I confess. When I first heard the motivational speaker say, “I just want to be the best version of myself,” I made an immediate and probably inaccurate judgment.

That she was focusing solely on herself to avoid comparing herself to others. That she was unwilling or afraid to commit totally and give 100 percent to whatever: her job, her workouts, her diet.

At that time, I took her words to be the epitome of the trophies-for-all mentality that’s turning young men and women into marshmallows.

But I now realize those words can be interpreted to mean what I’ve often written should be your ongoing goal: optimal health and fitness — with the emphasis on optimal.

And the “optimal” in my phrase obviously means the highest possible degree of health and fitness not for a genetically blessed professional athlete or some 58-year-old fanatic but for you.

In short, my way of thinking about the aforementioned phrase has changed. I mention that because what I’m about to suggest will probably mean that your way of thinking will have to change, too.

Soon, probably in the next month or so, you’ll reach a point when day upon day of dismal winter weather will work like a monstrous mechanical straw to suck the motivation to either eat right and exercise often — or maybe even both! — out of you. That motivating mental image of looking your best at the beach will get replaced with one where you’re cozy and content underneath a blanket on a recliner, with feet propped up and a calorie-laden comfort food or beverage — or maybe even both! — in hand.

News flash: the reason you’re under a blanket in this new image isn’t really a matter of warmth. It’s to conceal how chubby you’ve become.

So how do you get back that right frame of mind you had before the winter weather or whatever stole it from you?

You allow yourself to gain a pounds.

Gaining a few pounds can be good for you during this time of the year — provided the weight is mostly muscle. Unless you are a racehorse jockey, a marathon runner, or a runway model, adding muscle is a worthwhile wintertime goal that also allows you to do something we all seem to want to do in the winter.

Eat more.

Ironically enough, adding weight — again, provided it’s mostly muscle — helps you maintain a healthy weight over the long term. And as previously stated, buying into this belief of putting on a few good pounds this winter probably means you need to change your way of thinking.

So now I need to argue my case.

It begins with an idea that too often gets forgotten: not all pounds are equal. Clearly, the best way to determine whether your current weight is healthy or not is not the number on the bathroom scale but your percentage of that number that’s body fat.

The lower your percentage of body fat, the higher your percentage of muscle mass. The more muscle you have, the more calories you need to maintain your present weight.

And unless you’re that one-in-a-million weirdo who derives no pleasure from eating, needing another 350 calories a day to maintain your current weight is a wonderful thing.

To reach the point where you need another 350 calories to maintain your weight usually means you’ve added five or six pounds of muscle from lifting relatively heavy weights three or four times a week while eating an extra 500 calories a day or more of mostly complex carbs and high-quality protein.

Along with the newly developed muscle, you are also likely to add a bit of body fat. That’s fine for now. It’s winter.

In the spring, you simply alter your eating and workouts to shed that fat and keep the muscle to look better by summer.

Yet this eventual improvement in appearance should not be the sole motivation for lifting weights relatively heavily now, nor is it even the best reason to do so.

Extra muscle improves your quality of life — especially as you age.

After you reach your mid-20s, getting older also means you’re aging. While it’s rather hard to detect initially, it’s still occurring.

Whether your passion is pumping weights, putting golf balls, or playing the piano, aging makes it harder to do what you love. So doesn’t it make sense to do what you can in order to do what you love for as long as you can?

If you agree with that line of reasoning, the reasonable thing to do is lift weights at the beginning of winter with the goal of lifting heavier weights by the start of spring.

This plan not only eliminates the pressure of maintaining your weight at a time when it often increases, but it also changes your body in a way that helps in the long term.