Wandering Thoughts on Wednesday!

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garlic7girl
garlic7girl Posts: 2,236 Member
Ok, for you hard-core Challengers today is going to be different but this too is important.
I read the other day in a fitness 'thought for the day' a question " How would you be or how would you be if you were not a struggling, striving person with the weight loss fitness eat right person??" then later the next day I heard on the radio "can we be too consumed with our bodies??"

I want for all of us to ponder and think on these things bc the impact that health has on us is profound it does effect our lives but to what degree? Do we still enjoy our lives? Do you appreciate your legs that take you everywhere effortlessly whether they have cellulite or muscles or look like sticks? So does it matter? How we think of our health is just as important and where we put health on the list of priorities is important too! Do I go to spin class or go to another important event? Do I feel guilty for it?

Challenge: think on these issue and decide for yourself...life is to be lived...lived I say! Does food and exercise rule you or you rule it? Along with the trials and tribulations we all will encounter decisions health comes with it but it may just not always be #1.

Peace,
WW

Replies

  • WhitneyT586
    WhitneyT586 Posts: 279 Member
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    Can we be too consumed with our bodies?

    Looking at the fashion world and the industry that is consumed with quick fixes for making your body look "perfect" (weight loss pills, Hydroxycut, HTC, etc), I'd have to say yes. When you get to a point where you never think you look good enough, its an unhealthy obsession. There is such a thing as too skinny, too muscular, because those things aren't always an indicator of good health. But this is the only body you get to live in, so you have to have some degree of obsession with it.

    I agree that life is to be lived, but at the same time, I want a life worth living. Part of that involves giving up some things I may want in the moment in order to have a full life. You have to find that balance and I believe that is a big part of why we are on MFP, to find the balance between need and want. I may want that chocolate, but I need that apple. MFP helps me decide which I can have at the time by how many calories I have left or if I've exercised that day.

    I'm learning to appreciate the new tone of my muscles, the collarbone I can see peeking out, the length of my fingers as my hands shrink, and so much more. I know I'm doing something good for myself even if I have to sacrifice to get there. It will be so worth it in the end. You can't feel guilty when you pick health over other obligations. You have to continue your life and getting healthy at the same time. To do health and then do life is no way to make a healthy life.

    Totally didn't intend to write a novel. Oh well.
  • beccachick
    beccachick Posts: 11
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    Today is my dad's birthday. The reason that matters is because he died in February. He lived a good full life (according to Him), but because he didn't take care of himself he died at the young age of 62. (Today he would have been 63.) I think, at least for me, I have put my body last. That fact that my body has tirelessly served me throughout my 40 years amazes me. I think my body and I are more in-sync when I exercise and eat right. I don't consider this consumed as much as considering where my ability comes from. I need to take care of me, because I use "me" daily to do all that I love to do. I hope at some point I can look at food without thinking calories and really just think about what is best for my body. That is my ultimate goal to be good to my body so it can function at its best.
  • lisaissasa
    lisaissasa Posts: 402 Member
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    It has taken me a long time to answer your question. Regretfully not because I did not know the answer but because I do not like the answer. The truth is I do not obsess until it is to the point of concern. No, I am not thankful enough for what I have, what I can do, or who I am in general.

    For me, this is more than losing weight or about living a healthy lifestyle. It is about learning to appreciate me. I never think I am pretty enough, smart enough, talented enough... the list goes on.

    I know what the Bible says (You are wonderfully made...); I have heard what others say (You are sweet, beautiful, funny, loving...). The problem is me. My perception of me.

    My goal is to believe I am beautiful; regardless of what society may call beautiful. Not just outward beauty but inward too. It starts with me changing what can be changed and accepting with graciousness what I cannot change.

    As Joyce Meyer would say, "Stop my stinkin thinkin. Step out, find out."

    Thank you for empowering me to do more than I thought I could or even wanted to.
  • Kelwalks4
    Kelwalks4 Posts: 56 Member
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    On another thread I heard a great analogy!

    Consider taking a driving trip to the Grand Canyon. It is so exciting! To get there, you have to plan for fuel and make sure your car is well maintained. However, once you have your gas and maintenance (nutritious food and exercise), you focus on the trip to the Grand Canyon. The goal is not to focus on gas and maintenance.

    I find I focus either too much on the gas and maintenance (and start missing the beauty of the Grand Canyon), or ignore gas and maintenance which is foolish, because you can't make the trip without attending to those things.

    I just love this analogy and use it to try to keep myself balanced. :drinker:
  • lisaissasa
    lisaissasa Posts: 402 Member
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    Very good analogy, Kelwalks4! No one wants to miss the view from the Grand Canyon. It is breathless.