Thankful for Consistency

It's only been a week and a half, but hey, that's better than the big, fat nothing I've been doing for the past almost year now.

A week ago Monday, I started back to boot camp.  It helps tremendously that four girlfriends are meeting me there.  That really helps me get my butt out of bed on Mondays and Fridays.

Boot camp only meets twice a week, though, and we took off for Thanksgiving week, so that meant it was up to me to get out and do some workouts.

Monday 14: Boot camp
Wednesday 16: 2.5 mile run/walk
Friday: Boot camp
Saturday: Ran/walked 2.5 then 3.11 miles
Tuesday: Ran 2 miles, did some boot camp moves in the middle
Wednesday: Ran/walked with stroller 3.25 miles
Thursday: Rode bike 30 minutes, free weights 15 minutes

I really have no excuse not to get to the gym.  This is my view out my balcony:

See the balcony just above the pool?  That's our very well-stocked, 24-hour gym.  I've only been a handful of times since moving here.

Most people know that fitness is 20% workouts and 80% diet, so I've begun using livestrong.com's My Plate app.  I know from experience that restricting any one type of food does not work for me, so I've just been keeping track of what's going in my mouth.  It helps me decide what's worth it and what is not. Like Beth Moore reminded me in "The LORD God Made Woman,"


Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial.  Everything is permissible, but I will not be mastered by it.  I could have that today if I wanted to, but I don't want to.  Come Thanksgiving, I'm going to have some pecan pie, amen? And I'll bless it and thank God for it. {paraphrased}

Another plus to running? Nice views.

So that's what I've done.  And even with two Thanksgiving dinners during my first week, I still took off two pounds. Pounds.  That's another issue.  In the past, I've let that pesky number master me. (See Beth's reminder of scripture above.) I've let the number on the scale master me.  However, it does prove beneficial for me to keep an eye on my weight or I simply end up neglecting it.  So, I'm purposing to only weigh once per week.  And if I'm not happy with the number, I think back on the positives of the past week and decide to not log my weight for that week.  Often, it's a temporary thing, as my weight can fluctuate 2-4 pounds depending on the time of day, month, or what I might have eaten the day before.

I also used to allow the scale to dictate my moods and alter my decisions.  This time, I'm going to keep doing what I know is good for my health regardless of what the number shows that day.  I'm also asking God to keep me grounded on His Word and who He says I am.  I was thinking back to when I was at my smallest and fittest.  One lady who worked in the nursery at church asked me how I got my stomach so flat.  I was astounded, because I still felt like I was fat.  I told her she didn't see my belly without clothes on and scoffed at her compliment.  Within that same time, another very tall, very thin "friend" of mine told me I was doing well and I was "getting there" with my weight loss.  I was hurt, but also chose to believe her.  I told myself, "See...you ARE still fat.  Even she notices."

This time around, I"m purposing to focus on who God says I am.  I find my worth and definition in Him.

I Corinthians 6:1
"Everything is permissible for me"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"--but I will not be mastered by anything.

Start Over

A couple of months ago, I finally purchased some new music for my iPhone.  One of those was The Afters "Light Up The Sky."

In addition to being a rockin' song that's fun to run with, the lyrics to "We Won't Back Down" carry great mantras.  Here's an excerpt from the lyrics:

We won't back down
We've gotta take our best shot
Give it all we got now
We won't back down
They say we'll never make it
But we're gonna take it all the way

We won't give up, we won't give up
We won't give up, we won't give up


Another inspiring track on the same album is "Start Over."  This song is especially meaningful to me as I "start over" with my workouts. I often don't want to get out to run, go to boot camp, or hit the gym because I feel like I've lost too much ground.  I know that's a lame excuse and this song pumps me up to get out and just DO it! I pasted the entire song here because it's all just good!  It has a great beat for running, too.


The impossible is possible
But your fear is so responsible for keeping you down.
Your unreachable is reachable
But you'll never grab
The wonderful
with your feet on the ground.

If you fall on your face
Don't just leave it to fate
No such thing as too late
It's not too late

To start over, start over, start over
You never have what you want to lose
So pick it up, up, up
Dust off your shoes
Start over, start over, start over
You've gotta find, find, find the other side,
So give it one, one, one more try.
Start over

You only fail
If you never try
You'll never live
Tryin' not to die.
I'm telling you now, I'm telling you now.
Don't ever stop,
Give all you've got
Don't hesitate, to take a shot
It all comes around, it all comes around.

There's so much, so much left to gain
There's so much, so much to lose
You'll never know until know until you make a move.

Walking In Light

I posted this on my other blog, but it fits here, too.  I've gotten more response from this post (via email, Facebook and comments) than I have from just about any other.

Giving Myself the Boot

Last year, I religiously went to an early morning boot camp class that met at a nearby church.  At first, it was tough to get up at 5:00am to get there by 5:30, but soon it became something I needed to do in order to feel "right."  This was also during the time that I lost 20 pounds.  I was moving more and eating less, the only true, lasting way to get in shape.

After moving to our new place, I used the excuse that we lived too far for me to drive up.  I was about 6 minutes away.  Now I'm 15.  9 whole minutes more.

Rightly, I didn't want to be leaving the house after the boys arrived.  I wanted to be sure I was here when they woke so that I could establish a healthy trust with them.

At this point, the boys aren't a valid excuse any more.  And in good conscience, I can't let 9 minutes stop me from doing what I know would be great for me.  The truth about me is that I need accountability.  I need others who will ask me where I was if I didn't show up.  I need the encouragement.

This means I have two more mornings to sleep in until Monday hits.  Monday, I'll be up during the 4 o'clock hour getting ready to head up to Flo Mo for a workout that will leave me sore for the rest of the week.

“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12