A little humor...

I thought I'd begin this post with a little humor. :-) As I have been reading through "Perfect Weight America", I came across this funny section called the Dieter's Psalm. It made me laugh, so I thought I'd share it with you all! (It's based on Psalm 23.)

Strict is my diet. I must not want.
It maketh me to lie down at night hungry.
It leadeth me past the confectioners.
It trieth my willpower.
It leadeth me in the paths of alteration for my figure's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the aisles of the pastry department,
I will buy no sweet rolls, for they are fattening.
The cakes and the pies, they tempt me.
Before me is a table set with green beans and lettuce.
I filleth my stomach with liquids,
My day's quota runneth over.
Surely calorie and weight charts will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the fear of scales forever.

The reason I found that to be so funny is because there is a thread of truth weaving through the whole "psalm". If you've ever been on a diet before, I'm sure you can relate to a lot of the things mentioned! I can relate to the temptation of the sweets. I have come to realize that I will always have a sweet tooth; that I cannot change. But I do have control over what kind of sweets I crave. Right now, fresh fruit is my favorite dessert. Oh, and honey. I've been known to head for the honey jar when I feel a sweet craving coming on! I drizzle some on my finger and suck on it for awhile. (If you try this, just make sure you don't use your thumb. You may get some strange looks.)
Does that mean I don't ever have a hankering for chocolate? No, I still have to fight those, too. And if chocolate has been something that I've wanted all week, then I'll make sure and have a little bit as my "cheat item" so that I don't keep feeling deprived.

So while I can relate to some of the struggles mentioned above, I'm also very thankful for all of the things that I can't relate to. I don't consider my diet to be strict, even though I think some people might disagree with me. :-) I eat a huge variety of foods, and the things I don't eat are either too high in calories for me, too processed and nutrient-deficit, or I just don't like them in the first place.

And the Lord has delivered me so I will not "dwell in the fear of scales forever". Sure, I hate seeing that I've gained weight - who would like seeing that? But I understand that my weight will fluctuate and so I can't look to the scale to find my happiness or my security. Praise the Lord for His freedom! In fact, I'm actually expecting my weight to stay the same for a little longer while I build more muscle as I'm following this DVD program. At least, that's what they've told me to expect. I can tell that I'm getting stronger and I'm eating healthy - that's really all I care about. I know that my weight will eventually reflect that!

I've heightened my physical activity again and moved up to Level 2 on my DVD. It's killing me! I've realized how weak some of my arm muscles are as I've been doing the exercises - it burns bad! Oh, I just lay on the floor panting after finishing. My arms/legs are burning and my heart is pounding...it's great. I feel SO good afterward! I've also increased my running speed as I've gotten more fit, because it takes more effort to get my heart rate up. Hurray for slow progress! I think it would be super fun to do this with a group of girls. We'd all benefit from it!

Continue making right choices everyone! ~Bekah