Have you ever asked yourself what being fit and healthy means? I bet you not one answer will be the same because it is a subjective question, and everyone will have their own definitions. A bodybuilder, a marathon runner and a yoga instructor may all be practicing a form of fitness but they will all have different goals, thus affecting their definition of being fit and healthy.
Here is what being fit and healthy means to me:
- Feeling good and having lots of energy.
- Being able to ride my bike long and hard because cycling really makes me happy!
- Exercising regularly and being able to enjoy it. I workout because I enjoy it, not because I have to.
- Being able to live my life and indulge guilt-free while maintaining my body fat percentage with no brutal effort. Because I live to eat and eating makes me happy.
- Combination of muscular strength and endurance, cardio and flexibility. I may not excel in a particular one but I work on everything.
- Seeing myself get better, faster and stronger. I may not be faster than the person next to me but I’m faster than I was yesterday.
- A balanced lifestyle I can easily sustain where I’m completely satisfied with myself, physically and mentally.
- BEING HAPPY. I know what is “good enough” for me and when to stop.
- Inspiring and motivating others to be fit and healthy.
Here is what being fit and healthy doesn’t mean to me:
- Being ripped and having a 6-pack.
- Having a low body fat percentage that isn’t easily sustainable.
- Being skinny.
- Obsessive behaviour over health and fitness.
- Restricting calories and counting calories and macros to a tee.
- Getting depressed and stressed out when you miss a workout. Or never missing a workout a.k.a. no rest days.
- Judging others for not living the same lifestyle.
Perhaps I should rename this entry title but to me, to be fit and healthy means to be well— physically, mentally and emotionally.
Being fit and healthy are 2 completely different things but together, it is a way of life. It actually took me a while to come up with my definitions but I noticed everything on my list are things that contribute to my daily happiness. The second list are items that are mostly based on physical appearance and although I like to look good, those things only give me temporary satisfaction and isn’t worth the effort to sustain.
Looks do not define being fit and healthy. Just because you look great physically or you are able to run a full marathon effortlessly does not mean you are fit and healthy. You maybe training (or over-training) to look good and to be able to achieve greatness but you maybe struggling inside because this lifestyle is eating you up and takes too much effort to sustain.
Just because you’re more ripped than the guy beside you does not mean he can’t kick your butt if he wanted to. Having a 6-pack may only mean you have more discipline than someone who doesn’t because abs are made in the kitchen. The guy next to you with no 6-pack may train even harder than you but he refuses to “diet” because he finds no personal value in having a 6-pack.
Just because you are jacked, and look like a body builder does not mean you are fit. You can lift heavy weights but can you do a high intensity endurance workout? Just because you can run a marathon doesn’t mean you are strong, or can squat your own bodyweight. It all depends on your goals and your definitions of being fit and healthy.
