“The Battle is not over, the Journey is not done”

I had the opportunity to speak at my church a little while ago and share my testimony of the last couple of years. A part of my testimony was a line…“The Battle is not over, the Journey is not done…”
This line was not intended for my fitness journey but it popped into my head the other day as I was thinking about my fitness and I thought it was very fitting for where I am at today on my journey. I started to dissect the statement and look at how I can parallel it to my fitness journey, starting with “The Battle”
 
The Battle…my Battle…
I started thinking, how is battle defined? So like anyone my age, I Googled the word battle and this is what came up, “a lengthy and difficult conflict or struggle.” A fitness journey is so simple, eat well and workout, how hard can it be? But in all honesty it has been a difficult conflict and struggle for me at different times, sometimes even daily. At this point, a year and a half in, it now has incorporated the “lengthy”.
In the last 3 months I have lost 33 inches but no lbs! Still sitting around 175lbs. This has been my biggest mental battle. Dan and I had a great talk the other day in the car and again I “threw out” the notion that I will be “happy and complete” once I hit my goal of 140lbs. This is a lie I have been believing and I continually have to remind myself it’s not about that number, this is not the first time I have said this! Dan encouraged me to keep doing what I am doing, working out 5 times a week and eating healthy. My body will continue to change.
I continually remind my clients that it’s not about the number on the scale but rather how you are feeling and your inches lost. I take pictures and measurements of my clients and focus on working towards feeling well and leading a healthy life. It’s a day by day battle and sometimes even a meal by meal battle!
I still struggle with temptations but I focus on each day and work on enjoying my battle, more like seeing it as a competition with myself.
 
The Journey…my Journey…our Journey
Journey can be defined as “travelling from one place to another”… I added  “and learning to enjoy it!!”
Over the last couple months I have transitioned from an Office Manager position into the role of a Personal Trainer. I left my comfortable salary pay to full commission. This has been a huge trust lesson for Dan and I, being reminded that God has a plan, He knows what He’s doing in our lives and we need to trust Him. One of my favourite Bible verses is “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” This is a verse I clung to when life got hard and now I can cling to it in another ways, from a different perspective. Life is constantly changing and when we are able to cling to Gods amazing truth found in this verse, we are given a hope and drive to keep trusting.
 
It has been interesting to watch the fear and anxiety associated around our finances creep in over the last couple months as I have a very detailed budget, know what we need to make and are aware of what we are making monthly. There have been a few times I have come to Dan, with tears in my eyes expressing my fears around money and without fail, he calms my heart, we pray about it and we either receive an email or a phone call of someone interested in our Personal Training services. Dan suggested I stop worrying so much and leave my anxiety in God’s hands, and my response was “actually maybe I should keep worrying because every time I do we get a new client within minutes. Lol”
With all joking aside, this is a part of my journey were I have really had to trust God and know that we are well taken care of.
 
We are at a point in time where are journey has become very exciting. We have so many different ideas brewing, lawyers working on contracts so we can start building a team of trainers, and recently started looking into implementing a Corporate Wellness program.
God continually has been opening doors to avenues I never thought possible and I just keep saying, “Okay God” as we walk through each door.
 
Lastly, there is still my fitness journey. There are times when I hate this journey and I just “want to get there”…wherever “there” is. I have really been trying to just enjoy it, enjoy watching my body change, enjoy my progress in strength training, and enjoy helping my clients achieve their goals.
I now consider my journey a blessing, as I am able to relate to my clients, their emotions, their mental state, their downs and ups. It’s very rewarding to help people get back to who they feel they are inside and to feel better about who they are.
 
I started this Journal with a picture of my 5 years ago…I feel like I don’t even know this person. I was lost in a body that I hated and it took strength and determination to fight my way back to my good old self. I finally feel like me again.
Sadly, we are apart of a generation that wants everything NOW and with your fitness journey it can’t be now. My journey will never be over, I will always have a battle with food, but its learning to enjoy the ride and overcome the food addiction.
 
“The battle is not over, the journey is not done but Jesus Christ is Lord of my life and I will chose to make Him Lord, every day, every hour, every minute”