Friday, February 24, 2012

The Diet - Motivations and Milestones

Ok, so I've posted about my need and desire to lose weight and the fact that my son is getting married in October being my prime motivation - this year anyway! I figured out that I have 33 weeks until the big day.

I was also motivated in the short-run by the fact that the season of Lent started this week. A perfect time to start a diet. I couldn't decide what to give up for Lent - alcohol, bread, candy - so I gave up all three! A bit of an over-reach, maybe, but it speaks to my seriousness about this diet! Instead of alcohol, I try to reach for water or diet iced tea; instead of bread, vegetables or salad; and instead of candy, fruit. So far - almost 3 days - and I've stuck with it! Now, that doesn't mean I have eaten only things that are good for me. I did eat some Girl Scout cookies and a few corn chips, but . . . NO alcohol, NO bread, NO candy. Woo hoo!!

If, and this is a big if, I can get through six weeks of Lent sticking to this diet, it will be a huge jump-start to the other 27 weeks. In the meantime, I'm spending a lot of time looking for recipes and menu ideas that I know I will eat.  You can actually find a lot of great recipes - even healthy ones - on Pinterest.  I'm also seeing a lot of beautiful people and beautiful clothes there which is definitely motivating me to stay on this diet.

UPDATE: This post on my diet mentions in passing the practice of giving up things, in this case food, for Lent. I've actually only done this a few times in my life, almost always it was for a very 'temporal' reason, such as a diet. As an adult Christian I've become more aware of the 'spiritual' reasons behind this practice. In addition to giving up certain food items, I am also trying to pray more often, to meditate on the ultimate sacrifice of our Lord and to recognize that it is only with God's help that I will be successful in this and all other endeavors.  I'm no theologian and my understanding of the season of Lent  may be simplistic but I think the ultimate goal of these six weeks for me is to focus on God not self.  Do you observe Lent?  If so, how?

No comments: