Learning Every Day

This week is my learning week. I didn't realize how many calories a chocolate chip cookie was, I had to make hard decisions to accomplish getting to my caloric intake, and I did not work out as i wanted.  However, I realized I need to make time to work out.  30 minutes does not cut it for my body.  I need an hour of good solid workout.  30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of strength at the minimum to hit my rather high goal of 20 pounds.  However, the support I have received has been amazing! Now that I am beyond that dreaded red week, I have quickly found that during that time I will need a lot of support. I also figured out how to put a weight thingy on here! woot! The first one is going to be a gain because the last time I entered my weight on the system I had I was 240 which is not the case right now. :) Thanks for the support and I will keep you updated!

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Day 2 Project Weight Down

I stole the phrase "weight down" from when I tried to establish a weight loss system with my football team. It kind of tanked, but I will gladly take over the name!

Good news, today was a good day. I stayed within my 1500 calorie diet.  I did have a moment of weakness where I wanted nothing more than a large rootbeer and burger from Mcdonalds, but then I reminded myself that neither would help me with my goal and also I am so tight on money that it will take a miracle for me to pay all my bills.  Therefore, fear not, I conquered my craving, for now.

Had a bit of a let down moment when I only had time to a 20 minute workout video.  Not my favorite type of exercise, but it will do. Anyway, I could barely finish the workout which both frustrated and infuriated me. I am a strong girl, there is not reason I should struggle with something so simple! I realize it will get easier, but that does not make the realization of how bad I've gotten escape my notice. I think this just strengthens my resolve. 

I've posted a schedule.  Each day contains an event that must happen such as institute, temple days, etc, and when those events happen normally. I then work my workout schedule around those moments and try and make sure I stick with it. It isn't too rigorous and can move and flex as needed. As long as I have the workout each day I will call it my best effort.

Weight Loss Goal

I wish I could figure out how to put a thing on here to track my weight, but since I am not blog savvy you will all have to deal with my posts starting out about what I weigh. I realize that I shouldn't weigh myself everyday, but I may do it anyway because I am not good at being patient.

Current weight: 247
Goal: 237 by 10/28

I am hoping to be 227 pounds by November 5th. That's 20 pounds in two weeks folks!

I feel confident in my purpose, but I am also super nervous because I don't have a lot of money to do totally healthy food. I will have to go to the Bishop's Storehouse to do some service so I can possibly get some fresh veggies to put in my food. It will be all about portion size. I got a big slap in the face when I ate a .8 pound ribeye steak and found out it was almost 900 calories! However, it had to be eaten because it had been in my fridge for almost a week. Well, I guess it is a lesson learned. Brianne is super funny because she said "You will be hungry all the time" and she was right! I am doing a 1500 calorie diet (that obviously did not go well today) so I will basically be drinking a lot of water and trying to find healthy snacks that won't rack up the calories.

My reasons for this are obvious. I am overweight, very overweight and technically obese. I want to be married, and lets face it, no matter how awesome I am on a personality scale, they aren't going to see that beyond my physical appearance. Another reason is I want to is for my own well being. I am on my feet all day long and I need to be energetic enough to keep up with my students and the pace of teaching.  I will be honest and say that my energy wanes by the end of the day, but I know that if I lost weight I would have more energy in general.

My hopes are that this will overall improve my life. I have found a place in the world, I feel strong on my faith and my purposes, and I would absolutely love to be able to move forward with other aspects of my life and I am being held back by my weight. I want to experience things, but my habits stop me from experiencing things I want to experience, like sky diving or even the iFly thing in Ogden.

I hope I can remember that I need to be more powerful and strong than I have let myself be over the past year. I am better than I thought I would turn out and now it is time to put that confidence on the outside.

First Week of Teaching

I have never been so exhausted! Every day I am learning and growing so quickly.  I have a challenging Math group that consumes most of what energy I have and then I have the whole day to go forward and try and be enthusiastic. I am sure the teacher that shares the classroom with me is tied of hearing me mess up on doing things the way this school prefers me to do them, but I am to a point that I am uncertain what to do anymore.  Luckily, I have this wonderful support group in my administrators and my teaching coach.  I also realized that I need to set the law down now as I should have done at the first of the year. I hope that I will be able to put forth the disciplinary actions that are going to be the most helpful. 

That said, I am very exhausted on a physical and mental level.  I drink tons of water and laugh a ton.  My class is great with a few bumps, but we are learning together how to build ourselves to be a great class.  I think I have finally learned that at the beginning of school it is best to be just plain mean the first week or two weeks until  I feel that they can get things down.  I also feel like I have limitations because they support positive things, but there has to be a sense of authority and not just fun in the class for the kids to respond in the appropriate manner when the occasion calls for it.

I will just have to keep trying and hope my tired feeling will go away or ease so I can have energy to go through my day as normal as can be possible..

Falling

I recently had an experience where I have fallen.  Not literally, figuratively and spiritually. I have been fighting quite some time against urges that I thought I had beaten months ago.  Then he comes back.  The one man in my life who truly loved me for me.  With him came temptation so powerful I did not see it coming.  The next thing I knew, I was in a situation of regret and sorrow.  I feel so much shame because i knew that Satan was trying. I knew that he (Satan) was after me and instead of fortifying I thought I could control the situation.  I was grievously mistaken. I lost my way for such a brief moment, but that is all it took. I had had to find that not even for an instant can I let down my guard.  None of us can, we are much too precious to our Heavenly Father for him to lose. 

Through my fall, I realized that  Jesus Christ did more than just make my mistakes go away, he made it so that I could simply move on  and become the person I am supposed to become.  Forgiveness is not an easy thing to achieve, but I know they want me to be forgiven so I can continue on growing without  being burdened with sorrow and sadness.

I am not sure if I will beat the adversary in the end at this point, but I know that I have to rely on the tools given to me.  I must read, I must pray, I must always be vigilant in what I do and watch and say. Falling hurts, it more than hurts, it is excruciating.  Your soul feels empty, your mind goes blank, and all that can be thought is "What have I done?"

I encourage everyone reading to take heart. To know that Christ will save you, but you must make the choice.  You have to make an ultimate and final decision.

Just Another Day

Weak and exhausted I entered into this week. Trying to ride the euphoria that has claimed me over the past week, I realized that there has to be more to life than everything falling apart all at once. My adult literacy kid wanted to take our tutor/tuttee relationship to a friendship level if not more. I know this because he called me every day when he found out I broke up with Frank asking to go swimming or something else. Naturally I turned him down. I told him it would be extremely unprofessional of me, but in my head I was thinking, I do not want to deal with your drama. He has a hard life and a hard family to deal with and I wish that I could be more than just a teacher to him, but I know that I have to protect myself. I have gotten into that cycle before with people. They rely on me heavily and it drains me of all energy emotionally and physically. I told him that for the rest of the summer we should take a break from the tutoring. I hope he will understand eventually.

On top of this, my car broke down which is causing another great stress in my life. I cannot afford a new car and I am getting so tired of having to rely on my parents for the money to fix the cars.

The next thing that is going wrong is my motivation for my classes. Of course this all had to happen when I am starting a new class, so worn out and not ready I am trying to cram as much information into my head as I possibly can so I can take the first test and hope I at least get a C. I am relying heavily on the knowledge that I have accumulated over my college career and I hope that it will be enough to get me to the point where I can focus in again to my goals.

It is bewildering to me that such a thing can be so cataclysmic. I need to get out of this funk I am in at the moment and keep living! I have been trying to stay busy and active, but I just feel worn out and grouchy most of the time. I want to disappear and forget, but life does not allow for breaks. I have to go to work to pay my bills and I have to do my homework so I can live the life that I have been striving to live for almost five years now.

How much more can a person take? It is no wonder that my emotions are on high and I sleep all the time. I do not exercise because I simply do not want to and I do not feel like cleaning my house because I simply do not want to. This is so unfair to me because with him I was so motivated. He was my motivator. I wanted to do well because I knew that it would help us. Now I am struggling to find the reason besides for my own sanity. How wrong is this!! I should be doing it solely for me, but to me all I can see is a big life ahead of me and a potential career that will lead me to...what more solitude? I will have all this money but who will travel with me? My friends that are married or have significant others and kids? My friends who are still trying to discover what they want to do with their life? I hate the idea of going alone, but what choice do I have? I could go on a mission and then come back to what? A few years closer to being booted out to a family ward where my chances of finding the perfect one go from 50% to almost nill? Where is the glory in that?

I will live my life as I have been told by the Lord is the way I need to go for my own sake, but that does not mean that I cannot need for validation that everything will turn out alright. I will not be alone for the rest of my life living next door to my sisters and taking care of their kids. I cannot exist in a world where I am not good enough to get what I surely deserve. I will just have to keep working I guess and hope for the best. And try and put my doubts and fears aside. That is the best I can do.

New Beginnings

Over the past few days I have been in deep thought. I have had constant company and for the first time I had my house to myself. I slowly have weeded out his belongings and things I no longer have any interest in that I know he will appreciate. I will give them to him today for the sake of my sanity and to make that house solely mine. I hope he understands that I do not hold any bad grudges against him. I do not hate him, far from it. He is a good man, just not good enough for me.

It always amazes me how two people's lives can become so intertwined. I found things that I had forgotten about all over the place that were his, pajama pants, water bottles, hair brushes, soap, sweaters, even some alcohol that I no longer have interest in.

I am not afraid of the future, but very anxious to begin. I re-read my patriarchal blessing and realized that I am destined for some pretty awesome stuff. I hope I didn't miss the boat! I am sure God will reward me. As a matter of fact, he already has. I may have a broken heart, but I barely feel it. It is more like the outside rim of my heart hurts and the inside is so full of direction and purpose that there is no room for hurt.

As I move forward in my goal and purpose, I will strive to not make the same mistake twice (or a third time if you want to count Will.) I plan with everything I have in me to go for that eternal marriage, to find that someone who will fulfill my every wish, desire and hope. I will realize that loneliness is Satan's tool and that I will not let it get to me this time. I will fill my days with so much to-do that I will go home exhausted and on my days off I will rest and let my body unwind. I will use Sunday as a day of rest and try with all my might to focus on what is really important, myself and my salvation.