FITNESS IS MORE THAN THE PHYSICAL

Fitness involves more than how much weight is lost or reps in a set that can be accomplished.  Being a fit person involves discipline for each day, creates awareness, and instills conscious living. Fitness is a lifestyle and goes way beyond the physical.   Having the desire to obtain a quality life and following through on that goal really defines being healthy and fit, and when the focus remains in that direction, we set ourselves up for feeling and looking our best for life. 

We put so much pressure on ourselves to squeeze into the tiniest jeans or boast the largest biceps, that we tend to forget how being fit is supposed to feel.  A fit and healthy body should be free or minimized of pain and many people do not realize just how good we are supposed to feel, and instead accept and accommodate pain on a daily basis.  A fit lifestyle includes physical exercise but not of the nature that will injure our bodies and create chronic setbacks, and eating healthy nutrient dense foods that provide our bodies with healing qualities.  Rest is also on the menu for a fit body and a very important part of the program.  Without proper rest and sleep, our bodies will not recover from the demands placed on it through workouts, stress, and the overall daily grind.  Balance of work and play is also a part of a healthy lifestyle and forgetting how to reach our inner child is sadly lost through the busyness of life.  Taking an active rest day enjoying the outdoors, or a shutdown day complete with pajamas and movies may be the trick to recharge the mental batteries. 

We all can enjoy our life and live a healthy lifestyle at the same time. This is the absolute truth and is accomplished by simply being consistent with our choices and follow-through.  Being fit does not take working out seven days a week for several hours a day and eating boiled fish and broccoli.  This is far from what living a healthy lifestyle looks like.  When our thoughts are on taking the best care of ourselves, the enjoyment of living this life flows naturally like breathing.  The desire to purchase fresh healthy foods and try new recipes is more of an exciting thing to look forward to and not a curl your lip up downer for a Friday night.   Also, when that is combined with finding an exercise program that is enjoyed and works for your body, nothing feels better and provides a positive mental outlook.  The balance of life through play and rest can’t be emphasized enough because life is about quality and feeling our best. 

When the focus is on health and improving the quality of our life, the “fit” part of that equation happens along the way.  Letting go of the stress of wanting to look a certain way tomorrow and concentrating on how good being healthy feels will eliminate the frustration and pressure that we too often place upon ourselves.  Living a healthy lifestyle encompasses everything that we do on the daily and the fact that we are physical beings does not mean that the emphasis on fitness is all about the physical.  Our awareness of the importance of being a healthy person, what we are consuming, how we move our bodies, how we think and act, and the balance we create for ourselves are all included within the definition of fitness.  What do you think about that and hopefully this has opened your eyes to a new attitude when it comes to being a fit person?

Me and My Hubby

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Happy Stay Healthy New Year!

Darla

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PLAN FOR SUCCESS

Having a plan is so important in our success in life and health.  I think this quote says it well: “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”  When something is planned out and written down, not only is the motivation kicked up, but also the personal challenge to reach that goal increased.  Besides, it is a written plan right in front of our face, and not something that we are only thinking about and may put into place someday.  See the difference?  If we are good stewards of our money for example, we are budgeting for expenses with our income and successfully paying our mortgages, rents, and overall bills.  Without that budget plan in place, I am sure we can all agree a huge financial mess would be the result of our irresponsibility.  Planning takes responsibility and a commitment to do what is best for our life and health.  Failing to plan sets us up for failure. 

Let’s get back to the plan and what it takes to put a health related goal into place.  I highly recommend an accountability journal to plan out strategies for exercise scheduling and also a healthy food tracking area to record food intake daily.  I also like to keep track of water intake, sleep and my overall mental game.  Tracking your weight on a scale one time per week is also motivational to see your progress and to ensure that the plan is working.  When the plan fails to function, it is never the goal that changes, but the plan or program.  Finding what works for each of us is a trial, error and fine tuning of our plan until we see the results of our investments. Just as it is exciting to pay down debt with a responsible budget plan, it is equally or even more exciting to reduce our waist lines through our commitment to the plan of adopting a healthy lifestyle. 

Everybody understands the need and importance of money to support our lives and my goal is to convey that our health banks are even more important. Imagine not balancing our checkbooks and leaving out transactions each day to the point of not knowing the balance.  Accounts would be overdrawn, additional fees paid, collectors knocking at the door, and stress increased tenfold.  That same analogy can be applied to our daily exercise and food intake.  If we do not balance our food intake, write down what is consumed, or never record our exercise expenditure, we are setting ourselves up for weight gain, increased risk of disease and illness, increased stress, and eventually doctors knocking at the door. Looking at how important a plan is for success in these terms should motivate all of us to implement them today. 

Living a healthy life is not a guessing game or a wish and we are only kidding ourselves when we run around without a plan.  Success comes when daily habits of eating healthy and moving our bodies are made a planned priority. Do we sweep our money responsibilities under the rug?  Well, I suppose some may but the outcome is always an unhealthy consequence in doing so.  How much more important is our health and that so many people do just that, sweep it under the rug.  Let’s turn the goals of obtaining a fit body into more than just a wish by starting today with a plan for adopting a healthy lifestyle. 

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Be well and Stay Healthy 

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