Thursday, August 8, 2013

35 by 35! #11


Hello, friends! I hope you all enjoyed a terrific first week of August.  I'm excited to share the progress I've made over the past week and hopefully hear about yours in the comment section!  I also have a yummy chocolate covered (light) food find for you, and a dose of encouragement too!


Progress:
I finally reached a short term goal that I'd been anticipating in this health and weight loss journey, 10% of my body weight is GONE!  Hooray!!


Food Find:
This week when looking for a fun, light treat to serve at a lit'l cookout I hosted, I stumbled upon these chocolate yummies! I spent 0 minutes preparing this dessert, only 70 calories to enjoy it, and best of all, everyone raved about how delicious they were!  


Tip of the Week:

Do you have a fun (calorie-free) way to reward yourself when you reach a goal?  

I picked up this glass at the Dollar Tree a while back thinking it'd be fun to get out during special dinners to celebrate my husband and girls' achievements.  In the past few weeks I have pulled it out and used it to celebrate my own little accomplishments along the way too!  When there is a certain number I've been dying to see on that scale, or like this week when I hit the 10% goal, I get out this glass and fill it with something delicious.  It feels like such a special reward!  In the past, "rewards" =  fatty food celebration.  Now, rather than undoing my hard work, I've found this simple way to celebrate!  I hope you can find a special (calorie-free) way to celebrate your achievements, great and small, too!  Perhaps eating dinner on your best china would make the day you reach your next mini-goal feel as special as it should!



This is something I continually remind myself of!  

I'm not saying that food isn't to be enjoyed.  Who wouldn't want their meals and snacks to be scrumptious and worth savoring, but viewing them for what they are is so important.  Food is meant to fuel our bodies.  Too often I have made poor choices and used fatty foods as a means for comfort myself, or as a reward that cancels out the hard work I've put forth to achieve the accomplishment I'm celebrating.  Viewing food rightly makes an enormous difference!  My only true hope and comfort can be found in Christ alone.  My real reward is my health, having energy to make the most of each God-given day I'm blessed with, and being a good role model for my precious children.  My motivation comes from those rewards, moving forward in the direction that's best for myself and my family, and honoring God in making wise choices.  I've dealt with a wrong perspective and relationship with food throughout my lifetime.  I'm incredibly thankful to not only be shedding this weight, but also gaining a new perspective that I think will benefit my family for years to come!



Have a fabulous upcoming weekend, friends!  


REMINDER: My comments section is officially a CHEERING SECTION on Thursdays!  Let's cheer each other on, friends!  I'd love to hear how you're doing too!  Struggles, triumphs, things you've found helpful...feel free to share!  The interactions I've had with each of you who've  sent me comments/messages have served as an incredible inspiration and encouragement! THANK YOU!!!



Need some new light and delicious recipes?  
Check out my Pinboard:  Delicious Ways to Shrink.  



You may also be interested in previous posts from this blog series:


























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2 comments:

  1. Way to go friend!!! That is so exciting!! I was doing great for about a month, let myself be a little more lax the last 8 weeks and only ran twice and wasn't as strict on what I was eating, but am back at it. I ran my longest distance without stopping the other night because I told my friend not to tell me how long we had run...and when I was really ready to stop we had ran 2 miles! It proved that at all in our head how far we are willing to let ourselves go sometimes!! So happy for you!!

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  2. So happy for your achievement, Brenda! You are so right about using food for fuel and not comfort. I fell off the "food wagon" a bit this last week...stressed about our little Oliver and some big decisions coming our way. I have continued to exercise most days of the week, so I haven't seen an increase on the scale. But, I find myself reaching for the unhealthy stuff. When will I get it through my head? My dad is on a new program that is helping him in the battle of the bulge. It focuses primarily on how we eat, not what we eat. He is seeing a lot of progress just by drastically slowing down his eating...chewing each bite for a long time, putting down the fork between bites, cutting his food into quarters, and stepping away when his brain tells him he's full. It sounds like common sense, but I think we all forget to pay attention to the cues our bodies give us or we intentionally drown them out with food to the point of not really even knowing what true hunger is. Anyway, just my two-cents worth for the week. Keep up the good work, sweet friend. 10% is a big accomplishment! Your family must be so proud of you! Have a great week!
    Blessings,
    Nici

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I would love to hear from you today! I enjoy reading each and every comment I receive. (I do moderate them before they're published. Gotta keep it family friendly! ;)) Let's chat! B.Y.O.C. {Bring Your Own Chocolate!}