I have had some bad eating habits this past year. It began when I got pregnant with my daughter…although the struggle has been with me much longer. As long as I can remember I have had a sweet tooth. I should have had the dentist remove it when I got my wisdom teeth out!
My weight fluctuates with my ability or lack thereof to exercise self-control when it comes to eating sweet foods, bread, carbohydrates, and starches. I am good at maintaining a healthy weight until stress or some other circumstance comes along and I convince myself that I will be okay if I use food to comfort me. I justify it, even if my reason is not very strong.
As I grew further along in my pregnancy, I kept telling myself the weight would fall off after I give birth. And I was right, some of the weight did, however I managed to hang on to about 30 pounds I just don’t need. After a few months, disappointment and discouragement set in. I felt the consequences of my eating habits….my very bad eating habits.
So how did I go from discouragement about my weight to today, where I feel great and am 15 pounds less?
I determined in my heart to change.
I know you must be scratching your head. But I am serious. The moment I determined in my heart to make a change in my habits and commit to that change…I immediately starting experiencing the positive effect of my choice.
It was my choice to be determined.
A determined heart can do anything.
I determined in my heart that I don’t eat sugar and bread. I started there. The normal temptation that would normally get me to continue in my bad habits was no temptation at all. I avoided some of my favorite foods with ease. It wasn’t fight.
Of course when you make a change to your diet you need to be aware that headaches, sleep issues, digestive issues, and the opportunity to eat more of the “bad” foods tend to rise up. But I prayed and asked God to help me remain determined and to guide my steps…and let me tell you that I didn’t experience any issues. And the times that there were sweet treats or bread to eat, I didn’t feel the need to consume it. My heart was determined.
Within the first 7 days I was down 7 pounds. I continued to kick the bad eating habits and I continued to lose weight. I feel great! I am still strongly avoiding sugar and bread, although I did indulge on Thanksgiving. I feel great and I feel like I have learned a very valuable lesson.
After experiencing such positive results, I asked my husband, “Why is this working so well? Why am I able to avoid the foods I love so much? Why is this time so different?”
He looked over my way and said, “Because you are determined.”
I didn’t really understand what he meant. Right away I wanted to explain how I am always determined when I try to diet or workout or any other thing I aim to do. However, the truth is that I am not always determined. I may make a commitment and I may intend to do well, but I also allow myself room to fail. I tell myself I’m okay if I just…
take a bite of that one thing
skip a morning workout
avoid what I planned to do
schedule something in place of what I planned to do
give myself breaks
give up
I have always allowed myself the room to fall short of what I planned or committed to do.
The same is true for my marriage. I committed myself to my husband and vowed to be married, yet when the hard stuff came up, I justified why we should divorce. Yet, the moment we both determined in our hearts that we would stay together regardless of our circumstances, everything seemed easier. The temptation I once had to leave my husband was no temptation at all. In fact I fought alongside him, as a team, to figure our marriage out.
A determined heart can do anything.
I feel so empowered knowing that I have the power and strength given to me by God to do what I set out to do. Knowing that I can determine in my heart specific goals and reach them is liberating.
I felt obligated to share this secret with you. If you have a goal or desire, whether it is weight loss, working out, committing to do something or staying married, you must be determined.
If you are not determined, those temptations or obstacles you come up against, will make you feel like your goals are impossible. Don’t settle for impossible.
You can do it. You just need to be determined in your heart.
