Let me just start by letting you know that I care about your health. I care that you are active. I care that you eat nourishing foods.
I don’t care how much or little you weigh. I don’t care about the roll(s) or six pack. I don’t care about mine either.
Life just can’t be about this endless pursuit of some thing that can lead us to causing harm to ourselves. The entire goal of health and fitness is to live a long life that is unrestricted.
When is overweight a problem? When you have a body that is fighting disease or are at an inherent risk for disease. When you are not active or not able to be active. When you are not feeding yourself with nourishing foods in appropriate quantities.
When is underweight a problem? When there are signs of being undernourished. When you are constantly hungry. When you are tired and aren’t interested in being active. When you miss out on what life has to offer for any of the many reasons that these issues will cause.
Loving yourself if about giving your body what it needs when it needs it. It is also about not giving your body things it doesn’t need all of the time. There is an element of understanding what your body needs and paying attention to your self as a whole. It is so easy to set aside the signs and symptoms, to not listen, to ignore even. It doesn’t help anyone to ignore your personal needs though. Not loved ones or co-workers or acquaintances.
So here is what I believe.
If you are at a party, for crying out loud, eat a piece of cake. Celebrate. But when you are at home alone, don’t eat an entire pint of ice cream.
If it is a beautiful day outside, go for a walk…or run, or hike, or bike ride. Just get out there and soak it all up. Cleanse your soul with a dose of mother nature and some movement.
A healthy life is about each choice in every day that adds up to your lifestyle. Every choice isn’t going to be a perfectly healthy choice. But, together it should add up to more good than not so good. It isn’t wrong to have a piece of candy or spend a lazy afternoon on the couch, but if that is what your life is about you will miss some of the greatest joys there are to be had.
I want to encourage you to move towards change if it is difficult to make the choice to say yes to activity. If there is something you want to do, but can’t physically, it is time to change. If you are skipping events to stay on track with your diet, you might be missing the point.
Live life to the full. 100% of your choices should be your best choices. The ones that will take you into the life you desire. There is no reason to settle for less, to dream small, to accept a sub-par existence. How can you dream bigger? Expect more? Accomplish more?
What is one thing you can do to take you towards a better version of yourself?