Just Keep Swimming...

Happy Valentines Day! “Give praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He is the Father who gives tender love. All comfort comes from him.” 2 Corinth 1:3

First off, the all-important Weight Loss Update (imagine a drum roll…): LOSS OF ONE POINT EIGHT POUNDS!! Yay for me! It sure wasn't easy. This weight loss business takes tenacity. Planning. Strategy. Like war. “Know thine enemy!” Yes, we have switched from VALENTINES/LOVE to WAR. I just couldn’t think of a good segway. Except maybe “Make love not war” from the sixties, but I was too young to be a hippy and anyhow I don’t think it’s really apropos.

 So off we go to war. Winston Churchill said, “Never give in... never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.  Never yield to force... never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”  

And in this case, the enemies are many and varied.

a.      Food tastes good. Food that tastes the best seems to be the worst for me. HoHos, Fritos, big messy cheeseburgers, onion rings and donuts, to name but a few.

b.      I was raised in a home with Bill Torbert. I learned that food was not just for nourishment, it was also for attitude adjustments, celebrating, stress-relief, TV-watching, entertaining, gift-giving, and just passing time between meals.

c.      The road is long, and I am impatient. “Lord send me patience and send it to me now.”

d.      My Fibro aches and pains keep me from doing some of the things I need to do. Today, for instance, I was going to take an “Introduction to Yoga” class, and meet with my personal trainer Brooklyn at Lifetime Fitness. I can’t do either, because of painful elbows. That’s a new one, by the way. Heretofore my elbows have been some of the few places NOT hurting.

e.      There are entire days when IBS keeps me home, and not able to do much of anything.

But fear not, for my weapons against blubber and sloth are ALSO many and varied!

a.      Momentum. Once inertia is broken, just keep going. Like Dory the blue fish in Finding Nemo. “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…”

b.      Desire. I desire to be svelte. I used to look good in clothes, and I want to again. I don’t necessarily want to be whistled at by construction workers or anything, but I never really enjoyed that in the first place. I just want to look good, and I will just as soon as that fat woman in the mirror moves to Nairobi Kenya.

c.      Pinterest! OHMYGOSH. My girls have me hooked on Pinterest, and there are some great recipes out there. There are also a billion other things to look at and spend my time on, especially on the days when I can’t do much else. So that means I’m not rooting through the cupboards hunting for a snack. Double whammy! Double edged sword in the Battle of the Bulge!

d.      Philip Edward Meier, who is on Weight Watchers with me, and has joined Lifetime Fitness so we can go swimming together and walk on side-by-side treadmills. SO romantic. Having him count points with me makes it much easier! He helps decide on the menu also, so it’s not always me having to come up with what to make for dinner.

e.      Friends and family who read my blog and leave me messages, here or on Facebook or in emails, are an awesome weapon. It means SO MUCH to have your encouragement, and to know that these words I send out into cyberspace are not being dropped into the waste basket like junk mail. Thank you thank you thank you!

f.       Best weapon: Jesus. Because “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Phil 4:13

NEVER GIVE IN!