Losing...

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in a long time. School started back and I have a lot of observation hours to complete this semester, so I've been getting all my documentation and requirements together to start them. I have a feeling this semester is going to be a busy one. Which could be a good thing, because that just means that I'm that much closer to finishing my degree! YIPPEE!!! I have 6 classes this semester, and 3 of them require hours of observation in elementary classrooms. One class requires 32 hours, one class requires 25 and the other requires 15. Going to be super cray cray! Plus the other classes are involved as well.

Anyway, on to the reason for my post title... I have as of 5 weeks ago lost 14 pounds! Which means that I have lost 34 altogether, plus I'm still losing!! I am so happy and have a lot more energy than I used to. I have been following Bob Harper's "Skinny Rules" and I absolutely love it! Most of the recipes and foods are delish-- however, there are some that are just plain NASTY! Like, throw up in your mouth kind of nasty! GROSS! Sorry if that was TMI, but I just wanted to give you perspective.
The Skinny Rules are pretty easy to follow most of the time, but I do have to say that I have more than one splurge meal... I pretty much follow the rules until Friday nights, and then from Friday night through Sunday I eat mostly what I want but in moderation. I however still refrain from having sodas, caffeine, and sweets/ desserts. I don't crave like I used to, and I am super happy about that. I also take green coffee bean extract pills which is a supplement that my mom heard about on Dr. Oz. They aid in fat burning and curb your appetite and suppress it. I take one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I do not get jittery and I have more energy. I know people say that there isn't a miracle pill, but I would venture to say that this one is pretty close!! :)

The one area that I am lacking in is exercise!  I don't remember the last time that I went to the gym and that's frustrating to me, but I will get back into the swing of things soon (hopefully). I don't have the motivation right now, and maybe I'm making an excuse here, but I also feel like I don't have time to make it there.... I am not a morning person so I really do not want to get up earlier than I have to. Anyway, how are things in your worlds? I hope that everyone is doing well and I would love to hear about your ups and downs, struggles and successes!! Hope that you all have a great day!!

Love,  Jen

Long time, no post

Hey everyone,

Well it's been awhile, almost a whole week actually, since I've posted! So sorry! I have been super busy this past week finishing up the summer term at school. Tomorrow is my official last day of class and I have all my assignments done and turned in! WOOHOO! Go me!! :) Last week was pretty stressful, but I did manage to make it to the gym 5 times! Yes, the girl who hated working out before, now actually looks forward to going to the gym!! Amazing. I have gone every day this week so far also. I am still counting my calories religiously through my "my fitness pal" app and I absolutely love that thing! It's great!

I want to share something here, and it might not be a big deal to any of you, but it is to me for sure because I have not been able to do this ever for fear that it would hurt to much or I'd look stupid, but anyway here it is. I can now officially run for 2 minutes straight without stopping. I know that doesn't sound like much to a lot most of you but to me that's a huge accomplishment!! I am going to continue to work up until I can actually run for quite some time without stopping. That is a goal of mine. I want more than anything to be a runner, and to say that I am a runner. I don't know why, but it'd be awesome, okay?! :)

Anyway, it's getting late and I have quite a busy day tomorrow so I think that I am probably going to head to bed and read for a bit to wind down before I fall asleep. I love feedback and hearing about your lives so please please please read and leave comments. Sweet dreams, and I promise to be more consistent with my posts soon!! Love!!

Jen

I'm on my way...

          Happy Thursday! I can actually say that I have been to the gym 3 times in the last 3 days. I can't believe it. I don't even dread going actually...I have been doing the treadmill and the bike. I can honestly say that I like the bike better because it doesn't hurt me like the treadmill does. I haven't given up on the treadmill though,( and I don't plan on it) because I know it will take time to build up my endurance. I've started slow on the treadmill, but with the bike I can go for 30 minutes at a pretty vigorous pace. It is also burning lots of calories-- or at least that's what my "my fitness pal" app says...Does anyone know if that is accurate or not? I kind of wonder about those app's becaue I'm just not 100% sure if I'm really in truly burning that amount of calories in a workout. I feel so much better physically now and it's only been 3 days!! I can't wait to see how I feel in a month or more. That'll be awesome!


           I feel like I ramble a lot on here and that could be because I don't really have a lot to say at the moment (shocking for me though I know!!). What would you like to see me talk about? I don't want to get too personal so if  you have a suggestion I may not answer that specific topic but I do want to be somewhat personal. Does that makes sense?


          I haven't tried any new recipes lately, but I am getting ready to start a grocery list here in a bit with some new meal ideas, they sound pretty scrumptious. One of them is a Layered Salad with homeade Buttermilk Ranch dressing. Another recipe idea I have is Crispy Chicken Strips with Honey Mustard. I found both of these recipes in issues of a magazine I subscribe to and I absolutely LOVE this magazine. If you've never heard of ALL YOU, go check it out! You can only buy it at Wal-Mart, and I absolutely loathe hate going to Wal-Mart. It's got great recipes, home ideas, cleaning tips, organization ideas, and the best part is it has COUPONS in it!! Who doesn't love good coupons?! I know I do, but I usually end up not using them, and then they go to waste. :( Also, another magazine I get is Weight Watchers. I LOVE this magazine too!! I will be trying their pancake recipe and also they have some toppings for the pancakes so I'm anxious to try those out as well. Should keep me busy. I'll have to let you know how the recipes turn out!

          Alright, well I guess I'll close for now, but please give me your feedback and comment all you want! I am interested in healthy recipes that maybe you like that you could recommend! I'm always up for trying new recipes.  Have a great night!!

Today is the day!

So, today is the day I really start changing my life for the better. I have a health goal that I am trying to achieve. I got serious today. Previously, I have tried pretty much every weight loss program known to man. I succeeded for a time and then fell right back into the trap of not following it. Recently, I have started to feel worse about myself, the way I look and the way I feel physically and about how I see myself. I don't want to be that person anymore. I am generally a pretty happy person, but recently I have struggled. I will not let Satan win, because to me this is not only a "battle of the bulge" in health terms, but it's a battle of the flesh with the enemy. I am a child of God and I have been made in His image. I want to strive to glorify Him in all that I do, and trust in Him that He will help me through the battle I have with self-control. I know I don't have the willpower- but with Christ, I am able to conquer.

I actually went to the gym today. I shocked myself, but I read a post on Facebook that someone had pinned from Pinterest and it just hit me. I HAD to go to the gym. After class, I came home, changed clothes, and headed to the gym without giving myself time to talk myself out of it. I was going to go no matter what. I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but I was shocked at my determination! Maybe I have finally, officially hit my lowest point with this whole weight loss struggle. I'm ready to change. I have thought that I had hit rock bottom with this struggle, but until now I don't think that I had. I feel so much better now that I actually went and did it. It made me feel so good that I've already decided to go tomorrow. I am done making excuses. Anyway, I didn't do anything too difficult because I haven't worked out in quite some time, but I managed to burn several hundred calories and I feel a lot more energized than I have felt in a while too. Endorphins I tell ya!!

Let me ask you this- What are some of your favorite work-outs? How do you stay motivated to press on?  Also, I'm interested in learning about fitness supplements, etc but can't handle a lot of carbs. Going back to the workout thing though, I live in Missouri so we have no hills really, and it's blazing hot here at the moment! Also, I am not an outdoorsy type of girl (just an FYI), but I still want to hear from y'all about what you do and what you would suggest to help me. Hope everyone has a great evening! :)

Startin' a little bloggy blog...

Hello there! I have decided to join the blogging world and I am so excited to get started! I've wanted to start a blog for sometime now, but I could never decide on what I wanted to blog about. Now I know, and I have created this blog as a way to document my life and experiences. I plan on blogging about a hodge podge of things such as: school, life, family, health, and I'll probably even throw in some recipes here and there since I love to cook and bake. I feel that all these things combined will create a greater outcome together. I say that because I have begun a journey to better health and I think that this blog will help keep me accountable in a way, and I want my blog friends to keep me accountable as well.
I will let you in on a little secret, it was really difficult for me to come up with a blog title. I am not good at coming up with titles and catchy phrases, so I asked a friend who came up with this cute little blog title!  Thanks Cherie! I love it!

Today was a really great day. Went to church, came home and then sat on the back deck talking with my parents and Josh for about an hour before I had to catch up on homework for Summer school. Summer school is almost over, and then I have a whole month before I start back to school for the Fall. I am actually really looking forward to it though because that just means I'll be closer to finishing school, and that means that I'm that much closer to starting my career! How exciting!! I hope y'all enjoy my blog; don't judge and I'll try my best to keep it interesting. Ha! Well I guess that I better close for now, but I'll be writing more later! Have a great night.