So you may have noticed I've been gone awhile. (Or maybe not...) And I have a confession. I've been avoiding you. Not any one of you specifically, but all of you. The truth is I've been avoiding writing here because my scale hasn't moved down. I've gotten a bit frustrated in my struggle with my weight and, quite stupidly, I thought that meant I had no right to write. But God reminded me that frustration is a part of everyone's struggle, regardless of what it is, and it's important to share with you while I'm frustrated. If I don't, I'm short-changing what God's doing. This frustration is part of my path, and I need to have enough faith in what God's going to do to share this part of the story with you. So here goes...
I've been stuck between a rock and a hard place. Specifically, I've been stuck between an injured and a sick place. I have an injury I've been battling for many months now that directly affects my ability to workout the way I normally do. With this comes good news and bad news. The bad news is that I can't do Zumba, which I miss like crazy. The good news is that I haven't been gaining weight. I've stayed the same! This is the first time in my life where I've managed that feat! And by "I've managed that feat" I of course mean God's blessed me as I unwittingly walked the path He chose.
The practical dieting side of the story goes like this:
I have a two or three health conditions that I've been dealing with for a few years now, one of which requires me to take thyroid medication everyday on an empty stomach (empty stomach = 2 hours of not eating before taking the pill, followed by at least 1 hour of not eating). I've always gotten up in the morning, taken my pill and then waited an hour to eat. But after an incident where I basically passed out at a doctor's appointment one morning, I found out I'm borderline hypoglycemic. I also have low blood pressure. All of that meant I had to find a new time to take my thyroid medication, as I had to eat within an hour of waking up. This led me, unwittingly, to the best dieting "trick" ever. I decided I would stop eating two hours before bedtime in order to take my pill on an empty stomach. I also started getting up earlier and making myself an all-protein breakfast every morning, to avoid any more passing out incidents. (Breakfast consists of 2 eggs and deli turkey, if you're curious... so good and so easy!)
That combo of eating a high protein breakfast and stopping eating at least two hours before bedtime has totally changed how my body holds on to food. See, I haven't been just not working out (once again, due to injury, not by choice), I haven't really been dieting either. I've been careful, not eating the way I did a year ago, that's for sure, but I haven't been counting my calories on Sparkpeople.com like I usually have to. I've just been aware of when I'm hungry and need some food (I stick to protein whenever possible as my stomach does NOT like sugar/carbs on an empty stomach, part of the hypoglycemia), which has meant I've become a "grazer", eating little snacks throughout the day. I eat whatever is reasonable calorically and sounds appetizing. And somehow, my scale hasn't moved. This is nothing short of a miracle.
With all of the above in mind, I decided a few days ago to get my butt in gear again and lose that last 16 pounds before June 1st (Ben and I are going to Vegas for a week and it will be so fun to pack one of my old 2 piece bathing suits!). Just by getting back to tracking what I eat with the two new "rules" in place, I lost 3 pounds in 3 days. WITHOUT WORKING OUT. EATING 1500 CALORIES A DAY. That has NEVER been possible for me before!!! Usually it takes me eating 1000-1200 calories and then working out 5 times a week for at least 30 minutes in order for me to lose weight.
Let me just tell you that I am shocked at how powerful these two new habits are. I have, of course, heard that eating a good breakfast and not eating before bed are good for you, but I had no idea just how good they would be! I'm finally finding a healthy lifestyle I can keep up and not feel like I'm constantly in a state of deprivation. And as always, I didn't do this. God did.
I wouldn't have changed unless I had to. God knows this about me. I'm stubborn in my habits. Eating at night is not something I would give up unless it was absolutely necessary. So God allowed my body to break just enough to make it necessary. Getting up earlier to make myself breakfast falls into the same category... I love to sleep waaay too much and the morning is one of the few times when I'm usually NOT hungry. God knew that needed to change, too. He also knew that regardless of my stubborn habits, my heart's desire is to be healthy and wise with how I eat. So He went around my weakness and found a way to tether His best to a plan I could follow. I'm in awe of His goodness and grace. He continues to blow me away with how He can take something I'm determined to see as a bad thing and redeem it for His glory and my blessing.
I know this was a long post, and major kudos to you for finishing it. I hope and pray it has encouraged you to see that God can redeem things that we are sure are harmful and useless. I also hope that what I've relayed here can help you practically in your weight loss journey, should you be on one.
Until next time,
<3 Leigh
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