It’s super easy to get complacent when dealing with health and fitness. You do the vegetable thing every day, you get up and walk your loop, and you say no every now and then to dessert. And then one day you banter with yourself, asking if this is all worth it? I’ve been there.
It’s also super easy to ignore or simply not know about health and fitness. You think that healthy eating is having five small cookies instead of one big cookie. You’re sure that doing 10 sit ups is enough exercise and don’t understand why your abs aren’t a washboard by now. Frankly, you feel perfectly fine eating whatever you want and doing whatever you please. I’ve been there too.
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| My kitchen bowl used to be filled with candy. Notice how the red M&M is trying to get me to dig in! |
You’ve heard the phrase “ignorance is bliss”. Sure, it’s easy to think everything is all right because you look fine on the outside. Do you have any clue how everything looks on the inside? I thought I was perfectly fine, albeit a little overweight, until one day in my mid-20’s, I visited a doctor and found out my LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) was high. I was shocked. Really? I thought that poor health was something you worried about when you’re old. I was not old, I was in my 20’s! Totally freaked out, I asked the doctor what to do? She looked at me and said in a matter-of-fact tone, “you need to lose weight”.
I decided enough was enough so I put a plan together and starting executing right away. Prior to this startling revelation, I “dabbled” in eating healthy and exercising. It was always a “when it’s convenient for me” relationship. I look back now embarrassed and sad that I did that to myself. I felt a lot of the unhealthy repercussions but didn’t realize how much until after I changed my habits. Don’t get me wrong, I still struggle and I still make mistakes along the way, but I have a much better understanding and respect for health and fitness than ever before.
I’ve found so many new interests and loves from immersing myself in healthy activity and eating. I LOVE sweet potatoes and salmon (see recipes below), both foods that have tremendous health benefits. I have a strong desire to run. I can throw down on a mountain bike. I have found my biggest training secret, resistance training, through Farrell’s. I’ve met many wonderful people along the way and learned a lot about myself. Thank you health and fitness for showing me I am capable of doing so many things!
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| Now my kitchen contains fresh fruits and vegetables! Sweet potatoes are a must in my house! |
Along the way, I realized how important it is for me to share what good health and fitness means with others. I don’t want anyone to suffer preventable health issues because they weren’t educated or didn’t care about health and fitness. Your body won’t function at its maximum potential unless you use it how it was meant to be used! I had the opportunity to start sharing my experiences and information on health and fitness when I started coaching new students through the Farrell’s program with Jason. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. If you are given the opportunity to help educate or motivate someone regarding health and fitness, I recommend you do it.
So now here I am today, attempting to live a healthy lifestyle. While I’ve had my share of success, it’s almost as important to share my struggles. Trial and error aren't excluded from this journey. You probably have your own stories to share about how you had good intentions but failed or simply gave up at some point along the way and had to work to get back to good health.
In part 2 of my blog posting, I’ll continue the conversation on struggles and talk more about why health and fitness should be a priority for everyone. In the meantime, here are tasty recipes for salmon and sweet potato fries.
Pecan Crunch Salmon (I use less butter, about a tablespoon total, and it tastes perfectly fine to me!)
Sweet Potato Fries (We also sprinkle paprika on the sweet potatoes for added flavor!)
Miss FitGab
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