June 5, 2006
Dodging the Donuts
Well, this is week two of my "fight to be fit." I
have kept to my program -- thanks, in no small part, to this
blog. The fear of public humiliation is a powerful motivator!
Last Friday we were treated to donuts in the office. Now I
have never turned down an opportunity for a free glazed donut
in my life -- as my waistline can attest. That is until now.
The thought of having to confess it online for anyone who has
access to a computer to read was a wonderful deterrent!
In spite of my efforts, however, I have to confess that the
scale has not budged a bit this week. Because last week was
an unusually large loss of five pounds, I've been able to take
it in stride. However, if the trend continues; well that's another
story.
Last week I shared that when it comes to losing weight, I have
a terrible time staying motivated. One reason for this is that
part of me has never really wanted to lose weight. I despise
our country's obsession with thinness and beauty and my extra
weight has been my personal protest sign. It was my way of saying,
"Forget all that and just be the person God created you
to be!" Unfortunately, I don't think anyone was listening.
I admire the actress Halle Berry for once saying she wanted
young women to know that being beautiful is not life's cure-all.
"Being thought of as 'a beautiful woman' has spared me
nothing in life," said Berry. "No heartache, no trouble.
Love has been difficult. Beauty is essentially meaningless and
it is always transitory," she said.
The Bible echoes her sentiments, "Charm is deceitful and
beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised"
(Psalm 31:30).
If I actually thought that being beautiful would make life
painless, I think I'd be much more motivated! But I know better.
So until recently I have had very little true motivation for
losing weight and getting fit. But now I have reached a point
in my life where I realize that being thinner will indeed spare
me some future pain. Less weight will help me avoid the pain
of joint replacement surgery, heart disease, and a host of other
health problems that could be looming on the horizon.
It will also spare me the pain of knowing that my lack of energy
due to excess weight is keeping me from doing all the things
God has called me to do. Perhaps that is the greatest pain of
all. I long to hear those words from Jesus, "Well done,
good and faithful servant." I just hope I can remember
that the next time there are donuts in the office.
Now it's your turn. Glazed donuts may not have been your challenge
this past week, but I'll bet you had some. Log
on here to share what obstacles you faced this past week.
Last week's blog: How
I got Roped into This