My New Mantra...I want T-shirts.

See this post for details.

Love, Viv

To WEIGH, OR NOT to Weigh

Love this picture-KEEP IT UP!

Dear friend,

I came home from my weekend a little tired:) Why do vacations always do that?  You go to get rejuvenated and come home with wonderful memories and heavy eyelids.  Eating was awesome,  I brought:

• a big batch of fajita pasta salad for everyone 
• a gallon size bag of cut up veggies
• a bag of grapes
• a few oranges, bananas, and apples
• a quart of Almond milk
• 2 bottles of nutty spread and two bottles of fruit spread
• a hearty loaf of wheat bread 
• plus a bar of dark chocolate 

We had a little kitchen in one of the rooms so I was able to eat my food when we ate in.  Bed and Breakfast morning times consisted of egg casserole, loads of bacon and sausage, french toast strata, yogurt and fruit.  I loaded up on the fruit, added a piece of wheat bread smeared with nutty and fruit spread and a nice cup of lemon tea sweetened with agave.  

For lunch on Saturday everyone had Subway and I had a veggie version with dijon and salt and pepper on the wheatiest bread they had.  And the last night we ate out at Carlos & Harley's--if ever in Eden--eat there! Delicious food for everyone.  I had corn tortilla tacos stuffed with portabellos, poblanos, cabbage, rice, black beans and salsa.  I am craving these already, I am totally going to remake these little yummies.    I did not eat anything I would not have at home other than the leafy greens were a little hard to come by.  

On return I stepped onto the scale and...well nothing happened the scale had not budged.  As I stood there staring at that number I realized something, my goal of toning, because of my weekly "Weigh-ins" has turned to losing weight.  Over the last 12 weeks since this plant strong journey began I have lost 22 lbs.  I used to plateau in weight loss at 178 or so, now it is at 158--that's big, but all I can think about is that it's not coming off anymore.  If I were on a regular "diet"  I can tell you what already would have happened I would have jumped ship for a few days and thought to myself, 

"If it's not working then I am going to eat what I want."  

Because of plant strong living my perspective has entirely changed there are more important things to me than losing weight.  I believe that not only has our eating habits as Americans created our "sickness" but also our dieting habits.  We have tunnel vision, there is no grand ideal of health and wholeness, we care about size and shape.  

In protest of this perpetuation I am throwing out my scale.

Yes, you heard me right-I am throwing it out.

I am going to measure every 3 weeks and gauge my progress by how I feel- lean, strong, healthy then A for me.  As I exercise and give the best fuel to my body I will achieve my goal of toning up and feeling great and that has nothing to do with weight and that monster scale.  Because of my thyroid I need to keep a tab on my weight periodically but my Drs office has told me I may slip in once in a while to weigh--so GOODBYE scale and HELLO health.

We need to stop and realize how much we have to GAIN not how much weight there is left to lose--Health, Energy, Strength, Quality of life, the list is endless--our bodies are the vehicles by which we carry out our purpose here on Earth.  I don't know about you but I want mine to be a Bentley.

Here is to strength without scales--whew I feel better already!

Viv

P90X Day 30-Small Progress

So, as I have reviewed this past month, I am disappointed in myself.  Not so much in the weight lost/inches lost, but in my ability to not be committed.  I noticed that as time went on, if a little bump in the road came up, it would almost paralyze me and make it so hard for me to pick myself back up the next day and inadvertently, I didn't.  It was a spiritual lesson for me that I hope to always remember....

As with anything in life, when bad things happen, or when we are de-motivated, the thing that we should do and the thing that would help the most, is usually the last thing that we want to do.  This weekend has been a rich learning experience for me...because I learned a lesson that applies to everyone, everywhere both spiritually and every other way.  I read a talk yesterday by President Thomas S. Monson (The President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints).  It's entitled "Living the Abundant Life".  It was awesome.  I had read it before, but this time got so much more out of it. 

First of all, have a positive ATTITUDE, secondly, BELIEVE in yourself and others.  He goes on to say, "Don’t limit yourself and don’t let others convince you that you are limited in what you can do. Believe in yourself and then live so as to reach your possibilities.  You can achieve what you believe you can. Trust and believe and have faith." and thirdly, have COURAGE.  "Courage is required to make an initial thrust toward one’s coveted goal, but even greater courage is called for when one stumbles and must make a second effort to achieve.  Have the determination to make the effort, the single-mindedness to work toward a worthy goal, and the courage not only to face the challenges that inevitably come but also to make a second effort, should such be required. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, “I’ll try again tomorrow.”

Like Tony Horton says, "Keep pushing play...keep pushing play"  It's so true.  In order for us to reach that goal we have so desired, we need to keep moving forward.  We can fall down, but we need to have the courage to get back up....and we will, in time, reach that much desired station in life.

Weight:  132.2 (-4.4 LBS)
Arms:  12"
Waist: 29.5" (-.5)
Navel: 32" (-5.5)
Hips: 38 (-1.5)
Top Thigh: 22.5" (-1)
Top Knee: 14"
Chest-32" (-.5)
Calves: 13, 13.25"

P90X Day what?! What just happened?

Looks like the 'failure' moment has finally come to a head.  I am so ready to move on and be better--really...promise...pinky promise. 

Soooo, what went wrong, you ask? 

Well, Saturday night was welcomed by the worst stomach virus EVER for me and my 3 kids---all at the same time.  It went on for days and by the time Monday rolled around (the start of day 21), I was down to 128 pounds---yes folks, that's over 5 lbs. of fluid loss.  When I was looking at myself in the mirror on Monday, I was like, hey, lookin' good (aside from the ashy gray appearance).  I thought it unfair to post on Monday, or Tuesday for that matter, b/c I was still gaining water weight that was lost.  Now, that it's Friday, I think I am pretty much back to normal, but I was not able to exercise until Thursday. 

So, long story-short, I have stabilized to 132.4.  So, I was able to lose 2 lbs. this week--hoorah!  I'm really excited to post measurement results---I am so excited for you to see what has happened just in a month.  Exciting stuff. 

Not a stellar week, however, we have to make room for life that happens to get in the way of what we perceive as perfection.  Next week, I'm gonna bring it! 

Off to Eden

...Eden, Utah that is.

I am postponing my weigh in to Monday due to a family vacation in the lovely little town of Eden.

Pros: family time, hot tub in the snow, carriage ride with the elk herd, kiddie sledding hill, beautiful surroundings

Cons: exercise is questionable, only two restaurant options, and I don't want to be odd man out but I do want to stick to my guns and eat healthy

Solution:  I am armed with my cooler full of fruit and veggies, my blender, Amy's Organic Soups, Nutty spread and some homemade {DELICIOUS, might I add} spicy fruit butter and some whole wheat bread.  I am going to take notes about traveling plant strong especially to two horse towns and share my lovely results next week.

Wish me luck!
Viv

Week 2: The grades are coming up?!

Dear friend,

Okay here's the rundown--I feel good I have been kind to myself but had a flash today of self consciousness...why you ask?

Because of that silly scale-we should send them all into outer space if you ask me.

I haven't regularly been weighing myself and so this is something I am not liking but it does give me some insight to share with those wishing to lose weight eating a plant strong diet.  This week I did not juice so I had a sweet tooth:)  I only ate good for me food like instant cookie dough (see the recipe here) and dark chocolate and these delicious little soy based coconut bars my hubby brought me but moderation is still key and I may have got a D in moderation if it was one of my classes included on the report card.

So what am I going to do this week?

For one CELEBRATE that even on a week where I gain a little I am happy and doing good things for my body, even when I have something to refine diet wise I still know this week I have combated cancer, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease, and I love that!

But for the plan-keep up the good fight in getting more exercise for my body, focus on the veggies and fruit, I swear it's the little secret of weight loss, and be kind to myself.

Also, I have been eating quickly this week without preping my food, which means more grains and less fruits and veggies, grains (whole grains) are not bad but when aiming at weight loss it is important to outweigh them with the produce...so more prep and more variety for me this week.

How about you, did you fight the good fight? Were you kind to yourself? Tell me about it...

Viv

What's on the Menu?

Dear friend,

This is a photo of everything I put into my mouth on Tuesday.  Come on over to Spinach and Apples for a rundown and recipes!

Yummy,

Viv

PS Report card to follow...