Changing It Up

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I worked my first meeting in our new Weight Watchers center last night! It was such a crazy evening! We were all trying to get used to a new place, so we did not know where everything was stored. Our members were also trying to figure out how the new set up was supposed to work. I think it is going to be great, it just might take a few weeks for everyone to get settled.

Last night, I also weighed in for the week. I have been weighing in on Tuesday nights since October 2008. It has been my night. However, for the past few weeks I have been gaining! This week was no different as I gained 0.6 pounds.

While driving home from my meeting last night I began to think through some changes that I could make to help me refocus, so that I will STOP gaining weight. Changing my weigh in day seemed like the perfect solution!

I lead a Saturday morning Weight Watchers meeting and I am going to begin to make that my weigh in day starting this week.

Here are just a few benefits to weighing in on Saturday morning.
1. Weighing myself in the morning is nice, because I do not have to eat anything before I weigh myself. I will be weighing on an empty stomach, which will help to give me an accurate view of how well I did throughout the week. Weighing on Tuesday evenings has been challenging, because I do not want to eat anything that might make the number on the scale go up.

2. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are my WORST Weight Watchers days. I have trouble staying on plan during the weekend. If I weigh in on Saturday morning, it will help me to stay within my daily pointsplus+ target on Friday so that I do not gain weight Saturday morning.

3. Weighing in on Saturday means that my 49 weekly pointsplus+ allowance starts over that day as well. So, I will begin the weekend armed with all of my 49 weekly pointsplus+! On top of that I will have the rest of the week (Monday - Friday) to earn extra activity pointsplus+ to help counteract any overeating that might have taken place on Saturday and Sunday.

Sometimes our bodies get very used to the routine and just need a change. Is there something in your routine that you should consider changing this week? Tell me about it!

Our New Weight Watchers Center

For months now my Weight Watchers Territory Manager has been preparing us to move all of our Weight Watchers meetings into center. We all thought that this day would never come, because there was a lot of work to be done. However, I am happy to say that yesterday was the first day that the center was open for business!!

I am excited work tonight as a receptionist in our new facility! I am also looking forward to leading my own meeting this Saturday morning in our new center! I know that our members are excited too!

Here are some pictures of what our new Weight Watchers center looks like.

Welcome to my Weight Watchers Center

Isn't it nice!?

The weigh in station

Chairs for the meeting

Weight Watchers products

Member cards

Should You Wear "Toning Shoes"?

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Here is the latest Get Fit email from Dr. Jacobs.

Should you buy Skechers Shape-Ups or Reebok EasyTone or other “fitness shoes”?

According to the research – no:

The Results
Across the board, none of the toning shoes showed statistically significant increases in either exercise response or muscle activation during any of the treadmill trials. There is simply no evidence to support the claims that these shoes will help wearers exercise more intensely, burn more calories or improve muscle strength and tone.

However,

“These shoes may be encouraging a fair number of people who probably wouldn’t put on a normal pair of walking shoes and go out and walk, to do so because they think they’re getting some super toning effect,” says Bryant. “So if you want to look at a positive, it’s probably serving as a bit of a motivator to get a group of inactive individuals to
at least get up and get moving.”

If you want to read the whole report, click here. Please don’t let the research stop you from exercising. If you have some of these shoes, keep using them if they are helping you to get fit. More importantly, keep walking/jogging/exercising!

Flashback Friday: My Weight Loss

I am so grateful to all of you who left comments on my blog post yesterday! It was so encouraging to read your comments and hear about your own personal weight loss journey! Thank you.

I was also encouraged to get some much positive feedback about my first vlog! I might have to do that again!

This is the final day of our week of encouragement. How sad! Just because this week is ending does not mean that we need to stop encouraging one another.

Today, I would like to briefly revisit my own weight loss journey. I am not going to share my entire story, because many of you have already heard it. However, I would let's review the highlights.

- I have always struggled with my weight.
- In October 2008 my weight had gotten out of hand! A visit to the doctor changed my life. I was 24 years old and weighed 225 pounds. I had high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Yikes! I joined Weight Watchers and never looked back!
- I participated in two 5Ks in the summer of 2009.
- After 13 months of hard work and a lot of discipline I weighed in to receive my Lifetime status with Weight Watchers! This is the lightest I have ever weighed in my entire life!
- I have maintained my weight loss for 21 months. It has not been easy, but I am so thankful for the way that God has used my weight loss to change who I am on the inside.
- I became a Weight Watchers leader in January 2011 to help others in their own personal weight loss journeys.

While typing this post I am overwhelmed by how far I have come since I first joined Weight Watchers!!

My Before and After Photos
Here are some of my before and after pictures.

More Details
If you would like to read more, I have written lots of blog posts about my weight loss journey. You can click the different links below to check them out.

Before

Reaching Lifetime

My "Biggest Loser" Reveal - with video

One Year at Lifetime

Making Headlines

I hope and pray that you have found encouragement this week. Don't give up!
Have a great weekend!

Visit Lauren for more flashbacks.

My Haircut

Two blogs post in one day! I know that it rarely happens, but I really wanted to show you my new haircut! Back in April I wrote a post about potential hairstyles and I just got around to deciding what to do with my hair.

I am writing a blog post with all the details and pictures, but I am posting it on my Newsham Flight Log blog. So after you watch the video come on over and check it out!!

P.S. This is my first video blog post, so be nice to me! I was tempted to redo it, but I want you to see the real me.

Sharing Our Stories

*Preface*: I am really nervous that this post will be a flop! I almost deleted the entire thing! I know that there are many of you who read my blog and do not post which is okay. I am just asking that today you consider participating in this blog activity...just this once. Here goes nothing.

Did you take some time to go before the Lord yesterday? I did and I am so thankful that I was able to set aside some time to lay my heart out before the Lord. If you have not done this yet, I highly recommend it!

This week is all about encouragement!! Are you feeling encouraged yet?

I find other people’s weight loss stories very encouraging! Normally, this would be the time when I write about whatever I have to share with you, however today I want to hear from you!

Will you share your story with me?

Simply, leave me a comment about your weight loss story. It can be as long or short as you want it to be. Even if you are off track right now, tell me about some of the struggles you are having and how you are overcoming them.

Thank you in advance to those of you who take the time to share your story with us.

If you want to read some encouraging stories can check out the comments section.

WOW God Wednesday: Before the Throne

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After Monday and Tuesday's blog post, I decided that this week at Living a Changed Life we are going to focus on encouragement!!

Thank you to everyone who has commented on these blog posts and shared with me about your own personal weight loss journey. It is comforting to know that I am not the only one who is struggling right now. Many of you have challenging circumstances that are threatening your weight loss efforts. Don't lose heart!

That is a picture of the Bible passage I read this morning during my quiet time. This was also the same passage that my pastor preached on this past Sunday. Just in case you cannot read the scripture in the picture I typed it out below.

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." - Hebrews 4:14-16

Did you read what these verses say? Okay, let’s break it down.

This passage begins by talking about how Jesus is our high priest, which means that we have an invitation to enter God’s presence.

It goes on to say that Jesus is a high priest who is able to empathize with our weaknesses, because He was tempted in every way yet did not sin. Jesus knows what it is like to be human. He knows what it is like to live in a fallen and broken world. He knows what it is like to be tempted by Satan in every way. But Jesus never sinned.

Finally, verse 16 encourages us to confidently approach God’s throne, so that we may receive mercy and find grace in our time of need. Did you hear that!? With Jesus as our high priest everything changes!! Now we are invited to come before God to share our concerns and struggles that we may receive His mercy and grace.

Wow!!

Friends, have you approached the throne of God recently or are you trying to do everything in your own strength? I know that for myself, I have been doing everything on my own. After reading this passage I asked God to forgive me for thinking that I could do this alone.

If you are like me, take some time to go before God with your struggles. Ask God for forgiveness it there are areas of sin in your life. Tell God about your struggles with life and weight loss. Share your weakness with God, so that His power can be made perfect in your weakness! Rely on Him to be your source of strength!