Well, a new chapter in my "Work In Progress" saga is about to begin! Today I went to our local fitness center and filled out all the paperwork to enlist in a Weight Management Program sponsored by my employer's insurance company.

Now, let me tell you, I've been on the "YoYo String" for the last 35 years (since the birth of my eldest son), and each time I SWEAR to myself that I am NOT going to go through this again, THIS being gettng rid of 50+ lbs of ugly fat. In that amount of time I've lost 3 people - or a small city!!
Let's see, it all began in 1977 with Atkins and 50 lbs.
In 1984 it was extreme stress caused by the death of my first husband and that 50 from Atkins was gone again!
In 1992 it was an "I Dare You" diet that got rid of 35 pounds - but then by this time from my pre-pregnancy weight of 102 (yes, you read that right, ONE HUNDRED & TWO pounds at 3 1/2 months!) I had ballooned all the way up past the 150 mark!!
In 1997 I found Weight Watchers POINTS plan and lost 35 pounds - yep, that same 35 had crept back - or was that original 50 from Atkins, I've forgotten now - how sad because those pounds and I have become VERY close friends!!
Then, in 2003, I found Weight Watchers (AGAIN!! - do you see a pattern here???). This time I'd gone all the way to 170+, BUT, I was much more successful with my DIET (WW CORE Plan) this time and managed to get down to 117 - the lowest I've been in 35 years!!
And now, here I am AGAIN!! Up WAY past 170 and looking at myself, thoroughly disgusted and wondering why I hadn't learned SOME kind of lesson over the past 35 years.

But, I DIGRESS, back to "THE DIET!" You know the one I'm talking about!! "on MONDAY I am going on a diet and I am going to lose "X" pounds." Sometimes you only make it to Monday afternoon, sometimes to the weekend, and sometimes, after many fits and starts you sort of get your head on right, and you make it all the way to 10 pounds, or 15, pounds, or more!

And then you think, "YEAY ME!! "Whew, now I can STOP dieting and get back to enjoying my food again!! BUT, then you begin to tell yourself, "I've done so well, I'll eat cookies ONLY on Mondays," and then, "OK, maybe I'll have a couple of cookies on Monday and then I can have some ice cream on Saturday - just this once as it is a special occasion." Before you know it you're telling yourself, "Hey, I've worked HARD this week! I deserve cookies AND ice cream!" Until finally, "OK, NO cookies except on days ending in 'Y'!!!!" And the YoYo is at the bottom - you've gained back all you lost and a few friends stopped by because the living was so EASY!!

BUT WAIT!! Maybe your commitment was really strong and you decided not just to "diet" but this time you're going to GET HEALTHY by adding in some exercise!!! For a couple of weeks or months you were, like me, at the gym three, maybe four evenings a week. really "feelin' the burn," getting all hot and sweaty and generally feeling rather proud of yourself - yes, YOU! I KNOW it wasn't just ME that was feeling this way - you know, "I am WOMAN, hear me ROAR!?!?!?! But, OUCH! The next Monday your legs hurt, or you had a manicure appointment that took months to get and you just couldn't cancel THAT! So, "OK, 2 nights this week at the gym is pretty darn good! And, after all, "I AM WOMAN, hear me yell loudly!" AHhhhhh here comes that third week at the gym!!! "Darn, that cute guy who usually uses the Elliptical next to me isn't here tonight." And, "HEY! who put THAT channel on the TV?" Or what about, "WHO are those size 0 cheerleaders taking up all the time on the "buns and thigh machine" - AS if THEY really need that!! "Well! If this gym is going to turn into one of THOSE places, I might have to go somewhere else!" But, "somewhere else" is either too far away, open the wrong hours, or, or, or..... [feel free to add in your own excuse here]. And, there you go! Bottom of the YoYo String again! "I am woman hear me whimper!"

So, what exactly IS the key that unlocks this mystery and breaks the YoYoString?? We ALL know the answer - say it with me now - LIFESTYLE CHANGE! If you, shall I say, WE, or more to the point, if *I* am going to break that YoYo String, I must NOT view this as a DIET, one I am either ON or OFF (more often OFF, as you can pretty much guess by now!). I have to decide, it really IS a CHOICE you know, if I am interested in being HEALTHY or not. God's Word says that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. (I Corinthians 6:19). I believe that, always have, just maybe not enough! So, I'm feeling pretty bad now that the Holy Spirit of God has been having to live in such a cruddy temple all these years!! So, .....

I have decided that I want to be healthy! I have decided that I want to have a temple fit to be the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit in my life. Am I going to say, as I have MANY times before, " This is the LAST time, I'll NEVER put this weight back on again!?" NO, I'm not going to say that, but I AM gong to say that with God's Grace and help I AM going to begin to heat more healthfully AND mindfully, and I AM going to get my BFF (Big Fat Fanny) to the fitness center the required minimum of three times per week. And, I am going to remember Colossians 3:23 which says "...whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as something done for the Lord and not for men..." I'm going to work at it heartily!!! Thank goodness I don't have to do it PERFECTLY!!!

Stop by for updates! When I figure out how to put one of the weight meter counter thingies on my blog I'll do that as a visual. I'm also going to have a friend take a "right now" picture which I will post.
His Hugs and Mine
Rhonda