“Sow a thought and you reap an action. Sow an act and reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Human behavior fascinates me. Why we do the things we do is interesting fodder. It makes “people watching” a sport for all ages, and television programs like America’s Funniest Home Videos a ratings superstar. And while we may think our behavior is perfectly normal, rest assured someone else thinks we are just plain odd.
Take for instance my behavior at a recent lunch with a friend. I chose not to eat. The reason (for me) was simple, but I think my choice may have confounded my friend. I wrote previously about my decision to eat the fare at an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. I knew there would be repercussions and so I was trying to save all my “bad” calories for the week for that meal. So when I went to lunch with a friend the day before, I chose not to eat a hamburger and fries. I desperately wanted my children and my friend to enjoy their meal—so I ate an omelet before we left and enjoyed watching them eat burgers, fries and shakes. I had a great time because watching other people eat good food gives me joy. Unfortunately, my body simply cannot process certain (fried!) foods and I have come to terms with that. And since self-preservation is important, I cherish when friends and family accept that about me and do not pressure me. My friend was so cordial. She didn’t pester me to eat or give me a hard time (because she loves me), and I am grateful for her. But I know she thought I was odd. And that’s okay. Because I am odd. And proud of it.
This is one good example of building good habits. But those good habits are the fruit of making healthy choices over a long period of time. And making healthy choices after decades of unhealthy choices was really, really difficult in the beginning. I would estimate that 95% of the battle was in my mind (it still is). And that is why we must be intentional with our bodies. What we put into them matters. But to be intentional with our bodies we must be intentional with what we put into our minds.
I’ll be candid, I have not been watching television like I used to. I have made a decision to spend time with my children at the dinner table and foster conversations by reading excerpts from books, blogs and newspaper articles. I want to stimulate their brains. Let me tell you, this is really, really hard but I choose to persevere. So the other night I was tired after this exercise and joined my husband in watching the news. We were preparing for snowmageddon and wanted to see what the weatherman had to say. The first McDonald’s commercial was an annoyance. So when the second McDonald’s commercial within the span of 10 minutes really chaffed me. I asked my husband, “Are McDonald’s profits down or something? Are they losing money? Why the active solicitation?” He shrugged because he doesn’t care about those things. So I began scrolling through Twitter and–low and behold–I saw a McDonald’s ad on Twitter! And then–because I am odd–(see previous blog post) I began ranting and raving about the evils of all things McDonald’s. The average person might write me off as a kooky health nut, but they didn’t live in slavery to McDonald’s for years like I did. They didn’t crave and long for hamburgers, fries and coke. 
I hate McDonald’s. I wish they would go bankrupt–along with all other “fast food” restaurants. Why? Because they lied to me. They told me that junk food would satisfy me. They told me it would make me happy. And they stole years off my life by way of high calorie, high fat food that ruined my body. Now maybe you will disagree with me on this point. Maybe you will say I was a victim of my genes(as I used to say) or that I simply should have exercised more self-control. But I have learned the hard way that putting garbage into my body makes me sick, and I have chosen to no longer live that way because I saw what it did to me.
Yesterday I was driving to ALDI with my youngest beastlet. We drove by a McDonald’s restaurant. I said, “Yuck! I hate McDonald’s!”
He said, “I remember when you took me there once.”
And I said, “I took you there? Really?”
He said, “Yeah.”
I said, “I don’t remember that. I am so sorry. It will never happen again.”
He smiled at me with what I can only estimate as wistfulness and said, “The food was really tasty.”
And we both laughed and went went to ALDI and bought fruits and vegetables. Because that is what we eat now. We don’t eat garbage as much as I can help it because I refuse to live in slavery to the McDonald’s of the world.
I write all of this to piggy back off my previous post of the trend to make New Year’s Resolutions. I don’t like them because they remind me of all the years I failed at them. I failed at them because I was approaching them incorrectly. A New Year’s Resolution signifies to me a temporary decision that will eventually revert to old behavior. The resolutions I now make, I make on a daily basis. How do I do that? One decision at a time. I do it by living very intentionally. Which takes time and effort and a lot of thought and prayer. But it is possible, as I have proved by losing weight and keeping it off. But it didn’t come from joining a gym or going on a “diet”. It happened because I chose to pursue living a healthy lifestyle permanently.
It has been really, really cold outside which makes me very cranky. I like to walk outside and ride my bicycle and it’s hard to do that when it’s 6 degrees. Yesterday I pulled out my Cathe Friedrich Maximum Intensity Cardio dvd. It is the most challenging work-out video I own. It is 70 minutes long and in the middle of it–just when you think she can’t push you any harder–she does. I have never been able to keep up with her completely. Part of that is because I am not 0% body fat and my bulkier frame resists all the jumping and flailing about. But yesterday I did. Yesterday, when she started jumping around like a crazy squirrel on crack, I kept up. And not only did I keep up, I had fun.
Now I freely admit I looked more like an aging kangaroo with a loose pouch, but that’s besides the point. Somewhere between the 30-35 minute mark when I was jumping up onto my step and puffing like a choo-choo train, I realized how awesome it was to jump and flail and not feel like I was going to die. Sure, it was challenging, but it was awesome-challenging. And I vaguely remembered that I used to feel that way about 5 minutes into a workout. And now I can persevere through 70 minutes. I don’t write that to brag. I only use it as an illustration for what someone can do when they decide to live purposefully.
Human behavior fascinates me. Not the least of which is my own. My journey is fraught with difficult choices, the tendency to slip into old habits, and a body that doesn’t always cooperate. But I am resolved to fight against the impulses that lead me to be a slave to poor choices. There was a time when I grieved the fact that I could not eat McDonald’s, or M&M’s, or burrito supreme’s. But once I learned how to enjoy eating healthy foods and make exercise an integral part of my life, I broke free from slavery to obesity. If you are reading this and you think you can’t do it, I promise you—you can. Never stop trying. Own the struggle. Fight for it. Reap your destiny.
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