August 3rd 2010 facebook email

Everything happens for a reason, live it, love it, and learn from it! Make your smile change the world, but don't let the world change your smile :)

Healthy habits are great but don’t forget pleasure!

I think we can all agree that we know by changing certain habits, we change our quality of life and give ourselves a better change of living longer.

At the same time there is so much ‘advice’ over how we should live that it all becomes a bit blurred and we can find ourselves a little obsessed with it all.

We’ve stopped listening to our bodies! Our choices are more guided by the thought, “good for my health” than by pleasure or good sense. For example you’re more likely to go to the gym and sweat it out for an hour, whilst hating every minute of it because someone told you it was ‘good’ for you than you are to go for a walk with a friend for a natter whilst not thinking about how many calories you’ve burnt and whether you’ve toned your stomach muscles!

What I observe in my meetings sometimes is not so much a desire to eat healthily but more an extreme behaviour, which becomes an obsession and the quest for your ‘goal’ leads to social isolation, canceling nights out with friends or family meals. It’s important to remember that meals out are not just another way of eating but also a way of creating bonds and socializing. Relationships are just as much an important part of a balanced life as being a healthy weight!

So can you have a healthy life without going mad? I think so yes, it’s all about the balance and the first rule of healthy living is to live – someone wrote on my facebook wall yesterday
“Everybody dies but not everybody lives. Make sure you do. Don't hold back.” How true is that.

We all want to be a healthy weight but remember sometimes you don’t have to follow the rules to the letter – live a little. Take exercise example, its benefits are undeniable, but instead of making it arduous turn it into an excuse to get some fresh air, have fun and share a good time with friends or family. You can do too much of everything remember, if you exercise too much you can sprain things so getting the balance right is important in everything.

So stop worrying and obsessing, aim for balance and starting living.

Remember life starts NOW.

Are you living yet?!