GET IN SHAPE. EAT HEALTHIER. LIVE MORE.
This month, Shane and I have spent a lot of hours on the road. On a quick trip to Chicago this month, we spent the majority of the time in the car talking about health. Specially, we wanted to get to the bottom of one question: what is true health?
Is it the number on a scale? Is it a certain diet trend? Is it one particular workout regimen over another?
Like many of you, we’ve listened to podcasts, read books, and dug deep within our own minds to try to find the answer. After all our searching, two words stood out above the rest: longevity and consistency. Here we break down these two concepts for you:
longevity
So often our minds are drawn to whatever is the latest trend in health. It makes sense: we all want to look and feel better. After years of struggling with health and fitness, many of us are fed up with our shortcomings. In our determination, we settle on an immediate solution to a long-term problem. This may look like ordering that new piece of exercise equipment we saw advertised on TV, or it can be choosing a diet plan that promises results in days, weeks, or months.
Do we set up a long-term strategy to guarantee we don’t burnout and can sustain this determined attempt to get healthier? Usually, no.
This is what years of never making any progress have taught me: overnight solutions don’t work for problems that are more than a night old.
My mindset has shifted. I want to live a healthy lifestyle for the rest of my life, not just for a few days or weeks. When we commit to an extreme plan overnight, we have a tendency to burn out once challenges enter the picture. When we quit, we return to old habits.
I want a lifestyle that my daughter, Addaline, can imitate. I want her to see her mom and dad working out to be healthy—not to hit numbers on a scale or in the gym. I want her to see us enjoy the occasional slice of cake without guilt. Pursuing a healthy lifestyle should mean creating memories, seeking adventure, and staying in for the long haul. A healthy life is a life you can love for longer than today.
Consistency
If given the choice, would you rather make a 25-pound jump on your favorite lift today or would you rather make a 5-pound increase every month for the next year? Another way of saying this, for those of us who face issues with our weight: would you rather lose 10 pounds this week, or one pound every week for the next year? My advice, based on years as a competitive gymnast, college athlete, and CrossFit coach: go for the small changes—those are the ones that will last.
When we make drastic changes, we tend to hit walls in our health. Instead of showing up today and staying at home tomorrow, try to show up every day. Live your life for every moment. Health shouldn’t be a choice you make when you’ve spiraled out of control. By choosing habits you can do every day, like moving consistently for 30 minutes to an hour or slowing down at meals, you will build a foundation that will serve as a launching point for incredible growth 10 years into the future.
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So, my challenge to you is this: Are you creating a lifestyle where you can consistently practice habits for the long haul? If you don’t know where to start, come and ask me or any of our coaches at South Landing! Here’s a quick glimpse of my health goals for today, tomorrow, and the next year: move consistently 5-6 days a week, eat real food that fuel my body (rather than processed food that makes digestion more challenging), be intentional with sleep and hydration, and day after day make choices that align with making health a priority so that these become lifelong habits. What are your goals?
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