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I started writing this post a while ago. Then stopped. It seemed out of place and I had a tone I didn’t like. So I put it on the back burner, but I think I’m ready to bring it forward now. That being said, I’m no expert on this. In fact, I’m merely a student. But I wanted to share my new found passion on a topic that has reared it’s head in more ways than one in the past few months.

As most of you know, I’ve started working out with a personal trainer. It has really opened my eyes to health – something I used to take for granted. When I started, my goal was to loose a few pounds and feel better about myself. But a few weeks ago my father in law had open heart surgery to bypass clogged arteries. And before that, my grandpa’s lung cancer reared it’s ugly head again – he’d been a smoker for over 50 years. Anyway, I had only been training for a few weeks at that point, but it became serious. My goals are still the same. However, I’m ready to create a life change, and excited to share!

This can be a statement applied to different areas of life, and a lot of people already get it. But in the gym, it’s quite practical. I need to push myself to fail. If I have a “good” workout, and I haven’t pushed myself to the point of pain, sweat, or frustration, it wasn’t a good work out. It may have been maintenance, which sometimes you need, but it wasn’t growth. I love this because it allows me to go into the gym feeling free. I don’t have to be perfect. I just have to push. I don’t have to leave feeling good. I have to leave feeling challenged.

When I started this “work out and eat right” thing, I learned I had to eat, net, 300 calorie meals. And so I started adding. I started gathering numbers and made them equal to food. So ideally, a salad with a healthy dressing and good toppings could equal out to the same number of calories as a McDonald’s hamburger. You have the option of eating either one and the number is the same. But there is more to the story. If I want to feed my body well, it’s more than numbers. This is the part that prevents heart attacks. Clogged arteries. Unhealthy blood. And so on.

I think this is the part I struggle with most. It’s like I’m out to defeat myself. During the day, it is so easy to make excuses not to go to they gym, or not to eat right, but I need to prepare myself for this. For me it’s something as simple as getting up 30 minutes earlier to make time for the gym. For you, it could be as difficult as quitting smoking. Everyone is in different places, but none of this comes easy to anyone. But anything you can adjust in your life will give you an advantage.

At the end of the day, we have to understand that we can’t live a perfectly healthy life. Sometimes things get in the way of “perfection.” Most of the time it’s our own sinful self, but sometimes, it’s an experience. For example, sharing a funnel cake with your kid at the fair might be worth it. Sometimes it’s your birthday. Birthday Cake is good – and who puts candles in a salad? Sometimes it’s love. Bringing home Buffalo Wild Wings is a love language in our house. Sometimes it’s just a feel good thing. Yesterday, I went to the farmer’s market and bought some apples. At this time of the year, all I want is an Apple Pie. And tomorrow, I’m going to make that apple pie without guilt.