Not long after walking in from teaching the 5a my husband said the words “you’re looking small today”. Having eaten pizza last night and taking note of my chins this morning, I thought hmmm…really? When I looked up I realized he was speaking to the dog and not to me. Upon looking at the dog I thought, no, no he’s not…and seriously?? The funny thing about the whole interaction is I don’t care to look small. I don’t know why it was even a thought in my brain. The brain is funny like that. Y’day something VERY out of character came out of my mouth and hurt someones feelings. As I reflected on it I truly have no idea where the statement even came from. Maybe a defense mechanism to avoid the feelings I’m feeling about moving on from the gym? Not sure, I just know that after I apologized and hugged this sweet soul I still can’t figure it out. Point of that story being to emphasize again, the brain is a funny thing sometimes. It can hold us back or allow us to propel forward, and sometimes spew out things that make no sense.

Now back to this whole small thing. I talk about often how peoples journey in the gym almost always starts with weight loss. If you stick with it long enough it shifts into something so much bigger (and better imo) that can really stick with you for life. I don’t care about being small persay, I do care about how I feel, and sometimes I feel big, sometimes I feel fat. Often times I still see that girl who couldn’t run a mile in high school, or made horrendous food choices for years and it showed. The brain is tricky ya’ll…I mean that. Right before I turned 40 I made the decision to switch gyms so that I could focus on bone density and muscle growth. As we age we lose both, and I knew that it needed to be a focus. One of the things that has developed from that switch is the love for lifting heavy things. I always had it, and I toyed with it when I was at orange, but it has really ignited in the past couple years. Really the only reason I should care about looking small is if I have some “big boy” weights in my hands! I want to look strong. More importantly I want to FEEL and be strong.

If someone has lost a lot of weight I will NEVER start the conversation with wow you look great. Here’s the reason why, sometimes a cold hard truth if you will. You have no idea why/how they have lost weight, it may not be the result of a healthy action. Just because they’re hitting the gym doesn’t mean that’s why. When you start discussing these things, often times you may find there are other reasons. Here are a few that I have experienced or heard of as an example. Diabetes (and other diseases), weight loss shots, waaaayyyy under eating, eating disorder relapse, fad diet…the list goes on and on and on. So when I see someone who has clearly lost weight you will likely hear me say “wow, you must feel great”. This journey that may start with aesthetics is truly about so much more. For me personally I want to feed the “so much more”. As an upside the aesthetics will likely follow.

So today as you set out about your day, try to get your brain in check. Look at those goals and see if they’re healthy mentally and physically. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to lose weight and pursuing that, after all the body is a temple. We should seek to maintain it as such. Clear out the cob webs in the corners, set out the fine china and linens, eat the cleaner food, drink the water and pick up those heavier weights. If you’re like me your brain needs as much training as your body, maybe even a little more. Set up those good daily habits, get in the Word, surround yourself with those who will lift you up, serve someone else. Be the light. Seek God and His will. Share the good news. If you don’t know Jesus lets have coffee.