BEACH BODY

Ahhh, for that Perfect Beach Body!  Summer’s coming…almost here.  Pools are opening up.  Beautiful Bathing suits are everywhere.

Lots of people feel shame at how they look in a bathing suit.  I’ll have to be honest, I have too.  And I still do if I get to thinking a lot about it.

So what is our goal?  What should our goal be?  Sure, we always want to look good.  But let’s define “good”.  Is it “skinny”?  “Perfectly formed”?

It’s good for us to remember, those swim suits we see in the store windows and catalogs, are on models.  Most people don’t look like that.  But if they did, it still wouldn’t be a reason for us to want to look like them.

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If our goal is to have a long and healthy life, let’s truly use that for our goal.  And follow through on what it takes to get there.  And Love our body all along the journey.  Our bodies want to heal us, and protect us.

What does it take to have a long and healthy life?  It takes making your body healthy.  That lots of times does mean losing fat, especially around our middle.  But the goal in doing that is best to be for our health.  For a long and healthy life.

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Why would a long and healthy life be our goal?

What would you want to do with that life, if you knew you’d live long…to 100, say.  If you knew you’d live to be 100, and be healthy until the very last, what would you do with your life?

Most people in our world today suffer “old age” symptoms for 20% of their life.

If you didn’t have all the “symptoms” of “old age”, but felt good, got out of bed easily in the morning, excited for the day, energetic to accomplish the things you love to do…

          what would you do with your life?

Think about that question.  But more important, think about your answer.

That one thing could be the key to accomplishing your goal.

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 “Old Age” doesn’t start when you get “old”.  It starts when you’re younger.  It starts with how you care for that body of yours, back when you feel good and have lots of energy.

You may be familiar with the saying, “If I had known I would have lived this long, I would’ve taken better care of myself.”  Well, that’s the story we need to see.  What do we really want for our time left on this earth?

Our bodies were miraculously made to heal themselves.  With proper fuel and proper care and fuel and rest, they can do that.

But when we fill them with junk instead of nourishment, they can’t produce energy.

And when we laze around in our chairs instead of letting our body move like it was intended to do, it’s not natural, and our body’s systems can’t work properly.

And when we run our lives (and our minds) on high-speed, at a hyper pace with no breaks, and little outside time, how can our bodies and minds possibly know when it’s time to sleep.  They’re turned on “high speed”, non-stop. 

It’s hard for your body and mind to feel ready to sleep just because of the clock.  You are sending messages to it all day and evening.  But none of them usually prepare us for sleep unless we intentionally prepare ourselves during the day and evening, to sleep at night.

And when we spend little time in our days, truly communicating on a social level with the good people we’re around, we can’t build good relationships that can feed our soul and increase our health.

And then there’s the stress we allow to build and grow in our bodies and minds every day until we no longer have a feel for what should be our normal peace of mind, and no longer have a way to govern our systems that can calm our lives.

All these things:

Eating junk instead of nutrition,

Allowing ourselves to enjoy “inactivity” every day (just too tired to do anything)

Have minimal uninterrupted sleep (repair time for your mind and body),

Ignoring our need for flourishing relationships, and

Ignoring the signs of built-up stress in our minds and bodies—

All these things work together to usher us into “old age”, from a young age.  It sets us up to be feeble, physically and emotionally.  It has become the “norm” for our time.  Don’t go that direction.  It’s the wrong way.

Whatever age you are… NOW is the time to see to it that you get to that long and healthy life.

Not to the diabetes, memory loss, joint aches, depression, dementia, fatigue, muscle loss, restless sleep, barely “getting by” physically and mentally.

Do you take prescriptions for pain?

Do you have clear thinking during the day?

How do you get out of bed in the mornings?  Jump up, excited?

Or drag yourself up?

Must have coffee in the morning to start the day?

Experience fatigue during the day?

Have memory issues, and loss of energy?

Have a little fluff around your midsection?

Then…Repeat…  Day after day.

Most people don’t realize true, vibrant health really can exist…

I’m here to tell you this vibrant life does exist.

It just takes making a few changes.

Make one change.  A small one.

Then another.

Enjoy each “win” as you go. Then keep building.

It’s mostly small changes.  Built one on another.

You’re the one in charge of your health—not your doctors. 

I’m not talking down about doctors…we need them.  And they can usually make our symptoms go away with their protocol for specific symptoms.  But typically they aren’t trained in health.  You are your best doctor.  You are the one who knows what’s going on with your body.

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Eat real food.  Not the junk (ultra-processed items) that does not give nourishment—it’s not even real food.  It’s filled with chemicals and fillers and added flavors.

Our bodies were made to move.  Help your body.  Exercise it.  Every day.

Check with me about Sleep Hygiene.  It’s a real thing.  And it’s not that hard.

Talk to your people.  Care for them, and let them know you care.  Build your relationships.  This one thing will help you live a longer and better life.

Take times in your day to be by yourself, and be still, and reflect.  Walk slower.  Sit to eat a meal.  Take a quiet walk.  Take times to be still.  You will see the power of these things.  If you want to know what “Stress Management” and “Self Care” are, these things are it.

And if you need any help at all, with any of these things, I am ready to help you.

These things I’ve mentioned give you the direction to go.  They tell you the things you can work on to change your life.  I’ll be glad to help you with more of the details, but you can begin changing your health, and your life, with just what’s written here.

I’ve done a health evaluation on myself.  I’m making new changes.  I’m working on these things myself.

Let’s live a long and healthy life!  And really… don’t give a thought about how you look to others in a bathing suit.  That’s thinking in the wrong direction.  Let your body experience the health it was designed for, and love it as it is.

Instead, think on having the energy and physical and mental strength to live your life as you want to for longer than today’s standard.

Thank you for reading.

Let me know if you’d like me to help you in any way.

Sharon