What I learned through (not) Losing It

I did not lose any weight during the 10 week weight loss competition called “Losing It (not just our sanity)”.

But I was not planning on losing any weight.

I was hoping to become more purposeful about exercise.

That did not happen, either.

(Though, considering that I averaged exercising 1 to 2 times per week during those 10 weeks is actually very good, considering the average of all the previous weeks of our marriage!)

At least I drank lots and lots of water and many cups of tea, to counter all the mugs of coffee and handfuls of chocolate chips!

No, I did not lose any weight.  But I don’t count these weeks of Losing It a loss.  Because Losing It made me examine my attitude toward exercise, eating, and beauty.

In these weeks of not Losing It, I have learned a lot.  And been reminded of many things I knew, but needed to remember.

• My husband and family love me, no matter how much I exercise, no matter how much I weigh, and no matter how bad of a haircut I give myself.
• I tend to turn to food during times of stress, instead of to the Source of peace.
• “Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.”  If I don’t spend time making my heart beautiful, the rest of me won’t appear very beautiful, either.
• Not even the strongest of incentives (i.e. a blog contest) turns me into an athletic exercise queen.
• If my being fit depends on my doing a set regime of exercises, I won’t be fit.
• The popular icons of beauty, fitness, and posture are neither realistic nor healthy.
• There is a direct correlation between one’s figure size and one’s difficulty to maintain a heart of modesty.  But just because I cover up more than “so-and-so” does not mean I am dressing modestly.
• I am a farmer’s wife, a country girl, through and through.  Which means no spandex, no workouts, no marathons: just good old-fashioned box-carrying, weed-pulling, child-toting, sunburn-getting exercise.

No, I did not lose anything.  In fact, I gained a lot: but in perspective, not pounds.