The best way to learn

One of my very first college classes was Math 002. Most people called this "Math-oh-oh-DUH" because it was a remedial course for math idiots like me. Here I was, 18 years old, trying for the umpteenth time to determine the value of the dreaded x.

The instructor of the class was a teaching assistant who looked younger than me. In fact, he probably was. He was nerdy. He seemed like the kind of guy who liked magic. Or, maybe it was Magic: The Gathering. Hell, it was probably both. No offense meant to nerds who like these things. I'm proud to call myself a nerd. I don't like Magic, though. But I digress.

So, the 12-year-old teaching assistant told us the best way to learn is to teach others. While I understood this concept in theory, it didn't make much practical sense at the time. I was the girl who squeaked by with a D in high school geometry. How was I going to teach anyone else about the distributive property?

While I never utilized this principle in math class, it's served me well in other areas of my life- especially in this little weight loss endeavor of mine. I love talking about it and sharing my story, which is why this blog was born in the first place. People who ask me how I lost the weight are rarely prepared for the speech they get from me in return. When a friend came to me and asked me to be her trainer, I was all over it. I came up with an exercise plan for her and did a little evaluation, then we did a strength training workout together. As I was telling her where to put her heels during a lunge, or where to put her butt while doing the plank position, it was like I was going through it for the first time. Her goals became mine. My success seems dependent on hers.

Even if you're at the beginning of your weight loss journey, it's helpful to have a partner in crime. If you can find someone to pair up with- a person both to teach and to be taught by- your chances of success can only improve.