A Change Will Do Me Good…
My life is "under construction"
With all that has been going on in my life over the past few months, I have decided to make some changes. I have specifically decided to do three things and they all have the common theme of dealing with my health. It’s going to be a challenge but I’m ready for a change.
1) Beginning December 1, 2011 I will only be drinking water. On December 1, 2010 I decided to stop drinking sodas and as a result sweet tea became my vice. This decision was also based on my last visit to the dentist when I was informed that I would need a good bit of dental work done as a result of my “8-9 Diet Dr Peppers a day” habit. Since I have accomplished my goal of not drinking sodas for almost a year now, I wanted to take it to the next level and decided to just try drinking water starting this December 1. Most people ask me why I don’t wait until January 1 and make it a New Year’s Resolution. I don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions because by January 15 (or in some cases sooner) they have already been broken. If I start this on a day that is not January 1 then there is no “New Year’s Resolution” pressure and I am more prone to stick to my goal.
2) Saturday, December 10 I will be participating in Jingle Jog. I have not participated in a race since The Peachtree Road Race on July 4 of this year. The Peachtree was a 10K, so I thought I would give myself a little bit of a break and do a 5K this time around. What is so cool is one of the guys in my new small group has been looking for a 5K to run, so he and I are planning to do the race together.
3) I have been wanting to find a way to improve my over all health – encompassing eating right and exercising (two things at which I am horrible at maintaining). At the encouragement of another one of the guys in my new small group, I have decided to go through a book that he recommend that changed his life. The week after Thanksgiving (for obvious reasons – don’t want to set myself up for immediate failure with all of that tasty food) I will be starting the book Body for Life by Bill Phillips and Michael D’Orso. The guy in my small group who is running the Jingle Jog has decided to do it as well so we are going to hold one another accountable in this endeavor. Don’t worry, I won’t be forcing you to look at any before or after pictures of me (the thought of that kind of creeps me out any way). I weigh more now than I have ever weighed (my waist size is also the biggest its ever been as well) and that was one of the major determining factors for me to make these changes.
Do you have any words of wisdom or encouragement that could help me through these changes?
Photo Credit: By Kevin Dooley
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Scott Couey 
Don’t ask me how I stumbled on this. Oh yeah, I was reading about Paul and saw a post you did about change and health. So here I am. I am so proud of you for taking these steps to better health and a better you. I, too, started a similar journey in 2003. Mind you I was seventy pounds over weight and never done much in the way of eating healthy or working out..IN. MY. LIFE! It took me one year to lose all the weight and tone up. And I maintained it (except for the last year I have been on fertility drugs). Healthy living becomes a way of life; once you start to feel better you will be addicted. It led me down a path to become a personal trainer, and soon I will be opening a business in the fitness industry. I wish you all the best! You will love the book; it is really great. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!
Christie
Thank you for your comment Christie! I am still in the starting phase, but two other guys in my small group at church are doing the book/program as well so we plan to hold one another accountable. I just felt like it was time for a change. Thank you for sharing your success story with me as well – it encourages me and helps motivate me that much more!
Scott, I better look at this book. The struggle I always have with trying to eat right is the cost to eat healthy foods. I have just started the no soda thing myself (though I have had maybe 3 in the past 2 weeks, still much lower than before). Exercise is my nemesis. That and eating better is def what I need to do.
Thank you for the comment Shawn! Congratulations on starting the no soda thing. I don’t even crave one now at all. You can probably find a copy of the book at Goodwill (that’s where I got my copy for only $2.50). Don’t think of it as exercise – find something you enjoy doing like running, softball, or volleyball and focus on that. I think when we use the “E Word” it carries a stigma, just think of it as going out and having fun. Good luck!