Good morning guys! How are y’all? I know I’m so glad it’s Wednesday…means I’m just that much closer to Friday!
Last night was so much fun at our community group! When we walked in we were instantly greeted by these amazing chocolate chewy cookies that Stephanie’s mom made. Don’t they look amazing?!?!
And a HUGE bowl of grapes! I love grapes. I am actually really picky about my fruit, and these were totally up to standard: nice and juicy and crisp!
When they pulled this tray of bread & butter out of the oven I knew I was in for a wonderful comforting dinner:
This is part of the surprise….
And I just liked this shot….
But before I go there, I ate a HUGE plate of speghetti and marinara! SO GOOD. It was exactly what I didn’t even know I wanted, too! By the way, I love regular spaghetti noodles so much more than thin spaghetti. Nate is of the mindset that thin spaghetti is better because it cooks faster and therefore gets into his stomach more quickly. However, I adore the texture of great al dente spaghetti noodles!
And the surprise thing I made? It’s a CHEESECAKE that I made using Ina’s recipe 🙂 I love Ina Garten, she’s by far my favorite Food Network gal!
Mmmmmmmmmm…perfectly creamy and wonderful with my strawberry jam on top!
Why the secret? Well, our friends Murphy and Lauren got engaged! The cheesecake was gonna be a surprise for her (Murphy told us her favorite dessert was cheesecake :)), so I didn’t want to spoil it by advertising on the blog. Their story is so awesome, and she even made a “ring” for him out of rope from New Zealand for when he proposed! She didn’t want him to be without an engagement ring too…how cute is that?!?!
We had a great time talking about marriage and just how our lives are going. I’m so thankful to have such a wonderful group of friends to live life with! It was a hard move from Dallas to Colorado, but thanks to our great friends we feel like we’ve been here forever!
I didn’t do a workout at all this morning because we got back really late last night and I knew my body just needed sleep. I’m planning on walking per usual this afternoon and then doing some 30-Day Shred tonight before dinner! Breakfast was an egg sandwich: whole wheat English muffin, 1 Tbsp goat cheese, Frank’s hot sauce, and 2 eggs:
We had time for me to take a picture with the puppers! I don’t usually straighten my hair, but I had time this morning, so I figured we better take a picture so it’ll last longer 😉
I love that Bunker blinked and Keira’s trying to attack the treat in Nate’s hand 🙂 I also had a mug of hot chocolate and coffee for a little pick-me-up!
SO, I’ve come up with a new page on my blog to document my month-ish long journey to fit into a pair of pants that I haven’t been able to fit into for a long time. I’ve termed this the “HPJ” aka “Healthy Pants Journey.” I 100% LOVE the “Size Healthy” mantra I’ve garnered from Angela at Oh She Glows, and have decided to use it to encourage myself in my next stage of weight loss. Since November 2009, which incidentally is when I learned about health blogging and started to do it, I’ve been going through the process of quitting fat-talk, listening to my body, and eating healthfully. I’ve definitely started to lose some of the weight, but I haven’t been working out consistently enough to really amp up the loss. My biggest goal through all of this is to beat my disordered eating habits once and for all and live my healthiest life possible. I mean, I’m only 26 for crying out loud! However, the next goal is to feel comfortable in my body, something that I’ve never felt, but I know I’m on the road to getting there now.
Let me emphasize that this is not about my size. I could care less if I ever fit into those pants again; however, I do know that the weight I’m currently at is not a healthy one for me physically or mentally. I do know that I can live a healthier, happier life and I can fit into my size healthy pants. And so, I’m going to be documenting my workouts on the HPJ page to hold myself accountable and to show myself that this is something I CAN DO. I can beat this disorder; we all can!
What do you consider your healthy size? Do you measure it with a number or with a feeling? Do you count calories or listen to your body? I’m going to need all the cheering I can get! Like I said, I WILL beat this and I WILL be happy! Life is too short and I am too blessed to not do that 🙂
Is answering both cheating? I’m excited to witness your journey. I judge by the scale and by my clothing size. It depends which one is being nicer to me!
I can definitely relate to you– while I love the “size healthy” idea, I’m still not at my ideal size (one size smaller than I am right now), the size that I’ve always considered to be my “happy size.”
Can’t wait to follow along on HPJ!
Hi! What a great idea with the new page. Congrats to you for taking on such a large challenge and nailing it so far. Keep at it and showing me that its possible!
Your idea sounds awesome. I can’t wait to see how this goes for you.
I listen to my body and while it took some ups and downs of clearing out the difference between my body and my mind, it has been an amazing process.
I love your attitude and mindset! That picture of you and the dogs is ADORABLE! (you are gorgeous byt the way!!)
As for your questions…I gave my “health” by my clothes. I don’t really care about the number on the scale but rather I like knowing that I fit in my clothes and feel good in them! I don’t count calories because it makes food and eating not fun for me. I would rather enjoy food. But that is just me…you should do whatever works for you! 🙂
Last thing…promise…I am sad you recently moved from Dallas because I am in Austin and my inlaws are in Dallas…I would have loved to meet you! 🙁
aw, don’t worry! i’ll be there again since we still have a ton of family there!
I agree, good mindset, but of course as we all know it can be a tough journey!
I don’t count calories (as of november) and it has been the greatest thing EVER. I used to spend WAY too much time figuring out what would fit into my allotted calories for the day and now I still east breakfast, lunch, and dinner with an afternoon snack and evening dessert but I don’t worry about the calories, I just try to make good choices.
I know you can do it girl!!
Oh and I do still weigh myself, but I just use it as a gauge, I honestly don’t change my diet when I go up or down. I guess I’m just still curious.
Great job girl – with your mindset, you will definitely succeed! 🙂
And your cheesecake looks delish.
This is a great post! I know you will succeed, I have no doubt in my mind, I’ve always known that you will but its just a matter of YOU knowing that YOU will, and now the fun part begins! I love you, and I measure my health by (i know this is gross) but by my poop, how clear my skin is, my energy levels, and how I feel…mentally and spiritually.
Your attitude ROCKS : )
I still do weigh myself but the number does not matter to me anymore. It used to dictate my mood, my day, how I felt about myself.
I don’t know why I even do it anymore? Actually I do, because NOTHING is OFF limits to me – not food, not the scale, not anything. If I feel like weighing then I do.
If I FEEL bad, I notice. If I FEEL good I notice – and love it! It is ALL about how I feel for me!
Great images indeed, and your 30-day journey is a very achievable goal. My dear wife and I like to walk outdoors daily, but get relegated to indoor treadmills in the winter. Looking forward to spring soon.
CCR
=:~)
Girl, I just wanted to say that you are absolutely gorgeous!!! And I love your attitude. You can beat it!! For sure!! Ending fat talk and listening to my body is a BIG thing that I have gained from blogging. Those things DO matter. It’s all about being healthy.
Even with my struggles with ED, i know that I am at a healthy size now and I do try to listen to my body, first and foremost. I don’t count calories because it’s not good for me.
P.S. Your dinner last night… amazing. Involving some of my most favorite foods.. love pasta with marinara, especially spaghetti. I know pasta is pasta but I think spaghetti tastes better lol and grapes.. LOVE them. They are addicting. Ina is one of my favorites too. Everything I have ever made of hers is outstanding!
I LOVE your idea Heather! And your attitude!!
Being healthy is all about how we feel, not a number or a size.
I don’t count calories, I truly listen to my body. It’s the most freeing feeling. I don’t weigh myself, but go with how my clothes feel.
I can’t wait to follow you on your journey!
I consider the size I am right now to be my feel good size. I have been smaller, but it was hard to maintain and I felt like I had to constantly watching what I ate, so even though I looked good, I felt miserable. I’m wearing one size up from that now and I feel GOOD! I can do the things I want to do, wear the clothes I want to wear, kill my old half marathon times, and not watch every bite I put into my mouth! It’s taken me awhile to get to this place, but it was definitely worth the journey.
I am so glad I found your blog! It sounds like we are going through similar journeys right now. I, too, am working towards better health- particularly mentally, in terms of the way I see my body. I’m looking forward to following HPJ!