Back On Track

One of the first moments I realized John was something special came early in our relationship, when he and my dad bonded over Dave Ramsey. For those of you who don't know, Dave Ramsey is an author and financial advisor who hosts his own radio show. In the past, my caring dad attempted to make road trips even more fun by popping in one of Dave's Financial Peace University CDs, attempting to ensure his children grasped the concept of saving at an early age. You can imagine how well that went over with 18 and 15 year olds... Don't get me wrong: when it comes to financial advice, Dave Ramsey is da man. He gives sound advice with a faith-based spin I can appreciate. However, I'm not exactly in love with him like John may be (it's one thing to read his books; it's a completely different thing to watch Youtube videos of him wakesurfing...). One of John's little stocking-stuffer-esque Christmas gifts from yours truly was a daily calendar with little tidbits of advice from Dave Ramsey himself, and one day, I saw a piece of advice that really hit home with me:

Wow. I think in any kind of rut, people can relate to that statement. After I saw that statement, I wrote it on a large index card and stuck it on my mirror. It serves as my daily reminder to check "Hey, how am I feeling about life right now? Am I loving it?" If the answer is "yes!" then good, and if the answer is "no," then why not? What can I do to fix that?

I'm not always good about doing a daily assessment, and sometimes, I let myself make decisions I'll regret later, like eating more ice cream in one day than I should have in one week.... Sometimes it does seem easier to ignore a couple of pounds creeping back on than it seems to sacrifice dessert and start doing push-ups. However, none of my dreams involve sitting lazily on a couch eating ice cream. Some of my dreams involve being fit, like my dream of running a half-marathon.

 

A Disney half marathon, to be exact.... I can't wait to be the one running in mouse ears!

So, what's a girl to do?! Take little steps towards my dream and away from the painful places of regret and shame. Here's my first step: go back to tracking my food and fitness with MyFitnessPal. This (free!) app was such a game-changer for me this summer. I loved how simple it was to log every bite I ate, but alas, I got a bit lazy once school started, quit logging everything, and it was all downhill from there. Since I've realized what a big difference accountability to myself makes, this week, my first goal isn't even to eat less; it's just to track what I eat more often.

This post may seem silly, but for me, it's good to re-focus every once in a while. I don't want to lose sight of what's important to me, and something I really value is my health. From experience, I can tell you that I am at least a hundred times happier when I feel good, physically. If I don't take the time to take care of myself, it is bad news bears. So here's to listening to Dave Ramsey and going after my dreams!