Christi's Corner #6- Sow and Reap

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard someone exclaim that they gained weight from one large meal, or that they lost weight from one heavy-duty workout.  I can remember believing this myself at one time in my life because the scale would read heavier or lighter after the event.  I realize now that this gained or lost weight was not in the form of body fat, at least not yet.  That quick gain and loss on the scale we get initially is usually in the form of water weight.  That doesn’t mean that you won’t eventually lose or gain body fat; it just means that it doesn’t happen overnight from one event.

Like any good produce crop, how we eat and exercise now won’t bring forth a harvest right away.  It can take anywhere from 2 to 8 weeks; depending upon the intensity we put into the new behavior.  This means that your fitness level, weight, and well-being right now are a result of the past, not the present.  Reminding yourself of this fact is the first step to successful health and fitness maintenance.

So often people associate the way they currently feel, or what they see with their eyes, with how they are currently eating or exercising.  For example, we see a muscular man use a particular exercise machine.  We see his muscle bulging beautifully, so we automatically assume that machine caused that muscular result.  This is not necessarily true.  Another example would be the day we fit into our old jeans.  Later that day we eat our dinner, feeling good about what we ate that day because it helped us fit into our old jeans. Again, this is not necessarily true.

I think we are most unaware of this delay when we are young.  For example, if our skin is smooth, we sometimes associate it with good facial products.  But the truth is, our skin’s texture is most likely due to youth.  Likewise, if we have nice teeth, we might associate it with a particular toothpaste.  Chances are, in large part, our nice teeth are also due to youth.  Marketing companies take advantage of the fact that the average person is unaware of their personal delayed harvest.   This is why they are bold enough to put an 18-year-old model on TV to advertise a wrinkle-free face cream.  Why? Because so many people really do fall for it. 

What you do or don’t do today will determine your future health and fitness level.  This privilege we have to make instantaneous choices is a beautiful thing, but it can also wreck havoc on our bodies when we are not aware of this delayed harvest. 

So here you are with another beautiful day and another beautiful moment to invest your valuable choice.  Are you going to spend it all on the here and the now, or are you going to invest some of it in the future?  I know what I’m going to do.