1lb & 1in.

I can't believe that I'm down 1 pound and 1 inch off my hips! I really hope my scales are telling the truth, because I really don't feel any different. This weight loss journey has been so difficult and I'm finding it hard to be consistent. I am hoping to posted my stats for the week tomorrow and my points. It's not much, but it's something! :)

Lost, but now am found!

Hi Ladies,

I am just now catching up to what is going on in our fitness challenge. Life is just happening all around me and sometimes it's hard to keep up. No more excuses though for me. I have been pretty faithful at getting in my 7 hours of sleep, but totally missed the no sweets week. I'm glad it's never too late to begin again! I am glad for the double points for exercise this week! Praise the Lord for that. Pray for me that I can keep up with the rest of the challenge. I have a friend who needs prayer too. She struggles with her weight everyday and has tried all those quick weightloss diets. She is currently doing the 17 day diet and has lost a considerable amount, but puts it back on when she stops. I hate seeing her so sad.

PS does anyone know anything about the 99 exercise plan?

CCCIII~ Introductions

My name is Kristina Brown and this is my second time participating in the fitness challenge. My family and I are missionaries to the country of Croatia and we just celebrated our first full year on the field this past August. I am a homeschool mom of three K5, 3rd, and 5th grades. Since moving to Croatia, I mostly cook from scratch and enjoy trying new recipes for old favorites. I can really get lost in "Bloggy Land" looking for new stuff to cook! LOL :)
The last challenge I participated in the spring. Sadly, I didn't give it my all and fell off the boat all the way around. I want this time to be different... I need to be healthier. I know that I can do it, because I've done it before. I am aware of my weaknesses and bad habits and am ready to WIN this time! :)

Just little ol' Me

I'm sorry that I've not been able to keep up lately.  Life has sure taken off  here and it seems that exercise and good eating habits have been the last thing on the agenda. (not on purpose)  It's hard when you don't see the scale budge when you ARE trying.  So it's like why try.  Deep down though, I don't want to give up because I know I can do it.  Please pray that God will help me these last 4 weeks.

End of WEEK 1/Beginning WEEK 2

I have to admit...I am not very good at keep up with this journaling thing.  Since the last challenge I have been able to consistently walk 4 miles a day Mon-Fri with a fellow missionary wife here in Croatia.  It has been a blessing to have her here to walk with.  I have also been working on my water intake.  It is easy to do when the weather is quite warm.  Other times, I have to force myself to drink it.

My weight is down 1.6 lbs.

I'm Back

I regret to say that I have not been with it for the past few weeks.  No weight loss or inches lost.  I hate to say that I haven't really tried.  I think I have become used to how I look and feel (even though it's not good) at the weight I am that I've just stopped trying.  In reality, deep down, I am not content with myself and where I am at physically.  Sometimes I think we are already 5 weeks into this challenge... why try now.  I know that's the wrong attitude TOTALLY.  So..... I guess this week I'll try harder. 

We are hosting an evangelist in our home who doesn't we flour-based foods.  Maybe this is my chance to NIX THE FIX! :) lol  I can do this, I can do this!!  I think next to child-birth, losing weight is the next hardest thing us women have to do.

Spring with ya'll this week and hopefully through the end.

WEEK 3 UPDATE

I am just a little overwhelmed with life lately.  Too many things pulling at me: schooling the girls, house, language school, and being everything to everyone.  I really have not felt like trying this past week.  Has anyone else had a week like this?  Sometimes I want to just accept myself for what I am and just not try the weightloss thing anymore!  However, my body would HATE me for it!! :(  Praying that I can prioritize my time next week and get back on track. :)

BTW: weight and measurements are still the same.  Going to "Spring" harder next week.

Little by Little... Inch by Inch

Last week was good as far as exercise until the weekend.  I didn't get any in Saturday or Monday.  I'm still working on the eating part trying to get in more veggies.  My weekend eating was not great~ pizza and coke. :(  I have always been picky, but I'm trying to venture out and try new things.  I DID walk a total of 8 miles with Leslie Sansone last week.

My results:
- .5 in waist
-1.5 in right arm
-.5 in left arm
Hopefully I did that right.  I will double check in a bit. :)

Cookin' from Scratch

Since our family has moved to Europe, I have had to change the way I cook.  I don't have the luxury of boxed meals, quick things, and certain snack foods I once had and loved.  I am learning to cook most of my meals from scratch and have found lots of neat recipes for some of the products I used to buy but can't get in Croatia.  It has been a fun journey and not as hard as I thought it would be.  This is helping us to eat a little more healthy and simply, knowing exactly what is in our foods.  Maybe next week, I will share one of my treasured recipe finds. 

Getting Enough Water?

This is something I struggle with..... ALOT!  Chances are, I would choose anything else over water to drink if it is in the fridge unless it is summer.  However, I find that I feel much better when I do get all 8 glasses of water in.  These are some of the different ways that I have tried in helping me achieve this: 

1. I used the mug I brought home from the hospital when I had our children.  I knew that I only had to drink so many of those and then I would be done.  It helped when I filled it up first thing in the morning.
2. Another thing that helped me was freezing a water bottle just until the water got icy.  I craved ice when I was pregnant with my son, so this helped me to get my 8 glasses of water in.
3. Lemon and orange slices made my water more exciting also.  Sometimes I used the Crystal Light flavorings for water bottles for something different.

Hope tips these help. :)

Summary of Week 1

Week 1 has come and gone.  Nothing miraculous happened~ no weight-loss or inches lost.  That's okay though because I understand that this is a journey that may sometimes have bumps along the way.  On a good note week two has started with 2 consistent days of my "2" MILE WALK!!  I didn't think I could do it, but my hubby has been very encouraging. (BTW~ he can eat anything and not gain a lb!)  I was really surprised that my ankle didn't give me any problems.  Praise the Lord!
Some goals for the rest of the week are to limit my bread intake (hard to do), drink more water, and continue with my exercise routine.  I have my measurements written down, but not in front of me now.  Is it necessary to share them?  Those numbers are really scary... looking forward to them getting smaller. :) 

Monday Morning Musings

Usually Mondays are really not anyone's favorite day of the week. Why? We must go back to school, AND to work. Not our most favorite things to do, but they are necessary! The same is true of EXERCISE as well... no one really likes to do it... but we MUST if we are going to be healthy.

This Monday lots of happy sounds were coming from the rooms of our home: singing and pledgeing to the American flag, the washer and dryer going, and my friend Leslie Sansone telling me that She was glad I decided to take a walk today! LOL (I know that was a really bad run-on sentence!!)

I officially started with my workouts today. I am starting with my 1 mile easy walk all this week and will then go from there. I injured my ankle last January with a really bad sprain, this is why I need to go slow. My joints are so weak because of my weight that I'm in pain.

My goals for Shape Into Spring are to: get into a exercise routine, drink water faithfully, cook lighter meals, and to lose at least 10 pounds. I would love to lose more. I am praying for His strength to help me in that area. Thanks ladies for your posts and for being so encouraging.

Introductions

Hi, my name is Kristina Brown. I'm 33 and have been married for almost 12 years to Kevin. We have 3 children:Erin (9), Ally (7), and Noah (4). Our family is currently serving the Lord in Croatia, we have been here officially 6 months today. :)

I have always thought I was "big", but in reality I wasn't. It wasn't until I started having children that my weight problem began. When my first daughter was born I never did lose that "baby weight". Before we knew it 20 months later, we welcomed our second daughter. I knew I had to do something about the "baby weight". I joined Weight Watchers and successfully lost 25 pounds in about a year. I felt great about myself and what I had accomplished. Eventually our family began making preparations for the mission field and the weight crept back on me within a year.

After a year traveling the USA, eating out, and visiting many churches who ALSO fed us... the inevidable happened. We found out that we would soon be welcoming our son in the next 9 months. This was not good for me concerning my weight. I did not want to travel, eat out so much on our deputation journey, AND carry this child knowing the weight I would gain. By the time my son was born, I had gained almost 100 pounds between the baby and water I retained. Talk about being miserable!!!!

Here I am now almost 5 years later an still carrying around the "baby weight" plus more! I lost all the water weight and that's it. I don't want my health to decline because of my weight. I certainly want to be active with my children, but my weight is getting in the way. I can do the things I used to.

I am looking forward to getting myself into shape and becoming a healthier me! :)