Healthy Is Simple

Healthy Is Simple

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“Healthy Is Simple” is the new battle cry in my war against chronic disease and obesity and my personal quest to be a bad ass 90-year-old. 

But it is amazing some of reactions I get when I say or write these words. 

For the folks that are in a good, healthy place, they tend to get it and usually agree.

For the folks that are not in a healthy and/or fit place, they tend to have a negative reaction.

With furrowed brow or in all CAPS, they explain their situation, circumstance, or condition and how, as a result, they are not currently in a good healthy and/or fit condition.

Some are even offended and outraged at my insensitivity to their situation or condition

“How dare you shame me by minimalizing my issues!"

This negative reaction tells me they didn’t really listen to or read what I said. I said, “Healthy is simple”

I didn’t say it was easy.

Simple is defined as:  easily understood‍

Easy is defined as:  achieved without great effort ‍

For most people, becoming and staying healthy and fit is easily understood.

Example: If, through physical movement, you burn more calories than you consume, you will maintain a healthy weight.

If you can increase cardio capacity and build muscle while engaged in the physical movement, you will become more fit.

I believe, for most people, this fits the definition of simple.

Anyone with some basic knowledge of how the body works, understands, and can agree to this premise. 

But while it is simple, breaking old eating or movement habits and building the new habits necessary to improve and sustain a healthy and fit life IS NOT EASY.

And, the level of difficulty is directly related to your starting point. 

When I talk with folks about health and fitness, there are 3 types of people I find:

The Already Fit Folks

They have invested time and money in themselves to maintain a healthy weight and make the effort to move with intensity on a consistent basis. When talking to them, we are usually comparing notes on their current health and fitness habits and how those could be tweaked or improved to a better result.

The Used to Be Fit Folks

When I talk to them, I find there was a time in their life where they were at a healthy weight and were able to move well.

Perhaps he or she was a former athlete and understands the role food plays in how they feel and move. They had good habits to support their sport.

Or, maybe they were just naturally thin with the metabolism of youth.

They never built any healthy habits because they didn’t need to. But, over time, their body has aged.

They can’t eat the way they used to or move the way they used to.

The former athlete has let go of the healthy habits.

The “naturally thin” never had any habits in the first place and age has caught up with them.

This discussion will focus on either getting back or building healthy food and exercise habits going forward in order to “get back in shape”

The Yet To Be Fit Folks

These are folks that did not grow up with healthy food or exercise habits and have been fighting weight and movement issues all their lives.

Perhaps their parents were also overweight and did not make eating healthy or moving with intensity a priority in the household.

Food, especially sugar, was a consistent reward and eating out was the family entertainment.

Lack of movement, such as watching TV or playing video games for long periods of time, was normal.

There may have been childhood trauma that contributes to unhealthy eating habits.

Now, these poor habits have followed them into adulthood.

They are now over their ideal weight and have little to no cardio capacity or strength due to the lack of movement.

This discussion will focus on understanding the role food and exercise plays in how they feel, how they move, and how that look. 

But even with all the variables listed above, this is not a complex problem that we're trying to solve.

In most cases, absent some significant mental or physical heath issue or restriction, getting healthy is simple.

(But again, I didn’t say it is easy.) 

Input, Output, Priority, Time

Whether you are the “already fit”, “used to be fit” or yet to be fit” person, here are the 4 simple areas to improve that starts your journey towards a better, healthier future.

• Input – The things you put in your body and mind. Food, information, self-talk, sleep. They all matter.

• Output – The type, frequency, and intensity of movement. The type of exercise matters. Work towards doing things that make you breathe hard and builds muscle.

• Priority – The commitment to the consistent performance of ideal behaviors. How you choose to invest your time and money.

• Time – The duration of minutes, hours, days spent engaged in behaviors. How much time you spend and your expectations of results.
  

No matter where you start, if you will evaluate your thoughts, investments, and habits in these four areas, you will begin to discover what you need to do get from your current state existence to you desired state.

Healthy is simple, but not easy.

If you want help figuring out how to get from where you are to where you want to be, click the link and book a “no sweat” introduction meeting and we will figure it out together.