Dr. Weil's Anti-Inflammatory diet.....

Interesting......

As you can see, I am searching for what is right for me. Lots to read, the main two things I am questioning are wheat and dairy. I like his food pyramid however.  A good mix of foods I think.



http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02012/anti-inflammatory-diet

Change in diet?

Here is my red quinoa and oat bran with apple and flaxseeds....






I am sitting here this morning reading through a few books I read last year when I drastically changed my diet. I loved the principle of clean eating but I longed for something more. The Vegan lifestyle was good for me last year, not sure if I will go full Vegan again as we eat so much fish, but I am enjoying relearning so many wonderful principles taught in these fine books!

Eat for Health, Eat to Live, You are what you eat and Slim for Life.......

Which is most important to you. Be honest. To be on a diet that will help you lose weight and lean out or one that will help you be healthy and live longer, disease free. For me, the first half of 2011 it was all about health. Raw foods, Vegan...etc...the second half of the year it was more about leaning out through eating lean proteins. I stopped eating beans and wheat as they were bloating me. But was that the best thing? Not sure. I am still searching.......

Which is best. Clean eating with lean meats and dairy or Vegan, or Vegetarian, Macrobiotic, Totally Raw Vegan, Paleo......who knows. I am reading all I can and yet the more I read the more confused I become. Remember, I am not in search of what will make me lose weight, I am past that. I am looking for longevity......

Thoughts? What is your style of eating and why. So many seems to have positives and negatives......


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Snowy morning.

There is a snow storm here and I have to admit, I am loving it!!! It reminds me so much of our years in Siberia. I am a snow girl for sure. Much prefer this weather to a hot Texas summer!

We are curled up in the house staying warm but I will try and step out later and get some more photos. We are organizing clothes today and watching White Christmas once again :) with some Mary Poppins thrown in there of course....it is my daughters favorite!

This weekend we are heading back to Ikea and other stores to look for rugs, lamps etc....cannot wait to finally feel organized and fully moved in. Soon!!!!

Blessings!

Here is my Coconut Oolong and Teavana weight to go blend.

We are here in our new home!

We are finally in our new home here in Norway and could not be happier! The house itself is wonderful and the view alone makes you want to be here forever....though we would miss our family like crazy :) I am going to try and write as much as I can soon, though my online time I feel is about to decrease significantly. To be honest, there is just so much to do here! But I will still blog my daily workouts and so on.

The movers came yesterday and unloaded our shipment from the US and now it is time to organize and set up everything like we want. It is going slow but it is fun. The home is on 3 levels and so I am getting my workout moving things from each floor in addition to loading items around the back staircase that takes you to the laundry room. I am choosing to see this as my workout time since I am so busy this week. I will take a moment later to get in some pushups and such but for now, I am beat with just everything we are doing. I do need to run however - BAD! I feel as if my mind is truly going to explode if I can not get out there and burn off some serious calories.

This morning was a good one.....started off with my Vitamineral Green, 1/2 of a grapefruit and some TVP with Chia seeds.  I will get in a good Vega shake later on and then for dinner we are having a raw salad with Salmon.

I feel so blessed we were able to find this place and that we can live here for our time in Norway.

I am sitting here blogging listening to Sigma from Secret Garden and looking out at the beauty that is all around me............I feel such a wonderful sense of peace right now.  This is a view from our couch in the living room......I just love it!

Thank you Lord for this beautiful morning and this gift that is my life. To serve you, to honor you and to make the most of this time.......

February Challenge!

This will most likely be the shortest blog I have posted in some time but I am very busy getting ready for the move which is Wednesday.  I did want to post my goals and such for the next month to ensure I stay on track.

Goals for February.....

1. Run/Walk and Bike - 100 miles
2. Complete -  2,000 pushups
3. ST - 3 days a week

No weight loss goals this month, just measuring and running. The way I like it best :)

Short and sweet......there you have it! February is all about RUNNING those hills here in Norway! So excited!

Stay the course.......blessings!

Time to Rise and Shine!!

Good Morning All.....

Time to brush off what happened yesterday and look forward to the goals and dreams we have set for ourselves! It will not be easy but we MUST give this life our all.......

I am warning you, I will probably post this photo about 1,000 times this year as it is SO TRUE! I have lived every word.....love it so much!!


Happy, happy Thursday!! : ) It is another dark morning here in Norway...but all smiles in my heart!  I find myself still trying to get used to the dark mornings. It reminds me of when we were living in Russia except with the darkness came unbelievably cold temperatures!! I am trying to figure out the best time for me to get my runs in once we move to the house this next week. I was thinking I could do it in the early mornings but I know my husband needs to head out to work and one of us needs to be with Kayla.  During the day if the weather is ok then I could always go outside with her in the BOB.  I am thinking more and more that we should get a treadmill here. We did not bring the one we had from the US as we would need a transformer. I guess once we are in the house we will get everything sorted out.

I am also looking at getting back to a few workouts which brought me not only great joy but great results while living in Russia. I just downloaded Cathe Drill Max from her site as my dvd is so scratched up. I used it SO VERY much the 3 years we were living there. I was happy to see you can get the downloads from her site then through the apple TV we can stream them in the house. Thank you once again Apple.....we will not even go there as we are HUGE fans......I digress, I am so excited about getting back to my routine. Somedays I feel like I am going to explode if I do not run soon. I miss it so very much.

In terms of my weight, all is well. At least I think so :) I have not weighed in FOREVER. I am staying away from the scale for now and just measuring until my next challenge. So far I am doing good. I lost a bit more in my hips, though it was not planned. My lower body always leans our far faster than my belly. So for now, I am making sure I get in whatever workouts I can throughout the day to stay on track and that I watch my foods carefully. I am proud that I did not lose control during all of this, it would have been so easy to go nuts and off track, but that is worse thing that could happen, I MUST stay the course. Now,  I have allowed myself a few treats :) There is a place here called Wayne's Coffee and I am telling you now, for the record, they have these oatmeal scones that are simply put....AMAZING! I have never had scones quiet like this. Fortunately, they are not served with clotted cream and such as in the UK.......now I say fortunately as in the UK it is so good and that would be so bad for me ;) The scones here are served with raspberry preserves and cream cheese or plain, with honey as I like it!   How on earth did this become a scone blog? Can you tell I am hungry :) Anyways, lets get back on track about fitness and such.........

I look forward to my next challenge which I am starting February 1st. I was originally going to make the challenge for 12 weeks but now I think I am going to back to the month by month format as to be honest, it works really well for me. Some may be different but for me, 30 days at a time allows me to stay focused, motivated and excited, then after the 4 weeks is over, a new journey begins! I love it.

So, be looking for my February 1st challenge! I will post all the details in the next few days. I have to think of a clever name first : )

So today's goals are simple....get to feeling better...still stuffy and coughing..... eat well, drink my water and ACV regularly, and complete a light workout....total body pilates, light ST and core work.

I am now off to pack up the suitcases and prepare for our move on Wednesday! I know it is several days away, but I cannot wait :)

REACH HIGH!!! Make it a great day......

My heart felt thanks, workout for today and thoughts regarding it all.......

I posted earlier this week a thank you on Sparkpeople and I wanted to make sure to tell each of you who commented on my before and after blog just how powerful your support it to me. I was overwhelmed by the encouraging words given from you. Thank you for opening your hearts to me and sharing how I have helped you.  It is still somewhat hard for me to comprehend how my story can affect others in a positive way, for I guess I still see myself as a Mom who is still reaching and striving for great things. I do not have all the answers.  I did not do anything different than so many others who have lost a great deal of weight. I just gave it my all, day in and day out........I kept pressing on. When I was discouraged, I kept pressing on. When the scale was stuck for days....weeks even, I kept pressing on. The core of my story, my journey is really as simple as consistency.

There are times I sit back and read emails from strangers and think that I am scared to have my story out there as it is. What if I fail? What if I let down all of these people writing me for support? What do I say to help them? I am just me, Jen, a very flaued human being who is still trying to figure it all out myself. It is scary at times, but I do feel that if I can be brave, be strong and share my journey....the pitfalls, the high points, the good and the bad, then maybe someone else can relate.

I always want to be sure that I give credit where it belongs, to my Heavenly Father who has guided me through valleys, held my hand through struggles and who is the reason I am here today, standing before you a new creation in Him, for it is my spiritual journey that is the greatest transformation I have made. He has truly blessed my life in such a beautiful way. This past year alone my relationship with Him has grown in ways I never dreamed. I see things.....everything differently. I always want to have an open heart to receive all His plans, whatever they may be. I used to be scared to talk about Christ on my blogs. What if I offend someone? What if they think I am trying to convert all who read my blog? Now, I share my heart, my life and what God has done for me. It is my story, it is the core of who I am and I will never be ashamed of the one who set me free, the one who delivered me, and who holds my life in His hands. I do not know where my journey is going to take me this next year, but I do know who holds my future and it brings me such a peace. I cannot tell you the amazing peace that God provides when we lean on Him and His everlasting word, it truly comforts my heart and spirit like nothing this world can provide.

Thank you for letting me share my life with you.......

Now for today's workout report!!! I am still a bit under the weather so we are staying inside yet again today. My workout was light but effective! My muscles are feeling it :)

Military Pushups - 50 reps
Sumo Squats - 50 reps
T-planks - 50 reps
Dips - 4 sets of 30 reps
Firewalkers using Cathe blue FW band - 2 sets of 50 reps
Squats - 3 sets of 20 reps
Bicep curls with p90x maroon bands - 4 sets of 20 reps

I am going to try and do a few more pushups before it is all said and done, but we will see! I am also going to start posting a link to my nutrition page from Sparkpeople. Here you can see what I am eating and such. I used to type out everything but this is faster. Here is a link to my foods from yesterday........

Jan 24th Nutrition and Fitness Results

I have logged my foods for today, but have not logged dinner so the Jan 25th log is incomplete as of now.....

I pray your day is truly blessed and that you reach ALL your goals! It is hard to believe that Jan is coming to a close. Let's work hard to make the most of it!!!!! Thank you again for ALL your support!

The hardest blog I have had to post, on a very, very, special day. Happy birthday my love. This is for you.........

I am sitting here as nervous as can be knowing that these photos will soon become public. I have kept private for so many years now these images, just a few that remain of my days when I let myself go and became a person I do not recognize. Most of the photos I deleted. I begged my husband to get rid of them as I hated seeing them. We have years and years of our marriage that was not documented because I did not want photos of me. I regret this more than you know. But now is not the time for regret, but rather rejoicing!!

Today, January 19th is my husband's 36th birthday. I wanted to get him something special to commemorate his first birthday here in Norway but I could not think of anything. I shopped and looked around, yes, I found jackets, sweaters and such over here but he already has so many of these things and it was not want I wanted.  So for today, I celebrate you. I celebrate the man you are, the man God has blessed me with. Since we met back in 1998, you have changed my life.  I know you feel at times shocked at how you did not see just how far gone I was with my weight. Last night as we viewed my photos, I noticed the look on your face. It was as if you were looking at a stranger, in many ways, you were. It was your love for me that blinded you....blinded us both. I want to thank you for your devotion to me all these years. Your love, your support. Remember all the funny things I used to do trying to lose the weight? Remember the seas weed soap? I must have rubbed my thighs raw thinking that this soap would magically cure of me of my weight problem. Forget the fact that I was stuffing my face with food, the soap would work!!! I tried everything under the sun and it was not until we moved to Russia that for once in my weight loss journey everything CLICKED! You were there beside me through tears of joy seeing the scale going down, you were there helping me measure my body fat with the calipers, counting my pushups in P90X, making charts to help me track my progress, listening to me pour my heart out to you as I felt so lost, so worried I would not be able to lose the weight. You were there when I first posted my before photo on Sparkpeople and the journey began. You were there........you were there........you were there.......every step along the way. I could not have done this without you. Thank you for your support, your commitment to me. Thank you for every green drink you toasted with me, every crazy phase of my weight loss, for every plateau we had to break through.........everything.

So after years and years of hiding, I am posting these before and after photos for you! The journey is not over! I guess you could say, we have only just begun :)

Happy Birthday My Love.

Then and Now.....The journey that has made me who I am today.

This photo was taken December 2005, compared to December 2011.

This before and after is 2006 vs 2011 

Trading in frumpy plus size clothes for new running clothes!!! 

I remember in 2006 when we were living in Russia, after seeing my before photos in Paris...and a bad highlight job, I changed my hair color. I think I was trying to mask over the pain and be someone else. It was a struggle to see myself in the mirror each and ever day. 2006 vs 2011 

These two jacket before and afters are a comparison of Jan 2006 vs 2011. In the before photo I was wearing a mens jacket. I tried to get a good winter coat for Russia but nothing fit me. We were heading to Canada for a ski trip prior to leaving for Russia and I had nothing to wear. I went to Target as I was able to get a mens coat there which fit. It was embarrassing, especially once we moved to Russia and all the slim Russian girls where wearing fashionable coats. Years later, as we were preparing to leave for the US, I gave this coat away along with several other things. I will NEVER forget seeing this old man put the coat on and smile sitting on the bench in Russia. He gave me a thumbs up and said Thank you! I broke down and it still touches my heart to this day. Now, I am wearing XS and Small coats and it still feels like a dream but the sting of the memory from buying the mens coat is still with me and truth be told, I pray it never leaves. 

For me, these two photos speak volumes! Here I am in Paris, May 2006 vs December 2011. What a difference nutrition has made in my life! You ARE what you eat! Treats are fine every now and then.... but day in and day out what you eat WILL have either a positive or negative effect on your health. 

 I think this photo says it all....the after photo I am holding my jar of Vitamineral Green I mix up and drink!

I hated this before photo so much. It was taken in Paris in 2006. Recently we went back in May of 2011 and I was able to take photos along the same bridge! I thought it would be my after.....little did I know I would lose even more weight from that point.  Now, I have to go back and do another one! Do I hear another trip to Paris? I think so! :) 

The location where my journey began! Outside of Buckingham Palace May 2006 vs September 2011. I have lost about 11 or so lbs since this after photo......time for another trip! I will always hold a very, very special place in my heart for this fountain for it was seeing the photos taken on that trip which made me take that first step and start what has been the most amazing journey!

 I have a few more before and afters I will be posting soon. This has taken a great deal of strength for me to do this, it is hard but if seeing these can help motivate just one person, it is worth it.  If you are stuck in a life that you do not recognize and you want more, start today! You CAN do anything you set your mind to. It will be hard, very hard, but with patience, consistency and hard work, anything is possible!! It took me years to reach my goal, but it was worth it.  Do not wait for another year to pass by, do not wait for more memories to be lost because you are ashamed at what you have become.

I have this posted on my spark page. I wrote this back in 2007 when I started my weight loss page......

I will leave you with this.  Every person who has made a change in their life remembers a specific point in time where something just clicked and they knew this was the moment to change.  This is that moment for each of us. Now - today - is the day for change. Forget what happened yesterday and focus on the daily changes you can make that will bring you closer to your goal. If you are thinking, "Well, it is too late, I am too old or too overweight" I want each of you to remember this - post it somewhere you can see it daily -

"It is NEVER too late to become what you might have been!" - George Eliot

You have been given today as a gift  - MAKE IT COUNT!!!

Just like home...

Even though we are now living in a new country, somehow this evening, I felt right at home! 

Garden of Life Perfect Meal, Vega protein powder, Skim Milk, blueberries, raspberries, banana and of course......chia seeds!

Just like home. Happy Jen! Happy Jen!

How do I say thank you?

I have been going through my blogs on this site, Spark and some messages on FB and I am without words.......imagine that!! :) I do not really know how to sit here from a far and thank so many of you for touching my life in the beautiful way that you have. How do I tell you my heart?

I am constantly amazed at how complete strangers can make such an impact in ones life, both good and bad. Fortunately for me, this blog, my spark page and FB have turned into a wonderful way for me to connect with others and the blessings have been huge. I am humbled by your words, your support and your  encouragement that you have given me for so many years now. When people say, you inspire me, I do not know how to take it because I receive inspiration from you all.  I could not have lost the weight and achieved what I have without friends and family lending their support. I view you as family, my extended online family!!!

The older I get the greater perspective I have on life and what I want to be remembered for. It is because each of you took the time out of your busy lives to write me that I truly feel in some way or another I have helped a few of you see that you CAN reach your goals, you CAN lose the weight, you CAN be the person you always wanted to be, you CAN strive for more in life, and you CAN do all things through Christ!! All I want, all I crave is to be a shinning example of God's love and hopefully do the best I can with this time he has given me. I hope in some way or another that through reading my blog throughout the years you decided to run, you decided to set goals, you decided to pray for strength from God.......whatever it may be. I pray, that my life, my journey brought forth a positive change in your life. Because you see, through your friendship, a positive change has taken place in my life and for that I am forever grateful.

If something should ever happen to me, I want to know in my heart that my time on this earth was not wasted. Did I make a difference? I long to help others see the power we all have within, the power to change our life a ANY moment. YOU can be more!!! If there is one message I hope rings clear, it is that WE....all of us can overcome anything this life can give us through the strength, the peace and the guidance of our God. I could not have done this without Him and I give thanks to God placing YOU ALL in my life to help me through this amazing transformation God has blessed me with.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for every comment, every email,  and every prayer you have given me. I hope to always be there for each of you and do the same.

Blessings for this year!