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Monday, March 5, 2007
Adios Mendoza!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For those of you who don’t follow baseball, the Mendoza line is a term for a batting average of .200. (No, I don’t follow baseball but I have a father who follows both that sport and my own weight loss campaign. Perhaps he is a particularly avid fan of the latter since the first pitch of the season has yet to be tossed?)
I think I can safely say Adios to my own personal Mendoza line as it has been three weeks since the number on the scale started with a two. I feel like I have crossed a barrier line of sorts … between the morbidly obese and the simply obese. As someone with a lot of spunk and energy, I strongly objected to having the adjective “morbidly” anywhere near my frame.
When I was gaining the weight, I rarely got near a scale. Now I must admit to being a bit obsessed: weighing and recording daily. Does anyone else find that his/her relation with the scale changes with body awareness? How often do you weigh? I like to know if I am now “morbidly” obsessed or actually about average … another adjective I try to avoid!
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Fitness is a Journey, Not an Event
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When I recently watched the movie called The Secret, I saw this quote.
“To take the first step in faith you don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
It reminded me of a Chinese proverb that I recite all the time- “The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.” - Anonymous
I get tickled sometimes (or I want to cry), because I see the frustration a person has because they didn’t lose weight in the first couple of weeks into a fitness program. You live in a society of quick-fixes, instant results and microwave ovens. You see commercials and infomercials rampant with instant weight loss results. Because of that, you may fall victim to what I call ‘Haveitnow Syndrome.’
Before you begin a fitness and weight loss program you need to keep a few things in mind.
- If you didn’t put the weight on in a couple of weeks, you’re not going to lose it all in a couple of weeks.
- Literally speaking, weight is nothing more than the force of gravity pulling an object toward Earth. Weight is not your self worth, nor can it measure the changes in strength, muscle tone, energy, and decreases in clothes size. I can put you on the moon and you will weigh only 26.8% of what you weigh on Earth, but your body’s physique will be exactly the same.
- To change your body’s physiology for everlasting change, you must be consistent and push yourself. Nothing is quick and easy. You can go through your whole life playing the lottery and you’ll never amass yourself into wealth. However, if you take your time diversifying and making small investments, you will attain wealth.
Fitness is a journey, not an event. To get fit is not something that you do for a little while and quit. It is something that you must do for the rest of your life. I have as of yet, to meet someone who loses weight and kept it off, or get fit by going on a diet, buying a fancy exercise contraption, or taking some pill. Ask anyone who is truly fit and they will tell you that it takes weight training, cardiovascular exercise and the right nutrition (not diet).
Understandably, getting started is the tough part and keeping it up is the tough part. This is where a fitness professional and/or accountability partner can help.
