Rating My Day With Points-New Strategy

As I've been evaluating my situation, I realize that I must listen to my conscience and obey in order to overcome. I've been thinking a lot about how to proceed and have a new strategy to overcome my tendency to just simply "forget" what I'm doing here!

Success will not be dependent on any strategy, but it is helping me plan. Each day has a possible successful total of FIVE:
1-drink 5 glasses of water
2-eat Fiber One daily
3-eat salad daily
4-walk daily
5-no sugar

So everyday I'll give myself the points earned and then I can take averages each week or month. I love these little booklets and look forward to using them as a tool for my memory. The idea is that I focus on these things for four weeks...next month I'll increase the water and possibly look at reducing calories.

I think what I really am doing here is counting my days. These little booklets represent the next year. I can SEE IT. Ultimately, the whole losing weight issue comes down to dying to self. :)

Saturday Scale December 29

Things could be worse. I was happy to see 222lbs today.

Year In Review-2012

Well, I am six weeks short of ONE YEAR of my first post.

So...I'm wondering, since I weigh about five pounds less, has the year been wasted?

NO, most certainly not.

I learned a lot this year! I spent a lot of time WALKING and I've never done that before! I learned how to increase my fiber and eat a salad-a-day. I learned that I can reduce my cow's milk intake dramatically, decreasing the sugars I consume. I still enjoy a glass of cow's milk with chocolate or dessert, but it is more of a treat now.

I agree with the reality that I'm miserable over 220 pounds and I do want to change that. Maybe I need to set some goals. I really have a strong foundation on which to build for 2013 and I'm feeling ready to close out the chapter of 2012 and start anew very soon.

1. Now that we're past the Winter Solstice (HOORAY!!!!!!), the days will be getting longer again! This in itself boosts my spirits and inspires me to get outside!

2. Set up a binder for daily assessment.

New Kittens!

Well, I needed a photo for this post, so here's a reality shot of me with our new kitties.

I have officially fallen off the weight loss track. I've lost all my care or determination or inspiration about having a new life. I don't quite know what to do, but I know I'm miserable about it.

I've decided to start a three-ring binder with daily sheets to track my activity and attitude, instead of using the computer. I'm hoping this hands-on approach will give me something concrete in which to focus in hopes of renewing my commitment.

Thanksgiving Dinner

I didn't realize it until this morning...for the first time in my life, I didn't have SECONDS for Thanksgiving dinner. Wow.

Higher Desire

Yesterday I slept in and didn't walk. I chose to not get up. I feel so much better when I DO get out the door and that motivates me on days like to day when it was especially difficult.

It is a CHOICE to walk each morning. And every morning, I do actually have to make that CHOICE. It is often a daily struggle as my flesh wants to be comfortable and warm and cozy in my bed in the morning! I wonder if it will get easier...I think so as I do it over and over. Besides, the reason it is difficult, is because I've stayed in bed over and over and over...it is the habit and it must be broken. Maybe at some point, walking will be the habit and it will get easier.

So what to do?

1-I WANT to stay in bed and when I'm there, I can think of many reasons to stay in bed.
2-I WANT to walk because there are so many benefits, not the least of which is the Lord has told me to walk every morning.

So...what motivates me to actually RISE and get dressed and put on socks and shoes and jacket and iPod and go outside when I never did this in the past?

My  H I G H E R  DESIRE is to walk. That is the desire that has more value to me.

Does that mean my fleshy, self-centered nature WANTS that higher desire? NO! It never does. My natural tendency is to STAY IN BED. So I often have to talk to myself about this higher desire and go through a quick list of benefits while I'm still snuggled and waking up. It has really helped me.

I want to obey.
I want to lose weight.
I want to feel better.
I enjoy the peace of mind I get when I obey the Lord (He told me to walk).
I want to breathe fresh air.
I want to listen to my worship songs.
I want to see the weather outside (curiosity)!
I want to take the opportunity (I must walk before my husband leaves because I don't leave my children home alone yet).

These are some things I remind myself of...but in the moment, IT IS A CHOICE. I do have to take the action of CHOOSING which desire I will fuel. Today was a wonderful choice...I walked!

Walking in the Rain

This is NOT what the sky looked like this morning, in fact, it is afternoon and feels so dark!

I've walked the past few days, SO good to be getting back in the routine. Yesterday was 1.7 miles! Yay, I haven't done that in awhile. Today, it was P O U R I N G rain. Within 10 minutes my FEET were soaking from rain going through the fabric of my shoe tops...and I wasn't even walking in puddles. Forget that! I turned around and came home, it was just silly to soak my insoles and entire body...I didn't see it as a whimp out, more of a "wise out"...came home and dried off.

Saturday Scale 1 November 17th

I NEED to weigh myself each week because it keeps calories in the forefront of my day. When I don't weigh, there doesn't seem to be that "urgency" to NOT eat a Bit-O-Honey or more cornbread.

I think I'll hold off on all the calculating each week...I can see when I've lost and my goal is 198...So, my goal right now is to lose about 25 pounds...one at a time. I'm going to weigh on Saturday mornings starting now.

222.5, no wonder I feel crummy.

Hope

Well...

things haven't been going so well. I've fallen out of my strong habits I built over the summer. I thought weighing every week was putting my focus in the wrong place, but this just isn't the case! Weighing every week DOES put my focus in the RIGHT place. This process must move forward, I can't just abort.

-I'm not walking everyday
-I haven't been eating my salad each day
-not drinking much water
-I've been gaining weight
-I feel crummy physically in the past few days

So I've identified what I'm struggling with:
-keeping fresh salad in the house (inventory control)
-walking in the dark and cold (I don't mind the wet!)
-drinking more water
-obviously, eating less

These things seemed easy when I started them, so why do they seem so difficult now? I need to spend some time looking at what's going on so I can solve the problem. I can no longer ignore that things just aren't working.

WALKING:
So...if my main walk is 45 minutes, what time do I need to leave the house so I can return before my husband goes to work? And what time do I need to get out of the sheets so I can meet that goal? I took a quick look at reality and discovered that I need to leave by 6:45am so I need to get out of bed no later than 6:30am. OK, so that's a hard constant. 6:30am.

The other issue is the dark. I've actually enjoyed my walks in the dark so I don't really need to worry about that. The darkest morning will be the Winter Solstice, which is December 21st...sunrise is about 7:58am on that day. So for the next six weeks, darkness will increase by about a half an hour. It may still be dark arriving home at 7:30am come Christmas, but then the glorious truth that the days start getting longer again after Christmas...and time for primroses on the porch.

The cold, on the other hand, is a tough one for me. We had two days in the low thirties...yes, below freezing is NOT my idea of good walking weather. Thankfully, we're back into the forties today. I think I'll deal with this one day at a time. Worst case, would it be horrible to take a week off if we have an entire week of cold...not really. Looking at the weather report, there's two days out of the next seven that dip into the thirties. I think I can ignore that and GO anyways. I don't like the idea of back to back days of freezing, possibly leaving the wet sidewalks icy. So I think the issue is ice, not the discomfort of starting my walk being physically cold (I soon get all warmed up as I walk). But for now, I'm good.

This comes down to CHOICE. I have to CHOOSE to get up. I've been choosing to stay in bed, but my HIGHER DESIRE is to GET UP. So last night, I made sure I had the right socks, put my shoes out, made sure my jacket was accessible and went to bed earlier, setting my alarm for 6:15am. This morning, though I didn't get up immediately, I DID take a great walk! I got out the door! YAY!

SALAD:
Last week I wrote down all my favorite salad ingredients in hopes of evaluating what's wrong. I don't like that the salad feels high maintenance! Every day I feel like I'm out of an item, which makes me not want to make the salad and I don't like having to spend so much energy thinking about what I'm going to run out of next.

romaine lettuce
spinach
chicken
celery
red pepper
red onion
snap peas
cucumber
garbanzo beans
sesame stix
sunflower seeds
fruit (craisins or fresh blueberries, which are now out of season)
salsa
salad dressing

The challenge is having the fresh items FRESH and not running out before the next trip to the store. I've decided to purchase bag-o-lettuce instead of fresh. My store RARELY has a good head of romaine, when then have any at all (they sell out so fast). This does help the fresh factor, I can buy a little "ahead" because the bags have the expiration date, letting me know about how long they'll last. So that takes care of the lettuce and spinach (snap peas come in bag, too).

Often, I'll run out of chicken and forget to prepare some ahead of time. Since I keep chicken in the freezer, if I don't plan ahead, I have to crack open a can of chicken, which is most unsatisfying on salad, in my opinion. Solution: cook up 4 chicken breasts, chop, weigh and put in ziploc bags in the freezer. When I make my salad each day, my job is to take out a bag of chicken for the next day (so it will thaw overnight). EASY. Now I have "fresh" chicken everyday and don't have to worry about it until I run out in the freezer. There's about 15 bags ready to go now. Perfect inventory control!

I've decided for the fresh veggies to buy organic. I could NOT BELIEVE the difference in TASTE and COLOR with regards to the (expensive) $5 red pepper. It was worth it! The celery I cut up and put half stalks in a container so that's the only item I need to chop before each salad. No more celery going bad because the pieces are all ready to go...no washing, just cutting each day. The cucumber...I cut up half the cuke into pieces and put the other half with the pieces in a container. Now I have pieces for a few days, but the other half of the cuke is still intact so when I'm ready for more pieces, they'll be relatively fresh since I didn't chop the entire cucumber when it came home from the store. Red onion lasts awhile, so I chopped up half and put in a glass container and wrapped the other half, hoping it doesn't get mushy.

Inventory control for garbanzo beans, sesame stix, sunflower seeds, craisins and salad dressing is not an issue.

By doing this exercise, I've discovered the reason my daily salad has failed in the past has to do with a couple key ingredients. By identifying these, I can get a better hold of what needs to happen to keep them fresh and ready for daily use. And since I've taken over the grocery shopping again, I really do have control and can plan trips to the store according to salad needs, if need be. YAY!

DRINKING MORE WATER:
Hmmm. This is more about actually DRINKING MORE WATER! I was using a daily tracking sheet and that helped me see how much I WASN'T drinking, I'll start tracking again today.

EATING LESS:
It is really exciting to me that eating breakfast and lunch are no-brainers. There's no temptation because I'm never hungry. I eat my bowl of Fiber One with coconut milk and one egg and then later, the salad. This gets me through until 4ish, when I need a snack. On hungry days, I have the snack earlier. We've been eating dinner around 6:30ish, so a snack at 4pm doesn't ruin my appetite.

Sunday Weigh-In 24

I've decided to stop weighing for awhile. Why? I'm not eating in a way that will encourage weight loss right now...I need to get back into my walking routine. I've had two days recently where I've overeaten, though not like I used to! Sunday Weigh-In is putting pressure on me that I don't want, so I'm putting it on hold for now.

Different Walk Today

I really felt today's walk. I started out about 10am at 55°F-quite balmy! I was looking forward to some heavy rain, but there was barely a moistness to the air...though the rain is officially BACK! It rained last night and the sidewalk pipes were running loud this morning. They say we've had the driest Aug/Sept/Oct in 65 years! I believe it, it has been marvelous!

It was good just to be out this morning. I did my normal loops but then at the top, I decided to venture another street. When I turned around, I decided my feet and ankles and shins were feeling it and I didn't want to overdue it and diminish my desire to walk again tomorrow. So I headed straight home, avoiding the loop around.

Well, I was surprised to see that it was over ONE MILE! That seems like a lot since I'm a little rusty. Encouraging. Can't wait for tomorrow. :)

My strategy has changed...I'm going to MAKE SURE that I walk both Saturday and Sunday because I can get up a little later and walk in the light. So I don't want to miss those days during fall. And I'm "beginning again"...I'm not going to think about food this week, just re-focus on getting out in the morning to walk and drinking water and eating my fiber. I feel fat. I can tell that the scale is going to reflect this feeling, so get ready.

Yesterday as I woke up, I had a thought (thank You Lord) about putting in a timer in my bedroom to automatically make the lights go on at 6:45am (it's so dark now)! Also the idea to put a desk where we have a bunch of boxes so I can do some word (Word) studies before bedtime.

Two Mile Walk

Here's a two mile walk. I'm wondering how long it would take me to do this and how much earlier I might have to get up...just wondering...

Back on the Horse Again

Image courtesy of TeddyBear[Picnic] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What happened to September!? I took three weekend trips in five weeks, finished a long-term project which involved driving to many different locations, my husband got a job offer and we considered moving (even finding a house), but it didn't work out in the end, not to mention our kitchen was updated with new counters and floors during this time and the house was powerwashed in preparation for painting anytime! My focus has not been on this blog nor losing weight!

The good news is that I've kept off TEN POUNDS since June-that's GOOD!

Thankfully, I can continue on! I walked this morning, extremely difficult to get up! It is dark outside in the morning now, grey and colder and soon to be wetter. I took a short walk...I have to finish before my husband needs to leave and with him leaving earlier, I have to get up earlier. But today, I was pleased to get out the door at all.

My focus today is WATER and SALAD!

Sunrise October 2012

Official sunrise is 7:23am. These are the days leading to darkness! I detest the dark days of October through Christmas...let the grey dreariness begin!

Sunday Weigh-In 23

This is where I was Sunday morning (Skagit river).

Sunday Weigh-In 22

Not surprising. No water, no walking, eating more calories.

Sunday Weigh-In 21

See my new floor?

Sunday Weigh-In 20

I was in Cannon Beach and didn't weigh-in this Sunday.

Monday Thoughts

Well, I am realizing this really is a process. I've gone PART way, but not ALL the way. Hmmmmmm.

I did get up and walk this morning, though I only went a mile. I am finding as I extended to 1.7 miles, that I'm not as "hungry" to walk. I'm going to take it easier this week because I need to get back into the habit. Doing a shorter walk today really filled me up with more desire for tomorrow!

My main priority everyday is to get that water down me. Today is a fresh new day...I'd really like to break through the 215 mark soon.

Sunday Weigh-In 19

I'm so glad this isn't 230, because that's about how I feel. We went on vacation over Labor Day Weekend and I ate a lot of sugar...and felt really gross when we came home. I spent the week getting myself back on the horse. I am re-focusing on 1)fiber cereal for breakfast 2)salad for lunch 3)10 glasses water (I've only done this ONCE!) 4)eating half of dinner and 5)taking my morning walks, which are up to 1.7 miles.

The scale two Mondays ago:
219.1 pounds

The scale today:
221.2 pounds

Pounds gained this week:
+2.1 pounds

Net pounds lost since May 2, 2012:
-8.3 pounds

Total mileage this week:
did not keep track, but walked the beach a few times!

To see weight loss by week go to the SCALE page or CLICK HERE.

Sunday Weigh-In 18

On vacation! Didn't weigh!

Sunday Weigh-In 17

I walked SEVEN DAYS IN A ROW! I've never done that!

The scale last Monday:
218.8 pounds

The scale today:
219.1 pounds

Pounds gained this week:
+0.3 pounds

Net pounds lost since May 2, 2012:
-10.4 pounds

Total mileage this week:
11.0 miles

To see weight loss by week go to the SCALE page or CLICK HERE.

TEN GLASSES!

WOW, I did it!

The Lord filled me with His Spirit and I have a new desire to obey in this area and get serious about actually losing weight. LESS of me Lord, in every way!

He said to me, "it is not too much for you to drink ten glasses of water everyday"...I have NEVER made the ten glasses mark, though I keep track everyday. YESTERDAY, empowered by His love, I did it! It is my goal everyday to do this.

My image is the word "ten" and there are ten lines...here you can see I've had two glasses of water today. Way more fun than checking boxes. :)

Walk Adjustments

I've had a challenge with my husband returning to work. I have to get up much earlier to complete my 1.5 miles. But that has been a wonderful blessing, it is COOLER earlier!

I've also added about .2 miles to my walk (making it that much longer!) which has made some days 1.7 miles! I've been flexible about doing the 1 or 1.5 or 1.7 mile loop depending on timing. I think I'm getting into the earlier groove!

This sweet rose was along a fence this morning.

Telling The Truth

I need to tell myself the truth. In reality, I've only given PARTS of myself to the Lord in this process...I'm starting to really see what a strong hold I've given food over me. I need the Lord to do a work in me as I repent.

He has been so loving and kind to give me these things to do and I have not obeyed completely. I'm wanting to give this up to Him and walk in His ways all the way, with all of me.

I'm so grateful for all the Lord has done these past months...leading me to start walking and all the other things He's told me to do.

It started with :
-starting walking to the mailbox (good)
-eat more fiber (good)
-drink more water (is it THAT difficult?)
-eat half (have not been engaging here)
-one salad a day (good)
-no refined sugar (except for special occasions) (I've been wishy-washy not wanting to give it up the way He's asked)
-GET STRONG (haven't been willing to exert myself with DDP)

I have all the steps I need...I need to do them and I need His power to do them at all.

The Lord has led me to fasting the past few days, just giving up lunch. I'm praying for him to empty me of myself. I want to suffocate this gluttonous monster who wants to eat more than I need. Just exercising self-control with regards to fasting has opened my eyes to my own licentiousness toward myself.

He recently convicted me about eating BEFORE the eating. I was at an event and I was putting out some brownies and had the idea that I'd just eat one brownie while loading the serving plates. This incident brought me to repent of this self-centered habit of eating while I'm preparing meals. Thank You Lord for showing me and empowering me to have self-control as I prepare meals in the kitchen.

Sunday Weigh-In 16

I've decided to weigh on Sundays starting today. I've noticed several things...I have seriously changed my eating habits! I don't just gorge on whatever I want...I'm always thinking 300/300/300+150+150...three small meals of 300 calories each plus two snacks of 150 each. BUT I'm not losing weight...I'm still overeating. I need to DECIDE if I REALLY want to lose...I'm indulging in too many calories for dinners, though I do really well with breakfast and lunch (salad) through the day until about 4ish.

The scale last Monday:
218.2 pounds

The scale today:
218.8 pounds

Pounds gained this week:
+0.6 pounds

Net pounds lost since May 2, 2012:
-10.7 pounds

Total mileage this week:
5.5 miles

To see weight loss by week go to the SCALE page or CLICK HERE.

The Grouse

I've been meaning to blog about this for awhile. I know these are common creatures, but I've always been fond of grouse. They always seem to be in pairs and I love the way they seem to float as they scurry along. I feel like it is a special day when I see the grouse on my morning walk.

Recently I saw TWO pair of grouse. The only time I've ever seen two pair and I hope to see them again soon!

Monday Weigh-In 15

I'm really surprised I haven't gained a whole lot with the sugar I've been eating. Just in the course of daily life, it is amazing how much sugar actually crosses my path. Last week was my husband's first week at his new job, hooray! And I'm realizing this week that I'm in transition again, transitioning back to a schedule without him at home. He's been getting up much earlier (a bonafide miracle) so I'm having to get up earlier to complete my walk before he leaves. This has been a challenge for me.

The scale last Monday:
219.4 pounds

The scale today:
218.2 pounds

Pounds lost this week:
-1.2 pounds

Net pounds lost since May 2, 2012:
-11.3 pounds

Total mileage this week:
3 miles

To see weight loss by week go to the SCALE page or CLICK HERE.

Monday Weigh-In 14

Posting on August 15th.
The scale last Monday:
220.6 pounds

The scale today:
219.4 pounds

Pounds lost this week:
-1.2 pounds

Net pounds lost since May 2, 2012:
-10.1 pounds

Total mileage this week:
3 miles plus a camping trip (doesn't that count for some exercise?)
To see weight loss by week go to the SCALE page or CLICK HERE.

Monday Weigh-In 13

It is August 15th and I'm back posting this. My life has been consumed with my husband finding and starting a new job (thank you Lord!!!) and I've been sidetracked and not focused on my weight loss. The good news is that I'm not going backwards, but holding on. I can tell my habits HAVE really changed, but I haven't had a salad in a couple weeks! (borrowing a previous photo)

The scale last Monday:
216.8 pounds

The scale today:
220.6 pounds

Pounds gained this week:
+3.8 pounds

Net pounds lost since May 2, 2012:
-8.9 pounds

Total mileage this week:
6.2 miles

To see weight loss by week go to the SCALE page or CLICK HERE.

Uphill Walk

I've kinda taken this week OFF from our normal routine and menu. I just feel like I need a break and as of this morning, my husband has a new job after a season of unemployment. So things are adjusting around and that's OK for me right now. I walked Monday morning, but not Tuesday or Wednesday. Today I walked home from my haircut in town and it was in the 70s, hot and sunny-just a gorgeous day. The walk home was about 2 miles with 265 feet elevation (thank you MapMyWalk.com)...it was uphill most of the way. I loved it!

Pretty much every morning now, I take my camera with me to capture all the hearts I see along the way. Today, as I was starting the uphill climb, I saw this heart!

Monday Weigh-In 12

WHOOOAHHOOOOOO! I did NOT expect this today! I was expecting to see two-twenties! How did this happen!?!? I'm wondering if next week I'll be up...maybe there's a week delay in my numbers...? Well, regardless, this inspired me to keep going and break through the 215lb barrier! Both kids joined me on my nice and cool walk today-best thing ever having them BOTH with me!

I can really tell the temperature makes a big difference in my walk. Today was 58ish at 10am! I love these cool summer days (I know, I'm weird)!  Yay!

The scale last Monday:
217.7 pounds

The scale today:
216.8 pounds

Pounds lost this week:
-0.9 pounds

Net pounds lost since May 2, 2012:
-12.7 pounds

Total mileage this week:
3.5 miles

Probably my lowest weekly mileage to date. Eager to have a strong week and looking forward to a 2.8 mile hike over the weekend. I feel ENCOURAGED!

To see weight loss by week go to the SCALE page or CLICK HERE.

Difficult Week

On Monday, it looked like my week was going to be great...I was feeling better from my sickness and I hit a new weight loss record. But somehow, my week just fell apart in many ways.

My last walk was on Monday, which was sluggish. Today is Saturday. On Wednesday, we attended a potluck and we came home with extra dessert, which I ate on Thursday. I haven't had a salad for three days because I've been eating leftovers. I've been really "off" this week, in many ways, having difficulty just going through my "normal" daily routine.

The good news is that even though I ate dessert, I'm not using it as an excuse to overeat like I used to...it just isn't worth it! I had pizza last night and some peanut M&Ms, but I don't need to eat them today. Move forward from here and wash some lettuce!

The Lord helped me, though, as I set out this morning. I was seriously considering doing only a small loop, when I heard Him say "keep going, it is important to push through this time, not shrink back", which gave me the motivation I needed to trudge over the pavement.

A little over half way, I looked up to see this garage sale sign, "Almost There"!!! Thank You Lord! I needed that encouragement to get me home!

I've been wondering about the sluggishness, when it totally hit me...it is WARMER! When it is about 62° or higher, I really bog down. One day when I returned, it was about 67° and I could feel it. Just even more motivation to get up earlier. I feel so much better knowing what the fatigue is all about so I can move through it over the next several weeks, before it starts getting cooler again!

Monday Weigh-In 11

I was not expecting 217.7 this week! This is wonderful! A NEW RECORD! This is space I've never been before...I was at 217.8 in the past, but not 217.7-hooray!

The scale last Monday:
218.6 pounds

The scale today:
217.7 pounds

Pounds lost this week:
-0.9 pounds

Net pounds lost since May 2, 2012:
-11.8 pounds

Total mileage this week:
9.0 miles

I enjoyed my walks this week, even though I was sick and was surprised to see my mileage, too!
To see weight loss by week go to the SCALE page or CLICK HERE.

I've Been Sick

I walked Monday and Tuesday but took Wednesday and Thursday off. My pants feel tight. Today I was dragging a bit...but the Lord continues to give me HEARTS! I'm posting my hearts on another blog. I love the orangey-yellow color of the Alstroemeria here adjacent to this beautiful rose!

Monday Weigh-In 10

I want to break out of this upsy-downsy trend and move on from two hundreds to one hundreds.

What is that going to take?

The scale last Monday:
221.2 pounds

The scale today:
218.6 pounds

Pounds lost this week:
-2.6 pounds

Net pounds lost since May 2, 2012:
-10.9 pounds

Total mileage this week:
6.0 miles

Happy for the loss this week, but this loss could just be water...I want to make some serious headway. Lord, what next?

To see weight loss by week go to the SCALE page or CLICK HERE.

This Morning's Walk-Heart

The Lord continues to show me His love! This morning, right alongside the sidewalk in a small patch of stones, there it was! Thank you Lord, I love You, too!

He's also telling me to drink more water...10 glasses. I think I've barely been getting down four.

Monday Weigh-In 9

It is Friday and I'm over the scale. In fact, I didn't let it slow me down this time, I just haven't had time to post this week until now. The scale doesn't really matter on the short term...I've even considered weighing just once a month. When the weight is gone, it won't matter that I had a weight gain on week whatever. I need to keep going and be faithful to what the Lord is telling me to do.

Since I didn't lose this week, let's evaluate the things He's telling me:
-Start walking to mailbox (done)
Stop eating obvious refined sugar
Drink more water
-Eat more fiber (doing)
-Walk more (done)
Start counting calories, research levels
-Pick up Shake Weight (have moved to dumbbells)
-Wake up earlier, to bed earlier (amazing-doing this!!)
-Get strong (doing this! arm workout, ddp yoga, and walking)
Eat half
-Eat one salad per day
and now: drink 10 glasses water

There's a few areas I'm not excelling in...well, this week I finally did give up chocolate chips (I'm sorry I resisted You Lord), so I think the sugar thing is under lockdown. I do need to increase water, which I'll be shooting for 10 today. I don't know that I need to go back to the calories...I really know what I can have...? I'm not eating half of my dinners.

The scale last Monday:
218.7 pounds

The scale today:
221.2 pounds

Pounds gained this week:
+2.5 pounds

Net pounds lost since May 2, 2012:
-8.3 pounds

Total mileage this week:
6.0 miles

Well, this is silly. For gaining 2.5 pounds, I surely didn't enjoy it!

Conclusion...I want to get out of this 220/218 area! Let's get down under 210 NOW and do this thing! My mantra...k.e.ep.  g.o.i.n.g!

To see weight loss by week go to the SCALE page or CLICK HERE.

Energy Workout-Did Half!

Oh boy...I took pictures for my DDP Yoga blog and here's a doozy! This morning I did my 1.5 mile walk, my arm workout,  AND half of the DDP Energy workout. I've had a busy two weeks and haven't had as much time to exercise as I'd like. It makes me appreciate this morning.

Eager for Monday, too, to do this all again.

Today's Walk

This is where we went last weekend...dry and brown. It feels SO GOOD to be able to move my body! I'm no longer dragging myself around. We took maybe a half mile walk along the river and then hiked this rocky trail, maybe about 3/4 mile or so. Since it was in the evening, it was cooler and windy, so it was very comfortable.

I've had a busy week and haven't walked since Friday morning. I haven't been drinking enough water (going to catch up on that today) and I've been eating CANDY! STOP IT! This morning's walk was difficult for those reasons.

Did my arm workout, here's what I'm doing a few times a week with 5lb weights:
bicep curl (wrists up)
bicep curl (wrists in)
deltoid press (over head)
touchdown press (arms up)

I do 10 reps and 2 sets.

I've always enjoyed lifting weights and I like the challenge of doing the numbers.

My head isn't into my weight loss right now...not sure why, but I will keep going.

Monday Weigh-In 8

Hooray! I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I'm so happy this week is a loss! I mean that in the best way. I'm not really tracking my calories anymore. I did the research on the salads, I know what I know and I make a similar salad every day, eat the same breakfast for now and I know I can have a small snack and then I try to be reasonable for dinner. I'm not dieting, this is crazy...a friend said the other day, "it almost seems EASY"...which leads me back to the Lord's glorious ways...

Matthew 11:28
"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion?  [dieting!?!] Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." The Message

The scale last Monday:
220.4 pounds

The scale today:
218.7 pounds

Pounds lost this week:
-1.7 pounds

Net pounds lost since May 2, 2012:
-10.8 pounds

Down ten, that's wonderful. Next goal is minus fifteen.To see weight loss by week go to the SCALE page or CLICK HERE.

Hike-Eastern Washington

We headed to Potholes State Park this weekend. Unbelievable vistas at Vantage, WA! Took a hike along the Columbia River and at the Gingko Petrified Forest Interpretive Trail, not to mention all the other walking around we did. Really different hike than what we get to do near home, loved it!

Monday Weigh-In 7

Honestly, I thought all was lost and I wasn't going to weigh this morning, but I decided this IS part of my process. I can't believe I lost one pound as I was eating more than ever...I may pay later! My belly actually feels bigger, but I keep going...

The scale last Monday:
220.6 pounds

The scale today:
220.4 pounds

Pounds lost this week:
-0.2 pounds

Net pounds lost since May 2, 2012:
-9.1 pounds

Total mileage this week:
8.5 miles

I really want to break minus 15 pounds and keep that off, but I guess minus ten is my next goal!
To see weight loss by week go to the SCALE page or CLICK HERE.

Hike-Mount Rainier

We had a fabulous time and did the Grove of the Patriarchs (for any person who can walk) and Silver Falls (a little elevation) along the Ohanapecosh River. I think it was about 3 miles. GREAT time!