Sacrifice...

Sweat plus sacrifice equals success.
-Charlie Finley


I am so glad that you mentioned sacrifice in the comments section of one of the blog entries on self-discipline Leann. I’ve been thinking a lot about sacrifice lately and it seems a very appropriate topic to talk about as today is Fat Tuesday. Fat Tuesday, as I’m sure you know, is the traditional day of gluttony before the Lenten fast begins. While most Catholics don’t observe the Lenten fast, most of them still give something up for the 40 days and 40 nights of Lent…sacrifice! While I’m a Lutheran and am under no religious obligation to give anything up, I always try to. I’ll be honest, most years I fail but I think this might be my year.

Now, onto sacrifice. In simple terms, sacrifice is the surrender of something for the sake of something else (generally deemed to be better). When we began this journey, we knew that there were habits and activities that we were going to have to abandon in order to accomplish our goals. We knew we were going to have to sacrifice some of the things we like such as eating out, snacking, lounging, napping and replace them with cooking at home, exercise, making smart decisions about food, normal sleeping hours etc. We were not blind to the fact that these sacrifices had to be made. Nor were we blind to the fact that we would struggle to make these sacrifices and we probably wouldn’t like them all that much (especially in the beginning).

Although I was prepared for these sacrifices, I was surprised by the others that I have had to make and will have to make in order to reach my health goals. First, time has been a big sacrifice. I’m sure you’ve all felt the time crunch. Coming home every night and devoting 30 minutes to an hour to exercise really makes my evenings feel shorter. Cooking meals takes much more time that it would require to run to Subway and grab my dinner. These activities cut into the time that I used to use to talk to people online or the phone. Seeing as all of my friends and family are billions of miles away from me, the time spent talking to them each night is very, very important to me. In addition, I have to spend more time cleaning my kitchen and do more laundry. Over a week, that time really adds up.

Another big sacrifice has been money surprisingly enough. Granted, I’m not spending as much eating out but eating well does not come cheap. It seems so wrong that the foods that are best for you are so expensive. Fresh fruits, veggies and lean meats are the most expensive things that I buy every week and I don’t even get the more expensive items. I tend to buy what’s on sale instead of what I really want. I was really hoping to save more money by not eating out that I have managed to since I started cooking primarily at home.

Sleep is a sacrifice that I have not made yet but am about too. I really want to work out at the fitness center at my apartment complex when it reopens next month. The only time I’m going to be able to do it is in the morning which means I will have to start getting out of bed by 5, Monday through Friday…AHHHHH!!!! I am very much pro-sleep so this will be a very big undertaking for me.

When we start to think about our sacrifices it can get a little depressing. However, I choose not to get depressed about the things I’m giving up and focus on what I’m working towards. To be honest, I’m not really giving up anything that is uber important to me. The things in life that I love are still here. I still have my friends and my family, and while I might not get to talk to them at the exact time that they or I wish, I still get to call and message them. Sure, it’s fun to eat out but I also really love to cook so the time sacrifice there isn’t a huge deal for me when I really think about it. I always feel great after I exercise so I probably shouldn’t be complaining about that either. Truth be told, there is nothing that I’m giving up that I will actually miss (except for maybe the sleep)! I guess we are at a point in our journey where we have to decide what things are worth giving up in order to accomplish our goals. I’ve decided that it’s ok to give up some of my time, money and sleep to accomplish my ultimate goal, improved health. In the long run, my sacrifices of time, money and sleep will probably be returned to me. As I age, I’ll pay less in medical bills, feel better and ideally live a longer life and the sleep thing…well there’s plenty of time to sleep when I’m dead!