Exercising in the Mirror in Your Underwear & Showing Yourself Grace
• bigDoodR
I was on a trip. The day’s workout was all cardio, so I cleared some space in the hotel room and got started.
There was a mirror. A big one. Right there, unavoidable, the entire time.
At home, I work out in my own space — no mirror, no audience, no distractions. So this was different. And at some point during the session, I caught a glimpse of myself and noticed some jiggle I wished wasn’t there.
It was one of those moments where your brain wants to spiral. Where you start doing the mental math of how did I get here instead of just finishing your workout.
But I didn’t spiral. I kept moving, and I reminded myself of the whole picture.
The Whole Picture
About eight years ago, I started a weight loss program. I went from 260 pounds down to 170 in just under a year. I held around that weight for a couple of years after that.
Then I started lifting.
Weightlifting changed things — my body got noticeably stronger, and I genuinely like what it can do now. But weight went up too. Some of that is muscle. Some of it is fat that crept back in alongside the new lifestyle. I’m not 170 anymore, and I’m not trying to be.
Here’s the thing: the version of me in that hotel mirror has done a lot. Lost 90 pounds. Built real strength. Stayed active for years after a period of not being active at all. The jiggle in the mirror is part of the same body that did all of that — it’s not a separate problem to fix, it’s just part of where I am right now on a much longer arc.
Progress Isn’t a Snapshot
I think we’re wired to evaluate ourselves in snapshots. You look in a mirror, or step on a scale, and that single moment becomes a verdict. Good or bad, pass or fail.
But a body isn’t a snapshot. It’s a story. And in any good story, there are chapters that look messier than others — that only make sense once you’ve read further.
When I was 260 pounds, I wasn’t failing. I was in a chapter that eventually led to losing 90 pounds. When I’m catching a glimpse of unwanted jiggle in a hotel mirror, I’m not failing either. I’m in a chapter where I’m stronger than I’ve ever been, and where I’m still showing up.
Progress, at least for me, stopped being about what I look like in a given moment and started being about what I’m building. Capacity. Habit. Consistency. A relationship with exercise that I actually want to maintain for the rest of my life.
Showing Yourself Grace
What helped me in that hotel room wasn’t ignoring what I saw. It was contextualizing it.
I reminded myself that I’m on a journey, and that a life well lived is the destination. Not a number on a scale. Not a reflection in a mirror. The destination is the whole thing — years of staying active, feeling capable, enjoying movement, aging well.
From that vantage point, a little jiggle mid-cardio session is not the story. It’s barely a footnote.
That reframe didn’t require anything dramatic. It was just a quiet reminder to myself, mid-workout, that the snapshot doesn’t define the arc. And it was enough to keep going — to finish the session and feel good about it.
That’s what grace looks like in practice, I think. Not pretending things are perfect. Not toxic positivity or wilful blindness. Just choosing to hold the full picture in your head instead of collapsing into the hardest part of it.
If any of this resonates, I’d love to hear about it. And if you’re working on your own fitness journey — wherever you are in it — I hope you’re giving yourself a little grace along the way.