It's hard to stay focused.
Hard not to give in when the going gets tough.
Over a year ago (November, 2014), I was part of a fitness challenge called Faithful Fitness Lines. While I never reached the fitness goal I set for myself at the beginning of the challenge, this program served as a catalyst to help me begin to increase my exercise and change habits, which led to me losing almost 40 pounds in 2015.
The creator of the program had lost over 100 pounds and has created the program to encourage others to lose and maintain weight loss... but also to look at what may be causing weight struggles, and to focus on running our race the best we can.
Not necessarily the fitness race, either, although that is part of it...
but our race with Christ.
The thing about a fitness program?
There really isn't a finish.
Oh, if you're training for a particular event, there's the finish line there...
but if you're like me, to lose/maintain weight means that you have to keep on doing what you sometimes don't want to do.
When it gets hard.
When you're tired.
When there doesn't seem to be any time.
And even though there really is no light at the end of the tunnel... you have to just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
This weight loss thing is a daily choice.
Some days, I choose well.
Some days, I don't... but the important thing is to keep on going.
He's faithful to finish what He's begun...
so I have to do my part.
One minute on the treadmill at a time.
What this looks like looks differently depending on what is going on with my life. I do pretty well in the warm summer months, because it's warm out and stays light longer. I don't mind walking outside as much as I do the treadmill.
I'm considering it a victory that I only gained about a pound over basketball season. A lot of the times I didn't get good exercise in and I most definitely ate junk all the time.
And, let's face it... the winter time is hard for me. I just want to sleep when I'm at home.
That's why changing life habits aren't all or nothing. As Wallace likes to say, it's a marathon, not a sprint. And while I'm not walking a marathon, I am daily making decisions that have proven to be helpful. Not perfectly, but for the most part consistent.
And that is what it means for me to pursue my finish line... in my decisions, in my weakness, to look to the author and finisher of my faith, who is running this race with me, every step of the way.
Running a 5K is on my bucket list, and it's the goal I'll be pursuing these next few weeks. I'd also like to do a 14 minute mile, which is ambitious when I think of where I am right now. I was in much better shape before basketball season =)
The first week of the challenge, we focused on writing down foods, and once again I struggled with this. I don't pack a purse, so I never had my notebook close by, and I didn't want to fool with another app on my phone. This week, I think I'll try to log food intake on my fitbit app.
And I'm also going to attempt to increase my water intake and decrease my consumption of Diet Coke.
For more information about the faithful finish line program, visit https://www.faithfulfinishlines.com/
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