I was driving the yesterday and this topic hit me out of nowhere. I immediately texted Shelby so I didn’t forget about it.
I really enjoyed writing this post. It is kind of about everything that I enjoy standing for.
Giving up the things you love
If you want your muscles to show, if you want to lose weight, or if you want to gain weight, you will definitely have to change your eating habits. The hardest part is always in the kitchen; that is the truth. But the thing is, if you give up all the things you love, what are you stuck with? Unhappiness. That is what you are stuck with. It’s all about balance! Example: the other day I wanted an iced coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts… what goes perfect with this? Well, a donut obviously. BUT, I knew that I should be snacking on my vegetables. Lucky for me, I enjoy eating vegetables, but I made a deal with myself. I told myself it was OKAY to have a yummy iced coffee, I will just skip out on the donut this time. It was a great decision because I felt great and had tons of energy that afternoon because I had no sugar crash. I used to have this issue where I would tell people not to let me eat things… and it was horrible because they actually listened. It was a blessing though because I have finally realized that NO ONE has the power to run my life…therefore I stopped giving people the opportunity to run my life for me. This is your life. If you love donuts, then eat the damn donuts (just do it in moderation)! If you love being a couch potato on Sunday, be a couch potato!
Doing workouts you dislike
Okay lets be real here… Let’s say you finally reach your ‘goal body’. Now what? Do you just stop doing the workouts you disliked? The point here is not looking a certain way; it is feeling a certain way! Find activities that you truly enjoy, your ‘dream’ body will come. How? Well, your mental state will alter. You will begin to start loving yourself more for who you are, not what you look like. THAT is what matters here, accepting yourself for who you are. Now, I am not saying there is anything wrong with having goals to look a certain way, more power to you! Just don’t pressure yourself to do things you dislike to get there.
Proving a point to someone else
Why create a new lifestyle…all for someone else? Don’t do it to show off or prove a point, do it because you know it is good for you. Go on a run because you LOVE the feeling, not because you want to rub it in someone’s face that you ran. Post pictures of you lifting weights because you want to inspire others, not because you want to prove how strong you are. This lifestyle is for YOU; don’t make it about someone else. This is a journey to find yourself and love yourself, start it out on the right foot. Because if these people you are showing off for or trying to prove a point to are anything like me… they are SO happy for your success and desire to better yourself! It isn’t worth trying to bring other people down, if you automatically look at everything on the positive side, it is nearly impossible to be let down!
Comparisons
“This fitness model looks so amazing, I will never be able to look like that.” “Why does she look that good even though we have been working out together?” “I look so much better than her, sucks for her.”
No. No. No! This is not a race! This is not about beating one another! Well, maybe if you are a fitness model, I will give you that… but even so, we are all here for one reason! TO BETTER OURSELVES! I am going to be honest, one of my biggest pet peeves is when I smile at someone in the gym and they don’t smile back. I understand being ‘in the zone’ but really? I know you see me standing here… smiling at you. This is one of the reasons why I LOVE where I work! It is such a happy, positive environment. All the women there have one common goal—to love themselves and be comfortable in their own skin! To me, there is no race and there is no hurry to get somewhere. This is a journey for ME and I am so happy when I see someone else’s results! I love seeing people love themselves. It is so beautiful to me. So stop comparing yourself, you are beautiful and so are they.
Keeping up with all the new health fads
IT CHANGES ALL THE TIME. I PROMISE. I can’t tell you how many times I have had a professor say something like “well, this is something new they just came out with.” The health field is changing every day. Should you have some sort of idea about what is going on before you dive head first into something you may know nothing about? Yeah of course, but that doesn’t mean you have to do everything you read. It has happened to me. I heard about fasted cardio and I was SO quick to try it. It took me 10 minutes to research the topic, and to realize that for my goals, that isn’t for me! Just because everyone is doing it, doesn’t mean you have to do it too. We all have different goals, body types, and metabolisms… what is meant for Sally may not be meant for you!
Excessive spending
You don’t have to spend ridiculous amounts of money to be healthy. Do vegetables cost money? Yes they do, but they are the same price as a bag of chips! Does a gym membership cost money? Yes, but you don’t have to buy one! Does water cost money? Errr—maybe, depending on where you live I suppose? Anyways, the point here is that, being healthy does not need to be a huge expensive ordeal. If you enjoy going to the gym (like I do), then get a membership… otherwise, workout at home! If you always waste fresh vegetables and fruits because you don’t eat them fast enough and you are wasting, then try frozen vegetables and fruits! There are so many options to cut costs here! YouTube has workout videos, Pinterest has cheap and easy meal prep plans… you just need to take the time out and look at your options!
Being ‘skinny’
One of the biggest rules that I try to preach (especially to myself) is to workout because you love your body, not because you hate it. I feel that the new fad is to be healthy so you can change your body, but what people don’t realize is that being healthy isn’t meant to be a temporary fix. Being healthy is about connecting your mind, body, and spirit together and learning to love every ounce of yourself. Don’t work towards being skinny… work towards being healthy! Healthy will feel a lot better than skinny will.
Being on a diet
The word diet scares me at times. Although, I am glad that people are starting to realize that just because you are making healthier choices, doesn’t mean you are on a diet. Everyone has a diet. I try to live with the 80/20 rule…although some days I feel like I am more 50/50. You don’t have to be on a diet to be healthy. As long as your body is getting the nutrients it needs, you should be golden. If you want to see results in your physique, should you make healthier choices? Well, obviously yes, but with saying that—just because you are making healthier choices, doesn’t mean you are on a diet. Today, instead of eating both slices of the bun with my burger, I decided to eat some fries and only use one of the slices. I love simple carbohydrates, but I try to only consume small amounts because I know my body will have more energy if I make better choices (eating more complex carbohydrates). Does it always work out that way? LOL! No…it doesn’t. But that is okay because I am very pleased with MY diet, and you should learn to love yours!
An end game
You will fail. You will get upset at yourself. You are bound to overeat. You will go a week or two without hitting the gym. Why? Because you are human. No one is perfect and no one expects you to be. Failure is apart of the story. If you don’t fail, how will you know what it feels like to succeed? It will happen and it is perfectly fine. This journey is all about finding out who you are and loving yourself. As long as you learn to love yourself and accept yourself for all your flaws and mistakes… you are going to keep moving forward. Inspiring others, searching for happiness, and spreading positivity are all things that are going to make this journey worthwhile.
Did you find something in common with all of these topics? It really has nothing to do with how you look because at the end of the day, as long as you love yourself, how you look will perfect in your eyes. Holistic health is all about connecting your mind, body, and spirit together. I have to say, once I decided to give up the comparisons and the nagging myself about the foods I ate… I became a lot happier and I dropped a lot of stress out of my life. My body fell right into place because I was doing what I knew I needed to do and I was happy doing it. When you make a positive mental change like this, the small changes you are making to your health everyday will become a lot easier to make. Give it a try!
So, what does being healthy actually entail then?
I really enjoyed writing this post. It is kind of about everything that I enjoy standing for.
Giving up the things you love
If you want your muscles to show, if you want to lose weight, or if you want to gain weight, you will definitely have to change your eating habits. The hardest part is always in the kitchen; that is the truth. But the thing is, if you give up all the things you love, what are you stuck with? Unhappiness. That is what you are stuck with. It’s all about balance! Example: the other day I wanted an iced coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts… what goes perfect with this? Well, a donut obviously. BUT, I knew that I should be snacking on my vegetables. Lucky for me, I enjoy eating vegetables, but I made a deal with myself. I told myself it was OKAY to have a yummy iced coffee, I will just skip out on the donut this time. It was a great decision because I felt great and had tons of energy that afternoon because I had no sugar crash. I used to have this issue where I would tell people not to let me eat things… and it was horrible because they actually listened. It was a blessing though because I have finally realized that NO ONE has the power to run my life…therefore I stopped giving people the opportunity to run my life for me. This is your life. If you love donuts, then eat the damn donuts (just do it in moderation)! If you love being a couch potato on Sunday, be a couch potato!
Doing workouts you dislike
Okay lets be real here… Let’s say you finally reach your ‘goal body’. Now what? Do you just stop doing the workouts you disliked? The point here is not looking a certain way; it is feeling a certain way! Find activities that you truly enjoy, your ‘dream’ body will come. How? Well, your mental state will alter. You will begin to start loving yourself more for who you are, not what you look like. THAT is what matters here, accepting yourself for who you are. Now, I am not saying there is anything wrong with having goals to look a certain way, more power to you! Just don’t pressure yourself to do things you dislike to get there.
Proving a point to someone else
Why create a new lifestyle…all for someone else? Don’t do it to show off or prove a point, do it because you know it is good for you. Go on a run because you LOVE the feeling, not because you want to rub it in someone’s face that you ran. Post pictures of you lifting weights because you want to inspire others, not because you want to prove how strong you are. This lifestyle is for YOU; don’t make it about someone else. This is a journey to find yourself and love yourself, start it out on the right foot. Because if these people you are showing off for or trying to prove a point to are anything like me… they are SO happy for your success and desire to better yourself! It isn’t worth trying to bring other people down, if you automatically look at everything on the positive side, it is nearly impossible to be let down!
Comparisons
“This fitness model looks so amazing, I will never be able to look like that.” “Why does she look that good even though we have been working out together?” “I look so much better than her, sucks for her.”
No. No. No! This is not a race! This is not about beating one another! Well, maybe if you are a fitness model, I will give you that… but even so, we are all here for one reason! TO BETTER OURSELVES! I am going to be honest, one of my biggest pet peeves is when I smile at someone in the gym and they don’t smile back. I understand being ‘in the zone’ but really? I know you see me standing here… smiling at you. This is one of the reasons why I LOVE where I work! It is such a happy, positive environment. All the women there have one common goal—to love themselves and be comfortable in their own skin! To me, there is no race and there is no hurry to get somewhere. This is a journey for ME and I am so happy when I see someone else’s results! I love seeing people love themselves. It is so beautiful to me. So stop comparing yourself, you are beautiful and so are they.
Keeping up with all the new health fads
IT CHANGES ALL THE TIME. I PROMISE. I can’t tell you how many times I have had a professor say something like “well, this is something new they just came out with.” The health field is changing every day. Should you have some sort of idea about what is going on before you dive head first into something you may know nothing about? Yeah of course, but that doesn’t mean you have to do everything you read. It has happened to me. I heard about fasted cardio and I was SO quick to try it. It took me 10 minutes to research the topic, and to realize that for my goals, that isn’t for me! Just because everyone is doing it, doesn’t mean you have to do it too. We all have different goals, body types, and metabolisms… what is meant for Sally may not be meant for you!
Excessive spending
You don’t have to spend ridiculous amounts of money to be healthy. Do vegetables cost money? Yes they do, but they are the same price as a bag of chips! Does a gym membership cost money? Yes, but you don’t have to buy one! Does water cost money? Errr—maybe, depending on where you live I suppose? Anyways, the point here is that, being healthy does not need to be a huge expensive ordeal. If you enjoy going to the gym (like I do), then get a membership… otherwise, workout at home! If you always waste fresh vegetables and fruits because you don’t eat them fast enough and you are wasting, then try frozen vegetables and fruits! There are so many options to cut costs here! YouTube has workout videos, Pinterest has cheap and easy meal prep plans… you just need to take the time out and look at your options!
Being ‘skinny’
One of the biggest rules that I try to preach (especially to myself) is to workout because you love your body, not because you hate it. I feel that the new fad is to be healthy so you can change your body, but what people don’t realize is that being healthy isn’t meant to be a temporary fix. Being healthy is about connecting your mind, body, and spirit together and learning to love every ounce of yourself. Don’t work towards being skinny… work towards being healthy! Healthy will feel a lot better than skinny will.
Being on a diet
The word diet scares me at times. Although, I am glad that people are starting to realize that just because you are making healthier choices, doesn’t mean you are on a diet. Everyone has a diet. I try to live with the 80/20 rule…although some days I feel like I am more 50/50. You don’t have to be on a diet to be healthy. As long as your body is getting the nutrients it needs, you should be golden. If you want to see results in your physique, should you make healthier choices? Well, obviously yes, but with saying that—just because you are making healthier choices, doesn’t mean you are on a diet. Today, instead of eating both slices of the bun with my burger, I decided to eat some fries and only use one of the slices. I love simple carbohydrates, but I try to only consume small amounts because I know my body will have more energy if I make better choices (eating more complex carbohydrates). Does it always work out that way? LOL! No…it doesn’t. But that is okay because I am very pleased with MY diet, and you should learn to love yours!
An end game
You will fail. You will get upset at yourself. You are bound to overeat. You will go a week or two without hitting the gym. Why? Because you are human. No one is perfect and no one expects you to be. Failure is apart of the story. If you don’t fail, how will you know what it feels like to succeed? It will happen and it is perfectly fine. This journey is all about finding out who you are and loving yourself. As long as you learn to love yourself and accept yourself for all your flaws and mistakes… you are going to keep moving forward. Inspiring others, searching for happiness, and spreading positivity are all things that are going to make this journey worthwhile.
Did you find something in common with all of these topics? It really has nothing to do with how you look because at the end of the day, as long as you love yourself, how you look will perfect in your eyes. Holistic health is all about connecting your mind, body, and spirit together. I have to say, once I decided to give up the comparisons and the nagging myself about the foods I ate… I became a lot happier and I dropped a lot of stress out of my life. My body fell right into place because I was doing what I knew I needed to do and I was happy doing it. When you make a positive mental change like this, the small changes you are making to your health everyday will become a lot easier to make. Give it a try!
So, what does being healthy actually entail then?