What is balance when it comes to health?

Everyone has their own “definition” of what it means to live a healthy life. There are a variety of different factors that contribute to a person's overall health. The two obvious areas that the average person thinks of when it comes to health are food and exercise. After re-evaluating my personal experiences I believe that there is more to health than just those two. Throughout this blog post I will focus on these two categories and explore how health goes beyond what you eat and how much you exercise.

Balance is the most important aspect of living a healthy lifestyle. This “balance” however, looks different for each person. Every person is born with a specific body type based on their genetics. It can sometimes be hard to accept this fact because the media only highlights “weight loss success stories” making it seem possible for anyone to lose weight and transform their body. Being healthy is not about weight loss or dieting.

Have you ever heard the saying “you are what you eat”? Well, I believe this to be a very accurate and true statement. Throughout my first year at school I changed my food palate. These changes were made because I started to learn about food and how it acts as fuel to the body. These changes translated into both physical and mental outcomes relating to my overall health. As a result I became more aware of what it truly means to be healthy.

I mentioned before that balance is crucial to understand if you want to live a healthy life. Exercise is an important factor that people associate with health and fitness. In the past, I was OBSESSED with going to the gym. I would take two spin classes a day in addition to sometimes having soccer practice after school. This intense schedule of cardio workouts had a negative effect on my body and my health. Spinning/cycling is still very important to me BUT, I was overdoing it. This was not balanced.

Everything is okay in moderation. As I continue to learn about health I am beginning to realize that depriving yourself from specific foods is not realistic. Obviously it is not healthy to eat ice cream or cake everyday but, everyone has different habits and routines that work for them. It is important to understand that everybody is built differently. Comparing yourself and your routines to the people around you is not a good way to measure health.

As stated in the beginning of this article, being healthy goes beyond what you eat and how you exercise. Mental health is an aspect that tends to be overlooked in the media. When a person begins to eat or exercise a certain way that is influenced by their friends it can have both positive and negative outcomes. I really want to stress that comparing yourself to others will never be the solution to living a healthy life. You are You and that is your superpower.