Journey to Restoration Update

Happy Monday Everyone!

I am thankful for yet another beautiful day! (despite the snow here in MN) 

About a month ago, I did a blog post about how I wanted to start getting back into shape and eating right because my body is a temple of God's. You can find that blog post here!

Basically, I started looking more into how my body is a temple of God's- that does not only include a spiritual dwelling place, but also physical! What you put into your body, you get out of your body and since my Mighty Savior lives in me, I want to have a healthy, safe, and clean temple for Him to lay His head.

So- I started on my journey of working out and eating healthier.

It has now been 4 weeks!

I measured myself after two weeks of not measuring myself and I was surprised by the results!

Wk 1

Wk 4

I have lost 4lbs in 2 weeks

1.5 inches around my waist

2 inches around my lower waist (that's my tough spot)

2 inches around my thighs

.5 inches around my neck

.5-1 inch around my arms

1 inch around my hips

Overall, I am pretty happy with my results for the first month! It is definitely motivation to keep going :)

Just some things that have been helpful for me in this process:

1] Getting a good amount of sleep: after working an avg of 9 hours a day, doing a hard workout, and catering to all of life's responsibilities, it takes a big toll on your body. When I got a good night's rest, I was able to conquer the day. When I didnt, I was more apt to skip my workout and I actually craved more "comfort" foods!

2] Reading Scripture: My purpose in this was to be a healthier and cleaner temple for God. When I read scriptures to remind me of that, it helps me stay focused on my goals and my whole purpose of doing this in the first place ;)

3] Smaller meals: This was huge for me. One part of being a good temple of Christ is to not overeat because of gluttony. So a huge focus for me has been to take smaller portions and only eat until I am satisfied. I can see a difference in how my body can only take smaller portions now- I hope that's because my stomach has shrunk!

4] Staying away from sugar: I at one point thought I could never not have a sweet tooth. But I switched out artificial sugars with natural sugars ( bananas, oranges, grapefruit, grapes, rasberries-- fruits!) and what a difference! After my second week of focusing on not eating sugars, I stopped craving it as much. & now I feel less bloated!

5] Having cheat days: I allowed myself cheat days about every other week and sometimes once a week. When I did this, I focused on smaller portions, and cheat meals that weren't "as bad" for me. For example, if I went to my favorite restaurant I would order a soup instead of a pizza. It still allowed me to get the "yummy in my tummy" without going overboard. LOL

6] Substituting my caribou coffees for tea or water: It has not only helped me save money, but I can feel a difference when I am at work!

What tips can you give for accomplishing your fitness goals?? I'd love to hear them!