Christmas Morning

Every family has their own traditions around the holidays, and we are no exception. Brenda baked Hello Dollies, a wonderful treat that some of you know as Magic Cookie Bars - little bundles of sugar, fat, and cholesterol disguised as graham cracker crumbs, chocolate, butterscotch, coconut, and lots of sweetened condensed milk. My buddy Jan sent us a box of her famous sugar cookies, which are THE best cookies in the world. We had Christmas Eve lunch at Pizza Hut with a family in our church - their family has been doing it for years, and they always invite us. It's always Pizza Hut, it's usually the buffet, and we usually end up griping about the lack of pizza and/or dessert on said buffet. So many of our traditions are built around food, aren't they? I haven't had any of these treats this year, and I don't intend to. I want to get through this Biggest Loser competition and be able to say, "I never cheated, not a single time." In two weeks, we will be a third of the way through the competition. Fortunately, I'm a third of the way to my goal, so I'm pretty much on track to hit my target weight of 190-ish. It's going to get harder - it takes more work to get my heart rate up these days because I'm in better shape than I was in November.

 

My Christmas list was a little different this year - a Reebok Step, a pair of 15 lb. dumbbells, and a stopwatch. I got 2 out of the 3 items - Brenda and Debbie couldn't find the Step. When the bank account comes back up a little bit, I will find one and treat myself to a post-Christmas Christmas present! Last week I picked up the Biggest Loser Last Chance Workout video, which is actually quite like some of the stuff we do at the gym with Johnnie. In fact, we have done most of the exercises on the video at least once in the last two months. I will work through that video at least once today, maybe twice, and will have to get my walking done inside the church, because it's pouring rain here, and because I usually make up my daily walking deficit in Walmart, which is obviously closed today. But I will also take the opportunity today to rest myself - while the muscles have gotten used to exercise, the ankles, knees, and hips are still screaming, even through daily rounds of ibuprofen. I consulted with my mentor, Kristy, and she felt like a day of resting would be a wise course of action, not only for the rest, but because the change in routine might kick-start my body into another intense round of weight-loss. I don't always take Sundays off from the gym - in my mind, the best day to take off would be the day AFTER weigh-in, and the worst would be the day BEFORE weigh-in.

 

I'm so grateful and pleased with what has happened thus far - I feel better, I look better, I'm faster and more agile, and I've managed to forge a slight lead in the competition (although the only day the lead matters is May 15, four and a half months from now). This has truly been a life-changing experience for me, and hopefully a turning point to a longer and more productive life.

 

I'm thankful also for all the people that God has brought into my life since we began, starting with those in my immediate sphere of influence - Kristy Youngblood, a former teen from my youth group in the 90's, whose own journey inspired me to apply for this program, and who gives freely of her time, guidance, and encouragement; our trainer, Johnnie; our nutritionists Mark, Donna, Savannah, Priscilla, and Patricia; my teammates Nandy, Lisa, Tammy, Bronnie, and Charles; our friends on the blue team Tanner, Tim, Colin, Laycee, Ashley, and Lori; their trainer, Barry Allison; and the many folks who stick their head in to encourage and congratulate us from time to time. I'm thankful for my church family who supports and encourages me week in and week out; I'm thankful for my friends on facebook who read my ramblings and lend their support from places as far away as Alaska and Korea. I'm thankful for my terrific wife, who gives me her love, support, and encouragement every day. I'm thankful for my pastor/boss, Don Stone, who fully supports me in this effort, and doesn't mind when I come dragging in late on those mornings when Johnnie has run us to death and the chiropractor has pushed my backbone through my chest wall. Last, but most important, I am thankful to our Lord Jesus Christ, who gives me the strength every day to walk in obedience to Him. "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1-2) 

 

To all of you who read this blog, may God bless you with a merry Christmas and a happy, HEALTHY new year!