Sunday, November 3, 2013

Recent Weight Loss

Tad and I after finishing a 4th of July 5k

I have struggled with my weight for years, but especially since having Madelynn 7 years ago. For years, I lived in a state of disappointment with myself for keeping that weight on, and I was quick to complain about how I felt about how I looked, but slow to do anything about it. How much time and energy I wasted just complaining about it when I could have just done something about it! But it is and always has been a battle of the mind. It is always harder to choose those healthy options and to sacrifice than to just reach for the bag of chips and go to town. But I needed something to change.
The huge (God-send) thing I needed to start my change was an online support group through Facebook. I reached out to a friend who had a Facebook page about being healthy and fit. She is a Beachbody consultant and I didn't have the money to get one of their programs but she decided to start a free accountability group as long as we committed to logging our food through My Fitness Pal, working out (15 minute minimum) 5 times a week, and we held each other accountable through our Facebook page and commented on at least one post for that day. Well, let me just tell you that that accountability was just what I needed! I was hesitant and scared that I had just committed to those things, but the results were so worth it. Since April, I have been working out 6 days a week, logging my food (not as regularly, but that is the goal), part of my accountability group, and to date have lost about 15 pounds. I still have about 15 pounds to go, and the process is slow because my eating hasn't always been the best, but it is progress. And it feels so good to accomplish that.
The feel after a workout. Carving out that time to do something good for your body. The amazing toning I am starting to see all over my body that is paying off visibly! Having to find new, smaller clothes that I haven't fit into for years, and putting away the big clothes. Something I didn't think would happen. The support of our group; and this group of ladies has become like family. They are believers in a big God and we encourage each other and it has become about way more than even our weight loss. We have become a group that can share anything that is going on in our lives and we can have instant prayer warriors at our fingertips! It is truly of God!

This past summer, I also had a chance to read "Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food" by Lysa Terkeurst. I had never heard of her before, but apparently she has written other great books and has a radio ministry. Her book was really good! I had never read a book about food before, especially one having to do with God. It really made me think, and I had the privilege of finishing it on our family vacation and passing it on to my aunt! I love passing on books that I have read and love to other people! Here are some quotes from the book:

"It is good for God's people to be put in a place of slight desperation. Only then can we be empty enough and open enough to discover the holiness we were made for."

"When we are stuffed...we don't recognize the deeper spiritual battle going on."

"Satan wants to keep us distracted by chasing one temporary filling after another. God wants us to step back and let the emptying process have its way until we start desiring a holier approach to life."

"The gap between our frail discipline and God's available strength is bridged with nothing but a simple choice on our part to pursue this holiness."

"Moment by moment we have the choice to live in our own strength and risk failure or to reach across the gap and grab hold of God's unwavering strength."

"When we're defeated and stuck in issues of the flesh, it's really hard to fully and passionately follow hard after God."

"I can make the choice to identify my shortcomings and, instead of using them against myself, hand them over to Jesus and let Him chisel my rough places. The grace-filled way Jesus chisels is so vastly different than the way I beat on myself. My beatings are full of exaggerated lies that defeat. His chiseling is full of truth that sets me free."

Sorry there were so many! They are just all so good, and I didn't want to leave any out!!

I am not saying that it isn't a battle. Or it isn't hard. I have to choose daily which path I will take - one of discipline or one of mindlessly eating without tracking calories or caring how much I eat. And if I was more disciplined, it would have been more than 15 pounds by now. But without my accountability group, I think I would have given up several times by now. But they keep me going. They remind me to keep going, that we can be disciplined. That it is worth the fight. That we can see results, and make better choices, and focus on Wellness instead of Dieting. It is a lifestyle choice that needs to continue, not a few months of agony to lose the weight and then go back to how I used to eat. And I love to eat! And bake! And pig out! And I still eat bad or binge or have bad moments, but I hope to have more good moments than bad, and to know when to stop.
So it is a constant battle. But having people behind you is a huge encouragement, and I am still in the fight!! Maybe in the future I will share a blog post about what kinds of workouts I do and how I got great results! Here's to a healthier holiday season!!

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