Weight Loss Wednesdays June 15, 2011

This was a pretty good week. It feels good to be back to sticking to my goals.  Yesterday was the only day we didn't take some sort of walk.  Every day we try to get in an evening walk around town (town is 1 mile around) before Bible Time and putting children to bed.  Still not doing a great job keeping food away from my mouth while I am cooking, that is a very bad habit I've had for years.  At least I haven't binged because of the mess ups.  So much better than last month.  Now, the only problem is, Amelia has a birthday this weekend and of course we are making a cake.  Fortunately it is the only one this month (cake, not birthday...my son turned 18 last week). 

So, the results before the birthday cake this coming weekend:

Previous Wednesday Weight: 221.8

Weight on Monday: 220.8

Today's Weight: 220.2

Weight loss from last week: -1.6

Weight change from Monday: -.6

Still staring at that 220 I wanted to be for my birthday two months ago. I will share a picture of me in my new outfit after I pass that goal.  Was hoping it would have been today.  The chicken nuggets late last night probably didn't help. Or the fact that I didn't get to take a real walk as Miss Hannah didn't go to bed until 2 am.  In her defense she had slept in the car on the way home from the Homeschool Used Curriculum Sale (over an hour away).  While we did walk around at the sale it's not the same as walking around town.

Total Loss since weight loss journey got serious on December 13th 2010: 41.7!

And to answer Alicia's question about what keeps me motivated on this weight loss journey, I would have to say my low self esteem plays a big part.  I am competitive in that I want to do well as to not embarrass myself, I want to show that I can do this.  I want to be able to have a shot at winning a prize  over at Plus Size bloggers.  Maybe that shouldn't be my biggest motivation, but I would be lying if I said it didn't play a big part.  I want to lose weight to get healthy too.  I definitely do.  But it is knowing that I have to weigh in that keeps me from putting the extra food in my mouth.  I know I have to stay healthy so I can keep up with my girls.  And, I've already said, if we have another baby I need to be at a healthy weight before getting pregnant this time. 'Cause I can't continue to lose weight, obviously, while pregnant. And I don't want to get so big again, or be so out of breath.  I know it is in God's hands, but my prayer is that I get healthy before having another child.  I'm approaching my 40's and my doctor has already said the sooner the better if we are going to have another one.  I was already over 35 when I had Hannah, placing me in the "advanced maternal age" category. 

There is one other motivation.  I've mentioned before that I agree an overweight person is not a great witness for Christ.  How can I say that Jesus is Lord of my life if it is obvious I have no control over my food.  As we were getting started with the weight loss challenges this month I read the following in my Our Daily Bread devotional (which I had just started reading again)

"O Christians, remember, you bear His dear name, 

Your lives are for others to view;

You're living examples-men praise you or blame, 

And measure your Savior by You"-Anonymous 

The Scripture was 1 Timothy 4:12

1 Timothy 4:12   Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. 

Letter to myself

Okay, the assignment over at Sisterhood of the Shrinking Pants is to write a letter from my 2012 self to my 2011 self, looking back on my accomplishments of this year.  I am going to attempt this.

Hey Karen,
I know you are really into this time travel thing, so I decided I needed to write you a letter to let you know how you have done this year.  Don't worry about the Temporal Prime Directive.  I want to encourage you.  So here goes.
You did such a great job starting the year.  The Week of Prayer fast really helped to decrease your desire for sweets.  Yes, you gave in to a few sweets a week, but nothing like you have in the past.  Moderation is the key and you have learned it, finally.  Your goal to eat at least one salad a day was almost successful.. There were just some days that you weren't interested in a salad.  But you did make sure to at least eat a vegetable with your lunch and dinners.  It got a little boring during the winter, but summer brought that wide variety again, and boy did you enjoy your salads and veges.  And those summer fruits were delicious.  You were really excited to try out the new food program you read about.  Unfortunately you weren't able to implement everything, but you gave what you could a try.

You did a great job keeping up with your exercise routine. You continued to add exercises to your routine.  Hannah did make things a little difficult at times, but you didn't let yourself get discouraged.  You remembered that you CAN exercise during naptime.  (And you can read your Bible at naptime too.)  You were so excited when you got your step DVD.  It gave you some more variety.  You're looking forward to trying out the advanced DVDs you have sometime this year.  When the weather got warmer you added walks to your days.  The girls really enjoyed being able to walk.  Unfortunately we couldn't walk all the way around the entire year.  They finally decided to work on that bridge.  But the girls had a lot of fun watching as they worked.  So did daddy of course.

You fell behind on your Bible reading, but you didn't give up.  Good for you.  You started doing your devotions again which has really been inspiring.  Don't worry if you can't read it in the morning, you tried, but it didn't always happen.  You started writing down your prayer time again.  What an inspiration that was.  You remembered to give Christ first place and boy did He work in your life.  Praise God!!

Now, what you really want to know.  Did you lose weight?  Yes, and how! You blew by your 60 pound goal.  You are back in the 100's and you have energy again.  You are fitting in the clothes that were in the back of your closet.  Of course it meant getting rid of the bigger clothes.  Don't worry, good riddance.  Now that you are going to be weighing  a decent weight you can find clothes a lot easier.

So keep up the good work!  Get up and exercise.  Get the girls to exercise with you, they will continue to love it.  Remember that you don't need that cookie or ice cream.  And don't beat yourself up about the few you eat.  You will not get through this if you give them up completely because you will gorge on them when you get the desire for them.  Remember all the live, tasty foods that God provides.  Yum yum.  You can do this, I am proof.