Why You Should Give Your Health a Fresh Start This Year
Don’t believe the lie that you have to put your health on the back burner. Start fresh right now so you can feel your best!
I love the feel of a fresh start and a new year. Although I don’t merely make goals at the beginning of the year, I do use this time to evaluate what goals I met in the previous year and what I would like to freshen up for the coming year.
I’ve always been a bit health conscious, even if I didn’t put in the effort to be healthy. I know how difficult it can be with small children. Now that my children are older and it is a bit easier, looking back there are a few things I wish I would have had on hand to help me.
Before I share some amazing tools to help you in your health journey, I want you to be encouraged that your health matters.
Why Your Health Matters
There is a bit of a stigma that caring for yourself is selfish. Let’s just banish that lie right here. Yes, there is a difference between self-care and self-indulgence. Caring for our health, in my opinion, is much harder to do today then it was 100 years ago. I don’t mean to imply that medicine hasn’t come a long way since then. It has! But our need for it has grown exponentially as well. We are overworked, overstressed, underslept, and overwhelmed, among other things. This drives us to eat. And not just eat, but eat what’s quick and easy.
Your health matters because how you feel affects your every day living and ultimately your life. The fact is, yes, in the end, these bodies will eventually give out and pass on. But what quality of life are we living in the meantime? Are we too tired and too stressed to play with our children? Are we too sick to leave the house? This isn’t in God’s design for us! He has entrusted us to steward our bodies in order for them to function at their pique. True, living in a fallen world has brought sickness into it. But there are so many ways we can still be intentional in order to feel better and promote healthy living. That’s great news! You do not have to accept chronic illness or chronic fatigue as “the norm”. There is hope!
Your health matters because you matter and you matter to the people around you.
1. Motivation
When I was a young mom, I was a little lost on where to start. I knew eating less sugar was a given. We all know too much sugar isn’t good for our bodies. We know it, but we don’t take action with that knowledge. Why? Because it is SO HARD. Sugar is sweet and delicious and delightful. It is SO easy to justify reaching for the treats. But it truly does wreak havoc on our bodies in ways we don’t even realize. Less is more. None is better. But, baby steps.
What motivation did I have to stop eating sugar? Weight loss is good, but it wasn’t enough for me because once the weight was off, I’d just start eating it again and end up right where I started. I needed my “why” to be bigger than weight loss. The same goes for working out. Once I lost the weight, I’d begin slacking and eventually would lose all my muscle gains and gain the fat back. After going through that vicious cycle a few times, I realized weight loss wasn’t a big enough goal. I instead set the goal of wanting to be strong. Not just physically, but mentally.
I wanted to feel good and have energy. I was tired of being tired every single day. After years of living in this yo-yo effect, I thought being constantly tired was just a normal part of getting older.
It isn’t.
So I began to educate myself.
2. Education
The more I paid attention to my body, the more I researched. I talked to my friends about what I was feeling and some of the digestive problems I was having. They encouraged me and helped point me in the right direction.
It’s so important you become your own advocate for your health. No one is going to know your body better than you. Be proactive about researching what might be ailing you and how to correct it. If you already work closely with your doctor, share your findings and concerns with him or her.
I got myself on some excellent supplements and the difference has been night and day. I have energy and focus which are so necessary for a mom! The supplements work as a tool in conjunction with what I’m already doing. They are not magic, though it certainly feels that way!
Ignorance is a sure way to keep us sick. Don’t be afraid to educate yourself so you can be well.
3. Will Power
Will power is important because you have to have the will to want to work toward your health. It has to be enough of a priority for you to be intentional about working at it every day. That doesn’t mean there won’t be days when it’s hard. When you don’t want to workout or you end up eating a big bowl of ice cream. It doesn’t mean you’ve failed and should quit. It just means you keep moving forward. You haven’t ruined all your health goals because you had ice cream or missed a workout. This is life and it happens.
Your health becomes wrapped up in everyday living. And the more you execute that will power, the more you’ll do it and the easier it will get. Will power will eventually turn into discipline and in the culture we live in today, it’s necessary to be disciplined.
4. Community
Community is HUGE when it comes to setting health goals. You can have accountability, have others cheer you on and encourage you and even challenge you out of your comfort zone or excuses. Facebook has some amazing groups or you can start your own and invite some friends to join you!
When I first started, I created an Instagram account to help me with accountability and I’ve met some amazing people along the way! They keep me motivated and cheer me on. And I feel the best I have ever felt!
Give your health a fresh start! It’s amazing how many of us don’t realize we can feel so much better than we do and that age is no reason to feel miserable day after day. It’s a misconception that getting older automatically means a decline in health. There are even ways to reverse health issues you may be battling with now. This is where being your own advocate comes into play. And if you have no idea where to start, I would love to help you!
Fight for your health and well-being. You’re worth it!
For His Glory,
