I’ve put a lot of thought into the purpose of these posts, knowing that for me they could easily become a place for self-deprecation. I’m good at that. However, for once that is not what I want or what is needed. As women, I think, we too often look in the mirror and despise what we see. It may be for a multitude of reasons, not all of them our own fault. I really do want to lose weight, but more than that I want to become a healthier version of me. I also want to be more purposeful about seeing my beauty. Not a beauty which will appear simply because I lose the weight, or I style myself like someone else. I mean the beauty which is there now. Which has always been there if I could only pay attention to it.
Gary has always maintained that he finds me beautiful. I always quip that I’ll buy him glasses for his next birthday! Because, you see, I really don’t get it. I don’t see what he sees and yet the reflection which stares back at me in the mirror is the same he sees each day. But then he qualifies his answer. He says I am wrong. He doesn’t see what I see. He sees his wife of 17 years. He sees the mother of his children. He sees the good times and the hard times in our marriage. He sees a fighter. He sees laughter lines around my eyes because of all the fun we’ve had. He sees the woman I was, the woman I am and the woman I am becoming. He sees our life together. He sees how much I love him when I look at him. He sees my love for our children. And me? What do I see? I just see the physical reality of my reflection. He is right though. We are all so much more than our reflections.
And these posts? My desire is that they become a celebration of our lives as wives, mothers, daughters and friends. We are awesome just as we are. Loveable just as we are. We are children of God. And if we can dare to love this body we have, the only one we’ll ever have, we’ll probably find we look after it much better.
So, this week I am celebrating being me. I am thanking God for this body I have and this life I am living.
In addition some smaller victories this week include walking back from the leisure centre a couple of times, choosing the longer one hour route; buying smaller plates and therefore serving smaller portions and finding out that this is very clever psychology and works like a dream; cutting down from two slices of toast for breakfast to one when I realised I just wasn’t willing to give up butter. I’m still celebrating the utter joy of sleeping through the night even when I have a sick and very loudly snoring three-year old next to me all week. I wake, see to her needs and drift back of to slumber land again. Sleep will never be something I take for granted. Ever. And lastly, I am celebrating losing another 2Ib bringing my total weight loss to 12Ib. I have decided to post a photo every time I lose another ten pounds. I have quite a few lots of 10Ibs to lose so I imagine they’ll be quite a collage at the end!
So how has this week been for you? What victories have you had? What are you celebrating about being you this week? Please do share, however small (or large!) Any prayer requests for the coming week? Remember, you don’t have to have a blog to join in, just leave a message in the comments section below. I am so excited about the support we can give each other to become the best version of the person we have been created to be. I’ll be praying for you all this week and sending my support to you over the land and seas which separate us.
You are so right, we have so much in our health and our wonderful families and the blessed lives we lead.
My small win – I’ve been trying to walk more. I’ve been carrying a little pedometer around with me for the last few weeks and have become utterly obsessed with my paces. One day this week I clocked up over 17,000 steps (then got a few more in my victory dance).
I hope your young ones are on the mend. C(10) is on her Scout camp now. She’s been away on Cub camp many times but the Scouts take things to a whole new level. She was ridiculously over-excited on Friday. I have a light few days planned for next week!
Ooooh, are you joining in too? (Imagine me doing a little dance!!) 17000 sounds loads to walk each day. I had a pedometer as well and I feel quite virtuous if I near 10000! I’ve not worn it whilst I’ve walked back from the gym- I shall do that next week!
I’m laughing at the picture in my mind of you doing a victory dance – I’m not entirely sure why but you are dressed in a grass skirt with some very African looking tribal jewellery! (I mean, where would you keep your pedometer?!)
Again, so pleased you’re joining in!
Well you’ve made it all sound so much fun…
LOL, I’ll be thinking of my grass skirt next time I do the old Victory Dance!
I most definitely do not do 17,000 paces every day! Where is one supposed to find the time??! I did about 2 hours’ walking on that day plus half an hour on the cross-trainer at the gym. I secretly think it was probably more than 17,000. 😉
I thank God I have you. Thank you for all that you do for this family. We love you so much. What a journey we are on!!
Thank you sweetheart. Any journey with you will be a journey worth going on!
I’ve also lost two pounds this! For me it was portion control. Well done you! Thank for doing this it’S SUCH A GOOD IDEA!
Well done for losing 2IB!! That’s fantastic! How did you manage to decrease your portions?
Thanks so much for joining in!
All of you is AWESOME, Claire, and this post is certainly proof of that! We are all so much more than our reflections, thanks for the reminder.
Thank you Marie, you are very sweet.
Thank you Claire, but I wasn’t being sweet, I was being sincere 🙂
I haven`t lost any weight this week, but I did watch a video in which a disabled large woman was asked to describe her body and she replied beautifully luscious! I cried when I realised how much love she had for a body which did not work as expected. It made me think about my own lack of love for a body which works perfectly. You are right. We are so much more than our reflections in the mirror. My goal this week is to put this into practice. Thank you for this.
I will be praying for just that for you, Francis. Would you mind sharing the video? Maybe I could link to it in my next post? Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a message.
I’ll have to try to remember where i saw it. I know it went viral on face book. I’ll try and give it to you before next week.
Thans for your prayers they are appreciated
Good thoughts! And, nice idea about the smaller plates. My victories this week were scattered – more walking, a few sit-ups, vacuuming instead of playing on the computer – just generally trying to move more.
‘Just generally trying to move more’ I like that! A perfect start I’d say, and anything which gets the vacuuming done has got to be a good thing, right?! Well done and I’m so pleased you are joining in!
Such good thoughts and reminders. I was feeling pretty blah about things this week. It was a busy week with Vacation Bible School for my daughter and my husband being on a different continent. But instead of the negative, I’ll celebrate that I didn’t gain weight even though there was no exercise and I ate out a lot and didn’t use my weight watcher’s app at all. (I don’t go to meetings; I’m an online user only).
I’m sorry you were feeling blah this week but yay for celebrating! And well done for not putting on weight despite eating out! I will be praying you have a wonderful week this week – is your husband back?
Thanks so much for being part of this!
Congrats on the 12 pounds!!!
http://storyland4.wordpress.com/2014/06/28/wibbly-wobbly-weightloss-everything-is-awesome/
Thank you so much! We’re going to do this together, and see it through!!
I’m popping over to read your post now. Thank you so much for leaving a link.
I’m really going to try and take your words to heart and begin loving this body that my journey as a wife and mother has blessed me with. I’m not a weigher – more a “do these clothes feel too loose or too tight” kind of person. But I have consciously been going out for more walks this week. Unfortunately it is the middle of winter here which just makes me want to hibernate, but if I can do it now it should be a piece of cake come spring time!
Good for you! Although walks in the winter are undoubtedly harder than in the spring and summer, I think they are probably more important over the winter to ensure the right quota of sunshine and vitamin D.
I’m incredibly pleased you are joining us all, Jo. Here’s to many more walks for both of us next week!
I love your thoughts on this. My small victories this week were not eating the extra desserts I really wanted to eat, sigh snacking will be the end of me.
Oh Ticia, and me! Especially in the evening time. I seem to have very little desire to snack until the evening comes and the children are in bed and it’s just me and Gary, relaxing in front of a DVD. THAT’S when it’s hard to say no! Well done for managing to not have the extra desserts, though – that’s a great victory this week!
So pleased you’re here too!
The main first step I have been taking is to keep my blood sugar at a good even level, which means the right food combinations and not too many poor carbohydrates. After I have this under control, I will move on to portion control. I find each step to be hard and to take longer than I think they will. My children keep saying that they see such a difference in me, not so much in my weight but my concern over my health and my attitude. I know what you mean about not taking something like sleep for granted. I was in constant pain for about 8 years and was in a wheelchair. Then I found the right doctor. I was no longer in pain and I could walk and I never have taken this for granted since. I cannot walk a lot, but so much more than I could before.
I didn’t know you used to be in a wheel chair. I’m so pleased you are better now and not living in so much pain. That must have been rotten. I’m like you in that changes always take a long time to happen. We’ll do this together Phyllis and be as healthy as we are able to be. I’m so pleased you are joining with us as I’m sure you have much wisdom to share.
I have written my first post for this discussion…. http://bergblog-onthemend.blogspot.com/2014/07/wibbly-wobbly-weight-loss-living.html
I hope you like it.
You made me cry:( I see myself in this post. I have been taking small steps to get myself back to healthy. I am going to be like the tortoise and not the hare.
Ooooh, I do hope you’ll join us??? Perleeease?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/14/embrace-taryn-brumfitt_n_5318178.html
This has the video in.