Tonight while I was on the treadmill, I came up with my new running plan: Run a minute longer each time I get on the treadmill. Today I ran five minutes total. I could have run more, but I’m still recovering from a foot injury from the fall, so I want to take it easy.
I’ve always been more of a hare. When I was in high school, my hare-ness gave me stress fractures in both legs. It was so much easier to start the summer running 40 miles a week than to build up to it. Until, of course, my injuries meant I couldn’t run at all. Then I was more of a rock than a tortoise or a hare.
I was a hare last fall, too. After my summer internship ended, I started working out heavily. Running several times a week, attending group exercise at the gym, starting boot camp. And then all the extra stuff gave me plantar fasciitis, and once again, my exertion meant that for a long time, I didn’t do anything.
I guess you could say that to be a hare is to be all or nothing. I’d rather give up something cold turkey than to try and practice moderation. Legalism is, in a lot of ways, somewhat easier than liberty.
But this year, as I thought about changes I want to make, I decided I wasn’t going to tempt myself with legalism. I would make goals, I would commit them to the Lord, and I would walk in freedom this year.
I did give up caffeine and soft drinks cold turkey, but that was more because I think I’ve been suffering from dehydration. And while I enjoy a nice cold Coke every now and then, I prefer water, so it hasn’t been that hard to adjust.
I also said I wanted to avoid sweets. The only time I’ve had sweets in the last five days was on Friday night at a party. I had a few bites of Christian’s eclair cake and two small cookies. At first I felt guilty, but then I remembered that I was free to eat cookies, but I didn’t have to completely stuff myself with them. And by God’s grace, I didn’t.
Tonight I stepped on the scale after I got out of the shower to see where I stood. Before I got on, I prayed that God would make me content with whatever it was the numbers read. If I had gained weight, stayed the same or lost weight, God was still the same.
Last week I weighed 203.2 pounds. Tonight I weighed 199.2.
I remember last summer just wanting to weigh less than 200 pounds, just to see a 1 at the beginning of my weight. I counted calories, stuck to a rigorous workout regimen. And the weight didn’t come off.
So it appears, my friends, that liberty is much more effective in weight loss than legalism is. God is good.
And now I’m going to have a piece of my dad’s birthday cake. Delicious.
Remember, you can check out my Wedding Workouts to see how I’m doing. I weigh in on Monday nights.
*I didn’t forget about the third installment of Love and Limeade Slushes, but planning a wedding is actually more time consuming than I realized. Look for it tomorrow or Wednesday.
Christian and I joined the YMCA when he first got to Columbia, about 3 weeks ago. Since then, I’ve gone about 7 times. Not a great record, mostly due to the fact that last week I only went once. This is bad not only because I’m not getting my money’s worth, but also because I’m not getting any healthier by sitting around all day.
I decided today that in order to be more proactive about this, I need to start setting some goals.
According to a BMI calculator I found online, I’m 0.1 points away from being obese. I’m not sure I can trust these calculators as far as what they consider obese, because while I’m certainly not as trim as I could be, I don’t have any problem getting through doors or sitting in seats. Still, a BMI calculator can be a guide, and as I know there was a time when I did weigh what the calculator says I should weigh, I know it’s not unhealthy for me to weigh that much.
Here comes the hard part: disclosure. But I think it will help me stay accountable, and I’m really not struggling with insecurity right now. I know that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I know that my family and friends and Christian all love me no matter what I look like. So this quest to lose weight isn’t about making people like me. It’s about using my body for the glory of God and being healthy.
I weigh myself after each workout at the gym. Over the past two weeks, I’ve hovered right around 200 pounds. Two days ago it was 201. Yesterday it was 200. Today it was 202.5. I don’t entirely trust the scale, but since my goal is to lose thirty pounds, it doesn’t matter so much if it’s a pound or two off.
Also, I’m going to be setting short-term and long-term goals. My short-term goal for June 30 is to lose 3 pounds. My long-term goal for the end of the year is to lose 30 pounds.
I’ll be using the fitness/diet tracker MyDailyPlate to keep track of my workouts and the food I eat. I’ve been messing around with it and it seems pretty cool. It has a huge database of foods. For example, I was able to look up everything I ate at Moe’s for dinner tonight. It also tells you how many calories your exercise burns, so you can figure out your net calories for the day.
I’m planning on going to the gym every day Monday-Friday, so Fridays will be my weigh-in days.
I’m looking forward to keeping you updated on my progress!
only help my unbelief 