I was thinking, there are really two sides to this whole getting healthy thing.  There’s the mental side and the physical side.  Let’s call them Brain and Body.  And they rarely seem to agree.

For instance, Brain really isn’t too keen on running.  Brain would rather be reading, sitting at Starbucks sipping a white chocolate mocha, watching Top Chef, or something like that.  Brain thinks running is pretty draining because it takes a lot of mental work to stay focused enough to keep going. 

Body, on the other hand, absolutely LOVES running.  Body loves running so much that it practically begs Brain to take it running.  Body loves the feeling of pushing itself to the limits and seeing just how far it can run.  Body loves sweating, moving, and any kind of activity because it makes Body feel like it’s alive!

Another example would be eating.  Brain likes loves to go to the movies and eat candy, popcorn, drink soda, etc.  Brain loves eating ice cream, cookies, big comfort food meals from restaurants, those white mochas from Starbucks (Brain really loves those), and anything else that Brain might want to indulge in at any given time. 

Well, of course, Body can’t stand going to the movies.  Body can’t stand the way it feels after Brain puts all that crap into it!  Body wants to eat healthy food so that is has the fuel it needs to go throughout the day.  Body doesn’t like feeling sleepy all the time or dragging around because it ate too much at dinner.  Body doesn’t like that madness!

So thinking about the differences between the two made me wonder.  Is total health when Brain and Body finally agree on things?  I mean, Body has been right all along.  Body has always known exactly what it needs to perform at its optimal capacity and it’s Brain that gets in there and changes everything.  If Brain would shut its yap and listen to Body, wouldn’t achieving and maintaining healthy weight loss be that much easier?  I’m curious about this.

I wonder if Brain can be trained to trust Body.  Because it seems that Brain is much more focused on instant gratification and short term gain, while Body likes to work hard and strives for long term gain (meaning lengthening our life spans!). 

I’ve only recently really started listening to Body.  For the majority of my life, Body has been ignored by me.  It’s time to change that.  I would like to see my brain and my body share in this journey together.  I would like to see them join forces, fight for each other, take care of each other, and agree with each other. 

Something to think about anyway.