Monthly Weight Loss and Pictures

Hey, everyone!

 

This morning, I weighed in at 163.2. I lost 2.4 lbs this month and lost 3.75 Inches overall. I'm happy with my losses this month and I worked VERY hard for them.

 

I started gaining weight rapidly the first half of the month and knew something had to change. I shared my frustration with my workout partner, Cheryl, on the 15th and she said that I should cut out carbs (unless they come from veggies or fruit) and white sugar until the end of the month. I literally laughed and was like, "No breads and stuff with white sugar? HA! Riiiight." Plus, as you all know, I don't believe in dieting. Well, after we talked more about it, I realized that I could do it for two weeks just to help me break through my plateau. I started on the 16th and ended it today. It was really hard and took a lot of self-control but I did it and it shows. I will say that I saw it way more in the way my clothes were fitting than I did on the scale though.

 

You don't realize how many complex carbs and stuff with white sugar that you're eating until you take them away. I will try to be more careful of the amount of both of those that I consume from now on but I will still continue to eat my bread, pasta, rice, sweets, etc ... while trying to exercise self-control and being mindful of how much I am consuming of each, of course. ;-D

 

I'm almost positive (no, I am positive) that I will gain some of the weight I lost this month back because of going back to incorporating that stuff back into my diet but at least it gave me a bit of a boost.

 

I've still been switching my workouts up, confusing my body and working super hard (I've been sore from my workouts most of the month!) and will continue to do so by God's grace. Thanks for always keeping me in your thoughts and prayers and always giving me words of love and support! You guys are awesome!

 

 

 

... Yes, I'm wearing shorts. I'm shocked, too! I went Spring/Summer clothes shopping earlier this month and actually bought shorts for the first time since I was a preteen. I know my legs are far from perfect but I think that I've worked hard enough to be able to wear shorts when it's hot! I'm learning that it's ok to be perfectly imperfect.  :)

 

Much love,

Healthy Recipes

Hiya!

 

Here are the new healthy recipes I tried this month. :)

 

Baked Brown Sugar Chicken (I think I cooked mine on 375 or 400)

Zucchini Pepperoni Pizza

Lemon Parmesan Broccoli

Healthy Mexican Sweet Potato Skins (Warning to the heat-sensitive: This was good but way too spicy for my tastebuds.)

Shrimp Salad with Lime Vinaigrette

Philly Cheesecake Stuffed Peppers

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies (These are healthier than a regular cookie because of using brown sugar instead of white and coconut oil instead of vegetable oil. I added unsweetened shredded coconut to mine. Warning: They are addictive.)

Avocado Chicken Parmigiana

Baked Zucchini Fries

Shrimp Sautéed with White Wine

Cheesy Broccoli Bites

Strawberry Lemonade or Limeade (I made mine a limeade. So refreshing!)

Watermelon Salad

 

Here's a recipe that I whipped together and eat frequently. Yummy stuff!

 

Oikos vanilla non-fat Greek yogurt
1 T. natural peanut butter (also great with 2 T. of Chocolate PB2)
1 T. semi-sweet chocolate chips

 

Also, I wanted to share my protein shake recipe with you all.  I make it all the time and it's SUPER good and healthy. I feel like I'm indulging big time when I make it but I'm not. Gotta love that! ;-D

 

1 frozen banana broken into three pieces (I always have a bag of frozen, ripe, peeled bananas in my freezer so I can pop one into to my smoothie anytime)

2-3 T. of either natural peanut butter, chocolate PB2, regular PB2 or natural almond butter

4 ice cubes
1 scoop of vanilla whey protein (sometimes I use hemp protein but it's an acquired taste ... I happen to really like it)

1 pack of Truvia
1-1/2 cups of unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Enjoy!

  
 

Color Me Rad 5k

Hey, everyone!

 

I ran my first 5k yesterday morning. It was the Color Me Rad 5k, which was AWESOME!

 

I would have told you guys that I was planning on doing it but it was a last minute sort of thing because when I went to buy my ticket two or so months ago, it had JUST sold out. Well, my friend, Cheryl, called me a few days ago told me that a friend of hers had a friend who couldn't go and that I could have her ticket. I was thrilled, to say the least!

 

I never thought that I'd be able to run the whole thing but I did; I didn't walk once! I ran it in exactly 35 minutes, which puts me at an 11:16 mile. Not too shabby, considering it was the first time I've ever run more than a mile (and I struggle to do that). There were so many times that I wanted to start walking but I had my whole weight-loss journey playing in my head and I was just thinking that I couldn't believe I was running a 5k; look how far I've come from that 297 lb girl who was out of breath from just walking down the street. Right before the last leg of the race, there was a very steep hill and I wanted to walk so badly because by that time my lungs were burning and my legs were aching and I was getting some rib cramps but I just kept telling myself that I'd made it this far and to keep running, and I did. I prayed before the race for God to give me strength and endurance and He did!

 

I will never forget yesterday. It was huge for me not just physically but mentally. Thank you to everyone who prayed for me before the race when I posted about it yesterday morning on Facebook. :)

 

Here are some pictures. Enjoy!

 

PS: Yes, I'm wearing a tutu. Everyone in our group did. Don't ask. Haha!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the race, I helped load 9,156 pairs of shoes that Cheryl collected for orphans in Africa, Ecuador, etc. onto a semi-truck. Those bags and boxes don't look like much from the picture but there were A LOT of them and they were very heavy. Even though I was whooped, I was happy to help, especially for such a great cause. Plus, it was just extra exercise for the day! :) Needless to say, between the race and moving of all of the shoes, I can hardly move today but I'm proud of the pain! :-P

 

 

Love,

 

Haircut

Hey, peeps!

 

I got my hair cut for the first time in well over a year today. I have been loving having long hair and wanted to keep it long but just get the dead ends cut off, as well as have some long layers put in around my face and in the back.

 

I showed my stylist this picture and told her I wanted it to look like this (I LOVE Jennifer Aniston's hair!).

 

 

And this is how it turned out ...

 

 

 

I love it and I think she did a great job, as always! I missed having layers and I love that it's still long. :-D

 

Until next time,