Health in Mind, Body, and Food
In my last post I talked about the Rooted Nutrition philosophy, about what I believe constitutes a healthy life and what it takes to get there. I mentioned that health is found in more than just the food you eat (or don’t eat) and the workouts you do (or don’t do). It is found in that sweet spot where a healthy mind, body, and diet come together, in that happy place I call balance. Where you can look at food and not feel stressed out or like a failure, where food has no power over you, but you have power over the choices you make. It is the place where you can go out with your friends without the fear of messing up your diet and enjoy yourself and the foods you want to eat. It is the place where you appreciate, value, and, dare I say it, love your body for what it is and what it does for you each and every day, where you honor your body and give it what it needs to thrive. It is the place where you choose to live a life rooted in health and happiness.
You can be doing everything “right”, eating super healthy, working out every day, and still not seeing the results that you hope for. You could be restricting your calories, eliminating food groups that are “bad”, and killing yourself at the gym, but something is still missing. That something might just be your mindset.
What are your intentions for the way you are choosing to live, what is your relationship with food, how do you view the body you have been given? Are you trying to maintain an unsustainable lifestyle just to lose weight? Are you on the seemingly never-ending roller coaster of dieting, restricting, “failing” the diet, gaining all your weight back and then some, going on another diet, restricting, failing, and so on? Do you feel like your body just isn’t good enough, skinny enough, strong enough, fit enough? I know these feelings well; I’ve felt all of these feelings.
There are 3 pieces to the healthy puzzle, and they are your mind, your body, and your food.
Without a healthy mindset you are just spinning your wheels, most likely unhappy with the way things are going, never content, and not seeing the results you want. Without caring for your body well through exercise, sleep, and learning to deal with stress in a healthy way, you will not be able to sustain the rate at which you are going and most likely feel burnt out and defeated. Without healthy food, your body and your mind cannot function at their best, you are not fueling your body well, yet you are continually asking it to perform at its best every day.
Health is more than just another restrictive diet. It is learning to listen to your body, give it what it needs, honor it with the choices you make and the way you care for it, moving it and resting it, and making the most of the journey that is this life.
That’s my take on health, that’s the way I try to live, and that is what has brought me the peace and confidence to finally live my healthiest life without restricting, stressing or hyper focusing on food and exercise.
I would love to help you live your healthiest life too. Reach out if you’re ready, and take the first step towards a healthier mindset, body, and diet.