Easy vs Simple

My body is sore.  Not that "oh I have a little soreness in my knee or shoulder" but that "God DAMN I can't move or breathe to hard without swearing and grunting" type of sore.  It comes and goes, mostly comes after a training session and goes before the next to only re-emerge and start the process once again.  Just when I am comfortable with a routine or workout my trainer (God bless his little ass) flips the script and I leave the session a sweaty stinky mess - and sore the next day.

Now, I can't complain to much.  As of yesterday I am down a full 20 lbs since I started September 24, 2009 and 7% body fat.  Not to bad if I say so myself (and I do). My body is leaning out and I can start to see myself again in the mirror.  It is a face I had lost for the better part of a year (and a bit longer if I am being honest with myself).  But the work it takes to get back to the face, and body, I want and remember is unbelievable.  I realized that this journey is teaching me something really important - the different between EASY and SIMPLE.  Let's break it down.

Life is simple...no really it is.  You are born, you do that whole growing up thing, you get a job or get married or be a bum, you might have some kids or a dog, you get older, and then you die (and yea I hate to break it to you, you will die).  That is simple - but it doesn't mean it's easy.  Being a kid is not easy, nor are the different inequalities associated with what type person you are.  Relationships aren't easy, they take time to foster and work.  School and jobs are not easy, you must "prove" yourself worthy to be in school or have that job and once in you must then "prove" you belong.  Again, depending on your race, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, (you get my picture) your life may be more difficult than another s.  People around you are not easy - some are too loud, too noisy, too smelly (I live in Europe, lets be real), or just plain annoying.  Then that whole death thing is kind of downer as well - "When will I die?  How will I die?" are not easy questions to ask or answer.  So, simply put, life is not easy.

But in society we are trained to always find the easy way out and if it doesn't work just give it up and wait for the next easy fix.  In terms of weight management and fat reduction this becomes a problem.  It is not easy to lose weight - but it is simple.  Eat less and move more...or burn more calories than you consume.  That sure as hell ain't easy, but the diet industry makes it seem so.  Take this pill, eat this food, do this workout - 20 minutes a day, eat all you want and lose weight - its all a bunch of hype but people buy into it because it seems easy.

So I finally came to realize the difference between simple and easy.  Simply put I make sure I burn more calories than I consume.  But I accept that this is hard fuckin work (excuse the "fuck").  Being conscious of what goes in my mouth, training at least 5 times a week and making the time to do so, coming to terms with soreness and stepping outside my comfort zones, signing up for races that I am afraid to do - all of this is not easy but I have come to realize it is necessary for my own personal understanding of what is healthy for my body.  I was ok with the fact that school and academia were not easy and so I work my ass off to get to where I need to be.  I realize that having a relationship is not easy so I work to make sure we stay connected as we both grow older and change.  But I never realized the work really needed to keep my body at a healthy body composition until I began to consciously work at it.

To everyone out there doing the 30 day 30 run challenge, the 50 day Tom Venuto holiday challenge, or any other training regime realize that what you are doing is not easy, but its simple.  Work it out.