Please don’t let your mission of fat loss define you.

You’re ok.

You want to lose fat. You want to look into a mirror and not look away. You don’t just want to look good in your friend’s wedding photos, you want to be able to look at yourself in your friend’s wedding photos, and feel good about the reflection.

So you started an exercise program. And then life happened.

So you started again, and you followed the program to the letter for a month. You did great

And life happened.

And that cycle has happened once, twice, twenty times.

And you know what? You’re ok.

Life keeps happening and sometimes we don't have it in us to manage it all.  Life doesn’t care that you want to drop 50 pounds by September. Life doesn’t care that you’re a size 16 when you want to be a size 6. And the more life happens and the more times you start, and stop, the easier it is to get discouraged.

But you know what? You're ok.

The process is hopeless, you say. I don’t know what else to do, you say. I’m destined to be this way, you say. Some of that is true. You are destined to be you. And as your friend, I’m thrilled that you are you.

It’s tough sometimes, but I hope some part of you can be thankful that you are destined to be you. Because you are one of the funniest people I know. And you are kind and thoughtful and hard working.

You are the kind of person who buys a card for everyone at the office to sign for the co-worker whose husband is in the hospital. The kind of person who walked to the end of the bench during the game to talk to the player who was crying.  The kind of person who bakes cupcakes for the birthday party and hosts five nine-year old girls for an overnight. I don’t know all of the things that you do. But I do know this:

You are not just ok. You are good.

And if you want to lose fat for your health or your piece of mind, you can do it. You can find a way. But Life will continue to happen. The starts and stops... They may discourage you. Hold on to what keeps pulling you back to your goals. Try not to let life stop you in your efforts to be more fully the person you want to be, in health, in fitness, in spirituality. But please, please, don’t let your mission to lose fat define you. Because you are so much more than any one thing.