lemons and lemonade, or, when it's all right to add sugar to your diet

Life has thrown us a real lemon - B.'s truck broke down and he found out that it will cost about $3000 to get it fixed. Ah, just when he finally has some good work for his business, and we were FINALLY going to get caught up on our past-dues, then this has to happen!

Okay, going to try to make lemonade out of this. Praise: at least B. has good work for his business right now, which means we can get the truck fixed, eventually. Praise: in the meantime, a friend of his has let him borrow a truck. Pretty much indefinitely. Praise: a lot less sugar in my diet these days, because I'm using so much of it to make lemonade out of these lemons!

No, the real reason why there is less sugar: a couple weeks ago when it occurred to me that in less than 4 months I was going to turn forty, I decided that turning 40 would be ever so much easier to take if I could shed some weight before the dreaded date. It would be really nice to start my fifth decade in life feeling better about myself phyiscally. So I asked my Mom if she would like to join WeightWatchers with me. Yes, its $40 a month, OUCH! However, the twins are completley potty trained now (another Praise!), which means I'm saving $40 a month in diapers. I was surprised, but Mom agreed.

I haven't really learned anything new at the meetings, and it does feel a little corny clapping everytime someone shares a success, but the bottomline is: it's very motivational. I already know the basic guidelines of eating healthy - lower your fat and sugar intake - five servings a day or fruit or veggies - lean meat and whole grains. However, I am more motivated now to eat a half a cup of berries and nofat yogurt instead of snacking from the vending machine. Also motivated to try some new recipes, and in general spending more time preparing food and cooking, instead of frequently choosing fast (and less healthy) meals.

I was not too sure about writing down everything you eat and calculating points (which can be time-consuming), but I decided to try it for a week, at least. It seems like it would be a lot easier just to go by the principles of hunger and fullness like I always have before. But one advantage to looking up points for everything and writing it down is that it does make me think before I eat instead of just mindlessly grabbing something. The WeightWatchers forms have little checkboxes for everything: did you take a multi-vitamin? Did you get at least 2 dairy servings a day? and how many servings of fruits/veggies? a checkbox for exercise, too (I am exercising more... leaving work a half hour early to go for a quick walk before picking up the girls). Anyway, this week (I'm on my second week now, lost 2.8 pounds my first week), I decided to add a checkbox to the form for "checking in with God" too, because I do still believe firmly in the that the more you involve God in your daily walk, the less food will have a hold on you (food is definitely an "idol" in my life).

Wow, I just read Beth Moore's most recent blog after finishing mine, and it seemed providentially in line with what I have just been writing about: not letting little temptations get the mastery over you: Like slaves in search of little masters.