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August Fitness Check-In

Featured, Lisa's Blog
21 Comments

I wanted to check in with you all to see how your fitness journey is going.  I hope you’re doing well and finding support.  I’ve got a Facebook group that has been a huge support for me.  Having that accountability has made all the difference.

I am happy to report that so far I have lost 20 pounds!  Woohoo! (I still have a long way to go!)

I have stayed faithfully on my diet and I didn’t even eat one bite of the chocolate candy that my kids brought home with them last weekend.  Honestly, I miss it less and less each day.  What I love is the way I feel when I go to bed at night after a day of sticking to my plan and knowing I took good care of myself.

As for exercise, the ebook, 42 Days to Fit got me going.  It was thanks to her plan that I started moving, stopped eating sugar and late night snacks.  It is full of wonderful information and encouragement!

If you’re following me on Instagram then you’ve seen my daily pictures from my morning walks.  Just getting moving has made a huge difference in my efforts to better health.  I really am a couch potato at heart.  I can’t say it enough….if I am out there walking every day then anyone can do it!  Just start moving.

I have gotten a lot of questions about what diet I am on.  It’s not a trendy diet.  It’s from a book called, “Dr. Gundry’s Diet Evolution: Turn Off the Genes That Are Killing You and Your Waistline”  by Dr. Steven Gundry.  It is also not a Christian based book.  While I read it I keep replacing the word “evolution” with the words “God’s design.”  Dr. Gundry’s principles are true even though his worldview is not the same as mine.  God created our bodies to work a certain way and I was not honoring Him by the choices I was making.  This book has taught me to better understand how my body works and why my eating habits were killing me.

This book is not about just losing weight, but regaining your health.  Dr. Gundry has helped many people come back from serious illnesses that were leading to their demise.  I may not have been near death, but that is still what I needed.  There are a lot of diets out there and I have been on quite a few of them.  This is the first one that I have not only lost weight but felt so much better.  I think, for me, I needed to take most of the carbs and dairy out of my diet and focus on meats and vegetables.  I’m also not eating artificial sweeteners or fruit (except berries).  There are other restrictions, but that is the core of it.

One thing that I think is making a difference for me with this eating plan is that I am not thinking of it as temporary.  On other diets, you count you points or calories until you lose the weight then you stop.  This is not that mentality.  You change the way you eat….FOREVER….(cue dreadful music).

Here’s a post about what I’m eating, but it’s pretty basic.  I am not a big experimenter in the kitchen, so I keep it simple. I have some supplements and gadgets I want to tell you about too, but I’ll save it for later.  I don’t want my posts to read like War and Peace.

I am, much to my surprise, really happy with how it’s going.  The first couple of weeks were torturous, but now it feels normal and I am able to eat out pretty easily.  And I have been really shocked at how much I enjoy my walk in the morning.  I am even making plans to push myself a little each week….say what?!  Who is this Lisa?!

So, how is your health journey going?

If you would like to join the Facebook group let me know and I will get you added!

Follow me on Instagram  for daily updates!

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21 Comments

  2. 20 pounds!? Are you serious!??! Way to go, Lisa!! Woo-hoo – cheering for you, sweet friend. Stick with it – I’m so proud of you. 🙂

  3. Wow! I thought I could tell a difference in your face in your Instagram pictures. Good for you! I just started eating very similarly to that–finally kicking my sugar/caffeine habit and while I’m only 4 days in, I feel so much better! I’m still tempted. A lot. But I focus on how much better I’m feeling and it goes away. Now I just need to start walking again… Thanks for the inspiration! (gibsongirl726)

  4. I am sooooooooooo proud of you! I wish I could give you a great big hug and go for a walk with you! What a journey you are on Lisa! God is honoring your commitment to glorify Him by making healthy choices for yourself. I am so glad you are seeing such encouraging results!

    1. …And will you please move by me so you can yank me outta bed in the morning for a walk? 😉 No, really, you are a GREAT encouragement and inspiration in so many ways. I know we’ll live by eachother in Heaven and then we can do laps around those pearly gates! <3 ~Anne

  6. Congrats on losing 20 pounds!! 🙂

    I’d like to join the Facebook group as well. Maybe it’ll motivate me to stop talking about getting in shape and start doing something consistently to make it happen.

  7. Good job on your weight loss! I am just getting going again with mine. I have been at 150 forever, it seems, and I have made a goal to lose 10 pounds and get down to 140.

  8. I am so proud of you! Love to see you feeling good!

    I am down about 10 lbs. with plenty to go. I am doing a similar type of diet to you as I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). I love carbs and sugar but they are NOT my friends! The only way I can lose weight is to ditch them.

  11. This is so amazing! Congratulations on the weight loss. I love seeing your photos on your walks and it inspires me. I need to get out there and walk too

  12. 20 lbs is amazing, Mrs. Pennington! This diet sounds a lot like the one my family started in April. It’s called Trim Healthy Mama, and is a Christian book. We focus mainly around meat and vegetables, but the food choices go much further than that. We get to eat things like Skinny Chocolate, Frappe’s, Peanut Butter Cups, Black Bean Brownies (don’t be fooled by the name!) and more, amidst our regular cuisine so that we don’t have to crave sweets that our bad for us. Since April, my parents, sister and I have lost 160 lbs together, and we’re still going. None of us want to leave the diet because there is no reason to… it’s not boring, it’s not hard, we like the food – and we don’t count calories. 😀 Happiness.
    Even if you’re not interested in another diet, the recipes would probably be wonderful to have. 🙂
    Anyway, I think it’s great what you’re doing – you must have proud kids! 🙂

  15. I am allergic to all cereal grains, so it seems like the way I eat myself. It sounds pretty Paleo/Primal. Like you, when I read those nutrition books I start replacing words. 🙂 An interesting one I just read after listening to an interview from the Gluten e-Summit is the book, Why Women Need Fat by Dr William Lassek. I was very pleased to understand the basic physiology/biology of a woman’s body. Like, how an OB can tell how many babies a woman has had based on the scarring of her pelvis. Or, that a girl won’t start her first menstrual cycle until there is a big enough supply of DHA stored on her hips and thighs. I ignored his dietary advice (as I’m not a fan of Canola oil or some of his other recommendations that seem contrary to the rest of the book) but devoured the rest. You could probably get an inner library loan on it.

  16. I just went back and reread your weight loss posts. I have to change my eating habits and lose weight. I do have medical reasons to do this NOW. I had some blood work come back that just may have been the kick I need to get er done. I’d love to be in your Facebook group, If I may. I need all the support I can get.

  17. Congratulations on your decision and your great progress!!
    I would love to join the Facebook group. I started a journey last year towards Ching our eating habits and we made incredible progress. I lost 45 lbs!! Since then though I feel like we’ve fallen backwards and it’s time to pick ourselves back up and move forward. Encouragement from a group of people going in the same direction sounds like just what we need. Thanks!! 🙂

  18. Congratulations!! It must feel pretty good for you! I need to rework my behavior as far as diet and exercise go as well. I just want instant gratification or ease. I’m not devoted to radical changes, even though I know I need to embrace them more. …A lot more really. I’m really heavy (320 lb) and I can’t help myself when it comes to food. I don’t usually eat what I consider junk, just a lot of food.
    But I have hope. I have ADD and I’m thinking if I can work on tailoring my diet around increasing my focus, I’ll feel some instant gratification from it, and therefore will gain more motivation. I like to work with and around my problems; I can’t destroy those problems in a day, so I won’t try.
    So the plan is thus: High protein and low carb diet, more complex carbs than simple carbs, and exercise outside now that the snow is melting. I need to find some recipes that don’t require any weird or expensive ingredients though – I’m not the grocery shopper of the house, nor do I have much money to spare.

    Congrats again!

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