Good health is hard. It is a mental battle with self to live intentionally. It means getting up early to exercise. Eating vegetables instead of bread. Passing on the cookies. And even giving up bad habits like smoking or drinking too much coffee. It means skipping the bedtime snack or saving the leftovers for another day instead of overeating. Let’s just say it. Choosing healthy habits suck.
No one wants to make the choice to be healthy. It’s like choosing torture over pleasure. Yet, after this initial war with self, you can become addicted to healthy habits. Your body can become addicted to exercise. You can train yourself to enjoy healthy things and deaden your desire for sweets and other bad items. No one wants to discipline themselves but the reward is worth the pain.
You may make the argument that we cannot control how we die. A bus could hit a very healthy person. And a lifetime smoker can live to 100.
You cannot control how you die but you can control how you live.
You can be a grandma who can get down on the floor and play with her grandkids. You can be a dad who can keep up with his teenage son in a game of basketball. You can set healthy habits for your kids and show them that you care about the quality of life. You may not be able to live forever but you can live well with the days that you have. It’s about quality of life, relationships, and strength for today.
When I eat healthy I feel so much better, and can exercise without feeling as tired. We may not like discipline, but it sure can help things go better. If I eat less I feel better, and if I eat more fresh vegetables I feel better. I have more energy. But even though I know this, I still find myself indulging in things I crave. Thanks for the reminder.
That’s how I felt after I gave up meat. I will never forget that feeling when I made the change. My body felt ten pounds lighter, like I could glide a long on the air. I felt so much healthier all around.