Lately I've been thinking about my reasons for losing weight. I'd love to say that my primary reason is health, but that wouldn't be entirely accurate. If I were being honest, I'd say my #1 reason is to be more attractive. Which sounds so silly when I type it, but isn't that why we all pay attention to our weight? We all want to be pretty.
I lead a Bible Study for sophomore girls. Last week, we memorized 1 Timothy 2:10 (NLT)....
And it really made me stop and think about the importance looking attractive plays in my life. As a single girl, it's a big deal. It's been ingrained in my head that guys want a girl who looks a certain way, and I have only met a handful of single guys (if even that many) who contradict that thought. If I lose weight to simply be attractive to a male, then what will happen once I attract one? And if a guy is drawn to me because of the way I look, what will happen when I get old and my beauty fades away?
This week I learned that my reasons for eating the right foods, spending time in the gym, and losing weight have to be deeper than just wanting to be attractive. It has to be deeper than wanting to fit into a certain size or see a certain number on the scale. It has to revolve around health. Sure, losing weight and becoming smaller is a great benefit of health, but it can't be the primary reason for an entire lifestyle change if I want that lifestyle change to stick.
Last week on The Biggest Loser, one of the contestants said, "Health isn't a chore, it's a gift." There are people in the world that would love to be able to go for a walk, take a yoga class, or meet a friend at the gym, but for whatever reason they can't. I take so much for granted, and my health is one of the biggest. Weight loss is slowly becoming more about health than vanity, which hopefully is a sign that it is becoming a lifestyle instead of just a diet. Which is a good thing because I want to live a healthy and active life so I can make the most of the gift I've been given. God made me healthy, and I aim to make the most of it.
:j
love love LOVE this. Thank you for being so transparent... you are exactly right.. about ALL of this! We are going to do this girl... and we are going to do it for the sake of health... not vanity. you seriously hit the nail on the head, girl!
ReplyDeletePS: you are beautiful... inside and out!
Thanks, sister! We are going to do this, and then we'll write a book called, It's About Health. :)
DeleteJennifer, first off, I think you are beautiful and always have! Yes, I know that is much different than it coming from the perspective of a man, but take it for what it's worth and KNOW that you are. Secondly, I've been reading the "Made to Crave" reading plan on the youversion Bible app and I'd recommend it. It's a 21 day reading plan and it's been a good encouragement to me and caused me to re-evaluate my reasoning and motivation as well. It's taking the focus off of "me" and "others" per se and reassigning it as a task of pleasing God with my body. I am not to be a slave to anything but God, but that hasn't always been the case - food being one of those masters.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, I'm proud of you and excited about you and logging. I use myfitnesspal.com for food journaling, you should check it out if you aren't already using it. You can add notes as well if you'd like to add the hunger notes and such. If you are actually a member of WW online, they have their own journals though, which work great as well. I used to do weight watchers a few years back.
Beautiful post! I think it's really hard to ever take vanity out of the equation and I loved your honesty about that!
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