Happy Easter/ Rethinking YOU!

Happy Easter! Today is not only a celebration of the Risen Christ, but it is also the ending of forty days of Lent. Lent is important time for me, not just as a Catholic, but as a person. Lent provides for me a time to reflect over who I am as a person.

What is Lent you ask? Well here is a quick explanation:

Lent marks the time when, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus spent time fasting in the desert where he endured temptation by Satan. Today, it is an observance of approximately six weeks leading up to Easter. During Lent, many commit to fasting or giving up certain types of luxuries as a form of penance.

My family always gives up meat on Fridays during Lent and for the past few years I have given up all junk food. This year I also added a penance of drinking at least one glass of milk a day; a beverage I tend to avoid as much as possible. With the conclusion of Lent last night, my family and I pigged out; eating chips, onion dip and chocolate … in moderation of course.

Whaaat? The bunny broke in half and I ate the broken bits....

When I got up, I got a reminder of why I gave up junk food in the first place: bloating.
A good friend of my recently posted a blog titled “Muffinous Tops and Saggy Bottoms.” I have to say I was impressed with her honesty; this was a topic I had wanted to discuss, but couldn’t figure out how to segue into it. Her final sentence asked:

LADIES, what are your problem areas if any? How do you combat them? What would you change if you could?

Well, after eating that bowl of chips last night, I figured out where my problem areas are! However, throughout this whole Lenten period, I have been trying to think positively about myself. Sure, I really didn’t want to drink that milk every day! But I reminded myself that one glass of milk = calcium + strong bones. I forgot the negative thoughts and concentrated on the optimistic.

There are many, many parts of my body that I am NOT ok with. BUT, they really can’t be changed. Thus, I have decided to only focus on what is good about myself. Nothing boosts morale than positive encouragement. Therefore, every day this week, I am going to tackle something about me I don’t like and counteract it with some personal motivation!

I encourage you to follow my journey this week, and maybe do something similar for yourself. So check in again tomorrow; my first opponent is body fat!