No wonder it so hard to stay focused!

  Although I could do without the chocolate covered French bread pizza.  Those of us who are trying to lose weight must become oblivious to the call of food from every direction.   I categorize the recipes on Pinterest so that I know that they are for a special occasion, and not for everyday.  I have found a ton of inspirational quotes on fitness that I have found to be extremely helpful.

   What is not helpful is seeing all the tiny models that have never had to lose more that 3 pounds in their entire life!  That is not really inspirational.

  About the food, sometimes I just laugh at the recipes.  I know that they would never turn out the same for me!  I know I would be the queen of the Pinterest Fail!

This is so true!

Everyone has their own interpretation of what modesty is, and some people want to say that it doesn't even matter!  It does.  The above quote is true and honest.

May my heart and mind always be in tune with what the Lord would have me

to speak, and wear, and model. 

Setting the reset button

  December was good.  January, not so good for the diet.  Willful overeating happened, and there are consequences to deal with. I am almost back to where I was, and it has been difficult to regain focus.

  I have been following a gal on FB who lost 100 pounds, and then last year had surgery to remove all the excess skin.  She weighs in faithfully on FB every week, and even she has gained 6 pounds.  She is working on it.  You'd think that after 100 pounds and a huge surgery, she would have enough willpower to never gain an ounce.  I am not criticizing, I am empathizing.  It is never easy.  The lure of eating just to eat is always there, and opportunities are on every corner.  Will I ever get to the point of not being tempted to overeat?  Probably not. Christmases and trips, guests and family fun will always be a part of my life, and food is always present, usually front and center.

   I also believe that relapsing into bad behaviour is the same for everyone, no matter what your bad behaviour is. Pushing the "reset" button is necessary every time you feel yourself losing focus and reverting to destructive and/or sinful behaviour. The temptation is to say "Well, I have messed up this far, might as well go all the way!"   That is a lie from satan himself.

   Thanks be to God for the daily mercies I call the "reset" button.

The art of womanliness

    I have started devouring the content over at artofmanliness.com.   Weird, I know, but I really like a lot of what they have over there.   There is some stuff that is irrelevant to me as a woman, but a lot of it is relevant to anyone who wishes to improve themselves.  That phrase sounds so old-fashioned!   I have learned so much, but more importantly, I have been reminded of the importance of continuing to grow as a person, to be better than I was before.

  We are always talking about growing spiritually, and that is most important of all.  But I believe that our day-to-day lives are linked to our spiritual lives.  A godly woman should strive to be a good mom, a good housekeeper, a good cook and a competent home-economist.  First, because it is in Scripture in Titus 2.  Second, because  a good homemaker is such a blessing to herself and her family!  I am definitely not talking about a Pinterest-perfect mom, but I am striving to improve daily.

  I have also read at the Art of Manliness about what some men think about certain types of women.  Ouch!  I am still convinced that when women are womanly, men are encouraged to be the manly men that they long for.    Not that women should be weak, fearful or dumb.  We should find and embrace biblical womanliness.

 

Weight loss journey victory!

I had one goal for the end of the year: maintain the 30 pound weight loss.  Not an easy task when you consider what an eating and cooking frenzy Christmas is.  I stopped getting on the scale when Eileen came home.  For 3 weeks I coasted.  I still exercised faithfully, but in all honesty, we ate good and I enjoyed it all.

This morning, I felt like it was time to face the music, pay the piper, to get real.   So I did.  And I was amazed to find out that I did maintain my 30 pound loss during the holidays.  Part of me is jumping up and down like a game show contestant that just one a million dollars.  The other part of me is crumpled on the floor, amazed and grateful to have finally found success in an area where there had only been failure for years.

My take-away?  I am so encouraged to keep on!  15 pounds this year. That is .3 pounds per week.  Anybody can do that!  You might say, "I can do better than that!"  Maybe you can, but maybe you shouldn't.   Maybe if by just taking it slow and steady you can drop another 15.....forever.

This just in from Dave Ramsey

In keeping with today's previous post, I will share this nugget of wisdom from Dave Ramsey.
This is also true about food.  I do not have to put just anything into my mouth just because it is there or because it is good, or whatever.  I can develop power over anything.  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me!

Exercise and Mary Hunt.

So, I went to the gym for the first time this year.  I also had my class with Sandra on Monday, so all is proceeding normally.  I like this quote because  real progress is slow, and there really is no instant gratification.  

I have been thinking about the new year and my goals.  The weight loss thing I have figured out.  The paying off debt and saving I understand, but have not had the same progress, which is why I want to make it a priority.  It also goes without saying that Bible reading and Scripture copying are always on the top of the list.  I am doing really well there. I am doing a chronological reading this year, for the first time.  Also, I haven't missed a day of the Scripture copying, so that is good.  It's only the 4th, but hey, I like to look on the bright side!

I have said that I really like Dave Ramsey, and I do, but I would be wrong not to let you know about Mary Hunt.  I first heard Mary Hunt on Dr. Dobson's Focus on the Family radio show.  She told her testimony about getting 100,000 dollars in debt, without her husband finding out.  Can you imagine the stress of that much debt and the fact that you were hiding it from your husband?  Long story short, she paid off her debt, they're still married, and she makes a living helping people with her website, Debt-Proof Living.  

One of the practical things that I learned from her was this: if you spend money on something "on sale" that you didn't need, you didn't save money, you spent money.   She avoids malls and at first I didn't understand that, but now I do.  Not spending the money in the first place is better than buy stuff on sale.  

The quote above is about exercise, but to me, it's also about saving money.  Every effort is making a small change that one day will become hugely significant.