Running the Race....

I had a killer workout in hydro conditioning tonight. We were running and jumping and using weights, weighted balls, kick boards and other stuff for the whole hour, plus I went early and worked out an extra 15 minutes on my own. I did that for 2 reasons--the water was FREEZING and I wanted to burn off the extra calories I got from drinking a choc. soy milk thing...that made me sick. (Yes, Jerri, you are still allergic to soy! I always think my food allergies are a fluke and that I can try those foods again. I read an article about combining soy and whey and speeding up weight loss) I don't need to speed up my weight loss. My goal is 10 lbs. per month, and I lost a solid 10 lbs. in January. So that is telling me another thing--I'm in danger of taking on this "project" myself again. I need to get back to seriously searching the scriptures for help with this--and talking to God about the emotional things that keep coming up instead of just casually thanking Him for "helping me" stay on track. He isn't "helping me"--He is enabling me, strengthening me and renewing my mind in this area. I want to give Him every "ounce" of the glory, because I have proven over and over again that I cannot lose the weight I need to lose on my own power. It is beyond my ability to stick with it for a lifetime. So, from now on, I am going to include the main points I learn from my time with God every day, along with my calories and exercise. God is my strength....on my own, I'm pretty wimpy.

That being said, there aren't any wimpy people on The Biggest Loser! I would never go on Natl. TV and weigh in front of the whole world. That is committment! I have been on my program as long as this season's group--I'm not discouraged that I've lost 10 lbs. to their 20,30,50 etc. I don't have all of that concentrated time to put into this. And patience with the process is something I need to learn. I need the spiritual lessons, too, and I need time for my emotions to catch up with the changes God is making in me. I'm way too competative in water aerobics (yes, there is room for competition), walking down the street..whatever. I think that is something I need to figure out. Where does competition come into play in the Christian life? I know selfish ambition and vain conceit...are rooted in evil. But Paul does describe the Christian life as a race that we must "run in such a way as to finish"....not "boxing the air"....that tells me we need to rush closer to God every day. I don't want to get caught up in the vanity of this endeavor. I know I am looking better and will, hopefully....and I am happy about that. I think competitiveness would be a good study for the next few days.