On my birthday a friend asked me what my goals were for the upcoming year. I like the idea of your birthday as a time to reflect and set goals for yourself. I received a laptop for my birthday and decided my goal would be to write more nutrition articles and start a blog for clients, family, and friends to hear my recommendations and thoughts on healthy eating.
My opening thought involves healthy lifestyles. Clients often tell me that they have tried every diet and nothing works for them. My questions are always—how long did you follow that diet? How long did you exercise? How long did you eat healthy? Usually the answer is only a few weeks or maybe as long as 6 weeks but never long enough to make the changes a lifestyle.
I feel that if you follow a healthy lifestyle with good eating habits and regular exercise most of the time that you will look like your lifestyle. For example, if you gain 40 pounds during pregnancy but after having the baby return to a healthy lifestyle…the weight will come off. On the other hand, if you develop some not-so-healthy habits like you stop exercising or you start eating dessert every night, then you will not look like a person who maintains a healthy lifestyle.
My husband enjoys discussing nutrition and exercise with me (he’s a bit of an exercise enthusiast), and I told him this view I have on healthy lifestyles. He equated this concept to cleaning the bathroom. Some people just spot clean the bathroom and use cleaning wipes on countertops and Windex on the mirror but don’t really get in there and deep clean. Spot cleaning is an example of an individual who sometimes follows healthy eating habits and exercises sporadically but never develops the habits. The bathroom isn’t really clean, and if you look closely you can tell that. The individual isn’t really healthy, and you can tell.
There are other people who really deep clean a bathroom and disinfect the toilet and scrub the tub. Deep cleaning is an example of an individual who exercises and eats healthy most of the time. The bathroom is really clean, and you can tell when you walk in. The individual is truly living a healthy lifestyle, and you can tell!!
When I encourage clients, family, and friends to develop a healthy lifestyle, I like to have them repeat the following: “I need to eat healthy and exercise for the rest of my life!” Really, we all do. People with diabetes, heart disease, 5-year-olds, 80-year-olds, 20-year-olds with no health problems…every last one of us. Besides…who doesn’t love a really clean bathroom?