Health and Wellness is so abundant these days and that’s amazing! There’s an endless amount of information you can access and people from all around the world with various credentials giving you tips on what to eat, how to workout and even when to do it all that will lead you to living your healthiest life. From the latest superfood powder that claims will give you the perfect complexion to the avocado pudding your favorite food blogger posted, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and feel as though you aren’t doing a good enough job when it comes to your health. I’m with you, as much as I love getting ideas for different recipes & workouts as well as researching new superfoods, supplements and other various health related topics, having all of this information at my fingertips on a daily basis sometimes makes me feel like I’m not doing enough for my own health or offering enough knowledge and tips to my clients.
But, “healthy living” is different for everyone. For those who have celiac disease or other gluten intolerance related illnesses, being gluten free is what’s best for them. While others may have adverse effects to dairy and others may simply choose to not consume meat, eggs, sugar, etc for personal reasons that fits their lifestyles. “Health” is not black and white, if you don’t like avocado…don’t eat it! If you don’t have a gluten or dairy intolerance, then eat gluten and dairy if you want! Whatever other people are doing, does not necessarily mean it’s right for you. It’s your life and you have the freedom to follow whatever guidelines you want to define for yourself. I fortunately have no food allergies so I choose to consume the foods I enjoy and find balance that makes me feel good from the inside out. I enjoy eating veggies, whole grains, fruits, nuts and lean protein. I also LOVE bread (Oprah voice), ice cream and every form of potato chip that has ever been produced. I’m not like anyone else and neither are you, so don’t strive to be someone you’re not because you think their version of “health” is better than yours.
That doesn’t mean you can’t use the internet and social media as a tool to help inspire you or aid in discovering potentially new ideas that you could benefit from. Like I said before, I love researching new health trends and I often experiment by either eliminating certain food groups on a weekly basis or trying new products or workouts I hadn’t heard of before.
Sometimes these “experiments” make me feel better, sometimes they make me feel worse, and sometimes they do nothing for me at all. Regardless, I do them for me. I WANT to learn what may be better for my body and to gain knowledge on something that could potentially be better for myself, my clients or my loved ones. I don’t NEED to add or eliminate a certain food group to become the pillar of health. Believe me, if I had to eliminate bread, cheese or wine out of my diet, my mental health would be far worse than my physical health, that’s for sure!
That same mantra goes for working out. If you aren’t a fan of cycle, bootcamp, pilates or any other type of fitness classes…please don’t pay money to torture yourself. I guarantee if you don’t find enjoyment in them, they will not benefit you. There is no single class that will magically give you the results you want so find something that gives you joy and do that! There are so many options out there, play around with them and you’re bound to find one that sticks!
So, the moral of the story is this, live your life for you… not for social media, not to achieve “the perfect body” & not to be on the forefront of every health trend that comes on the market. Find what works for you and stick with that…whether you’re a bread connoisseur, dairy queen (see what I did there), paleo enthusiast or plant-based lover if it works for you…it works!
Cheers to L-I-V-I-N-G!
Amanda
xoxo