The Journey Begins!

I have decided to document my journey to being a better me. This journey must start with my belief system. I am a Christian who believes (like most other Christians) in the Bible. True to the mindset of one who was raised in church at some point the journey can no longer be that of your parents, their faith, their beliefs and their Christian walk. AT SOME POINT… you must adopt your own core belief system, your own core values and you must decide for yourself what your morals are going to be. So this journey to health must also be intertwined with what I have discovered for myself on my Christian journey and what I have learned about eating habits, caloric intake and metabolism.

 I grew up Baptist. If you were not already aware, Baptist center most of their activities, fellowships and church meetings around FOOD. This proved to be a bad combination for a chubby girl. I developed bad eating habits and a worse mindset. I believed up until just a few years ago, I am chubby, I have always been this way and I will always be this way. Once I realized if you eat like a fat girl…you look like a fat girl. I was under the misconception that those who were intended to be skinny were born that way with a fierce metabolism and the rest of us well…destined to be friends with Twinkies.

There were a few things that began to shift my paradigm. I watched an interview done by Charlize Theron back in 2004 when she had made the movie Monster, and in this interview she had put on weight. Of course the interview wanted to know how this beautiful actress/model packed on thirty pounds. Her reply was a cause for deep thought. (This is not a direct quote, simply how I remember it) Something to the effect of I didn’t do what I normally would i.e. go to the gym and workout and I ate what I normally wouldn’t such as doughnuts etc. This caused me to realize if SKINNY girls ate like fat girls…they would look like fat girls do. Another contribution to my realization that people don’t have to stay looking the way they always have or eating the things they are used to was when I watched Biggest Loser. I couldn’t even believe my eyes. The amazing transformation these people have taken on is astonishing. Even more astonishing to me was the people who decided they didn’t want to continue the work it takes to stay healthy…the just put the weight right back on!!! CRAZY!

 So this brings us to the here and now. I had started to just change the way I view food in addition to the way I eat food. Food at a social gathering doesn’t have to be just an excuse to eat…just to eat …because that is what we do…eat. NOW HERE IS THE DISCLAIMER. I am not calorie Nazi. I am sharing with you everything. The success and the failures…trust me there are going to be days I fail. I have to make new habits just like you. I am a routine person so every time something changes in my life; I have to discover a NEW ROUTINE!! AHHH. This may seem easy but it is difficult for me because I want to find the perfect routine for me and sometimes that takes a while.

 WHEAT. I eat wheat everything, tortillas, bread, pasta etc. That way I don’t have to cut them out of my diet completely. So if/when I tell you I ate chicken fettuccini alfredo, you will now know it was wheat pasta, light alfredo sauce and baked chicken. I TRY but do not always succeed to cut out processed food. I do however still eat granola bars etc. So I haven’t found out how to fit something else in their place. Portion control – I eat smaller portions, stop when I’m full and if I have to throw away the food on my plate (so that I won’t continue eating it) PLEASE don’t tell my mom, she is very old school …you know waste not want not. Clean your plate. And it causes her great consternation to see food go to waste. HOWEVER, I truly am not my mother…usually and I had to forgo this teaching and decide better for it to rot in the trash then on my hips.  WATCH my SUGAR. I just try to avoid the OBVIOUS sugar like cookies. I will indulge now and again but I look at it as a treat and not as an everyday must. If I have a choice of sugar free whatever, I usually go with that.
 Water, water, water.  
Veggies!!! they are a part of my everyday life. I try my best to eat fruits and vegetables DAILY! As you will see as you follow along my journey with me, some days we count as a success and well some days…epic fail. That’s just life no matter how much I try and desire perfection; I know it is always just out of my reach. I think in order to be the most successful I will need to set goals.

My 24 Day Challenge Goal is to lose 10lbs.
 Strength Training Goals - Lift more than I can now!
Calorie Goal – 1500
Workout Goal – 5 days per week
 Cardio Goal – 45 minutes
 Blogging Goal – Daily!
 Water Goal – 84 oz Daily
ULTIMATE GOAL - Lose a higher percentage of weight than my little brother! LOL So this morning I set up some time frames as I need to work on routine and since this is a new routine I have to guess at how long each thing will take me.

So to start my morning I woke up late. AH! But for the most part Garron was to school on time, I got to work out and I made it to work on time.

The hiccups in my beautifully planned out morning (aside from waking up late) were that I forgot to get my Fiber drink (part of my Advocare 24 day challenge) and the other problems come in when I so diligently packed my gym bag and didn't pack any shoes to go with the dress I was going to wear today. ANY OTHER DAY I would have just been in jeans but I was trying to keep it simple with a one item outfit. Since that outfit doesn't look good with Nike tennis shoes...well I went to work in my gym clothes. The only redeeming factor is that it gave me extra time to finish my work out. Tomorrow I will post my entire workout, food diary, water consumption and Advocare products.

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