Your Body. Your Gift.

Treat it with patience and understanding. By Teresa Pesce.

How many years have you wanted to lose weight? Did you know that for most of us, those years are decades?

We’ve all heard of the “set weight.” Your body has a set weight which it will fight to maintain whether that weight is appropriate for you, underweight or overweight. It’s just the way our body works; it tries to maintain the status quo because it takes its current weight as its assignment: “Here – maintain this number of pounds. Thanks!” HOWEVER! (I love “however” – the key to all possibilities) The body is also at your service.

Did you know that if you pry yourself from the mattress and go for a walk for a morning or two, your body’s response is as follows: “You need energy at this time? Oh – okay. I didn’t know that. I’ll make you some and have it ready for you at this time tomorrow.” Exercise (expending energy) creates energy!

Did you also know that you created every craving you have? Yup. Sorry about that … not to get too scientific about it, but habits are ingrained neuron pathways resulting from repeated actions. Good or bad actions – the coin works no matter which side lands face-up. So bringing it back to our physical condition, the body has nicely-grooved habits it’s used to and an assigned set weight.

And January 1st is approaching and here’s you wanting to change everything! “Stop following those grooves and start launching into a total workout routine at an unheard-of hour in the morning!” Honestly, I feel sorry for our bodies. Poor, criticized, judged things. So let us take December to honor them. Give the gift of understanding and acceptance to your body, yourself.

“We need to talk” prefaces many a conversation one of the parties would rather not have. Your body might be wanting to talk to you, if you’d listen. It’s doing the best it can (it always does) with whatever you feed it and however you exercise it. So if you would like it to change, have a mental conversation about how to do that with gentleness, patience and kindness, taking small steps before you take big ones.

You are a physical miracle made commonplace to our eyes because there are so many of us, but you are a miracle nonetheless. What a great gift you are to yourself, capable of learning foreign languages and building muscle! Perhaps you’ve never even thought to completely open your gift! What could your body do if you created time and opportunity to do it? Your body could change your whole life. At the very least, it could enhance your life! Take some time, have a talk, be thankful and grateful. And if you and your body agree some changes would be nice, do them together.

#health