In my quest for returning to better health and fitness (after you’re done with this post, you can read about it here), I’m sharing my journey as I walk it and posting updates here on Mondays. Your encouragement via comments here and on the Facebook page as well as through e-mails and notes this past week truly overwhelmed me! Thanks bunches and bunches—ten thousand times over! And to those of you who shared that you are walking this same path, keep moving forward!
Reflections on the past week:
Exercise. This past week, winter won—but only regarding my exercise location! I’m thrilled to report that, in the end, I won because I completed my goal of exercising five days! I walked anywhere between one and three miles each of those days, and I also did a twenty-minute set of muscle-specific exercises four of those five days. (The day I did three miles on the treadmill, I was ready for CPR, not for more exercise! Yikes! It seems like yesterday I spent an entire year walking five miles a day in the north woods of Wisconsin! I will do that again!)
Eating. Many of you gave me fantastic tips, recipes, and ideas for snacking, and I followed some of those. I’ll keep adding some of those into my weekly routine! My meal choices were okay, but they weren’t great. Believe it or not, I had to remind myself that, surprisingly, I probably haven’t been eating enough calories in a day—let alone the right ones. I wrote down everything that I ate or drank. I have a confession. I love Hot Tamales, so I bought a bag of those—and ate it. {Hides head but then remembers that failure isn’t permanent. Lesson: Don’t buy Hot Tamales if you’re a person with very little self-control to repel their whispers!}
Reading that inspired me this past week:
On Tuesday mornings, I’m doing a Ladies’ Bible study at my new church. We’re learning from the life of Gideon—and, oh my heart, I realize anew that I AM Gideon!—and in Judges 6, the angel of God calls out to Gideon to prepare him for a task. A quotation by Priscilla Shirer (the author of the study) was the reading (outside of Scripture) that inspired me most this week. It served to remind me that if I want to be healthy tomorrow, I’ve got to get my tookus and choices on the right path today!
“Today’s tasks are preparation for tomorrow’s calling.” (Priscilla Shirer)
Realistic goals for the week ahead:
I will keep writing down my food and beverage intake. I will purchase some protein powder so that I can return to my more organic approach of getting better quality foods through smoothies and the right kinds of calories, minerals, and vitamins. [Though I’m planning to do this, it might not work to purchase this until I return to Wisconsin next week to begin packing my things. I can get the good stuff from my chiropractor there, and I’m not certain what the travel weather will be here this week.]
I will exercise five days again this week—probably inside, if the weather forecast holds true. At least two of those days, I will—will!—walk two miles. And one day I will—yes, again, will!—walk three miles! And even though it’s short, I’m also going to memorize Priscilla Shirer’s quotation (above) and review I Corinthians 9:27 this week.
God is good, and I’m moving forward!
WAIT!
I almost forgot to mention this! I started a Pinterest Board called “The Monday Morning Mirror,” and I’ll be pinning things that I’m using or that I think would be helpful to others who are also on this journey. I’m not posting the odd, peculiar recipes or photos of a twenty-something’s body—that’s not the goal. If it’s not possible to eat or to do, it’s not getting pinned. Only real, workable, edible, and encouraging things get pinned! I’d love for you to follow it! [Click here to visit my Pinterest Board: “The Monday Morning Mirror.“]
Image courtesy of Witthaya Phonsawat / FreeDigitalPhotos.net_______________
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