Food Journal Adventure

"Nothing changes until you change it. You must be prepared to do something you have never done."

This quote is so true! I know in my life, sometimes change can be a hard thing. When we attempt something new, or outside of our comfort zone, it can be a challenge. But it might also be the key to lasting change, and that makes it all worth it!

As my health and fitness journey progresses, I am always researching and looking for new tools and resources that might help along the way. Not quick fixes or crash diets or short term things, but habits and routines that can be established for long term results and change.

And I want to invite you into one of my latest experiments with a new tool, that I feel may be very beneficial in my journey, and maybe yours too!

And this tool...food journals!

I have done this a few times, but never quite stuck with it. But the benefits have been and are really great! When you first start tracking your food, it can be surprising! Little bites here and there you forget about normally end up adding up in the end.

In an effort to make sure I am staying on track with my nutrition and to see a break down of my daily macro nutrients, I have decided to start a food journal and track everything that goes in for my duration of doing the P90X3 program.

Before I did this with a pen and paper, but I decided this time to try MyFitnessPal because it shows the break down of each food and the specific nutrients in each food.

If you want to join me in tracking your food for a short season, or just dabble in it, here are some tips that I am noticing off the bat that will help you on your way!

1. Decide how you will track it. Whether a notebook you can take with you, or using an app like MyFitnessPal, decide on ONE way to track and stick to it.

2. Create your meal plan. This is something that will help you overall with having healthy options to choose from, and can help you save money because you will use the food you buy!

3. Stay on top of your tracking! Right when you eat a meal, before or after, WRITE IT DOWN. If you wait too long, you may forget those little things you ate. Write it down immediately.

4. Set a timer for yourself to remind you to go over the food you tracked for the day. Make sure you got everything!

5. Have grace for yourself. If you go over or under, or have a cheat day, don't sweat it and do not give up. Be honest with yourself and keep going. Don't let it be the end all, be all.

I am excited to start tracking my food and macro nutrients on a regular basis and see the results from that. Am I going to have a great occasionally? Absolutely! Find what works for you and keeps you healthy. But I do challenge you to try new things to see what works for you! So, if you are interested, join me in doing a food journal, and let me know you are! I would love to swap ideas and brainstorm.

Who else does a food journal? Did it work for you, or did you find something else that worked better? Share your thoughts below! 

Drive Time University

First off, let's have a vote.

When you are driving in traffic, stuck in a gridlock, or just taking your daily commute, what do you do? 

A. Turn on the radio and skip through the channels
B. Turn on the radio and listen to the music and commercials
C. Sit in silence
D. Listen to an audio book
E. Talk on the phone, text or look at your phone

First, let me please say that if you text while driving, just say no. I can't count how many accidents or near accidents I have seen because of it. But I'm not about to get on my soap box about that today.

I wanted to share what I have been doing and have found most helpful! I've actually ditched the radio (and subsequent flipping through every channel because they are either on commercial or playing my least favorite song on repeat), and taken to listening to audio books every time I'm in my car!

The average American spends a lot of time in his car over the course of the year. Driving to and from work, to the store, taking trips, and all various kinds of errands. That means a lot of time that you can't do a lot else with your hands than drive, and you can't look at other things because you are watching the road.

That leaves our ears! I used to shuffle through the radio stations but honestly never enjoyed that much. I love music, but I have commercials more. It would get so old!

I have now replaced that with listening to audio books. My own "drive time university" if you will! For work alone I typically drive at least 3 to 4 hours per week. Do you know what you can do with three to four hours when you listen to audio books? 

I've taken "dead time," time that would just be killed sitting in traffic and turn it in an opportunity to learn, and it is already making a huge impact. I love to learn, and this avenue is free or costs next to nothing. And I can choose my own material!

Here are some great places to start looking:

1. Podcast Addict App. LOVE this app! You can search and subscribe to many different podcasts- pastors, teachers, motivational speakers. Put it on when you get in the car and listen while you drive!

2. Audible. This is linked to Amazon! I have not personally used it yet, but I know some friends who love this app and use it to listen to fiction and non fiction a like.

3. YouTube. You can actually find some great motivational material on there, but it tends to be shorter than other apps. I recommend using the "watch later" button to bookmark what you want to listen to and then create a playlist so you are hands free while driving.

4. Physical CDs. Amazon is great for this too! You can find so many books on audio to get and keep on hand in your car to listen to!

If you have never tried this before, I challenge you to listen to one podcast this week on your way to work and see if you don't learn something new along the way!

What's your favorite audio book?

Biggest Nutrition Weakness

Everyone has their weakness when it comes to nutrition. For some, it may be chocolate, or wine. Others, a nice big hamburger. Candy. Popcorn. Soda. The list could honestly go on and on because each one of us likes different things and craves different foods.

Want to know what my biggest nutritional weakness and struggle is? Carbs.

I am a carb-o-holic.

Bread in particular is a big weakness, but also chips, pita chips, tortillas, oh and of course the classic combo of chips and salsa. I definitely crave the salty and savory snacks over the sweet. Some might argue that that is good, but, as I have learned in my life struggling with weight, carbs don't hold much better for me.

Honestly there were times where I would buy a bag of pita chips and sit there and eat, and suddenly realize that I ate the whole bag. I can vividly remember when I came home to the states after being overseas for over a year and missing American food very much (mistake), I went out and bought a tub of hummus and a bag of pita chips and I'm pretty sure I ate the whole thing right there. Ouch.

Looking back those are not my finest moments. When I came home from being overseas particularly, I had a very unhealthy relationship with food. My mentality was "Oh my gosh, I haven't had all of these foods in so long, I'm going to treat myself!" Well that never stopped. And it usually happened with carbs or food that held no nutritional value.

That led to me gaining all of the weight I had lost being overseas, plus adding on more pounds (I honestly don't know how many because I was too ashamed to step on the scale), and reaching my heaviest weight ever.

That is when I decided that I had had enough, and that I needed to change. I am so thankful that Zach stood beside me when I came to him with tears in my eyes, trying to explain how uncomfortable I felt in my own skin, and how unhealthy I felt, and that I needed a change. I am so thankful that my life has turned around and I am getting healthier every day.

But, I must say, that my struggle with food and carbs is still going. When I started working out, I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to what I was eating until about a month and a half in, and I started digging into what I needed to do to get healthy through nutrition.

I learned about proper portion sizes for every food group through doing the 21 Day Fix, which has been life changing as well. Looking at food and the portions I was eating, noticing my cravings, and noticing my eating habits, I realized that I have a lot of work to do.

Not only am I a carb-o-holic, but I tend to eat when I'm bored, or zone out. Dangerous combination. Our eating habits go so much deeper than just the surface of "I'm hungry, I want to eat this." And there are definitely unhealthy relationships that I have with food that I am still breaking (my craving for carbs, particularly the empty carbs that don't aid my bodies nutrition).

I wanted to share this with you and be vulnerable because I want you to know that you are not alone. I know there are so many others out there exactly like me. If not with carbs, you have another vice. Another relationship with food. Another bad eating habit. And I'm telling you, we can get through this.

Your body is a temple, and 80% of the battle for our health is what we feed ourselves. I know that I am striving every day to break the cycle, and nourish my body. I am happy to say that I have been eating more veggies and fruit than I ever have in my life before, and I don't intend on stopping. Every day I am checking myself, especially with carbs and asking myself, "DO I REALLY NEED THIS?"

It can be so incredibly hard to step away from a craving. So hard to put down that second serving. So hard to say no, and walk away.

But I want to tell you that you can do it. Be encouraged and know that you are not alone, and that you can do this.

The Way You Feel About Yourself

Since February of this past year, I have embarked on a journey to lose over one hundred pounds, slim down and most importantly, get healthy. Some of you may know a bit about my story, but at the beginning of this year I began to realize that I was not in shape (and hadn’t been in a long time), I was getting weaker, and I was feeling awful.

I had no energy, I felt like I was dragging behind and couldn’t keep up with my husband or my friends, and I just wanted to take a nap all the time. Even before I left the country to go overseas for a year, I went to the doctor to get a check up and was told that my blood pressure was in that pre-hypertension stage. Where I almost had high blood pressure, but wasn’t quite there.

You know what I did? I ignored it. I thought “eh, that won’t happen to me.” And I kept eating what I wanted, didn’t want to work out, so I didn’t, and I just kept living. Well it caught up to me. While I didn’t go to the doctor after I came home from my time overseas, I’m pretty sure I passed that thresh hold of being in pre-hypertension to having high blood pressure. But I kept going.

Until I had that wake up call in January and knew something had to change, or I was going to be headed down a slippery slope of medical problems that could be severe and cut my life short.

We always tend to think “oh that will never happen to me.” And then we wake up and realize, it has happened to me. But we may feel powerless to do something about it, so we continue on in the way we have always gone.

There is a huge passion and fire burning in my soul to reach out to you that feel like there’s nothing you can do. I have such a strong, burning desire to help people who are on that hard slope towards medical issues, and I want to help you out.

Because it IS possible. There IS hope. There IS another way.

Will it be easy? No. Will it be free? No. Will it be hard? Probably. Will you want to quit? Most likely more than once.

But you know what? IT IS ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT.

I wish I could reach through the computer screen, sit with you over a cup of coffee and pour into you, fill you with hope and SHOW you that there is another way. Don’t get sucked into the lie that it won’t happen to you, because chances are, you might be facing huge medical complications and bills down the road because you ignored the signs now.

Don’t let that be you. From the bottom of my heart I desire to give people hope and show them what I have learned, because it is truly life changing.

Yes, the journey is painful. Yes, I invest in my health now. Yes, I deny myself of some things I over indulged in before.

But let me tell you, even though I have not reached my goal in health, I have never felt more alive. I have more energy, more joy, more discipline, more zeal for life than perhaps ever before.

Getting physically healthy has helped me get on track in all areas of my life. Spiritually, emotionally, mentally, relationally. It has touched every area of my life.

So let me ask you this…what is your health worth to you?

Are you willing to make a little sacrifice right now to gain more energy for your spouse, your family, your job and your life? To get a more positive outlook and perspective? Are you willing to move forward, even when you feel like quitting?

Or will you sit down where you have always sat, giving in to the instant gratification mentality of our culture, only to find yourself facing more serious (and expensive) problems down the road?

I hope that you hear my heart in this. It is not a blog to cast shame or guilt on anyone. Truly, it has just been burning in my heart to show people that there is hope. And though it can be hard, the journey is not as impossible as you think.

I encourage you today to think about where you are putting your health on your list of priorities. Are you investing in it now, or are you putting it off until later down the road? Be brave. Take the leap you need to take today.

And know that there is support and help and accountability for you here! I love to help others find their way, set their goals and reach them. If you need help, please do not hesitate to reach out to me! 

Don't Quit

"Give me your very best! Don't quit on me! Your very best!"

The other day I watched the movie "Facing the Giants" with my husband. I forgot just how inspirational that movie is. If you have never seen it, I highly recommend it. It is packed full with some very valuable lessons for all of us.

One of the most powerful scenes in the movie for me was when the coach has one of his players do the "Death Crawl." He challenges his player to carry another player on his back to the 50 yard line- blindfolded. The player thinks he can make it to the 30 yard line, maybe the 50 if he had no one on his back.

He agrees to do the challenge anyway, and the coach simply asks him to give his very best. In the end, the coach is down on his hands and knees, encouraging his player to keep going, to not give up, to give everything he's got, and not to quit.

The player thought he could only make it to the 30 yard line. Blindfolded, he made it across the entire field with another player on his back. He went exponentially farther than he ever thought he could. He gave his best, even when it was hard, when it hurt, and when he wanted to give up.

There are so many circumstances in our lives where we limit what we think we can do. We put a limit on ourselves and allow too many excuses.

"Well, maybe if this were different, I could do that."
"It's just too hard to do that."
"I don't think I could do it."
"Someone else is better at that than me."

Even if we don't vocalize these thoughts, they are there in our mind, only limiting ourselves. Already defeated. Already failing, simply because we have not tried.

I saw a great quote the other day that "The only way you can fail is if you give up."

How many times have we written ourselves off before we have even attempted something? I know that I have- countless times. COUNTLESS. How many times have I quit half way in because it just seemed too hard, or the reward not near enough? Countless. How many times have I not given my best, because it seems like someone else's best is better than mine? Countless.

But you know what? We were not made to quit. We were not made to give up. We were not made only to put in half our effort.

You were made to live, you were made to be strong and courageous. To stand firm.

I'm telling you now- get rid of that self defeating mindset. It will keep you in chains the rest of your life, no matter what area of life you allow it in.

I challenge you today to challenge your own view of yourself. Try these 3 steps to take action against those areas of self defeat today.

1. Find one area where you are self defeated. Where do you talk down to yourself? (Oh, you can't do that. Well, maybe I'll try it a different day. I just need this circumstance to line up.) Write the area down. Recognize the issue.

2. Write down WHY you feel defeated. Write down at least 5 reasons you feel defeated about the issue. This may be a hard one. It's hard and can hurt to dig up the real root of the issue. Are you afraid of failure? Do you think you're not good enough? Are you afraid of what will happen after that?

3. Write down AFFIRMATIONS. Now I want you to take those 5 reasons you just wrote and flip them around. If you wrote "I am afraid of failure" I want you to write "I can and will succeed." If you wrote "The timing just isn't right." I want you to write "Timing will never be perfect, the time IS NOW." And so forth. Take what you wrote and write the opposite, speak positive life over yourself.

Be encouraged that you are not alone in self defeat. I have struggled with it so much in my life, and still do at times. But I also know the power of changing your mindset and shifting away from the negative to the positive. It can make a world of difference!

If you have never seen the movie "Facing the Giants" I really encourage you to check it out! Share your thoughts on the movie below, and if you're brave enough, share one way you turn around self defeat in your life. 

Money Wasn't Really the Issue

"That's a good bit of money."

Those were my first thoughts when I started thinking about investing in my health, when I was starting to see that I wanted to change. Being newly weds, we didn't have an extreme amount of money floating around, and I am still learning how to budget and be a better steward of our money (and am thankful for a husband who diligently tracks all our receipts and finances for us).

Putting money into something that I wasn't sure I could do was scary. Especially holding it up to the light of my track record. I had attempted to do two other workout programs before, gotten a few weeks through them, and then they collected dust and I went back to my ol ways.

Nothing had worked.

In truth, the programs that I tried had worked, I saw some results. But I lost motivation and I was the one who gave myself excuses and eventually gave up altogether.

And as I was contemplating yet another investment in a workout program, thinking of all the times before, I realized something. I wasn't truly hesitant because of the money. The issue was me. The issue was my determination, or lack thereof that made my money a "waste."

When it boiled down, I was afraid of change. Afraid to give up the things I had held onto practically all my life. My identity as an overweight girl. My comfort in rich, often unhealthy foods. My easy going, only sometimes active lifestyle. I was afraid of what change would really look like.

Oh, if only I had known then.

After talking with my husband and getting his full support, we ordered the workout program, and started it together after it arrived. It was hard. It was a change. It was difficult to keep going at times and I wanted to stop.

But I kept going. I made up my mind that I did not in fact want to keep living the way I had lives, because that was going to lead to a place full of health problems and not the life I wanted. I threw away my excuses, stopped blaming it on timing, money, circumstance, genes, and anything else that came to mind.

I realized that I was responsible for this. I had to do it. And I did!

It has been one of the best decisions of my life because it has not only started my physical transformation, I have become more disciplined in all areas of my life. My quiet time of Bible study I more consistent. I am reading and listening to personal development books. I have been investing more into my marriage and relationships. I am more alert for life, and it is incredible.

Of course there are always days that I struggle. That I want to give into stress and eat a whole bag I chips dunked in salsa. There are days I don't want to workout. Days I don't want to do the things I said I was going to do.

But I have found that the struggle is worth it. The investment is worth it. The time is worth it. You may not see the effects immediately, but over time, if you stick to it daily, you will see results in your life. Keep going.

Think seriously about the investments you make in life. What is tilt holding you back? Confront your fears and go after the thing you are called to. Be bold and be courageous!

What's one thing in your life that you are afraid to change? Share below!

Progress Not Perfection

I heard a great quote once on an inspirational talk I was listening to, and it struck a chord with me.

"Often we overestimate the event, and underestimate the process."

That is so true, and I have found myself guilty of that sometimes in my health and fitness journey. We see pictures of where we want to be, know what exactly we want our bodies to look like in the end, and in our typical American mindset...we want it NOW.

We think "if I was only at this weight, or this size, THEN I would be happy."
"If I just got this promotion, THEN I would be happy."
"If we just found this certain kind of house, THEN I would be happy."
"If he/she would just do this, THEN I would be happy."

I want to encourage you...don't get stuck in the end results. Set your sights on your goals and dreams, and dream BIG, yes. But don't put all your stock in that one event, because it will come and go and leave you chasing after the next thing like chasing after a wind that just won't stand still.

Find beauty in the process, because I'm telling you, no matter what your journey, whether to health, a different career, a different place in your relationship, there is beauty there. We go through seasons in life- we have to. Find the joy in each season.

The process has not always been easy for me. There are days that I feel bloated and "fluffy" as I tell my husband and he affectionately reminds me "No, you're beautiful. Fluffy is a three headed dog, and you are NOT fluffy." (For those of you who caught that Harry Potter quote, I applaud you!)

Point is, it's not all rainbows and sunshine. There are rainy days. But you know what? There's something beautiful and freeing even in a rainy day. And without those hard days, we would not grow. If it was easy, we wouldn't get stronger. We wouldn't change.

EMBRACE the process.

I'm learning day by day on how to embrace the process, because I know reaching my "goal weight" won't signal the end of my journey in the health and fitness realm. It will just transition into something new, because this is a lifestyle that I am setting for myself.

One of my biggest lessons from learning how to love this process in my journey to health...taking pictures. Sure, it can be uncomfortable at first. You may not enjoy what you see in the mirror. But if you are staying consistent, working out, watching what you eat, you should be seeing results week to week.

I've made it a point to take pictures every week. You might not see a HUGE difference just from week to week, there are weeks that I don't see a huge change. But when you compare your first to your last, you WILL see that change, and remember why the process is all worth it.

Take those small steps every day, and you will get there. Love the process. Laugh, cry, dance, sing...LIVE. Don't get caught up in the event, but dream big and DAILY go after it, enjoying every day for the blessing that God has given us. 

My Secret to Staying Motivated

Flipping through the pages of most magazines on the shelves these days makes me nauseous. I ache for women both thin, large, and everywhere in between that hold up these images, then look at themselves and compare. I want this to be understood now...YOU are beautiful.

Stop comparing yourself to the magazines. To the models. To that other person. You are not that other person. And you are beautiful. BE YOU.

One of the biggest struggles throughout my life and my journey with weight loss is knowing how to stay motivated. I knew I didn't want to get sucked into staring at pictures from magazines and use that as motivation. That to me was like torture.

So if we don't use the images society gives us to stay motivated and on track for our goals, especially in any health and fitness journey, what do you use?

I'm going to let you in on three of my "secrets" of how I have stayed motivated on my journey so far. For the record, this is the longest I've EVER held to anything in regards to health and fitness. I tried Weight Watchers for a while in high school, did good, but then fell off track. I tried Slim in 6 and Hip Hop Abs, got through a few weeks and gave up.

But I am thrilled to be able to say that I am now entering into my sixth month of consistently working out and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Not without ups and downs, but I have stuck with it. So how have I done it when I was never able to stick with anything before?

1. I started with a strong support partner. I came to my husband in January and told him I wanted to start working out and I wanted to get healthy. I asked him if he would work out with me for 10 weeks (the duration of the program we did, T25). He agreed and he held me accountable to working out every single day, and we did it!

I know that not all of you may have a supportive spouse, or someone who just gets it in your family, but I encourage you to find someone, whether a close friend, a relative, or whoever, and ask them to keep you accountable. Explain why it's important to you. They don't have to workout with you, but ask them to keep you accountable.

Post workout picture with my wonderful husband.

2. I remembered WHY I started, and didn't give up. Remembering why you are doing this is so key. There will be days you don't want to do it. But do you want your goal more? You should. The end goal should propel you forward even on the hard days. If it isn't strong enough, find a stronger reason.

If you need to, write down your reason why you are doing it. Put it in front of your face so you are DAILY reminded of why you started. Remove giving up and quitting from your mind and vocabulary. Don't let it even be an option! Trust me, it will be worth it.

3. I plugged into and then lead a challenge group. I decided I was going all into this, and I plugged myself into a group of like minded people online. I lead a group of women who were all doing a workout program, and we kept each other accountable every day.

I posted motivation, I researched and learned new tips to share, and we all pressed forward together. Being a part of a challenge group has been one of the biggest keys to staying motivated for me. Because I know there is a group of women that I am held accountable to, and I am holding them accountable.

We are all making positive changes in our lives, and it's so incredible to be surrounded with people who are going through the exact same thing as you. Who struggle one day with wanting to work out, and then a group that we can share our victories with, and FINISH with.

The results from my first round of T25

I can't even put into words what it has meant for my life to be getting on track with my health and fitness. I still have a long ways to go, but I have also come a long way. Not only physically, but emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. I have seen growth and joy increase in all areas of my life.

If you're looking for a change, but don't know how to stay motivated or don't know where to start, please contact me. I would love to help you in any way that I can, whether it's just answering questions, or if you want to be a part of any of the Challenge Groups that I lead monthly, please reach out to me!

Because of the change I have experienced in my life, I am here to pay it forward and help YOU. Don't put your health on the backburner, trust me, it's worth the time and effort you put in to change, even if it's just baby steps and a little bit at a time.

So, now that I've shared my motivation secrets, what are yours? What keeps YOU motivated? Comment below with your favorite ways to stay on track!