Refusing to Give Up

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Last Tuesday night at my weigh in I gained 2 pounds! I could tell that it was coming, but that still did not make me feel any better!

After the meeting, I decided that I needed to get back on track, because two pounds could easily become twenty. In order to do that, I understood that I had to go back to the basics. This week I started tracking everything I ate, weighing & measuring my portions, making healthy choices, and saying no to the foods that I knew would not satisfy me.

This choice to start over and get back on track was met with a lot of opposition!

Saturday was the hardest day of all, because I was home alone and tired. I do not make the greatest food choices when I am tired. In college, I used food as a way to stay awake to study and that habit has been very hard to break. I even wrote about my struggle on my blog's Facebook page, " I'm home alone, tired, and I am overeating! Ah! I'm chewing on gum now and I am about to go brush my teeth, because I don't need to eat anything else."

I made mistakes on Saturday, but I did not let that ruin the rest of my week. Sunday morning I got up and ate a healthy breakfast. After church Jon and I went for a 4 1/2 mile walk! Do you know what? Sunday and Monday I was able to stay within my daily PointsPlus target!

It feels so good to see how far I have come! Before Weight Watchers I would have given up and continued to eat as a result of my failures. However, Weight Watchers has taught me that one mistake, one bad day, is not enough to throw away your entire week! I have forgiven myself and learned a little something in the process.

Tonight, I weigh in and I am excited to see how I did. Even if the number on the scale is not what I want it to be I know that I have learned a lot about myself this week and I cannot be mad about that!

Don't throw in the towel, because you make one mistake. We all make mistakes every day, but that is not a good reason to give up. Keep pressing on!

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." - 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Weight Watchers Track Olympics

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Here is the meeting summary from June 7, 2011.

Alright well this week in the meeting room we discussed the importance of tracking not just the things that we swallow, but also all of the other things in our lives that influence our weight loss journey. I hope that you all were able to understand and accept how tracking some of the following things can help encourage you in the future. Make an effort from here on our to track something other than your foods this next week.

Some of the suggestions of things to track were the following:
* our thoughts, moods, and emotions
* exercise and pedometer steps each day
* body measurements and pants sizes
* good healthy guidelines
* awards and accomplishments
* non scale victories
* medications and dosage
* biometrics (blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar levels)
* hunger levels throughout the day
* goals
* things we have learned from experience on the plan
* setbacks
* confidence levels, how you feel about yourself
* trigger foods
* keep up with old trackers to refer back to in the future
* favorite recipes

I hope that from the above list you can find the benefit in keeping track of that information. Hey, lets face it we are all going to have bad days and when we do, it sure would be nice to have some sort of "journal" to look upon and realize how far we have come!

Flashback Friday: My Top 10 Photos

We had an amazing time in Portland!! So for my flashback today, I want to share with you my top 10 favorite pictures and moments/memories from our trip. These are in no particular order.

Meeting Kenneth and getting to hold him in person!!

Meeting Lucas in person and getting to love on him!!

Spending time in Portland with our friends!!

Being apart of my sister's wedding! It was so wonderful to watch her get married!!

Watching Uncle Jon and Kenneth become buddies!!

Having all the guys together!!

Going out for some girl time to get pedicures!!

Seeing this smile in person!! My heart melts every time I look at this picture!!

Seeing my sisters and the wonderful mothers that they have become!!

Having the entire family together in one place!!

Visit Tia for more flashbacks.

Getting Up Again

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This morning I got up and went into the living room to read my Bible. You would think that this was a holy time where I could focus on the most important person in my life, the Lord. However, that was not the case this morning. I woke up tired and irritated. It did not help that Jon’s alarm was going off while I was trying to pray, then after I turned that off his alarm, someone’s car alarm started going off outside!

What is up with that? Don’t people know that I am trying to focus and spend time with the Lord.

I wrote in my journal and prayed that God would help me focus and not let me be consumed with all the distractions around me.

I finished my time with the Lord and went to get ready for the day. I had not left my poor attitude with the Lord and therefore the Jon saw a side of me that I am not proud of, because I was moody and disrespectful. These are not words that I want people to use to describe me!

After realizing Jon called me out on how I was acting I began asking God for help and strength by praying that He would change my heart!

I even went to my can of encouragement that I have to pull out a Bible verse praying that it would speak to me. On my note card was Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Then after getting to work I sat down to read the Proverbs 31 devotional that I was too busy to read yesterday. Do you know what it was about? Getting up again and not giving up! Do you see the repetition?

My morning started off bad, but I have a choice to make. I can let that ruin the rest of my day or I can apologize get up and try again.

With God’s help I am going to try again, please pray that I will rely only on God today.

Is there something that you have given up on? I pray that God would help you stand back up and try again.

What to Eat

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

New Dietary Guidelines — 8 foods to eat more of, 7 to cut back on
The latest nutrition guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Human Services have a new emphasis: weight control. In previous years, the guidelines focused on nutrients: What proportion of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates is optimal for health? Or, what amounts of different vitamins and minerals do you need to protect yourself from diseases?

The slogan for the new guidelines is: “Calories in, calories out.” Put another way: Americans should strive to maintain a calorie balance, eating no more calories than they burn each day. If you are overweight, the goal is to eat fewer calories than you burn each day to reach a healthy weight. Calorie control and daily physical activity are the cornerstones of the new guidelines.

Why the emphasis on weight control? The Dietary Guidelines report explains it this way: “Poor diet and physical inactivity are the most important factors contributing to an epidemic of overweight and obesity affecting men, women, and children in all segments of our society. Even in the absence of overweight, poor diet and physical inactivity are associated with major causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States.” With this in mind, the Dietary Guidelines include these recommendations for foods to cut back on and foods to increase:

7 foods to reduce
1. Reduce daily sodium intake to less than 2,300 milligrams (mg) and further reduce intake to 1,500 mg among persons who are 51 and older and those of any age who are African American or have hypertension, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease.
2. Consume less than 10% of calories from saturated fatty acids by replacing them with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
3. Consume less than 300 mg per day of dietary cholesterol.
4. Keep trans fatty acid consumption as low as possible.
5. Reduce the intake of calories from solid fats and added sugars.
6. Limit the consumption of foods that contain refined grains, especially those with solid fats, added sugars, and sodium.
7. If alcohol is consumed, it should be consumed in moderation — up to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men — and only by adults of legal drinking age.

8 foods and nutrients to increase
Eat more of these foods while staying within your calorie goals.

1. Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, especially dark green, red, and orange vegetables, fruits, and beans and peas.
2. Consume at least half of all grains as whole grains. Increase whole-grain intake by replacing refined grains with whole grains.
3. Increase intake of fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products, such as milk, yogurt, cheese, or fortified soy beverages.
4. Choose a variety of protein foods, which include seafood, lean meat and poultry, eggs, beans and peas, soy products, and unsalted nuts and seeds.
5. Choose seafood in place of some meat and poultry.
6. Replace protein foods that are high in solid fats with proteins that are low in solid fats and calories.
7. Use healthy vegetable oils to replace solid fats where possible.
8. Choose foods that provide more potassium, dietary fiber, calcium, and vitamin D, which are nutrients of concern in American diets. These foods include vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and milk and milk products.

Create a Supportive Environment

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Here is the meeting summary from May 31, 2011.

Understand the power that friends and family can have in motivating you to manage your weight.

For good or bad, the people around you—your friends, family and colleagues—play a part in your weight-loss efforts. That's why it's so important that whenever possible, you surround yourself with supportive people.

When there are people around you who are also trying to lose weight, they can give you the assurance that you are not alone. That's why the people in your meetings are such a great source of support.

But empathic friends and family members are important, too. They can provide you with encouragement and new ideas, give you a heightened sense of accountability and help you stick to the changes you're making to your lifestyle.

They can only do that if they know how, though. So help your loved ones help you. Here's how:

Start small.
Think of one thing that a person could do—or stop doing—that would help you to lose weight. Write it down. For example, you might want your partner to ask you how you're doing with your efforts, or you might want your children to keep their treats in a particular cabinet, designated off limits to you.

Practice asking for help.
Use Mental Rehearsing, one of the tools in Weight Watchers Tools For Living: Put yourself in the other person's shoes. Will they have any objections? Will they feel threatened in any way? Really think it through. What if they say no? Imagine ahead of time what you'd say to a negative response and have a standby response prepared.

Assertively and clearly communicate your needs.
Use Asserting, another tool from Weight Watchers Tools For Living, to be clear and confident when you ask for help.
• Plan exactly what kind of support you want.
• Anticipate how those around you will feel about you losing weight.
• Ask for what you need.
• Negotiate with your supporters about the help they can give you.
• Be flexible if what they're willing to offer isn't exactly what you had in mind.
• Be grateful. Thank them for what they can offer, or reward them with something that shows you really appreciate their efforts.

Keep it up.
Every day, think of something that somebody can help you with. It doesn't have to be directly related to food and eating. If you are getting help with other things — like certain chores—that might leave you more time to better plan meals or get in more exercise.

Be creative and be active, and remember: Your loved ones would likely love to help you lose weight.

Take the time to thank all of the people in your life who have been supportive in your weight loss efforts. May it be friends, family members, neighbors, or maybe someone from the meeting room. Tell the people in your life how wonderful and helpful it is to have their support.

You can thank them in person, or maybe write them a little note.
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like taking the time to wrap a present and then not giving it.”

Remember one of the best places to find the support you need is right in the meeting room. Studies show that the people who regularly attend meetings lose 3 times more weight than those that try to do it alone! Be there to help offer support to a fellow member. Let’s finally get this weight off together!

A Hole In My Ceiling...?

I woke up this morning around 5:30am, which is normal for me. I got up and was ready to read my Bible in the living room when I head a noise, "drip". Turning around I looked in the dining room and kitchen to see what could have possibly made this noise, however I really did not make much of an effort to get up and investigate. I opened my journal and I heard the noise again, "drip". Where it that coming from I thought? "Drip"...."drip"...."drip....

This is going to drive me crazy. Who can focus on there Bible with noise like this in the background? "Drip"

Reluctantly, I put my Bible down and got up to search for this "drip". I thought this it was coming from something in Jon's backpack. Instead I was able to determine that this drip was instead coming from our ceiling!

There was a wet spot in the carpet where this drip had been making it's mark for a while. Disoriented from just waking up, I stood there wondering what I should do. "Why do things like this always happen when Jon is gone?", I wondered. Just as a personal side note, I believe that these things happen while Jon is gone, so that I will learn to depend on God in all things.

Slowly I made my way to the laundry closet to pull out a bucket and some rags. I put the bucket on a chair, so that I would be able to wipe up the water spot on the floor.

I went back to my room to read my Bible and prayed that the constant drip, drip, drop would not drive me crazy. Even as I write it is distracting, but oh well there is no sense in getting upset about this.

Look at all the water I have collected so far!

I called our maintenance office and I am sure they will fix this as soon as possible. I keep singing the song, "There's a hole in my bucket dear Liza..." Only in my case, there is not a hole in my bucket, but my ceiling.