August 21, 2017
Why Exercise Isn’t Enough…
I was in my 30’s before I began to grasp an understanding – or even really care, that there was a difference between Fitness and Wellness. Slow learner? Perhaps, but I don’t think I am alone.
I was never into team sports as a kid or young adult, however, I always enjoyed “working out.” I usually chose some aerobic program on T.V. and followed along attentively. I felt great after the workouts and looking back now, I believe it helped me to maintain a healthy weight as a teen and young woman; Not necessarily my goal back then but it proved to be beneficial.
Naively, I thought that if people exercised regularly and maintained a “healthy” weight – they were “healthy” people. Period. Boy, was I wrong!
While regular exercise and maintaining a healthy body weight IS important for overall health, and also a key faucet of wellness, it is far from being the only factor we should focus on in our wellness journeys.
As a teenager, I witnessed my mom struggle with depression, my brother and sister try and manage food sensitivities and urinary track infections. As an adult, I learned that my sister also struggled with depression, I personally had a season of intense anxiety in my 30’s AND I also walked through the crippling effects of anxiety with one of my daughters. Sadly, a couple years ago, I witnessed my dad, one of my life mentors and best friends, develop diabetes and eventually die from kidney failure.
Looking back now – I can see correlations between lifestyle, genetics, diet and mindset. I also understand how one aspect of wellness like nutrition, can affect other aspects of wellness as well, such as, mental health and preventing/reversing disease.
I am convinced that nutrition is key to both – a healthy life and a life well lived. The abundance of nutritional medicine is overwhelmingly wonderful news! From the building blocks provided by familiar resources like water, micro and macro nutrients – to better knowledge and information about specific diets, solutions to health concerns, and individualized programs that evaluate and support better living – we have never been more equipped with tools to help us live abundantly….Wellness!
The big question is – Why don’t we do what we know to do regarding our well being? And also, if we know the information that could enhance, empower and heal someone – will we be committed to sharing it?
I am blessed and grateful for the life lessons I have learned, are you? Let’s share wellness, and not simply fitness, with those around us! It’s a journey – make it a life well lived.
