I had to go to the bank sometime today so instead of walking/running around my neighborhood on my usual route and then trying to coordinate schedules to borrow my mom’s car to go to the bank, I decided to just walk/run to the bank. It’s a little bit farther than my usual distance, but that’s okay. J I set out just after 6:30 a.m. but could’ve gone a few minutes earlier. I was a little self-conscious about running next to traffic because I’m kind of starting over and am not too concerned with form right now, just with getting back to running the whole distance. I overcame that self-consciousness and just did it. No one pulled over to tell me I wasn’t running properly or to ask why I had slowed to a walk, so it was okay!
I ended up doing a total of 4.6 miles in 52 minutes, running some and walking some. My knee made me walk just a couple times. The rest of the times I walked it was because my mind was slowing me down. I had to go back to setting goals for myself like, “Keep running until you get to the next cross street; then you can walk.” I did that many times. One time I did it and when I got to the cross street I knew I needed to keep running. There was no physical reason to stop.
It was so rewarding to put a practical purpose to my exercise!
In other news, a blogger I follow posted this question on Facebook:
Why do we struggle with food?
She had been talking about this with her counselor and is planning to do a blog post on it, but wanted her readers’ input. I read a dozen or so responses and almost all of them talked about overeating or unhealthful eating being learned behavior [blame your parents] or lack of self-control. They were so hopeless! I had to answer with the hope God has given me in overcoming the sin of overeating. Here’s my response:
“For me, it's plain and simple indulgence. I like the taste of food. I wasn't trusting God to give me what I need when I need it; I was getting it for myself...and lots of it. Sometimes when working late at night I knew I needed to sleep but I couldn't; I had to keep working. So I ate food for energy to stay awake. A bowl of white rice with butter wasn't the best choice, though. Now that I've learned self-control by denying myself what my body doesn't need, life is so much better. I still like food, and I still have a little chocolate most days. Food isn't what consumes me anymore, though. It's fuel for my body. Period. If I can make it taste good AND be healthful, so much the better. If I have to just eat and move on with my day, no big deal. Food is no big deal anymore. It's no big deal!!! If my current size 16 body had said that to my old size 26 body, it wouldn't have believed it, but it's true! I love this freedom!”
One person wrote after me that she wished she could just learn to put Jesus in place of food so she wouldn’t have these problems. I clicked through to her blog and left a comment inviting her to view my blog or email me. I hope she contacts me so I can share with her what Jesus has done for me!
I welled up and almost cried when I read your comment on my blog.... Thank you!!! Please please please share with me what you have learned....as much as you can in a comment anyway... I am now a follower of your blog yay!!!!
ReplyDeletecindie
Thank you for following me! I think I need to become a follower of yours because I don't think I did that when I was there earlier.
ReplyDeleteLong story short - heavy (fat) my whole life except for a brief period in my early 20s. Family is mostly obese too, so yes genetics plays a role as does learned behavior. I can't let that make me disobedient to God, though. I learned almost 3 years ago that overeating is sin. I was telling a friend how happy I was to have had McDonald's for breakfast only 2 days out of 3 when he told me about The Lord's Table at SettingCaptivesFree.com. It's a 60-day online Bible study dealing with overeating. (I get no compensation of any kind from them for saying that, and it's a free program.) I signed up for it a just a few days later and have been following their eating program for almost 3 years. Two normal-portion days per week, two half-portion days, two liquid days (smoothies, broth, juice, milk, water, etc.), and one day of fasting (no food and only water to drink). They do it that way instead of advocating specific foods, calorie counting, fat grams, etc., because food is not the problem. My greedy, selfish nature is the problem. That's what I have to die to every day - self. I'm not perfect in that, but I keep plugging away at it. I also began walking daily a few months before starting The Lord's Table and progressed from 1 mile to 3, then began jogging (if that's what you want to call it!) very short segments of that 3 miles and worked up to running the whole distance. I accomplished that last September and ran a 5K in October and one in December. I'm coming back from a knee injury that I don't know how I got in January and have been able to run a little bit only recently.
When I started TLT, God told me He's also going to work on pride. Ouch. He's doing that, too, but it's not as visible as the weight loss and increased fitness. I've lost 83 pounds but gained knowledge worth so much more than that! And it's experiential knowledge, not just head knowledge. I know now that God, not physical food, can and does sustain me. Stay tuned to my blog for updates. :-)