So you want to lose weight?

I remember the glory days of my blissful ignorance. I consumed what I wanted, lounged in bed, and never considered there might be consequences to my choices. When people talked about losing weight they used words like, “I’m going on a diet.” To me that meant excruciating pain followed by temporary results which made the pain part wholly unnecessary.

I remember a kind woman at a previous employer who was the fitness coordinator for the company. She ran the gym (located in the basement) and taught me how to make healthy meals, count calories and do exercises that would burn fat. Angela was amazing. But everything we did was to no avail. The harder I worked physically, the more I stumbled with food. If I did a hard work-out, I followed it with Taco Bell (because I was hungry!). I dutifully journaled my calories in the book she gave me, but I did not lose weight. I was confused. After a period of a month, I quit. I mean really. Why bother?

The problem was, I did not truly take inventory of my lifestyle and what I wanted to accomplish. I wanted to be more aesthetically pleasing but I had no real long-term plan.

Working out as an overweight individual is awful. One gets out of breath within 30 seconds and everything hurts. The mental aguish is overwhelming and the temptation to stop is potent. The brave few who are able to push through the pain are heroes in my estimation. The problem is, those who are perpetually sedentary have difficulty shifting their mindset to an active persona permanently.

What is your purpose?

Have you ever thought about the reason for your existence? Have you taken inventory of your life and considered what you want to accomplish in the few short years you are alive? Do you think about your future and how your lifestyle impacts those around you? Do you think about the eternal consequences for how you live today?

At Thanksgiving dinner I asked my nieces what they are learning in school. They uniformly said, “Nothing.” One must understand my nieces are smart. They always get straight A’s. Still, they insist school is boring and they aren’t really learning anything. I couldn’t help but think, “Shucks then, what’s the point?”

When I was in school, I really struggled to get C’s and D’s. I didn’t learn much of anything either. I left dinner wondering how my life would be different today if I had a better brain. What if I had tried harder in school? What if my learning disabilities hadn’t frustrated me to the point of giving up? What if I hadn’t thought (and believed) I was stupid?

I didn’t know I was born for a reason and that my life had meaning. When I discovered just how valuable my life was, I started telling everyone–even strangers on the street–just how precious and dearly loved they are. I didn’t want anyone to not know something so transformative.

Are you willing to learn?

The conversation with my nieces reminded me that regardless of ones grades, ones capacity to learn is unlimited. An education isn’t procured only by completing a certain number of courses over a period of years. I don’t have a college education in nutrition or physical fitness but I was able to lose 140 pounds. I knew then one cannot continue to make the same choices and expect a different result. I had been trying that for years! Still, I was willing to learn about those things and–like my hero, Abraham Lincoln–pick up a book and apply what I learned to my life.

I used to exist to sit on the couch and eat cookies. I used to watch television and live vicariously through the dramedies and comedies of the prettier-than-me people. I used to cry in private because my clothes were too tight. Again. I was not willing to do a thorough examination of my life. It was God who gently nudged me when I prayed for help. My prayer was simple, “God I want to lose weight but I don’t know how.” He said, “Margaret, you need to learn discipline.”

Finally, I was ready. Are you?

Next time, “Can you do this? Yes, you can!”