I think I can, I think I can...I know I can!

Our mind can be our greatest asset or downfall. As of late, it has been my downfall.  I overthink and allow my emotions to get away from me at times.  I give myself permission to do things not in line with my goals.

Right now, my biggest goal is my -100 pound party, but for some reason I am my biggest obstacle.  I KNOW what to do, but fail to DO it.  I started out well this weekend.  I had my shakes in the morning.  But I got caught up in the festivities of Memorial Day, and I made some poor choices when it came to my food.

Yesterday, I planned to get back on my plan of 2 shakes a day and a healthy meal.  I didn't eat unhealthy meals, but I only had one shake for breakfast.  I am in the process of learning how to coach others to reach their health goals, and I am not sticking with my plan.

This is where I must change my mindset and believe that I can and will achieve my goal.I will be able to party and celebrate my -100 pound weight loss.  I know I haven't reached my goal yet, but I have become a better person in mind, body, and spirit over the course of my long journey.  I look forward to the day when I reach that goal, and I am excited.  Let's do this.  Two shakes, two protein snacks, one healthy meal everyday.  I KNOW I can do this!

A Time of Thanks

I spent my Thanksgiving with family.  It was an amazing time of fellowship with aunts, uncles, and cousins. We talked; we ate; we talked and ate some more.  That's how my vacations go these days. 

I did get a bit carried away with my eating,  but I am back on track now.  I had shakes for breakfast each day.  I shared my shakes the last day with family.  Herbalife makes my life so much easier when I actually do the program faithfully.  I let my exercise slide too over the holiday, but I have renewed my commitment to see this through to my -100 pound party.

Sunday

I had 2 shakes today, a chicken flatbread wrap/sandwich and a cup of red pepper and gouda soup, and an apple with peanut butter.  I did not pack snacks with me today, so that threw me off a bit.

Monday (Today)

I was slow going out of bed, but I have now accomplished my daily quiet time with God (personal development), a 10 minute Samantha Clayton workout, and I am about to make my Reeses shake for breakfast.

I also finished a book yesterday.  It was a girly fiction book, but it was still a book.  Why is fiction so much easier to read than non-fiction?  Anyways, I am halfway through Grace for the Good Girl.  It captures my life to a T.  God has shown me so much, and I look forward to the lessons I still need to learn.  That's it for now.

For the Glory of God,

The Little Things

The little things do add up.  I started the day with a war with the snooze button yet again.  This time it won.  I got up and ditched my workout.  I headed to work and the first thing I hear from the audio book I've been listening to is that we need to glorify God through daily exercise and good nutrition.  God can use us best when we are physically fit and rested.  "Thanks, Lord," I prayed with acknowledgement and a bit of sarcasm.  I also gave into a few bits of chocolate and drank my calories with some lemonade at a luncheon at lunch. I had 73 calories left for dinner :(
-100 pound party
Logged my food
Drank SOME water-32+ ounces
Ditched my AM workout but burned a few calories bowling for about 30 minutes on my lunch break
Reading
I finished Laboring in the Harvest on my commute home.  It was a very powerful book about becoming a laborer for Jesus Christ and reaching everyone with the good news of Jesus,  I did not get around to reading my written books.
Spanish and Writing
I didn't get around to either.
I did, however; clear out some teacher stuff in my room.  I also created a cute "ziploc bag windw" to display artwork in my classroom :)
I will get there.  One step at a time.

 For the Glory of God,

Weeding out Distractions

Today went pretty well in regards to my health goals.  I got up (after hitting the snooze twice...oops) and did a few Revelation Wellness videos,   I had my cinnamon roll shake with a dash of Mexican vanilla as I hurried out the door for work.
-100lb party
Logged my food, check; water, at least 50 ounces (when you count pineapple coconut water); and exercise, check.  I stress ate a fair share of animal crackers.  I had planned to have a shake for dinner but came home to a healthy dinner of chicken, broccoli and rice.  I had to control my portions or I would have overdone it.
Reading
I completed disc 2 of Laboring in the Harvest.  Audio books are definitely the way to go especially in the car.  I spend a significant amount of time in my car, so I will listen to my Bible app and now books.  This book has been very convicting as to what a true laborer for God's kingdom really is and what they do.
Spanish and Writing
I made no time for practicing my Spanish or writing.

Distractions are what zaps me of precious time.  I tried to tell myself that watching a movie and preparing for work at the same time would be efficient.  That's a lie.  I got only a portion of what I wanted to accomplish completed.  I catch myself spending a few minutes which end up turning into hours mindlessly scrolling through social media or getting TV hypnotized rather than carving out even just 10 to 15 minutes to read, write or practice Spanish.  It is time for me to schedule these activities and take advantage of the windows of time that seem to disappear without a second glance to reach my goals.

This week I was given a one and a half hour lunch break.  That gives me more than enough time to eat.  I need to use this time wisely rather than let it slip by.  I have more than enough things such as reading or exercise that I can accomplish during this time. I can also prep for work at work rather than take it home with me.

It is time to weed out the distractions, get close to God, and allow Him to work in and through me to accomplish my goals.

For the Glory of God,

The Snooze

The Snooze button is one of my all time foes.  I set it several minutes ahead in order to actually accomplish things like exercise and my supposed to be daily quiet time.  About 9 times out of 10, I eat up those precious minutes with one more push of the button.  The time I allowed for exercise slips away as I grab just a few more minutes of sleep.

Today, I pushed it once instead of multiple times.  I also barked a not so happy explanation to my daddy as to why I was up so "early" (5:20am to be exact) because I indeed did not want to get up.  I did complete about 15 minutes of cardio. Yay!  That is progress.
-100 pounds party
Exercise, check.  Food logged, check, Water, Check
I logged my calories and went over about 200 due in part to that darn bread on my Subway sandwich. I made my water quota as I chugged the last bit of my 2nd liter of water on my commute home after playing volleyball at church.
Reading
I listened in the car to an amazing book entitled Laboring in the Harvest.  I have completed disc 1 of 3.  This book is powerful and cuts to the quick and quickly.  As for reading my hard copies, I did not successfully read 1 or 2 chapters.
Spanish
I did bring my computer to work with my Rosetta Stone on it and accessed it but did not complete any lessons.  I plan to find a comfy spot where I can do the speaking parts without looking crazy.
Writing
No attempt on that front today.
I look forward to what tomorrow brings.  It is time to establish good routines that will stick with me throughout my life.  When I reach a goal.  I can't resort back to my previous patterns or all of my hard work will be wiped away.

For the Glory of God,

Dreams turned Accomplishments (Documenting the Journey)

I KNOW many different things.  I have great ideas about how things should go in life (read my other posts).  The downside to all of this wonderful knowledge is that it has STAYED knowledge.  I have not successfully applied it to my life.  Check out this post Consistent Consistency.  I have thoroughly outlined my dreams and the steps to follow to turn them into accomplishments.  Have I done them?  That would be a big fat NO!  I have not applied action to my dreams.  In April of this year, I was evidently painfully aware of my lack of action that I had to blog about it in Actions Speak Louder than Words.

I did finally begin to act in May.  I decided to get to my -100 pound party.  I was 15 pounds away.  I  I worked hard for two months and was three pounds away from my goal, when I hit a major obstacle.  I went on a trip and most of the hard work that I had accomplished vanished in one week, seven days, a fraction of what it took to get to my goal.  I was devastated and I haven't quite recovered.

Long story short, it is time for me to actually act upon the knowledge that is within me and that has been so eloquently expressed in this blog.

I have been thinking, and I have decided to log my progress.  I want to turn my dreams into goals and my goals into accomplishments.  

My current goals and my daily action steps are as follows:

1.  -100 pound party-deadline September 30th (15 pounds to go)

           -Track my food on Sparkpeople.com

           -Drink 64+ ounces of water

           -Exercise 10+ minutes daily

2. Read 1 book per week

           -Read 1-2 chapters

3. Practice Rosetta Stone Spanish for 1 to 2 hours per week

           -Practice for 15-20 minutes

4. Write my personal history for 30 minutes to 1 hour per week

           -Write for 10-15 minutes

I plan to post my progress, positive or negative, each day as I transform my dreams into accomplishments.

Today was not the best day toward my -100 party.  I hit the snooze twice and had no desire to exercise, so I took a shower instead and readied myself for work.  I did pick up my Herbalife order today at lunch and grabbed a shake and tea, so that was good.  After work, I ate an a apple and protein bar on the way home.  Dinner did me in.  I don't even want to talk about it.  As I ate a not so very healthy dinner, I decided to keep munching.  I definitely hit, grand-slammed, my calories for today.  I knew this, and therefore; I did not even log it in Spark.  I drank a measely 32 ounces of water from Sonic with Sunshine Berry (strawberries and lemons with peach flavoring).  Tomorrow I will definitely kick it in to high gear.  

As for reading, I have discovered audio CDs and am in love.  I listened to an entire book that would have taken me a week or month or even year to read in 3.5 hours in the car on my commute to and from work or whenever I happened to be in the car.  So technically, I have "read" a book this week.  I have started 2 books that are supposed to be finished by now.  I haven't read today, but I plan to after I publish this post.

I haven't practiced Spanish for several weeks, I will do so beginning tomorrow. The same goes for writing my personal history.

This is my time to act, and I plan to document my progress for grins and giggles and maybe just maybe to encourage someone else to go and make their own dreams come true.  

For God's Glory,

Never Say Never...Again

I never in a million years thought I would be a "product pusher" for any of the trendy health or beauty products out there.  Guess what? I'm still not.  I am an Herbalife Distributor (soon to be Supervisor/World Team Member...dream big, right?).  I help others achieve their health (or wealth) dreams turning their goals into accomplishments.  Herbalife gets results, builds relationships, and rewires your thinking.
I have been hanging around my Herbalife Crew since December at FREE Fit Camps, who says no to FREE, right?  I was skeptical at first, not too sure about everything.  I tried my first shake, Cinnamon Roll, and tea, and was in love with the taste and energy I recieved.  The Fit Camps are awesome because I can't afford a gym.  After hanging out at Fit Camps, I started making friends even though I am not good at it.  In January, I joined and COMPLETED the Fit Challenge (6am, bright and early), and lost inches and got results on my mile and sit-ups.
Products aside, I gained a bunch of new friends, a positive environment to accomplish goals, a growth mindset, and positive energy.  Everyone wants to help each other.  I am excited and looking forward to getting my own results and sharing my story with everyone I know and don't know.  I am official now, and I am ready to rock my two week Spring Break and beyond.
The thing I love most about Herbalife is their emphasis on "Personal Development".  As a teacher, I have heard of "Professional Development" (which is usually followed by a groan of obligation).  "Personal Development" was a new concept to me about listening to successful people helping others become successful.  The awesome part is that most of what they say applies to life across the board and not just in business. You can learn the easy way or the hard way. Work smarter not harder.
As a Christian, "Personal Development" and "Discipleship" are nearly interchangeable.  The sad fact of the matter is that Herbalife invests more time into developing and training leaders than most churches do in training Christians to go out and reach others for Christ.
One of my goals is to use this "Personal Development" concept as a motivator to get others excited and motivated to bring the Good News of Christ to the world.  I want to reach the world for Jesus, and if Herbalife can be my tool, so be it.

Why? 

For the Glory of God,