Monday, January 9, 2012

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!
I know, I am a bit late. Truth be told, I blogged so much in December that I needed to take a break. And now I have one for today and likely another with days.
Today I want to post, publicly, my goals for 2012…not resolutions because if that was the case, I’m already busted. But instead I have goals that I believe will be achievable but I also know that I will struggle with them at times, I will be tempted to quit and I promise that I will work hard at overcoming the obstacles in my way.
Yesterday in church Pastor Jeff spoke about extreme makeovers and what that can look in your relationship with Christ. I think 2011 was the year for that in so many areas of my life. Most definitely in my faith but also, for those that have seen the pictures, in me, my size, my health and my attitude.
This was me in the fall of 2010


This was me in July...about 30lbs lighter but not really exercising yet.

And me just a month ago or so... 50 lbs lighter!!!


And although 2011 consisted of a pretty extreme makeover, I don’t think that it is over yet.
Ephesians 2:10(NLT)
10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago
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I don’t believe that we are ever done growing and changing, that God is ever done working on each of his masterpieces. He gives us challenges, brings us new joy, creates a path for us so that we will do the things that he planned for us the day we were born. Earlier this fall I began reading a book called ‘Thin Within’…not sure if I mentioned it or not. It is a grace approach to weight loss and it really has changed many areas of my life. But I’ve slipped there and found myself unfocused, not listening to my body, to my stomach, to my head and to my heart when it came to food. Well maybe I listened to my heart and ate for emotional reasons but I did not listen to it from the aspect of the love God has for me and how much he wants me to be my God given size.
So my goals for 2012….
My first and most important goal is to learn more about the Lord and grow my relationship with Christ. When I look back at all the things that happened in this past year and at where my faith journey has gone I am amazed and yet I am also aware that many things, positive things, did not change. I was surprised by this. I thought I’d changed, grown and that before I thought differently but I realize that I am the same person deep inside , that what I thought about my life and my journey, what I valued and who I was really aren’t the same inside. The difference is, I think, on the outside. I that is what I wish to work on…projecting the love I have for the Lord in all that I do, to improve the way I interact with others, to follow his teachings in all that I do and say. To achieve the first part of this goal, to learn more about God I am planning to read the bible from start to …..well to wherever I get to I guess. I have started and am following ‘My Daily Bread’ s bible in a year guide. So far I have read up to Genesis 23…and am already about 6 chapters behind. Oh well…all in due time.

Ephesians 4:16 (NLT)
16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.


My second goal is centered around my health because I know that I have been given the gift of this life and this healthy body for a reason…I just need to make the body last as long as possible! First and foremost I need to concentrate when I am eating, focus on my food and not get distracted…and therefore eat too much. I need to pay attention to my body and only eat if I am hungry. And above all, I need to remember who gave us the gift of the food we eat and give thanks for it. (A tip from Thin Within… for one meal thank God for each bite you eat as you eat it and really concentrate on how good it tastes…I was amazed how amazing it tasted and how quickly I became full because I took the time to eat and be thankful)
I want to eat healthier (boy have the last few weeks been hard on my weight loss…it’s been a gain). I finally conceded today that I have to enter my current weight into the program I use and stop putting it off until I weigh what I did a month ago or so…that isn’t being honest but moreover it’s not encouraging. I need to see the numbers coming down again on paper or the computer screen, I need my online friends who are part of the program I use (myfitnesspal.com … I highly recommend this program and especially it’s smartphone app) to be able to encourage me when I do put in the weekly weigh in amounts…which at my current weight and loss rate compared to where I was…well it would have been a month maybe before I’d be seeing ‘Jodie has lost 0.5 lbs since her last weigh in (6 weeks ago LOL).

I need to get vegetables back into my diet more and I need to eat sweets less. I need to add in healthier protein and take out more fat. I also, desperately, need to get back to exercising every day. No I need to get back to doing cardio more often and continue exercising every week day and adding in weekends too. Right now I do 20 min utes of weights each morning 4-5 days a week but never get cardio in except to walk extra steps during my work day. I used to walk almost every day for 30-40 minutes. So my goal… 20 min of cardio 2 evenings and one morning a week and 20+ minutes of weights 4 times a week. My goal for the weekends is to take as many steps as possible (chasing Cameron around the arena does count LOL) and do one 20 minute cardio workout over the course of the weekend.

My last goal for 2012 is to finish my book. It’s coming… I wrote (well took from the start of my blog and rewrote) another big section over the holidays AND I finally got it out to a few friends to have them look it over, give me their opinion on the styles I’ve written it in. I still don’t know what I plan to do with it when it is done. I am thinking my first place I will send it to is the publisher of the book that my boys story is already in…. Forever Linked.

But if anyone has suggestions, knows a publisher, has you friend…etc… you get the drift. I’d love to get some information and start looking at that aspect of it.
So 2012 looks like the beginning of another great leg in my journey of life.

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