OK So About Lent

Lent......just the word conjures up memories of Catholic School. The big decision was what to give up for Lent. You would suggest things like not watching TV from 12 to 1 each day and then Mom would remind you that you were never home at that time so come up with something else or she would suggest just trying to be nicer to your siblings. My Dad would give up sweets, alcohol and bread for Lent. So guess what that meant for the rest of us.....you guessed it meant we would also be giving up sweets and bread (we were too young to have to deal with the alcohol part). To poor Mom's frustration Dad would always lose about 15 pounds during Lent and she wouldn't lose but a pound or two.

Each year I try to find something to do for Lent. One year it was giving up cheese.....what was I thinking??????? Everyone know I am passionate about cheese!!!! I even have a poem about cheese I want read at my funeral or gathering. Another year I chose to work on my language or should I say bad language........I did pretty well with that but you sure wouldn't have wanted to hear what I had to say once Lent was over.

This year I had 2 targets....food and exercise.

Food: The goal for this Lenten season is to work on portion control and exercise every day. If I want pretzels I have to count the out. I want cheese.....I have to put it on the food scale I have. Right now I am steaming up a big pot of vegetables. I am going to put them in some chicken broth (the low fat low sodium kind) and some noodles that are high in protein and low in carbs (they better be for what I spent on them.....LOL).

Exercise: The goal is to exercise everyday in some form or another. I have been to the gym 4 times this week. Each time I spent from 30-45 minutes in the pool jogging. Now I mean real jogging......pumping my arms in the water and moving at varying speeds. I was pleased to find water jogging in the Weight Watchers activity points finder.....wow I am burning a lot of calories and earning a lot of activity points (which I will not be using for more food). The days I don't go to the gym Jenn has pulled out the stepper for us to use. I also read this week that if you march in place lifting your feet at least 6 inches off the floor just during the commercials of a one hour TV show you can burn 150 calories.....the article said that is more calories than walking on a treadmill for 30 minutes. If you don't agree with the article go take it up with the University of Tennessee.

I know it may not be a sacrifice to some but for me this is a lot to undertake. I used to love the days I didn't go to the gym because I could relax......not anymore. I always thought I could eyeball a portion but the food scale will keep me honest.

The saying goes "it takes 30 days for something to become a habit". Well, Lent is 40days long so I have time for these changes to become a habit. hhhhmmmmm......maybe this is an answer to my prayers to help me give my goal of a healthier lifestyle a kick start......OK Heavenly Father I am getting the message........now can you just find a way to make some of my favorite foods a little lower in calories, fat, carbs and sugar??? I would appreciate the help.....