Caution! Work In Progress!!!

Lots of things have changed since I last posted. We have had 3 foster placements since November...two of those returning! J-bird and J-man have been back with us since April and May. It appears that they will be with us till November (J-bird) and February (J-man). That's when their case will be over, however anything could change (as it already has several times). After those dates we never know what might happen. They could be returned to their parents, or they search for family for adoption and then it would be open adoption past that.

I have been discovering a lot about myself having two toddlers at home. It has been a joy to be home this summer, and also at times I want to pull my hair out. All part of being a mommy :).

When I began this log is was completely focused on my weight loss journey for the last time. However that was the problem...focusing on weight loss. I didn't focus on #HealthyHabits like I should have been, and I find myself here having my weight back up. For the last couple of weeks I have been really down on myself for allowing it to happen. I've tried to refocus and struggled yet again. There is a disconnect with the mental. I want to loose weight, but deep down for the wrong reasons...I want to look better. Granted that's a GREAT reason, but it doesn't help me stay there. I was soooooo close and let myself go. I can blame the holidays, but then why didn't I refocus after that. It was always something...and there will always be a something in life. Don't get me wrong, and every now and then occurrence is one thing, but using the next big thing that is really close as an excuse to let go it's healthy.

So  where am I...I am searching myself yet again. What do I want and why...I need to change my outlook from the inside out. This blog is no longer my weight loss journey...but my entire journey. Changing my outlook on life and living. Stay tuned as I go through this journey. It will be not just loosing weight, but learning more about myself, about my walk with God, and about parenting. I have many books lined up to begin reading and plan to start making time for that. Let the transformation begin....

Operation Optimal Health version 2.0

The last few months I have not been focused on my goal weight. I was writhing 10-15 lbs of my goal and lost my mojo. I'm not sure if it was that I was proud of where I was or used other events as excuses. While fostering has been amazing, it has also been frustrating. When rust rated I tend to turn to food. Something I need to work on mentally, and dig down to the chain of poor choices and replace those behaviors. 

So here I am, and yes I've gained a little back. Honestly I don't want to step on the scale for a week, and probably won't. It helps me to not think about a number. Today is refocus day and getting back on track. However, this time I'm slightly modifying my plan. I've really wanted to start running again with the couch-to-5k program so I already have done the first two weeks. While it's not a huge workout, and could probably be ok with the 5&1, I've decided to start back with the 4&2. It's not a lot of extra calories, but it gives me those calories to burn and not worry about exercising too hard. Summer is just around the corner (WOOHOO!), so it's time to get myself swimsuit ready :). We are heading to the beach with my family in June and I'd like to have to go swimsuit shopping for a two-piece! 

I haven't been good at updating here again, but hope to get back on track! 

PS. If you have any ideas for a lean and green lunch that it quick and easy to put together, or you can make ahead of time to reheat let me know! Need to start getting creative so I don't get bored with salads!

It's a MENTAL game....

An excerpt from the Day One of the 12-week Health Challenge email I received...

"Once you have made a mental change, making and maintaining the physical change will be much easier, especially with the support of a Health Coach motivating you to discover your optimal health."

This is SO TRUE!!! I have lost weight before...usually it was just 20-40 lbs here or there, but I ALWAYS gained it back!!! I finally figured out how much MENTAL it truly is!! I thought I knew what i needed to do, just needed the motivation to actually do it!

It didn't truly click until I figured out the WHY...why I wanted the change, why my health truly mattered to me. Everyone has their own WHY...you just have to dig deep and find it. It's not just to look better or feel better, but the deep down what does that look like.

For me it is having a family. I want to be a cute pregnant person someday and be able to enjoy my kids. Not just enjoy that they are there, but fully immerse myself in their life. Play on the floor, run around the house or park, push a stroller, carry them when needed...and do all this easily, free of pain from being obese. 50 lbs ago, I hated to sit on the floor. It was hard to get up and hurt the joints (I can't wait to shed the last 16.5 lbs making it even EASIER!). That meant I couldn't play with kids on the floor....I could keep going, and going and going (but I won't)!!!

There is still time to check out the 12-week Health Transformation from Dr. Wayne Andersen. Go to www.StopChallengeChoose.com and sign up with me "Kendra Ogroske" as your coach. Tj & I will be your guide, with Dr. A our teacher. Prepare yourself for change, for health...YOU ARE WORTH IT!!! #StopChallengeChoose

Happy New Year!!!

So it's been over a month since my last update! December was a really tough, yet fun month. I started December having the flu...I couldn't really move for 3-4 days and couldn't eat much at all. Then cam all the parties, family, Christmas, New Years, etc. Needless to say I wasn't completely focused! I had good days and I had some bad, really bad days!

The day before Thanksgiving I hit a record...50 lbs lost! I was so stoked and I had a plan...ready to conquer one of my hardest holidays. I thought I was doing well, but in reality all those times I went back for a "bite" of mac & cheese or noodles showed on the scale the next week. I had gained 3.5 lbs over the Thanksgiving week...yes you read that right, just the week! That really showed me what happens when you don't properly fuel your body! Once the flu hit I stopped stepping on the scale for the month. It's been 4 weeks and I finally weighed in yesterday to see where I was. I'm at 158.5, which is actually down 1 lb from the beginning of the month. So I guess I didn't do sooooo bad! Starting tomorrow I will be updating my weekly progress again. Ready to hit the ground running!!!

I had a huge realization the past week or so that has slowly been transforming in me. I used to LIVE to EAT!! I LOVE food and couldn't wait for the next meal...the next thing my grandma would make saturated in butter, and not stop till it was gone. Over the holidays, even though I've had some bad choices, I've realized that now I have a stop button. I don't over-indulge like I used to...while I can have a cookie, I don't eat the whole plate. When my stomach is full, it's full and I can pass. This is EXTREMELY new to me!!! I am now EATING to FULLY LIVE! There are so many things I want to do and accomplish in life that I have to not focus on food, but what do I need to fuel so that I can go do what I want to do!

2014 is here...and many make New Year's Resolutions. This year instead of a resolution I've created my theme word...FINISH. Finish the things I have started, but never followed all the way through. Lots of things will happen in 2014, because I am going to make it happen! I will achieve my healthy weight, I will also run another 5k and beat my previous time of 38 min. Who knows where I will go from there! To help me get a jump start I'm participating in 2 contests. The first is for clients on our program and on our bigger team. There are HUGE rewards at stake...however I have found it's the competition and support that keeps me focused, not necessarily the prizes! This challenge is called 28 Days of Fat Burn! I'm ready to burn the rest of this fat away!!! (If you are interested send me a message and I will tell you more about it!).

I am also participating in Dr. Andersen's 12-week Health Transformation. This will start at the same time as the 28-day challenge, but will allow for me to continue on for 8 more weeks. See the flier below for more information. ANYONE can participate. There is no obligation to purchase anything or be a part of our program. If your New Year's Resolution was to loose weight, learn healthy habits, or anything similar I encourage you to check it out!!! It's FREE!!! You can sign up at www.stopchallengechoose.com and list me "Kendra Ogroske" as your coach! Dr. A will email daily and I will be your guide!

Hope the holidays were an amazing time of connecting with friends and family. Looking forward to what 2014 has for us!!!

Week 18 & 19

So it appears I remember to update on my progress every two weeks! Between school and other things in life going on, I forget about it! It's been a GREAT two weeks!! Over the past two weeks I have lost 7.5 lbs! I never really thought about how much stress can affect your body from releasing fat, however after going to King Spa a while back and two weeks ago we went to Castle Spa and I had big weeks it makes sense! Spending 3-4 hours there just relaxing and deep breathing helps your body get rid of toxins...including fat!!! This past week saw a lot of changes and parties for us. However I was not tempted for anything! HUGE SUCCESS!!!! I stuck to my plan, and in fact I thought about it less...just allowed things to flow naturally, not caring which meal I ate or thinking about it much at all. I think allowing my focus to shift elsewhere kept me from obsessing to make sure I did everything I could to loose the last lbs on the home stretch! I was really hoping to be at goal by the new year, but I might be a little bit behind. I am shooting for at least trying to be very close to my normal BMI. I'm 12.5 lbs away from normal BMI and 17.5 lbs away from what I initially set as my goal...never know if I'm going to change it! :)

I realized with this weigh in I am really really close to being at 100 lbs lost from my heaviest. Next weigh in I hope I break this barrier!!! Cannot believe how far I have come over the past 4 years...it wasn't a picture perfect journey, that's for sure, but it's my journey that I have walked through. That i have grown through and transformed!

Week 16 & 17

Once school has started I have really slacked off updating weekly! I need to set myself a reminder on Sundays to update from the previous week...so here we are almost to week 18. So far in 17 weeks I have lost 41 lbs. Week 15 saw a 1.8 change and week 17 saw a loss of 0.4 lbs. I typically have once week a month that is a lot lower than the others, but hey, a loss is a loss and I'll take it!!!

This weekend we went to Castle Spa and I'm curious if it's going to cause a boost in the weight loss again. If it does I might be making a regular monthly visit to Castle Spa!! :) I really do enjoy going there. It's a great place to just go relax, meditate, and refresh yourself! If you live in the Dallas area I HIGHLY suggest going to check it out! I did enjoy it MUCH better than King Spa...however if you want it to be more authentic to the Asian culture I'd go to King Spa.

This weekend we also were taking our Christmas pictures...which meant we needed to go shopping since we really didn't have anything to wear that fit the way it should! It was an exciting weekend for me as I bought my first pair of skinny jeans...and my calves finally fit into a pair of knee high boots!!! This was one thing I have been working to achieve for a LONG TIME!!!! I don't think I stopped smiling all day!!! I can't wait till we get our pictures on Wednesday! :) We will have to do it again when we both reach goal and transition.

Amazing what 3 years has done for us!!!

Week 15

Well, it's almost week 16 weigh in and I'm just getting around to writing this post! Someday maybe life will slow down a little and I'll remember things! Well last week I lost 1.6 lbs for a total of 35.8 lbs gone forever! The weight loss per week has slowed down but that's ok...it's moving in the right direction! I really need to get better at daily walks and some light toning exercises followed by stretching. That will be my goal this week...at least 4 days of walks and 3 days of some toning exercises! I put this picture together of all the dietbet weigh in photos...it's kind of fun to see the weekly change! I was one photo short so I put the pic of my half-way goal on there too! :)