Nov. 7 -- Patience

"God stretches our patience to enlarge our soul."

Yesterday I had a dentist appointment at 3:30... I got there 10 minutes early, had printed the paperwork out online to fill out beforehand and I fully expected to get seen AT 3:30...

...

At 4:30, they finally, FINALLY called my name. I was peeved to have had to sit there while patients who came in after me got their names called. I did not mention these patients when my name was finally called, but I snapped "I could have come an hour later!" The assistant apologized to me and said the man before me had Alzheimer's. She then proceeded to take EIGHTEEN x-rays of my teeth. EIGHTEEN! I have a small mouth and the films she put in hurt very badly, and I could even taste blood... I was fuming but I kept my cool.

I finally got seen by the doc... I have no cavities, but the two spots I was concerned about on two back teeth, though they are not decaying, are abrasions and are probably bc I brushed them too hard over the years... and I need fillings for them so they don't get worse. Guess I got too happy with my electric toothbrush [I now use a regular one]. Anyway, I paid $15 for my appointment which is way cheap in comparison to the other dentist I was going to thats not under my insurance, but the resin fillings for the two spots are going to cost me $215, and fluoride treatment isn't covered under my insurance, so theres another $40... so I have go go back in on the 20th for my cleaning, fluoride treatment and fillings, and it's going to cost me about $250. I know its still cheaper than if I had had it done at my old dentist, but I guess I had it in my head that I would pay the $165 for the year of prepaid stuff and that would be that... I do get a lot of stuff for the $165, and the other things are cheaper, so I still come out on top, but stiiiiiiiiiiiill it sucks to spend my hard earned money on dental care.

Anyway the assistant really tried my patience. I mean really. The whole place did.

I cheered up though, class was interesting and I signed up for an event on the 22nd!! I'm going to do the UCF challenge course!

Plus, I'm down to 135 today, AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!

_______________________


I WILL ARRIVE IN KEY WEST TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!


Today's Workouts: Turbo Jam 20-Minute Workout w/ HB, + 2 Mile Walk n' Tone with 1 lb weights AND walk belt, WOW what a burn...

Breakfast: 1 apple, 1 banana. after workout, 1 banana pancake and 1 regular pancake, with sugar-free syrup and ca 12 oz 2% chocolate milk, 2 slices apple. YUM!

Lunch: a bowl of mexican vegetable soup with a dollop of low fat sour cream

Dinner: barbeque pork on a light bun (bun has 80 calories) with sauce...

Dessert/snacks: after lunch: 60-cal extra dark chocolate stick, afternoon: ice cream sandwich. after dinner: 1 square 72% dark chocolate

Water: gotta step it up...

Daily Vitamins: check

Nightly Vitamins:

Nov. 6

Today's Workouts: Tae Bo Cardio Circuit 2 (1 hr) with weighted gloves

+ 3 miles with Dad

Breakfast: 1 banana before workout, 1 tangerine after workout.... later 3 slices healthy french toast made with egg whites + skim milk, sugar-free syrup. sooo yummy!!

Lunch: barbeque sandwich

Dinner: 1 apple, some bran crackers, 15 almonds or so.

Dessert/snacks: ice cream sandwich after lunch. a cup of hot chocolate (80 cal)

Water: good

Daily Vitamins: check

Nightly Vitamins: check

Nov. 5 -- "Sword": "Word" with an "S" at the front

Today's ODB reminded me that God's Word is sharper than a double-edged sword... Heb 4:12 says "For the word of God is alive and powerful" ... well, I know it's definitely alive, because each and every time I open it, I find something new. How else could one single book remain relevant after so much time? It has to be living.

Today's Workouts: Turbo Jam CP1 + Lower Body Jam (with 8 lb dumbbells)

Breakfast: 1 banana before workout, after workout 1 chicken breast topped with salsa, 1/2 cup black beans, sprinkled with a teeny bit of mexican blend cheese, 1 dollop low-fat sour cream, sprinkled with dried cilantro + 1 baby spinach side salad with light Italian dressing.

Lunch: one 60-cal pita with part-skim ricotta cheese, 3/4 tbs sundried tomato pesto sauce, sprinkled with mozzarella and oregano, drizzled with EVOO... + side salad with spicy ranch dressing

Dinner: a veggie burrito at Tijuana Flats.... black beans, fat free sour cream, low-fat cheese, salsa, rice, wheat tortilla... and way too many tortilla chips.

Dessert/snacks: one 60-cal extra dark chocolate stick

Water: check

Daily Vitamins: check

Nightly Vitamins: check

Nov. 4 -- Super Tired.........

Today's Workouts: attempted 30-Day-Shred Level 3, turned it off halfway through though... I feel kinda weak for some reason, I could not for the life of me find a workout I thought I could actually get through without hating. So I didn't force myself. I'll walk with Dad when he gets home today and focus on getting some school work done so I can chill this weekend :-)

+ 2 miles with Dad (total 38 minutes)... did classic mile and arms mile from the 5DSD

Breakfast: 1 banana, one 60-cal pita with sun-dried tomato pesto sauce, 6 sliced cherry tomatoes, 6 small pepperonis, shredded mozzarella.

Lunch: 1 grilled chicken breast topped with salsa, 1/2 black beans + a dollop of sour cream + dried cilantro

Dinner: one package animal cookies + hot chocolate. terrible, I know.

Dessert/snacks: 1 cheese stick, 1 ice cream sandwich (snack total: 210 calories)

Water: could do better...!

Daily Vitamins: check

Nightly Vitamins:

Nov. 3

I don't have much to say today. I have to study for a test and write a proposal for a new ministry at RR... ODB was about being examples of God's love to others each day... our lives are like holiday catalogs... when people look at my life, does anything pop out at them to cause them to long for what I have been given (Christ's love in my heart) for themselves?

I'm down another entire pound, though... so my current weight is 135.6. Only 5.6 more lbs to go! Wow, that is so exciting!! Plus, a pair of shorts that have NEVER fit comfortably now slide right on! A size 6!

_______________________

Today's Workouts: Turbo Jam Kickin' Core w/ weighted gloves + 20 Minute W/O

+ 4 Fast Miles DVD with Dad

Breakfast: 1 banana before workout, after workout a pita (60 cal) frittata with the following ingredients: egg whites fortified with soy protein and skim milk, + ricotta cheese spread into the pita, 5 cherry tomatoes, a handful of baby spinach leaves, garlic, red onion, s&p. yummyyy

Lunch: 1/2 hamburger patty, chopped, 1 slice American cheese, chopped, relish, low fat mayo, ketchup, a bit of red onion, in a 100-calorie whole grain wrap + 1 whole orange

Dinner: 1 bagel with 2 slices thin salami, 1 slice Gouda cheese, a little chive/onion cream cheese

Dessert/snacks: 1 ice cream sandwich

Water: good

Daily Vitamins: check

Nightly Vitamins: check

Nov. 2 -- Footsteps

In Psalm 119:133, David asks God to "Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me."

That's something I have to ask God every single day! I have to admit that if I don't I'm putting myself at risk... again. As much as I want to forget the stupid things I've done in the past, I can't... just like I learned yesterday... God wants me to know what happens when I put myself in control, lol. How about chaos? Heartbreak? Just to name a few. Sin ruled over me... and when one is already a Christian, I think that's the hardest thing to admit and own up to... as I experienced last week. I think sometimes I just thought of myself as "untouchable".. but it makes sense: Satan works sooo much harder to get a Christian (like me) to turn away from God. Of course those who don't know Jesus don't have to struggle with sin... I hate, hate, hate, HATE to say this... but Satan doesn't care about those people... they don't struggle because he's already got them in his grip.


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Today's Workouts: Turbo Jam CP Remix with 1 lb gloves + 3T (65 minutes total)

Breakfast: 1 banana before workout, after workout 1 tbs RFPB... 1 small chicken breast grilled with 1/2 cup salsa, a pinch shredded cheese, 1 dollop sour cream + cilantro

Lunch: 1 cheese stick, one packet granola (170 calories)

Dinner: 1/2 hamburger patty (ca. 140 calories) on a lite bun (80 calories) with 1 slice American cheese (? calories), relish, red onion, low-fat mayo, garlic powder, ketchup

Dessert/snacks: ice cream sandwich. after dinner: 1 60-cal Extra Dark chocolate stick

Water: going strong

Daily Vitamins: check

Nightly Vitamins:

Nov. 1 -- Getting What I Want + Before and NOW pics...

Okay... today I read about how sometimes, God gives us exactly what He knows we want just so we can see what happens when we put ourselves in charge... this actually answers a lot of questions I've been asking myself... like "did God KNOW I was gonna do that?"

All I know is... I don't like what happens when I'm in charge, lol ...

Weight is continuing to come down steadily!! I'm 136.6 today, and I bought a new bathing suit! I was trying to figure out which one I liked best of the two I purchased (I'm taking one back), so I had Mom take pictures of me. Then it clicked-- hey, I can post these to my blog!

I am just under 137 right now, which is my "happy" weight according to Self.com's Happy Weight Calculator ... which means it's the weight that I'll finally start noticing the changes in my body. And I do!! It's exciting! I'd like to get to 130, but not so that I'm smaller--I'm happy with my size-- but I'd like to turn about 6 more pounds of fat into muscle.

SO... PICTURES!!!!!

Here's me (left) in early August in Key West... I think I was about 145 right here... a snug size 8. I like to excuse the pic on the right as simply a bad angle... and it was, but there's more to it than that. (NOTE: click on the pics to make them larger).

And here I am at the history center downtown... photo courtesy of viktor. Shorts were tight and I kept having to pull them out of my butt, lol... and check. out. those. thighs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And here I am with Viktor mid-August in St. Augustine... I don't want to talk about it. I was about 148 at this point I believe. Maybe even more than that! And a REALLY tight size 8.

And one last pic: a pic of me in my workout wear (with a crab leg... weird, yes-- but I wanted to show my friend how big they were lol).. about 144 here. After I stopped eating all the junk food, 4-5 lbs dropped off of me really quick. But I was really really flabby. (note thighs!!)

...............

AND HERE I AM TODAY! over 12 pounds GONE! I say "before and NOW" pics, because it's not really "after" yet...

Here's me at 136.6 (almost 12 lbs down from 148) in my new tankini... still need more work on the thigh area, but there has been a lot of improvement!

And here I am in my workout gear earlier:

So you guys know I've been doing kickboxing and lifting major weight... I thought this pic really shows the result of some of that work (see left arm ;-)) I LOVE KICKBOXING!!!!!!!!!
My shoulders are sculpted and I have biceps. WHOA! (ignore the silly look on my face, I was really busting a few moves for my mom when she had the camera, lol... got pretty into it!!)




Here's to continued progress!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Today's Workouts: Walk Strong w/ 2 lb weights w/ Dad :-) it's my day off actually... +3. something mile walk with Mom outdoors.

Breakfast: 1 WW bagel, 1 slice gouda, 1 slice thin salami, chive/onion cream cheese

Lunch: 1/2 a hamburger patty, a special sauce I made myself (ketchup, low fat mayo, and some granulated garlic powder), ground flax seed, a few sliced dill pickle, on a whole wheat bun. + romaine lettuce salad with light Italian dressing

Dinner: 1/2 a chicken breast on a whole wheat bun (80 calorie bun), low fat mayo, garlic, flax seed, ketchup, 1 slice provolone cheese + 1 banana with reduced fat PB

Dessert/snacks: mid-morning: 1 granola bar, 1 cheese stick. After lunch: ice cream sandwich

Water: not doing that great today yet. I will change that RIGHT NOW

Daily Vitamins: check

Nightly Vitamins: check