Eleven pounds down!

I lost 11 lbs!!! I am about to jump through the roof!

I really did not expect that big of a loss. I am so motivated right now. I can't wait to work out again. And on the days when I am dreading the work I will remind myself of how good this feels. Not only am I becoming addicted to the high of a good workout but I am relating differently to food. This is new territory for me. In the past I let how hard I worked out determine how much or what kind of food I ate. No more. I am ready to replace those old bad habits for good healthy ones for good!

Now...who is ready to sweat?

Let me catch you up...

I have mentioned before that the kids and I take martial arts. Every year they have this weight loss challenge and for the life of me I don't know why they choose this time of year to do it. They call it the ICan Biggest Loser Challenge. The challenge is to lose at least 15 lbs is 7 weeks.(Never mind that Thanksgiving is right in the middle of these 7 weeks) Whoever loses the most gets a prize; I'm not sure what it is.

And I don't care because all I want to do is win! I want to be the biggest loser! (I'm not competitive or anything) So I meet the challenge head on. I start off with 20 minutes on the ellyptical followed by some crunches and push ups. My goal is to add one minute to my workout everyday until I reach 30 minutes and then I will up the resistance level after that. Well not only did I achieve that goal, but I surpassed it by pulling off 6 two a days in the first week! I lowered my caloric intake by a good thousand calories, I stretched, I drank tons of water and then the first weigh in came. 2 lbs gained! 2 lbs people!

I was devistated!

I did the ugly cry all the way home!

Now, I knew exactly what had happened. It is what always happens when I start working out. I add muscle. So it is a good thing in the long run but it is so frustrating when you want to see the needle move in the other direction! I decided that this would either make me or break me. Was I going to go back to my old habits and drown my sorrows in halloween candy or was I going to lower my head and plow through? I chose the latter. It is time for a change. I got up the next morning and got back up on that ellyptical and watched what I ate.

Now I have you caught up over the last couple of weeks. I have been working really hard and eating right. I did notice yesterday that my clothes fit better and that is encouraging. I weigh in tomorrow night so I can't wait to let everyone know how I am doing. And even if it isn't a big drop, I am going to be proud of what I have accomplished and hope that it is an encouragment to someone else.

Blah....

I have been sick for a week. Apparently 30 doesn't mix well with healing. Who knew. I am learning alot about myself as of late. I TOTALLY eat when I am stressed (am I repeating myself here? maybe I have already discovered this...ah...dementia...gotta love it!)

I have got to learn to deny my flesh. I really want to stop this cycle before it is too late. To anyone who is at a healthy weight, tell me, what is your secret?

Speaking of anyone...is there anyone out there actually reading this or am I just sending these thoughts of mine out into the deep abyss?

And if you are reading, are you in the same boat? Can you relate?

Man, I wanted to get in another post for September. Oh, well.

Well the rest of September got away from me. Currently, it is 1:30 am and I am taking care of a sick 3 year old. He is resting comfortably now and I can't sleep, so here I am.

I have been doing much better on my eating and exercising as of late. Not where I need to be but we are on the right track. It always amazes me how much better I feel and how much more energy I have when I exercise. Why do I ever stop?  Certainly things get in the way or a routine is disrupted by something or other.

I have been doing yoga first thing in the morning followed by some cardio on the ellyptical. I think I spelled that right. Since starting work, I have a fiber bar for breakfast and a slimfast shake for lunch. My problem time is when I get home from work. It isn't that I am just sooo hungry but rather I'm stressed and just want to unwind. Yes, I am an emotional eater and that really stinks. My job is pretty hectic and when it is over all I want to do is sit on the couch and munch away mindlessly if front of the tv. I am not sure how to replace this bad habit. I am usually drained at the end of my work day and know that I have much more to do when I get home and I just need some down time. The problem is I usually get myself into trouble by snacking while I am trying to relax and gear up for house work, after school activities, dinner etc.

The solution, however, is easy and staring me dead in the face. I really need to keep the tv off. I am already screaming "nooooo" in my head. It is just so nice to "zone out" for a while. Ideally I know I should get me some of that nature sounding music, you know, with the waves crashing or birds singing in the rain forest. I should get a cd of that, comp a squat in the floor, open up my bible and begin to pray and meditate. But that, you see, takes effort on my part and my flesh cries out and I give in. Ughhhh. here we go around the same stupid mountain.

Would you pray for me? Specifically for strength to stand up against my flesh. To be of the Spirit...to tell satan..."it is written, 'man does not live on bread alone but by every word that comes from God's mouth'".

I don't know how Julie did it...

So I watched this movie the day before I turned 30...you may have heard of it. Julie and Julia. After seeing the movie, I thought, it would be cool to blog about turning 30. I mean Julie blogged about cooking with Julia Child. Now I am just going by the movie because I haven't read the book (I know...shame, shame)but I can't seem to find the time to blog once a week let alone everyday like she did! And that on top of cooking some gourmet meal! Nevertheless, I am back.

So, where have I been? What have I done? What amazing things have happened to me?
Well...I have started back to work.(I teach preschool). I recently received my purple belt in Taekwondo (That is half way to a black belt!) . Wednesdays have resumed at the church I go to. I have been peed on. My son just turned 7 and my daughter is about to turn 9.

What is that you ask? Oh yes, you read that right. I was peed on by a little boy in my T/Th class. Yes Yes. Mrs. Crissy was lovingly rocking him to sleep and he peed right through his pullup! The ol' lap was wet for the afternoon because, surprisingly, I don't bring a change of clothes with me but maybe now I will. Hmmmmm.....

At home, we are back in full swing on busyness. Homework, practice, cooking, cleaning, washing uniforms, church lessons, school lessons, meetings, p/t conferences etc. etc. etc.

I will tell you, although not in full detail, that a burden has been lifted off of my shoulders recently. I can breathe again. And now I am working on restoring my relationship with God that has suffered not necessarily because of the burden, but from the distraction of it. That right there is the best feeling. Finding your way back, when sometimes you didn't even know you were gone and discovering that He has been right there waiting with open arms! He is so good!

Now back to my statement. I wasn't sure how Julie was able to cook some amazing meal after being at work all day and then still be able to blog about it. Well, according to the movie, it was just her and her husband. And there you have it. She was Julie at the office and Julie the wife. Whereas I am wife, mom, teacher, chauffeur, cook, housekeeper, special guest reader, coach and the list could go on and on. Now I don't want to end this blog saying Julie had it easy. Like she didn't have an apartment to clean or people to take care of. I just realized it is much different when there are three small people added to the mix with little lives of their own that still need to be managed in part by someone else. And that someone else is me.

Until next time....

Time Wasted

I have a dirty little secret.

I am a big time time waster.

There I said it.

Whew!

I mean I like to "pretty" it up with the word procrastinator, but let's just call it what it is that way I can deal with it. I am discovering things about me that I already knew but I actually had myself convinced otherwise.

Did that last sentence even make sense?

Oh well, I know what I mean.

This is something MAJOR I need to correct. This is huge. I am wasting time. That is something you don't get back. Take the last two days for instance. I have had two full days off and I didn't get half of what I should have done. Every thing suffers because of this nasty little habit of mine. My house, my health, the kids school, my job, the things I do at church and the list goes on. What really makes me angry at myself is that I want to be excellent and have been quick in the past to point out when others were not being "excellent". Talk about yankin' on a major plank in my eye!

How do I go about fixing this? This is something that is ingrained in me. It may be part of my DNA. Sometimes it is just lack of motivation, sometimes it is just pure laziness and sometimes I wonder if something is just wrong with me.

Well, whatever it is, it must be fixed. There is no way I am going to better myself this year unless this is nipped in the bud!

Now, if you will excuse me, I have a school lesson to prepare.

Training Day

Well I am ready to begin my new health regime and I have already fallen off the wagon before I even got on.

Breakfast: 3 southern style buscuits with honey. (sigh)

Okay, the key to long lasting health is not ever making a mistake but getting back on course when you have veered slightly.

I do, finally, have something in my favor this time around. My husband is wanting to loose some weight too and that is a big plus for me. It is so hard trying to eat right and be healthy if your significant other is not on board.

The Plan: I don't really have one. I am on the non plan plan. I am going to try and make better choices when it comes to food and I am going to move more. I am not sure if I have mentioned that I take Taekwondo but I do. There is something that we recite at the beginning and ending of each class. At the end we say, "I shall live with perserverence in the spirit of Taekwondo, having honor with others, integrity within myself and self-control in my actions." I love that. It is a good "mantra" for lack of a better word. I have decided to tweak it to suit myself during my journey to better health...here goes..."I will have honor with my body (the Lord's Temple), integrity when it comes to exercise and self-control with the food that goes into my mouth."

So, there you have it. This is day one. I would love any feed back, ideas, recipes, new exercises, encouragement, etc.

Surly it's just all in my head

Okay...things are starting to creak and moan. This can't be happening. There's not like some little switch in our DNA that flips when we hit a new decade and makes our joints start to rebel, right?

What is going on here. One day fine. Have a birthday and then WHAM!

My knees are starting to give me fits. They're cracking and grinding and pert near refusing to straighten when I have been curled up on the couch. Even my hips are giving their two cents.

Hmmm...what to do, what to do. Is there some kind of joint juice? Do I start to hit the calcium harder. Magnesium? I am too young for arthritis, right?

Man...thirty may be harder than I thought.

Testing...testing...

So, I kind of have a big mouth. That is why I put a couple of things that have to do with my mouth on my "list". Temper, inside voice etc.

Well wouldn't you know I was tested on these very two things today! For those of you who don't know, I teach preschool. Two and three years olds to be exact. I have two classes. One that meets on Monday and Wednesday and one that meets on Tuesday and Thursday. Our M/W class is just easy breezy. Our T/Th class is another story. We have a couple of kiddos who are having a hard time adjusting and wail the entire time and then we have three in particular whose sole mission is to dump every toy, glue bottle and marker onto the floor; not a good combo. Where does my mouth come in you ask?

If you know me, you know I am LOUD. It is just the way God made me. My voice carries. I don't mean to be loud, I just am. So, if I am asking a boy not to dump the blocks I just picked up, apparently the entire building can hear me. Hence the spot on my list for developing an "inside voice".

Moving on to dealing with my mouth when my temper is in the equation. It isn't so much what I say but how I say it. I am working so hard to keep calm, cool and collected with my class I can allow myself to vent on those I love. It doesn't even have to be mean or hateful. I can choose to convey the horrible day I have had in that pathetic poor me voice.

My goal...choosing to give it to God every five seconds if I have to. It is all about choice. I can choose to remain positive with all those around me and save the "mouthing" if you will, for my private time with the Lord.

Now about that inside voice. I am at a loss...

The List

I have decided if I am going to better myself in this first year of my thirties, I better make a list. I also decided that since thirty is the number then I should list thirty things. That turned out to be harder than I thought. I of course listed the obvious...Bible study, prayer, exercise, eat right...you know, the usual. The kind of stuff you see on most peoples resolutions at the beginning of every year. Then I listed finish my degree. Then I realized I need to pick a degree to finish. You see I changed majors ALOT. I want to be a better mom, work on my temper, become a better steward of our resources. Then I added some fun stuff like develope an inside voice and dye my hair black like Gina Carano's. Still I am a little more than half way to thirty things to better myself. Hmmm... any suggestions?

And so it begins...

So I take my shower last night and I am brushing my hair out and checking out my now 30 year old skin. Hmmm...is that a wrinkle? Is that a freckle or an age spot? I dive into the drawer and pull out my RE9 REpair corrective eye cre'me and Oil of Olay Age Defying intensive nourishing night cream. Yes, crows feet and laugh lines, I'm comin' at ya hard! Now I am full blown checkin' myself out. Is this the body I thought I would have at 30? I see rounded shoulders, stretch marks, a flabby stomach...is that a vericose vein?!?! Now don't get me wrong. I mean I know I have had 3 big, healthy babies (one of them weighing in at 11lbs 1oz at birth) but what role have I played in my body staying in this shape. What habits have I formed that I need to replace with better ones? Judith Viorst was quoted "You end up as you deserve. In old age you must put up with the face, the friends, the health and the children you have earned." That will make you think.

Well there you have it. Don't you love that in an attempt to better myself in the first year of my thirties I start with my looks? Vanity Vanity...

Oh well.

It all started on 8-24-1979

Today I turned 30.


30.


Thirty.


The number doesn't scare me. I haven't had a melt down or a pre-mid life crisis. People keep asking "do you feel old"? Why? Should I? As I sit here tonight I am starting to think about where I am at 30. I find myself asking "is this where I thought I would be?"


That is a very good question. The answer is yes and no.


I am happily married with 3 healthy, beautiful children. Something I always wanted...check.


I haven't finished my college degree...hmm...


I live in a beautiful home on a beautiful piece of property with great neighbors to boot...check.


My husband and I just celebrated our 10 yr. anniversary and we are more in love than the day we were married.


I have a good job.


We pay our bills.


Life is good.


Still there is something about entering another decade of your life that makes you want to take inventory of your life. Break out the old "things I want to do before I die" list. I mean I have moved up an entire age bracket for crying out loud!


My life is great. Can it be better? What have I done in the last 30 yrs? What can I do in my next 30.


For now I will start with this first year in my thirties...starting tomorrow.