I love studying other religions and looking for similarities and new perspectives. I often don't even make enough time to study my own, much less others (other than History Channel specials) but there's one chapter in LDS scripture that has always resonated with me, and recently I've begun to think of it in both spiritual terms and temporal terms, as I've been looking at my own issues with cheating on the diet and not always taking care of body as I should. The body houses the spirit, and is equally important to care for...if the body is not healthy and the mind is not clear, then the spirit is held back from progressing and serving others.

Here are the lines that stick with me:

Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul. Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions. 2 Nephi 4:28-29

I love the positive tones in this, and find it very motivating. I wonder how I can adapt it to a postie on my refrigerator: "Awake, my soul! No longer droop in toxins. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for foods that sap my energy. Do not stress out if I fail. Do not slacken my strength just because it's been a hard day"

Huh, I may just keep the original on my fridge, it's much more poetic.

By the way, I loved Dr. D's Blog today, Each Day Anew...could have written it for me.

Back to blog business:

So does six pounds lost count if I just gained them last week? Sure, it's better than gaining them last week and not ever losing them. I never wanna see those pounds ever again! My morning blood sugar is now right where it should be, 20 points down from where it never should have been. That bs, like the 6 pounds, was also a very new development, and the two together scared me straight. I don't have prediabetes, and I want to keep it that way. Always better to worry today than tomorrow!

Yesterday at Taekwondo I found out that the new self-defense curriculum requires me to do breakfalls for testing, and since I'm a blue-green belt, that means doing them from standing. I also need to do a dive-roll, and was it a running dive-roll? I've never been a gymnast at all, never even could do a cartwheel, so this will be interesting. No big thick mat or anything. Yet another impetus to lose all the extra weight I can! It won't be long before I have to start really jumping for some kicks, so I need to get light and strong.

I tried Yoga for the first time in a long time today, and it was my first real yoga class, the others were Power Yoga at the gym. I found this a much more awesome experience which made drops of sweat roll off me and will make me very sore I'm sure. The challenge there will be backbends and hand stands...and I'll work on that. Yet another impetus to get lighter and stronger.

Explorers should exercise 4-5 times a week, and I've been consistently only doing two, that is taekwondo. On belt jump camp week I did three hours a day for 5 days, not as intense as a regular class since it was all curriculum, still, enough to teach me that I can do a lot more than I've been doing. I'd like to exercise to some degree every day, maybe less intense on a couple of those days. I've found that really makes a difference for my morning blood sugar reading.