Need some mojo

Ok, I was feeling pretty good about myself when I posted my last blog.  I was all: "I can totally do this!" then the week bogged me down and lost my mojo this week.  Grr, I can't stand when these things happen!  The enemy is messin' with me into thinking I'm fine the way I am....uh, no I'm not, I literally have to lose half of myself, lol!  I prayed that God will break this crazy bond I'm in!  Paul was soo right in his 1st letter to the Thessalonians.  Pray without ceasing (1Thess. 5:17).  During my initial 47lb weight loss, that's all I did...everywhere I went, with anything that I was doing, I did for God and His glory.  I think I got too comfortable.  I "ceased" the continual prayer.  Sure, I did before bed and when I got up in the morning, but not continually.  So, in the same way that I decided to follow Christ, the same way I decide today to pray without ceasing. :-)

I joined a great website that keeps track of my food intake and exercise.  I was part of one before http://www.fatsecret.com/, but I joined this one because I find it easier to navigate and use.  It's called http://www.myfitnesspal.com/.  Both sites are free and of great use.  I love FatSecret because of the community on there.  There are plenty of success stories on there and they have a lot to share.  So, I joined myfitnesspal to just enter my food and exercise and I'll stay on FatSecret for the uplifting community.  Myfitnesspal also has an awesome ticker that I can put on my blog.  So I did!

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

Isn't it purdy? lol Looking forward to showing the lost LBs. :-)

Ok family, I'm out for now.  Have a great day! :-)

*Try to find God in your surroundings.  In any tree or cloud or flower or in a loved one's spirit.  Enjoy it, it's a beautiful gift.

Goals, goals, goals

Hello everyone!

Well, I wanted to share my goals.  A part of starting this blog is to be accountable to my friends and family on my health status and my efforts in improving them.

A few years ago, I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes.  This crushed me, I was only 23 years old.  I didn't take it seriously and ate the same way and wasn't 100% compliant with my meds.  I was barely living.  I started getting serious about my health earlier this year.  I went to an endocronologist and saw that my fasting blood sugar was 374 mg/dl....very scary to say the least when normal levels are 70-120 mg/dl.  I was also 336lbs @ 5'9" tall.  I definitely had to do something about it!  So, with the support of my sister (in-law, but she's my sis!), I embarked on a journey to lose weight and get healthier.  I went down to 289lb in 3 1/2 month's time.  Yup, that's 47lbs lost. :-)  My fasting blood sugar went down to 89 mg/dl.  Oh yeah, I was on cloud 9, lol.  A short vacation set me off track by quite a lot, but not enough to be back where I was.  I gained back half the weight I lost and I'm ready to jump back in this again.  I realize my efforts will never be for a short period of time...this will be lifelong.  When I succeed, I will have to continue to work very hard to stay.  I feel like I'm rambling, I was supposed to state my goals...ok, here they are:

-Reach 175lbs (maybe a size 12??--not sure, the last time I was this weight was probably in the 5th grade)
-Keep BS at normal levels of 70-120 mg/dl
-I've read that a healthy waist size is half of your height in inches.  So, that would make my healthy waist size 34.5 in...that's the ultimate goals (reduce visceral fat!!) :-)

Like I said, I want to stay accountable, so I will post my weekly results.  Here they are for this week:

312lb
193 mg/dl

I also want to post my measurements on a monthly basis.  Here they are for this month:

(in inches)
Waist (at navel): 53
Bust: 58
Ribcage: 48
Hips: 54.5
Arm: 16.25
Elbow: 12
Thigh: 29.75
Calf: 17.5
Knee: 17
Neck: 17.5
Ankle: 9

Ok, that's it for now folks.  I'm off to a healthy day and week.  I pray yours is healthy too. :-)

*Always tell your loved ones that you love them when you finish speaking with them on the phone.  Tomorrow is never guaranteed.

I Know Who I Am

Hello and thank you for reading my very first post on my blog.  I've always thought about creating a blog, but never seriously considered it until a friend of mine (Mrs K) created one and encouraged me to do the same.  So here I am, writing to, well, space.  Feels kind of weird! Well, I guess I should start off by stating the focuses of my blog:

-Seeking God in every situation and seeing Him in all things
-Weight loss
-Maintaining relationships (of all types)

If you have ever met me, the first word you would probably use to describe me is bubbly or jubilant or joyful...any of those fluffy words, lol.  The truth is, I probably used that as a pretty good mask.  I had a lot of pain, depression and self-hate hidden deep for quite awhile.  Yup, those were past-tense verbs I used there.  I'm grateful to say that those days, hours, minutes are behind me...praise God!  I've discovered that I was wonderfully and fearfully made (Psm 139:14).  I've always read that I was, but didn't believe it until earlier this year.  I'll go further into detail on how this came to pass on future posts...because honestly, I still don't have the words for it.  I'm just still in awe of what God is doing in my life at this moment, I can't quite articulate it!  Just know for now, that I AM truly bubbly and jubilant and joyful...no more masks, no more pain, no more fear.  I know who I am and I LIKE it! :-)