Bread

I realized this morning that it was Sunday when I ate my last piece of bread!

A miracle really.....I am a bread lover....I use to eat 4, 5, 6, maybe even 7 pieces of bread a day.

Since beginning this journey I continued to eat usually 2 pieces a day.....now it has been 4 days since my last piece!

My favorite is toast with peanut butter....yum!

Since I have not had any I have felt light in my tummy area, not bloated and full or heavy. The scale isn't changing so it isn't that I have lost weight.

Hmmmm!

I am going to do some research as to why this may be...it may be just a coincidence but I am thinking it is not. I will post on it if I find anything really interesting or shocking.

No exercise again today....I think I need to challenge

myself for the month of October. Is there any great challenges out in blog land that someone can tell me about??? Or anyone interested in doing a challenge with me???

Breakfast was Steel cut oats, apple, cinnamon, almond breeze, chopped almonds and granola.

Morning snack was cantaloupe, pineapple, raspberries and grapes.

Lunch was a smoothie again. (Spinach, almond breeze, peanut butter and blueberries)

Afternoon snack is baby carrots, hummus and organic crackers.

Supper will be Roast beef, brown rice, corn cooked, peas and beets.

We are having dinner guests tonight so I am making an Apple Crisp for dessert with our own apples from the yard.

I decided to modify my recipe in order to 'clean' it up some.

If the crisp ends up tasting good I will post pictures and the recipe later.

I love Apple Crisp so I am hoping the changes I made are all good!

New Books

What a crazy, emotional, productive and WONDERFUL week it has been....

oh wait it is only Wednesday!!

Nothing much to say today but I wanted to stop and post my meals....

Breakfast was 1/2 cup of Steel cut oats, a chopped up fresh Ontario grown McIntosh apple, 1/3 cup granola and 1/2 cup Vanilla Almond breeze. This was so delicious, the firmness of the apples only partly cooked and then the crunch of the granola made me want more, more, more but I stopped at the one serving... but it is definitely a do over.

Morning snack was a bowl of cantaloupe and a Fruit to go bar.

For lunch I had a smoothie again today....they are so quick and easy, I can drink it while I prepare the children something.

The special today was a frozen banana, almond butter, chocolate Almond breeze, spinach and flaxmeal.

YUMMY!!! In case you were wondering about the spinach... in a smoothie is tasteless so you get a funky colour and mega vitamins but no funny taste....this is a bonus!

Afternoon boost will be fresh pineapple and yogurt.

Supper will be brown rice, butternut squash and Italian sausage.

I feel on top of the world today, so much has happened this week and I feel stronger for having gone through it.

I have ordered myself the Eat-Clean book for families and Jillian Michael's book Winning by Losing and I am looking forward to getting them in the mail hopefully by the middle of next week.

I have the Eat- Clean Diet book and I use it almost daily so I am positive that the family edition is going to bring me great ideas to get the children eating more clean meals because to be honest I usually have to prepare two completely separate meals (one for hubby & me and the other for the children) and I don't want to keep doing this so some new ideas would be great.

As for Jillian's book.... she inspires me and challenges me so this was an obvious must read.

Renewing of My Thoughts

When I was a child I was always the big girl in the group, as a teenager I lost 60lbs only to regain it plus some when I left home for college.

After completing college I lost 70+ pounds and maintained that loss for 3 years before getting married and then pregnant right away.

After I gave birth to my first and second child I lost the weight I had put on within a few short weeks...like I went shopping at 6 weeks postpartum and bought size 6 jeans...after my second daughter was born I experienced 3 miscarriages within 18 months and it devastated me so I ate my way through the pain with the result of gaining 20 pounds with each loss.

This left me at a whopping 200+ pounds when I got pregnant with my first born son. Three more pregnancies after that and this is where my journey began to healthy living!!!

November 7th, 2009 I gave birth to my sweet Amanda via urgent c-section and I knew I had NO CHOICE but to get my act together and lose weight or I would not be around to enjoy my family!!!

I have said all this just to make the statement that for years I have struggled with an issue with being overweight/obese and it is taking some time to change my thinking about myself but I know more today than I did yesterday and I battle onward.

I truly believe that overeating is an addiction and it is no easier of an addiction to break than drugs, alcohol, etc. but I do have the strength to do this if I decide to draw closer to the Lord while I do it. I deserve to break the hold that my flesh has on my will and to untangle my emotions now so I can walk in freedom from this addiction in strength and not just survive it.

For this entire journey my success has been equated with the number on the scale ....in my mind!

I am going to try and change this because I don't think MY SUCCESS, who I am and what I can be, should be measured by a number anymore. It will be a hard thing to change about myself but well worth the effort. I am not saying that I am going to stop weighing myself but my focus will not be so much on that number but rather being free in my thought life!

My focus from here on out will be on healing, changing and restoring ME from the inside out! Keep me accountable ladies because I may need to be reminded of what I am saying today when the scale talks to me again!

I want to thank you all for your comments, they have ALL helped me in different ways today to pursue freedom in a greater way!!!

I did not get any exercise in the last two morning because I have had a child sleeping on the couch in the living room with a cold and this is where the television is for me to do my dvd with....hopefully tomorrow!

My Food for Today

• Picture # 1 is breakfast which was steel cut oats, sliced banana and peanut butter with a splash of milk.
• # 2 is a smoothie. 3 handfuls of spinach, 1 cup Almond Breeze, peanut butter, frozen blueberries and 2 tbsp. flaxmeal.
• My afternoon snack will be an apple and cheese.
• Supper will be a bowl of picture #3 which is Vegan Split Pea soup that I made today. It looks blah but has so much flavour...I love it!
  
  
  

This ain't No Spectator Sport

After I had great time of reflection yesterday morning my husband mentioned having a big brunch of bacon, eggs, beans, hash browns and toast. I usually would say okay I will help prepare but then I would eat my normal breakfast of oatmeal or cold cereal.

Instead I thought I would join the family....this was a mistake!

I don't even like bacon or hash browns but I ate them anyway and I ended up eating way more calories than I needed or wanted.

After eating that stuff for brunch I felt like I was watching someone elses life...like in a movie! I went from full to stuffed by eating too many Peanut Butter cookies and Hot Chocolate.

Basically I binged for the rest of the day with the all or nothing attitude. I blew it so why not go all out. This binge was NOTHING like how I use to eat but I still was displeased with my actions!

It seems like I can't accept the fact that I am a SUCCESS story ( I am not at my goal yet but close) and when ever I spend any time dwelling on how well I have done, I lose control! This is something I am going to be spending time in prayer about...obviously I need to deal with these emotions and stay in the game of life at all times.

Today I have been back on track.....here are my eats.

Breakfast was a bowl of Barbara's Shredded Oats, 1 cup of fresh strawberries and 3/4 milk. This is a new cereal to me and it tasted great...a bit of a change in my normal but still a healthy choice.

For morning snack I had a big, crisp apple and 11 almonds.

Lunch was a Green Smoothie consisting of 3 handfuls of spinach, a frozen banana, 2 tbsp. ground flaxmeal, 1 tbsp. natural peanut butter and 1 cup of almond breeze. Below is a picture of my little guy enjoying some of my lunch, he loves smoothies and I can never drink one alone!

Afternoon boost was more berries with yogurt and granola. This always keeps me going until supper.

Tonight will be Taco Salad leftovers for me, definitely one of my favorites.

Staying in the game!!! and being an active player!!!!

Week 39 Results

Today was my weigh in and I was down to 150.5lbs. That is a loss of 1.5lbs this week and a total loss of 58.5lbs in 39 weeks.

I am so close to the 140's.....soon, soon, patience Christine!!!

I took a little look back at my starting measurements and then did them today and here are the differences; the first number is today's and the last is the starting one.

• Bust 35" 41"

• Waist 33" 42.5"

• Hips 36.5" 44.5"

• Upper Leg 20.5" 25"

• Lower Leg 14" 15"

• Ankle 8.5" 9"

• Neck 13.5" 14.75"

• Bi-cep 12.25" 15"

I have nothing to complain about after looking at all of these stats.

My eating has been on track all weekend and I did have a great run on Friday night, my legs felt strong and powerful from the start until right near the end of the 5km.

I am still suppose to run a 10km race in 3 weeks but with my husband working his crazy shifts this means I can not get in the training I need to do. I have never ran more than 7.5km...so I don't know what I am going to do...I had asked a friend to run with me at that race and I don't want to let her down but I am not sure if I would be able to complete it and then I would feel like I let myself down. I need to make a decision SOON!

Totally off topic but this is what my husband brought home yesterday.......

What a sweet man I have!!!

Friday....Thankfully!

I am tired....I feel foggy in my eyes because I am so tired!
and my husband is home so I will quickly post my food for the day and then get out for a run.
It has been a long time since I ran and I have been missing it...so off I am going.

• Breakfast was 1/2 cup of All Bran, 1 cup Almond Breeze and an orange.
• Mid morning snack was 1 oz. cashews and an apple sliced up with cinnamon sprinkled on it.
• Salad greens, 1 tbsp. dressing and 3 chicken nuggets (NOT AT ALL a clean food but it is what I was making for the children...I did skip the fries!)
• Afternoon boost was a frozen banana with 1 tbsp. Almond Butter.
• Taco salad with 1/2 cup ground beef, lots of greens, salsa, 3 tbsp. plain yogurt and 1 oz. grated cheddar cheese and 14 multigrain tortilla chips. YUMMY!
• Apple chopped up with a sprinkle of cinnamon and a handful of oats microwaved for 1 minute and then a splash of Almond breeze...this was my dessert tonight just because I wanted one.

Have a great weekend all!!!!

Satistics

I was shocked to hear on the Biggest Loser that 2 out of 3 people in America are obese!
I can see overweight but the statistic was OBESE.
That is a staggering fact...I am sure that Canada is right up there with the U.S on this one.

I could not help but think about the possible reasons why....from my own life I would say that it is a direct result of not moving enough and polluting our bodies with quick, easy and high calorie foods.

I am so thankful to God that He has given me the desire and determination to make the changes in my life that have brought me to this place were I am no longer a statistic!!!

My eats for today were....

• 2/3 of a banana (the baby ate the other 1/3) chopped up in 1/2 cup of steel cut oats, 1 tbsp. peanut butter and 1/2 cup of almond breeze for breakfast. Yummy!!!
• 1 cup fresh pineapple and 22 almonds for mid-morning snack
• Lunch was 1/4 feta cheese, mixed into 1 medium cucumber, red onions, red pepper.
• 1/2 cup blueberries, 1/2 cup yogurt and a handful of granola was my afternoon boost with a cup of Chocolaty Chia tea.
• Supper will be 1 cup left over chili.

Exercise for today was the 30 Day Shred, Level 2 with 5lb weights. Oh how I love Jillian's workouts! A great sweat and the heart pumping fast!!! Oh ya!!!

Feeling Good

I did manage to get in some exercise yesterday after my hydro interruption that set my schedule a miss.
I started out with trying to do a 2 Mile Walk Away the Pounds DVD at 3pm but I had a friend stop in at the 1 Mile point so that came to an end. After supper I threw in 30 squats, push-ups and crunches thinking that was going to have to be it for the day.

Once I got the children to bed at 8:30pm I was feeling so tired and grumpy that I thought a good sweaty workout was probably what I needed....it was either that or sit down and eat chips! I choose the workout and put on the 2 Mile Walk DVD again. This time I pushed it through and had a good sweat going when I was done.
I did feel better after but for the record people...I hate exercising at night!

Eating for Tuesday was;
Steel Cut Oats with fresh berries and Almond Breeze for breakfast.
Orange & 1oz. Almonds for morning snack
1/2 can tuna, mixed greens with 1 tbsp. dressing and 7 organic crackers for lunch.
Plain yogurt, fresh pineapple and granola for afternoon pick-up.
Supper was 3 oz. roasted organic chicken, 1/2 sweet potato, 1 cup cabbage and 1/2 green peas.

Wednesday's eats;
Steel Cut Oats, 2 tbsp. flax meal, berries and 1/2 almond breeze.
1oz. cashews and fresh pineapple for mid-morning snack
1 egg and 2 egg whites scrambled with red pepper, onions & spinach sauteed and all wrapped up in a Whole Wheat wrap for lunch.
Afternoon boost was a banana with 1 tbsp. melted natural peanut butter drizzled on top and a handful of granola.
Supper is simmering now and it will be a bowl of Chili.
Tonight while I watch a recorded copy of last nights 'Biggest Loser' I will have a bag of smart pop popcorn...if I need it. I enjoy watching this show so much...I think I cry EVERY episode.

This morning I did the No More Trouble Zones DVD workout before the children woke up!
I love, love, love having it done first thing in the morning!!!

Carbs

After my post Sunday...I had to lay it all out first...I prepared supper for the family!
I made myself a veggie pizza on a whole wheat pita with a side salad (it was yummy...but that is not my point!) within an hour of eating my headache was gone and has NOT returned.

So I have concluded that it was indeed the need for some healthy carbohydrates in my body that was giving me the headache. Weird but true!

Yesterday I eat moderate serving of carbs just like I have done previously and I feel great.

I am learning much about myself again on this journey!
I always knew that there would be emotional and spiritual renewal along the way I just had no idea how much. I feel like I am walking in more truth lately and in doing that I can minister life to those in my life!
Specifically my children..... my eldest daughter is so much like me and I see her falling into the same perfectionist and overeating behaviours that I am walking out of. My prayer is that I never return to that which I have walked out of so I can lead her in a positive manner.

My workouts have been at 6:30am lately because this is when my hubby leaves for work and the house is still quiet.
Yesterday it was me and Jillian doing the 30 Day Shred. Today the hydro had went out before 6 and just came on a few minuter ago so now I need to figure out when and how I will get my workout in.

Have a great day and thank you all for the support over the last number of days, you are all great!!!

KELLY AND LEAH;
Just so you know I am not able to open your blogs yet because my computer keeps Aborting the Operation???? and I am really missing reading about your life. Computers are great when they work the way they are suppose to!!!

Sugar Shock Day 4 (Re-evaluating)

Yesterday and today I have been doing a lot of thinking!

In my adult life I have spent periods of time fasting from food in order to lose weight.
Ouch!! that was hard to admit!
Whenever I was dieting and had a hard spell were I was resorting back to old, bad eating habits I would convince myself that the only to break this cycle was to STOP eating. It never worked obviously because throughout the time I was not eating I would focus on ALL the STUFF I was going to eat as soon as I could. My method always backfired...as it should. So this time around I decided from the beginning that I was not going to do this because I know it is a wrong strategy...plus I am nursing and can't do this and keep up my milk supply.

I had successfully lost 54lbs and got to my first goal of 155lbs using the method of eating clean and exercising. I incorporated into my eating plan treats/desserts in moderation and on planned dates. THIS HAS WORKED FOR ME!!!!

Since reaching 155lbs I have been struggling with my thoughts constantly. I have decided I want to lose another 15- 25 pounds now but my struggle is I want it done now too.

This brings me to my motives for eliminating carbs from the foods I can eat. I was looking for a quick way to lose weight and it is working. I was down 3 lbs this week bringing me to 152lbs. I have not been this light and healthy since just after the birth of my eldest child 11 years ago! I could not be happier about this! but I know my heart and the same reason I fasted to lose weight in the past is the same reasons I choose this method at this point in my weight loss journey!

I hope I have not turned you all off with this post but it is time to be honest with you and myself. I don't want to hide behind ANYTHING!!!

My head has been aching for a long time now and by accident, I had to eat a half a whole wheat bun yesterday while out of the house because I had no other choices available, I discovered by adding that carb into my system my headache went away in less then 1 hour. As soon as I got home I resumed my eating plan of no carbs....by midnight I was wake with a headache again and it is still here!
I think my body is telling me something...don't you!?!?!?

I refuse to take pain medication unless I am fevered because I am still nursing...when I get headaches they are telling me something is wrong with my body and I need to figure out what it is. Sometimes it is I need extra sleep...this is not the case now, sometimes I am stressed out about a decision....not anything happening there, or I may need a chiropractor adjustment....this to is not the case. The only reason I can come up with is the change in diet.

So after much thinking I have decided that I need to resume eating clean (with my next planned dessert on Thanksgiving) like I have been doing for the last almost 10 months and let the weight come off at the rate in which it is going to. I still have not accepted the fact that it will probably be SLOW but I have support from fellow bloggers, family and friends and I know all of you will help keep my focus on the goal through the this process.
I was really looking forward to doing this Sugar Shock Challenge with Amy because of the accountability but I can't and I know the understanding is there.

Sorry this is so long and alot of rambling but there it is......my heart!

Sugar Shock Day 2 & 3

Here is green smoothie I had this morning for breakfast: 3 big handfuls of spinach, 1/2 cup of plain yogurt, 1/2 low fat milk, 1 tbsp. natural peanut butter, a banana and 2 tbsp. flax. It looks mean but it tasted YUMMY!

Homemade Chicken and Vegetable soup. This was lunch yesterday.

Two whole eggs scrambled with ham, cheese, red pepper, spinach and red onions sauteed in EVOO on top. This was breakfast yesterday.

This is just a quick update and a few pictures. I don't have time to list all my meals I have had over the last three days right now but I am doing well with this challenge so far.

I am not 100% great but I am not striving for perfect anyway!

If anyone out there has done the South Beach Diet Phase One before....have you experienced a constant headache?

I have had one since about 24 hours into this challenge, I refuse to take medication because of nursing the baby still so I am thinking I may need to add 2-3 healthy whole grains to my day and see what happens.

Ideas, thoughts and suggestions are welcome!

Sugar Shock Day 1

As I said yesterday I started the Sugar Shock Challenge in the afternoon.

Below is my supper; four homemade meatballs, green beans and sauted zucchini, red pepper and onions.
For breakfast it was a scrambled whole egg and 2 egg whites with garlic, red pepper, onions and spinach all cooked in Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Lunch was a big plate of yummy!

I cooked up lean ground beef and added spices to make it like taco meat. So on top of a bed of lettuse I loaded up red pepper, onions, 1/2 cup taco meat, 1 oz. shredded cheese, a couple tablespoons of plain fat free yogurt and a couple of tablespoons of medium salsa.

This was satisfying!

My morning snack was an apple with 1 tbsp. natural peanut butter and my afternoon snack will be Chocolatey Chia tea and an orange.

Supper will be 4 meatballs and cabbage salad.

So far this is going well, I am committed to breaking this plataeu!

I want to see the 140's sooner than later!

Sugar Shock Challenge

This body needs it!!!

I had joined Dawne's challenge to be Treat Free for September and have failed miserably at it two weeks in a row..... I even promised Dawne that I would be better this week!!!
Sorry Dawne, I am usually a woman of my word. sigh

This journey is all about getting up and dusting ones self off again and then to keep on walking! Learning something from the mistakes we make but not letting shame and condemnation into our thoughts and actions.

So here is my plan.....Amy has started a Sugar Shock Challenge and this is something I had been thinking about for a long time now so it seems like a great time to jump into it....while I have someone to do it with makes great sense. I have one exception to Amy's link about the Sugar Shock though....I am such a fruit liking kind of girl I will not be giving them up but rather limiting them to 2-3 servings a day. I will be giving up all other carbs though...this will be a challenge in its self for me.

I will start today, now.... even though it is after lunch and I have had carbs earlier in the day... if I wait and say "I will start in the morning" then I will be tempted to binge tonight on all of the things that I will not be eating until September 30th.

My starting weight will be 155lbs, that was my weigh in on Sunday...I am probably heavier than that because I have binged both Monday and Tuesday but 155 it is as the official start weight.

If you are a praying person I could sure use the support right now!
September is a time of year that I love: a time of change, re-establishing routines and renewed commitments to ones self and others! along with these things also comes STRESS!
Stress and I don't go well together!

Leah, if you read this post I am not able to read your blog anymore. My computer keeps aborting the operation when I try to go to it. This is very sad...I miss reading about your journey! Hopefully I can figure out my computer problem soon and then get caught up on your blog, I had a repair done on the computer a few weeks ago and since then this has been happening to me on a number of sites I visited in the past. I hope all is well with you!

It has been an incredibly busy, crazy, fun and lovely almost three weeks!

We went to family camp, then came home and dealt with some business and then I went away again with three of the children for a few days to see our former pastor and his wife. When I got home my husband started a new job! Since he started working I have been baking and doing crafts with my children to enter in the local Fall Fair, getting lessons ready for school to start next week, preserving vegetables and doing the everyday things that need to be done to keep the house in order. Crazy and busy but I LOVE it!!!!

I have to get back to my busy schedule now but wanted to share a couple of things.... eating is going well! I did put on a few pounds while on holidays but they are back off again. Exercise has been very sporadic with the busy schedule but I have been getting in some good runs and strength training in just not consistently.

I have joined Dawne's challenge for September to not indulge in sweets! I sure needed this challenge to get me back off of the treats I have allowed back in on a regular basis. So I am not allowing myself a lick or sniff of anything that I consider a sweet treat; no ice cream, sugar cereal, muffins, chocolate, cookies and/or cake. This is a great challenge right now because all of the baking I am doing for the Fall Fair, I would definitely be 'sampling' my entries otherwise and it could easily lead to a binge!

Blessings to you all and hopefully I will be able to take time to comment more regularly again soon!