A start to the new year now and though many make resolutions to improve in some way, I am just continuing the changes I made last year. I guide my family with love and more time spent serving them than I ever did. I see the benefits from this on a daily basis with the obedience of my children and the improvements they make in their lives.
The one big choice I made for myself last year that continues to be a struggle is healthy eating and weight management. I was never called fat in my life. Even at my heaviest, two hundred and twenty plus pounds, those around me would just tell me, "It's really only your belly". I believed this for the longest time. Having made the choice last September to lose my belly, I can honestly say it was something greatly needed and it was definitely bigger than a belly problem. My watch size shrank. My shirt collar size is smaller. I actually have a jaw line now. Skin acne decreased. I don't lose my breath on the stairs, which I didn't realize I did until I didn't lose it anymore. And it is true, you really do have more energy to go out and do more things.
I am forty pounds lighter on eating meat, veggies, high fiber and no sugar. I have not weighed close to this since my athletic high school years. You might look back on my earlier posts and say, but you made all that stuff for Thanksgiving, how did you lose that weight and eat that? I didn't eat it all. I used small portions. I substituted in sweeteners for sugar, which was the only "unnatural" part of my diet but used the sweetener derived from sugar.
It was the best choice I made for my own esteem. But it's my children that reap the benefit of this as we do more things now because "Daddy isn't tired anymore". For those that have yet to do it, I implore you to eat smart. I did not starve myself. I know different bodies do react differently to things. I am a nurse and I know about nutrition. I am sure you will have a reaction in some positive way by eating smart. It might not be as dramatic as mine. Without a doubt you will feel better and your family will benefit as well.
