Checking in

I have been feeling kinda down in the dumps the past week or so. I can't really pinpoint anything that is making me feel down which is frustrating. I am trying to focus on all the positives in my life and that usually lifts my spirits. I look into the eyes of Logan and Emma and see their smiling faces and I can't help but smile myself. I also have not been as excited to do devotions. For awhile there I was so anxious to see what I was gonna learn about next in my book but now I feel like I am just reading to read, like my heart really in it. I guess we all go through ups and downs, this too shall pass.

So being on a lower carb type diet makes it difficult to figure out what to fix for dinner. I don't know why but I always feel like I need a protein, starch and a veggie. I am trying to change that about the way I cook in that I don't always need to have a starch. So yesterday for instance, I had zucchini and broccoli so I decided to just make that into a side dish. I steamed them then put them in a saute pan with seasonings and I must say....I didn't miss the starch at all! However, there are times when I want to use a starch and I have found my diet saver, Dreamfield noodles. If you have never heard of them, they are a line of pasta that has only 5 digestible carbs per serving, and they don't taste bad! I have also learned to use cauliflower like a potato or pasta, the other day I made "mac and cheese" with cauliflower instead of noodles and it was so yummy.

Ok, well I gotta get the kids to bed, just wanted to check in!

1 month down...

So I have officially been on my diet for 1 month now and I have to say that it has actually gone pretty fast. I am actually enjoying eating better. Don't get me wrong, I have my moments when all I want is to binge on chocolate but for the most part I know how much better I feel when I am doing well.

So I weighed in today and I wasn't very hopeful because I had cheated last weekend, eating some desserts on Sunday. Well, I lost another 6 lbs...for a total of 12.2 lbs. I know that that is a good number and I am really happy although I still struggle with that feeling of how far I have to go. To say I am impatient would be an understatement. I want instant gratification. However, as a dear friend reminded me of the Confucius saying, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a simple step".

Back on track

Ok, so I will admit it. I made 2 mistakes this past weekend. First, I didn't do devotions one time while we were out of town. Second, I cheated on my diet on Sunday....

I had every intention on doing devotions, I took my devotional book but well, I have not excuse, I just didn't do it. I hate going 4 days without intimate time with the Lord, it always makes me feel bad and gives satan a foothold in my life. I will get back on track today though!

So, I was good for the first 3 days of vacation but the desserts on Sunday at Jason's grandma's house did me in. At lunch I had a pork chop but had some vanilla pudding/mandarin orange salad thing and a few bits of cheesecake. Then as if I didn't learn my lesson, after dinner I snuck a couple bites of Jason's dessert. I felt so guilty and like I had blown my 3 weeks of hard work. However, I will not let those feelings derail me. In the past everytime I cheat on a diet, I let it destroy me and I yo-yo.

I am not perfect and I have to remind myself that I will make mistakes but not to let those mistakes take me down. I am learning. So forward I move.

On the bright side, here are a few of my favorite pics from our weekend away....

Out to lunch

Ok, so we are out of town and my diet is going well so far. When we got here I went to the local grocery store and bought some cucumbers and some low fat cheese that I could snack on. We had meatloaf and mashed potatoes last night for dinner, I skipped the potatoes and just had some meatloaf and ate some cucumbers on the side.

We are going out to lunch today with Jason's sister. This is the first time I will be going to a restaurant since I started my diet. Well, I have been to McDonalds once but I don't consider that a restaurant! Anyhow, we are going to Chili's. I took some time last night to look up their menu and the nutrition info so I was prepared. What i saw just amazed me, 195 carbs in some of their dishes. I am just blown away that I used to eat like that, it almost makes me sick. So I decided I will get the grilled salmon with a side of roasted veggies. To my surprise, this is the ONLY healthy thing on the menu....#crazy!

I know I have a long way to go but I am learning new things about myself everyday. One thing I will tell you is that I am a very emotional eater. When I am happy, sad, bored, tired, anxious, It doesn't matter, I eat. I have learned to say a little prayer or just find something else to do instead of snacking all day long. One of the biggest thing I have learned is that I feel so much better that I am accomplishing something than the "good feeling" food gave me before. I look at food in a completely different way. I am learning to eat to live, not live to eat!

Traveling

Ok, so I am going out of town this weekend and I am worried about staying on my diet! Not that I think I can't eat well but we are staying at Jason's grandma's house and I am just not sure what she is going to have to eat. I am on a low carb diet so what if she has lasagna for dinner and pancakes for breakfast?!! She is also a wonderful baker and always has yummy cookies and stuff cuz she knows how much of a sweet tooth Jason has....I just have to remind myself that it's not worth it. I have not worked this hard just for a piece of strawberry rhubarb cobbler!

I think my best strategy will be to go to the store after we get there and get a few things that I can eat, like cheese sticks, low carb yogurt and veggies. I am sure she will understand! 

Anyhow, we went to the zoo today with my sister and her kids. It was so much fun and such a beautiful day! Logan has so much fun with his cousins, he wants to do everything they do! They all go their faces painted and we had a picnic lunch. I wanted to get the kids out of the house to do something fun since we are gonna be in the car almost all day tomorrow, it was perfect!

Well, I will be back on Monday night and I will let you know how my weekend goes (I promise that I will be honest)!!

Struggles

Ok, so I have made it through my 2nd weekend on a diet. Weekends seem to be more difficult for some reason, maybe because it's easier to just grab drive thru than to cook a healthy dinner. Either way, I made it through, and I can't say that I didn't cheat at all but the few little cheats I had weren't too bad. But if those little cheats keep my on my diet, than I feel like as long as I am not binging on twinkies than that's okay.

I have always thought that after a few weeks on a diet your stomach would shrink. I wonder if that's true because so far I feel just as hungry as I did 2 weeks ago! Like I said before, sometimes it feels good to be hungry, but only for so long! My biggest struggle is snacking. I always feel like I want a snack. On the diet I am on it's okay to snack but it should be on veggies....which gets old quick! I have to remind myself that just because I am hungry does not mean that I have to eat but I also don't let myself get ravenously hungry because then I want to binge....finding that balance is hard but I am getting there. I have also found that when I am hungry I go drink a glass of water and that usually helps.

Everyday is a new day and I know that tomorrow will present new challenges but with God I know that all things are possible. I am doing a study on Psalm 51 and it has been really refreshing for me. Tonight's study was on "restoration". Here is a few sentences that really spoke to me... " He is refining us by His grace so that we can shine with His character...He was willing to be condemned so that we may live in beauty and for the purpose which we were first constructed, the praise of His glory". 

The weigh in...

I wasn't sure if I was going to share the results of my first weigh in, I almost wanted to wait until i had been on the diet for 1 month. I will first start by saying that I am not one of those people that is afraid of the scale. I am the opposite, I would get on the scale everyday even a few times a day and obsess over what it says. I don't think this is a good thing though because you never know exactly what is going on in your body and if it goes up a little or down less than I wanted then I would just give up on my diet. So this time I have tried to avoid the scale, although I have cheated a few times. I was not going to "officially" weigh myself today because my "you know who" came to visit yesterday and we all know that we women retain water that time of the month!

But I decided to just do it and that I would share it with everyone because if my goal is having accountability and wanting people to support me than I need to be honest and open. So....drum roll please....I lost 6.2 lbs! I am however a very impatient person so 6 lbs seems like nothing compared to how far I have to go BUT I can't and won't let that thought ruin yet another diet. 6 lbs is better than nothing, I will continue to work hard, exercise and loose weight. Like I have said before....I can't go back, I won't go back. I look into Logan and Emma's eyes and I want to be healthy for them, for me. I need this, they are my motivation.

Week 1 Complete!

I have successfully finished 1 week on the "Metabolism Miracle"! I am not gonna weigh myself till next Friday, so watch for the update on that! I walked 2 miles this morning with my lifelong friend Nicole, she is so sweet for waking up early to walk with me...it felt really good! Then I took the kids to the zoo for "big equipment" day...to say that Logan is obsessed with tractors would be an understatement so of course he was in complete awe! God was on my side today though because I am not kidding when I say that the second I closed my car door to leave the zoo, the rain started!

Anyhow, back to the diet....
I learned a few things this week. One being that it is OK to be hungry. It actually feels good to by hungry sometimes. Also one of my problems is once i start eating I feel like I can't stop so this week when I was done with my plate, I would get up from the table and get busy doing something for 10 min or so and by then, I wasn't hungry anymore!
One of my biggest struggles is knowing is how far I have to go on this journey. I didn't put it on overnight so I have to remind myself that I am not going to loose it overnight.

On the spiritual front, I have started a new devotional called "Whiter than Snow". My dad gave it to me awile back and I started reading it every night and as I got about half way through it, I was enjoying it so much that I started over, but this time with a highlighter!
Ok, well I better get back to housework. Thanks for all of your support everyone...It really means a lot to me!!

New to this

Hi All, I am new to this blog thing but am on a journey and wanted to share it with those who want to listen....

I have finally decided that it is time to get healthy. Body, mind, spirit, etc. I feel like I have been in a "funk" for so long. I have let myself go. Today I will talk about one phase of my journey, my weight....so I have started a diet again, but not just a diet, a new way of life, a new way of thinking about food, not letting food control my life.  I am going public with it because I cannot turn back and I need the accountability to get me through it. I will not fail this time. I want to be healthy for my kids, for my family and most importantly for the One who created me. This is the most embaressing thing I have ever done but again, I need to do something different this time so here goes...This is a picture of me now....

Tomorrow will be one week that I started my diet so I will let you know how that goes! Ok well, I am going to get going for now. I hope you enjoy my blog, thanks for the support!