Week 16 Gaining

So here I am almost done this adventure of fitness.(until I figure out my next goal) I haven’t weighed myself for 6 weeks and the scale sits beside me on the floor with no batteries. It hasn’t worked since just after I started this contest. Now why is everyone so hung up on the scale? Why is it so important to have a number associated with who you are? I set out on this contest to teach myself how to become healthier. I knew I didn’t need to lose much if any weight and I knew that I was already active and showing an example for my whole family. So why was I so disappointed ½ through this that I had lost 1 ounce. REALLY 1 OUNCE! I was mad…. and still kinda am. But I have to get out of that mind frame, I don’t need to lose weight, I need to gain. So how much did I gain you ask?


Well I only made minor changes on my diet. I eat because I need to; I need it to nourish not only my body, but my mind and soul. I try to eat and prepare meals with love, especially 4th birthday princess cakes. I like my glass of weekly wine because I deserve it and I have no problems eating carbohydrates as long as they are food that I know still brings nutrition to me. Yes, I’ve cut down my sugar intake and I’ve increased my water intake. I’ve become aware of what goes into my mouth but that doesn’t mean it stops at my lips.

I could have spent the past couple of months counting carbs, managing calories while also being extremely concerned with my fat intake. I could beat myself up with guilt over the multitude of birthdays I have attended and been in emotional turmoil over what I should and shouldn’t have done. This may win me the contest… but I really think I would have been miserable, and why? So I could lose a few pounds? When I really don’t need to.

I’ve had a few friends say ‘wow you look great, you must have lost weight!” and I could honestly say “no, I haven’t.” No, I haven’t… yet somehow I look better to them. Is better being less weight? Do we just associate looking better with weighing less? Or do we not know that better may be because we are healthier?

I remember thinking at one point in my early 20’s that if I could eat pasta and butter for the next 3 months I was bound to lose some pounds. (That lasted 1 day) It’s because I didn’t know what was good for me. I wasn’t taught nutrition or to love food. At the age of 23 I set out on a health regime because I was overweight and I didn’t know what was wholesome and what wasn’t. I hired a nutritionist who taught me how food works in my body and all the things I could eat. (Instead of focusing on all the food I couldn’t eat) So after almost a year, of nutrition counselling and exercise I lost roughly 30 lbs.

Instead this time I have gained…

Confidence, strength and energy. I have gained a sweet line defining my arms. I have gained a lifted round little bum. I have gained an excitement for being active. I have gained a calf muscle that I never noticed before. I gained 6.5 kms in distance per run. I gained the ability to do MANY push ups. I gained strength in my belly. I gained a back a pair of pants that have been sitting in the closet for too long. I gained more than exercises from my trainer, Tina, I’ve gained life lessons… this being one of them. I’ve gained a Sun Run under my belt. I’ve gained a craving for fitness goals. I’ve gained a more open mind. I’ve gained a set schedule for me. I’ve gained a husband who has started to run. I’ve gained a desire to incorporate this as a priority in my life.

Most of these achievements cannot be measured. It’s not on a scale or a measuring tape. It’s not about distance, speed, winning or losing. This is about life, my life and what I can do with it. How I can improve it and make it better for me and those around me.

You know what? It’s ok to gain. It could actually be good for you.

…Now if I could only gain 2 batteries for this stupid scale.