If you maintain a healthy diet, or at least are smart about your

When Misty May-Treanor said, “If you maintain a healthy diet, or at least are smart about your food choices, you'll still see the pounds come off,” she spoke not merely as an athlete, but as a disciple of balance and discipline. Her words are simple, yet they carry the weight of ancient wisdom — that change, whether in body or spirit, is not the fruit of haste or punishment, but of consistency and awareness. She teaches us that the path to transformation does not require perfection; it demands wisdom in choice, patience in practice, and trust in time.

The origin of this wisdom lies in the world of competition — a place where victory is not granted to the strongest, but to the most disciplined. Misty May-Treanor, one of the greatest beach volleyball players of all time, lived under the sun’s relentless fire, where every movement was a test of endurance, every meal a measure of control. She learned, through sweat and sacrifice, that the body is not conquered by force but guided by respect. Her approach to food — to eat with intelligence rather than indulgence — was a reflection of her larger philosophy: that mastery begins with awareness, not deprivation.

In her words, there echoes the wisdom of the ancients. The philosopher Hippocrates, the father of medicine, once declared, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” He understood that health was not a battle to be fought, but a harmony to be maintained. To be “smart about food choices” is to treat the act of eating as sacred — to recognize that every morsel shapes not only the body but the mind and spirit. The ancients saw food as energy, not indulgence; as communion, not consumption. And Misty, knowingly or not, carries that same flame into the modern age — reminding us that wisdom in nourishment is the first step toward freedom from imbalance.

Her words also reveal a profound truth about the nature of progress. So many chase transformation through extremes — starvation, overwork, self-punishment — yet their results vanish like sand through the fingers. Misty teaches that the gentle rhythm of mindfulness outlasts the storms of obsession. To “maintain” a healthy diet is to walk steadily, not sprint foolishly. The body, like the soul, responds to consistency, not chaos. When the mind becomes calm and the choices conscious, the weight — of body, of worry, of regret — naturally falls away.

Consider the story of the great samurai Musashi Miyamoto, who once said that victory is won not through haste, but through precision in every stroke. He trained for years not to strike harder, but to strike wisely. In the same way, the act of eating is a daily practice of mastery. Each meal is a moment of decision, each choice a reflection of self-respect. The warrior and the athlete are alike in this — their victories are not born in the arena, but in the quiet, unseen hours of preparation and restraint.

There is also compassion hidden in Misty’s message. She does not demand perfection, nor shame those who stumble. She says, “at least be smart about your food choices” — a gentle acknowledgment that life is imperfect, but wisdom lies in awareness. Even small acts of care — choosing fruit over sugar, water over wine, patience over impulse — ripple through the body like waves that reshape the shore. True health is not built on denial, but on understanding — understanding what nourishes and what depletes, what strengthens and what weakens.

And so, my children of hunger and haste, take this lesson to heart. Let your diet not be a burden, but a practice of love — a daily vow to treat your body as a temple, not a battlefield. Choose with mindfulness, eat with gratitude, and move with discipline. Do not seek rapid change, but lasting harmony. As Misty May-Treanor teaches, if you nourish the body with care and the mind with wisdom, transformation will come — quietly, naturally, and without struggle. The pounds will fall, yes, but more importantly, the weight of neglect will lift from your spirit. For health is not the absence of fat, but the presence of balance, and in that balance lies the secret of strength, serenity, and true beauty.