Hunger, Worship, and Peanut Butter Shakes

Looking back over the past week, I am thankful for so many things.  For the purpose and context of this blog, here are just a few things I wanted to record...

Body by Vi Challenge
Today marked 4 weeks for me on the Body by Vi 90-Day Challenge.  I lost another 2 pounds this past week!  I always weigh in on Sunday mornings to see my progress over the last full week.  I am definitely happy with that number.  It is still steadily going down, and as I get closer to my goal weight, I don't expect to lose as much as I did that first week (6 pounds!).

It's been going really well.  I feel so good knowing this is a healthful way to lose weight.  I actually look forward to my shakes (especially Peanut Butter and Strawberry Banana), and I have found that for my one "normal" meal of the day, it is starting to take less to make me full!  I feel like I have worked through balancing out my blood sugars while adjusting to this change in my diet, and I LOVE that I am still able to run without feeling "weak"!  What's amazing is that I am now 2 pounds away from being 15 pounds lighter than I was at Christmastime... crazy!!!  I began losing when I started training for the half marathon, and the shakes have only escalated that progress.  They are simple, extremely tasty, convenient, healthful, and they WORK.  (What's not to love?!?!)

The shakes are an incredible product that will meet you halfway on your health & fitness journey, whatever your goal may be—as long as YOU have the drive, desire, and discipline to meet it the other halfway.  Nothing will do it for you, but this is one product that will help you get there fast, effectively, and safely, all while giving you GREAT, natural nutrition.  I am so extremely happy with the investment that we have made in this as a family.  Our dependence and our source is always in God, first and foremost.  And so, through that, we are grateful for His provision and His gift of health through what we are doing (praying as we go to keep in check that it is, in fact, His will for us).

Speaking of family... What's also very exciting is my husband's progress over his first week on the shakes.  Today was Week 1 for him, and I am so proud of his accomplishment!  He lost 2 1/2 pounds and 1 3/4 inches off his waist!  It is amazing to have his accountability and motivation.  He is an excellent promoter, but even more than that, he really has a heart for helping people and helping them get healthy.  I am so thankful and humbled by the way he has gotten so many of our family and friends involved.  I am THRILLED beyond belief to see this product start to transform their lives, and I could not be more excited to be doing it alongside of them.  We are very blessed!  

Running
I put in 13 miles this week, which isn't a high number compared to when I was in training, but it's probably the most I've done in one week since the marathon.  Three on Monday, 4 on Friday, and 6 on Saturday (yesterday).  Six yesterday felt especially good.  I've generally stuck to mostly short runs over the past month or so, and while this was a shorter "long" run, it was nice feeling capable to knock it out without being completely exhausted!  I've seen different variations of the same basic quote several times recently, and the gist of it is this: If running had nothing to do with losing weight, staying in shape, training you for a race, or anything along those lines... if it were simply "for fun"... would you still do it?  There are days when I would say no.  But more often there are days that answer is a resounding "YES"!  And that is why I keep going.

Spiritual
There are many aspects of my walk with God that I could scroll out from the journal of my mind or copy from paper about so many different things.  The hardest part about keeping a "themed" blog is having so many different thoughts about many different subjects!  But I can absolutely say there is a spiritual aspect to both running and the other big health-related part of my life right now: the shakes.

• I've had a similar conversation recently with more than a couple different friends (who are also drinking the ViSalus shakes) about the spiritual component that accompanies them.  Not that any of us started doing them as a "fast" (honestly, my only motives were the health and weight benefits), but it becomes quickly apparent where you draw from as a source when you are brought out of your comfort zone.  Being out of the familiar will always make you feel a loss of control to a certain extent.  In those times you can either freak out over trying to regain control, or you can surrender it to the One who is in total control anyway.  Drinking two shakes a day as meal replacements is going to take you out of your comfort zone.  Not only do you have to change a few aspects of your lifestyle in order to stay disciplined with it, but sometimes (especially at first) you are just left wanting more.  And NOT because it isn't enough—it is.  But because you are used to more, or because you would rather have more or something else (although, seriously, they are soooo yummy!).  It comes down to realizing—or rather remembering—the simple fact that God provides everything, including what we eat.  This one shake for my lunch has been provided for me by God.  It is enough, and I am grateful for it.  I may want more sometimes, but it causes me to remember my dependence on Him.  I am made more aware of my overindulgence of the world—not that I didn't watch what I ate before, but I'm sure I have been guilty of taking more than the appropriate, necessary portion size at times.  Changing my diet was a big deal for me, in ways I did not realize until after I did it.  Hunger is simply NOT a feeling I am comfortable with.  It is hard for me to say that, working in the profession that I do, and seeing what real hunger is about—my "hunger" doesn't come close.  But hunger pangs, to me, immediately alert red flags because of my diabetes.  I have passed out and had enough low blood sugars in my life to know I do not like or want or welcome them, and hunger is one symptom of that happening.  The slightest feelings of hunger coming on make me over-aware of what is happening in my body and whether or not my blood sugar is crashing.  It's more about making sure I'm "OK" than actually wanting food—I have to take care of it right away.  I eat six small meals a day mostly to stay in control of that (besides it being what you should do anyway).  I am always prepared, no matter where I am or where I'm going, with more than enough snacks "just in case."  When I hear girls say they completely forgot to eat because they were running around doing stuff, that just doesn't translate to the comprehension part of my brain.  I don't understand it because I am ALWAYS thinking and planning ahead for food.  One, I have to because of my diabetes, and two, I have simply been programmed to since being diagnosed with it.  It has been the oddest thing for me to feel hunger, immediately associate it with starting to "go low," and then check my blood sugar only to discover that I'm fine or even on the high side—and then not eat (if it's not time to).  This has been a little hard for me since starting the shakes (hunger was almost an unknown FEAR to me, in a way, that I never realized), yet extremely good for me to experience.  To know that I am actually OK, it's just that I'm cutting back my portion sizes, has been almost freeing in a way.  I can wait 30 minutes until dinnertime if I start to feel a tiny bit hungry.  Hunger is not something I have to "take care of," it's sometimes that happens every once in a while to anybody; I can feel it and actually experience it, and be "OK."  These verses have had to become very real to me: "God is my portion"; "My food is to do the work of the one who sent me."

*** I do have to note here that I do not feel extreme hunger on a regular basis doing the shakes.  It is not more than anyone would normally.  I simply have certain, specific times that I drink the shakes, eat snacks, and normally eat dinner, so if/when I have a little time before those times come and feel like I wish they'd hurry up, that's what I mean. Hunger for anyone else probably means something different, not as "urgent."  For me, as I said, I relate the slightest, faintest feeling of hunger to the beginning of a low blood sugar, which is what makes it a little different to me.

• While still under the "spiritual" header, running has always had a spiritual component to it for me (at least since I first began training, which was back in late December).  You can see the details of that in this entire blog—the two are threaded together to form the basis for everything I write.  I am not training anymore, but the spiritual nature of my runs doesn't cease.  Being outside in God's creation and physically using the body he gave me in a way He created it to do, I feel, is glorifying to Him and an act of worship.  Secondly, if you're running by yourself, why not spend that time with God?  Personal quiet times may look a little different, but some of my best conversations with God have been during runs.  And then there are so many analogies to be made concerning perseverance, discipline, etc.  The latest quote I've seen with a parallel to the Christian faith: "At first I feel like I'm dying.  Then I feel reborn."  Amen.  Just keep going.

Having rambled way too long already, these are just some of the things I am processing through lately.  "Engaging" in rather than "escaping" from as our pastor said today.  God continues to refine me, as you'll find He does with all of us when we take the time to pay attention to what He is doing in us.  He is always working, and we all have room for a little formation, to be shaped in His hands.  Sometimes we wish it were more comfortable, and sometimes He allows us to simply bask in His goodness.  Either way, His plans for us are always more and always better than anything we could plan for ourselves.  Thank God for that!