Seeing His Face

This is something that I read in my devotions last night that I enjoyed.

"When a king's face brightens, it means life; his favor is like a rain cloud in spring." Proverbs 16:15

"Perhaps we don't enter the courts of kings as they did in the ancient world. Maybe we don't understand the implications of a king's expression when he sees us. But the king's acceptance once meant the difference between blessing and misery. When his face lit up, his servants could rest easy. To their great relief, his good mood would result in the glory of his favor. It would bring joy to the heart.

So how is this relevant to us? Aren't we rarely privileged to enter the halls of national authority or the courts of sovereigns? No, the privilege has been granted to us. We are to come into the throne room of the Most High God - the ultimate authority in all of existence - and voice our concerns. We are allowed to serve in His fields. We are allowed to consult with the wisdom of eternity for our daily endeavors. And we are blessed to become partakers of His glory. He shares His kingdom with us! There is no greater joy.

But what do we see on His face? Is it brightened by our presence? Many are afraid not. Many see a rightfully angry God on the throne when they pray. Many feel the holy disappointment of our pure and perfect Father. Many believe that God could never love them as He loves a treasured child. Until we believe otherwise, we will not know His favor. Knowing His delight is contingent on our being absolutely convinced of His good will toward men. His favor falls on us when we know from whom it falls.

When God sees you, does He see Jesus? If you believe in the Savior, God will consider His life a substitute for yours. And as you serve the Savior, God will fill your life with His Spirit. Your life and the life of Jesus will become so intertwined, so connected, that in heaven there can be no distinction beween the two. As a husband and wife are 'one flesh,' the Savior and His bride are 'one Spirit.' The two have become one, and that One is a delight to His King. Accept the King;s delight with gratitude."

Long Overdo Update

Sorry it has been so long since my last update! I have been having problems with blogger. I have continued to have great success, losing 15 more pounds since my last post, bringing me to a total of 25 pounds lost! Since I started working at Tolman's getting my exercise in has been difficult. I am going to try getting up early in the morning and getting some time in walking on the treadmill and maybe a little strength workout in as well. I am not necessarily a morning person so this has proven difficult to get started on!

Not working in the kitchen has been very helpful, though. Not having that temptation around makes it much easier for me to say no when the temptation does arise. I also find that I can eat small portions of things that aren't necessarily healthy foods and not need to eat even eat what is considered one portion size.

I went out shopping tonight and was able to buy a couple shirts that are mediums! I think middle/high school was the last time I was in a size medium! Thanks for the support! I couldn't have gotten this far without knowing that you are all out there supporting me!

Weigh in!

Alright, it has been a couple of weeks since I last posted. I have had continuing success since my last post. Last week I lost 2 pounds and this week I also lost 2 pounds. I am now down 10 pounds since I started. I am now really starting to notice it in my clothes. I can fit into clothes that I haven't been able to wear for a while. It is really motivating!

I have also downloaded a new app on my phone that teaches you to do either 50, 150, 200 or 250 sit-ups. I do it every other day and since I haven't been able to exercise since I started this, it is a small thing that helps me. I am working toward doing 150 sit-ups and am currently at 31. It is still difficult, but it is getting easier!

Weigh Day!

Well, another week has come and gone and that means that it is time for another weigh in today! It was a relatively good week this week. I have been having some issues with my blood sugars lately. My pump is set up to give me a lot more insulin than I need at this point since I am eating a lot less carbs. This causes a lot of issues with my blood sugar going low and that means that I have to eat unnecessary carbs and calories. I am hoping that this gets better!

So, with all this in mind I was a little worried going into this weeks weigh in. I was just hoping that the scale would at least show a loss since I am eating much healthier than I used to. I was thrilled when I stepped on and saw a 3 pound loss this week! I was very surprised and happy. I am not sure that I could do the 17 Day Diet for the rest of my life; I think it is too strict to do forever, but it definitely provides a great spring-board to jump start any weight loss!

Weigh Day

It has been a while since I posted! I have started a new "diet", the 17 Day diet. You have 3 different cycles, each 17 days long. It has you cut out most of the carbs in your diet so any carbs you get are from fruits. As you proceed through the 3 cycle they add different foods back into your diet. So far it has been going very well. I had a hard time at first not being able to drink pop. Another thing I am struggling with is all the sweets at work. It is hard seeing other people eating the breads and bars that I make and not being able to touch them.

However, yesterday one week had gone by and that means it was time to weigh in and see how it was working. I was thrilled to see and 3 pound weight loss! I guess that means that this is actually working! I have had to change a few things, what with me being diabetic and all, but I try to follow it as closely as possible, minus the exercise as that would mess up my blood sugar.

If you scroll to the bottom of my blog you will see a new ticker that I just added to track my weight loss. Here's to another great week!

Another week....

Food is a struggle for me. I work in a kitchen and there is always something great around to eat. In the moment I know that it isn't going to be worth it but it just looks so good that I have to try some. It never tastes as good as it looks and it never is worth it, but I continue to eat it anyway. Because of this it makes it harder to say no to the unhealthy foods when I am at home. I think that if I could get a different job that didn't involve working in a kitchen around unhealthy food all day I would be able to say no the the temptations easier and quicker.

I went for a hike with my cousin last week at a park nearby. We had a ton of fun and it made getting some exercise in easier. We decided that we would have to go back again. We went later at night which didn't give us as much time as we wanted as it was getting dark by the time we decided to turn around and head back to the car. I also went for a run outside yesterday. It was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. I did 1.3 miles and ran most of the way. I find it easier to push myself farther on the treadmill than outside. The only problem is that my treadmill is old and the features don't work anymore, so I have no idea how far I have run. I guess I just have to try and push myself more outside!

Weigh Day

Another week of pushing myself a little bit more on the treadmill and another week of no change on the scale. I did buy a new scale (like you told me Melissa) and we will see what it shows next week.

I have started watching tv shows on Hulu while I am running and I have found that it makes the time go by quicker. Tonight I watched a half hour episode of House Hunters and it was about 20 minutes long. I ran the whole time so this was the longest I have run at one time. I was really tired when I finished and my legs wanted to die, but it was a great feeling. More and more I find that I look forward to the time when I get to run and not dreading it like I did when I started!

Frustrated!

I don't know what to do anymore. I have really pushed myself last week on the treadmill and I was expecting a decent number when I weighed in this morning, I mean I would have even been happy with one pound. Instead I gained one pound. I cannot seem to get past this spot. I gain one and then loose that same one pound over and over again, no matter what I do. It is very discouraging.

On another note, the running is going well. I am able to run for 10 minutes straight on the treadmill before I have to stop. We will see when it gets warmer out how that translates outside!

Happy!

Weigh day was yesterday. I am never sure what to expect so I try not to have any expectations prior to weighing in. This week I was happy to see that I went down a pound. One pound doesn't seem like much but at least I am going down and not up!

I am really proud of myself tonight. I pushed myself harder than I ever have when excercising. Usually when it gets hard I give in to my aching muscles and quite. Monday I planned on doing my 30 minutes on the treadmill with 5 minutes walking and 5 minutes jogging. In reality I only did 15 minutes total. I did the first 5 minutes jogging and it was okay. I was feeling very optimistic when I got done with them. However, by the time the second 5 minutes jogging came around I was thinking, "There is no way I am going to finish this 5 minutes, let along do another 5 minutes to finish my 30!" and so I gave in and stopped after 15 minutes as well as taking a short break during my last 5 minutes of jogging.

Tonight I decided I was going to try it again. I made it through the first 5 and decided that I needed to slow down the pace for the second and third 5 minutes. I was really happy when I realized that I am strong enough to make it through the second 5 minutes and decided that I could do it. So, half an hour later, dead calves and all, I am really happy to say that I did it!

Now I just need to get my food figured out. I tend to get stuck in a rut and get sick of eating the same "healthy foods" over and over again. You can only eat chicken so much and Lean Cuisines do get old after awhile. Any suggestions? I could really use some new ideas.

Getting back on the wagon!

I have been a bit slackish the past couple of days. I had a rest day on Friday, and was supposed to do 30 minute walk/jog on both Saturday and Sunday, but I didn't. I, of course, felt bad afterward and have resolved to get bad on the wagon! I got back at it today and did my 30 minutes - 5 minutes walking and 1 minute jogging. I thought that the 1 minute of jogging would be worse than it was. I had to push myself a little but it was worth it in the end!

I also had a weigh in today. I had a feeling that I wasn't going to do as well this week since I had missed a couple of workouts and I was right. I ended up gaining one pound. Next week will be better, though!

Training: Day Two

Another 30 minute walk done. I remembered to grab my ipod this time and the time went a lot quicker than yesterday! Not too much to report tonight. Tomorrow should be interesting. I have to do another 30 minute walk but this time I have to walk for 5 minutes and then jog for 30 seconds. We will see how that goes! I don't think it will be too bad; I can jog for 30 seconds.

I have let temptation get to me a little bit with my eating, though. It can be really difficult to eat healthy when you work in a kitchen. There is always something good around to eat and I sometimes find it hard to say no. Take this morning for example, we had scrambled eggs, bacon and coffee cake for breakfast. I have no problem saying no to bacon and eggs, but I love coffee cake, so I gave in and had a piece. Looking back it wasn't worth it, but it tasted really good at the time. Tomorrow is a new day!

Zero

Well, another weigh in has come and gone and this time I lost nothing, although I didn't gain anything either. I wasn't surprised, though. I just had a feeling that I hadn't done as well this week. But we will move on and see what this week brings! On another note I started my new beginners running training today. Actually it started yesterday but they gave me a rest day yesterday so I did a little strength workout instead. Today, my first actual day of training, was walking for 30 minutes. As I walked from my room to the back room where we keep the treadmill I realized that I didn't have my ipod. I also realized, however, that although my ipod was only a few steps away in my room, my headphones where upstairs on the couch. My laziness prevailed and I decided to walk without any music. It wasn't as bad as I thought. I was prepared for the 30 minutes to tick by really slowly but it went by rather quickly. By the time the 30 minutes was up my feet were like lead weights. I am certain that by next week at this time they will be stronger and it will not be as difficult!

Weigh Day

Two weeks have come and gone. My vacation was great; we had a wonderful time! We got to see dolphins from our balcony, alligators, crocodiles, and lots of turtles. Here are a few pictures:

So, we had a great time; we walked a lot, and we laughed a lot.

I was planning on starting a running plan for beginnners on Monday after I returned, but then I got a cold just before we left Myrtle Beach and that turned into a sinus infection. I have not felt well enough to get back o the treadmill yet, but hopefully by Monday I will be able to start the running plan.

However, I did weigh in on Tuesday. I was a little surprised to find that even though I wasn't eating the healthiest food, all the walking paid off and I still managed to loose one pound. Hopefully now that I am on some antibiotics for the sinus infection I will start feeling better and can get back to the treadmill on Monday!

Weigh in day

Well, today is weigh in day for me. I wasn't too sure how I would do since I have been having a hard time being able to get on the treadmill with my blood sugars acting up. I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped on the scale and I was down 1 pound. It doesn't sound like much, but it is better than nothing.

I will not be able to weigh in next week since I will be on vacation, so it will be two weeks before my next weigh in. Hopefully I will show a good loss then! Even though I will be on vacation I will still get my walking in at least. We will be walking around a lot everyday we are there, so that will help. We are leaving on Friday afternoon and will be gone for a week. I will be taking my laptop along but will not be posting while I am there. Hope you all have a great week and I will see you when I return next Saturday!

Frustrated!

I haven't been able to run the past few days because my blood sugar hasn't been high enough. It is frustrating to want to be on the treadmill but not be able to because my diabetes will not allow it. Even on days that I am able to run I can run into the problem of having my blood sugar go low before I go to bed. Then I end up having to eat something even though I am not hungry at all. I feel like it is hampering my weight loss efforts.

Tonight, though, I was able to get on the treadmill. I decided, though, that I was pushing myself too hard and decided to slow things down a little bit and start out at a pace that is more comfortable for me and work my way up to a running speed. I was still at a fast walk and walked for about 40 minutes.

I am hoping that the longer I walk or run my blood sugar will get used to it and I will not need to have to have it be higher in order to work out and that it will not drop so much when I exercise.

Running

I was introduced to Ben's blog by my mom and have read it through from the beginning. I was really inspired by him to get my act together and start exercising and eating healthier. I started running on the treadmill; Saturday I "ran", it was probably more of a slow jog, for 45 minutes, and I did 50 minutes on Sunday. I gave my legs a day of rest yesterday since my calves and ankles were really sore. Today I decided I wanted to know how fast I could run a mile in. I get all bundled up and went outside. I finished one mile in 15:34, which is a pace of 15.5 minutes/mile; about what I expected. I did have to stop and walk for a while, but for my first mile run I wasn't too disappointed.

I am hoping to loose about 50 pounds and to decrease my running pace time. I am looking to you guys to keep my accountable! I cannot guarantee that I will post as much as Ben, but I will try to post at least once a day. Go and check out his blog. Head back to the beginning and read through it; it takes a few days but it well worth it!