Discipline is not a way I would generally describe myself. In fact, some very simple things in life I can very readily forego. Unfortunately, or perhaps more fortunately my health is not one of them. Over the past three years or so I have been pretty steadily gaining weight. Perhaps subtle, but the increases have come nonetheless. Yes, part of this trend may be attributed to the phenomenal cooking of my wife, but the other portion is attributed to my pure laziness. I mean c'mon I've been an athlete all my life so I'll always be able to eat anything I ever want to, right? Wrong. Couldn't be more wrong. Well the turning point came a little over two weeks ago.
Having witnessed the extraordinary discipline of a couple of friends who between them have lost around one hundred pounds, I was encouraged to try a different method of weight control. If it takes 3500 calories worth of exercise to lose one pound, why not manage what initially goes into my mouth? The final catalyst propelling me forward was the realization that my weight had almost reached three hundred pounds. Okay, somethings got to change right away. I don't want to be that weight.
I'd been thinking about adopting the weight reduction method of my friends, but hadn't made the leap until that point. The Lord has really been helping me with this adventure and in a little over two weeks I've already seen progress. I now count the calories of virtually everything which goes into my body. I have a set amount of calories I can eat in a day. I've also intentionally been more diligent in exercising which is also paying off. The mantra of one day at a time is definitely appropriate because I can't store up calories from day to day. Use it or lose it, which has also helped me stay motivated because if I eat less than what is allotted then I'll lose more faster.
I hope this is an encouragement to others. Discipline is something I'm definitely enjoying as I seek to develop more of it in my life. It's actually a good thing.