Work out? What!

So, it's been a while since I have written a blog covering my weight loss journey. And to be honest, so far, it hasn't been going too well. The hardest part is definitely the diet -- or should I say, what I am consuming (because eating healthy is not a diet... its normal!). I would like to chalk it up to the fact that these last couple of weeks have been hectic and stressful. These two things together are never good, especially for an emotional eater, like myself. But I can't sit here and make excuses about why I am not losing weight, because to be honest, I think that working out and eating healthy are two things that would help me deal with the stress better than a dozen peanut butter cookies would. :P

Current weight: 181
Goal weight: 150

So, here's the plan for this week:

*Get my eating back on track
*This has been going well the last two days, and I already feel better for it!

*Do physical activity every day
*This has also been going well... I have done push ups and sit ups for the last two days in a row (Which Josh is helping me with) and Josh and I are also on the
church softball league, which helps me stay active each week!!

I really would like to fit into my summer clothes this summer, because I am super excited about the sunshine!!!!!

Raising Up Children

The book "Secure Daughters Confident Sons" by Glenn T. Stanton is an information packed book about raising our children in a healthy way. He talks about how to bring our children into adulthood in a way that makes them independent and confident in who they are, even when this society tries to tell them something different.

Stanton breaks the book into two parts; Part 1 is about boys' and girls' needs and how to help them grow into healthy adults. Part 2 is aimed more at why our children need mothers and fathers to grow up confident and secure.

Being a new mom myself, I enjoyed reading about the differences in boys and girls, as well as the different roles moms and dads play in their childrens' lives. The author writes clearly and in a way that is understandable. I would suggest this book to any new parents, parents who are struggling to bond/communicate with their children, or couples thinking about having children.

I received a free copy of this book through Waterbrook Multnomah publishing company.

Week 3

Well, last week has been interesting to say the least. But I managed to lose pounds and gain a ton of God-given patience!

previous weight: 183
current weight : 179

Last week I also went for my first run of the summer, which I thought was going to kill me. But, thanks to my wonderful, supportive husband, I got through it running more than I thought I could! I don't even think we ran a mile, but it surely felt like 3 miles (oh wait, I have never run 3 miles at one time EVER :P). Josh has been really helpful and great to me, encouraging me when it gets tough and helping me to not eat everything I see :P

This last weekend, we did the 30 Hour famine with our youth group, which is where the patience from God comes in... the biggest challenge for the adults was getting the kids to be respectful and to listen. There were many times we wanted to throw them into a pool full of sharks, but thanks to God and the other adults, we all made it through, and it was quite rewarding! We ended up collecting a TON of food, water, and blankets for a food shelter in Saginaw, and we also did some road clean up here in Kingston!
Here is part of the stuff we collected :)

So, I am doing a thirty day challenge this month: walk a marathon in 30 days. In case you didnt know (because I didn't know, exactly), a marathon is... 26.2 miles, I think. So that is my challenge this month is to walk that far in 30 days. I have gotten on mile down already! ( I started yesterday) I didn't walk today because it was really rainy and cold out, too cold for the baby to be outside, but tomorrow is mile 2!

Week(ish) 2

Here we are, week 2 of my weight loss journey, and I haven't really done much.

The FACTS:

previous weight: 183
current weight: 183

Well, I haven't really done much to make a change... It has indeed been difficult getting motivated to get started, but I didn't really set many goals for myself last week, either. Also, with Easter being last week, it was difficult to control my eating... Josh and I were not at home from Thursday to Saturday, and that makes a huge difference in the way that I eat! Because at Grandma's house, there is always sweets and soda... some of my favorite things!

This week, my goal is to be active for at least thirty minutes a day, starting today. Josh and I are going for a run today (Which means a power walk for Josh... I am not a strong runner, and he is very supportive and helpful! A couple times when we've run before, he would jog a mile with me while I ran, and then he would go run a few more miles after he dropped me off at the house :P)

In other news:

This weekend, our youth is doing a 30 hour famine. They have been raising money this month for the organization called World Vision, to give food to those who don't have enough. Then, this weekend, we all come together for 30 hours and fast, to give them a feeling of how it is not to eat for more than a day. Its a pretty cool event, and I am pretty excited for it!

Aurelia is getting bigger each day: She is probably close to 12 pounds now, which is very exciting. She is 3 months old today! And she is practically all grown out of her 0-3 month sized clothes :) She is starting to hold her head and shoulders up when she is on her belly, and I am sure she is very close to rolling from her belly to her back. Oh, and I think she is going to learn to giggle pretty soon!!!

I am looking in to getting my four wisdom teeth removed, and if all goes well, it will be happening this next month. I have kind of been putting it off because I am a bit nervous to be on strong pain killers while taking care of Aurelia, but I know that the sooner I get it done with, the sooner I can go on with life! And besides, I know that there are a ton of people willing to help out with Aurelia and other things while I recover :)

That is most of the newest news from Kingston... God is good, and we have been so blessed and are blessed every single day :)

Some encouragement for the week: Keep on pushing yourself every day, to be better than the day before. And finish strong -- God is with you and He will be your strength if you let Him :) Because, well, God is AWESOME!!!

A New Me... Or Something

I feel like a lot had changed in my life in the last two and a half years... Started dating my first boyfriend, first kiss, got engaged, got married, moved out of state, moved back to MI, got pregnant, had a baby.... yeah, its been two and a half pretty epic years... :P

In the midst of all that, I joined weight watchers and lost about 16 pounds, and lets be honest, I gained so much confidence in myself with that weight off! Well, I gained it all back when we moved to Painesville, and then getting pregnant added some extra weight on top of that. I was pretty self conscious during pregnancy, and while I lost 30 of the 40 I gained after Aurelia was born, I still carry that extra weight. And now you are probably wondering why I am telling you this, because this kind of information is usually pretty personal stuff, and I would never usually share this on a public blog. On the internet. Where ANYONE can read it.

I've been watching the NBC show "The Biggest Loser" lately. If you've never seen it, it is a pretty inspiring show where 22 very obese people come together and lose weight. They have personal trainers, and while many people think that their diet is handed to them, they actually cook and make their own meals and snacks. Anyway, the last nine contestants alone have lost over 1,000 lbs in about 15 weeks.

This motivated me. These obese people stand up in a sports bra and spandex shorts in front of America and get weighed on a HUGE scale. I guess that is one way to get accountability! This is why I am writing this. From here on out, I would like to try and give you weekly updates, revealing it all.. eating habits, weight losses and gains, frustrations... everything! My goals are within sight, and I want you all to be able to hold me accountable for my actions, so that I can get to said goals! Just by typing this blog, it holds me accountable because now you all know my secrets! :) I will also include pictures throughout this whole process, to show progress!

So here are the facts:

CURRENT WEIGHT: 183 (just before I had Aurelia, I was 213!)

GOALS: First Goal: Pre-pregnancy weight (173 lbs)

Here are a few starting photos of myself...The top on is my trying to be all dramatic like the people on the weight loss info commercials... It was fun :P

This is Your Brain in Love by D. Earl Henslin

In this book, Dr. Henslin explains his research on how the brain works in love. He takes love to a scientific level by exploring the different regions of the brain and how each area affects the way we love. According to the Dr., there are "five brain imbalances that effect a person's ability to be the best partner he or she can possibly be in a marriage". The book breaks each of the five (The Scattered Lover, the over-focused lover, the blue mood lover, the Agitated lover, and the ancious lover) down and explains not only what makes a person a certain type of lover, but also what that person and their spouse can do to help make changes to correct the imbalance. Each chapter starts with a small quiz for the reader to take, to see which lover category they fall into.

While this book was not my normal choice of book to read, I enjoyed learning more about the brain and how its imbalances can affect love and relationships. I enjoyed taking the quizzes to see which type of lover I am, as well as having my husband take them to see which type he falls into. Upon choosing the book to review, I believe it to be more about physical love. I was surprised when I started reading about different parts of the brain and how each affects the way you emotionally love someone.

I think that this book was full of interesting information, and if you are curious to see what type of lover you are, or are looking for a way to make your marriage stronger, this would be a book to consider reading -- It will help you to understand the way you love and need to be loved, and if your spouse is willing to read it with you, you can work through both of your love types together :)

A New Beginning

I can' believe that Aurelia is six weeks already. It is amazing how fast this last month has gone by! As she continues to grow, I continue to realize the significance of her in our lives.

First of all, I couldn't even imagine our life without our beautiful daughter now.... It just wouldn't seem right. Second of all, I wouldn't want to. The presence of Aurelia has made me strive to be a better person: She has helped me to learn patience and a selfless love, to see beauty in things where beauty is hard to find (example: I never thought I'd see the day where I celebrated a dirty diaper, but after three days of no poopy diapers, it is the most beautiful thing!), to take care of myself.... the list goes on and on. But one of the biggest impacts she has had on me is how she has changed my heart, and my purpose for life.

It used to be that I was just living life with no real purpose or direction. I was serving God, or doing my best to do so, and just going with the flow. For the first time in my life, I have a direction, and that is to REALLY serve. I've always heard stories from friends and strangers alike about how God had 'broken their hearts' for a certain type of people... poor people, teens, AIDS sufferers... but I hadn't really ever felt a true calling to help any certain type of people, in any certain place. (Many friends have had a calling to pursue certain careers as a way of serving Gods people as well) I just felt like I was wandering through life not really knowing where I would end up. Then, God decides to tell me to marry Josh (I was okay with it... I found him to be pretty cute :P)

That was challenge 1. Then we got pregnant, which became challenge 2. Josh has always had a passion for overseas missions, and while I found that enticing, I wouldn't say I was ever passionate about it. Until challenge 3 came about -- parenting the child that was growing inside of me. And thats when it happened. Taking care of Aurelia opened my eyes... This child is totally dependent on Josh and I... especially on me... I have what she needs to survive -- food!

Around week two of Aurelia being here with us, she had to go on formula, to get rid of the jaundice, and since I was trying to nurse, I ended up having to pump for the week so I wouldn't lose the milk. Well, I didn't do the best job pumping ( I didn't think I had to stay on her feeding schedule in order to maintain a steady supply of milk) and that led to me producing less milk.

The next week was when God truly opened my eyes... I went to nurse and couldn't produce enough milk for my baby to get full! Not being able to provide for my precious child was one of THE worst feelings I had ever had, even though I knew that I could just hop in the van and get some formula from WalMart if it was absolutely necessary. But even worse than that feeling was the one that I had in my heart for all those women in other countries who cannot provide for their children not because they are bad moms, but because they don't have the means. God broke my heart for these women who struggled daily just to keep themselves and their children alive. And thats when I realized it.

This is what I am supposed to do. This is my passion -- to help women and children survive, whether is it providing clean water, or food, or shelter, or just loving them -- this is what I should be doing with my life. And suddenly, two passions arose in me like a wild fire: Overseas missions to help women and children any way I could.

My life now has more than one purpose: To help these women and children somehow, and to raise my daughter in such a way that will show her just how big this world is. To raise her knowing that God will provide, and that all we have to do to make a difference is to answer the calling from Him. No matter what He asks us to do, He will provide everything we need.

These are just a few of my thoughts, and they are a bit jumbled. I will save the rest for a later date :) I am loving life right now, and I couldn't be more happy. Being a mom has changed my outlook on everything, and it is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Praise God for my beautiful daughter!