Small steps...

Hello again everyone, I hope you're having a smashing week (as they would say in an Enid Blyton story- did any of you read these??)

I just read this little tip on the Live Well site:

Take some steps today, if only a few, and tomorrow you’ll be that much closer to your goal.

(Wish the nice green text box it was in had come along for the ride too, but it wasn't to be!)
But what a good reminder for me!! I feel like all I am taking is small steps these days with my journey to being slim and healthy (my ankle is still hassling, so I'm not doing any major exercise), but guess what, it has paid off anyway!! I have gone down on the scales by about .6kg (about 1.3lbs)- not much, but something, so I'm on my way!!

Things are starting to get hectic again (doesn't take long, does it!), so I have been asking God to guide me in my choices, and help me be more fruitful in what I do. To that end, I'm keeping this short and sweet today, because I've got a few tasks needing my attention. :o)

Keep up the efforts everyone, and remember, every little step forward counts, but so do the backward ones, so keep asking God to guide you, and when He does... LISTEN!

God bless, and keep moving forward!
- Juliet.

Pounding the pavement...

Hi y'all! OK so I'm not from Texas, but neither are most of you, so go ahead and say it with your best Texan drawl... "Hi y'all!" There, it felt good, didn't it!

This week I was determined to be able to log on and tell you all (y'all) about some exciting new activity I had undertaken to boost my weight loss! Well I've got good news and bad news... the bad news is that it's not really a new activity- no new brainwaves turning into reality before your very eyes. It is however re-formulated, re-focused, and planned and written down, so I am excited! (That's the good news!)
I looked at ballroom dancing (love to dance, but hubby not so keen, so can't make it a priority each week). Looked at tennis (OK I am totally unco when it comes to tennis, but thought I would still get a good cardio workout with it). But tennis lessons, gym, etc all got the thumbs down due to, shall we say, 'higher financial priorities?'

Eventually I realised that rather than adding something new to my weekly exercise regime, I have to just knuckle down and do more of what I'm currently doing- putting in more effort and purpose into my regular morning walks. So I sat down with my right hand man ('gorgeous hubby' in earth speak (by the way, did I mention that he his wonderfully good at schedules, and used to be a personal trainer!)), and planned a morning schedule which would enable me to increase the duration of my walks, fit in some crunches, stretches, etc, and still get everything done in order to have the children to school and me to work on time! So brownie points for me, I started this program 2 days ago. I rested today because I had a slight strain to my ankle, but will be back on the pavement at 6.15 again tomorrow... Hello world! Looking forward to seeing those numbers change on the scales again (in the downward direction, of course!!)
Happy hiking everyone!
:o) Juliet.

Live well Wednesday... OK Thursday!

Still trying to get the hang of this thing, I waited until today to check out how Live Well Wednesday works, as we are ahead of the U.S. in times by half a day or so. I have been reading some of the blogs written by other ladies who subscribe to Live Well Wednesdays, and been getting blessed by some of their stories, but gotta tell ya, this gig is hard... I left myself with a challenge last time to do something different so I can expect better results with my weight loss, and I'm ashamed to admit that apart from walking a little bit further, I haven't really come up with anything outstandingly different! Still it's early days yet, it's only been 3 days since that post, and I'm still giving thought to it, as well as continuing to resist too many goodies. :o)

I was blessed by Darlene's topic in Live Well today- moderation. Even though Christmas is past, we ended up with such a stash of chockies, that we still have about 5 boxes- 3 on the go, and 2 still unopened. Any Melbournites up for some free chocolate???? I am exercising restraint and averaging about 2 wrapped chocolates per day, while eating otherwise generally healthy foods. That, folks, is definitely moderation!! But I am a bit concerned that these chockies might be sitting in the pantry tempting me until the next lot begins to roll in at Easter!

Still, having looked at how I am eating now, I really shouldn't feel so bad about myself. I think if we have made a mistake or been excessive the week before, it can still influence our current behaviour. Until writing this now, I have been feeling low about my lack of self-control, and lack of change. But I realise that I'm actually thinking about last week's failings... I have improved this week but just not recognised it. I know I'm rambling a bit, but this is good! I'm realising right now that my behaviour has been good, and that means I have something positive I can continue. Do you know that until that realisation, I was in the "I'm not improving, so why bother?" mode. I was bothering- I was saying no to temptation, but my heart wasn't in it- I was thinking failing thoughts, and I would have given in soon.


No! I am doing well!
My weight has stuck around at the same level for about the past month. Although it's great that I haven't really gained anything over the Christmas period, I feel I really need to do more to begin to reduce it! So I'm looking at adding some more intense activity into my week somewhere: to give my plateau a kick in the pants! And I'm giving myself a week to figure out what I can add in. So if I get on here next week and don't report some new activity I've taken on, then I'm the one who gets a kick in the pants!! It's time to see some results on the scales again, people!

On a more serious side (again), I have been challenged by Tamra Nashman's "Overcoming Temptation-by-Chocolate" (how appropriate!), (see www.christianwomenonline.net/TamraNashman.html#TamraJanuary), and some preliminary reading of Dr Frank Smoot's Weight Loss God's Way program. Both of these are suggesting that there is a deeper root to our core weight loss issues, and that we will never be fully free from weight and body image issues until we are released spiritually from these deeper roots. I think they may definitely be on to something there, and will delve further into this.
So until next time,

and believe that as Joyce Meyer says, "I'm OK, and I'm on my way!"
Keep speaking kindly to yourself!
:o) Juliet.

Well hello there!

Hello and happy 2008 to all! So begins my first ever web log, with a salutation ("hello", for those who haven't seen Charlotte's Web), and a determination- to not be the same in 2008!
In May last year, I was challenged by this idea at Adore, our church's annual womens' conference. Pastor Jane Evans spoke these words at the final meeting: "But what a shame, what a complete tragedy it would be, if we were to come to Adore '08, the same as we were in Adore '07." This statement struck a chord within me, and I was determined to change, to win my battles rather than to continue accepting defeat.
This picture is a reminder to me, to all of us, to keep running toward the goal, keep fighting, persist, don't give time to the voices in your head that say that you can't, you won't win. Norman Vincent Peale's mother told him "You can if you think you can!" And as he grasped this belief, he turned from a defeated, droopy young man into a world changer! We can if we think we can!

So what, you ask, are these battles I am facing? Well, same as many, the first one is to lose weight and adopt a permanent healthy lifestyle, both physically and spiritually. I mentioned this first because of the obvious references to this on the rest of the page- my weight loss ticker, and the Live Well motivation box. Also, I want to overcome old fears which hinder me from achieving financial freedom. I promote a great product and an amazing company and payment plan, yet still my own thoughts and self doubts get in the way and make it hard for me to have confidence when I talk to people about them. Woa, being rather open here on the world-wide-web, but I'm sure there are 1000's out there who can relate to this too. :o)
So in 2008, I want to to win some battles, and strangely, I'm inviting you along for the ride! I'm looking forward to an amazing '08, and believing I will indeed be a different person by the end of it, and even by the Adore conference in May. To facilitate my (our?) transformation, at the end of each post, I will add an inspirational quote, a scripture, or a self-evaluation question to help us on our way. So for today:
"The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing you have always done, but expecting a different result." What behaviour will I change this week to help me achieve my desired result?
Keep on kickin' goals! :o) Juliet.