Week 2!

4.5 lbs down! So excited and pumped! From here on out the weight loss should be actual weight and not just stomach shrinking and water weight! I am so excited and I am not even insanely tempted to break! Yes, I want to eat that piece of cake my sister brought home from Fire Oak Grill with the yummy crust, whipped cream, chocolate, and bananas, but it's not worth it! I am so encouraged to keep going! The Lord is keeping me from temptation. Not only am I happy with the diet but I am learning about how awesome the Lord is! 
I have not been able to workout yet because I have a stress fracture somewhere in my metatarsal bones. Therefore, I looked up online (as well as the advice from my lovely mother and sister Sarah) that swimming is a great alternative exercise I can do and it won't hurt my foot! Yay! So this next week I will add in swimming! So excited to burn some good old calories other than what the body naturally burns! 
Also, now that I am home I can cook healthy and that I love it! I grilled some chicken tonight and put Saltgrass Steak House seasoning on it! YUMMMMMMM!!!!!!! Its a must try! Put it on the George Foreman Grill for about 10-15 minutes and you will have a nice, tasty, and juicy piece of chicken breast! Then slice up half a peach, 2 strawberries, toast 1-2 TBS of sliced almonds or smash up 7 pistachios. Place all ingredients on a bed of organic spinach mix (or baby spinach) and you have a great salad! DRESSING: You do not really need any dressing but if you like it like me use light balsamic!
Well thats it for this week! Adios!
Leah

Not everyday!

Hi!

I promise not to post like a crazy person everyday! It will be more of a weekly thing! But I have to today! Today is day 1! Sunday! Thought the 1st day of the week would be a great day to start! So for day one of week one mom and I set a plan! See she really wants to help me with this weight loss thing so why not! The more accountability the more success right? 

Any who had fun last night eating what I wanted! I was like its the end of the week I so want to break and Sunday is a great day to start! Today cold turkey is done happily! 

My plan is to drink lots and lots of water, run/walk everyday for 2-3 miles or (500 calories burned), do weightlifting because I LOVE it, push mow for the parents, and eat lots of fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and little to no bread (that's a kicker). Side note I like having a piece with my vitamins in the mornings to soak them up! 

Last of all NO SWEETS!!!!! I was going to go off caffeine but I might need a coffee here or there to deal with the sugar withdraw headaches! Advil only goes so far! 

Most important part of all this health physically is to keep my focus on my spiritual health! I can do nothing apart from my Savior Jesus Christ! 

Confessions of a sophomore year! Ready.....Set......Go!!!!

Well lets start off with Epic Fails and remember to be grateful for new beginnings! As my plan was to get healthier and such sophomore year......... I did the complete opposite. Embarrassing to say but it is true. And if I really want accountability than it is something I must confess.
But today we start again! And this time we will succeed! So keep up on this journey as new goals are set, new recipes are posted, and new success is reached! The Lord is my strength! Let's do this!
READY SET GO!!!!

Back From Camp!

Oh wow back from camp and heading to school! So basically starting over because at camp its super hard to eat right since you are being fed amazingly delicious 110% processed food, that is all geared towards the taste buds of 3rd through 9th graders! Needless to say "that was some good mac n cheese and mini corn dogs!" lol!


Now that I am back, eating healthy feels so good!!!!!!

On Monday I start my sophomore year at DBU and am STOKED!!!!!!!! My first class of the day is WEIGHT TRAINING!!!!!!!! Then fruits, lean meats, and veggies all the way!!!!! YA BUDDY!!!!! HOLLA!!!!!! I might be somewhat excited!!!!!!


One of the things I learned at camp about eating right is that a godly woman is disciplined and has self-control!!!!! LOVE IT!!!!! Plus one of the reasons I think I have struggled with eating healthy in the past is that I was relying on me more than God. I cannot and will not be the healthy I was made to be until I give it to the Lord! Knowing that it is by His strength, endurance, perseverance, discipline, and self-control that my goals will be reached! I believe that might apply to a lot of people I pray those who read this will find that as encouragement to be a F.R.O.G! (fully rely on God)

week one at the close

Well week one of healthy living was really fun! I enjoyed it! The end of the week was hard and I definitely broke! But something you MUST ALWAYS remember in eating healthy is that tomorrow is a new day! So don't worry just stick to eating right and you will do great!

Interesting!!!

Curb your food cravings: chocolate, potato chips, cookies, fries … they all thwart your weight-loss efforts. Here's how to short-circuit your cravings for high-calorie foods - Nutrition

by Annie Murphy Paul

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It's 4 p.m. Your workday is almost done. You're not really hungry, but like yesterday, same time, you've got a hankering for some chocolate. Not just any chocolate, but a Nestle Crunch. So you head over to the office vending machine, drop in a few coins ... and just like that, your well-intentioned efforts to regularly eat only healthy, weight-loss-friendly foods are foiled -- again.
You're not alone. Many women routinely experience sudden and irresistible food cravings for potato chips, ice cream, cookies and, yes, chocolate. Just what triggers these overpowering desires for certain foods?

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"Cravings are a natural part of our relationship to food," says Harvey Weingarten, Ph.D., the president and vice-chancellor of the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, who has conducted extensive research on food cravings. According to Weingarten's research, up to 97 percent of women have felt cravings (compared to 68 percent of men), and we give in to our urges at least half the time. There's a big difference between cravings and hunger pangs. "When you're hungry, you'll eat anything," Weingarten points out. "Cravings are very specific. People crave a certain type of food, like chips or chocolate -- and within that category, even a particular brand."
Though cravings seem to overtake us without warning and without reason, research shows that they are actually very predictable, arriving at particular times and in particular situations.
When your cravings hit
You've probably noticed that you feel your strongest food yens at specific times of the day -- or month. Here are the whens and the whys of cravings:
* During the midafternoon slump (from about 3-6 p.m.) "By far the greatest number of cravings occur late in the day," says Marcia Levin Pelchat, Ph.D., of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, an institute that does research on taste and food preferences. "That's when our blood glucose drops, making us sluggish and in need of a lift" All it takes now is a cue -- a fast-food billboard on your way home or a co-worker's candy bar -- to bring on a major craving.
* When we're stressed out, upset or bored Bad moods frequently give rise to cravings: We imagine that if we eat a cookie or a chocolate bar, we'll feel better -- and often we do. Carbohydrates sweet or starchy foods -- increase the secretion of the brain chemical serotonin, which in turn can improve mood.
* Before your period Research shows that many of our cravings for chocolate and carbohydrate-rich foods are particularly intense in the days leading up to menstruation. Experts theorize that women may overeat carbs in an attempt to raise serotonin levels to counter the bad moods and mild depression related to PMS.
Also, we actually need more calories premenstrually, so it would make sense we might experience more cravings if we're short on energy. Although there have been a number of studies examining cravings and the menstrual cycle, scientists still don't know exactly why some women crave carbs, chocolate and other sugary foods before their periods.
* When it's cold and dark out Short, wintry days can make us crave carbs like bread and pasta. People who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (aka SAD, which is depression related to diminished sunlight-exposure) may be especially affected and crave carb-rich foods to help themselves feel better.
* When we're accustomed to eating Brian Wansink, Ph.D., a professor of nutritional science and marketing at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who runs the university's Food and Brand Lab, has found that we often crave foods with associations to happy times we've had in the past. When we're at the ballpark, for example, we might crave a hot dog with the works; if a summer-night trip to the ice-cream parlor was a family tradition, we may find ourselves craving an ice-cream cone when the weather gets warm.
How to manage your cravings
Forewarned is forearmed: If you know a food craving is going to strike, you can substitute something -- a healthier snack, a distraction, even a well-planned breakfast or lunch -- rather than regularly surrendering. Here are proven methods to help tame your cravings:
* Eat carbs, protein and a little fat at every meal and snack. When we eat meals that are lacking in one kind of food, we may be more likely to crave it later -- something for dieters on high-protein, low-carb regimens to keep in mind. Eating a varied diet, you'll feel better and have more energy and better concentration. Protein and fat take longer to digest than carbs do, so including them, along with more fiber, in any meal means that you'll feel satisfied longer. When our meals are monotonous -- the same day after day -- we're practically guaranteed powerful cravings. "That's true even if your diet is nutritionally adequate," says Marcia Levin Pelchat, Ph.D.
Too often we'll skip breakfast or forget about lunch, only to feel a craving strike later in the day. Think ahead and plan a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner that consist of carbohydrates, protein and good fats. Your snacks, too, should be a combination of protein, carbs and a little fat, especially in the late afternoon, when cravings seem most urgent. Any of the following snacks can fend off a trip to the candy machine: whole-wheat pita bread with hummus; a pear with lowfat cheese slices; a quesadilla (made with a whole-wheat tortilla); raw veggies with lowfat cottage cheese; wholewheat crackers with peanut butter.
* Craving-proof your home and office. The simplest way to quash a craving is to ban crave-worthy foods from your environment. If you do buy snack foods like chips or cookies, choose small packages or individually wrapped portions to avoid going overboard. Meanwhile, here are three ways to make healthy, lowfat snacks easily available for regular indulgence:
1. Cut up and bag carrots, radishes, broccoli and celery sticks in advance and pack them with some lowfat cheese.
2. Buy light microwave popcorn packages to have on hand, and sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top.
3. Keep fruit washed and ready to slice into a container of lowfat yogurt.
* If your food cravings hit when you're anxious or stressed, seek consolation in other ways. Address your stress. What is it that you really need? A comforting conversation with a coworker, a walk, or a shoulder massage from a friend may do the job. If reassuring "comfort foods" are your downfall, find some that are healthy, but still satisfying -- a vegetarian casserole, maybe, or mashed potatoes made with lowfat milk.
* Give in sometimes. If your craving is especially persistent, denying yourself that cookie or bag of chips will only make the urge more intense. Allow yourself a moderate portion of the food you crave, deciding on the amount you II have before you dig in.
RELATED ARTICLE: the top five foods women crave
chocolate What to eat instead Let's face it, there's no substitute for chocolate. Eat a little bit of it, and savor every bite.
ice cream What to eat instead Try 1/2 cup of light vanilla ice cream (100 calories) topped with strawberries rather than full-fat vanilla ice cream (270 calories per A cup). Or go for Haagen-Dazs Chocolate Sorbet, which tastes extraordinarily rich but isn't: 130 calories and o fat grams per 1/2 cup.
potato chips What to eat instead Salted popcorn: 4 cups (a whole bowl!) of light microwave popcorn has just 120 calories. If you really need to have some chips, eat the baked kind with 110 calories per 1-ounce serving vs. deep-fried with 158 calories.
cookies What to eat instead Lower-fat cookies or granola/fruit bars, Try: Whole-wheat Fig Newtons (2 cookies have 110 calories); Healthy Valley Raspberry Jumbo cookies, which are fat- and trans-fat-free (1 cookie has 80 calories); a Nature's Carob Chip Choice Granola Bar (80 calories).
french fries What to eat instead Homemade baked cheese fries: Spray potato wedges with olive-oil-flavored Pam and sprinkle with salt; roast at 4000 F for 40 minutes; sprinkle with some reduced-fat grated Cheddar cheese and bake for 5 more minutes.

DAY 1 IS ALWAYS The Day Of Plans!

Well today being day 1 of the "Journey to a Healthy Life", I planned out my future and signed up for my DBU classes! To help stay in shape this fall semester I signed up for 2 classes(walking aerobics and weight training). I think they are going to be awesome! I made sure to make one on tuesday/thursday and the other monday/wednesday/friday! By doing so I have made it where I have to workout 5 days a week or it will hurt my GPA! It is like hitting 2-5 birds with 1 stone! I will be raising my GPA, lowering my weight, upping the health of my body, raising my endurance, raising my energy level, and doing something I love to do! BE HEALTHY!!!!!