When you think about being healthy, what comes to mind? A healthy weight? Chiseled muscles? We all measure our health by weight and muscle tone because it’s convenient and supports the mainstream ideal that being physically fit and a perfect weight means you’re healthy.
The reality is that your weight and muscle tone have little to do with how healthy you are. Everyone has a different body type, height, and muscle mass. I thought the same way for years and spent thousands of dollars on personal trainers only to see minimal results. The truth is that I didn’t have realistic goals and didn’t understand what it meant to be truly healthy.
I lacked the education and resources to fully understand the human body and how it works as one unit instead of a group of independent systems. I believe that to be healthy; your health triangle must be connected with three equal sides. To address this, I created The Living Very Well™ Method.
I will tell you later about The Living Very Well™ Method and how I’ve successfully used it with clients. Before I do, let’s talk about how I came up with The Living Very Well™ Method and how it fits my mission.
Very Well Wellness’ Mission
In today’s fitness world powered by social media influencers, the idea of health has become convoluted so much that it’s hard to understand what it means to be healthy. It is so bad that even the healthiest people develop body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) or an unhealthy body image. BDD affects 2.4% of the population, yet a 2020 study discovered an alarming 15% increase in cases of body dysmorphia.[1]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7114025/
The reality is that the number on the scale or the definition of your muscles has little to do with how healthy you are. Everyone has different body types, body mass, height, and even bone density. Weight loss as a standard solution for good health is not the ideal recommendation.[2]https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jobe/2014/983495/
There is so much wrong information on the internet about being healthy, and it’s easy to fall into the trap of fad diets or trendy workout programs.
Did you know that 73% of the people that set a new fitness goal end up quitting before reaching their goal? [3]https://www.healthline.com/health-news/you-probably-shouldnt-go-full-throttle-at-the-gym
As eye-opening as statistics like those are, it’s important to understand that the majority of people that fail with their goals go into them with unrealistic expectations. That’s why I’ve made it my mission to give you the tools to set realistic goals and still achieve optimal results.
The Very Well Wellness mission is to empower people to live a healthy, energetic life through education, community, and the highest level of support. This mission is the foundation of The Living Very Well™ Method.
The Living Very Well™ Method
I know what it’s like to want to live healthier, be overwhelmed, and not know where to start. I also know what it’s like to take extreme measures to try to reach my goals, only to feel tired all the time, have brain fog, and still not see results. The trap everyone gets in is focusing on fitness that’s not a good fit for their goals or failing to address their nutrition and lifestyle.
Think of your health like a triangle. A triangle has three sides with equal supporting angles. Your health triangle is similar with three equal sides – fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle. If one angle connecting these sides is off, the triangle is not strong enough to support itself and will collapse. The Living Very Well™ Method addresses the three sides of your health triangle by breaking them into three tiers. To start, you must first address your nutrition.
Tier 1: Nutrition
The food you eat controls every part of your body, so I address nutrition first. The Standard American Diet is the worst choice for food and is full of trans fats, refined sugars, and nearly 75% processed foods.[4]http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health-jan-june13-food_04-29/ Unfortunately, this is the way a lot of us eat.
Processed foods contain ingredients that shouldn’t go in your body, such as preservatives, artificial flavors, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and simple carbohydrates. What it doesn’t have are nutrients. This way of eating can lead to obesity, malnourishment, and many health problems. You are sprinting uphill, trying to get healthy if you eat this way.
What’s more, undiscovered food intolerances and sensitivities could be blocking any progress you make, especially with weight loss and reducing inflammation. I ask every new client to do an elimination diet before we begin any program to discover intolerances to certain foods. That way we get off to the right start!
After discovering food intolerances, the second part of nutrition is eliminating processed sugars and eating a diet full of nutrient-rich foods such as organic meats, fruits and vegetables, and green vegetables. Hydration is also of equal importance in your nutrition and fitness, leading us into the second tier of the Living Very Well™ Method.
Tier 2: FItness
Fitness is essential for a healthy lifestyle and to support overall wellness. It will give you energy, make you stronger, enhance your focus, and reduce your risk of chronic illness. But it needs nutrients to be effective, which is why nutrition comes before fitness.
The key to success with fitness is understanding your goals and making them realistic. You don’t want to fall into one of the common mistakes people make with fitness, such as trying to out-train a bad diet, ignoring recovery, and overtraining.
Having a clear goal and making your fitness functional – meaning it is designed to support your everyday life – should be the top two priorities with your fitness.[5]https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness/functional-fitness-adults Understand that for fitness to be effective; your body needs nutrients from your food, oxygen-rich blood going to your muscles, and glucose for energy.
I believe that whole body, functional fitness is the only way to optimal health. For example, if you’re lifting weights but not addressing cardio or stretching, you’re not supporting your heart or the health of your muscles. The problem is that your muscles need oxygen-rich blood from your heart to rebuild, and a strong heart makes the blood travel more efficiently to your muscles, which is why cardio is so important.
Aiming to move your body 30 minutes every day is efficient for getting healthier, even if it’s just walking around your block for 30 minutes. You should focus on your whole body when you exercise, which cannot function properly without support from your lifestyle, which is the final tier in the Living Very Well™ Method.
Tier 3: Lifestyle
Reliving your stress and getting enough sleep make up the lifestyle tier, as well as detoxification through sweating or eating antioxidant-rich foods like blueberries.
Stress is at the root of many health problems such as high blood pressure, elevated blood glucose levels, loss of interest in sex, weight gain, mood swings, and brain fog. Being stressed isn’t just a feeling. It’s a chemical response that throws your hormones all out of whack.
Cortisol, the stress hormone, stimulates body fat and carbohydrate metabolism to give your body the energy it needs to fight off a threat or stress. When stressed, you crave sugary foods because your body needs that quick shot of energy. If you are constantly under stress, your body will respond with a flood of cortisol, leading to weight gain.
Sleep is essential because it gives our bodies a chance to recharge and refresh. Sleep boosts your metabolism, supports your mental health, makes your immune system and heart stronger, affects mood, reduces inflammation, and builds proteins. For most adults, six hours of sleep every night is enough to boost your health.
Your health doesn’t have to be a mystery. If you’re eating right and not seeing results or exercising and not reaching your goals, one of the angles of your health triangle is probably off. I’ve successfully used the Living Very Well™ Method on several clients! I also know this method works because I’ve personally seen results! If you’d like to learn more about The Living Very Well™ Method or how I can help you, schedule a free consultation, and let’s chat so you can start Living Very Well™.
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