Week 4 Weigh-in and Meeting

Where has the time gone? It's been crazy busy around here and the week is flying by. Last week was the beginning of week 4. I lost 3.2 lbs!!! Very happy with that result. This week's weigh in is a big one. We get our BMI's and Body fat percentages taken again. I cannot wait to see the progress I've made!!! Altogether I've lost 19 lbs. Not too bad considering it's been only a month!

Guilt

Guilt is a subtle, yet powerful thing. It can sneak up on you quietly and quickly, grasping a hold on you and not letting go. It's controlling and like quicksand. Once you are in the thick of it, it's so hard to get out.
Guilt is one of the biggest things I've struggled with over the past 10 years. It's not your average kind of guilty feelings, like feeling guilty because I ate too much icecream, or yelled at my kids. It goes a lot deeper than that. It's much more spiritual.
I felt guilty that I committed my life to full-time missions when I was younger, yet here I sit, just being a stay at home mom. I felt guilty for gaining a ton of weight. I felt guilty for losing the close relationship that I had with my Savior when I was younger.

Guilt, guilt, guilt. What did that produce?

Eating, eating, eating. Weight, weight, weight. It's what I did to shut out God's conviction in my life. To shut out intimacy, to not get too close to others. The guilt brought shame that was nearly unbearable.

But God is Faithful. His love endures forever.

I know that I'm forgiven and washed clean since I've repented. I know this in my head. I'm working on knowing and embracing it in my heart. I'm not quite there yet, but I'm making progress. It's something I have to keep reminding myself of when those old familiar guilty feelings start creeping back in. I'm so thankful God's not finished with me yet.

Week 3 Weigh-in and Meeting

Wow! I can't believe I've reached the end of week 2 and am beginning week 3. Sometimes as I look back on the journey so far, it realize how fast it is going and how these changes are becoming habits in my life.
Thursday nights are weekly weigh-ins and meetings. I was anxious all day long yesterday as I had way too much time to anticipate the weigh in. Would I lose anything? Would I meet my own expectations? What if I failed? Then I read this in my weekly devotional:

Grace teaches us: With MY help, you can keep moving toward the goal. However, remind yourself about ME. I'M going to be here everyday. Without ME, your heart will condemn you. But I won't withhold any good thing from you if you walk uprightly." What Have You Got To Lose by Stephen Arterburn

This hit me right where I needed it to. I was condemning myself with my own heart. But God showed me that I had been walking upright, and He would not withhold good things from me. The results may not be what I want, but in His timing, He will complete this work in me. 

So what were the results? I had a loss of 3 pounds!!! That was my goal, and I was very pleased to hit it. Since January 3rd, I have lost 16 lbs! That's pretty good for 2 and 1/2 weeks, I'd say. We had an awesome lecture from Dr. Justin about nutrition and exercise, did a challenging workout, and have a great time of devotions. While I didn't win the top amount for my team, I am pleased with my results. Bring on the next week!

God Speaks to Me

Ever since I was a little girl, God has used music to speak to me personally. Of course the primary way he speaks to all of us is through his Word. But I think he also has a way of communicating with us all on an individual, personal level. He is, after all, a personal God. Music is the way he speaks to me.

My earliest childhood memories include music. I remember being supremely jealous when my younger sister received an Amy Grant record for Christmas. I was only 7 at the time. It wasn't long before I was holding concerts in my bedroom, every lyric from that album memorized. Soon it was church musicals and learning the weekly hymns we sung on Sundays. As I got older, I joined choir in jr. high and high school. I don't even remember actually learning to sight-read music. It just always made sense to me.

Even now as an adult, God uses lyrics and melodies to really grab my heart. I can be going along my merry way, minding my own business, when a song comes on the radio that just cuts me to the core. So it's only natural that I would turn to music as I began this spiritual journey. It is what I turn to when I look for God.

This is one of my most favorite songs right now. It speaks exactly what my heart feels. My need for a Savior. My need to change, to be delivered. And my knowledge that there is only One who can do that for me.

When the rubber meets the road....

You know I recently realized something. It's so easy to make good choices when things are going smoothly. One good choice leads to another, you start seeing results, and life is good. Ahhh, but doesn't it always seem like that's when God throws in the wrench and requires dependence on HIM? Requires us to lean on HIM and not go running back to our old habits and ways?

I've been doing really well lately. But it seems that after a couple of days of doing well, I need a reminder of my need for my Savior. Today has been one of those days. It's just been a struggle. I'm tired, crabby, and unmotivated. To add to it all, my hubby found out that a bonus that was promised to be on Friday's paycheck will be delayed for weeks to months. Ugh. That was our spending money for our upcoming vacation to Disney World. As soon as I got off the phone with him, I felt those old feelings coming flooding back. Oh how I wished I had a bag of chips, or a 1-pound bag of peanut butter M&M's to munch on while I pondered everything. I wanted a way to escape even thinking about the situation! But I couldn't. And that even made me more frustrated.

After a few moments of stewing, I realized God's voice was nudging me, trying to get through to me. Faced with a choice, I had to make the right one. I was so aware of that choice, and I knew what God wanted me to do. "Crave ME." That's what that voice kept saying. After all, I had spent my quiet time this morning reading exactly that. And so I started praying. And kept praying. I wish I could say the desire to sin has passed. It really hasn't, it's just lessened. And I'm learning to go to the Lord with my problems instead of my cupboard. I know there will be more days like this, but I also know that by keeping my heart open to God, sweet victory will be mine in the end.

Week 2 Weigh-in and Meeting

Wow! I can't believe I have almost 2 weeks of healthy eating and exercise under my belt. Since January 3rd, I have lost 11.5 lbs!!! I'm thrilled with my results, thrilled with my new-found energy, and thrilled that my family is eating healthier too.

Last night we had our 2nd weigh in and meeting with the BL group at my church. I just have to say that I am so thankful for this group. At last week's meeting, I was in a fog. I had just worked 2 nights in a row and was hungry and exhausted. I was going through the motions to be sure. But this week I was rested and ready to see my results and learn all I could from our mentors!

We started off by doing the weigh in. I went first for my team. We are split into 2 different groups; one for each campus (location) of our church. Within those groups we are split into 2 more groups; blue team and red team. I'm on the blue team. Go Blue!!!  I had a loss of 7.2 lbs since the last weigh in a week before. Yeah!!!! I was hoping for 10lbs, but was truly happy with what I achieved. I ended up winning the award for highest percentage of weight loss on my team. Yippee! What a good feeling. Its like an extra shot of motivation to make this week a great one! I know there will be temptation and an occasional bad choice. But wow! I'm thankful for the Lord's strength because that's how I've done it.

After weigh-in we did a quick devotional on surrender. So important to surrender our wills to the Lord in all things, including our health and well-being. Then it was time to get to work! We did group workout. Week 2 is definitely harder than week 1 in that respect. Picture Pilates and Calisthenics. For about 1/2 hour. Lots of using your own body weight as resistance. I added in weights for the first time and it was way more challenging. But the cool thing is that I'm starting to see my recovery time shorten. The huffing and puffing when we were done was over quickly and it was nice and relaxing to stretch at the end.

We ended our meeting with our Nutrition lecture. This is my favorite part. I'm developing such a passion for healthy eating. It's so fascinating! I also get so angry at what conventional nutrition, the FDA, and our government tells us is healthy. So not true! I'll have to write separate posts about that because there is just so much good info out there. It would change the way people eat if they only knew.

Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps

I made these for dinner the other night and they were fantastic!

Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps
1 lb ground turkey
1 Cup Shitake Mushroom caps, chopped
3 T Organic Almond/Cashew Butter
1 T Sesame Oil
1 T Rice Vinegar
1 8-oz can Water Chestnuts, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T fresh ginger, minced
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1 Head Lettuce, separated into leaves

Cook turkey in skillet about 5 minutes, until turkey crumbles and is no longer pink. Add mushrooms and next 7 ingredients. Cook on medium-high heat, stirring constantly, 4 minutes. Add green onions if desired and cook 1 minute. Spoon mixture evenly onto lettuce leaves; roll up. Serve with extra soy sauce if desired.

Recipe from Maximized Living Nutrition Plans by Dr. B.J. Hardick, Kimberly Roberto, and Dr. Ben Lerner.