Skinny Chic back in the saddle

By this time of year we all have made “new year’s resolutions” and typically by late February/early March we’ve thrown in our resolution towels and dived face first into pizza, ice cream, or chocolate (whatever your preference). Every year without fail my relapse begins the week of my birthday. It’s like my body is programmed to clock out of everything during that week and it usually takes an act of God (literally) to throw me back on the wagon. Last year after my birthday I didn’t work out for 10 months! This year was a little better considering my past behavior; I only took a 3 week sabbatical from life as I knew it. My husband encouraged me to work out and life kept moving all around me, but all I wanted to do was lay around and eat. I wasn’t sad, tired, or stressed; my body just didn’t want to work out.

A friend of mine pointed out that my body probably responded that way because it’s still looking at exercise as a punishment as opposed to fun. I’m really not buying what she’s selling. I mean honestly, who in their right minds would look at running and lifting weights as fun?  When I think of fun I think of laughing, fellowship, and freedom. The words that don’t come to mind with fun are sweat, loss of breath, and pain (nope, I’m really not seeing the fun correlation).

Despite my speculations, I decided to listen to her advice. I’m now setting small rewards for myself to encourage me to workout. For instance if I work out for 2 weeks straight I will reward myself by getting my eyebrows waxed. I love getting my eyebrows waxed so I know this is a great goal. So as long as you don’t see me walking around with a uni-brow you’ll know that I’m still following the plan.

But this is the thing, WE HAVE TO CHANGE OUR SPEECH! I won’t fall off the wagon again because I don’t want to. I’m not a quitter and it’s not my intentions to give up. We must start believing in ourselves and believing in the God within us. To attain my goal of 100lbs of weight loss; I must constantly adhere to the same healthy principles I’ve learned (exercising, eating more fruits and veggies, & watching portion sizes) and not focus on a one time incident of weight gain, weight loss, or motivation drainage. Ralph Marston said “Success is a consistent pattern more than it is an isolated event.” If we establish our healthy lifestyle patterns and are consistent about following them we have no choice but to be successful. My weight loss isn’t about a number, it’s about a lifestyle and I’m willing to fight to make changes that will keep me here for a while.

If you get a chance watch our webcast/internet radio show every Sunday 2pm-3pm http://www.livestream.com/desmoinesamplified and you can also follow me on twitter @Poetic1_Melody.

And remember if you're a fat chic like me stay motivated, be encouraged, and know that inside of every fat chic is a skinny chic waiting to come out.

Fat Chic Burn Out

 Burnout: fatigue, frustration, or apathy resulting from prolonged stress, overwork, or intense activity. Waking up at 5 am and exercising 1 1/4  - 2 hours each morning and watching my calorie intake for the past 34 days has burned me out. I actually burned out around day 27 (which explains why I haven’t been back to the gym since that day). During those 27 days working out as intensely as I did I expected to be moving major pounds 10-15 minimum. So imagine my discouragement when I get on the scale and only see 6.6 lbs. That one weigh in turned the scale from my ally to my enemy and in that instance I started planning my attack on every scale in a 30 mile radius. I tried to be optimistic about my meager beginnings, but reality is that this sucks! So I used my February 5^th birthday as an excuse to eat what I want and do what I wanted all week, but in actuality I’m just tired. I’m tired of working out and seeing small results. I’m tired of putting forth a ton of effort and not seeing the results.

In the past I would have given up by now. As I drop my head in frustration I’m reminded to read 2 Corinthians 4:8-10. I’m hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. I always carry around in my body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in my body.

That’s why I started this journey in the first place. I’m constantly asking God to use me as a vessel to show the world His grace and mercy and while my lips proclaim my love of God my body shows my disregard for His love. My body shows my lack of self control and God is a God of self control. I want this because I want Him to be able to use me to do whatever He’s called me to do and I don’t want my weight to hold me back any longer. Therefore, for the next leg of this journey I prepare my mind for action; I will be self controlled and set my hope fully on the grace to be given me when Christ Jesus is revealed.

If you get a chance watch our webcast/internet radio show every Sunday 2pm-3pm http://www.livestream.com/desmoinesamplified and you can also follow me on twitter @Poetic1_Melody.

And remember if you're a fat chic like me stay motivated, be encouraged, and know that inside of every fat chic is a skinny chic waiting to come out.  

Skinny Chic Team Work

"Team work makes the dream work", I think I may have vomited a little in my mouth just now as I typed that cliche into the computer. Anyone who knows me, knows that I work hard to not be a cliche. I wake up each morning with the thought "what can I do today that is odd, weird, or just different from everyone else". But this week I had an epiphany (epiphany defined as any moment of great or sudden revelation). I've been extremely successful in both my eating and working out. I've made God my focus with each day and have done a complete 180 with everything, but I've been wondering what's so different. I mean why is my motivation this week any different than before. I've been fat for 28 years so why the sudden change of heart?

As I asked these thought provoking questions a strong sensual sexy voice says to me "Babe I'm ready to go to the gym" and all of a sudden it hits me. In our 6 year journey never have my husband and I both been on the same page at the same time when it comes to weight loss. In the past when one's motivated to workout and eat healthy the other wants to sleep and eat burgers. But today, today we are both on the same page; Both up at the gym at 5am daily, both exercising vigorously; Both watching our portion sizes and choosing healthy options. We're both wanting to live a long healthy life and we understand that our choices today directly affect that. 

I realized this week that it is so much easier when you have a partner to help you conquer this task of weight loss. Your partner doesn't have to be a boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife. You're partner could be a friend, sibling, parent, roommate, associate, co-worker, etc. The overall goal is to pick a person who's just as motivated as you and someone who's willing to hold you accountable for your day to day choices. I learned this week that team work really does make the dream work. Don't limit your dreams. My dream is to lose 100 lbs, but yours may be to lose more or less or even (heaven forbid) gain weight. Your dream could be to start a company or pursue another passion. Whatever the dream connect with a person who can support you and make that dream work. The entire process should be a little easier to deal with when you have someone to help you through it.  

If you get a chance watch our webcast/internet radio show every Sunday 2pm-3pm http://www.livestream.com/desmoinesamplified and you can also follow me on twitter @Poetic1_Melody.

And remember if you're a fat chic like me stay motivated, be encouraged, and know that inside of every fat chic is a skinny chic waiting to come out.

Fat Chic Year End Review

Well 2010 ended with a bang, I'm still "fat" (I really don't like that word), but I'm taking strides to be healthier and happier with life in general. I wanted to use this blog entry to review last years successes/failures and give you an update on 2011 successes thus far.

You can look at the other blogs to see the details of my past year, but to sum it up in 5 or less sentences...I started in July with a 10 day cleanse, in which I lost 10 pounds and gained all of that back by the end of August. I started weight watchers and blogging in August. I used weight watchers about 60% of the time and as a result I lost a whopping 5 lbs, of which I'd gained all back by November. I started exercising in September or October and I was fairly consistent with that. The only problem was the more I exercised the more I ate, funny how that works.

I rounded out the year at the exact weight that I was when I started this junk back in July...Now I'm going to go out on a limb and do this against my better judgment, but I believe this will help motivate me. As for most women our weight like our age is a sacred unmentionable that immediately renders death if a person squeals. I'm not embarrassed about my actual weight, it's just that I look a lot smaller than I actually am. So I'm sure you'll be surprised to learn that I weigh...well let's wait till the end to give you that :).

Now 2011 I started off by quitting weight watchers, I mean I wasn't really following it anyway. Beyond that this is an awesome year for me already. We've been watching a show on MTV "I Used To Be Fat" and this show is a major motivator. So much so that after watching the first episode we (my hubby and I) set a goal of 116 days of intense exercise and a 100% change in our diet. Our goal is to lose 58 lbs in 116 days. We work out at 5am daily and so far we've only missed 2 days of exercise each and we're on day 96 (we're counting down). We also started a vlog that we'll post after the 116 days so that you can physically see our journey. We weigh in every 10 days and in the first weigh in I was down 3 lbs, which is pretty good for working out a little over 2 weeks. When we started I weighed 258 lbs and now I weigh 255 lbs! I'm excited because finally this year, I will lose my weight all because I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME!!!!!!

If you get a chance watch our webcast/internet radio show every Sunday 2pm-3pm http://www.livestream.com/desmoinesamplified and you can also follow me on twitter @Poetic1_Melody.

And remember if you're a fat chic like me stay motivated, be encouraged, and know that inside of every fat chic is a skinny chic waiting to come out.

 

Skinny Chic P.S.A.- Public Service Announcement

I feel duped! I am so angry right now. The devil weaseled his way back into my emotions and I'm noticing it after he's been here for about a week. I've lost 10 lbs, I've been elevated and encouraged by God, and I've been obedient to God. UGH!!!! Ok, ok I'll slow down, let me take you back about a week.

It all started last week with overeating. Well, it started with overeating lettuce; that is until lettuce called it's friends chicken fried rice, pancakes, omelets, and fried chicken (all overeaten on different days). This is detrimental to my success. I got to the point where I had to unbutton my pants to sit on the couch and watch t.v. with my husband-now you know that's bad. Then I started feeling sad and hopeless at random times. I lost my motivation to do things. I haven't worked out in over a week, but the thing that spoke red flag to me is for the last few days I've slept well over 8 hours and I've had little to no motivation to get out the bed. Normally by body automatically will wake up at exactly 8 hours of sleep&I won't be able to go back to sleep, but lately I've been forcing myself to get up and even my husband has gotten up earlier than me.

It dawned on me two days ago. Overeating, sadness, hopelessness, lack of motivation, over sleeping...these are all cookie cutter signs of depression. The devil uses things like depression to throw you off track, with the hope that you'll turn to him for refuge (by isolating, drinking, drugs, emotional eating, or whatever your vice of choice has been in the past). I have no reason to be depressed. God is so good and my life is awesome. I've battled depression most my life. I thought this was something I was done with for good. This just goes to show how the devil never gives up and neither should we ever stop seeking God's guidance, wisdom, and love to defeat the devil. I'VE DEFEATED DEPRESSION ONCE AND I'LL DO IT AGAIN!!!!!

STEP 1: Reading, repeating, and believing God's word is for me. I won't allow the devil to tell me I'm less than or that I'll never move forward. Until I get it down into the very fabric of my being, Daily I will read 2Corinthians 4:7-10; 15-18 which let's me know I am not broken, I am not defeated and I am more than a conqueror. STEP 2: Daily I will make myself get up and go and force myself to do what I'm supposed to be doing (i.e. working out, waking up, being around people, Bible study, etc.) until I'm outta this "funk". Finally STEP 3 I will remember Philippians 3:12-14 which simply stated tells me I'm not all I want to be, but I'll continue to strive to be who God wants me to be. I will be victorious and if this is something that you've struggled with be encouraged in knowing you too can be victorious.

And remember if you're a fat chic like me stay motivated, be encouraged, and know that inside of every fat chic is a skinny chic waiting to come out.

Fat Chic Weakened

With the holiday's here, the battle of the bulge is in full effect. If your family is anything like mine holiday's center around tables upon tables full of food and that involves never eating more than one plate. You'd think that with these past few months I've been blogging, I'd spend more time boasting about weight successes. By the way, I lost 9.8 pounds :) WooHoo!!!!! How did I do that you ask? #1- My husband and I joined weight watchers (of which I have yet to follow the plan 100% and I've been in it so many times I could run my own meetings). #2-We also have a treadmill in our living room, with the intentions to walk on it (stay tuned to hear how far we get with that). #3-The last thing I've done is change the way I eat, now eating more vegetables, fruits, and meat is a requirement. I get reassurance with knowing God wants to give me the desires of my heart if I diligently seek him and let him know what I want. God wants me to be healthy to live a long life of service for Him. If you've ever had any struggles with weight or "kicking" any habit, you know with all of the good days comes an equal amount of bad days. My weight loss should be further, but I'm excited that I've started the downward spiral. In the instance my past weeks failures are brought to my mind God reminds me of my successes in Him. I will lose 100 pounds with Christ's help. I am not all that I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling me up to heaven.  And remember if you're a fat chic like me stay motivated, be encouraged, and know that inside of every fat chic is a skinny chic waiting to come out.

Fat Chic-2 Skinny chic-0

“If you want anything to work, you’ve got to work it”…A quote from some famous person, whom I really don’t know. Ok so I’ve been on a long hiatus contemplating life, love, and the pursuit of healthiness. I started out with a bang, extremely excited and on a roll for weight-loss. After several setbacks and mistakes the fat chic took control, I fell off the wagon with cookies, cupcakes, and donuts pouring out of my soul. I reverted back to over eating, emotional eating, and simply unhealthy eating. I allowed my emotions to encourage me to accept my defeat, as I bowed my head and walked away from exercise and any idea of me accomplishing this goal.

Until today, I just realized where I’d gone wrong. I was successful with things initially because God was the director of this weight loss expedition, but somewhere along the way I started to leave Him out of the equation. My foundation began to crack & breakdown as I gave all the glory to me & my persistence with exercise and food monitoring. Well…The SKINNY CHIC IS BACK, and with a vengeance. I have a new plan, a new focus, and a new direction. Change #1-God is the only one directing this show and He will get all the glory. Change #2-I joined weight watchers (granted this isn’t my first time, but it is my last time). Change #3-My father in-law gave us a treadmill (granted I think it’s the first model ever created, but it works) and it’s sitting in our living room in front of the TV. I’m already 5.4 lbs down (a small victory in a huge battle).

That quote is so true, “If you want anything to work, you’ve got to work it”. If you want to lose weight you’ve got to put in the effort, exercise & eat healthy. If you want to get a raise at your job you’ve got to go above & beyond what you’re asked to do & show you deserve it. If you want God to move on your behalf you’ve got to put in the effort, go to church, read your Bible, pray, and build a real relationship with Him. IF YOU WANT ANYTHING TO WORK, YOU’VE GOT TO WORK IT!!!!! So…off to work I go :) ….TTYL