I was talking to a health club worker about the difficulty of getting to the gym after a hard day at work and coming home feeling tired. She responded by saying that I could get over the hump by looking at exercise as salve for the wound. Salve = something that soothes, heals, like a balm. Doesn’t that sound great??!!
I know that in the past I have begun programs and rigorous exercise regimens with super high motivation, but after a couple of weeks I’m just plain tired. Perhaps a more gentle approach is what my body needs – not sitting on the couch but a moderate, regular walk or bike ride. Why ARE we so harsh on our bodies?
May 30, 2008
May 28, 2008
Losing Gradually
I've read recently that losing weight and keeping it off is akin in difficulty to going off drugs! I'm not sure it's accurate to say that we are addicted to food -- isn't everyone? I mean, if anybody went without food, they would go through withdrawals, get the shakes, and eventually die. But, in terms of fighting our bodies urges, it's sometimes really difficult to know when to say yes and when we should say no. I've been learning about how intricately God has made our bodies, how complex they are and how adaptive they are to the food supply. Sometimes it feels like our bodies are so out of whack that to trust them to tell us when and what to eat is really scary and may seem even foolish. But, it's also scary to think that we can work so hard at limiting this food and that and lose weight, and then gain it back plus a little more ~ over and over again. There must be a better way. Is it really supposed to be this hard?
We live in a culture that wants what they want now...not in a few weeks, not in a year or two, but NOW. No matter how we choose to tackle our weight issues, waiting is hard, fluctuating scale numbers are hard, not being happy in our clothes is hard and it's very tempting to slip back into denial and think that diets that promise quick and big weight loss will work this time. Lon and I had plans to take our honeymoon this summer, go to Jamaica and lay on the beach, read a book, enjoy the water, etc. But who wants to lay on the beach feeling like a beachball? I want the weight gone now, I want success every single week. But, that's just not how it's working out. It's a humbling thing to want something so bad and not be able to achieve it.
What do you think? What do you think God thinks about all this?
We live in a culture that wants what they want now...not in a few weeks, not in a year or two, but NOW. No matter how we choose to tackle our weight issues, waiting is hard, fluctuating scale numbers are hard, not being happy in our clothes is hard and it's very tempting to slip back into denial and think that diets that promise quick and big weight loss will work this time. Lon and I had plans to take our honeymoon this summer, go to Jamaica and lay on the beach, read a book, enjoy the water, etc. But who wants to lay on the beach feeling like a beachball? I want the weight gone now, I want success every single week. But, that's just not how it's working out. It's a humbling thing to want something so bad and not be able to achieve it.
What do you think? What do you think God thinks about all this?
May 27, 2008
Getting Lean - Part 3
This is the last installment of getting lean.
One last way we can get lean is in our entertainment choices. If we understand why we are put here on this earth and have discovered even a part of our giftedness, why on earth do we spend so much time doing things that get us nowhere? I 've never been a person to say we should never watch tv, but honestly, I've been looking at my own tv watching and the time I'm literally wasting. There are a handful of programs that I truly enjoy, and I really want to get lean in this area by putting myself on a tv diet. What about movies, or books? I'm one of those people who can hardly get out of Barnes & Noble for under $50. While I do have a policy of only buying books when I've read the ones I already have, I sometimes break my own rule. Those covers are just so tempting, and I feel this euphorical thrill rush through my veins when I walk in those double doors. Last week as my DH and I put up our books on our new bookshelves, I took the time to wade through and set aside some volumes that others may enjoy, texts that I will not likely return to. It felt good. Plus the bookshelves look really nice!
How can you get lean?
One last way we can get lean is in our entertainment choices. If we understand why we are put here on this earth and have discovered even a part of our giftedness, why on earth do we spend so much time doing things that get us nowhere? I 've never been a person to say we should never watch tv, but honestly, I've been looking at my own tv watching and the time I'm literally wasting. There are a handful of programs that I truly enjoy, and I really want to get lean in this area by putting myself on a tv diet. What about movies, or books? I'm one of those people who can hardly get out of Barnes & Noble for under $50. While I do have a policy of only buying books when I've read the ones I already have, I sometimes break my own rule. Those covers are just so tempting, and I feel this euphorical thrill rush through my veins when I walk in those double doors. Last week as my DH and I put up our books on our new bookshelves, I took the time to wade through and set aside some volumes that others may enjoy, texts that I will not likely return to. It felt good. Plus the bookshelves look really nice!
How can you get lean?
Getting Lean - part 2
We're discussing ways we can get lean other than in our physical bodies. So, here's part two of this discussion:
Another application for "getting lean" is with our material possessions. Simplifying seems to be very popular while we talk about it, but when it comes down to actually doing it, we find it very difficult to let go of our stuff. When my new husband moved in with me last fall, he had an accumulation of about 30+ years of stuff, going back all the way to grade school! Some, true, is of great sentimental value, but other things were just things....not really useful be somehow hard to throw or give away. I moved across the country a few years prior and really got lean then! My DH and I have managed to squeeze ourselves into 610 sq ft, no small accomplishment. But, I dare say, if we had double or triple this space, we'd still have all that stuff in our possession. It does our spirit and mind good to rid ourselves of things that either are not beautiful or are not useful to us. Try it.
Part 3 coming soon!
Another application for "getting lean" is with our material possessions. Simplifying seems to be very popular while we talk about it, but when it comes down to actually doing it, we find it very difficult to let go of our stuff. When my new husband moved in with me last fall, he had an accumulation of about 30+ years of stuff, going back all the way to grade school! Some, true, is of great sentimental value, but other things were just things....not really useful be somehow hard to throw or give away. I moved across the country a few years prior and really got lean then! My DH and I have managed to squeeze ourselves into 610 sq ft, no small accomplishment. But, I dare say, if we had double or triple this space, we'd still have all that stuff in our possession. It does our spirit and mind good to rid ourselves of things that either are not beautiful or are not useful to us. Try it.
Part 3 coming soon!
Getting Lean
I've been putting up guest posts over at a private group that's working together to take off a few pounds. The next few posts will be a synopsis of those posts since noone except members can visit there.
Most people reading the title of this post would think I'm solely referring to losing weight off of our physical bodies. But, getting lean is apropo for any number of areas of our daily existence. Take for instance our writing. While it's a common belief that long copy sells, long does not mean wordy, sloppy or fatty. Long and lean does it, baby. We need to make our words work together much like muscles in the human body work to support our functioning systems,and leave out all those superfluous words that don't accomplish anything except weigh down our message. Self-editing...while difficult, somehow it's easier than being edited.
Tune in next time for the second installment of getting lean.
Most people reading the title of this post would think I'm solely referring to losing weight off of our physical bodies. But, getting lean is apropo for any number of areas of our daily existence. Take for instance our writing. While it's a common belief that long copy sells, long does not mean wordy, sloppy or fatty. Long and lean does it, baby. We need to make our words work together much like muscles in the human body work to support our functioning systems,and leave out all those superfluous words that don't accomplish anything except weigh down our message. Self-editing...while difficult, somehow it's easier than being edited.
Tune in next time for the second installment of getting lean.
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