Prayers Requested

I am struggling.  Life has been good but crazy.  I have lost track of my habits.  Not shopping for or preparing food.  Getting whatever is easy now.  Need to stand up and choose correctly.

It can be done! I will do it.

Will will not Win

Studies suggest that if you are constantly bombarded with choices as you are trying to manage a behavior change, will power is not enough to fortify your resolve and not end up in relapse.

Live with intent, have a plan, get support in your personal environment.  When these tools and others are in place, it is less likely that you will make an unhealthy choice.  Think about it.  When weight loss or management was easy, it was probably because you were in the "zone".  You didn't have to think or struggle with choice.

It is not always easy.  I am currently outside of that zone fighting for good choices.  Today, I will pray for help.  God may not care if I am a certain size, but I believe wholeheartedly that His design for us is to be healthy.  Use the blessing our temple to be honor Him.  I ask for my body to be restored to health so that I can wage battle and fulfill the great commission.

Continue the Plan

Yesterday was not a great day for healthy habits.  I will not let that hinder me from ultimately reaching my goals.  Today will be better.  I will keep pursuing my plan.

Tough Weekend, Opportunity for New Choices

I had a great weekend with my kids, but it did include eating out too much.  And the food choices weren't normally on my diet.  I am up a handful of pounds, but that is not the end of the story.  I am very grateful to have woken up on Monday with the thought of what food can I take to work.  The bad choices don't have to linger.  Each day you and I get to decide to make healthy choices or not to make healthy choices.  I do feel lucky that my mind is where I need it be.  This week will be a good week. 240.4

Keep Striving for Balance in Life (all areas)

Habit management won't work if your life is not in balance.  Stress tends to drag us back to comfort, and comfort sometimes takes the form of ice cream, pizza, cigarettes, alcohol, or casual sex.  Of course that list is not evil incarnate, but they tend to increase of risk for disease, as well as not solve the underlying issue.

I was given a book today.  One of my colleagues gave me "Daily Spirit Blessings".  Yesterday, I was flustered and hurried.  I am going out of town and going to miss two days at work.  I was stressing about getting stuff done and answered.  Luckily, my boss was laughing at me.  He didn't care as much as I did.  That by itself helped.

So here I was, trying to find balance in my life (family time vs work), only to be stressed about it.  And today, I am ready a quick devotional about blessing of the Spirit.  Perfect timing.

New Day

I chose to relax the rules this weekend.  I am up a couple of pounds, but some of that will erode quickly with healthy choices.  I feel good about where I am at and how to continue.

It is scary to lose momentum and possibly forget how to choose health.  It seems silly, but I have been there before.  Be sure to follow a day off with healthy choices so that a lapse, does not become a behavior management relapse.

238.0

Rowing Challenge

I believe that I have mentioned before that my employer offers a handful of wellness incentives throughout the year.  One of the programs includes a battery of fitness tests that we are offered.  The results that we get decide whether or not we get paid a monthly stipend.

In theory, if we are fit, then the employer pays less throughout the year on insurance premiums.  Additionally, the employer benefits from decreased absenteeism, and therefore higher productivity.

This year, instead of the battery of six different tests of strength, power and endurance, we can simply do a rowing test.  There is an equation that spits out your time goals based on 40%, 60% and 80% of your VO2 max.  Depending on your time in rowing 2000 m. on a Concept II row machine, you would receive $50, $100, or $150 respective to the percents above.

I am working hard on getting the $100.  The $150 time will be a future goal.  Right now, I have about 2 weeks to get the time I need to get PAID!  236.8