Are You Fit or Are You Healthy?

Let’s talk about being fit versus being healthy.  Which one are you?  Do you know the difference?  How do you know if you are fit, healthy, both or neither?  Those are important questions to ask and I am going to attempt to break it down for you. 

Let’s start with the definition of each.  According to good ol’ Webster:

·         Fit means “physically healthy and strong”

·         Healthy means “having good health; not sick or injured” or “showing good health”

Well, crap…now we have to define “health”, right? 

·         Health means “the condition of being sound in mind, body or spirit; especially freedom from physical disease or pain” or “the general condition of the body”

Okay so in layman’s terms, fit means you are in good physical or health or good condition of the body.  Great!  Now that we have that cleared up, the question becomes can you be one but not the other?  There is much research out there today that says yes you can.  How is that possible, you ask?  It’s simple, really.  You can be fit (or strong) but not be healthy.  We’ve all seen it, we just don’t know that we’ve seen it.  How many of you go to the gym and see these guys with huge muscles that are lifting hundreds of pounds and you think to yourself “Man!  That guy is fit!”  But what if that same guy doesn’t wear a seat belt?  Or smokes cigars when he’s out with friends?  Or is in a bad relationship?  Does that make him healthy?  Of course not.  So he is FIT but not HEALTHY.  Being healthy isn’t just about putting time in at the gym (or with your personal trainer at Beckley Fitness).  It’s a complete lifestyle.  That’s where people get hung up. 

Great, MK.  Now that you have pointed out I am unhealthy, what the heck do you suppose I do about it?  Well, reader…I am so glad you asked!  You start with something small that every single person has to start with.  You guessed it…DESIRE.  You have to want to get healthy.  It can’t be something that is your passion du jour or that sounds cool or that “everyone is doing so I should too so I’m not left out”.  I have known way too many people (who shall all remain nameless) who tell me that they want to get in shape or lose 20 pounds or fit in their old jeans but they don’t want to change how they eat or how often they workout.  Hmmm…let’s see…if only it worked that easily.  It’s not called “working” out because it’s simple.  It’s not called a lifestyle change because you can continue down the path you’ve been on for your whole life.  You have to want to change.  You have to really, really, deep down WANT to change.  So you are probably sitting there saying, “Sure MK.  You’ve always been thin.  You don’t understand what it’s like” and you would be right.  To a point.  Some of you know the story but in the interest of complete disclosure (and hopefully to motivate you even a little bit), I will share my story with all of you.

It’s true.  I was thin my whole life.  When I was growing up, I ate everything and anything and didn’t gain weight.  Part of that was because I was very active and part, I think, was just good genes.  That’s what my mom used to tell me.  She’d say “enjoy it now because when you hit 30, it’s all going to change.”  Of course, I would roll my eyes and say “whatever, mom” and swear I would workout every day if it meant eating whatever I want.  Then one day something happened…yes, I turned 30 but that’s not it.  I had to have a hysterectomy.  That’s what set my life on this whole new path.  It turns out that when you suddenly have no hormones to regulate your metabolism, said metabolism ceases to exist.  But I didn’t realize that.  They don’t put that in the educational brochures (which they really should).  I didn’t notice the change at first.  Then I moved to Memphis.  Yep.  The amazing southern cookin’ plus beer plus no metabolism results in 25-30 pounds of weight gain.  I first started noticing my pants were a bit snug.  Then I had to buy new pants in a larger size.  Then I went up 2 more pant sizes.  But it wasn’t until after I saw some pictures of me that I realized just how much weight I’d put on.  I know, I know.  I don’t look THAT big but when you have been thin your whole life and never weighed over 130 (on a 5’9” frame) and suddenly you are 155+ pounds, that’s a wake-up call. 

 

So I started walking with a women’s walking group.  Of course, I didn’t see results.  Then at a party one night, I met this girl who had just started working out with a trainer.  Hmmm…that might be just what I need to kick my butt into gear.  If I pay someone, then I have to stick with it because I don’t like throwing away my hard-earned money.  So I signed up with the trainer.  We discussed what I eat and she helped me realize I needed to eat better.  More veggies, less fried stuff.  Simple, I know.  But often it’s hard to see what’s right before your face.  And she had me lifting weights I had never dreamed I could lift.  Tricep exercises with 10 pound weights?  One leg wall squats with 25 pounds?  Please.  That’s not going to hap…holy crap!  I can do it!  Then I started running.  A friend and I started doing our own “couch to 5K” program that slowly eases you into running.  It turns out, I had forgotten how much I loved running as a kid.  I was running 3 days a week and so happy.  And I started to see the weight come off.  Other people saw it too, which was even better! 

Then I got injured, had to have surgery, etc.  Despite that, though, I stuck with eating healthy and really didn’t gain any weight back.  There was one more piece, though, that I hadn’t completely given up.  Smoking.  After my first surgery, it was the only thing I felt I had left.  So I held on to it.  So here I was mid-30s having lost a fair amount of weight (more fit than ever) but still not healthy.  When I started back to running, I could definitely tell that the smoking had taken a toll on me.  It took me about 6 months after that but I finally kicked that habit out the door and I haven’t looked back. 

Despite having to have another surgery last May, I am the healthiest I have been in several years.  It’s not just about the size of pants I’m wearing.  It’s eating healthy (most of the time), working out regularly, surrounding myself with positive people and really trying to cut out the negativity in my life.  I’m not going to lie to you and say that it’s easy.  It’s not.  And there are days that all I want to do is eat a bunch of chocolate and lay on the couch.  And that’s okay.  Because if I don’t allow myself those moments, I will start to resent the choices I’ve made and that will get me nowhere.  I also don’t starve myself and that is HUGE!  I have three meals a day and several snacks but I don’t overeat and I pay attention to what I’m eating.  For a snack, I may have celery and homemade almond butter rather than a cookie or chocolate bar.  For lunch, it’s typically salad or half a sandwich wrap.  There are ways to eat healthy and not starve. 

 

That’s one area of this “new blog” that I will concentrate on.  Sharing meals or recipes that are good for you and don’t take much time (or talent).  Let’s face it…we all know that a) I’m not a good cook and b) we are all busy so don’t think the recipes will be too fancy. 

So what have we learned today?  You can be fit and not be healthy.  It’s a lifestyle change and not something that happens overnight.  There will be bumps in your road but you can overcome them.  One bad food choice does not completely derail your efforts.  I recently read that it takes 3500 ADDITIONAL calories in a day to gain one pound of fat overnight.  That’s equivalent to 12 pieces of pumpkin pie.  So I’m pretty sure you will be fine to have one slice.  Just don’t make it a daily occurrence! 

I hope my story has inspired your or at least motivated you a little bit.  Even if all you do is get up and walk around the block.  There is no better time than now to start living healthy.

BE BOLD! BE YOU!