Words

Lately, I've been obsessed with words. I've been reading books - all kinds of books - like a fiend. I just want to consume words. Words in books, words in a song, talking to friends, meeting over coffee, connecting via texting, writing notes, journaling, blogging, even writing the obituary for my husband's grandpa with family around the table. I just want to use words. 

As many of you know, I'm a talker. So, this whole "words" thing may not be much of a surprise. But it's more than just speaking. It's seeing the words, reading, hearing, understanding. 

Even the absence of words has been fascinating me. Using the body to communicate. Watching a deaf couple signing. Dancing in our church's Christmas production. Feeling the need to move and dance during worship rather than only singing the words. The way it feels to express my feelings through movement rather than actual words. 

Or the other kind of absence of words. Not having any words to say. My lack of words when I hear that my friends baby is not developing properly. Not knowing what to say to comfort my husband when his grandpa passed away. No words. Sometimes it's good not to say anything. Sometimes It's good to just be quiet and let the silence speak. 

Silence. No words. Not saying anything, but sitting quietly, listening for the word of The Lord. His quiet whisper. Even, it seems, The Lord is silent sometimes. Teaching us to be quiet and wait. 

Every year, I choose a word for the year. I really pray about this word, and what The Lord wants to teach me through that word. Ironically, I don't have a word for 2013 yet. In fact, I had completely forgot about it until about a week ago. I don't know what word to have this year, which seems funny considering my recent fascination/obsession with words. I'm thinking my word for this year might be thankfulness or gratefulness. A lot has happened over the last month or so. Some difficult things. Things that I don't want to be grateful for. I recently started the "One Thousand Gifts" devotional, and its reminding me, teaching me, the importance of being thankful even when things are hard. 

Maybe my word for 2013 should be "word." This would encompass all words. My words, other's words, the Word. Maybe. 

I'm not sure what my word will be - but words are great, wonderful, powerful, meaningful, even hurtful at times. I want a word that stirs something in me to be better, to grow in my relationship with The Lord. In my relationship with my husband. In my relationships with friends. Even with strangers. 

So maybe WORD will be my word this year. (And one of the words I will focus on will be thankfulness). :D

just around the corner

Hey all -

I'm still here and I'm still working to lose weight! :D

Just to catch you up - I won the contest that I did with my friend, Ally. I think I only lost like 5 pounds, but 5 pounds in one month is not bad when I'm at the weight I am.

Chris and I went to Hawaii with his parents in October. Hawaii was not good to my waistline, but we had a blast. I finally had lost all of my Hawaii weight - just in time for Thanksgiving! HA. My parents came for Thanksgiving weekend, and we had such a good time - very relaxing. Although, again, not good for my waist line.

Luckily, I'm dancing in our church's Christmas production, so I've been getting in a lot of cardio. :D In case any of you are curious - my church is doing an original 4 part mini-series. It's like a tv mini-series meets a broadway musical. It's kind of a spin off "The Office" (in genre, not content). So there are parts that are pre-recorded, like a tv show, and then there are live scenes down in "the warehouse." There is lots of acting, singing, and dancing! I'm so excited to be a part of this - it's going to be awesome. It's called, "When It Snows in San Diego." Check out my FB page for a promo video. If any of you are interested in seeing it, recordings of the videos should be on skylinechurch.org on Sunday each week. Let me know if you want more info.

Chris and I have decided to start a photography business - Snider Photography. Chris is hard at work creating a logo, designing a website, and getting Facebook and Twitter set up for us. Stay tuned for more about this - we are super excited about it!

In addition to all the Christmas craziness, I'm looking for a new job. The hours at my current job are being cut because of cutbacks. I'm still there part time, but need something else to compensate those other hours. Looking for something full or part time - I'm open. So if you know of anything - send it my way.

I'm still working to lose weight even through this crazy holiday season. Last year, I lost 10 pounds between Christmas and New Years. Granted, I was 30 pounds heavier, but I think I can do this again. I'm so close to 100 pounds down - I'm itching to reach that goal.

So that's us right now - lots of exciting things on the horizon. Will keep you all posted and updated as things progress.

Love,
The Sniders

1 month away

Holy guacamole, it's been a long time since I've blogged. Summer has been crazy and busy, and full, and I love it. It's nice to get back into a normal rhythm, though, especially when it comes to diet and exercise.

Well, I am just over a month away from my 2 year anniversary of starting my weight loss journey. I can't believe it's been two years, and I'm so proud of how far I've come.

I still have about 20 pounds to go to reach my goal weight. Realistically, I don't expect to lose 20 pounds in a month (especially at this stage in my weight loss), but I'm going to work hard and lose what I can.

My friend, Ally, challenged me to a weight loss competition - with prizes and everything! HA! Chris and I are going to Hawaii in a month, so Ally and I are competing for one month, to see who can lose the most weight. It's more or less an accountability thing, but the competition motives me since I'm pretty competitive. What can I say? I like to win! :D

Basically, Ally and I are doing our own thing - our own eating and exercise plans. I'm basically counting calories and being intentional about what I eat, and increasing my length and intensity of my workouts. She's doing something similar, but her diet will look different than mine since she's gluten and dairy intolerant.

I will let you know how the competition goes when we're done.

My starting weight for the competition is: 173.2
Overall Goal WeightL 150

Here goes nothing!

Love,
Lauren

the good and the bad

Well hello there - it's that time again - time for a weight loss update.

I started the 17 Day Diet. This diet consists of 4 cycles, each 17 days long. I finished the first cycle yesterday and lost a total of 5 pounds. I was hoping to lose more, but it is a decrease in weight, so I can't be too upset. Today, I start cycle 2. The 17 Day Diet basically consists of eating lots of lean proteins, vegetables, fruits, and some dairy. Then in the 2nd cycle, you add in some healthy carbs like brown rice, oatmeal, beans, etc. Then on cycle 3, you add in more types of fruits and vegetables and some other foods, then cycle 4 is the maintenance stage. That is the brief rundown of the diet.

I'm excited to share that I'm officially out of the "obese" category according to the BMI chart, and in the "overweight" category. Although I'm still considered overweight, it feels good to not be considered obese. (That is just such an ugly word). 

Some good things:

- I went shopping, and I'm fitting in much smaller clothes. I started out as a size 20 in Old Navy jeans, and (although they were tight) I was able to get into a size 10! I'm half my size!

- Chris rewarded my hard work with a new pair of tennis (workout) shoes and a new workout tank top. (So now I can be stylish while working out...haha!)

- I bought a new swimsuit. Although I'm not strutting around the pool in it like some swimsuit model, it was nice to buy a cute swimsuit (that was not being sold in the plus size section) and that didn't have a full on skirt at the bottom. 

- Chris' eating habits are changing, and he has been losing weight as well. 

Some tough things:

- I've been getting discouraged that I'm not "there" yet. I want to be in the maintenance stage SO BAD, and it's frustrating that I still have 25 more pounds to go. 

- I've felt like giving up. I mean, hey, I'm out of the obese category, I've lost 85 pounds, and I'm way more fit than I was. I lose more weight later. I need a break. (Don't worry, I'm not giving up - these are just the thoughts that have been going through my head).

- I have been feeling like I've been/am becoming obsessed with weight loss. I feel like everything revolves around this. I'm still processing this because I literally just had this thought/revelation last night. There needs to be a balance in life. I'm going to struggle with food and weight my entire life, but does everything I do have to revolve around my weight? Maybe for now it does until I reach my goal, then I won't be so consumed with it. I know that so many aspects of life contribute to my weight. Food, exercise, stress, even relationships can contribute to my weight loss. So I want to be conscious of these things so that I can continue to lose weight, however, I don't want it to be the only thing I ever talk about with people. I don't want it to be the only thing that dictates my day, my activities, my conversations, my thoughts. Like I said, I'm still processing all of this, but I guess the bottom line is I just don't want to be consumed by this even though it is important - it's not the MOST important thing. 

So my birthday is 12 days away. Obviously, I will not meet my goal by that date (unless someone has some magic drink that will instantly make me skinny. In which case I will drink it, become skinny, then proceed to beat you with a stick for not giving it to me sooner). But seriously, I intend to stay on the 17 day diet, at least for cycle 2. I will splurge on my birthday (we're having sushi), and then jump back on the diet the day after. I will do my best to keep losing weight and reaching my goal. 

The "90 Day Fitness Challenge" that I wrote about a while ago is going good. I'm still doing it - reading the entries every day, trying to continue to create a lifestyle. The 17 day diet is what is keeping my eating under control, but the 90 day challenge is educating me, encouraging me, and helping to keep me structured in my weight loss. 

So there's the good, the bad, and the in between. My new goal is to be at my goal weight by October 18th - my two year anniversary of my weight loss journey. I hope to be at my goal weight before this date, but if I'm not, I think this is a realistic date to lose the weight by. I need to be held accountable to this date and to this goal. It's time to finish the first leg of this journey. Thanks for your love, support, accountability, and encouragement. I so greatly appreciate it. 

Love,

Lauren

guest blogger

Hey all -
I just wanted to share a quick link with you. A friend of mine who is on her own weight loss journey asked me to be a guest writer on her blog. She posted it yesterday, and I wanted to share it with you all in case you didn't see it on Facebook.

Thanks, Leah, for allowing me the opportunity to share my story on your blog in hopes of inspiring more people to get healthy. Praying and pulling for you as you work towards your goals. I'm right there with ya, sister!

You can see the blog post at Leah's blog, Nesting Doll.

slowly, but surely

So I finally started losing again. It's slow and only a couple of pounds, but it's a loss. I realized that part of the reason I wasn't losing is because I was splurging too often. It's one thing to have a piece of dark chocolate every now and then, but to have some sort of sweets every day (even within my calorie limit) was not helping things. Plus, I would lose, and then go celebrate some thing or go to a party or something, and end up gaining the weight back. I'm working on not splurging and really watching my calories at parties and events. It's easy to justify poor eating when it's for a special occasion, but when those special occasions happen often, it makes it hard to lose weight. 


Here are my current stats:


Last Weigh In: 181.6
Current Weight: 178.8
Goal Weight: 150
Weeks Left: 6


I'd really like to get to 175 this week. We're going to Vegas with our families for my sister's softball tournament, so we'll see how strong my will-power is with all the buffets. :D According to the BMI chart, 175 (for my height) puts me into the "overweight" category and out of the "obese" category. This is a big step, and I'd really like to get there soon.


Until the next weigh in...
Lauren

quick check in

Hey all - so here are my stats for this week.

Last Weigh In: 181 lbs
Current Weight: 181.6 lbs
Goal Weight: 150
Weeks Left: 7

Although I've been really liking the 90 Day Challenge, I have been struggling with losing the weight. I will lose one day, and then gain it back the next. Between trips back to Sac, celebrating our anniversary, and other things, I've struggled some with eating right and getting all the exercise in. I know I've been maintaining, which is better than gaining, but I still have quite a bit to lose. Trying to figure this thing out, and I'm hoping that even through all the summer fun and celebrations, I'll be able to make good choices and keep losing.

Until next time.
Lauren