Part 21 - A Work In Progress

     Hello and please allow me to welcome you all to Part 21 - A Work In Progress.  This is my post turkey day episode.  I hope you all had a safe and wonderful holiday.  I can honestly say that I enjoyed myself far more than I was anticipating.  I was able to spend some much treasured time with my family and laugh and make memories.  There was some great food and even better company.  

     So that begs the question, "was I good?"  As I have stated from the very beginning, I will be upfront and honest in all matters that pertain to what I am doing here, so my answer is emphatically...nope.  I wasn't horribly out of control but I did enjoy some of the delicious turkey day treats and I did have some pie.  Now that we are past Thanksgiving it is time to get back to work.  So I ask you all, how did you do?

      So, does this fella remind you of your Thanksgiving or the day after?

     Perhaps this was more of how you felt after you saw just how much you enjoyed that stuffing?

     Please, if you take anything from these posts that I write take this, don't feel guilty for enjoying an occasional indulgence.  We are all works in progress and there is always a tomorrow.  Here, however, is the key word, "occasional".  It is our job to make sure that when tomorrow comes we get focused and back on track.
     I want to share a small story with you that I have been able to see a bit of myself in.  I have just recently been given the opportunity to learn about using a wood lathe to turn some decorative pieces.  As I learned the process of how this all works and I watched as the wood took on a life of it's own I saw a parallel to my journey with my weight loss.

       This is a picture of the raw wood that I started with.  Very much like myself, it is rough and gnarled.  It has a tough bark and several knots.  Overall, not too appealing, but as I learned, with some hard work and love the beauty that is concealed can be coaxed out.

     As I put the tools to the rough exterior, the wet and dirty bark began to chip, what's that, away.  Sure, it was a bit messy and things flew around and debris got everywhere but I can remember starting this journey.  Things most certainly were messy when I began.  Not just the physical issues but mentally I had to be broken apart to start the process.

     Once I was past the bark I found myself faced with the very hard knots in the wood.  As the wood would spin and I put the chisel to the knot, there were times that the machine would buck and bounce and fight me.  I too, found that as I progressed and lost more weight that I had my own "knots" if you will.  I found myself resisting the changes even though I knew it was for the best.  My brother-in-law Mat, who taught me how to work the wood and is truly a blessing in my life, taught me to be persistent and work through the knots to make the wood truly round.  I was also persistent when I hit the "knots" in my weight loss journey.  I used the support, love, and encouragement to stay the course and round out my own areas of resistance.  

     Now that the wood was rounded I was able to start coaxing out the piece that lived within the wood.  I would slowly cut and chisel and sand.  Bit by bit, I worked this once rough, ugly stick into something that was appealing.  Over the past few months I have done the same to myself.  I have worked the Weight Watcher program and I used the tools given to me to "render" out a physically more appealing and healthier me.

     At the current time, this is what that rough piece of wood looks like now.   Just like this piece is still a work in progress, so am I.  With some more hard work, determination, and love, this humble piece of wood will become a piece of art that will accentuate the beauty of the wood.  I too will reach my goal with some more hard work, determination, and love, and I will be a much healthier, and to me, a more beautiful person.  We are all works in progress and we have the tools to shave away that which we find undesirable.  We must find the determination with in us and the love and support from each other.  God has made me a beautiful person and with God I will succeed.  
     I think that I have found a place to wrap this week's post up.  My back is really bothering me at the moment and this darn computer chair isn't helping much.  I will post this week's numbers but as with each week, my weigh-in is done on Wednesday so I don't have any Thanksgiving consequences yet.  Here is the number...

     There it is folks!  I have lost 2 more pounds this week.  That means I have lost a total of 117 lbs.  Three more pounds and I will start gaining ground again.  As always, thank you all for your support and I ask that you share this on all of your pages so we can let everybody that is in need know that they too are indeed works in progress.  We ARE changing lives and changing the world!  Much love and God bless you all.  VIVE LA FAT REVOLUTION!!!  To be continued...