My scale is not my friend today

Well, today was it. My five week goal date to lose 25 pounds. Did I make it? No. I am a mere 2 pounds off. AAAAggggg!!!! How aggravating this is. I struggle so hard with losing weight. I am not sure why I did not meet my goal, only to think that last Sunday (8/16) I indulged in 4 slices of pepperoni pizza. I tortured myself all week long in exercise to burn off those slices. So could it be that? Who knows. I walked a total of more than 7 miles on Saturday and 6 on Sunday in addition to the exercise I do during the rest of the week. I think my body is rebelling. I will not let it. So I didn't meet my goal this week, but I will keep pressing on. I will not give up. This is when I usually do and gain ALL the weight back. I know it will come off and I didn't put it on overnight.

My ob-gyn who put me on this diet also holds weight loss meetings for women and I have been attending these for over a year. These are the no/low carb diet plans that are very helpful for some to lose weight. I did okay for the first 6 months and then hit a plateau. I know I still have time to reach my goal with him, but for me personally, I wanted to be under a certain number by today.

So what's next? Well, I will keep plugging on and keep at it. I feel a little down today. The disappointment for something you have worked so hard to achieve and not see it there hurts so bad.

Okay~so on a more positive note~ I took my cup of coffee outside to my sanctuary(aka swing)and I was contemplating this whole diet thing when I heard a little buzz by my head and saw Ms. Tippy spring to action. I got to see my hummingbird friend fly in for breakfast. Hummingbirds are so beautiful. One of God's amazing creatures. He looked all grey and black from the front and when he flew around I could see the pretty pink and green on his back side. This was kinda like a little kiss from God that he knows my struggles and He is here for me. Just a little reminder to let me know I am doing ok.

Homeschool Planning

Well,it's that time again. I began clearing out the old homeschool items from last year today and am getting us ready for the new year. Most of the schools in our area went back the first week of August, but for us that is way too soon! We are still enjoying days by the pool and just lazing around and enjoying what is left of summer. Fall(my favorite time of year)will be here before we know it. I like to stretch out our summer break for as long as I can.

So, we are trying something new this year. Before,we always used Abeka curriculum and unit studies for History since this is my son's favorite subject. This year,however,God had us go a totally new direction with our studies. We are starting to do Switched On Schoolhouse on the computer. I think this will be a really good thing for me since I won't have near the amount of paperwork to do. My son thinks this will be good for him so he doesn't have to do as much writing. I am excited to do something else new this year. The pic with the yellow is a book about recycling and doing what we can for the environment and the other pack is a fabric pack for making a quilt. How do these two go together you ask? Well, last week I went to an Educator's reception and they challenged us to make a school quilt block for a contest. You know me, being a quilter and quilt lover,how could I say no? :)

Since you can choose any subject I chose to do a science/environment block about recycling and the earth. Isn't that cool? This is why I love homeschooling...so many fun things to do and interesting projects. Not to mention the freedom to study what we want, where we want,when we want.....oh I could go on,but I think you get the point.

Hope everyone's school year is off to a great start...or going to be.

The New Diet Plan

The day before my 35th birthday this year, I decided to try a new diet plan. I had been on the no-carb plan for about a year and was not seeing any weight loss results. I am very diligent in my exercise,to the point of hurting myself,and knew this was not the reason for not losing weight.

So, since my main reason for losing weight is to try to have a baby, my ob-gyn suggested a new plan called Medifast. At first I was very hesitant to try this, I was thinking it was like Nutrisystem and I had done that before and not had any weight loss. But, I decided to try anyway. Now I am glad I did.

I have now been on the program for 4 weeks and have lost 18 pounds. This may not sound like much to you, but to me, it is outstanding! I am very happy with my results so far. My goal is 25 pounds. My 5th week is coming up soon and we will reevalute my progress and goals. I say "we" because I have a health coach and this person is the person that helps you along the way. Kinda like the buddy system.

So, what is medifast? It is a prepackaged meal program that you eat 5 of these meals per day and one lean and green. What is lean and green? Exactly what it says it is...you choose one lean protein from the list of choices and three servings of vegetables that you like and that is your regular meal for the day. Nothing hard about it. You fix this meal yourself and measure everything out and enjoy. The great thing about the lean and green is that you can eat it at anytime of day you want. So, if you have plans to eat out for lunch, you can go out and eat and make the healthy choices,then eat the other medifast meals for the rest of the day. The program even allows you to have snacks when you feel extra hungry or just need a crunch. Examples of it would be cucumbers, celery, string cheese, sugar free jello and sugar free popsicles,and even pickles. The plan is very doable. It seems like you are eating so often (at least every 3 hours)that you really don't have time to feel hungry. I really do like the program. If you find yourself in a slump, I would recommend it.

Kindness of neighbors

I was out mowing and working in my yard one day and I glanced up and saw my neighbor drive by and I waved and went back to what I was doing. Next thing I know, she comes walking over to me, loaded down with this fresh peaches and cream corn. The best in corn there is! I thanked her and then began to get to work on shucking the corn and getting it ready for the freezer.

I can't eat any starchy veggies right now because of my new diet program, but my mouth waters because in the winter when I can have them again, I already dream of this corn lathered in butter and salt. Not to diet friendly, huh? ;)

The pic of silver is the corn all cleaned and ready for the winter. Good way to stock the freezer for winter....and be blessed as well.