I’m on a mission to grow and evolve as a person, and that means improving my health. BUT, I’m not just talking about shedding that ‘baby’ weight and getting fit – I’m talking about finding health, from the inside out first.
There’s so much noise when it comes to what’s healthy and what’s not. We’re constantly bombarded with images of what our bodies should look like while being told to love ourselves ‘just the way we are’. “It” girls no longer captivate the spotlight but instead share it with vegetables – kale in 2013, cauliflower in 2014 and who knows what the veg of choice will be for 2015.
Healthy is the new black.
Or whatever.
The thing is, people are still equating ‘health’ to ‘skinny’. And while that may be a component for some people, it’s not for most and WHO defines health as:
A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
For me, my journey to health (this time) has started with working on self-acceptance first. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’ve struggled with body image issues for quite some time (haven’t we all at some point or another?). And I’m sure like many others, I’ve dieted and lost, gained and felt sorry for myself – it’s a vicious cycle that we’re all too familiar with.
I gained an inordinate amount of weight during pregnancy, a whopping 60 lbs. I’ve lost more than half of it and am back to my end of high school weight – but the catch is, I was overweight throughout high school, so it’s not exactly something to cheer about.
Or isn’t it?
The old me would say that it’s not an accomplishment.
The new me thinks it’s pretty awesome.
I achieved it without any crazy ‘diets’ or spending countless hours running my time away at the gym. I ate mostly good food, found ways to be more active in my day-to-day life and slowly adopted healthy habits I should have learned years ago.
In the process, I’ve learned to accept myself, as I am. And that, more than anything, has made me feel lighter and healthier.
I’m not perfect but I’m also not trying to be.
I’m just trying to be healthy – on my own terms.
