My Vision Boards

As you all know, I have been working my way through a healthy life transformation.  There have been many aspects of life that have made it possible to stay on the path.  One of these is through a facebook accountability group hosted by a personal trainer Shannon.  She and I got connected through a friend here at work.  The group is all about support through the yays and the nays!  Recently, Shannon talked about making a vision board.  These boards are about what you visualize your life being and where you are in life.  I thought it was a great idea to increase my daily encouragement.  Here is how they turned out:

 

The vision board is to show me where I was, where I am, and where I WILLLLLL be!

My goal board is different.  I have several aspects of life that spin together to help this transformation.  They are family, diabetes, marriage, and exercise among others.  I set short term and long term goals around them and assigned a timeline.  I read a quote that said A dream is just a dream until it's written down....then it becomes a goal.  So, for me here they are spelled out:

Family: I will vow to eat at home at the table 4x a week minimum.  By doing this, I will teach my children lessons for life about the importance of family time and helping in the kitchen.

Diabetes: I will text 2x nightly at home and 5x on weekend days.  By doing this, I have set my goal to see my A1C below 8.0 by April 16.  It was currently 9.8

Marriage: I vow to read my Love Dare Devotional Daily.  By doing this, I plan on celebrating 18 years of marriage with a trip to Branson as a couple.

Exercise:  I vow to workout a minimum of 5x a week.  By doing this, I will build up my endurance to reach to goals.  Running on a treadmill at 3.7 by June 1 and participating in my first 5K in September.

Weight Loss:  A number is just that.  So, I vow to measure my goal through measurements, clothing, and how well I feel.  By concentrating on the steps above, I plan on seeing a weight in the 180's by the end of February.

 

I went to a visit at my primary care dr yesterday.  I had not been since November of 2014.  At that time, I weighed in at 238.  Today I am 194.  I didn't realize how much weight I had lost until returning to him.  The last time I had weighed was at 209.  This is the number I have been pushing away from.  But hey, I'll take 238.  :-)

 

So as I end today....make a difference today, make a difference for life.

 

Take care and God Bless

Sing Praise

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over your with loud singing....Zephaniah 3:17

God's Song in Me.....scientists have learned how to take a person's DNA structure and make music out of it...I love knowing the my DNA, which is like no other DNA in the whole wide world, is also a song like no one else's.  God not only created me. He wrote a song in me and I believe He sings that song to me every day of my life.  Peel back the layers, listen for God's voice singing your song into your life, and rediscover the original, marvelous you He created you to be......Joy for the Journey Devotional

Today is a choice to be grateful in the time of distress.  As I opened my daily devotional today I felt overwhelmed and thoughts of the why me.  And then, like always, God puts the words in front of me that I needed to hear. 

God's plan is in action in our lives every day.  The good, the bad, and the ugly.  He is in control.  In times of distress, I tend to turn my back on the very ones that I need the most.  Isolation is my coping device.  However, recently, I have learned that isolation is not the healthy place to be.  We must surround ourselves with support and love.  For some, this may be one person.  To some, it may be many.  For me, I have different people for different support.  Weight loss support, diabetes support, bipolar support.....all of these look different to me.  While I have a few core people in my life that help me across the board, I choose to surround myself with others that can relate to that part of the journey. 

In this journey we call life, we must remember to not turn our back on the Lord.  I have had a lot of ups and downs in  my lives.  Like clock work I can relate many of these to my struggles with my faith.  As most of you know, as a family, we changed churches about 2 years ago to a large church.  We did so as we were seeking a larger youth opportunity for the kids.  I really struggled with this decision as I felt I had made many connections at my current church.  But, as my counselor said, sometimes we have to step back and let others grow in their journey with God.  2 years later, I am still feeling separated and am lacking connections.  This loss has caused me to not go to church.

My faith is a huge part of my journey.  This week, my husband and I have discussed the need to attend church on a regular basis and will begin to make our way back to church.  We will remain at Westside as the kids love the program there.  While I may not feel "connected" with people, I have come to realize that it is my journey with Christ, not my journey to a social life.  I think as I continue to reconnect, people or small group will be put back into my life in God's time.

So in closing, whatever path you may be on or fork you may be at, be confident that God is with you, he's got your back.  As always, take care and God Bless

Anxiety & Worry

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus......Philippians 4:6-7

Recently, I have began another aspect on my journey to a healthier me.  As many of you know, my spirituality is very important to me.  Lately, I have let myself drain of this.  Inside I have felt empty and somewhat uncaring. 

Anxiety and worry is something that often creeps it's ugly head and fills my head with what my counselor calls stinkin thinkin.  :-)  Living life through the what if's destroys your todays.

Lately, I have been regrouping and doing my daily devotionals.  Yes that is plural.  When on track, I do one for my marriage, one for myself, and one for general Christianity.  Right now I am doing The Love Dare Day by Day based on the movie Fireproof.  It's a Wonderful Imperfect Life, and Joy for the Journey. 

The Bible verse above was part of my daily reading today.  My counselor last week said to me that sometimes we have to sit back and watch the show instead of running the show.  That it's usually not our show to run.  This smacked me in the face.  I like to be in control.  But, she is right. 

Lately, we have been taking our daughter to counseling for various things.  Just like in many houses, there are many moments of tension between siblings and child vs parent.  We all push for our pecking order.  So, as a mom, I think I can handle it.  Sit back and watch me work my magic.  Well, my "magic" seems to not always work darn it. 

So this verse hit home for me.  Do not be anxious, pray and turn your control over to Him.  By doing so, he will protect us. 

So as I close today......Let Go and Let God.  Let's slow down our pace and enjoy the todays.  Let's face it, kids grow up, parents grow older, and days pass to quickly.  Take a bite out of today and don't let it go.

Take care and God Bless

Stress and Trying to Stay on Track

Hmmmm....Those two things in the same heading seem impossible.  I am an all or nothing kind of person which often times causes difficulty in my daily life.  While at work, I am able to successfully multi task, in my personal life I struggle.  I have diabetes, bipolar, kids with ADHD, a house to keep up, and now some medical problems for my dad. 

Dad has always been the healthy one in the family.  However, shockingly, he has been ill for a couple of months with a supposed case of pneumonia.  Recently, we have discovered that it's not pneumonia but rather heart problems.  He is suffering from an artery that is half blocked and a valve this is stuck open.  We, as a family, are facing open heart surgery and the long recovery that accompanies it. 

However, in previous posts, I have talked about self care and the importance of doing so.  Yet, once again, I have tossed some of that out the window.  I find myself having to make intentional thoughts behind doing what should be routine.  Be it testing or taking my medication.  Or, the most important is my journey to a healthier me.  This has really taken a back step.  While by some magic, I have maintained, that is not my goal.  I am looking down my nose at 20 lbs and want to get there! 

At home, we have sought some counseling for my precious daughter.  She is struggling at school this year and we wanted to make sure we are covering all our bases.  We found what seems to be an excellent counselor.  She is young and fun and best of all she had a STUFFED TURTLE in her office.  Mackenzie loves turtles.  lol

So, today, I reach out to my support group.  I have emailed my weight loss buddies with complete transparency.  I know it's time to jump back in the saddle whether the horse is bucking or not. 

So, here I am, in all my glory.  Jump starting my life once again.  I know all will be fine, just have to remember the oxygen mask story my counselor has taught me.  You cannot help others on the plane until you have your own oxygen mask on.  Thanks for listening.

Take care and God Bless!

2 MONTHS??? Really

Wow....I knew it had been awhile since I had posted but didn't realize it had been quite that long.  Let's see....what's been going on.  More of the same. I am still on my journey to a healthier me.  My current weight is 191.4.  Slowly but surely I am approaching 20 lbs of weight loss.  When I began this journey, it didn't seem possible.  But wow.....20 lbs is a huge accomplishment!  The funny thing with weight loss is it's like when you watch your kid grow.  You don't always notice the changes yourself until someone points it out.  Well, I am proud to say I am up to 8 people that have commented on my transformation outside of the house.  That makes me feel good.  In fact, one was just yesterday.  I needed that boost.  I have been going through the motions for about two weeks and was feeling beat down.  But to know that I am still making a difference is fabulous.  I reached out to one of partners in crimes, my sister, whom I look up to.  Not that you want anyone else to suffer, but it was somewhat nice to hear she struggles too.  As a human being, we are prone to thinking that we are alone and the only one that "fails"  As I grow in this journey, I realize these failures are just temporary bumps.  Bumps that can sometimes be prevented but never the less just a bump.  Here at work, I have another accountability partner when it comes to diet.  I have known her for a long time and always thought man she must have it easy being so skinny.  Guess what?  She doesn't.  She craves too!  She has a tough time at home too!  Again, just another example of the journeys we are all on.  Setting goals.  Well, I am a goal setter and work well on a reward system.  I know, kind of childish, but it works for me.  The important thing to know is that goals must be flexible and fluid.  It's interesting to visit with others in different legs of their journeys and see where they are at with goals.  Some of us are focusing on fitness.  Some of us are focusing on diet.  Some of us are focusing on sugar/carb intake.  Some of us are in strength training mode.  There is one key word through all of that.  Focus, Focus, Focus.  For me, I like to multi-task focus.  I think I can do all of it at the same time.  Then, what happens is I say I can't do it all, I'm not going to do anything.  I guess I'm trying to say, don't beat yourself up for slacking in an area.  Jump back in the saddle, we got this!

Until next time....take care and God Bless!

Before----After a Few Pounds

Well......the good, the bad, the ugly.  That is what this transparent blog is about.  As promised, my husband finally took a couple of before shots for my health transformation.  While I am not pleased, I am still proud of where I have come from and can't wait to see the transformation continue.  Sometimes we just need a reminder of the work we still have and another reminder that you are making progress even if the numbers on the scale don't always show.  So, with much dismay.....tah dah.  This is me:

Monday Motivators

OK....well it's Tuesday.  BUT.....I had to give an update on my health transformation journey.  So I had a few weeks of either stable or gain weight loss.  Finally, two weeks in a row I have lost.  I am now down to 195.2 and seeing 194 around the corner.  Yesterday, I did my first 2 a day workout.  I did a 40 minute fat burning power walk dvd and then did a circuit training class at the gym.  I was exhausted and sore, but at the same time felt proud.  I also ran 5 minutes during the class.  I haven't ran in years, well never!  :-) 

I also wanted to thank my sister and mom for the continued support and motivation. We have joined our own little support group called the Monday Motivators.  It's an accountability group full of positive support.  No matter the number, we check in with our results from the previous week and let each other know of successes and frustrations.

So for today....I shall check out.  Take care and God bless!