Update

The wedding I wanted to lose weight for was on Saturday. In the last 2 months I have lost 12 lbs and 1 dress size. Yet I'm still discouraged, what more can I do? I am exercising, swimming and dieting...I guess that's good results but someone made a comment to me at the wedding assuming that I've been going slow and steady in my diet and exercise...it was discouraging but I know that I have been working very hard and being very diligent in what I am doing. Some people just have no idea what it's like to balloon up to a size 18 and have such a hard time losing it. IO don't eat fast food, I don't eat red meat, I don't eat simple carbs, and I don't drink soda. I eat chicken, turkey, veggies, fruit, and drink tons of water...I really don't know what more I can do or what to do to make people stop assuming I'm this size because I'm not trying, because I am!


This weekend I splurged a little, the wedding they had spaghetti and an open bar...oh and you can't forget the cake. But starting tomorrow, I am back to the pool...and the gym...and my extremely rigid diet.

I am proud of myself for having to buy a size 16 dress and not having it be tight and it looking incredibly hot on me. Even if I'm not a size 10 yet I am proud of the progress I have made and I can't wait to see more progress. If I can lose an average of 12 lbs. every 2 months I think I'll do pretty good I will be my goal weight by April 2010. Please pray for me friends, that I do not lose my motivation or my main goal of giving God the glory for my weight loss.

Praise God! I've lost 12lbs!Thank you Jesus for giving me the strength.

What's for lunch?

Been doing good since I got back from the con. Tuesday, Shelley had us over for dinner and I stood strong! They had STEAK and baked potatoes!!! All I had was a potato with a dab of smart balance and salt & pepper,watermelon, and a side of the yummy zucchini and sqaush which had a liiiiitle bit of parmesean cheese but after everything I ate over the weekend, big deal. I have to say, I snuck a couple bites of steak, but only a couple!! I didn't have NEAR a whole serving. Last night I was excited because I got to cook dinner for my husband. It had been a while since we sat down to a meal at our table together that wasn't wrapped in paper and since we're broke, we had no choice. I pulled out an organic roasted veggie pizza from the freezer (no cheese, of course) and made some broccoli and tomato 7 grain pasta (mostly veggies) to go with it. Canned diced tomatoes are my new best friend. It was light, and very yummy and I felt great. Not only because I ate right but because I got to share dinner with my hubby and contribute to his good health as well. Plus there was pasta left over and some meat sauce in the fridge from last week so rachel got to eat too. So I've been super excited and motivated to keep it up. here's what I had for lunch today:

Southwest brown rice over romaine lettuce and vegetarian refried beans.

I made the most out of what I made for the kids today! They had beef taco salad, no chips of course because their in preschool and it's a choking hazard. But I got to use the beans and lettuce. I had some brown rice leftover from yesterday so I just heated that up with some fresh salsa and corn. It was SOOOOOO yummy and FILLING! Doctors orders: eat more beans! Like I need it, hehe :)

Just wanted to share!

Confessions and Convictions

Yesterday I was at Walmart and decided to "take it to the next level" and buy a bottle of slim quick, this is a product that is supposedly designed to help women lose weight with things like water, hormonal imbalances, and other things that keep us from losing weight.

Last night was my first night as a youth leader and a friend spoke about prayer and about how important fellowship with God is. And BAM! Conviction hit me. Wasn't I trying to center my weight loss around God and committing it to him daily? Wasn't I seeking him for strength and endurance? Didn't I tell God that I wanted him to be glorified in this? Well, if I'm taking a weight loss supplement, isn't that going to take some glory away from God? So I need to take them back to the store. I need to continue on this path that I feel God has me on for a purpose much bigger than me just getting to a size 10.

I think I'm meant to motivate others as well and encourage them in their journey's. If I don't give God all the glory and commit all this to him, I will not succeed. Flat out, I cannot do this without Him.

On another note, I had an amazing workout today:).

Memorial Day!

Oh I am so proud of myself! So 1st, on Saturday I went to California Adventure with my family and I made whole wheat biscuits and turkey bacon for breakfast (yum). Next I packed tuna, whole wheat bread, apples, carrots, and nuts for food and we didn't buy any park food. We saved money and calories:).

Next, Memorial Day BBQ. I've learned, the trick is to make your own dish to bring and share and make sure it's low in calories/fat yet so tasty you won't be tempted to eat all the pasta salads and chips...I found this cookbook call Cook yourself thin from the tv show on lifetime. It is amazing, the idea is to cut as many calories in a dish without cutting the taste. So for our BBQ today, turkey burgers, chicken breast, veggie kabobs, multi-grain fat free mac and cheese (it is to die for, everyone wanted the recipe)and a lemon and orange cake that was incredibly difficult to make but the taste more than made up for the hard work not to mention a nice big slice packed only a whopping 220 calories!

Now, I have 2 weeks before my friends wedding that I would like to look fabulous for. So now, I buckle down. Morning: hard boiled egg, fat free yogurt and a handful of granola, Mid Morning Snack: spinach smoothie, Lunch: Lean Cuisine, Dinner: Soup and Salad. For the next two weeks:) I'm so determined and motivated it's exciting to see what kind of results I will have.

full plate

With being sick and being under stress I put off caring about my health. Guess it's time to start up again huh? Every day is a new day right? Ysterday was all about chicken nuggets and fried rice today is about grapefruit, hummus and brown rice. *sigh* I need to pray for a better attitude.

Hey I'm picking up "Look Great, Feel Great" this week. Anyone want to join me?

bad day:(

So today was not a very good day. I didn't get to go swimming or to the gym, instead spent my morning battling the ants that were trying to invade our home. I did well for breakfast and lunch then I went out for coffee with a friend, had a nice sugary, creamy Carmel machiatto which I thought would be my treat...then had chicken chimichangas for dinner loaded with cheese...if that weren't enough I then shared a half a soft pretzel and an icee with my brother...so not a very successful day...

But alas, tomorrow is a new day. I will swim and then I will walk 2 miles at Marie Ker park and I will have my morning smoothie and I will eat nutritious meals that will help me continue to lose weight.

Thank you God that your mercies are new every morning.

Zenergize!

I found this alka seltzer type product at whole foods. A tablet you drop in a 12/16oz. bottle of water. It claims that it's fueled by Green Tea, Caffeine, and Chromium plus 100% Vitamin C to give you a healthy metabolism boost. 0 sugar, 2 calories, 100% natural nothing artificial, ever.

At 7.99 for 10 tablets I thought, this is cheaper than diet pills...so I tried them. I am on day 2, the taste is horrible, some people may like it but it reminds me way to much of alka seltzer...which I can't stand. But I have noticed an increase in energy which is amazing since I have been getting up at 5am almost every day and spend most of my days chasing around a toddler. And, I haven't noticed any sort of crash. I found two flavors, Raspberry green tea and Peach green tea. I have the Raspberry, doesn't even remind me of raspberry.

I decided to add the water with the dissolved tablet to my smoothies, it has helped me take it easier, then I don't have to think about it for 12/16oz...I can just enjoy my smoothie and know that I am benefiting from my tasty beverage:).

So there you have it my product endorsement of the day, I'm not sure about the weight loss but I'm hoping since I have noticed an increase in energy and just overall feeling better that I will also be satisfied with the outcome:).

Click here to Zenergize!

Oh yeah...btw, I weighed myself at the gym this morning I lost 6lbs. since the last time I weighed myself, which I think was 2 weeks ago! yay!!!