Happy GOOD Friday! and other thoughts...

Habits, routines, ruts, hamster wheels....whatever you choose to call your daily grind (mine used to be a white chocolate mocha, raspberry with whipped cream and a swirl of carmel syrup - another story for another time...).

STOP!!!! first I have to say that the words on the page are the thoughts from my mind which tend to meander and find tangets which have no connection to the original topic or the intended goal when I initially sit down. Any exercise regime or eating patterns that I discuss are not from a personal trainer nor a registered dietician. That being said, I must include this disclaimer - please consult your doctor, pastor, therapist, best friend or a stranger before trying to undertake any of my experiences....I say this as I feel it necessary to document where I have come from and how I got here. Here being today. So, If anyone feels inclined to read what I write and can find a small nugget of wisdom or a gem of faith that brightens their day, if just for a brief instant, the words will be on the page and not just locked away inside my head.

GOD is my focus and all I do is through his grace and mercy shined on my life. The credit is all His, I am but a tool, a humble servant trying to find my way in a world filled with distractions, deceptions and paths that lead to nowhere. I have heard it said that bad habits are hard to break, negative patterns lead to a downward spiral and misery loves company. Well I rebuke those statements! You cannot break any habit bad or good, BUT you can REPLACE any habit with a new one. By changing your mindset and taking a new perspective the same path you have been on looks different. If you open your eyes and lift your head you will notice the wonderful world around you that God had created for each of us to enjoy. Do not let the weight of the world bend your neck so that you can only see the step in front of you. Take off the blinders which inhibit you from looking in new directions. Opportunities are all around you, doors are there to be opened, switches are on the wall to turn on the lights to illuminate your surroundings and disperse the darkness that wants nothing more than to draw you in and feed you complacency.

I sit here right now, sweating...trying not to drip on the key board as I have just come from the gym. The end of my 9th week of monday through friday morning workouts! 45 days in a row without exception or excuse. Today I reached new personal records for distance and calories burned, 5.67 miles and 994 calories in 50 minutes of elipictal workout. When I started my first day I did 4.35 miles and 763 calories in the same amount of time. Small personal goals, attainable goals are necessary to help maintain a positive outlook. When I first started, just getting up at 6am every morning was the goal, let alone getting dressed, driving my car and getting all sweaty before 7:30am. I have lost nearly 35 lbs since January 17th when I weighed in at a hefty 245 lbs - but as I was told at the time "I carried it well". Hahaha - Only with my shirt ON did I even remotely hide it. Those were words of complacency meant to keep me on the same path to nowhere that I was heading.

I have a friend, a God connection friend who in January was doing a modified version of Daniel's fast. A 21 day fast, eating nothing but vegetables, fruits, nuts and drinking only water, juice and broth ( you can google "daniel's fast" and find all kinds of information ). He was on his 8th day when he told me about what he was doing and how he was feeling, how much weight he had lost. We were at our men's club breakfast the next Saturday and he was having sauteed bell peppers, mushrooms, onions on a plate...no eggs, no bacon, no chicken fried steak, no potatoes! I was amazed, he is a big man and a healthy eater, by healthy I mean he could pack it away. Seeing his discipline that morning on his 14th day the seed he had planted the previous Sunday, began to germinate in me. The following morning I woke up with the knowledge that I was going to undertake this challenge. Julie being the exceptional wife and support system she has always been gave me her knowing smile and said sure honey whatever you want to do. She has watched me eat and grow to the size I was (because I'm not that size anymore) over the past 25 plus years and has also been around for all the wild ideas that have come through me. I stepped out of the shower and onto the scale and saw the 245 come up, no surprise, I've been in the 240's for almost a decade now. Then off to church we went. I spoke with my friend Mark and told him I was IN, on board and gonna make the effort to committ to 21days. After my google search and a trip to Costco and Summit Trading company,$175 later we were home with a fridge full of veggies and berries, a counter full of fruit and a pantry with an assortment of nuts. The first week was a trial, no meat, no dairy, no bread, no sugar, no caffeine...I must admit I had already been weining myself off the daily pot of coffee generously hidden under a cloak of flavored creamer. But, in all actuality, a couple of bananas in the morning, a nice salad in the afternoon, a full plate of sauteed peppers, rice, cashews and spices wasn't so tough. The real tough part was stepping on the scale after 7 days and seeing that I had lost a total of ONE pound! Unreal, the fruits and rice were adding carbohydrates to my day that I wasn't burning off. I was doing 100 push-ups as a form of exercise, 3 sets of 33 within a 30 mintues time frame just wasnt enough to really make much difference, but it made me feel like I was doing something. With 14 days remaining I decided if I was gonna do this thing and do it right I was gonna go hard core. I went the next 3 days on a true fast, no food, only water, broth and juice...man did that spinach salad with the basalmic vinegarette dressing taste good on the 4th day! Skip to the 21st day and low and behold, I had lost 18 lbs (17 in the last 14 days - just wanted to save you the math, as I had already done it). I felt better, my size 38 pants were loose and I was punching new holes in my old belts! I felt good about my accomplishment and wanted to share it with those who asked. To my surprise along with the compliments and pats on the back, came comments of how long it would take to gain back the weight. Stories of others who had made the same efforts and then gained back even more than what they started it! WHAT?!! That wasn't what I wanted to hear.

God had shown me that I possessed the self-discipline, the power to choose my way and to create the person I wanted to be all inside of me. That just because I was hungry that did not mean that I had to eat. My body was just telling me that it was using the energy stored up in me, burning the fat to give me the push I needed. We become conditioned to eat at the first pangs of our stomach. We in the civilized, industrial countries have the abundance and ability to eat whenever the urge strikes. And by looking at America's waistline, the urges are often and rarely disregarded. There is a reason by McDonlad's sign now says "billions and billions served". Oops another tangent...God had shown me that my mind can create the reality that I live in. My choices to become better, to improve my physical self and transform the body that I had essentially neglected were nothing more than choices. Just as the choice to choose Jesus as my savior and guide, to allow God into my heart, into my life to make me better, were all choices that I alone had to make. The decision to undertake this fast and be accountable to only myself and God was only another small decision to keep my feet on the path of the Lord. To choose my steps to find my way to the destiny he has planned for me.

It started with a 21 day fast to determine my inner strength and has now become a foundation of the testimony that I am building to show the world the glory that is God, the wonder of having faith and hope, the joy of being in the love and light of such a generous God.

Just a few thought for the morning, who knows what the rest of the day will bring...Happy Good Friday all, be blessed in all you do...