Weigh-In Wednesday Week 29

I thought over the break I would surely have time to blog but when I did have the time I was not on the computer but relaxing and enjoying my family. I'll start with my weight loss update since that's the title of this post.  I definitely enjoyed some foods over the break that I would not have eaten normally, but I did not go overboard.  I indulged carefully and strategically.  It's amazing how much better my body handles the carbs and sugar that I normally wouldn't have been eating now that I have been without and have lost some weight.  I didn't get in my daily workouts like I had been either but did manage to get 2-3 days a week in so I didn't fall completely off the wagon.  We were very busy with family dinners, basketball games and everyday life stuff so I didn't stress over getting it all done every day.  

So, I started the break on the 16th having lost exactly 38 pounds and last week I was up 1.5 pounds but thankfully this morning I was back to exactly where I started the holidays.  It's not a loss, but I can't imagine a holiday break before that I didn't end it weighing more than I intended....and usually a few pounds at least!  So I'm still at 38 pounds and feeling great with that actually.  Now, it's time to buckle down and get the rest of this weight off.  I have 16 more pounds to go.  That will be in my healthy weight range.  I actually wouldn't mind losing 20 more so I would have a few pounds to not stress over, but we'll see how I feel when I get to 16. 

We are going on a cruise for spring break this year with my sister-in-law's family and Blevin, the young man I mentioned before that has come into our lives as such a blessing and is now part of our family will also be going as well as one of his best friends, Grady.  Two 18 year old boys on a cruise....I hope we're ready for this?! LOL!  They're great boys and Carson & Gracen LOVE cruises so I know it will be a blast and we are looking forward to it. I have set the cruise as my goal for being at my goal weight.  We set sail in 10 1/2 weeks so I need to lose about a pound and a half to get there so I need to buckle down!  Tomorrow I am back on my strict dieting and getting all my workouts in. I'm ready!

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 

Psalm 46:1

Weigh-In Wednesday Week 26

Wow, it's been a while since I have updated.  The last couple months have been a whirlwind.  We are in the thick of basketball at this point and added to practices and piano lessons...life starts being a little autopilot and the things that aren't essential fall by the wayside.  Blogging would be one of those things.

So to update on where I am currently in my weight loss quest...

Friday, the 16th, will be 6 months since I started this journey.  I met with Kyle on June 16th for my first workout and in some ways that seems like just yesterday and in other ways it seems like it's been forever!  I am down 38 pounds and 33.75 inches as of today.  I've averaged a loss of 1.5 pounds per week and have 16 pounds to go to my goal weight.  I've lost 4 sizes and can wear another size smaller in some things already but mostly in between sizes...only a woman will understand that statement! LOL!  I'm the smallest I have been in many years and feel so much better...I can't even explain how much better actually.

More importantly than pounds lost and smaller sizes is that I feel like I am taking care of the body that God has given me.  I'm eating better, not overdoing it, and not turning to food for every little comfort in my life.  I'm actually astonished when I look back at myself 6 months ago and where I started from and I know I could not have done that on my own.  God has had my back every step of the way.  I feel like after a lot of prayer, reading Lysa TerKeurst's Made to Crave book and more prayer that I am more confident in myself which comes directly from Him.  He did not make me to be a weak person, controlled by my emotions and hiding behind food and my weight.  He created me for more than that.  Am I going to mess up as I continue to pursue a healthier lifestyle and maintain...absolutely...but I've learned that it isn't a domino effect.  One bad decision does not have to lead to another.

With Christmas just 11 days away I want to share one of my absolute favorite Christmas songs, "A Baby Changes Everything" by Faith Hill.  I hope the video link works.  We've had someone come into our lives lately who isn't a baby...whew couldn't handle that...but he has been a blessing to us and definitely changed a lot in our world.  God's plans for our lives are not always what we think and sometimes he does radical things and they turn out to be the biggest blessing.  I'll share more about that later.  So, here's the video...I hope. :-)

Wednesday Weigh-In Week 20

Wow!  I can't believe it has been 20 weeks since I started this weight loss & fitness journey.  In some ways, it seems like I've been on track for a year and sometimes it seems like just yesterday.  I thought I posted for Week 19.  Matter of fact, I know I wrote it, but apparently I must've not published it somehow. Last week I lost 2 pounds...woohoo!  And now this week, I am down 1.8 pounds!  I am very, very pleased because I had been losing very, very slowly.

I am now down a total of 31.8 pounds.  The last 4 weeks, I have averaged 1.7 pounds per week and that is great for me.  I had been averaging about a pound a week with some of those weeks only losing 1/2 a pound.  I am super thrilled with an increase at this point instead of a decrease.  

One of the best things to come out of this weight loss besides feeling more confident about myself and just believing in myself again, is that I have so much energy.  It's amazing how much better I feel just in my day to day life.  I still don't get enough sleep so I am sleepy, but even when I'm tired and sleepy I still feel so much better physically.  This time of year last year, I would come home on a night off from games and was so tired and drained of all energy that I would do a lot of sitting and half the time I would fall asleep just trying to watch some tv and accomplish nothing with my evenings.  Now, I have to just make myself go to bed.  I don't have that weighed down feeling I've had for so long...both physically and mentally.  It's been great and has given me so much incentive to keep going and get to my target weight...and then maintain!

From Lysa TerKeurst in Made to Crave....

This journey will require you to make tough sacrifices, but look at it as embracing healthy choices rather than denying self.