I did manage to exercise twice, so...well...that's better than none! Progress at least. But I DID manage to eat waaaaaaaay better than last week and I am happy to report those pesky pounds came right back off! The bigger challenge will be when we travel for a few days in the next couple of weeks for our State Basketball Tournament. It will be way too easy to simply eat junk at almost every meal. There will be plenty of exercise with all of the walking, but I don't want to use that as an excuse to be undisciplined in my eating. If I'm going to make a lifestyle change, it has to be consistent. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe in giving anything up entirely. I firmly believe you can eat anything--in moderation. In the past, every time I've tried to just give something up completely, it just made me crave it more. And then I would let myself have some because I "deserved it"...but rather than have SOME I would have a LOT. And then I'd feel lousy about myself and eat more to feel better. Thus the vicious cycle of self-sabotage continued. So now, rather than give something up, I want to find ways to eat it in moderation. One of the easiest ways of doing this for me, at least regarding my insane sweet tooth, came as a suggestion from my sweet friend Kim. She was able to drop quite a bit of weight a few years back and when I asked her how she did it she simply said "portion control". She didn't gorge herself at meals, but ate whatever she wanted. And when it came to sweets, she chose one or two "bite size" portions of her favorite candy to satisfy her. Now THAT is something I can do! So just after Christmas I hit up a sale on Christmas candies that I love and keep them in the fridge. Then when I have a craving for something sweet, I'll either choose fruit, OR I'll grab a piece of chocolate I love from the fridge. It's been SO much easier than I imagined AND I get to still have sweets now and then! I'm telling you--I believe with everything in me that if this change is going to be permanent, I HAVE to find little ways to make it work EASILY.
Speaking of easy...it's much easier for me to keep my cool with my kiddos when I've spent time in the Word BEFORE they wake up. LOL. I had been very consistent with reading my Bible these last couple of weeks, but I found that the last week I wasn't getting it in first thing in the morning as much. It's not that it matters really when it happens, but I sure do have a better mindset, a God-focused mindset throughout my day when I start it off with Him! I made it a point to get back to that the last two or so days and it's made alllll the difference! I'm going through a great study of Wisdom right now, reading through Proverbs. Do you ever have those moments when God just humbles you on the spot? I had one just today. My reading this morning was over the importance of our words, and how easy it is to say something and walk away and not give it much thought, but yet it can linger on in the mind of the receiver for days, weeks, even years to come. It's SO important for us to choose our words wisely, to speak LIFE to those we encounter every day. I was overwhelmed with this deep message (even though I've heard it time and again) and prayed that God would help me guard my mouth and to think before I speak. And yet...rather than just guarding my mouth FOR me, I found God giving me opportunities to guard my mouth, time and time again, as one by one my children irritated me to the Nth degree today. For the most part, I did quite well...but the end of the night saw me blowing up at my children on the way home from an event...yelling even. When I'd finally gotten home, calmed down, and spent some time alone, God spoke so clearly to my heart. He showed me how He'd repeatedly given me those opportunities to APPLY the wisdom from that day, and how I'd come up short.
No one is perfect, by any means. But we must realize (and I think this comes easier for parents because of the relationship with our kids being mirrored in God's relationship with us)...we are learning. We are growing. We are never stagnant. Whether it's our health, our relationships, our goals, our walk with Christ, or anything else we set out to do, we are either moving TOWARD it, or moving AWAY from it. The choice is ours. We can make baby steps in one direction or the other, but we ARE making those steps. Choice by choice, moment by moment...
Let's choose to move in the right direction!
Blessings,
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