In Need of Prayer

I just applied for a job that I just heard about today. It would be such a fabulous opportunity. Please pray that God's will would be done in this situation.

Healthy Eating

I'm really not very picky, when it comes to food. It seems my mama raised me that way.

"What? You're full? You need to eat 8 more bites of your [insert green, cooked vegetable here] before you can get up from the table."

*groan* "Ok, mom."

We had to eat as many bites as the years we were old. Of course, when I say we, I mean my older, not-picky brother and me. My younger brother only had to eat 2 bites of whatever it was, even when he was 10. I guess it's a rule or something - the baby always get spoiled somehow. I'm actually not bitter about that at all. Nope. Hehe, I love you, Jonathan. ;o)

Anyway, I think it was a good rule. My brother and I grew up to have varied tastes in food. Even now, I will at least try any food. However, there are certain foods I just can't bring myself to like. The more I try to like them, the less I do. The food on this includes but is not limited to: bacon, bell peppers, oranges, Swiss cheese, licorice, and root beer. Ok, I know root beer isn't a food, but it seems there is at least one thing in each food group that I don't like.

Nate, on the other hand, isn't a huge fan of trying new foods. But now that we're eating healthy food, he's been awesome. I cook salmon, perch, shrimp, chicken, brown rice, couscous, artichoke; make salads and wraps; and he's great about eating all of it. He actually loves like 90% of what we eat. The food he has to "force down" includes berries and shrimp. He has an extremely weak sense of smell, which, as we were taught in elementary school, affects your sense of taste. Anything tart or sour tastes like just that - tart and sour. He doesn't get to taste the yummy sweetness of strawberries. He even refuses to eat sour gummy worms! I guess I can't say I blame him.

Probably the weirdest combination on this diet that we've come across was ricotta cheese with strawberries. I was like, "ooh, it'll be like a fruit and yogurt parfait!" I pulled it out of my lunch box and got all ready to eat it but, after one bite, ugh, it was gross! I made myself finish it because I knew it was good for me, but never again. Ricotta cheese in lasagna is great, but it is not a substitute for yogurt. It's not sweet. It's more like cottage cheese in flavor, but the texture is more solid. If you've never had it, picture firm yogurt that you could eat with a fork. I was not a fan at all! Nate actually really liked it though!

Week 9

It seems every two weeks, we add/alter our diet and exercise routine. This week, the beginning of week 9, is no different.

Week 1: Calculating our calories, 30 minutes exercise (the Biggest Loser Cardio Max DVD 5-6 days per week). :: I added the personal challenge of exercising 30 days in a row.

Week 3: Calculating calories, 40 minutes exercise.

Week 5: Calculating calories, 50 minutes exercise.

After some limited success, we still felt we could do more. Nate discovered an article in Ladies' Home Journal, of all places. Hey, he was bored at open gym at the camp... ;o) The magazine had a Biggest Loser article, a 7-day diet plan. It was a schedule for 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. Of course, we decided to attempt what proved to be a major undertaking.

Week 7: Calculating calories, 50 minutes of exercise, 3 healthy meals and 2 healthy snacks.

Trust me, that first grocery bill wasn't much fun as our fridge was void of all the fresh fruit and vegetables required by the plan. For a couple who rarely ate breakfast (unless it was a bowl of cereal), threw together a sandwich, chips, and maybe an apple for lunch (on the days we didn't eat at the camp or eat out), and didn't have a regular dinner schedule, this was a huge undertaking. It took me literally hours to even come up with a grocery list!

That week was definitely the hardest week of the 8 so far. We spent more time in the kitchen than ever. Days that we worked late (Mondays or Wednesdays due to Nate's open gym schedule) were torture. Ok, they still are. We get up early, eat breakfast, get dressed, work out, prepare and pack our dinner and snacks, get dressed AGAIN and ready for work, prepare and eat lunch (at like 10:00 am), and get out of the house by 11 am. I'm not even sure how we do it. We get home at 10 pm, if we're lucky. Not that I'm complaining. I know it will become natural and will get easier. It already has.

Oh, but before it gets too easy, let's add on something else! This weekend we bought the Biggest Loser Power Sculpt DVD. Enter today's workout.

Week 9: Still calculating calories, still eating those healthy 3 meals and 2 snacks. However, today we swapped the 50 minutes of cardio with 30 minutes of weight lifting.

I am not hugely excited about weight lifting. It's not my favorite past time. at. all. But it was actually fun! I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish it would have been longer. My arms and probably my whole body will be killing me tomorrow, but it's great. I want this flab gone. Now.

Ok, I know that's not realistic. But I'm so excited to see what happens in the next 8 weeks. I thought it would become a drag, but it's not. I don't so much enjoy getting up early every day, but the way I feel when I look at myself in the mirror makes it worth it. And the food we get to eat!

Oh. my. gosh. That could and probably will be a post all on its own. I will have to take pictures and post them. Just wait till I get started on artichoke! I could rave about it all day.

I don't know what week 11 will bring. It seems we add to this newfound healthy lifestyle every two weeks or so. I know that once warm weather hits, Nate can't wait to start running outside.

I promise every blog post won't be about our diet and exercise habits, but as that is what is in the forefront of our minds right now, that's what I'll write about. And if someone else reads and is somehow amused by it, all the better.

:: Laura

^ The Header ^

Ok, so I just spent an unreal amount of time on my blog header. I'm not at all ashamed to admit this though, because design is what I DO! I love it. At this point, I am like 90% happy with the way it turned out. I'll probably tweak it a bit more down the road, but for now it makes me so excited to share the blog!

Week 8

Eight weeks ago, Nate and I started something very important to us.

On January 4, 2010, we made a decision that will forever change our lifestyle. We decided to trade in our sporadic exercising and questionable eating habits for regular, daily cardio workouts and healthy dieting. I hate that word, "dieting", because it sounds so "temporary". But before we began this, we had a serious talk. We told each other that we didn't want to even start unless we were both 100% committed to sticking with it even after we reached our weight loss goals. We weren't interested in "dieting" just to lose weight, but we knew that weight maintenance would continue for the rest of our lives.

People have asked us, "What was it that made you decide to make such a drastic change?" There wasn't really anything other than a general dissatisfaction with our physical conditions. We came to the point when we wouldn't even weigh ourselves because we didn't want to see the scales tip past certain points. Well, the pictures from Christmas (with my family in Florida) didn't hurt either.

Nate and I, December 2009, at our heaviest.

It's been two months, and we've lost a combined 35 lbs. We are eating fresh, healthy meals that we cook every day! It's amazing. I'm hoping to add some recipes and examples of what we eat later. The Biggest Loser DVDs, Biggest Loser diet we found in a magazine, a calorie counter we found for our iPod Touches called Lose It, and each other have really been the vehicles for our weight loss. Nate has been so encouraging to me. I've never, ever lost this much weight. I've never really dieted before for that matter. I know I'm not even close to done losing yet, but I feel so proud of myself. Having my husband do the exercise with me and eat the same meals with me has been so, so helpful. It speaks my Number One love language loud and clear: Quality Time.

Nate is scheduled to reach his goal in April. He only has 10 lbs. to go! I am so proud of him! He's sort of a pro at this whole exercise thing, seeing as ESS (exercise and sports science) was his major in college. I know he is loving that aspect of it, especially. I am supposed to reach my goal in June. I haven't been my healthy goal weight since sophomore year of high school! I'm so excited to get back there again. Most people who know me and who might read this have never seen me at a healthy weight. That's going to be so much fun (not to mention having to *bummer* go shopping for smaller clothes)! I'll post pictures when we get closer to our goals!

Introducing: the Piatt Family Blog

We're the Piatts. Nate and I are starting this blog for a few reasons.

1. To keep a record of our lives.

2. To share our lives with our friends and family.

Pretty simple, right? Isn't that why most people keep a blog? Maybe, but I really hesitated on starting a personal blog for the longest time because I didn't know why anyone would want to read about our boring lives or what made what I had to say noteworthy. I made the decision to go for it now because of recent changes Nate and I have made in our lives.

I'll write updates on that later. :o)

Day 30

January 4, 2010, Nate and I went on a serious health/weight loss kick. We didn't tell anyone we were doing it until the first 30 days were up. It added a bit of excitement and intrigue, at least for us, to the goal. I posted on Facebook every so many days saying "Day 14", etc. People would ask, but I didn't tell them. Then, on Day 30, I wrote this Note. Reposted to Blogger, February 5, 2011.

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So, apparently I've garnered more interest in my 30 Day count-up than I ever expected to. It really wasn't my intention to have all of my FB friends in suspense, but rather I only wanted to keep the reason for my 30 Day count-up to myself until the results actually came to fruition. Hopefully, you'll understand why after you read this.

Without further ado, here it is:

On January 4, 2010, Nate and I began a strict regimen of exercising and watching our diet. Nothing crazy - we just wanted to be healthy. On that day, I decided to make the commitment to exercise EVERY DAY for 30 days as a habit-forming yet fast-as-possible way to reach my goal, healthy weight. I almost reached the goal. I only missed 3 days out of 30. I'm actually not at all disappointed. For me, that's amazing, especially since 4-5 days is the recommended exercise per week.

So, has it worked? Short answer: it's working. We have been watching what we eat, especially (but not only) calorie intake and have been doing regular cardio/aerobic exercise. I've lost almost 10 lbs. in 30 days, and Nate has lost almost 15! This is obviously exciting for us!

The tools we're using:

1. “Lose It!” iPod app. - This software for the iPhone/iPod Touch figures your daily calorie budget based on your current weight, your goal weight, and how many pounds you want to lose per week (with a max of 2 per week). The application is free and you can connect with friends to see how they are doing. Having other people see your progress and seeing theirs really helps spur you on! Linda Eccles introduced it to us, and we love it.

2. “Biggest Loser Workout: Cardio Max” DVD – This six-week cardio program is meant to help you maximize your weight loss in a minimum amount of time. Nate got it for me for my birthday in October 2009, but we just started using it regularly in January. We are on week 5, and while it has not been easy, it has been so, so rewarding. The three trainers, Bob, Jillian, and Kim do levels 1-3 respectively, and you add a level every two weeks. After the first 6 weeks, you can customize your workouts and do whatever combination of the workouts you want. It works so well for both of us!

3. “Eat This, Not That” book – an eye-opening, “No-Diet Weight-loss Solution” book, published by “Men’s Health” magazine, I ran into one day in Meijer last year. It offers an “eat this” option for every “not that” meal, beverage, dessert you can think of at restaurants and grocery stores. They have lots of books now, including one especially for kids, but I just have the restaurant guide and supermarket guide. There are all sorts of surprising nutrition facts, like how Nutri-Grain cereal bars are really no more than candy bars, though they sound so healthy! (Apparently the first ingredient is high fructose corn syrup and the second is corn syrup – processed forms of sugar, as it explains in the book.) It’s interesting (and sometimes depressing) to look up restaurants and find meals you’ve ordered at specific restaurants on the “eat this” or “not that” list.

That’s basically all we’re doing, and I wanted to keep track of the days via my facebook statuses with the daily “count-up”. I really only kept the reason a secret because I didn't want to say, "I'm going to start working out regularly now," and then quit after two weeks. I've done that, and it's so depressing. I don’t think people take others seriously when they say they are going to start a new habit, especially one so commonly taken as a new year’s resolution, until they see that you actually have done it. Instead I wanted to keep track of my days without telling people why until I actually followed through and succeeded.

The interest people have apparently shown, whether they’ve intended it or not, has really been encouraging for me. It makes me feel like other people are excited for me to reach my goals, even when they didn’t know what my goals were! Nate will reach his weight loss goal in April, and I am scheduled to reach mine in June (according to our Lose It! App). If you are interested, I will keep you updated, and if I have visible results, I will post pictures. :o)

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Comments:

Alyssa: Congrats! :) I wish I had your motivation. I am using Jillian Michaels: 30 Day Shred. I can feel it working but sometimes I lose motivation. :( But congrats again! :)

Elizabeth: That's awesome. Good job. Keep up the good work.

Angie: Great job! It does work! I lost 10 lbs. during the 30 days too! I still do it but sometimes it's hard to stay motivated. I haven't gained any back, so that's good! My goal is to lose 5-10 more lbs...but the last 10 are the hardest! Keep it up! :)

Christie: Great job! :)

Rebecca: I'm so happy for you!! Great job!!

Jenny: Congrats! I too have started a workout program. It's called P90x. It is awesome. I have been doing the DVD workouts but haven't done the actual diet. I am starting to just try to eat healthy. 34 days done, 56 left! It feels great to get healthy. Keep up the good work.

Valerie: Right on! Nice job! :)

Julie: Way to go!