Have you heard the song, My Grown Up Christmas List?

I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I’m not a huge fan.  Don’t get me wrong; I love the lyrics and message.  No more lives torn apart, wars would never start, time would heal all hearts.  Everyone has a friend, love never ends.  YES YES YES, please!  But the tune?  Meh.  I find it … droopy.  

Call me naive, but I like my Christmas songs upbeat and positive.  I think they remind me of my childhood friend, Emily, and her annual caroling party. Her parents would brave 10-15 girls and corral us to neighborhood houses, singing a handful of songs.  Cookies and goodies were distributed at most homes. We would finish our tunes then tromp next door while simultaneously shoving a treat in our mouth and figuring out the next two peppy songs to sing.   

However droopy the song, the concept of a grown-up Christmas list rings true. The petition of it is even stronger today than when I first heard Amy Grant sing it in 1992. Our world today is complicated.  I’m sure we can agree that regardless of political affiliation, there’s a lot of hurt and pain in the world.  

Without negating any of this, I’d like to filter down to my small space of writing and offer you my Healthy Christmas Wish List.  These are my wishes for you, for US, no matter where we are in our journey.  

The Personal Trainer’s Healthy Christmas Wish List:

Discover an exercise you love … or hate the least.  

Some of you may be able to identify this one immediately.  Others may begrudgingly check the exercise box a few times a week.  Still others may stare blankly if I ask how you like to move.  

My Christmas wish is you find something, anything, that will get your body active.  You don’t have to be a runner, gym rat, group fitness participant or invest in the latest P90X videos.  Get creative!  Be willing to try new things, even if you feel goofy.  Tap into your inner Phoebe Buffay runner.  She looked like a goof but she had JOY in running! Find something you look forward to more than you dread.  Without that excitement, it won’t stay.  

Find joy in eating.  

No, I don’t mean eat everything.  I mean respect your food, its purpose, and its taste. It’s designed to give you energy to live your best life.  Take time to notice the flavors on your tongue.  Sit down while you eat (preferably not in the car).  Recognize the different colors on your plate and the variety of nutrients they give you.

Maybe you’re on the opposite end of the spectrum.  Food has become such a stronghold that the only foods you eat provide a specific purpose.  My wish for you is to allow an occasional splurge and own it.  And I’m just saying … a sweet potato is not a spluge.

Have one great workout between Christmas and New Year’s Day.  

What defines great?  You decide.  Maybe it’s lifting more weight or running farther than you ever have.  Maybe it’s trying a new class you’ve had your eye on.  Or maybe it’s just getting out with all the people you love on Christmas Day and walking thirty minutes.  Whatever it is, my wish is you finish feeling rejuvenated and wanting a repeat.

And the big whopper of a gift, the one you really want wrapped in shiny paper with a sparkly bow:

Find acceptance in your body.  

This is actually my most desperate, paramount wish.  It’s listed last so it can sit with you.  

I’ll say it again:  Find acceptance in your body.  Imagine a world where we got healthy then embraced whatever our healthy looks like.  Where we didn’t have to have bloggers like me plead first to herself, then to her readers to recognize their unique beauty.  

My Healthy Christmas Wish is to focus on the good in our bodies.  Recognize all it does. Thank it for moving.  Give it grace when it doesn’t hold up to your standards, because chances are your standards are set by Photoshop and a starving model.  

 Friends, we may be adults but we are still allowed to have our Christmas Wish List.  It doesn’t include Cabbage Patch Kids and boom-boxes anymore, and more than likely it resembles the song’s list.  The world is hurting.  Some of us are experiencing pain in our own space.  My wish is you take the time to be as healthy as possible.  God has great things planned for you.  With a healthy body and His help, you’ll accomplish them all.

Merry Christmas and God bless you all.

(photo credit by @GregLWeaver)

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