Almost to my second goal!!!

I am so excited and so extremely grateful for the strength God has given me on this weight loss journey. I started with 54 pounds to lose and, yes, that seemed so dreadful until the pounds started falling off. I am now at 15 lbs down, passing up that first 10 lb goal and 5 away from the 2nd!! It is almost time for my new haircut!!! (Please see picture; that is what I am getting.)

In the past month and a half..or near there..since I started this journey and since I have been so motivated I have wanted to learn more so I am able to share and help people. I want to know more about fitness, health, proper nutrition...anything and everything!!! I want to go back to school for all of this, but right now I don't have the time. In the meantime I plan on taking advice on books to read, videos to watch, listening to people who know about all of this..who have been there, done that...I want to be smart on this. I know I have not done some things correctly...I know that my eating habits, although I only consume 1200 or less calories a day, are not correct. I know when I went to the gym and just went at it like I was a pro and pulled that muscle that I did something wrong...I want to know how to fix all of that. If you have any suggestions feel free to post them. I am game for anything. Until then I will continue with my cardio and counting my calories and doing my best on what I think is healthy. God Bless!!!

I'm proud of myself...

I am happy with the way things are going. It would be nice if there was a magic button to push and make all the weight go away, but since there isn't I will just have to keep on keeping on! I am at a 13lb weight loss right now. Only 7 more to go until I get that haircut I have been wanting for soooooo long!!! I know I will be there soon and 20 lbs down?!?! That is awesome...these small goals have helped lots. I am not focusing on that "long term, this is going to take forever, oh my gosh I still have 41 more lbs to lose"...so, I am proud of how far I have gotten in a little over a month. The end picture is going to be great, but seeing the picture AS IT IS NOW, the progress I have made...well, that is really helping me keep my head up!

I am happy with what I eat, happy with how I exercise, happy with the way my clothes are looking on me now, and happy that I have not given up. I may have a little junk food every now and again, but I know my limit and I know what happens if I keep on eating that junk food. I don't want to go back to that miserable life again. I want to continue to be happy and I WILL! God is so good. He has really been guiding me through this process and I will NEVER let go of His hand!!!

He is SO good to me!

Blessings are everywhere... just look around!

Oh my...it hurts!

I ask God to give me strength to get through my workouts and He does! I wanted to increase the incline on the treadmill, but I kept telling myself how much it would hurt and I just couldn't do it. Well, the past couple days I ask God to just push me..to let me do what I am capable of...to not let me tell myself that I can't and then I thought of one of my favorite Bible verses....Phil 4:13-I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I have been strengthened! Today I increased my incline to 7.0!!! I was sweating and holding on to the handles of the treadmill at times but I didn't stop until my hour was up! It hurt but felt so good...so good because I took that strength God gave me and I conquered!  Even though my body now feels like I am a body builder it feels good! Feels great actually!  Thank you Lord for my strength, motivation and perseverance! There is nothing I can't do as long as You are by my side!

The "Skinny" on being skinny...

Since I have started this journey towards skinniness I have had many questions on what things are like when you are skinny...cause I have never experienced that.

First...and the most pondered question....Do high heels hurt your feet when you are skinny? I know, as a bigger girl, my feet feel like they swell up, get smashed with a hammer, and my toes turn into little balls from being scrunched up in the front of the heel for so long! I like wearing heels because they make my under 5' self feel taller, but they hurt too bad! I can't wear them for long periods of time without having to free my poor, battled feet!

My next question has intrigued me for quite some time because when I go check out sale racks at the mall it seems only the smaller cloths are left so....Do you get lots of deals on clothing and shoes? I mean, that will be great when I get skinny, but until then us big girls need sales too! Or, do skinny girls not shop the sale racks??

These next few are for the big girls who became skinny.

Can you cross your legs easier now? I have a hard time trying to sit lady like because my legs are too big to cross so, does this change?

Are you more sensitive to pain now...I mean, if you fall does it hurt more than before you lost all your weight? Reason asking is because I plan on losing most of my padding.

Are airplane seats more comfortable? I don't fly much, but when I did I was so uncomfortable because my body took up most of the seat...no room for moving around at all!

Is it easier to run? This kind of goes back to the hurt feet thing. I have a hard time running because I just feel like all of my weight is on my feet...well, it kind of is...Ok..it definitely is..and my legs hurt too soon! So it is easier to run? Do you feel free?

I know these things sound crazy, but I want to know what I am in for when I become a skinny girl. Got anymore skinny on the skinny? Let me know cause eventually I will ask anyway. Smile and Have a blessed day!

I HAVE A TESTIMONY

A few months ago I was so discouraged as my clothes kept getting tighter and tighter. I could not figure out what was going on. I had doctor’s appointment after doctors appointment and everything kept coming back normal. Soon I began to develop dizziness with the weight gain, then headaches, fatigue, then severe body aches. I was scared of what my body was doing, but yet none of the doctors could seem to help me. I was afraid I would keep getting bigger and bigger and that my body would continue to fail me. I hated going to my closet. I did not feel comfortable in my own skin and I cried about it often. I wanted to change the way I was eating, which really was not that bad except when candybars and cakes called my name, but I felt "What's the use? Nothing seems to help me." It wasn't long after that when I really started to get closer to God and then the church talked about fasting and I was definitely not going to miss out on this because I wanted to be as close to God as I could get.

Yesterday was the official FINAL day of my 21 day fast. I cut out those convenience store snacks and soda that I seemed to turn to in times of my sad and fat life. In the beginning I was worried this would be hard, but God gave me strength and I didn't have any problems staying away. I grew closer to God and started focusing on diet and exercise during this time. In 2 weeks (this is when I started the diet) I have lost 7lbs and I am so happy. I have also started reading "MADE TO CRAVE" by Lysa TerKeurst and this book really opens your eyes on the way you eat. God does care about your health and happiness within yourself. The book talks about how God can help you with your cravings...How to satisfy your cravings with God instead of food. I like to read it while on the treadmill. She incorporates the Bible in with her book/study. I have never felt so empowered and confident that I WILL reach my goal weight. I have tried many diets, but none with God. He wants me to succeed. He wants me to be happy. He has wanted me to see what I am seeing within myself now and I am so thankful I have finally opened my eyes.

Last night in church there were testimonies. Great testimonies! A lady who had cancer has been healed. Another lady spoke of someone in her family who had cancer and lost her vision and she has been healed. Listening to this made me think..."I have a testimony too!" The past few months, as I mentioned before have been rough. I have been in pain both emotionally and physically and since I saw the light of God shine though me I have not had the bad headaches like before, I have not been dizzy in a while, I can workout and clean my house and my body does not hurt me like it did before. I can eat and LOSE weight now, I can have the will power I never even grasped onto before. I CAN BE HAPPY! AND I AM! God is so amazing and I am so thankful to be a child of God!

"He's my rock, He's my shield. He's my wheel, in the middle of the wheel. I know He will never, no never let me down. He lifts me up and plants my feet on solid ground!" (From a song in church)

It IS Friday!

I am so happy it is Friday even though I really won't be doing any winding down over the weekend. With my grandma being sick, trying to fit in exercise, work, eat healthy...well, I am drained. Wednesday I wasn't able to get a workout in, but spending time with my grandma was worth skipping the workout for. Yesterday by the time I got home holding my eyes open was a workout enough for me! I really do enjoy the feeling I get after I finish a gym session, but sometimes life just won't allow that time. That is ok though. I have continued to watch what I eat this week while staying around my calorie goal and never going over. I still know I have done well and I am proud of myself especially when everyone around me was eating a fresh apple cake that was homemade and still warm the other day...sheesh! That was hard! I do plan on going to the gym today and I pray God gives me the strength to make it there. He continues to push me everyday and I am so thankful!

If only I had God with me before...I may have hit my goal already, but now is better than never! Jeanie, I can't wait for that FREE haircut! :-)