Integrity

I've been needing something, anything to motivate me.  Anything!  I set goals and give up, repeatedly.  So what would keep me on target?  I may have found it.

In our church, the young women have a little booklet called "Personal Progress."  It is filled with eight major categories, and you do small goals and then a large project for each category.  As a leader, I am working on the same goals.

One of the categories is Integrity.  I had a project in mind, sewing modest clothing, but it didn't seem quite right, though I do need to get them done.  Still, I don't want a lot of new things that will just discourage me from getting fit, since then my new things will be too big.  Then it hit me exactly what the project should be.

INTEGRITY.  What does it mean?  We usually think of good character, honesty, trustworthiness, etc.  But there are other definitions which I came across when studying the meanings (which is one of the smaller goals.)

INTEGRITY means:

 

1.    adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character;

       honesty.

2.    the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the integrity of

       the empire.

3.    a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition: the integrity of a ship's hull.

 

(dictionary.reference.com)

 

Okay, so number one is what we usually think of, but what about 2 and 3?  

 

1--I haven't been fully committed in obeying the principles of getting enough sleep, enough exercise, and the right portions of food.

 

2--The state of being whole, entire, or undiminished....I need to restore, as much as possible, the integrity of my body. I have let my fitness diminish, languish, be distracted by other things.  I may never overcome the fibromyalgia, but I can at least do my part.  

 

3--A sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition?  Hardly!  fat and unhappy is not quite the same as sound and unimpaired. 

Now, part of 3 is not to confusion perfect with perfectionism.  I did a perfect job of walking yesterday and today.  I did not walk perfectly, or even early, or energetically, but I have a perfect record that I walked both days.  That's good enough for now. I did actually finish up a mile, though it was difficult and not high energy.

Synonyms:

Rectitude, probity, virtue, honor

Antonyms:  dishonesty

We could play thesaurus:  rectitude means

1.   rightness of principle or conduct; moral virtue: the rectitude of her motives.

2.   correctness: rectitude of judgment.

3.   straightness.

 

If I get in shape, I am following right principles of health.  Straightness...stand up straight, dive straight into it...rectitude makes me thinking of standing erect.

 

Probity:    integrity and uprightness; honesty. Not to be confused with propriety, which means: decency, modesty, etiquette, aptness, fitness, seemliness,  correctness.  (oh well, why not that too?  It fits with the theme.  Fitness!)  Am I fit for life?  Am I fit for the things I need to do?  Hardly, but I want to be.  

 

Straightness: (as an adverb) in a straight line: to walk straight; in an even form or position: in an erect posture: to stand up straight; directly: to go straight to a place.  I want to walk, straight to my fitness goal.  Not so much worried about form or position yet, as long as I don't hurt myself, just doing it, but knowing that it will help both my form and posture. 

 

As for my motives:  to honor God an myself by keeping my body as a temple, full of His honor and glory, able to serve Him faithfully in full health, to do my part in His kingdom, in my work, and in my household.

 

And, I admit, to get that purple Integrity ribbon, to complete the entire program and get my medallion.

Another Name Change Coming Up

A while back I changed the name of this blog to "Fit by 55."  The problem I have is that 55 is still a ways into the future, and doesn't do anything to motivate me now.  I am trying to think of a new name that is inspiring and unique.

I thought of Fabulous Fifties, but it's not unique, and it sounds like I am celebrating a retro decade--one I didn't even grow up in! 

Fat-Free Fifties?  I'm not going to go fat-free, and that sounds like a recipes page anyway.  Let's make over all the 50's food to be fat-free.

I have a pinterest board called "No Wheat, No Dairy" and that might work, but the focus isn't as much about the food limitations, though they are a big part of my life right now.  The focus of this page is supposed to be about fitness, but I'm not very fit lately. 

I originally called the board "No Wheat, No Cows"  and I think it's pretty funny--ties in with not looking like a cow either--but again the focus is not on the dietary restrictions so much as it is on taking care of myself in my 50's and not turning into an old lady prematurely.

"The Care and Feeding of a 50+ Body."  Maybe. I think I'm getting closer.  "Soon to Be Senior" brings high school into mind.  "Sexy Senior Citizen"  invites too much spam.  I just can't think of anything catchy. 

Orange Juice!

There's nothing like a glass of fresh orange juice!  The bottled kind is a poor substitute....especially poor for me as I have found out lately.

For some reason the kind that comes in a jug and says "made from concentrate" gives me heartburn lately.  So here's one for Trudy, over at My Healthy Eating Challenge.  She tries to avoid all processed food, and just eat naturally and healthfully.  She has been feeling better, lost weight, and even improved her eyesight!

Anyway, it's interesting because eating a nice fresh orange, even if it's not an organic one, does not upset my stomach.  Only the juice does that.

Orange you glad I shared this?

Disneyland Walking

Two different sons are planning Disney Vacations, and both have invited me.

One is this October, to Disneyland, and one next September to Disney World.  I absolutely love the grandchildren and look forward to these trips, but oh the physical part....!

One more reason to get walking....Mickey Mouse, here I come!

Lots of cool Disney clipart here.

Walking to Work

We used to live about 10 minutes from work--by car.  You would think we could walk the 2.5 miles, but no, it's just too far to go home for lunch.  The idea was to ride a bike, but it's almost all busy streets, so we got lazier and lazier, and both of us were driving to work, at the same place but different times. 
 

I did at least park the car in the far end of the parking lot...sort of.  A diagonal line would have been further than the straight line to the front door.

After two years we made a big decision.  We moved to an apartment three blocks from work, listed a car for sale, and now we walk to work!  There is a Curves about the same distance away and I am considering joining.  There are other options a little further away,  but why drive?

For more fun clip art....

So a few nights ago we babysat for friends on the next street over, and what did we do?  We both drove!  There was a good excuse, though.  My husband came from cleaning the old house and had a carload of stuff to haul.  As for me...well, walking in any weather is my goal, but I hadn't considered severe thunderstorm warnings...and that was after I waited out the tornado warning.

I love the midwest!  I really do.  Summer weather is so much more exciting here.  I'll just have to walk the rest of the time.

Moving Muscles

We moved over the last two weeks, and now I am working hard to get my apartment organized.  I have rediscovered muscles I forgot I had.  It's exciting, if a bit painful.

Mirror Image

I was in a room with two mirrors at right angles to each other.  If I stood in the right place, it took off 50 pounds.  This was an awesome effect, until I realized it also took out my head entirely!  So here was this delightfully skinny body with no head.

Don't we sometimes (often) lose our heads over our weight?  We go on ridiculous diets, or we fail to enjoy the moment because we are so busy comparing ourselves to the skinny people around us?  I used to be so slim, size 8 slim, and I sometimes waste time and emotion missing those days.

Last week I got to spend time with my lovely, thin siblings.  We even got our picture taken all together.  I admit to a moment of "hiding," putting the slim ones in the front, but for the most part I just enjoyed the moments.  I spent time with some people I love much but don't see often, had a wonderful visit, and have a nice picture as a souvenir.

That's me on the far left.  How did I get so short?  I'm pretty sure they all  have high heels on!  Incidentally, the plane in the background is the kind our dad flew as an Air Force Lieutenant in the 1950's.  We didn't realize this until later, but my husband, our photographer, had put us in front of the b-29 on purpose.