50 by Fifty: Balance

Welcome to the fourth week (third weigh in) of my challenge to lose 50 pounds by my 50th birthday! Well, it was a great weight loss week - I lost 3.3 pounds!! That makes a total of 6.5 pounds lost overall. Thank You Lord! I simply must give Him all the glory...He has made this so very do-able for me! He has given me dear friends who are praying and cheering me on and journeying alongside me, He is adjusting my appetites, and He is giving me heaping helpings of hope...

I think balance is really a key factor in this lifestyle change (I'm trying not to call it a "diet" because it will be a permanent change in the way I eat). I was looking back at some of my older illustrations this week and I found this one that I did for Illustration Friday back in 2007 - the prompt that week was "Extremes" and I did a piece that was focused on balance as an alternative to the extremes of over-indulgence and starvation dieting...

It's the over-indulgent eating lifestyle that got me to this place to begin with, and although I'm sure a starvation/radical diet would provide a pretty quick weight loss, it would not help me change to a healthy, realistic, sustainable way of eating in the long run. I need balance - life is real; full of pitfalls, crazy days, and good intentions gone bad, and I must have flexibility, based on a solid foundation, to deal with it all successfully. Food is neither my friend, nor my foe...it is simply my fuel....

So, I'm embracing the concept of balance for this journey. Mexican food and chocolate cake (yes I had both this week and still lost) balanced with smaller portions, more fruits and veggies, and much less sugar overall...you get the idea. By the way, please don't be offended if you are doing something different/more restricted as part of your own weight loss journey...I'm just sharing what is working for me and trying to apply the concepts generally... Everyone must ultimately walk this journey themselves with God's personalized plan for what is best for them.

Next week, I will be introducing exercise back into my weekly regiment...I'm looking forward to sharing more details and updating you on what/how I did next Friday...

Thank y'all again for your prayers and support! I appreciate it so very much!!

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"I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength."

Philippians 4:11-13 (NLT)