Pressing on! Real Life...Simple but Priceless!

YOU MEAN THIS IS ONLY January 9, 2009?? GEEZ! It already seems that I’ve been blogging about this diet forever and I’ve only lost 12 pounds! Is there anyone out there that has the same problem with dieting and exercise getting boring? Usually in the past when I have put myself on an exercise and weight loss program, I could plug away for months and keep myself encouraged! I would get a few compliments and my outlook would suddenly become brighter! My load would become lighter...uh, know what I mean?

Well, I guess that at the age of 53, this is just my reality! The Sunday before New Years, I asked for a show of hands from anyone in our church to see how many of our fellow New Light Harvesters had decided to make and keep their resolutions or had they actually made resolutions at all. I smile now as I think about it. They all squinted their eyes, wrinkled their noses and shook their heads as if I had opened a smelly can of sardines! No one raised their hands! It seems that no one and I mean no one likes feeling obligated to make or keep New Years resolutions anymore! Well, what do you know about that? :D

NO, NO! I completely understand this lack of optimism! I understand because I have also made out list after list of “Resolutions to Make My Life Better” and usually after about three months when the “day to day” routine sets back in, I usually drift right off course and soon forget all about my resolutions. Then someone will always notice that I have put back on a pound or two and will ask, “Didn’t you make a New Years Resolution to lose weight this year?” Then the guilt kicks in! Why am I so weak? Why do I fall back into a lifestyle that is so bad for me so easily, when I know that it affects my health and well being in such an adverse way?
Well, to comfort myself and all of you, let me reassure you that THIS IS NORMAL! This is life! It is not all fun and games! This is not a virtual reality game. This is REAL LIFE! We are doing what we normally do in our life walk. Some days are good, and some days are bad. We get depressed, joyful, sick, well, and so on. What an emotional roller coaster ride this life is! Sometimes we get news and it totally breaks us, whereas on other days we get news that makes us feel like a million bucks! We gain, we lose, and we stay the same. Day to day livin’ that’s what it’s all about baby!!! How in this world can we stick to a mundane diet and a boring routine of jotting down every morsel and calorie each and every day? How do we stick through the thick and thin of this healthier lifestyle?
My answer to this is simple. Once again, I go to the Bible, God’s word for inspiration!

Hab 3:18
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will JOY in the God of my salvation.

Zep 3:17
The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with JOY; he will rest in his love, he will JOY over thee with singing.

James 1:2-3
My brethren, count it all JOY when ye fall into divers temptations;
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.


So, I will take JOY in the routine of life; COUNTING IT ALL AS JOY and I will NOT fall into temptation because I know that I am being tried in my faith. If I overcome these feelings of boredom and temptation, I will gain patience! Patience IS an admirable quality. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had others ask me, “Where do you get all that patience?” Well, it must be the byproduct of all those years of YO-YO dieting! (HA! HA!)

But seriously, I will appreciate and try to enjoy the smaller things that our weight loss journey has to offer us. Maybe you and I can just sit down on a bench when taking our walk and just check out the beauty that surrounds us for a moment. You know we don’t have to be entertained ALL the time! So many people think that if you’re bored something is seriously wrong! The first thing they want to say is, “You must be depressed!” Don’t believe that for a minute! There can be JOY and PEACE found in ALL THE DAY TO DAY boring routines of life.
This is how I stick to it. I just keep walking and walking and walking. I make a list of what I want to accomplish during my week and I keep PRESSING ON! And as always…P.U.S.H! Pray Until Something Happens!

Sure, as I said before, I get frustrated and bored and agitated at the monotony sometimes. Still, I have learned to really enjoy so many small things now. A great way to appreciate the fact that you are on the journey is to write down 10 things each day that you are grateful for. Get out your journal and pen, now! Write them down. Try to think of things that your efforts have accomplished and write those down. Remember, they don’t have to be big things. Just think, you woke up with a song in your heart, you got out of bed without pain in your back, you took a shower, you noticed a glow to your skin that was not there before, you were able to put on that old pair of jeans that used to be too tight, you tried a new breakfast dish, you listened to your new CD by the Booth Brothers, your son called just to say, “I love you, Mom.” …………………..Simple but priceless!