What is health?!

What exactly is health? It seems to mean so many different things to different people, as we all go down various avenues to accomplish whatever health is. I personally, have jumped on – and jumped right back off – several trendy “health” bandwagons, just to realize that those trends only helped me to reach temporary weight loss and did not help with health issues I was dealing with.

In my search for what health is and what that means to me, I - like so many of you – have discovered what health is not. Health is not struggling with extreme fatigue all the time, brain fog, infections, symptoms that I don’t know why I have (what is causing them) or how to treat them, inflammation, headaches, and food sensitivities just to name a few.

I needed a fresh start. I have tried all the fad diets and they just have not worked for me. After a lot of thought and research, I have found that eating an abundance of fruits and vegetables, in addition to some lean protein, is best for me. More on this later.

I am not one to make new years resolutions, but I made quite a few at the end of 2022 and started on them early. Here are just a few of the resolutions/goals that I made:

1. I got this website up and running. I have wanted to start a blog, for a long time now, that centered around health and wellness. Due to a lack of confidence and self-esteem, as well as every other excuse (or fear) in the book, I have held myself back from doing so. My goal is to stop holding myself back, get a little uncomfortable, and start doing things that are a little scary because they are probably worth doing. This applies to so much more than just this blog. This blog will serve as accountability for me at first, but I hope to eventually share some things that I am doing for my overall health and wellness. I also hope to create some new recipes that all of you can enjoy as well.

2. I rejoined the gym. So excited about this. Back in 2020, I joined F45. When the pandemic happened, and everything shutdown, I cancelled my membership. That was a particularly difficult time for me. I joined F45 right as they were about to start an 8 week weight loss challenge, and signed up right away! By the end of that 8 week challenge (the last 2 weeks had to be completed at home since the gym had closed), I had met my weight loss goal, but because we were in lockdown I had no one to celebrate that victory with – not my coaches, not the friends I had met at the gym, no one. Due to work circumstances, when the gyms re-opened, I was unable to go back. Needless to say, I put all that weight right back on, plus some. So here we are, 3 years later, and I have rejoined the F45 community. I couldn’t be more excited. Just 2 days ago, we started Challenge 39. This challenge will go on for 6 weeks. I’m really looking forward to the progress I’ll make between now and then.

3. I adopted a healthy lifestyle. As I mentioned before, I’ve tried so many diets before, and I only accomplished temporary weight loss – so, not much of an accomplishment. I feel so much better eating an abundance of fruits and vegetables with some lean protein. I also feel like some health issues are being addressed, and all because I have switched up the foods I am consuming. I couldn’t be happier or more thankful. I feel like, for me, I am finally discovering what it means - and feels like - to be truly healthy.

Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts, and coming along on this journey with me. I hope this blog will serve as a constant stream of encouragement and motivation for all of us trying to tackle our health goals, and any other goals for that matter. I honestly believe that we can accomplish anything in a healthy state of mind.