STOP DIGGING

Did you know that fat cells never go away? Sure, you can lose the fat, by burning it for fuel during and after your workouts. The fat will come right out of the cells when needed, but the cells are still there, shriveled up and much smaller than before. I like to imagine it like they are now simply “shrink-wrapped”.

But if you stop working out and start letting your diet slip through the cracks, those fat cells are not only still there, ready and waiting to receive “new fat”, but the pathways to store the fat are right there and easy to access too.

Once you’ve been overweight, your body is very accommodating to new fat. Even your metabolism will quickly adjust back to the original lower levels, helping you get and stay fat again. This is so common it’s called “the Yo-Yo syndrome.”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people mount a huge effort, losing 50 pounds or more, only to see them six months later with all that weight back on. Often, they’re even heavier.

I even see the process starting a little closer to home. It’s very easy to put 5 pounds back on in a hurry. Just get a little lazy, or miss a few workouts. Couple that with letting your diet slip a little bit (read cookies here), and presto, you’ve put on 5 pounds in just a couple weeks.

Here’s where the rubber meets the road. If you address it, you’ll be able to turn it right around. If you let it go, it will take over and take on a life of its own.

It’s kind of like the spiritual side of life. Get a little lazy in your faith, and pretty soon, you’re making small compromises. Let it go a little longer, and before you know it, you’re having a King David moment, looking over the roof at your own Bathsheba.

If you don’t know the story, King David was a great king and warrior in the Old Testament. He fought and won many battles, starting with the giant, Goliath, at a remarkably young age.

Something happened, though, that caused him to stay home “at the time when kings go forth to battle.” That was probably his first mistake, but things happen. The problem came when he went for a walk on the roof one evening and saw a beautiful woman bathing.

He should have walked away, but instead made a deliberate choice to ask about her. His advisors tried to steer him away, telling him she was married to one of his captains but by then it was too late. He was already too far down that road to turn back, and he told them to send her to him. He was the king, so they did, and then he did. It gets worse from there.

We have to be vigilant and guard our hearts and minds. I think we need to guard our stomachs too. If you’re like me, we just can’t keep cookies in the house. We probably need to pray more as well. And we probably need to keep going forth to battle (read working out here).

The secret is to keep a close eye on things. If you start to see you’re slipping a little, you need to start taking action now, not later. It’s much harder later. If you catch it early, you can make some small adjustments and get things back on track.

It’s never too late, though. After a lot of pain and suffering, even King David found redemption and was still considered a man after God’s own heart. Remember the old saying: “If you’re in a hole, the first thing you need to do is stop digging!”

Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.