Life Lessons

Hello! Well, in the last two weeks, after reading some things and praying a lot, I have realized that ultimately my focus needs to be in two places: taking life one day at a time and purposing to be less selfish and more others-centered. If I am able to do these two things, I will be encompassing all of my good character goals.

Day by Day: this has always been a challenge for me, because I'm a planner!! I like to know what's coming, be in control of it, and have that controlled plan laid out way in advance. My heart is still learning how to accept the truth that only God knows what is going to happen to me today and tomorrow. My human planning and control only extends so far... the rest is up to Him! I have purposed in the last couple of days to solely focus on the day at hand, leaving the rest to God, and it has been so freeing. Of course, certain things call for advanced planning (i.e. moving - the focus of our life right now) but even that can be done with the mindset that things might not go *exactly* as planned, so flexibility is always key. When I simply focus on the day that I'm currently living through, I am more aware of my attitude and my choices. This awareness is definitely not a guarantee that everything will go smoothly, but if my attitude is in the right place - focused on God and His promise to guide me through every turn in life - then the day still ends on a good note. :)

JOY: the typical acronym that children, brought up in church, learn when talking about selfishness, serving others, etc. "Jesus first, Others second, and Yourself third." As cheesy as this acronym often seems (especially when you've been raised in the church and have heard it in every Sunday School class, VBS week, etc) there is so much truth in it! Tim and I have been reading through a book called "What Did You Expect?" by Paul Tripp and it's about the realities of marriage that many young, married couples naively overlook before they get married. [Note: Tim thought it would be a good idea for us to read this after some discussions that we've had recently about marriage. We are not having any major problems, don't worry :) but it is definitely humbling and we are learning a lot. My mom always says "You never stop learning until you're dead!" so we're just looking at this as yet another tool for learning!] Anyway, the central theme of this book is that no matter what the problems are that surface in a marriage, the root of these problems is almost always selfishness. Ultimately, if a wife is unselfishly putting her husband's needs and desires above her own, he will be more likely to act the same way in return to her (and vice versa). When husbands and wives treat each other the way the Bible instructs them to - unselfishly, with love and respect for each other - the marriage will be a lot happier.

So, in thinking a lot about selfishness and how it plays out in life, I'm becoming more convicted of how selfishness surely would affect other areas of my life besides my marriage. I feel so silly actually typing this out, because you would think that a person like me who was raised on the solid foundation of a Christian home with completely devoted, loving parents, would have learned how not to be selfish a LONG time ago. I mean, surely in some ways I have learned - I share my things with others, I don't *always* demand to have my way - in general I figured I was pretty good at being others' centered. BUT - there are so many ways that I exhibit selfishness that I didn't even realize I was doing until recently. Sometimes I fool myself into thinking that I deserve something or I have a right to something and just that very thought is selfish - whether or not it's actually true. I even came to the point of reexamining my very Salvation, realizing that I often act like I have deserved that as well - and I most certainly have not.

All this to say that I am more and more aware of the fact that I am a sinner who does not deserve the grace that my Lord has bestowed upon me, and this makes me more aware of the fact that everyone I know and love is also a sinner and I should treat them with the same grace that God has given to me. No one deserves grace so it's all the more empowering to the person receiving it when it is given. Why wouldn't I want to encourage others with the same grace that my Savior gives me every day??

One day at a time... no selfishness... lots of grace.  Powerful life lessons this week.

Shamefully overdue...

I come to you tonight with the proverbial tail between my legs. I have not been reading Lysa's book for over a month, I have not been following a healthy eating/exercise plan for the same amount of time, nor have I been faithful in prayer for this journey (or anything for that matter).  I feel the need to be completely honest, because I haven't been very good at that lately...

Over the weekend, I was convicted of these and more shortcomings that I've allowed myself to fall victim to as of late. Chief among them is laziness. There's really no other word that encompasses all that I've been struggling with in the last few weeks. Laziness that has become so deep-seeded in my being that I have allowed it to hold me captive from all of my commitments - my eating/exercise habits, my time with God, my marriage, my other relationships... I've just curled up in a "Becca shell" lately and haven't had any motivation to come out.

The opposite of lazy (according to dictionary.com) is "industrious," meaning, "working energetically and devotedly; hard-working; diligent." My focus going forward is to be industrious, to be like the woman in Proverbs 31, to be like the ant in many other Proverbs, to be like other women I admire for being this way: my mother, my mother-in-law, my sisters, many of my friends. I am ashamed of how I've been acting lately - please forgive me if I have particularly hurt you by my actions, or lack thereof.

Lord, help me to be...
industrious
(aka)
active
attentive
careful
conscientious
constant
eager
earnest
persistent
steadfast
studious

"Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness." -Proverbs 31:25-27

Peace

I need to start by quoting the first few paragraphs of this next chapter in Lysa's book because they just make me laugh out of the sheer truth and shame of it all! Read on...

"I roll over and look at the clock. Another day. Beyond all reason and rationality, I slide out of bed and strip off everything that might weigh even the slightest ounce as I head to the scale. Maybe today will be the day the scale will be my friend and not reveal my secrets. Maybe somehow overnight the molecular structure of my body shifted and today I will magically weigh less. 

But no. I yank out my ponytail holder - hey, it's gotta weigh something - and decide to try again. But the scale doesn't change its mind the second time. It is not my friend this day. 

Vowing to do better, eat healthier, make good choices, I head to the kitchen only to have my resolve melt like the icing on the cinnamon rolls my daughter just pulled from the oven. Yum. Oh, who cares what the scale says when this roll speaks such love and deliciousness.

Two and a half cinnamon rolls later, I decide tomorrow will be a much better day to keep my promises to eat healthier. And since this is my last day to eat what I want, I better live it up. Another cinnamon roll, please. (p27)"

HAHAHAHA!!! Ok so it's funny, but really, how many of us struggling with losing weight can completely relate to this vicious cycle?? I know I can and still do a lot of days. I have definitely done the "well, let's take out the ponytail holder and try again" bit and have also taken off my glasses, my wedding rings, blown my nose, cleared my throat, brushed my teeth (hey, doesn't plaque have weight??) - you get the jist - it's a rather pathetic routine.

With that cycle driving a person insane, Lysa talks about cravings being the weakness that talks us into "later" "tomorrow" "next week" "after the holidays" and sometimes just finally giving up instead of making the choice to permanently change. Cravings are powerful, but prayer is more powerful. Thus, the main message of this chapter is to replace cravings with prayer. Reaching a goal weight - looking great, fitting into smaller clothes, receiving compliments from others - is awesome; however, since the point is to make a permanent lifestyle change, the incentive should be just as permanent and more fulfilling than anything. This brings back the point that this is about a journey with Jesus. Replacing cravings with prayer will strengthen my relationship with God and that is more fulfilling and long-lasting than smaller clothes or compliments.

In addition to replacing my cravings with prayer, I also want to replace them with peace. I guess these things go together automatically, because as I'm praying for God to satisfy me beyond my cravings He will take them away and replace them with peace. BUT I want to make a point to pray specifically for that peace. This has been a serious focus of mine this last week because I've realized that I'm just not at peace with a lot of things in life right now. As much as I thought I had accepted certain things, I haven't, and I have been convicted of living in discontent lately.

Lord, grant me peace in all circumstances and in every decision that I make. Guide my eating habits and my thinking habits - may they all please and bring glory to YOU and YOU ALONE! Amen.

Peace, friends! :)

Detour

I'm taking a hiatus from the book this week, because I need another week to really keep focusing on last week's lesson. I was doing well for about 3 days and then I took a major dive - in my eating habits, in my emotional state, in everything. Thursday through Sunday was a rough 4 day stretch and I've had to seriously reexamine my priorities and remind myself (over and over and over and over) that I don't need to worry as much as I think I do. This has been a long weekend of self examination and lots of prayer. I am purposing this week to talk to God a lot - not just about my eating habits, but about everything. I am a worrier, always have been, it goes along with my desire to control everything. Lately I have allowed worry to consume me and it has literally made me sick. This is not the way to live life. My mom reminded me of three verses this morning that I'm going to focus on this week:

Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Philippians 4:6-7 "...do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

2 Corinthians 4:7 "...for we walk by faith, not by sight"

So, I'm continuing to focus on the lesson of quoting scripture when I'm tempted. Not just when I'm tempted to eat junk food, but also when I'm tempted to worry, when I'm feeling scared, when life is completely out of my control... "in EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God"... that's my focus this week.

Practically, starting today, I'm going to make lists. One each day for things I need to do that day, then one for things that need to get done each week (but not necessarily on a particular day), then one for each month. This was a suggestion from my parents and will ideally help me to get my thoughts out of my head and onto paper, giving me a tangible, visible thing that I can cross off and get rid of when it's finished. I am hoping this will help me to worry less when I can "see" things getting done; I'm also going to make sure I ask God to give me peace and strength in every single moment that I feel the "need" to worry.

In happier news, I weighed myself this morning and apparently I lost 1.5lbs this weekend. Guess the stressing wasn't ALL bad. ;) (j/k)

Made to Crave

"We consume what we think about. And what we think about can consume us if we're not careful. (p23)"

It's true! Whatever our mind/body/spirit desires is what we tend to fill our time with - our thoughts, our time, our lives are consumed by what consumes the deepest longings of our souls. Considering that, why on earth would we want to consume and be consumed by anything other than our God?? Well, because we're sinful humans of course. God created us to crave, but he wants us to crave Him.

"Truth is powerful. The more saturated we are with truth, the more powerful we'll be in resisting our temptations. (p24)."

Also true! Lysa reemphasizes the idea of praying for God to accompany us on this life changing journey of becoming healthier individuals and she also introduces the idea that quoting scripture (just like Jesus did when he was tempted) can help us battle those moments when we feel overcome by our desires. While this can apply to any temptation a person has, my focus here is my temptation with food, so I'll bring it back there.

I was a bit ahead of myself this week - since I had already read through the book once, I knew that one of Lysa's key verses is 1 Corinthians 10:23. The version she includes in her book reads, "'Everything is permissible' - but not everything is beneficial." So, as an encouragement to myself and a reminder of the truth that I am to follow, I put this verse on a bright pink post-it note on our pantry door. Our pantry houses most of our snack foods, and those are what I venture toward when I'm craving something unhealthy. Reading this first chapter tonight has just reminded me of how necessary it is for me to continue to quote scripture and call on Jesus to help me through those tough moments. I definitely noticed a change in my desires and attitude this week. It wasn't an easy first week, but I made it through and I feel a strong sense of accomplishment today.  :)

One of the practical things I've started doing is making all of my lunches for the whole week on Sunday afternoons. I make all the sandwiches and put them in baggies, I also divide up all of my healthy snacks into accurate portion sizes and put those into baggies as well. Now all I have to do in the morning when I'm gathering up food for lunch is grab a baggie or two of each thing and throw it in my lunch tote. It's easy and I already know I'm choosing healthy foods with the accurate amount of calories allotted for my lunch meal. I have also cut back to eating 5 smaller "meals" throughout the day, instead of 3 big ones and lots of snacks. I like this schedule because eating more often helps me to feel like I'm not depriving myself, but at the same time I'm eating filling foods at all of these "meals," so that I'm not actually getting hungry later.

During the day, when I think I'm feeling hungry, I'll chew some gum or have a large glass of water - this was a trick I learned back when I was doing Weight Watchers. If I'm truly hungry, the feeling won't go away after a few minutes of chewing gum or finishing a large glass of water. If the feeling does go away after doing such things, that is a sign that it was just a craving or a "mental hunger" and I needed a distraction. What Weight Watchers won't advise its members to do is to pray in those moments. So this week, in view of the fact that this is a spiritual/mental battle as much as physical, and desiring to change my focus on the issue, I took it upon myself to pray MANY times this week in those moments of weakness. And you know what I realized? Most of the times I felt like I was hungry, it wasn't real. Know what else I realized? Jesus was listening to me and caring about what I was going through and then seeing Him help me get through those trying moments was so amazing!

The last thought I want to share with you is from the sermon we heard this morning. I was again amazed at my Lord's amazing ability to hit me with the truth I need when I need it most. Our pastor was preaching on Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. He (pastor) said, "Most people focus on the miracle of Lazarus coming back to life, but I want to focus on the lessons learned in the preceding passages." He went on to show us that Mary, Martha, and Lazarus' other friends and family learned how much Jesus empathized with them and cared about them in their circumstance. Even though Jesus knew he was about to raise Lazarus back to life, He was deeply moved and wept with them! (John 11:32-35) How incredible is that?! Jesus LOVE us SO much - He desires us as much as He wants us to desire HIM! I witnessed this in my own life this week - what an empowering truth!

"Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so."

Finding my "Want To"

(Warning: long post ahead)

I'm back to 151. I'm going to ask you to take my word for it because posting another failed scale picture is just humiliating. I'm not having health problems, I don't have any injuries preventing me from working out, I'm just not trying.

The introduction to Made to Crave is titled "Finding Your Want To." In this section (pages 11-18), Lysa talks about the parable of the rich man in Matthew 19. She explains how most Christians interpret the meaning of this passage as related to the love of money more than God, so those of us who don't have that problem with money tend to brush it off - "Good thing I'm not rich. Good thing this doesn't apply to me. Good thing Jesus doesn't ask me to sacrifice in this way." Then she says, "Or does He?" and goes on to explain that she interprets this passage as Jesus' way of telling us, "I want you to give up the one thing you crave more than me" - WHATEVER that may be - money, drugs, sex, career....food?! Re-reading this section of the book, more and more statements she makes are really convicting me:

"When Jesus says, 'Follow Me,' it's not an invitation to drag our divided heart alongside us as we attempt to follow hard after God."

"If we want to conquer our cravings, we'll have to redirect them to God. God made us capable of craving so we'd have an unquenchable desire for more of Him, and Him alone."

"I had to ask God to give me the desire to be healthy." 

That last one makes me want to crawl into a hole and cry, because in all of my endeavors to lose weight and be permanently healthy, I've never asked God to give me the desire. I've never asked Him to change my thought process, my heart, my cravings, any of it! This is the part where being brutally honest stings a lot, but it's true. As a Christian, it's easy to quote the verses about taking care of your body and doing all the right things, but honestly coming before my Lord and Savior and admitting failure, asking for forgiveness, and asking for help is one of the hardest things to do... and I'm ashamed that I haven't done it. I know I can't ever make this permanent change in my life unless I ask God to help me, and unless I wholly devote myself to yearning after Him more than I yearn after food and the earthly comfort that it brings.

In view of this reality, I'm not going to hold my sponsors to their pledges to my weight loss. I desire the "want to" to make this lifestyle change, but I know it's going to take a lot longer than just a couple of months. I don't want to hold myself to a time pressured number change - I want to hold myself to a lifelong heart and mind change. When I've reached my weight goal (whenever that may be), I will personally send my own pledge for every pound I've lost to FMSC; however, I'm not going to ask my sponsors to wait that long, because I honestly don't know how long that will be.

I am going to re-read this book, slowly, one chapter per week. I want to spend time soaking in all aspects of this journey and everything that is required of me to succeed. I am going to try to blog at the end of each week. This will take me to the middle of August. I will continue to weigh myself weekly, but I'm going to keep track of this privately. At the end of my study of this book, I will post stats of where I'm at physically; but, I don't want this journey to be a focus on the physical. While I will hopefully see changes in my physical self, I want to focus more on the spiritual changes that are going to take place. These are much more important.

What I need from you, my readers, is prayer. Prayer that I will earnestly and continuously ask my Savior to come alongside me in this journey and change me in more ways than I could ever change myself on my own accord. Prayer that I will pray to Him without ceasing - on the bad days AND the good days. Prayer that I will humbly sacrifice anything and everything for His glory and for the work that He will do in my life.

Journey to a healthier me, take two! ten!

I'm Not on a Diet

Just a sampling of one of the many wise points that Lysa TerKeurst makes in her book, "Made to Crave".... from Chapter 16:

"Diets don't work for me. I seem to be able to sacrifice for a season and then I get tired of sacrificing. I hit my goal weight and then slowly slip back into old habits. The weight creeps back on and I feel like a failure. Like I said, diets don't work for me. So, I'm not on a diet. I'm on a journey with Jesus to learn the fine art of self-discipline for the purpose of holiness. (emphasis added)"

I LOVE that last line!! That's my new motto, and I'm going to repeat it over and over and OVER until it comes as naturally to me as breathing. I'm not on a diet. I'm on a journey with Jesus.

:)

Pleasant Surprise!

Well, I honestly have no idea how this happened. I lost 2.2 pounds in a week and a half, but I haven't been keeping track of what I eat, nor have I been exercising, nor have I been trying to eat especially healthy. I was at a conference for work the first weekend in March, then I was out of state for a bridal shower and surprise birthday party this past weekend, during which time I was eating all sorts of yummy, sugary, bad-for-you food... no idea how I LOST weight!! Maybe I was still being good about portion control, that's the only thing I can think of... and all the walking at my conference and in airports and such probably helped some.

Anyways, as the title says, this was a pleasant surprise :) I'm still going to "officially" weigh in on Saturdays going forward, but this week I weighed in today because I haven't weighed myself since March 6th. So, here are the stats for this week:

Starting weight: 150
Current Weight: 149.4
Change since last weigh-in: -2.2
Total Change: -0.6

Total raised per pound: $8
($0.80 per tenth of a pound = $4.80 raised to date = 20 meals to date)

P.S. I started reading a book called Made to Crave this week. The book is written by a woman who co-founded a Christian women's ministry called Proverbs 31 ministries, so it's written to women; however, I believe the principles contained in this book can apply to anyone on a weight-loss journey. I'll be blogging more about it after I finish reading, so stay tuned! :)

"We lose our way, we get back up again, it's never too late..."

Ok so as I'm sitting here filled with regret and really not wanting to publish what I'm about to publish, this song by Toby Mac came to mind. No matter how many mistakes I make, large or small, I am capable of starting over thanks to the merciful grace of my Savior. This song is such a great reminder of that.

I backslid this week - I was at a conference from Wednesday through Saturday, during which time my only food options were take out and I lost all self control when it came to decisions between healthy and not-so-healthy food. I also didn't work out for those 4 days. With that said, it's no wonder I'm back to square one. So hard to lose those first couple of pounds when you don't have a lot to lose to begin with, that gaining it back (and then some) is just so devastating.

However, I've been reminded over and over again today by my loving husband, that it's ok and I can still do this, I can still reach my goal. Weight loss takes time and it isn't easy and slip-ups are bound to happen. One bad week in the course of a few months probably isn't going to kill me. It's just discouraging.

Anyhow, here's the weigh-in from this morning:

Starting Weight: 150
Last Week: 148.4
Change this week: +3.2
Current Weight: 151.6
Total Change: +1.6

I didn't take measurements this weekend. I'll do that again next week.

"Tomorrow is a fresh new day with no mistakes in it... yet." -Anne of Green Gables :)

First (official) Week

Well today is weigh-in day and I was not looking forward to it for a couple of reasons:

First, I weighed myself at a couple different points during this week (probably shouldn't have, but oh well) and, according to the scale, I had gained weight. Not a lot, but any increase in the scale number is disheartening. The most disheartening was that I've been really good this week!

Second, a couple of people have brought it to my attention that the reason the number on the scale may have increased is because I've been doing a lot of strength training - weight lifting, push ups, crunches, etc - in addition to the cardio exercise, and strength training builds muscle. I'm still out on the debate between muscle and fat and the weight difference between the two - I've heard it's the same, I've heard muscle weighs more. I don't know for sure. Either way, I know the working out I've been doing is a good thing so I'm not going to stop, it's just frustrating to not see progress as a result.

Third, it's always difficult to remember that the less weight one has to lose, the slower it comes off. This is one of those universal truths that are annoying to face when trying to lose weight. However, as long as I keep up the good habits I'm forming, I know I will ultimately have success. So, I'll keep focusing on the good things and try not to get too disheartened by the little bumps in the road.

One of the people who brought the muscle/fat dilemma to my attention also suggested I keep track of my measurements in addition to the scale number. This way, I'll see progress regardless and it will be more encouraging. So, here are the stats for today:

Starting Weight: 150
Change This Week: -0.2
Total Change: -1.6 
Current Weight: 148.4

Starting Measurements:
Arms- 11 inches
Waist- 33 inches
Hips- 40 inches
Thighs- 23 inches


P.S. I have another sponsor - thanks to Nate and his wife! :)

Starvation Is Being Fought!

I have another sponsor! Thanks to AO! :)

My total funds raised so far is $7/pound which is $140 when I reach my goal, which is approximately 583 meals!! Awesome!! Let's keep it going... who wants to be my fourth sponsor?? And who wants to be my first recruit to join the team??

Random, somewhat related story...
This morning I had every intention of grabbing a handful of pennies from our change jar at home to bring to school for a craft. They were sitting on my kitchen counter and in the hustle bustle of the morning I ended up forgetting them. So when I arrived at school, I quickly sent an email to all the teachers asking if anyone would be willing to donate some pennies to the cause... not only did I receive donations, but I ended up with triple of what I needed! I know this is a silly story, but I was just thinking how if I hadn't asked I wouldn't have had any and I would've had to completely change my lesson plan for the day. I just took this as an example of how in the Bible Jesus says, "Ask and you shall receive." Now, I know we don't always get what we want when we ask Him for things, but He ALWAYS does provide what we NEED, even the seemingly "silly" things! I know He could provide food to the millions of starving children around the world without my help, my Lord doesn't NEED me, but I love that He WANTS me and is USING me to help! What a humbling lesson to learn...

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

So far this week...

Ok so it's only Monday, but I did start on Saturday so I'm already nearly 3 days in, "officially." :) So here are some updates on progress...

I worked out on Saturday and Sunday with my workout buddy - we are going through a program that is supposed to be for people just getting back into working out; however, it's written by an ex-Marine, so it's definitely more like boot camp than anything else and it's NOT easy!! BUT we're keeping up with it and, though we're sore, it's encouraging to see progress! For example, last week we did a lot of upper body stuff - push ups, a sequence of arm/shoulder exercises, etc - and then yesterday we had to do 5 sets of 10 push ups and they were easier to do than I thought they would be! Still not a piece of cake (are push-ups ever a piece of cake??) but I definitely can feel that my arms are getting stronger.

My daily calorie limit is 1370. Although I earn more by exercising, I am trying to keep those as "calories out" and not turn them into "calories in," so that I actually am burning the calories, thus losing the weight. For example, on Saturday I consumed 1361 and burned 252.  So technically, I could have eaten another 261 calories; however, by not eating those calories I will actually lose weight rather than maintaining my current weight. Make sense?

On Sunday I consumed 1422 and burned 180 by exercising. So in this case I did "eat" 52 of my exercise calories, but there was still a balance and that's still achieving the goal in my mind.

Today so far I'm doing well. I'm trying to be extra good because it's my husband's and my 2 year wedding anniversary and we are going out to eat tonight... so I will definitely be doing some hard core cardio this afternoon in preparation for that. ;)

One more note - I'm going to add a section in the margins where I'll be posting some good, healthy recipes that I find throughout this endeavor. I already have a couple to start with and they're so yummy!! Check it out!

First Sponsor!

Thanks to D&CE for signing on as my first sponsors! :) My husband is also sponsoring me - he says he doesn't count, but I say he totally counts! And Nate has already raised $73/pound! Way to go!!

I'm kicking around the idea of continuing this mission after I reach my goal weight. The thought I have is to personally donate an amount of money for every day that I keep the weight off. I don't yet know how much that will be, but I don't want to just stop this outreach once I attain my weight loss goal.

More Details

Forgot to include this in the other post... yes, I am super wordy, you'll have to get used to that. :-p This is Nate's blog entry with the specifics on helping us send meals to starving children:

(click here-->) The Redistribution of Weight: How It Works: "Have you ever been in, or supported someone who was in, a walk or race where you raise money by asking for donations by the mile (like- you ..."

Beginning the Journey

Many of you know that last year (Oct 2009-July 2010) I lost 20 pounds. Most of that I lost while my husband, Tim was deployed for six months. I took up running (because it was a way to feel "close" to Tim, an avid runner, while he was gone) and, combined with eating healthier and tracking my eating habits, I had wonderful results! My plan when I started was to lose a total of 30 pounds, but unfortunately, I pushed myself a bit too hard in my running training and after a minor injury in November 2010 I stopped running... and stopped tracking what I was eating... and needless to say I gained back 10 pounds since then. So now I need to lose a total of 20 pounds, again, to reach my final goal.

When the new year started, I heard a DJ on the K-LOVE radio station testifying to the success of a weight loss journey she took, in which she had people pledge a dollar amount per pound that she lost, and then she donated all the proceeds to a Christian charity organization. I really wanted to do this, myself, but I couldn't find an organization that really stood out to me, so I gave up on the idea.

Recently my friend, Nate, decided to take action on the same thing and he has chosen to donate proceeds to "Feed My Starving Children." This, I thought, is a brilliant idea - take what we, as Americans, have an abundance of, and literally share it with the rest of the world! Now, no one can feed the world on their own, so Nate and I and all the others joining us in this cause, ask you to please prayerfully consider supporting us in our efforts to lose weight and feed the hungry. There is a link to Nate's blog in the left column, on which he is tracking his progress and he also has a lot more details about the organization we will be supporting. There is also a link to the organization itself so you can read up on it yourself if you'd like.  Of course you can also help by joining our cause! It doesn't matter if you have 5 pounds or 105 pounds to lose, every little bit counts - and it only takes $0.24 to feed ONE meal to ONE child.

One more thing I want to share with you is this: in the grand scheme of things, I don't have a lot of weight to lose; however, food has always been a battle for me. I am not blessed with a fast metabolism and I have an annoyingly strong weakness for sweet things. I have realized that the only way I can win this battle is by making a permanent lifestyle change. Not just dieting to lose the weight, but transforming and refining my eating habits from harmful to healthy. I posted the passage from 1 Corinthians in my header because I am attempting to internalize the truth that my body is not mine - it was created for my use by my Lord and Savior and because of that, it is my responsibility to be a good steward of it and use it for His glory. Becoming healthier will be a physical, emotional, and spiritual refinement for me. I need your support in prayer more than anything else.

With all that said, here are the starting statistics: according to my information from the Weight Watchers program (which is what I followed last time) on healthy weight ranges, I should weigh between 114 and 137 pounds for my height (5'2"). My goal is 130 and I'd like to meet this goal by July, and then be able to maintain my healthy weight for as long as possible. Here is a picture of my starting weight from this morning:

Technically, my starting weight was 150. This past week I began to track what I was eating (on www.myfitnesspal.com) and worked out every day. I have a workout partner now which helps a lot, and she is also endeavoring to eat healthier. So, I've already lost 1.4lbs! :) I am tracking what I eat which keeps me accountable food-wise and I will post every day my total calories consumed and what type of exercise I did, and any other tidbits of information I'd like to share with you.

Please let me know if you'd like to sponsor me, or Nate, and definitely keep checking back to our blogs for updates! Let's feed those starving children!!