Letting yourself off the hook

I was reading something yesterday- actually I've been reading a lot of different somethings and I came across this thought. If you get pulled over by the police and get a ticket for speeding do you decide that you've already blown your perfect record for the day. Do you go on a crazy driving spree through the city, breaking every law along the way?

THEN WHY DO WE DO THAT WITH DIETS??? We can be going along minding our own business, eating healthy, getting more exercise and then BAM- chocolate cake (or cheeseburger, fried chicken..name your weakness). Then we do the stupidest thing ever...we decide that since we have already failed we might as well eat all of the other stuff we have been craving. Might as well eat like an idiot for the next few meals/days/weeks. We beat ourselves up for not keeping our "perfect record" when rationally that just doesn't make any sense. I am as guilty as they come but I have got to learn to let myself off the hook. I want to be healthy but I sure don't want to spend the rest of my life thinking about what I've eaten and what I am going to eat.

New Team

Well the contest started last night and I think it was a great first meeting.

I now have 5 other women on my team. It will be interesting to see how God uses each of us in this process. I have started writing down what I am eating again. Counting calories don't work for some but for me it helps me to see where my issues are.

We also had a discussion last night about portion control. I didn't realize I had portion control issues until I started cooking for other people and they kept telling me that I was giving them too much food. I was like, "really??" I am a big girl and I guess I think (thought) that it takes a lot of food to get me full. I am learning though that I can eat a "normal" portion and it will satisfy me for a few more hours. I am trying the Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Snack, Dinner, Snack idea.

Anywho...Leanna talked about portion control plates that show you on your plate what portions you should be eating. I really like the ones at slimware.com- They are the ones pictured. This isn't necessarily the pattern I prefer but it gives a good visual of what they are about. The big flower should be your vegetables, the medium flower should be starches/carbs and the small flower should be protein. If you are eating a lean protein like fish or chicken then you can use the little yellow flower too.

I love love love the idea of these plates. I hate hate hate that they aren't microwaveable. I'm gonna have to pray about this one.

Here we go again

I'm Baaaaaccckkk. Does that scare you? It sure scares me. I could vow that I will post every day but that just sets me up for another failure. My goal is to post more than I have in the past.

I am gearing up for another Biggest Loser competition with our church group. I lost 25lbs last time (unfortunately I gained it all back). The clear and consistent message that I keep getting from God is to not give up on myself. I also need to write out my thoughts and share with others who are going through the same struggles. I have to stop looking at the "hows" to lose wait and start looking at the "whys" that keep me hiding behind my weight.

If we all know that eating right and exercising can lead to being healthy, why don't we do it? Is it really all about the numbers on the scale? Is that what I should be using to measure my success? Why is it that when people start noticing our weight loss that we immediately go back to eating the way we were? Is it fear? Is it fear that people will expect more out of us or worse yet, we might expect more out of ourselves if we get healthy? Is it that we don't feel worth the effort? Are we putting the needs and wants of those around us before the needs and wants of ourselves? I have so many questions and I pray that God and a good Godly group of women are going to help me find the answers.

We are trying a new approach on this go round. We are breaking up into teams so that there will be additional accountability. I have been blessed to be put into a position as a Team Captain. My prayer is that God will use me and my past (and current) weight struggles to inspire change in those on my team. I want it to be about SO MUCH MORE than losing weight.