Hey guys-
Stacee here-
I've been racking my brain trying to decide what to post first, and while I am going to cover a lot of things, including gluten, I felt like I needed to start with 2 passions of mine- cycling and Jesus. Please don't stop reading just because of the name of Jesus. He is a major part of my health story. As I wrote in my first post, I was almost 200 lbs in high school. I was able to drop some of that through my college years, but I still was never happy. I lost my "why". This past year, I've started the journey again on finding it...
Weight-loss starts in the mind and spirit. You must get to a place where you are determined beyond all doubt that you will stick to it. I never, truly, had that determination. It wasn't until my mindset was changed that i started losing the weight. For years, I told people that I was giving my weight-loss/health journey to The Lord, but that was a lie. I never really thought that God cared about the small things in my life like health. Here's the thing... HE DOES!!!! He has created our bodies to function at a certain weight and way. When I finally realized that, and asked God what weight HE wanted me to be at, the journey became so much easier! And, knowing that "number", actually freed me from the scale! It became a journey towards health, not just a nice body. Now, don't get me wrong, I am still concerned about the number and what I look like, but it doesn't consume my thoughts. Honestly, I'm still struggling through this, but I am trusting The Lord to help me with this.
The other thing that really helped to kick start my journey is finding something that I loved that would give me a good cardio workout... CYCLING!!!! Y'all, I'm obsessed with it. In 2010 I participated in my first triathlon, and when training in the cycling portion, i got sucked in!! It has sucked living in the south where it is could during the winter (unlike so cal), so I haven't been able to ride all winter, but, I just rode for the first time this spring! My heart is so happy! I did 5.5 miles and it was great fun! I could tell that I got a little it of shape this winter, because hills were way harder than I remembers in the fall... :) cycling provides a time for me to spend some good time with Jesus. I take to the back country roads of Tennessee, iPod in my ears and I just ride. It's glorious, and sometimes, I forget I am working out. The great thing about cycling is that there is so much to learn about it and how to improve (sorry-another bunny trail, I'll save that for another post).
I guess the point of this post is this: you have to find the "why" behind the "what", and the "how" will follow. Far too often, we jump straight to the "how will I accomplish this" instead, we need to first figure out they "why" behind our journey to health. For me, it is about way more than just getting to a "good number" or fitting into a certain size; it is about complete whole-ness (mind, body, spirit). I'm finding out my "why" even now. I've been going through a small period of time where I have had practically no motivation, but The Lord is gracious in helping me, I've been able to identify quite a few mindsets that have been preventing me from attaining the health .. (I'll cover all my "how's" in another post). Over the past 3 weekends, I've run two 5k races and the weather finally started cooperating and I was able to get out on my bike this past weekend and did 21 miles!!! These past 3 weeks (and nice weather) has kick-started a flame within me again to get out and exercise!!
Here's the deal-
God loves you so much, so much that He became man in Jesus Christ, He lived the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died, in our place. Three days later, He rose from the dead, proving that He is the Son of God and offering the gift of salvation for all who repent and believe the gospel.
Because of that, if we accept Jesus and submit our lives to Him, then we will succeed. I'm not promising a life of ease when you accept The Lord, but I am promising that you will never be alone, no matter what journey you are on. This journey towards health has not been easy but I have comfort in knowing that I am not alone in it. Not only do I have The Lord but He has also brought great friends, like Annie, along side of me to walk (or run) this journey with me.
Be encouraged though. You are not on this journey alone... Please contact us if we can help you in any way (mind, body or spirit).
