🔒 Your Worthy Body Chapter 21: It's a Waste of Time if I Don't Lose Weight

Chapter 21. It's a waste of time if I don't lose weight. My friend sent me a text that voiced the frustrations of so many I've heard over the years. She'd been working on her health for a few months, getting up early to work out and changing her eating habits. After six weeks her scale showed no affirmation of the hard work she'd been doing. In other words, she hadn't lost any weight. You can imagine her frustration. She wrote I'm working my literal butt off and my head is beginning to tell my heart. This isn't working because it's taking forever. She expressed dismay with the program she was on and that it was too strict and time-consuming to prep. On top of that, she felt like she received different nutritional guidance with different programs she looked into. She wrote there is so much information out there and it all discounts the other. How do I do this without wasting any more time? Can we just stop for a minute for a show of hands? Who has felt this pain? I have and if you're like the many, many women I've had conversations with you, may have too. My friend captured so many points in one text. We already discussed the nutritional aspect of this. I hope I've convinced you to figure out what works best for you. In the chapter there's One Best Diet. Let's delve into the second part of her text. How do I do this without wasting any more time? In other words, how can we stay motivated, remember or identify your why? If you've gotten this far, may I assume you're interested in living a healthy lifestyle. May I ask why you want to do this? This is your why. It shouldn't be because I or any other person or program give you ways, rules of doing it. Your favorite celebrity health coach or podcaster does not have that authority over you. Your own unique reason for focusing on your health is what will keep you motivated through these moments of frustration. Your why does not have to be complicated. Having something simple to cling to when everything else feels slippery may be exactly what you need. I pulled my Facebook friends as to what drove them. Many of them said something along the lines of when I take care of myself, I feel better, physically and emotionally. Others wanted to set a good example for their children or were trying to change the course of their health after watching their parents suffer. I've spoken with a handful of people who had children later in life and want to be around as long as possible. Here's one of my favorite Facebook responses To feel good wellness takes work. Yes, it does. But when we put in the work we can and do feel better. Recognize the effect of your sphere of influence. I have a new client whose goals echo so many others. As a woman in her late 30s, she's invested plenty of time into her job, children and husband, and just wants to take care of herself. We train over Zoom twice a week. One of her daughters frequently joins us. This four-year-old adorably mimics her mom. The other one may not plank with us, but she sees her mom making positive changes. My client told me her daughter also likes to pretend that she runs a workout and tells her sister how to exercise, without realizing it. My client not only invested in taking care of herself, but also in teaching her daughters to do so as well. Your people see you. Your coworkers hear your tales of getting up early. Your children see sweaty gym clothes. Your spouse notices the healthier options at dinner, I hope without complaints. Your hard work influences more people than you know. We don't do this for other people, but it doesn't hurt when others are influenced by what we're doing. Assess how you feel. Pay attention to how your body responds to your efforts. Sometimes even the smallest wins are enough to keep us moving. You may notice other ways your body is responding to your effort. Consider these Functionality. Some of the most successful wins that my clients have experienced are not huge changes in the scale or even in measurements. They've experienced wins like getting out of bed without groaning and maintaining stamina on a European tour that was heavy on the walking. One client shared a story of being side-swiped by her energetic dog and popping back up after landing on the ground rather than nursing a broken ankle Body aches. Moving your body and eating well reduces the levels of inflammation in your body. Inflammation is what often causes general bodily discomfort. When I overindulge in jelly beans, my left hip wakes me up at night throbbing. When you put mostly God-given vegetables, fruits, plants and lean meats in your body, you may find you are less inflamed Waste. I'm the official potty humor instigator at my house To the eye-rolls of my people. I'll address this important question how is your poop? When you're hydrated and eating plenty of fiber, your bathroom time should be relatively quick and without issue If you're simple and difficult. Plop-plop-plops may indicate you're dehydrated or haven't had enough fiber. Or if you poop like a goose, you may be eating something that doesn't agree with you. If your bathroom time is improving, your time spent drinking your water and eating your vegetables is certainly not wasted. Fitness performance Continuing to show up will result in better performance, whether you see an increase in your endurance or the weight you are lifting. Over the course of time you'll see results. Notice the small rewards Energy levels. Energy is a fairly subjective thing to track, but most of us can recognize when we have more of it, and I can tell you that when I'm crawling into bed to close my eyes for 30 minutes each day, it's probably related to my nutrition. By the same token, if I take several days off from formal exercise, I find myself sluggish. Even some of the teens I've spoken with can make this association Talk about the opposite of wasting time. Eliminating even a 30-minute nap helps me check off more of my to-do list. Increased immunity, a poor diet and lack of physical activity are associated with negative health consequences. Regular, moderate activity is beneficial for boosting your immune system, particularly upper respiratory tract infections. Eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables may do the same. If you make it through the winter with nary a cold, give yourself a pat on the back for eating the foods that protect and fuel you. Well, slowing cognitive decline. Many of us have watched a loved one suffer through the monster of dementia or Alzheimer's disease. Dr Sanjay Gupta shares several pieces of research in his book Keep Sharp that connect exercise to enhanced brain function and resiliency to disease. In fact, he promotes exercise as the single most important thing in slowing cognitive decline. I realize this may not be something you can recognize in the moment, but knowing that exercise affects the later part of your life may help keep you motivated. Emotional and mental state. Those endorphins mentioned in the chapter Walking isn't a real workout are legit, despite the frustration. How's your emotional health? Are you more resilient with the ups and downs of the day? Perhaps you're able to communicate your emotions better or are allowing yourself to actually feel all the feels rather than numb them with food, alcohol or endless scrolling. My dog, grace, tends to get antsy if she goes more than a couple of days without a walk. She's unsettled and frenetic. She barks at falling leaves or squirrels frolicking in the yard. Honestly, it's somewhat annoying. I realized this morning I hadn't taken her out in a few days and her mental and physical state missed it. While I didn't have a lot of time, I put a leash on her. After just one mile she was back to her normal self. Currently she's settled and snoozing comfortably by my feet. My head gets this way as well. Exercise breaks through the cobwebs. I focus better and snap at my people less. I'm also less annoying when I regularly exercise. As researcher Kelly McGonigal PhD writes in her book the Joy of Movement In humans, exercising three times a week for six weeks increases neural connections among areas of the brain that calm anxiety. Regular physical activity also modifies the default state of the nervous system so that it becomes more balanced and less prone to fight flight or fright. By the way, if you're struggling to find ways your body feels better, be like Dory from Finding Nemo and just keep swimming. Your initial response to a new form of exercise may not be how you feel after you do it repeatedly. Just like coffee was an acquired taste for me, enjoyment of movement may take a bit. Use the scale as one tool, but not the only tool. Even after all these words I've written, I still pull out my scale from time to time. However, my relationship with it has changed over the years. I consider one of my greatest victories to have stepped on it. Recently looked down to see that number, several pounds heavier than I expected, cocked my head to the side and proclaimed huh, that's interesting, but it took many years and tears to get there. Merriam-webstercom defines weight as the force with which a body is attracted toward the Earth or a celestial body by gravitation, and which is equal to the product of the mass and the local gravitational acceleration. Your weight doesn't define progress or your worth as a human. The scale fluctuates. Yes, you may have muscle or adipose changes. It may also reflect a salty or high carb meal, monthly cycle variations, alcohol intake or even over-exercising. Your muscles will retain water after several hard workouts in a row. As I told my friend, don't worry about the scale If your waist or hips or thighs or big toe are losing circumference. You are finding success. My friend actually had lost inches. The scale didn't reflect that because her body had grown muscle and lost fat. Muscle tissue is more dense than fat and thus takes up less space. Contrary to public opinion, muscle doesn't weigh more than fat. A pound is a pound is a pound, but the space they take up differ. Visualize a gallon-sized bag of cotton candy at your local ballpark At 220 calories. This kid's favorite treat is pure sugar and food coloring. Four calories is equivalent to one gram, so that's 55 grams of sugar. One teaspoon of sugar is also four grams. So if we divide 55 by four, we are holding a little less than 14 teaspoons of sugar in that fluffy bag. Now take that same bag and instead of cotton candy, put 14 sugar cubes in it. Those sugar cubes worth one teaspoon take up less space, even though the caloric count is the same. Likewise, a pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of adipose. Yes, I just used a cotton candy and sugar example to explain the difference in space that muscle and fat consume. I realize the irony here, but when you begin to develop more muscle tissue and lose adipose, your body shows the difference, even if the scale doesn't Remember. Any effort you put into your health is not wasted time, even if life throws a curveball. One of my childhood friends experienced the trauma of divorce. Her parents were heavily involved in their church and the disillusion of their marriage was shocking. In my naive 14-year-old view on Christian living, I commented once that I thought bad things didn't happen to Christians. The incredulous look I received back didn't need her response? Oh, yes, bad things happen to Christians all the time. Unfortunately, this is also true in our health. I can't responsibly leave you without one gentle reminder Taking care of yourself is not a magical bubble of protection. Bad things also happen to healthy people. Yes, we have researched touting the benefits of exercise and eating. Well, it's all true, but it's not a guarantee. On a small scale, I've seen this in my hypertension battle. I've also seen it in friends who finish half-marathons and then get diagnosed with breast cancer. All the kale, quinoa and mobility workouts in the world don't prevent heartache. We lose jobs, children, parents, we receive unexpected and unwelcome diagnoses. We find ourselves in a global pandemic. If I've learned one thing from everything happens with Kate Bowler, one of my favorite podcasts, I'm not to prescribe anything during times of heartache and loss, so I won't. No magical green smoothies, no promising supplements, no healing diet. Everything does happen and if these things have happened to you, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I wish I could provide a five-step process to heal through food and movement. I can't, but I can say these can still help your healing journey. On my podcast, I interviewed a physician's assistant with a world-renowned Cancer Treatment Center. She shared how those entering treatment for cancer fare better when they have healthy nutritional and movement habits. Their bodies are better able to withstand the demands of treatment and the horrible side effects that come with it. Putting God-given foods in our body can help it function better, even when we can barely function. Being physically fit enables her patients to endure grueling treatment. Don't get me wrong. If chemotherapy leaves you only wanting to eat better crackers, then eat them. If you're deep in grief and you can't get out of bed, stay in bed. Take the time you need to heal in. Whatever that way is. Whatever your thing is, I want you to be able to deal with it without the shame of feeling like you caused it. You didn't. And wherever you are now, you can take whatever small step makes sense to you now. That may be a five-minute walk down the street and back, grabbing one extra vegetable with your lunch, or actually stopping with one piece of chocolate rather than one piece of six different types of chocolate. Or maybe that's just me. The steps you're taking are worth it. No healthy step is wasted effort, even if that journey was not one you signed up for. You may not see the kind of results you want in the time you expect, but it's all worth it, I promise. Pay attention to the small ways your body and brain respond to your kindness because, let's be clear, taking care of your body is being kind to yourself. The simple take. The time you invest into taking care of yourself is worth it, even if you don't achieve the kind of results you are hoping for. This chapter's resource is an inventory of the various metrics we talked about. You can access to it at graisthealthcom.