I became interested in a healthy lifestyle already since a very young age. I was always fascinated with how I could change my body composition through diet and exercise. Not having internet yet, us 90s kids got our influences from magazines. I idolized the skinny and beautiful women in them and articles on diet and exercise to lose belly fat draw my attention. I believed every word they were saying as if it was the only truth. (Obviously, I had no idea about sales and marketing techniques as a 13-year-old.)

It wasn’t really only about wanting to be skinny. Rather, I really believed that healthy equaled diet. Not knowing that I should question this information led me into being programmed, adopting external information as a belief of my own.

What true health is not.

Until recent years, I kept coming back to this belief. I restricted my eating, controlled myself through exercise, punished myself for being lazy, and believed that happiness came through suffering. I never actually wanted to harm myself, but the program I’d been put on made me think that was the way to do it. At its worst, I fell ill with anorexia and bulimia, of which I suffered on and off, and lost my period for years.

While I l was able to heal from the anorectic habits, my mind was still programmed. I was living in a restricted mindset.

In reality, there was nothing wrong with me, the whole system is just wrong. We’re being told what healthy life looks like and what habits it must include, but no one teaches us how to listen to ourselves to know what we actually need. I know now that true health is not about living to external expectations.

You define your ‘healthy’.

Through meditation, journaling, and practicing awareness of my behavior, I became aware of the programmation I was on. The beliefs and ideas I’d set didn’t come from my essence, they came from those magazines and articles with sales goals in mind.

For years I’ve been listening to an internal chatter that tells me I’m not good enough as I am, that I need to change my appearance to become more like others, that I failed by eating a dessert or not accomplishing to finish my exercise plan of the week. More than that, I’ve kept believing, that I’m not worthy of living the amazing life I dream of. But that’s not healthy.

The first step to health is becoming aware of the beliefs and programmation we’re under. Only after that can we start letting go of them and replacing them with new beliefs, and become aware of what we truly need for optimal health as unique individuals. We can define what ‘healthy’ is for us.

True health is holistic.

I’ve learned that true health is so much more than a diet and an exercise routine. True health is a state of mind and actions that follow, in which you can fully embrace your whole individual being and the life that you’re living and breathing.

It’s about respecting yourself and setting boundaries. It’s about overcoming fears and emotional blocks so that they don’t restrict you from doing things that you want to do. It’s about loving yourself so much that deep down you want to take the best care of yourself. It’s knowing who you are and accepting your uniqueness. It’s knowing that you are good enough as you are, and you are worthy!

I no longer think that being fit means you’re healthy. I weigh more, but I have a regular period and my mind isn’t obsessed with food. That’s more healthy than my skinny body ever was.

Now I see health as holistic. The physical body is certainly a big part of our health being the vessel through which we get to experience life, but it will not strive with just diet and exercise routine. We must remember that mental, emotional, and spiritual health is as important to our well-being. We are multidimensional and need to pay attention to other aspects of life as well to be truly healthy.

 

Affirmations are a healthy habit.

Practicing a healthy lifestyle is still a passion for me because I want to feel my most vibrant and happy self. I know the importance of having routines, but I now do a combination of practices for the body, mind, and soul – not only my body. I practice awareness about my choices, but I take decisions with kindness towards myself. I know I’m not perfect, and I fall into my old habits more often than I should, but I accept that. It’s ok!

One of my favorite practices for the mind is listening to positive affirmations because they change the subconscious messages I hear. It has helped me to create new healthy beliefs and let go of the old ones that no longer serve me.

Although your story may be different from mine, I want to share some powerful affirmations below, because maybe you can find help from them in your situation.

Practise: 10 affirmations for good health

Repeat these 10 powerful affirmations to strengthen your health. Repeating them out loud makes the practice even more impactful.

1. I feel healthy and vibrant.
2. I am embracing life fully with my entire being.
3. I respect myself and I make sure that I’m being treated with respect by others.
4. Every experience I have is a learning opportunity about myself.
5. I’m overcoming my fears and becoming braver every day.
6. I deserve to live the life that I dream of!
7. I love myself and I want to take care of myself.
8. I deserve to eat foods that I love!
9. I am beautiful, unique, and perfect just the way I am.
10. I have enormous potential and I have so much to offer to this world.

/Linda