24 Day Challenge...FIRST DAY!!!!

Well, I started my Advocare 24 day challenge today.   Although I know it has only been 1 day, I must say it hasn't been bad.   I made a point to take all of my measurements this morning (weight, waist, thighs, arms, hips, chest, and body fat %).  I will take the measurements again at day 10 and day 24 to see any progress I make. In the 24 day challenge the first 10 days is an Herbal Cleanse.  My biggest fear going into the Cleanse portion of the challenge was the fiber drink that you drink with breakfast on days 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, and 10.  Out of everything in the challenge the fiber drink is the only thing I have ever heard bad things about.  I had heard and read that it was pretty disgusting and tasted like drinking sand.  However, by the recommendation of my distributor, rather than order the pre-made 24 day challenge package that has a citrus flavored fiber drink, I ordered each piece separately (still comes out to the same price but you have the option of picking different flavors).  I chose to go with the peaches and cream fiber drink and it wasn't too bad.  It has an odd texture and is for sure not something you want to drink all the time, but it was definitely manageable.
I have absolutely decided that since I did spend money on this that I am totally committed to seeing it through, anyone that knows me knows I am a penny pincher!!  I did really good on my food, trying my best to follow the food guidelines for the program.  I must say I didn't at all feel hungry or deprived all day.  I actually probably ate more that I have been with my calorie restrictive diet, I just made better food choices (no processed stuff).
The energy drink, called Spark, was really yummy, it reminds me of the Crystal Light packets I love to drink.  I went with the grape flavor today, and I absolutely noticed a difference with my energy level.  I didn't even take a Sunday nap, and that is a big deal for me ; ).
One of my challenges today was figuring out what to cook.  I was able to get pretty creative and one of the things I cooked were some yummy chicken fajitas, even made some homemade guacamole and used whole grain tortillas (which were surprisingly delicious).  However, I am definitely going to spend some time on Pinterest tonight to find some recipes ; )!!!

A Biblical Perspective On Weight Loss

Throughout my weight loss journey, especially lately, I have really been turning to both the Bible as well as other Christian books to see what God has to say on the issue.  Now many of us know the verse talking about our body being a temple ("Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?  You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price.  So you must Honor God with your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT), but many of us think of it more in terms of fleeing from sexual immorality or debauchery than we do in terms of losing weight.  However, when I read this verse last night it hit me in a different way.   If you move to a new place and are trying to find a new church to attend, you may first drive around to see what churches are nearby.  Regardless of what denomination you associate with, if you come up to a church that is overgrown with weeds and brush, has holes in the roof, and who's sign is broken, you will likely not be overly excited to even try that church much less attend it on a weekly basis.  Like it or not, humans are all, at least a little, superficial.  Our appearance (or in my example a church's appearance) is our very first impression.  If I was to see that church my first thoughts would probably be; 1) It doesn't look like that church is still open, 2) If it is open the congregation doesn't seem to care much for the church, and 3)  People in that church must not want anyone new to come if they can't even donate some time to mow or some money to fix the roof.  As judgmental as those thoughts may be, that is what we as a society do.  If we don't feel like someone is practicing what they preach we get turned off in a hurry.  I think it is the same way with our bodies.  We can look down our nose at someone who is greedy or drinks a lot or even someone who is sexually immoral, while at the same time we are filling our plate up for the third time at the church potluck.  Now I am not condemning anyone because I would be the first one needing a stone thrown at my head (especially in the church potluck example).  I have, however, really been being dealt with during the last couple of weeks about this very issue.  I think if we want to be good witnesses for Christ, myself included, we need to take a hard look at the plank in our own eyes rather than the speck of dust in someone else's ("Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" Matthew 7:3 NIV).  For me, my main pole that God seems to be dealing with me on, is definitely the issue of treating my body as a temple, and don't get me wrong, weight loss is not all about superficiality, I truly believe it honors God to demonstrate self control as well as take care of what he has given us.

In the next couple of days I will be starting the Advocare 24 Day Challenge and will be blogging throughout my journey.  I hope that the added accountability of checking in every couple of days will help me to really stick to this.  Now all of this sounds good on paper, just like anything in our Christian walks, doing it is a whole lot harder!  I am ready for a lifestyle change, as well as a clothing size change ; )

If you are looking for a couple of good books to read on the subject I would definitely recommend "Made to Crave" by Lysa Terkeurst and "If My Body Is A Temple Then I Was A Megachurch" by Scott Davis.

My Weight Loss Journey

When I was a little girl I was always wandering around outside chasing one of my many cats (Growing up on a farm we always had lots of cats and kittens around).  I was a skinny little thing who never even had a thought about what she ate or how much exercise she got, I never had to.  That is, until those notorious tween and teen years came along.  All the sudden I had curves and lumps, and I have been fighting those curves and lumps ever since.  Through high school I always carried an extra 20-30 lbs above what would have been considered the "normal" weight range.  It was also during that time that my activity at home started to decrease.  The manual labor part of being a farmer and rancher's daughter started to decrease because my 2 younger brothers were at an age where they were able to help a whole lot more than I was able to.  That was a bad combination.  By the time I was a senior about to go to college I had had enough of being overweight.
My mom and I joined weight watchers and I started working out.  During the 2 1/2 months of summer between my senior year of high school and freshman year of college I was able to lose about 26 pounds.  I was still about 10 lbs from my final goal weight but I was finally at a weight I was comfortable with.  I managed to keep that weight off during college.   However, once I graduated and got my first real job, it was much more difficult to keep off.  I found myself traveling a ton and eating on the fly.  Convenience stores and fast food restaurants became my friend simply because of time constraints and being on the road.  The weight crept back on much faster than it came off and soon I was at a higher weight than I started.  This continued after I got married, until I finally decided that I would try weight watchers again.  I managed to lose some, but not everything I needed to.  I was still about 40 lbs overweight when I got pregnant with my little girl, MacKenzi.
Throughout my pregnancy I didn't do too bad as far as weight gain goes, although I was definitely one of those people who's pregnancy shows all over not just in the belly : (.  I gained about 36 lbs with my pregnancy, and all but about 12 lbs were gone once I had her.  However, I didn't just have to lose those 12 lbs, remember I was about 40 lbs overweight to begin with.  Once MacKenzi was about 2 or 3 months old I jumped back on the weight loss band wagon.  I started doing weight watchers online and had some success with it.  Then I found the myfitnesspal app on my phone and started using it to track my calories and have been having success with that as well.  Between the two of those things and about 13 or 14 months I have been able to lose 40 lbs.
I have felt so much better having lost that weight but I am still needing to lose about 15-20 lbs to be down the the weight I really need to be at.  I am still working at my weight loss and have been stuck at the same weight for about 2 months so hoping to shake loose of this plateau.  I have decided to start blogging about it because I know there are many people in my same shoes.  I hope to inspire others, as well as my self and use this as a way to stay accountable.   Remember you must make a lifestyle change, not just a temporary change.  Temporary changes will fade over time and the weight will find its way back on.   I leave you with a quote I heard all the time in my weight watchers meetings; "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels."