Week 33

This is the beginning of week 33. Last week kind of doesn't count because I was sick so I exercised maybe 10 minutes haha! Hopefully I can get back on track this week. I hate being sick because it's like I have to start all over again in exercising but thankfully it's not too hard  to get back on track. I'm happy to report that I have, as of last week, lost 22 pounds since beginning this exercise journey so I'm really proud of myself and I am very thankful to God for giving me the strength to keep going when I wanted to give up. My goal of losing weight before I moved out of the country was to lose 20 pounds so I'm happy to have accomplished this. I'll be leaving some time this week. Hopefully I can keep up this journey. My next short term goal is 27  pounds away. And my next big goal is almost 50 pounds away. By this time next year, I hope to have reached that next big goal!

That's all for now!

30 Weeks down!

I haven't written in a while. Family was visiting in August and September so it was pretty busy. My grandmother also passed away so there were a few weeks in there where exercising was at a minimum, but I still managed to continue to lose weight. Right now I'm beginning my 31st week of exercising and it is going well. Today I probably went overboard with over an hour of dancing and then another 15 minutes stretching, but it was good to challenge myself again. I've been struggling for the past few weeks to meet my minimum weekly exercise goal so this week I'm hopping to surpass it. :)

Also, I'm moving out of the country in another week or two, depending on when the visa stuff is finished. The goal now is to continue this exercising journey, even in a new place. I can do it!

OK. Random post but there it is.

20 weeks down

20 weeks!!! Today was the beginning of my 21st week and to my surprise I went down another 3 pounds. I was getting a bit discouraged because I was plateau-ing for a long while. Interval training seems like it has worked well!

Last week, I began Couch to 5k. The first week was pretty easy since I've already been getting in shape. I can't imagine a beginner starting out with this program though. It seems like a bit advanced for someone who has never exercised. Well anyway, I am having fun listening to my favorite songs to get me inspired to run. I have the C25k app on my Nexus which makes it nice and easy for me to do. I have also continued with my Hasfit weight training. I took a break from it for awhile, but I need to tone so that been good.

Progress so far?

• I have less than a hundred pounds to lose which is awesome! Double digits seem more doable :) 
• I've gone down a pants size. Maybe close to going down another one.
• I've completed 20 weeks of exercise which is far beyond any hope I ever had of sticking with it
• I'm at a lower weight than I have been in like 10 years.
• I'm actually jogging and enjoying it. Not hardcore, but for someone who never thought that she could do it, I'm amazed.

All in all I feel great. God has really taken me through this and I only have him to thank for giving me the strength and the endurance for what will be a long journey ahead of me. 

On a side note, I love listening to this song for working out!

18th week!

I can't believe that I'm halfway through my eighteenth week. My schedule has been kind of hectic the past few weeks but I've still been meeting my goals. I've been doing a little interval jogging to boost my workout and that has been going well. I haven't done Hasfit in a few weeks, except for some stretching, so I want to add that into my exercising again. My eating has gotten a little sloppy as well so I'm hoping to get back on track. It hasn't been horrible, but I might as well deal with it before it gets bad. All in all I'm staying strong and with it so that is fantastic!! Cheers!

Week 15

There is nothing that says success quite like shopping for clothes and finding out that you've gone down a size. :) This week I'm upping my exercise a ton!!! Just trying something different. We'll see how it goes. Also, I started doing the 3 mile brisk walk so, pretty good. All in all I feel great!

Beginning the 14th week

So, I started something new on Saturday. A walking workout. I've been walking a few times a week for the past month or so, and just last week I began walking after dinner as well. I do feel a lot better getting a little extra exercise in at night without being ridiculous. I also enjoy the fresh air blowing off of the trees as the sun sets. More than exercise, though, it is a good time to think and just be with God in his creation. Because Since I've been enjoying these walks so much, I decided to check out some blogs and see what others are doing with walking. I came across this:

It's a Leslie Sansone at home 2 mile walking exercise video. When I first saw it I thought it was stupid. It looked cheesy and it seemed dumb to walk in place at home for a half hour. However, I wanted to walk at the park on Saturday but then it rained so it was hard to motivate myself to go outside. So I decided to give the video a try. Man! It kicked my butt big time, in a good way. I have been exercising at different intensity levels for 3 months and going on walks as well for just over a month and yet I still felt out of shape for this beginning 2 mile brisk walking video. I did it and felt exhausted afterwards, then felt fine 5 minutes later. It was a fantastic workout. Still a bit cheesy, but what can you do. Being the ambitious and impatient one that I am, I want to do the 5 mile one, but I know I have to work myself up to that. For this week, this is what I'm doing. I will be walking outside too as I like to move around more and to have a destination of where to walk to, but this is nice too. I'll also try to get in some of my normal exercise as well.

I'm hoping for a good week!

12 weeks down

Wow! I've been at this for 3 months! A quarter of a year!!!!!! And although my pound loss is going slowly, the inches sure are coming off. I feel great!!

10 weeks strong!!

I can't believe that I've been at this for 10 weeks! That is crazy!

Today I decided to do some interval running from Hasfit.com. I've be doing the 30 days to get in shape challenge now, but usually about every other day or as a supplement to my dance workouts. Running has always been a daunting task to me, not because I think I can't do it. It really sounds fun. But for a top heavy girl such as myself, I needed to make sure I had the proper clothing and support first. I remedied that last week so I will be sneaking some interval running in here and there to keep things interesting. Dancing still remains as my favorite exercise to do as I enjoy it and  can keep at it for long periods of time. I do my own freestyle dancing as well as some youtube zumba and dance videos. Here's one that I've been enjoying regularly:

One thing that I've learned in this process is that although my progress in weight loss seems slow, my body is improving from the inside out. Last week's doctor visit yielded encouraging results. My borderline high blood pressure of last year was perfect this time around. Cholesterol levels were excellent and my blood sugar level was great. Overall I do feel better and have heaps more energy. Thank you Jesus!

8 weeks down

I am so thankful that God has gotten me this far. I just began my 9th week today. All records are smashed. I've never lasted this long. I feel pretty good too. I don't feel as tired as I used to during the day. When I go out to do things, I don't get out of breath just from walking. All in all I feel pretty good. Sore, but good. I've come very far and it's all thanks to God. :)

I Don't Want To Be Sexy, I Want To Grow Closer To God

I have just completed my 7th week of exercising. It was great! Yesterday was supposed to be my off day but I had some good music on so I ended up dancing and thus completed my exercising a day earlier. ;) I'm actually looking forward to taking the weekend off. I have my nephew and niece coming over and I'm sure that will be workout enough!

Reflections thus far:

It has been very hard getting into exercising again and increasing my amount of time of doing it. After losing 10 pounds and gaining 15 back a few times....it was getting quite discouraging and I wondered if I would every be able to keep focused. I've tried Go Fit! at Curves, Setting Captives Free, and even my local gym but then life happens and I get distracted. I'm really excited to have completed a 7th week of working out 5x a week! And I only have God to thank. I can try to work out on my own, eat healthy and all that, but when I take my eyes off of God, my focus becomes more about me and my desires and getting there on my own strength. With all of the exercise program out there that are about making ourselves feel better and being focused on ourselves constantly, it makes it hard to keep God in focus. When I first began using My Fitness Pal at the beginning of March, I got caught up in a lot of that calorie counting self focus. I began stressing about salt and sugar intake and trying to figure out a realistic way to eat healthier without succumbing to all of the nonsensical fads out there. I became so self focused and about me. That's when I realized that I can't live this way. It's not bad to make better choices in eating. It's just that when it becomes an obsession...you know what I mean. Eventually you'll burn out and fall flat on you face. The heart issue of geed isn't dealt with. And most importantly, I'd be putting myself before God. I titled this blog "Elohim, My Heart's Desire" because I want to have God lead my life and be all that I desire. I want to live for him and be healthy so I can honor him and perhaps have more time to share the hope I have in Christ with others. I also wanted to tackle my sin of greed and overeating...of turning to food instead of Him. Not to get a beach body or feel more attractive or whatever. If I'm beautiful in God's eyes, what else matters? I don't want to be sexy, I want to grow closer to God. 

Today I woke up crying and praying for those who are caught up in human trafficking and sex slavery. The women and children, those running brothels, those going to brothels, those stuck in pornography and self gratification, those clueless and/or in denial of all the evil going on. I can't help to think of this as an encouraging step. That perhaps my focus has been taken off of myself so I can see the world clearly and...care. It's counter cultural, but there it is.

Success!

I have successfully completed the 30 day Hasfit beginner's workout!! I actually finished it last Wednesday, but I didn't update. I started to get back spasms that night so I had to take it easy the next few days. I still managed to get a little exercise in. Today was my first day back to my normal schedule. For this next month I'm doing themed dance days and interspersing Hasfit exercises a few times a week to keep building my strength. Today was Indian/Bollywood dances. Tomorrow I will probably do K-pop. Wednesday? Hmm...maybe a free music dance day. ;) We shall see.

Today also marks the beginning of my 7th week of exercising 5x a week! My own personal record.

Okay, enough blabbing. Updating right after exercising is convenient but I don't produce well though out posts because I'm tied and in a hurry to take a shower.

So on that note, adios!

Halfway

I'm halfway through the beginners workout. Pretty good. Each week get harder in harder but I'm surviving.

3 Weeks Strong!

I have been exercising for almost 3 weeks in a row, 5 days a week! Yay! Getting started is the hardest! I have never EVER done that before. I do feel better and less sore, but these workouts are kicking my butt! I do my own dancing ;) to supplement this plan, but 2 weeks ago I learned about a 30 day beginner low impact plan from hasfit.com. Basically they have these videos that you can do from home everyday and the videos are kind of like having a personal fitness coach in your living room. And EVERYTHING is FREE. That is all I ask for. ;) So far so good. Here's what the beginner month looks like. Don't let the short times fool you, especially the 5 minute abs. Ouch! Again, the website is hasfit.com.

Things are going well. It's kind of cool that I have lost 6 pounds. I'm just a few pounds from where I was a year ago. Great! I can't wait to get to 20lbs lost or more. I've never lost more than 10lbs. I'm also taking measurements every few weeks since scales can be jerks and not let you know that even though you're more fit, muscle is heavier than fat. This week was one of those weeks. I'm still at 6 pounds lost. I'm usually very slow at losing weight so it wasn't unexpected, but still. It's all good though. God's giving me the strength, desire, and energy to do this and I am so proud to have worked hard out for three weeks and to be eating better. I'm not into that protein and flax seed stuff as I what to make lifestyle changes that I will continue to do after I'm healthy, so I'm adjusting my meals by making better food choices (Cooking more from scratch), portion control and keeping track of what I eat. I'm actually more concerned about sodium and sugar intake than calories since high blood pressure AND diabetes runs in my family. I've been consistently under my calorie limit on MyFitnessPal, even though I'm not really trying to keep track of that.

Anyway, this is kind of a rambling post, but I thought I should update, more for myself than anyone else as I'm sure no one reads this ;) Cheers!

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

Stomach Flu!

Well, one benefit to being sick is that I lost some weight. Now, it may or may not come back, but now that I'm on the mend, I want to slowly start introducing regular foods and exercise to my body again. Here we go!

Here we go...again

Well, it has been almost a year. The 'minor' surgery turned  out not to be so minor. There was a significant complication that happened and I'm still dealing with some of the repercussions. Well, with all the stuff going on this past year: planning to move out of the country again, stressful family situations, friends deaths, panic attacks, moving, and massive disappointments, I haven't done so well. Right now, honestly, I feel happy that I didn't have a nervous breakdown although I came so close many times!

I've decided that I need to try to get healthy again. Life throws a bunch of stuff at us, but just because we fall down, it doesn't mean we have to stay down. It's time to get up and try again.

I did a weigh in today just to see where I was at. It wasn't great. I'm a few pounds over the heaviest I've ever been. Boo. So, it's time to get up and go.

Lord give me your strength and help me not to lose focus!

Let's gooooo!