I could also title this, The Ann Taylor Weight Loss Plan and why I hope it works.
In yesterday's post I said something like "Blessed is the family who never stops starting being intentional with each other." That's because someone once told Craig, "Blessed is the man who never stops starting doing family devotions." Because all of us have good intentions. It's the follow through that gets sticky sometimes.
So today I'm bringing the mantra back in: Blessed is the gal who never stops starting to attempt to develop some kind of exercise routine.
I have a new walking buddy. Three times a week, we get up at the ungodly hour of 7am (are you laughing at me yet?) and meet each other at the local high school track. I walk there and it's one mile from my house. We proceed to walk together for two more miles and then she brings me home. I will not stand this friend up. She's my pastor's wife.
I have just enough leftover legalism in me that will forever prevent me from bailing on my pastor's wife. She knows I am weak and she knows that if she even suggests we skip it I'll be all over that so fast it'd make her head spin. So she never says that. Instead she says this: I'll be here. Even if you decide to sleep in, I'll still be here.
Who wants that on their conscience for the day? Not me.
So, making your exercise buddy someone you also feel some weird sense of spiritual obligation to? Totally works for me.
Now then, for my Ann Taylor Weight Loss Plan. I came up with this one all by myself and when I'm motivated it really works. The plan is this: I weigh myself once a week. If I've lost anything at all (and I do mean anything... I count negative .2 as progress, folks) I get to put $5 in my Ann Taylor jar.
The rationale here is that by the time I finally have enough money to actually afford something from Ann Taylor I will have lost enough weight to justify the purchase. In my dream plan, once I get to the goal I would some day like to be, then I will continue to put $5 in my jar for every week I can maintain it.
The drawback from this plan showed itself to me last summer when I tried this. I lost 10 pounds last summer and had about $40 in my jar. Cash is like free money around here, though, and any time one of us needed a quick $5 we would rob my jar. Also, I fizzled out on the weigh loss thing by August and so never made it to the goal.
But...blessed is the gal who never stops starting to take her weight seriously. Right?
That's what's working for me. (for now)
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