A Little Back Slidden, But Not Finished!

Four pounds in two weeks can cause a professional dieter like me to panic and look for alternative methods.  It makes one like me rethink her choices in her diet plan.  But then I have to look at what I have been eating and what I have been dealing with.  Obviously, lots of stress as you were able to see in my previous post.  Man's best friend my eye!  No, just kidding. He is a very good dog and we are getting along a little better.  So he is not the MAIN cause of it.  I also haven't been able to walk as much due to spurs on my feet.  I push through, but it has been so much easier to not walk those three miles per day.  I have forgotten God's words to me not so long ago, "Persevere".

As I sat down and had my pity party, invites: just one, I looked back over the past eight months and said, "70 pounds".  My oldest son weighs 76 pounds. I almost lost a whole Timmy! So does the program work? Yes!  Yes, it does and for me to doubt how God introduced this amazing book into my life is simple minded. The proof is in how my size has decreased, how my clothes fit, and the dozens of comments from family and friends of "Wow!  How? What are you doing?"

My advice for each of you is not to quit.  Even when the enemy is whispering in your ear, "you will never change. It's all for nothing."  Stand firm and grasp onto the truth and remember that God only wants the best for you.  He doesn't want you to feel less than you are worth in His eyes.  He doesn't want you to feel isolated, or weak or sore.  He doesn't want you to feel unhappy about yourself, because you ARE, "wonderfully made".  Our bodies are made to work in a specific way.  If we over indulge, if we do not exercise, if we do not maintain it, no it cannot work the way it was meant to. So for the past two weeks, I had a little more of this and a little more of that. I didn't exercise and I gave into stress and my clothes started to feel just a little tighter.  I could have went downstairs to the frig and gone "hog crazy" with grief.  But what would that have solved?  So a few days ago, I prayed and got myself back into those healthy habits and three pounds are gone. The program works. We may not be on the right path all the time, but the program works.  If you back slide, STOP!  Don't go back to the those old ways.  There is a back door to backsliding and that is to just start again. Never lose hope; never lose faith.

Stress Add Up

Well it's been a STRESSFUL week so far and as a result I gained 2.5 pounds. Stress is NOT a fat releaser and can actually cause weight gain, so some of you know about my week and for those who don't, you may either be sympathetic or chuckle at my expense. Our family adopted a 10 month old puppy from the pound fondly known as Bruno. Bruno is part Basset Hound, Beagle and Lab. I didn't consider the words our vet, Dr. Flick, spoke as we departed our first visit for Bruno last week. "Bassets can have allergy issues so we will have to watch him closely." Those words were tested and have been found to be 150% true. We don't know if it was his food, the cleaner I used when I shampooed the carpets, the Glade or Febreeze deodorizer or the laundry detergent we used on Saturday when we had to wash his crate pad, but Bruno broke out in hives. We administered Benadryl, bathed him and he continued to break out. He looked like a lumpy, bumpy mess. The poor dog rubbed his entire body on whatever he could, the floor, the chairs, my lap. We (and when I say we, I really mean ME) endured his whining from his crate all Saturday night into the wee hours of Sunday morning. 5:30 AM I headed for the ER Vet in Westminster on 140. The ride there was interesting. Bruno rubbed his body on the floor, against the seat and then he decided he needed to rub his body against my legs, under my legs is more like it while putting his two front paws on the accelerator. Now that would have brought, "my dog ate my homework" excuse to a whole new level. "Officer, I swear I wasn't speeding. It was my dog Bruno." Now that either would have gotten me arrested or a 24 hour psych evaluation. I am sure that no matter what I would have at least gotten a small nap.

We left the vet when Bruno's condition was finally under control 3 hours later. On our way home, well that was fun. Did I forget to mention that Bruno gets car sick? I had lined the entire floor and seats with trash bags. On the way there, he was too distracted with the itching and driving (the little speed demon) to notice he was in the van, but on the way home...despite the fact that I had a trash bag by his mouth, he felt he needed to thank me for my loving hand by vomiting in it. It was a bitter sweet experience. Bitter...well that's obvious people! But sweet because his symptoms were finally under control and Bruno placed his head in my lap as if to say, "I really am worth it. I promise you, I will be the bestest companion ever." No more breakouts since Sunday evening. I stayed up with him until midnight just to make sure. Now I have to ensure that he takes his meds everyday and hope that we alleviated the source.

Just want to give a shout out to my friend Suzanne for all the pet advice and Dawn liquid detergent. Who knew it was a great shampoo for dogs? Attempting to go to sleep now. Hoping for a better 2nd part of the week. Will start tomorrow with a 3 mile walk, and who knows...maybe Bruno will walk along with me.