The FIT and Healthy Side of the Proverbs 31 Woman
Several years ago I discovered a great little program that said there was no need to diet. Dieting was just a way of controlling food instead of controlling yourself. I jumped on board and lost 30 pounds in just twelve weeks. The best part of it all was that I stopped drinking diet drinks, I started drinking regular milk and I even started using real butter when I was cooking.
It worked just fine for me. The basic concept of eating when I was physically hungry and NOT eating when I wasn’t physically hunger was foreign to me. Learning to wait for my stomach to growl was the easiest step I have ever had to take.
Then I got pregnant with our third child. I have a problem with getting dehydrated (because of morning sickness that doesn’t understand the morning part of that term). The first thing the doctor told me was to NOT let myself get hungry. He said that getting hungry would trigger my morning sickness. I now had doctor’s orders to eat when ever I wanted – and I did.
Flash forward to two years after the birth of the third child. The whole “eat when you are physically hungry” concept is just not cutting it. I have been struggling HARD to get the baby weight (and all the other weight I gained during pregnancy) off my poor little five foot frame. It is as determined as I am.
So I was looking for something on Amazon and I stumbled over “Never Say Diet” by Chantel Hobbs. Although her ideas are similar to what I used in the past, it takes it all to a whole new level.
“You are not the best you can be.” That one statement would have been enough to make me want to dive in completely, but she had so much more to say. She seemed to know my excuses before I knew my excuses and has the words of wisdom to push me past. This time it’s not about losing the weight, looking good in a bathing suit or even fitting into those cloths that I just can’t seem to let go.
I want to be the best I can be. I want to be healthy enough to play outside with the kids, comfortable enough to slide down the slide with the kids, and fit enough to walk up the stairs at church and still be able to hold a conversation at the top. This is about fitness – feeding my body (the temple of God) the best fuel I can find, building the muscles that will help me reach my goals and potentials, and teaching me the discipline of doing what needs to be done to get to the place that I want to be.
Exercise may not be the highlight of the day, but it must be part of the day. A healthy, fit woman is the kind of woman whose “strength and honor are her clothing” and who “grideth her loins with strength and strengtheneth her arms” so that she can “rise before sunrise” and “plant the vineyard.” You may not have to work the farm, but being healthy will help you tackle all the tasks God has planned for your path.
