Desires

I have been wanting God to remove my wrong desires from me and praying to that end. It occurred to me today that He wants me to do right in spite of my wrong desires.

To me that's a lot harder. But not impossible, according to His Word.

I need to look for the way of escape promised in I Cor. 10:13 rather than looking for a way to rationalize having what "I" want.

Consequences

Some years ago I discovered I was lactose intolerant. I began noticing it when my kids and I began "ice cream Mondays" -- every Monday after school we'd get ice cream somewhere on the way home. And every Monday afternoon I would end up in the bathroom for several hours with diarrhea, stomach cramps, and excessive gas. Finally I made the connection. Afterward I tried and experimented to see how much wiggle room I had. As much as I love ice cream, I began to feel that the results of trying to sneak some in just weren't worth it: the consequences outweighed the pleasure.

My pastor went through a similar experience when he had pancreatitis. He's a skinny guy with a high metabolism. The treatment for pancreatitis was not to eat, so he was pretty miserable for about a week. Sometimes whatever his wife was making would smell so good or he'd be so hungry he get a few bites -- and be rewarded with more pain. He learned that the consequences for giving in to his cravings were not worth it.

What I somehow need to get embedded into my mind is the same truth when it comes to overeating or eating the wrongs things. There are consequences, and they are not worth it. It may take longer to show up in the way of weight gain: the consequences certainly show up in failure to lose.

Why can I not keep those consequences in mind instead of the oh-so-temporary pleasure of something that tastes good?

Wednesday weigh-in

I'm late! I forgot to post yesterday.

When I weighed yesterday, I was 2 lbs. above last week. :-( But I weighed again this morning and I am 1 lb. below yesterday -- but I haven't done anything special so I think it's just fluctuations. I've been up and down the same 4 lbs. for weeks now. I'll make wise food choices or deny myself something occasionally, but obviously not as much as I need to.

I've had to keep one leg elevated due to a little cellulitis: it's much better now, though not completely healed. But that took out even the average daily movement.

I need to get back on track somehow.

Wednesday weigh-in

I haven't weighed in with Tales From the Scales in two weeks. Two weeks ago I kept forgetting until later in the day -- and for me, probably for most of us, my weight is up then, so I didn't want to use that total! When I did weigh then, I was up four lbs. I don't remember what was going on last week and why I wasn't here, but I was down by one pound.

Today I am back where I was three weeks ago.

But both the gain and the loss weren't a result of any deliberate action. I thought the gain might have indicated That Time of the Month was coming -- I never know when it's coming any more -- it has been anywhere from 23 to 49 days in the last year. I have found through these weigh-ins that my weight is up then, but it hasn't come in that time period.

So, I don't know if the gains and losses were just fluctuations or what.

I do need to do better about tracking what I eat. I make note of what I eat in the mornings because that's when I am at the computer. But throughout the day I don't think about coming back to do that. I would guess that I am probably taking in more calories than I realize on those weeks when my weight is up.

Wednesday weigh-in

-1 lb! Woo-hoo!

I also began tracking my food intake again and started exercising this week, so hopefully there will be more improvements in the future.

Getting reacquainted with the treadmill

Today was the first day I have exercised in ages. I got on the treadmill, thinking I'd try to go about 10-15 minutes. The first five minutes went veerrrry slowly, it seemed, while I struggled to find a comfortable speed. With TM I have a balance problem and my footing isn't great, so I needed to not feel like I was about to keel over. I thought it was going to be a strain to make it 10 minutes, but then I did, so I thought I'd try for 12. Hit that and thought I'd try for 15. I made it to 20 minutes (and about half a mile, so I wasn't going too fast).

I have to hang on the the handrails because of my balance problem, and I can kind of feel the pull across my abdomen.

I definitely feel more awake. I had almost talked myself into a nap but decided to try the treadmill instead.

I think exercising is one of those things I am not going to feel "inspired" to do and I am going to have to "just do it."

Reasons I should not eat sugary snacks

Reasons I should not eat sugary snacks:

1. They are good for a few minutes, but they don't satisfy long term.

2. They raise my blood sugar, then it falls back down, then I want more.

3. It stifles my taste for good food and increases my desire for bad ones.

4. Are the higher calories really worth the few moments of pleasure?