Why Jen to Lose?

When I decided to write on this lil old blog thing, I couldn't decide on a name.  Originally, I wanted to call it "Jen's Simple Gifts," because I  LOVE the words to that old Shaker tune.  These words just speak to me--about so many aspects of my life:

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain'd,

To bow and bend we shan't be asham'd,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come 'round right.

I just think our lives get so crazy, and we make them crazy.  If I can just focus on the simple gifts that are my life--like a body that's still ticking, and three beautiful children, and a great husband who loves me because I'm me, and a little house that's small and cozy and works for our family, and home cooking, and activities that don't cost a lot--like playing games and park going, and swimming in lakes--THEN I can find peace.  Sometimes easier said than done, but I think it is TRUTH--my truth.

I also think the words apply to losing weight.  It doesn't have to be so complicated (I make it WAY complicated), and it doesn't have to cost a lot of money.  It's about focusing on the simple basics--like moving my body, eating natural food, and taking care of this body and mind--which really is a gift.

But for some unintelligible, probably ridiculous, reason,I did not feel like "Jen's Simple Gifts" was where I should go--it just didn't seem right.  So in the wee hours of the night, I came up with Jen to Lose.  I actually don't even remember where this came from, but I decided to go with it.

The major thing I DON'T like about it is that it seems to focus on the scale--on losing the pounds--on weight, weight, weight.  But we all know that it is really so much more than that, and I DON'T want to focus on just the scale.

But then I started thinking more about it, and I realized that Jen to Lose is so much more than about weight.  It's about losing the "starting over" mentality.  It's about losing bad habits.  It's about GAINING a maintainable change in the way I live my life.  In the past, I've had a tagline that says, "Losing the weight. . . gaining the world."  I like this.

But right now my tag line is, "Learning It, Living It, Losing It:"

Learning It: learning different behaviors, learning new tools, learning what I need to do to live a healthier, happier life.

Living It: Doing the work!  That means taking the things I am learning and doing them over and over and over again.

Losing It: So of course this means losing the pounds--losing the weight--and tracking that progress.  But it also means losing the things that are NOT working for me.  It means losing the processed food and going more natural.  It means losing old patterns and learning new ones.   It means LOSING the belief that I will be stuck here forever and embracing the FACT that this is my time to do the work and make a change.

So that's where I'm at --- Jen to Lose -- Losing It, Living It, Learning It.  I'll give it a shot.

How do you come up with your blog title?