Tuesday Weigh-In: Doing Hard Things

A year ago the idea of working out was still intimidating.  I wasn't sure what I was capable of doing, but I knew it wasn't much.  I wasn't into sports when I was younger and had truly never pushed my body to the limits of its capability.  Actually, I didn't even think that was a wise thing to do.

Be forewarned, I now totally think we should each be pushing our bodies to the limits of its capability through prayer and on a consistent basis.  As I pray through a workout, through a morning jog, through a half marathon, I have come to realize that God is ever present.  He is my Help.  He is my Strength.  He does not ever leave me.  And because of all this ... I CAN DO HARD THINGS.

I can do hard things.  I know that now because I have done things that I truly thought I wasn't capable of doing.  This has revitalized my walk with the Lord and the calling He has given me.  It is not uncommon for me to have thoughts like the following...

"Remember when I drug myself out of bed at 6:30am and outside to run 4 miles in below freezing temperatures? ... I can get out of bed now and face the children waiting for me to feed, clothe, and teach them."

"Remember when I felt the pain shooting through my calves up to my lower back with every step, but managed to pull out just one more mile? ... I can handle the pain of this hurt, of this ache, that is grieving me today and persevere through it."

"Remember when my arms were shaking like jelly and I thought I was going to fall flat on my face but instead I grit my teeth and held that wall stand for 30 more seconds? ... Well, if I can tackle that then I can tackle the job of teaching this child long division.  Let's just get it done."

There are times when I am running and worshipping and feeling God so fully... feeling as though He is just carrying me through.  But more often, I feel the pain of each step, each breath.  Every movement hurts and I move not to enjoy the journey, but because it brings me closer to the end result.  I know people who love running.  I don't love running.  But I love that I have ran.  

And I think God keeps me in that place, because I have so much to learn about staying committed even through trials...about persevering to the end.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." ~Hebrews 12:1

Tuesday Weigh In:  This week my goal is to work out each evening with my hubby.  He is in training for a Tough Mudder event that he is doing in October, but with work and leading us here, he finds it difficult to squeeze in enough gym time.  I know it will be a blessing to him if I am motivated enough to work out with him.

How about you?  What are your goals this week?  How was last week?     

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Tuesday Weigh In - Addicted

I have known from a very early age that food had a hold on me.  It wasn't until I became a Christian and began considering weight loss from a Biblical perspective that I realized that truly I was addicted to food.

I think my addiction started as most addictions do.  I had an emptiness that needed to be filled, so I filled it with what was available.

If I was sad and wanted comfort, I turned to food.
If I was lonely and wanted companionship, I turned to food.
If I was stressed and wanted an escape, I turned to food.
If I was happy and wanted to celebrate, I turned to food.

Food is easily accessible and completely acceptable (after all, we must eat to survive).  But the problem is food was designed to fuel our bodies.  It was not designed to be our comforter, companion, or escape.  But if not food, then where should we turn?

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." ~2 Cor. 1: 3-4

"We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ." ~1 John 1:3

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." ~Matthew 11:29

"Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness." ~Psalm 29:2

"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." ~Phil. 4:19

It is high time that we realize that God wants us to turn to him for our every need.  If we are turning elsewhere, we are disobeying God.  That is called sin.

Years ago, Chad and I participated in a book study at church based on the book Thin Within.  This is when I first began the realization of how 'out of place' food was in my life.  Thin Within discusses the idea of food addiction and turning to God to help you overcome.  It offers practical advice such as eating only when you are truly hungry and eating only until you are satisfied.

Made to Crave is another book that is currently gaining popularity on this subject.  This is not a "diet" book, but a book about finding your "want to".  The author discusses in depth how we were made to crave...God, not food.

Obviously, realizing that we have a food addiction is just the first step...probably, the easiest step.  The hard part is doing something about it.  Thankfully, the same God who promises to meet our every need also has the power to overcome strongholds.

"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,  and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor." ~Isaiah 61:1-3

MY WEIGH IN:  In all honesty, I needed the reminder of each of these verses this week.  I am still struggling with putting food in it's proper place.  This week my plan is to count calories again, eating about every 3 hours, and upping my water intake.  I am also working on memorizing some key scriptures to help me in moments of weakness.  I'll also be getting back to my exercise routine after our vacation and general summertime laziness.

Let's keep each other accountable!  Post your Tuesday Weigh In on your blog.  You can offer advice or post frustration or success.  Grab my button from above or on the sidebar and then link up below.  If you don't blog, feel free to leave a comment instead! 


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Tuesday Weigh In

     In one of my last posts I mentioned that I have lost 65 lbs this year.  Actually, I lost 65 lbs in about 7 months and have been maintaining my current weight for about 5 months. Many people have been asking me how I've lost the weight, what diet did I use, etc.  However, this hasn't been about a diet for me.  This has been a lifestyle change.

     I had "dieted" and lost weight before.  But I had never made a lifestyle change.  I could deprive myself of the unhealthy foods I craved for a limited amount of time...but eventually I returned to them.  I had even "worked out" for awhile and seen results, only to become lazy again when I reached my desired weight.  And then the weight came back. 

     So I had to make a choice.  And this time I decided that becoming healthy was as much about taking care of my temple (which Scripture mandates us to do), and as much about being strong, and as much about teaching my children healthy habits as it was about losing the weight.

     There have been four major keys that I had to put into play to lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle. 

          1. Turn to God instead of turning to food.  I will eventually write a post about all the scriptures God has brought to light for me in regards to this, but here's the basic deal.  God says, "You shall have no other gods before me".  Do you find yourself running to the pantry when you are stressed, angry, tired, bored, depressed, overwhelmed?  I did. Sometimes I still do.  But God intended for us to turn to Him during these times.  Consistent prayer, daily Bible reading, and worship has been paramount to helping me turn down unhealthy (but oh-so-delicious) foods and to push me past my physical "limits" as I realized I really could do "all things through Christ who strengthens me."

          2. Eat less and eat better.  Honestly, this is the hardest part for me and it is still a work in progress.   In the beginning I worked on portion control and I counted calories.  I used an app on my phone to keep a food diary which added the calories for me until I felt like I had a good general idea of what I could and couldn't eat each day to stay within my calorie budget.  I still treat myself (too much, really) but I wanted to make a change I knew I could live out forever.  I was surely doomed to fail if I decided I would never have a treat again.  But for the most part, I try to choose healthier foods and only eat until I am satisfied.  (As a side note: I am still about 30 lbs away from my goal weight.  I have just met with a nutritionist to help me more in this area because I know this is my area of greatest struggle.  I'll keep you updated!)

          3. Move more.  There are so many ways to do this, but I am telling you ... YOU MUST MOVE MORE.  Even if you are seeing weight loss with just dieting, get up and MOVE!  Strengthen your muscles and your heart.  It is so worth it.  I have used many resources for this.  Workout videos are cheap, fun, and easy.  My family and I joined the YMCA (free childcare!).  I started running (google 'couch to 5K' for a great beginner running plan).  And we also love to hike.

          4. Find an accountability partner.  I started this process last June (one month after my youngest was born).  Another mom I knew who had just had her fourth baby also wanted to lose weight so we decided to keep each other accountable.  In the beginning we emailed a quick update every day to each other.  Each week we would either call or email what our goals for the week were.  And once a month, we would meet for dinner or a smoothie and evaluate how our month went and what our new monthly goals were.  About month 3 is when we decided we would start running.  We met up weekly while we were training for our first half marathon.  After a couple of months, my husband decided to join in and I can think of at least another half dozen friends who have joined in to make healthy lifestyle changes as well.  I cannot tell you how valuable it has been to have other people to walk this journey with.  When I wanted to quit, I had people telling me to keep going (even though they wanted to quit too).  They understood and we have all pressed on together. 

     ...Which brings me to this meme.  Tuesday has always been my "Weigh-In Day".  I actually weigh in pretty much every day, but Tuesday is the only day it counts. :)  Each Tuesday, I plan to share a healthy lifestyle/weight loss tip and 'fess up about my week.  Are you brave enough join me?  I'd love to hear about what's working or NOT working for you and maybe we can all keep each other accountable.  You are welcome to post your weight loss for the week if that is a goal of yours, but that is certainly not a requirement.  If you blog, write a post and link up below.  You can even snatch my 'Tuesday Weigh In' button up top or from the sidebar.  If you're just starting with your healthy lifestyle change, try writing out what your beginning goals are and what your plan is to implement them.   If you don't blog, then just comment below.  I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

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Week 1 Update

Okay, so I have a couple of things to update you on.

First, I wanted to tell you how the new diet and exercise thing is going...you're supposed to be keeping me accountable, remember?

So I'm pretty happy with how this week went. I'll remind you of my goals:

Goal: 1700 Calories a day
Application: I kept a food journal using this free site and was under 1700 calories every day but yesterday. I was doing pretty good yesterday, but hadn't gotten around to adding up my calories yet, when we decided to grab to-go food for dinner. It wasn't fast food, but I'm afraid it probably put me over my calorie intake and didn't want to enter it in to find out. We're going out to dinner tonight, and I'm really going to try to do better by pre-entering in the journal what I'm going to eat to make sure it falls into the right amount of calories.

Goal: Drink lots of water
Application: I am really bad at this, but I was quite happy with my progress in this area. I have been drinking about 4 glasses a day...not where it needs to be yet, but better than none. However, yesterday I only had one glass. I'll keep working on it.

Goal: Exercise for 45 minutes, 5 Days a week (3 days of cardio, 2 days of strength training)
Application: Okay, so this went pretty well. I did exercise 5 of the 7 days...though it was hard to get in a full 45 minutes and impossible to get in 45 minutes straight. This week, I'm going to focus on increasing the intensity of the workouts and try to find ways to divide it up during the day.

Weight Loss: 3 lbs. Not too bad. I'll take it.

You maybe haven't noticed, but I generally only show pictures of me from the shoulders up. So let me take a deep breath....





















The picture on the left was taken on Day 1 of the diet, and the picture on the right was taken at the end of Week 1. No real physical difference...except that I'm out of my pajamas (no symbolism intended)...but I didn't expect much change here in one week.

Some exciting news... my husband has decided to join me in this effort to lose weight and become more healthy! I'm happy for us and the changes this will make in our family.

SO, it was also Week 1 for "Back to Homeschool". I spent the week between Christmas and New Years reworking our schedule and evaluating our goals for the year. I was very happy with the way things went this year. We were actually able to accomplish everything I wanted to this week except for a couple of minor things on Thursday, when I took half the day off to gather information and raise awareness about the impact that the new Consumer Safety Improvement Act will have on the homeschool community. Improvements have already been made to the act this week, but more improvements still need to be made to ensure that the homeschool suppliers that we know and love do not have to close their doors on Feb.10th. This is very real. I have spoken with homeschool suppliers that are extremely concerned...so please look in to this, pray, and contact your legislators to ask for an amendment for small businesses to be made immediately.

So here is how we are fitting it all in:

Bible: I am reading each day from a Bible story book and we are using a combination of Bible Songs by Twin Sisters Productions and Bible Story Songs.

Phonics/Grammar Studies: On Mondays and Wednesdays G8 is using The Bridge to the Latin Road To Grammar and A6 is doing phonogram review and dictation. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, they both are using All About Spelling. On Fridays, they both write in their Writing Journals. This Monday, I am going to take a break from our regular phonics program with E5 and begin using Rocket Phonics each day. (Review to come.)

Reading: Each child is expected to read or look at books independently each day. We also read aloud each day. I am reading to them from The Boxcar Children Series and Chad is reading The Truth Seekers Mystery Series to them in the evenings. Our history includes lots of read alouds as well.

Math: G8 and A6 are using Math Mammoth daily. E5 and H3 are MathTacular 3 times a week.

History: Beautiful Feet Early American History 3 days a week.

Science: Nature Study and Creation Club. All the kids will be taking some sort of science classes at co-op starting next month, but I am still looking for something simple I can do with all the kids once a week. I a very weak in science and is one area I really want focus on improving for next year.

Art: Spears Art once a week and I'm very excited to incorporate Artistic Pursuits which will arrive soon!

Music Studies: I'm getting most of my ideas from this site. This week we listened to Peter and the Wolf online and reviewed instruments with these flashcards.

PE: Yeah, really. We're using Homeschool PE...Help for the PE Challenged Mom and loving it.

On Saturday's I'm working through Lessons in Responsibility for Boys with G8 and Home Ec with A6. A6 is also doing sewing projects using the Grandmother's Hope Chest Series.

Well, I think that's about it! This has been a long post and honestly my brain is too fried from staring at this computer screen to think of a less abrupt ending...so farewell for now. Pin It Now!