Did you wake up this morning, look in the mirror, and say, “enough is enough!” If you did, I know exactly how you feel. I spent years going back and forth between happy with my body and “OMG! I have to go to the gym now!” I think we all battle the same exact thing: we meet our health goal, we get comfortable with our progress, we lose focus, and we end up back where we started. Can you relate to this?
Not only is this process unhealthy, it also takes a toll on our self-esteem . When you don’t feel good about your body it can be hard to feel good about anything else in life. Low self-esteem can be depressing and exhausting. What if you could end the vicious cycle for good? Would you be willing to do what it takes?
You might have already gone to extreme measures to look good. Have you invested in expensive treatments or products that may have worked briefly, but couldn’t stand the test of time? If so, you’re not the only one. Millions of people have tried to get that quick fix with little to no lasting results. They end up right back where they started but with a lot less money in their bank account.
The reason why these extreme measures do not work is because they go against Mother Nature. And we all know how merciless Mother Nature can be as our bodies age. In fact, take a moment to think about the human body and how it was designed. Our bodies were designed to work in conjunction with the foods and herbs that could be grown and harvested. Consider the process of growing a garden. You must prepare the land (that takes energy), you must plant the crops (that takes energy), you must harvest the crops (that takes energy), and you must preserve the food for later use (that takes energy). Once all that is said and done, you consume the food and that gives you back energy. The equations are simple: energy output > energy input = weight loss . Energy input = energy output, results in weight maintenance. I know this because I have lost 25 pounds and have maintained my weight loss for over a year now.
Before the advent of dietary supplements , processed foods, and medical weight loss procedures, we depended on the Earth to provide everything we needed to live, grow, and survive. Hundreds of years ago, people didn’t drive down to their local GNC and pick up a bottle of weight loss supplements and they surely did not visit the medical spa to get injected with B12 shots. They ate whole foods and lived very active lifestyles. Nowadays, we spend the majority of our time sitting or lying down. We do very little to exert energy and in the meantime we’re consuming WAY too much food. This is a recipe for disaster. Our modern day lifestyle has drifted so far from the lifestyle that got us here and the result is a nation full of sick and overweight people.
It is very easy to get caught up in the crash dieting and pop-a-pill mentality, because those habits are cleverly marketed to grab our attention and deceive us. And at what cost? If crash dieting and magic pills actually worked, we’d be a nation full of highly energized, skinny, happy people. Just look around you; over two-thirds of our population is overweight or obese and our children have to combat type 2 diabetes! This is not what nature intended, not at all.
Remember when I asked if you’d be willing to do what it takes? Well, the requirement is that you change the way you think about health and wellness. Consider how retirement planning works. You put a little money away each month, so that in 30 years you can retire. The same thing applies to your health. You make little changes each month, and in 30 years you reap the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. You can choose quick fixes now, but ultimately they won’t last and you’ll end up as another statistic. You don’t want to spend your golden years battling debilitating diseases that keep you in and out of hospitals.
In fact, it is never too late to make the choice and it starts with an investment in a lifestyle change that can be implemented and followed for years to come. Implementation of a lifelong healthy lifestyle is what I teach people to do as a health coach. Don’t be scared or embarrassed to ask for help! We all need a little love and support to reach our goals. Be well and be a better you!
Dawn Hans is a certified holistic health coach trained at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She specializes in whole food and vegetarian diets, natural weight loss, increased energy, digestive issues, green living, and natural self-care. Her passion for health and wellness was built on the principles of preventive care and traditional medicine.