Day 8- Wherever You Are

Living in the moment has always been a problem for me. I'm a planner. I love to think about the next fun thing and plan it,  I obsess over know what my day tomorrow will look like, I like to know what's going on when and how we are going to get there, do it and all that jazz. This is a good thing, to an extent.

I often miss out in the now, and then miss it later. For instance, right now I am in my last semester of college, I don't know what I'm going to do with my major and I am SO ready to be done with school. I'm ready to know where we will be for next school year (when Jeff starts grad school), where we'll work, where we'll live. I'm just ready for the next step!

I have to remind my self to slow down and enjoy where I am at. I am taking some fantastic classes and if I'm not "all there" I'll miss out on the fun and the important learning experiences. If I'm too focused on the future I'll miss out on college, the friends, activities, campus life and I know that I will miss this time of life badly.

You would think after years and years of dealing with this problem I'd have it worked out, but no. It is hard to just trust the future to God and be in the moment.

It's Monday night and I'm procrastinating on writing a paper (a short paper) for my Russian Literature class, but here is my goal for this week- Wherever I am, to be all there. Whether its in class, doing homework, at work, spending time with Jeff or just relaxing, I'm going to be in the moment and trust the future to God.

You're prayers would be appreciated! And with that said, I'm going to go write my paper.

See the rest of my 31 Days Here.

Weather: Guest Post

So I know this fantastic artist named Deanna. She loves her children deeply, and she has lots of kids because she seems to "adopt" every kid who comes through youth group. She is capable of such love because of her faith and love in Jesus Christ. She is artistic, loving, caring, wise, very funny, way cooler then me... oh and she happens to be my MOM! No worries, I'm not biased, everything I say about her is true and can be backed up by any of her other "kids."

Today's post comes from her blog An Artist Currently Known as Starving. One thing I LOVE LOVE LOVE about her blog is that she posts pictures of her art work along with an explanation of what she was thinking and meaning when she created it. Every piece of art comes with a touching lesson, and occasionally a silly story about her own children too :) Click HERE to read about her version of "Small Talk." This subject is very near and dear to me and something I've carried into my own life. Maybe you will too!

READ IT NOW!

Original Art Work by Deanna

10 Pounds in 3 days? hmmm...

As I was talking about in an earlier blog, this is my last week of the Biggest Loser challenge at work and I wanted to really work hard this week, not just physically but also with my food. I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to do but I've decided to try this so-called "Military Diet" where supposedly you can lose 10 pounds in 3 days. Sounds iffy, right?

Well after looking it over I decided to try it. The food is healthy and balanced and I figured if I started feeling sick/weird/whatever I can eat more. I'm a very healthy person so there isn't really any risk in this that I can think of besides the chance of me getting hangery!

Here it is:

DAY 1: Breakfast--1/2 Grapefruit, 1 Slice Toast, 2 Tablespoons of Peanut Butter, and Coffee or Tea
Lunch--1/2 Cup of Tuna, 1 Slice of Toast, and Coffee or Tea
Dinner--2 Slices of any type meat (About 3 ounces) 1 Cup of Green Beans, 1/2 Banana, 1 Small Apple, and 1 Cup of Vanilla Ice Cream (YUM)!!!
Tip to Try: Warm the apple and/or banana and eat them over the ice cream. Delicious!

DAY 2:
Breakfast--1 egg, 1 Slice of Toast, and 1/2 Banana
Lunch--1 Cup of Cottage Cheese (Or 1 Slice of Cheddar Cheese, 1 Hard Boiled Egg, and 5 Saltine Crackers
Dinner--2 Hot Dogs, (no buns), 1 Cup of Broccoli, 1/2 Cup of Carrots, 1/2 Banana, and 1/2 Cup of Vanilla Ice Cream

DAY 3:
Breakfast--5 Saltine Crackers, 1 Slice of Cheddar Cheese, and 1 Small Apple
Lunch-1 Hard-Boiled Egg, and 1 Slice of Toast
Dinner--1 Cup of Tuna, 1/2 of a Banana, and 1 Cup of Vanilla Ice Cream

One thing I love about this is I get to have (a small amount!) of ice cream every day! That sure helps with the cravings!

I started this diet today and was surprised that I wasn't very hungry at all today. Foods High in protein (peanut butter, tuna) help keep you full longer.

I'm heading out on a one night camping/boating trip with my family tonight so it will be a test to my self-control with s'mores roasting over the campfire but I must prevail!!! I must win!!!

I'll update you all on how this goes and if it really works- hard to believe everything you see on the internet after all!

Oh, and just so you know, I am still working out while on this diet. Today I rode my bike for  about an hour and am starting to feel hungry. I last ate right before work at noon and I haven't had all of my tuna, toast and coffee yet!

Some inspiration for you and me on our quest for a healthy life:

And just for giggles...

 

F O O D

Food.

I Love It.

And diets are hard.

I can't eat 

pancakes

brownies

Lucky Charms

cereal

smores

cheesy hot dogs

etc.

With only a few days left of my Biggest Loser Challenge I'm craving lots of naughty foods. :/

To help with that I browsed Pinterest for a new healthy recipe to mix things up.

Food is so good!

Rice, edamame, and egg bowl:

Cook rice, boil edamame, cook an egg so that the yolk is runny, slice up an avocado and put it all in a bowl, season with salt and pepper, devour. I think next time I'll add cheese to it. :) Healthy, delicious, meatless (cheap). 

What is your favorite "diet" food?

Last Week...duhn, duhn dunnnnnnh

Next week is our final weigh in for The Biggest Loser at work. The last time I weighed myself I was still only 5 pounds down. At work today this topic (how much everyone has lost so far) was pretty popular. It sounds like if I want to win, I REALLY need to buckle down this week. Gotta work out everyday, eat reaaaallly good and drink buckets of water. I've already planned out what I'm going to eat for the week and I'm thinking of going super low calorie for the last few days. I'll post the three day diet I found if I do it. I'm still not completely sure about it and may need to modify it a little bit. Sorry to leave you hanging :0)

Here's what I did today:

Breakfast: small bowl of shreaded wheat (I know I know, I said no cereal...so my will power isn't as strong   as I'd like)
Lunch: Slim Turkey Sandwich from Jimmy Johns and a oatmeal cookie...
Dinner: Yumm Bowl and one scoop of ice cream...

Workout:  Jump rope- 10 sets of 100!

one more week

Monday will mark the beginning of the end. Just about one week left of the Biggest Loser challenge at work. I didn't lose or gain any weight last week, I quit doing this...

... after one day because it tasted icky to me. I'm NOT a tea person. I have tried to drink more water though. Yesterday I drank two water bottles (48oz) which is huge for me since I rarely drink more than one.

With one more week to go I HAVE TO  lose 3-5 pounds to hopefully secure the win. :) Not sure exactly what I'm going to do to achieve this yet; maybe the cave man diet, work out for an hour a day, drink 3 bottles of water... something. Any ideas?

Week four already?

I'm over the halfway point for my Biggest Loser challenge. I'm down 5 pounds as of Monday, haven't seen a lot of change in my body and I need something to get me out of this plateau.

First of all, I found this picture on Pinterest and it made me feel better...

And here is what I am starting today....

I figure, if anything, drinking this much water will be super beneficial and will detox my body and hopefully get me going again in my weight loss.

 I know 15 pounds in 6 weeks is a huge goal, do-able but crazy, but I REALLY REALLY want to WIN! That's the competitive side coming out of me :) Plus I want to go shopping for awesome new school clothes!

Here are some things from my "Pinterst Closet" that I wish I owned (and maybe will?!)

These are CROCS! can you believe that they are actually cute?! SOOOO comfy! 

I actually think i could make this outfit now...need the sweater and flats though...

TOMS might show up a lot. I < 3 them

I think i need some fun colored cardigans for fall

every girl needs a little red dress and

...a little black dress!

So the shoe verdict is, i need more TOMS, colorful flats and a pair of knee high boots :) lol

Week 2

Weighed myself today. Only lost (barely) a pound this last week.
:/
Well at least I lost and didn't gain weight back. This week hasn't been as great a week for working out and i need to find some more yummy, low cal, healthy foods that i can look forward to so that chocolate chip cookies stop calling my name.

On a happier note...

 I did have a fantastic weekend! Jeff and I went camping to celebrate our one year anniversary (which was the 23 but he had to work). We went up the McKenzie River to where he proposed, camped nearby and hiked back to the spot with a picnic lunch. We had a fantastic time! Jeff completely surprised me and bought me the Canon Rebel Camera I've been wanting!
Here are some pictures to summerize our trip. A photo is better than a thousand words.

Tamolich Pool, where he proposed. Click here to see how he did it!

Making Ice Cream

Inspiration

It's late. I'm tired. I worked out for 70 minutes today... but then I ate an entire box of macaroni by myself.

I need some inspiration!

All pics were pulled from my Pintrest Healthy Page.

Okay, now I'll go sleep. Breakfast tomorrow: eggs and toast. Lunch: protein shake. Go to the gym. Dinner: Yumm Bowl. Next (personal) weigh in is on Monday! Goal: 163lbs