Everyone has a different answer to that question. It’s why I’m asking it. It’s incredibly easy to get bogged down by all of the information out there about what your healthiest state should look like - six pack abs, able to run a marathon, eating only lettuce or ketowhatsitcalled? And I think that scares a lot of people off. If they can’t go whole hog with it, why even bother?
But your version of optimal wellness doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. It certainly doesn’t have to look like that. You don’t have to radically alter your diet or spend hours at the gym. Maybe you’re perfectly content just as you are and just want some tips on how to stay that way as you get older. And that’s completely fine and awesome. You do you. I’m just here to help you figure out what, exactly, that looks like and how to get there.
The important thing is that you start. That’s it. Just start somewhere. Anywhere. Don’t much care where. Just pick a place. Getting healthy is kind of like cleaning out the shed - you just take it one piece at a time and eventually you look back and it’s done. So maybe you decide to start drinking a little extra water. Maybe you switch out your usual side of fries for a salad a couple times a week. You hear it over and over that people who make gradual small changes tend to stick with it longer than the folks that go overboard. And it’s usually because the people who go into it all ‘FOOTBALL IS LIFE, B*#CH! WHOORAH!!’ are actually looking for an excuse to fail. “See? I tried. I made a valiant effort. Fitness just doesn’t work for me. I always injure myself, etc etc.” Know why? Because change is scary and hard. We have this idea that if we change, it means we can never eat fast food again. We have to give up everything we know that makes us feel better when we’re stressed out and then what? The interesting part is that when you make the small changes, you’re more likely to stick with it because you’re working with your physiology.
Let me drop some science on you.
When you make too many changes at once, health wise, you actually wind up overloading your system. You have to keep in mind that maybe your physiology isn’t used to so much nutrition. Most of us have some underlying nutritional deficiencies. And the influx of nutrients when you make big changes to your diet means that suddenly your body is able to use them. Which means it goes into Repair mode. This means pain and feeling crappy for you because all of that extra metabolic work produces extra metabolic waste. Throw in some improper exercise on top of that, to muscles and tissue that haven’t done that kind of activity in a good long while, and your body goes into crash mode. It’s busy repairing stuff and you’re throwing extra work in on top of that? How do you react to your boss or coworkers when they dump a bunch of work onto your already overloaded plate? Your body does basically the same thing. It goes on strike.
Small changes built up gradually over time means that you’re working with your physiology. You’re respecting the extra workload it’s under as it works to repair past damage without dumping a bunch of new work on top of it. It’s able to heal AND get stronger and you both benefit from your kind treatment of it.
So you are officially off the hook, pressure wise. I’m not going to promise you 30 days to fitness or any of that. Unless you’re here for the Peak Performance stuff, in which case, get ready to suffer!! (Kidding…mostly…) But if you’re just here thinking “meh, maybe I should start thinking about my health” or trying to recover from an injury, don’t worry. Expectation free zone. Pressure free health. You go at your pace and make the changes that feel right for you. Individualized wellness, that’s the name of the game. Your healthy state is unique to you. I’m just here to help you figure out what that is.
Ready to get started…?
Take your time… No rush at all.