Magic Eight Ball

Sometimes wisdom comes from the strangest places.

I don’t have time for body issues. But, as one starts to age, it’s impossible not to notice that effort is required to look not-quite-as-good as you used to wake-up-like-this. And personal growth unfortunately doesn’t replace physical growth without conscious effort. A welcome increase in my freelance workload this spring made it easy to forget about fat while work took all my attention for several months.

But once the deadlines were met and projects put to bed, I looked up and found myself, ahem, a bigger person than I used to be. Weak and out of shape, too. Months of missed workouts and stress eating had taken their toll, and it was time to (literally) shape up. Returning to yoga classes was a treat. But food logs and calorie-cutting are a drag, even if experience has convinced me of their effectiveness.

The other day I was in line at the coffee shop, virtuously rejecting pastries and waiting for my nonfat latte when I picked up the Magic Eight Ball on the counter. Since I was hungry, I asked, “Will I lose weight?”

Go on.

said the Magic Eight Ball.

I tried again. “Will all this being hungry get me where I want to be?”

Less guilt. More smiles.

said the Magic Eight Ball.

Putting aside the true nature of a Magic Eight Ball, my first thought was that it was a reminder to focus on more important things than the number on the scale. Then I realized it could as easily mean discipline leads to weight loss and being happy about it.

So I ordered a cookie and ate half.