New Week, New Attitude!

I am counting on the LORD; yes, I am counting on him

I have put my hope in his word. - Psalm 130:5

Four weeks now have passed since The Week - I remain so grateful to God, who hasn't let me give up on myself.  Since I started The Journey in January, I've lost ten pounds (six of them in the last four weeks).  What I've gained is a LOT of strength and endurance, which was one of my high priority goals.  That feels pretty good.

Added 30 minutes of cardio this morning, hoping to do that each morning this week, buildng on what I started last week.  Working out each evening is great, but I'd like that little jump start to my metabolism first thing in the morning.

So, it's going to be a good week - not because of the workouts, or the weight loss, or anything else - but because God is good.  When you live in America, have a beautiful roof over your head, food in your cupboard, a job that pays the bills and you serve a loving and mighty God...how can you expect anything else but a good week?

And a new pair of shoes - did I mention that?

Ever Have One of Those Days?

Those days are the times when the heat gets turned up on our commitments.  Commitments to ourselves and to others.  This week has been a week full of those days.  Still, there is no looking back.  Out of 22 days that have passed (not counting Sundays), I've worked out 19 of those days.  Are you kidding me?  No wonder the enemy is trying to beat up on me.  I'm kicking butt!

Still....I can't wait until this week is over.  :-)

So many thoughts, so little time...

It's tough to put it all down on cyber-paper.  This adventure I'm on to hit the reset button on 45 years of bad habits takes a lot of concentration and thought.  But man, does it feel good.  Working out very consistently now, six days per week for at least 30 - 45 minutes per day.  Meeting lots of lovely people and oddly enough - God's given me the privilege of a little ministry right there at the Curves I now belong to.  It happened right after my last post, "Don't talk to me while I'm sweating."

Apparently, God thought that post was hiLARious, because the very next day one of the girls at the gym ended up talking to me about a problem she was facing, and God gave me the right words that night.  And the night after that.  And the night after that.  And last night.  I'm humbled by the thought that He's rewarding me with a ministry right there, where I seem to be spending so much time.  He is truly awesome.

The other cool/weird/mildly interesting thing that's happened in the last week is that more and more people are learning about this journey that I've started.  I guess when you walk around all day with a BodyBugg strapped to your arm, people ask questions (right, Joy?).  :-)

In a way, it's a good thing because it holds me accountable to a lot of people who are watching.  But, it's also a bad thing because it holds me accountable to a lot of people who are watching.  I still don't have the guts to share a blog post on FB, but maybe someday. 

Being intentional takes a lot of effort.  You have to fight for it.  If it's important to you, it's important for a reason.  End of story, no need for justifying, whining or pondering.  This is what I tell myself.  It's not about all the drama that usually goes on in my head when I'm thinking about life.  It's about, "get your butt up and start moving."  So I do.

Don't Talk to Me While I'm Sweating...

Chances are - if you hear me huffing and puffing in a gym while seeing beads of sweat drip down my neck - I'm a little busy and don't really have the time or desire to chat it up.  I would've thought this was an unwritten rule - call it "workoutiquette," or something like that.  But I smiled and tried not to appear impolite as the following subjects were covered:

• Empty nesters and the college dropouts that come home to roost
• New age influence in the Portland, Oregon area
• How many people have come down with "what's going around"
• Did you know that the manager has a new boyfriend?

After half an hour at the "Gab and Sweat," I rushed home from the workout for a personal coaching session with someone from BodyBugg.  This thing is AMAZING!!  I consider myself fairly tech-savvy, and this girl was showing me stuff that I had no idea it could do.  It almost makes you work harder so you can play more with the data after you upload it. 

Almost.  :-)

The New Normal

Here's a weird thing:

Monday, I absolutely killed it on the circuit.  Left nothing behind.  In 30 minutes, I burned over 500 calories (according to my new little friend, the BodyBugg, which I will blog about later). After the workout, I was stretching and feeling pretty good and I thought to myself, "Wow, I missed this feeling yesterday." [Sunday is a rest day from workouts]

That's when it occurred to me that resetting my priorities has led to the development of "the new normal." 

Then tonight - watching The Biggest Loser and hearing the trainers talk to the contestants about changing their thinking and fighting back against the self-talk - really sort of cemented that concept in my head. 

This is the new normal and I like it.

Finally - Day Five

Today is Saturday and that means The Week has come to an end.  Did I accomplish everything on my list of goals for the week?  Uh, no.  Sadly, #9 (wash and detail my car) and #10 (hose off the back patio) will have to wait for another day.  But here are a few highlights of what did happen:

Five days of intense workouts
Five days of no processed sugar
Five days of keeping meticulous track of calorie intake
Five days of eating whole foods
Five days of almost constant conversation with God
And finally, on the last day - the revelation of what it truly was all about. 

I was standing at the kitchen sink yesterday afternoon, dealing with the pile of guilt - er, I mean...dishes - that had been stacking up over the past two days.  It was then that God chose to reveal what I hadn't yet been able to reason out.  The Week wasn't about perfection, or endurance, or any of the things that I had worried weren't happening.

The Week was about proving to myself that I could do it.

See, God knew I could do it (course correct my life) all along.  My husband knew I could do it, and was cheering me on at every step.  But somewhere in the back of my mind, I didn't believe it.  Too many past attempts and failures, I guess?  Things and events that the enemy of our faith uses to knock us down, time after time.  No more.

For the first time...in a long time:  I believe in me. 

Day Three

Well, yesterday was day three of what I am now calling The Week.  Day two passed much as day one, which I've already blogged about.  Day three was different.  I started to panic that I was wasting too much time!  "You're off for a week," the little voice in my head (one of many) told me.  "Why aren't you cleaning the house, doing laundry, getting on top of that to-do list?"  I had no answer for the voice.  In a way, I wish I would've started The Week with a clean house, laundry all done - so that maybe it wouldn't have been an issue. 

Do you ever feel that way?  Like you can't get your act (and by "act," I do NOT mean external things) all together unless everything is just so?  I honestly used to believe that I couldn't spend time talking to God or reading His word as long as there was dust in the house, or if my bed wasn't made.  It was like I thought that the dirt somehow prevented Him from hearing me or even having an audience with me.

Over the years, though - I've learned that God cares little about the dishes piling up in the sink.  Today was one of those days.  Sitting at His feet, I sense His presence and see His smile through the clouds.  Today is a good day.

Day One

The first butt-kicking of the week came at the hands of a sweet little trainer.  She assured me (lied) that this would be an easy workout and that I'd have plenty of energy for the rest of the day.  Liar.

Then, after the butt-kicking came the beatdown.  This time, (different gym) he (why are all trainers under the age of 25?) showed me how to use the elliptical trainer (at my request - I thought it would be "fun").  It was fun, at first - but after ten minutes, I couldn't feel my legs.  I wobbled off the elliptical, in search of the meaning of life and a machine with a seat (not necessarily in that order).

In case you're wondering what I'm doing this week... I am working out approximately two hours every day at two different gyms, and forcing myself into a high level of activity during the rest of the day.  I'm hitting the reset button on years of indifference and invincibility.  It's working.