Day 17 (my other favorite number)

I was reading last night about the three hecklers to one's dedication to the "Path of God's Provision" (as opposed to the "Path of Your Performance"), named as Larry the Legalist, Maureen the Manipulator, and Abigail the Achiever. Larry spouts all the legalistic jargon that slows progress and confuses focus. Maureen tries to twist all of the TW principles into diet-termed pedagogy. Abigail takes all the credit away from God and puts it on herself, taking all the glory for how God is allowing her to progress. The reader is warned, obviously, to steer clear of the interference of all three nuisances.

I was thinking through each heckler as I read, and noting that I didn't seem to be having any trouble with the first two. When Abigail popped up, I started wondering if maybe I haven't been overtly giving God enough glory and praise for what He is doing in me. I did feel like I stalled a little bit in how great I was feeling and how quickly I was noting changes in my body, although there's a good chance that was either hormonal, a natural temporary stall, or some combination of the two. Regardless, it certainly doesn't hurt to take a mental inventory of how much praise I am giving God, whether to others or just inwardly in my own thinking.

I felt a little full-ish tonight after dinner because I drank tea along with dinner. With so little room in my tummy, there usually isn't much space for a drink and food at the same time. I had just made the tea, and was it ever good. I probably should've waited a bit before drinking any, though. I didn't eat very much, but with the tea it was still too much.

One of the interesting things I noted while reading about Larry was a mention of keeping track of every minute of exercise. I'm not sure if that indicates that I shouldn't be noting how much exercise I'm getting, or if it really matters as long as I'm not using that as an expectation of myself (or back-pats for what "I" am doing). Then again, maybe I am doing that without even meaning to. I have been pretty excited about the regular physical activity because I know it's good for me. I really only intended to keep a written record of the food and activity for the first thirty days, anyway. I doubt it would do me much good on a long-term basis, since I will know what I'm doing and that's what matters.

That said, I have found it interesting going back over the listings of what I've eaten along with the amount of exercise. One of the most sobering things for me has been the comparison between what I eat in a day now, and what I was eating in a day before getting back on the TW path. Even as sporadic as my eating was before, it was still obviously far more than my body really needs. I probably eat less than a fourth of what I ate before, and by following natural hunger signs and taste indications I've found that sweets have almost completely disappeared from my "diet". I truly eat what I want, but I find that I genuinely don't want those things. The only "sweet" things I find that I look forward to are coffee, sweet tea, and the occasional (but rare) Frappuccino.


Dailies:

Food:

• 1/4 cup chicken salad with crackers
• 1/2 cup chicken fajita filling
• 1-cup meal (Polish sausage, green beans, pasta)

Activity: Walked for 30 min.