Thoughts on a Saturday Morning

As I am sure many of you already know, I rarely blog on Saturday. Normally, I am too busy trying to clean my house and prepare for the next week. However, Olivia is currently napping and I've got a lot on my mind. All of that combined is producing this Saturday blog post.

 





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8 Week to Thanksgiving Challenge Update

This first week of our challenge we focused on making an effort to track everyday. Your tracker did not need to be perfect or fully complete. However, it was important to make an effort to track any way that you could.

How did this first week go? What did you learn this week that you can apply in the days to come?

This week as I made an effort to track everything that I ate, I was reminded that the basics are vital to my weight loss success. I have always loved tracking the food I eat, because it makes such a huge difference in my results on the scale. Tracking also helps me to study and understand which foods keep me satisfied for the longest amount of time. It helps me to make better food choices.

Next week we are going to focus on Friends Without Food. These small weekly tasks will continue to help us stay on track and reach achievable goals by Thanksgiving!

 

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The Many Faces of Olivia

 

 

Just for fun, I wanted to share a picture with you of Olivia. She is already 5 weeks old!! Here are so of the many faces that she makes on a daily basis.



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Must Read Devotional

People often ask me how I was able to keep my motivation and lose weight the first time around. I try to be as honest as possible and explain to them that I relied on the Lord to be my strength throughout my weight loss journey. God was so faithful to be with me without my entire journey! He gave me the strength and determination I need to reach my ultimate weight loss goal.

In the last two weeks, I have become really frustrated with being overweight. I know that I have a good reason for it (my beautiful baby girl), but I am still overweight. I have been trying all week to refocus and get back on plan. I was not as successful as I thought I would be, which just caused me to be even more frustrated!

Yesterday, I read a devotional from Proverbs 31 Ministries called, Renewing My Vow. This devotional opened my eyes to the reason why I have not been able to be successful so far! For the last two weeks, I have been focusing on being skinny again. In addition, I have been doing this in my own strength. Not once did I sit down to ask God to be apart of this journey with me.

This morning, I am taking time to talk to the Lord! I needed His strength the first time I lost weight and I will need it again as I get my baby weight off. I don't know why it took me so long to give this area of my life over to the Lord!

Thanksgiving Challenge: Week 1 - Track and Discover

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I am so excited about our Thanksgiving Challenge!! There are so many of you that have written me to let me know that you are doing this challenge with me. I am so thankful that I am not alone over these next 8 weeks and that we get to do this together!!

So, how is the first week of our Thanksgiving Challenge going?

This week we are focusing on tracking and I really want to know how you all are doing. Is tracking easy for you? Or do you hate tracking? I would say even if you hate tracking give it a chance, even if it is just for this week.

I am sure you are curious about my progress as well. Like I said in my previous blog post, I have not been following the Weight Watchers program since my daughter was born in August. I let myself take a break from everything, as I have been adjusting to life with a newborn.

I was so excited to begin this challenge and get back on the Weight Watchers program. I feel that I must confess to you that these last two days have been hard for me! I am trying to get back into the swing of things, but it is more difficult than I thought it would be.

Yesterday, I made an effort to track everything I ate even if I went above and beyond my pointsplus budget for the day. I did well until about 4 pm. I was tired and it was a very emotional day for me. I am sad to say that I gave into emotional eating and was too ashamed to record my mistake on my tracker. I really didn't want to write about my mistake either! However, I am hoping that my honesty will be able to help someone else out there.

Even though I made some bad choices yesterday, I am not giving up! I am tracking all the food choices I make today, even if it's unhealthy for me.

It is not too late to jump in and join the Thanksgiving Challenge.

Leave me a comment on my blog, Living a Changed Life, and/or blog Facebook page, Living a Changed Life, to let me know that you are joining us!

8 Weeks to Thanksgiving Challenge

It has been almost one month since I gave birth to Olivia. In the last 30 days, I have not been following the Weight Watchers program. Instead, I have been trying to focus on taking care of my daugther and adjusting to life as a new Mom. We have had people bringing us meals and I knew it would be next to impossible to try and count the PointsPlus values of these foods, so I made an executive decision to take a break from the program.

However, now I am ready to get back on plan! I have been trying to figure out when would be the best time to start following the Weight Watchers PointsPlus program again. I keep telling myself I will start tomorrow, but then I never do!

I was so excited today when I received an email from my friend Amanda about the Weight Watchers Thanksgiving Challenge!! As it turns out, there are just 8 weeks until Thanksgiving and during this time Weight Watchers is offering this challenge. I think that this is the perfect time for me to get back on the Weight Watchers program.

I have decided to take this Thanksgiving Challenge and focus on getting back on plan. I hope to lose weight over these next 8 weeks. I am really excited to recommit to my weight loss journey!

Why am I tell you this? Honestly, I want you all to recommit to your weight loss journies and take this challenge with me! I know that everyone doesn't follow the Weight Watchers program and that's okay! If you want to do this challenge with me, you can follow whatever weight loss program works for you.

Do you know that if we recommit to our weight loss, by losing ½ a pound per week we could lose 4 pounds by Thanksgiving day? Or if we lost 1 pound per week, that is 8 pounds lost by Thanksgiving. And if we can lose 2 pounds per week, we could be 16 pounds lighter in just 8 weeks. Wouldn't you like to lose some weight before the holidays? I know I would like to lose weight, because I am tired of wearing maternity clothes and yoga pants all the time.

Let’s make a commitment to follow along with the 8 week challenge and work to slowly achieve one small goal per week. Below is a list of different topics that we will be focusing on over the next 8 weeks of the challenge. Everything on this list is doable and can help you accomplish a weight loss between now and Thanksgiving

So, if you want to look and feel healthier by the time Thanksgiving rolls around, accept this challenge!

Please leave me a comment to let me know if you are accepting this challenge. Leave me your name and the weight loss program that you will be following over the next 8 weeks.

I am so excited that I do not have do this challenge and that I get to do it with all of you!!

Olivia 4 Week Update

Today, Olivia is four weeks old!!

4 weeks old

Wow! Where did the time go? On the one hand it seems like it has been a very long four weeks, because we have had a lot of trouble getting Olivia to gain weight. Olivia has been to see the doctor every week of her life as we try to figure out why she is not gaining weight. We have begun to supplement with formula to see if that will help her get back up to her birth weight.

On the other hand, these last four weeks have flown by faster than I ever imagined. We have had lots of family come and visit like Olivia's Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Friends! We have had a lot of late nights and early mornings. I cannot say that I am used to this kind of crazy schedule, but I am doing what I need to so that I can take care of my baby girl. I enjoy all the time I get to spend with Olivia, even if it is in the middle of the night.

Olivia at her doctor's appoinment today.

We had another doctor's appointment today and Olivia GAINED weight!! Praise the Lord!! After four long weeks Olivia is finally back up to her birth weight and beyond!! This morning she weighed in at 7 pounds 10 ounces, which is 1 pound up from what she weighed last week!! It is safe to say that I am one proud Mama!!

There are a lot of firsts that have taken place in Olivia's life over these last four weeks.

Here are just a few things that Olivia has done over the last four weeks.
~ Olivia had her first exploding diaper.
~ Olivia is able to suck on a pacifier by herself.
~ Olivia slept through the night for six hours straight.
~ Olivia went to Sunday school one week and big church the next and did not cry! However, she did cry when we went to Youth Group.
~ Olivia had her first doctor's appointment.
~ Olivia went for her first walk in the park in her jogging stroller.
~ Olivia went to Weight Watchers.
~ The first book we read to Olivia was an Elephant and Piggie book.
~ The first Disney movie I watched with Olivia was Beauty and the Beast.

Please continue to pray that Olivia will gain weight over these next few weeks and months. Also, pray for me (Jen) as I begin to start working from home and taking care of Olivia at the same time. Finally, please pray that God will provide everything we need!

Lose for Good 2012

I want to thank you all for your comments and emails of encouragement during this time in my life!! I have been overwhelmed by the love that you have shown to me and my family during this time! I am so blessed to have such amazing blog readers/followers!

The last blog post I wrote was about how Olivia is/was Tongue Tied. We had a procedure done last Thursday to fix this problem and it has helped so much. Olivia is eating much better and I am hopeful that she will have gained more weight by her next doctor's appointment. Olivia can also suck on a pacifier now, which helps to soothe her during the wee hours of the night! We are so thankful that this procedure is helping Olivia in so many ways!

Olivia's first time at Weight Watchers!

This past Saturday, Olivia and I dropped by our local Weight Watchers center. They were hosting a Lose for Good 2012 event and we thought it would be the perfect time for us to drop by!! We had fun visiting with my coworkers and other Weight Watchers friends. Olivia did a great job right and was only fussy right before we left, because it was time for her to eat!

I am enjoying my maternity leave, but I am looking forward to the day when I can be back in the meeting room again with my Weight Watchers members. I've missed being at Weight Watchers meetings every Tuesday night and Saturday morning.

This may have been Olivia's first time at Weight Watchers, but it will not be her last!

Being Tongue Tied

This is a blog post that I wrote on my phone this past week on Thursday, September 13, 2012.  I have not had a chance to post it until now.

I've only been a mother for two short weeks. Everyday it feels like I am learning something new about my daughter and myself.

One week ago we found out that Olivia was tongue tied. It has made it very hard for her to nurse and she has not been gaining weight like a new baby should. Everyone I know has said that this condition is fairly common in newborns and should not take long to fix. That's easy for them to say! Being a new Mom, nothing feels common and normal.

At our two week well visit we found out that Olivia had not gained much weight at all and that we needed to have a procedure done to release her tongue as soon as possible. Currently, I'm sitting in the waiting room for an ear, nose, and throat doctor that I've never met, but I am supposed to trust with my baby's life.

I don't trust this doctor right now. However, I do trust the Lord and that's ultimately what matters most. God knew I would be in this situation being asked to trust Him in this way. I am so thankful that I can trust in God above everything else.

Thankfully, the procedure went well! I think I cried just as much as Olivia. I tried explaining the the doctor and his nurse that it was just my hormones going a little crazy! They were very understanding and took good care of Olivia and me.

I'm sure that this is just one of many situations that I will find myself in where I am asked to trust God with the life of my daughter. It's not easy, but that's what Olivia needs from me. I could worry, fret, and work myself into a frenzy. However, that is not what I want to teach Olivia. I want her to see God as trustworthy because I trust Him and Jon trusts Him.

Olivia has already started eating better which is an answer to prayer! Please continue to pray that Olivia gains enough weight to get back up to her birth weight.

Introducing...Olivia Jane

We are so excited to introduce to you our daughter, Olivia Jane!! 

 

Olivia was born on Thursday, August 30th at 7:22pm, weighing 7 lbs 0 oz and 19 1/2 in long!!

We are so blessed to finally be a family of three!! Please continue to keep us in your prayers over the next few days and weeks as we adjust to life with our new little one.

Love you all,
Jon, Jen, and Olivia Jane