a couple of weeks ago, i attempted to share my fitness regime and ended
up talking about cheesecake instead. this post, however is as serious
as a heart attack.
one month ago, i made a sober self, size, and well being assessment. i
was still heartbroken at my last child hopping out of the nest all the way
to brazil and tending to my heart with a huge scoop of vanilla haagen
dazs and chocolate syrup every night.
as i stepped away from my calorie laden addiction, i made a firm commit-
ment to myself:
- no more ice cream fiestas after dinner
- as many fruits and vegetables as i can stand
- low carb for dinner
- drastically smaller portions but every 3-4 hours during the day
- lots of exercise, weight training, and water
at first, it was very uncomfortable. i made myself stop eating even when
i still wanted "more, please." but, amazingly, just one month later i am
enjoying satisfying and nutritious meals but am no longer able to eat
large portions. my stomach now tells me, "no more, please."
i am also adjusting to my new life with hans, which includes bike rides,
long walks, travel, and very soon a trip to brazil to see our sweet daughter!
and yes, my jeans fit quite comfortably again. no way, i'm telling the size!
love,
lea
"on this mountain the Lord will prepare a feast of rich food for all
people, a banquet of aged wine- the best of meats and the finest
of wines." isaiah 25:6
43 comments:
Good for you Lea! You are a real inspiration. How great that you will get to visit Brazil - keep us informed about all the plans.
Wishing you many blessings this week.
OK, this is the truth.....I am reading this post while eating a bowl of ice cream covered in butterscotch sauce! I think I need to use your post for inspiration. (As soon as I finish this bowl) lol
Don't think I didn't notice that your first serious post about getting in better shape is after a whole month's worth of effort and success! You didn't even need our accountability. Good for you!
Now if I could just muster up enough discipline to do the same....
Yeah for you!!! Isn't that a wonderful feeling!! :-)
~Cinnamon
oh good going Lea!! I'm so proud of you... I'm doing the same thing and it's beginning to be fun to put those smaller sized clothes on again!! :) if I mentioned the 'after' size, then I would also have to say the 'before' size... no way! :)
Lea, I feel like giving you a hug. Good for you. As a life long exerciser who recently stopped due to stress (no excuse), I applaud you. Just from not exercising, I've gained weight in the last year. But now that I really think about it, I've indulged more readily in sweets and ice cream. Blame it on menopause but the bottom line is I'm going to follow your example.
No more excuses, right?
Blessings and love,
Debbie
Wow. Very inspirational!
That is just awesome...what an encouragement for me...and of course always said with a flare!!
Yea!! on going to see your daughter, she was on my mind today and also wondering about your daughter that sings...that is when I started following you was when you were getting votes.
Well enjoy those nice fitting jeans and your new life with Hans!!!!
Lea, I wish I had read this post before dinner tonight, as I did overeat LOl. I am so happy for you, and when I read of success stories with weight loss such as yours and Kim's from Farm Girl, it just spurs me on. Thank you for sharing these wonderful tips.
I guess I won't be having that ice cream I was thinking about tonight. lol.
Best wishes on your upcoming trip, what a blessing.
Hugs,
Sue
Yay for you Lea! I am trying to exercise more too. You have inspired me to keep going. Thank you!
Best wishes and happy exercising,
Natasha.
xo
Lea dearest!!! I SO LOVED READING YOUR LETTER! I have been there with Haagen Daz myself. Vanilla with strawberries was my big thing, but now it is grapes for dessert and lots of broccoli, no more tons of pasta...sob.....THANK YOU FOR COMING TO VISIT TONIGHT!!! Aren't the men in our lives, be they husbands, friends or neighbors, these guys deserve a hand....hope you are enjoying a new week of lovely things...God bless you! Anita
Happy for you!
Ok... this is getting spooky. Our kids have so many similarities... we just granted permission for our youngest daughter (15 yrs old) to go on a mission trip to... you guessed it... BRAZIL!!!!
I am with you, Lea! We just returned home from our trip. I am back on purpose determined to live a healthy disciplined lifestyle. Cheers to you, my friend! You are off to an amazing start!
Want to set a goal to run a marathon together? Ummmm, not sure I am ever going to be up for that! But I am up for a trip to Brazil! Tell all! I am sure it will be awesome! The Brazillian's I know are amazing! I hope to visit them someday!
Have a great time with your daughter!
Blessings, Cheri
Bravo Lea!!! I am so happy for you and I love that you are enjoying Hans. It makes me so happy to read this.
Thank your for all of your uplifting comments, they mean so much to me.
You go girl!
Dear Lea,
Good for you! That's wonderful, and inspirational. I'm so happy for you for sticking to your commitiment...I know how difficult that can be. You should be very proud of yourself!! :) Thank you for sharing!
You are such a great inspiration, not only for taking the reins on your health, but for sharing it with us. I started on a healthier diet 3 weeks ago and slowly but surely I am losing some weight. I really need to incorporate exercise into the equation, but I will. Thanks for being so kind to share and good luck!
XO,
Janie
Sounds as if somewhere along the way you learned how not to turn to food for comfort. I've been working on that one for forever.
dear vee,
trust you to hit the nail on the head. :)
So good for you, Lea. Have a safe trip to beautiful Brazil and do enjoy each and every moment, I know you will. xxxx
Way to go girlfriend...I know what a huge commitment this is, as I LOVE to cook and well, one does need to sample what one is serving...a lesson I have learned the hard way.
And you my dear are off to bring a wee pumpkin half way around the world...oh Lea this will be so appreciated. Your dear one will love this little bit of HOME...What a perfect place to celebrate God's many blessings. Have the very best time.
....Love Rosie
That wicked icecream just begs to be eaten doesn't it??! "Eat me, eat me" it screams frantically, calling to my eager tastebuds :P
Hello, my first visit here, and I enjoyed a peek at your letters. ;)
God bless you!
Your post made me smile. Lea, you are an inspiration and an encourager. Thank you for sharing and being real. Good for you dear one!!
Blessings.
Good on you. Very impressive.
Yea! Good for you, Lea! It can be so hard to break bad habits, yes? Keep up the great work and enjoying you!
Excellent, Lea! The discipline is in the doing. And it's verrrrry hard work. Congratulations!
I've been watching what I eat since the end of July....but as the Lord prepares feasts or 'feasts', I'm a happy recipient!
Lea, Sounds like you're filling the "empty nest" with wholesome and healthy activities. It IS a wonderful stage of life, I have found.
Thanks for the inspiration re. health, good food, portion control, etc. I NEEDED that.
I have just recently done the same thing. I have decided that my health is much more important than my need for sweets and such. It was difficult at first, but it gets easier by the day. On another note...have fun planning your trip to Brazil. I know you are looking forward to seeing your daughter. Carla
Oh Lea.. I've always been able to eat anything and everything I want, and still have trouble even TRYING to put the weight on!!.. But THIS year has been cruel! I know everything you say here is good advice.. I just am doing my best to make the difficult transition from denial to acceptance... to hopefully determination I guess! That "no sundaes after dinner" is going to be the toughest step! ~tina
This is a very honest and inspiring post! Good for you.
And I hope your trip is wonderful!
Thank you so much for coming to visit me and leaving such a nice comment. I like your blog and I love the idea behind it. Well done! Sneak that advice into the kids lives any way we can!
Grea post!! Yes I am an insurance agent. I work for Allstate. In the local office in my town.
Fantastic post!! and congrats on staying true to your health!!! You have truly inspired me to stick to healthy eating.... HUGS.. HHL
Yay for Lea! I've been trying to walk a mile 3-5 x a week and my knees are feeling much better. But I'm not very good at saying no to sweets. My bad thing.
Hey - funny you should ask about the winters here, Lea. Today we are getting our first snow & it's 35 degrees out there, so I'm stayin' in! We love the winter. It's quiet, private and beautiful. But then again, we do not have to get out in it everyday to go to work!
Have a lovely day,
Zuzu
Hi Lea, You are such an inspiration...... That is the way we ALL need to live. I have struggled with my weight all of my adult life since my eldest son was born ( and he is 47). GADS!!!!!
BUT--now, even though I still am overweight, I am much healthier than I was. I eat healthy and get exercise... That's the key... I don't worry so much about the pounds now --but just want to stay as healthy as possible. My hubby loves me for ME ---so I now have learned to love myself too....
Hugs,
Betsy
That's definitely worth celebrating! Good job persevering--that's not easy.
Debi
Good that you're getting back on track. I've got a book out about losing weight without dieting. If you're interested, you can find it on my writing blog (not the Sunday's child one).
Great post! You know I use to be so good about keeping up on my exercise program. Now that our grandchildren have been living here my schedule has drastically changed. I have a very hard time exercising first thing in the morning due to having to drive them to school. Then after the morning rush, dropping them off and arriving back home. All I want to do is relax for a few moments. I wait, then it is too hot to exercise!! I have made a recent commitement as well to start up my program again. Which I do at home...free weights three times a week, more walking (preferably 5 days a week), maybe a little light jogging (like I use to do with my grand kids), and dragging my hubby out on the weekends or evenings to ride our bikes!! :) It's hard, but I know it will be worth it to feel better and have more energy on a daily basis!
Wishing you much success on your exercise plan! :) Good for you!
congrats, you have worked hard for this awesome healthy accomplishment!!!! eating good foods in right amounts and proper exercise is the right equation for healthy bodies. unfortunately, healthy bodies sometimes are differently sized than most of us really want them to be---whether too large or too small. being content with healthy is hard when we want to be happy with skinny----
It's amazing the difference a few pounds can make...just too bad getting those few pounds off is so difficult. You sound so much more disciplined than me. My daughter's upcoming wedding is pretty good incentive.
Thanks for stopping by my last post and leaving a note.
good for you lea...way to go!!
Congrats Lea :) Yesterday was my day 1 to life changing habits. It was a good day but poor hubby-I become quite cranky! Today will be better on this journey of renewing my mind in Him. Bless you dear friend.
You're going to Brazil? Awesome! I see from your other post that they speak Portuguese there. Good to know. We're going there sometime next year to visit our Compassion kids, and I want to learn the language some so I can talk to them.
How's your daughter doing?
You've been on my mind so much lately - thinking about your trip to see your baby girl and also this whole health and fitness thing.
I hope you're having the best time visiting and I just wanted to say thanks for writing this - got me thinking about my own "health and fitness". :)
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