I used to be thin.
In high school and college I exercised regularly (and had a young person’s metabolism). And then I got married. And had two kids. And while I never thought of myself as “fat” (I’m tall, so it is easier to hide the fat), I have known that I could stand to lose some weight. And back in January of 2006, while sitting in my first round of LAMP classes, God very clearly reminded me that:
19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (I Corinthians 16:19-20)
And He pointed out to me that I was doing well in honoring Him with my mind and my heart, but not very well with my body. Ouch. That hurt. A lot. Because it was true. I was eating whatever I wanted, when I wanted to. I was doing virtually no exercise at all. And I was frustrated with the way I looked, but not willing to do anything about it.
So I made a change. I started working out regularly and eating better, including completely cutting sweets out of my diet. I started running again – and I could do it for about one minute before I felt like I was dying. But I kept going and the next fall I ran my first 5K ever. (In high school I ran the 400 and 800 – I was NOT a distance runner!)
In May of 2008 I ran my first 1/2 marathon – something I NEVER thought I could (or would want to) do.
In April of 2009 I ran my 2nd 1/2 marathon; May 2010 my 3rd (with my personal best time); October 2010 my 4th; November 2010 my 5th; and I just completed my 6th one May 7, 2011.
While that may sound impressive, I’m not impressed. Yes, I have finished these 6 1/2 marathons, but each time I get a little more lax in my training. This last time, I really wanted to set a new personal record, but what started with some good excuses for not getting my training runs in (neck injury, illness), ended with some really poor excuses for not getting my training runs in (don’t want to get out of bed).
And over the last year or so, I have fallen out of my good eating habits and gone back to eating lots of sweets and snacks, eating after 7:00 p.m., etc.
I lost about 35 pounds that first year, of which I have put back on about half in the last 9 months. 🙁
Something needs to change. Again.
Last night kicked off First Christian Church’s Biggest Loser Competition. After talking with my running partner during one of our longer training runs, we decided to do it. She did it last year with great success. We joined a team full of amazing women, and for the next 12 weeks we are going to work together and encourage one another in our eating habits, our exercise habits, and our spiritual lives. We are going to train together to walk a 1/2 marathon this fall – something most of them have never done or ever thought they wanted to do.
Our team name: Bacon Lovers (Anonymous)
Our theme verse: I Corinthians 10:23 (NLT) 23 You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial.
In other words, there’s no rule that says you shouldn’t eat bacon (or sweets, or _________) by the bucket loads and sit on your couch and do nothing every evening, but that doesn’t mean it is good for you.
This is where change begins (again). And even if we don’t lose all the weight we want to in the next 12 weeks, I am guessing we’ll gain much more. Stronger friendships. Healthier attitudes about food. Leaner bodies from exercise. Deeper relationships with God. And hopefully lasting habits for healthy living.
Here we go, ladies!
How about you? What one area of your life needs attention and change and what are you going to do about it?
WooHoo!!