Unlimited Bread

This is the final week of the Holiday Challenge at Peak313 and I have really enjoyed making sacrifices for healthier choices so that I may share resources with others.  They ranged from leaving my warm bed in the wee hours for a workout to passing on high calorie food and drink at a holiday get together.  I have made promises to donate warm blankets to the needy as well as money toward Heartspring, an organization that has The Care Program for high functioning autistic children that my son participates in. They have reached him  and I hope that my contribution will allow them to reach many more.

To my surprise I have also LOST 2 pounds since Thanksgiving! I think this challenge was timely for me to stay on track and not be one of the average Americans who gains 8-12 pounds during the holiday season.  I have stepped up my training, turning holiday stress into spinning fuel.  I have come to prefer the bike and resistance bands to the treadmill or elliptical these days, which is great because I get exercise boredom easily.  I have also made some changes to my diet that are really paying off, including limiting my intake of bread.  I am a HUGE bread lover. When you hear of prisoners having only bread and water, I am the girl that thinks that wouldn't be too bad, which makes makes me smile that this week's challenge verse is  “Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35

I have to remember that I am not giving up ALL bread.  In fact, with God at the forefront of my physical, emotional and spiritual health, I get unlimited bread.  Clare at Peak313 challenged us this week to share when we realized that Jesus was the bread of life. I believe I have always known that since I accepted him in my heart at age 10, but I don't think I truly realized  that it is He who sustains me until many years later.  After leaving a bad marriage and dealing with yo yo weight gains and losses, about 3 years ago I realized that the food for my soul isn't found in what I put in my mouth during bad or good times or what others say to or about me.  It isn't found in my appearance or if I feel fat or not.  My soul food doesn't come from earthly possessions or what I have or have not accomplished.  My bread comes from God and he feeds me not only spiritually but emotionally and physically also. When all three of those are fed through Him, it is an amazing feeling.    

“There will never be another woman who owns the look, the personality, and the experience that you do. Those ingredients make up the recipe that defines who you are, and it's your gift from the Lord - own it.” 
― Candace Cameron Bure, Reshaping It All: Motivation for Physical and Spiritual Fitness 


God gave me my body, God gave me my soul, He drives everything that happens to me and He will sustain me.   It is my duty to Him to keep partaking in his bread to fulfill all of my needs.  Although I love bread, oh especially those yummy holiday breads, God provides me with unlimited bread.  The good news is it's less in calories and sticks with me much longer than the carbs of other breads.  Have a great day! 

Let's Be Users

I was reading one of my favorite blogs by Bonnie Pfiester  http://pfitblog.com/2012/11/30/handicapped-by-fat-why-laziness-kills/ today and I thought it was a great message.  She wrote how America seems to be paralyzed by laziness, or as she put it:  Handicapped by Fat.  She mentioned about the use of scooters by people that can but refuse to walk, please realize she was in no way attacking those who are truly paralyzed.  The point I took away from the blog was, unless we stay healthy and active, we will end up not enjoying our lives to the fullest.

So why is it that we do not use our bodies?  Bonnie pointed out impatience, which I get that. I think of all the places I could walk to and I don't simply because I want to get there faster.  Heck, MY GYM is less than 2 miles from my house so I could walk there.  Perhaps at 3:30 am it is not the safest idea, but you get the point.   Not too long ago I loaned my Reshaping It All book to a neighbor who lives about 8 or so blocks from me. It was a windy night, but otherwise decent weather.  As I was picking up my keys I thought 'what are you doing?' I was seriously going to DRIVE to her house to deliver a book about getting healthy. I walked and was glad I did.

Another point of the article is that sometimes things get hard and it leads to laziness.This could be an injury, a little more weight, life's perils, heart issues, etc. that lead a person to stop exercising or even remaining mobile  for that matter. I think about all the times things got hard for me and all the times I quit.  I remember losing all the weight after my son was born 12 years ago and was a total gym rat.  Then I slowly started to let life creep in and wasn't working out as much, which led to weight gain and my highest weight ever in 2004. Next thing I knew, I was giving up.  I wasn't using my body for much of anything other than eating and taking care of my family, which was suffering because I was lazy and depressed.

Like Bonnie, my point is not to chastise the people who utilize scooters.  All I am saying is that we need to USE our bodies so we don't LOSE them.  It's no secret B is older than I am nor is it a secret that he is in very good physical health.  I know we both work hard to play hard.   I want to reach as many goals as we can together be that keeping in shape, traveling, enjoying the outdoors, just living life to the fullest and so on. I'm in for using my body to it's fullest potential and even pushing it beyond to boost my quality of life, plus I think it just sounds sort of funny to say 'I'm a user' and it actually mean a good thing.  HAPPY FRIDAY!

Small Sacrifice, Big Reward -Holiday Challenge Week 1

As I posted previously, I am participating in the Peak313 Holiday Challenge.  Simply put it's a challenge that allows me to share something with others when I make a sacrifice.  It's geared toward giving up unhealthy habits over the holiday and replacing them with healthy ones.  This morning I didn't not want to leave my bed for the gym, but forced myself to give up my nice warm cozy spot to go do something healthy.  In return I am donating blankets so that others can have a warm bed. It just made me feel good knowing that when I gave something up I wasn't rewarding myself with an extra Diet Pepsi or maybe more sleep tomorrow morning, but instead giving something to others-actually rewarding myself greatly in the process. 

Was it a huge sacrifice to get up and go to the gym this morning?  No it wasn't since I am accustom to going to the gym often. However, I haven't been on a Monday in awhile and it was really cold, so I say small sacrifice.  :-) Will it be a huge burden  for me to donate blankets? My God always makes the ends at my house meet, so helping others is something that I am glad to do.  Will my sacrifices in the next 21 days be small or large?  Only time can tell, but I do want to challenge myself to really put myself out on a limb to help others this holiday season through donations of time, money and goods.  

As Clare wrote in her blog, God gave us the ultimate sacrifice so any sacrifice of mine is the least I can do.  Let us not forget “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

So who is going to join me?  Get your jar, start jotting it down when you make a sacrifice and decide what you will share with others.  Leftover pie in the fridge?  How about just half a piece and donating some canned items to the food bank?  Holidays give you the blues?  Try turning off the sad Christmas movie (yes there are some really sad ones) and take a walk instead, your reward could be some cash or time to your favorite charity.  

It's not too late, the deal is below and I can't wait to see your results! 

http://peak313.com/featured/21-days-to-a-hunger-free-and-healthy-holiday-week-1-sacrifice/

Holidays are Challenging-Challenge Accepted!

Holidays are stressful and challenging. Sometimes I admit I find myself getting worked up as the Christmas countdown begins. As many of you know I did a 5 Week Challenge at Peak313 and really learned a lot about myself and the relationship between my spiritual and physical fitness. Thanks to Clare at Peak313, I am going to be part of another challenging Christmas-this time in a good way.  Please take a minute to see the challenge below and I pray that you consider joining me.  Let's challenge ourselves this year!

http://peak313.com/featured/holiday-challenge-21-days-to-a-hunger-free-and-healthy-holiday/

I cannot wait to get started fighting off the cravings and collecting money for a good cause while  I am at it!

Zombies Hate Fast Food

It seems you can't go anywhere these days without hearing about evil Zombies and their plot to eat us all alive.  At Halloween it's even more prevalent.  I had to giggle when I came across this image on a fitness blog  this weekend.

A humorous take on yet another good reason for us to strive for better health.  It made me think, how many more reasons do I, or anyone else for that matter, need to improve our health?  I know my list is long-I want to please God by respecting the body he gave me, the bad genes that put me at risk for heart disease and diabetes, my self respect, active kids that need an active mom, keeping up with a fiance that is in great physical shape and simply just to live the most fulfilling life I can.  In essence, it is much like the silly picture above-I am exercising and controlling what I eat because I am running for my life.  

If a Zombie were really chasing us so they could munch on our brains, wouldn't we do whatever we could to outrun them? Shouldn't we want to do whatever we can to lessen the risk of health complications and thus live a better life?  So what holds us back?  Just  a little something to think about today on this wonderful Monday!

Little Fighter

If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times-I love it when things just seem to come together!  This morning I received Bonnie’s email from Pfit where she referenced her husband Steve’s blog which had a great message. I have been feeling a little sluggish in many areas of my life and it seems like my oomph, my ‘fight’ is just not what it used to be. The Pfit message really turned the light on in my head, thank you God  for leading me to it:

If you aren’t willing to fight for what you want, you deserve what you get. 

This message is simple, profound, timely and useful in many areas of my life at the moment.  I feel that I have been in the fight for what seems like most of my life and there are days I want to give up.  I have to remember that God gave me a fighting Irish spirit for a reason-because He knew I would need it and he knew I would USE it. 

I work in a male-dominated occupation where I often sit at a negotiation table with people who have been working longer than I have been alive and some who like to underestimate me.  Some of my cohorts call me the Little Fighter because when I know my position is correct, I don't back down. Since I am in the fight so much at work, it is hard to do so in my personal life. I must stay in the fight for better health, to set a foundation for my upcoming marriage, in order to gain a more comfortable financial position, to ensure success for myself and my family in all areas of life, etc.….my fight list is long.  If I opt to not fight for those things which are most important, than I truly do deserve what I get. 

The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.  Proverbs 13:4 (NIV)  

Even when I grow weary I have to remember that keeping a fighting spirit will bring me satisfaction and accomplishment.   I pray God gives me the strength to stay diligently in the fight for all that is necessary and important.  

Keeping the Faith

B and I have started taking 10 mile hikes every other weekend.  While we frequent the gym and are both in great physical shape, the 10 mile hike can be a test.  Let me first start off by saying since we live in the Great Plans, it's not much of a hike in the sense of any elevation change.  The terrain, as an old railroad track, is flat, somewhat uneven in spots with great views of farms and wildlife. It takes us from one small town to the next and back again. Yesterday's trek was rough on us both.  I am unsure why but could be because we have both been working out extra hard at the gym since we challenged one another to get back to our goal weights. I also think we were just simply worn out from a stressful week at work and just life in general.  There was more than one instance when we both said we didn't know if we could make it to the end-but we did.

What if B and I had just stopped on our hike?  One of us would have had to go get the car, breaking up our 'team'. If it were him going to get the car and me being left behind, I would have been fearful of just plain surviving-coyotes and strangers frequent this trail. We are stronger as a team and finishing together is the goal.

 In life, what if we decided to run our own race without God or the support of others?  Our likelihood of survival and ultimate salvation are not as great. In the picture below it shows me on the trail alone, but as in life, looks can be deceiving.  B is right behind me, ready to catch up after he took the shot and God is by my side. It is my journey, but I am not alone.

At the ultimate finish line, I want to be able to say what 2 Timothy 4:7 says, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Keep the faith, friends!