My last big stumbling block: sweet tea.

Yesterday I drank more water than tea. I had one small glass during lunch but that was it all day. When I went to my job, I drank more water. I kept a 32 oz. water bottle next to my computer and drank that all day long. Then as a reward to myself, I drank one glass of tea at night. Now that I'm home, it's a lot harder to drink water all day. But after someone (thx Amanda) told me how many calories are in an 8 oz. glass (300!), now I am determined to give it up.

According to the gym treadmill's calorie counter, I burned almost 300 calories running/walking. That was a hard! Then I was coming home and drinking that same amount! No more! If sweet tea is what has kept me from losing weight, then I'm kicking that habit. I'm taking baby steps though. If I cut it off cold turkey, then I will crave it more. So I'm gonna drink water all day and have one glass at night.

The Bible is so awesome. This morning I read Galatians 4. Paul is writing to the Galatians about how they seemed to have fallen from their belief in Christ and turned back to their ways when they were slaves to false beliefs and false gods. First of all, as humans it is so much easier to believe in ourselves, other people or things (such as food, alcohol, etc). They give us temporary happiness that seems to make all our problems disappear. We have to keep coming back to that though, to get that "happiness". This is what Paul is telling them. In Galatians 4:8-9 he say, "Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you KNOW God-or rather are KNOWN by God-how is that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?" Can we all say WOW?! This really spoke to be this morning. God KNOWS me, more than my mother knows me, more than my husband knows me. He knows my heart and He wants to be a permenent resident. Isn't that awesome? God, who created everything we are and everything we see, wants me to KNOW Him! He wants us to throw off those weak and miserable principles for His strong and peaceful principles. WOW!

18 min people! 18 min on the treadmill, running my booty off! Well, that's the point anyways. I hope to bump up my workouts to ONE more day, if I can. I feel like I need to be working out 4 days/week instead of 3. I think if I shoot for 4 and actually make it 3 then I feel like I'm doing good. Last week it was supposed to be 3 but ended up being 2. I have to work out more than that!

I tried, I really tried to use Truvia in my tea today (that's a non-sugar sweetener that's supposed to be natural). Then I was getting this horrendous headache and wasn't sure if it was the Truvia or not. Do you get headaches when you cut sugar out of your diet? Who knows...well, I went back to the sugar in the tea. Honestly people, can't I have my sweet tea? I'm not eating much else w/sugar in it. Do vidalia onions count? Ha. Ok, I WILL drink more water, starting tomorrow (as Scarlet would say)!

I did make a burger today but it was on a whole wheat bun w/minimal amounts of mayo and one slice of cheese. I had some baked cheetos too. They are NOT as good as the real stuff but better for you, I guess. Dinner was chicken casserole, broccoli and mac-n-cheese (from a box, made w/Lite marg and fat free milk).

I'm still searching for that picture of someone that I'd like to look like when all this weight loss happens. I see people at the gym and think, I'd LOVE to look like that. The truth is I have NO idea what I would look like b/c I haven't been a size 10 in about 10 years. I'm so used to this weight on me that I'm afraid I won't see it when losing the weight finally happens. It's depressing. It's also depressing to know that I will never be able to eat what I want, when I want. I will always be monitoring it. I will always have to exercise. Of course, there are a lot of "skinny" people out there that drop dead from heart attacks and other ailments so at least I KNOW I'm getting healthier.

God is so good. I know He's on my side w/this. I will prevail. I will succeed. I've lost 5 lbs and hopefully more by now. It's working, slow and steady.

It's monday and I'm tired. I could only do 9 min. on the treadmill. I was hoping to make it to 17 min.! I just felt sluggish today. I don't know why. Oh well, in total I did about 40 min. of cardio (15 min on treadmill and 25 min. on elliptical). I was sweating buckets by the end! I had already done about 35 min. of weight work before that so today was a long workout!

I need to get rid of the homemade cinnamon rolls I made! I've eaten 2 today already and need to ban them! They are so good and so bad for you. I wish it were true that they were good for you :) Ok, so NO MORE!

LOOOONG summer days...sorry no post in 2 months.

Ok...so the great news is 5 lbs lost! Woo hoo...FINALLY some results. My doctor told me that's normal for 2 months of working out and eating better. She said if I were to lose it super fast then the likelihood of it coming back is 90%. And I do not want it to come back.

This journey is a true change is my thinking and eating habits w/food. I try to enjoy food now, instead of cramming it in my mouth as fast as I can. I'm trying to slow down when I eat. I need to taste the flavors and savor them. This is what God wants us to do. I think He requires discipline in all areas of our lives and food is a major problem for me, so I have to be even more disciplined than others. My prayer every morning is "God, help me make the right choices. Help me to see healthier choices of the things that aren't good for me. Help me to exercise." God is so good. He is there for me all day, every day. It's MY job to listen and obey Him. The days where I am "bad" are the days I didn't stop to pray about things! The devil finds his way into my days and whispers, "it's only 3 MnM's...it's only 1 piece of cake...it won't hurt you" but it IS and DOES hurt me! I get that momentary happiness of eating that stuff and then poof...it goes away. It does not last.

These 5 lbs lost, however...that happiness is lasting. It's like I'm climbing the mountain and I look down and see that I'm FINALLY getting somewhere. My feet are no longer on the ground.

YAY!