Column by Shakeena Bradley

We can all identify with the No. 1 New Year’s resolution every single year: “Lose weight and get healthy.”  We hit the ground running on Jan. 1, and by Jan. 15, we have been pushed off the health wagon by French fries and ice cream and are watching it ride off into the sunset without us. The cycle repeats year after year, and we increasingly feel discouraged that we won’t ever obtain this elusive state of perfect health we desire.  We know it’s important to “be healthy,” but how many of us truly know what “healthy” actually means?

Conventional wisdom tells us that to “be healthy,” we have to maintain a certain weight, have perfect numbers on our blood tests, eat (tasteless) low-fat foods, exercise two  hours a day, and we’ll be fine…but we aren’t fine. Though we are living longer on average, our longer lives are plagued more than ever by chronic health issues that we deal with for years on end, with no apparent solutions to get to the root of our ailments. The prevailing mindset about health is that we are born healthy (the majority of us), and as we age our bodies are inevitably going to decline, until we are diagnosed with a chronic or terminal illness that cannot be overcome. Some people feel we don’t have a choice in the matter; after all, we all are going to die from something, right?

But we do have a choice!  There is a more excellent way that involves getting to the root of our chronic health issues and improving our health even as we age. True health and vitality is more than the number on the scale. It is more than what foods you eat or don’t eat. It is more than counting calories, fat, protein, or carbs. True health is the synergy of a nourished spirit, soul, and body. Once you begin to understand HOW to feed your body what it needs and treat it well, your body will begin to function to its optimal potential.

So, instead of obsessing about our less-than-successful New Year’s resolutions to “lose weight and get healthy, “ let’s make a new life resolution: to love our bodies, nourish them and treat them well.  We only have one, and we can start right now.  Join me next week as I address the foundations of optimal health.

Shakeena Bradley of Brewton is the creator of Whole Health Revival, a movement to educate and empower us all to achieve true health and vitality. She is currently studying to be a Certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner. She can be reached at wholehealthrevival@gmail.com.