Day 3 Committing and Gilgal

I am who I am. And based on that, I am going to have to make some committments. One of those being to actually track my food intake. I have two problems. One, I like to eat too much. Therefore, my calories for the day can get away from me real quick. Two, if I do happen to be conscientious and trying to eat moderately, I still feel like I ate too much. So it looks like I just committed to a lifetime of keeping up with my calories. That does a lot of things for me. For example, there have been days where I thought I was doing great, and I was actually over 2,000 calories by a good bit. But, there have also been days where I plugged my food in at the end of the day and found out I was spot on.

So basically, if I am committing to the numbers, the first and foremost I need to focus on is my calorie count. Which brings me to the second part of the equation. I need a tool to maintain focus. I have talked a lot about not looking at my past success because this is a new journey. But the reality is, there were parts of that journey I need to bring here. One of the things I was so good at was keeping up with my calorie count all day. I was borderline obsessive, which may have contributed to my burn out and choosing to quit tracking. What I do know is that to a degree that it doesn't interfere with my life, I have to be hyper-focused on calorie count to keep me from eating poorly or binging.

One of the other things I have to commit to is refocusing on the why factor. My blog title says it all about my first go around. I was trying to insure my family's future by being around longer. In no way am I saying that shouldn't be ONE of the main focuses. However, I left a couple of important folks out of that consideration last time. First, God should be the center of all we do. He gave me this wonderful life complete with the vessel I navigate through it with. He also gave me the gift of the Holy Spirit, who lives in me. My body is His temple. And I have it all junked up! Also kinda important is me. I need to recognize that all the benefits that come with a thinner body will make me happier and more able to be a better husband, father and Christian. And I can use this struggle to help others to learn.

I started getting excited about this journey a few weeks back when the pastor did a lesson and defined the old word "gilgal", used in the old testament. God told the Isrealites he was fixing to deliver them their land of milk and honey, and so where they were camped, they called it Gilgal. Literally translated, it means the place something awesome started. I feel like after all these years of whining, crying, sputtering and stopping, I finally have reached my gilgal spot. I don't know why it took so long, other than it was His plan for the greater good. And I can't wait to see what He is going to do through me and for others!!