Master Your Metabolism

Um, Yes PLEASE! :)

Jillian Michaels published a book in 2009 called Master Your Metabolism. I recently received this book from my mom. I think she bought it as soon as it hit the shelves and I even remember flipping thru it a time or two. It just seemed a little bit overwhelming.

Well, here I am three years later, 16 years into my career of dieting and since I have not yet mastered my Metabolism, and had a few hours in the car to read this weekend, I decided to give it another go.

I have been literally begging and crying, pleading with God and have gotten desperate enough to beg a television show to help. From the first page I have felt like a fool for not trying this before.

I promised to share everything I learn and do and try during this journey so hear it is.

At the beginning of the book she hooks me with this....

Hormone Hell Strikes Again.

Let me guess do you have.....

A scale that's stuck, no matter how little you eat or how much you exercise?

A sagging energy level that seems only to be getting worse?

Skin that is starting to turn sallow or wrinkle excessively - and you are not even past forty?

Skin that is constantly breaking out-and you're decades past adolescence?

Moods that peak and trough unpredictably?

A monthly cycle that drives you (and everyone around you) absolutely nuts?

Crushing fatigue that doesn't improve, no matter how much sleep you get?

A burned-out-"crispy" feeling that you cannot shake?

Have you lost and gained the same five, ten, twenty pounds, over and over?

Or, more likely, have you lost and gained steadily more each time, losing ground, getting more and hopeless????

um..... YES!!!!!

Step one- Remove. Eliminate the Antinutrients That Trigger Your Fat Storing Hormones.

Going organic friends. What's funny about this is that my gal Margie (and life group partner friend) has also recently made an organic choice for her family recently and I didn't think she was crazy. She often thinks people will think she's nuts (sometimes she is <3 lol) I mostly think she is strong and brave, and an excellent mother!
Anyways, I just kind of thought, good for you! I have bought organic milk for a long time and usually eggs,and natural cleaning products, but the rest seems overwhelming to me. But actually it is not overwhelming it is living simpler. :)

Well, sorry for the book, and not being around much, but that's it for tonight. I did not have a great week, as far as my weight goes. I am in the hopeless part of my vicious cycle. I did have a great weekend with some friends and some very much needed down time with my husband and little dude!
I leave for BL's Fitness Ridge in seven days and I plan of having a stellar week this week!!!

Week THREE

Ah, week three. Well, once again I head into the week the same.... well, I guess I'm down from last Monday, but then not since Wednesday.
Looks like I would need a miracle to lose 25 in a month. Well maybe next month. So, today I was 235.I'm down 11 for the month, with only a week and a few days left... :/

I do have an appointment Friday,with the trainer at Planet Fitness to see what he would think would be a good plan for me. And as far as the other contest I signed up for a the smoothie shop...Not sure that's going to work out.

The first week I weighed in he said that the scale was wrong but he was going to leave it that way, and I weighed 228, which I have not weighed that in almost 2 years probably, so that was fun even though it wasn't real. Then this past Sunday they got a new scale and it said I weighed 240, which, that morning at home I was 235 so.... emotionally, I'm not sure I'm up for it. I will see if I can weigh in early this week, because we are headed up north, so I'll just see what the scale says and decide if it is even worth trying to be in that contest.

In a perfect world, I would love to lose 10 more pounds before February 5th, when Tamara and I check into BL's Fitness Ridge. If I can make it or not is anyone's guess, but I sure as heck am going to give it a go!

Oh, and I finally put a few pink streaks in my hair, and as expected.... they make me smile. :) lol

<3 LSL

Do you trust him?

I have tell you, I am thankful to feel unstuck again!!!! I weighed in this morning at 235.2 so I am thrilled to be down 15lbs total, 4 for the week and a half. lol :)

I just hate getting to the place where I start to think that I cannot "figure out" how to lose weight.
I did go to the gym today and walked for an hour, I almost got to enjoying my music too much and started running but I knew my heel would hate me for it later so I didn't do it.

A HUGE success for me is overcoming the food addiction. Proverbs 3:5+6 says "trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In ALL your ways ACKNOWLEDGE HIM and he will make straight you paths.

I can remember on the Sunday after my rejection from Biggest Loser and Pastor Jeremy spoke on this verse and I think of that Sunday quite often, and I can hear Pastor J over and over in my head, asking "do you trust him?,do you trust him?".

And of course I do, so I need to behave like I do. Maybe I can post a link to that sermon. It was REALLY good! Wouldn't it be grand if I were that talented. lol

I hope you are trusting in the Lord friends, and having a great week! <3

Peace! LSL

Recalculating

Today was a MUCH better day! First, my husband came home last night, and stayed all night, which was grand, I slept MUCH better. I think the past 5 days he worked like 92 hours.

Last night E.J. reminded me that maybe I should cool it on the exercise a little. I have had this happen several times where I get a little gung ho and I think my body decides I need to hold on to what I've got just in case, which makes no since to me, but anyway..... two examples, a few years ago I was 194 lbs. I got a personal trainer for a 8 weeks, had a near perfect 1200 cal diet, worked out with her tons and cardio without her and lost only 2 lbs, in 8 weeks.

I was excited about tae bo, back in the day. :) lol and did 4 weeks of that 5x a week, with a great diet and lost zero pounds.

Anyway, when this happens, and it has happened plenty, I do best when I cut my calories and don't kill myself at the gym. I know I need muscles, and I will still do squats, lunges, push ups and sit ups,moderate walking and Zumba as often as possible.

My goal is to lose 100 lbs. If I cannot lose consistently I will get discouraged and quit. :/ I am in this for the long haul. My "diet" is a way of life not a quick fix and I cannot wait to be able to run 6 or more miles or workout for 2 hours a day. I actually LOVE exercising, I just feel like I need to cool it a bit. :) That is what I will have to do to maintain and firm up I am certain, just not right now.

I could possibly add more calories, but as a food addict it is kind of tricky.It is hard to allow myself to have more of something I wish I could just quit altogether. I think once I have a handle on my food issues. I can figure out more of that. That is one of the reasons I think having a food addiction is one of the hardest addictions to have. You cannot just quit food. You have to learn how to live with it, not really without it. I think that is one of the reasons I don't enjoy cooking. It sounds stupid but I guess it is probably similar to other addictions, it is easier to "hide" food by eating in the car, or eat out at a restaurant because then I can indulge in eating food that I wouldn't normally feel is ok to buy to have in the house. I can't enjoy something I feel guilty eating. OY! I guess that's part of what I hope to get out of my visit to the Biggest Losers fitness Ridge. Is to learn how to cook healthy meals that I don't have to feel guilty about eating. :)

If you don't have a food addiction I may sound like a total crazy person to you. :) Sorry, I don't claim not to be a crazy hot mess. lol

Lastly, I just want to say I feel SO less crazy and down to day. I cannot begin to tell YOU how much I appreciate the love and encouragement that I get from all of you. By comments on here or on FB. I even got a card in the mail from my mom today. It was so cute and encouraging. <3

The Bible verse on it was Hebrews 12;1b. "...let us run with the endurance the race that is set before us."

Love ya'll, I know we all have different struggles I hope I can be an encouragement to you in whatever it is.

LSL

Week TWO

Welcome back riders!!! Week 2 has not been by friend. I actually had a pretty good week. I went to the gym and had a great workout for about and hour and a half every day. I stayed within my calorie limit almost every day. I chose water instead of other beverages except for a few cups of coffee and one diet soda day.
My husband has been working CRAZY hours and I have not given in to my food addiction. Usually, when he works late or is gone, I use that as time to treat myself and my pity to horrible food, and I didn't fall for that this week. So I guess actually I did have a successful week, but since my goal is to lose weight and I did not, I am feeling a tad discouraged.

I do though promise myself and you, that I am on track this morning and will have a great week. I am struggling though to not play the mental games that I have played for the past 16 years. In the past if I have a no loss week, I start to get confused and decide I cannot possibly figure out how to lose another pound. I tell myself that if what I did last week didn't work, what the heck might I have to do this week to lose weight, and decide I am not up to the challenge.

SO....If I can get past myself and my past....I will decide to go back to the first week of the Flat Belly Diet and have a CLEAN week, which means ZERO cheating!!!
I will be in God's word EVERYDAY, and I will exercise everyday for as long as possible as hard as possible!

Then next week I will step on the scale in peace knowing I have done all I can physically do and pray that I get the results I am looking for. Even as I type this I feel doubtful. hm, no worries, it's hormones. :/ just being honest.

We are home today, Jack has the day off school, which is grand, because I slept horribly last night. We were supposed to go out with Dawn and Parker this morning and since I don't often get out with other moms and their kiddos I was really hoping to be up for it. But we were not. :(

I hope to get out to the store to buy a frame to hang a scripture verse above my sink. I do feel best when I am being creative so putting that together should be fun.

I hope you have a great week!
LSL

Goals

I have had this jacket since eleventh grade. I LOVE it!!!! I even had a few of my senior pictures taken in it! I wore it with Jeans, chucks and a hard rock cafe t-shirt. It was a black and white picture. Hm... I need to look for it.

Anyways, I absolutely plan on fitting into it again one day! I think I was about 140 lbs. then, so it should be possible.

I have different clothes that I look forward to wearing as the weight comes off. I've only kept a very few of my very favorite things along the way. Every time I lose weight I celebrate by throwing away my fat clothes. No wonder I never have very many clothes :/

In having a 'my time of the month' kind of crummy day, so dreaming of wearing cute clothes will be my motivation no eat the entire house tonight.

LSL

Words

I hope you are having a good week! I am so far. I've got to admit though,that I am glad I started slow with those squats and lunges. I am more out of shape than I have been in a long time. I decided to start with 20 of each, each day for the first week then i'll get up to 50 and add on each week.

Anyways, so sitting here now even my feet are sore. :) lol

One thing I have never been is a quitter! Even with my weight loss struggles I have really never gone more than a few weeks at a time just sayin "whatever" and eating whatever I wanted, honestly. I have lost hundreds of pounds....and gained them all back.

I just want to encourage you to keep going.Maybe not to keep trying, but to keep DOING!!! I know some people are discouraged by things other people say to them or have said to them in the past and they let those words hold them back and keep them from living in God's best for their life. I have for the most part been able to get over what people have ever said to hurt me. Don't ge me wrong....I remember it, but I have never let it define me.

For me the words that hurt me the worst are the ones I say to myself. I think most of us are our own worst critic.

That is one of the reasons I love this newest zumba class I'm taking. It is in the dark with really cool lights and lots of people!! The last class Dawn and I took was in a very bright room with lots of mirrors and only 4 people. I spent the ENTIRE time saying ugly things about myself. I hated the pants I chose, I needed my roots done. I couldn't believe I had gotten this fat AGAIN!!! I hated the way I looked in my tennis shoes, and why wont my hair grow?!

You can imagine why I didn't go back!

This time I took my positive attitude and went in the back of the class and followed Margies advise,"I just watch the instructor and think i look exactly like her" :)
I know I did almost everything wrong and this instructor was a guy, but I pretended I was a hot little tamale and had a GREAT FUN workout!!! I enjoyed every second of it!

SO please take care of and encourage and believe in yourself like you would your best friend. God loves you, after all he created you, he has a purpose for your life and as Pastor Dan said sunday, "God loves you so much that if you were the only one on this earth he still would have come and died just for you! he loves you that much!" If God loves you, I don't think he would appreciate you being so mean to yourself!

I got this Train CD from my hubster for Christmas and this song has been on my mind! I LOVE IT, and just wanted to share.

"Words"

TRAIN LYRICS




I'd give anything but I won't give up on you
I'd say anything, but not goodbye
I will run with your changes and I'm always on your side
And there's not a word I've ever heard that would make me change my mind

Words they'll try to shake you
Don't let them break you
Or stop your world from turning
When words keep you from feeling good
Use them as firewood and let them burn

Like stones in your pocket people try to wear you down
Someone always wants to take the love you've found
So let's runs with these changes and I want you by my side
And there's not a word I've ever heard that would make me change my mind

Words they'll try to shake you
Don't let them break you
Or stop your world from turning
When words keep you from feeling good
Use them as firewood and let them burn

Let them burn
Let them burn
Underneath every word somebody's heart been broken
With or without words we try to forgive

Words they'll try to shake us
Don't let them break us
Or stop our world from turning
When words keep you from feeling good
Use them as firewood and let them burn

Words they'll try to shake you
Don't let them break you
Or stop your world, stop your world from turning round
When words keep you from feeling good
Use them as firewood and let them burn

Let them burn
Let them burn



TRAIN lyrics are property and copyright of their owners.

Week ONE

Ok, so this is the beginning of week TWO!!! I was 239.2 this morning!! YAY!!! so that's down 7 for the week and in December when I really decided to start this whole thing I was up to 250 so almost 11 pounds!

I set a goal to lose 25 pounds this month,(because of a contest they are doing on the Biggest Loser) so I have 18 to go.
My goal weight is 140 so still about 100 to go. :) To be honest I would really like to be lighter than that, since I have NEVER been skinny, or even close. I got down to 140 my senior year in High School and although I have emotionally come a long way since then, I sill remember feeling super pudgy. :( so we'll see.:) Being able to shop in "normal" stores and completely out of the plus size section is a HUGE goal!

p.s. I CANNOT wait to post a different picture of myself. This before pic is one I sent into the Biggest Loser with my application. HATE IT. :)

Peace friends <3

LSL

Squats and Lunges

This morning when I was brushing my teeth, all of a sudden I just heard "squats and lunges. Squats and lunges would be good to do to get your body ready for digging in El Salvador."It was weird, totally out of no where, I was thinking nothing, except, brush brush brush, when I heard "squats and lunges".

Now, I have no idea if it was God or the Holy Spirit? I don't know how exactly to explain a thought that comes from no where, that seems it may have only come from God.
What I do know is that I wasn't thinking about how to get strong or sexy legs, I was just brushing. I actually don't prefer the muscular look. What I do know though is that I do need to have my body physically ready to do whatever God has planned for me to do to serve him.
I wasn't going to blog about it, but honestly I can't stop thinking about it, and I really feel like God knows that most of you know that I do not have a great imagination and I also do not lie or pretend well.

So at the very least, what I may have randomly been prompted by God to think of, and maybe remind others of, is that I am a born again Christian,saved by Grace and faith in Jesus Christ who gave his life for our sins, and my life is not my own. I was created in His image, for His glory and I am here to serve Him. He uses all of us differently at different times. I am going with my husband and some friends to El Salvador with Living Water International, this summer,to dig a well and I physically and spiritually need to be ABLE to do that!

I guess the challenge for us all is... are you ready? Are you ready to serve? Are you taking care of the body that God has given you? Are you using your body to bring glory to God?

Thanks for reading. <3

God speed! Good night!
LSL

Hangin on a moment

I almost forgot.
The second half of that..."I'm on the Edge of Glory, and I'm hangin on a moment with you". For me "hangin on a moment with you", was me waiting to hear if Abby and I or my Aunt and I would get to have an opportunity to get cast on the Biggest Loser.

Now, I have decided, since that wasn't an option,that I won't wait any longer. I have to finally get my booty in gear and get the job done. Thankfully I have wonderful support including my husband, who I almost am certain not to succeed when he's not on board.

I have signed up for "Antones 20 pound challenge" and another biggest loser contest with some FB friends. I will not wait for a show or a professional trainer to tell me that I am worth fighting for.

I would like to encourage you to not wait for a show, or anyone else to believe in you. I believe we can reach our goals. Believe in your self. Help make it happen for yourself. That is the only way to truly succeed and keep the weight off.

I was not ok when I was rejected by the show. Sometime I will share more of that story. For now I would like to just share a verse that got me thru that heart ache and back on track.

Proverbs 3:5&6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths.

Acknowledge the Lord in all that you do, he wants to be first, he deserves to be first and if you put him there, he will lead you. He promises he will.

I came to realize that by having my heart broken because I didn't do that. In a way then I was denying him and the role he plays in my heart and my life.

The Edge of Glory

I made it back from Florida and got right back on track.....yay!!!

A few minutes ago I was folding laundry and listening to a song by Lady GaGa called The Edge of Glory. It reminded me of last summer when I was trying to get cast to be on the Biggest Loser. It became my kind of theme song. It was on the radio all summer and seemed to play just for me sometimes. Like right after I got off the phone with Abby, who applied with me,or when we got back in the car after the casting call. I even posted it on one of the casting directors FB walls.

Anyways, THIS time when I heard this song it was nice to enjoy it in a different light. I immidiatley thought I needed to tell you all that I am not on the EDGE of glory any longer. NO, I didn't get cast on the show and get to reach my weight loss goals and get to be the one who inspires by my success or by the success of the show.

However, I have come to realize that I do not NEED the show to lose the weight, I really thought I did, I have honesly tried EVERY OTHER ROUTE!! But today I was finally able to enjoy the song and drift into my own thoughts about what it is that I am looking for. I am not looking for glory or fame, and I am thankful to be where God has allowed me to be. In the end, I will get to my goal weight and give God the glory all that he has given me and the person he has created me to be and the grace that he has given me.

Do you have a theme song? :)

I'm off to get ready to try another Zumba class with Dawn! Wish us luck! Weigh in tomorrow!!

LSL

Vacation

Well, I'm in Florida with the fam (-hubby, insert sad face ) so i am not following my exact diet, but I think I'm doing ok. Tonight I made Chicken Tacos for Debbie and I and I was so glad that she liked them :) I do love making food that I don't have to hate myself for eating.

Did you watch Biggest Loser season 13 last night? I went to the casting call when it was in Detroit. Oddly enough we (Abby and I) think that Cassandra, who made it on the show, was in line behind us at the casting call.

Anyways, so I obviously did not get cast for the show, but it has been fuel for my fire. I have decided this HAS GOT to be my season still. I CANNOT let another season go by where I just watch other people lose the weight.

At the beginning of the show last night they did a challenge and one team did not make it on to the Ranch but if they lose a total of 50 pounds between the two of them, in a month, then they have a shot at getting back on the show.

So I am thinking if I REALLY would do anything to get on the show, I should put forth the effort that they have to. Although to be honest right this second, on vacation, kind of, I'm not feeling my usual fiery self. I promise to be more inspiring and back on course!! I have been weighing myself, but since it's not my scale, I don't really see any point.

Also, I have been keeping pretty busy, even though it's been plenty of cleaning and running around, I'm much more active than I would be if I were hibernating in the snow at home. :)

I 'll be home for the weekend and might try a new zumba class on Sunday!!! Game on friends, Game on!!!

Hey one last thought! If I seem obsessed, I may be, a little.... but on Biggest Loser they have a make over show about 10 weeks in, I was thinking that I should set a goal for 1o weeks for a treat for myself, like a new shirt or maybe paying someone to cut my hair for a change. :) sound good? You should make sure you give yourself some treats (not food) along the way too. Be empowered by EVERY good choice you make!! You are worth it! and you know what?!? I am too!

Peace friends! <3

LSL

New Year!!!

Happy New Year friends!!!!

Well, I weighed in this morning.... 246.2! :/
No worries.... That's still down 4 for the month, so I'll consider myself blessed!!!
Also, I'm still certain I would like to lose 100 pounds!

That's all I have time for, but have a great day!!! Drink lots of water!!!

<3

LSL