New Year 2014

It has been awhile since I have time to blog.  Thought I would start off 2014 with a reflection on the past few years' life lessons.

In 2012 I learned how to loose weight in a healthy way. I worked hard to loose 40lbs the old fashioned way, by eating less and moving more.  There was no secret quick weight lost plan.  Consistent decisions in small choices every led to big results.

 In 2013, I learned that I had to work on a different level to fix my insecurities & being 40 lbs lighters wasn't magically going to correct all the lies I believed about myself. Loosing the weight is honestly easier than loosing the lies.   There was no secret quick way to suddenly loose insecurities I had built my entire life. Consistent decisions in small choices to choose truth over lies every led to big results.

In 2014, I will have to work again to loose the 15 pounds I gained back during this emotionally hard year, but remembering my worth is not in my jean size; my worth is found in the one who asks my obedience to keep learning what He has to teach me year by year. 

"The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us. — C.S. Lewis."

Small lifestyle changes that add up to BIG weight loss

It has been 2 full years since I started this journey. It has a been a year since I reached my goal weight loss, and I have only gone up or down 7 lbs or so in the past year.   With this victory, I wanted to share my how-to of how I kept it off. Please read some of the emotional spiritual aspects of my weight loss journey here because they go hand in hand.

 I went into loosing weight the mentality of however I lost the weight was how I was going to keep it off. With that simple idea, I choose to settle for loosing weight slowly with  permanent lifestyle changes instead of  a drastic diet that was impossible to maintain.  If it is going to be lasting change, it will TAKE A LOT OF TIME. DRASTIC and QUICK change is not lasting!

It took me SIX MONTHS to loose my first 15 pounds, and then 3 months to loose 25 more. Do not loose heart.  I was healthier at the end of the first six months than I had ever been in my life, even if I had only lost one pants size.

Health Habits:

• Talk to your doctor. Your doctor may have a key to helping you unlock some of your motivation/weight loss issues  I have hypothyroidism. Before I addressed this issue with proper medication, I was worked out with absolutely no change in my body or energy levels. 
• Vitamins that are specific to YOUR health needs. I am a believer in Vitamins, but I do not like multivitamins because you can be getting too much of something you are getting in your diet, or not enough of something you are deficient in . I sat down and did research and talked to professional about my personal health and what vitamins would suit my body needs.   
• Vitamin B Complex with Vitamin C- The B vitamin helps with my energy levels connected to my thyroid problems.  The Vitamin C also helps with some of my thyroid and immune issues connected to my hypothyroidism. 
• Vitamin D- Most women are deficiency in Vitamin D, especially pale girls like me who have to avoid the sun.  I also found this vitamin extremely helpful in combating winter blues during those dark months of November through March. 

Physical Fitness Changes:

• Make a realistic, health-geared goal.  I knew that being a size 6 like I was in high school sounded nice, but I knew it was not something I could maintain.  I also had to not compare my body with someone else.  My friend's "fat" clothes were my goal weight, and that is OK. (ye sit stung a bit, but I had to see my own health is different than hers)  I chose my goal of getting back down to a BMI 26 (I started at BMI 33.5). I also wanted a cardiovascular health that I knew I was missing. I am sure there are size two's who may look better in jeans that I do, but don't care that they have the heart health of a 60 year old. 
• Get up during everyday activities. Do not plan to sit every time your kids go to the park.  Chase them, go down a slide at the playground, and ride bikes with them.
• Strenuous Exercise for 20 minutes two times a week.  I don't mean walking around the block; I mean Jillian Micheal DVD yelling at you & being covered with sweat after only 20 minutes. I know that I could not work out every day for an hour, but I could commit to this simple goal of only twice a week. 
• Accountability Tip: I had a blank calendar on the fridge with NOTHING else written on it.  AFTER I worked out, I put the time I did on this calendar.  It had to be blank other than exercise to work, because the empty spaces would tell me very quickly if I was keeping to my very simple goal of 20 minutes two times a week

Eating Habits: 
My eating habits had been large portions eaten very quickly. I knew this had to change and it was a process with lots of little strategies to reteach my brain.

• Small Salad Plate for every meal for the first six months.  I learned quickly that I could make healthy food, and still over eat.  Excess calories in any form, even broccoli, turn into fat.  I had to RETRAIN my brain to learn what a correct portion size was.  After about 6 months of only getting ONE helping on a small plate, I could finally trust myself to make better portion choices.
• Slow bites, with rest between.  The brain take a full 20 minutes to register when your stomach is full.  Put your fork/spoon down on the table between each bites.  Swallow fully before picking it back up. How many of you have ever said, "OH I should not have had the last piece of pizza?" You must give your brain time to know you are full. This little strategy helped me get my brain and stomach back into clear communication.
• No eating after 9pm.  This as a BIG  and VERY CHALLENGING change for me because I usually watch any TV shows after 9pm, a.k.a my kid's bedtimes.  Snacking while watching TV was a favorite of mine and led to many bowls of cereal eaten around 11pm:) I bought several  100 calorie snacks just in case I couldn't resist the urge to snack late at night. 

Cooking Habits: 
Most of the choices I made were not to cut something from our family's diet, but simply substitute it for a smaller portion with a  healthier twist (like real potatoes instead of boxed).  Substitution is the key to not feeling like you have to eat only salads for the rest of your life. Some of your favorite recipes can easily be remade into a healthy choice by switching out butter for olive oil, or switching our boxed for fresh.

• No more canned vegetables or fruits.  Only fresh or Frozen. The benefit from cutting this amount of sodium from our lives was felt quickly.   The flavors alone of eating  green beans sauteed or roasted with yummy olive oil, garlic salt, and Italian seasonings got my kids to no longer fight over eating vegetables! 
• Stop buying read meat.  Disclaimer: I am NOT anti-red meat. I will of course red meat at  restaurant or if served at a friends, but we chose to switch to ground turkey for our household.  This change has brought about better digestion for the family, which was an issue for many of our household.  When I do make the exception and buy red meat, we pay more to buy LEAN cuts because health is worth it. Make sure you are eating dark leafy greens to sub the vitamins you would get from red meat.
• Meatless once a week.  Cutting meat from one dinner a week not only saved money on meal planning, but made me more creative in the kitchen. If we didn't want to eat spaghetti every week, then I had to find new recipes. Some of our family's favorite veggie meals are:

Ravioli Primavera (page 90 on Dinner on Dime)

 Crockpot Creamy Spinach and Tortellini Soup

 Noodles Florentine with Spinach (page 171 Dinner on a Dime)

 Spaghetti with no meat in sauce, homemade garlic bread, with big  salad

 Vegetarian Minestrone Soup with beans

Potato Soup and cornbread

Broccoli and Cheese Soup (skinnytaste.com)

Macaroni and Cheese and Broccoli (Skinnytaste.com)

Spinach Lasagna roll-ups (skinnytaste.com)

  Lentil tacos (page 86 on Dinner on a Dime)

 Grilled Cheese and  Soup

Creamy Garlic Angel Hair Pasta  with steamed California Vegetables

Indulgence

Definition of Indulgence in Webster's dictionary is to:  

a : to give free rein to
b : to take unrestrained pleasure in .

I must MUST remember this on days I think I DESERVE indulgence. God never wants us to give "free reign to" anything in our lives except Him! 

 

Craving Carrot Sticks

Before the Thanksgiving that celebrate over the unrestrained pleasure of indulgence I am reminding MYSELF of a truth I learned last year from Lysa Terkeusrt:
You Crave What You Eat. When you eat junk you crave more junk. I have never just accidentally craved a carrot stick, but I have learned to INTENTIONALLY break the junk food cycle.   When you eat healthy food, you begin to crave healthier food. 

No one becomes healthy by accident.  You will not wake up one day and just not ever want a hamburger, chocolate, or whatever your personal favorite junk food is. When I first married my husband I actually ADDED SALT to my salt infused Ramen noodles.  It took me years to wean off the amount of salt I was used to in-taking on a daily basis.   I still "fall off the salt wagon" and find if I eat my personal Achilles Heal of ruffle chips, I will over indulge and want salt for weeks. Your Achilles heal may be some entirely different.   But I learned you will never change your body if you don't first change your choices.

I had a friend asked me how I lost the 40 lbs I lost last year, and before I could answer she interrupted and said, "oh wait, you are gonna make me all salady healthy stuff."  I knew then  she was not ready to loose weight because she still wanted her cravings more than she wanted to loose the weight.  I was there for a long time and I really really get it. The weight was worth it as long as I could keep the comfort food I loved, and emotionally relied on. I had to emotionally heal to get the point where I was willing to give up my food so that I could get physically healthy.  

And by the way, healthy food actually does tastes good.  if the only "salad" you know if iceberg lettuce and cheese, then you are missing out on so much. You won't know until you brake the cycle of craving the junk you eat.  Healthy not does equal flavorless.  As I have learned to cook healthy, I have actually seen the opposite is usually true.  I can't even believe the junk I used to think was good, when all I was tasting was salt and grease.   God designed you body to work with the food He created in our world.  Once you learn to crave real food and meat with spices that God created, you will not settle for high fructose corn syrup anymore or bland man-made chemicals.

During this holiday remember food is not the enemy, and eating yummy is not wrong.   But go into parties knowing your limits, and make choices  that will make you proud of yourself on Friday.

I Don't Like.....

I don’t like exercise, but I love when my pre-baby pants fit.
I don’t like jumping jacks, but I love having the energy to ride bikes with my kids.
I don’t like mopping, but I love a clean house.
I don’t like weeding, but I love fresh vegetables from my garden.
I don’t like laundry, but I love climbing into fresh sheets before bed.
I don’t like cleaning up play dough for days, but I love watching my kids’ imagination at work.
I don’t like sand in my hair, but I love watching my kids play in the waves at the beach.
I don’t like sleeping outside, but I love the relaxation that comes from being unplugged from society during a camping trip.
I don’t like being in a car for 2 to 3 hours, but I love spending time with my in-laws and seeing them with my kids.
I don’t like giving up “my” time in service, but I love serving other parents at church and teaching children God's Word.
I don’t like having to find the babysitter just to see a movie in the theater, but I love spending a night with my husband without kid distractions.
I don’t like that I don’t get to watch all the most popular movies, but I love focusing all that is pure and right and brings peace to my soul.
I don't like telling someone "no" when they really need me, but I love that my husband and children know they are my first priority.
I don’t like holding my tongue when I want to vent, but I love keeping a refining relationship even after the anger has pasted.
I don't like having to confront someone or being confronted when I am wrong, but I love the wisdom that comes from honesty spoken in love.
I don’t like forgiving someone when they really hurt me, but I love receiving the grace of forgiveness.

 I don’t like a lot of things…but none of them are worth loosing out on all the things I love.

What your Doctor isn't telling you about your weight...

I just read an article in the NY Times how many doctors don't address weight with patients because most patients will just find another doctor because they get offended.  I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism two years ago, and I looked at a visit summary from last year's endocrinology visit and was surprised to see he records obesity as a chronic problem of mine.  I was not surprised because I already knew I was overweight, I was surprised because he has never once mentioned it to me or even mentioned to me to loose weight or how it would affect my thyroid....not...one...time! Even after I lost over 30lbs!

While of course  think loosing weight to be healthier is somewhat common sense, my endocrinologist deals with my metabolic disease and I thought he should be the one addressing my weight.  He had given me under the impression that my over weight issues were due to my disease and I had to get my thyroid fixed before I lost weight.  While that was partially true because my levels were so bad that exercise actually made me MORE tired when my metabolism was off, but now that my thyroid levels are back in the normal range I must exercise to keep a normal energy level. The phrase I have coined during this process is I have to earn my energy.  My kids wake up with energy, but if I want energy I must earn it! If you have a broken leg, you of course must let it heal before you can use it.  But after it is healed the only way you ever regain full use of that leg is by exercising those muscles.


So I guess what I have learned from the experience of being surprised with that ugly word OBESITY on my doctors chart  is we must be the ones responsible for our weight and exercise, because apparently some doctors are no longer feeling it is their place to tell us.  I am not blaming the doctors because we live in a society that somehow not only accepts unhealthy weight, but gets offended if you point it out.  We also live in a  quick fix society who view self-sacrifice as against the American Way of  life. And of course I recognize BMI is not the end all be all of how healthy you are, but it is a starting point. I have heard too many times (from myself and other really overweight women)  how BMI just doesn't take enough factors enough to place, and yes that is partially correct.  But make sure if you are making those claims that you have truly examined your health before you try to say that your BMI is not accurate of your health.  No I wouldn't ave considered myself  obese at BMI of 32, but I WAS NOT HEALTHY!  Look past those ugly words of obesity and overweight, and try to pray for discernment of how obedient you are being in taking care of the body God gave you.   We must be our own advocates and let our doctors know we want to hear the truth, no matter how hurtful it may be. It is the first step out of denials and into a healthy lifestyle.

Finding My Want-To

I have been asked numerous times HOW I lost the weight.  It is funny because even though I did have a physical plan for it, the HOW is not the reason for my success.  After reading "Made to Crave" by Lysa Terkeurst  I found my WANT TO to start this process, not the HOW TO. Finding the right Want-To, a.k.a motivation, to start this process was the KEY difference in success and failure for me. Below is a list of the want-to's that I had tried before, that kept leading me to failure.

Me and my twins at the finish line of my second 5K:)

Many of us start this weight loss journey with the what we think are the right Want-To's:

• I want to loose weight.
• I want to get physically healthy
• I want to fit in my skinny jeans.
• Be able to keep up with my kids

Don't get me wrong, these were my beginning motivations and they ended up being a WONDERFUL result of my transformation.  BUT the difference was they were not enough to really give me the success I needed.  Through Lysa's book and some insight from the Holy Spirit I had to refine why I wanted to go on this journey.  My Want-To List became kind of scary when I got real. And I personally think if it isn't a little scary then you aren't being honest with yourself.

God revealed to me I had to learn to Want-To:

• See the cause and effect of my own lack of discipline.  I was in denial about who was really responsible for my weight. I had to stop blaming my metabolism and wake up to the reality of responsibility. If you spend more money than you earn you go into debt.  Same principle applies; if I ate junk all day and didn't move I gained weight.
• Let go of the misconception that God doesn't want more for me. This is a BIGGIE. Yes, He loves us unconditionally, but the issue of self discipline is repeated over and over in Scripture  enough for us to know he isn't joking around about this. God loves me unconditionally but the fruit of the spirit is self-control, and He expects you to be using the gifts He gives!  I had to want to become a disciplined person, because I am naturally one of the laziest people you will ever meet (not kidding here people)
• Admit I was running to food instead of Him when I was feeling sadness, happiness, frustration, etc.
• Admit I would rather have a guaranteed temporary numbing from food than a lasting healing from God that would involve feeling the pain to heal.
• THEN I had to want to let go of my numbing agents and temporary high (food) and experience some feelings I was running from (insecurity, pain, doubt, anger with myself for letting this happen, etc). If you are a shopaholic, you have to want the discipline MORE than you want the nice purses, shoes, clothes, etc. Getting to this spot was also a biggie because I had convinced my self the wight was worth it because I ENJOYED my food.  There is NOTHING wrong with Enjoying food, just like enjoying clothes doesn't make you a shopaholic. Discern for yourself if you are mastered, I was and you may not be.
• Some other personal revelations that are between me and my Savior;)

 If you want to keep your comfort food more than you want to get emotionally and spiritually healthy, you will not succeed.  I am not saying that lightly!  My comfort seeking was a result of some real traumas, not just feeling chubby, so I do not say any of this flippantly.   But is it like any discipline God wants for us, it comes through perseverance.   The same discipline skills I learned in this weight loss process were the same skills I learned when we finally got our budget under control and as I learn to control my temper. God cares about your weight, and not because He thinks you are fat and lazy, but because he knows that WITH HIS HELP you can be so much closer to Him. Everyday is still a struggle not to eat a bag of chips when I am frustrated, but I am thankful for the grace he has given me in this small success.  I let food keep me from knowing the full power of God's Glory and I pray that if any of you are in this cycle you would also seek His Face.

“I am NOT on a diet. I’m on a journey with Jesus to learn the fine art of self-discipline for the purpose of holiness.” 

Lysa Terkeurst

Here is my HOW-TO plan that I followed to loose the weight. 
Disclaimer: My How-To  would have worked never worked without addressing the above issues

Before/After

Before/After. Sorry for pixelated pictures. Through God's help through the book Lysa Terkeurst's Made to Crave, Jon's help and encouragement, and Jillian Micheals yelling at me I lost 30 lbs last year! 10 more to go!Following posts will describe what tools I used to loose the weight.