Weight Loss Wednesday: Guest Post Edition

Dear Friends,

Welcome to Weight Loss Wednesday! I am excited for Jamie to guest post, please be sure to check her blog out. In other weight loss news, I have not weighed in but will on Saturday. If its decent, I'll be sure to tweet about it. Finally, I will be participating in the Eat Your Heart out cleanse found here and here. Fingers crossed for a heap of pounds to melt away from those 7 days! Take it away Jamie!

Blog/Twitter/Facebook

Hi everyone...I'm Jamie and I blog over at Things in YOU. I want to thank Esther for allowing me to come over and share my 21 Day Portion Control Challenge.  I'm only on Day 9 of my challenge, but I would love for you all to join in, especially if anything I'm about to say sounds familiar.

I was getting to the point where every day I was feeling guilty for everything I was putting in my mouth. I had no clue on how to lose weight. Every Monday I kept telling myself "this is the day," but Monday would come and go and I still wasn't paying any attention to what I was eating. My biggest addiction I think would be fast food, eating out, and carbs. I would hardly ever eat fruits and veggies. 

I am 5'9". At the beginning of this challenge I weighed 176 pounds. My BMI was 26% and I was 30 pounds over weight. Now let me make this clear, I just started my challenge 9 days ago. Before I tell you my results thus far,  I would like to tell you a little about my strategy and tips that have helped me and will hopefully help you!

The reason this challenge is 21 days is because professionals say it takes 21 days to form a habit. So the habit I needed to form was Portion Control. In my mind, I needed extra support so I decided to post my meals, everyday on my blog, for everyone to see. Some of my "bloggy buddies" encouraged me to use My Fitness Pal. I'm so glad I did! This helpful tool keeps track of everything that's going in my mouth. I thought to myself,  "I'm not that type of person who can write everything down," then I came to the realization, I HAVE TO!! In order for me to get an idea of how many calories something was...I had to keep track of it. That's where My Fitness Pal came in. Just put in the food and amount and it tracks it for you! It couldn't be any easier!

 Important TIPS I've learned:

Portion Control Tip #1: Don't Leave Food in Sight

Portion Control Tip #2: Use Meat as a Side Dish

Portion Control Tip #3: Split a Serving(Restaurants)

Portion Control Tip #4: Learn Serving Sizes(My Fitness Pal helps with this)

Portion Control Tip #5: Eat Small Meals

These tips I have learned in just 9 short days, and I'm sure I'll learn more as time goes on. 

Now onto my results for my first 9 Days. I lost a total of 5 pounds, so that takes my weight down to 171. My BMI is down a little to 25.2%. 

I am very happy with my results thus far. Because I am MORE conscience of what I am putting in my mouth and keeping track of it, I do not feel guilty anymore. If I want a cookie and I know I can have it because I ate proper proportions for the day, then I'll have a cookie. Oh, and by the way, I am the type of person if I completely eliminate something like sweets from my diet, the next time it's in front of me I devour it. Are you like that? I am not a professional in weight loss, nor do I claim this is the best diet out there. All I know is this is working for me and I feel it is balanced and I feel great and not deprived in anyway.

I hope these tips help and are as useful to you as they were for me! 

Thanks again Jamie! These are some great tips to find balance with a healthy diet. I am not great at control when sweets are in front of me and I lose all sense of control when the food is free. (These are big reasons why I don't go to certain restaurants with all you can eat items such as chips, bread or buffets.) If you would like to guest post, please let me know! I am always encouraged by your stories. Please stay tuned for Thankful Thursday!

Happy Friday

The last trip to Las Vegas was a whirlwind of activity. The most memorable part was the drive through the Rockies. Its a lovely drive in the summer time, when the mountain breeze feels refreshing. In March, the drive is more akin to sliding through a blizzard. There was a massive wreck that had traffic stopped for what felt like eternity. After getting through the snow, we had no problems. It was later at night when we arrived safely, which was not my favorite. On our return drive, we met with tons of race car traffic that held us up for another hour. The worst was getting through the pass, where we had to deal with two types of drivers: too slow and too fast. There is a delicate balance between the two when driving through a snow storm and sadly most people do not understand how to have balance. The valuable lesson from this story is: buy plane tickets. Its worth the money for the peace of mind.

Do you have any interesting road trips?

Biggest Loser

My favorite show is on tonight: Biggest Loser. The show inspires me to keep up my weight loss journey. I appreciate all the tips and find that I am encouraged to stay healthy. I have learned there is an important balance between perfect healthy eating and splurges. That's why I've included a photo of ice cream. I have lost over 20 pounds and thankfully have kept it off. The biggest reminder is my wedding ring, which needs to be resized. Yes, my fingers got skinnier.

What inspires you to stay healthy?

Routine

We find comfort in routine, however I haven’t found the right balance of routine versus spontaneity. I need a routine to make sure I complete tasks consistently. Simple tasks such as reading the bible, writing the blog, taking care of the kitties (I don’t usually miss this one since they can be so vocal about their needs) are all things that I want to complete.

I haven’t gotten my routine together because I’ve moved a little over two months ago and I also have a new job. Being a first-born with input as my strength, I’ll get a routine going soon. So what routine do you have and has it been helpful? Please feel free to comment.

Epic Battle with the Economy

Today’s rating is Negative.

I am continuing my struggle with finding a job and with a deadline looming it doesn’t seem as if this feat is possible. The last time I was in the job market, I was hunting for ten hours a day, six days a week. Finding a job is a full-time job and yet I’ve been trying to accomplish this in part-time hours.

I am praying for wisdom, strength, patience, and hope. Its clear that I am not strong enough to do it on my own. I’m not alone with Jesus Christ on my side. I survey my situation and I can see that things won’t work in my timing. So, do I just throw the towel in and wait for God to put the job on a silver platter and deliver it to my door? I think there is a balance between the hunt and the providence of God. I wish I had that balance in my heart, mind, and soul right now. Thank you for your support.