Digging Deep to Get Healthy

I've just encountered something for the first time since I started writing this blog: a holiday weekend.

I made it through, but didn't do well. I did survived though. On to another day, another week.

I am still holding strong on the "no soft drink challenge," though. I wonder why I can stay away from Diet Cokes, but I still fail at the other things like eating healthy and exercising. Is it because someone challenged me? My male ego and pride are stepping up to the plate because someone has thrown a gauntlet at my feet? Maybe. Someone challenge me to something else! Come on! I dare ya.

In other news, my "couch to 5K" training came crashing down on me during the week-four run. My legs gave out, and I wasn't able to complete the run during any of the times I tried it. It was very discouraging. I'll try again this week, but I think I may be on week four for a while.

Do you mind if I preach to you for a minute or two? Thanks. My faith is an important part of this journey, and sometimes things just click together and I have to share.

Do you remember the story about the foolish man building his house on the sand and the wise man building his house on the rock? There's even a little kids' song that goes along with it. Maybe because I think of it as a kids' story, I pass on by it and don't give it a chance to teach me anything.

Our church has Bible classes on Wednesday nights, and on the past two Wednesday nights in two different classes, this story has come up. And there was something in there that I never noticed before. It's like finding a shirt in the back of your closet. Or something different on the menu at your favorite restaurant. It's probably always been there; you just haven't noticed it yet.

If you don't know the story, it's about two guys building houses. One guy builds his house on a foundation made of rock. His house stands firm against the storms and floods because it was well built. The foolish dude builds his house on the sand. So when the storms and floods come, his house is washed away. You can find the two accounts of the story here and here if you'd like.

There are obvious spiritual applications to this story that I would be happy to discuss with you, but for the purpose of this blog, I'm going to go in a different direction. The thing that stood out to me this time that I hadn't noticed before was this: The wise man, while building his house, "dug down deep." We all know what it means to "dig deep," right? What this tells me is that in order for my "house" of healthy living to be able to stand up against the winds and rains of life, I have to dig deep and establish a firm foundation.

Some people call this their "aha" moment. Where they finally figure it out and have something to base their new healthy choices on. I had the opportunity to hear one of the "Biggest Loser" winners, Bill Germanakos, speak recently. He described his aha moment as having to have his daughter help him out of a roller coaster car that he couldn't fit into, all the while hearing fellow New Yorkers jeer at him and call him names. For others, it could be looking at old photos or getting a bad doctor's report or losing a friend or relative to an obesity-related illness. From then on, they are able to dig deep and make the change for good.

Maybe seeing this passage of Scripture will be my aha moment. Whatever it is, I've got to dig deep and build a firm foundation so that things like a holiday weekend, a Diet Coke or sore legs won't send my house crashing down.

What's your aha moment?

After decades of dieting only to gain it back, two That's Fit readers have decided to finally rethink their relationship with food and exercise over the next year to move toward a lifetime of fulfilling, healthy living. Come by every week as Ashley and Lee share their successes and challenges as they tip the scale.

Ashley just had an "aha" moment as well, find out what it was.