#Bod4God He's Not Done With Me Yet

Is that really me?? I'm not done; don't know that I'll ever be "done." But I'm so much further than I was 12 weeks ago. And I've been able to do more than I thought. My "secret" is the timeless combination of eating less and moving more. Just like Pastor Steve Reyonlds says in his book.

 I'm watching what I eat -- counting calories, being mindful of what I eat. I've discovered that is my downfall: eating because the food is there or because I'm bored. I'm much less likely to mindlessly eat if I'm writing down what I eat because it is hard enough to guess portion size when I pay attention! And I am trying to be honest when I write down how much I eat.

Moving more. My goal is 5-6 classes each week. Between Body & Soul bootcamp and our personal trainer, getting one or two more in isn't difficult. I do much better when I have the accountability of a class -- someone to tell me what to do next & many someone's who will ask where I was if I'm not there.

We have 2 more groups in this study. The last one is a 5k or walk "Celebration." I'm still trying to decide which I'm going to do. I know I need to challenge myself and do the 5k, if only to say I've done one and never need to do another. I'll see where God leads me!

#Bod4God My Team

One of the reasons I decided to start the Bible Study was for this very reason: a Team. I think this is one of the reasons I've struggled with losing weight. No team. While the local team was not what I expected and one I still don't really feel connected to, I've discovered I have more of a team than I realized.

Team Member #1: God. This one is the key. I had never asked God to be on my team before. Oh, I'd asked him to help me lose weight but my expectation was more along the lines of "please let me wake up a size smaller" or "help me resist the temptation of the chips I just bought" (why did I just buy them??). This time, however, it was a different kind of ask. My asks are less for the physical and more for the emotional and spiritual strength to continue on this journey. And now 

Call to Me & I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3

I had no idea the things my body could do. God has given me the spiritual support I've needed to get to where I am right now. I've lost 10 pounds since January and I owe it all to Him.

The rest of my team: I realized recently that while I don't have a local team, God has given me people who support me through technology from a distance. Montana friends on the FitBit app or Twitter challenge me and encourage me to keep going. The friends God brought me to there are long lasting friends who will encourage my Walk and my walking.

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. Proverbs 27:17
Two people are better than one, for they can help each other success. Ecclesiastes 4:9

My team is not what I expected, but they are exactly who God had planned. Little did I know what he had planned when He put me on the path to meet Diane, Becky and Kristi.

And of course, my husband. He is a bigger part of my team now that we are working out together. We have 4 more weeks with the personal trainer and I can't wait to see the fruits of our labor.

#Bod4God God vs. Society

"I deserve this ... I've worked hard ... I am working out tomorrow ... Just one won't hurt ..." How many excuses, rationalizations have I used throughout my life to justify the choices I have made and continue to make. I rationalized several cake pops that Jessie and I made while Maggie was at a sleepover. I justified the bowl of ice cream at the Girl Scout Sunday event ("I'm going to the gym twice tomorrow, I can have this.") But who am I trying to fool? Other people don't really care -- in fact, they probably nod along, agreeing that it's okay for me to cheat "just a little bit." But they don't have to face my mirror in the morning, or the scale tonight!

In reality, that one bowl of ice cream or extra cake pop probably didn't make that much of a difference in what the scale will say tonight. And if I really wanted to, I could use all sorts of "tricks" to get that number to go down -- especially if I wait to have supper AFTER the weigh in. But one small bad choice leads to another, to another, to another that's just a little bigger and soon the choices are much bigger than I imagined.

Pastor talked about temptation yesterday and talked about how you need to make your decisions regarding temptation BEFORE you are in the situation. If I bring a healthy lunch to work, I'm much less likely to head for fast food. If I decide I'm only going to have 2 Girl Scout cookies before I open the box, I'm more likely to only eat the 2 I take. If I know where we are going to eat, I can decide before we get there what I'm going to order, so I can just avoid the photos of the burgers and fries. By making the decision first, I am taking away some of the power of the temptation. I can be one of those people with the will power to walk away from the french fries.

This is not what society tells us. Society tells us that we should do what makes us feel good in the moment; we shouldn't have to deprive ourselves of something wonderful which will make us feel good right now. It really hit me as I was reading some of the past devotionals in Lysa TerKeurst's "Made to Crave Devotional" book. Day 3 and 9 both touched on this. In day 9, she is talking about a situation with her son, but this sentence covers so many other indulgences:

"...had indulged in an area God wanted to preserve, yet the world told them they deserved." pg 36

And in Day 3, she writes about Acts 5:29 where Paul writes:

"We must obey God rather than man/society."

The addition of the word "Society" is from me. It's not just those that we know, which is usually what I interpret "man" to mean.  I changed the verse in my devotional book so I would remember to ask: What is society, media telling us me? Honestly, society gives us conflicting messages: we must look a certain way to be "beautiful", but we are also to indulge, to live for self, enjoy life. And haven't we also been told that God just wants us to be happy? So if God wants me to be happy, why not have that bowl of ice cream? 

My satisfaction, happiness, contentment in life is not to come from my body, how it looks or what I put in it. I cannot continue to define my happiness by what society tells me should make me happy. God has seen fit to put me here in this time and this place for his purpose, not to be "happy." Doing my best to keep this body healthy is part of my obedience to God, part of my stewardship of this world. As I continue on this journey, I will do my best to choose to look to God for my contentment, which will lead me to better choices.

#Bod4God Week ... something

The past few weeks have been a bit of a blur. Maggie's Girl Scout troop started cookie sales. We had a long weekend and Rocky & I went to see Alton Brown's live show (fantastic, wonderful, 3 hours that flew by AND I got my cookbook autographed -- even if I didn't get to meet him). I've actually been busy at work. It's been cold and snowy and COLD. I'm still getting up at 0'dark:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays for Body & Soul Boot Camp. I'm loving Piyo on Mondays. And I'm getting to about half of the Tuesday/Thursday Women With Weights classes. Rocky and I have also started working out with a personal trainer.

And I'm FINALLY seeing some results. My pants are getting looser. The scale is starting to move in the right direction (so so close to 10 pounds down).

It's interesting to me that it has taken this competition for things to really get kick started in my body. I had started the Bible study to be able to dig deeper into my relationship with God and hopefully find that lasting motivation. I don't know that I'm getting that from this study. This group seems more focused on the nutrition, exercise by bringing in speakers such as physicians, dietitians, a yoga instructor. And I'm not feeling connected with my group. Which is disappointing to me. I've been praying for godly friends. I'm frustrated and feel like I'm not getting anything out of it. And yet this is working for me. 

God is working in my physical body. He is working on my temple to make it a holy place for his spirit to reside. So even though I expected to see more of a spiritual change from this study, it's not what God has planned. He is using this time to make changes to my earthly vessel and teaching me that I can do this ... With Him. Trying to do this on my own was futile. 

And interesting that at this very moment, I finally get this week's memory verse:

"Each of you should know how to possess her own vessel in sanctification and honor." 1 Thessalonians 4:4

Only God can help me know my own vessel, to care and honor my body for him.