Yo-Yo Dieting: Are You Going Up and Down?

This week I decided to talk  little aabout Yo-Yo Dieting because, Lord knows I have done it for years.  I still find myself struggling. I feel that if I keep positive people and do positive devotionals, then it keep me motivated to continue....  I also find when people do yo-yo dieting; alot of the problem is because their goals are too high. They fail to meet their large weight goals or their long timed workouts because its almost impossible. Don't get me wrong- I want to lose weight fast too but over the years my goals have been too high. I am too hard on myself because I'm not reasonable. When I don't make those goals, I get depressed and I do emotionally eating. Then I really feel like a loser, and I quit trying and gain my weight back....again.

In the last couple of weeks, I have really worked on small goals and motivating myself. Looking at pictures of me being slim and then me currently, and it motivates me completely! I know deep down inside that I am not the person others see. I have lots of energy, lots of life left, and lots of love to spread. I have to love myself to change myself and keeping myself motivated; that gives me the edge to keep going. I hate working out, but once I start, I love it and I get energized to keep going. And then I want to workout more.

NO MORE YO-YO DIETING!!! No more telling myself that I can't!  As of this day, I have lost 9 lbs! Sometimes it is frustrated to only lose 1-2 lbs a week, but everyone tells me thats the healthy way. I know it is but my low self-esteem kicks in and says, " Why are you watching your food and exercising every day to every other day for that little bit of weight loss?" My answer is because IT ALL ADDS UP!!!  EVERY POUND COUNTS TOWARDS MY GOAL!!!

Take control of your life and stay motivated, however you can. Remember: You are worth it!!!! And, yes, I am too. I have to remember that every single day! God made me; ME and He loves me for who I am. He also knows who I am inside more than anyone. He knows what I can do and what I can accomplish.

Good luck and God bless!


"For I hold you by your right hand-I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.'" Isaiah 41:13

WEEK 5 & 6: KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE PRIZE

Obstacles are what we see when we take our eyes off the goal. By: Rita Davenport


I have to say that in the last two weeks, my life has been crazy. I am not making excuses, but I do need to "keep my eye on the prize"! Week 5: I lost 1 lb and Week 6, I didn't lose any...Why you say? I lost my focus and let my crazy life take control. I didn't take the time to count calories and exercise as much as I needed to. Being a full time Mom and full time daycare teacher, brings so many responsibilities and your job never seems to end.  This week on Biggest Loser, one of the girls only lost 1 lb and she worked out when she wasn't cooking and cleaning for everyone else. It was a challenge that she got picked for and its a "real" challenge for mom's all across the world; especially working mom's!  So my friends and family, I ask that you keep rallying me and supporting me, so I may keep my eyes on the prize and continue my weight loss journey. I have lost 8 lbs, but I can do a whole lot better. NO EXCUSES.... I WILL MAKE TIME!!! Now, off I go to jog on the treadmill while watching Modern Family and Cougar Town on ABC!!!!

Week 4: Are You Sleeping Enough?

This week, I am going to be short and sweet! I have been busy with the Wee-Trade Kids Consignment Sale and my hubby went out of town again.

If you know me at all, you know I am not a morning person.  I've been reading all these exercise blogs about working out before work and making time to myself, yet I still say HOW?!  I have a home daycare for 10 hrs a day and 2 children w/ extra curricular activities and a husband thats gone most weekdays. Well, this week I have a new goal: SLEEP MORE!!!

I know it sounds silly but there is a ton of research about getting 8+ hours of sleep and people losing weight productively.  I believe it. This week, my goal is to go to bed by 10pm, so I can rest for 8 hours.  I have done this so far this week, and I can't believe how much more energy I have and it has helped me stay motivated about working out.  So I do believe all the weight lose blogs now. I have found that if you take care of your body, it shows you what it needs.

Make every day count; even when you go to bed!

Weight Lose so far 7 lbs in 4 weeks. Slowly but steady!

"Don't be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of."

Charles Richards

Make time for yourself by exercise, quiet/meditation time for your soul, and sleep for your body to relax & heal.

WEEK 3: HEART HEALTHY

HEART HEALTHY MONTH

What is the first thing that pops into your mind when you see a heart? Love, Valentine, red & pink? In February, we celebrate Valentine's Day, but also heart health. I think that heart health is physical and emotional and I have come across that recently as I've been trying to lose weight and be healthier/happier!

American Heart Association has a lot of wonderful information about keeping your heart healthy and what you need to do in order to maintain a healthy heart.  According to http://www.heart.org/, heart disease is the #1 killer of women over 20 yrs old; 1 woman dies every min from it.  Pretty much: if your heart doesn't run correctly, then you are dead. That seems very simple to me, and yet I don't always watch what I eat and dont' eat certain foods that would increase my chances of not having heart disease. So yet another reason to "stay on track" with my weight loss/be healthy goal! 

According to the Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health, the general health benefits of exercise include:

• Reduce the risk of developing and/or dying from heart disease
• Reduce high blood pressure or the risk of developing high blood pressure
• Reduce the risk of premature death
• Reduce high cholesterol or the risk of developing high cholesterol
• Reduce the risk of developing colon cancer and breast cancer
• Reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes
• Reduce or maintain body weight or body fat
• Build and maintain healthy muscles, bones and joints
• Reduce depression and anxiety
• Improve psychological well-being
• Enhance work, recreation, and sport performance

So let's take care of hearts!!!

Because Valentine's Day is approaching next week and everyone is celebrating this coming weekend, I would like to say that before you can be loved by someone else, YOU MUST LOVE YOURSELF FIRST!  Of course, God loves you and will always be with you, but I'm talking about all you single women that are looking for love.  One thing that I am learning as changing my ways is that as I haven't loved myself enough to workout or give myself "quiet time" to think/ponder life goals.  Sometimes I get so frustrated with the way I look and know that I did this to myself; I don't want anyone to give me a compliment or touch me. This is the emotional side of losing weight. I promised myself today that besides the physicals side of exercise and eating right for "heart health", I am also going to work on my self-esteem an loving myself for who I am. I know who I am on the inside, so now I am going start loving the outside as I slowly transition into a new person! BTW- since the last time I blogged I have lost 3 more lbs!!!! =6lbs in 3 weeks so far....

Happy Valentine's Day to all; know that I love you and YOU ARE WORTH IT!

POWER UP YOUR DAY

HOW DO WE GET "POWERED UP"?

 

 1- Eat healthy foods that are low in fat, and high in fiber and protein.

2- Exercise to give you more energy and motivation to continue
3- Read and "soak in" God's  Word (the Bible) for spiritual growth

Healthy Foods

Those foods that you have heard for years that you should eat lots of but you dont.... fruits and vegetables.
Yes, part of having a healthy body and losing weight is eating right.  You can't get around it. Believe me, I've tried and so have most people. When you start taking the "bad" stuff out of your life and put in "good" stuff, it gives you that power up to get through the day.  Some examples are apples w/ natural peanut butter, celery w/ lowfat cream cheese, edamame with light sauce, high protein Greek yogurt, lowfat granola bar or a handful of nuts. Anything with lowfat, high fiber, and/or high protein helps keep you full and you don't want as much.  I have went through withdrawals for the last 2 weeks because you have to "detox" your body of the grease and preservatives and carb fillers that I'm used to eating.  Once you drink more water and eat more fruits and vegetables and lowfat items, you start not wanting the "bad" stuff anymore.  After eating right for two weeks, I tried some regular Coke and a few french fries.  It tasted nasty and I didn't want it. So I know that I am slowly training my body to want what it needs.  A lot of eating the right things isn't that you don't like it, its a mind control over your body. Failure starts when you give up trying and don't care what you put in your body.  So keep up the good work and help me stay focused too!

Exercise

Wow, where to start. This one, I have to research a little more and I will do a seperate blog on sometime soon.  But I will say that if you can get yourself motivated to exercise, then you will feel better.  For years, I have told myself that I am so busy and tired that I don't have the time or energy to workout.  Occassionally its true but most of the time it's a load of crap! Once you start getting into a routine, then you have more energy and want to work out to keep your energy.  (not to mention that you are burning calories)  As most of you know, one of my favorite shows is Biggest Loser.  Doing that show would be the next most embarrassing thing besides this honest blog.  To go in front of America and say, "Hi, my name is Christian and I am fat...see!", I would have to be absolutely disgusted with myself.  I have recently been to that point of desperation and realized that I am in control of my destiny and my diet.  Life isn't about diet and exercise but eating healthy & doing fun physical activities. It depends on how you look at it. Granted there are some days that I get on the treadmill and watch TV and say "Let's just do this fast walk and get it over with." But yesterday I went outside and played basketball with Samuel and did squats while the kids were playing on the playground. Hey, no one was around but me, so I couldn't get laughed at! lol!!!  Anyway, doing a simple exercise 20 min twice a day can be just enough to start out and build on. 

Spiritual Health Food

The biggest challenge, to me, is getting my "mind" focused on my weight loss goals and life goals.  You can't stay "Powered up" for long without trusting God and keeping your focus on Him.  God must be the focus of your life and everything else will fall into place.  It's like when Peter took his eyes off of Jesus when he was walking on water.  When Peter looked at the wind and waves and got scared, he began to sink. Peter cried out to the Lord and Jesus immediately reached out His hand and caught Peter. As they climb into the boat together, the storm ceased. (Matthew 14:22-33) Jesus said, "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?". I have to remind myself of this, because it reminds me that whatever I do in His name, He will not let me fail. If I fall, He will be there to pick me up.  If I put "good things" in my mind and body, then "good things" will come out of it.  There are so many stories in the Bible to motivate you and keep you focused on your goals. The Lord wants us to be happy and healthy and to not overeat/over indulge (Proverbs 23:2).  I feel that I honestly have had an eating disorder because I have let food control me for so long. I am claiming my life back for God and for me.  I know that if I live for Christ and stay in His word that He will not lead me astray.  But if I take my eyes off of Him, I will lead myself astray back into my old habits.  I want to succeed and I am going to with God's help!!!   

GET POWERED UP & CHANGE!!!



Week 2: BRING ON THE CHALLENGE!

So I have started my new challenge: work out every day. This week I want to work out every day to keep up my metabolism and help get in shape as I eat better. I have still been going with the Weight Watchers program and I lost 3 lbs this week!!! Every little bit counts: small victories add up to large ones. I think losing weight helps people learn perseverance and patience.  Lord knows its a lot of hard work to lose a few pounds but I slowly added these pounds on, so I guess it makes sense. 

Eating healthy is a challenge when you are on the run like me. It is easy to stop by and get a drink or a quick snack when you are on the road. So this week, I made it a point to bring healthy snacks with me and snack a little during the day. Healthy snacks, like a handful of peanuts, popcorn with no butter, low fat yogurt, etc. Drinking lots of water really helps keep you filled up and I fill like my body works better.  My skin is more clear, my nails are stronger, and "regularity" is important. LOL. 

So maybe my goal can be another few pounds this week. Guess we'll see......

Week 1:Starting Change

As anyone knows, changing is hard. I have this goal and I'm going straight into it this time. I started out eating right through Weight Watchers Online and did my official weigh-in. Wow, that was depressing, but even more so- inspiring. It gives me the incentive I need to accomplish my small and large weight loss goals. 

I hit the gym at The Pumphouse Gym in Hendersonville.  Its a great place to go, especially when your schedule is crazy. Its 24 hours and always secured. I have to put a passcode and my fingerprint into the exterior machine to enter the gym. That makes me feel safe if I have to go late at night or early in the morning. Anyway, I love the eliptical. Yes, it kicks my butt, but its a great workout. 

Last night, I went to one of my best friends home.  She had two really cool ab machines and during commercials we rotated the ab machines. I loved them and could really feel it working.  Afterwards, we watched one of our favorite shows ever, Biggest Loser.  This show empowers people to get off the couch and move. I guess if there is one thing I have really learned from the show is: Today is the first day of the rest of your life.  Don't wait to start your weight loss journey. START NOW! So here I am.  Change is inevitable in anyone's life whether its age, clothes, electronics, or eating/exercise habits. Its how you think positive and stay around positive support of friends and family that helps make good choices.  Ultimately, it is still my responsibility and my body to change.  Pray that I can overcome these food addiction and start exercise addictions. LOL.

I want to say a special thanks to my friends and family sending me encouraging words yesterday and  a Happy Birthday to my wonderful brother, Matthew (yesterday). Enjoy your day and start moving!

http://www.weightwatchers.com/