Getting healthy is not conventionally convenient but ultimately rewarding

Have you heard the term “modern convenience”? I lump many things into this category; automobiles, washing machines, dishwashers, and elevators. But the term is not restricted to machines. Think canned food, frozen dinners, and Pizza Hut(my personal favorite). We’ve got television so we don’t have to think for ourselves. We have smart phones to deliver the internet and instant access to people(no more writing letters). For a few bucks we can hop on an airplane and travel to another country in one day as opposed to spending weeks on a boat. The twentieth century has primed us to be a culture of ease. No wonder we’re fat. If anyone manages to invent an anti-gravity device, the human race is doomed.

So why do something difficult if there is an easier way? After all, scientists and inventors spent a lot of time creating these time saving devices. But do we actually have more time in the day? If we do, why do people tell me, “I don’t have time to exercise.”

Pride of Ownership

I don’t always enjoy working out. There. I’ve said it. Some mornings I wake up and think, “I would rather get a root canal than work out today.” Sometimes my body needs to rest, but I can’t skip my workout too frequently even though it would be immediately convenient. So what motivates me to get on the elliptical machine when I would rather melt it down for scrap? Pride of ownership. First, I am fairly certain my body is the only body I will have for the rest of my life, unless someone invents brain transplants(see human race=doomed comment above). Second, when I tackle a difficult task and complete it I am proud of myself. I know what being proud of myself feels like. It’s awesome! Therefore, I see into the future that if I complete a difficult workout I will like me. So I do it.

I also think this way about food. I may really want Pizza Hut, but I know that if I abstain I will be proud of myself(not to mention thankful for the absence of indigestion and heartburn).

I may have mentioned one of the triggers for me to get healthy was recognizing my addiction to sugary treats. I literally couldn’t envision a day where I didn’t consume pounds of candy. Deciding to cut sugar out of my diet wasn’t particularly difficult but living through the first week without it was pure hell. I took the first step and then analyzed myself. How did I actually feel after one week without sugar? I honestly didn’t feel much different physically. I still weighed 310 pounds. I still craved White Castle. But how I felt in my spirit is a different story. Before that week I didn’t think it was possible. But I did it. And I was so proud of myself. I wondered if I could make it one more week. I tried and I did it. Then I began to notice changes in my body. I noticed I didn’t get as hungry as I used to. My cravings for fast food gradually subsided. I began to notice the natural sweetness in foods(I could not believe milk was naturally sweet!). When I think about the fact that I could have gone my entire life without enjoying an orange(too sour!) I grieve. Cutting sugar out of my diet changed my life. To be completely truthful, I actually enjoy food more now that I did before. All because I attempted to do something difficult. Sometimes recognizing the difference between “difficult” and “impossible” is the beginning of a miracle.

Each days brings its own particular set of challenges. Some seem so large I hide in the bathroom. It’s true. Don’t tell anybody. But even on those days I have ammunition.

I don’t talk enough about faith and the roll it has played in my journey. How in the beginning I prayed that God would help me to not eat sugar. How He answered that prayer. How He helped me recover after eating a bowl of cookie dough(my favorite guilty pleasure) three months into my journey. How He helped me keeping walking when I desperately wanted to quit. Some days I don’t really understand how I have managed to lose 140 pounds and change my life. Then I realize, it wasn’t me. It was God, showing me my weaknesses and then giving me the strength to keep tackling them when I fail. It started with a simple prayer, “Lord, teach me how to be disciplined.”

Discipline is not convenient. It is by definition difficult. And while I love my car and I love my washing machine, I love my body more. I am now willing to forgo “convenience” to care for it. If that means giving up Pizza Hut and learning how to make healthy homemade pizza instead, by golly I’m game. Even if it means spending 60 minutes to prepare it instead of having it delivered at the door.