Monday, January 26, 2015

Stressed or Overwhelmed? Just EAT!

During a brief conversation with a friend on Facebook this week, she told me that she is an emotional eater. Wow...that immediately got my attention as I am one too.

Here's the problem with that...I am a female, so my emotions can be all over the place at any given time. I can be happy and sad in the same few seconds. Overwhelmed and content, stressed and relaxed, confused and clear-headed....no matter what the emotion, I want to eat.

Second problem...what I want to eat is NEVER healthy. I want bread with butter (lots of it), pizza covered with cheese, chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, brownies, and so much more.

So, who created me and the feelings that go with me? The Creator of the Universe. Yet, he commands us to "take every thought captive" and to be self-controlled. He demands that we take care of the temple He has given us. Yet, my flesh desires the very opposite of His statutes! And doesn't He tell us that too? Isaiah 55:8-9 says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth,so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Just this week I have been reminded of the difficulty of controlling my thoughts. When I run or exercise, I just want to quit pretty quickly (about 5 minutes into it). I think of every excuse under the sun. Even with the best intentions of how hard to push myself and what will be accomplished, I can easily dismiss those goals within a few minutes of starting. Yet, God uses the Holy Spirit to remind me of His promises, and I trudge on. I cannot tell you that I do it with a heart of contentment or joy. In fact, it's just the opposite.

But, something inside of me changes slowly (way too slowly for my liking) as I run a few more minutes. Or I make it a mile without stopping. Or I choose a healthy food over my desires. And He is honored when I choose Him over me. Every second of every day, it is a fight to glorify Him more than myself. A fight.

You may be struggling with something different, and you find yourself in a battle of your own. Don't give up my friend. One foot in front of the other. Breathe in, breathe out. Rely on Him alone. He is all we need.

Sunday, January 18, 2015

A Week of the Unexpecteds

It's been two weeks since I've posted, and well, I have good reasons..or at least one. JT had knee surgery this past Monday (the 12th), and we were up early and ready to go. He had torn his meniscus at some point this summer and just kept running in spite of the pain. The ability to bear the pain decreased as time went on, yet he was still able to run a half marathon in November. The month of December brought us to the realization that a surgery was inevitable.

When the doctor came out of the operation, he told me that this was the worst case scenario for JT. While we were hoping he would be able to begin rehab immediately, it was not to be so. He is not allowed to bear any weight on his left leg for a month. Do you know what that means in man terminology? It means FOREVER AND EVER AMEN! Yes, it does.

What was my first thought? I wonder if JT can just sleep in the car while I stop at the store on the way home and buy ice cream and Whoppers and Laffy Taffy and brownie mix and anything else chocolate I can find. I wanted to pitch my neatly organized menu for the week and just eat whatever was available. And exercise...well, who has time for that when you have to take care of a recovering adult along with four other kids (the oldest is babysitting across town for a week and is unavailable to be a driver here). So, giving up was my main option.

But God, in all of His great goodness and patience with me, quieted my heart and mind on the way home. There's no need to go crazy because things didn't go as planned. I still need to eat healthy, drink plenty of water and stick to the exercise plan. And so I did. And I have. And I will continue to do so.

He is a God of consistency. He is always faithful to His great promises. He never fails. And He never will. And He can be trusted. I know that. I believe that. I will live it.

Your prayers and encouragement mean more to me than I can communicate adequately on this blog. I cherish you all.

Monday, January 5, 2015

Humiliation ALERT

Well, this is embarrassing, humiliating and disappointing all wrapped up into one statement: I have failed miserably.

Over the past year I have managed to generously pack on 30 pounds that I had lost. My harsh realization came the last weekend in November as we were running a half marathon. I knew I wasn’t fully prepared. And clearly, I was NOT. It took me 15 minutes LONGER than the last time I ran it. And, I was so mad at myself by the end of it that I couldn’t even relish in the fact that I had finished it.

Here’s the facts:

My exercise has been consistent in running 4-5 days a week with some cross-training thrown in for good measure.
My eating has been horrendous….Little Debbie snack cakes, biscuits with apple butter, chocolate chips, ice cream…you name it, I’ve claimed it.
My study of God’s Word about health issues has been non-existent. I’ve danced around those passages gladly while ignoring them willingly.


So, what do I do now? I start over. I REMEMBER….what God has already taught me and shown me along the way. REMEMBER, REMEMBER, REMEMBER!!!!

And, here’s the plan to get there:

1. Reread Made to Crave and study the Scriptures intently in regard to our physical well-being.
2. Set goals for the next two years concerning weight, clothing sizes, and running.
3. Hire an online running coach to help me reach my goals in 2015/2016.
4. Sign up for races to help keep goals in sight.
5. Stick to the healthy eating plan that we already know works and do not deviate from it. We know that we are WEAK in this arena and will need help.
6. Blog about the weekly/monthly progress to make sure that we are held accountable in a public forum.

With that being said, I weighed 184.4 when I stepped on the scale yesterday (that was December 1st). I am 5’6 so that’s overweight. My goal is to get back to 150-155.

I cannot think of anything more humiliating or transparent or scary to post right now other than that.

PS I originally wrote this blogpost on December 2nd but we've been so swamped during December that I didn't post it. In the past month, I've already hired a running coach, signed up for a 5K this month and lost 9 lbs....progress!