getting real

talking with a friend on the phone today, i mentioned the process i am going thru to achieve better physical condition. she said, "oh! i'm going on a diet-thing too! and i have discovered a new boot camp video that really works". when she got further along in the conversation, she mentioned that when her doctor told her, "that won't last" she was shocked. "where is the support?" she wondered. and i said... that won't last.

it seems that the doctor and i have learned something in common. when it comes to weight loss conversations, there's no room for bull shit. like me, he has probably seen people go on and off a million diets and end up at the same place in the end. better to call a spade a spade. in my friend's case, that ($150) video is going to be collecting dust on top of the tv in 4 to six weeks. at any rate,i'm fairly certain that it won't be the center of her fitness life a year from now. she'll be on to something newer and better as soon as the thrill of this routine wears off or worse she'll be out of the exercise circuit all together do to a pulled muscle or over exertion.

what's the harm in trying you may ask? the harm in "trying" is that this process is just another delay at getting to the heart of the matter: long-term, sustained weight loss. until we get to the point where we are truly honest with ourselves and decide to make real changes in our everyday habits, we are just chasing rabbits down a hole.

real change comes only when we take a for-real look at who we are and come to terms with the facts: i'm not happy, i'm not healthy and i am going to stop behaving in ways that are killing me softly. no super-duper, extra-amazing video is needed to start a new healthy lifestyle. getting up in the morning and going for a walk does that just fine. it doesn't require a sledge hammer to tap a nail into a wall to hang a photo of a friend. a hammer will do just fine. getting real and keeping things real on a daily basis, step by step, minute by minute is what is needed to find success.

simmer down. drink tea. take a 40 minute walk.