I shall not be discouraged!

Denise and I have recently signed up as Beachbody coaches, and in so doing we renewed our commitment to get fit, this time using Beachbody products (e.g. P90X, Chaleen Extreme, Insanity, etc.). As part of this commitment we are taking pictures to show our progress, and on Saturday we took our measurements. Beachbody shows specific ways to take measurements, so we changed our method slightly to conform with this and, lo and behold, according to this new way of measuring my waist is now 39.75 inches, a whole inch and a half bigger than my previous measurement at the end of September. Now, admittedly, I did not measure the old way to see if the difference was all just the method of measuring, or if my waist has really expanded that much. Either way, I must admit that I felt very discouraged. I have been doing Power 90 as well as running every day (except Sunday), faithfully, without missing. I have not touched processed foods or meat of any kind these past two weeks, and I was feeling great, only to discover this unlikely and unwanted result. Of course there are a dozen reasons why my belly might have expanded, but I'm not going to delve into those right now. Instead, I am going to tell you about the experience I had yesterday.

Yesterday was Sunday, and for me that is the Sabbath, the day I attend three hours of church meetings, partake of the Sacrament, and worship my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ. Yesterday, as I sat through these meetings, I felt so uplifted by the Spirit, and I felt my Father in Heaven pouring His love down upon me, and I wanted to be better and to live my life for Him and declare to all the world my testimony that my Savior and Redeemer lives! The feelings and impressions were so powerful that I felt joy and peace and gratitude all day. I wanted to find ways to serve those around me and to spend every minute doing good.

Now it is Monday. I woke up this morning to get ready for my workout, and I looked in the mirror and saw my nearly 40-inch gut just hanging out there, and I started to feel discouraged--but I caught myself and turned my thoughts around. How can I feel discouraged when I am so blessed? How can I feel discouraged when I know I am a daughter of God and that my Father loves me and is aware of me? How can I feel discouraged when I have this beautiful, amazing body that can do so many wonderful things? How can I feel discouraged when I know that Jesus Christ lives and that I will live with Him again someday, if I live worthy of it? How can I feel discouraged with so much to be thankful for in my life? I cannot. I shall not. I am grateful!

Father in Heaven, I am grateful.

September report and where to go from here

Well, those September numbers were very telling. Here are the results:

Weight: 157 lbs.
Waist: 38.25"

So my weight was up but my waist measurement was down? What's up with that? Here's what I think. I still am not eating very well--in fact, the harder I try to stick to my meal plan, the worse I seem to do. Lots of emotional blocks there obviously. At the same time, however, I did start doing more weight training during the month of September, so that must certainly account for some of the counter-intuitive results. After all, muscle does weigh more than fat.

And now, where do I go from here? I'll tell you where I've been. Up through the first week of October I was exercising pretty consistently, and my eating was not great, but not too terrible either. Then, the second week, I stopped working out for the most part (I managed to get in a few 12-minute runs through most of the week, but nothing else) and my eating escalated--or rather tanked--to very terrible (still no sugar though, so I give myself credit for that). It was just a really, really bad week. I had no motivation to do anything, and I moped around all week feeling like I was never going to make any progress and I would never realize any of my dreams because they were just too out of reach, wah, wah, wah! I was in really bad shape. Now I have pulled myself back into the world of the optimistic and hopeful, and here is what I have learned:

• I did not read or study the scriptures one single day during the dark week; this week I have practiced daily, focused scripture study;
• I did not do any EFT during the dark week; this week I have practiced EFT on a daily basis;
• I ate a lot of nutrient-poor, processed food during the dark week, and lots of sweets and junk food (my no sugar, no hydrogenated oil, no artificial sweeteners, etc. type of junk food); since Monday I have partaken of no processed food and no sweets, other than a glass of chocolate almond milk on occasion;
• I ate lots of meat during the dark week; On Sunday I decided that I am going to transition to a vegetarian, whole foods diet (I'll still eat eggs, yogurt, and fish);
• I did little to no exercise during the dark week; this week I have gotten back into a regular, vigorous exercise routine;
• I allowed myself to wallow in discouragement and self-pity during the dark week; this week I have kept my thoughts positive, hopeful, and filled with gratitude.

I'll tell you, if you are ever feeling depressed, discouraged, or just in a rut, try changing a few of these things that I changed and I guarantee you will see a huge difference in the way you feel and your outlook on life. I'm excited to see where they take me from here.

Just a note on the six months to a six-pack goal: As I find the end of the six months drawing closer and still see how far I have to go, I decided to change the program to sixteen months to a six-pack. The point of this is not so much to give myself another deadline, or to allow lack of discipline and cheating while still earning the rewards. Rather, the point is to encourage myself to continue moving forward, with less concern for how long it might take and more concern for doing it the way that is right for me. I feel really good about this. So I guess I'll be doing these monthly check-ins for a while yet. That's great--I love seeing progress!

Thoughts on searching for the perfect apartment . . . or the perfect man

Finding the perfect apartment is so much easier than it used to be, now that we have great resources such as www.vacancy.com to help us in our search. In fact, it is much like online dating in many ways. [DISCLAIMER: It should not be assumed that finding the “perfect” apartment, or, in fact, the “perfect” man (if he even exists) will in any way secure one’s eternal happiness. The author of this essay, while acknowledging that this does happen from time to time, has yet to figure out how to make it work in her own life—in the case of either the apartment or the man—and therefore should not be relied on as an expert on the subject.] The similarities can be made clear by reviewing the questions outlined below.

Question #1: Is it/he functional? It is important to determine whether the apartment/man is functional before agreeing to rent or date. In the case of the apartment, does it have hardwood floors, ideal for those early morning workouts with Tony Horton (no, Tony is probably not the ideal man, despite the six-pack abs)? Is it open and spacious and able to accommodate those late-night study groups for that upcoming biology mid-term? Is it conveniently located close to campus and a grocery store (for those emergency Ben & Jerry’s runs)? In the case of Mr. Wonderful, does he have a car that functions properly? When he asks you out on a date, and then follows this question immediately with, “Do you mind driving,” that is a big red flag indicating that this man may not be functional. Can you carry on a conversation with him in areas other than sports and cars? If he is a student, is his GPA at least in the triple digits? If he has a job, does it entail having a food handler’s permit and counting out change at a drive-through window? All of these questions will help you identify functionality—or lack thereof—in a man.

Question #2: Is it/he comfortable? An apartment that is not comfortable is an abomination. Yes, it is important that it be attractive and clean, but if you don’t feel like you are really “home” the moment you walk through your door, then this apartment is not the one for you. If you don’t walk in at the end of the day and heave a big sigh of contentment just to be home, then it is time to break up with your apartment. This also goes for Mr. Right. Yes, it is important that he be attractive and clean, but if you don’t feel like you are really “home” the moment you see him, then he is not the guy for you. If you don’t heave that contented sigh every time he walks through your door, then it is time to set him free (with clear instructions that he is never to return).

Question #3: Does it/he have integrity? This is perhaps the most important question of all. Many apartments may look nice on the surface, but an apartment that has integrity goes so much further than gilding. An apartment with integrity will not get too hot in the summer or leak water onto your beautiful hardwood floor in the winter. This apartment would never let bugs inside, or allow mold to grow in its walls. When there is integrity, what you see is what you get. As regarding men, it is perhaps even more crucial to determine the existence of integrity. Does your seemingly kind and gentlemanly date hide a terrible temper just under the surface? Does he tell little white lies to others, causing you to wonder what lies he might be telling you? Does he stay away for periods of time, and then get angry and defensive when you ask him what he has been doing or where he has been? Do you know what corrosive thoughts may be growing inside his mind, or what cankering habits might be developing in his life? When integrity is in question, you can never ask too many questions. And a lack of integrity in an apartment or a man is an immediate deal breaker. Just walk away, and don’t look back (or you may have to deal with consequences that are much worse than being turned into a pillar of salt).

In conclusion, I recommend to anyone who is looking for the ideal apartment (see a great example at the link below), or the ideal date (no example available), to be sure to ask the right questions. If you do, you might just find the apartment and the man of your dreams, and you can all live together happily ever after (NOTE: Please see disclaimer in the first paragraph of this essay).

http://www.vacancy.com/utah/salt-lake-city-apartments/covey-apartments