Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Living Well Wednesdays, Week 2


I'd love to start this post by saying that I accomplished some huge milestone in the last week. Maybe I exercised every day for an hour. Or maybe I lost 5 lbs. Or maybe I ate perfect portions at each meal and never indulged in too many sweets. But I can't say those things because they aren't true. The last week has come and gone and to be honest, last night I was thinking, "Hmm, what am I going to write about tomorrow? I really haven't done well this week." So. I decided to do two things today. First, I'm counting my blessings and looking for the small, little, good choices that I DID make in the last week. Positive re-enforcement is good, right? And next, I'll set a few, small goals for the next week.

Positive choices or Changes:

1. No Pazckis yesterday! If you are Polish or live in SE Michigan, you understand what a big thing this is!

2. I finished one cardio workout and one strength-training workout this week. Better than the week before!

3. I have been thinking and praying about cutting out some specific foods for lent. More on that decision below.

4. I'm becoming more aware of what a spiritual battle this is.

5. I finally stopped procrastinating and used that box of hair-color that's been sitting in the bathroom since Thanksgiving. Sounds like it has nothing to do with this, but really, it does! When I feel better about myself, I make better choices.

Goals for this week:

1. Drink my 6-8 glasses of water a day.

2. Record what I eat. I like to use Fit Day.

3. Finish 3 cardio workouts and 2 strength-training sessions.

4. Pray before eating, that I would remain sensitive to the Holy Spirit's promptings in this area of my life.

All right, I feel pretty good about those goals. I'm trying to set small, realistic goals that I can really achieve! And I mentioned above that I'm going to observe lent this year. I come from a denomination that doesn't traditionally do this. And I really don't know why. I know it's not commanded of us by the Lord. HOWEVER, we are commanded to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to the Lord. Right now, for me, this means addressing the spiritual aspect of Living Well. I'm really not very good at self-control. I've gotten out of practice with it. But discipline is a learned thing, and I have been feeling led to really practice this and relearn this again. There was a time in my life when I did this. 7 years ago I trained for and ran the Chicago Marathon. For someone who had never been athletic, this was a really big deal! It took tons of discipline, and a lot of running when I didn't feel like it. Well I want to get that mentality back and apply it to my current goals. Here's what I plan to do for lent:

1. No more pop. I've seen some info out on the web about the awful things that are in it, and it has really turned me off! I'd like to make this a life-long thing, and not just for lent. But I'm starting here. This probably won't be too hard, except for when I scrapbook. They have a soda fountain there, with all you can drink pop all night. I'm going to develop a game plan for those nights. (I've got one coming up this Saturday night, and I'm thinking about stopping for an iced tea at Mc D's on the way to scrapbook. Calorie-free, natural, and yummy too!)

2. No more sweets. This is the kicker. This will be hard. This will require lots of prayers for strength on my part, because this is a weakness! But that's what lent is about, right? Giving up something that is hard to give up, in order to submit to the Lord. Now I'm not saying that that I am avoiding sugar. A teaspoon of sugar in my tea is not what I'm talking about. I'm simply avoiding candy, desserts, sugary cereals, and things with High-Fructose Corn Syrup as much as possible.

So there you have it! Be sure you click on the button above to see how others are Living Well this week!

8 comments:

Love Bears All Things said...

Well, it certianly sounds like you have a plan. That is the first step. Did you read Darlene's CWO column about long term goals? I think you're on the right track and kudoes for the exercise this week!!
Have a good week and we'll look forward to reading next weeks post.
Mama Bear

Ms. Kathleen said...

It sounds to me like you are doing great. I don't think many ever do everything they plan to...the are goals we try to attain, not major rules we have to follow.

On the sweets thing...maybe you can choose a day to reward yourself - after you lose five lbs or something. I mean, God did create chocolate!

I know my sister gave up sugar for lent once and after lent when she ate some candy is was so super sweet to her. She still loves her chocolate but she also walks several miles a day. I hope I can get to that point. Hugs!

Julie said...

Hey there - these are great choices, and I have a couple of handy suggestions as well. If you're anything like me (you've got to be *slightly* like me, after all), I do much better when I completely eliminate foods rather than try in moderation. Eliminating soda is fantastic - even the diet stuff has WAY too many chemicals to be at all good for you. Swap it with iced tea or sparkling water. We completely eliminated soda in the house and no longer even crave the diet stuff. Also, eliminating refined sugar and dairy/eggs from my diet helped as well. I no longer have an excuse to just eat the cookies in the work lunchroom, just b/c they're there, because I "can't" eat them. And I'll tell you, cutting out the refined sugar leaves me feeling much more even and balanced throughout the day.

God's girl said...

Every little step counts! Good for you setting up those goals. They are a plan and a good one to work for.
Much love,
Angela

Anonymous said...

Those are some great goals! It is always important to celebrate the "small" stuff. I think that is what helps keep us motivated. Good for you cutting out sweets. You are a stronger woman than I am. You are doing great girl!!

Anonymous said...

Good for you! If you're looking for a little more help than FitDay, I've turned to SparkPeople.com, which for me is a little better. More motivation. I'm on there as "misswisabus" so if you ever decide to stop by and check it out, please let me know. It's a wonderful thing you're doing, making these changes!

Lisa said...

I really appreciate your honesty and your the details of what was good and what you need to work on. That made me think about my goals, too.

Your comment about living sacrifices is right where God has me focusing, too. I think that is the direction he wants us to continue to go. I've written about it here and there at my blog over the past month, if you'll looking for some shoulder-to-shoulder encouragement in this journey!

Blessings,
Elisa

Bella's Mommy said...

Good goals- I gave up pop for lent once and made it. I don't drink pop everyday and sweets are not my weakness. Although giving up sweets around valentines day would probably not work for me. My weakness is potatoe chips. Good luck on the exercise. You are doing way better than I am.