An Open Letter To The Unhealthy Woman At The Gym

You are a distraction. 

I decided I would walk to the gym today. I walked 1.8 miles from my apartment to the gym. I was going to then do my incredibly intense workout, only to walk the 1.8 miles back home. So I did. I got to the gym already feeling accomplished of a task I hadn't even completed yet. I was feeling determined to push myself even harder tonight than I did on Tuesday doing this workout. I walked in, swiped my little UPC barcode from my phone, weighed myself before putting my stuff in a cubby and asked for a 10 pound medicine ball. 

At first I didn't see you. I was in my own zone, motivated by the energy of my walk there. And then, as I was setting up the little station for myself, I saw you. And then I watched you for a while. Physically, you were visibly unhealthy. You were not only extremely overweight, but I could see the strain your weight was having on your legs and your ankles. You were with your trainer doing some side step-ups. Step-ups are in my workout. However, the step you were using only came up to your ankle, while mine either comes mid-calf or to my knee. And you were struggling. It was hard for you. That was the last exercise of your workout. Your trainer told you that you had done a great job, and you followed him out. I started looking around the gym and saw more of you. There was another overweight woman on the bike, and another one doing some weight machines. There was an unhealthy man walking too. This isn't gender exclusive. 

Then I realized...I used to be you. People couldn't necessarily see the strain of my weight in my legs and ankles, and I could most definitely do leg lifts higher than my ankles. But if I had continued with my unhealthy habits, by the time I was your age, I could have easily become that person. I want to applaud you. I want to encourage you. I want to motivate you to keep going. 

You are stronger than you know. You have begun an amazing journey to be healthier, one that will change your life forever. There will be days that you want to give up. There are days that I want to give up. There are days that I start my workout and desire to give up because I just don't want to do it. Keep going. Keep pushing yourself. Don't let yourself get discouraged by the voice in your head telling you that you can't. It's just simply not true. Rest if and when you need to. But whatever you do, don't give up. It will be worth it. 

Set realistic and attainable goals. Set goals that you are able to accomplish in the next month. Set progress goals and keep track (I'm preaching to the choir here because I'm literally the worst at tracking progress). Set non-scale goals - ones that make you feel better, stronger and healthier. But also, set goals that seem impossible. Dream big. Audrey Hepburn said "Nothing is impossible. The word itself says, "I'm possible." YOU. CAN. DO. IT. Again, don't listen to the voice telling you that you can't. Fitness is not only physical, but mental. Your body won't go where your mind doesn't push it. Don't give up. It will be worth it. 

 Don't get discouraged. Don't feel intimidated or self-conscious about what you are struggling to do right now. It's ok. Don't be discouraged when you look around and see the lady hanging upside down in the middle of the TRX (that legit happened tonight). Don't be discouraged when you see the navy seal of a man doing a million push-ups. When you see all the people standing around gossiping, don't think that it's about you, even if they give you dirty looks - they are self-absorbed and most likely don't even know they are giving you dirty looks as they gossip about their friends. In those moments, smile at them, wave, and push yourself even harder. But don't give up. It will be worth it. 

Know that I think you are amazing. You have amazing strength to reach out and change your health. We have wonderful trainers at our gym. Great job for using them. I have seen your trainer with other clients and he does a great job. I can't wait to watch you get healthier and stronger. I can't wait to meet you at the gym again, to see you reach your realistic and attainable goals. I can't wait to watch you do the things that you believe are impossible for you. Come back often. And don't give up. It will be worth it. 

I want to leave you with some truth. You are faithfully known and cherished by the same God that knows and cherishes me. You are beautiful now, and no matter what goals you do or don't accomplish, nothing is going to change that. As we look to Good Friday tomorrow, I couldn't help but see Jesus in you. I don't know if you love Him or not, but I do know that He loves you. A whole lot. In fact, tomorrow we recognize His death on the cross, and on Sunday we get to CELEBRATE the fact that He is Risen and alive. Hebrews 12:1-2 gives us the picture of our faith as a race.

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Just like our health, our faith has a course to complete and a race to run. We are commanded to run the race of faith with endurance. We are commanded to keep pushing, no matter how hard it gets, no matter what gets in our way, no matter how we feel about life that day, we have to keep pushing. Why? Because Jesus. Jesus endured (there's that word again) the cross, and is now sitting at the right hand of God. He is who we are to look to for everything because He is the author and finisher of our faith. He came to endure the cross, the shame and the weight of our sin with joy because He had the Father with Him. It was worth it. 

So, my friend, run your race of health with endurance. Don't give up. Even more than your race of health, run your race of faith with endurance. Don't give up. It's hard. But I can promise you, it will be worth it.

When YES Means Everything

It's been forever and a half since I've posted a blog. But today's story is important. Lora's story is not my story. But Lora is a part of my story. I met Lora 7 years ago in Special Olympics. I coached her swimming, and we danced together at the end of every practice. Now, Lora is a vital part of our Fusion ministry and her mama wrote this wonderful story for our church newsletter:

I never imagined I’d have a child with a disability. Yet on August 2, 2002, I was blessed with my daughter Lora Grace who happened to have Down syndrome. In the beginning I was so scared; I was afraid I wasn’t equipped to handle such high demands, though I found that the demands were not that high. In the beginning I found myself so afraid for her future; I was finally able to give that to God and it really helped me to move forward. Don’t get me wrong, there are still times that I try to look towards her future, but I’m better equipped now to handle those emotions.  

I was prepared by other moms of children with special needs for the reaction that I would receive from the general population. For example, I can’t remember the last time Lora was invited to a birthday party for a friend; she just seems to have been forgotten. I’ve grieved that loss, but I knew that I needed to expect that. The one thing I never thought about nor expected was the reaction I received from the Christian Church. There was a lack of knowledge and understanding of what to do with her; to me she was just Lora. I found myself having to leave churches because they felt as though they couldn’t help us. That is a hard experience to feel like the one place you should feel accepted just doesn’t know what to do. I do not fault any of the churches; we are all human, and we all make mistakes.

As time went on, eventually Lora and I were not attending church. It was so painful for me, especially since the rest of my family was able to attend the church we belonged to. It took me awhile to reach out to First Baptist; I was so afraid of rejection once again. I still remember that day when Patrick Frost called me to give me information about Fusion. I had explained to him that Lora had Down syndrome, and his reaction brought me to tears. I can’t remember exactly the conversation, but I can tell you how I felt as I talked with Patrick about  Lora starting in Fusion. I’ve never felt more loved on and accepted. Lora has been with Fusion for a year now and is fully included just like any other child. She’s gotten to go on retreat twice now, just like everyone else. I never dreamed that she would be able to go overnight somewhere with a church group. She is loved and accepted just as she is. Until you have a child that's been excluded you can't understand the pain that one feels. I'm so glad she will never be excluded again. Lora is so happy to be with her friends. She loves it, I love it.

Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Fusion staff; Lora has her moments, but the staff is incredible, they help her and just love on her. There is not anything more I could ever hope or wish for her here. We are so blessed by Fusion and First Baptist; I can’t begin to express my gratitude sufficiently.  

Cory Wingett 

I finally did it!

I'm officially a Habits of Health coach with Take Shape for Life. I believe in this program, and can't wait to see where this journey leads me. My first client started today, and I don't think I could have asked for a more perfect first one. She wants to follow program perfectly, and I am so excited to see her results! I showed my toddlers this picture, and one of them pointed to my "after" picture and said, "That's you, Teacher Missa!" She then pointed to my "before" picture and said, "And that's your friend?" I guess I look like a totally different person. It's weird to look back at these pictures and see the "old me". I still feel the same. My character hasn't changed. My beliefs haven't changed. My attitude and outlook on life haven't changed. So looking back, it's hard to believe that was me. I still feel like me. I look different. I've lost a little weight, have a little bit of a new glow, and have a lot more energy (which is hard for some people to imagine). Please, share my story. Tell everyone. Give them my email address. Send them to my website. Send them to my Facebook page. (PS, go like my new business page if you haven't already). If you have my number, by golly, have them text me. Send me your health goals and let's talk about them! I don't want anyone to miss out on health. Watch this video and post it on whatever social media you use. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rFivyxOf8Q Get it out there. Let's get America healthy, people! <3 Alisa <3 knownandcherished@gmail.com facebook.com/knownandcherished facebook.com/alisa.tobin

Vulnerable

"Nothing is impossible. The word itself says 'I'm possible.'" - Audrey Hepburn

I encourage my middle school girls to be vulnerable. I encourage them to share what is on their hearts. I encourage them to share their lives with me. I am looking for honesty - and try to set up an environment where honesty is welcomed. I try and make the girls feel comfortable. I let them know I love them. I give them an opportunity to feel heard. I encourage the girls in the group to do the same. What is said in the group stays in the group. And I share with them my life. I let them know things I have struggled with, and how God has used those things for good. I share with them the encouragement I have found only through Christ, the peace I have found only through Christ, and the hope I have found only through Christ. But for some reason, I have had the hardest time fulfilling a promise I made to my health coach a couple weeks ago. I told her that once I reached the 75 pound mark, I would share about this journey I'm on. Honestly, I dreaded reaching that 75 pounds. I dreaded being so vulnerable, honest and open. So, when I checked this morning for my "celebration day," I got nervous. I celebrated reaching 77 pounds, and realized it was time to pop the comfort bubble and share my victory. I made the decision 7 months ago to begin my journey to optimal health. Heather reached out to me a few months before, but I wasn't ready to do it. Finally, I realized I do so much for other people, that I was going to finally do something for myself. So, in August, I hopped on the train and joined Take Shape For Life. It hasn't been easy every day - there are times I am tempted - there are times that I don't follow the program exactly - but I am proud of how far I have come. This journey I'm on is not only changing my body, but it has given me a motivation to help others change. I eventually want to be a health coach so I can walk this journey with other people. I was talking to my aunt one day about it and compared sharing the program to our Christian walk. We share our successes, our motivation and our love for the program the same way we share about Jesus. You can tell people they need to accept Him so they don't go to hell, but what is going to impact their lives more is by sharing what Jesus means to us and how He has changed our lives. I sell Jesus because I don't want anyone to miss out on eternal life found through Him. My motivation for becoming a coach one day is that I don't want anyone to miss out on an opportunity to gain optimal health through TSFL. Both require an internal and very personal decision that no one can make for anyone else. Once upon a time, one of my longest friends got married. That was in September. About two months into the program. The week before the wedding, I SCRAMBLED to find someone to take in my dress. It just didn't fit. But, she got it to work, and I only had to tape so it didn't fall completely off while we danced. I got that dress out today. It would no longer be able to be taped to not fall off during dancing. Just a few pictures of my journey. Seriously, thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged me on this journey. I am so blessed! As we take our middle schoolers to our winter retreat this weekend, I will have a new appreciation for what I ask of them - and I pray I will be able to give them the same.

Pursue

"Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother's womb. I thank you, High God - you're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration - what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; you know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, the days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day." Psalm 139:13-16 (The Message) What a journey we are on. This journey called life. Life given to us by a God who pursues us - a God who calls us to pursue Him. He has known us since conception. he has had a plan for us since before we were born. He loves us deeply. This God of ours created the earth, knows how many grains of sand are on the shore, knows how many stars are in the sky - even knows them by name! Yet, He calls us His greatest creation. We are the prized possession of this marvelous, breathtaking God. But what's more - He desires us to be in relationship with Him! He desires us to pursue Him, as broken and wretched as we are, we are still called to know Him deeply and to be in relationship with Him daily. Amazing. I've been on a journey to optimal health since August. My friend Heather pursued (a few months earlier) me to tell me about Take Shape For Life. I was hesitant. I didn't want to do it. I knew that I should lose weight. I knew that I valued health, but I didn't know that I would be so transformed and changed by participating in and experiencing the program. So far, I have lost 63 pounds (not done yet), but the health transformation is more than about the victory on the scale. I look in the mirror and I see a changing body, but I still see me. I haven't changed who I am, my pursuit of God or my values, but I have found more motivation, more encouragement and more confidence. I sent Heather a text a couple of weeks ago, explaining my new mindset:

I always knew I was beautiful because I was made in God's image. I told my girls that over and over. That we are all beautiful because we were made in God's image. But as I was thinking about it tonight, I never believed it beyond that. Now I see myself as beautiful beyond the fact that I was made in the image of God. I never wanted to think that way, but it happened.

I never realized that I had less confidence about my appearance because I was carrying so much extra weight. But, now with 63 pounds GONE, I have a new-found confidence, and a new appreciation for God - knowing that He has always loved me, pursued me and thought of me as beautiful. The encouragement I have been blessed with on this journey has been amazing. People are noticing my body changing, and asking me how I've done it. Their words of encouragement mean more to me than I can express, which means that I usually respond very awkwardly with something like, "I got a new jacket." So, THANK YOU to all those who are walking with me on this journey. Heather and David, I am incredibly thankful for you. Thank you for pursuing me for the program so that soon, I can help other people transform their lives! PS: I have also found that I actually ENJOY running! 5K, here I come :)