Scary new ideas!!!!

I am in a women's bible study on Monday night, and in our lesson we were talking about when the Lord brings us to something he wants it to be hard. He drives us to be dependant on him. Then I watched the sermon from Pastor Daniel (www.visitlifepoint.org) and he was talking about the same thing. When you have an idea or feel the Lord telling you to do something and you think...'there is NO way I can do this' it's a pretty good indication that it is God.

So a few weeks ago I had one of these moments. I felt compelled to become a personal trainer and teach group exercise classes. What?! Me?! I still cannot believe these words are coming out of my mouth, er fingers to keyboard.

I still feel like I have a long way to go in my on fitness, but I also know that I want to help other women like me. I want people to know that it is never too late, or too much weight to lose. It can be done! I want to inspire people, and teach them what little I know. I want to share my experiences with them and help them learn from my mistakes!

I am so excited and terrified about this new venture that I was very tentative about sharing it with people, let alone putting it on here. Because then it becomes real. Then I must follow through!

I hope I can do it, I know I can't do it alone. I will be leaning heavily into God and this will require a ton of prayer!! My hope is to become certified by the end of the summer if not sooner!! EEEEP!

I Hate Self Hatred!

What is up with our society and the way we are taught to view our bodies? Why is it that only 1% of women love their body, according to Self Magazine? Also found in Self, 75% of women admit to being competitve about weight with their friends! Why is it that no matter how much weight I lose, how many times a week I hit the gym, or how many calories I count there is a part of my brain that tells me I am not good enough? Why do I look in the mirror and still see a girl who weighs over 300 lbs? We have these images of women who are air brushed about a zillion times over shoved in our faces 24-7. We put these insane expectations out there in the universe for ourselves, and we are just as guilty of putting them on our friends, mothers, sisters, and worse...our daughters!

Well I am here to tell you that you are good enough. You should value yourself enough to take care of your body. I have mentioned before that my faith is an intrical part of my journey to being healthy. As a Christian I am a daughter of the Lord, a co-heir with Christ. I deserve to roll out the red carpet for myself. The Lord loves me enough to bless me abundantly with all of the things that I need to achieve my goals, who am I to tell him that I am too busy, the diet is too hard, or that I just flat don't want to do it?

As I struggle with my own self image daily, I know all of these things listed above. It is still a struggle. I still have to ask the Lord to let me see myself as his precious child. That my worth is not wrapped up in the number on the scale or the size in my waistband. As I look in the mirror at my body I see all of my battle scars, the saggy skin from my years of being morbidly obese, the stretch marks from carrying a miracle inside my womb, the scars from my laparoscopic gastric bypass, and my ever shrinking breasts that are finding their new home after nursing the baby for 9 months. I know that these things are beautiful in their imperfections...but I have to ask the Lord to remind me all the time of this!

So what can you do?

Let me ask you a question, do you value food more than your body? Do you value watching television more than your life? Do you think that facebook is more important than being able to run with your kids?

Of course you would rather not look at these things in this light. It is convicting to think that by saying that you could 'never give up coffee, chocolate, pizza, (insert your own food vice here) you are actually saying that you value these foods, tv shows, or websites more than your own well being.

I totally get it, because I used to think exactly like you! I would diet and try to get around limitations. While on weight watchers I would save up points so I could eat pizza. I would justify my time spent on facebook or watching tv while my 6 year old played outside alone.

I am here to tell you that you owe it to yourself, your kids, and most of all the Lord to take care of the body you are living in. The Lord has given us 1 body to live in, and as a Christian it is our duty to take care of that body so that we are healthy enough to share His message with everyone we meet.

Think about this as you go through out your day. When you have a chance to work out and don't, what are you spending your time doing? Is that more valuable to you than your life? When you pick up that doughnut, is that Krispy Cream more valuable than lowering your risk for heart disease?

I have adapted this idea into my daily life. Each time I consider 'cheating' or eating something that isn't allowed I ask myself if it is more valuable to me than myself, and it works!! Remind yourself each day of your successes, and most of all Pray about it. You are not strong enough on your own, accept it and ask the one person who can help you, the Lord!

My loss is My Gain!!!!

January was an amazing month for me! I have experienced an amazing body transformation since changing my diet immensely! We started the month with our first ever Daniel fast. It should have lasted 21 days, but we decided to keep it up and it has made all the difference! Now that we are eating only whole grains, fruits, and veggies my body is running so efficiently! My husband has jumped into this healthy eating, and has lost 25 lbs!!! I will be doing an entire post dedicated to our new way of eating so you can get more info!

I am happy to report that I have lost 15 lbs in the month of January AND

2 inches in the bust

1.25 inches in my waist

1.5 inches on the hips

.5 an inch on my right arm

1 inch on my left arm

1 inch on my right thigh

1.25 inches on my left thigh

and my neck stayed the same

When the month began I was wearing a size 12, and now am comfortable sliding into 10s. It is officially time to donate the 14's...Bethany called me out for wearing them the other day and she said they were 'baggy mom jeans'. When the 6 year old notices how big your pants are it's time to go shopping!!

I have upped the intensity in my workouts and am pushing myself to the limit. I have gotten to the point where if I am not sweating like a pig during and sore the next day I know I haven't given it 150%. When I think I am done I always try to do 1 more. Please excuse the roughness of these photos...

 New Years Eve

1 week into January

 Feb 1

 Feb 1