Brennan said knock you out!

    Like Ice Cube use to say...Today was a good day. And it really was. I ate well and had an awesome workout. It felt so natural for me to do as awesome I did today. Easy lunch, hard, but rewarding workout, and stayed away from sweets! That's great in itself! My friend, one of the personal trainers I work with, had been speaking to me periodically about him helping me lose weight after I had approached him about weeks prior. Well, today was finally that first day of help. From now on, I will refer to him as My Coach. He did such a great job encouraging me to go faster and longer. It was not easy working out with him, but it was well worth it. I got to do strength training that I have been longing to do ever since I started the workouts. He has changed up my routine, and I am completely happy with that. After  the exhausting workout of crunches, chest presses, and meetings with an elliptical, my coach decided that it was time for boxing. Boxing? Seemed fun, but just not at that moment. Maybe next time. It was so hard! It took every bit of strength I had left out of my body. Power punches felt more like arm stretching after about 15 blows to the red padding because I felt so weak after. After we were done, I felt really good, like after every workout. Took a shower and thought, these clothes won't fit pretty soon, they just might fall off. I was suppose to soak in hot water and epsom salt tonight...didn't do it. Oops! Hopefully I won't be too soar tomorrow. Blessings!

                                                            --Chasidy

It's a Hard Knock Week for Us

      So, it's been a week since I last wrote something down. See, what had happened was...I'm just kidding. Just FYI, I am only doing the strict stuff during my work week, including blogging, unless it's absolutely necessary for me to do it. Now, I don't mean eating Jack in the Crack, but maybe a little this or that..like bread. Nothing crazy though...I can hear my Brother now. It has been a rough six days for me, as far as my eating habits go. You thought it was something else, huh? No, nothing crazy, just having trouble pushing through the one addiction my health faces; sweet and fast cooking. I didn't prep for this new work week and I have been randomly eating sweets. When a fruit isn't immediately near, I freak out when I have a sweet craving. Breakfast tomorrow will be a new start to my eating journey. As Jillian Michaels saying, it's not a day by day, it's meal by meal. Despite that negative part of my Journey, my workouts have been awesome! I can already see an improvement in my stability and stamina. I can go longer, not much longer, but nevertheless longer. I see more sweat and burst out more groans of pain with my press onward attitude. I have been so blessed with the resources I have. My God is so good to me. Free this and free that. He really wants me to be successful. I think the stress of finals week is what got me so down, and crazy minded. The next week is break and hopefully, my mind can come back into a place of more rest and focus. I haven't been sleeping much this week, so I will get to catch up on that, too. Speaking of sleep, I think I will start catching up right now. Blessings.

                                                 --Chasidy

Reprogramming

This whole process has not been easy. I have been working hard to better myself. Tonight, I have been thinking alot about reprogramming, like how you reprogram a computer to do what you want it to. Or like the more spiritual way of putting it, renewing your mind. I really wish I could just slip a disk into my head and change it into the elite runner who eats healthy, tasty food like I want to be right now, but God works in a different way. Even though, I don't see the full picture of what I will learn from the experience and timing of the Journey, God does. I have to trust that He knows what he is doing, even when I make a mistake, knowingly. He will turn every effort, every emotion, every mistake, every trial, joy, and tear into good for His glory and my improvement. I did feel a little alone today. I know that I never really am alone because Yeshua is there, but earlier today, I felt alone in this Journey. The hardship of reprogramming myself to eat right is the hardest thing. But, I know I can do it. I know He can do it. I know that together, I can accomplish anything that I want to because He is simply greater than I am. No matter the size of this broken road, the Journey will have a destination. Blessings.

                                                          --Chasidy

Feel the Burn...Twice

      Today, was a good day. I ate a healthy lunch (miss on taste factor), good fruity snack, nap, then great (HIT) dinner..so awesome. My workout today was good. I was a little anxious and worried, but I had to tell myself, "no, let's do this!" Weird treadmill turned me over to the elliptical. Kick my TUSH! and hard! I only did 15 minutes, but it just kicked me. I like it. I liked it ALOT! It was hard, a battle, sweat dripping off my nose. I haven't felt this kind of intensity in over a year. My brother would be proud. I was imagining him standing beside me and the machine, cheering me on with his big grin on his face full of joy, pride, and support. Every time I tried to stop, I had to reject it. All of my co-workers were cheering me on and saying how proud they were of my efforts. All eyes were on me, but my eyes were on God; helping me push through my mind thinking that pain is forever. NO! Pain is temporary and in the end well worth! I got down of the machine, with wiggly legs, with the biggest feeling of accomplishment. I enjoyed that feeling. I want that feeling again. God is Good! If that wasn't a good ending to a day, then I have a better one. After the awesome R.are women's meeting in the cafe, I met up with some of the most awesome people I have ever met in my life to spike it up in some volleyball in the sand. The best friends a girl could ever want. After THREE AND A HALF hours of playing..with maybe a five minute break, I was sweaty,tired, and "sandy". Once again the feeling of accomplishment hit me on the way home. Today, I learned that in the mist of sweat, tears, and even sand all over you, the blissfulness knowing that you have pushed yourself beyond what you could normally do is a blessing in itself. Blessings.

                                                                --Chasidy

Not What I Expected

When I woke up this morning, I was ready and excited to start the day. I had it all figured out; this health and fitness thing. I was so wrong. Lunch went well, but I think it all start with just a tiny bit of light mayo. I knew that I probably shouldn't put it in my tuna salad, but it was VERY little to begin with. The rest of the day went down hill from there. I forgot my weight lifting gloves, so I had to settle for cardio (stair climbing from one building to another at work and again at home a couple of times). I overslept in my afternoon nap, therefore I couldn't prepare myself dinner. THEN I was late to class, and had to decide during the break if I should eat at home late, eat now with crappy food, or not eat at all! I didn't know what to do! I decided to eat then and shamefully eat crappy food. After class, I had the worse case of chocolate withdrawal and I had a 170 calorie chocolate bar. I was so disappointed in how my day ended and the decisions I had made. I really thought that this was going to be easier since I had done this a year ago for a few months This is not what I expected. At all! Thankfully, I have a God that is much bigger than I am, and had to humble me a little today. Tomorrow IS a new day, and I am NOT done, and I will NOT give up. I know that God has something better for me, and I want that better for myself. Blessings.

                                                  --Chasidy

First Things First

     Hello! Thank you for taking the time to read my first blog. I thought maybe it would be easier to journal my weight loss journey electronically instead of paper, especially since I am on it more often than I use to due to school work. 

    First things first, I thought I should write a little bit about my first steps on this Journey. I have been overweight since about the first grade, I was very active in sports and girl scouts all through elementary and part of junior high. The state I was in as of 2009,  I wasn't active, didn't eat right, and slowly losing my battle to obesity. Throughout the years I had tried to do something, but I was too afraid of failure. A good friend of mine, Jon, whom I will refer to as my brother; spiritual, not biological, finally got me off my feet, into the gym, and eating correctly. God, I love that man! After a devastating lay-off at work, I left betrayed my God, and didn't want anything to do with Him. It was because of that lay off that I couldn't continue my fitness.  I felt as if I was unimportant, bottom of the barrel, and just a failure at being the person I wanted to be. So, I left Him, He never left me, but I ignored Him. After several months of yelling, crying, talking, job-hunting and job-leaving, pouring out my heart, and learning that I had TONS of self-hatred, low self-esteem, and lack of trust in God, I turned back to the Father that loves me and truly cares for me more than I could ever know. I know now that the process I was going through (and still am, hence the blog), was so that He could show me the roots of why I thought so poorly of myself and judged myself so severely. He then removed them, completely. When the time came for me to get back into a healthy lifestyle physically, I was ready and eager!

    Today was the first day. I had prepared meals for my first week, by myself. I packed my lunch and gym bag by myself. I workout for the first time in over a year by myself. I didn't have my brother around this time, but I did have my Daddy. The whole way. I enjoyed my eating today. I enjoyed the pushing myself to finish five more minutes of walking and the feeling of accomplishment after. And in the morning, I am going to enjoy the soarness and doing it all over again. Glory be to Daddy! Sorry for such a long blog, but tomorrow will be shorter considering I would have already told you my beginning steps on this great Journey. Thanks again, blessings. 

                                                               --Chasidy