What is a healthy lifestyle anyway?

Let's Be Honest...

So, I'm going to be honest with you.  I love food.  I mean, I LOVE food.  I love good food.  I feel like I need to say some things about health and just put it out there.  I'm not going to talk about health from a strictly biological view point, but from an all-around well-rounded point of view.  I am no stranger to eating healthy or fitness.  It is something that I enjoy doing and see the positive changes it can make in someone's life.  I grew up in a household that served a lot of vegetables and not much soda.  Now, we weren't exactly the healthiest of families but I have to say that I remember a lot of fruits and vegetables and less fried, over-processed foods.  In high school, I worked out with a personal trainer alongside my friend who was training for an important karate tournament.  In my adult life, I have had ups and downs with health and fitness, but have luckily always remained at the same general size.  Last year, I received my Personal Trainer Certification through the National Academy of Sports Medicine.  I enjoy wholesome foods and exercise.  

However, I want you to know that I LOVE food.  And I love being a couch potato some days.  I love computer games and I love good beer and wine.  I think it's important to ENJOY life.  Of course it's essential that we live a healthy, active lifestyle and make good choices in the foods we eat and the activities that we do.  But I feel like sometimes there is too much focus on all of the rules and regulations of how we should live everyday and what we should put in our bodies or do with our bodies.  

The first thing I see when logging onto the Health and Fitness page of Pinterest is a picture making someone feel bad about the food choices they make.  A sign saying "What you eat in private you wear in public" is not my idea of motivation for me to live a healthy lifestyle.  

My idea of a healthy lifestyle is understanding that making good food choices and exercise is important, but also that it's okay to indulge some days.  It's okay to miss a workout every once in a while.  Living a healthy lifestyle should not make you feel like a failure if you indulge in something every once in a while that allows you to enjoy life the way you choose to.  I think that a "healthy" lifestyle should not be only determined by the food choices we make and the workout we do today, but by our choices in the friends we keep and the relationships we have.  It should also be determined by the successes in our lives.  Not only by the miles we run or the weights we lift, but by the hearts we change and the smiles we exchange.  I'm not ashamed that I love food.  I'm not ashamed that some days I want to sit on the couch and eat chocolate.  In my opinion, as long as I eat wholesome foods and exercise regularly the majority of the time, I can have that glass of wine and that basket of fries.  So go out, enjoy the world.  Taste life, have some fun.  As they say, moderation is key and I could not agree more.