Health and Small Town Scribble

Health is such a common phrase that we hear everyday, but what does it actually mean? And why is it so important? Or even what does being healthy truly involve or look like? 

There are so many different types of ‘health’ that there is no right answer, but it’s important to find what works best for you and your lifestyle.

In this article we will touch of many different topics of being healthy:

• Why is health important?
• What does being healthy mean?
• The history of health
• Pros and Cons
• Statistics
• How to start and examples
• What works for you
• How to find it
• Tips
• Reminders

Why is health important?

As we all know being healthy is a must in life to keep us physically healthy to live a life full of well-being for ourselves. Being healthy is to try and eliminate or reduce illness and injury in your life. Therefore, having health in your life means taking care of your body. 

It is important to treat your body right to try and diminish the illnesses and/or injuries that could harm your health. Because you want to live your healthiest and happiest life, and without practicing health that is hard to accomplish. 

Benefits of Being Healthy:

• Strengthen your body making it less prone to injury
• Boost your immune system to reduce risk of illness
• Increase your physical and mental stamina
• Elevates your mood
• Forces healthy habits into your daily life
• Improves your self-confidence and therefore relationships also

There are so many more benefits to incorporating health into your life, these are just the main benefits.

What Does Being Healthy Mean?

Many believe that being healthy solely means eating healthy and exercising on the regular. While this is true that isn’t all there is to being healthy. 

There are many aspects to living a health filled life: 

• Eating right
• Exercising
• Stretching
• Being organized
• Staying and keeping good hygiene
• In healthy relationships
• Bringing forth positivity and the things that make you happy
• Letting go of the bad 
• Having good quality sleep
• Holding self confidence

In retrospect, some of the above list doesn’t seem about your physical health, but it is part of being healthy. You won’t believe how much external things and feelings actually affect you physically. Your body holds all your feelings without you even realizing it; tension, concentration, joy, all these and more affect you physically and can even take a toll. 

Being healthy is putting yourself first, by taking care of your body and learning the things that cause hardship on you and also learning how to fix those things. 

There is way more to being healthy than just food and exercise, and yes some of those things intertwine with mental health, but that is also part of health as a whole. 

Take this quiz at Goldenbay wellness to figure out how healthy you are and see where you can improve.

The History of Health

Health has come a long way since the beginning of discovering what health and healthy is. 

Starting off being described as the absence of disease and/or injury, being healthy has now evolved into a much more broader topic. Encompassing complete physical, mental and social well-being in one’s life. The WHO organization said it best in 1984, “Health is a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living; it is a positive concept, emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities.”

This was a big turning point for health and when people started to realize that there was more than just illness and injury in terms of health. The WHO organization tried to change the thinking of health in 1948, but it didn’t overly take, but they didn’t stop, and I could dare say that this was the turning point for health in history. 

After the WHO made that statement in 1984, things turned around in health. Healthcare professionals started to focus on people as individuals with their own problems and health issues, instead of defining them by one disease or another. Many resources became available in this time such as, adapting skills, independent living, handling stress, maintaining relationships and many more. 

The Healthy People Program has also contributed to the definition of health. Each decade they release a new version of Healthy People that talks about the goals and objectives that should be present for health improvements within the population. 

All of this defining health has helped not just human healthcare, but also the evolution of animal care and the science for veterinarians.  

Now healthy is defined as the benefits for humans, such as healthy environments, healthy cities and healthy communities and largely depends on a person’s background and demographics. 

All in all health has come a long way in many, many years, and definitely for the better. 

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health#History

Pros and Cons

Now I know I’ve bragged up how great being healthy is, but everything comes with its cons. 

Pros:

We have kind of already talked about the benefits of being healthy, but let’s go a little bit more in depth. 

• Eating right
  • Being healthy encompasses eating healthier. Now that’s not to say getting rid of all that’s bad. It just means you are eating to a better degree and giving your body the nutrients it needs to thrive.
  • Eating in proportions and limiting some of the worse foods.
  • This will allow you to feel less bloated and maybe even loose some weight
• Being active
  • Staying active is also a big part of being healthy. This actually allows certain happy chemicals to be released in your body to help you mental and physical health. 
  • Like eating right, being active makes you feel less full, become more toned and lose weight.
• Healthy habits
  • Incorporating health into your life forces you to perform healthy habits and make them part of your daily routine. These habits are just that, but they are habits that have a positive outcome on your body and your health.
  • Some examples are skincare, exercise routine, going for a walk.
• Boost your mood
  • Allowing health in your life boosts your mood by increasing other aspects and feelings in your life. 
  • You will feel healthier, which allows you to feel better about yourself. You have more self confidence and a better outlook on life. 
  • That also helps your body physically because your posture will change for the better and your bones will feel better.
• Increased Stamina
  • Being and thinking healthy allows your physical and mental stamina to increase. Meaning you are getting stronger in your body and in your mind.
  • This one ties in with other pros as well because you will feel more confident and is a benefit of being active.
• Relationships grow
  • By feeling better about yourself it will show in your posture and attitude and that will help strengthen some relationships or even create new ones.
  • It will do that because people will like the positive attitude that you give off and will make others want to migrate to that or even do that for themselves.
  • Who knows you will probably inspire someone else to follow in your footsteps.

Cons:

While being healthy has so many benefits and pros there are also some cons, just like anything else. Most cons though are worth it in the long run.

• Sore muscles
  • Exercising of course is a big part of being healthy and with that comes your muscles being sore. We all know something about the dreaded leg day!
  • You are exercising to work your muscles, to strengthen them or just lose some weight. But because those muscles haven’t been used much or in that way, having some sort of soreness is bound to happen.
• Cost
  • I’m sure many of us have noticed that buying a bunch of fruit and veggies is more expensive than some candy. Unfortunately this is true here in Canada, so trying to eat healthy usually ends up being more expensive
  • However, it is easy to adjust for groceries and well worth spending that little bit extra.
• No treats
  • This is totally untrue. Just because you are being healthy, exercising and thinking and eating better does not mean you can’t eat or drink what you want. You just have to limit yourself.
  • Limiting yourself is one of the hardest challenges to face, but it just takes practice. Once you have mastered it, it is easy to continue the practice. And don’t forget you always need to treat yourself every once in a while.
• Relationship strain
  • Now being healthy and having those attitude changes can be such a great thing for a relationship, but sadly it can also cause hardship and strain.
  • Many may become jealous of the person you are becoming and will take that out on you instead of trying to match your level or supporting you. 
  • You just have to keep it up for yourself and if those people can’t handle it well it sucks to be them.
• Breaking points
  • In trying to change aspects of your health life for the better there are going to be times where it gets hard and you want to quit. It’s bound to happen.
  • All I can say is keep going, you will get through it and turn out better on the other side. You got this!

Statistics

Livescience says that only 5% of the worldwide population is completely healthy. Now that includes all sicknesses, diseases and injuries. 

Many illnesses are related to disability of some shape or form. 15% of the world’s population is affected by a disability. The WHO says only 2-4% of the 15% are of non functioning capabilities. 

Illnesses and disabilities is a very broad term. However, some can or could have been prevented or lessened with the proper health incorporated into one’s life. Even living with it you can still take small measures to improve your status. 

Just in America alone less than 3% of the population lives a healthy lifestyle. That’s insane! Many sources say roughly 42% of Americans are obese and some will most likely suffer longer term health problems. This is where being healthy comes in and needs to come in. 

It is something that is so flexible and adaptable from person to person that it’s crazy how bad those statistics are.  

References:

https://www.who.int/teams/noncommunicable-diseases/sensory-functions-disability-and-rehabilitation/world-report-on-disability

https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20160322/less-than-3-percent-of-americans-live-a-healthy-lifestyle

How to start

That is one of the nice things about starting any aspect of health is you can start wherever and however you want. You can go at whatever pace you want and incorporate however much you are comfortable with.

Here are some ideas of where you can start today:

Clean eating

• Throw out the junk food. Put it in a garbage bag and toss it out. Restock your fridge and cupboards with some healthy snacks and meals. Things that aren’t processed and/or have low sugar and trans fat in them.
• You can even make some snacks and such yourself by researching on Google or Pinterest different recipes.

Get into an exercising routine

• Regular exercising and being active is key to good health as we have discussed. So it is very important to integrate that into your weekly routine.
• To start exercising there are many different options and you can pick what works best for you.
  • If you have some idea of what you like or already have a routine keep doing that.
  • Talk to a trainer. Find out people that are professionals around your community or simply ask online.
  • Try different fitness apps. There are so many different fitness apps out there now that there are endless options for you to try and find what you like.
  • Google or Youtube things you know you like or want to try. There are always some free classes or tutorials around that you can give a try. Pinterest is also really great for workout routines
  • Try new things. I can’t emphasize this enough! There are so many different styles of exercising that I encourage you to try as many as you can. You’ll find things you like and things that work different parts of your body.
  • Get a gym membership even if for just a month to try it out. Having something that you spent money on will make you feel like you have to use it so then you will go to the gym. 
• Always know your limits when you are working out. What doesn’t feel good is probably not good. If you are ever unsure about something don’t hesitate to reach out and ask someone or even reach out to me if you want. I’d be happy to help.

Starting healthy habits

• This totally depends on whatever you want to start. Some examples are a bedtime routine, skincare, daily walks, drinking so much water in a day.
• Healthy habits are easy to start but can be hard to stick to. It takes practice and patience. 
• There will be hard times and times you fall off the wagon, but that’s how it goes. It’s just important to get back up and pick up where you left off. Don’t beat yourself up too hard.
  • Simply say okay, I messed up today. Let’s start fresh tomorrow.

Those are the main starting points for being healthy or at least starting to be healthy. You can start however you want though; if I haven’t listed somewhere you’d like to start, that’s okay, you can still start there. These are just the main pillars of being healthy and therefore good starting points.

Examples

Clean eating:

Clean eating is a huge mass of things. It ranges from no take out to following a diet. Here are a few examples of clean eating

• No take out
• Eating 3 square meals a day
• Having at least one fruit and veggie a day
• Decrease trans-fat and increase protein
• No junk food
• Following a diet plan
  • Noom, Weightwatchers, Beyondbody, Keto, etc.

Eating healthy can involve a lot of meal prepping and different types of meals. Breakfast, lunches, dinner and snacks. Let alone drinks. There are many different things you can try and do. Different foods you can try and different types of meals.

Being active:

Again, there are many options for being and staying active. Here’s a few examples:

• Walks
• Yoga
• Cardio
• Weight Lifting
• Pilaties
• HIIT
• Having a trainer
• Going to exercise classes
• Sports
  • Hockey, baseball, football, soccer, swimming, biking

Healthy Habits:

Any sort of habit that leads to benefits for you is a healthy habit. There are many different examples of healthy habits:

• Bedtime routine
• Drinking 3 L of water a day
• Skincare routine
• Exercising
• Socializing twice a week
• Using essential oils
• Social media breaks
• Good sleep
• Having breakfast

What Works For You

The most important thing of being healthy is finding what works best for you. What works for one may not work for another and vice versa. Incorporating health into your life can be easy and something you look forward to if you tailor it to you. 

If you start doing something you absolutely hate, you aren’t going to want to do it and that will stop you from doing it at all. Making you slack off or despise doing it and that is not healthy. 

The most important thing about being healthy is finding something healthy that you enjoy and works for you, not what anybody else does or what anyone else says. But, remember to do it safely. 

It’s so hard

Being healthy can be hard, so you need to learn the things that make it less hard for you. 

Doing things that you like to do, but still give you the benefits of accumulating health into your life. So, for example, if you enjoy going for walks instead of cardio at the gym, go for a walk instead. 

If you find something that is too hard or you absolutely dread it so much that you find excuses not to do it, then it probably isn’t something for you. In this case, stop and reassess. Is this helping me? Even if I don’t like doing it, is it helping where I want it to? Is there something else I can do in replace of this? 

And in some cases you may realize it’s not as hard as you thought. Or you may find something else to replace it that you really like. 

It hurts or it’s harmful

If you are doing something that just doesn’t feel right to you, it probably isn’t 

Everyone’s body is different and therefore moves and acts in different ways. So if you are performing a habit or doing a certain exercise, for example, and you are always hurting when you do it, then it is harming more than healing, which isn’t good.

An example: you start doing an advanced level of yoga. Everytime you go, your back hurts after, and not just stretching or sore muscles hurt, but actual pain. That’s not okay. 

Again, stop and reassess, it is obviously not helping, so what can you do instead? Is it just that exercise? Or the whole practice? 

And so what if everyone else can do it. You can’t, your body isn’t there yet or isn’t that type. That is so okay!! Just because some else can do it doesn’t mean you should and end up hurting yourself to do it too. 

Programs

What works best for you also goes for diets, exercise plans and even healthy habits. 

Some eating diets are hard for people to follow, whereas others may find it breezy. Or a certain exercise program is hard for you, but easy for someone else, even though it’s the same.

This boils down to people being individuals again. Everyone is different in some sort of way, so you have to do what works for you. 

But, that is one of the great things. There are so many different programs and routines out there that you are bound to find at least one that works for you if that’s what you want to do. That is why there are so many out there, because people are so unique from one another.

How to find it

Okay, cool you can do what you like, you don’t need to stick to something you struggle with. But how do you find it?

Research

The biggest thing you can do is google and research. Figure out where you want to start and start with that. It all depends on where you want to begin. Another good place to look is Pinterest. They are some amazing options for all things healthy. 

Look into things that you’ve heard of or are interested in starting. Figure out what you want to try and what you don’t. 

After you’ve narrowed down what you want to do, research that. Investigate and evaluate starting points and where you want to start. Try and make a plan and, like mentioned before, how it will fit into your life. How you are going to keep up with the practice. 

For performing research, all I can really say is google it. There are probably books and for sure there are articles that you can use to find the right starting place for you. 

Trainers, sponsors, etc.

If you aren’t into starting something by yourself or still not sure where to go, don’t hesitate to contact someone who is an expert in the field that you are interested in.

Your health is so important that it is important to have a good understanding of how to and where to start. Ask those questions. 

Just to get an idea, you can easily message someone just to ask a few questions. It doesn’t have to be a long term thing. But, hey, it might turn into that and that’s also okay. 

There are numerous people who are experts in what they do, and most are happy to help. And, many in these fields understand the principle of what works best for you.  Between trainers, ambassadors, sponsors and influencers, you are bound to find someone that can help get you started on your journey to being healthy. 

To find these people just browse again. Google, social media, go into your local gyms, clinics or stores. 

Tips

Like I’ve said many times, being healthy can be difficult. So here are so tips to try and stay on track.

• Start simple
  • Building health into your life can be life changing and so you don’t want to bombard yourself right at the start.
  • It’s best to ease into it. Start one thing, do that for a couple weeks or more, then start adding other things. 
  • First start by exercising a couple times a week, for example. Then after a week or so start eating a little bit healthier. Once those are solid and going good, then start a bedtime routine.
  • You don’t want to start 4 or 5 different healthy tasks on  day one. It will be to hard for you to juggle and you will become discouraged a lot faster
• Write it down in your planner
  • Having something physically written down has been proven to be more effective than just thinking of doing it. It holds more responsibility and more feelings when you see it and it’s not done.
  • This way it will also be easier for you to visualize and figure out how it will fit into your day to day life
• Do it with others
  • Especially for exercising and eating healthy, it is so much easier to do it with someone else
  • It holds you more responsible to get it done. You hold each other accountable because it’s harder for one to back out when someone else is expecting them.
• Set notifications
  • Setting reminders in your phone will help you remember to do what you planned
  • This is especially important when you are first starting out because, like mentioned before, you are changing your life and so it can be easy to forget at the beginning. 
• Positivity
  • Staying positive through hard times is very important.
  • It will keep you in higher spirits that will give you more strength to keep going. You will be less likely to quit
  • Put post it notes around your house, or on your lockscreen.

Reminders

Being healthy is changing your lifestyle, even if just a little bit, and it can be hard to do that because we are so in your ways. Sometimes you just need a reminder as to why you are doing it to help you keep going.

Plus that was a lot of words so here are important tips and keys to remember.

• You are struggling right now to try and be healthy. To incorporate that into your life for a better and happier you. 

• Don’t forget that you are the most important factor in your life. You always come first.

• Everything comes with pros and cons. You just need to focus on the pros and make them more powerful than the cons.

• Never give up on yourself.

• Ask questions to anyone that can answer. 

• Only do what works best for you.

Call To Action

Being healthy is a slippery slope. One that takes a lot of practice and self care. But it is something that is so versatile and flexible that it is simple to find what makes you healthy and how you can easily fit that into your life. 

What are you going to do to be healthy? Or what are you already doing? 

Please let me know and if you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out to me either with comments, my email or any of my social media.