Being Fat = Choice

That's right, I said it. If you are looking for excuses for the excess weight you carry around, you are looking in the wrong place. There's a low percentage of people who can attribute their weight to something "substantial" other than pure out lazy, selfishness. Since it's beginning, I've watched The Biggest Loser (TBL) and with as much as they have to lose, everyone eventually came to the realization that it began with poor choices.

There are reasons we make bad choices but if we're honest most are due to laziness or lack of self esteem. God never intended for us to be fat but to take care of the bodies He has given us. If you belong to Him, your body is His temple for residing within you. As with anything else, our priorities (another name for choice) take precedence. Unless you are sitting with another person due to illness, are bedridden, or you are taking medication that is known to cause weight or fluid gain, YOU ARE IN CONTROL of your health.

Exerpt: A tribute to my Grandmother: She was bedridden for many years due to muscular dystrophy. She had her right mind until she went home to be with the Lord. But up until the very end, she always exercised. That's right. She found innovative ways to exercise/move her arms, legs and even her eyes. She even watched what she ate because others had to lift her many times in the day. She had plenty of excuses but CHOSE not to use them. Wow! What a testimony! I look at it this way. You can put forth effort to do something about it or you can take the easy road, which is a wide busy one, and be lazy and fat! It's your choice!!

Now, getting back to TBL...if they can do it, there's absolutely no reason whatsoever for you not to be able to. It can be done!! It doesn't matter if you are 20 pounds, 50 pounds, 100 pounds or more than 200 pounds overweight. Success starts with a choice. You can wait until it is out of control or you can do something about it while it is manageable.

When I began Weight Watchers a year and a half ago, some would tell me that I didn't need to go on a diet. And, actually, I never did nor do I now nor will I ever advocate a "diet". I WILL advocate eating right! To me, DIETS = FAILURE. If you do not believe me, try this exercise (no, not the sweaty kind). Listen to those who diet say how much they hate salads and are not losing (or even gaining) weight or hate working out/exercising or all they do is drink diet drinks, eat carrot sticks and are hungry all the time? Ding, ding! They're doing it wrong! If you hear this or have said it yourself, look at what kind of salad you are eating or look at how much soda you are drinking or what kind of exercises you are doing and for how many weeks did it last. Salads are not the answer. Neither is a gallon of diet drink. If you fill your body with what it needs to function, you'll find that it is all you need. In Bible times, people ate many kinds of grains. This spells fiber...which in turn spells full with energy to boot.

Learn to like different foods. There are so many available to us now from all over the world and the options are huge. We're not confined to manna in the wilderness, you know. It will take some adjusting and discipline to drop fried foods and sugary treats. I know, I've been there. Remember, there are great fruits out there for your sweet tooth.

I do believe in eating correctly and keeping our bodies in good working order (exercise of some type). The kind of exercise I enjoyed usually depended on another person to be involved; i.e., racquetball (my favorite!), softball, etc. Since a "buddy" was not available (and had not been for quite a while), I made up my mind to LIKE something that only depended on me. This way no one or nothing else could be my "excuse" not to maintain a program. Please read carefully - I MADE UP MY MIND! This is the key.

I knew after carrying around the weight I had for a while that it wasn't going to get better with age. I mean, I'm not cheese or wine! (No comments about the age, please.) Though I've never been heavy, I've always been able to drop the pounds pretty easy. I like being active and doing things for exercise as oppose to going to some boring, stinking weight room. But this time, the weight wouldn't drop. So, I stepped back and took another look at "me" to see what was going on. My fast path to out-of-control obesity was coming at me strong. It scared me and I knew I had to do something about it. Then it came to me that I needed accountability which in turn enforces discipline. We all do when it comes to doing something we may not stick with whether it is eating correctly, exercising or even reading our Bibles daily. This is one thing I am so high on with Weight Watchers...accountability. Weighing in at the meetings. NO!!! You cannot do it at home. You'll cheat or not weigh. We all love ourselves and will do whatever it takes to protect us even if it is to play psychological games. We're weird, aren't we?

When you start feeling better you won't want to go back. And just think....you may even drop medication if you are using any! What a great perk! So the bottom line is, do you want to live until you're 50 "fat and sassy" or do you want to live until you're 85 and leave this world when God chooses to take you home? Again, the choice is mostly up to you. I beg you...choose life!!