Road Trips

I've decided that road trips are hard for me.  Road trips by myself are even harder!  Boredom sets in and my old habit of wanting to snack my way through the drive creeps back into my brain.  

Twice in 2 weeks I traveled to the metro Detroit area (about an 8 hour drive from home).  The first trip I took my son, daughter and son-in-law.  Time passed quickly going there because we had some great Jesus talk.  I didn't find myself wanting to snack at all, actually.  The trip home?  I was tired. And part of trying to rationalize my thought was that if I ate I'd stay awake. (Silly considering a lot of times food can trigger sleepiness!) I didn't necessarily do bad (didn't buy snacks of my own); but I did have a few bites of "this or that" that found its way into my car.  

So during my solo trip, I intentionally didn't buy snacks.  Did I think about it? Yes!  And that bothers me.  I wish I could get to the point where it wasn't a constant issue in my psyche.  Even if I had brought 'healthy' snacks, which some people recommend, I would be mindlessly eating because I was bored. I don't want that bad habit to be part of my life again.  I refuse to go back to an unhealthy lifestyle!

I think I've made it clear that the weightloss surgery isn't a cure for my addiction.  Every minute of every day I must make a conscious decision to choose Jesus over food.  Do I do great every day?  No.  I've had moments of weakness that happen.  Moments when I walk by something and grab a handful and pop it in my mouth before thinking.  I've even had moments when I willfully eat something that could cause me issues - and by that I mean that it could make me want more...and more...and more.  The head-work of this process is the hardest part.  Really.  But I'm so thankful that God has opened my eyes to the path that could lead to destruction for me and I quickly stop the process.  

I know He has big plans for my life and in order for me to follow His call, I must be healthy. Being strong and not buying junk food in the gas stations is an NSV for me too! Planning for things like road trips is is a must! No exception. Pay at the pump...don't go inside.  Coffee at a drive through, not in the gas station.  Those little things make a difference for me.  I'm doing what it takes to stay healthy!  God isn't done with me yet! 

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"I praise you [God] because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." ~Psalm 139:14

Not Caving to the Craving

I've not had any kind of unhealthy craving in a year!  Why now!?!?!

I texted CME yesterday that I was having a chocolate craving.  Seriously.  I. wanted. chocolate.  Today, it's not necessarily chocolate, but I've felt physically hungry, or at least "snacky" most of the day...or at minimum the thought occurred to me multiple times that I was hungry.  And those thoughts have been challenging.  I'm happy to report that I've overcome the challenge (today) without caving, but my gosh!!  I even went to the store (which is a "trigger place" for me if you remember) and didn't buy anything to snack on.  That alone is worth celebrating.  I've mentioned this a couple of times before, but surgery does not fix habits and does not cure food addiction.  We will still face those same cravings and temptations; we must learn to be aware and to handle those old vices that we face.  We must.

So tonight, I celebrate the NSV of not caving to the cravings!
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"I praise you [God] because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." ~Psalm 139:14

Weekend Challenges

Weekends are a challenge for me.  Not because of poor food choices or wanting to snack or anything like that.  Almost the opposite, to be honest.  During the workweek, I have a schedule that looks something like this:

5:15 am (don't ask CME how many times snooze is hit some mornings) - rise and shine, shower, etc.
6:00 am - vitamins (calcium, B12, D, Biotin), Prilosec and coffee (x2)
8:00 am - Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal
8:30 am - coffee #3
9:00 am - bottle of water #1 & multivitamin
10:30 am - morning snack
11:00 am - bottle of water #2
12:30 pm - lunch & calcium
2:00 pm - bottle of water #3 (IF I'm freezing, maybe coffee)
3:30 pm - afternoon snack & multivitamin
4:30 pm - bottle of water #4
Whatever time - dinner

It's routine.  It's easy to remember to take my vitamins.  It's easy to remember to drink all my water.  But during the weekends, it's a challenge.  I either sleep later than normal and totally miss out on breakfast and then I feel like my whole schedule is thrown off, or I'm on the go and miss other things. Today, I was up early, but we were out of the house early (before breakfast)...got back home around 10:30 am, took my morning vitamins and grabbed a banana.  Remembering vitamins and drinking all the water I need to, usually doesn't happen on the weekends.  I've had ONE bottle of water today and its 9:30pm! I've had lots of coffee though - (just finished my 2nd cup of decaf since dinner.)  I did have one snack today - a protein bar.  But in general, my whole schedule is off and I know I've not really taken care of myself the way I need to.  Heck, I even needed sleep today and really couldn't for various reasons.  Oldest daughter, son-in-law and gbaby visited (truly a blessing!!) and nixed the first attempt at naptime.  Then when I'd try to nap when gbaby was napping, I may have dozed off 10-15 minutes, but would get a call, or a text, or be awakened by a barking dog. 

Anyway, that's what I struggle with during the weekends.  I'm thankful for weekends.  I just need to be more aware and intentional in my actions during the weekends.  So thankful that God takes care of me even when I don't!
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"I praise you [God] because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." ~Psalm 139:14