Never Thought This Would Happen!

Trying to get back on track with an eating program, fitness program, or just plain healthier lifestyle is not easy.  We've all read and heard what we are suppose to do, and how to do it. The true secret to anything though is just doing it!  Yet, we struggle. We don't want to fail, so often we don't try.  I'm as good at the excuses as anyone.  Just the same January of 2014 I decided I was done with the excuses and I was going to change. 

For several months I did try on my own using the app MyFitnessPal, which I highly recommend, but I was using it to log food and exercise and then if I was still hungry quickly exercising to get more calories so I could eat more.  What a crazy cycle.  It did work though to the tune of 20 lbs, so I was ok with it. That was the year when all the stations and magazines were advertising the quick weight loss pill that would attack the fat cells and strip them away. You don't even need to exercise they all claimed. Sounded too good to be true, but I wanted to kick start my weight loss in a big way so I talked to my friend who's a nutritionist to get her take. She told me they weren't FDA approved, big surprise, and so I decided not to go that route. 

Instead, she invited me to come see her.  She told me she had a program that she was using with clients to really get them going and while it was hard maybe I should consider it. I figured I'd tried so many other things why not. This program has to be monitored by a nutritionist and doctor, so I'm not going to share many details here, but basically it's a carb free diet.  I started September 1, 2014 a year later I was down 110 lbs! The crazy thing was it was the easiest thing I had ever done...when I remembered to stay focused! Over this fall I'd lost my focus a little and let myself  splurge a little too often.  In the process I gained back 15 lbs.  Ugh!

I knew what I needed to do so January of this year I decided to get back into  a healthier lifestyle, by eating better and working out more.  I really wanted to focus on toning so I joined the Mofit classes up at the Rec center with Maureen Hausler.  In a month I can already tell a difference in my strength level.  I went from 5 lb weights in January to 10 lb weights as of today.  I've met some really encouraging people, and various exercises that I couldn't possibly do before, I am starting to be able to do.  In fact, you can ask my husband, I'm even bowling better as I can now really throw a 11 lb ball.  Not that I'm great at it, but still it's better! 

But that's not what I never thought would happen....

I'm not sure what it is about running into people you knew back when that makes us self conscious, but there's just something about it.  I've always struggled with feeling inadequate when I've run into people from the past. Like I was being judged for how I looked or what I did. In truth I don't think the people probably even cared, but I felt that way just the same. Since starting to lose weight and be healthier I've been a bit less self conscious, but still when walking into a gym/rec center I'd still shy away from people I knew.  

Today, I crossed over the bridge of worrying about it because I realized I'm at a place I never dreamt I'd be. 

I was running late to my class this morning and when I walked in there was someone I knew from High School.  We had some classes together, but over all ran in different crowds. Of course to make matters worse it was a guy. (No offense to him, but just a disclaimer I never had a crush on him. Thought I'd better make that clear!) Everyone got started working out and half way through class it hit me. I'm not sure what Maureen even said now, but I remember saying "I'm in better shape then I was in High School" 

Seriously!!! I've been out of High School for almost 25 years, and I'm in better shape now!?  Life takes us on many adventures, but finding the focus to become healthier was an adventure I wish I had taken sooner. Yet, instead of dwelling on the past I know I am determined to keep moving forward. 

God works in mysterious ways.  Yesterday I received a package in the mail that was supposed to have a small treat in it, mine came without the treat helping me to maintain my focus and not eat those empty calories and carbs. Today He put someone from my past in my path and helped me to see that I am healthier now then I was ever then. Something I truly never thought would happen! 

The journey isn't over, but I can't wait to take the next step!

"They" say it takes 21 days to make a habit, are "they" right?

Sometimes I think what "they" say isn't always true.  How many times have we heard from our kids or ourselves, well..."they said!", only to discover it wasn't a true statement at all.  I've been reading through the book of Job this month and have really had my eyes opened to the fact that "they" can say a lot of good things. Things that make sense, things that are sometimes even based on some truths, but just the same aren't truth at all. Scripture tells us that  Satan is the father of lies.  It also continually shows us how he knows the truth and often uses it to try and get us to believe what he's selling.  If you sprinkle a little truth on anything it seems to be right, until you start digging down.  Which brings me to the "it takes 21 days to make a habit statement" is that truth?

My experience has been that I can do anything for 21 days.  I think we all can, but habits, in order to be life changing and stick through time, require a heart change.  Yes, if you start something and make it a goal to go 21 days, chances are good you will get into the routine of doing that thing and then want to or be used to doing it enough that you will, in a lot of cases, continue.  But...(sorry grammatical friends rolling their eyes for me starting a sentence with that word!) if you're heart hasn't changed to believing whatever it was is truly beneficially after awhile you will once again slack off and then have to start the whole process over again.

How do you get your heart to change then? Here is what I have discovered has helped me sometimes make the change from my heart and not just from needing to complete a set of steps to get to the 21 day goal.
1. Ask why am I doing this to begin with?
There are a lot of things that we do because others tell us it's right.  Let's look at scripture reading first. A Bible believing church will tell you and encourage you to be in the Word daily. Truth is God wants us to grow in our relationship with Him, and in order to do that, like any relationship, we need to spend time investing in it. However, if we are only doing it, for 21 days, or longer because someone told us to or to check it off our list, are we really investing in that relationship? I know, I know you have to start somewhere and I wholeheartedly agree.  At different points in my life when I found myself having stopped taking the time to spend with Him each day, I would write it on my to do list.  I knew for me if I got to the end of the day and still saw "devos" listed I would feel the need to complete it.  So, yes, start somewhere. As you start though, keep asking yourself am I doing this for me, or for others?  Maybe that sounds selfish, but too often we are motivated but what others are asking us or telling us to do, and when that is our motivation it will only last as long as we care what they think. At some point you have to make a determination that it is valuable, that it changes who you are, or who you want to be, and that the time and effort it takes to make those changes is worth it. Until it becomes personal it truly won't stick. That's what I mean by a heart issue. It needs to be about what YOU want and desire, not because someone, no matter how smart they are, told you to do it!

2. Am I willing to make the time for whatever it is?
We live in a culture of busyness.  We are always too busy for everything and everyone, although somehow we have plenty of time to be on our phones, watch tv, sleep extra, yada, yada, yada! I'm right there too a good deal of the time. So how do we combat that?  We look at what is important in our lives, and begin to sort out our priorities. (for those of you Harry Potter fans can you just hear Ron saying that, or is it just me?) How do we do that?  For me it's about asking myself usually daily, what is most important today. What do I need to get done? What do I want to get done? Who do I want to invest my time in? I'm a list maker, and typically have a home list and a school list, BUT I give myself permission to not complete them when other things come up.  I've discovered that I need to spend time with God each day.  It helps me stay focused on what is important for the day ahead.  I'm willing to make time for Him, which means I will need to sacrifice time doing something else in my day, one of those things on the list might need to move. That's ok, because I know for me that has to come first! After that I based my need to do and want to do lists on where I am.  I'm blessed that my career requires that I be at work Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. So on those days my need to do list has to be focused first on work items. However, I'm a teacher so, my school list tends to come home with me and be with me on my days off too! On my day's off though I try to focus on what my household needs to have done first.  Sometimes for my household to function better I need to finish up lesson plans while the family is at work or school so that I can properly invest time in them when they are at home. That leads to question three...

3. Is this something that will improve who I am not just for me, but for the people I come in contact with?
Losing weight is an admirable goal.  My weight has been an issue for a long time. Until I realized first, that I needed to do it for me, not for those telling me to. (answer to question one) Then I needed to be willing to take the time it would mean to make healthier food choices, add in drinking water (which does take time as you have to keep making stops in small rooms!) and getting proper exercise and sleep. In the past year and a half I've lost 110 lbs.  In that time I realized that first of all that was for me. That my heart's desire was to be healthier and it was what I wanted. Mom couldn't make me do it, my doctor couldn't make me do it, my family couldn't make me do it... I needed to want to do it. Then I needed to make time to do it, and make it a priority.  Finally, to make it last it has needed to become something that improves me for me and for those I'm with.  When that last step happens it's the heart that really has learned. I've learned that when I eat better, get some exercise in, and sleep better I not only feel better, but I act better too!  Which means it does improve who I am for the people around me.

Perhaps this is just rambling to some, but I've learned in life, through scripture, and through others that when "they" say something, I need to make sure it's truth, that it is important and that it is something I'm willing to take time for.

Happy New Year!!!

Welcome to 2014, the year that will be different.  Isn't that what we all think, or even say at this time of year. This year will be different. This year I will....fill in the blank, and make a difference.  I've done it too, I have ideas of what I want to get done this year, areas I want to improve. Five days in and I find myself wondering, will this year be different?

If I had to pick a statement for this year it would probably be "stay focused, without making myself crazy" Guess that's pretty broad, so what do I mean?  I'm very much into organizing, and making everything look good.  I'm a list maker, and find that I stay focused better when I have a list, but sometimes I get so focused on the list that I get overwhelmed with getting stuff done.  This year I want to remember there is always stuff to do, but a few steps in the right direction are far better than no steps.  The list, the jobs they will always be there.  Making a little progress and then taking a break to enjoy those around you are far more important that digging in and getting it done and having no one to enjoy it with.  That's the goal.  Which is why this year I also want to have Sunday's be a day of rest for all of us.  We can worship in the morning with our church family and in the evening with our small group church family, and in the middle relax.  Sometimes that won't happen, sports and other commitments may come up, but overall that's the goal.

I want this year to be a year of improved health too.  More water, less pop. More eating at home, less eating out and of course more physical activity.  We all can improve in that way.  I know ultimately weight loss is on my list too, but in the past when I've succeeded it's been by focusing on changing a lifestyle and not as much on the loss it now attitude. 

I have a list, in my mind and some things on paper too.  I'm ready to take on 2014 and see what God has in store for me this year.  My focus is on following His lead, and moving forward.

Happy New Year!  Bring it on!

A Day of Remembrance

Yesterday was a day to think about our country. To think about our families and to hold them a little closer. Last night at PTA our Assistant Principal made the comment that the kids in our elementary schools don't remember the events of September 11th. They were too young, for them it is simply history.
How true that is, as I look at my own children. Zach was 19 months old. I clearly remember going into the bank that morning as I was off to start my errands for the day. Setting him up on the counter to do my banking and the teller surprised at my good mood. "Don't you know what just happened?" she asked. Having a little one I hadn't had the news on, or even the radio on the way to the bank. I was telling him about our day and what we were going. Quickly that changed. I spent the morning trying to catch bits and pieces of information, but not wanting to turn the tv on so that he wouldn't be exposed to the pictures. The day before I had found out I was expecting our second child. The world had dropped out and I remember wondering why we were bringing a child into a world that was in trouble.
Yesterday, dressed in red, white and blue we walked to the bus stop. We talked about the bad people who had made a bad decision that day. We talked about the many families that were missing their mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers and we prayed for them to feel peace as they go forward each year. I know Katie didn't quite understand all we were talking about, she couldn't believe that airplanes could be taken into buildings, and Zach was amazed that someone would want to do that. So we prayed that God would not allow this to happen again.
I'm so thankful that even with recalling those events and talking about it with the kids that I was able to give them a message again that God is in control. Sometimes bad things happen, and sometimes we won't know why they have happened. But we love and serve a God that is bigger then all of that.
September 11th will always be a day of Remembrance. We should never forget those that lost their lives, but we should also never forget the way the country came together. 7 years later, it's hard to say if the US still feels connected to one another. My prayer as I write this today is that it won't take another act of violence for the people of our country to open their eyes to the world around them and start to make a change in how we live.