Category Archives: weight loss

Focus on the prize

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Thanksgiving week here in the U.S.  Thursday we will give thanks for our many blessings and watch football, spend time with family and friends, and nap after a ridiculously huge and delicious meal.  The next day many will head out and shop ’til they drop, thus signifying the start of a month-long season of eating, drinking and generally living in gluttonous excess in celebration of the birth of Our Saviour.  Weird, huh?

The average weight gain during “the holidays” is reported to be about 7 pounds per American, other studies show its more realistically about a pound…..for my, it’s about 4. Average spending per American is about $700 during the holidays.  No wonder we are all stressed.  I was thinking about all of this the other day and decided THIS year I am approaching the holidays differently.  Much differently.

I enlisted my girlfriend who I work with and another girlfriend who I know does EVERYTHING for EVERYONE all year-long and can use some de-stressing as well.

It’s simple, really.

One day at a time.

  • Focus on regular exercise throughout the remainder of the year.  Shooting for a minimum of 20 minutes a day.  That is NOTHING!!!!!  Just plan it.  A quick 20 minute walk before your day gets going.  20 minutes while dinner is in the over.  20 minutes after dinner.  Whatever.  The time is there.  Just do it.
  • Healthy eating choices.  Log food or plan it out.  Be AWARE of what is going in.  So much temptation.  Ask yourself, “is it worth it”?

This season is about Jesus.  Let us focus on Him.  Let us treat our bodies as the Temples they are.  If we don’t take care of ourselves, how in the WORLD can we love and take care of those around us???  The airlines don’t tell us to put our own oxygen on first and then the kids for nothing…

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

19 Or do you not know that your body is a [a]temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from [b]God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

I plan on blogging throughout the month-ish and re-blogging encouraging and inspirational blogs as well to cheer us on.  Be blessed.  Don’t stress.

To encourage you….this morning I did 20 minutes of P90X Cardio X.  20 minutes.  It’s what I had time for.  Bring it!

Baking, backbends and stuff…7QTs!

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My weekly roundup of the week with J.Fulwiler, Catholic blogger and reality show star and her amazing followers of blogginess…Check ’em out HERE, they have some FUNNY stuff over there….and USEFUL….and HISTORICAL….and…well…just go check it out, there’s something for EVERYone!!

1.  I’ve returned to the gym (for weight work).  My muscles are meeting to secretly stage a coup, I’m sure.  Shhh, don’t tell them, but we’re going back tomorrow.  As soon as I can bend over to tie my shoes.  It’s just not fair how quickly you get sore when you add in new/old/different stuff.  Cue the Rocky theme song….

2.  To celebrate my return to the gym, I helped our oldest daughter attempt a Pinterest recipe for chocolate chip cookie bowls…click HERE for pic credit AND recipe if you should like to give it a whirl.  Bless her heart.  Her Mama didn’t read the directions first.  Fortunately, she only made 6 and the rest regular cookies.  Apparently it calls for the cookie dough in the tube…whatev…

Taste=FABULOUS  Presentation=Room for improvement.

Ours:

Sweet girl. Our future “Cake boss”, but much kinder!

This is MESSY!!

ALMOST!!!!

Theirs. Perfectionists. So not real life…..:-P

3.  This weekend we are getting our family picture taken.  By a real person.  Not just a self-timer.  Christmas cards…..it’s on!

4.  Our youngest diva daughter has been working diligently on this backbend kick over and by golly, she got it!!  Try THIS LINK…I’m just too cheap frugal to upgrade to the video uploader….or you can go to my Twitter and view it…or just imagine our girl finally getting her backbend kick over!

5.  This morning, somehow, we overslept an ENTIRE HOUR!!!  ALL of us.  We woke up when our oldest should have been getting ON the bus.  Talk about an adrenaline rush.  I don’t know about you but we are seriously efficient when running EXTREMELY late.  There is NO time for bickering, arguing or even talking.  The high schooler and elementary kids made it on time and I was late (fortunately no patients were waiting on me…I wasn’t THAT late!!) and Hubby took our middle schooler at his regular time.  Mad skillz, I tell you. Or a well oiled machine.  controlled chaos.  What have you.  Sure got my heart rate up.  I have re-checked the alarm settings many times already tonight….

6.  This week my Aunt received bad news regarding her cancer and has decided to be done with chemo and to let nature take its course.  It’s awful.  Her daughter and son are my age.  I can’t even fathom it.  She is at peace with her decision and I know God will take care of her family but it isn’t going to be easy.  Not one bit.  Today, my brother-in-law (Hubby’s bro), had a heart catheterization and two stents placed. After he drove himself to the hospital because he wasn’t feeling so good.  He’s 42.  3 kids (10, 6 &6)  He’s doing fine but……ugh.  I can’t even go there.  The point is…..We do not know when our hour will come.  And I am reminded of a beautiful twitter quote I’ve been mulling over all week:   @JamesMartinSJ: Gospel: “Live today as if it were your first day…your last day…and your only day.”

7.  And so with Father Martin’s quote fresh on my heart earlier this week, I received an email with RIDICulously low air fare to see my mom.  I promptly booked 3 tickets for myself and the girls to go in January.  It’s their Christmas present (shhhhhh).  I’ll take the boys this summer.  YOLO, right?  Fortunately, Hubby was VERY understanding and forgave me for my completely impulsive decision without his input and is on board.  Phew.

That’s all from me….Blessings to you ALL!  Have a great weekend!

Teacher duty day…1/4 of the school year: DONE!

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And this Friday finds our lovely children home with Hubby (as he actually tries to work with them around…good luck with that, babe!) as their teachers put together report cards wrapping up the first 9 week period of the school year.  And you’ll find me…..at work.  Whatever.  At least I’m not waking/dragging kids out of bed, to the breakfast table and then herding them through general hygiene and dress to the car.  A little break, if you will.  I’ll take it.  You’ll also find me “groupie-style” with Jennifer Fulwiler and peeps throwing down some Quick takes…7 to be exact.

1)  I’ve lost my way this week.  Eating healthy that is.  It started with my sister and nephews in town for the weekend (I always like to blame my sister….it feels comfortable…), then rolled into a potluck lunch at work and now here it is Friday and I’m wondering where in the HECK did my mojo go???    Fortunately, I’m still moving.  Each day I seem to pull it together a little more, however, it’s KOOKOO (for cocoa puffs) KRAZAY what sugar does to you….it’s like a drug.  Serious.  C’mon, just a taste.  Everyone’s doing it.  Before you know it…it’s Friday and your body is all kinds of confused and begging you to just.  walk.  away.

2)  We let our oldest stay home from school one day.  End of the semester.  The older grades were doing PSAT testing and the 9th graders were stuck in home room all day.  Not to fear though….I left him a list.  *finish driving permit practice test *laundry.  all of it. *dishwasher *vacuum house*mow lawn. front and back.  and neighbors.  front and back. It was sooooo nice to come home to a clean and tidy house.  We should keep him home more often…

3)  I had to make a difficult decision in the best interest of someone else this week.  Sadly this resulted in cutting out a treasured annual trip.  However, in doing so, and receiving affirmation from a friend in my decision, it was an incredibly FAST and certain answer to prayer.  I’m not sure what God has in store for ME that weekend, but I know He’ll be busy and I’m happy to not be an obstacle, but rather an intercessor, and that’s OK.  The most important work ALWAYS happens behind the scenes.

4)  Our girl has her cheer competition this weekend and each practice I’m more amazed at how these girls have put so much effort in over these past few weeks and to see this routine come together.  Tonight, I actually got a lump in my throat as they practiced in front of the older and younger cheer groups.  Pathetic, I know.  What can I say?  I’m a sap.  Her first year cheering and of this I am sure:  Sunday will be quite the experience that is a certainty.  Which also means the season is almost over.  Can I get an AMEN?!??!  **note to self, grab earplugs from MRI tomorrow….

5)  We are one week into the Read the Catechism in a Year for the year of Faith.  I must say, I am truly enjoying it.  So is Hubby!  It’s in small bite size pieces (so far) and it’s a great Faith discussion for us to focus on TOGETHER during this year.

6)  It’s Biketoberfest here.  Thinking about taking my camera this weekend and shooting some frames.  An interesting mix.  Soccer. Football. Romney/Ryan. Cheer comp.  Bikes.  We live in an interesting and eclectic area.  Fo’ sho!

7)  Now that I’ve stayed up too late…it’s time to go to bed….and get a walk in before work.  Because I can.  Happy Friday, all and have a super weekend!!

**in reference to a portion of #6, I will NOT be attending…mainly due to time constraints and kid activities, also I really don’t enjoy getting stuck in traffic, etc.  I’m good, I’ve made up my mind….I completely agree with Calah Alexander on her article about Politics…I’m pretty sure she wrote it for ME…though with many more actual facts…I’m not really a detail person, so thanks, Calah!!

Final update…

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Well, 5 weeks and I made it through the Peak 313 Challenge.  It was a good jump-start to getting a little more disciplined and NOT getting sidelined by life with healthier eating and exercise habits.  For me, it’s more on the eating side, the exercise thing–I got it.  I just enjoy food.  I enjoy making it, serving it and fellowshipping with and around it.  I just need to make friends with it.  As my friend commented to me during this challenge, “I am eating for fuel…not just eating”.  True.

So, to report…the scale didn’t really budge much, which is disappointing and truth be told, can quite easily depress me into a return to emotional eating.  However…..my clothes are fitting looser and I have more energy, so I am motivated and encouraged to continue on with my journey…and if I’m making good choices and treating this body as the temple that it is and nothing changes on the scale then I’ll work on making peace with that, too.

And that’s OK.

Blessings!!

1Corinthians 6:19

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

Home stretch…or is it?

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Photo CREDIT

The above mentioned photo cred is to an article on network marketing, however, you’ll see it has the same tools to get to ANY goal….commitment and accountability in surrounding yourself with like-minded folks.

Proverbs 27:17

Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.

Today I find myself heading into Week 5 of the Peak313 challenge and for me, it’s been a GREAT springboard for getting my heart (mind and body, too!) back into the healthy frame o’ mind.  Instead of this being “The End”, it’s rather a beginning, to keep marching forward!

And like the article in the photo above, this challenge, along with fanTABulous encouragement through Clare, seriously make-you-sore exercises and the important scriptural foundation, commitment and accountabilty have contributed tremendously to my staying on track.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not naive and I’ve been in “this place” more times than I can count.  I FULLY expect to continue to be tempted and challenged along the way as I strive toward my “Healthy goal”, it’s a lifelong exercise……..just as it is with our spiritual Walk, budgeting goals, raising children, cultivating healthy marriages, and so on.  Anything worthwhile is worth working on!!  Each day presents its own challenges, and in facing each day as it comes, I find it’s easier for me to keep focused when I keep the one-day-at-a-time mentality.  The choices we make TODAY contribute to where we are tomorrow…we canNOT focus on the worries of tomorrow which haven’t even occurred yet!!    We canNOT focus on the failures of yesterday.  Today.  One step at a time, one foot in front of the other.

And so….to wrap up this week, here is a quick summary:

Exercise:  I modified my plan according to what the day brought.  I had my “plan” and as with anything, sometimes plans fall apart.  This is where Plan B came in.  Modified.  Life changes.  Adaptation is key.  I did.  I was sore.  I got in my time!!

Food:  I planned.  I ate in moderation.  I kept cravings in check and when I simply HAD TO HAVE IT……moderation.  Case in point:  Spontaneous dinner date with Hubby Friday night…healthy choices @ dinner, but skipped the bread and ate in moderation….including the coconut cream pie.  A few bites, savored and enjoyed and I was satisfied.  Moderation not deprivation.  We have to live, people.

Scripture:  Above all things, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.  Proverbs 4:23.  How true, how true.  Especially after my dear friend’s dad underwent open heart surgery this week.  Physically and spiritually, heart=life.  Guard it likewise.

And this week we have….

Wishing you much success, peace and strength in the coming week(s) ahead!  Blessings!!