Day 22

21 days...supposedly that is how long it takes to change a habit or get accustomed to a new one. Today marks my 22nd day of my blog. As you can tell there have been a couple of days that I forgot and had to do two days in one. I have also been doing "Lose it for Life" for about that long. There have been a few days that I misstepped with it as well.

The key is this: don't give up just because you have an "off day". You haven't failed...you just have to get right back on the horse and start again. I'll be honest. Blogging is easier than changing my eating and excercise routines! We, Americans/human beings, associate food so much with fellowship and rewards that we forget that we don't have to consume a lot of food to sustain ourselves. We only need enough fuel to keep our bodies going.

Counting calories, keeping track of points, avoiding carbs and sugars, drinking lots of water, steering clear of desserts, and the like are sure fire ways to fail in the long run. Oh, don't get me wrong, you have to start somewhere. What is important though is keeping it up...making life changes. You also have to remember that there really aren't any forbidden foods. Portion control is the key to success. A simple taste of something will suffice, you don't have to have the whole serving or eat the entire box of cookies to be satsified.

We live in excess in many areas of our lives. Food. Fun. Material possesions and so on and so on. What we need to do is learn to live with enough to satisfy our desires, but more importantly our needs. We don't need to live in huge homes, drive expensive vehicles, eat out every night, own every CD/DVD/Video game, get our nails done each week, or play golf every day. These are all examples of living in excess. We could survive on a  much more simple scale if we realized that we can't take it with us when we go and don't need it to be successful as human beings.

I challenge you to find 3 things in your life that could be viewed as "excessive". Take the time to think about why that particular indulgence is deemed necessary. Then figure out a way to do with less of it. It may not be easy, but I think that after some time...say 21 days, you'll realize that it isn't as important as you once thought it was.

God Bless,
Tammy