Weigh in Day ~ Part One

Friday mornings are something I look forward to and dread all at the same time. They are the mornings I step on the scale and weigh in to see how I did the previous week.

Ever since starting my weight loss journey last June, I've made small goals along the way to keep me motivated and on track. I've learned that it's normal to lose 1 or 2 pounds a week when you consistently eat right and exercise, something that I do to the best of my ability. I schedule time 6 days a week to exercise for an hour, and I can't tell you how good it feels! (Not necessarily when I doing it, but I always feel wonderful afterward. )

So, today I stepped on the scale and squeezed my eyes shut. I always hate looking down! But, I was happy. I lost a pound this week! And I'm right on schedule. To be honest, it's rather mind-boggling to think back and realize how far I've come. Oh, but wait! I have yet to post the beginning of my story. This will have to be "Part One", as I don't have time to type it all today. Now, where do I begin???

Let me take you back to June of 2007. I had just graduated from highschool a month earlier, and that was a very exciting time in my life! I was full of hope and anticipation about the future and all that God had in store for me. But little did I know all that God had planned... :-)

I've always struggled with my weight, at least for as long as I can remember. But I never felt rejected because of it. I have a loving family and a wonderful group of encouraging and awesome friends! However, I knew I was overweight, even obese. I didn't like that, but I didn't really think I could change. I figured that I just inherited the "chunky genes" or something. :-)

I didn't want to admit that my problem was actually sin, because that's not a comfortable thought! And I'd pretty much decided that the verses on self-control or dying to my flesh didn't apply to this area of my life. But, I wasn't happy with my physical self. And, God used several different things to get my attention.

The first was during the Bright Lights trip to Singapore. We went on a rainforest hike, which I knew would be tiring, but I wasn't prepared for this! I was absolutely exhausted when we finally made it back to the beginning. And we'd only walked about 3 miles! I was embarrassed and totally humiliated. At 17 years old I could barely walk 3 miles. During that trip, I also suffered from sore legs and feet as we went walking a lot more than I ever used to do. And, I started thinking...

The next was a 2 minute clip I saw of an Oprah show. No kidding! I was rewinding a video tape for the younger girls and I pushed "stop" on the VCR, at which time the TV automatically showed channel 9. Oprah's show was on, and she had a doctor with her. He was showing her what 5 pounds of fat looked like, and girls, it totally grossed me out! Disgusting...which made me keep thinking...

After that, it seemed like I just happened to keep coming across articules or hearing people talking about weight loss. And, I kept reading verses in Scripture about self control and fighting against my flesh. So, I kept thinking and thinking...

...that it was time for action. This was ridiculous! God was showing me that it was time to move from the - "I don't care about my weight. It's inner beauty that counts." - camp into the - "My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Being overweight and giving in to my fleshly desires is a sin!" -camp.

I was planning to go back to Singapore again, so it was the perfect timing for me to begin. I decided to start small, and I set a goal to lose 10 pounds before leaving for Singapore in September. That gave me roughly 3 months to lose 10 pounds, which sounded reasonable to me. However, I knew next to nothing about weight loss, eating healthy, exercise, etc. It was me and Jesus from day one, and I think we've made a pretty good team. :-)

The first thing I needed to do was figure out how much I weighed. Only one problem. I didn't want to know! I hadn't stepped on a scale in months. I mean, how accurate can those things really be, right? (Or that's what I'd tell myself.) But it was time for me to "face the music". How much did I weigh? That morning in June when I stepped on the scale, I had a ballpark guess that I weighed around 220lbs. But what I saw totally shocked and horrified me. At 18 years old, 5'7", I weighed in at 242lbs. Yes, that's right. TWO HUNDRED and FORTY TWO POUNDS. I can't even begin to put into words how I felt at that moment. I was sad, disgusted, and totally overwhelmed, wondering how I'd gotten to that point. I walked out of our bathroom knowing that something had to change. Right now!

And, that will have to be the end of "Part One". I'll post again ASAP. Blogging takes longer than I thought ~Bekah