The road to sustaining a healthy lifestyle is a tough journey when having a million and one things going on in life and when half of those things are new territory I have not come across to until now. I'm sure I'm not alone. I'm trying to avoid being complacent for too long with what I have improved on so far. I appreciate the new comments I've been recieving from people saying "You look great!" "Wow you've been losing some weight!" "Don't lose any more!" As hard as it is for me to take compliments I also have a hard time hearing how I don't have to keep going.
Yes I feel better health-wise, more limber, more comfortable in my clothes again, but I still have a goal to meet-122 lbs! Now that number has specific meanings to it than just expecting that life will be awesome when it's reached (that's not how life works!).
I remember my thesis group discussing questions this past weekend at our face-to-face meeting such as "What does getting to this goal all mean?" "Why do we get there?" "What will reaching this goal do for our lives?" "What do we expect out of it?" That "122" for me is the visual embodiment of what the goal really means-gaining and habitually maintaining my internal physical aspects (having a strong immune system, good energy, system balance and sustainability)-a GREAT aging body. YES, AGING! Last year I had to accept the fact that my body had been undergoing changes because of age and that I had to make adjustments and pay more attention to my whole health lifestyle-the workouts, food intake and mental stability.
If you're reading this and you're still in your adolesence, I have to say you are practically invincible right now (if you're an active person of course!). I never had to pay much attention to what I ate, how much I ate or what type of workouts to do when I was in my teens and early 20s. It was eat, sleep, go to class, workout/sports, homework. Metabolism at its peak. How I miss that! I was blessed and fortunate to live without any sicknesses or conditions during those years and that sports became an important part of my life to keep doing.
The number is just a number. What it all means for me is taking care of myself in that it would influence others to do the same for them. It means getting rid of bad habits and sustaining better ones that it naturally becomes the lifestyle without even thinking twice like muscle memory. It means knowing I can get through any hard times because I have much to be grateful for and build upon. It means taking the life that God gave me and using it to serve others, to show others His ways and live as how Jesus lived. It's means doing this for something more to live for. My "something" is whatever God's will is for me, and getting to that number is just a small stepping stone because it's about learning the journey itself.
So what does it really mean for you?
Cheers w/ H2O - Quinallison
