"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work; If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!... Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 12
Oh my goodness! It's been a crazy few weeks since I last blogged. Between working on my Scentsy business, making cakes, caring for sick kiddos, and being sick myself my Made to Crave book got back burnered. So I'm officially back!
True confessions: I quit journaling my food for about two weeks. Result - thankfully, I didn't gain any weight back, but I also didn't lose anything. I guess that is just an affirmation that journaling really does help me with being accountable to myself - and in turn it shows on the scale. So today is day two of journaling again, and this morning it showed with about half a pound of loss from yesterday.
Getting back to the book - chapter four is about, what else but ACCOUNTABILITY! My last couple of weeks have shown that accountability is absolutely crucial for me!
When a friend experiences success with healthy food choices I can't help but to feel inspired and encouraged. I am one of those people that doesn't believe in any kind of "miracle diet" or "weight loss pills", etc. I know that surgery can work - but all it really does is jump start your weight loss. If you have surgery and fall back into your old eating habits, the weight will return. In my mind, the only thing that makes sense for true, long term weight loss is to change your lifestyle. That includes eating and activity level. So for me, when I have talked to one friend that has lost quite a bit of weight and kept it off for a couple of years now, I am very inspired. We have talked about changes she has made in her diet, foods that she avoids, and challenges that she still faces. When I talk to this friend - I feel very inspired because what she has done, while it's been a lot of hard work, is also absolutely within my reach. And it helped me figure out the areas that I could change first in my own diet to start my own life transformation.
I am also happy to be sharing this journey with my mom. I know that she has struggled with her weight her entire adult life - and it's a struggle I've watched and lived through with her. I think that if we continue to be accountable to each other as well that it will aid in both of us being successful with our weight loss.
In addition to the accountability measures I have taken with journaling, and also working on this with my mom - this blog has become accountability for me as well. I know that there are a few of you out there reading what I am writing, and some of you maybe even taking this journey with me. Knowing that you are waiting for my next post, and praying with me along the way definitely helps keep me motivated to keep going! So thank you my friends for that!
Most importantly, by reading this book and incorporating prayer and scripture into my weight loss journey, I am accountable to God. I really like the last part of the scripture that I wrote at the top of this blog - the part about a cord of three strands not being easily broken. If I look at myself as one strand, my mom and all of you as the second, and God as the third - there is no way I can fail!
Blessings to you!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
More Beneficial than I thought...
Okay, time for another check in. I hope to get back on later today with my next chapter of the book. But for now, I just wanted to talk about what I learned this weekend.
So, yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday! (Go Giants!!!) And I knew it was coming, and we had friends coming from church to watch the game with us. And because I have been doing so well with my eating, I was going to allow myself the day to enjoy my Super Bowl goodies and have a "blow off" day with the diet. This is the "Everything is permissible" part of the scripture I wrote on my refrigerator that first day.
So here is what I am learning... I did eat my chips and queso, Angie's monkey bread and taco dip, and Erica's bruschetta and burgers... I don't feel like I overdid it - I only filled my plate once, and I really didn't do a lot of grazing. It was definitely more than I have been eating for the last month, and a lot more carbs and fat. And then there was the half a brownie and a few bites of ice cream cake... Talk about sugar overload!
So after all was said and done, I was exhausted from a full day and I went to bed and fell right asleep. And at about 10:00 my eyes popped open and I was wide awake... Sigh. I recognized this feeling - my body is tired, but my heart and mind are racing and no matter how cozy and comfy I was in my bed, there was no going back to sleep. I tried reading and that didn't help. I finally got out of bed and sat up watching TVland reruns until I drifted off sometime around 1 or 2 in the morning.
I have had nights like this before - more times than I care to count. I've always attributed it to anxiety attacks because many times they would happen when I was carrying a large emotional burden. But truly yesterday, I felt at peace with the world. Nothing hanging over my head, or weighing me down emotionally. A fun day spent with friends and family. And the Giants won the Superbowl - and lets face it... If it couldn't be the Bronco's then I am glad it was my newly adopted second choice - the Giants!
So I am starting to wonder... (Please don't think I'm slow or anything, this truly just never occurred to me before...) Could my insomnia be completely food related? I have been so careful to avoid a lot of sugar, chocolate, white flour, fried foods, etc. And yesterday I ate plenty of those things. And last night I couldn't sleep. Hmmm... And it would stand to reason that on those previous nights, when I was so weighed down emotionally, I probably didn't eat very well those days either. (An emotional eater, right?) So maybe while the sleepless nights of the past were spent feeling very anxious about whatever situations were stressing me out, it wasn't the anxiety that kept me awake in the first place - but the carb overload and the caffeine overload and the sugar overload...
This brings me to the second half of the verse I wrote on my refrigerator that first week... "Not everything is beneficial..." So while in fact I know that there are obviously health benefits, as well as the benefit of losing weight, that will come with making the right food choices. I am starting to realize that I will probably uncover even more benefits as I go along on this journey. And I pray that God will keep my mind and heart open to learning and exploring what these benefits might be.
I will post later about Chapter 4 in the book. Until then, blessings to you!
So, yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday! (Go Giants!!!) And I knew it was coming, and we had friends coming from church to watch the game with us. And because I have been doing so well with my eating, I was going to allow myself the day to enjoy my Super Bowl goodies and have a "blow off" day with the diet. This is the "Everything is permissible" part of the scripture I wrote on my refrigerator that first day.
So here is what I am learning... I did eat my chips and queso, Angie's monkey bread and taco dip, and Erica's bruschetta and burgers... I don't feel like I overdid it - I only filled my plate once, and I really didn't do a lot of grazing. It was definitely more than I have been eating for the last month, and a lot more carbs and fat. And then there was the half a brownie and a few bites of ice cream cake... Talk about sugar overload!
So after all was said and done, I was exhausted from a full day and I went to bed and fell right asleep. And at about 10:00 my eyes popped open and I was wide awake... Sigh. I recognized this feeling - my body is tired, but my heart and mind are racing and no matter how cozy and comfy I was in my bed, there was no going back to sleep. I tried reading and that didn't help. I finally got out of bed and sat up watching TVland reruns until I drifted off sometime around 1 or 2 in the morning.
I have had nights like this before - more times than I care to count. I've always attributed it to anxiety attacks because many times they would happen when I was carrying a large emotional burden. But truly yesterday, I felt at peace with the world. Nothing hanging over my head, or weighing me down emotionally. A fun day spent with friends and family. And the Giants won the Superbowl - and lets face it... If it couldn't be the Bronco's then I am glad it was my newly adopted second choice - the Giants!
So I am starting to wonder... (Please don't think I'm slow or anything, this truly just never occurred to me before...) Could my insomnia be completely food related? I have been so careful to avoid a lot of sugar, chocolate, white flour, fried foods, etc. And yesterday I ate plenty of those things. And last night I couldn't sleep. Hmmm... And it would stand to reason that on those previous nights, when I was so weighed down emotionally, I probably didn't eat very well those days either. (An emotional eater, right?) So maybe while the sleepless nights of the past were spent feeling very anxious about whatever situations were stressing me out, it wasn't the anxiety that kept me awake in the first place - but the carb overload and the caffeine overload and the sugar overload...
This brings me to the second half of the verse I wrote on my refrigerator that first week... "Not everything is beneficial..." So while in fact I know that there are obviously health benefits, as well as the benefit of losing weight, that will come with making the right food choices. I am starting to realize that I will probably uncover even more benefits as I go along on this journey. And I pray that God will keep my mind and heart open to learning and exploring what these benefits might be.
I will post later about Chapter 4 in the book. Until then, blessings to you!
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