How to accept those last 5 pounds

June 21, 2018 Balance, encouragement, Grace, Health Comments (1)

My youngest child is turning 13. I guess these five(ish) extra pounds isn’t his anymore. They are mine to own.

If I can release the shame of a Mexican meal I can embrace the beautiful moments that come with it. Amy Connell | GracedHealth.com

For years I desperately tried to achieve my pre-pregnancy weight. Counting calories, nutritional pie charts, extra exercise … none of these worked.

I’d like to say I tried everything, but the truth is I didn’t give 100% effort 100% of the time.

Most of the week I endured great discipline. Then the weekend would roll around.

BAM!

Saturday nights consisted of church, then dinner. Jesus filled my heart but my hands were full of chips, guacamole, and margaritas.

That doesn’t mean I enjoyed those chips with unbridled enthusiasm. With every dunk into the spicy salsa, I buried myself into more guilt.

“I shouldn’t have this.”

“You’re going to regret this.”

“You’re going to have to make up for this tomorrow.” (Off-topic and worthy of a post of it’s own, but still worth saying: Exercise should be a celebration for what you can do, not a punishment for what you ate. Please don’t do this to yourself.)

If I can release the shame of a Mexican meal I can embrace the beautiful moments that come with it. Amy Connell | GracedHealth.com

Moments of exception

The kind of of attention required to reduce my last few pounds meant not appreciating my moments of exception. These moments are pauses in my general rhythm. They may even take me off track a bit.

I may not lose the weight I’m hoping, but I gain other priceless experiences:

Sitting on the back patio with my husband, a bottle of wine, and a sunset provides relaxed, authentic conversations. This time together strengthens our marriage.
Gathering together around a restaurant booth is precious screen-free family time. Our bond tightens.
Meeting my girlfriends for lunch or dinner is an investment into my friendships. Whether we are laughing or sharing our struggles, we are walking through life together.

Sitting around the table with my girlfriends is worth the nutritional moment of exception. Amy Connell | GracedHealth.com

Raising the white flag

At some point, I declared a truce. Perhaps it wasn’t a truce as much as it was waving the white flag.

Five pounds, I accept you.

I may not love how you look but I appreciate what you represent.

You show me I’m succeeding in my own version of balance.
You allow me to enjoy the moments that may not be nutritionally perfect but are perfectly glorious.
You represent a healthy mind, one which doesn’t have a constant dialogue in her head of “eat this, not that,” or “you failed because you had dessert.”

Meeting my girlfriends for lunch or dinner is an investment into my friendships. Whether we are laughing or sharing our struggles, we are walking through life together. Amy Connell | GracedHealth.com

Make sure it’s an exception

Obviously, if we are striving to take care of our body we can’t walk around our day shoving everything in our mouths in the name of “enjoying the moment.”

Too many moments of dessert, fried food, and bottles of wine cause our body not to function well.
We aren’t honoring our temple and physically preparing ourselves for what we may be called to do.
An unhealthy body prevents us from living our life with vibrance. After all, it’s hard to have vitality if you’re suffering from a sugar crash, indigestion, and/or gastrointestinal issues.

However, if most of the time we make nutritious choices by:

Putting wholesome foods God himself put on this earth,
Drinking water,
Moving our body, and
Resting,

Then we can allow – and enjoy! – those moments of exception, knowing they contribute to our overall well-being.

Not everyone will agree with me today. That’s ok. I also realize some people need to have their own discipline and rhythms and rules. That’s ok, too.

But this attitude is what allows me to find peace in my mind and body.

I’ve found if I can release the shame of a Mexican meal I can better embrace the beautiful moments that come with it.

And the next time I eat, I go back to my normal nutritious choices. The bonus is I’ll also be spirit-filled with the joy from the exceptional moments.

I’ll definitely continue reaching for the guacamole, though. After all, avocados might be the most perfect food God ever graced this earth with.

If I can release the shame of a Mexican meal I can embrace the beautiful moments that come with it. Amy Connell | GracedHealth.com

Five pounds, I accept you. You show me I’m succeeding in my own version of balance. Amy Connell | GracedHealth.com

Photo Credits:

Photo by Juan Manuel Giraldo Grisales on Unsplash (chips & guac)

Photo by i yunmai on Unsplash (scale)

Photo by Charles Deluvio 🇵🇭🇨🇦 on Unsplash (avocado)

1 thought on “How to accept those last 5 pounds”

Heather says:
June 30, 2018 at 11:18 am
I love this perspective Amy!! So true! I used to be so rigid and may have weighed less, but I was miserable. Today I weigh a little more, but I feel free, balanced and able to enjoy life. Thank you for the uplifting and confirming post! ❤
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