This post is about questioning what you’ve been told and redefining what genuine health + wellness looks like to you. If you like this, stay in touch over in my Facebook community, Holistic Health for the Avid Adventurer, where I do free trainings on topics like this one. If you’re interested in strategic 1-1 support, schedule a free call and we’ll see if we’re a good fit. I would love to help you achieve your health goals now or in the future! ~ Katie
When it comes to your health, how do you measure “success”? How do you know your health efforts are “working”? If you’ve never given this much consideration, read on.
I’m not a fan of the word success, especially when it comes to health, because it’s so nebulous. It’s not well-defined, and so we accept the default definition that’s handed to us by society at large. By not creating our own parameters for success, we succumb to other people’s metrics and take them on as our own.
And what are the metrics we traditionally use to measure health? Here are a few: weight, calorie count, step count, and macro ratios. How much emphasis do we usually put on those numbers? In my experience (and I’m completely guilty of this), the answer is way too much. Those things might be part of health. But, in my mind, REAL HEALTH is about so much more.
So, I invite you to consider this:
How are you currently measuring your health success? How do you know that the things you’re doing are working? Are the things you’re measuring leading to the long term result you want? If not, how do you want to redefine success and measure health more holistically?
To me, the point of eating real food, and moving my body, and getting enough sleep, and engaging in self care is to live a life of joy. It’s a life where I have plenty of energy, and I feel good, and I can go on outdoor adventures and feel strong. It’s a life where I feel sane around food, my inner dialogue is loving, and I’m moving my body from a place of joy. It’s a life where I’m present for my relationships and the work I’m here to do in the world.
Though I rejected diet culture long ago (through much experimentation and self inflicted suffering), I still get caught in the trap of mainstream dominant paradigm. The one that tells me that my weight, and the number of calories I consume, or the amount of exercise I complete define my self worth. When in my heart, I know that my life is about so much more than that.
Remember that you don’t have to embody the toxic messages that come from much of the “wellness” industry (which, yes, I’m a part of; and yes, it’s confusing to find a voice you trust when there’s so much info coming at you. I get it.).
You get to write your own rules. Or to say F it to rules, entirely.
I invite you to take a little quiet time to define for yourself what “healthy” truly looks like. How does healthy feel to you? How do you spend your time? How do you talk to yourself in the mirror? What are you able to do that is a struggle for you now? How do you show up in your relationships and in your day to day moments? Are you rigid, scattered, controlling? Or are you calm, grounded, and present?
If you’re willing to share, comment below!
One Reply to “Real Health is More Than a Number”