Lord,

Grant me the Serenity

To accept the things I cannot change

Courage to change the things I can

And wisdom to know the difference.

I have been having a very hard time with my weight loss lately.  I started out so well at the beginning of Curves Complete but once I started to lose some weight I got lazy.  I’m doing great with exercising at Curves and have been going 4-5 times a week.  The eating I’m not doing so well with.

Now that I have been been on the program for almost 12 weeks I really understand how it works and how you are able to maintain your weight once the diet is over.  I’m glad that I have not put on all of the weight that I had lost at the beginning of this program but I need to lose more.  I am frustrated with myself for not sticking with it as it is such a great plan.  Now that I understand how the whole thing works I am starting over and am back on Phase 1.

This time I know that I can do it.  I understand that I need to just take one day at a time and focus on that day.  I understand how to maintain my weight once I am at my desired weight.  I understand that I just really need to make it through the 90 days on this plan.  This time I know that I can do it!  I am no longer desperate, I am determined.  I see and fully understand how this program works and I know that it’s the best thing for me to do.  I want to be healthy, not only for myself, but for my family.

One thing that my coach at Curves told me about was the Serenity Prayer.  To turn to it in times of weakness.  I remember as a little girl my Grandmother having that prayer hanging in her kitchen.  She had cross-stitched and framed it.  I still have that cross-stitching that she had done and I plan on hanging it up in my home now.

I also received a copy of that prayer in a MOMS Ministry group that I had participated in at Church.  The leaders of the group gave the Moms a copy of the Serenity Prayer which was printed on cardstock along with a butterfly on it.  We also received a pretty little feather type of a butterfly on a wire.  I have kept both of these for the past 3 years.  I decided to frame the prayer from the Moms Ministry so that I would notice it more and draw inspiration from it.

I used a frame, some scrapbook paper, a little lace, adhesive velcro and glue dots and I turned this:

Into this:

(I’m sorry about these pictures.  My camera is still lost and when I download the pictures from my phone onto my computer they always end up being too narrow and the sides cut off!)

I made this by cutting the scrapbook paper to fit into the frame, trimmed up my Serenity Prayer, attached the two papers to each other by using glue dots and then added some lace to the top and the bottom of the prayer which I also attached with glue dots.  For the butterfly I just used a piece of adhesive Velcro that I had in my stash.  I would think that a glue gone would be just fine but I just didn’t feel like working with the glue gone today. 

Now, whenever I get the urge to break my diet, I recite that prayer.  I need serenity to help me accept the fact that I’m getting older and do not have the body that I once did.  I need courage to face my stress eating and break that habit.  I need wisdom to tell the difference between stress eating and just accepting the body that I now have and that it’s changing.

I’m now off to go and eat a carrot!

I just finished week 3 of the Curves Complete weight loss plan.  I lost 4 lbs this week!  Yea!!  That is a total of 7 lbs so far!  I am so happy.  I have been working out at Curves at least 4 times a week but usually more than that.

I was concerned about the meal plan but it has been great.  They really teach you how to combine your starches, proteins, dairy, nuts, veggies and fruits.  The plan is very flexible and I am able to exchange foods that I don’t like for foods that I do like.  Overall I am not hungry inbetween meals and have such a better understanding on how to combine my foods.

When I get home from exercising I watch my Curves daily video for the day and it gives me more encouragement.

I am so excited that I finally found something that works.  I highly recommend this program.  I really enjoy the support of the other women at the club too.  It is a very supportive environment.  This stay-at-home mom also likes the chance to get out and socialize a bit too, even if I’m exercising.

I’m looking forward to this week and losing some more weight!

It’s no secret that I like to work on my crafts and be creative.  The next creative project that I am going to be working on is me!  I have been having weight issues ever since I had my kids.  I was always the skinny girl who could eat anything and never gain an ounce.  Over the years my weight adjusted from being active in college to working behind a desk.  I always felt comfortable with my weight even when it adjusted a bit as I got older.  However, since I had the kids I cannot get rid of all of this extra belly weight I am carrying around.  When I was pregnant and you saw me from the back I didn’t even look pregnant.  I was ALL belly!

I went back to Weight Watchers but it wasn’t working for me this time.  I just couldn’t keep up with keeping track of my points.  As I have been doing some nutritional reading I see that I was not necessarily eating the correct foods and making the correct food choices so I ended up being hungry and feeling deprived and out of points.

I saw a nutritionalist who said that I needed to increase my daily vegetable intake and limit the bad foods and the extra snacking that I was doing and it worked alright but I didn’t stick to it.  I lost my motivation.  The more I thought about it the more I realized it was because I was losing weight alone without the support of other women going through the same thing as I was going through.  I still didn’t have a clear understanding of how to combine the right amount of proteins, carbs, etc into each of my meals and snacks.  So many of the diet programs have foods that I don’t like to eat or that I know my family won’t eat.  I just could not figure out how to eat basic foods while still losing weight.  What I would consider a healthy breakfast ended up being pretty much all carbs.  I was getting very frustrated.

Enter Curves.  My Husband’s Aunt lives out of state so I emailed her for her opinion because she owns a Curves.  She told me the benefits of their new Complete weight loss program and their Smart program.  I thought about it and I am now signed up!

I am so excited about this!  I had been a member of Curves years ago when they had first opened in our area but stopped going after I got married and had the kids.  Since that time they have come up with these great new programs.  Our local Curves is very close to where we live and their hours work great with our schedule.  I have now been assigned to a personal coach and I begin the weight loss program on Monday.

The weight loss program, Complete, has a fantastic website that you use for planning your meals.  After completing your profile you are then given the first week’s meal plan…which contains regular food!  If you don’t like something on it you just switch it for something that you do like on the list.  You can also print out a grocery shopping list for that week based on your food choices.  No points, carbs or calories to count.

I was also given a pedometer, starter set of vitamins and protein shake as well as a cute grocery shopping list to keep on the refrigerator.

I will work out 3-4 times a week at Curves with other women who are also trying to lose weight like me.  I will be able to meet and go over everything with my very own personal coach.  They have Zumba classes available.  They have daily videos to watch that are only a few minutes and will help you on your weight loss journey.  The Smart program gives me a card that I put into each machine as I am working out.  It records my workout and shows me if I need to increase it.  At the end of the program I can check the computer and view my workout and see how many calories I burned, etc.

This program is what I needed and what I have been looking for!  A lot of one-on-one training and support with regular foods.  This food plan is something that I actually want to stick to!  I am so excited about getting started.  It is a 90 day plan and my goal is to lose 20 pounds in those 90 days and right now I am very motivated.  I am hoping that I will not lose that motivation since I will be going through this Complete program with so much support.  I am so looking forward to recreating myself into a thinner, healthier and well-balanced woman and mother!