Ash Wednesday

Today is the start of the Lenten season.  I am not sure why, but this year I am finding myself filled with trepidation as I make a commitment to sacrifice in my life for the next 40 days.  Maybe because in the past, I didn't take this seriously, maybe I never really understood the reason for the sacrifice, or maybe I have been selfish and immature.  Whatever the reason, this year I wanted to be sure that whatever changes I committed to were meaningful and difficult.

I thought for days about it.  I prayed about it, I even asked friends for ideas (nothing really original was offered), I went to websites, and I fretted.  Finally, I went to bed last night, and asked God to guide me. This morning, I decided to ADD regular working out and GIVE UP processed foods-and here's why.

Regular Workouts- a discipline I have lost:
I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I have stopped working out.  I used to hit the gym regularly, I worked with a trainer and I pushed myself hard.  I took pride in the changes my body experienced.  I loved watching muscles replace fat.

Then life got in the way.  Health problems, marriage, work all took precedent.  I stopped going to the gym, saying that I could work out at home.  It was not long before that went away as well.  Now, I don't work out at all.  I wake up, go through my day, then sit on my ever expanding rump and complain about how tired and worn out I am.

Working out regularly requires discipline.  To go to the gym a prescribed number of days each week is hard, it takes commitment  and effort that is intentional.  Discipline is something that many in our society are lacking-in many areas of life (financial, personal responsibility, diet, health, taking care of others, etc).

My goal is to work out 5 days a week.  My husband says to start small, maybe two days a week.  I thought about it, and decided that if it was easy, then it required no sacrifice on my part.  I am an all or nothing kind of girl, so I am all in and doing at least 5 days a week.  When I go to the gym, I will work out hard, pushing myself to new limits and learning to trust God to take me to higher heights!  i will break a sweat, be sore the next day and find out just how far my body can go.

No more processed foods:
When I stopped working out, I also let my diet slide.  I thoroughly enjoy junk food of all sorts!  Chips, ice cream, pizza, anything fried-all these things make me happy.  I know that I do not have a healthy relationship with food.

The truth is, God gave us food to nourish our bodies; to provide the necessary energy for us to do what we are required to do daily.  He never intended for food  to be used to manage our emotions.  God created potatoes, not potato chips for a reason.  When we eat natural foods, we nourish our bodies, when we eat human created "Frankenfoods", we nourish our emotional moments.

Think about this, when you are heartbroken and feeling down, does an apple really provide the same comfort as a big bowl of ice cream?  Of course not, but the apple gives us the energy and stamina we need to get through every day.

I have been lazy.  Instead of dealing with the emotions of stress, worry, fear, joy, pride, etc, I have allowed frankenfoods to deal with them.  It's hard for me to feel emotions, I'm not sure why.  I prefer to have the numbness that emotional eating brings, but this is not how God created us.

God gave us emotions to help guide us.  When we do well, work hard, and stay focused, we feel joy, contentment, peace and pride.  When we are off track, lazy, selfish etc, we tend to feel depressed, worried, stressed and lethargic.  If we feel our emotions, and let them guide us, we can and will grow closer to God.

The plan:
So here it is- the moment of truth.  Today, I make a commitment to God and to myself to eat natural, unprocessed foods for the next 40 days.  I will not allow my emotions to dictate what I put into my body.  I will allow Gods created foods to nourish my body as it was meant to.

I will also hit the gym 5 days a week-no matter what!  When I am tired, worn out or stressed, I will remind myself of the gift God has given me in a body that can work out.  I will remember that being lazy is not part of Gods plan in our lives- He asks us to work hard, to sacrifice and to put forth an effort every day.

These two things are going to be extremely challenging for me.  I am not a strong person by nature, I am lazy by nature.  To find success, I will pray, but I will also utilize the support system God has placed in my life.  I have posted my intentions on social media and have asked my loved ones for support.  I will also chronicle my journey here.  I know I may be the only one who reads this, but maybe someone will read it and will offer support.  Maybe someone will read it and find strength or support from my journey.  I trust that God will bring to this blog, those who need to be here.

That's my plan-pray for me, I know I will need it!