I’m not someone who has ever written much about exercise and food. But this past year, continuing in this year, I’ve started changing in the way I feel and think about those two things.
In my previous post, I kind of talked about this a little. I thought maybe I’d share a few more of my thoughts.
The biggest thing for me is that I am not focusing on losing weight or following a strict one-time diet. Why? Well, the weight thing would not help me mentally. I would obsess over it. And if I focused so exclusively on my weight, all my insecurities about myself and my body would make it overwhelming. I don’t want to be that obsessed with my body. It is for this reason I never look at scale or weigh myself unless I need too. I’m pretty comfortable in my own skin, but like others, I can be insecure about a lot of things, and I feel that focusing on excessive weight loss would be negative and not positive. (Nor, do I feel the need for it that drastically.)
The strict diet doesn’t appeal to me either. Unless, medically, you really need a strict diet and exercise regime, I don’t see the point of it. Eliminating everything all at once would set me up for failure. And when I fell, I would fall extremely hard. Not to mention, most diets are one-time things. You do them for a while, and then you’re done and that’s the end of it.
So I don’t want to worry about losing weight. What I want to do is live a healthier lifestyle. This means something that is going to last a lifetime. This means something that I’m not going to do perfectly, but I can continue to strive for, grow in, get better at, and build upon for the rest of my life.
Making drastic, massive, immediate, short term changes are not something I see working well.
I want to do small things. Simple things; things like putting more fruits and vegetables in my diet, eating smaller portions of things, less and less of other things, and maybe sometimes, paying a little bit more attention to what is on the ingredient list.
I’ve already begun to lose my appeal for junk/fast food. I’m thankful for this because it helps makes those things a lot less appealing.
I’ve been striving to get into a regular walking routine and doing it outside, because I am convinced that fresh air is just as important as exercise, and one should always exercise outside whenever possible. I have a little exercise bike to use on those days when I simply can’t go outside, or when I don’t have time to.
I want implement these things into my life, not just to lose weight, but for much bigger reasons. Simply, overall to be healthier in mind, body, and spirit. If I do shed some pounds along the way, I’ll just look at it as a blessed bonus.
I’m not interested in running a marathon. I don’t want to spend hours working out. If I had free access to water, I’d use it too, but I don’t. So I‘ll simply walk my dog, and I’ll breath in fresh air, whether its sun or rain or snow. I’ll keep aiming at eating more naturally good stuff, and less of the junk and crap that the government (yes, who else?) conspires to put into our food.
This is where I am, and where I want to head. Taking small and simple steps that just might get me to live healthier overall. For someone who really isn’t athletic or interested in being so, this is the path that feels and seems the most right for me.
I don’t expect perfection. (God only knows how I can crave sugar sometimes. 
) but I do pray for determination to continue in the right direction and to always, always have the right mindset; to pick myself up when I do mess up, and just keep going forward.
My body is God’s and he has given it to me as a gift. If, by his grace, I can become a better steward of it, I will be thankful.
