I Will Say Yes!!

Wow! My life will be so different in just one short week! This is so crazy to even think about! No more gum, Advil, eating fast or drinking with meals! No popcorn, no sugar, limited caffeine! No food for a month, blended food for the month after that! Yikes! However, in just a few short weeks/months it will be no more squeezing into booths at restaraunts! No more being pulled out of curbside check-in at the airport so they can make sure I fit in the seat and no more seat belt extenders! No more declining trips to Magic Mountain because I can't ride the roller coasters. Mo more worrying about limitations in dressing cool for summer and no more shopping at "fat" stores. No more struggling with standing for 20 minutes to sing at church! Those trade offs seem more than fair! I will choose the latter set of "no mores" over the first few in New York minute!

Life is about choices. We always have a choice. And with choices comes responsibility and consequenses. For the first 40 years of my life, I blamed everything and everyone else for my lifestyle. It was their fault I was miserable! And the consequences of not following healthy habits were not severe to me: lonliness, limited clothes choices, mobility limitations. I haven't had a real date in my adult life. I talked myself into not caring. I just made myself busy with work and my limited social life so I wouldn't think about it. There was a reason I hated being by myself, being quiet! I didn't want to think about how miserable, lonely and sad I truly was!

Once I owned up to this lifestyle, I realised you can only play the blame game for so long. And then it is all up to you! I am not going to be the 40 year old grossly obese woman who uses a motorized cart to get around Vons! I just AM NOT going to be that woman! I am not going to turn down nights out with my friends because I could barely walk from the car to the hockey arena! I am not going to read the travel section of the paper and only wish I could go hiking or surfing!

The first 40 years of my life were about what I couldn't do. The next 40+ years of my life will be about the new things I can do! There will be no limitations! Instead of saying no, I will say yes!

I will say yes to walking, swimming, rollerblading on the Strand. Yes to going to the gym and loving it! Yes to skiing in Tahoe, surfing in Hawaii and hiking in Yosemite! I will say yes to biking in Catalina and wave running on Lake Mohave!

I will say yes to flirty, short dresses, strappy sandles and sleeveless shirts. I will say yes to tailored jackets, cute skirts and a shopping trip to Barneys in New York for new clothes! I will say yes to reading fashion magazines for more than just makeup tips!

I will say yes to being emotionally available and fearless with my relationships!I will say yes to forgivness and no to bitternes! I will say yes to tolerence and love! I will say yes to the hurt and not shy away, knowing that it is part of the process! I will say yes to getting out there and giving dating a shot! I will say yes to not having my weight to hide behind! I will say yes to a date with Ryan Seacrest, George Clooney or Brad Pitt. Or to the cute, nice guy I meet at Starbucks or church! I will say yes to marriage, knowing that with God and two people willing to work at it, marriage does work. I will say yes to marriage, knowing it is worth the struggle! I will say yes to continuing helping others with their kids, knowing that saying no to having my own is best for me! :)

I will say yes to viewing food as fuel for the engine! And to say yes to food being fuel, I will have to say no to food being a best friend, boyfriend, or nurturing parent. I will say yes to the occasional indulgence within what is reasonable but will no longer say yes to my boys, Ben and Jerry, when I am lonely or stressed!

I will say yes to God supplanting food is my strength and comfortor! I will say yes to asking Him what he wants for my life and actually listening! I will say yes to following His purpose and call for my life! I will say yes to His love and grace!

As I write this, I feel so free! I feel unafraid of what is ahead! What is a few weeks of chicken broth and blended chicken when I have the rest of my life to say yes to all that God will give me! And I know what he is going to give me will be amazing! Far better than any food!

I can't wait! Bring it on!

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