Fabulous Financials & Fitness

I chose today’s prayer journal entry because I hope it inspires some of my readers and friends who are running out of steam on this lifelong marathon of becoming healthy & fit.

Prayer Journal Message: The GREATEST enemy we face as we diet [and exercise] is not food or the gnawing hunger [or soreness and pain] we endure.  No, the greatest enemy we face is the lack of faith we have in ourselves.  When the going gets tough, our tendency is to throw up our hands in surrender.  That cannot be allowed to happen.  As faithful people, we are tied to a special power that comes from beyond us.  We are recipients of the holy power of God.  That same power raised Christ from the dead and enabled Him to overcome every temptation that this world could throw at Him.  With that kind of power, how can we fail at anything we do?

Related Scripture: For whatsover is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:4

Today’s Thought: N/A

Today is weigh in day – a day I will eventually hate.  But for now, the scale is still my friend.  So here are my healthy & wealthy goal results for the week of Feb 21-27:

HEALTHY

• Fitness: I completed Week 8 of C25K – a full week of running 28 minutes nonstop.  I can officially run two miles, excluding warm up and cool down. Yay!
• Nutrition: I ate breakfast, drank more water, took iron Rx, and prepared every meal at home with lots of fruits and vegetables.  Work meetings are causing a little problem with snacking, but I hope to have that under control very soon.
• Weigh-In: My goal was to lose -1 lb.  As of this morning, I’m down another -1.6 lbs for a total weight loss of -19.4 lbs. Go me!

WEALTHY

• Taxes: I still haven’t filed my taxes yet, but I did send all documents to my accountant.  According to his schedule, everything should be ready for my review by next Thursday.
• Vacation: I still haven’t booked our spring break vacation yet.  Sounds like a pattern, huh?  I’ve let analysis paralysis get the best of me and now the prices are increasing.  *sigh*  I’m on it this week though, for real!

Did you set any weekly goals? How did you do?

Almost 50% of my work day is comprised of meetings.  As much as I hate meetings, strategic planning and tracking/reporting metrics are part of what I do and I love it.  However, problems arise when meetings have snacks.  And my meetings always have A LOT OF SNACKS!! Ugh!  I’ve tried, and tried again, to adjust MY behavior to ensure that my daily nutrition is not compromised.  But I seem to be fighting a losing battle.  Here’s what has happened to me in the past few weeks:

Meeting #1:

This was supposed to be a short meeting. Lucky for me, I walked in a little late so I was hoping to return to my office fairly quickly.  The moment I hit the door, I smelled the aroma.  Donuts! Krispy Kreme! *faint* Danishes!  Bagels! Jelly! Cream cheese! Oh my!  I was completely caught off guard.  Everyone offered me something, but I graciously declined.  Barely able to focus on the conversation, I drank so much water to keep from eating that I had to excuse myself 3 times for the ladies’ room.  Unfortunately, this “short” meeting turned into 1.5 hours.  I was miserable!

Meeting #2:

Determined to be more prepared, I approached this meeting with a little ammunition.  I had my grapes, a clementine, and my water bottle.  Unfortunately, this meeting unexpectedly turned into a working lunch so the EA ordered sandwiches, chips, cookies, and sodas from Panera. *roll my eyes*  Where’s the soup or salad and water bottles?  I refused to eat those sandwiches on thick white bread, laden with mayonnaise and various cheeses.  And I sure wasn’t going to eat chips (they were baked but so what), cookies (mouth watering looking cookies might I add), and liquid calories (a la soda).  So halfway through the meeting, I had to excuse myself to heat up my lunch.  Everyone looked at me as if I had three heads but gave their condolences (yes, they were genuinely sad for me LOL) while they chomped away at their goodies.

Meeting #3 & #4:

A repeat of meeting #2, except I gave in to the pressure and indulged on some of the offerings.  At one meeting, I ate a piece of dark chocolate.  At another meeting, I ate a blueberry muffin.   Why are these meetings so full of sugar, salt, carbs, fat, and calories? Where are the fruit, veggies, and water bottles!

Meeting #5:

I had a meeting that began at 1pm, but I had to leave my office by 12pm in order to make it there on time.  Armed with a few lessons learned, I called myself trying to be smart this time.  I usually eat lunch between 12-1pm, but I decided to eat lunch around 11:30am so I wouldn’t be tempted to indulge in the meeting goodies.  As expected, I arrived and saw a tray full of donuts, cookies, and coffee.  For heaven’s sake!  Does anyone care about what they eat around here????  Said the reformed sugar addict who would normally grab two cookies before taking her seat.  I resisted the goodies, which surprisingly, was much easier than my previous encounters.  I drank water throughout the meeting and had no cravings at all.  Yay, my plan worked!!!  Until…

By the time I returned to my office, it was a little after 3pm.  Because I’ve trained my body to eat every 3 hours, I was starving!  So I had my afternoon snack, which I usually eat between 4-5pm to hold me over until I get home.  The problem?  I don’t leave work until 6:30-7pm, I was hungry again by 6pm, and all the healthy food that I brought from home was GONE! Ugh!  I had to eat something, otherwise my sugar levels would drop too low and I’d begin craving sweets/junk food.

What did I do?  I went to the break room – the room I try to avoid like the plague – and took a deep breath.  I approached the vending machine and just stood there like it was a Wild Wild West standoff.  Vending machine in this corner.  SM in that corner.  Who’s going to win the staring contest?!?! LOL!  Finally, I bought the ONLY thing that looked somewhat appealing and not too threatening to my waist line.  A bag of Chex Mix – 1.75 oz for $1.00.  They were pretty tasty.  Not filling, but tasty…and loaded with 210 calories, of which 70 were from fat.  Not terrible, but it wasn’t part of my nutrition plan for the day.

Junk food: 3

Single Ma: 2

*sigh*

I have no meetings today…thank God!  But I’m traveling to two states next week and I must figure out something before these meetings reverse all of my hard work!

According to the health and fitness charts – although I’m convinced they were created for imaginary stick people – I am considered overweight.  I have carried this extra weight for at least 10 years, until one day I had to stop and ask myself…HOW IN THE H*LL DID I GET HERE???

Hmm…let’s see.

1. LACK OF EXERCISE

I lived a sedentary lifestyle. Other than my daily commute to work, I’d hardly get any exercise. I work 10 hr days and have a 2 hr round trip commute, so the thought of exercising during the weekday was laughable. When I wasn’t working, I was so tired that I’d sleep until 10am. When I’d finally get up, I was even more tired and had no energy for physical activity.  So what did I do?  I’d lounge around the house all day, then go out (to eat) with friends at night.

2. POOR EATING HABITS

I did not eat three balanced meals every day.

• Breakfast – I’d always skip breakfast because I wasn’t hungry until around 10am. By then, I’d be knee deep in work with no time to stop and get something to eat.
• Lunch – I’d eat lunch around 1 or 2pm. Sometimes I’d buy a sandwich from one of the many fast food places near my office. If I was really pressed for time, I’d grab a slice of pizza and a soda from the shop in the building. If I was working late, which is often, I’d snack on a bag of chips or a candy bar before I shut down for the day.
• Dinner – When I’d get home, it was usually after 7pm, and of course, I was tired. So I’d resort to quick fix meals – pasta dishes (carbs!), microwavable (fat!), cereal (yes breakfast for dinner), leftovers from lunch, or takeout (junk!).
• Snacks – I was am addicted to sugar. After every meal, I’d crave something sweet before I’d feel satisfied. Otherwise I’d keep eating and eating. I’d attempt to buy healthy snacks, but before the month was over, I’d always resort to my yummy preferences: Twix, Oreos, and/or ice cream.

3. MISGUIDED SELF ESTEEM

Where I’m from (where my family lives), being “thick” is acceptable and most men consider it sexy to have meat on your bones. In fact, being thin is frowned upon. Being too thin is ridiculed.  If a person begins to lose weight, people immediately think they are sick or on that stuff.  Ignorant, I know, but that’s the mentality.

Almost every female in my family is considered overweight according to health and fitness standards.  Compared to most of them, I am probably “average” or maybe even on the smaller end.  Because I fit right in, I adopted their mentality and accepted my weight as normal – even as I packed on pound after pound. Despite being overweight, I’ve never suffered from a shortage of self esteem.  But now, I have enough sense to know that my current weight isn’t healthy.

4. IGNORED HEALTH CONCERNS

As a result of my weight, there are several potential health concerns that may catch up with me if I don’t improve my health & fitness habits.  Given my family history, the odds are already stacked against me. If I don’t do something NOW, diabetes and heart disease may be knocking at my front door.  But I do not want to die from something I have the power to control and prevent.  I’ve made several changes in the right direction already, but I still have a long way to go.

Weight, just like debt, seem to sneak up on you because you pile it on little by little over a long period of time. Do you ever stop to ask yourself “how did I get here?”

Prayer Journal Message: Diet plans come and go.  Weight comes off; weight goes back on.  One thing will not change, and that is the loving kindness of the Lord.  When the frustration sets in, the Lord is there.  When we lose our patience, He will forgive.  The Lord is our closest ally and our strongest supporter.  We may decide that a particular diet plan isn’t for us or that we need to try something new, but we can never afford to turn away from God. God will help us with whatever plan we choose to follow.

Related Scripture: And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, this is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21

Today’s Thought: Any attempt made to lose weight is incomplete without God.