Starting Something Terrifying...Yet Terrific!

On May 1st, I will be starting a 90-Day Challenge through Cofer Fitness and I am terrified!  

As many of you know, I am a control freak.  I find peace and relaxation in my life as everything else around me finds order.  Although I love God and trust His plan for my life in theory, I often have a hard time transferring that head knowledge of the life God has intended for me to my heart knowledge to fully live it out.  For years, I have been trying to control my kiddos (not working so well), my wonderful Hubby (He doesn't love it so much), and my environment.  The one problem with this, is that I was focusing on everything else except myself.  In the midst of the chaos of growing up and becoming an adult, managing a household and family, work, church, etc., I lost myself.  And throughout that loss, I ignored my health and wellness.  I think this is a common problem with stay-at-home Moms (SAHM), but not a legitimate excuse ANY LONGER for me to gain weight, eat junk food, and go through the drive-thru more times than not.

The problem all starts with me having an inappropriate relationship with food.  If I am happy...I celebrate with food.  If I am sad...I eat to make myself feel better.  If I am hot...I have a bowl of ice cream, and if I am cold...I have a cup of homemade hot chocolate and a chocolate chip cookie.  You see the pattern.  I also see this inappropriate relationship seeping into my children's lives as well.  We reward them with edible "treats" when they perform well at school or they eat their dinner to our standards.  I don't want my children to associate food with behavior or emotions, so therefore I need to fix that negative relationship in my own head first!

The challenge I am entering into is an intense exercise program for 5 days a week for 12 weeks.  It also attacks the food side of health and teaches me the right way to eat.  It teaches me the healthy foods and certain times of the day that are better to eat certain foods.  It teaches me that just doing cardio is not enough to burn off all the calories I currently eat.  Through Todd Cofer (my brother-in-law) and my husband, Luke (who is now a certified ACE trainer), I will be competing for an individual prize as well as a group prize for having the largest percentage of weight loss at the end of the 90 days.  Can I do this?  Abso-freakin'-lutely!  Can I overcome my emotional love-relationship with food and trust God that I am a valued person and worth doing this for?  That is definitely the bigger question...