If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. Anne Bradstreet

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. Ether 12:27

Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season therof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart; Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul. And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion. D&C 59:18-20

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Stepping up the Steps

Last night when about 500 steps into my 900-step routine, carrying 33 lbs of added weight, I felt inspired to increase the steps to 1000, which I did.  It was hard--I don't think I've ever sweat so much doing exercise, drops of sweat falling off my face and much of my t-shirt damp.  Now the question is, how to increase my arm exercises to get the extra 100 steps in for my even-day routine.  I've been doing 140 steps of each of 5 arm exercises (=700), and 100 steps of holding one 10 lb weight straight out in front of me (excellent for core strength), and 100 of just holding a 10 lb weight in each hand.  Tonight I'm going to do 150 of each of the last 2, and that will give me 1000 steps.

My weight this morning was 180.6, down a full lb from last Tuesday.  For many people, losing only one pound a week will be much too slow to satisfy their rush to get the weight off.  But for me, it's not just about losing weight, it's about enjoying life while I'm losing it and having the confidence to know that what I am doing is inspired by Heavenly Father -- He knows much better than anyone else what my body needs at this time.  I still can't believe I am even losing weight at all from a 1750 calorie budget.  Steps take me about 50 minutes or so, and since I do them at home, I don't have any lost time from driving to and from a gym. I'm able to listen to scriptures while I do steps, so I am not only strengthening my body, but nourishing my spirit.

It's a very good program for me, and I'm indeed grateful for the inspiration from Heavenly Father.  I don't know what mechanism fails when we let ourselves go like that, but I feel it is just one of the addictive behaviors that plague our society -- be it drugs, or alcohol, or food, or pornography, or computer games, or whatever.  God gives us weaknesses so we may become strong.  Whatever weakness we have, it's for our good.

Here's my progress chart.  Click to enlarge.


Edited to Add:

I had barely gotten started with my steps tonight when I felt inspired to do 200 each of the 5 arm exercises -- so I did.  That was tough.  Since I do the arm exercises for half (10 out of each 20 steps), that totaled 100 repetitions of each exercise, using 10 lb weights in each hand.  
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