NO guilt weekend = surprised Sarah

Yesterday was Easter. Everyone knows what holidays mean...lots of GOOD food :) Well, John and I had 2 family get-togethers, one on Saturday and yesterday. I had double the amount of deliciousness.

I look forward to holidays. It's usually my "free" day to eat what I want and how much I want. However, in the past, it's been a load of guilt the next day for what I ate. Then it was the mentality of "I've got to work out every day to pay for the cheesecake I ate." This weekend was different though. I ate what I wanted but in smaller pieces. I stopped eating when I was almost full. I drank water. I felt in control. Usually when I have my "free" days, I feel out of control, like it's the last bite of (fill in the blank) that I'll ever have. Saturday and Sunday, however, felt controlled and, I'm not gonna lie to you, it was weird.

Then this morning I woke up and felt NO guilt for what I ate. This is a new experience for me. What a blessing God gave me through this. I felt in control and no guilt! How can you explain it other than God's hand was on me, guiding me all weekend. Without Him, I have no willpower but with God on my side, I feel empowered to make the right decisions. It's not about choosing the right foods, even though that's part of it. This is about control. It's about feeling good about choosing the right food and not feeling deprived. It's about being under God's control in all aspects of your life because you will turn to food when your life is out of control. I'm evidence of that!

Are you under control?

GREAT, HEALTHY RECIPE!!!!

Last night, we had breakfast for dinner. I didn't want to use my standard for pancakes-Bisquick-because I wanted a healthier version. I always have whole wheat flour (I highly recommend you do too if you cook a lot like me) so I googled "Whole wheat pancakes" and got a recipe from cooks.com. It was delicious!!! Even my picky-eating children loved them. And, as far as I can tell, the pancakes are very healthy.

Here's the recipe:
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp sugar/splenda mix
1 tsp salt
2 cups milk (I used 1% but you could use skim)
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
4 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce

Preheat griddle to medium heat, spray with Pam (if you need to). Use 1/3 cup measuring cup to dispense evenly (I just used my mixing spoon). Cook until bubbles appear on top, flip.

You could add any kind of fruit, like blueberries to it. I used Log Cabin Lite syrup instead of usual, full sugar syrup.

I think the one of the keys to losing weight and keeping it off is finding healthier alternatives to your favorite foods. Pancakes are one of my favorite things to eat and while Bisquick isn't bad for you, it is a lot of empty carbs. At least with this recipe I feel like I'm eating something good for me.

HOW TO CHANGE THE SHAPE OF YOUR BODY

As I was in my weight class today, it occured to me that one of the things I forgot to list in the 3 month challenge was weight training. Since I've been doing the weight class, my body has changed shape. Well, I still have the usual area of problems, but I can actually feel my thigh, arm and butt muscles! What an awesome feeling :) After you get started moving, you need to add in some weights. You can either join a class at your local gym, buy weights to use at home or use your own body weight. Start small and move up as you get stronger. There are tons of exercises online and in magazines to do.

BELIEVE me when I say...You will change the shape of your body :)

MADE TO CRAVE

Last night I started a new Bible study at our church called "Made to Crave". It's a study by Lysa Terkeurst. I'm very excited to be starting it after watching the first little video snippet last night. Every week she will give us a word, which I will then give to ya'll. This week's word is EMPOWERED. The main thing I got from her last night was that we shouldn't feel deprived when we make healthy choices. We should feel EMPOWERED. Wow.

Let's feel EMPOWERED today!!!!

THE 3 MONTH CHALLENGE

Time for a change. I've had 3.5 months of yo-yo-ing of 5 lbs and I'm sick of it. I'm gonna throw out a 3 month challenge to anyone interested. Why 3 months? As most of you know, my stupid foot (plantar faciaitis) makes me unable to run anymore and this means I can no longer have a 5k, 10k or any other k to motivate me. I needed something as a goal, like a 10k would be, so my motivation is my beach trip is in 3 months. This gives me a good goal to strive for. 3 months is not a long time, but hopefully it will be long enough to achieve my goal to lose 10 lbs.

Therefore, I'm inviting all of you to join me. Find a goal to strive for in 3 months. Maybe you are going to the beach too or maybe you are doing the Peachtree. Or maybe you need to set a goal, like a massage. Whatever motivates you! Another motivation for me is that John and I are letting God take over in the baby department. If we have another baby, I need to lose MORE weight and get healthier. In the next three months, I hope to do more pilates, yoga and cardio in the next three months too.

I had a friend's grandmother (who hasn't seen me since I lost these last 30 lbs) ask me what my secret was for losing weight. I really didn't know what to tell her, because I don't think what I'm doing is a secret so I really had to think about it. One thing I've learned is that even though it's coming off at a snail's pace, it's allowing my body to adjust to the loss. I think that when you lose weight fast, your body (and mind) can't adjust to the change and you are more likely to go back to where you started. I firmly believe that you must lose weight in YOUR OWN TIME. YOU have to be ready to own up to YOUR eating habits and be ready to change FOREVER the way you look at food. If you join a weight loss program, you have to tell yourself "These people are helping me but it's MY responsibility to lose the weight and change myself." I know that, in the past, when I've joined them I thought "They are gonna change me." That's the wrong mentality. Now I know that I wasn't ready to accept that I will never eat what I want, when I want and as much as I want. I wasn't ready to accept that exercising 3 or more times a week had to be a RITUAL in my life. No weight loss program will work until you are ready to accept these realities for yourself. So here are some tips if you need help starting:

• STOP, STOP, STOP buying anything that will make you stumble. That means chips, candy, cakes, whatever. Your family will be better off for it anyways!


• Switch to Truvia, Splenda for sweetener in drinks. Limit anything that is sweetened (even artificially). I've read a lot of magazines that say that if you struggle with sugar, it's not a good idea to have a lot of things with sweeteners. It tricks your body into thinking you are eating sugar and you will crave it even more. Of course, this is my opinion but I have such a bad addiction to sugar that I'm trying to limit it as much as I can.


• DRINK WATER!!!


• Try to find ways to take calories and fats out of recipes. Switch to low-fat versions of mayo, sour cream, etc. I NEVER use fat free stuff...I'm sorry but a little fat helps the taste.


• EXERCISE! Start by walking 10 min. a day. Or join a gym and GO. I love the weight classes and spinning classes at my gym. I also love the elliptical. I've started doing the stair machine and rowing machine as well. Weight loss will happen without exercise but it will be more beneficial for you if you exercise too.


• Don't stress about what you are losing. The way I keep positive is knowing that I'm doing all I can to lose weight.


• Take it to God DAILY! Ask Him to help you make the right decisions and give you energy when you exercise (it works!).

Hope this helps all of you who are joining this 3 month challenge with me!

Just think "Better today than yesterday, Better tomorrow than today"...(quote from Vonnie Baucham).