Ah! A quite day. Nothing but the unseasonably warm wind on a hot Spring day to break the silence of the morning as I finish my Sermon for Sunday.
It's days like this when I would usually run and grab a snack. And by snack, I'm not talking about an apple or some grapes. No, I'm talking about a donut. Or better yet, the better part of a box of donuts (can you hear Homer Simpson in your head right about now? - "Mmmm, Donuts".) If not the entire box - I'm a sucker for what some people would call "tractor tire" donuts.
Top that off with the how someone once asked me how much exercise I got. My answer was "a rock get more exercise than I do". It seems like as a Pastor, my exercise comes from climbing mountains of paperwork or forms, or jumping through hoops, or chasing down rumors, or dodging jabs.
Now of course, I'm joking, somewhat, but finally after getting winded from going up to the second floor one time (and that was riding an elevator), I knew that enough was enough. And as God would have it, my brother called me and "nagged me" about not getting on board with the My Fitness Pal site, I got started, and have been tracking what I eat, as best as I can (some things aren't listed, and you have to come as close as you can - and in those cases, I'll pick whatever has the highest calories so I won't cheat myself) and so far, I'm doing great.
As a Pastor, I'm accountable to different people/colleagues in different ways. Even my "higher ups" are accountable to me in some ways. Losing the weight and getting in shape requires some accountability as well. It's hard to be accountable when I'm by myself, living in an region where everyone seems to be too busy to do things, but the My Fitness Pal site/app helps me to be accountable, and the pedometer that is issued to me from my Conference keeps me accountable to stay in shape by walking, all of this provided I input the information.
The cool thing is that there are rewards for this (sort of like the cheese at the end of the maze). For putting the information of "food" into the "My Fitness Pal" site, I am losing the pounds by watching what I'm eating. By inputting my pedometer into the computer, I'm seeing how many steps I've taken for the day, which yes, I can see on the pedometer itself, but I also get some bucks/moola/cha-ching for completing certain challenges. It's only a little here and there, but it's a tank of gas, or a movie, or a "celebration dinner".
That brings me to this point - I've noticed that I'm spending less money each month on food. The reason is that instead of going to the local diner 4-8 times a week, I'm going home and having leftovers that I know how to input into the Fitness website, or fixing something that isn't fried, greasy, and won't weigh down on me later when I try to go to bed. Not only is it nice to know that I have that few extra bucks, but it "does my tummy good" knowing that I don't have to pop an antacid near as much.
So as I weave through my roller coaster life, I will just have to remember to take it easy on the cotton candy and milk duds sometimes.
Yeah, sometimes.
