WEEK 3

PROVERBS 13 : 3  those who guard their mouths preserve their lives; those who open wide their lips come to ruin.

Guarding my mouth was a bit easier this week. I still ate things that I will not eat in week 4, like cheese. I will not eat it because I finished off the last of it last night around 10:30. I think that my focus for week 4 will be getting an earlier start on my nights sleep.

I lost 2.8 lbs. this week, which means this is not coming off as quickly as it went on. Another opportunity for me to learn patience. This week I struggled with being overwhelmed by "stuff."
I have too much, too many things , too many pounds on m body. But with lunches like this the weight will come off.

I promised to give the recipe for the frosty fruit drink that I made on Sunday, so here it is :

1 Cup unsweetened almond milk
1 Cup frozen strawberries
2 frozen bananas (broken in to pieces
2 Cups pineapple tidbits in juice

Put all ingredients in a blender and pulse or ice crush until smooth. Drink immediately or have one and freeze the rest as a lovely sweet treat for later.

Wednesday's News (on Friday, no I do not procrastinate) - Week 2 results

Isaiah 41:13 For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, "Do not fear, I will help you."

I have come to realize that my mental health and my spiritual health are linked. All of my days go better when I focus on God first. Even the smallest difficulties seem huge when I do not bring them before my creator and ask for help. That "weighty" lesson was brought home to me this week on Wednesday, when after eating "good" food all week, I gained. Eight tenths of a pound is not a lot, but it was and is the wrong direction. If I do not follow through with this weight loss commitment, it will have far reaching consequences for me.

I have been cleaning out my closets. Some of the clothes that I have held on to are as ridiculous as some of the thought processes that have gone through my head over the last year. Does anyone else have stuff in their closet that should NEVER be worn by anyone, anywhere, much less in public? The things that I discard today are symbolic of some of the thoughts and actions that I hope, with the help of my Redeemer, to completely eliminate from my life.

Until Later ~ Rita Darlene

1st week results weight lost and knowledge gained

My first goal is to lose 30 lbs. in 30 days. I do not expect anyone else to do this, but I am morbidly obese and everyone that has ever dieted knows that one loses more quickly at the beginning than in the following weeks and months and years. Today was my weigh in at TOPS and the news is ... I lost 6.8lbs.

What I did this past week, was weak.  I plan to be more strict about eating in the morning. I have a bad habit of NOT eating in the morning, which puts me eating too late in the evening to be healthy. Because I changed what I was eating, I did not plan or do much exercise. That also will have to change if I am to attain my goal.

How I did it:

This plan is a combo of diets that have worked for me in the past. Fit For Life & Eat Right 4 Your Type. I use the mentality of Fit For Life with the food suggestions from Eat Right 4 Your Type.

First and foremost I ask that God help me to remember that my body is a temple, not a trash can. Then, I get up and take my supplements with water and give at least 30 minutes before I eat my first breakfast of fruit. Fruit really gets the digestive track going and gives some quick energy.After at least an hour, I have second breakfast of protein and veggies. Usually eggs and onions, peppers, mushrooms, broccoli or spinach and a large spoonful of salsa. On occasion I skip the eggs and have a ground turkey patty loaded up with seasonings wrapped in a large leaf of bib lettuce with tomatoes and cucumber.

For lunch I have either a starchy vegetable like a sweet potato or squash and a huge salad or something like tuna salad and a veggie soup.

Dinner is something that I really love. I am a beef eater, I love steak or roast or a juicy burger. I eat any of those with no bread or starchy vegetable. I either have a nice salad or steamed vegetable like broccoli or sauteed spinach.

This past week I focused on food.I changed the type of food I put in my body, but I did not worry about portions at all. I ate until I was not hungry. This coming week I plan to make sure I drink more water and add in some exercise.

Thanks for listening and being witnesses to my renaissance year. I have been battling my weight for over 21 years. My baby turns 21 on March 17th and I weigh more now that the day I went in the hospital to give birth to her. That is going to change this year.

Until Later ~ Rita Darlene  (RitaRemixed)










Seduce my mind and you can have my body, find my soul and you have me forever.

The less you eat the longer you live, so you live long enough to eat more.

Whoever put the "s" in FAsT FOOD was an advertising genius.

First Week of 52

My name is Rita. My health has not been the focus of my life. This was me on Tuesday March 3, 2015. I was not healthy on this day, although I was happy. My happiness came from knowing that this would be my "before" picture (and because I was visiting my oldest daughter and her two children, they always make me happy.)

I have a plan to change my life. This blog will follow the changes.

The first real change I made was to THINK about my life. There were/are many aspects of my life with which I was/am dissatisfied.

Since physical appearance is usually a major factor in the way people assess each other, the first change I felt/feel I had/have to make is to lose the excess weight that I have been carrying around for over twenty years.

I know that I need accountability to help me stay focused, so on Wednesday, March 4, 2015, I joined my local TOPS chapter. They weighed me and took pictures. I have documentation of just how bad the numbers were. I am not really comfortable putting those numbers out here just yet, but I will tell you that my size 20 clothes are uncomfortably tight and when I bend over to tie my shoes I can not breathe.

Over the last 30 years I have read lots of diet books and actually tried some of them for short periods of time. My personal plan for reducing my weight is a combination of the three "diets" that have worked for me. However, what I most want to concentrate on is food as nutrients. For too long I have used food as a reward or as a drug and that mentality will be hard to overcome.

I welcome encouragement in this process and would enjoy company on the journey to health. Your comments are appreciated (please keep it clean.)