Still Going Green! August 5, 2018

Hey, so four days after the challenge ended I'm still drinking the green smoothies and have really no intention of stopping.  I think I'll still drink at least 4 or 5 a week even after I lose all the weight I want to, just to keep things healthy and regular.  Today was no exception!  For dinner last night I made a big smoothie, one I could drink for breakfast this morning too.  In the mix I threw in kale, spinach, 1/2 a granny smith apple, avocado, chia seeds and apple juice watered down a bit. I may have added ginger too, I think I did. It was an amazing drink last night, but super excellent this morning after having been in the fridge to get all nice and cold. I don't ice them up, so if the frozen fruit doesn't make them slushy they are just what they are. I do buy frozen fruit, but apples are apples and they don't belong in my freezer.

This morning being Sunday, my daughter and I worked out. I attend church online, so I didn't miss out on any good lessons, just in case that was bothering you. Nope, I have four pastors that I listen to on Sunday afternoons, with Charlie Garrett of the Superior Word being #1! Best pastor out there! Perry Stone, J.D. Farag, and John Haller make up the rest, and hey, I can even throw in a few Paul Begley sermons when I'm just dying for more prophecy updates!  Back to working out.  We went to the gym at about 10:15 and stayed about 45 minutes. I worked on the recumbent bike for 3 miles, then used the rowing boat machine. I can't figure out the display on that thing, so I just use the timer, I rowed for 9 minutes, switching my hands from over to under to work different muscles. After the work out Laura and I walked for a while on the track to cool down, but not really for steps.  It's 2:18 p.m. and I've walked a total of 338l steps today over and above the other things so yeah, I'm working it.

I stood on the scales and for half a second I was upset, but then the numbers started to even out on the digital display, settling at a number I was a little surprised to see. I'm not there yet, but I did lose another four pounds. That's a total of eight so far. I'm sticking with the plan, and working it even harder now that I know it works. I think I had to see that before I put my full faith into it. For years I'd work out, eat correctly and drink tons of water only to see no changes. I think the difference now is prayer, I'm literally asking Jesus to show me the numbers and make me not want to cheat, not want to lie to myself, and to have the strength to push when I don't really want to.  It's not like I gave up all the sugars, all the carbs, all the bad stuff and became a gym brat.  I simply decided not to eat the stupid things that I use to eat, not to drink sugared drinks, which I never did, but you can't believe how many sugars are in natural grape juice. Water it down! It's OK. You won't die from it.

I bought rice cakes, but they're really more like rice rolls, little tubes from ALDI and I have to say, they are fantastic!  I don't even know their calorie count, I need to look it up, but my guess is 10. Let me go look now and see if I was right.  I was wrong, 38.  Still fantastic. They help with the need for something crunchy, they help with the need for a tiny bit of sugar (4g), and they help when you think you're hungry, but really you aren't. They don't fill you up, but they can hold you over until the next actual meal.  I am all about grazing, as grazing throughout the day can help reduce calorie intake at meals, and keep your satisfied so you don't load up on empty stupid calories and fat.  These little rice rolls are awesome. If you can't find them, get rice cakes instead. VERY good choice.

So, besides the gym I have an elliptical machine at home. It's not the best one, it's a middle of the road kind of machine. I think I paid $150 for it, my daughter Laura put it together, and it works well. The problem is that the stride is only 11-12 inches so it feels a lot more like a stair stepper. I can go about 7-9 minutes before I kill myself, and if I'm not dying from lack of breath my legs are screaming at me to stop. I don't use it like some people do, but I will do what I can do. Maybe I'll make it all the way to 10 minutes someday. We can hope.

Other news? Well, I'm still looking for that one perfect horse. I have a few in mind, and I'll soon be able to buy one after I am hired full time and get caught up on all my other bills. I found a Mustang gelding, sorrel, 13 years old, 14.2H, and absolutely broke. He's at the top of the list. We'll see how it goes and if he's still available when the time comes.  Fingers crossed for another four pounds next week...that would be AWESOME.  My son comes home from Afghanistan in 6 weeks, I'd love to be 15-20 pounds lighter than I was when he left back in November 2017.