Pillars of Salt

Are you familiar with the Biblical story of Lot's wife?

The long story short is that Lot was Abraham's nephew.  Lot and his family lived in Sodom, which was a very wicked city.  When God decided to destroy the city, He provided a way for Lot and his family to escape Sodom safely, but they were given directions to leave quickly and not look back.  As they were fleeing the city, Lot's wife looked back and was turned to a pillar of salt.

Photo from Jordan's Photo Gallery

Lately this story has been ringing in my head.  Looking back often provides a sense of nostalgia and brings good memories.  But for me, every time I get an "on this day" reminder on Facebook, I go, "Ugggh" and am sad.  Now that spring is FINALLY here, I can bring out my spring clothes.  But instead of being super happy to wear them, they are snug in all the wrong areas.  I want to scream.

This dress does still fit.  Do you see the difference?

So, truth be told, I have not gained much, if any weight in the past year.  I hover within the same five pounds.  But I have had a year that I would truly like to NOT look back on.

But one thing I do:  forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:13b-14

In June of last year I hurt my shoulder, which took over six months to heal.  Just thinking about it makes my shoulder twinge.

How it all began... A day of kayaking and paddling on a Stand Up Board was more than my shoulder could take.  Add in two years of heavy weight lifting and ... ouch.

In October I had surgery on the varicose veins in my leg and developed some post-operative complications, which meant I had to have a second procedure in December.  During recovery I had to serious limit my exercise routine.

Amazing that there are no pictures of my scarred up legs.... Go figure, what woman wants pictures of their nasty varicose veins?  Or better yet, the ugly post-operative scars?

Then in February of this year I injured my back when I was cleaning my basement.  A month later I fell on black ice in the parking lot at work and reinjured my back.

Not a day I want to remember!!!!

It has not been a fun year.

Recovery got me like...

I can't really even tell you what that does to a person who has worked so hard to lose weight and become fit...

Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Tracey!!

I feel like my lean body has turned to complete flab.  So now I get to practice what I preach on myself.  It's no longer about giving you all kinds of tips on how to be motivated, it's a giant transition back to find the inspiration, courage and determination to move forward for ME.

Big ol' grin as I write this post...
At 5:00 a.m.

I no longer have a personal trainer to kick me in the butt, so it means I get to do that myself.  And THAT is its own challenge.

So, if you notice some changes in my blog the next few months, it will be all about moving forward in my own journey.  Looking back does not help me.

Goal #1 is to be able to do three sets of 10 push-ups again.  I honestly think that won't take long to do, so I'm setting a small goal.

April 20, 2015 was when I first accomplished this goal!  Back to basics for me.

I have several other goals too, but let's focus on one thing at a time.  Learning to "listen to my body" and to not overdo it means baby steps.  I'll share them here.

Finding motivation to go forward means a working on a few things too...
Developing a routine and sticking to it.
Nutrition, nutrition, nutrition.
It's time to stop all the night time snacking.  No more ice cream!  At least not every night.
Accountability is a huge one for me, so tag, you're it. I'll be looking to you, my readers, to be my cheerleaders.

It's 5:25 a.m.  I am going to make myself some eggs and get to the gym for 6:00 a.m. when they open.  Normally I don't go this early, but I've been up since 3:00 a.m., I feel pretty good, so let's seize the day!

Here is my song for today...not such a workout tune, but definitely one to live by...

How You Live by Point of Grace

"It's not what you did, it's how you live."

Questions for you: (answer in the comment section below)

What motivates you best to work out?  To eat right?  What do you have planned for today?

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