When Healthy Feels Hard

Do you know that feeling when you gain a few pounds and inches back as you find yourself yet again spending 30 minutes rifling through your closet trying to find an outfit that hides you and that you feel good in.
But you can never quite shake the insecurity.
You look in the mirror and see the old you resurfacing. The old ugly feelings are back too.

I know these feelings.
This has been me the past week or so.

To be brutally honest, I've been allowing myself too much leniency. Thinking that it's easier to go off plan than to make/take my own, more often than not. Feeling like it's way too much work to do my own thing in a roomful, houseful or people who are eating whatever they want.

Discipline.

The Lord is teaching me that I need to focused and faithful, even when it costs.
For truly, whatever is worth having comes at a cost.
Always.

Honestly, it is harder to plan a separate menu or eat healthy choices when everyone around you has no thought of health and seem to be enjoying themselves immensely.
 When I feel that it's too much for me, I just need some perspective.
I need to remember that THM (or any healthy diet) is NOT a burden.
It truly brings joy and health if I allow it to, and by His grace I can pay the cost which is honestly a redemption price.
Redemption from unhealthy, mindless emptiness to being a healthy, joy-filled vessel of the Lord.

The choice to be healthy is exactly that, my choice. It will not be an easy stroll through the park, it will cost, some days more than others. But that cost is worth it!

The lack of self-control, a take-the-easy-way-out or a poor-little-me attitudes are not appropriate for a Child of the King.

My goal is off. That is part of the problem.

If my goal is the lose weight, get skinny and therefore feel great about myself through THM that is,
first of all, abusing the knowledge given by the authors of Trim Healthy Mama and secondly, setting me up for unrealistic expectations and long term failure.

However, if my goal is to be a healthy so I can better serve God and those He places around me, finding my worth and value in Him and who He's made me. Using the book to help me be healthy and fit for His Kingdom and to be the best I can be now and hopefully someday the best Wife and Mother too.

This is a goal worth fighting for, and suddenly, this becomes an act of service to my King.
This is a privilege now and I'm not just focused on the prize.
The joy is now in the journey instead of the skinny.
 The journey now becomes more meaningful and less superficial.

I've been focusing on the wrong things.
It happens and I'm just being real ladies, I've struggled with it. Trim Healthy Mama is not just a get skinny quick plan. While it does help you lose weight in a healthy and sustainable way, I've been on plan almost a year and the newness does wear off.
This is where the rubber meets the road and you find out why you're really on this path. If your motives are cosmetic only, you can easily find yourself getting discouraged. But if you have a deeper goal, a higher purpose, that is what will keep you focused and moving forward when temptations and derailing moments hit you out of nowhere. Because while there are lots of tantalizing THM recipes out there, sometimes Doritos and Milky Ways call your name. ;) Just being real!
The worth you assign to your health and the reasons behind it are what really drive you or stall you when it gets hard.

Being healthy is worth it my friends.
So I'm heading in 2015 with this view in mind. It's no longer an inconvenience for me. Although I'm sure some days will hold more preparation and work that others, but the reason behind it drives me forward.

I want to be healthy. Not just skinny.

I want to be strong, emotionally, mentally, Spiritually, physically. Not just ripped or have a 6-pack (and that feels super un-realistic anyhow..heehee. Especially since I'm not an exercise lover.)

I want to be committed whether I see the results or not. I don't want to be in it only for what I get out of it. I want to be in it because I know it's the right thing for me and my body and trust that the results will come eventually as I work hard and stay focused.

I want to do this. And while I would love for it to happen with no effort that is not reality. To expect results without working for them is crazy, yet it is what we are all looking for.

I want to go into 2015 committed albeit not perfect.

I want to overcome laziness and instead build character along with my healthy lifestyle.

Trim Healthy Mama is more than a diet. It's a commitment. A way of life. A journey to health, wholeness and well-being. And I'm on board 100%!

Happy New Year friends!