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!

The proper focus!

I have been neglecting this blog for no better reason than that I've just been busy with life. Preparing to move to Korea, talking an online TEFL course, and impending minor surgery, job searching, church obligations, life obligations, etc, etc, etc...

But one of the things that makes my life so busy is that I've been working out at the gym for 5 weeks now. Tomorrow (or should I say today since it's after 1am) will begin my 6th week. This is huge for me! No, I haven't lost those 15 pounds yet. More like 5, but I have lost inches, gained some muscle and am doing my heart a huge favor. I have been eating breakfast every morning (huge again for me) and I've been constantly exceeding my exercise goals. And surprisingly, I've been having fun! But most importantly, I'm doing this to honor my God. My focus is right. By my own effort I fail, but God in his mercy lifts me and gives me the strength to stick with this. Many times while I exercise, I put on my favorite songs and worship God. It's phenomenal and most enjoyable!

Now I should head off to bed so that I can get up to exercises tomorrow!