NOTE: This post is in reference to a new diet and lifestyle choice that I started on Wednesday, October 22, 2014.  Feel free to skip this post if you aren’t interested.  However, if you are interested, and might like to know how to help me then read on.

The picture above is one I took from the top of Mount Tom in Vermont.  It’s a small enough mountain to make for a relatively easy climb for the kids, but when you are out of shape and older, well, that’s a different story.  The last section of the climb is almost vertical, and I nearly told Andie that I would wait there and she could go enjoy the summit.  However, she persuaded me to continue on and I made it to the top.  The view was worth it.  We were blessed with a beautiful day and gorgeous views.  Then we took a much easier, albeit longer, carriage road back to the base.  It was a nice day, once I reached the top.

The week of Thanksgiving, and my birthday, provided another type of challenge as we progress along the path of this new diet and lifestyle change.  I have to admit I was more than a little concerned about whether or not I would have the will power and determination to maintain my regimen when faced with a banquet table of succulent treats.  My ultimate goal for the week was not to gain any weight.  I wouldn’t be bothered if I stayed the same, but I didn’t want to go backwards. 

Thanksgiving came, and we were pleased to host thirty people in our house for the feast.  All the fixin’s were present, as well as a table of delicious pies.  The smells, the family, the joy—I was truly thankful to have this opportunity together.  My strategy was to keep myself as occupied as possible serving and hosting that I would not have time to sit idly by the food.  It worked, and I only indulged a few small treats over the course the day. 

Then, on Tuesday following Thanksgiving, came the moment of truth when I would stand before the doc and be accountable.  (This would be an ideal place for a drumroll).

The report is that I LOST one pound over the course of the week of my birthday and Thanksgiving!!!!  I was ecstatic!  Last night I weighed in again, and have lost another 4.8 pounds!  This brings my total to right around 27 pounds!!

I haven’t posted much about Andie, she is a little more private than I am about this, but let me give her a quick shout out too.  In the six weeks since we started this journey together toward better health Andie has lost 30 pounds!!!

To put this into perspective, we are almost a combined 60 pounds lighter than we were at the beginning of the school year!

It’s not easy…and I’d be fibbing if I said I haven’t felt like giving up, especially with a table filled with pies in my kitchen.  But I didn’t quit, I’ve kept working at it, and the climb is worth it.  I am reminded that, like on Mount Tom, I don’t have to make this climb alone.  Thank you for a wife who is with me on this trek, and is my partner in this process.  Thank you for your prayers and support which encourage me daily, and thank you Jesus for the strength to do what is sometimes hard to do. 

Philippians 4.13: I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Stay Tuned for More.

Dave “Big D” Bentley