Day 14

The end of week finds me weighing about the same as Day 1! :( Not to worry! I plan on staying positive and to keep on keepin' on. I could make a list of reasons I am not losing, but those situations and temptations are going to be present everyday. I am strong one minute and weak the next. With consistency in exercising and eating right, I will have more strong moments and fewer weak moments. Father God, help me to be consistent

BREAKFAST!!! When am I suppose to eat breakfast? I have always waited until after my workout to eat. But, because my workout is not until 9am or so, I'm not eating until 11am. Yesterday, it was almost 2pm before I had anything to eat. That can't be good--I don't care who you are! Calorie-wise, it was an okay day. I had a grilled chicken sandwich for lunch and chicken fajitas for supper. Yes--the sweet tea and the cheese dip added some unnecessary calories. AND--I gotta think that eating the same number of calories over 16 hours would be better than over 6 hours.

The people on the TV show "Extreme Makeover--Weight-loss Edition" (or something like that) inspire me. The woman on last night's episode lost 202 pounds in a year. That's more than I weigh (at least today)! Chris Powell, the trainer/coach, told her that if you don't eat in the morning, your body holds onto the fat. Eating breakfast tells your body that your are going to take care of it and that it can release it's grip on those fat globules!! (That's me editorializing Chris!)

So---tomorrow, I plan on eating a bowl of oatmeal as soon as I get up and exercise an hour later.

Lunch: chicken noodle soup

Supper: grilled chicken & veggies

If you are a praying sort, (and I pray you are conversing with God everyday) please pray for me as eating wisely is more challenging without a refrigerator. (Repairs won't be done until August.)

OH--I added quad stretches to my workout, too. This week I'm doing 12 burpees, quad stretches and a 2 mile walk each day.

What are YOU doing??

A rainy day not only limits my workout, it dampens my motivation to workout. BUT, this morning I did 10-12 burpees. I'm not sure how many because doing them takes up so much of my brain, I can't count! From a standing position, put your hands on the floor and 'jump' your feet to a push-up position. Jump your feet back to their original position, stand and jump. One burpee completed! I used to do these by moving my feet one at a time instead of 'jumping' them backward. So I guess I'm progressing. I think that while you are in the push-up position, you are suppose to do a push-up! Maybe I'll try that next week!

It wasn't much of a workout, but it made me breathe hard. It also made my thighs ache and my head hurt! That must be part of the "no pain-no gain" philosophy.

Now for breakfast: pb & j on toast

Lunch will be grilled chicken & veggies.

Supper will be chicken fajitas. (I may mention this often because the only good restaurant around is a Mexican one. Remember--I don't have a working frig.)

Until next time...don't forget the goal is to do better today (at eating, exercising and everything else) than yesterday.

Glorify God in all you do!

confession time

Lying is not something I'm good at. So, I confess, my eating habits over the past 2 days have been less than ideal! If you can read between the lines, you'll know when I fudge--I don't blog!

I'm blaming the exercise! It's suppose to curb your appetite, but I find myself thinking, "I worked hard, I deserve to eat." Maybe so--but that kind of thinking is not conducive to weight loss!

Breakfast for the past couple of days--and again today: peanut butter/apple butter on toast

Lunch yesterday was late. (Waiting too long between meals is not good for me either.) We went to the buffet at a local casino. Buffets are NEVER worth the calories!

Lunch today: grilled chicken and salad

Dinner tonight: chicken & shrimp fajitas

The positive part of the last few days is that I have increased my walk to 2 miles and I feel strong doing it. The praise music I listen to on my iPhone helps to keep my pace up.

Thank You, Lord, for a time of exercising my body and my spirit!

Day...whatever

I have enough trouble keeping up with blood pressure numbers and weight. I don't know how many days I've done this. What matters is I did it today! I walked 1.5 miles after doing 1 set of 10 and 1 set of 5 of each of the 3 exercises--squats, pushups, backward lunges.

Now to keep my eating on track.

My plan: fruit smoothie, chicken sandwich, grilled chicken and veggies.

Gotta go cook all my veggies because we just discovered that the frig is not working!

But before I go, let me encourage you with a story about a 100-year-old woman. You may have seen her on the Tonight show. She said she doesn't leave her bedroom until she has done her exercising (I think she has a stationary bike). If she can workout every day, so can I. And so can you. Keep moving so you don't seize up!

Help!

It was a little fire--doused by 3 days with family and a pain in the neck (not Jake). I need to get that fire going again. Anybody got a match?

The extreme weight loss TV program last night showed a guy that lost almost half of his 651 pounds in a year. He was motivated and determined and I thought, "I need that." But, 10 hours later, here I sit. :(

Scripture says that without a plan, the people perish. I need a plan! A plan and a match--that's what I need. I think I'll start formulating a plan and maybe it will generate the spark to get the fire going again.

Today's eating plan:

fruit smoothie

pasta primavera (spaghetti with steamed veggies)

chicken sandwich

Now to plan a week's worth of exercise...

I'll let you know how it works out.

Here is an update:

My plan is to do 3 strength-training exercises each day before my walk or bike ride. Over the next few weeks I will increase the number of sets until I get to 3 sets of 10 for each exercise. then I plan to increase the number of repetitions until I get to 3 sets of 15.

I'm not sure if I will increase my walk distance or just continue with 1 mile and try to increase my pace.

Today:

1 set of 10 of each--squats, pushups, backward lunges

1 mile in 19 minutes

(I know---last week it took me 30 minutes but that really was uphill)

I think my little fire is coming back!!

Rainy Day

The sound of rain on the roof is not a bad thing. The standing water that surrounds the RV is! Thank You, Lord for blacktop.

Today may be another day of no exercise, because of the rain and other factors. I'm hoping to get in a bike ride, but the way I ride isn't very aerobic!

Yesterday, I had a banana for breakfast, celery and carrots for lunch--then blew it with hot dogs and s'mores for supper.

I have picked up an attitude from a friend--"There is a quality of life issue here."--that he interjects when he wants pizza. I use it when the grandkids are with us and we cook out!

If you were to see me now, you'd think I were calm and collected. Inside, I'm screaming and anxious because I DON'T HAVE A PLAN for today!! We will probably be eating out for all 3 meals. Please pray that the choices I make will be as healthy as the menu allows.

Did I tell you this might be a long, slow process??

Day 3

WELL!! So much for daily exercise! Because we are traveling to Illinois today, I didn't get to walk. The grandsons are going with us and so I don't think I will get a workout in for the next couple of days. Which means, I need to be extra careful in what and how much I eat.

Yesterday, went well.....until we got to the restaurant! I only had a few fries and I did get my veggies in with some saute'd spinach. My downfall was the FRIED fish sandwich, tasting Jake's mashed potatoes and the "few bites" of carrot raisin cake.

Today is a new day! I had a banana for breakfast and the rest of my day looks like this:

Lunch: carrot and celery sticks & fruit with crackers

Supper: a sandwich from Walmart and/or watermelon

We plan to overnight at a Walmart in Illinois. With the boys---this ought to be FUN! If you don't see a new post on this blog, you'll know why. Check ya later!

Day 2

200 pounds is unacceptable--so is 180 for that matter! But when I make it to 180, I will be excited. That is not to say that I will stop there. My goal is to fashion THIS weight-loss after our RV travels. I may sit somewhere for a week or so, but that is not where I want to live. This is a never-ending journey. The idea is to keep moving and to keep moving forward.

The other programs I have done had a specific time frame and when it was up I went back to eating biscuits and bacon and ice cream. While I refuse to give those things up, they are not part of my weekly plan. Moderation, in this case, means smaller portions, less often. I am also trying to remove as much animal fat from my diet as possible. Although Jake did cook the salmon in butter last night, I want to use olive oil when possible and stay away from dairy products.

Other than a hand full of licorice jelly beans, I stayed on my plan for yesterday's eating. A fruit smoothie, a turkey sandwich (actually only ate half), and salmon and veggies (onions, peppers, mushrooms and green beans). Oh--almost forgot--I had one of Jake's oatmeal raisin cookies--half after lunch and half after supper. The only things I'm drinking these days are water and coffee. I will probably lose 10 pounds just from getting off of sweet tea!

I often pray that God would cause my body to function as He intended it to. What I am realizing is that in order for that to happen, I need to feed it as He intended it to be fed. Father God, help me with that, please.

Today's exercise:

10 thrusters, 10 backward lunges, 10 "counter" pushups and 1.25 mile walk. The walk took 33 minutes. (I think someone hit the incline button on that hill! Sure seemed steeper today.)

Today's meal plan:

fruit smoothie

turkey sandwich

(supper may be a challenge because we will be eating out) salad or grilled chicken & veggies

"For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s." 1 Corinthians 6:20

Beginning

With trepidation and excitement, I begin! I begin--AGAIN--for probably the 40th time in 40 years! The beginning is always a good place to start and, not only am I beginning a new exercise and eating regime, I am beginning a new blog to record the ups and downs. Hopefully, the downs will all be on the scale.

Walking, running, and playing are in my blood. The pictures of me as a kid are blurred, not because of time, but because I was usually moving. The only exception was when I was reading or writing. I wrote my first novel (it was three chapters long--almost 4 whole pages!) when I was about 8 years old. But I digress. Because I enjoy movement, the exercise part shouldn't be a problem for me. The eating part (what some say makes up 80% of any weight-loss program) will be challenging.

Besides the re-counting of my exercise and food-intake day-to-day, I intend to record my thoughts and feelings. While walking, my thoughts go into overdrive and I can't wait to write them down. Unfortunately, I am usually so exhausted after my walk that I forget. I forget to write them down or I forget what it was I was thinking about! You may find, as I have on occasion, that what I thought was brilliant at the time, wasn't. Endorphins will do that to you. Be patient with me. Eventually, I will get around to the point.

Now for today's entry:

After missing an 8am appointment :(, I got moving.

10 thrusters, 10 backward lunges and 1.08 miles walking

The walk took 32 minutes, which is slow, but it was uphill both ways! The campground we are in has a few blacktopped roads and I try to stick to them rather than fight the gravel. I made two and a half rounds thru the park, which does have a steep incline.

I feel energized and ready to take on the day.

My plan for eating today:

Breakfast: a fruit smoothie with protein powder

Lunch: a grilled chicken sandwich

Dinner: grilled salmon and a salad

In the next blog (tomorrow?) I will let you know how my plan worked out.

Get on board with me. It won't be a fast trip, but hopefully it will be rewarding for both you and me.

"...do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit...?" 1 Corinthians 6:19