Healthy Living

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Scripture to meditate on: For who hath despised the day of small things? (Zec 4:10)

Would you ever get upset with a baby for falling down while he is learning how to walk? Would you ever expect a teenager to get behind the wheel of a car for the first time and drive without making a mistake? How about when you were learning to use a computer-- did you master it the first, second or even third time?

Mastery at any of these skills takes lots of practice, lots of patience and a lot of minor adjustments along the way. The same principle holds true for your weight loss. It’s going to take baby steps to get you where you want to go.
Any world-class athletes will tell you that it’s the small daily training techniques employed over time which gave them the advantage.

In the financial world, the success strategy is called compound interest. A PENNY A DAY, DOUBLED EVERY DAY FOR A MONTH adds up to $10,737,418...and 24cents!

In the world of sports, the success strategy is called the training program. Just one athlete’s day of performance at the Olympics was the result of 1,460 days of imagery work, healthy eating habits, rest and recovery, weight training, and skill development!

Let's put together a strategy for your weight loss program. What small investments, choices, and actions are you going to make each day to contribute to your success? Choose one or two from each of the lists below, and commit to doing these small but productive practices each day.

Here is a list of suggestions -- feel free to try some of these, or develop your own list.

Eating Habits

• maintain a daily food journal
• stop using sugar in your coffee
• take half or a third of your current portion size
• have your last meal before 8:00 at night
• have a salad for lunch every day
• drink 2 liters of water each day
• use a dessert plate instead of a dinner plate
• eat with a dessert fork
• be satisfied with one helping -- no seconds
• chew your food a pre-determined number of times before swallowing
• avoid all white (processed) foods
• always share your dessert
Activity

• walk for 20 minutes each day
• get up to change the T.V. channel -- discard the remote control
• get up during commercials and walk, or get down and do some sit-ups or push-ups
• do some exercises while brushing your teeth
• decide what errands you can do by walking instead of driving
• find the farthest parking spot in the mall
• do some activities while talking on the phone
• do some butt squeezes while standing in lines
• do some dips off the chair
• sign up for a group fitness class or a running group

Habits

• catch yourself when you're about to make an excuse
• hear yourself saying “but” -- everything you say after the “but” is an excuse
• re-frame everything in the context of “I”-- instead of blaming work, stress, your husband, your children, your illness -- remember, you always have a choice
• always take a few seconds before you eat to give thanks and remain mindful of God
• review your vision each morning
You're probably saying to yourself that you've heard most of these before. The question to you now is, which of these good ideas are you going to implement?

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