Update

I think it's been 3 weeks since I wrote my "desert the dessert" update. Things have been going really well overall, I think; praise the Lord! I have lost about 3 pounds since then. I've been continuing to do some running 3 days a week. I have been skipping desserts except for the following: Joshua's birthday (I included that as one of the days I'd eat dessert), one leftover piece of birthday cake (which I asked Neal about first), and a Starbucks frappachino on a date night with Neal. I am finding that I'm not really craving the desserts like I used to. I have been enjoying more fresh vegetables for snacks and making fruit smoothies to satisfy my sweet tooth (but much healthier than a bowl of ice cream or batch of cookies). I am 4 pounds away from getting out of the "overweight" category for my bmi and into the healthy weight category. That will be an exciting day if/when I can get there. I'm hoping that day will come soon! That will also be right around my pre-Micah and pre-Caleb pregnancy weight. I've got 27 more pounds to lose to get my goal weight. Thanks for reading! :)

Desert the dessert!

I am not even sure how or where to begin this post. You know how sometimes you have so many different ideas circling in your head that all come together and make sense to you, but you can't really express it to anyone else? That's sort of how I feel. Let me back up a little. For some time I have had this sneaking feeling that the way I have titled my blog is very ironic. You see, my greatest struggle with food, in my opinion, is with dessert. I started this blog long ago thinking that I would disprove all the people who think you can't have dessert and still lose weight. I wanted to show that calorie counting alone can do it. Well, while I still do think that is possible, for me, dessert has proved to be only a struggle and at times a stumbling block in different ways. I realized that I was almost making food--mainly dessert--an idol in some ways earlier this month. I prayed and confessed that to God (so thankful for His forgiveness!) one Sunday morning at church. It wasn't anything that was said at church that made me realize it--the connection was made thanks to a friend's husband's blog and some thinking about my own thoughts/habits towards food/dessert. I will share a link to that blog in a minute. He writes very openly about the sin of gluttony in his own life and how he is dealing with it. Love that blog. Anyways, I know there have been times that I've been a glutton. In fact, it's probably more times that I would like to admit or realize. Hence why I am 25 pounds heavier today than I was when we got married. I am thankful God forgives and is helping me to see that this whole process is more than just losing weight. It's about honoring God in my body and obeying Him. So here I am this morning, realizing that the pride that I expressed in naming my blog is the very thing that's proved to be a stumbling block for me. I told Neal after that Sunday morning at church that I was going to try to not eat any dessert for the rest of the month except for Caleb's birthday. I have kept that commitment only in part. I have eaten less dessert than I did before, but I keep findind reasons to have it. There was Easter...then Caleb's leftover birthday cake...then jelly beans from Caleb's party...then having friends over... I'd like to take a minute to share about my motivations and inspirations for losing weight. My motivations all live under my roof. The love of my life who sleeps next to me. The four sweet boys who keep me busy, busy, busy but I LOVE being their mommy. Myself. And most importantly, my God. Those are my motivations. The 7 reasons I want NEED to lose this weight. I want to make my husband proud of me. I want to inspire my kids to work hard and to be able to keep up with them. I want to feel better about myself. I want to honor God by not being a glutton but being satisfied with how He provides for my needs. Now my inspirations are a little different. I have 2 main inspirations right now. First is my friend's husband Chris that I referred to earlier. Here's a link to his blog: Although we're friends on facebook, he really doesn't know me. I know his beautiful wife, Jenna, from my old church. He really writes openly about his struggles which I appreciate. He is also determined to make a difference for his wife. I love that he wrote somewhere early on his blog that he was losing weight for his wife. He said something like, "Jenna, I love you more than food." I really like that. That's my first inspiration. My second is my sister. She's one of my best friends in the whole world, and I have watched her work SO hard over the last 4 1/2 months to lose close to 30 pounds. She is AMAZING. I love her, and I want to be like her in so many ways. She loves Jesus with all her heart, soul, mind, and strength. I would be blessed to have just a fraction of her faith, hope, and love. I hope that she knows how proud I am of her. So, all these thoughts are coming together to drive me to what I know I need to do. I have to drop the dessert--or the excessiveness/obsessiveness with it. I know I can lose weight with God's help. So, for all my motivations, here it is. Here's my commitment. No dessert except the following occasions UNTIL I lose all the weight I have to lose (which is 30 pounds, btw): Joshua's birthday, Mother's Day, Memorial Day (Sunday/Monday--family stuff), and my birthday. If there is an occasion that I would like to have dessert otherwise, I have to clear it with Neal (and post it here). I am going to go pray now and ask God to help me with this commitment. If any of you are still reading after all my rambling, you might think, "Wow. All that talk for just that??" You see, for a dessert lover like me, it's not so easy to give up dessert. I am a dessert lover at heart. But to borrow Chris' quote, "Neal, J, G, C, M, and Jesus, I love you more than dessert."

5k bound--NOT overweight!

A quick update--I have been training for a 5k, and that has been going well. On Monday I ran 2 miles straight and it took me 27:15. Today I ran 2 miles straight and shaved off 1:15 to run it at 26:00 even. I know it's a slower pace, but for me, just to run a mile is huge.

I can't help but think how much easier it would be to run without carrying all the extra weight I've gained over the past 6+ years. I am approx. 10 pounds away from being considered at a health bmi--ie. not being overweight.

I am making it my goal, as of today, to run a 5k on March 12 (schedule permitting--there are two in central FL to choose from that I've found so far) and to run it at a healthy weight.

Once I lose 10 pounds, I have more to lose, but at least I can run it knowing I am no longer overweight. That is my goal. I know I can do it with God's help!

I could certainly use any accountability/encouragement anyone can throw my way. Thanks!

Couch to 5k

Today I started the program couch to 5k. It was a beautiful morning for walking/jogging in my new neighborhood. As I started out, I was thinking about how I needed to be dependent on God's help for all my health/fitness goals/needs. I struggle with that prideful heart of thinking, "I can do this on my own." But the truth is, I am fully dependent and in need of God's help for EVERY breath I take, much less for getting in shape and losing weight. I am not far from where I left off about 6 months ago. As of this morning's weigh in, I have 36.4 pounds to lose. I'd appreciate any advice/encouragement/tips from anyone who might read this. I certainly need it! Oh, and if anyone knows of a good 5k to run in about 2-3 months in the central FL area, please share. Thanks for reading!

2nd 6 week challenge...here we go!!!

Okay, I've settled in on a new 6 week challenge--goals and reward. It starts today and ends July 26th. Here's what I've got...

With God's help, I will strive to do the following:

1. Journal and eat 2400 Cal. or less a day
2. Not eat after 8:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday
3. Do push-ups and ab exercises (alternate) daily Monday through Saturday

I get 5 "grace days" (where I can miss one of the following goals above).

My reward is going shopping at the Dawsonville outlets while Neal watches the boys (maybe I'll take Micah along). :o)

6 weeks and 9.4 lbs. down!

I've taken some advice from my sister-in-law about breaking up my goals into 6 weeks goals or challenges.

Today was the end of my first 6 week challenge I set up with Neal. The deal was that if I stayed within my calorie range (and journaled my calories) every day for 6 weeks (with 3 "grace days" where I could go over or not journal) then I would get a massage at the end of my challenge time. I started out being mainly motivated by the massage, but funny thing is, the best part now is the actual weight I've lost. Although don't get me wrong, I am stoked about that massage. :o) I still have 41 pounds to lose, but this was almost 1/5 of the total weight I wanted to lose. I am starting to fit into some old clothes which is a great feeling. There was a bonus challenge for me to exercise 18 times during those weeks, which I did not meet (didn't affect the original challenge, though).

Now I am trying to decide on what my next 6 week challenge should entail...

Original weight loss goal--50.4 pounds
Weight loss this 6 weeks--9.4 pounds
Weight left to lose--41 pounds

Well....Here I am again!

My title pretty much sums it up. I am back (about) where I started about a year and a half ago. I (once again) gained more than the recommended amount of weight during my pregnancy with M. I am certainly feeling overweight and out of shape. I know I need to do something, but to be honest, it is SO hard to find the inner motivation to really make the big changes I know I need to make. I could really use some words of encouragement and motivation as I set out to tackle the huge task ahead of me. Thanks for taking the time to care. :)

I am setting my goal weight 5 lbs. less than last time and starting about 5 pounds heavier than last time (referring to when I started this blog after having C).

Weight to lose: Approx. 50 pounds