"Gandhi Ate More Than This"

Is it just me or does everyone find the food fight scene from the movie Hook to be on their mind constantly when trying to watch what they eat? *Laughs*....but seriously. I have not been able to get it out of my brain since last weekend. It floats around all day, and especially around lunch and dinner time.

In other news, it has been one week since I started this weight watchin' road. And I am here to say that in the past 7 days, I have lost a total of 8 pounds. That's right. Eight pounds in one week. Now, I know this rate may die down as I lose more and more...but I think this just shows how poorly I was treating my body before.

I would like to thank those who have written comments, texts, and messages or have called me with encouragement. It really has meant a lot to know that there are other people in my life who struggle with having a healthy view of eating and exercising.
Just from this week, I have learned that this is just more habit-building and stretching of my diligence. Much like staying diligent in reading my Bible and praying. And Josh is a big part of what has made me successful this week. He has helped me make choices and has even told me no (i.e. as he just left for the store and I asked if he could pleeeaasseee buy a giant Oreo cookie cake--a fav of mine. I was joking. Kind of).

Since we are resorting it up in Mexico this summer, I would like to loose 20 pounds by then. I mean...at this rate, I can definitely get there! I can't wait to see what losses this week brings!

Needless to say, Pinterest has a lot of truth. 

Gained What?!

Okay. I going to level with ya--my, maybe, three followers. *Laughs*

I went to the doctor this past week and learned that I have gained some 30 pounds in the past year. (My doctor calls it happy marriage syndrome...and...well....I'm sorry, this does NOT make me happy).
Now, I knew over the summer I had been pretty bad...eating whenever and whatever I wanted (because I had worked so hard all year, right?) So, I knew the number would be a little higher than it was last year. But I'm sorry, excuse me, WHAT THE....WHAT?! I only went up one size over this past year...WHERE IS THIS WEIGHT ON MY BODY?!

Not acceptable.

On my way home, I felt overwhelmed and terribly discouraged. And guess what I wanted to do? Get something to eat. Something to take my mind off of the sadness and disappointment in myself. Being married to a man who actually looses weight without trying and who would have to eat every minute of the day to gain anything, it seemed impossible to reverse, impossible to fix.

After my wallowing, I had to be a grown up. I had to figure out a way to change my eating -- a way to change my life, to be quite honest. Decisions have to happen. Now. As I cried out to God, I realized that this is just another issue of surrender.

So. After talking (ashamedly) to Josh about my visit, I signed up for Weight Watchers the very next day. I have heard many good things about the program...and to be completely honest, I need a tool to guide me through this. It would be stupid to think I can do this on my own. The past few days have been difficult, but revolutionary. Now, I can know the impact something I eat will have on my progress. All I have to do is type it into the Weight Watchers app on my phone and viola! It's 15 points, so no go OR it's only 1 point, so go for it!
On another positive note, my perfectionist nature really lends itself to staying within my daily points and if I go over, I know this same nature will bring me great disappointment.


Now food is flying out of my cabinets. I want nothing white--no white pasta, no white bread--and nothing that is not low in fat. Josh was then sent on a mission to buy everything whole grain, everything fruit, everything vegetable. For lunches, I had him buy Lean Cuisine (at most one of these meals is 10 points), and I have been pinning Weight Watchers recipes like crazy on Pinterest.
I have also reverted back to my college ways, and am 30-Day-Shredding-it with the help of Jillian Michaels (paired with the swimming).

So. This is day one of keeping a log of my progress. And I need the accountability.

Yeah, Beth.

Workless Monday

It's been a while since my last post. Not for a lack of interesting things to blog about, as much as a lack of time to blog about said interesting things. And instead of playing catch-up, let's just dive right in to today.

To celebrate our many Presidents, I have devoted the day to Netflix-ing Grey's Anatomy (which is giving me a dream to be a surgeon...even though I can't stand the thought of working inside someone's body), grading compare & contrast writings, doing laundry, and cooking.

Dinner is coming from a recipe I found on Pinterest via Kalyn's Kitchen: Baked Pesto Chicken.

Baked Pesto Chicken:

• 4 (I used 3 since I am only cooking for 2) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Salt & fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 c Basil Pesto
• 2 oz. (1/2 c) grated low-fat mozzarella cheese

Make It!

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Trim all visible fat off of chicken, then cut chicken breast lengthwise  into 2-3 pieces.
3. Spray a 9" x 12" baking dish with non-stick spray, then spread 1/4 c of pesto over the bottom of the dish. Lay chicken strips on top of pesto, and spread the other 1/4c pesto on top of chicken
4. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake 25-30 minutes.
5. Remove foil and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top of chicken. Put back in oven and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
6. After cheese has melted, put under broiler for 5 minutes, just until cheese is lightly browned.

There are lots of tasty juices in the pan, so you may want to serve on rice or quinoa (my dad just introduced me to this alternative!) to soak them up.

On a totally separate note, I would like to call to attention just how much the Lord has taken care of us this yet again. In January, we were able to entirely pay off one of our (Josh's) student loans. This was able to be done by a generous gift given to us at Christmas...and made the payment of this loan take only a year exactly.

Just this past weekend, we were also given a Mac Pro by my wonderful father. What perfect timing, as the main computer we used has died inevitably (due to it not being able to charge anymore). Not only was this need fulfilled, we are now able to use a computer we would NEVER have paid for on our own.

And finally, Josh and I have been able to attend a class at our church that is going through Read the Bible for Life. 

Going through the workbook (at a steady pace or all at once, has given us accountability for being in the Word daily, the ability to discuss how to more effectively understand the Bible with our church family, and has given an increased joy for being readers and doers of God's word, The series goes week-by-week, with each week focusing on reading the parts of scripture well, like the Psalms, the prophets, Jesus's teachings, the letters of Paul, etc, while at the same time teaching how to read those parts to understand the GRAND story.

If you are a believer who wants to learn how to better read and understand the Bible, I would recommend it!

Happy Day for Presidents!