pounds

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Lose Weight This Year And Don’t Look Back

I have a proven way to lose weight without going on a special diet. I’ve used this method over the course of several years and it works every time. 

Lose weight this year and don't look back

I’m not going to write a book about it, so it’ll never be famous. There are probably many people who use this method already, so it’s not a secret.

This is a good time of year to blog about it because this is a notorious time of year for people to put on a few pounds. 

It does take a little will power to pull it off, but anything worthwhile will take some will power. 

I’ve been following this plan as of late because, through COVID, I’ve found that I’ve put on a few unwanted pounds … well, maybe a few is understating it a little.

Most diets require you to cut out certain foods and, from what I know, they want you to cut out the best foods. 

Not my plan.

There are several steps to my plan and if you follow them you will lose weight. However, I will say that age, gender and metabolism will play a factor in how fast you can lose weight.

So this is what you do … 

First, you start eating smaller portions. No one needs to eat as much as they do. We just get used to meal sizes, but that doesn’t mean our bodies require them.

With regards to eating meals, be done before 8 pm. In fact, refrain from eating after 8 (the earlier the better). You don’t need food then; it’s just comfort eating after that time. 

Now here is the big thing – at least it’s big for me: cut down on your sugar intake. This includes candy, pop, chips, cookies … you get the idea.

If you can cut it out all together, you will see a fairly dramatic weight loss. But even if you can’t cut it all out, reduce your sugar intake. 

Don’t have sugar after 8 pm and try to be done with it earlier, like with your lunch or at least by dinner. The more sugar you cut out of your diet, and the earlier you can stop putting it into your body, the better. You will see results.

If you go to bed hungry for a few days, that’s good. Don’t worry; you won’t continue to feel that way. 

The last thing you do with this plan is to exercise every day. You can do twenty minutes or more but you have to get your heart rate up into your target zone. 

If you don’t have any equipment, walk. Go for a brisk walk. Be consistent with this every day.

If you do all this, depending on your age, gender and metabolism, you will start to see your weight go down. And you are going to start feeling so much better. 

Oh, and at this time of year there are things that come up, like candy dishes on the coffee table, buffets and great food. If you blow it one day, get right back at it the next day. It will work.

Here’s the thing: This plan is not a diet; it is a plan to live differently. Living differently will show results. If people place their faith in Christ, but don’t live differently, they will not see their lives change. If you live differently because you believe, then you will see dramatic results in your spiritual life. See your spiritual life transformed by keeping in step with the Holy Spirit. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to do differently in your life right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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I’m Trying To Lose My COVID 19

Somehow COVID has caught up with me and I’m trying to lose it now. … I guess saying it that way is better than saying that I have COVID 19.

I'm trying to lose my COVID 10

Let me clarify. 

The other day when I was playing hockey, I came back to the bench exhausted and frustrated with my play. As I settled into my spot on the bench, I said “I have COVID 19”, to which another guy on the bench responded, “I’m doing better than you; I only have COVID 15.”

We were talking about how many pounds we’ve gained since the whole COVID thing started.

I remember when I was in college, there was a running joke called “the Freshman 15”. It referred to how the freshmen girls gained about that many pounds on a steady diet of cafeteria food.

Some of the guys thought it was funny; not so much the freshman girls.

For me and my 19 pounds – which is pretty close to accurate – it’s been a steady incline. 

At the beginning, there was the loss of sports available to play, coupled with a nagging knee problem that kept me from working out in my home gym.

But as time when on, and the underlying pressure to isolate continued, I really lost my motivation to stay fit. 

It was too easy to have that extra Dr. Pepper during the week – well, maybe two extra. 

And I remembered just how good a Big Turk chocolate bar tasted. 

And those Twizzler commercials looked so fun, I had to have some liquorice.

After a while I lost my motivation all together to work out at home. I found that I was more tired than normal.

And all the time my COVID went from 7 to 10 pounds. 

There were days that I was determined to get back to exercising. But when I would get home from work, I would just look at the equipment, shake my head and grab a Twizzler while I watched TV.

The more time went by, my COVID started rising to 13, then 17 pounds. 

There were a couple of T-shirts that I didn’t wear this summer because, well, they were just too tight and I didn’t want to look like a “person of Walmart”.

But now I think I’ve turned a corner and I’m trying to lose my COVID 19.

I’ve exercised every day this week and I’ve refrained (for the most part) from stuffing my face with chocolate, chips and ice cream.

As hard as it was to turn the lights on in my home gym and to sit down on my rowing machine, I did it. I did it once and that made it easier to do it again. It got easier each day.

I’m not sure what it was that got me motivated. It might have been how sluggish I’ve felt playing hockey. 

It might be a fear of my body getting out of control. And I know there was some concern for my health.

I don’t want another heart attack. 

It’s probably all these things that came together to spur me on to lose my COVID once and for all. 

Here’s the thing: Many people are confronted with the claims of Christ. Some are convinced. Yet they still fail to follow through and commit to Christ. If that is you, ask yourself, “What will it take to motivate me to place my faith in Christ and follow Him?”

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need motivation for right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

Subscribe to this blog and receive posts like this one delivered to your inbox twice weekly.

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I’m Going Through A Cold Spell Inside Me

I am cold and the temperatures outside are only serving to accentuate that fact.

Over the last few months I’ve dropped about 15 pounds. I’ve written a few posts describing the things I’ve done to lose this weight (you can read about them here and here).

I didn’t even set out to lose any weight, but rather to try to figure out what was causing my muscle issues when I played hockey.

The outcome of that experiment is that I’m not having muscle pain, I’ve lost some weight and the huge benefit is I feel great.

The downside to all this is that now I’m always freezing. I’m having a hard time keeping warm.

I will often wear my coat at work, and at home I immediately put on a sweatshirt. If I’m watching TV, I’ve probably got a blanket over me.

It’s frosty in my house. I’ve even thought of getting one of those TV blankets that has sleeves so that I’m actually wearing the blanket.

Well, not really; I wouldn’t get one of those things – that’s crazy! … well, unless they had a leopard patterned one … just kidding.

What’s making this worse is the temperatures outside. It’s halfway through March and suddenly we’re experiencing the longest cold snap of the winter.

I was hoping it would be getting warmer by now. But spring – really just spring weather – can’t come soon enough for me.

There is a senior man from my church who I visit fairly regularly who can’t get out to church. He’s always cold as well. He wears long johns in the summer … I’m feeling his pain right now.

I sure hope I level out by the summer time. I don’t think wearing long johns with shorts is that good a look … but I’m not a fashion guru.

These days when I shake people’s hands, I’m hoping that the warmth of their hands will transfer to mine and take some of the chill away.

Back in the fall when we bought a new vehicle, the only option my wife, Lily, really cared about getting was heated seats.

We had them added, but only for her sake.

Now I wish we had a remote for the heated seats so I could fire them up before I got into the car. At this point, if it isn’t instant heat, it’s not good enough for me.

In a couple of hours from now, I’m going to play hockey – more cold. I’m going to have to skate extra hard just to generate enough body temperature to combat the sub-freezing conditions of the arena.

Fortunately, my muscles are working well now, so I can go all out and skate hard.

I guess with every good thing there is something that’s not so good. But the way I feel right now, I will put up with being cold all the time. It’s worth it.

Here’s the thing: There are some things in life that we put up with, but are those things worth it? Are there things in your life that are destructive, harmful, negative, sinful that you just put up with? It’s time to take an inventory of the things we put up with; keep those things that are worth it and cut out the things that drag us down.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you put up with that’s worth it? Why? Leave your comments below.