Promises...

"A promise never intended to be kept is a lie." - Matthew Vander Plow

I was biking yesterday morning and saw a rainbow. It was the first time in years that I had actually seen a fully arched rainbow. It reminded me of the story of Noah and how that rainbow was a reminder to future generations that God would never deluge the world in a global flood ever again.

We all make promises to ourselves, to others, and to God. But how many of them do we make as a part of duress or to quell an argument or other situation? God takes promises very seriously and as His creations, we should also hold them in high regard.

How did it feel when someone made a promise but never kept it? I have had many promises broken and let me tell you, it did not feel right at all. I have also broken promises myself and I felt awful when it happened.

We need to be careful of the promises we make because someone is always keeping score... Take time to mend some broken promises and be wary of new ones you make and be sure that you can follow through with them to completion.


"Promise only what you can deliver. Then deliver more than you promise." - Author Unknown



Matty

Peace...

"I take it that what all men are really after is some form of, perhaps only some formula of, peace." - James Conrad


Went to the Memorial Day parade in my hometown today. We're kind of an old-fashioned type town with tree-lined streets, victorian-era houses, small downtown district. It's things like parade days that I enjoy living where I live. Watching the kids in the parade and the people cheering and clapping along the sidewalks gives me a sense of peace. Peace is hard to come by in this day and age with 24 hour access to entertainment, news, & commerce.

We all need to take a little time, turn off the television, put the cellphone on standby, sit outside and listen. Listen for the peace inside your heart. Did you fall today? Something not go right? Having a crappy day? Take a little time to listen to the peace that is waiting inside your heart.

Take time to step back and look at the situation your in at a different angle. What can you learn from it? Did you overeat? What caused it? What can you do differently next time?

Thank the Lord today for the tribulation you are going through today and ask for the peace to face it competently.

And God bless our troops, both from former, current, & future conflicts to protect our nation and other nations around the world.

"Let there be peace on earthAnd let it begin with me." - Seymour Miller & Jill Jackson


Matty

Complaining...

"You can overcome anything if you don't bellyache." - Bernard M. Baruch

I fell yesterday. Not literally, but failed as far as my calorie intake. This was due to some stress that overcame my life. I've been on this journey for over 2 years and I still find myself falling into the same traps that caused me to gain weight. I had been dealing with some stresses over the past 2 weeks that has been causing me to consistently go over in calories. This had started to become habit and I needed to break it. Finally I thought I had it licked and was back on track until yesterday. The lawn mower decided to crap out on me. In my frustration at trying to restart it, I yanked the pull-cord right out. Then while trying to take off the cover to fix that I dropped a screw into the engine. I was pissed because This month's commission check was larger than I had figured (a first in many months) and I was planning to get some plants and bark for my yard as well as start a raised-bed garden with that money. I figured I might as well kiss that idea goodbye when the mower crapped out. So I ate. And ate. And ate. Finally I said enough was enough and ended my childish hissy-fit.

Funny how we seem to revert to a child-like behavior when we either want something or something goes terribly wrong in our lives. Have I learned from this experience? Yes, if I didn't then it would not have been worth going through the experience. I have learned that things happen and to thank God for the money to fix the mower. My dad brought up a good perspective - Since God is all-knowing, He saw the lawn mower trouble and made sure we had the money to pay for it. Hadn't thought about it that way...


"Oh, wouldn't the world seem dull and flat with nothing whatever to grumble at?" - W.S. Gilbert


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Perseverance...

"I may not be there yet, but I'm closer than I was yesterday." - Author Unknown


Stick with it. Plow on, dig in, keep going. I'm sure your mind is racing with self-defeat, telling you that you cannot overcome. You can. It takes commitment and perseverance to win. You may get discouraged from time to time, but hang in there. The prize is definitely worth it: feeling better about yourself, wearing clothes that actually fit well, being energized, just plain feeling good.

I'm reminded of a lyric from "Burning Heart" by Survivor:

"In the warrior's code, there's no surrender
Though his body says stop, his spirit cries never
Deep in our soul a quiet ember
Knows it's you against you
I's the paradox that drives us on
It's a battle of wills, in the heat of attack
It's the passion that kills
The victory is yours alone"

I struggled with that this morning. My mind was encouraging me to just sleep in today and not go out and jog. It took some determination to change that attitude, but once I got out there to jog - I knew I made the right decision. Don't let that little voice distract you from your goals today. Take some time today and write down your goals, or better yet develop a personal mission statement. Mine is in the works and isn't totally polished but here is the gist of it:

"I will strive to help people to better themselves through making positive changes to their lifestyles. I will be a caring and helpful listener. I will use my creativity and compassion to lead discussions, write books and other materials to empower people with the tools needed to make those positive changes. I will not allow fear of rejection or ridicule to prevent the joys and blessings I have receive through God from being passed on to others."

A personal mission statement is always in a constant state of being changed and upgraded.


"When the world says, "Give up,"Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."" - Author Unknown


Matty

Perfection...

"Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it." - Salvador Dali


We all strive for perfection. It seems to be an ingrained trait put there by our creator. But we as humans cannot ever hope to achieve perfection without Christ in our lives. And even then perfection will not be completed until the end of our days.

We need to step back and take a deep breath. We need to resolve ourselves to the fact that nothing is perfect. It's okay to strive for perfection but not to the point where it becomes an all-consuming passion in our lives.

If you fall off the wagon, don't fret. We all make mistakes and will continue to do so. I am no ironman and have fallen off many times. This week it seems I have been falling off every day by going over in calories. Does that get me down? Yes. But I get right back on the horse and try again the next day. The difference between failing and falling is not trying.

"A good garden may have some weeds." - Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732


Matty

Action...

"The shortest answer is doing." - Lord Herbert

Taking action is usually easier said than done. You can make all the plans and precautions necessary, but unless you get to it and implement them, they aren't worth 2 pennies.

Making lifestyle changes starts with you. It starts today. It starts now. Put down the cappucino and doughnut. Take the stairs today instead of the elevator. Order a salad at lunch or brownbag-it instead of going out. Make little changes at first. As you get into the routine you will be able to alter those changes slightly to make bigger commitments.

Don't let your commitment die when you fail on occasion to follow-through with a lifestyle change. Remember, it takes time to develop a consistent habit. Start fresh again immediately. Don't dwell.

Get out there and make those changes! TODAY!


"Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned. " - Peter Marshall



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Freedom...

"Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide." - Napoleon Bonaparte


You can be free from being overweight. It takes dedication, commitment, & faith. Making the right choices, following through, not dwelling on mistakes, all are needed in order to reach freedom from our fleshy prisons.

I do liken being overweight to being incarcerated. Limited mobility, depression, rampant vices and urges, many of the same things you think of when you think of prison or jail. But you no longer have to be a prisoner of your body. By making changes to your lifestyle that will last, you can be paroled into a new life. Again I say paroled because these changes are going to last the rest of your life - kinda like parole.

I enjoy new freedoms that my previous weight had kept me away from. I jog now. I bike. I play on the swingset with my son. I can buy clothes at Target or Old Navy. As you lose weight, you too will see new freedoms opening up for you. You can do this, break free from the chains of fat...

"In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

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Habit...

"I am your constant companion. I will push you forward to success or I will drag you down to failure. I am completely at your command. 80% of what you do, you might as well hand over to me and I will do it promptly and I will do it correctly. I am easily managed; you must merely be firm with me. Show me what you'd like to have done, and after a couple of lessons, I will do it automatically. I am the servant of all great people. Alas, I am the servant of all failures as well. All who are great, I have made great. All who are failures, I have made failures. I am not a machine; but I do work with the precision of a machine and the intellect of a human. Take me, train me, be firm with me, and I'll lay the world at your feet. Be easy with me, and I will destroy you! Who am I?"


I AM HABIT


I read somewhere that it takes 21 days (or 3 weeks) to develop or break a habit. Repetition is the key, repeatedly doing the same thing at around the same time everyday. That's how I got myself to get up at 4:10am every morning to exercise. That's the reason I get itchy when 11am rolls around - it's time for a walk. You can develop good habits, you just need to be determined to see it through. From budgeting to exercise, from weightlifting to reading - you have the power to change your lifestyle.

Like anything else it takes time. You will forget or not feel like doing whatever habit you want set. This gets easier as time rolls on, just keep plugging away at it. When I got my bike this past weekend my butt was sore. I got a different, wider seat thinking that it would help, but it still got sore. I was thinking on saying forget the bike riding because it hurt so much. But I was determined to change. As a result, the pain is becoming less and less and I am enjoying a new hobby.

Temporary pain or discomfort of starting a new habit is worth it. Stick with it, it'll only get better...

"Habits are safer than rules; you don't have to watch them. And you don't have to keep them, either. They keep you." - Frank Crane


Matty

Discipline...

"Many people think they want things, but they don't really have the strength, the discipline. They are weak. I believe that you get what you want if you want it badly enough." - Sophia Loren



In order to make any change permenant you have to want it. You have to want it with every fiber of your being. Half-assed attempts or half-heartedness will only spell disaster and failure. I hear it all the time from people that, although they don't mean to, make my efforts seem trivial. "Oh, I wish I had your discipline to lose weight," "I should start eating better," "I should follow your lead and lose these 10lbs." Even though the sentiments are well-meaning, they somehow put a non-sensical spin on it. I can't really explain it, it's as if they are saying that they can do it but choose not to.

I have fallen off the wagon many, many times. Discipline is a process that will take a lifetime to master. It's about making choices in our food choosing, exercise, and other things associated with our daily lives. We may not make the right decisions all the time, but it's being determined to make the right choice the next time.

Yesterday was my birthday and I fell off the wagon to the tune of 1200cal over my allotment. I made some poor choices. But today I am going make the right choices and stay under calories.

Only when you are determined will you succeed...

"Without discipline the Army would just be a bunch of guys wearing the same color clothing." - Franks Burns, "Novocaine Mutiny"

Matty

Crisis...

"When written in Chinese the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters - one represents danger and the other represents opportunity." - John F. Kennedy


Life is full of crisis, there's no getting around it. But you do have a choice of how you deal with the crisis. Let me reiterate - whether its a money, family, work, or social crisis - YOU have a choice on how you respond to that crisis.

For many years I used food as my response to crisis and stress. Food was always there, never judged, and temporarily relieved the stress. Coupled with low self-esteem I ballooned up quickly over the years. I now realize that there are healthier alternatives to stress and crisis management that do not involve food. Don't get me wrong, I still have pangs to instinctively reach for food in times of trouble - but for the most part I do not allow them to follow through (I have slipped on occasion - hey I'm human!).

I pray, I walk, I breathe deep, I occupy my mind, I rationalize on whether the stress is necessary. Many things that I had sweated over in the past did not have anything to do with me - I could not change anything in those situations and yet I subjected myself to undue stress because of them. Things happen. Life goes on.

I had a situation a while ago where we had just made Baby Step #1 on our total money makeover ($1000 in the bank). Then the car flipped out - total cost $660.00. Times before I would have stressed out big time, but because we had the emergency fund - the stress was non-existent. I was bummed that we had to start over on the fund. I was thankful and prayed for a renewed spirit. The Lord blessed me in this and we were quickly able to replenish that account.

You do have a choice in crisis situations - not doing anything IS a choice...


Matty

Accountability...

"When you stretch the truth, watch out for the snapback." - Bill Copeland


I credit my successful weightloss so far in part to my accountability partner. She's been a tough customer but also I think my biggest fan. She has been with me through my ups and my downs, always willing to snap the whip when needed. I am thankful to my mother-in-law for all she has done for me.

One of my keys to success has been accountability. Find yourself someone that DOES NOT LIVE WITH YOU to be your accountability partner. Find a co-worker, friend, church member, someone that is willing to take on the task of keeping you on the straight and narrow. This person must be willing to email or call you on a daily or weekly basis about your progress. They must also be willing to offer encouragement and also admonishment when needed. It will not work unless you find someone willing to commit to such a task.

Finding that someone will take time. In the meantime I recommend posting to a diet forum, either alt.support.diet, or some other diet newsgroup or forum with your daily activity & food diary. What's the point of this? I think you may find it a little harder to binge if you have to account to someone else about your food and exercise. You'll think twice about that second helping of cheesecake or that midnight refridgerator raid. You'll also have someone to turn to when you do have those urges and they will be able to "talk you down" and get you back on track.

I have avoided many binges knowing full well I would be accountable for them, afraid of the disappointment and admonishment from my accountability partner. Hopefully you will find a strong person willing to take the role.


"A half truth is a whole lie." - Yiddish Proverb


Matty

History...

"The challenge of history is to recover the past and introduce it to the present." - David Thelen

Only when we reflect on past mistakes can we ever hope to learn not to make them in the future. Reflecting on the past is fine, as long as you do not dwell for too long. I have found myself dwelling on past mistakes for far too long asking myself the "what if?" and "If only" questions. These are not the questions to ask. The questions to ask are "how did I get into this mistake?" or "what can I do to make sure this doesn't happen again?" I had a situation recently where I thought about what had happened in the past to help figure out what I needed to do. That reflection was very helpful in making the right decision.

Don't ever beat yourself up over past mistakes, it's pointless. Time to move on and remember the mistake for only the learning experience. God doesn't remember your mistakes:

"And I will forgive their wrongdoings, and I will never again remember their sins." Heb 8:12

If God can forgive and forget, you can too...


"History, as long as it continues to happen, is always another chance." - R. Jackson Wilson



Matty