Define Your True Health!
I was a very skinny kid; elbows and knees! However, I still grew up with the pressure to be thin and believing that being thin defined my beauty, and my health, and made me acceptable. As an adult, I had to learn to define my true health and the meaning of true wellness as well as the joy of self-acceptance. True transparency getting there has included great therapy and wonderful mentors!
When I was in my early 20's I joined a Nautalus gym and it changed my life and helped me break the cycle for my children. Randy Haithcock and his wife were the owners and every week Randy worked with me and taught me to lift weights while also telling me why we did it, what was happening in each muscle group, and my body, and how it worked! I was hooked! He helped change my body and my mind! I went to the library (because, umm it was pre-Google and yes I know I"m uhhh, vintage) and started reading everything I could on exercise physiology, nutritional biochemistry, and the science of wellness and every book made me want to know more! That's why I'm a Health Coach today!
My soapbox is this: I want you to live a life of true health and wellness so that you can truly live and do all the things you are meant to do and long to do, and to do them for as long as possible! I help you create the habit of holistic wellness and to do it with joy, so that age is just a number!
So what is true health? (Wellness) The World Health Organization defines health as: "Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."!
It isn't about how you look, but about how you live and what condition your body is in!
Check out some of these ways to measure true health.
Our long-term health is built through habits you start now. Of course, the sooner you start positive habits, the longer you can benefit from them. The sooner you quit negative habits, the sooner you can start to feel better and add to your longevity.
That is why it’s so important to think of health beyond just weight. If you build habits that are all about weight, you might be over-exercising and undereating. That will get you to your weight goal here and now. But it will not build a healthy body for long-term vitality. Your bad habits affect you more than you realize! Don’t sacrifice your future health for a shallow, short-term goal right now.
Here are the best habits you can start incorporating now that will serve you both in the short term and in the long term!
⭐️ Eat more plants, especially healthy fats
⭐️ Get daily physical activity
⭐️ Don’t smoke and limit alcohol
⭐️ Prioritize good sleep
⭐️ Manage stress and anxiety
⭐️ Create positive social connections
⭐️ Prioritize your happiness
⭐️Unerstand your purpose - what gets you excited to live
⭐️Let go of anger and bitterness. Forgive people.
⭐️Check in with your Wheel of Health
Examples:
Environmental - Your surroundings, energy, and the environment, such as clean air and water.
Social -Relationships, boundaries, belonging, interactions.
Occupational - finances, career, school, work/home life balance
Emotional - emotions, balance, fun and laughter, self-soothing skills.
Spiritual - meditation, prayer, serenity, faith, trust, forgiveness.
Intellectual - Stimulation, hobbies, satisfaction with skills and education, learning.
Nutritional - daily habits, wise food choices, quality, self-control, drinking water.
Physical - exercise routine, non-smoker, generally healthy, wise choices
Some of these are obvious, others might be a surprise. Notice how ‘make a lot of money’ or ‘get up at 5am’ aren’t on the list? If you want to be around for a long time, it’s time to start taking a holistic approach to your health!
What would you like True Health to like like for you?
Your definition of health should be:
1️⃣ Specific enough that you can visualize it and measure it or notice progress
2️⃣ Flexible enough that it can apply to your season and stage of life
I know, it seems kind of contradicting. I encourage you to be specific but also recognize that things change in different seasons and stages. Be flexible to those changes while also holding true to what is most important to you. For example…
At 20, you probably cared about being a certain weight and looking good.
At 30, you might have cared about having a healthy body for babies.
At 40, you might want to avoid menopausal weight gain and symptoms.
At 50, you probably just want to feel strong, mobile and capable.
Taking all that into account, what does ‘healthy’ mean to you right now?
How will you know when you are ‘healthy’?
How will you measure it?
What does being healthy look like?
What does it feel like?
What do you struggle with daily? (energy, mood, digestion, focus, sleep)
When you’re not healthy, what things are you missing out on?
What things would you like to be able to do?
How will you get there?
These are all good questions to ask yourself in this stage of life and to consider moving forward into future seasons. The more you can develop a solid, healthy lifestyle, and the longer it lasts, the better off you will be! Let's start by finding your personal definition of true health and then start making plans to live it!
If you need help finding your definition or walking it out set up a coaching session and let's do it!
Next Monday we will talk about burnout! See you then.
Adapted with permission from Coach Content Collaboration (affiliate link)
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