RISING ABOVE, 14 Day Health Challenge Update and Weekly Weigh In

Since Mondays are my weigh in days and I'm on day 5 of the challenge, I thought it would be a great time to communicate how I'm doing with the challenge and weight loss numbers to date. Yesterday was a difficult day for me because it was my Dad's birthday.  If you're a regular reader you know he passed away in August and I thought he was the greatest Dad ever!  On top of the emotions pertaining to the day, I had other personal stresses I was dealing with as well and had every excuse to emotionally eat.  I had to summon the kind of strength that only comes from God.  I definitely felt as if I was being tested and in that moment thought, "if on this day of great emotional strife, I am able to rise above and resist my desire to emotionally eat, then I can do it every other day of my life!  In fact there will be nothing I can't do."  It was that important to me.  I did it!  I made it through with no junk food or late night snacking.  I was successful today as well.

Since I've been successful with obtaining the daily goals I set, I was excited to weigh this morning to find out the results of my hard work. I weighed 157, a 3 pound weight loss!  I was very happy to see those numbers at this stage of my journey.

Since I'm new to my current gym I had the 1st of two free personal training sessions with Dane, my personal trainer.  My body fat percentage calculated today was 36%, so I still have a long way to go.  I think I'd like to see that number at about 25%. We talked for about 30 minutes and trained for about 30 minutes.  The training was intense!  I was doing heavier weights than I ever thought I could do.  For example on the shoulder press machine we started at 40 pounds for 12 reps, then 55 pounds for 10 reps, then 70 pounds for 8 reps.  Afterwards he said 40 pounds was too easy for me, so next time we'd start heavier.  O.K., maybe it was, but 8 reps was all I could squeak out at 70 pounds for sure!  He gave me a choice a time or two for doing more, but said if we start training together there would be no choices.  O.K. cool!! I love to be pushed like that in the gym!  If I couldn't complete a set, quitting was not an option, he was there to help me through it instead.  I know working with a personal trainer will give me better results than working out alone, so I really hope I'm going to be able to afford to keep him.  Fingers crossed.

Thought for the day:

(from Positive Outlooks)

Reading this brought this scripture to mind:


Philippians 4:13  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.


We are braver, stronger, smarter, and more beautiful than we imagined. So true.

I want to encourage you to set your goals high because you can attain them.  Anythings possible! I never thought I could overcome emotional eating and I have.  Just set your goals and establish the steps you will take to achieve them and stick with them.  If you "fall off the wagon" just jump back on immediately.  Forgive yourself and start again right then, don't wait!  This is what I've implemented and it works beautifully!  You can do it. 

I hope everyone has a fabulous, healthy Tuesday.

Take care.

Cat's Belly Fat Cure Facebook Page

What I Ate Wednesday! AND Week 11 Results AND more secrets revealed!

If you like fabulous food, pics, and recipes from other bloggers, check out Peas and Crayons.

Breakfast:

Super yum oatmeal:  gf oats, fuji apple, Justin's maple almond butta, Sun Crystals, Garden of Life Super Seed.  Delicious.

Lunch:

+ PLUS+

= TRUE LOVE

Really.  These two together in a sandwich = happy me.  I usually pair it with an apple or raw carrots.  Chocolate almond butter sandwich - That's whats for lunch!

Dinner:  Glazed sesame pork with green beans

Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper over both sides of 5 center cut pork chops.

Heat 2 tsp. dark sesame oil in large skillet over medium heat.

Add pork and cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned.

Mix:

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. low sodium chicken broth

2 Tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted (I didn't have time to toast them)

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

Add to the pork chops. 

Cover. Reduce heat and simmer an additional 20 minutes or until tender.  Serve pork with sauce.

Voila!  Dinner is served.

These pork chops are really delicious, excellent flavor, salty & sweet.  Love meat with a little bit of sweet.  

Even my 4 year old loved them:

My 8 year old wanted to act like she loved them.  She wasn't interested in trying them.  Just wanted her picture taken ;).

and dessert, gluten free, milk free chocolate chip cookie!

I spoke a little of my weight loss secrets in the last post .  I mentioned developing a nutrition plan that resonates with your belief system, well this is a glimpse into mine.  Sometimes I vary it depending on the goals I need to obtain for the week, but this day is a good snapshot of a typical day, well minus the cookie.  Ideally I add treats about twice a week  I concentrate on eating real food and minimizing junk.  I try to balance carbs for the day by allowing high carb meals in the beginning to middle of the day if I like.  However, by mid-afternoon to evening I minimize starch greatly and eat nothing after dinner, even if I'm hungry.  I believe we don't need heavy carb meals at night and more protein helps to keep me full longer, so I can avoid snacking at night. I firmly believe most of my weight loss is due to how I eat in the evenings, which is so different from how I used to eat. Heavy nighttime snacking consumed me, resulting in an extra 500-1000 calories consumed after dinner 4 to 5 times per week.  I would become stressed, anxious and run to food for comfort.  That's not me anymore and I'm not going back!

The secret to remaining joyful eating this way, when others around you are eating a more stimulating unhealthy diet, is to remain content.  If dining out and your friend is eating a slice of cake the size of your head, don't whine and think why can't I eat that or I'm so miserable, why can they eat cake & I can't.  Instead remain content. Just think of your goals and how skipping this dessert will place you that much closer to them.  Doesn't that feel better than that slice of cake!

Philippians 4:11

¹¹ I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

Oh, I almost forgot weigh in numbers for the week!  I lost 3 pounds!  Now I'm only 3 pounds away from reaching my 40 day challenge weight loss goal by my birthday, November 20th!  I'm not going to accept failure.

Take care everyone and make it a healthy day.

P.S. Make sure to check out the new Cat's Belly Fat Cure Facebook page.  Link to the right ->

Week 10 Results and How to Break Through a Plateau

My weight has been up and down for the past month, so much so I wasn't making any progress.  I decided that HAD to change, so I became focused again on my goal, made a plan to get there, and stuck with it 95% of the time.  The results are a 4 pound weight loss for the week. Yay!  Now the challenge is not to get lazy and let old unhealthy habits creep back in to my life.

This is how I broke the plateau.  These were my ideal ways to eat and workout:

• Eat some protein at every meal or snack
• Eat a carb heavy meal in the morning or ONLY within 2 hours of working out, otherwise stick to protein and veggies. 
• Don't get too hungry.  I will inevitably lose self control if I get too hungry!
• Drink lots of water.
• No eating after 8pm
• Eat no gluten or dairy
• Workout with cardio and strength training 5 days per week.

These were my guidelines.  Sometimes I didn't meet them exactly, but I made the best choices I could.  My mindset was the closer I stuck to these guidelines, the better my result.  I forgave myself if I made a poor choice and immediately recommitted to this plan.  For me being able to immediately recommit to the plan was key to my success.  I love to experiment like this and study the result.

This week I'm going to relax the plan a little, but really the only difference being the way I eat carbs.  I'm going back to my original plan of limiting carbs after 3 pm, by avoiding or limiting starch at night.  It's worked for Candace Cameron Bure and it's worked for me.  

....my little kiddos at Halloween. Julia was the super hero, American Dream and Ashleigh was a pirate.  The small pic on the right was taken tonight while trick-or-treating in the cool rain.  They had a blast even in the rain!

I had excellent results losing weight this way.  Do you have any tips or secrets that helped you break through a plateau?  Tell me.  Don't be shy.

Remember you're worth loving yourself enough to stick with your plan, see things through, and get results.  We can do this together.

Have a wonderful Tuesday.

Take care,

Week 9 Results: Losing the battle, but winning the war

There's no easy way to say this...so I'll just state the facts.  I gained 2 pounds this week.  Overall I made good choices, but I've definitely let some bad habits creep back into my life.  I think the reason behind the weight gain involves those bad habits and extra sodium.  Plus I went out to dinner on Saturday and even though I avoided the bread basket and only had 3 bites of dessert, sugary after dinner drinks were consumed. O.K., 3 sugary alcoholic drinks!  Alright confession is good for the soul, right?  Now it's time to learn from not so stellar weight loss and  concentrate on nutrition and exercise goals laid out in this previous post .

I think for this week to get back on track, I'm going to journal food and exercise.  Then I can look back on it to see what works for me.  (yes I'm assuming I'll have positive results).  I will.

Today's Nutrition:

Meal 1:  Peanut butter, chocolate chip oatmeal, with Super Seed, vanilla, Sun Crystals

Meal 2:  3 slices turkey (Hormel natural, nitrate free) and cucumber from our garden with rice vinegar, turmeric, salt, pepper

Meal 3:  handful of raw walnuts and sugar snap peas

Meal 4:  chicken breast tenders, broccoli with butter, and rice with veggies

Today's exercise:

• 30 minutes on precor for cardio
• bicep curls with 20 lb. straight barbell (2 sets of 15)
• bicep curls on weight machine 30 lbs., then dropping back to 10 lbs. (2 sets of 15)
• Britney Spears' ab workout (dang, forgot the bicycle crunches)
 

• finished with stretching

 I'm really proud of my accomplishments today.  I stuck with my exercise and nutrition goals!  I received a nice note from a friend.  Life is good.

Daily Inspiration:

If you want something you've never had before,

you have to do something you've never done before.

-Author unknown

Today was a success.  Tomorrow I just need to repeat today...one day at a time...I'll get there.

Thanks for reading y'all.

Have a great Tuesday.

Take care,

Week 8 update & State Fair

I'm getting ready for bed, but wanted to make a quick update. Officially my weight was down 1 pound.  I was disappointed, but in retrospect it was probably warranted.  For several days last week I was out of town on business and either skipped lunch all together or grabbed a burger.  If I had brought food with me, I would have eaten much healthier.  As far as exercise, I worked out 3 times, which was less than my normal 5 times.  I can tell this week that my fitness level decreased just from missing a few workouts.  Something I didn't expect.

I had a great workout tonight...muscles are already sore!  I've never seen more people than were in the gym tonight.  The State Fair is in town and I think either folks were trying to work off calories already consumed or getting ready to consume.  We're taking the kids out of school tomorrow to attend the fair, so I'll be surrounded by deep fried everything!  I was telling my husband tonight, I think I picked the wrong week to go dairy and gluten free.  But then again, that cuts out most of the junk food!  It's only been one day, but I already feel better!  Here's my healthy haul from Whole Foods today:

I made it the whole day dairy and gluten free.  Tomorrow will test me. The funnel cakes will call my name.  I must just take in the smells and ignore them!  I can do it.

Gotta go!  I'm sitting here, falling asleep like Grandpa. ;)

Oh, I almost forgot!  I started today tracking my body fat percentage as well, as shown on my bathroom scales.  Today it was 40% - awful, I know, but 8 weeks ago it was at least 45%.  

Take care,

NO Limits, only plateaus, week 7 results

Yesterday someone told me, " you need to know what you're not and your limitations!"  I let the negativity get to me. I thought about it and decided I'm not going to live that way.  Tonight I found this lovely quote by Eleanor Roosevelt, "no body can make you feel inferior without your consent."  What a powerful statement!  I think we can accept insults that come our way or not.  I'm think not! 

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee

Well my official 7 week weigh in today resulted in a 1 pound gain. I'm O.K. with that...it's a plateau and I must go beyond it.  I think the 3 pound weight loss last week was a little bit of a fluke because the next day, my weight increased by 3 pounds.  Today was day 1 of my 40 day challenge, so I'm going to look at this weight as a starting point.  My goal for the 40 days is to lose 9 pounds...no limits, right?

I don't believe in an overnight success.  I think some people perceive that's what happens.  

 I was out of town today working in the hardware store, so I wasn't able to exercise.  I could feel the difference in my body. It was an emotional day, see the hardware store was my father's, who passed away in August.  I think exercise would have allowed me to let go of the pain I was feeling, rather than just get upset about it and emotional with friends. 

This is my motto for the week:   I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me. -Philippians 4:13.  Really.  This healthy living does not work without Christ.  When I included Him I began to get results.  Candace Cameron Bure found the same thing to be true in her life  and explains this beautifully in her book.

What motivates you to live a healthy life?

Thanks for the support.  I wouldn't be able to do it without you either.

Have a happy, healthy Tuesday.

Take care,

I MADE MY CHILD EAT DONUTS and 3 POUNDS...

....lost this week!  Since I was out of town most of the week I had no idea what I weighed.  Needless to say I was very pleasantly surprised to learn I lost 3 POUNDS, yea! Happy dance!  I had treats, but was very mindful of portion sizes and tried to limit starches and snacks at night.  I also tried to bulk up meals with as many vegetables as possible. 

Fast forward to this week....PMS WEEK!!!!!!!!!!  I have STRONG  cravings for anything fluffy, refined, sugar filled, fruity and or chocolate.  O.K., this is how bad it is...please don't judge.  Tonight I made my 8 year old eat the rest of the leftover donuts from our beach trip, just so I wouldn't be tempted to eat them.  Yes, you heard me correctly.  I MADE MY CHILD EAT DONUTS!  I had several treats today I don't want to discuss.  I'll jump right back up on the wagon, would you circle back and pick me up please?  Thanks so much!

The old me would have thrown in the towel, and eaten every treat in site because I would start "over" tomorrow morning or on Monday or whenever.  I would think of every "cheat" I could eat that wouldn't be allowed on the latest and greatest diet craze. Just quiz me...I know the ins and outs of almost every diet on the market.  I "owed" it to myself to have ALL of these treats now because I wouldn't be able to have them on my new diet.  I can't tell you how many times I've eaten cinnamon sugar toast, loaded, and I mean LOADED with sugar and a TON of butter.  REALLY.

The new me isn't perfect by far, but & here's the EPIPHANY!  Are you ready?  Now when I fall off the wagon I don't overdue it.  I stop myself at a reasonable portion.  Still working on the not feeling guilty part.  I have an awesome friend who's helping me with those feelings.  Then I jump right back on my healthy lifestyle.   

I love this quote from Scot Ferrell , (I may be paraphrasing). "Don't end up trading what you want for what you want right now." 

Now I'm still stuck with PMS and these CRAZY CRAVINGS!  I think I feel another experiment in the making....  Tomorrow when I have a sweet craving I'm just gonna grab a piece of whole fruit.  If I still have a craving, I'll try some dark chocolate, 70%.  I wonder if the fruit will help with bloating as well?

See y'all tomorrow.

Have a happy, healthy Tuesday.

Take care,

Experiment results!

9/26/11

I'm loving my results, a 2 pound loss!  Usually on vacation I gain at least 3 - 4 pounds.  I really tried to maintain my healthy lifestyle on vacation, just added in treats.  I think the treats totally helped me stick with healthy eating  and exercise the rest of the time.  Do you find that the occasional treats help you maintain a healthy plan?

Added to oatmeal.  Do you love chocolate in your oatmeal?

Breakfast:  chocolate peanut butter oatmeal

We had fun at Topsail Beach, but I'm oh so glad to be home.  Can't wait to get back to the gym today, workin' legs.

Weight lifting makes me feel strong and empowered.  Do you love it?

I saw this quote today on Alexandra's blog. I love it.

"LIFE begins when YOU step out of your comfort zone."  -Stacy London of What Not to Wear (TLC)

Thanks for all of the encouraging comments on last night's post.  It really does mean so much to me along this crazy journey.  Y'all are the best!

Hope everyone has a healthy, happy Monday.

Take care,

Week 4 update, 2 days early

Since we left for vacation today, I decided to go ahead and weighin today and count it as a week.  Then I'll restart Monday weighins when I return from the beach.  I love to weighin on Mondays because it helps keep me accountable on the weekend.  So in the last 5 days I lost..........1 pound, which I am SO HAPPY to report.  Yea! Woo-hoo! I'll take every little bit.

Tonight I did have some oh so not good for me snacks:  some boy scout caramel popcorn, then some peanuts.  I actually felt sick after the popcorn.  I learned my lesson.  I don't ever want any more.  After I ate it, I looked at the ingredients....these are the 1st three:  SUGAR, CORN SYRUP, DEXTROSE!!!! It's bad  enough to have sugar as a 1st ingredient, but to have it as the 1st three.  Geees.  Get this! The side of the bag says this:  Better flavor. Better for you.  What? I think they're on crack!  Then I had a few peanuts and felt better.  Since we were travelling, we had an early dinner and I became too hungry.  Anyway, my husband laughed like a sinister laugh cause I fell off the wagon.  Sometimes I think he wants me to fail.  I think because he eats a lot of junk, he wants me right there with him.  Any of y'all run into that with friends and family?

I'm going to put this behind me and not let it derail my healthy efforts.  My husband does support me and help with the kids so I can exercise, but sometimes makes fun of my not being able to do it at the same time.  So does he really support me?  Maybe. Maybe not? 

Bottom line....I'm celebrating my victory over the 1 pound and putting my bad snacking choice behind me.  I think I'm going to the grocery store tomorrow and buy some yummy tea.  Which leads to my question of the day....

QUESTION OF THE DAY:  What's your favorite low or no sugar hot tea?  I love the cinnamon spicy ones.

Thanks for reading and listening.

Be healthy. Be strong.

Have a great weekend.

Week 3 Update and Excellent Motivational Speaker Links!

As many of you know I was a little worried about my weigh in this week, so I was happy to see a 1 pound weight loss.  I remember from watching The Biggest Loser that week 3 was always a tough week for them.  Anyway I'll definitely take it.

cran h2o

I'm trying a little something new this week, drinking 56 ounces of cran water a day.  For strict BFC followers it may not be something you want to do because the entire 56 ounces contain 9 grams of sugar.  However for me, I thought it was a reasonable amount of sugar, especially if it's a significant benefit.  It's not something drank all at once either.  I'll let you know what I think.

TODAY'S MENU:
Breakfast:  CLIF kid organic ZBAR  chocolate brownie
Lunch:  tuna (flavored with mustard, apple cider vinegar), TRISCUIT FIRE ROASTED TOMATO AND OLIVE OIL, 2 cucumbers (flavored with apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper)
Snack (if hungry):  apple and walnuts (small handful)
Dinner:  pork roast, broccoli, turnip greens
56 ounces of cran water for the day + lots of H2O.

 I found a new to me product I absolutely LOVE, the TRISCUIT crackers I referenced above!  In fact I think I love them a little too much!  I've been eating them with lunch, only 6 because that's a serving.  They're also SUPER BFC FRIENDLY, with 0 sugar and 20 carbs!  Do you love them?  They are super yummy and delicious with the tuna, but I think they'd be awesome with anything.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM LAST WEEK:  I learned that when cooking bacon I MUST NOT under any circumstances snack on bacon while cooking it!  I did that last week....let's just say my family didn't get to eat much of it.  I'll eat it in a recipe or with a meal, but that's it.  It's crack to me.  Ha.

I've mentioned before that I never stayed on track with any eating plan before I listened to this speaker.  It's really resonated with me in numerous ways.  It doesn't hurt that he's a good friend of mine, so I trust what he says.  Here's the blog talk radio episode (called Failure to Launch) that changed my life:

Listen to Internet radio with Scot Ferrell on Blog Talk Radio

Website:  scotferrell.com

Let me know what you think.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:  What motivates you?

WHAT TO IMPROVE UPON THIS WEEK:  sleep!  I don't get nearly enough of it.  This week my goal is to be in bed with the lights, PC, phone OFF by midnight.  Yeah, I'll sit up to about 2 a.m. on my accord, definitely not good for weight loss.  It makes me a carb-a-holic the next day.

Hope your day is a healthy, joyful one.

Be healthy. Be strong.

Week 2 Update!

In week 2 I've lost 5 pounds bringing my total weight loss to 16 pounds, just by changing what I eat and working out.  I think not eating any starchy foods at night is making a huge difference.  I don't eat that way every night, but almost every night.  Like one night this past week we had take out pizza & I did have 2 medium slices of cheese pizza with a few carrot sticks.  I really think I can maintain my current eating philosophy forever.  I just love working out too.  With 2 small kids at home it's an awesome way I'm reducing my stress level. Plus it has a most positive benefit of not hearing, "Momma, Momma."

On a personal note.  Had my annual checkup with my GYN today.  I think I'm interested in getting a Mirena IUD.  The most excellent side benefit is no menstrual flow!  How cool would that be.  Do any of you have one?  Like it?  Just wondering?  We're definitely done having kids & it works for 5 years.  I just really don't like the idea of going without anything and getting a SURPRISE.  Oh, and it's no estrogen, just progesterone.

I know my weight loss is going to slow down this week.  I'm just gonna try to concentrate on doing what I'm doing & I'll get there eventually!

I'm planning to do a workout routine this afternoon, maybe Netflix?  Do you have a favorite workout DVD?  If so, I'd love to hear & try it out, especially if I can find it on Netflix.

Hope your day is a joyful, healthy one.

Be healthy.  Be strong.