Goal Achieved and random thoughts, of course ;)

I obtained my 1st weight loss goal today.  I've lost the 1st 10 pounds!  I'm really excited because I've been trying to lose weight for years, as I was saying in a recent post.  What I'm doing is really working and I'm going to keep doing it.  I have a goal in sight and I will make my actions match the outcome I want to achieve.  The ultimate goal is to weigh between 115 to 120 pounds.  I really don't want to say at this point what I do weigh, but suffice it to say I have a way to go. My plan is to break down my goal into 5 pound mini goals. I've negotiated with my hubby to give me $100 for every 5 pounds lost, sort of as an incentive for me.  Really though, I think the main reason I asked him to give me $100 dollars was so I wouldn't feel guilty spending money on myself. 

I'm actually beginning to enjoy the journey and the pleasant surprises along the way.  Like last night when my husband came into the bedroom after eating corn chips, at first it smelled like "feet", but then I realized oh that's a corn chip smell.  I think my sense of smell is improving as well as my taste buds.  A month ago those chips would have smelled good to me & I probably would have munched on a few and I still would if I had really, really wanted some.  However, I didn't eat any because I have a goal insight that I want to achieve and to me that's more important than a few seconds of pleasure from the chip, that's surely not going to do me any favors.  However if it had been my favorite dessert, banana pudding southern style, I would have definitely had small amount & not felt guilty at all. 

I think my husband thinks I'm going through a midlife crisis of some sort.  I think he is too though, and I'm honestly not sure where it's going to take us.

Tonight I went to the gym while my oldest daughter was at gymnastics.  We came home immediately after her gymnastics practice & he was none to happy that I hadn't fried the eggplant & okra from our garden.   In his defense he was probably looking forward to it because I've definitely honed my okra frying skills.  After the 1st bite, almost everyone raves about them.  It took me about half a summer one year to get the recipe like his mama's, and the bad part was I couldn't ask her because she was deceased.  Am I planning to snack on any when I cook them?  Nope. 

I've had something else on my mind today too.  Last week a good friend of mine went back to work after being a stay-at-home mom like myself.  With our kids getting older, the youngest being 4 1/2, I plan to go back to work when the youngest enters elementary school.  So I've started thinking about what I want to do as far as a career.  I think the answer occurred to me today.  In every job I've ever had, I excelled in one area.  Management always put me in this area, I felt very comfortable doing it, and always received the very highest praise from senior management in this capacity.  Now I'm not saying I was a perfect employee, far from it.  What I am saying is this is one aspect of my job I enjoyed the most, found the easiest, and the most rewarding.   My main career before staying at home was as an assistant manager and senior loan officer in a bank and also a loan officer at a credit union.  Oh and I also was in sales at another bank.  People really trusted me, which I think was the main reason I was successful in sales because I'm not a pushy person at all.
This area that I had much success, fulfillment and joy was in a public relations/almost negotiator sort of role.  I loved going to Chamber of Commerce meetings and functions, speaking with local business owners, and being on the front line drumming up business or just talking with folks about their family, health & what's important to them.  Honestly though talking to people on a personal level made the business deals a piece of cake.  I also really enjoyed telling people no in a positive way.  Never tell them what you CAN'T do, tell them what you CAN do.  Now, what job that is in today's market, I have no idea?  Thanks for listening to me ramble like this. 

Anyway this is what I ate today:

breakfast:  O.K., I've been on a roll with this one lately & it just doesn't get old.  Old fashioned oats, (instead of cinnamon I used pumpkin spice & it was really good), peanut butter, Sun Crystals, apple,  & Garden of Life Super Seed.  Unless your spouse dislikes the smell of peanut butter, you'll love this.  My hubby fusses when he smells peanut butter in my oatmeal, so I try to eat it at a considerable distance away from him. 

lunch:  This was just heavenly.  Food For Life brown rice tortilla, hummus, lettuce, carrots.  I lightly toasted the tortilla, then folded it all up like a taco.  Yum-O!

dinner:  Salad (romaine, carrots, cucumbers, Bragg's healthy vinaigrette)  You may not see cucumbers on the salad...well, I actually ate those while making dinner ;) .  McDougall's black bean and lime soup (see below)

 

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I didn't cook much today, usually don't on Mondays, which are very busy for us, but I don't like to eat at fast food restaurants too often as well.  I didn't plan on it being a vegan day, oh well. 

my littlest pumpkin before taking her to dance class today.

 

 

Question of the day:  How has you spouse or significant other reacted to your weight loss, positively or negatively?

Thanks for listening everyone.  Hope you had a fabulous Monday.

Be healthy.  Be strong.

Take care,


 

What I ate today!

 After requests of what I've been eating, I thought I would post what I ate on Saturday.  O.K. drum roll please......O.K. it's not that exciting.  Here it is:

Breakfast, well this was really lunch by the time I got around to eating, oops:  oatmeal with an apple, cinnamon, peanut butter, Sun Crystals, Garden of Life Super Seed

For snack I had some leftover chopped raw fruit & veggies from the fridge:  cucumbers, apple slices, baby carrots, and a small handful of pecans.

Dinner:  ribeye from Earth Fare (no antibiotics, no growth hormones, vegetarian fed), steamed broccoli  with organic butter, and Vitaminwater zero. .  I can't always afford to buy "pricey meat" but if I find a good sale I'm all about it.

Just add in lots of h20 & that's it.  I didn't get any formal exercise in, but did manage 7,000 steps according to my pedometer.  I'm going to the gym in the morning for cardio & weights.

I'm trying to concentrate on protein, fruits, veggies, and some grains.  I'm also trying to pay attention to how I feel after eating.  I noticed having a little abdominal pain after the oatmeal, not much though.  Then after dinner, I felt a little quesy.  The same thing happens to me after eating eggs.  I wonder if it's the fat?

Anyway that's it...still trying to experiment to see what works best for me.

Wanna hear an awesome non-scale victory today!?  I was at church today walking to pick up my "little pumpkins" when someone I used to date (when I was skinny & hot) stopped to speak to me.  His eyes actually followed my body down & back up.  You know like your boyfriend would always do when he saw a fine looking girl.  I thought, YES!!!!!!!!  This is a great day!  Of course I told my husband & he said in a sort of kidding like tone, "oh, (wink) you're just getting hot for your next husband."  Which is so not true.  I'm doing this for me!

Hope you have an awesome day!

Be healthy.  Be strong.

Take care,

Warning: Discipline Required

What I'm doing is working for me, I can't believe it!  I know it's only the beginning of this awesome journey, but I have hope for a brighter, healthier future & it feels awesome!  Before I would try to do a diet based on counting something or totally abstaining from something.  I've tried Weight Watchers countless times (ha-ha no pun intended), The Belly Fat Cure (hence the name of this blog), and even a vegan diet.  I've learned when something is totally off limits & I can't have it, it makes me want it all the more.  Yes, I do have some obsessive, compulsive tendencies.  I've gained so much weight all while trying to lose it.  Yes you read that correctly.  I can't tell you how many times I've started a "diet", and binged on whatever the food "I know I can NEVER eat again."  I've probably gained AT LEAST 20 pounds from that alone.  Now don't get me wrong, I know these programs work for many people.  They just don't work for me.  What works for me?....balance & discipline.  That's it, no special potions, rigid rules, fad diets, or fancy equipment to buy.  I'm concentrating on eating more real food, far less junk, drinking more water, and doing cardio strength training.

Most of all though, I'm including our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ in the midst of it all.  A friend of mine posted this verse on Facebook today.  I love how, as a Christian, God gives us friends to encourage, love us along this roller coaster called life.  Here's the verse:

2 Timothy 1:7

"For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline."

This verse really sums up what I'm doing right now, better than I ever could.  This whole mindset of balance and discipline is right in line with Candace Cameron Bure's book, Reshaping it All, Motivation for Spiritual and Physical Fitness.  I can't recommend this book enough.  Here's a key verse from the book:

Heb. 12:11 (NIV)

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."

Video of the Day:

This song has been on my mind all week, ever since I was jammin' to it at the gym.  I get a much more intense work out with the right music.  I love songs too about powerful women. I really like her hair in this video...thinking about growing my hair out & all layered just like it.  What do you think?  I think it might work, especially since after having a few babies my hair has a touch of curl...weird huh. 

Question of the day:  What's working for you?

Well these are my random thoughts of the day.  Hope your day is awesome!

Be Healthy. Be strong.

Take care,