For 8 weeks, I joined a challenge that our coach Dan Villeda put together.
I have added this sweet and very encouraging coach to our Merciful Challenge tools (he gives us a free Family HIIT Class every Thursday at 11 am CT on zoom or Facebook Live )
Ok. So for someone who is all about coaching the wellness and mindset, I have been stuck on the numbers game.
The scale. I should know better, right. I guess until I challenged myself by someone else, I finally saw that there are some numbers that define me and some that don’t.
Such as my numbers of fitness strength and measurements where an improvement than week 1 but the weight scale was up and down like a yo-yo.
I need not to let the numbers of the scale define me.
We all have this “ideal” bodyweight we wanted. But what is so great about that weight?
Hear me out, let’s take a moment to explore where this “ideal” came from…
Did it come from a previous body weight at which you felt good? A weight that you believed you “should” be?
Did someone else—a coach, doctor, parent, friend—define it for you?
Goals are good. Feeling energetic is good. Wearing cute clothes and feeling good in them is good. All good stuff.
BUT if the number on the scale drives you to feel bad about yourself and act in ways that aren’t consistent with who, A PRECIOUS DAUGHTER OF GOD, and how you want to be in the world, then it is no longer a tool that serves you.
And, our bodies change. A weight that may have served you 20 years ago may no longer be worth the quest for it today.
I finally understood this when I saw my fitness level numbers and my measurements being a big hit even though my number on the scale played the yo-yo- game with me.
Remember, (talking to self here), we are all different. Some people’s bodies “like” a certain weight and it is really hard to change that.
Instead of continuing to allow the attachment to an ideal body weight rule your life, let the things that truly help you be your best guide.
Your healthy weight may be different than what you envisioned, but you will find that you’re stronger, fitter, faster, and happier.
You are the expert of your body. Get to know it, understand it, listen to it, and appreciate all that it does for you.
That, my sisters in Christ is unlimited goal, to give Thanks to God for our body. To love our body as a gift from God!
I mean, who doesn’t feel those infamous love handles and think, yikes.
So, let me just start by saying we are SUPPOSED to have some fat on our bodies.
The essential body fat percentages (meaning you won’t die) are 3–5% for men and 8–12% for women.
To be considered fit, men will have 14-17% body fat and women will have 21-24%. Anything over 25% for men and 32% for women is considered obese. (ACE Fitness)
WAIT.. LISTEN TO ME.
I think the first, and second, the thing we (women especially) have to realize about our mid-sections is that..
1️⃣ we are all built different
2️⃣ chances are unless we are professional bodybuilders and/or eat a ridiculously clean diet (or don’t eat enough, which is a whole other issue), we may have a little extra cushion in our bellies or sides or booty – and that is a beautiful thing!
For goodness sake, I had 10 pregnancy
But what I want to give you hope and I am not the only one.
There is an amazing movement going on in the online fitness community that focuses on accepting who we are and loving our bodies for where they are now.
And it is AWESOME. EMPOWERING. AND LONG OVERDUE.
We don’t have to workout seven days a week to prove that we are dedicated. We don’t have to run marathons to be considered a runner. We don’t have to have a six-pack to be called fit.
We don’t have to (and probably never will) look like a movie star. We don’t have to have a “bikini body” by summer. And we don’t have to get rid of our love handles!
We have to find exercises that we enjoy, or at least can tolerate, and make working out work for US.
I am just getting this. I have said no to running long distances and yes to biking (today, I fell for the first time on my bike, but I am still going at it.), swimming and body weights.
I LOVE to do that. Maybe you love to walk and only walk! GO! DO IT!
It’s that simple.
BUT! Yes, there is a BUT.
While this whole “love your body” movement is taking the internet by storm, it by no means should allow individuals to accept an unhealthy lifestyle or body.
I think loving your body not only means accepting it, but taking care of it! 💓💓
Strengthening the abdominal muscles, especially the obliques in order to hone in on those love handles, is part of an overall approach to a healthy and happy mid-section.
Let’s be honest, we feel better when we fit into our jeans and don’t have a muffin top hanging out – I mean, aside from maybe not looking very appealing, tight jeans are just plain uncomfortable!
Love handles or no love handles, let’s give a virtual high five to the women in the fitness industry (and YOU!) who aren’t afraid to give a big “screw you” to stereotypes.
Women who aren’t a size two and those who are a size two, who like to lift heavy things and those who don’t, whose bodies aren’t perfect, who put other important things before fitness, and who love their bodies as they are.
At the end of the day, I’d rather have a smile on my face and a little extra love to pinch than neither!
So, Join me as I offer again, a FREE 5 Days Whole-Body Wellness Challenge, which starts on July 6th to 10.
This challenge gives you an idea how our BIG, Merciful Love Challenge works.
So, my sisters in Christ, Love this gift of Life that you have been given, this beautiful body, the temple of the Holy Spirit with the way you celebrate it, every day.
With the Love of Christ,
Maria Cecilia
