I have never had a passport before. This is a game and life changer for me. Being able to travel internationally and explore this beautiful world is so liberating and exciting!
Not much to write about just yet! Stay tuned for travel updates and experiences.
My book for November 2018 is the untethered soul, the journey beyond yourself by Michael A. Singer.
My book for December 2018 is The Surrender Experiment, my journey into life’s perfection, also by Michael A. Singer.
I’ve been wanting to read these books for a while now and with this incredible year that has been full of so much spiritual growth for me coming to a close, what better time than now to read them?
I ordered both books from Amazon. Links are below.
Happy Reading!
These two books helped me to change my way of eating and subsequently shed several pounds over the years. These amazing books list and describe many natural foods and their health benefits to our bodies. This is not a diet or a weight loss eating plan. It’s a pretty long list of whole foods that I chose from to plan my weekly meals and snacks.
I initially began eating the SuperFoods back in the summer of 2006. The SuperFoods list consists of just about everything that I love to eat, so it wasn’t a difficult adjustment for me to begin eating this way. I coupled eating these foods with consuming no more than 1500 to 1600 calories per day and was able to lose 2 pounds every week pretty effortlessly. When I added walking to my daily routine, I would sometimes lose 2.5 to 3 pounds in a week.
To make things easy for me to incorporate all of these wonderful foods, I created an Excel spreadsheet for myself that lists the foods, recommended portion sizes and how often I should consume them. What was surprisingly fun for me was to try to fit in all of the foods each day and/or week, and still stay at my calorie range. There is a LOT of food that is listed to choose from and I never felt hungry or like I was following some sort of diet.
Well, at this stage of my journey to health and strength and fitness, it’s time for me to get back to my SuperFoods! I always feel energized and in balance when I feed my body these whole, clean, fresh SuperFoods. Thank you Dr. Steven G. Pratt and Kathy Matthews!
So…this is my current weight, today. Tomorrow it may be something totally different. At any rate, this is where I am right now. And this is where I pick up and continue on along my fitness journey.
This morning, after I got all four of the children on the school bus, I got myself dressed in my workout gear and went outside. I walked 1/4 mile, SLOWLY jogged 1 mile and finished with a 3/4 mile walk. 2 miles total! I feel refreshed and my legs are letting me know that they got a pretty decent workout out of it.
Though I haven’t run or jogged in months, my plan is to give myself this 30 minutes every morning to run a mile and walk a mile around my neighborhood. The fresh, cool air does wonders for me. I am able to clear my mind, connect with nature and set my intentions for the day.
For my listening pleasure during my jog/walk, I play Soul of Healing Affirmations by Deepak Chopra & Adam Plack. Amazing stuff!
And now…what to eat??
Recent Weights:
228.9 on July 16, 2015
225.2 on February 20, 2016
211.9 on July 3, 2016
222.0 on December 30, 2017
197.0 on August 27, 2018
I’ve been attempting to lose weight and get healthy since my mid twenties. I finally took that step to get myself healthy in the beginning of 2016. I completed the C25K (Couch to 5K) program and ran my very first 5K on May 21, 2016. I had lost approximately 10 pounds and went down a few sizes by the end of the program. More importantly, my leg muscles were developing and I could comfortably run up to 3 miles nonstop! I felt amazing inside and out.
I also slipped and fell down some stairs the same rainy night that I ran my first 5K. This left me with 2 bulging discs in my lower back. I still ran a little after that and completed another 5K that fall. After that run, I took some time off from exercise and ended up gaining the weight back that I had lost. The pain in my back increased. It became debilitating at times and I found myself feeling sorry for myself. I was beginning to convince myself that I would have this pain for the rest of my life.
I tried heat therapy, cold therapy, physical therapy, massage, stretches, injections, all to no avail. My part time job was not extremely physical, but it was enough motion every day to aggravate the pain and required daily doses of Aleve to get me through the day and night. I gave up sleeping on my Sleep Number bed and moved downstairs to a recliner.
I had gotten to a point where I just adjusted my life and limited my mobility in order to lessen the pain…until a good friend of mine suggested that I get back to running.
What?! Run again?? With this back pain??? Uh…
I went out on a chilly November morning in 2017 and I ran Week 1, Day 1 of the C25K program. Slowly. But I ran. And my time was even better than the first time I ran it in 2016!
And I haven’t stopped working out since! I completed a few more 5Ks and then switched from running to walking on an incline on the treadmill, using the elliptical and the stationary bike, and walking 3 miles outside around my neighborhood.
31 pounds GONE and down from a size 18 Women to a Regular 14/12/10, depending on where I shop, and still going!! And my back pain is no longer an issue! The discs are still bulging, but I go on about my life and activities and because I give it no thought or energy, I don’t feel the pain anymore.
This has been the biggest solo accomplishment of my adult life. No one could do this for me. Even with the best encouragement, it was all up to ME to get up, get dressed and move my body.
I will continue to take care of this body, so that it can take me all the places that I want to go and do all of the things that I want to do!
I love my veggies!
In my journey to become healthier and stronger, I am giving my body the fuel and nutrients that it needs to run at its best. There are a lot of physical activities that I plan to participate in and I’ll need to take care of my body, so that it can take care of me!
I purchased these eye-catching vegetable cookbooks by Yotam Ottolenghi recently and will be testing out several delicious recipes in them.
Pics and reviews to come!
Where Is Hope Taking You? 