Day 1 – Walking off the Bulge
Day 1 – I’m hungry!!!!
I really want to do this challenge. It is very hard because I am the greatest about making goals and then abandoning them along the way. After entering data into Spark people, I decided with Spark people’s help that 10 pounds in 4 weeks may be a little unrealistic. I made the goal 10 pounds by October 15. I believe that will make the challenge a 6 week challenge instead of a 4 week challenge.
I reread the article to make sure I understood every thing correctly. Much dismayed to discover that the last sentence in the article reads “The only thing that is important is that your daily calories add up to about 1300 calories. Yikes!!! I most be dedicated and record my food intake – the hardest part for me.
I think that I was on track on Wednesday until after lunch. I ate a Kashi granola bar to beat the 3:00 hunger attach. The real down fall came when my dear husband suggested going out to eat Vietnamese food for dinner. I was starving and I ordered fried wontons. They were so good with sweet and sour sauce. I know major mistake. I also split a noodle bowl with my husband. I had a hard time deciding how many calories were in the noodle bowl that I did not enter it on Spark People.
Well, then it was really down hill after that. At bible study, a friend had small chocolate pieces. Did I resist? NO!!!! I figured I messed up so badly that I could eat a night snack and try again tomorrow.
Posted in Diet/Exercise
Walk Off Every Bulge
The other day I received my September 2010 “Health” magazine. There is always an article that I have to flip over to first and read right away. Well this month the article was titled “Walk off Every Bulge.” I am thinking I sure would like to walk off every bulge. To make this more interesting the article (in smaller print) says “Get toned from top to bottom and ditch a quick 10 pounds with this amazing walking-based workout.
I am thinking – a new month – a new challenge – maybe I can do this???
Here is the plan:
1. Walk 1 mile in less the 15 minutes.
2. 1 minute of forward lunges.
3. Walking burst – 1 minute walk/1 minute run for 1 mile.
4. Full push-ups for 1 minute.
5. Toe-touch squats for 1 minute.
6. Elbow-knee touch for 1 minute.
7. Walk/run/skip – do each for 1 minute for 1 mile.
8. Side-T pose – 30 seconds each side.
9. Tabletop dips for 1 minute.
I am thinking – I can do this. Good by bulges. Actually, I did try skipping. That is harder than I thought. In my mind, I saw myself just floating over the ground – going fast – no trouble breathing. I must have been dreaming that I was 10 years old instead of a 49 year old woman. It was more like huffing and puffing at a very slow pace. (I was trying to do it on a treadmill – very hard.) However, with some practice I think I can do it.
Now for the hard part. The “Diet” part. Any one who looks at my sparkpage knows how bad I am about eating and keeping track of food. So hard for me.
Anyway, The plan is to each 300 calories for breakfast, 400 calories for lunch, 500 calories for supper with one 100 calorie snack. ( I might have to add another 100 calorie snack)
After reading the “diet” plan, I thought – this is familiar. A while back I purchased a book called “The Supermarket Diet.” This book pretty much uses the diet plan described above. So I am off to read this diet plan so I can put my new challenge in place.
Posted in Diet/Exercise
What I'm Avoiding
I am avoiding cleaning up my office. Well, it is a room I call my office. At one time I did use this room for work – that is work for pay. I am now one of those people who actually get in the car and on to another place that has an office. That office is clean and organized. Now, my home "office" is a disaster. I am behind in filing, ironing, projects. This room has become a place to put all my unfinished "stuff". The "stuff" is all the things I hate to do just plan do not want to do. Projects that I am having a hard time finishing or just have lost interest in. Junk that I do not know where to put or even what to do with it.
At one time, I used the excuse that I just left the things out so I would not forget about them. I must be honest with myself. This room has become a place where my stress level is off the "charts". Why am I writing about this? Hopefully, so I will do something about it.
My Thoughts on the Question “Is It a Sin to Date a Non-Christian?”
I think that Marc Driscoll makes very good and true points in his answer to this question. The laughter in the audience and between the pastors by inference communicated to me that if a “Christian” does date and maybe even marry a non-Christian that they are not really a Christian. That they are foolish and somehow inferior in their Christian life and have truly made a mess of things.
I would answer the question with out reference to a “lawnmower” but with tears in my eyes so that others can see the importance of choosing who to date. This is a sensitive topic for me because I am a Christian married to a non-Christian. I was a Christian before I met my husband and I have wrestled with whether I have committed and maybe even still committing sin by being in this relationship.
My husband and I have been married for 27 years. Could it be said that I loved him more than Christ when I committed myself to him in marriage? Many will say yes.
So here is a little background. I grew up in a Christian family. My grandfather was a elder in the church. My mother was a bible school teacher and my dad was a deacon. We attended church every time the door was open. I was baptized when I was 12 years old. I used to pray that I would marry a preacher or someone with the same beliefs. Deep down I think in my childish mind I thought that then they would help me be a good Christian – make it easier to do the things that God wanted me to do. As a teenager I was very active in the youth program. I was even active in a bible group during my college years, too. I am still active in a local church.
I don’t know what happens to you when you fall “in love”. It is like all reason goes out of your head. It is good advice not to let the relationship get to involved. Many people warned me of all the “dangers” of dating a non-Christian – of being unequally yoked with a nonbeliever. It was too late. I was “in love.” My ears were closed and besides I thought at this time that I could conquer the world and young love can conquer all the problems of the world. We were married. My parents and his parents were not happy but accepted us. It is true the statements the pastors made about not having the same source to look for answers. My husband does not always understand my reasoning behind my answers. But I have found that over the years he has come to respect most of them. Marriage is hard for Christians. It is hard period. Just look at the divorce rate in Christian and non-Christian families.
I used to think I did commit sin by marrying my husband. I had a lot of guilt and shame thinking that when I married my husband that I somehow denied Christ as my first love. But I no longer think that. Several years ago it dawned on me that I was not giving God any credit. I do not know how my choices and God’s sovereignty work. I think that God is sovereign and that I also have responsibility. I was thinking about my childish prayer. I used to think that God answered my prayer for a godly man as “no” or even that my choice over ruled any of God’s part. I thought that I just had stick with my choice. I began to really think about this and it dawned on me that maybe my husband is the one God wanted me to marry. What if God wanted me to trust him and lean on him alone and not a godly husband? That was like an eye opener. That changed my whole way of looking at this relationship. My guilt and shame about my marriage was no longer on my mind. The truth of the matter is I am a sinner and will be a sinner till the day I experience physical death. I am to live my life the best I can in the situation that God has placed me. I believe that God has placed me in this relationship so I can learn to trust God in all things and to be a servant to someone who does not understand Christ. I pray every day that God will work in my husbands life and change his heart. And I believe that God is faithful and by my leaning on Christ that God will sustain me and this relationship. Anything can happen because God is a forgiving, loving, and merciful to His children.
Posted in From Blogs I read, Spiritual
Overheard at My Own Funeral
If I were a fly on the wall at my own funeral, I think the first thing people would say is “Who did the makeup? She looks horrible.”
Actually, I believe this question was in a book that I read by Steven Covey several years ago. One of the exercises was to write out what people would say about me at my funeral. I was stumped. The things that I thought of were – She seems nice but I did not know her very well. I think she loved God because she was at church all the time. She loved her husband and children very much. Pretty pathetic. It seems my world is pretty small.
My Skirmish with Ice Cream
The cabinets that I painted last night involved moving the refrigerator. As I was moving the refrigerator back into place, I began to notice I was a bit hungry. I was hot and sweaty and eating something cold entered my mind. Then I remembered that I have some white chocolate raspberry ice cream in the refrigerator. I was lost. The more I thought about the ice cream the more I wanted some. I pulled a small bowl out of the cabinet and proceeded to fill my bowl. As I am dipping out the ice cream, I begin to think that I might as well eat up the ice cream. There is only a small bit left in the container. The ice cream is in my bowl. But, I am trying to lose some weight. I know I exercised today. All that effort is in this huge bowl of ice cream. I know that eating this much ice cream is not good for me. I know it is way more than half a cup. I dip my spoon back into my bowl and put some of the ice cream back. Way to go. A small skirmish fought and won.
Today’s battle is even harder. My husband wants to eat out at Casa Ole for lunch. I love chips and salsa. More on this battle later.
Posted in Diet/Exercise
That Special Book in My Life
I could read any book over and over again but there is one book that I do try to read every year. I am always discovering new things each time I read it and I try to read it every day especially in the morning. I follow a reading plan to accomplish reading the entire book in a year. Sometimes, I have no problem following the plan and sometimes I fall behind. Right now I am behind a couple of weeks on my reading plan but I know that if I read a little more over the next couple of weeks I can catch up.
Some parts of this book I like better than other parts and I have even memorized some of it. I read this book so much because I believe it to be God's inspired word to His people. The only way I think I can come to know of God, about God and believe in God is to read His word.
Have you guessed the name of the book yet. Well, if you have not guessed the picture certainly gives it away. I would like to hear about what other books people like to read.
What I Lost and Want Back
two-girls-exercising-cayucos-beach2
Today I lost something and I want it back. My best friend and exercise partner decided that she needs a break from exercising. It is hard to get up early every morning drive over to my house and exercise. I know many will say well yea if she is driving over to your house all the time. But she drives over to my house because it is so hot in the summer and I have an air conditioned exercise room. I will miss my exercise partner but what I also want back is the time that I spent with my best friend. Over the years, we have discussed all sorts of family problems, world problems, church problems and any other thing that we thought was important. Sometimes these talks ended up in tears and hurt feelings but we always were ready to forgive each other and continue to try to love each other as best friends do. I know that she will still be my best friend but I will not see her and spend an hour with her on most days of the week and that is what I lost and want back.
Reflections 