Part 23 - Revolution Not Resolution!!!

     Please allow me to not only welcome each and every reader of The Rendering to Part 23 - Revolution Not Resolution but also to 2014.  I hope that you all had a happy and blessed holiday.  As 2013 passes into history and 2014 opens its doors to us I say good riddance!  It has been no secret that 2013 was not a very good year for me and there were by far many more lows than highs but I do not intend to live in the past anymore.  A good friend told me today, "never let yesterday fill up today" and that truly hit home.  

     So let's talk about a very common theme around this time of year, the New Year's Resolution.  

      So just what is a New Year's Resolution?  By definition it is:

- New Year's Resolution -

A New Year's resolution is a promise that you make to yourself to start doing something good or stop doing something bad on the first day of the year.

     This is all fairly common knowledge but there are a high percentage of people who make a resolution and then never follow through.  The most lucrative time for gyms is this time of year but how many of those "dedicated" people will stick with it?  Very few would be my answer.  I myself have been known to make a New Year's Resolution a time or two and you might find this shocking but I NEVER followed through either.  I have done a little research and I have found that "losing weight" and "getting healthy" are consistently at the top of all of the New Year's Resolution lists.  I don't just mean the lists of New Year's Resolutions made but also the first to be broken.  

     So why do I bring this all up?  The answer is simple.  Why wait for one certain day of the year to try to improve yourself?   We should strive to be better and healthier people every day.  Now, if you have followed me through this journey you may recall several times where I added "VIVE LA FAT REVOLUTION!!!".  Yes, I do understand that this particular phrase is by far not grammatically correct and it is a sad, bastardized amalgamation of two languages but it has become a battle cry of sorts for me.  

- REVOLUTION -

A sudden, extreme, or complete change in the way people live, work, etc.

     I use this little saying of mine to remind me that I am making a lifestyle change and in sharing my story with all of you, perhaps I am able to inspire others to join my revolution and we can change lives.  I do not view this as a diet or anything negative.  I see this as a fierce battle and as history has proven, revolutions quite often lead to fierce battles but those battles lead to freedom.  If not for a revolution, I may never have had the freedom to speak openly about my story.  I know for a fact that there will be exhausting battles and losses in my revolution but I stand here now and proclaim that I WILL BE FREE OF THIS ADDICTION WHEN THE DUST SETTLES!  I invite all who have battled weight issues to take up your arms and join me in changing lives.  No, I don't mean guns.  I mean resources and tools and knowledge and support.  

     I can only share my experiences with you but I will share all I know about winning this war.  First and foremost I give all the glory to God for without Him I can do nothing.  He is my rock and my salvation.  Through God I have had many amazing old friends brought back into my life and many new friends have entered as well.  I can lean on God when I am weak and He has given me people to support me in my journey.  

     They say knowledge is power and in today's world of information at our fingertips we are overflowing with knowledge.  Weight Watchers is yet another weapon in my arsenal.  There is support in the meetings and endless bits of knowledge about the best ways to lose weight safely.  Even social media has proven to be an ally by giving me a voice to be heard.  

     So with all of that said I offer to you this, if you have a New Year's Resolution, whatever it may be, I challenge you to not abandon it but change it.  Start a revolution of your own.  Don't change once a year.  Take a stand and change your life.  Live each day with a goal to try to be, in some small way, better than you were the day before.  Reach back and offer encouragement to someone else trying to change his or her life.  Do this and you will find, more often than not, that you have a new ally for your revolution.  Finally, remember even though it sounds cliché, that when you feel small and fragile and disheartened, it is not the size of the dog in the fight but rather the size of the fight in the dog!

     As usual we have come to the point where I need to show you the numbers.  

      This is my January 1, 2014 weight.  I have gone down 2 lbs from last week and I am going to keep going that way.  I have accepted a challenge for this year as well.  The challenge is to walk 365 miles in 365 days.  The numbers may sound daunting but in reality it is only 1 mile per day.  You don't have to walk everyday but the challenge is to make sure you have walked at least 365 miles by December 31, 2014 and I will do AT LEAST that much.

     This is a face, ugly and scary as it appears, but a face of determination for sure.  To date I have logged 4 miles toward my goal and my pastor and his wife have accepted the challenge as well to support and encourage me.  The cold weather was a bit of a hindrance making walking dangerous for a couple of days but I have iron clad determination and I got back out there pounding the pavement. I was a bit concerned about days where the weather might make walking my mile difficult but God provided yet again.  A very special friend has offered to give me a treadmill so I can walk indoors as well.  I love her very much and she has been such a good friend over the past years.  I am blessed to have her in my life.

     I have been working with free weights and resistance bands for a great workout.  These items also were supplied by dear friends that have shown me such great support.  I have a number of friends that want to hit the gym with me as well.  I will have to see if I can manage it financially but one way or another God will place me where He wants me and He will provide.  I have also heard of a fine exercise routine called "swim walking" but I have not researched it yet.  That could be next on the menu.  

     Lastly, I had a full physical done this past Friday so I know more of where I stand.  As I said, knowledge is power and I intend to harness all of the power I can to win this revolution.  I am still awaiting the blood and urine workups and I will share the good and bad when I get it.  Some of the results of my physical were given to me right away.  I had an EKG done and they found that I have a slightly enlarged heart.  While this isn't a good thing it is manageable.  I guess the only reaction I have is as I stated on Facebook, "duh, you don't put a VW Bug motor in a Mack truck chassis!"  Sure, you can say that is gallows humor but I am staying positive because it is all in God's hands.  My doctor wants to refer me to a cardiologist but I will have to see if I can financially manage that.  On a good note, my doctor was very pleased with my commitment to walking and has issued a challenge to me to try to do a 5k walk in the fall.  I will give it my all so we shall see.  

     I have rambled on enough for tonight so I will leave you with this, simply thank you all for taking some time to read and support me throughout this journey.  Greater things have yet to come, greater things have yet to be done.  Please share this with all that will listen because you never know who needs a revolution to change their own lives.  VIVE LA FAT REVOLUTION!!!  Much love and may God bless you all!  To be continued...