Can I get some cheese with my whine?

Monday began a new adventure for me. I am a part of a group doing a Healthy Challenge, in an effort to encourage and challenge each other to make healthier choices and get fit. I have been back and forth across the fence on doing it - excited, didn't want to do it, ready for a challenge, didn't think I could do it, etc. I hemmed and hawed in my mind for a week, but didn't tell anyone I was debating. I didn't think I could do it.

The basic premise is that you eat a healthy breakfast, healthy lunch, healthy dinner. You don't consume sugary snacks or drinks, take a multivitamin, drink plenty of water, don't eat after 8:30 PM, and exercise for at least 45 minutes each day. You follow this for 6 days, then you have a day off. You get point for each item, tally them, then turn them in each week. Everyone can see how everyone else did. At the end of the 10 weeks, the winner wins half the pot we collected (we each put in $20). Second place gets 30% and third place gets 20%.

I have been following the "plan" for five days now. I know I haven't exercised this consistently since college. I have walked, ran, and done pilates (ouch, ouch, ouch). My legs hurt in muscles I forgot I had. I could barely walk the other morning. I didn't realize just how badly I needed to get into a shape that wasn't squishy.

A part of me wishes I could just wake up one morning and have the fabulous body of my dreams. Strong muscles, a much smaller behind, flat stomach. But I know that's not going to happen. If I want that, if I want to truly be healthy, I am going to have to work at it. It will take a daily commitment on my part.

I think that's my biggest struggle - discipline. I struggle to consistently do the things I know are good for me, the things that I know will make me a better person. It's not that I don't want to, I just don't have the motivation. It's far too easy for me to believe the lies of the enemy, the ones that say:

• Why bother?
• Is it really worth it?
• What are you going to get out of it?
• Will anyone notice?
• Does anyone care what you're doing?
• It won't help anyways...

Today, I will choose to "press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14)." And I will remember that it is not a sprint, it is a marathon. It will take time. I will stumble. But I will get back up and keep going. Because the prize is worth it (and I'm not just talking about the pot)!