Yay! Ten pounds lost! Thirty more to go!

"Carmelizing" sweet Vidalia onions. It is one of my favorite healthy ways to satisfy my sweet tooth!

Sorry to the few who were actually following my weight loss journey! Last year I gained a good 30 pounds (this was the largest I have ever been) during a struggle with depression while un-employed. I finally decided to do something about my unhealthy habits last month after some encouragement from some friends and family. I was kinda discouraged for a couple weeks, because my weight loss had reached a stagnant point. For two weeks, I did not lose one pound. I tried to be hopeful that at least I did not gain! Now that I am home from school for the summer, I no longer have access to a free gym so I rejoined Planet fitness this week. I also have been eating much healthier food now that I am no longer forced to eat in the school cafeteria. My favorite snack recently is oven-roasted asparagus (thanks to my sister for introducing me to this awesome veggie)! I cover it with basil, oregano, a little garlic, a couple teaspoons of olive oil, and a couple teaspoon of parmesan cheese and put in the oven on 425 for 15 minutes. So good! Anyway, I am feeling hopeful! I attribute my diet success so far to friends who pushed me, healthy eating, exercise, and drinking tons of water!

I was talking to a friend about three weeks ago about my discouragement about my weight. We started talking about how our bodies are holy temples of the living God. Our bodies are not just our own if we are joined with Christ through salvation. We are taking care of Christ's dwelling place. I do not want to make anyone feel guilty, who also may be struggling with weight! It was just a great joy to me to think that my Savior is joining me in my journey to become a healthy person. I want to honor Christ with my body - even by the foods that I eat! So this journey to lose weight is more than my self-image - it is about my Christ-image! It is a spiritual journey!

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, ²⁰ for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Confessions of a Dieter

Workout of the week: Recently I hiked up to Camp Hydaway. I love nature!

If you have been following my posts the past couple weeks you know that I have been doing a workout challenge with the weekend mom. Unfortunately, I am forced to take a break! :( I fractured my spine several years a go while I was working as a gymnastics coach. Since then, I have had a lot of problems with back pain, sciatica, and scoliosis (I did not have it until after my injury. I assume I was left with a curvature, because I did not stop moving like I was suppose to). This injury seems to be revisiting me this week after a fall (literally tripping over my own feet in the computer lab. Embarrassing! :'( ) Anyway, the pain is very severe. It is painful to even get out of bed. Not even my true back or my back brace seem to be helping much. So, no work outs right now. But I am still doing the rest of the challenge with my dorm. This week we cut out whites (bread, rice, and any other white carbs) in addition to sweets and soda. I must confess, I took a break from my diet yesterday. I have ate nothing but salads, sandwiches, and fruit for ten days, but yesterday I had sausage for breakfast and then went to bloop for frozen yogurt last night. I had my final presentation for one of my courses, yesterday, and I succumbed to stress eating! I am not proud of it, but yet at the same time I do not feel too guilty. Every one needs to enjoy themselves occasionally. Well, I am back to my diet, today. Going to get me some oatmeal for breakfast! I confess that I can't help wishing it was oatmeal cookies, instead!

First Week of Workout Challenge

One of my favorite things to do is hike, walk, or run through the mountain trails. It helps, when the view is nice!

So, last week I shared about my workout challenge with the weekend mom (see http://theweekendmom.wordpress.com/the-challenge/ ). I am working out every day for at least 45 minutes (with just a very light work out on Sundays, since it is my day of rest). In addition, my dorm happens to be having a biggest loser challenge. As part of the dorm challenge, I cut out sweets and sodas. So, did it help? Yes, it did!! I lost eight pounds during my first week of the challenge. It was hard to find time for my workouts in the midst of final projects, but spending time in the outdoors to get in shape made me calmer and more energized, when it came time to do my work. I am well on my way to reaching my goal weight!

Workout Challenge

So, I have seriously been neglecting this blog, because I have invested so much time in my ministry blog, Armed with Truth Ministries. This blog is still pretty special to me, because it introduced me to the blogging world. So, I have decided I will take the time to write a post on here once a week. I was sharing with a friend last week how I have struggled to lose weight this year despite my best attempts at eating well. I used to be a team-level gymnastics coach so it is frustrating that I let myself get out of shape last year, when I was on a sabbatical. My friend told me she is starting a new challenge on her blog to work out every day for forty-five minutes. Having a friend "to workout with" has always been very motivating for me so I gladly accepted the challenge! Yesterday, on the first day of the challenge I decided to go running/hiking in the wood trails of snow flex complex at my school (it is one of the few year round snow flex facilities in the world and its in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains with awesome trails). I went about four miles in all, because I was determined to run all the way to Camp Hydeaway to watch the sun set. It had rained a couple days before so I was covered in mud by the time I finished my run. Still, the view and the satisfaction of having finished such a challenging workout was worth all the hard work! Today, I was less motivated, but I am not one to back down from a challenge once I have accepted it. I worked out in my own home today for the sake of time. There is a wealth of exercise videos on hulu and youtube! One site I use a lot is Be Fit on youtube. They have new videos every week day for free. http://www.youtube.com/user/BeFit. After about 20 minutes, I decided to switch to my favorite Lecrae playlist and dance freestyle. As always, I end my workouts with crunches, isometric push-ups, and some yoga stretches.Working out does not have to be boring! Find out what works best for you. If any of you would like to join me in doing the Weekend mom challenge, you can check out the details at http://theweekendmom.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/a-new-challenge-the-beach-workout/

This was one of my favorite songs in the playlist I used in my workout earlier. Thanks to the other Lecrae fan who posted this!

Love and Somance!

Hope everyone had a loving Valentine's Day. I took these pics on a recent nature walk. I recently ended my relationship with my boyfriend of fifteen months, but I embraced my singleness with JOY this Valentines. I spent the evening with my girlfriends and was reminded that there is something beautiful about the connection between sisters that you will never find with a man. I love it. I like to call this connection between female friends somance much like the more popular term of bromance! So, I just wanted to remind the many single ladies out there like myself to be thankful for the love of so many others around you. We can be thankful for the love of our families, friends, and Savior! We have so much to offer the world right now in our season of singleness! We have so much love to give!

Summer loving in my garden

Sweet sleep

On my other blog, (armed with truth on wordpress), I shared about sleep. Here, I am just going to share some music from my favorite pianist, Paul Collier. His music has been a blessing from heaven for me. It lulls me into dream land. One of things I love most is sleeping, and as it says in Psalms, the Lord grants sleep to those he loves.

Psalm 127:2

It is is in vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrow; for so He gives his beloved sleep.

Proverbs 3:24

When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

This is not my video. Thanks to Paul Collier for posting this sweet piece.