Soaring on Eagle's Wings

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31, KJV

Whenever I think of this passage of Scripture, I feel lifted. I envision myself as that eagle, soaring above the challenges, frustrations, and disappointments of life, running within the will of God for my life while walking in His peace.

I feel energized.

I feel like that now.

One thing that always makes me feel this way is progress on my weight loss journey. I haven't said much in a while, but I'm still working hard--and not fainting--to achieve my goal.

I've lost 16 lbs since Christmas, and for the first time in 18 months, I weigh less than 200 lbs. Yippee!!!!

When I start to bog down, thinking, "Yeah, that's great but look how far you have to go", or "Do you realize how much work it's going to take to reach your goal?", I see myself as that eagle, and revel in that soaring feeling, buoyed by the knowledge that I can achieve my goal, with God's help, if I continue making steady progress and worry not about how long or how much work it will take.

I really start to soar when life is firing on more than one cylinder, as it is now, what with increased productivity at work and focus on my writing as well.

Are you flying too? Let's go out for a spin!

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Turning A Corner?

I hope I'm turning a corner on this weight loss journey. It may be one of many corners. I won't know until I get to my destination but it's the first corner.

I exercise in the mornings, Mon - Fri, from 5:30 (or thereabouts) to about 6:30. It's a bear to get up that early, unstick my eyelids, clear the cobwebs from my eyes, and actually work up a sweat. But I do it because I know that if I don't, I don't stand a chance of meeting my health goals.

I've been pretty consistent since I bumped my workouts up to a full hour, just before Christmas. In addition to that, I've been doing a lot of walking.

And I have a 9 lb. weight loss to show for all this activity.

I realized this morning, when I missed my workout because I overslept after a late night grocery store run while the kiddies slept, one that had my husband and I falling into bed sometime after 1 and before the alarm rang at 5, that I don't like missing my AM workout.

Wuh? When did that happen?

I don't know but I was actually a little put out by not having a chance to workout today, especially since I won't have have the opportunity to make it up on Saturday. (Oldest Son is participating in an all-day Latin Forum.)

Drats!

But for me, getting to the point where I miss not working out vs. dreading the workout is turning a corner.

Maybe I can walk a few extra miles this weekend... I'm trying to drop another 5 lbs by my birthday, Feb 4th.

How are you doing?

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Savoring the (Little) Successes

One thing I'm learning to do with this weight loss journey is to savor the mini successes.

And sometimes they are truly miniature but hey, every one counts.

Like losing a pound, or maybe only half a pound.

Like my ankles looking thinner (at least looking down at them).

Like the waistband on my pants fitting better.

Like being able to make a fist and my hands not feeling puffy.

Like walking up the stairs and not breathing hard.

Like being able to stand up for a long time and not feel stress in my lower back.

I try to savor these moments. I even close my eyes at the moment of realization and try to file away the feeling. Because in the rough moments when I don't see results, I try to recall these little successes.

Down 9 lbs since Christmas. Gotta stay focused and keep working hard.

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia