Money and weight: Are they related?
One of the insights that I received in my weight loss struggle is that if someone has a severe weight problem, then that is usually not the only area that is out of control. Financial challenges or relationship drama are usually part of the picture.
I was thinking about this because on yesterday, I went to a financial management class that is being held at my church called "Render My Money." I have previously attended a
Crown Ministries course on money management several years ago, which was excellent. However, I think I'm ready to go beyond the basics and learn more about investing, which is what this course promises to teach.
In my
story, I mentioned how I had over $19,000 worth of credit card debt when my weight was at its highest. I know that was not a coincidence. Problems that started small soon spun out of control because I refused to face them. Weight and money, the story was the same. I had an "I'll do it tomorrow" attitude. As a result, one error piled on top of another until the problem seemed insurmountable.
Although I didn't realize it at the time, my quest to get my finances in shape helped me to lose weight. It started with me asking for help because I realized that I did not have the wisdom to get myself out of the mess I was in. I went to
Consumer Credit Counseling (CCCS). The counselor there helped me create a budget and then helped me consolidate my credit card bills in their Debt Management Plan. A certain amount was taken out of my checking account, which CCCS used to distribute to my creditors.
My goal was to pay off the entire $19,000+ in 5 years, but it was accomplished in 3 years, 11 months. God is awesome! During that period, I also decided to go to the Crown class so that I could find out how to wisely handle my money from a biblical perspective and not get in such a fix again.
I won't lie and say that it was easy because it wasn't. I could not accumulate more debt and I had to live on cash. I had to renew my mind and cultivate a "do it now" attitude. I had to be a grownup and make myself do the work. I had to encourage myself when my mind wanted to tell me that things were hopeless and to just give up.
And as previously mentioned, I had to humble myself and ask for help. Again, money and weight...same story. It starts with telling yourself the truth and writing that truth down so that you can see it in black and white (or blue and white, depending on the color of the ink). And then, you must take action. All the plans in the world will not change your situation unless you act.
Here's a little ditty I made up to motivate myself during that time:
Nothing takes the place of action
Not plans
Not promises
Not intentions
Just action.
So move!
Making the necessary adjustments in attitude is the first step to regaining control over weight problems or financial problems. The time to step is now.
The power of words
Okay, I had to write about this one because it started my day off right!
I usually take the train to work and this particular morning, it was bitterly cold. Being a Southern girl, I can't say that I love cold weather. I have to park my car a good distance away from the station, so I started out walking very fast in an attempt to get out of the cold. Pretty soon, I decided to run to generate some heat and also to hurry up and get "inside."
The wind was blowing and my hair was just all over my head by the time I got to the station. I smoothed the stray hair strands down as best as I could, entered through the turnstyles with my pass card, and then started down the stairs towards the train platform.
As I walked down the stairs, I barely noticed as a gentleman passed me. I was lost in my thoughts, but then I heard this deep voice say "Good morning, beautiful."
I turned, not quite sure if he was talking to me. But as I turned around, I saw him looking back at me and smiling as he continued on up the stairs. Well!
I grinned from ear to ear all the way down to the platform. I smiled at everyone, even showing teeth. Now, I don't know if that man says that to every woman he passes to make them feel good, but I will tell you that he made me feel mighty special. With just three little words.
What words are you saying to yourself? Are you giving yourself words of encouragement or praise? Or are you putting yourself down or beating yourself up because you aren't the size you would like to be?
I tell you, if you would start treating yourself well now and saying kind words to yourself, you will be more likely to want to do positive things for yourself, such as adopting good health habits.
You know what I would love? If every woman reading this would say "Good morning, beautiful" when you look in the mirror first thing after waking up in the morning. Wouldn't that be something? Your hair might be messy and you might have those little crusts in the corner of your eyes, but you are still beautiful. You are God's own special creation.
I'll bet it would influence your attitude in a positive way for the rest of your day. It sure did mine.
Some water tips
Just wanted to jot down a tip about water. Like most health advocates, I recommend that you drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water per day (64 ounces). I actually end up drinking closer to 10 glasses (80 ounces). Here’s how it usually works out:
I drink two 8 oz glasses of water when I wake up in the morning. I read in Parade magazine once that Raquel Welch starts her day by drinking two glasses of water. Ms. Welch is in her 60s and looks amazing, and I don’t mind saying that I’d like to look half as good when I reach that age. So I remind myself to drink the water by telling myself, “It’s time to drink Raquel Welch’s beauty juice.”
When I get to work, I fill up a 52 oz water jug and sip on that throughout the day. I try to finish it by the end of my work day. Finishing the jug is the equivalent of drinking 6 ½ glasses of water. The jug I have is actually an oversized mug that I bought from QuikTrip. It’s convenient for me because I only have to fill it up once each day and I have a visual reminder of how much water I’ve drunk and how much more I have to go.
Finally, I drink two 8 oz glasses of water first thing when I get home from work. It’s a good way to take care of false hunger since thirst can sometimes be confused with hunger.
This pattern seems to work well for me. I’ve heard of some people who simply drink a cup of water after each trip to the bathroom. I’ve heard of others who try to drink a glass of water every hour they are awake. However you do it, make sure that you keep your system running cleaning by drinking plenty of water.
Listen to your body
One of the lessons I've learned that I'd like to share is the importance of listening to your body. Now, I'm not including the mind in that for now because sometimes your mind can deceive you. However, your body will often gives you clues as to its current state of health, which can give you the feedback you need in order to change your habits/approach for the better.
Case in point: I've been writing about my experience with the
CERT drill and how sore I've been. Today I am still very sore. Under normal circumstances I would have exercised today. But, my body is telling me that I need to rest to allow it to rebuild my strained muscles. So I have decided to take today as one of my rest days rather than Wednesday as I usually do.
Another important signal your body will give you is that of hunger. Many times we eat when our body is not even hungry. We will eat out of boredom, anger, depression, fatigue, or just because the food is there. Little wonder that we sometimes end up being two or three times as large as the size we were meant to be!
I challenge you today to start paying attention to your body. Is it stiff and sore? Perhaps yours might be telling you that you need to add some flexibility exercises to your routine to loosen things up. Are you having difficulty carrying your grocery bags? Then maybe you need to add some strength training to your routine. Do you feel tired and worn out? Then, perhaps your body is telling you that you need to rest and slow down.
Your body is trying to get your attention. Are you listening?
Less taxing day
Well, I took a hot bath and slept like a log last night. When I woke up this morning, I admit that I lay in bed for a few minutes, almost afraid to move because I was thinking of the pain that awaited from straining my muscles in the
CERT drill yesterday. However I am actually fine, just sore in the arms like I expected, plus shoulders, chest, and back. Nothing I can't live with until it straightens itself out.
I did exercise this morning with the Firm DVD like I planned. No weights because I lifted enough weight yesterday! I did notice that doing the routine was easier, probably because my body was taxed so much during the drill. I was thinking about it and believe that was the most physically strenuous activity I have ever done in my entire life. I estimate that I must have carried a total of 200 pounds of weight yesterday. A little aerobic dancing seems like nothing in comparison!
I'm very glad I signed up for CERT. When I was at my heaviest, I wouldn't have even considered doing something like this. Even if I had the will to do it, my lack of fitness would have hindered me. Last year, I did a 2-mile fun run...and actually ran all of it! That's another thing that I couldn't have done back in the day.
So, today I went to church and invited a friend of mine to come along. The pastor preached on the subject of "When You Think God is Not There". I identified with what he was saying and got new insight on the fact that sometimes God does stay out of our sight, even as he continues to watch over us to allow us to grow and develop.
I also went to the 'Women of Wisdom' meeting at the church and heard some inspiring testimonies. I was also asked to speak at the next meeting on December 11 and my topic will be "Fearfully and wonderfully made". I pray for a word in due season for each woman in attendance and that each one be blessed. I ask that you pray for the success of this event as well.
What a day!
Today was a busy day for me. In the morning, I went to a local church for the 'We Matter' forum, which was sponsored by the Black Women's Health Imperative. The goal of the forum was to educate women about vitamin D deficiency and its impact on healthy bones. You can learn more about the forum by going to the following site:
www.wematteronline.com.
I learned that having dark skin is a double-edged sword: While they protect us against severe sunburns and cause us to wrinkle less severely as we age, they also decrease our absorption of vitamin D from the sun. To correct this, the panelists recommended that we include more vitamin D-rich foods in the diet, such as tuna, salmon, milk, eggs, fortified cereal, and lean beef. The forum was full of excellent information and had great speakers. I learned a lot.
Around lunch time, I had to gear up (green vest and matching helmet) for my final exercise as part of the CERT team. CERT is an organization that is sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and is designed to teach regular citizens how to respond and assist emergency personnel in the event of natural disasters, like tornados, hurricanes, and floods. You can learn more about the Cert program by going to this site:
http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/CERT/.
Anyway, the exercise scenario was that a tornado had swept through a subdivision. People were trapped under cars, buildings had caught fire, and there were several people injured or dead. The scenario was staged at the local fire department and it was realistic: There were real fires to put out, actors who were made up to look like they were wounded, fake blood and all. To complete the scene, the firefighters were even making it "rain"; they had hoses raining down water on us as we were attempting to rescue victims. By the time it was over, I was soaked to the bone!
We had to comb the woods to look for victims and use pry bars and cribbing techniques to rescue people who were trapped under objects. As my post title says, it was quite a day. After it was over, the group had a debrief session with the program coordinator, Captain Pye, who told us what we did right and what could have been improved. I'm happy to say that he was pleased with how we performed. It was a chance to put the skills we have learned for the last nine weeks to the test. And what a test it was.
Next Thursday is our last class. We will discuss disaster psychology and then have a barbecue. I haven't decided what I'm going to bring, but it'll be something healthy :). After that, we will graduate and will get our certificates in a ceremony at a city council meeting in December.
Now, I'm going to rest. I am sure my arms will be sore in the morning from all the lifting and carrying I did today. I will exercise in the morning, but the DVDs I use (I'm rotating the DVDs in the Firm Body Sculpting System 2 right now -
www.firmdirect.com) are a combination of aerobics and weight training. I think I'm going to skip the weights tomorrow though and follow along with Suzanne, who does the beginner version in the DVD. That's one reason I like this series: You can always do the beginner version on days when you aren't quite up to snuff.
I dare you
Why is it
that we women can find time to take care of everyone but ourselves? The title of this blog refers to me daring you to change that: Take back control of your body, which is God's temple. Put yourself on your list of things to take care of.
Think of your diet as like the root system of a tree; your exercise program is the trunk of that tree, and the various roles you fulfill in life (such as spouse, parent, or employee) are the leaves and branches. Just as a tree will look wilted and unhealthy if its root system and trunk aren't strong, so will you if you don't take care of your physical needs properly.
Each day that I eat well and exercise, the investment that I make is returned to me tenfold. I'm sure that you will discover the same thing. But you need to prove it to yourself. Make today the day that you start.
