One day a bazillion years ago, a gentleman named Abraham was told to leave where he was... to go somewhere else. Where? He didn't know, exactly. He knew a direction, from what I have gathered, but not where he would end up. It was promised to him by God that it would be a good place for his descendants to settle down, so it kinda got the nickname of "the Promised Land". On little more than a promise from a God he could not see, Abraham changed one thing. He changed his attitude about where "home" was. Once he got that attitude changed, he then DID something about it. He took his first step away from where he was towards where he was going. And everyday he took more steps away from where he was towards where he was going. It took him a long time, this journey, but in the course of this journey, Abraham's life was completely changed. But all this change started with him changing ONE THING.This is a GREAT story. There is a great deal of spiritual significance to it, but the part I want to concentrate on and apply to this conversation is that ONE THING thing. Every journey begins with a first step... every elephant-eating project begins with the first bite.
This is also a blueprint for my story as it has unfolded since the last two weeks in April of this year (2011). Just prior to the pivotal moment that sent me on my journey, my son (Matt) and I had a conversation. His daughter was within a month or so of being born, and we were having one of those "wow-this stuff makes us think big thoughts" kind of discussions as we thought about his second child being born. The nuts and bolts of the confab came down to Matt asking me to PLEASE consider losing weight. At that time I weighed close to 260 (I had been higher than that not too long ago), and he expressed a desire for me to be around long enough to see my great grandkids. I asked him for advice as he had experienced some phenomenal personal changes in his own life since hooking up with Beachbody, losing close to 50 lbs and becoming stronger than I had ever seen him. He said something to the effect of "Dad - there is no mystery... exercise + diet change = weight loss". We then talked about the exercise programs offered by BeachBody... and to be honest I was not excited about that. I was frankly intimidated like nothing else by this Tony Horton character, by Chalene Johnson etc - these "perfect people in their perfect exercise clothes". And I thought I had an excuse for this Shakeology product Matt then told me about. I remember telling him "Son - that's around 100 bucks a month... pretty pricey for my budget..." To which my son replied (and I never saw the trap he led me into....) "But dad - how often are you going to McDonald's?" I responded that I got breakfast there 6 days a week on my way to work. MAtt then put the hammer down... "Dad - you're already spending 120.00 a month then on breakfast. What if you replaced that meal with Shakeology? You would then be SAVING money. Why not try THAT for a month?" He had me.... But I had already taken that first step. I KNEW I had to lose weight. But I could not look at all I would have to do to pull that off. But here is what I could do. I could do ONE THING. And that is what I told my son. I told him I could not commit to exercising ... yet, but I would drink Shakeology every morning for my breakfast.
1. Within one week of taking Shakeology every morning, I found myself not even thinking about food until around 2:30 or so in the afternoon! That was VERY unusual for me.... you think I made it to 260+ by NOT thinking about food? This was a HUGE event for me....
2. After about two weeks, I noticed my coffee intake was down from a pot (or two) a day, I was only having a cup or two every OTHER day! And not by design - I just didn't think about it.
3. I started to sleep uninterrupted sleep through the nights more and more. I was starting to wake up REALLY early in the morning... raring to go! One Saturday (on a day I got to sleep in) I woke up at 6:30 am... and couldn't go back to sleep.
4. At the end of three weeks, I had lost about 5 lbs. I called my son up and said - "Son I gotta exercise somehow... I have so much energy I am about to explode!"
So that is how I started with ChaLean Xtreme on May 1st instead of the June 1st date I had originally promised Matt as a starting date (confidentially, just between you and I - I just said that hoping he would forget about it between April and June). The results of that experience is fodder for my next blog entry.
But here's the point of this blog... all Abraham knew was if he went in the direction God told him to, good things would eventually result. He didn't know exactly all of the parameters of that promise, but he trusted the plan (and the One Who gave it to him).
Is there ONE THING you can change in your life to start you towards better health? How about... put down that diet soda and drink water instead? Or how about stepping off the porch and walk around the neighborhood every night? Change one thing - just one. Who knows what may happen? My journey began with having a chocolate shake with a banana and a spoon of peanut butter every morning instead of some egg McMuffins.... Join me on my journey....
On a Journey...
Paige
p50+
Great inspiration!
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