So sorry for the Silence

Hey Everyone! Just wanted to pop in and say Hi! So sorry we haven't been around. As for me, I have been incredibly busy and then when I think about posting, I am just too pooped!

As an weigh-in update, I gained a pound and Natasha lost a half pound. Don't ask me how I gained...I have no idea. I thought I did really well. I walked 30 min/day, 5 days/week. I do know one thing, though. My scale really stinks. I get a different weight everytime I step on it. So I have to step on it like 10 times and pick the most consistent one. Not good. But, I am still in the 190's, so all I know is, I need to get it down to the 180's!

I hope you all are doing well and staying faithful to our awesome Lord Jesus Christ.

Love,

~Claudia

Weigh in and Praises

Claudia and I did well this past week! We both had a loss on the scale. Claudia lost 2 pounds and I lost three. Praise the LORD!!!

We both have been faithful to exercising our bodies and trying to be diligent in keeping track of our food intake.

This past week something happened that forced me to work out in the morning. It was a huge blessing in disguise. I used to work out in the morning before work many years ago. I had been wanting to try that routine again but I had all these anxieties about working out. Would the gym be busy? How many people would be getting ready at the same time? Way too many doubts and not trusting God enough when He placed the desire in my heart to return to the mornings. Wow, it has been great! I feel much better throughout the day. I do not get so stressed, I make better food choices. I have no excuses to stop myself at the end of the work day convincing myself not to work out. I am open to take on projects in the evenings. It is wonderful!

What do you think about working out in the morning verses the evening?

Natasha

Weigh in

Happy Valentine Day! Claudia and I had a good week, with a one pound lose for Claudia and two for myself. This is definitely a huge Praise! We are both still working through many kinks in this journey. Claudia was not feeling well physically this week and was not able to exercise much. She is trying to get back into that routine. I did exercise 4 days this week, and felt wonderful. Of course, working out takes time and I find myself staying up later and not sleeping enough. It is a combination of having adrenaline from working out and trying to get all the other things done that I would have done in that time I was exercising. I used to go to the gym in the morning before work, which is like 5a.m. But, I didn't do anything in the evenings then. I would go home, eat dinner, watch t.v. Now, I have a house to maintain and church activities, and most important my personal time with God. Then, there is t.v. and many shows to catch up on. So, I am praying and seeking how to manage my priorities and time.
Another struggle both of us are having is journaling our food intake. That is just pure laziness on both of our parts. No excuses. We need to be more diligent about this. Studies also show that people are more successful at weight loss when they journal their food.

Claudia and I are so grateful for those who read this. We are praying for you!

Praise you Jesus!

Natasha

Weigh in for Natasha and Claudia

Hello. This week Claudia lost one pound and I stayed the same. We are in the midst of changing our scales around, so we will truly see the new number next week. Isn't it funny how we have tricked ourselves into believing or trusting a certain scale even if other scales do not say the same. For example, my scale is about 3-5 pounds lighter than my doctor's scale. OF course, I am upset when I see the doctor and that scales says 5 more pounds. Like it makes a difference, being that I am still 150 pounds overweight. Like my doctor isn't going to yell at me if he would have seen what my scale said that morning.

The point is, I am way off the mark in my weight. I have confessed this week to Claudia that I didn't even try to fight my flesh this week. I just ate and ate. Whatever, whenever, however. So, now after reading some of your posts, I am encouraged and realize that I must get serious again about this. It is a sin. I am truly tired of feeling miserable. I hate how I look and want to be healthier.

Thank you for your encouragement! You are truly a blessing!

Natasha

Checking In

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted. I feel really bad about it! And I've missed it. There's just always so much going on in my life, and there are certain other issues to tackle that take me away from this arena sometimes.

So, I just wanted to say hi, and tell you I'm doing "okay." Natasha got us new dieting journals that I really like. We're back to writing everything down again, because we (*I*) need to be more disciplined and more accountable.

I have NOT been exercising! My goodness. It's crazy. I'm feeling pretty yucky because of it, too. Even though I'm eating a little better, when I don't exercise it just leaves me feeling blah.

I weighed 2 days ago and was down 1 pound from last week, but not sure what the scale will say Friday. We'll see! And hopefully I'll get back on the bandwagon here, and do my weekly weigh-ins and Anchor Fridays.

God bless you gals!

~Claudia

Natasha weigh in

Hello, it has been awhile since I posted. I have been not too good this weekend. After spending the whole Christmas season without touching anything that was not of a nutritional value, I started eating junk food again this weekend. What started it? My own selfishness, my own desires and my own pity party. After weighing in on Friday with a plus two, Claudia gave me a very encouraging talk. Sometime that evening, I decided,"What is the point of eating well, asking God for strength and exercising if the scale was going to not reflect in my favor. Never mind that I was offering my food choices and time to God, I decided I need to take control again. HORRIBLE MISTAKE. I have been out in the wilderness here eating whatever and whenever I want. I am depressed, no desire to talk to God or to read His Word. Tonight, I opened the blog up and read our memory verse. It was like water to my soul, I have asked God to forgive me and am humbling myself to write about my pride. God promises new mercies everyday. Thank you Lord for your faithfulness.

Natasha

Claudia's Weigh-In

Well, I haven't weighed in for 2 weeks now. I have not been doing too well. Just being lazy and laxidasical. I don't have near the determination that Natasha has!! She has just been so awesome.

I stayed the same last week, but gained 1 pound this week. Natasha's got me on a new diet, one that has worked for her this whole time, but I've been puttering around with other diets. So, I think it will help for us both to be on the same one. I need to get back on the exercise bandwagon too!!

~Claudia

Natasha weigh in

I am going on with the theme that Claudia has started. My weigh in was a three pound loss. Praise the Lord. He is so faithful. I am excited to see the loss, but I am way more encouraged by what God is doing in my life. I feel strengthened by Him. I am trying to follow Jesus and what He said in John 4:34. Jesus said to them, "My food is to the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Other translations say nourishment instead of food. I love that verse and I am making that my verse to work on this year. To me it means that I must humble myself daily to ask God what He wants me to do each moment of each day. To find my nourishment and satisfaction in Him. Not in food. To allow Him to break my addiction to food. No longer to find my comfort and my strength from overeating. I need to feel hungry physically. As a overweight person, I always make sure I am not hungry. I am always making sure my physical needs are met and more. Well, now I am trying to transfer that to being spiritually hungry. To get through my pain with my Salvation, my Rock and my Savior. To overfill myself with Him.

Praise you Jesus!

Natasha

Weigh-In and Desperation Band

Today we weighed, and I stayed the same. Natasha has a better report. I did meet my goal for exercise, though. And I find myself enjoying it more and wanting to exercise. My body has really come to need it and enjoy it. That's a very awesome thing.

I also wanted to comment on a song that we have on our playlist. Natasha told me when she got on the blog, and heard Christmas music instead of, "Rescue" she was not happy. She really liked having "Rescue" as our opening song, and I agree with her. It is such an awesome song and expresses so much of what I feel, and what I want to feel toward God.

I want to share the lyrics, and also the band, with you. They're pretty neat.

You are the source of life
I can't be left behind
No one else will do
I will take hold of you

I need you, Jesus,
to come to my rescue
Where else can I go?
There's no other name
by which I am saved
Capture me with grace
I will follow you.

You are the source of life
I can't be left behind
No one else will do
I will take hold of you

'Cause I need you, Jesus,
to come to my rescue
Where else can I go?
There's no other name
by which I am saved
Capture me with grace

And I need you Jesus
to come to my rescue
Where else can I go?
There's no other name
by which I am saved
Capture me with grace
I will follow you.

I will follow you.
I will follow you.

This world has nothing for me.

I will follow you.

This world has nothing for me.

I will follow you.


And I need you Jesus
to come to my rescue
Where else can I go?
There's no other name
by which I am saved
Capture me with grace
Capture me with grace
Capture me with grace

I will follow you.

Don't you just love those lyrics? This world has nothing for me. Can you honestly say that? Can I honestly say that?? Do I love and treasure Jesus Christ so much that anything the world has to offer is nothing compared to Him?? I want so badly for that to be the cry of my heart.

In case you're wondering about the Desperation Band, here is a link for you to find out more about them. Their story and their ministry are really neat!!

Claudia's Weigh-In (not)

Here we are, Friday again, and -oops- I forgot to weigh! And I always weigh at the same time of the day, so I'm going to have to wait until tomorrow. Although, I did weigh 3 days ago, and I had gained that 3# back. : p

Natasha and I talked about how there may be weeks that we gain weight, or stay the same, but if we continue on the track that we're on, we will actually see progress. As D has always encourages us, it's not always the number on that scale that tells what's really going on. Yes, in the long run, if we are faithful to this committment, we will see our weight go down. But on a day-to-day and week-to-week basis, we may only notice other ways in which we are growing and changing.

For example, even though I gained weight this week again, I did exercise 4x. When we first started this blog, guess how many times a week I was exercising?? ZERO. And I really had no desire to. I honestly didn't think I ever would have a desire to, and didn't think I could work it into my schedule. So for about the first month, I just didn't even try. But finally, I made the committment to exercise twice a week, 10 min. each.

And now, I crave the exercise. If I don't exercise, I feel yuck. It's like I get an unsettled, antsy feeling if I don't exercise. And my goal is 3x a week, 20 min. each. Although, I will try to shoot for 4 when I can. So, that's an awesome improvement for me!

Also, my attitude was much better this week than last. For the last 2 weeks, I was just in such a slump. My attitude really stunk, and I just didn't feel like trying. I didn't write down what I was eating, and I had no desire to control myself.

This week, the first few days weren't so great, but as the week went on, I kept spending time with the Lord, offering myself to Him, repenting of my sin, and enjoying fellowship with Him. And my attitude got better! I started writing down my points again and made a conscious effort to control how much I ate.

So, I am just really thankful to the Lord for how He's helping me. And how I don't have to rely on the scale to gauge my progress and growth.

Praise the Lord!

~Claudia

Natasha Weigh in

God is great! I must remember that whenever I feel frustrated or upset. I did really well this week with my choices, eating, but did not exercise. I stayed the same this week. I did not gain or lose any weight..the same number appeared. My conclusion...exercise is so important. As Claudia lost three pounds (YEAH!!!), she faithfully did her exercise.

Exercise is so important for many reasons. It relieves stress for me. Raises your metabolism. Gain more muscle,which burns 50 % more calories, than fat pound for pound. Helps release endorphins which make me feel better. I feel that I make better choices when eating. I love to exercise, yet I do not make it a priority in my life.

This week, after a Christmas party, I went home slightly hungry. I then decided that I felt deprived a little and would eat more. But, then I was reminded that I wanted to treasure Christ more than eating. I wanted to feast on Him instead of empty calories. Instead of turning on the t.v., I opened His Word. As I did that, I felt His power and love. I felt comfort. I felt a victory over Satan and my flesh. I slept wonderfully that night. I woke up refreshed and ready to start the day. God has given me power. God gave me peace. He filled me with joy. Praise you Jesus!

Claudia's Weigh-In

I am really perplexed at how all this weight loss works. How can I gain 3 pounds one week, and lose 3 pounds the next? I didn't think I even did all that great, except for exercising. Does 3 days of exercising make that much difference?



Well, I'm not sure, but I sure am happy I lost that 3 I gained last week. It really motivates me to stick with the exercising each week.



I am so glad that I have Natasha to help me in this endeavour. She is such a great example to me. She has a lot of great testimonies of how God helped her to make good choices these last couple of weeks. Please share with us, Natasha!



"...sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace." Romans 6:12-14

My weigh in

Claudia and I seem to be on opposite weeks with our weigh loss. I lost the 6 pounds I had gained from last week, so I am back at the starting point. I am grateful for that weight loss, now I look forward to losing more. So, my prayer is that both Claudia and I will lose weight this week.

We made it through the one holiday. Now, we have the whole month of Christmas celebrations. I am asking for prayer on not to indulge on all those yummy treats that people will be bringing into my workplace.
I will also up my exercise time to help me with those extra calories. It will also help me to say no when I have just exercised. Doesn't that seem to work that way? Whenever I exercise faithfully, I seem to have more control.

Claudia doesn't know it yet, but she will here shortly..I am going to ask her to fast two days this month with me..Either two separate days or two in a row. What do you think of that? What are some suggestions that you may have?

I know that I am most thankful during this time that I have the support of Claudia and you who is reading this. Thank you!

Praise you Jesus!

Late Weigh-In Again

Sorry for my late weigh-in again! We didn't weight til Saturday this time. I was so dreading it. I knew I had gained weight. I could just feel it! I gained 3.

*SIGH*

I have got to get serious. I just got so lazy last week and took a break from my normal routine, partly so I could focus on cleaning and cooking for Thanksgiving.

So, I am praying, praying, praying that I will step it up this week by spending more time with the Lord, offering myself to Him every morning, by exercising THREE times this week (increasing it from 2 a week) and by just being more conscious of what I am eating and taking the time to write it all down and adding up the points.

I don't know what I would do if I didn't have the Lord. If I didn't have the security of knowing that He loves me and He accepts me no matter what, because of what Jesus has done for me. I would be in complete despair if I didn't have Him! Thank you, Lord.

Late Weigh-In

Hi Everyone! I am so sorry I haven't posted....my computer has been down! And it isn't even up yet; I am on the computer at my husband's office. So, now I am trying to get caught up. I am going to have to keep it short because I don't feel like being here all night on Saturday night! {not that I don't love blogging and sharing my life with you guys :O) }

Natasha and I weighed yesterday and I was so amazed. I was down 1 pound. I was sure I would be up a couple pounds because I cheated at the beginning of the week, and then stopped writing my points down at the end of the week. But, I did exercise twice as much as what my weekly goal is {yay!}. So, I was pleasantly surprised.

I need to do better this week, though. I want to lose 9 more by Christmas, and at this rate, it ain't gonna happen! So, 2 pounds this week. 2 pounds. 2 pounds. 2 pounds. 2 pounds.

Oh, sure. Lose 2 pounds during the week of Thanksgiving. Mmm-hmm. Sure.

Well, Natasha had a great little idea for us. She is well aware of her weaknesses and they're the same as mine. When it comes to Thanksgiving, we have a tendency to treat it as a "free" day and allow ourselves to pig out.

Well, seeing as pigging out (eating too much) is gluttony, and the Bible is clear that gluttony is a sin, and is usually held up at the same level as drunkenness, then there is never a time when it's okay to do it.

So, Natasha proposes a *great* plan (hear the sarcasm in my voice?). It went something like this:


Natasha: Why don't we fast on Wednesday?

Me: {straight face. no response}

Natasha: I just think it will help us on Thanksgiving.

Me: {straight face. no response}

Natasha: When we fasted the last time {24 hrs} I found that I was able to control myself better the next day.

Me: {straight face.} Mm hmm.

Natasha: Well, why don't you just pray about it. Maybe we could fast for 2 meals, lunch and dinner.

Me: Alrighty. I will pray about it and get back to you on that. {straight face still.}


In all seriousness, she's probably right. But, my problem is, we just fasted! It was only supposed to be once a month, and it's only been like 2 weeks. I told her we should have just waited until this Wednesday for our first time fasting together. But, I will probably end up doing it.

Fasting really is an awesome thing for me spiritually. So I know it will help alot and I probably won't pig out as bad on Thanksgiving, and just be thankful for the food God gives me to enjoy and to sustain my body. Thank you, Lord!

Weigh in

The last two days were wonderful. I had a great time supervising my niece's "dance" party. Not to mention all the exercise I got from running up and down stairs and just having fun with the kids.



I have not weighed in like Claudia has. Not because I am afraid of what will show, but because I want to wait until next Friday. The day, in my mind, that I am holding myself responsible to.



I had small victories this weekend. I kept myself focused on my relationships to others, not food. I spent time taking care of my body by exercising, not by eating. I prayed a lot. That is my saving grace in all of this. We have a God who wants to talk to us all the time. And boy, I can talk. But, it is great that He never gets tired or weary of that. It is comforting to know that I am not invisible to Him, like I feel sometimes in this world. As a heavy person, I do not feel heard or seen sometimes. God sees our heart.

Praise you Jesus!

Weigh-In Update

Today was Natasha's and my weigh-in day. I lost 2 pounds. I am pretty happy about that, needless to say. But, tonight, I feel yucky because I ate too many snacks while watching a movie with my family. My stomach is too full.

Whenever I'm eating healthy snacks, I feel like it's not a big deal to have take an extra bite here and an extra bite there. But then it ends up being too much.

I am on Weight Watchers, so I know what my point limit is. But it's just so hard when there's sort of a "party" atmosphere and I'm relaxed and having fun.

Here's where you're supposed to say, "That's no excuse!" That's what Natasha would say, right Natasha? I need to stick to my points if I'm going to continue to lose weight!

So, now I'll try to make up for it tomorrow by exercising! My goal for exercising is not a high and lofty goal....2 days/week, 15 min/day. Eventually I will increase that! But for now, it is easily attainable and I need to take "baby steps."

So, anyway, this is not any kind of an exciting post. Just a little update for you to know how I did today! Natasha can post tomorrow and let you know about her weigh-in and her night with her family at a birthday party.

She can also share with you this really awesome thing she read in the book about holiness that she's been reading. It was very convicting! But good.

Thanks to those of you who've been commenting! Natasha and I are soooo excited to have people reading and interacting! God bless, goodnight!!