Guest Post: Gracie of Girl Meets Health

Hello darlings! My name is Gracie, and I reside over at Girl Meets Health. I’m so excited to be doing a guest post for Missy. One of the reasons I love Missy is because she proves that being healthy doesn’t mean that we can’t also have fulfilling and fun lives, which leads to what I want to talk about =)

For most of my life, my definition of health was quite simple. It included two things: nutrition and fitness. When I started blogging just a few months ago, I naturally began to pay closer attention to my eating and exercising habits and how they related to my overall being. Because of that, I realized that health is so much more than just those two components. I used to think that my mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness was greatly a result of my physical wellness. But you know what? I had it completely backwards. Now my definition of health begins with those three components, and the physical aspects naturally follow. Let me explain what I mean.

I’m going to focus on exercise because that’s where I was especially misguided. For years and years I viewed exercise as something I had to do. I thought I was enjoying exercise, but really the only thing I enjoyed was the sense of relief I felt after forcing myself to do an hour on the elliptical machine. Sure, I wished that I would enjoy that actual process of exercising, but I just assumed that any form of exercise would eventually become boring and monotonous. So instead of trying new things and viewing exercise as something enjoyable, I let it turn into just another one of my daily “have-to’s” Furthermore, exercise became less about my overall health and wellness and more about burning as many calories as I could.

I used to think that if I squeezed “x” amounts of workouts into a week or burned “x” amount of calories on a given day, I’d be “successful.” Was I getting great workouts? Sure. I certainly wasn’t over-exercising or harming my body, so I assumed that exercise would just be a not-so-enjoyable part of my healthy lifestyle. But news flash, people: it should NOT be that way! With much help from my new hobby of blogging, I finally found that it’s not exercise itself that is fulfilling; it’s how I feel. Maybe some people don’t mind if exercise causes them distress in one way or another, but to me, that’s not what a healthy lifestyle is all about. And it certainly wasn’t a lifestyle that I wanted.

So what did I do? Well, for one thing, I stopped using my heart rate monitor during every workout. Don’t get me wrong – I think that HRMs are great tools, and I’ll probably still use mine from time to time in the future. But using my HRM seemed to just further this idea that exercise was all about burning calories, which I’ve come to realize is not beneficial to my personal health and wellness. Instead, I focus on how my body feels. I still push myself to an extent, but it’s because I want to – not because I have to.

I also recently joined a gym that offers classes. Since taking some classes over the past few weeks, it’s like a light bulb went off in my head. Exercise actually CAN be fun! Not only that, but it can also be a form of stress-relief rather than a cause of stress. Who would’ve guessed? After spending the majority of my exercise “career” as a robot spending monotonous hours on the elliptical and treadmill machines, I was thrilled to find forms of exercise that are fun and challenge my body. I am specifically drawn to yoga. Not only is it a great full-body workout, but it also helps to calm my easily-stressed, type-A personality. I always thought people were crazy when they said to find exercise that you enjoy, but I finally understand that that can and should be a reality.

Finally, I’m also actively trying to change my overall concept of exercise. For far too long I put exercise on this pedestal as being one of the primary aspects of health. Now, I’m working on making it be lower on my priority list when it comes to living a healthy and fulfilling life. Why? Because exercise should complement a healthy lifestyle rather than be the main proponent.

So do I exercise less than I used to? Yes I do. And if there is a day that I truly do not feel like working out, guess what? *Gasp* I don’t! Does that make me any less healthy? I would certainly argue that it does not. In fact, I feel better than I ever have. Instead of forcing my body to do something, I am listening to it. Furthermore, I’m shifting my focus from being completely on exercise and nutrition to other important aspects of health, such as prayer/meditation, cultivating relationships, laughing, learning, and living.

If I can get one thing across to you, it’s this: Exercise, or any aspect of healthy living for that matter, should ADD to our quality of life…not take away from it. That little voice in the back of your head telling you that you “have” to exercise today or “have to burn 100 more calories”…that is not healthy. Look, I’m certainly not saying to give up exercise all together and live off of Krispy Kreme Donuts for the rest of your life. And I’m also not swearing off heart rate monitors or elliptical machines. That’s not the point. What I’m saying is to find your balance between physical health and mental/emotional health, and I truly believe that that balance is different for everyone. Maybe some of you don’t struggle with this. But for all of you other Type-A’s out there, there is hope

Thanks so much for reading, baby dolls! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions/comments. xoxo G

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