THE RIGHT WAY…?

Have you seen that article shared by so many people on social media this week: “Vrou skud 89 kg af danksy die ‘regte manier’…?  The 33-year old Janja Wills, a single mom from Johannesburg relates how she went from absorbing 4 loaves of bread and packets of bacon per day to eating healthy meals and exercising regularly…4 loaves of bread…can you imagine???

She relates how her life had changed over the course of three years, from someone with a self-esteem so low that she didn’t even feel the need to brush her hair, to a woman with an inspiring message of courage and hope.  It’s touching to hear how she was overwhelmed by tears of joy when she fitted into the bathtub for the first time… 

Her story popped up in my mind a lot this weekend while I was busy preparing everything for our end-of-the-year function and Challenge prize giving ceremony coming up on Tuesday.  Yes, it’s crunch time now… A full 318! That’s how many body assessments we conducted on our InBody machine these past 8 weeks! Of the 123 members who initially entered our 8-week Summer Challenge, 101 completed their 3 body assessments and 43 even came for a fourth one.  A record-breaking 97 participants completed the challenge and are into the lucky draw with a chance of winning R 4850 cash! Whoop-whoop!

The least I can say is that I’m stunned.  Miracles do happen – I’ve seen it with my own eyes as so many women have written their own storybook stories these past few weeks. It has been an eventful Challenge, tougher than ever before, with strict rules and deadlines, but it has been quite something…

It was fun.  And funny! I think I can write a book about all the hilarious comments during those few one-on-one minutes I had spent with everyone in that small corner office: “This machine has a lot of confidence in me”, said someone after hearing her target weight.  ”Inside me is a thin person struggling to get out, Mirna, but she is constantly sedated by Oreos…” “Of course I have increased my protein intake, Mirna, I had three Cadbury eggs yesterday…” “Life is so unfair, Mirna, do you realize that the biggest seller is cookbooks and the second is diet books – how NOT to eat what you have just learned to cook…sigh”  “I’m on that new diet where you eat everything and pray for a miracle…” etc. etc. etc…☺☺☺

…But is Jania Wills spot-on when she talks about “die regte manier”?  The right way to lose weight. Yes, I think so. I have seen it yet again – whichever diet or eating plan our members decided to follow, it only comes down to one thing – VNHMV – VREET NET DIE HELFTE MINDER, VERDOMP!

As Cicero said, 40 years BC: “Thou shouldst eat to live, not live to eat…”   Then, start moving. Because you can’t make footprints in the sands of time if you’re sitting on your butt. And who wants to make butt prints in the sands of time, you know? 

And THEN, change your mindset, because no one wakes up in the morning and says, I want to gain 20 kg and I will start now.  Everyone I know wants to LOSE weight, but successful weight-loss takes programming, not willpower, as the 65 Challenge members who managed to improve their body stats, will tell you…

It’s like Keith Trotter says in his book “100 small steps”: “Getting your mind right is the key.  But it’s also the hardest part.” In this amazing personal journal, Trotter, who had lost 150 pounds himself, describes the trial and terror, tears and triumph of his weight-loss journey.  He also touches on a very interesting thing that he calls decision-fatigue – Trotter explains that we only have a set amount of mental energy for will-power, self-control and decision-making…

What am I trying to say?  I am saying that if, on this Sunday, you are one of the successful members in terms of your weight-loss goals, well done to you!  I salute you and applaud you and you will be greatly rewarded on Tuesday! So much more so if you have achieved your goal under tough personal circumstances… I am so excited about the prospect of honouring you all on Tuesday – 

But, if you haven’t improved your stats, cut yourself some slack today.  If you feel overwhelmed and frustrated at not being able to have done what so many others have, it’s okay.  Perfectly okay, because, for crying out loud, you have been perfectly capable in so many other areas of your life this year – so what if you haven’t cracked the weight-loss code yet.

 I hope with all my heart that every member of our studio reads this today…Last week, after her last body assessment, a member sent this WhatsApp: “Ek is vreeslik teleurgesteld in myself, ek huil al heeldag.  Ek is baie lief vir jou en dankie jy was nog altyd net goed vir my. Maar ek dink nie ek gaan die prysuitdeling bywoon nie…” 

 I was shell-shocked…I mean, this woman has always been one of my most positive, cheerful, beautiful, dearest members – why this, now?  She, of all people, NEEDS to be at my function…And then it struck me that there might be a whole bunch of members who feel this way too, so I need to say this…Handing out prizes and vouchers and presents for achieving results on the scale is nice and exciting, but the whole idea behind Tuesday evening is to applaud every woman in our studio for simply being. Yes, for being yourself I want and need to say thank you.

Thank you.  For being accountable, not only for 3 body assessments or 8 weeks, but for the whole 2019.  For smiling, for wearing our workout tops with pride, for coming to the studio even when you don’t feel like it.  For appearing in our workout videos, for cheering on your friends when they get lazy, and for being so much more than a workout buddy to me.  Thank you for being a dear friend. For reading my weekly Blog and commenting often, and for choosing the studio, over and over and over again… 

I applaud you.  Not for what you you’re doing today, not for what you’ve done these last 8 weeks – I applaud you for your journey, for what led you to today…for getting up, dressing up and showing up.  For this thing which is called your life…

Yours in fitness

Mirna

082 779 0507