Restart Rainbow

I have a lot of scriptures that are favorites as my lifeline for each new morning when it’s time to start over on the food battles for the day. Some days are uneventful; even peaceful, and for those I’m thankful. Other days are simply challenges from the moment I wake up---from that first bite at breakfast I’m ready to eat anything that hasn’t moved. Those are the days where this ‘starting over’ concept is most helpful. The next morning and the new start is always a blessing.

Starting over is colorful, like the colors of a rainbow. The rainbow scheme reminds me of the emotional ride through the day that can accompany the new day’s eating regimen. Let me travel through the colors with you:
RED – the starting over is bold, and daring, like this bold color; there’s some pain involved. It’s here I can remember how I went off track with my eating the day before and need to accept it and move on.
ORANGE – next I sense the brightness of a new harvest; it’s time to cash in on a new experience for the day.
YELLOW -- I’m joy-filled and excited for these new chances in this new day.
GREEN – As the new day continues I can feel mellow/ calm and steady; I maintain the refueling that a new start brings.
BLUE – I feel peaceful; as the day proceeds, I can either maintain this peace, or start to feel ‘down’
INDIGO – a dark color reflecting a darker mood as I reflect on this day’s events and how I handled food choices accordingly. I’m either melancholy or reflective.
VIOLET – the deepest but possibly the most beautiful color of all; this color represents the beautiful complexity of emotions that accompany the eating cycle of the day.

It’s God and his grace that keeps me going. Psalm 5:3 (NLT) “Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD.
Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.” Yay, God!

Tip of the week:
Restart every day, every meal, or every hour if you need to. But simply restart. The only way to fail is to quit.

Starting Over...and Over...and Over

The sunrise. My early morning alarm. Birds chirping. Enticing coffee aroma. (gotta love those timer-started-coffee makers!) Time to start a new day. Again.

My prayer: “Dear God: Help! I’ve lost and gained the same three pounds for the last four months. What is that about? Is it mental or physical? I need to start over and lose these three pounds again, and then a few more to reach my final goal weight.”

It’s the beginning of another morning regimen and I’m blessed to be able to start a new day. The new day is my gift so that I can indulge in a new commitment towards healthy eating. I love the sense of a clean slate; the food tally marked with a zero; the restart that comes with the morning. This clean slate is a chance at hope. When I flounder on my eating program, it’s the restart that reminds me I am not perfect. The restarts are the only way to live within a life filled with imperfection.

It is my belief that these restarts are the most critical key for life-time success in weight loss. These restarts represent my prayer time. Going to the table again, coffee in hand, to have my morning chat with God, is what constitutes healthy living, regardless of my food choices. The healthy weight goals are going to be my daily battle for the rest of my life, and the only way I can survive the longevity of this battle is to break it down into these 24-hour chunks of time. Then and only then can I accept that there’s no need to throw in the towel—ever. I’m basking in the new sunrise—and I anticipate my restart—again.

Thankfully, God is available each morning along with that sunrise. I can count on that. “Amen.”