Living FOR Health vs. Living WITH Health

Something hit home this morning while I was listening to the Simple Roots podcast with its guest, Phoebe Lapine (author of The Wellness Project). They discussed a lot of things about crafting your own Wellness Project as the year comes to a close and the season for New Year's Resolutions is fast approaching, and one theme they discussed asked the listener to evaluate if they were living for health or living with health. This was something I had never thought of, and it explained why diets and cleanses and detoxes and everything else that we try to make resolutions for at the beginning of the year never sticks. When we make these resolutions, we see them as temporary: "When I lose the weight..." or "When I can run x miles..." then we're living for health. We wait to get to a certain point before we let ourselves do or experience particular things.

But that's not the point.

One recurring theme that keeps popping up in every health- or nutrition-conscious resource I read comes down to listening to your body and doing what makes it feel its best. Most of the nutrition or health influencers I've read are proponents for getting rid of labels, trashing the printable meal plans, and stopping trying to like running if you just don't like running. If you don't want to be a vegan, don't be a vegan. But if cheese and milk makes your body feel some type a way or meat doesn't leave you feeling your best, then maybe look into cutting it out for the majority of the week. But don't deprive yourself if you still enjoy those things - just . . . enjoy them less often. Not because a diet is telling you to, but because maybe the acne on your chin or the upset bowels after a bowl of mac and cheese are telling you to. Just . . . listen.

And that's easier said than done, right? Because if you, like me, grew up with family members who said, "Eat everything on your plate or you can't leave the table," or who ate really fast, or who binge-ate all the sweets in the house so you had to eat what you could when you could, listening to your body now is probably really hard. That's why I started with The Intuitive Eating Workbook. It's helped me get in touch with how and why my body works the way it does around food and hunger, and why my mind thinks the way it does toward food. And if you're wanting to make the transition to live with health, you have know how to listen to your body. If this feels like it's overwhelming or confusing, remember I'm not a professional. Major changes to your lifestyle, diet, and exercise routine can always be consulted with your doctors.

I really wasn't planning on getting into all of that in this post - it just sort of spilled out because I'm finding so many interesting little nuggets the more I read on the subject. The road to wellness, or with wellness, is deep and extensive and almost entirely unique from person to person. For me, my wellness journey most definitely includes learning stress management, but some people may already have their stressors under control. I also have areas of interest that I'd like to explore, but I want to feel more confident in what I'm currently working on before branching out into other areas.

What are some things you're trying to learn when it comes to wellness? If you'd like to see more posts like this, let me know! I originally jumped on here to talk about what I had for breakfast today because I, surprisingly, really enjoyed it. I don't consider myself a "green smoothie" person, but I have to say, I was a pretty big fan. I used this graphic I pinned on Pinterest when preparing my grocery list. Feel free to experiment with it! My recipe was as follows:

1 small banana, peeled and sliced

1 Granny Smith apple, sliced and cored

1/2 cup pineapple, chopped

1/2 cup spinach

1 tsp lemon juice

Coconut water, until it covered most of the ingredients

5 ice cubes

Blend together until smooth.

The consistency was a little pulpy from the pineapple, and I totally forgot to add cucumber, but the taste was really refreshing. Overall, the smoothie plus a piece of whole wheat toast with peanut butter kept me full until about 12:30 pm. I finished my smoothie around 9:30 am (drank it on my commute), and had my toast at 8:15 am. I was also drinking a lot of water, which helps you to know when you're actually hungry versus when your body just needs some hydration.

I'll leave you with a few thoughts as we start our week. First, your body will tell you what it wants. When I first read that, I thought, "Yeah right. How will it do that?" But when I actually made a conscious effort to listen this weekend, it really did. When I was thirsty, I knew immediately my body would do well with a glass of water and a little bit of lemon. When I was hungry, I ate just the right amount to know when to stop and feel comfortably satisfied. Second, you are incredible. You are capable of so many things on a regular, everyday basis. If I think about how complex our bodies are, I truly am blown away by the detail that God has put into each and every one of us. If you're struggling by comparing yourself to others, especially physically, remember that their story and yours are not the same. Everyone has something they wish they could change. But lasting change, important change that comes with living with health, first comes from loving yourself. Trust me, it's something I'm working on every day.

Lastly, I'll leave you with a few quotable quotes from the podcast I talked about in the beginning of this post. I know this was a little all over the place. If you have something more focused you'd like me to talk about from what I've learned in the last four months, I'd be happy to chat about it (and make it a little more organized).

• "Cook more for yourself, from home."

• "If you're stressed and anxious about what you eat, no amount of kale will make you healthy."

• "Just add more vegetables."

Health is far more simple than we're making it out to be. But to sum up, to do what's best for your body, you first have to listen to it. xoxo