I Lova Lava

I get an email from the Hungry Girl website with low cal/low carb options to some of our favorite indulgences!

Todays is for Lava Cake.

(click the pic for details)

After SBD Phase 1 is complete I will ABSOLUTELY be trying this!

I am back

So I decided to start this blog again.  I am not going to tell anyone I started back, I am just going to do this for me.  If people out there find me and read my ramblings about my weight loss then I welcome them to the discussion.  But I am not sure if I will keep up with these postings the way I should so I am just going to do this at my own pace.

Some good news, I started South Beach Diet last week and have lost 5.4 lbs! I was so good sticking to the Phase 1 guidelines.  Then I went to the gym yesterday and really worked it out for the first time since Christmas.  I weighed in and saw the wonderful results and decided to have a cheat day.  I posted about cheat days on here before.  I wish I had NOT done this now, while I think in the long term a cheat day is appropriate and helpful, probably a cheat meal only is better than a cheat day, but during Phase 1 of SBD I think we should all stick to it faithfully.  I am back on the wagon today and I didn’t fail too miserably yesterday but I think that I take it as a warning and a lesson learned to not do it again!

So this time around, I am trying a new tactic in my weight loss efforts.  This is a spiritual tactic and it really seems to be working.

The worst times of temptation for me are at the very end of the workday when I go home to cook dinner.  I LOVE to cook and love to eat!  I love butter and cream in dishes, pasta and bread, all the things that make you pack on the lbs.  I also enjoy having wine with dinner – more extra calories.  So after a long day at work, I have developed this habit of coming home, going straight to the kitchen and cooking something to make me feel good.

Since I know this is my trouble time, I talked to my husband and we agreed that when I get home I will take 30 minutes of quiet time.  This is in addition to my typical bible study time.  I use this 30 minutes to journal and talk to God about how I am feeling and struggling.  I have really had a hard time resisting the foods I love during the strict phase one of the South Beach Diet plan and so when I feel weakest when I first come home I take time to sit before the Lord tell him EXACTLY how I feel and what I think, and then spend some time reading scripture.

Can I just say that this has worked WONDERS.  God has showed up in very big ways during these times, and he has given me the exact amount of strength I need to get through that particular trial.  The interesting thing is that he gives me the strength I need for that moment ONLY.  That strength doesn’t carry over to the next day, I have to go before him again to receive my portion for that day.  And when I have not done this quiet time I have failed.

I am so glad to be finally understanding how to lean on God when I am struggling with food related temptations.  I hope this is encouraging to others.  Please share your encouraging tips and stories here for the rest of us!

Also, something I used to do but have not done in several years is when I went to the gym instead of listening to my headphones I would take scriptures written on note cards to read and memorize while I was on a cardio machine.  The verses would be some how related to my efforts in weight loss and healthy living.  This worked very well for me when I was doing it regularly.

Just another tip!

Blessings!

Pause

Not on the diet but on the blogs.  Ive found that, while I thought I would have a lot to say on this blog, reality has proved the opposite.

As an update, I have stalled at around a 10 lb loss.  Still working out regularly with the husband and eating decently.  I am going to start South Beach on Monday to get ready for a wedding I am dreading because the last time I saw most of the guests I was the skinniest Ive ever been – my wedding day!

So the start of the Beach may produce more writings in me, but for now I am going to give myself a pass on keeping this blog up to date.

If you want to follow my variety show blog, please visit http://livingcanvas.wordpress.com where the blog posts flow more regularly and the topics are unlimited.

Thanks for reading.

Seven….

The number of pounds I lost the first month.  YAY!

I was hoping for 10 pounds, but I will take what I can. I am still on track to reach my ragamuffin top challenge goal of 30 lbs by Labor Day.  That gives me a ton of work to do between now and then.  And honestly maybe I need to make it more realistic so I wont be disappointed.  Lets just say that 30 is the goal but if I get to 20 I’ll take it and keep pushing!

Work has been extremely busy lately and I have been void of creative writing for the blog.  But I hope that changes this month.

But today lets celebrate Seven.  A holy number!

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Persistence, Maintenance, and a Renewed Mind

I think the hardest part of the weight loss struggle is maintaining. I am not in the maintenance phase of my journey; however, I have been there before… several times actually. And I consistently fail at maintenance.

Why do we fail at maintenance? Some refer to this as yo-yo dieting. I know for me that once I have worked so hard and so long to get to my goal, I’m like “Hooraaahahhh no more dieting! No more hard work! I can now eat whatever and be lazy about the gym!”

Makes no sense on the outside, but to the person who has worked and sacrificed through blood sweat and tears to reach a goal, all that person knows it they need relief. The need reprieve. But the truth is that we cannot forget the lessons learned in battle and we cannot go back to the former way of life or we will end up right where we started.

It’s difficult for me to look back at the times of life where I felt healthy and strong and confident in my own skin and come face to face with the reality that I blew it. It’s no one’s fault but my own that I gave up my quest.

I guess the point here is that the battle for healthy bodies and physical fitness truly doesn’t have an end. Until I stop thinking of this as a onetime battle, a flag to capture, or a graduation day to single digit size jeans, I will never arrive in the maintenance phase and stay there.

So is persistence the answer? I would have to say that, in part, persistence plays a huge role. But more than that I have to believe that to make a true lifestyle change, a change of heart and mind must occur first or else all the labor to reach goal has been of my own strength, and in vain. I need a transfusion of a higher power at work in me. I need God’s help.

This is what I love about the Body for Life program. If you read the book, you will see that before they talk to you about sets, reps, or food plans, they talk to you about your mindset. This is not a religious book, however, this principals laid out about changing the way you think about health, in my opinion, jives perfectly with some of the scriptures that have encouraged me so much in my own weight loss and personal health endeavors.

A few examples:

Romans 12:1-2

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Hebrews 12:1-3, 11-13

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

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. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

Philippians 3:12-21

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

So in order to achieve true success is must forget the former things and patterns of thought and train my mind to think in a different way, about health, about food, about exercise. Success begins in the pattern of our thoughts.

In a recent sermon series at my church, the pastor made a statement that has resonated with me for weeks:

“The thing that you’re craving today might well be the thing that you do tomorrow.”

Where to cravings begin…. In the mind.

So is persistence the answer, I say not in full. True transformation begins in the mind. It begins with how we view ourselves, how we value our health, where we redirect our cravings and how we control our minds.

In closing, with the risk of sounds EXTREMELY cheesy, I wanted to share a line from the creed of my sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha:

To be Steadfast, Strong and Clean of Heat and Mind, Remembering that since the thought is father to the deed, only which which we would have manifested in our experiences should be entertained in thought. To find satisfaction in being rather than seeming thus strengthening in us the higher qualities of the spirit.

So today, almost 3 weeks into what I hope and pray is my FINAL BATTLE to achieve a healthy body… I will not think of what foods I crave, I will not day dream about what I’ll eat for dinner, I will not say to myself – you’ve busted your tail, you deserve to a break.

Instead I will think of myself as the strong, healthy woman God created me to be, the woman I WANT to be, day dream about my single digit jeans, and say to myself – being healthy and confident and the satisfaction that comes as a result of hard work tastes better than anything I can put in my mouth!!

I will redirect my cravings toward higher things. I will be transformed by the renewing of my mind.

Motivation

So last night at small group I announced that I had lost 4 lbs.

Christi said: You should have a goal to reach where when you reach it you can buy some new clothes.

Me: Awesome Idea, what should be the goal?

Brian: 15 lbs

Me: Great how much to I get to spend when I reach 15 lbs

Matt: 15 dollars

Christi: 15 OUTFITS!!!

We will see what happens when I get to 15 but in any event thats motivation enough for me!

RMTC Week 2

Number of lbs lost this week: FOUR!!!!

I did excellent last week. I saved all my weekly points for last night (had a b day party and concert) and stayed under my 25 per day points every day. I also earned 15 activity points.

Excellent week!

And a huge THANK YOU to all the folks from Los’ page who have stopped by to encourage me.  I appreciate it so much!!

So the secret to my success last week is this:

Zero Point Soups!

Why are these so successful? Well let me tell you. They taste GOOD, there are so many variations, and you can eat as much as you want and go into dinner with a TON of extra points! I highly recommend these soups as a great kick start to the weight loss thing. It is paying off for me!

Here are a few recipes to get you started:

Italian-Inspired Zero-POINTS-Value Soup
Makes 12 servings
POINTS® value | 0 per serving
Ingredients

* 2 cups escarole, chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 cup onions, chopped
* 2 cups baby spinach
* 2 small zucchini, cubed
* 1 medium red pepper, chopped
* 2 cups fennel bulb, thinly sliced (one bulb)
* 6 cups vegetable broth
* 28 oz canned diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
* ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
* 2 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
* 1 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped
* ¾ tsp salt
* ¼ tsp black pepper
* ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
* ¼ cup fresh basil

Instructions

* Put escarole, garlic, onions, spinach, zucchini, red pepper, fennel bulb, vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, red pepper flakes, thyme and oregano into a large soup pot; stir to combine. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, partly covered, for about 10 minutes.

* Stir in salt, black pepper, parsley and basil. Serve.

* Serving Size: about 1 cup

Variations

* We used POINTS Tracker to calculate the following additions to an individual 1-cup serving:
* 1 ½ Tbsp grated parmesan cheese, POINTS value: 1
* 2 oz cooked chicken sausage, POINTS value: 3
* 2 Tbsp cooked chickpeas, POINTS value: ½
* 2 Tbsp cooked orzo, POINTS value: ½
* 2 small, store-bought turkey meatballs, POINTS value: 2

Mexican-Inspired Zero-POINTS-Value Soup
Makes 12 servings
POINTS® value | 0 per serving
Ingredients

* 2 cups fresh green snap beans, cut into bite-size pieces
* 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
* 2 small zucchini, cubed
* 1 cup tomatillos, chopped
* 1 medium jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
* 14 oz canned diced tomatoes, Mexican-style preferred
* ½ medium poblano chili pepper
* 1 medium Spanish onion, chopped
* 1 medium green pepper, chopped
* ½ tsp cumin
* 1 tsp fresh oregano
* 6 cups vegetable broth
* 2 roasted red peppers packed in water
* 1 Tbsp chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
* ¾ tsp salt
* 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
* ½ cup fresh, chopped cilantro

Instructions

* Put snap beans, garlic, zucchini, tomatillos, jalapeno, diced tomatoes, green chili pepper, onion, green pepper, cumin, oregano and vegetable broth into a large soup pot. Puree roasted peppers with chipotle in adobo sauce in a blender or food processor, and add to soup; stir to combine. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, partly covered, for about 10 minutes.

* Stir in salt, lime juice and cilantro. Serve.

* Serving Size: about 1 cup

Variations

* We used POINTS Tracker to calculate the following additions to an individual 1-cup serving:
* ¼ cup corn kernels, POINTS value: ½
* ¼ cup black beans, drained and rinsed, POINTS value: ½
* 2 oz cooked shrimp, POINTS value: 1
* 2 oz shredded or diced white meat chicken, POINTS value: 2
* 2 Tbsp reduced-fat sour cream, POINTS value: 1

Asian-Inspired Zero-POINTS-Value Soup
Makes 12 servings
POINTS® value | 0 per serving
Ingredients

* 2 cups bok choy, chopped
* 2 cups Chinese cabbage, chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* ¼ cup fresh ginger root, thinly sliced and julienned
* 4 small oyster mushrooms, chopped
* 2 cups scallions, chopped
* 1 cup canned water chestnuts, sliced (8 oz can)
* ½ cup red pepper, thinly sliced
* ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
* 6 cups vegetable broth
* 1 cup bean sprouts, optional
* 2 cups snow peas, stringed
* 2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
* ½ cup cilantro, finely chopped

Instructions

* Put bok choy, Chinese cabbage, garlic, ginger root, oyster mushrooms, scallions, water chestnuts, red bell pepper, red pepper flakes and vegetable broth into a large soup pot; stir to combine. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partly covered, for about 10 minutes. Toss in bean sprouts, if using, and snow peas during the last 3 to 4 minutes of simmering.

* Add soy sauce and cilantro. Serve.

* Serving Size: about 1 cup

Variations

* We used POINTS Tracker to calculate the following additions to an individual 1-cup serving:
* 2 oz cooked shrimp, POINTS value: 1
* 2 oz scallops, POINTS value: 1
* ¼ cup firm tofu, POINTS value: 1
* 2 oz shredded or cubed white meat chicken, POINTS value: 1
* 2 oz Chinese roast pork, POINTS value: 2
* ½ tsp hot/spicy oil, POINTS value: ½

I am PROUD to announce…

I AM WEARING MY SKINNY JEANS TODAY!!!

I HAVE NOT GONE OVER MY POINT RANGE ALL WEEK

I HAVE 7 EXTRA ACTIVITY POINTS AS OF TODAY

I HAVE 35 WEEKLY POINTS GOING INTO THE WEEKEND

TIM MCGRAW SUNDAY NIGHT!!!!!

GREAT WEEK!

Cheat Day?

Ok friends… week one is over and I did SO GOOD!! I weighed before the weekend and I had lost 2 pounds!

So thinking it was time to celebrate I went into hard core battle on Sunday night.

My Enemies:

I am doing weight watchers online and adding my points in every day. I kept within range, added exercise/activity points practically every day, and did so good tracking and keeping up every day this week until Sunday night.

I met up with a friend from out of town, we went to eat mexican and I TOTALLY BLEW IT. Lets just say that I ate 2 days worth of points plus a few more in ONE DAY.

So I woke up to huge guilt and anger at myself for letting it slide. I am so pissed about this because today is also my day to weigh in for my ww online tracking system and I just KNOW its going to be bad a.k.a the 2 pounds indicated as “lost” on Friday will be back toady.

But then enters into my mind… the question for today….

Are “Cheat Days” allowed? Is it ok to take one day a week, or every two weeks, and totally blow it? Weight Watchers will tell you thats what the extra “weekly points allowance” is for, but I had used 15 of those before I even got to Sunday.

And dont even get me started on Mexican food. My favorite food I could eat every day of my life. But absolutely the WORST for you if your like me and want unlimited chips/guacamole/cheese dip and margaritas(5 points per glass)

So I am trying to figure out the lessons learned from this. A couple of thoughts come to mind:

1. Avoid Mexican food forever

2. Next time get a salad, eat no chips, add salsa and cheese to the salad to make it lighter.

3. Save all my daily points and weekly points for that one meal.

4. Be sure to exercise the day of the big dinner out (which I did not)

Or… are Cheat Days ok?

I would love to know what some of you think!