Weight A Minute

disclaimer – This is not everyone’s story on the race ! this is just how I feel about weight and the race (some people lose weight while they are on the race).

 

When I signed up for the race I remember reading and hearing things like “oh you’ll gain weight on the field and it almost always happens to everyone” but I really didn’t believe it and even members of my family said that they couldn’t even imagine it being a possibility because who gains weight doing missions work?? World Racers do, that’s who. 

 

Throwing it all the way back to training camp, which, fun fact is almost nothing like the race so far for me, I lost a decent amount of weight. I wasn’t eating well, was sweating everything off and we also had that fitness hike. I went home skinnier in just 11 days and then continued to loose weight because I was working at camp. 

 

Then coming on the field our first stop was Swaziland, I was expecting pap and lentils (what they fed us at training camp) every day and instead I was treated with mashed potatoes, chicken stuffed with cheese, taco salad and hawaiian pizza on the weekends. I ate pb&js everyday for lunch for three months and I am not complaining about it now, even if I did in the moment, because it was great, but there was a lot of bread and carbs in my diet. 

 

Next was Nepal and about half of the month was spent with me NOT eating because anything that I would put into my stomach I would end up throwing it up or I had such bad stomach cramps that I didn’t eat. The second half consisted of me trekking in the Himalayas and eating spaghetti and fries every night for a week and then after that having 2-4 grilled cheeses a day, and I don’t even like grilled cheese that much. 

 

After that crazy time there we spend two months in India and man, does my best friend Dara know how to cook and feed us well. Along with curry and rice that we ate we also had fried chicken, fries, chow mein, fried rice and my personal favorite, bora. There was also this wonderful little cafe called “Life Cafe” which served American-like food and we would order that. AND to top it all off, the college campus that we lived on had a bakery right down the road from us and we would go there as often as we could. I came into India knowing I was wanting to start working out and I did, everyday but one my two months there, but I wasn’t eating properly. I would work out in the mornings but eat 4 cookies in the afternoon and then get chicken and waffles. I toned down on the Life and bakery for a month but I wasn’t seeing many results. 

 

Now, we have finally made it to Guatemala and after my multiple mini breakdowns in the hotel in New York after seeing myself with a full body mirror for the first time in MONTHS, I am here and I am starting a diet and workout routine which went right out the window as soon as PVT came. My “Hawt in Guat” motto, which I had been telling myself the entire race so I could eat more, wasn’t working. I now get to do cooking ministry once a week, which is definitely one of my favorites, but then I end up eating an extra meal that day. However, I have gotten back into working out in the mornings and being more cautious as to what I put into my body. 

 

I know that my body image and weight don’t matter to the Lord and that He sees me as His beautiful daughter no matter what. But, it’s still had to watch myself gain weight throughout the entire nine months of the race. It’s something that I’m constantly learning to surrender to the Lord and remember that I’m doing this race NOT for me, but for His kingdom. 

 

When I get home (in about a month now) I plan to continue working out and trying to get on a normal diet, not a World Race one. More importantly I’m going to continue working out in my spiritual life by constantly surrendering this to the Lord. However, despite all of that, if anyone wants to grab lunch with me or bring me cookies, I won’t say no 🙂