Summer is finally here! Thank you Lord!

     It's been a crazy summer.  Rain was prolific at the end of June and early July.  We have finally had great and HOT weather this week.  We have been able to swim at my moms several times and it finally feels like summer!  Just when we are starting to enjoying it, we will begin our new homeschool year in a week.  Yikes!  I'm ready.  We have been off for about six weeks and it's time to get back in a groove.  I am finally back on track with my eating plan.  Coming off sugar completely was not fun, especially with my period coming this week.  My periods are the type that I am bed-ridden for a couple of days as my endometriosis flairs up.  Since I have been taking Vitex regularly, my periods are starting to even out.  I went from October-March with no period, then I had one in March, June and now July.  I think I may start to have them regularly if I keep up my Vitex routine.  I think exercising 3-5 times a week is helping as well.

     Tomorrow is homecoming at church.  Normally I plan to eat whatever I want at church dinners and deal with getting back on track the next day.  Tomorrow, I am planning on eating what I should and nothing else.  It's not worth the guilt and the physical pain from too much wheat and sugar that I will get by going off plan.  If I am going to cheat, it had better be an absolutely delicious meal. 

    Now that I'm back on track,  I'm calling it Round 2.  The first round was from January-May and I lost 23 lbs.  The last two months I have been off plan more than on, which resulted in gaining 5 lbs.  So this time around, I am planning on another 20 lbs by Christmas!  I will get this weight off me, even if it takes 3 years (which more than likely, it will). 

     I'm working on a post about adoption, but I'm not quite ready to post it.  Maybe in a week or two!

Am I sabotaging myself?

I've been doing THM for six months now.  I absolutely love eating gluten and sugar free.  I feel great when I stick with it.  But here lately, well two months to be exact, I have had the hardest time staying on plan.  I keep losing and gaining the same 5 lbs over and over and over.  It is frustrating to say the least.  I do well for a week or two and then BAM!  I go to a party, cook-out, church dinner, etc and get completely off track for a few days.  Then I get back on track and then WHAM!  I go on a date night and feel like treating myself and have a cheat meal and then the next morning feel horrible and eat off plan again and then it takes several days to get back on track again.

AM I PURPOSELY SABOTAGING MYSELF???

Some people have this insane ability that they can go to social functions and eat what they are supposed to and never have trouble and then lose 50 lbs in the same six months it has taken me to lose 20.

I would like to smack these people.  :)

Losing weight is HARD!  I have found a way that I am successful, I feel great, I am regaining my health, but I STILL am struggling.  There are times I have cried out to the Lord in frustration.  "Lord, am I going to be overweight for the rest of my life?"  "Why can't I stay on track?"  I am reminded that we live in a fallen world.  Life is not meant to be easy all the time.  I have an enemy who wants me to fail.  He would like me to stay in this frustrated state so that I am not useful to God.  I remind him that I have a Father who can!

I deserve to be healthy and happy.  I want to honor God and take care of the one body He gave me.  It's going to be a long, uphill battle to get this weight off me.  I WILL do it!  It won't be today, tomorrow or probably even by next spring, but I know that at some point in my future, I will be the Trim Healthy Mama that I want to be. 

28 day T-tapp challenge

I'm currently doing a 28 day T-tapp challenge.  I weighed, measured and took a photo in a snug outfit on Monday and in one month will redo that again to see if I have changed.  Putting on tight clothes and standing in front of the camera was NOT fun!  Who wants to look like a little fat sausage crammed in some clothes?  NOT ME.  But I really want to see if I can tell a difference after this challenge.  When I went to church camp a few weeks ago, I gained 8-10 lbs.  I knew most of it was water weight and well, just being 'full'.  I am happy that it came off in a week.  I sure wish I could lose 10 every week lol!  I'd be skinny by fall :)  I'm still about 4 lbs from where I was in May, so I am working toward that right now.  Of course, it does not help that I ate several chocolate chip cookies yesterday and this morning for breakfast.  Hey, what can I say, I'm human.  I had guests over for lunch and if I make it and it's staring me in the face, I'll eat it!  I think all my friends and family from now on will have to eat sugar free with me if I want to be successful.  I really have no willpower at all when it comes to yummy sugar-filled chocolate treats!  I need a 12 step program for sugar.  So I'm off to drink a quart of water now and exercise!

Church camp fun!

We had a blast at church camp, but boy was I glad to get home.  It was an exhausting week.  I don't do well with under 6 hours of sleep at night.  I was one grumpy mama by saturday.  Not to mention, my eating was waaaaay off and I gained 8 lbs!  I know most of it was water weight because I was very swollen and puffy, but I sure didn't like it and have been trying to get back on track all week.  I feel like today I will finally have  a full on Trim Healthy Mama successful day!  I refuse to weigh myself for the next several weeks because it just makes me want to eat when I don't get the results I want.  So I'm going to focus on eating right and getting my exercise in, whether it be T-Tapp, walking, swimming or gardening.  Here's some pics from our fun week:

My sister Sam and I

My sweet daughter!

Posing in the Lake!

Craft time

She is just like her momma :)

Having a blast on the water slides

She painted a birdhouse, but not the one in the background, ha ha!

He always makes faces.

So I decided to make a face when he wanted a serious shot!

He's like, "what the"  LOL!

Singing This little light of mine at church one night.  They had been swimming all day and the kids were wore out!

Sunbathing

Art time

Off to Church Camp I Go!

This week our family will be leaving for church camp.  Even my husband!  I'm so glad he gets to go with us.  It is hard on us financially when he misses a week of work, but the rewards far outweigh a paycheck in my opinion!  I consider this family time, fellowship time and growing in the Lord time.  I usually help with the teen girl class and teach one of the days.  My lesson this year will be on integrity.  I feel like this generation coming up lacks this so much.  What has happened to kids today?  No morals, manners, honor or integrity.  I pray that I can raise Lexie and Izaiah with fear and reverence to the Lord.  I will consider my job complete if they learn to love the Lord as much as I do! 

My Trim Healthy Mama journey is still plugging along.  I have been stalled for several weeks and my eating has been off, so I decided to try T-Tapp.  I ordered a starter set and did a 9 day boot camp.  Basically I did  the Basic Workout Plus DVD which takes 15 minutes every day for 9 days.  I measured before and after.  I lost almost 10 inches all over!  I was super excited.  3 inches came off my belly and another 3 came off my ribs.  I am an apple shape so anything off my tummy is a welcome departure :)  I will definitely continue with this program.  I like that it's short but I am sweating buckets by the time it's over.

Church camp will be challenging eating wise.  When you feed a big crowd, you buy cheap junk!  I will do the best I can and try to walk several times and drink as much water as I can.  I know that when I come home on Saturday, I will be ready for a few days of detox.  I will post some pictures this week if I can of what we are doing at camp.

Have a blessed week.

Lovin these summer evenings

I'm so happy for this sunny, warm week!  It's a much needed breath of fresh air after this crazy rainy month!  We've been staying outside for long periods of time and very late in the evenings.  The kids are content to ride bikes, wrestle, play tag, help us in the yard while Frankie and I work in our garden, mow, plant flowers and sit on the porch.  I LOVE summer!

One thing I really love about summer is grilling.  I can't wait to grill chicken, steak, burgers, veggies, potatoes, peaches, pizza, tomatoes, pork chops and lots more yummy food :)

My THM journey is at a stall.  I have to admit to too many slip ups but I have a plan to get back on plan.  I ordered TTapp, which is a quick efficient exercise program that I am hoping will help me lose inches.  I measured myself today and will do so once a week for four weeks to see how I do.  I'm also putting my scale away for a month.  I don't need the mental anguish it brings me.  Does it really matter that I know I have 70+ lbs to lose?  I want my clothes to be an indicator of my success.  Also with church camp coming up in two weeks, it's pointless to weigh before or after.  It's a week of junk food.  I will do the best I can and bring things but I know it will be hard to be 100% committed.  So I'm going to allow myself some grace!  After church camp will be a complete detox week to get myself back on track. 

It's all good.  I am on a journey and recognizing that there will be periods that will be harder than other times is what will make my journey successful!

Have a blessed week.

Rain

Childhood innocence is a beautiful thing.  It has been raining like crazy for the past few weeks and frankly, I am sick of it.  I can't get my vegetables planted because the ground is just muck.  So today it decided to rain again (big shocker there).  We were all standing in the garage watching it start to sprinkle.  I told the kids they could ride their bikes as long as it just rained and didn't thunder or lighting.  They hesitantly rode out on the driveway, giggling and hunching down as the onslaught of rain grew stronger.  As they rode and realized this was fun, the bike paddles went faster.  They eventually abandoned the bikes and decided to just run through the grass and puddles.  The pure joy and laughter was such a blessing to see.  They ran, zigzagged, lunged, jumped, shrieked, screamed, laughed and had a blast.  At one point Lexie just stood with her arms outstretched with her face to the sky totally absorbed in the moment.  It was a precious thing to witness.  I realized that at one time in my life, I was that same little girl with my face turned to heaven as the water ran down my face as I reveled in a rainstorm.  It was a full circle moment.  After that, I was immediately thankful for the rain and the happiness it brought my children.  Our heavenly Father knows exactly what we need.  It's the simple things that matter the most in life!