FAT TUESDAY: The Strong Silent Type

It’s a room of warriors.  Strong.  Vigilant.  And silent.

From the weights to the bands to the treadmill…they all stare silently, dreaming of activity.  Getting used to disappointment.

Billy Blanks, Tony Horton, Denise Austin, Bob Harper, Jillian Michaels….all muzzled.

The best investment we make in exercise is NOT financial.  It’s also not the biggest sacrifice.

A commitment to sweat – to work hard – to get up early – to skip a favorite TV show – to decline dessert and run instead….those are the investments and sacrifices we make for a good work out.

And they scream GOOD JOB more than any piece of equipment sitting unused in the corner of your bedroom.

Fat Tuesday: What If This IS Your Ideal Weight?

It was an unexpected question.

I was writing an article about weight struggles.  It was a raw, honest piece.  I sat down with the editor for a conversation – and we talked some about the article, its transparency, and my life.  And then he stunned me to silence….not an easy task.

“Darren, what if this IS your ideal weight?”

I knew I had turned a corner because my first thought was NOT “Finally – an excuse to be this unhealthy!!”  In fact, that thought never even crossed my mind.  I think I choked out some version of , “Well….it’s not.  It’s just….not.”

And of course it’s not – while I do enjoy pretty good health for as over-weight as I am, it’s not healthy for anyone to pack around this much additional weight – especially long-term.

What reduced me to ‘blathering’ status was the intended core of the question.  “Are you satisfied with who you are?”  And I couldn’t answer it…because I have allowed my weight to define me.  The question almost seemed to beg “If the weight was no longer the issue, would you be whole?”

I wouldn’t have been then.  But I am now. And it’s been a long journey (and not filled with as many lost pounds as I had hoped).  But being whole really has to be the first step to being healthy.  For most (and for me), losing weight and gaining physical health really just addresses a symptom…and to be whole takes a courageous (and continual) confrontation of deeper disease.

If I were asked the question today?  Nearly 18 months later…and only 25-ish pounds?  No stammering.  No blathering.  No hesitation.  If my weight never changes, I am content in who I am.  (But I’m still intent on losing these remnants of days when I wasn’t so happy with who I am!)   :)