(Glorious) Workout Update

I am thrilled that Spring is here! The 4 mile route I have been run/walking is so full of life and God's Glory! I look forward to getting on it everyday. I took some pictures this morning. Enjoy!


My view as I step out of my driveway onto the road.

Irises on the side of the road. Gorgeous!

Sweet little guy who cheers me on at the 3/4 mile marker.


The grass is the most beautiful hue of green right now.


Love these old barns.


Post Workout with my baby girl ♥

Today my run was actually an act of worship. I was using my body for His glory in the midst of His glory. It seemed that the rolling grass, the rustling trees, the whistling winds...had all joined with me in praising our Creator and Risen King. It was truly glorious!

1 Corinthians 10:31
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Exodus 15:2
The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.

(Get) Lost Shaker of Salt

I knew the day would come;
we would go our separate ways.
You've been such a big part of my life,
but that was just a phase.

You see, I'm different now.
I'm not the person you once knew.
I've turned my life around--
there won't be room for you.

We've had some great times!
I'm not gonna lie.
But the writing's on the wall--
you could cause me to die.

I dread the day you'll leave me.
I'm afraid I'll get the blues.
Will everything be bland and dull?
Can Ms. Dash REALLY fill your shoes?

In the end it will not matter.
I have already made The Change.
And Sodium, you're on your way out--
soon as I hit 180's range.

Weigh In: Maintenance

Well, I could have predicted this. Don't get me wrong--I am perfectly happy with maintaining the lowest weight I can remember in about 7 years. I am just a little upset with myself because I can't tell you that I don't know how this happened. Or that TOM had come to visit. Or that I have been stressed. Or that I haven't been able to work out.

None of those apply. What I will tell you is that I made a choice this week. I chose to not lose weight. When I began to consume things that I had not planned on and had no intentions of recording, that's when I decided I would not lose weight this week. Even though I didn't say it outloud deep down I knew that's what I was doing.

So, I begin this new week with a great outlook. I am prepared to make the choices that have gotten me to where I am thus far in the journey!

Oh, I almost forgot. Here are the answers from the Pop Quiz:

1.tea
2. no
3. salmon
4. no

There was only one person who {absolutely, positively} got it right! ;)

Easter Dress

Pop Quiz

I decided it was time to have a little quiz. The results of this quiz will tell me what type of image I am portraying on this blog. It will tell me if I am being REAL enough with you. It will tell me if you really know me. At all.

Let me set this up. Yesterday I was taking my BFF for a mani/pedi for her Christmas present (don't ask) and afterward I had some pretty tough choices to make. We ended up at a favorite place of ours--Chili's.

We've shared a good many conversations, laughs, and calories while sitting in a booth at Chili's. The familiar Spanish tile on the tables, the unique decor, the overwhelming smell of grease...It's almost like a home away from home.

It was a bittersweet homecoming for me. You see, I haven't been to Chili's since I made The Change.

Side note: I'm calling it that now--THE CHANGE.

It's not that I don't trust myself, but really, why even go there? Why push it? Unfortunately yesterday I had a gift card and a rebellious spirit. I was feeling rebellious against The Change.

Back up a few days...

I had been at my mom's and there with me sat a big Tupperware container of fudge. I totally had a moment of weakness and ate some. And when I say some I mean a lot. And when I say a lot I mean WAY too much.

That was the day I wrote about The Burn. When I told my mom that her fudge had been my inspiration for the writing of that post she couldn't believe it. She had assumed I pushed through the burn of the fudge. Well, you know what they say about assuming...

Wouldn't that have been nice though. To have actually listened to what the Holy Spirit was speaking to me and apply it? Yeah.

So then a day later I was back at mom's. (Note to self: consider not going to mom's).This time the fudge was gone but I had the munchies. I had already been to Chic fil-a and resisted my usual 12 nuggets and fries and the occasional chick-fil-a sandwich to boot. I opted for the char grilled sandwich but ate a few fries. The whole fry decision was playing with my mind. It made me go bonkers in my mom's pantry.

You want to hear the sad part? I abused my body with healthy stuff. I overloaded on smoked almonds, dried apricots, 1% cheese (yuk), deli ham and some other stuff. Uggh! I could go on but you can tell this was not a good day.

So I was still trying to recover from this binge, all the while feeling like a complete idiot because I know I am going to have to come on the blog and fess up after I just wrote all about resisting temptation...IDIOT!

Now I bring you back to the booth at Chili's yesterday...and the Quiz begins!

#1. Did I order a margarita (because after all, it was Margarita Madness) or did I have tea with Equal sweetener?

#2. Did I order chips and queso (and a side of avocado ranch) or forgo the appetizer?

#3. Did I order:

A. Guiltless Salmon with steamed veggies, rice and no butter

or

B. Chicken Crispers

#4. Did I order THIS for dessert?

I will say that I literally experienced anguish while trying to make the decisions you are being quizzed on. I can also tell you I won't be going back to Chili's anytime soon.

Now, how well do you know me? Everyone better answer--but think carefully before doing so. Feel free to explain the reasons for your answers.

I Feel Pretty

Today I got a new accessory. {I embrace my dorkiness}



Everyone has these and I thought I should have one also.



I'm just not sure what to do with it...

Ahh. There we go.

I am learning to love accessories. For so long I just felt like it was pointless to wear them. I thought I always looked bad so I just put my hair in a pony tail, slapped on a little make up (sometimes) and that was it.

I felt bad about myself. I felt UGLY. Plain and simple. It makes me so sad to think about that.

The remarkable thing is that after just a few weeks, days actually, of nurturing my body with appropriate food and activity, that outlook began to change. I began to feel LESS ugly. I began to care a little more about the make up. I began to take more time on my hair. I would sometimes consider earrings or even a necklace.

I began to actually look in the mirror. I began to do it more often and for longer periods of time. One day when I looked--the reflection looking back at me didn't seem ugly anymore. It seemed a little bit pretty. This mini transformation happened without me losing hardly any weight at all. More proof that this is SUCH a mental game.

I know that life is not all about how we look--believe me! Some day I'll get on my soap box...but as a woman, I need to feel pretty. It helps with confidence and social interaction and treating your husband right ;) and all that good stuff...

So, I'm curious...what helps you feel pretty? Besides chartreuse scarves of course.

Someday. . .

Someday I want my calves to look like this.

Oh wait. This IS my calf.

The Burn

They say that during exercise, when it burns is when your body is changing the most. I try to think of that in the midst of my pain and wind sucking and many times I am able to push even harder. Yea me!

But let me tell you about the "burn" that is even harder for me to push through. The burn of temptation.

It's the burn of wanting a piece of fudge so bad I could bite my thumb off. It's the burn of seeing a Taco Bueno and literally feeling the force of gravity pulling my car into the drive thru. It's the burn of wanting to eat the 3 nuggets my kid left on his plate. It's the burn of wanting to eat a piece of enriched flour, chewy white bread (you know the kind that sticks to the roof of your mouth) with a monstrous slather of peanut butter at 11:30 at night.

You want to talk about burn? THAT'S what I call burn.

But it just dawned on me that I could apply the same principle regarding "exercise burn" to "temptation burn." Pushing through the burn of temptation and allowing the the moment to pass by...that is when my MIND changes the most.

When I am able to step outside of myself and see the burn for what it really is--an opportunity for personal growth--then I can push through. By doing this I prove to myself that even though it hurts like heck, I CAN do it.

Each time I do it, it makes the next temptation burn a little less. And a little less. And I suspect that pretty soon I may not even notice the burn.

Just as a trainer encourages the athlete to push through the burn, so shall He encourage me:

1 Corinthians 10:13 (New International Version)
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (The Message)
No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it.

I have yet to resist a food temptation and regret it. TRUST that you will be okay. Next time you are feeling the temptation burn, remember that your mind is being transformed and that is awesome.

Wearing Stripes

Today I was changing shirts and my 4 year old darling happened to walk in and catch a glimpse of my bare stomach.

He giggled and said "Oh, look mommy!" pointing at my gut. "You're wearing stripes!"

"Yeah. Cool, huh?" Geesh.

Gotta love him, but stripes? Seriously. Ouch.

Of course he was referring to my stretch marks. Yes, I do have quite a few to speak of. Some of them are relatively new while others are practically native. Honestly, I don't really have a huge problem with them. I mean, I'm not losing sleep over the nasty "stripes."

But I am curious if there is some miracle cream or oil I should be aware of. Let me know.

Pretty in Purple

I was excited to have recently run across this old school pic of me on Facebook. This is what I'm going for people! I distinctly remember stepping on the scale the day of my junior prom and seeing the number 127. I had worked so hard to see that number. When I put my dress on I felt like a million bucks.

I suspect I will feel the same way in a few months when I slip it on for the second time--on the day I reach my goal of 129!

What a photo session THAT will be!

Inch by Inch

Tonight I was measured for the first time in 10 weeks. I got some surprising but overall pleasing results.

Chest: 47 inches (-1.5)
I am super excited about this small loss, for obvious reasons. I don't want to lose too much volume up there;) I am still seeing the back lose fat and I am probably gaining muscle too.

Waist: 43.5 inches (-8.5)
This seems like a lot to me. We tried measuring in a couple of different spots to make sure but each time there was only a slight difference. Obviously I am thrilled with these results. My waist is the biggest problem area I have and it has always been the hardest to see results in. This time is different! I attribute that to my running (which I did about 2 miles today!)

Hips: 50 inches (-2.5)
This is good. It is important to note that my hip measurement and waist measurement were practically the same to begin with. Now they are 6.5 inches different. Can you say hour glass?

Thighs: 26 inches (+1 per leg)
I have a couple of questions on this one. Is the gain due to muscle? Also, when you gain inches, do you subtract that gain from your overall loss (total inches lost)? I really don't want to, but am guessing I am supposed to.

Arms: 12.75 inches (-1.25 per arm)
Happy with this. I suspect that at some point my arms may level off and even begin to gain back inches in muscle. Has anyone found that to be the case?

I am happy with these results. This is a total of 14 inches lost (2 gained, but whatever) in 10 weeks!

Weigh In: 2.5 lb Loss

192.5 lb

Two years ago I lost quite a bit of weight. I weighed 193.8 at my lowest. After several successful months on WW, I found out I was pregnant. Ironically I didn't gain much weight at all during the pregnancy. In fact, I was back down around 195 lbs. a month after giving birth. But I could not get back into "diet mode" and unfortunately gained back all of the weight I had lost over the next few months.

Since beginning my current journey, I have eagerly anticipated the day I would break through that lowest number (193.8). Today is the today! I am sailing into uncharted waters and it feels amazing. I really imagine this is what an early explorer would have felt like. The beauty and wonderment of discovery; self-discovery for me. There really is nothing like it!

Progess Makes Me Happy

The highest weight I have listed on the sidebar of my blog is 229 lbs. I am pretty sure I was over that in the "before" pictures above. Not exactly a time I wanted to jump on the scales everyday. Know what I'm sayin'?

Today I decided to put on that lovely striped shirt again and see what a difference 34 (or a little more?) pounds can make. A big one, apparently.

These are my beloved 12's. Isn't it funny how I am so excited to be in these today and pretty soon they will be on the ground like my 18's are now? I love it!

Pardon the "rear view" but I had to show off the silver sparkle on the pockets of my new jeans. Back pocket decoration: not something I've given much thought to in the past. Back pocket decoration nowadays? Yes, please.

Tomorrow night I will post weigh-in and measurements update after my FP4H meeting. I am getting measured for the first time in 10 weeks! Super excited!

These are the lyrics of a Chris Tomlin song. They spoke so loudly to me this morning.

Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord, to thee. Take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise. Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of thy love. Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for thee.

I hope this is a fabulous week for you, my friends!

I Got New Shoes

And guess what? They are running shoes!

Aren't they purty? I have never spent this much money on a pair of shoes. Honestly, I had no idea that you COULD spend this much money on a pair of tennis shoes. But when I slipped them on, I knew it was meant to be. That these shoes were destined to join me on this journey of a lifetime.

One interesting fact about these shoes is that they are a size 8. Interesting because I don't wear a size 8. I wear a size 8.5 or even a 9 usually. At least I used to. Apparently my shoe size has gone down since I have lost this weight! Note to all you beginners--take your foot measurements too! Wish I had...

What you are looking at here (other than some stubble glistening in the flash-light) are my crossed legs. My extremely crossed legs. I came in from the track and plopped down on the couch. Pretty soon I noticed something weird. My legs were crossed and the top one was kind of bouncing up and down. You hear that!? My top leg was bouncing, or laying flat, or whatever else I wanted it to do.

My top leg used to stick out at right angle and would not move--unless someone bumped into me and dislodged it. I really hated that right angle top leg because everyone could see the bright orange price tags from Ross on the sole of my shoes. Not any more. Now I've got pretzel-y, intertwining legs that fully conceal whatever may or may not be on the sole.

Come to think of it, wonder why Asics doesn't put the price tag on the bottom of THEIR shoes? For once I wouldn't mind people knowing. Hmm.

This picture is a little weird, but I like it. It reminds me of the time (tonight) that I was running and got really hot. I thought it sure would be nice to take off my jacket and tie it around my waist. At first I didn't even try. I've haven't been able to do that for quite some time because the sleeves wouldn't reach around my waist. But then I remembered--I've lost over 30 pounds!

Now my sleeves hang, just like my top leg. Hollaaaa!