Back on Track!!!

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13

I am overjoyed to let you all know that I am out of the "sink hole" and back on the road to a healthier life. I last weighed-in on Tuesday August 19th and I gained FOUR pounds!! I was really fighting the urge to eat the whole livelong day!! I blogged about the hole I was in and was overwhelmed by the emails of support I received. I thank you all for being there for me!!! Your words of encouragement helped me more than you know. I picked myself up and brushed myself off, climbed out of that hole and today when I weighed-in I had lost those FOUR pounds!!! I ALSO LOST FOUR MORE!!!!!! 287!! I have not been this weight in more years than I want to count!! Only 36 pounds to the 100 mark!!

My next goal is 30 pounds by October 16th. Well that is 21 pounds to go now. I am not going to say that I cannot do this. I have seven weeks to do all I can!! I began this journey on January 16, 2008 by joining Body Dimensions Fitness and beginning to workout with Gloria Trull, my trainer ( I love that she is my trainer!!) who has become a good friend. Soon after I was introduced to Lorin Gryder and Living Lean Meals. Lorin is great and her meals have been a life saver!! Portion control is my biggest problem and her meals have helped enormously!! I am determined to step on the scales on January 16, 2009 100 pounds lighter, smaller and 200% healthier!!!!!

Again thanks for all the emails. You can contact me with questions or comments at healthierfaith@bellsouth.net. Have a wonderful Labor Day!!!!! Faith

Catching Up and Confessing

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13

Catching Up
I am sorry that I haven't blogged in a while. I have no excuse except that I just have not taken the time to do it. I have been quite busy and have neglected what I declared I would not do when I started this journey and that is time for myself. Since my last weigh-in, it seems everything under the sun has come across the road I am on and I have detoured from my destination. I feel like I have dropped into a large sink hole and can't get out!!! That brings me to the second part of this blog----confessing!!!

Confessing
I have not been as diligent as I should have been in the past few weeks. I have let the overwhelming temptations take control me. You know the occasional Snicker bar or the piece of cake and ice cream at a party or the fried foods when going out to celebrate an important occasion. I am sure you may also know how it is to let the cares and chores of this life keep you from the exercise you know you need everyday. You see I am human and while I have lost 60 pounds on what seems to have been an easy road to health believe me it has not been easy. I weighed in today and gained FOUR pounds. I did not cry or give up but am determined to carry on, crawl out of this sink hole and lose those four pounds plus several more before the next weigh in!!!!!!!

We all have these times. After sixty pounds and being able to get in new clothes or clothes I haven't been able to wear, hearing all the praises my supporters, the aches and pains of carrying around all that excess weight are gone and I feel great; the mind (an evil thing at times) seems to settle back and suggest things as "Take a few weeks and relax. Don't be so diligent. Enjoy the weight lose. You deserve to eat what you want for a while!" Well all of this is bull!!!! If you let your guard down, as I have, that weight will creep right back on your thighs, and middle and wherever else it looks the worse!!!

I feel like I need to apologize to Gloria, my wonderful trainer at Body Dimensions and Lorin my expert chef at Living Lean Meals for failing them and all their hard work. I feel like I have let them down!!!!

Enough Whining and Confessing!!!!!!!
I am going to pick myself up and brush myself off and get right back on this road to a healthier life!!! This sink hole that I ran into on my journey is not going to take up any more of my time and energies!!!

If you would like to comment or have any questions please email me at healthierfaith@bellsouth.net. Thanks for coming along on my journey to a healthier life. I will try really hard to avoid those detours and sink holes in the future!!!!
Faith

Mind Over Matter

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13

I have never liked having my picture taken. I was always the one taking the pictures and that is the way I liked it. When video cameras came out and my brother got one he "videod" every gathering the family had. I hated that camera. Actually it was the way I looked that gave me the discomfort not the camera. When you weigh over 300 pounds you avoid really looking at yourself for fear of what you will see. The picture attached was taken this week at the office where I work. A friend, who is a "photographer", took this picture with her digital camera. She insisted and I obliged. I was really surprised at the results. Now mind you I have another 100 pounds or so to lose but I was pleased and surprised at the change the 60 pounds has made.

I have never had a problem with who I am. The Lord has been extremely good to me in my 56 years and I thank Him daily for His blessings!!! I had a good childhood and was taught to be the best person you can be. I trusted the Lord as my Savior when I was young and have been richly blessed through my relationship with the Lord Jesus. I enjoy my Christian life!! I have parents and siblings that love me, my husband loves me and I have a full and rich life. I say all this because with a great life and the love of so many I have learned to love myself. Not in a conceited way or a boastful way because I know that I am nothing without the help of the Lord. I have never sat and cried about being "fat." I have always "made the best" of my weight whatever it was.

I learned at a very early age to laugh at myself. Who I am and what I am does not depend on the number on the scales or other people's opinions. However, I am not happy with my health. I would like to not have to go to the "Plus Size" dress shops to buy my clothing. I would like to not have to order from special catalogs for "plus size" women. I would like to not have to take so much medication and go to the doctor every three months. I would like to be able to spend the day shopping without my feet and legs hurting so badly. I would like to be rid of diabetes medication, cholesterol medication, blood pressure medication and asthma medications. This is the road losing 60 pounds has started me on. The road to good health and healthier living.

I am sorry!! I meant to blog about MIND OVER MATTER:

The weight is coming off slower now. The first thing I think of is "you need to eat less." Whenever I do not lose 6-7-8 pounds as I have in the past months I tend to be tempted to cut back on the food I eat. Now I am eating three Living Lean Meals a day and three small 100-200 calorie snacks for a total of about 1350-1500 calories a day. I workout with Gloria, twice a week and do 30 - 45 minutes of cardio 5-6 days a week. So my meals are set and it is not a matter of counting calories because mine are already counted. But everythime I weigh and lose nothing or just a couple pounds that little demon, remember her, jumps on my shoulder and says, "You are eating too much!!!!!! You need to cut back on the calories!!!!"

This is a real problem, I believe, with people trying to lose weight. I have heard it over and over again. "I hardly ate anything and still did not lose." Our mindset is that eating alot is the cause of all the poundage. Sometimes it is in the beginning but when you are trying to lose weight after eating anything and all you want for so long. Cutting back on the food isn't as simple as it sounds. Many people I talk to have said this to me, "I hardly eat anything." There are two things wrong with this statement:

1. It is not always the amount of food you eat but what you are eating. If your menu, however small, is laden with fat and calories then the amount may be more harmful than you think.

2. Even the most nutritious menu is harmful if you are not eating enough calories. Eating too little triggers you body into thinking that you are starving and the pounds are security that you won't.

I have learned that eating too few calories can sabotage a weight loss, healthy living program as much as too many calories. It is very important to calculate the correct calorie intake for you individually. The time spent in doing this is so worth it. There are tools on the Body Dimension Fitness website that will help you do this. Or you can do like me and let Living Lean Meals do the calculating for you by ordering from their menu. However you choose to calculate those calories please make sure that you are eating a nutritious menu every day and don't get discouraged!!!! Get plenty of sleep, exercise daily and drink lots of water!!!!

Please let me know how you are doing. I would love to hear from others who are on a healthy lifestyle journey. If you have questions, comments or just want to chat email me at healthierfaith@bellsouth.net. Thanks for following along with me on my journey to a healthier me!!!