Part 19 - Predator or Prey???

WARNING! - The following post of "The Rendering" contains what may be considered "controversial" opinions.  These are the opinions of the author, me, and I would strongly urge all readers to come to their own opinions.  If you find my opinions offensive, feel free not to read, but as this is my journey, these are my opinions and experiences.  Thank you.  -MGMT-

     Thank you all for returning to "The Rendering"!  This is Part 19 - Predator or Prey???  Earlier this week I posted a simple question on my Facebook.  I asked, "Are you predator or prey?"  I intentionally did not elaborate on that statement anymore than that because I wanted to see how people would answer.  Of the answers I received, they certainly were varied.  I even had one person answer, "I hate weather", which I am still trying to make sense of.  Anyhow, I asked this question of myself as well in regards to my life and how I handled all situations.  Here is how I answered.  I have indeed, been both predator and prey.  I have seen both sides of this eternal struggle and I have learned their merits.  A predator, to me, is strong, cunning, driven, and effective but would not be any of these things without its prey.  To be prey, to me, gives me a sense of innocence, craftiness, and necessity, qualities accentuated by the existence of predators.  I find this circle of life very symbolic of my own life.  I see these qualities in myself and how I chose to handle several situations.  I also have found that by experiencing moments as prey that I have been able to find a sense of respect and honor for those that are more often on the prey side of the spectrum.  So why do I bring this all up in this week's post?  I want to give you all some sort of idea of how I approach this process of weight loss.  I am battling everyday with all of the different aspects of this journey.  Urges and actions, successes and failures, do I attack an opportunity or run and hide to await a better chance?  These are all pieces of what I go through each and every day.

     With all of the above being said, this post ends the 2-week sugar-free challenge that I embarked upon and also challenged you my readers to.  As I said last week, I was doing fairly well avoiding sugary treats and added refined sugar to my foods.  This week was a bit different however.  I have to be honest and I will say that I did have a few sugary treats.  I had some moments of weakness and found myself being "prey" to my urges.  I found however, that after I indulged in these devil-be-damned treats that I felt like garbage.  I got that quick rush and immediate sense of satisfaction but it faded to not only a physically lethargic feeling but also depression and even fuzzy thinking.  I will use these moments to learn from though.  I know what is making me feel good and healthy and what is bringing me down so I now know what to avoid even more so.  

     Over the past two weeks I heard from many of my readers that were going to give the sugar-free challenge a whirl themselves.  After a few days there was a few common conclusions.  First, this challenge was MUCH HARDER than it sounded.  Sugar can be a relentless taskmaster.  Second, we were all more than a little surprised to see just how much sugar was in our foods.  Not just the treats, drinks, and desserts we were eating but just in the normal foods.  Remember, a quick conversion is 4 grams of sugar equals 1 teaspoon of sugar.  Shink about this if you still are a bit doubtful, please, I encourage you to get yourself a Chobani fat-free Greek yogurt container.  Once you have this empty cup, go ahead a put 5 teaspoons of sugar into it.  Sure, these are fat-free yogurts and yes they do have several nutritional benefits but they also have 5 teaspoons of sugar!  For me, due to the fact that I am not nearly as active as I should be, that sugar, more than likely, will convert to fat...NOT GOOD!  

     Tossing this sugar-free challenge out there has spawned some very interesting side questions from some of you.  I have decided to do some further research into a couple of these for a future post.  I am going to be researching the effects of artificial sweeteners versus natural sweeteners like honey and stevia both nutritionally and health wise.  I am also going to venture into wheat gluten pros and cons.  If any readers would like to offer their opinions or knowledge on those subjects please email me at Pedropwr3@aol.com with the subject "POST INFO" so I know what it is for.  I would also welcome any other questions you may have.

      In last week's post I told you all that big things were coming this weekend and indeed they have, big things in my opinion that is.  For those of you that were wondering about the WARNING at the beginning of this week's post, here is why.  Remember, I am sharing my life and experiences and I do not expect for all of you that read this to believe everything I do nor do I feel that you have to in order so that you find success in your own journeys.  That being said, you all know that I am making several changes in my life.  I am changing my relationship with food and lifestyle but I am also working on changing other relationships.  I am working on repairing several relationships with those that I have wronged or just drifted away from in the past.  There is a major relationship in my life that was once very strong and for one reason or another we drifted apart.  Last week I sought out guidance from a very wise friend on how to begin not only repairing my relationship but making it stronger than ever.  The relationship that I speak of is my relationship with God and His church.  I am a Christian and I have accepted Jesus Christ as my savior long ago but I allowed myself to drift far from the church due to the actions of others.  Today, I can happily say that I returned to church for the first time in many, many years.  I realized that I needed to be able to have a fruitful relationship with God and His church.  I have always known God but it was as if my fire had dimmed to mere embers.  I can honestly say that today felt as if I came home.  I could feel the spark again, the desire to learn from and praise the Lord again.  I always knew of God's love for me but I had to accept that even though I was finding success in this journey, I could not do it alone.  I needed God to truly succeed.
     As I have said before, I will not say to those that may believe differently that you "must" believe as I do, but I will say that I "MUST" believe as I do to succeed and I hope to show the those that know me how my life is affected by my beliefs.  I still have far to go but I know that I do not walk alone and I know that I have not taken one step alone.  I can also modify my answer to the question "Are you predator or prey?" by letting you all know that I am a "PREYDATOR that prays".
     Now comes the time to throw out this week's numbers so without hesitation I give you all...

   BOOM!!!

     There we go!  Five hundred Sixty-four pounds!  A total loss for this week of 6 lbs. (yes I made an error in math J&D) but 6 lbs. is just as good.  My total weight lost at this point is 110 lbs and dropping!  A good friend said to me this weekend that I was in the perfect catch-22.  As I lose weight I start feeling better, battle less medical issues, and move more but I find that by moving more I start feeling worse and end up battling more medical issues.  This is a vicious circle but not an endless one.  I asked him what he would suggest I do to remedy this issue and his reply was, not an exact quote, but he basically said just shut up and do it.  Man-up if you will allow me to use such a term.  As much as it pains me to say this, and oh boy it hurts, YOU SIR ARE CORRECT!!  I said it ok.  Now I must do it.  I must fight to force myself to be more active.  I must move more, exercise more, and be as dedicated to being more physical as I am to the rest of my journey.  I will no longer be "happy" with 1 or 2 lbs lost.  I will push for more but do so safely and responsibly.  I would love to take any input for exercises, stretches or activities that may help me.  I am also open to anybody that may want to "donate" any old and dusty exercise equipment you may have to my cause.  It will get put to good use and I am going to start posting pictures so you all can see as well.  

     I think that I have covered enough for this week.  As usual, I would like to thank each and every person that reads this blog and lends me his or her support.  I love reading your comments and encouragement.  It means the world to me.  I ask that you share this blog as much as you can.  Perhaps there is someone that just needs to know there is support out there.  We ARE changing lives and changing the world!  Much love and God bless you all.  VIVE LA FAT REVOLUTION!!!  To be continued... 

 WAKE UP A PREYDATOR!