Story of the Week

In my first blog post I mentioned that I have been on many diets in my lifetime, and have been the worst kind of yo-yo dieter.  Dieting can be tricky, and choosing the correct diet plan for your health can sometimes be difficult.  It seems that there is always someone telling us of a new and better way to lose weight.  I thought I would share a time when I did it all wrong.  

Some of you might remember a period of time when I was in college and lost a significant amount of weight.  What you probably don't know is the way that I lost the weight, and what a scary and dangerous time it was in my life.  I started out the way that you are supposed to.  I was eating healthy and exercising everyday.  Every week I would get weighed, and the scale would always show that I had dropped several pounds.  I was excited to see the weight dropping off so quickly, and I didn't want it to stop.  Every week I would continue to eat smaller and smaller amounts of food, and I started exercising excessively, so that I could continue to get the amazing results on the scale.  I reached a point where I was barely eating.  I had some friends express concern at the bird size portions of food that I was eating, but there was no one who could convince me to stop what I was doing.  I had become obsessed with the number on the scale.  I loved all the compliments I received about how good I looked, and I wanted it to continue.  I was eating 500 calories or less a day, and I was oblivious to the amount of damage that I was doing to my body.  When I went home for Christmas break something kind of clicked in my head and I realized that if I continued to eat less and less, that I would reach a point when I wasn't eating anything at all...profound I know.  The thought of starving myself completely scared me, and I started to slowly eat a little more every day.  Of course as I started to eat again I also put back on the weight.  I remember how disappointed people were when I started to gain back all of the weight I had lost, but I was too embarrassed to admit to anyone what I had done to lose the weight.  I look back now and wish that I would have gotten some help, so that I could have learned to eat correctly, and still lose weight.

I know that there are a lot of people that struggle with finding the right balance with dieting and exercise.  It is easy to become obsessive and take it too far.  The trick is picking a plan that you can live with the rest of your life, and that also teaches you healthy eating habits.  I know that when I reach my goal weight I will have to follow a maintenance plan to keep the weight off.  That is why it is so important to not pick something that only gives you temporary results.  It is also important to give yourself a break when you have a bad day.  Sometimes we end up eating more than we should, or we eat foods that are not good for us.  I know that sometimes this can cause us to either panic and become obsessed with being perfect,  or it can make you just want to completely give up.  It is important to realize that sometimes things happen that make sticking to plan difficult.  Sometimes I struggle when I have a party at work, or when I go out to eat with friends.  It is okay to have a day where you eat a little more, you just don't want to make it a habit.  I am still learning how to deal with the unexpected, and sometimes I have to give myself a speech about not beating myself up when I have a bad day.  If you eat something that you shouldn't, don't let it ruin your day or week.  Don't feel like you have to wait till tomorrow or Monday to start again.

I will have a chance to put my tips into practice this next week.  I will be going to Ireland, and I will definitely be facing the unexpected when it comes to food.  I will have to let you know how it goes.

Tip of the Week

Buy a really nice water bottle - Keep it filled with water - Carry it with you everywhere you go.  If you do this you will never have trouble getting your required amount of water for the day.  You should drink a half an ounce of water for every pound you weigh.  For example if you weigh 150 pounds you should have at least 75 ounces of water every day.  I know that a lot of people really struggle with drinking water, but it gets easier after a while.  I find that I actually crave water now. 

In future posts I will also be sharing recipes, interesting articles, questions and more. Hope you Enjoy!

Let Us not Be Weary In Well Doing...Weight Loss - From My Perspective

"Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. 
Galatians 6:9 (KJV)

Hopefully I am not too guilty of taking this scripture out of context, but I sometimes use this scripture to encourage myself with my weight loss.  Funnily enough, I have also used this scripture when talking to some of my former junior high and high school students who were not working up to their potential.  I realize this scripture is referring to our spiritual walk with Christ, so again I hope I am not guilty of adding to the Word of God, but I find it helpful in every aspect of my life.

One of the questions that I always had is whether we should pray about losing weight.  When I was a teenager, and first started trying to lose weight, I was always of the opinion that I got myself into this mess, and that it was up to me to get myself back where I needed to be.  The thought of praying and asking God for help was not an option.  I am not sure where I got this idea from, but at the time I would have never dreamed of asking God to help me with my weight problem.  Maybe I felt too ashamed about it, or maybe I thought God had better things to take care of than my weight issues.  Whatever the reason, I have changed my opinion over the years.  I still believe that we should take responsibility for our eating habits, and that God is not going to do it for us, but I also believe that God wants to help us in whatever area we have a struggle.  I would encourage anybody who is trying to lose weight to allow God to be a part of the journey.  

I read an article a few months back saying that obesity is a sin.  I think they got gluttony and obesity confused.  I realize that one can lead to the other, and that it might be easy to confuse them, but I have a few questions for the person who wrote that article.  When is the obese person no longer a sinner?  Is it when they reach the magic number that says that they are no longer obese?  According to the BMI scale the magic number for me is 214 lbs. Until then am I a sinner? I obviously don't believe in the authors logic, and that is why I firmly believe that we should never confuse the words gluttony and obesity.  The Bible does tell us that gluttony is a sin, and that should be the issue that we deal with, if that is the issue.  I have met some obese people who eat very little, and remain in their obese condition.  I have also met some very skinny people who eat a lot of food, but there metabolisms didn't allow it to show up on the outside.  Gluttony in my opinion is separate issue from obesity.  There are a lot of damaging thoughts out there that can be discouraging to people who have weight issues.  I admit that when I read that article I found it to be hurtful.  I would share the article so that you could have something to reference against my statements, but I am now unable to find it on the internet. I originally read it through a post that someone shared on Facebook.

I believe strongly that God wants us to take care of our bodies.  Eating healthy is one way that we can do this.  It is not always easy.  Some of the non-healthy foods taste really good, but the rewards of good eating habits far outweigh the momentary pleasure of the food that is tempting you.

I will continue to fight, I will not give up, because in due season I will reap, if I faint not.