What am I fighting against?

I decided to make this a more personal blog post today. What am I fighting against? I use to say I'm coming against obesity. Or that I'm coming against fat. Or that I'm coming against unhealthy eating. But that would not be true, at this point in my journey I'm coming against laziness. I can start doing all the exercising, eating healthy, getting accountability, and blogs posts but it still seems like laziness is prevailing. Let's define what laziness is:

Laziness - 1. Resistant to work or exertion; disposed to idleness.
2. Slow-moving; sluggish
3. Conducive to idleness or indolence.

Synonyms - idleness, negligence, inactivity, slowness, sloth, sluggishness, slackness, indolence, tardiness, dilatoriness, slothfulness, do-nothingness, faineance.

So a question I have to ask myself is how do I fight against laziness? I have prayed about this but what do I do? I have to do the opposite of laziness which is to be "active, diligent, energetic, [and] hard-working". Fighting against something means you are taking action. My fight against laziness is starting off very slow. I'm a homebody an a introvert, so my fight involves getting out and doing something.  I know when wanting to lose weight you eat healthy and exercise but the more I get into this process the more I begin to see there's more to this than I initially thought. There are molehills and mountains I will have to climb as I walk on this road, which is also filled with twists and turns I may not have expected but I can't give up. In my journey I am doing some things I don't normally do. These may not involve healthy eating or exercise but for my journey they are essential. Where is your journey taking you? Have you come across something that you didn't expect to find? I want to encourage you stop looking at the outside, those changes will come. Look at the changes that are occurring inside of you, the changes that people may not see but is just as equally important as losing weight. In order to continue this journey you will have to conquer multiple things but keep going.

Loving and Living from the Inside Out
Sharon

Motivation & Encouragement

Somethings you can't physically do, does that stop/hinder you or does it give you momentum?  What is your motivation for your journey? What steps do you need to take to ensure this happens (you succeed)? How do you encourage yourself to keep going?

Why living healthy inside and out?

Originally posted 4/6/2014:

Have you ever heard the phrase "from the inside out"? Now some of us may just use the phrase but do we truly understand what this means? Before I break this down I have to let you know I am a definition person.  I like to look up the meaning of words even if I already basically know what they mean because some definitions may give you a clearer understanding of the word.

Living - possessing life, active or thriving,  lifestyle,  behavior,  present.

Healthy - having or indicating good health in body or mind free from infirmity or disease,  fit, well, wholesome, sound, strong,  active.

Inside - an inner or interior part, inward character or perceptions or feelings.

Out - on sale or on view to the public,  exposed,  common knowledge.

God has been putting from the inside out on my heart for over a year now. Everywhere I went,  everything I listened to always mentioned inside and out.  You know when you are constantly hearing something we need to stop and ask God to help us understand what He is saying to us.

When I kept hearing inside and out I believe God was telling me the change I need would come from/start from the inside.  If we look at the definition of inside it states the inward character.  Character can consist of behaviors that you have. Behavior is the manner in which something functions or operates, so changing your behavior can change your life. This can entail changing what you look at, what you hear, and possibly what you eat.

As I move into my journey God is showing me just how much my inside behaviors are affecting my outside (body). Remember the definition of outside "on view to the public". So the public is now aware of my lack of self-control. So while I am struggling the realization that everyone can see my struggle can be a hard pill to swallow,  but at the same time going through this journey publicly can allow God to get some glory! I want to live! I want to live a healthy life! I can live a healthy life by changing from the inside out.

Roasted Vegetables Recipe

I haven't posted a recipe in a while so I thought I would share with you my favorite way to make my vegetables. In this recipe I used peppers, onions, and potatoes; you can use whatever vegetables you like to eat or whatever you have on hand. I try to cut up my vegetables to be the same size.  I seasoned them with garlic powder,  black pepper, sea salt, and oregano;  I also sprayed them with a olive oil low calorie spray. I like to roast them at 350 degrees for about 35-45 minutes. (I actually cooked this batch a little longer; they came out a little more crispy). I hope you enjoy!

It's A Process...

Hello, Everyone!

It's been a little while since I made a post and I wanted to share with you something that God is showing me. My journey is a process! I know that sounds very simple but how many of us want to hurry up and see results; I know I do! I am the type of person after a few weeks I want to lose over 10 pounds and when that doesn't happen I can get frustrated. In these last few weeks I have been having no choice but to learn/develop patience. I have been losing pounds, then gaining, then losing, then gaining again. At this point I don't even want to see a scale! But instead of focusing on what the scale says, I need to focus on what my body is saying to me. My body is getting stronger, it's developing more stamina, and my clothes on my body even seems to be getting bigger on me :-). So for anyone whose focus is on the number on the scale remember the scale is only one of the tools you can use to gage how your journey is going.

Okay back to the process. Are we willing to put in the time and effort which will develop the character that we need on this journey?  Remember in the Why Living Healthy Inside Out post we talked about character consisting of our behaviors; and we know behaviors are the manner in which we function or operate in. So what type of behaviors do you need for this journey? A behavior I need is consistency; I need to be consist in my eating, in my exercising, and in my thinking (remember what we said about our thoughts!).  Rushing through this process will not allow me to fully develop the behaviors I need. So if you are struggling right now I just want you to let the process do it's work. As long as your doing the right things it will happen, trust God!

One of the physical struggles I am going through at this moment is pain in my knees. I have heard people say that as you get older your body gets more stiff. (Also falling down the stairs during the end of winter did not help). Well let me tell you I have been relying on God's strength to get me through my exercise routine. When I get on the treadmill I want to go faster, and I know I can do it but my knees says otherwise. Have you ever got to the point where you are going for it and then something tries to stop you from accomplishing your goal? Well this is how this particular pain feels to me. Don't Give Up! I may have to change something in my regiment but I don't want to stop or lose momentum. I received an article today from the Prevention website called Knees Hurt How To Keep Moving! Only God directed me to this article. It was just the push I needed to not give in to the pain but also gave me different options on helping with the problem. You may be struggling with something but trust God, He will give you what you need. I hope your journey's are going good, feel free to update me on them in the comment section.

Loving and Living Healthy Inside and Out,

Sharon

The Difference Between Goals, Planning, and Scheduling

 

 

How many of us have a plan for weight loss? Is it just for a week? A month? or a year? Is it really a plan or is it just a set of goals? Okay definition time :-)

 

Goal - The result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.

 

Plan - A proposed or tentative project or course of action.

 

Schedule - A timetable; a written list of times; a plan of procedure for a project, allotting the work to be done and the time for it.

 

 

I have been struggling with balancing my weight loss plan with my life. What I am beginning to realized that I don't have a plan for weight loss I have a set of goals that I want to accomplish for weight loss. Goals are great things to have but having a actual plan to implement is soooooo important. If you remember in my 5 Steps to Help You Start Over the 2nd step was to make a plan; well a warning I had was not to get stuck in the planning phase; So warning #2 make sure you are actually making a plan not just a set of goals! BE SPECFIC AS YOU CAN! 

 

I am taking time this weekend to write my plan. A plan should expand on your goals and let it be known what course of action you will take to get to your goals. Now this is where scheduling comes in; scheduling is the timetable that you plan to accomplish your goals. Scheduling also keeps you accountable to yourself and you will know what you are and are not doing.  Before you can take action (or implement your plan) you have to know where you are going, how you're going to get there, and how long it should take. If you don't have these you will not go anywhere. 

 

Loving and Living Healthy Inside and Out,

Sharon

Back on my grind - smoothie recipe

Okay my birthday weekend is over. I did not eat my best :-/ but I'm more than ready to get on my grind. Smoothie recipe: Lemon yogurt (5.3 oz container - plain yogurt will do if that's what you have), spinach (about 20 leaves or a handful), and small banana. Side note: I put a tbsp of milk in it but you may not have to. If you want a more "frozen type" smoothie just add a few cubes of ice and blend.