Who said, “Losing weight isn’t as fun as gaining it?”
I think it’s MORE fun! Last
week, I had two people comment that they could tell I was losing weight. Sunday at church, two more. Today, another one! It’s very encouraging, and it’s an upbeat
feeling instead of the constant mental beat-downs I’ve daily given myself in
the past. Yeah, I know it’s only been
six weeks. Six weeks of walking in
freedom.! The difference between now
and then is far more than just weight loss.
When I wake up in the morning now, my first thought is not, “I hate
myself. I hate this. I don’t want to do this again today.”
Being off
sugar has been liberating! What is so
great about that statement coming from ME is that there were plenty of days where
sugar/carbs was basically all I ate.
Donuts or biscuits for breakfast, candy for snacks, chips and dip,
breadsticks and candy for lunch and dinner, and sipping sweet tea all day. It didn’t matter how much of that stuff I
ate, it was never enough, and the more I ate the worse I felt. In the midst of the wild frenzy of binge eating,
no one could ever have convinced me I would ever live without sugar/bread/pasta…and live
happier…without it!
I won’t lie
to you and say every day has been a sunshiny walk in the park. There are a few clouds every now and then,
but I’m still in the park, even on the cloudy days! There
are days when I’ve been good as gold for days, and the scales show a pound
up. It does seem that those are the days
when a co-worker will bring donuts or taffy (I love taffy…thank God there is
sugar free taffy!) to work. But…with God as my witness, I have had ample
strength to abstain. (God as my witness, because rest assured, He is my
strength.)
I suppose if I'm going to weigh every day, I'd better get used to fluctuations, eh?
I haven’t
exercised. Yet. I hate exercising. In the back of my mind somewhere, I have a
plan to start a New Year workout routine.
A very modest, simple routine. I
have noticed, though, that I have a bit more energy. I’m still need to lose a whole person from
my frame, so I’m sure I was funny looking to the neighbors, but I actually
played a little badminton with my grandson two days ago. I played enough to get sore…but I played bad
enough to not really be able to call it a game. I can, however, definitely call it fun.
Tomorrow: Some
call it cheating, I call it living my life.
I heard this statement as I clicked thru the TV channels today. I have no context for it and don't know the speaker as the show went to music immediately after this sentence was spoken.
ReplyDelete"Give yourself fully to the Will of God and then the Will of God will carry you thru to do the hard things."
I think that is what this weight loss struggle has been about for me. It's not about pumping myself up, buckling down, and being determined to lose weight. It's about relinquishing self-effort. It's about yielding completely to God, depending on Him, knowing Him, moving in Him.
Only God can make a lifetime of weight loss failure the means to living in His embrace.
Deb
I could not agree more, Deb. I think that when we are totally obedient (sounds so easy, is NOT!) that is where true freedom is. God kept leading me to Ps. 33, and I couldn't figure out why...but I think you've hit on exactly why...especially the verses about the king, the mighty man and a horse. (Of course, the scripture maybe only spoke to me that way! lol)
Delete33:8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
9 For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.
10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The plans of His heart to all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.
13 The Lord looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men.
14 From the place of His dwelling He looks
On all the inhabitants of the earth;
15 He fashions their hearts individually;
He considers all their works.
16 No king is saved by the multitude of an army;
A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for safety;
Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.
18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy,
19 To deliver their soul from death,
And to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him,
Because we have trusted in His holy name.
22 Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us,
Just as we hope in You.
Ohhh, that passage is perfect! It carries the message exactly. I am, with difficulty, refraining from typing out every sentence that spoke to me. :}
DeleteThanks for this. The Lord and I are going to read this Psalm together as soon as I click "Publish"!
Deb
I heard a fascinating and informative interview recently by Jimmy Moore. The woman he was interviewing said that for ladies over 40ish, after the initial big losses when first going on a low carb eating plan, there then comes the normal slower rate of fat loss. She said it was not unusual for "older" ladies to lose about 1/2 a pound a week, and that is normal. But due to the normal fluctuations in body weight, we won't really see that, think we aren't making progress, and get discouraged.
ReplyDeleteSo her recommendation was to weigh whenever you want (daily was okay with her) but to be sure to AVERAGE it out for the week or month, or you'd miss the overall progress. I hadn't heard that before, and thought it good advice.
Here's the link if interested... she had a lot to say about low carbing that I appreciated: http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/atlcx-episode-27-jenny-ruhl-overcoming-the-problems-with-a-low-carb-diet/15736
Yes, that is very good advice. I'd been thinking along the lines of "three steps forward, two steps back." I already knew I would not lose as fast as I did those first two weeks...but what really disappointed me was I am not losing near as fast as the thirty-something chick who works downstairs, who looks GREAT after a year on low carb...the weight melted off of her each week. Then it hit me, I'm pushing 50 and menopausal! That's most likely why I didn't lose 30 pounds my first month like she did, nor am I losing the 4 or 5 per week I'd like. I'm going to check out the link. Thanks for that.
DeleteMost of all...I'd like to get away from the numbers! I am not quite there yet. I'd like to wake up in the mornings and not wonder how much I've lost today! lol I have to admit, it's exciting...a much preferable feeling that the hopelessness, discouragement and despair that used to cloak me.
Find something fun to do for exercise, like playing badminton. Doesn't have to be 30 grueling minutes on the treadmill or elliptical machine, but something that gets your body moving; start slow and be consistent and add a bit more on as you get more comfortable doing it.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking a little bit ago about all the clutter here and God reminded me of the fact that hubby's parents didn't get the clutter overnight so its okay if the clutter doesn't get all disposed of overnight; same with weight. We didn't pack it on overnight so it won't come off overnight either, but slow and steady wins the race and in the process we are reeducating ourselves and our body with new foods, etc so it is all a good thing!
So glad things are going good with this, Meg, and that people are noticing that you are losing weight :)
betty