There are two ways to walk in the rain, umbrella or raincoat.  Raincoat is better because holding an umbrella limits the motion of one arm and hinders your stride.  I walked three miles this morning in the rain with a green raincoat.  Time was under 42 minutes.

I weighed 178 pounds this morning.  My Body Mass Index (BMI) is now under 25, which is the dividing line between healthy and overweight.  Your BMI is your mass in kilograms divided by your height in meters squared (there are conversions for English measurements).  It is odd not to be officially overweight now.  The task, of course, will be to maintain, and my track record on this is poor; I have in the past always regained lost weight.  I am determined this will not happen now.  Walking is the key; I cannot stop walking, ever.  All of my life I have struggled with body image and weight issues.  Many women do too, I know.

I had a donut for breakfast.  I used to eat two or three Morning Fresh donuts each day.  Now I eat that many each week.  I still enjoy them, only now I enjoy them less.  (I ate my donut today, by the way, while reading the Gospel text on denial of self, Luke 9:23.  I thought that was ironic.)  In addition to far fewer donuts, the other major dietary change I’ve made is making dinner the lightest meal of the day.  My doctor recommended this for weight loss and maintenance; she said it’s best to eat as little as possible in the evenings because your body has less time to metabolize the food before bed.  It doesn’t always happen, but as much as possible I try to have a light dinner.  So less donuts and light dinners.  That’s been my plan.

On my walk this morning I thought about a scripture reading from last night.  In the middle of a storm at sea, St. Paul says to his fellow passengers on a ship, “Last night there stood by me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship.” (Acts 27.23)  I wonder in how many storms of life an angel stands next to us when we do not know it.