Day 2 - A little tougher than I thought...

And here I am at the end of day #2.

Tomorrow I will be adding in my very own food journal notebook.... I didn't write down ONE BITE OF FOOD.  Oops.  Here's the best of what I can remember...

Breakfast: Flaxseed Meal Muffin in a Mug with a banana

Morning Snack: Cookie Dough Greek Yogurt (oh, my, yummy!!!)

Lunch: 2 hard boiled eggs, Spinach and Strawberry salad with pecans and raspberry viniagrette

Afternoon Snack: I totally caved on this one... 1/2 a Reese's PB Cup Easter Egg, 4 marshmallows.

     Yup.  Fail.  GRACE.

Dinner: Taco with ground beef, red peppers, spinach, greek yogurt, mozarella cheese on a flaxseed                   tortilla, second round (normally another taco... and then another...) with just a spinach taco                   salad.

Dessert: 1/2 cup Chia pudding with 1/4 cup sliced strawberries


Post-Workout snack: 1/2 banana with 1 Tbs. peanut butter

Water.... I think I drank 5 or 6 full tumblers... again, NEED THE FOOD JOURNAL in the kitchen!!!

And I did this exercise... of course, I found it on Pinterest, and THEN I read it (after completing it)... should have only done 2 reps... and should have done them all once and then repeated.  My body might revolt... it already feels that way...

Day 2 - Start early... portions!

I'm a visual person.. so here's some things I've decided to keep in front of my eyes to help in this journey to health and learning portion control.

And while I'm not necessarily following the 21 day fix, I do like their easy-to-follow portion control containers.  I'm thankful for everything out there on Pinterest and the web that helps me to understand how to use these portions!    (Please understand that I fully appreciate the work that goes into this program and those that have worked so hard to make it accessible to clients and to the public.  If this causes some sort of copyright issue, I will glady take these charts off the post. chart credits)

I pray that these are helpful and effective for me as I begin today's journey.  Again, my goal in this is not just weight loss (though I do admit that it's a motivator...), but I'm not caring for my body as I feel God desires me to do, and so in that I am not pleasing Him!

  I'm also looking into what God would speak to my heart as I begin this journey.  I remember as a child that my mom went through a similar time in her life and used a Christian prayer-based plan for dieting and exercise.  It is my firm and confident belief that I am unable to change anything about myself on my own... I might be able to FORCE some change and move towards noticable improvements... but they will quickly dissolve when I get bored or tired of trying so hard.  One tool I plan to use with this is God's Word, which is POWERFUL and LIVING and ACTIVE... it will help me to understand what it is about my world that is provoking my lack of self-control.

  Another component of this that I need to recognize is the amount of transition and change I am facing.  Eating in an unhealthy way has come as a result of changing countries, routines, food available, choices available, and my own desire to be "satisfied" with foods that I have truly missed after not being able to access them for so long.  I think those are big keys to remember.
 
  Also, I am a mom of three, and my body will NEVER be what it was 15 years ago.  That's just life. I give grace to myself not to try and look like those crazy trainers in the media who spend their ENTIRE day working out and weight training to get the perfect abs.

Not gonna happen.

Part of this journey is me working through perfectionism as well... there is no grace in perfection.  I know that if I slip up, don't portion correctly, eat one too many orange boxes... I'm going to be frustrated and annoyed with myself.

This is not grace.

I am speaking truth to my heart.  This is also about allowing the Holy Spirit to break this cycle of perfectionism in my heart!

Day 1 - A beginning

So, this is to help me stay focused, stay accountable, keep a goal in mind.

What is my goal?

For the next 30 days, exercise 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week, learn about portion control, and track what I'm eating.

I'm a mom with 3 girls.  I want to be careful about the amount of focus I'm placing on my weight and body image.  It's not just about losing weight.  That will be an awesome perk... but this is about helping to get myself back on track with my self-control, back to doing what's right for this body that God gave me.  .

This being Day 1, here's my beginning "stats".

Weight: 173 pounds
Height: 5' 9"

Waist: 36.5
Hip: 42"
Chest: 37.5
Calf: 15.5 (L), 15.75 (R)
Bicep: 13.5 (L), 13.5 (R)

BMI (Calculated here): 25.5

And the (surprising to actually see from this angle!) before pics.