Sharing my Health Journey | week 12/13 | 4.8.15

If I were writing this post two days ago, I would have said things haven't been going so well with my health journey. If I wrote this post yesterday morning, I would have said things are good (because I got a good workout in). This morning, I'm saying this has been a funny week, with both good days and not so good days.

We had such a good Easter weekend. Luke had an extra day off work and we got to visit both sides of our family. We even bought a new car! We finished the holiday weekend feeling so grateful for all that good stuff and for how God had provided for all our needs there. Since it was a holiday weekend, we spent a lot of time traveling and sitting on the couch with family. That made it sorta tough to reach my exercise goals for a couple days, but that time with family was so so good. On Easter afternoon, I even got to take a walk with my mom, sister, and Bekah.

A few weeks ago, Kimbre commented on one of my posts and what she said has really stuck with me. She encouraged me to do all this exercise and health stuff as a way to support my mission - instead of viewing it as an idol and obsessing over it. For me, I feel like my mission is to care for my family. When I remember that, keeping the right heart about exercise and health becomes much easier. If I'm spending all night stressing about reaching my steps - that's not really fair to my family. What's the point of reaching my step goal if I did it with an attitude or under a ton of stress? One way I feel like I can serve my family right now is to manage my time well. I can move around my schedule a little bit and make things work out so I can exercise and care for my family all in the same day. Those are always the best days. I have more energy for being a wife and momma and that's so fun.

Anyways, Kimbre's comment has been a huge help to me in keeping the right perspective. My friend Jenn has also reminded me that this isn't a race. If I miss a day or have a whole week that's totally nuts, that's okay. This health journey is a lifestyle change. Thinking about that this morning is a big encouragement to me. I don't feel stressed or sad or disappointed in myself anymore. But that's a minute by minute decision.  I really do see that in the past 13 weeks, my lifestyle has changed. I have done the math a couple times in my head, and numbers-wise, I'm about 8-10x more active than I was before starting this journey (based on my number of steps and time in active exercise).

I guess what I want to share with you today is to just keep moving. If you're feeling disappointed in yourself or like another attempt to be healthy has failed so you should give up - don't go there. Encourage yourself and talk to yourself like you would to a friend who was struggling. Don't pick at all the mistakes you've made, but think about the good steps you've taken and the goals you have. Think about the stuff that matters, like setting an example of health and hope for your family.

Keep moving and have fun! Thanks for still following along with this journey. :)

Love,
Bonnie