My Oola Journey: From Fat to Fabulous

 

 

 I wrote my Oola plan this year and one area I chose to focus on was fitness. Awesome!  Except there's one little problem...life!  You see, sometimes life just gets in the way; out of town visitors, stress, working overtime -- they all contribute to our procrastination or lack of motivation or the excuse of the day.  I am ready to lose weight; it's just actually doing it that is the problem.

 

At church, a few of us began a new program called The Daniel Plan.  We are meeting weekly (accountability -- always good) and Bible study (a plus!).  I must confess upon starting the book I found it a little rigid.  I love the Scripture within but I know I would have difficulty with the plan.  It requires something I am clearly short of --time.  The food is delicious, as we sampled a hummus recipe, but I have not had time to cook as of late; another problem and more excuses. 

 

Last week, I decided to take things into my own hands; quite literally. Making excuses is easy.  However, I was feeling truly convicted in my spirit that God wants me to get healthier, and it's incredibly difficult for me to say "no" to Him -- in fact, for me, it's impossible.

 

 

 

You see, the Scripture verse 1 Corinthians 6:19 kept playing over and over in my head.  Our body is not our own and we need to take extremely good care of it if we are to be good stewards.    And so, I decided to just make some very small changes to see what would happen.

 

The first thing I did was to remove caffeine and sugar from my diet.  That was a tough one.  Working two jobs and running from 6:30 AM until sometimes 8:00 PM is difficult.  But, I felt that conviction.  So I began my detox from something that I dearly love -- coffee.  I've been a coffee drinker for over 35 years -- that's a long time for any mere mortal.  I easily drank 6-8 cups per day (if not more).  It was not even Starbucks fare; no, we're talking regular, old Folger's. 

 

I began last Friday, figuring I would have the week-end to get through the hardest part.  I had no side effects whatsoever.  Strange, since I have gotten off caffeine in the past and usually had a massive headache.  I slept easily for the first time in months and didn't wake up during the night AT ALL!  Here's the caveat -- I woke up with a massive headache.  Yes, I believe I was so saturated in caffeine (and sugar) that it took more than 24 hours to get out of my system.  I did not do much on Saturday, due to the migraine.  However, I knew it would not be easy and again, had that spirit of  renewed conviction and motivation.

 

Sunday, I felt great until I started to walk into my Bible study class.  I started to have back pain. By the time class was over, I was aching everywhere.  Flu?  It is rampant at our school but I took the flu shot.  I texted a friend I work with who had done a similar detox a few weeks before.  I asked if she had body aches while getting off caffeine -- she was a hardcore Starbucks drinker -- her answer?  YES!  I had never experienced body aches like that from caffeine withdrawal and although painful, felt even more convicted I was doing the right thing.

 

By Monday, the body aches were better but still there.  But now, I had to avoid the mailroom as there are frequently goodies in there.  I believe it was birthday cake.  So, there were two big sheet cakes to get past.  Let me tell you, cakes that size easily take ALL day to be eaten.  So while trying to dodge the food on the way to the Keurig to get hot water for my decaffeinated tea, I pretty much just had to use sheer willpower not to go for the cake.

 

Tuesday and Wednesday were great.  But then came Thursday -- you got it-- the Valentine's Day treats.  There in the mailroom was the biggest box of little pastries I have ever seen.  They did indeed look quite yummy but I knew that to get past the sugar, I had to just walk out.  They sat there all day too.

 

Yesterday was professional development day -- our breakfast?  Donuts -- my favorite!  Yet, I was not craving them and even took home a couple to my boys.   It also marked my first full week of being off caffeine and sugar.  I have not had any diet soft drinks either.  The results?  I am sleeping better, calmer, feel awesome, have more energy (some days are still tough), looser-fitting clothes (which is a great motivator) and have lost 6 pounds in the process.  Yes, it is almost hard to admit that I could consume so many calories just from those few items.  I am also eating several small meals/snacks per day.  I have either fruit, a 100 calorie bag of almonds for a snack or if I'm really craving sugar,a fruit bar which is pure fruit (45 calories).  I drink unsweetened vanilla almond milk, which I use for fruit smoothies in the morning.  I am not hungry nor am I craving the sweets.  I also drink lots of decaffeinated tea, water and water with Crystal Light.  Yes, one day I will try to get off artificial sweeteners but I can only do so much in a week! 

 

Now that I am off the caffeine and sugar,  I realize it is a place I don't want to go back to.  Some people ascribe to a "cheat" day but for me, my cheat would consist of something very sugary and I know what path that takes me down.  It is not one I wish to be on any longer.

 

As I continue this journey, I keep God in my heart and know that I am doing this not just for me, but for Him.  As you continue your own personal journey toward Oola, may you find that even with little ups and downs, it does not necessarily mean that we cannot achieve our dreams.  We just have to believe we can do it, step out in faith and take those first steps.  What we cannot handle, God surely will.