16 Pounds Less!

I’d love to say, I weigh 16 pounds less.  Alas, that’s not the case.  But that’s ok. So what is the 16 pounds about?

Well, as I’ve shared before, 2015 was a year where I felt disconnected.  My relationship with God was weakened because I wasn’t giving Him enough of my attention and everything else in my life suffered.

Last fall, I knew I needed to get back at it.  After many times of being ‘on again, off again’ with my focus on aspects of my life I’ve realized there are 2 things that are MUST DO’S in my life.  Things I must do for ME.  I’ve also realized they are the easiest things to find excuses to skip and after a few ‘misses’ it’s easy to not make them a priority at all.  And then, like what happened all of 2015, I feel lost.   My MUSTS are two things that make me stronger 1) attending church and 2) exercising.

Attending church refocuses me each week on my relationship with God.  When that is strong, I feel unstoppable.  And the gym… the place I often don’t feel like going but am always thankful when I leave.  Working out wakes my body up, challenges me, and strengthens me.  God strengthens my heart and the gym strengthens the rest of me.  And I realize I need them both to be the best version of me I can be.

Last fall, I started moving again, just walking and biking.  Mid-November, I joined a gym and started going 3 days a week.  January, I promised to go 5 days a week. And I did.  And I felt good.  I could use the ski machine for the full 60 seconds at a time without stopping, the rowing was becoming easier, I was doing more push ups.  I was getting stronger.  And it felt good.  While in Mexico for over a week, I got in 4 workouts while there.  I did yoga, TRX, elliptical, and weights.  And it felt good.  I’ve only lost a couple pounds the past 6 weeks but it’s okay because I feel good.

Okay, finally getting to the whole 16 pounds.   In January, in addition to going to the gym 5 days ago, I committed to not drinking a single pop all month long.  This is something I’ve struggled with all my life.  I don’t just drink a diet pepsi here and there.  I prefer the diesel of sodas… I love regular Mountain Dew.  And I drink a lot of it.  I’ve given it up before and knew I needed to do it again.

I always knew I drank a lot of sugar but I actually made a visual of it last night for me to really understand how much I was consuming.  I’ve read that a 12 ounce can of Mountain Dew contains 11.5-12 ounces of sugar.  I would drink a couple of those 32-44 ounce Polar Pop cups from the gas station a day.   Last month, in addition to saving almost $60, I also avoided putting 16-18 pounds of sugar in my body. That’s over 40 cups of sugar. Whoa!!!   That is a ridiculous amount of sugar.  Crazy when you can see how many 4 pound bags of sugar that is!

What did I drink instead?  80-100 ounces of water every single day.  And occasionally an unsweet iced tea.

I’ve been taking baby steps the last few months trying to get back on track.  I’ve been building momentum.  And after Finding Myself in Mexico last week, I feel emotionally, mentally and spiritually rejuvenated to attack life again.  And it feels good.  I still drank 80-100 ounces of water every day while in Mexico and I did splurge on a few cans of soda and other sugary drinks.  I enjoyed the carbonation but realized I didn’t miss it all that much.  I touched down in Illinois and went right back to drinking only water.  And it feels good.

So this month, I’m cutting out processed foods.  Now, a month seems like a ridiculously long time so I’m only committing to this 7 days at a time.  One day at a time.  My goal is to make it 7 days.  I want to clear my body from the processed garbage.  Yes, I want to lose weight.   But why am I really doing it?  Because I feel good. And I want to feel even better.

Are you making small changes in any area of your life that is making you feel better?  I’d love to hear what you’re doing.  We can all use cheerleaders in our life especially when making changes. I would love to be yours!