I'm a fool

Wise people's houses are full of the best foods and olive oil,
but fools waste everything they have. Proverbs 21:20

I want to fill my house with good food

Wise =

  Having the ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting

  Having great learning; erudite.

  Provided with information; informed

Wisdom =

  The ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting; insight.

  Common sense; good judgment

  The sum of learning through the ages; knowledge

Fool =

  One who is deficient in judgment, sense, or understanding.

  One who acts unwisely on a given occasion

Foolish =

  Lacking or exhibiting a lack of good sense or judgment

          I have a hard time saying I’m wise, especially when I keep making the same foolish choices. I know what is right – the right foods to eat, the right amount of sleep to get and the right duration of exercise. Do I always eat the right food, not unless ice cream and M&M’s is right; do I get the right amount of sleep, not always; & do I exercise enough, no not even close. I walk 2 ½ miles twice a week and I’m doing core exercise 3 – 4 times a week. I need to up my exercising I know that, my excuse is the heat or I don’t want to go without my husband, oh I could come up with several.

          One of my goals for these 30 days is to have a menu so that I make wise food choices. I have not taken the time to put in practice. It won’t be too hard it just means taking the time to do it and then doing the shopping that goes with it. I have a plan for how to lay it out – have “theme” nights, pasta night, soup & salad, crock pot night, pizza night, and so on. So all I have to do is plan out 5 or 6 menus (plan a leftover day). It isn’t that hard to do it is just a matter of doing it. I’m the one who is sabotaging my efforts.

          I have support from my family on eating healthy. I have this support mostly because they don’t want to cook but they want to eat. Everyone enjoys whatever food I cook, no picky eaters, so all the excuses I have are my own. So that brings me back to I don’t act wise, I’m rather foolish when it comes to my health. That doesn’t have to be the end of it though with God’s guidance I can become wise about my choices.

I want to be a blessing

The good people who live honest lives will be a blessing to their children. Proverbs 20:7

          Growing up I watch my mom smoke and saw her health deteriorate with every puff. As a teenager I vowed I would not smoke or date/marry someone who smokes, I would not watch another person ruin their health or put my children through that torture. However I have chosen to use food for my comfort and I have allowed food to make me less healthy. I must be honest with myself about food and my health. I’m doing better about making food choices but there is a long way for me to go. By making my health a priority then I can be around for much longer and my children can be blessed.

          My new goals for the next 30 days (July 18 – August 18) I hope by sharing this you are encouraged and see that you can be healthy and not feel like something is lacking in your life.

1.    Build a stronger relationship with my Lord and Savior: Sit in His word

a.    Read a Proverb a day: The average month has 30 days and there are 31 Proverbs.

b.    Journal what God is teaching me

c.    Pray honestly

d.    Read and Reflect on devotionals

2.    Keep a food journal

a.    List what I eat w/ calories

b.    Mark water intake and other fluids (coffee, soda, kool-aid)

c.    Make weekly menus

d.    Find new recipes

3.    Be active: continue my walking routine

a.    By the end of these 30 days I will walk 3 miles a day.

b.    on day I walk with my accountability friend I will walk again on my own (harder/faster)

c.    2 times a week do a workout

4.    Mange my time: Time for me is as important as time people want me

a.    Use my calendar mark what I need to do each day (daily goals)

b.    Schedule time for: bible study, exercise, T.V./Computer

c.    Eliminate things that keeps me from accomplishing my goals

The lies I tell myself

          Over the years I have told myself I can’t afford to lose weight, if I lose it then my clothing won’t fit and I will have to buy new clothes. If I have to buy new clothes where will the money come from? I still can’t buy a whole ward robe, at least not all at once, but I don’t have to; I can use a belt until I have the money to replace my pants. I also have several pairs of pants in my closest from when I lost weight before. I thought I had given them away but recently I discovered I still have them. Now I don't have to believe that lie because God has shown me the solution. It will be fun to go shopping for new clothes when I have the money to do it.

          I am so sad when I see a picture of myself looking fat, old and frumpy. I’m tired of feeling fat, old and frumpy also. If you haven’t noticed yet there aren’t any pictures of me on this blog for you to see and won’t be until I have lost at least 50 pounds. I don’t do a lot of things because I get depressed when I don’t look the way I think I should, which is partly colored by the world’s view of beauty. I don’t agree with what the world says beauty is but I can’t seem to get it out of my head. I want to be accepted and viewed as pretty, but before someone else can do that I have to accept myself and believe that I'm pretty. When I voice my honest opinion about myself people say they don’t agree with me but they don’t share what they see either. Just another lie that Satan tells me that I’m trying to learn not to believe.

          It felt so good yesterday when I weighed myself and the scale showed I lost just over 8 pounds in 30 + days. My goal every month is 5 pounds so I’m ahead of my goal. I was excited, happy and almost jumping for joy. It felt like I just hit the winning shot just as the buzzer sounded to end the game. I will be this happy again when my weight goes down next month and when it shows to the point that people start asking 'have you lost weight.' I’m ready to say ‘Yes I have, thank you for asking.’ I won't let Satan take this victory from me. He is trying to whisper lies in my ear but I'm not hearing him.

          I’m sure Satan will try to find another lie for me to believe, he’s good at that. And I will have the choice of believing it or kicking him to the side so I can move forward. I won’t let him control my weight any longer; he is too much to carry around.

          Soon I will let you know my new goals for the next 30 day dare. I’m still praying about what God wants me to do to become a stronger, healthier and more fit me. It is so much easier to 1.) do it with God; and 2.) write it down so that I have the reminder, accountability.

THE RESULTS ARE IN

I had planned on giving my dare results before leaving for my trip however time did not allow that to happen. So let’s go over the dare I made with myself, it was with myself only – it was what I wanted to do to make a better me.

Here is part of my first post for us to review

Why 30 days? In 30 days I leave for Brazil and I want to feel energized and to have that feeling I have to be healthy and fit. I HAD THE ENERGY TO KEEP UP WITH MY TEAM WHO IS YOUNGER OR PHYSICALLY MORE FIT THAN I AM. IT WAS THE DAY THAT I RAN AROUND WITH 3 OR 4 PRESCHOOLERS, YES I WAS WINDED BUT NOT EXHAUSTED AND DIDN’T FEEL LIKE I NEEDED TO GO CURL UP IN A CORNOR SOME PLACE TO REST. I WAS SO ENCOURAGED BY THE WAY I FELT AT THE END OF EACH DAY.

To be healthy and fit I have to change my habits. I HAVE CHANGED MY HABITS AND I ENJOY EATTING BETTER AND WHEN I GET PLENTY OF WATER (AT LEAST 8 – 8OZ CUPS) I HAVE SO MUCH MORE ENERGY.

To get started I'm setting 5 goals.

1. Spend at least 30 minutes every day in God's word MOST DAYS I GOT THIS MUCH TIME OR MORE WITH GOD. I WANT TO IMPROVE ON THIS GOAL HOWEVER.
2. Pray! Pray! Pray! I COULDN’T GET THROUGH MY DAY WITHOUT THIS. I PRAYED MANY TIMES DURING THE DAY. GOD GIVES ME THE STRENGTH I NEED TO GET THROUGH EACH DAY AND I CAN’T DRAW ON THIS STRENTH THAT GOD WANTS ME TO HAVE IF I’M NOT GOING TO HIM.
3. Get active: (Walk every morning, at least 1 mile; Walk every evening, at least 1 mile; Workout 3x's a week), find someone to walk with at least 2 days a week. ON AN AVERAGE WEEK I WALKED 6 DAYS A WEEK MOST OF THE DAYS WAS ONLY ONCE A DAY. DUE TO OTHER ACTIVITIES I DIDN’T GET A MORNING AND EVENING WALK EVERY DAY. I WAS ALSO WALKING OVER 2 MILES AT A TIME. I NEVER DID GET MY EXTRA WORKOUTS STARTED. LOOKS LIKE THERE IS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT WITH THIS GOAL
4. Make wise food choices I ENJOYED LOOKING FOR HEALTHY WAYS TO EAT AND PREPARE MY FOOD. YES I DID HAVE CHOCOLATE BUT I DIDN’T CRAVE IT HAS MUCH SINCE I WAS GIVING MY BODY OTHER GOOD FOOD
5. Manage my time: set a time each day for my bible study and walks or workouts (an appointment that I must keep). By doing this it causes me to be accountable. LET’S JUST SAY I HAVE LOTS OF ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT IN THIS GOAL

So there it is the RESULTS of my 30 Day Dare! J     Well there is one result that isn’t here yet, the result of the unwritten goal. I would like to lose weight as a result of my exercise and better eating.

                                                   

Drum Roll, Please

8 pounds in just over 30 days!!!!!!

What am I hungry for today?

     Today I’m hungry for cookies, chocolate dipped granola bars and M&M’s. I went to the store to get a few items and found myself getting hungrier with every isle. I did just fine until I got to the cookie isle; had no intention of going down this isle but the direction I wanted to go was blocked with children and beer suppliers. So I go down the cookie isle and by the time I made it to the end I had a package of chocolate chip cookies in my cart. Then when I got home I fixed a pot of coffee and ate 5 cookies.

          I was hungry only because I didn’t have a morning snack and left the house without an option. In truth I did have another option, no, I didn’t take food or water with me, but I could have spent time in prayer and asked God to carry me through the time of hunger and desire for something less than wholesome. God would have given me the strength I needed to get my shopping done so I could get home to eat something better than cookies. All I had to do is ask for his help.

          In Psalm 34:10 we read “The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.” When I seek God for my strength I will not lack. I will have what I need to satisfy my wants, needs and desire.

          I must first seek God in all things. The next time I go to the store I’m going to pray that God helps me to shop wisely and to buy the things that He would want me to eat. Make God first and give Him control of all decisions.