Getting Healthy (Part 1)

This week, I have it on my heart to share my experience with getting healthy. I don't think anyone will be surprised to hear that I am constantly hearing about diets, work out plans, and everything else that is health, fitness or nutrition related. It's a huge part of our culture, consuming minds of all ages and genders. 

I want to share my experience of getting healthy because I can 100% say I am finally in a place where I am happy with my health. I view my relationship with health in a similar way to how I view my relationship with God, always needing time, commitment and dedication. Just like with my faith, some days I rock it, and some days I blow it. That's just how life goes, am I right? 

But the point is, regardless of if it's a day where I'm rocking it or where I'm blowing it, I'm

happy.

And it's taken me a long time to get here.  

So this week, I'll be sharing with you my experience of getting healthy. A three part series. 

Because before I could even think about nutrition or fitness, I had to focus on my mind. 

Getting Healthy: A Healthy Mindset

For me, finding a healthy mindset was essential to ever getting to a place of lasting results. You see, for years I let my mind wander to an extremely unhealthy place, and it took a lot of time & love from Jesus to reverse that. 

I opened up about my struggle with an eating disorder once before on the blog, so if you're interested in hearing about my battle with bulimia, feel free to read more here. Bulimia had an incredibly profound impact on me emotionally. It was so much more than just a quick way to get thin. On the contrary, I quickly realized it yielded no such results. 

Struggling with that eating disorder dragged me into a very dangerous place of turning to food for comfort. And not just turning to food itself, but turning to the fact that I had "control" over that food. When things got too overwhelming, I said screw it. I'm gonna go indulge in whatever the heck I feel like, and take "control" over how it affects my body. 

The thing is, in an attempt to gain control, I really lost it. 

So, back to the main point here. How did I get healthy?

I changed my mindset. I took a good, hard look in the mirror, and realized that I am beautiful 
just the way I am, no changes necessary. 

And I'm not beautiful because of the number on the scale, the clothes that I wear, or the color of my hair. I'm not beautiful because of my complexion, my fashion accessories, or even because of how I feel when I look in the mirror. 

I am beautiful because the Bible tells me so. I am beautiful because Jesus tells me so. 

I am beautiful because I am wonderfully and fearfully made. 

And I'm here to tell you that you are, too. 

And upon learning this, my mission to get healthy changed a bit. I no longer focused on a goal weight, goal clothing size, or even a goal of how I want to look in the mirror. 

My new goal was to treat this beautiful body that my Heavenly Father made with the respect it deserves. My new goal was to treat this body with love that I had been neglecting myself for years. 

You see, changing my mindset changed everything. Because treating my body with the respect it deserves? That was a goal I was willing to commit to.