When I was younger & more naive, I showed up to the gym to run endlessly on a treadmill to work off calories from eating food I “shouldn’t have been eating”, hoping it would help me achieve the size I wanted. I looked for low calorie & fat free labels, but I wasn’t feeding myself proper nutrition so I was sick all the time. While I recognized working out did in fact make me feel better overall, it was not what motivated me to be there.
Older & wiser me, shows up for myself not because I ate too much or because I want to rock the right swimsuit in the summer. I show up because I know I’ll have energy to get through my day after I was up sporadically at night with my kids, because I want to be strong so I can teach myself & my kids that when we work hard we can literally & metaphorically conquer mountains. I show up in order to show my daughter that she can do anything the boys can do, to teach all my children that women are strong, capable, confident and that it has nothing to do with their size.
I do it for balance, mental health, confidence, & yes, to feel beautiful but not because I met some worldly beauty ideal but because I’m strong, happy & healthy. Not one single time do I say she’s there to weigh a certain weight or wear a certain clothing size. I learned the hard way, that mentality doesn’t get you anywhere.
Be like older & wiser me. If I can do it, you can too.
“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.” Proverbs 31:25
What are some health & fitness related lessons you’ve learned over the years?
Leave a Reply