Your Health Status- Redefined
Fun fact- you get to define what’s healthy. And that it can change.
There’s a lot of different versions of ‘healthy.’
I preached a lot about being healthy. Healthy weight, healthy hormones, healthy lifestyle, healthy/normal bloodwork, and it seems to be this catchphrase word that encompasses a gold star, a stamp of approval from the doctor. While that’s well and good per se, I also began realizing that it didn’t matter how many ‘stamps of approval’, or how ‘healthy’ someone was deemed, if YOU don’t truly feel that something is right, then it’s not. Or, perhaps someone is deemed healthy by others yet they want more for themselves, or to check-in, yet unsure ‘what else’ could be done, or even to the extent of feeling badly to ‘do more’ if they already have more than most. Aka if you’ve ever felt like this, you’re so not alone!
Perhaps there’s a new meaning/consideration of health. Consider:
How do you feel in your health routine now versus where you know you can be (it’s ok to have your own standards)?
It’s not always about how you look, but how you feel. Conversely, it’s ok to feel good and be less than thrilled with your physical appearance or what’s going on internally. What does balance look like?
What does health mean to you- think big. Your ideals and values, company, work environment. Health takes on so many different meanings that many times we need to look at how we view one aspect of life to see where we’d like to improve in another part of life.
Each diet is defined by their rules, bloodwork gives ranges, exercise routines have their programs, yet at what point do you balance between getting bored and feeling like you’re not getting results (or hit a plateau)- rhetorically asking and something to perhaps consider. Same with supplements- it’s not always that one is ‘bad’ or lost it’s magic, but by doing anything different you have changed your mind and physiology, so it’s time to adjust. Except our limbic/basic instinct brain doesn’t like change. Oops.
This is where getting creative comes in. In my experience getting healthy means also getting happy, which in turn means understanding cues from your body that fall outside the typical ‘signs and symptoms’ we’re taught to look for or google. For example, tomatoes (a common nightshade) can help someone feel really energized and healthy, and for another can ignite inflammation and joint pain. And perhaps an energy crash is actually a food intolerance triggered by something other than sugar or carbohydrates, which commonly get all the blame.
So creativity also requires a level of attention. Yet it’s in this attention to detail that we can find this peace and heightened knowing by understanding more about ourselves than what any instagram picture, advertisement, etc. tries to tell us. This, I’ve found, is one of the main keys to ongoing health and happiness.
Interested in chatting more about what health means to you? Let’s find some time here!