Starting Over

I feel like I have been super unproductive in this last week and a half. I worked out, but not anything that really impacted me. I ate pretty decent because I still lost some weight, but it was food that wasn't especially healthy, just maybe less calories. After this last week and a half I was left feeling average. I wasn't super excited about the workout, and I was losing some of the excitement of becoming fit. Last night I got the inspiration to change a lot of my "routine." I decided to re-evaluate my priorities. I kind of got caught up on a situation that I wasn't benefiting from, so I got rid of it. This really jump started my plan for the coming days up until my goal date of Christmas break. 

As of today, I am starting a meal plan. I had just been eating healthy and smaller portions, but I got a meal plan from a trainer a while back and I am going to stick to it. I really want to challenge myself to eat these healthy options because I do not want to plateau, and if anything I need to work harder than ever right now. I have also found an at home workout routine that challenges me, leaves me feeling it, and is fun! Along with these two things, I will be running with my best friend for sure on the days I do not do my workout, and possibly more. 

In the faith aspect of my life, the situation I decided to leave behind has given me a new sense of freedom. I hadn't really devoted as much time to my walk with God as I should of been and after this past weekend, God really opened my eyes to that. I need to continue to focus on the woman I can become if I follow him. The motto from this weekend I got was "There Is Freedom In Obedience." 

I feel like this applies to my walk with God in the sense that if I am obeying him, I will have freedom in my walk and no situation can hold me back from receiving God's blessings. Also, in the fitness aspect, I will have a freedom of not letting food, or a negative body image control me if I am "obeying" a healthy lifestyle. 

So, all of that to say that I feel like this is a mini "starting over" for where I am going with my fitness and faith. It is never too late to start anew and reevaluate goals. You can always make positive changes at any stage of your journey!  

Link to my Workout Plan

Also, here is the meal plan I am going to be following! 

Protein Options:

·      Ground turkey

·      Ground chicken

·      Boneless/skinless chicken breast

·      Tuna

·      Mahi mahi

·      Cod- Tilapia

·      Orange Roughy

·      Halibut

·      Steelhead trout

·      Salmon

Veggies:

·      Peas

·      Broccoli

·      Green Beans

·      Mixed Salad

Carbs:

·      Brown Rice

·      Oatmeal

·      Sweet potato

·      Quinoa

Meal One:

o   ¼ cup of oatmeal or oat bran; 4 egg whites and 1 or 2 yolks

Meal Two:

o   Protein shake and 1 or 2 tsp peanut butter or protein shake and 10 almonds

Meal Three:

o   (2 days a week, add ¼ cup of carbs); 4 oz. white meat and 1 cup of green veggies.

Meal Four:

o   Protein shake and 1 or 2 tbsp almond or peanut butter

Meal Five:

o   6 oz. fish and 1 cup of veggies and 1 tbsp peanut butter for dessert 

Expect Blessings

Right before I was about to start typing this post, I realized that I hadn't read my devotional for today. So, I pulled it up on my phone and began. The main idea was to expect God to bless you. If we are living for him, we should expect to see results of our living out for him. Tonight I realized that in a spiritual way, and in a fitness aspect also.

These past two weeks have been so busy! There have been a great amount of ups, and then several things that I let myself stress over. So, for the most part its been great. I have had a blast with friends, started with my volleyball team, and had several great runs and workouts.

This week was probably the hardest in comparison to last. I had a ton of tests and homework due, some  things that my friends needed help with, and just a negative feeling about my progress of weight loss. Honestly, for some reason I could not get rid of two ounces on my weight to get into the next lower range. It was driving me crazy! Everyday, the two would still be there. Well, this morning when I woke up, I got on the scale and much to my surprise the two was GONE! I was so happy. It just made me realize that my efforts this week to eat right had paid off. That's the most I was expecting to come out of this week since it is basically now Saturday.

I was wrong. I came back home today from college for the weekend. I will not lie, I have too many clothes so several items that I do not wear as much, or haven't worn in ages are still in my closet. I got curious tonight to see how things in there fit. I tried on every single pair of pants hanging in my closet, and they were all too big! The jeans, white pants, khakis, and slacks all literally could be pulled off without touching the buttons or zippers. I was not expecting this at all. I needed this to continue to motivate me. This was a little blessing in disguise. I really needed this after these two crazy weeks.

God is so faithful to meet us exactly where we need him. He knew I needed a spiritual pick me up, as well as an emotional one about my fitness journey. I got both from a simple devotion and trying on forgotten pairs of pants. I love how he continues to work through my life to cause me to fall more in love with Him, as well as the woman I am becoming!

So words of wisdom: Expect God to bless you, and come in and meet you exactly where you need to be met. He will never fail us.

Have a great weekend everyone! Never give up, and always give it to Him!

With love,
Allison

Busy Week Workout

Well, I am glad that I wrote that previous post because I really needed to read that again. I guess it is a good thing when you can take your own advice? Anyways, for some reason today I have not felt that great and it has made me not feel that great when it comes to my body. Just kind of a stressful day. But here is the thing: Everyone has days like these! I'm using it to keep me grounded. To motivate me. To cause me to realize that this is a journey, not something that happens overnight. 

I have been doing great with my goal of putting aside my paycheck. It's pretty exciting to have something to look forward to, and it makes me feel good knowing I am being responsible, not only with my money, but with my body as well. I am the one who makes the decisions that effect my image, so making/planning to make wise ones is a really accomplished feeling. 

I have a lot to do this week, and I know that getting a workout will be a little more difficult. Since this is my circumstance for the week, I decided to try something to see if it helps me out. Being so busy, sometimes I get distracted and forget about working out. Or I contemplate too long on what to do, or when to do it. In order to combat this, I decided to find a workout plan for the week! Prevention magazine's website has some awesome stuff, and I found this workout while browsing one day. For this week, I will be following their Flat Belly workout. I cannot find the actual article on their site again, so for anyone interested I'm posting the plan here! 

Workouts:

Ab workouts: 

 1. Hipless Crunch- lie on back with legs lifted and bend, calves parallel to the floor, and feet relaxed. Cross arms over chest. Contract abdominal muscles and left head, shoulders and upper back about 30 degrees off the floor. 
Avg: 25 reps

2. No-Hand Reverse Crunch- lie face-up with arms overhead and hands grasping a heavy piece of furniture or dealing. Raise feet into the air with legs bent. Contract abs, press back into the floor, and lift hips off the floor. 
Avg: 21 reps 

3. V Crunch- balance on tailbone with legs bent, feet off floor, and arms bent at sides. Make sure back is straight and chest is lifted. Lean back and extend arms and legs, then pull back to start position. 
Avg: 11 reps 

4. Side Plank- lie on right side, elbow beneath shoulder, feet stacked, left hand on hip. Contract abs to left hip and leg off floor. Do 3 sets before switching sides. 
Avg: 19 seconds per side for each set. 

Do 3 sets of each of these 4 exercises. 

Cardio Workouts: 

Do 30-40 minutes of cardio, such as brisk walking, swimming, jogging, or bike riding. 

Workout Schedule: 

Monday- Abs and cardio

Tuesday- cardio

Wednesday- rest

Thursday- abs and cardio

Friday- rest

Saturday- abs and cardio

Sunday- cardio 

Of course, while doing this workout, you should be maintaining a healthy diet as well. They claim that if you are maintaing a healthy diet, and doing this workout you should see results of up to a loss of 4 lbs and 3 inches! I'm ready to see if they are right! 

I hope everyone has a great week, and can stay positive about whatever is going on in life right now! 

Getting Off (the) Track

I have found myself super busy these past two weeks. Most of it has been my own doing, with some school projects and work thrown in there. Confession: I did not run at all last week. I was also supposed to go last night. I didn't do either of those. It's been really getting me down because I am not making time for it myself. I guess just lacking motivation. I'm trying to change that this week though. I AM going running at the track tonight. I don't care how late it is, I will be there. 

With our busy lives, I feel like it is so easy for us to get off track. Literally in the case of running, off of the track. It's something that I want to really work on. Having a set schedule can be such an important asset to us. No last minute decisions, no rushing to get things done. I can guarantee that for the rest of your life if you possess the ability to have great time management, you will prosper in some way or another. 

So.. my other main thought about getting off track. As of yesterday, I reached my first weight loss goal!! I lost 10% of my starting body weight! I was actually more in awe than anything. I feel like I always read about girls doing that, or saw it pinned a million times on Pinterest. To actually say that I am one of those people really makes me proud. Here is where I am concerned. I HAVE TO KEEP GOING. I still need to lose more weight to achieve the body type that I want. I am way closer, but I would like to shed some more. I also want to get more toned. I was very athletic in high school, and I still am, so I am lucky that I do have muscle tone. However, I want to be in top fitness shape. Not just average shape. I am so scared that I will reach a plateau, or lose motivation. To avoid this I am doing the fitness plan I mentioned in the previous post, as well as some tips I came up with today. 

Here is my plan to keep going! 

I want to lose about 20 more pounds by December. I have weekly weight goals set. If I reach that amount each week, I am putting a little from my paycheck into an account I have set aside for this purpose. My ultimate plan is to have lost the weight and saved up the money so that in December when I go home for Christmas I can use my money and go workout with a personal trainer at a bootcamp place in my home town. I want to have the weight off so I can focus mostly on building muscle tone! I wrote this plan down and have it in my room where I can see it. Also, I have a before picture, my middle picture, and a picture of a body type I admire. Since I don't want anyone to see these pictures, I posted them in a notebook that I use to write devotionals in. I am going to try and look at that every day so I can visualize my after picture! 

I am really excited to be starting this second part of my journey. If there is one thing I want people to understand is this: LOSING WEIGHT IS POSSIBLE. You can do it, but it takes dedication. Accomplishing goals that you have set out is the best feeling in the world though. It is so worth it. So never give up! 

Don't Get Too Far Ahead

So the other night I found myself really frustrated over a situation. What do I do? I decide to go running and clear my head. Sounds like a good idea right? Wrong. I was so mad that I basically got out of my car and off I went. Running as fast as I could. Let me make this clear, I AM NOT a runner. In no way have I conditioned myself enough to keep this pace. I was running too fast, and too hard. This resulted in shin splints and me coughing like crazy. So overall, not a good idea. If I had kept my normal pace, and not run like my life depended on it, I would have been fine. If I would have waited a little bit to calm down, I would have been fine. If I would have prayed to God first instead of calling a friend to complain about it, I wouldn't have been as mad and felt the need to take it out on the track. 

The next devotional I have, I find these two phrases: "Don't run ahead of me or try to fly before your plans are complete. Your strength will fail you, and your dreams will wither away." Hmm once again this matched up with my fitness goals. I shouldn't have tried to run like I was some track star. My strength did fail me and I did not look at what God's plan might have been in that situation. However, now I know. I think it just took me running like there was no tomorrow to figure it out. 

So the moral of the story: Running can be great to do to clear your head; I've done that many times before. Just be careful that you aren't going to overdo it in the process. 

On a side note, I am in a Wellness class and we have to create a behavior change contract. I am actually really looking forward to it. My goal is to do some sort of exercise each day of the week. So to workout at least 7x's a week. One day I might have a really hard workout, and then the next I'll just make sure I do Pilates or some sort of ab workout. Or even to just go on a walk. I just want to be active every day. We had to make short term goals with rewards, so I am going to post them on here to make myself more accountable! It sounds like a good idea to me, if anyone else wants to try it! 

Last thing, I have officially lost 21 lbs!!! Super excited! I just have to keep going at it. I don't want to stop anytime soon. :) 

Short Term Goals: 
1) Workout 3x's a week- September 27, 2012. Reward- a new water bottle
2) Workout 5x's a week- October 18, 2012. Reward- a pair of nike shorts
3) Workout 7x's a week- November 15, 2012. Reward- a nike pullover 

When I have kept up this goal, on December 13, 2012, I am buying myself a new pair of running shoes I have been wanting! I will definitely post pictures of them, and my other rewards. Wish me luck!  

Run to Win

"Remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize.  You must also run in such a way that you will win." 1 Corinthians 9:24 

So, upon reading this verse, my first thought was, "hmm yea God isn't really giving me training advice on how to run a 10k," but it really did speak to me concerning my spiritual walk. We must run in a way that we will win. To me, it means that you have to set yourself up for success and not failure. Whether it be avoiding situations that would cause you to stumble, or even reminding yourself just to have a positive attitude. Our walk is something that we have to strive to excel in daily. 

The verse went along with a devotion that I read the other night. It comes from the book "His Princess" by Sheri Rose Shepherd. (I HIGHLY recommend reading it!) The subject of the devotion was about our desire to please God and how we can become burdened by circumstances around us, but that God's grace will lighten our steps if we just let go of our troubles. 

It's awesome how God relates his messages to us in everyday life. This excerpt stuck out to me because literally, running is the only physical activity I have been able to do for the past week and a half! I have made plans to go to the gym, and they fall through. I have made plans to workout at my house, and I end up forgetting or needing to do something else. I even made plans to go on a walk with a friend and that ended up not happening. Needless to say, this all stressed me out. But, three nights this week I have been able to go on night runs with my best friend! So the devotion focusing on running just really made me smile. It made me realize that I was already running, which is a good exercise, and that I needed to let what was stressing me out go! I gave it to God and have been using my running time to focus on running for Christ too. Shepherd quotes, "Make it your daily passion to run with Me(Christ), and I will carry you over the finish line of your faith." I'm also counting on God to carry me over the finish line of my physical goals! 

Random facts about my running routine! 

1. I love to go running on the track at night. I feel less self conscious because it is dark, and there aren't as many people. 
2. I don't go running at night by myself, even if it is on campus and well lit. I'd prefer to be safe. 
3. Music is a must have when I run. 
4. I have found that the spandex material capri type pants are much more comfy to run in because they never "ride up."
5. Recently, I have been able to run two straight miles. 
6. No matter the distance, I always feel accomplished after my run. 
7. Breathing through your nose= no stitch in your side. 
8. I hate carrying a water bottle, so I drink a lot about 30 mins before, and then have a bottle waiting in the car. 
9. I like a steady pace better than just trying to do it in a short amount of time. 
10. Sprinting at the end always makes me feel like I finished strong. 

Behind the Scenes

Why the title "Fit for Faith?" How does fitness and faith in God connect? Well honestly, I had never made that connection until this summer.  It did not start with fitness either, because I was by no means in shape (and I'm still working on it!)  My motto fit for faith came at the end of my sophomore year in college, right at the beginning of summer. 

I literally went through so much my second semester of my sophomore year of college, I don't really know how I didn't break. Anything horrible that you might assume would happen, happened. Everything from ending a year and a half relationship, to three deaths in my family, to falling out with friends. I wish I could say that I am exaggerating, but I'm not. I found myself at the end of the year, wondering what on Earth happened to my life in that time span. I had somewhat relied on God, but not as much as I should have. I found myself not feeling good enough at all for several reasons. 

I finally came to a point where I really realized that everything that had happened to me in my life, including all those experiences the past semester, made me who I am. I realized that God had let everything happen to me for a reason. Any doubts about myself, or my life that I had ever had were washed away. I realized that I AM WORTH IT to Him, and that I am "Fit for Faith." God has given me so much to be thankful for, and I owe Him every bit of faith that I have. If I didn't have my faith in God, I don't know where I would be. 

So that is a small overview of where the Faith part came from. Now for for the Fitness part of the "Fit." After I got my spiritual walk back on track, I looked at myself in the mirror and realized that I was by no means in good shape. I had let myself go the past semester due to stress, and constantly being busy with school and life in general. I had not made fitness a top priority. God tells us that we should honor him with our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and I had not been doing that. If I'm being honest, that was not the first reason I wanted to get in shape. It was because I was literally fat. I would never label anyone else as this, but I feel like its ok to say that about myself. It was ridiculous how awful I felt about myself. I started to get serious about losing the weight, and then realized that I could make this into something to glorify God also. So that's what I did. 

I got the inspiration to write this blog, to maybe help others see that you can connect these two things. Also, if no one reads this, it helps me get my thoughts out, and that is all that matters! I wanted to start now because I am still in the middle of my journey. As of right now, I have lost about 17 pounds and I am about to start measuring inches. I just joined a gym back in the town I go to school in, and I have a running partner as well. So far this week we have racked up six miles, which is great for me because I have not run all summer. 

The point is, I want to continue on this journey and document what I'm feeling, what fitness steps I'm taking, and how God is directing this all. This blog is going to be about my life, and how I am bettering it step by step! I am so excited to see how God uses me in this stage of life!