mostly, so I didn't have time to prepare much for meals.  Quick breakfast, reheat some beans on the go for lunch, and warm up a Lentil Loaf and a couple bags of frozen vegetables with mushrooms and onions added for dinner.

We did our grocery shopping today and then I spent the afternoon in the garden.  I dug up some things and planted some seeds for a fall harvest.  Really hoping it all comes up because we could use all the greens and cauliflower we can get!

Boy, I just keep looking at those comparison pics. It's SO motivating to SEE progress right before your eyes.  It's like becoming a whole new person.  :)

VICTORY!

I just need to proclaim.....


I am OUT of the 200's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been waiting for this day FOR YEARS!!!


Thank You, Father!! May You be lifted high in my heart and life as I rejoice in Your goodness today.

Reboot Juice Fast - Day 3

Down...down...down!!

I'm 2.4 down from my last recorded weigh-in.  So happy, though I really was ready to just go eat some of the yummy taco soup the children were enjoying for dinner.  However, when I saw that number come down...the one that leaves me dancing *right* on the verge of moving to the next century weight-wise, well, I guess I'll sip this green jar of juice a little bit longer.

I'm really hoping that a couple more days will find me into the next set of numbers. What a boost that would be for me.

As it is, I'm really excited that I'm fitting comfortably in the next size down in my closet. Really excited. :)

Didn't get in any exercise today. We spent the day shopping and went to friends. I don't think I worked hard enough doing a quick mop on her floors to count it as exercise.  Had a nice visit, though. :)

All the juices seem Very Green today. I've noticed that in the mornings I'm more eager and willing to take on the juicing.  Even the taste is more to my liking. When evenings come around I feel very Done with the taste and texture of the juices.  I'm also feeling SO tired and worn out in the evenings.  Just a few little games on the wii with David tonight left me feeling worn out and ready for an early bedtime.  I thought I was supposed to be energized. ????

Watched this clip this morning on the benefits of drinking kale.  Short and interesting. Oh boy, did I drink some kale today!!

Breakfast and dinner
kale
collard greens
chard
green apples
oranges

Lunch and snack
pineapple
peaches
blueberries
kale
chard
collards

NSV - Non Scale Victory

Just put away a Too-loose-I-Can-Spin-It skirt on the top shelf of my closet.

Currently wearing a skirt that I haven't been able to squeeze into for over a year...or more.

David was able to put on his jeans he bought years ago. They were a tiny bit tight in the waist, but I think he looked great!  TWO sizes smaller than his current sized jeans that are falling off of him now.

He's comfortably wearing one size smaller than he was last week. Wow!!

Those Jeans

You know those jeans I bought a couple of years ago?  The ones I got because my skirts were way too loose and I rewarded myself with some new jeans.  Yeah, those ones that were still a tiny bit tight and buttoning them held me in.  Then, a couple of months ago, they were WAY too tight and I had to do the Squat and stretch thing and wear a really long, baggy shirt if I wanted to wear them. 

Okay, you don't remember, but I DO.

Yesterday, while wearing those same jeans, I realized something.

I can pull them off and on WITHOUT undoing the zipper and button at all. 

How's that for a Non Scale Victory? :D

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Good Things:
Great choices while eating out after church
Snacked on the way home, but healthier choices than old habits
30 minutes on the wii, added hand weights to my advanced step
Scale is going down again

Not So Good Things:
Too much salt with my snack
Sugar today

I was so glad to be exercising again. The last two days have left me with no activity and I was feeling so sluggish.  I got in a good 30 minutes that left me sweating.  I was down 1.5 since my last weigh-in.  Whew!

David got some greek yogurt bars at the store today. I have such a hard time saying no to him when he gets me a treat. Thing is, I didn't WANT to eat it, it was high in sugar. And, even though I did, it didn't even taste good, so it felt like a waste of a treat. I need to figure out a kind way to decline or at least redirect his efforts. I did the same thing with Josh this week when he saved part of his sub sandwich for me.  

I know I shouldn't rejoice so much over the scale going down. But, well, I am.

Daniel Fast - Day Ten

June 19, 2013

Day Ten

Here it is. Day Ten.  Sort of a milestone with this fast since it's based on Daniel's fast in which he asked permission to eat only vegetables and drink only water for 10 days and then be tested to see if he and his friends were healthy.  They were found to be stronger and healthier than the others who were eating the king's choicest foods.  So, of course, I should be examining whether I feel healthier and stronger than I did eating "choicer" foods. 

I definitely feel healthier than I did last week.  I'm grateful for that.

Based on what I'm accomplishing every day compared to my pre-fast days, I MUST have a greater amount of energy pouring through my body.  I feel physically tired every night when I go to bed. Yet, I'm not feeling as emotionally drained as I was before.  I am not battling irritability like I was, either.

I'm also starting to feel like this is more of a way of life than just a fast. I mean, I still think of something I'd enjoy eating or drinking that isn't allowed every so often and think, "Well, I'm glad the fast has an end." ;)  Still, we're finding a lot of new ways to incorporate vegetables and fruits into our menu that will stick.  I'm learning some great things about how I eat, how much I eat, and I'm definitely planning to keep this focus on vegetables and fruits as the core of our diet when this is over. 

Today started late for me. I was up with the baby last night and then could NOT make myself sleep.  I'm not sure why I was so restless other than my brain wouldn't stop fussing.  We were late almost all day long with meals and work and such.  Didn't get near what I was hoping to get done done, but I am very happy with what was accomplished. 

Bedrooms are all clean and mopped along with the third floor stairway and the second floor hallway. Smells so good. Two large baskets of laundry are sorted and put away. Shoe bins are sorted and ready for storage. Clothing bins were stored away in the attic. School happened and happened well. Three healthy meals with clean up for dessert.  ;)  A couple more loads of laundry through the machines. A short break with fruit smoothies made by my Benjy-boy this afternoon.  Then we all hit the garden beds again, planting some flowers and building up two more flower beds.  I had SUCH a nice time with my children working on that today. 

I really thought I was too tired for anything, but I was able to tidy up this evening, clean the kitchen, unbury my bed tonight from the work I was doing with sorting clothes and shoes, and help my oldest with a quilting project she started.  I know you didn't hear about this, but take it from my absence over the last year or so, I was NEVER getting this amount of work done on a daily basis before.

It could very well be that refraining from the foods that I was eating is helping me feel less slug-like. It could be that the healthier foods I'm eating right now are giving me a great boost of energy.  It is very likely that the fast from my internet social scene is making a huge impact on how I spend my time and who I spend it with.  Again, this time of refocus, rebooting my body, and renewing relationships has been a treasure I am ever so grateful for.  I'm a little afraid of what happens when it ends.  Yet, I know the Lord has a plan.  He will lead and guide by His word.  I'm so grateful.

Daniel Fast - Day Eight

June 17, 2013

Day Eight

Great day!

I'm on my own with seven of the children and we had a great day.  We got up on time, chores and breakfast were a little late, but overall it was a good start. We headed out for a couple of hours worth of gardening, transplanting flowers around the house. It was great. Felt good knowing I started the day with some productive activity.

Schooling, shopping, choring, all sorts of things got done today.  I felt upbeat and happy to be with my children.  The food thing isn't really bothering me much aside from just deciding what we will eat. I do feel like it's getting costly to feed all these people and stick with the diet.  I'm going to start using up our eggs for the little girls and save the nuts and seeds for the rest of us.  Two more days and Benj gets to move over to the modified fast. He's excited. ;)

I started reading the book, Eat to Live: The End of Diabetes.  I actually picked it up a couple of weeks ago and wasn't impressed. I sat down with it again today and am drawn in.  I'm reading his description of toxic hunger versus real hunger. Were I not on this fast, I think I would have just blown off his writing. Now that I'm experiencing what he's talking about, it holds a little more weight with me.  I don't want to be seeking out a man's way of diet right now, but I am intrigued with his ideas and what I'm learning about why my body is reacting the way it is right now. 

Still having pain in my ankle that I injured 8 years ago. It's been bothering me a lot lately, though I haven't damaged it again.  Otherwise I'm doing well. Joint pain, muscle aches, cramping, head aches, those are all gone.  I still have some tinges of lower back pain, but that is fading. 

Water is finally satisfying to me again.  I wasn't drinking much water at all because it was so bland. Now that I'm getting over my coffee fix and diet soda binges, it's refreshing again. I love feeling it's goodness and knowing that my body is healing with every swallow.

Looked at some old pictures with the children tonight.  Don't know if that was a good idea or not. So much time gone by in a flash.  My whole life I've disliked what I've seen in photos. So sad. Praying the Lord releases me of my preoccupation with my self and my image and enables me to walk in the freedom of sanctification, growing stronger and closer to Him.

OH!  I was in bed by 9:30pm last night!! That's another issue I need to work on. I stay up WAY too late.

Daniel Fast - Day Seven

June 16, 2013

Amazing day.

The sermon preached today was excellent, as usual. So fitting, though, with our fast and all I'm learning.  Even better, my 11yo son was fully engaged for the first time ever in the preaching. I watched him leaning forward, fully intent on every words spoken.

Then, after the sermon, I watched and listened as he approached our pastor to thank him for preaching on the person of Samuel. He told him how much it meant to him, how he relates to the message of obedience in his life, how he longs to obey and do better at home.  Preacher Gabe was fully of reassurance, courage, and hope for my boy.  Oh, how my heart wanted to dance!!!

I came home and had several great conversations with him.  For one of the first times ever, I cannot wait to wake up to a Monday morning because I get to work with my wonderful boy!!  Thank you, Lord!  Thank you for helping me tune out the wrong voices so I can tune in to the right ones.  I am so very grateful.

We had lunch with David's parents to celebrate Father's Day.  My sister in law was gracious and generous in preparing many foods that fit our Daniel Fast. They have done the fast before, so she knew the ropes.  Such a blessing.

We prepped a week's worth of food for David and Joshua tonight. They are going to be away for the week on a job.  I'm hoping everything we sent will keep them well fed and content.

I'm feeling better and better. Still some soreness in my lower back, but even with all the sitting today in the van and at church, I'm doing well.  David bought me some new shoes to wear at home and they feel so great. I'm noticing that I'm carrying myself more confidently. I have more energy. I'm definitely doing better with my temper and not so irritable.  I am THRILLED that I'm making some strong connections with my children right now. THRILLED.  Including the social networking in my fast has been hugely effective in my relationships.

This week being a single parent will be challenging, but I'm looking forward to it in a strange way.  I little more relaxed. A little less stress. A little more time to get things done.  I'm definitely planning to pace myself so I don't wear out quickly.

Got in all my water today. Easy peasy. :)

Progress...slowly

Not much time for my usual report. Not that I've been good about reporting anyways.

David and I started Ttapp-ing together. He challenged us to work together to lose 2lbs per week. That is a lot for me, I think, especially with nursing, but it's not going to hurt to work towards it at least.

My last weigh in was 13 days ago and I've lost 3 pounds since then. Yay. David weighed in tonight after our first week of the challenge and is also down 3 pounds. Double Yay!

I'm measuring tomorrow. I was SHOCKED to see a loss tonight. I haven't been working very hard on my diet and Ttapp doesn't usually help you drop weight as much as inches. Now I'm nervous about weighing in, thinking it will be disappointing. Either way, though, I'm feeling stronger. I have more energy in the day and I'm sleeping a bit better at night, though my insomnia is still giving me trouble a few nights this past week. So, several goals have been met even if the tape doesn't show it in the morning.

Now that I saw a loss, I'm re-motivated to work harder at my diet and water intake. I'm SO thankful he's willing to work on this with me. Not only do we both need it, but we keep each other from giving up...I hope!

Monday July 16, 2012

Today's Good Things:
Visit with friends for the day
Coffee with more friends tonight
Lovely drive by myself this evening
Baby was a dream today while we were visiting
Ate well, skipped the eating out at Sam's and came home to our beans waiting for us in the crockpot. Great choice over pizza at Sam's that I can't eat anyways. :)

Today's Not So Good Things:
Couldn't find time to get in any exercise. Too much running.
Munched on pretzels and animal crackers on the way home. White flour = Bad. But, Hungry won out.

Had a great day. Such a wonderful day. So loved visiting with friends today. I've missed them all so much. I've missed getting out so much. I've missed having just a teeny bit of time alone so much. And I missed my baby so much, so was thrilled to snuggle her when I got home. :)

Still thinking more and more about my gall bladder. Hoping to get in some calls this week so I can get an appointment with a doc. Praying about whether I keep working on dealing with this diet-wise or just have it removed. I have a constant sore ache every day in my ribs. I really don't want to spend the next year or whatever in pain and struggling just to have it needing to be removed later. Seems a waste of my time and energy where it's needed so many other places. Prayer for wisdom are so appreciated.

Otherwise, feeling great! Looking forward to our first day of Math Week tomorrow. Looking forward to enjoying some learning time with my kiddos, tackling our chores and then, hopefully, treating everyone to a shopping trip for new school supplies. We all love when school supplies are on sale.

I'm dreaming of an early morning walk before everyone is awake. I feel like I'm too ambitious to think I'll be able to open my eyes that much so early in the morning. But, it would be SO lovely. We'll see how the night goes for Kindred before I can know for sure.

Monday, May 28 2012 - New Start

Today's Good Things:
Took some extra time to nap on my husband's last day off of work
Ate my oatmeal this morning ;)
Did some kitchen clean up, laundry chores, and sweeping around the house today

Today's Not So Good Things:
Cookies for dessert. Sigh. (there are NO more cookies in the house anymore, thankfully)
Massive headache and neckpain since yesterday. Ouch.

So, I got on the scale today. Drumroll please.......209lbs.

I'm down 19 pounds from my last OB weigh-in!! I canNOT believe it! They said I was heavy on fluid and I guess they were right!  My lowest point of weight loss before I got pregnant was 206, but I had gained back a couple pounds by the time I had a positive test. I can't believe I'm back at my starting point again. What a gift!!

So, now I've got another great source of motivation and I'm so happy. That mountain I climbed doesn't have to be climbed again. I can start where I left off and keep pressing on. I do, however, need to rebuild the strength that I lost while dealing with my pregnancy. That's going to be a challenge, for sure. But I already know I will feel so good for doing it.

I've set my weight loss goal for 1.5 pounds down each week. I don't know how that will work these first few weeks when I'm not getting in any real exercise, but it's worth aiming for. I'm off to work on my daily/weekly goals and be sure my long term goals are still in line.

I'm excited to get back into reading everyone else's progress and joining in on the encouragement towards you ladies. :)

Monday January 30, 2012

Today's Good Things:
Up on time - 5:30
Morning pilates/stretch (10min)
Bible/reading
Dh's lunch and dinner packed
Morning 15 (17 actually ;) ) by way of EA Sports Active
Stayed on track with menu
Afternoon 15 by way of getting out for my mile walk
Evening 15 by way of wii fit (20min actually)

Today's Not So Good Things:
Major attitudes to deal with from my boys today. I'm looking into putting them on a sugar fast for the week. Something's gotta give regarding their demeanor and concentration.
Numbers better, but fasting still bad

Today's Food Choices and Blood Sugars:
Fasting: 104
Breakfast: 2oz turkey ham, 2 oz cheddar cheese, half rye krisp cracker, decaf
After: 104
Snack: cheese stick, 1 slice hm banana bread w/ butter
Lunch: 1 chicken thigh, 2/3 cup(ish) ranch beans with shredded cheddar and turkey, half grapefruit
After: 102
Snack: Apple with peanut butter, handfull of cheeze-its
Dinner: 4oz (or so) of chicken breast, garlic pasta (about 1/2 cup pasta tossed with butter, seasonings, mixed vegies and diced chicken making about 1 cup total portion), 3/4 cup greek plain ff yogurt, 1/2 cup frozen fruit
After: 124
Snack: Still deciding
Water throughout the day

I've been reading some and have decided to work on eliminating grains as much as possible from my day. I'm still getting in carbs by way of beans, vegies and fruit, but it appears that the grains are giving me trouble. I couldn't find enough vegies to fill my plate tonight at dinner so I went with a small portion of pasta, which was clearly a mistake.  It's interesting to me to see how my body does when the carbs are completely gone in a meal. I'm going to keep playing with that. Still thinking about what I'm going to have for my snack tonight. I really wish I could find a good way to get that fasting number down.

I'm feeling swollen, though.  I think all the cheese and meats I've been eating for protein are overload on my salt. My rings are tight and my hands feel puffy. Not liking that feeling.

I'm super excited that I got in all my 15's today!  Especially that I got my backside out the door for my afternoon mile. It was very refreshing to get the fresh air although I had to be super careful with so much ice out there.  Good start today. Good start. :)

Tuesday December 1, 2011

Today's Good Things:
Devotions
Followed menu plan well
Made progress on some schooling issues
Worked at and applied the verses I read this morning
Baby Flutters!!!
Great meeting with homeschool group tonight

Today's Not So Good Things:
No exercise
A lot of sitting at my desk to get schooling and notes prepared for meeting tonight
Choices for protein and grains are limited so I've gone back to eat some bread

I haven't been journaling here, but I have been doing pretty well following my menu plan.  Thanksgiving was hard and I did set aside the portions and even allowed myself dessert.  But, I was able to get back on track fairly well and I've been doing well so far.  I still don't have any test strips, so I'm not sure how my body is processing the sugars, but I'm building good habits, so I'm thankful.

I still need to work at getting in that exercise. I have to just push myself, otherwise I give in to the tiredness and the lagging nausea that threatens throughout the day still. The "fog" has lifted, though. So we made this past week a "work week" and have been busy getting the house and my paperwork in order.  It feels good to have some projects done and a plan developing for school next week. Now that I'm feeling a little better, I'm eager to get our schooling more organized and effective. Tomorrow I'll keep working on that as well as do some reorganizing to move a piece of furniture to our room in prep for baby's clothes and items. It's a little soon for that, but I want to do it now since we are setting aside time to get projects done.

David took his 3rd test this week, so life changes again for a bit.  Not even sure how so right now, but this whole year has felt like a constant state of unknown.  Thankfully, the Lord remains faithful and strong.  A security in the midst of the craziness of our days.

So, the goal for tomorrow is to get in my 15 minutes of moving after each meal.  Now that my sweetie isn't dealing with the pressure of the exam, I may just have a handsome escort on my walks. That's the best motivation right there. :)

The happy news is that I've been feeling baby flutters already. I haven't even heard a heartbeat yet, so this is really exciting. Still waiting on our decision of whether we will move forward with a homebirth or switch over to an OB and hospital birth this time around. That also means I haven't really had much by way of prenatal care right now. It's still early, and so far it appears that baby is doing well. I can't help but be excited that it's all becoming more real, that's for sure!