Willingness to Change

Change is an act of desperation. Knowing we have a problem may be a necessary prerequisite for change (the mental equivalent of getting our bags packed for a trip), but being willing to do something is where the journey begins. It starts in that moment when the joy of relaxing comfortably within old habits is finally outweighed by the discomfort those old habits bring. So, before I started to get healthier, I got willing.

Coming to this willingness happens differently for everyone. For some, it's a gradual process where no single moment stands out, in much the same way I can't pinpoint the actual first word either of my kids said, because their babbling slid so imperceptibly, day by day, into speech. For me, it was a single moment of clarity, like the moment I knew I wanted to marry my husband. But only one of those happened naked, and it actually wasn't the one with my husband.

A little over a year ago, I was in my bedroom getting ready for a shower when the phone rang, and everything changed. I dived across my bed naked to grab it. And in that moment of sliding across the bed toward the phone, something clicked. Whether it was the action of diving or the feeling of sheets against my skin or a combination of both, I was suddenly very aware of my body. And I was very aware that, while I had come to accept my body over the years, I didn't love it, and I hadn't been treating it with love.

I was treating this body... The one that housed me and transported me, that bore and nurtured my children, that hugged my friends and loved my husband, that communicated my thoughts and touched my world.. This useful, beautiful, completely unique and totally irreplaceable body... This great gift of life... I was treating it like so much cheap, disposable junk.

In fact, I fed it junk. I binged on sweets and chips and processed foods. I didn't exercise. I was weak and out of shape. And I had been ok with that.

Over the years, I had exhausted every option for not changing. Sure, it may have seemed like I was changing, because the numbers on the scale would go up and down. But all that meant was that I was on a roller coaster, riding in an endless loop. I would try exercising and dieting for a while. And when I'd lost enough weight to satisfy myself, I'd think, "Whew! Glad that's over! Now that I'm here, I'll never have to do that again." Which guaranteed that I would do it. Over and over again.

Eventually, I gave up. I decided to accept my body as it was. After all, being overweight is associated with a lower mortality rate than having a normal weight and being obese and fit is healthier than being thin and unfit. Which would have been fine if I had actually been fit. But I wasn't. Still, it was a way to stop the roller coaster, even if it only meant sitting still on the tracks.

But suddenly, I was sliding across my bed naked, reaching for the phone, and knowing I couldn't keep living the way I had, because the world looked so different now. I was willing to climb off the roller coaster entirely and try a new path, one that I had a chance to sustain every day for the rest of my life. And one that, for now, includes chocolate chip cookies for breakfast.

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I believe we grow through shared stories. I've shared mine, please use the comments to share your own story of finding the willingness to change...

Get Fit Eating Cookies for Breakfast!

I eat chocolate chip cookies for breakfast. I really do. And not just chocolate chip cookies. Today, I ate some of those peanut butter sandwich Girl Scout cookies for breakfast. (Do-si-dos! Yum!) Of course, I wouldn't think of discriminating against other sweets, so I also eat cake, pie, doughnuts, brownies, Pop Tarts and chocolate pancakes topped with whipped cream for breakfast. But -- and this is very important! -- not all at the same time.

A year ago, I was clinically obese. I weighed as much as I did when I was pregnant and carrying around a whole extra human. I used to get winded walking up a single flight of stairs. I don't blame that on eating cookies for breakfast; I blame it on all the other times during the day I was eating cookies. That, and my steadfast refusal to exercise.

Yet today, I did 80 push-ups. (On my knees, taking breaks for a few minutes after every 10 or 20, but still... 80! That's a big number!) I've lost nearly 60 pounds and my weight is back within the "normal" range for my height.  I can run up the stairs without losing my breath. And, lest we forget, I ate delicious, delicious Girl Scout cookies for breakfast. And other than those push-ups, I mostly sat at a computer, unless you count doing dishes as exercise.

But, you may stammer, how is that possible? What is your secret? In order to achieve perfect bodies and perfect health, don't we have to overhaul our diets and stick to some crazy Paleo, South Beach, Atkins, Zone, vegan regime that involves eating only raw, organic, low carb, low fat, no sugar, unprocessed superfoods? Don't we have to exercise every day following a regimen that balances cardio, strength training and flexibility while keeping our heart rates in the ideal range for fitness? And the answer is yes. To achieve perfect bodies and perfect health, we probably do. But I gave up on that. I just want to achieve better health. And maybe, after a few too many dizzying turns on the diet and fitness merry-go-round, you do too.

Better health isn't a perfect (or perfect looking) body, but a slightly stronger, slightly more fit body. Better health isn't a destination. It isn't letting out a sigh when (at last!) you're there and you can quit all this work all the damn time. It's a permanent change and a lifelong journey. But fortunately, better health can happen slowly, imperfectly, in tiny increments, while eating cookies for breakfast.

If you're up for this journey, grab a cookie and come join me. But if you want to lose 20 pounds in a week and get a totally ripped body, this isn't the place; although I know there are people who'll happily sell you a plan. Just know that if that plan doesn't work for you, you can always come on back. I'll be waiting with a plate of chocolate chip cookies.