15 in 3

I often say that the little blessings in life are evidences of God's love for his creation. If it weren't enough to send His son to die on our behalves that we may have a relationship with Him, He gave us husbands, wives, friends, family, puppies, flowers, sunshine, rain, babies, coffee, music, sunsets, mountains, nap times, dancing, cute dresses, sex, fabric softener, literature, art, a perfectly executed poached egg, comedy, ice cream, fire, rainbows, landscapes, expendable organs - I'm looking at you, appendix, cute woodland creatures and the hawks that hunt them, anything my grandmother cooks, aurora borealis, and chocolate!

None of which is deserved or earned. All of which I am thankful for.

Currently, I'm thankful for the ability to move. Physical movement. If one sin warrants immediate damnation, I can only think of few greater evidences of grace than the permission to keep roaming the earth. And yet, even with this knowledge, we often spend our free time sitting idle - and usually in front of a box from which we demand constant entertainment. I'm not saying entertainment is bad. Frankly, I find it amusing and... well... entertaining. The problem is when we start finding our refuge in it, when we start needing it, and when we can't think of or find anything else to provide a sense of release from the day to day stresses. But that was a tangent.

Back to moving!

I haven't always liked exercising. My weight fluctuated a lot when I was a child and so I often found exercising difficult and uncomfortable. Also, exercise always meant only one thing: running. And I hated running. I still hate running. (Notice running wasn't on my list of God's graces - I know it is, but.... still). However, over the years, exercise has really grown on me. I didn't do it nearly as often as I should have, but for the better part of the last 5 years, I've had a gym membership that did get used.

Since I started working at the gym, I've been hitting it more often than ever before (and I love it!), but things very easily distract me and deter me from it for extended periods of time. Since I started working there, I've lost - and kept off - about 13 pounds, but most of it was done within the first 3 months of my employment.

Well, I find myself in a very interesting place this year. I would like very much to have a baby sometime in the near future. Yes I am aware that it is a long and drawn out process (I've been told about 9 months). So I guess it's more appropriate to say that I would like to entertain (there's that word again) the idea of getting pregnant sometime in the near future.

The problem is, I'm still about ten pounds heavier than I ought to be. Pregnancy takes a toll on a woman's body. A toll that my body can't quite afford yet. So, I've set a goal for myself that I think is reasonable and not too driven by vanity. The goal is to lose fifteen pounds in three months. That's a little over a pound a week, which is super manageable and healthy. I want to do this so that when I do have a bun in the oven, my body is in a strong and healthy place for the well-being of the little one as well as my own process and recovery.

Why am I telling you this? I may not even know you! The reason I'm putting it out there is simple: accountability. I often set lofty unattainable goals for myself, tell no one, and then accomplish nothing. I figure that there are two problems here. The first is that it's silly to train for a marathon in 2 months when you don't run. (I never really set that goal for myself, but the ones I have are just as foolish). The second is that no one knew about my goals, so I never really had to face anything if (and when) they weren't accomplished. This way, the blogosphere knows what I've committed myself to, and I hope everyone that may come across this helps keep me accountable over the next several weeks. If you see me around, ask me how my workouts are going. I won't feel offended, I promise. I hope you don't feel offended when I tell you to mind your own business.


KIDDING! :)