Weekly Weigh In

So today is weigh in day.  I got a new scale.  My last scale would flip around with usually a 1.5 pound fluctuation, and only weighed in half pound increments.  So, even though my old scale said 157 today, I need something more accurate and consistent, so here I am on my new scale.  And there you have it.....158.2.  Which means I am 18.2 pounds away from final weight goal.  For this week I would like to lose at least a pound. :)  Oh and I lost 2.3 pounds from last week.

As a side note I made my homemade granola today and then analyzed the recipe here.  I am so glad that I did this.  I have been counting it as some random granola listed on my calorie counter, but found out that my recipe contains nearly 200 calories more in the half cup serving than theirs!!! I have felt like I am at a plateau lately and if I am eating a half cup serving 2-3 times a week that is a lot more calories!  I guess that every bit of knowledge and exactness counts! :) 

My Story (sorry, it's kinda long)

I had a baby 3 and a half years ago.  She is my third baby.  She is healthy and strong.  Her name is Beth.  I kind of never felt better after having her.  Finally about a year ago, after eating healthy and exercising like mad without being able to lose weight,  I had my thyroid tested.  (I had other symptoms too, but you don't want to read a novel) Sure enough, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease---a person with Hashimoto's disease does not produce enough thyroxine (the hormone that regulates your metabolism), because their immune system is attacking their thyroid gland.  They will have the condition for life.

After spending thousands of dollars, and trying everything out there to combat hypothyroidism (including taking Synthroid (synthetic thyroxine), I finally started feeling better around Thanksgiving of 2011.  In December I joined with a friend and did a Biggest Loser Challenge, and FINALLY was able to lose 13 pounds.  This has been a tremendous relief to finally be able to lose some weight, not to mention feeling normal and not tired all the time.  A relief because I have always worked sooo hard at exercising, and darn it, I want to look like I work hard...I am almost there, but not quite yet.  I am doing another round of The Great Challenge, and am working on getting to my goal weight of 140.  I weigh in on Wednesdays, so tomorrow I will post pictures of the scale and I will also post all my measurements.

Even though this past year has been so extremely difficult, I wouldn't trade it for anything.  I had been praying and asking the Lord to help me be healthy and to help me make my weakness for food turn into a strength.  I didn't know how that was possible, but I just knew that He has promised to help us do just that. (see Ether 12:27, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Hebrews 4:16, Jacob 4:7, Alma 26:12, Moroni 10:32) Because I have a thyroid condition, my body is super sensitive to everything I put in it...which makes it extremely important for me to feed my body the right things.  Well, I kept on going, day after day, and I think I can finally say that because of the stuff I have went through with my thyroid, I am good at being healthy and eating right, because I got through that I can do ANYTHING!!! I didn't think that it would be possible to turn this into a strength, but through the atoning grace (i.e. enabling power) of Jesus Christ, I am strong.  He has enabled me to redefine myself--BUT I had to experience a bunch of junk to get to that point.  I hope I am making sense.  Allow me to quote one of my all-time favorite authors to illustrate my point-- C.S. Lewis (from Mere Christianity)

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.

The command “Be ye perfect” is not idealistic gas. Nor is it a command to do the impossible. He is going to make us into creatures that can obey that command. He said (in the Bible) that we were “gods” and He is going to make good His words. He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess, a dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly (though, of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness. The process will be long and in parts very painful; but that is what we are in for. Nothing less. He meant what He said."

I love this quote because every last morsel of it screams truth to my soul!  He wants what is good for us, and He will help us achieve what we desire as long as it is righteous.  So join me on my journey to good health. 

Cake, Exercise, and Breakfast

Today is Mai's Birthday.  She is turning 6.  I made this cake for her.  She wanted a dog cake (in case you couldn't tell....it kinda looks like it could pass for a polar bear LOL).

I think it turned out okay.  But don't look too closely.  It is held together by frosting (LOTS of it) and is definitely NOT symmetrical!  I am kind of a symmetry freak.....

I am very proud to say that I did not eat a morself of this cake.....luckily for me she wanted pink strawberry cake (not my favorite for sure). 

 She picked the tail---looks a little cat-like to me!

For breakfast I had 1 egg and 2 egg whites with 2 tablespoons of salsa....and of 2 cups of pineapple. It was the most delicious pineapple I have had in a while.  That is a total of 304 yummy  calories.  It lasted me all the way to lunch.  I was so busy with the cake that I didn't even notice the time fly by.  I think it is important to have a list of things to do in lieu of going to the fridge.  I will post one soon :)!

Pineapple---Yum

Today at the gym I did 10 minutes on the treadmill, then did the leg adductor and abductor.....3 sets of ten man pushups (that is what I call on your feet pushups), 3 sets of 20 back extensions while holding a 25 # weight to my chest.  Then I did another 10 minutes on the treadmill and did 3 sets of 20 walking lunges while holding 25# weights in each hand (I hold them at my shoulders).  After that I finished off with 10 minutes on the elliptical (15 incline, 15 resistance) and then did 3 sets of 10 reps each on the leg curl machine and the leg extension machine.  It all felt great....I love my time at the gym. :)

Think on these.....

 This has proven to be very true in my case.  Good, natural food can have a medicinal effect on a person.  On the other hand, over processed icky food ALWAYS makes me feel like I am being slowly poisoned.  I think that the more I eat good food, the more sensitive my body is to icky food.

I have always just ran, and ran, and ran some more.  And, while I do like running, I have always done it, and I have always been at the high end of my healthy weight.  I am beginning to LOVE weight training, and I am already seeing results in my strength and my body composition.....

Monday Exercise and Lunch

So lunch today was a pear, 4 oz. of boneless, skinless chicken breast, 2 Tablespoons of bbq sauce and 2 cups of broccoli stir fry mix sauteed in 1 tsp of olive oil.  It was very filling especially by the time I finished my 16 ounces of water.  All this was a total of 412 calories, 7 grams of fat, 53 grams of carbs, 7 grams of fiber and 29 grams of protein.  Should keep me full until dinner time.  One good thing about eating healthy is that I find it extremely simple to prepare meals.  I usually just prepare a protein to go with veggies and fruits.  SIMPLE!  I do have my favorite sauces and marinades....this bbq sauce is one of my faves--Sweet Baby Ray's Original sauce.  It is sometimes tricky to keep variety in what I eat so I try to find new healthy stuff online as much as I can.

Today for my workout I did my upper body.  I use mostly free weights.  I also did abs.  I will go into detail in another post when I share some of favorite exercises.

So going out of my comfort zone!

For my first post, I want to let you know that it is really not like me to share my life with the world....however, I feel like journaling about the stuff I have went through and maybe the stuff I will go through might possibly help others. I know it will definitely help me.

My purposes with this blog are first, to journal my weight-loss/fitness efforts. Secondly, I hope to maybe inspire others along the way. And lastly, but perhaps most importantly, I want to show how intertwined the spiritual self is with the physical self. At least it is for me. I know that everything I am able to do is possible because of my faith and hope in my Savior, Jesus Christ. No matter your religion, there are fundamental truths about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and His grace that will help you be strong in the face of the adversity of choosing to be healthy and fit.

More to come on my own personal story....