Let your gut hang out

let me be the first to admit it: i have a gut.

not a huge one. not a morbidly obese one. not the kind that enters rooms before me or others pat for good luck. it's not that bad. yet i don't have a washboard, either. it's the kind of gut you get when you don't do anything to exercise your abs. it's just a gut.

yet ever since i was a kid i've always sucked it in. in the army they tell you in no uncertain terms that your stomach is not to protrude past your belt. shoulders back, head up, back straight, suck in your gut. that's the coda, and while i didn't have nearly the bulge as a youngster that i have now, i nonetheless have always sucked in what i had.

in the past month or so, in the midst of considering new diet schemes and exercise routines, i decided that i've been getting by. i've been comfortable with NOT working out and NOT staying 100% true to my food plans. i know, i know: chris, you must ask yourself, "why am i doing what i'm doing?" already asked, already acted upon. and as good a question as that is (see yesterday's post), it's not my point today. my point here is that i finally uncovered one of the reasons why i've been able to get by without a workout structure. it makes sense when you think about it, the kind of smoke-and-mirrors trap that kept me from having to get off the couch and do some cardio. in short: i've been sucking in my gut, and it's helped me to NOT see how out of shape i am.

ponder that for a second: i have this gut that, while not the talk of the town, shows just how badly i need to slim up. furthermore, my gut is not the talk of the town because nobody SEES it since i'm sucking it in all the time. what effect does this have but that when i'm in public and look at myself i see a reasonably fit-looking young man whose clothes fit him well. i get by looking average (oh, how i hate to admit this!) while not looking extremely overweight. everybody's happy!

but what if i let it all hang out? what if, while alone in my apartment, i expelled my breath and out popped my stomach? okay, so i may be able to live for a while without exercising, but the urge to rid from my sight this undesirable figure would eventually compel me to work-out. now consider what would happen if i showed my gut in public? what then? something tells me my first encounter outside with my "overweightness" exposed would almost immediately push me to start exercising. how many times do i want to go through the feeling of being embarrassed at how out-of-shape i've become? if i was someone who didn't care about health or didn't take pride in my appearance, then i would merely flip off the world and tell them to deal with their own guts. as it is, however, i'm interested in getting fit and keeping myself fit. thus, for me one or two times in public would be all it took.

about now some of you may be saying, "great, chris, but what's the point here? that i shouldn't suck in my gut?"

while your gut may be part of my gist, my overall idea is this: in life we all have "guts" which we're sucking in that prevent us from facing the truth of our situations and the ensuing consequences. perhaps you, too, have a real gut you're hiding just to get by in public. you don't like the looks of it in your bathroom mirror, you see it when you look down, think about it while on the scale, etc., etc. but a gut doesn't have to be physical. it can be any number of things in our lives which we're not adequately confronting and therefore keeping ourselves from being pushed to action.

another example: you're in a job that pays enough to satisfy the bills and some spending money on the side. you've got cable tv, car and insurance, enough food to be well-fed, enough in the bank to eat out once or twice a week, pick up a new shirt here or there - everything's covered. the job itself is okay, you know you don't want it as a career or anything but it's good enough for now. you punch in, take an hour lunch, leave on time pretty much every day, go home, watch Simpsons and go about your free time. sounds good, right?

it would be were it not for this sentence: "the job itself is okay, you know you don't want it as a career or anything but it's good enough for now." this, my friends, means you have a gut, one you're sucking in and not facing head-on. the money you receive numbs you to the reality that no matter how much dough this position shells out you'll still not be as happy as you would be elsewhere. you might be aware that this is merely a temporary thing, but the money makes you comfortable enough to not seek out the "permanent thing" just yet. what to do?

before i get there, one more scenario: you've got a circle of friends you enjoy hanging with. co-ed, not too big but not too small, when you're together you have fun and keep one another company. you know were it not for this group of people you'd probably do nothing circa thursday through saturday. but you have them, they have you, and occasionally there's drama but you decide that every group's like that and so there's nothing to worry about. seems peachy, right?

again, the trouble sentence: "you know were it not for this group of people you'd probably do nothing circa thursday through saturday." you are getting by, period. you don't really have as extensive a network of friends as you'd like, and it's evidenced by this statement. you're comfortable in this position because you have enough fun and get along with these people enough to have something to do at those times of the week when it really counts. your situation has enabled you to not take action, not reach out and make new friends or get to know other people. you'd like to meet new people, do different things, go to new places with them, but as long as you're busy on the weekend then you're not really allowed to think about it too much, are you? what to do?

the answer, quite simply and honestly, to the above two scenarios as well as any other imaginable situation is this: let your gut hang out. sounds simple, right? you're right: it is simple, but it's not easy. let's check out the solutions to the three snapshots i just gave you (weight loss, job, and friends).

(1) weight loss. you already know the answer to this one, remember? let your gut hang out, then move around in public with friends and family members. with strangers. with that cute guy or girl you just met last week through a friend. go on, let it all hang out. better yet, dock yourself one dress size, make that medium shirt a small, slip it on over your gut and wave to everybody you know. pants? same thing. take your size 32 (like me, wink, wink) and kick it down to a 28 or 26. outside of the fact that you'll barely be able to breathe, you'll see just how far from your desired self-image you really are. then maybe you'd get to exercising. at least not go out in public for a while, right?

(2) job. let your gut hang out. admit to yourself that you make enough money to live but that "just living" doesn't cut it anymore. take your extra money and funnel it into a savings account, one whose sole purpose is to get you to grad school, or starting your own business, or moving to the city where you can get the job of your dreams. money is the gut you keep sucking in and it numbs you to your lack of progress, so use that very thing to advance yourself. take it away and let yourself see that your paycheck is the smokescreen that keeps you from facing down your true wants and desires. a strict budget will help you see the TRUE predicament you're in. let your gut hang out, then put it to work for you.

(3) friends. let your gut hang out. face the truth about your circumstances, your feelings of loneliness, your boredom, your sense of obligation to your current group - whatever it is that keeps you from expanding your network. try planning a different activity for yourself for next friday night, something not involving your current circle. try branching out by joining a club or digging deeper in your church or whatever other opportunities exist amongst your current resources. then when a friend from your current circle calls to hang out tell them you're not available. you may not have found anyone else to hang with; in fact, you may be having a friday night alone, a situation which is anathema to most singles. but you're letting your gut hang out, seeing how small your network really is compared to what you wish you had. one or two friday nights on your own will motivate you to grow your contact list to what it should be.

many more examples exist to which this "gut" principle can be applied, but the point in each one is the same: find what's allowing you to be comfortable, remove it to catch a glimpse into how disagreeable your situation truly is, then use it to better your life. i, for one, will be walking around with my gut hanging out, not hiding the true state of my physical condition, but more importantly i'm not hiding it from myself, thereby confronting myself with it constantly all the while strengthening my impetus for change. it can be a powerful tool in our efforts to de-sheep ourselves, but only if we let it.

here's to guts hanging out everywhere!