The Complexity of Choice

The number 1 reason I became so over weight and out of shape wasnt because I had a genetic issue, it wasnt because I was made that way, it wasnt because I didnt know better. I was over weight and out of shape because of the choices I had made.

In our hurry up "get it done" society we have come to want instant gratification and quick fixes. One major disatvantage to being American is our inability to be patient... to wait. We are drivin by the hurry up mentality. We go on vacation to "slow down and get away", we go shopping and spend before we have the $ (using credit cards), and.......we want weight loss to be quick and easy.

Why do so many Americans give up on weight-loss an fitness?
Why are so many Americans successful in their careers but not at weight loss or fitness? Men and women in this country, well educated,  driving fancy cars, living in amazing homes, traveling the country and the world, looking so successful but so many are people who are heart attacks waiting to happen. Why is it that the people who could afford  gym memberships, personal trainers, and personal chefs if they wanted ... why is it that those people are living in ill health and so unfit? Oprah Winfry is a prime example, but you might know someone in your life that has the same issue. They seem to have it all ... but just cant seem to get the fitness and health things right. They try (like Oprah) and loose and get in shape.... and a year later its back.

Then.. there are the middle and lower income folks. Those struggling to pay mortgage or rent, riding buses and walking to the grocery store because they cannot afford personal transportation. Maybe they are on foodstamps, they are worried about their kids making it in life, and dream of taking a "real" vacation. Everyday is a new struggle... Everyday seems so hard. Many lower income families have health and weight issues too.

So, when it comes down to it... it doesnt matter how much money we have, what kind of car we drive (or dont), OR where we go on vacation (or not). Ill health and weightloss are issues that dont discriminate.

What is it about being healthy, taking care of our bodies, minds and spirits that is so difficult?
Why do people struggle so?

The simple answer is they CHOOSE to be that way. But.... its way way way more complicated than that.

"If we had enough willpower, enough dicipline, enough time, enough money,........
If my knees didnt hurt, if my husband would support me more, if life wasnt so hectic........
If I was stranded on a island, if I could afford a personal trainer, if ..........
THEN... I would be fit and healthy."

If I have learned anything through my journey is that its NOT about willpower....Its not about $ its not about time. ITS ABOUT CHOICE. This hour, this minute, this second.. choosing to be fit and healthy instead of fat and unfit. I use to say to myself every morning before getting out of bed "TODAY I choose to be fit and healthy and NOT fat and unfit"......

But knowing that choice is key......makes it more frustrating. You see realizing that I had a choice ment I had to take RESPONSIBLITY for what I had become. Although I didnt "plan" to be fat and full of aches in pains.....I had done it to myself and no one else.

But.... Simply choosing to be fit is easy to say and hard to do. You see.. when we say "i choose to be fit and healthy" that means I choose many many  many other things.
I choose to realize my addiction
I choose to realize my emotional need for food.
I choose to believe I can change.
I choose to keep searching for answers.
I choose to educate myself.
I choose to take steps to be healthier.
I choose to be patient. 
I choose to realize IT WONT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT!

I failed so many times because I wanted to be a size 6 in 6 weeks. I wanted to loose weight and be in shape and thought if I was just strong enough then I would do it. I failed so many times because I wasnt owning the fact that I had issues with food, issues with my body, and issues with my spirituality.

I failed because I thought I had to be perfect. I failed because I compared myself to others. I failed because I believed there was a magic plan, something I could buy, or some program that would be my answer.

This world doesnt need another weightloss book. It doesnt need another company shipping premade foods to our homes, its doesnt need more infomericals with thin people saying how that set of DVD gave them 6pack abs.

This world needs people who have struggled to share thier stories. It needs people who are willing to be open and honest about thier food addictions and emotional attatchements to foods.
 People who choose day in and day out to move one step closer to thier goal. People who try and fail but start over anyway. People who understand weight loss, fitness... and changing habits takes YEARS. Not months.
Men and Women to show us that changing a lifetime of habits, is a PROCESS.

The connection between our choices and health/fitness is obvious, we can look in the mirror, and at our pantry shelves, and see our choices. But our weight issues, our aches and pains will never be fixed until we choose to look inside our hearts, minds, and souls. To be gracious with ourselves but determined to change. To love ourselves so much that we CHOOSE to be different. We choose to forgive our past choices and move on despite how complex it is....

 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth! He will not let you stumble;

the one who watches over you will not slumber.

Psalm 121:2-3 

Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.

Colossians 3:23

Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. 

1 Peter 5: 7

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline

. 2 Timothy 1:7