If you have been with us here at Stay Fit Mom for any amount of time, you’re most likely very familiar with our favorite catchphrase, “Choose Your Hard.” As human beings, life will require us to pick and choose which “hards” are worth it to us on nearly an hour by hour basis. For example: yes, it’s hard to get up at five o’clock in the morning for work, but it’s also hard to not be able to pay the electricity bill. So we get up and we get to work.

Or, on a less simplistic level: yes, it’s hard to make ourselves plan meals in advance and prepare the meals ahead of time. But, it’s also hard to scramble on the night of a busy evening trying to figure out the best way to get the entire family fed. Yes, it’s hard to remain diligent about macro tracking, but it’s also hard to feel uncomfortable both physically and emotionally in our clothes every time we get dressed. It can feel hard to utilize a tracker or to play tetris in MyFitnessPal, but it’s also hard to live in a severe caloric deficit and/or totally abstain from certain foods, whole food groups, snacks or desserts. 

Look for the Fruits

Let’s take this idea of “choosing our hard” a step further. Recently, I was talking with another mom about parenting my boys. This mom is older than me and has abundant wisdom to offer in the realm of parenting (and many other things – shout out to you, Kelli). I told her, “I just don’t know if what I’m choosing to prioritize is the right thing.” She confidently told me, “look for the fruits.” In other words, she told me to look for the positive growth in my children from the parenting decisions I’m making. Now, let’s think of this phrase from the standpoint of our nutrition. “What roots will produce fruit?” Think of the “roots” as the various “hards” that we have to face on a daily basis. Think of the “fruit” as all of the positive changes and steady growth that we see when we prioritize our health and nutrition. There are SO many positive changes that we see when we simply eat better and move our bodies, and many of these changes go much further than just better body composition and a smaller number on the scale. For example, what about instilling a healthy relationship with food in our children, and breaking the cycle of disordered eating for the entirety of our households? What about taking back dinner time with our families because we chose to order groceries and plan meals for the week? What about adding years to our lives and being able to chase our grandbabies, simply because we have normalized prioritizing 10,000+ steps each day? The list could go on and on, and no “fruit” is insignificant. 

From Challenge to Change: The Power of Habits

The “hards” that we choose to delegate our time towards are so much more than just “hards.” They are the “roots” that produce the “fruits” in our lives for years to come. I particularly love using the word “roots” here, because think about what tree roots literally are for a moment. They anchor the tree, growing thick and deep for the years to come. It’s slow, steady growth but before we know it, we suddenly have apples or pears for the years ahead because we chose to plant, water and care for the tree. Those daily decisions and actions we choose each day through our own self-discipline grow into habits. Before we know it, playing tetris becomes our “calm” and “predictable” and rest days become harder than cardio or leg days. The roots, or habits, become hard to cut. It can feel so daunting waiting for the “hards” we choose to produce fruit.

Setting the Example for Your Family

Ultimately, the decision to track macros, to move our bodies, to lift those heavy weights, to jog, to walk, to meal prep, to plan, to wake up earlier, etc is producing fruit for both you and your loved ones. It is one thing for our families to hear us say that we should prioritize our health, but to SEE us prioritize our health speaks volumes. Let’s challenge ourselves to prioritize the “hards” or ‘roots” that produce positive changes, health and longevity that lasts for a lifetime, or “fruit.” 

Get Comfortable with the Uncomfortable

Finally, I want to invite the opportunity to ask, “is what’s in front of me actually hard, or alternatively, is it uncomfortable, tedious or just flat out different than the norm?” If the answer is, “yes, it’s hard,” let’s think of kids for a minute. We make our kids do things that are hard everyday, not because we like to hear them complain, but because it’s GOOD for them. It ultimately turns them into solid human beings one day. Children don’t wake up with the ability to make their own bed, to write their name or to even wipe their own little booty. They learn because we force them to! As a result of the unexpected death of my one-year-old daughter Lola, I have learned that the vast majority of the time, what we call “hard” is actually not very hard. That’s not to discredit the uncomfortability of learning something new, or the fact that as women, students, wives, moms, bosses, entrepreneurs, etc, our time is SO valuable. It is to say, we are SUPERHEROES. Women are the toughest species on this earth! Here’s to facing the hard, uncomfortable and tedious things head on and producing abundant fruit!