Resolution Update: Week 5

Weight: 163.5. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed to not see more loss this week but I had such a GREAT week last week that it's probably okay to see a little plateau this week. At any rate, still losing!

Exercise: Despite being stuck in the house all week because of the snow & ice, I did not give in to my Inner Slug and I continued working out!!! Olivia bounced in her bouncy seat while I jumped around the living room to Jillian Michaels! I have to give a major thanks to my sweet and supportive hubby. I was just not feeling it on Friday but he encouraged me to just knock it out. And he reminded me that my workout is only 20 minutes so there really wasn't any reason to NOT do it. So, I snapped out of it and showed my fat cells who's the boss!

Diet: Again, being stuck indoors all week was a little challenging since all I wanted to do was bake things but I didn't! Or I couldn't. I mean, we don't even keep all of the "bad" stuff in the house anymore. My snack options were almonds, carrots, or Kix cereal. Hard to go crazy on that stuff. My cheat day this week was a nice greasy burger and an ice cream cone the size of my head. And I didn't feel one bit of guilt over it. I realized this weekend that now that I allow myself a cheat day and I behave myself the rest of the week, I really, truly enjoy my cheat. I used to feel so guilty for indulging but I just don't anymore! The only hitch came today with Super Bowl Sunday. Saturday was my cheat day but it wasn't Mike's so he wanted to order pizza for the Super Bowl. What's Super Bowl Sunday without some greasy grub?? So, we compromised and ordered thin crust and cut the overall calories on the pizza by about 1,000. See, you can have fun while eating healthy!

Thoughts/Reflections for the week: About 2 weeks ago, a good friend of mine called and said, "You crazy B, you put your weight on the internet?!?!? What woman puts her weight on the internet?!?!?" We laughed hysterically about that. She's right, what woman does that??? How about a woman who finally had to go to "extreme measures" to get results. I have tried a million different ways to take better care of myself and, so far, this has been the most effective. For me, this is about accountability. I have no idea how many of you are actually reading this but it helps me to know that someone, somewhere out there is checking to see if I've stuck to this healthy lifestyle gig. Sometimes, you just have to get a little extreme to get results.

Also, I've been thinking a lot about stewardship. In our church, we talk about being good stewards of God's gifts. Usually that's in reference to your time, your talent, and your treasure (money). Are we doing the right things with the gifts God has given us? As my sister and I were talking last night, we discussed that expression "Your body is a temple." It occurred to us both that our bodies are also a gift from God and we owe it to God to be good stewards of it as well. If we are not fueling our bodies correctly, not taking care of ourselves, are we being abusive? I think so. I don't want to get all high and mighty and I'm certainly not suggesting that you are a "bad" follower of Christ or God by not taking care of yourself. BUT, I honestly believe that taking care of ourselves is just as important as giving our time, talent, and treasure for God's will. How can we give anything if we aren't healthy enough to do it in the first place? We only get this one body and I'm pretty sure God would love us to take care of it.

Our bodies are divinely designed to do amazing things. Think about all of the cool stuff your body does that you aren't even aware of. God really did something amazing here! When I think of my body as a perfectly created machine, it's a lot easier to put the right fuel in it. Eating brocolli instead of a cupcake suddenly makes as much sense to me as putting gas in my car instead of laundry detergent. It just makes sense to give my body what it needs to be healthy.

Okay, I'll stop being all theological about my diet now and get to bed for my 5 a.m. wake up call! I start Level 2 of my workout on Friday so wish me luck!!