Week 3

End of week 3.  Phew.  This has been an interesting week.  Here's what I know:  Change is hard.  It doesn't happen overnight.  When you try to change something in your life, other parts of your life are affected, too.  I allowed myself to slip back into a few bad habits.  But am still progressing on creating new good habits.

Today's blog post calls for reflection:

1.  When I fall: Get back up again!  Each time I hope to be a bit stronger.  "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2-4)

2. I recall someone comparing our growth / change to a tree.  The gardener has to trim unhealthy or wayward branches from a tree to keep it growing healthy, strong, beautiful, and growing in the right direction.  God is trimming our unhealthy or wayward branches.  It doesn't mean that cutting off a branch isn't going to be painful - it probably will be!!  But also I can have hope that there will beauty from pain.  "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

3. I realized that there is a difference between now and other weight loss efforts from my past:  This time I'm focused on a healthy lifestyle.  The numbers on the scale don't matter (although I'm still happy to see the numbers drop!)  My goal is not necessarily a number or a milestone, but instead my goal is HEALTH.  Not temporary, or a fleeting good feeling.  The focus is different, the goal is different.  There is no feeling of failure, only success.  Granted, there are defnitely speed bumps on this road to health, but no dead ends!  I think, in the past, I had success for a while, but then gave up when I would get discouraged, or just wanted to go "back" to my "normal" or "comfortable" way of eating / living.  "Dieting" was a temporary thing.  This time, "healthy" is a permanent thing. "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12-14)

9/23/10
Weight: 259.2 lbs (I'm up since last week, but still down 0.7 since I started at the beginning of the month.  Plus, I had almost a whole gallon of water today!).
BF %: 42.9 (the lowest I've been in 2 years! = down 1.34 lbs of fat since the beginning of the month)

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
* I'm seeing the numbers on my pedometer continue to grow.  The great thing is that it doesn't feel like work.  Walking feels great.  Over the last week, I've had from 8,000 steps all the way to over 14,000 one day! 
* Still no diet coke! Only water and green tea.  (There were definitely days I wanted one, though! But the true accomplishment was not caving!)
* I'm developing a good habit with my multivitamin.  I've heard before that it's important to connect a new habit you want with a habit you already have.  So, I've connected taking my multi with brushing my teeth in the morning.  Only missed one day! 
* 3 protein shakes:  This is actually a pretty easy task for me, because the protein shake I have is premium quality and tastes delicious.  Hooray for chocolate!
* I'm generally feeling better.  Happier, healthier, more confident, fitting better into my clothes.  Sunday night, I put on jeans that I haven't worn since probably April, when they weren't snug but a good fit.  Now they're baggy! 
* PMA (Did you notice that all of my accomplishments end with an exclamation mark?)!

This week's GOALS:
* I'm excited about a class I'm taking tomorrow night called "Beating the Sugar Blues."  I'll be sure to post about it!
* 10,000 steps a day. I'm upping my original goal.  This number is achievable, but still a challenge: If I haven't reached that number by the end of the day, then a brisk walk around the block is needed!
* 64 oz of water daily. I've been drinking water, but I need to keep better track.  I have a water bottle that is exactly 64 oz.  The bottle will travel with me from home to work and back.  It's sitting on my desk as I type.  If there is still water in it by the end of the day, then drink up!
* Continue new habit of daily multivitamin, as well as protein shakes for breakfast and / or after my workout.  21 days is what it takes to develop a new habit, right?
* 3 Curves workouts.
* Preparing meals and snacks in advance.  I've realized the less I prepare, the more I "splurge" on something fast & unhealthy.
* Continue nutrition education with The Maker's Diet. (Yes, I know this has been my goal every week, but I'm learning so much, it's very slow going!)