12 Week Weight Loss Competition

12 Week Weight Loss Competition

Week Total: -0.2 (sigh)

Competition Total: -25.4 lbs
WEIGHT WATCHERS TOTAL (started Feb): -45.4 lbs

Competition Standings: 6th place

I'm 7.6 lbs shy of catching up with our first place, however, this competition is obviously progressive and she's not going to just "stop" losing. Ideally, I need to pull off that 7.6 and some in a week in order to be back in the runnings which is a hard task. Ay!

I had gained 4 lbs over my vacation weekend which set me back to begin this week. To be honest, it's hard to look at the scale and then see your progress reflect -0.2. It's hard to avoid saying, "Good Night! If I was going to only lose .2 lbs I should've enjoyed my week at least and ate to my hearts content." After evaluating this week, I know my downfall was LACK of calories eaten because I laid it all out on the table when it comes to working out.

Monday - 50 min water aerobics/40min treadmill (w/ incline) + 30min upper body

Tuesday - 20 min treadmill (w/ incline) + 30min lower body/55 min walk/15min treadmill

Wednesday - 30 min walk/50 min water aerobics

Thursday - 40 min walk

The only thing I could be doing wrong is lack of eating as this weeks meals have consisted of grilled fish, steamed veggies, fresh fruit, protein shakes & water. NOTHING more. :( I've averaged maybe 500-700 calories a day, not because I'm intentionally starving myself but because I don't know what to eat.

Life goes on though, you take a moment to reflect and start as if it were Day 1 again...just as passionate and motivated as before. You have to be or else you'll surely "throw in the towel" (and let me tell you, -0.2 would be a throw in the towel moment if I didn't take captive my discouraging thoughts).

Sooooooo...onto the positive.

I am starting a 9 week weight loss competition at my job that runs June 3-August 5. As of now I have 10 confirmed contestants. One lady went home and told her husband and he asked if he could join too (and come weigh in here at the bank). Hey, if it's going to motivate him and positively affect his life, WHY NOT! The more the merrier and if it can encourage, challenge and motivate someone, who am I to limit them from that type of blessing? It's one of the best challenges and health things that could've happened for my life (next to Weight Watchers).

So onto the verse of the day, I don't just non-chalauntly post a scripture, I place whats on my heart and mind at the time and seems most fitting. The word is "sharp and active," it's living and true and I want to be relevant, encouraging and heart piercing when I relay the word God's placed on my heart for the moment...today was a hard one because as the day has went on, there have been so many scriptures on my heart and quite frankly ALL of God's word is relevant and powerful. It's funny because I have this blank paper at my work desk that I've been writing verses on since I got here as they are being stirred in my heart, that's a good day when God continuously stirs up the verses you've hidden deep in your heart. The verse I'm using however was none of those written down. Just as I was typing this blog entry, a Bible story came to me and I was like THAT'S IT! Let me give some background to explain why, I'm going somewhere with this...

In the book of Exodus there is a battle that was fought by Joshua and as long as Moses had his hands raised, Joshua prospered in battle. When Moses' arms grew tired and began to fall the enemy prevailed against Joshua. Two great "friends" of Moses saw what was happening and they came and placed a stone for him to sit on and each of them grabbed an arm and held them up for Moses throughout the night. VICTORY WAS WON for Joshua and in my opinion, Moses and those two good men fought and won the battle as well. The point of my story is it's great to have friends who are willing to fight with you in overcoming your battles and to come behind and "lift your arms" so to speak when you are weak and tired. Moses was lifting his arms to see the victory in Joshua's life, however, just like any of us would, he grew tired in the process and had men willing to come and strengthen him as he labored for Joshua's victory.

This story is such a beautiful illustration for me of friendship, teamwork & encouragement. The battle this blog is centered around is my weight loss journey. I am in the midst of battle and I have been so blessed to have a few "Moses'" to raise their arms and rally behind me to see me have the victory. It didn't stop there however, praise God...Shauna, being one of those "Moses's" had a few good friends who came right along behind her to see to it that I'm encouraged and don't lose the fight. She's not the only one fighting with me now, she's got a group behind her fighting with me as well. I am so grateful for all of you. I'm also grateful for the others who follow my blog, leave a kind word and/or pray for me. <-- I need it.

Shauna - Writing how much I am encouraged by you is a blog post of itself, but I'll limit it to I Love You! You've encouraged me and saw something in me that I didn't see in myself. You kick my butt when I need it but you also take me aside to compassionately show your real care and genuine concern for me. I can't begin describing what that means to me. You've got a heart of gold.

Laretha - WOW! Not only have you encouraged me in this journey of weight loss, but also by what you've written on your own site. We've got alot in common when it comes to what we are passionate about and it's great to meet like-minded people.

Jennifer - I think you've commented on almost every post I've written. I love logging on and seeing a short comment from you. Even when you were introduced to my blog after it had already began you even read back over the previous entries and left great words of motivation and encouragement. I LOVE your work and totally want a house for you to makeover. :)

Heather - I am SO glad I found your page via Weight Watchers message boards. I am so proud of you and all that God is healing you from and I'm also encouraged by your honesty in your posts, your love for the Lord and strength as a woman. Don't give up and WE will raise each other's hands in battle.

Audrey - Although she's not a blogger (yet), I am so blessed to have her as a friend. She's tried pushing me for years to dedicate to better health and when I finally made the decision, she was right there with me to see I follow through with it. She joined this weight loss competition with me fully knowing chances were slim to none she'd win (as she's really small already), but she's encouraged me so much by working out with me, changing eating habits with me and keeping me in check. haha. She knows the real "Mesha" and knows I'm driven by competition so she's willing to help provide that competition if it gets me moving.

Dad & Mom - I LOVE YOU! Can I just give a shout-out to them really quick??? They both got involved in this healthier living WAY before I'd given it real thought. I easily got annoyed when they brought it up to me because quite frankly I was like, "if I've been this way for this long, why start now." It's a decision I think everyone makes in their own timing or else they fail. Well what ended up ultimately motivating me was watching them do it. I couldn't stand them pestering me about it, but when I saw the work in progress I knew it was attainable. My Dad has lost 136lbs give or take a few and and Mom lost 34lbs. Dad lost 69lbs in 9 weeks and took 1st place awarding $1500 in his most recent competition. Mom started a 12 week competition at her job and took 1st place. They used it their winnings towards a carribean cruise. (I'll add pics later) They are my personal "Biggest Loser" heroes.

Scripture(s) of the Day:

Exodus 17: 10-13

10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.