Appreciation

I'm often asked to teach classes on nutrition, fitness or just general health. And believe me, I LOVE it. I love teaching and empowering people, and helping them realize small changes do make huge differences, and that they can become better. I love seeing people make the changes and realize just how much better they feel when they take a little extra care of their bodies and minds.

That being said, spending time in this industry also leads to hearing a lot of negative self talk and frustration and anger. People get an idea of what is the perfect body and that is what they want. And while losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight is important...our bodies are much more than that. And when I teach, I hope that is what comes across. That our bodies are miraculous - and appreciating them could get us much farther than just spending hours on the treadmill.

Our bodies have...
...206 sturdy bones
...more than 650 dynamic muscles
...12 perfectly synchronized organ systems
...over 10,000,000,000,000 life-giving human cells.

Every day...
...your heart beats over 103,000 times
...your respiratory system powers 25,920 breaths,
...your body produces a consistent 98.6 degrees of heat
...your body produces almost 200 billion new blood cells each day

All day every day your mind, body and spirit are working together to make you who you are...to let you do the things you need to do like work and exercise, move and take care of family, go to church and spend time with friends. This body that does so much deserves more appreciate. It deserves whole foods that nourish it. It deserves time each day to move and get stronger and stretch and breath.

So today, make a choice. Make a choice to appreciate what you have, and use what you have, to better your own life. You won't regret it.