Reflecting on Commitment to Health

I lost a little less than four pounds during week one of my commitment to eating regularly scheduled meals each day. 

Anyone who is thinking about changing his or her eating habits, I’d encourage you to find what motivates you daily.  Your motivation must be identified early and cannot be external; it has to be ignited internally or you will find yourself journeying off the beaten path or burned out from your efforts.

It is a little time consuming, but I feel inspired to press on toward the mark regardless of the 30-minute time investment in preparing meals because I refuse to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills simply because I chose not to eat meals regularly.  I have no preconceived illusions about this journey; it requires active engagement on an ongoing basis.  It’s hard on days when I have so many things to do that an hour and a half for the day to cook seems unlikely.

I mean if I had to pinpoint the top five most challenging pursuits in my life, I’d say this is one of them.  Why?  Because there will be weeks when I will not lose any, and especially not four, pounds.  There will be times when I feel like giving up.  There will be times when I just don’t want to prepare meals.  Unlike Oprah or the contestants on The Biggest Loser, there are no cheers routing for my success.  There are no audience participation, cash prizes, prepared meals, or six-hour workout sessions day after day.  So what internal motivation do I focus on?

It’s God’s word.  I have to pull on the strength of the scriptures for support daily.  That’s my reward or more accurately my inheritance.  We live in a time where the messages taught support convenience, access to everything, instant gratification, and indulgence in excess.  When these messages bombard us daily in every area of life, it’s difficult to muster up the strength to resist them.  It’s easier to simply take part in the madness or passively sit by and watch it occur.  But the blessing that is worth having is certainly worth fighting for and the blessing of health is that fight for me today.