It’s afternoon and I’m perched at the bar in my fav coffee cave with the hopeful expectation if I just start typing words, thoughts will form, and then magically my blog post will be born.
Actually, I have tons of thoughts that clamor to get out. Sometimes, they are all over each other and won’t let me separate them. I came in with a topic on my mind and realized awhile back I had written something almost exact on it ( I guess I feel kinda passionate about the topic. If you’re curious it’s about.. fat… and the post is called “The Ugly Truth About Fat” you can read it too when you’re done here 😉 )
Anyway, I scraped that idea and was pulling down another long drink of my steaming coffee when hubby started messaging me. Now as much as I love hearing from the guy, sometimes, he can break my artistic and creative thinking.
However, today he actually stirred up some thoughts in my head with his teasing.
He threw out at me “didn’t I have a pill or shake or something to just magically make him lose weight and to help him get in shape?” he says things like that cause he knows those over hyped products make me crazy… totally crazy.
I laughed and told him he was out of luck. He had to do it the old fashioned, not fancy, but get the job done way: exercise and eat sensible healthy foods.
I jokingly said…” but if I gave you a pill or shake you’d miss out on all the fun of achy muscles and sweating”.
And then it hit me… it’s what I want to talk about…
Weight loss. Exercise. Committing to living a healthier lifestyle.
The journey.
It takes work.
Actually, it takes a lot of crazy hard work and discipline. Oh yeah, and an unwillingness to give up or quit. It takes a tenacity to get up each day and to keep going after it. You buckle into it as a life long commitment and not just a brief dating experience.
It takes a new mental focus to pass by the local fast food dollar menu that you wanna load up on and stuff in your face driving down the road, to pass on the chocolate bars checking out at the grocery store, or to scale down the big bowl of ice cream etc.
It takes intentional determination to choose healthier foods over junk foods.
To eat less when your mouth and eyes just want to eat more but your tummy has said… “HEY! we’ve got enough down here!”
It takes a serious amount of mental work in the beginning to get in your workout gear and get after it. I never wear exercise clothes to just wear exercise clothes. Those for me, mean work. They aren’t play clothes. My mind knows exactly what’s coming when I’m in my work gear… it’s time to get serious.
Then of course there’s the physical out put you invest into your chosen activity. You already know what comes from it. If you do it right you’re breathing hard, sweating, and your heart is beating strongly in your chest.
How much I love those feelings now! How much I anticipate it!
So when I fired back at hubby he’d miss out on sweating and aching muscles I realized how much I’ve learned in the course of training and disciplining myself on this journey I call a healthy lifestyle.
How much we would miss out on if there were …really.. some secret magic pill or potion to help us get rid of the weight we had put on from a lazy lifestyle and never have to exert any energy or invest anything of ourselves into the process!
Over the course of the past few years I’ve been at it I’ve learned to embrace some things…to look forward to them.. to see the fruits of my labor present themselves in my life.
I love a body that is tired from hard work of my physical labor! I don’t mind my muscles being tight when I know its from running or cycling or lifting heavy weights. I don’t mind days I’ve done a 20 mile run and I’m ready for bed at 9 pm like some old person ( forget that I was on the road at 5:30 that morning getting after it)
I DID A 20 MILE RUN THAT DAY!
Did I ever think, years, or the year or even months before I could do that?
You don’t do things like that without investing a lot to get there. I didn’t pop a pill or drink a magic potion. I busted my butt to get to that point…involving hours and hours of training and sacrifice…
I think if I had a short cut I would’ve missed out on all the discipline it’s taught me. I would not have the incredible fierce mental toughness I have that only miles and miles out on a road will teach you. I wouldn’t have learned about sacrifice to make things happen or the work needed to accomplish huge goals. I wouldn’t have experienced the joys and pains of pursuing goals bigger than I am.
I think back to my beginning days when a 2 mile walk was enough.
I realize how much I’ve grown and learned. How much stronger and more powerful my body is now. How much energy I have. How I’ve learned to eat better and how to eat to fuel not just my day but my athletic activities.
It’s been a birthing process. A journey. An adventure that can only be limited by my mind.
Taking short cuts would not grow us. It wouldn’t teach us. We wouldn’t value what we were given if we didn’t have to invest and work hard for it. We wouldn’t have the satisfaction of reaching goals that have challenged us.
I know now that the process is ongoing. It will require consistent effort, discipline and hard work.
I know its worth it. The labors I go through make the end results all that much sweeter.
I for one, am grateful, there wasn’t a pill or magic potion to do it for me.
I would’ve missed out on so much on my journey. I would’ve certainly missed out on learning exactly what I’m made of and what I’m capable of doing.
Wherever you are learn to enjoy the journey. Embrace the process. Learn from your experiences and celebrate how fierce and strong you are.
You don’t need pills or potions.
You just need your indomitable spirit to do it.
sassyfitnesschick 