struggles

I have been battling the same 10 pounds for the last 3 months.  I lose a few, then gain a few.  I  wish that I could just break the 10 pound barrier and set a new goal.

I am also struggling with sugar again.  I've come to the conclusion that it is best for me to just give it up completely.  I don't crave it when I don't have it.  
At work everyone is bringing in sweets and I just dive in.

I know I am being wishy washy.   I need to get serious.

Seasonal Fruit and Vegetables

Ever wonder why the clementines you bought yesterday just don't taste as delicious good as the ones you had a couple months ago?

The handy website Ripetrack helps let you know when specific fruit and vegetables come into season.

To use you type in the name of fruit or vegetable that you are curious for and hit go.  It will bring up a colorful scale.  Green areas of the scale mean it is ripe in season.  Yellow areas denote less ripe.  The red or pink areas of the scale show when it is not ripe at all.   Rolling your mouse over the scale will reveal months of the year to better help you read the scale.

If you just want to know what is currently in season, hit go with nothing in the search box.  It will bring up everything that is ripe in season right now.

This is a good way to get the best tasting produce at the right times which will help keep us following our meal plans.  It can also be  help for meal planning to see what should be available.  Fruit and vegetables in season are almost always less expensive too.

As you can see in the picture above strawberries, one of my favorite fruit,  are in the midst of their ripe season.  I'm enjoying this year's strawberry harvest.

What is your favorite fruit? 

Just Do It

I have a gym membership. I pay a monthly fee in order to use their equipment.   The plan when I enrolled in this membership was to carve out a time to visit and work-out.  That plan has not materialized.

When I joined the gym they were running a special and that is also one of the reasons I signed up-- knowing that I wanted to go, and it was now cheaper to go,-- and maybe if I knew I was paying the dues I would feel guilty enough to make myself go.  *sigh*

I have all the excuses.
I am too tired......
My schedule isn't consistent so it is hard to make a time.....
I don't want to have to change clothes.......
There is no good time........

But I also know that we do what we want to do.  If we want something bad enough we make it a priority.  So the truth must be that I really don't want to go to the gym. It is not a priority for me.

I need to change this mind-set.  I have had the right mind-set before, I know I can get it again.  What is stopping me?

I received an email this week stating my gym is getting some new equipment.  Maybe this can be my catalyst to getting back in the routine.  Maybe I need to go check out the new equipment.

Maybe this will get me out of this rut.  In the words of Nike, I need to "Just do it."


How do you get yourself out of a workout rut? 
  

Something I can change but haven't ...

This happens to me way too often.  I go to the grocery store and I don't even realize I am hungry.  I end up putting so much CRAP in my cart and I rationalize it.  Usually it is carb-laden and/or sweet things.
If only I would be more intentional and go with a list or go after I eat lunch.  
When will I learn?

Sad but True

Book and Bible Study for Weight Loss

I'm going to be reading the book Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst and and doing an online Bible Study with Proverbs 31 Ministries beginning January 19.

Made to Crave's premise is that we hunger after God because we are made to crave Him, yet we fill ourselves with other things.  We will only be satisfied when we turn to Him first.

Join me in doing this Bible Study !  There is no charge.  All you need is the book Made to Crave and a Bible.  A notebook or journal is helpful for writing down your thoughts.  Pictured above I also have the Made to Crave Devotional which is optional.

You can find the books anywhere books are sold including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, also at Proverbs 31 Ministries.  

Resources:
Proverbs 31 Ministries
P31 Online Bible Studies 

Gym Membership

Last year my son added me to his gym membership.  The gym we went to was close to my home and  farther away from his, but they said they were planning to open another location closer to his home in the near future.  It is open 24 hours a day although it is staffed from 8am to 7pm with an hour off in the afternoon for lunch.    I liked the convenience of being open whenever you want, but I did not always take advantage of going. 

My son's year was up and he decided not to continue at this gym because he really wants to find something closer to his home and the gym was no closer to opening a new location than they were a year prior.  When his year was up, so was my membership. 

So, I went to speak to them about continuing on myself.  However, to do so I would have to pay an enrollment fee in addition to the monthly fees.  This was because I was not the primary account holder on the gym membership before.  This did not make me happy.  I did discover that through my work I could get a discount- but it was for 50% of the enrollment fee and 10% of the monthly fee.  I still was not happy, because I really didn't want to pay the enrollment fee as I had been going to the gym for the past year.  So I left to think about it. 

The gym is currently running a summer special that ends July 31.  It is for 3 months - a higher rate, but no enrollment.  I know that they also occasionally run specials in the local coupon paper that eliminate the enrollment fee.  What should I do? What should I do?

In the next week or so, I made a phone call to the gym to clarify something and the phone went straight to an answering machine.  It was very frustrating.  With the end of the month approaching and my options going to be changing, I decided to go back in and talk to them again. I was going to bite the bullet, make a decision and just join because I really need to get back into the gym working out.

I drive up to the gym making sure I am not there during the hour lunch time.  Through the window, I see a few people on the treadmills.  I go to the door and  pull.  It is locked. Members have a key fob to get in.  The side window has a sign with the hours of staffing and I am clearly there during staffed hours.   I am so frustrated.   So I pull out my phone and call them thinking perhaps the staff member forgot to unlock the door.  Again, it goes to an answering machine. 

Slowly, I walk back to my car and get in.  Inside I am disappointed.  Why is this so difficult?   I make one last phone call back to the gym and this time I leave a message on the answering machine.  I let them know that I was there to sign up for a membership and their door was locked even though their door says they are staffed.  I suggested that they either change their sign or be sure they actual are staffed. 

So here I am.  Without a gym membership.  Yes, I could go back later and get one, but I am upset at the way they are doing business now. 

Do you have a gym membership?