The reason why health fads come and go and most diets fail is that they are goal-oriented. Lose weight. Gain muscle. Lower blood pressure. Improve blood sugar. Sleep better. All of these are important aspects of good health. But when you set them as goals, you sabotage yourself. Here’s why.
Let’s say I want to lose fifty pounds. My next step is to figure out how I will do that. I’ll probably choose a diet like Mediterranean or plant-based. Then I might join a gym. I might take medication or even join a support group. With all of these changes to my lifestyle, I might be successful in losing those fifty pounds. But then what? Do I stop going to the gym? End my diet? Say goodbye to my support group? Most people do! They go back to their previous lifestyle, and all the weight comes back!
It’s not just weight loss. The same can be said for any health goal you set for yourself. You may achieve results, but the results typically don’t last. Why? Because you are integrating behaviors that are OUTSIDE of your everyday lifestyle to achieve the results. Any health goal cannot be an object in our life that exists outside ourselves because this requires creating a path to that goal outside ourselves.
The healthiest people are healthy from within. This means that they eat healthy food because that’s the food they want to eat. It isn’t a reduction or a punishment. They aren’t calculating calories or protein or anything else. For example, I can say that as a vegan, I CRAVE fresh vegetables. When I walk down the produce aisle, I get excited! When I see unhealthy food, I naturally don’t want it because of the negative effects it has on my body. Just like I wouldn’t want to touch a hot stove, my body doesn’t want to eat bad food. My body wants healthy food because it is good food and because it makes me healthier, happier, and more energetic!
I also love to exercise. Playing sports, hiking, and lifting weights at the gym is fun because it feels good. It helps me sleep. It helps with my digestion, metabolism, and other crucial aspects of my health. For me, not exercising is like touching a hot stove! I don’t want to get burnt by inactivity, which is the breeding ground for apathy, indifference, atrophy, anxiety, and depression.
So, how do you create good health internally? In other words, how do you become good health? It starts with what you eat, and the first step is to ask yourself what healthy foods you like. Then, you plan a menu based on those foods. Do you see the difference? A diet requires you to eat things you may not want to eat to achieve a goal. But creating a menu of foods that you like comes from within. Your body is asking for it! You like it! Therefore, you’ll keep going!
The same can be said for exercise. Going to a workout class at the gym might help you reach your goal. But unless you enjoy it, you won’t stick with it. How about walking instead, like to and from work or school? Or maybe ride your bike? Or how about hiking on the weekends? Nature is amazing at healing what ales us. Or maybe you like to dance? Would you enjoy a dance class with your partner? The point is to find ways of moving that YOU ENJOY! If it’s your decision, it is coming from within. Then, it becomes part of who you are.
As we begin to take charge of our health by integrating good health practices into who we are, I believe communication opens up with your body. When your body isn’t constantly being shamed and told what to do, a barrier is broken down and begins speaking to you. Trust has been built! Your body begins to ask for water when it is thirsty (of course, alkaline ionized water is best!). It asks for whole foods because they are packed with nutrition. It tells you not to eat animal fat because it clogs up the energy transfer from our blood to muscles, making you tired. A supported and loved body becomes one with who you are, and the result is that good health becomes you.
Creating good health from within is a subtle difference from what we are used to. Many healthy behaviors may look the same as a goal-oriented approach, but the key difference is that good internal health practices come from our natural instinct to be healthy. The good choices are already part of us if we listen to our bodies. Don’t lecture and shame your body. Talk to it! Find out what you want to eat and how you want to move. Once you’ve discovered your healthy you, good health practices will stay with you for the rest of your life.
