True Health

How will my life be different?

So, what changes are we talking here? Will you be wearing size 2 skinny jeans in the next year? Will you be joining Baywatch episodes as their newest female lifeguard? Well, these things could be part of your future. Getting healthy often leads to weight loss and more confidence.

But that’s not my goal in writing this book. My goal is to help you create the health you desire so that you have more energy, vitality, and freedom to reach new heights in all areas of your life and carry out your God-given potential. In this process, my hope is that you’ll be able to see the beautiful body you’ve been given and love and cherish yourself for all God created you to be. I also wish for you to feel transformed—a more radiant version of the you that you’ve been holding inside.

The journey to better health has different endpoints for everyone. My personal version of health will not look like yours. That’s another wonderfully freeing part of this journey. You were not created to be like anyone else. Your body and soul are unique. This is why not all diet plans work for all people (more on this in Pillar 3). As you incorporate the pillars of TRUE Health in your life, you will become more intuitive about what is best for your health and body. You may not end this journey with the same goals in front of you that you started with.

That said, I do believe that setting goals is very important because it gives us something to aim for, even if our goals evolve over time. So, I’d like you to take the next 10 minutes to think about what your health goals are. Based on where you are right now, what are 3 things you’d like to accomplish in the next month?

Tip #1: Be realistic (no, you will not lose 100 pounds in a month, but you may lose 10-15). And be sure to choose goals that can be measured. For example, “getting healthy” isn’t easily measured, but “working out three times a week for 30 minutes each” is.

Tip #2: These goals don’t have to be solely focused on weight or exercise. Health is so much more. Maybe you’ll set a goal to be really present with your kids for at least an hour every day.

My goals for the next 30 days:

1. _________________________________________________________________________


2. _________________________________________________________________________


3. _________________________________________________________________________

Commitment

Here comes the challenge. We can talk about health goals all we want. But nothing is going to change in our health unless we make a commitment to stick with it. How many times have you made the decision to get up and work out in the morning…only to slap the snooze button when morning came around? Or maybe this sounds familiar: You’ve determined never to eat another candy bar…until you are surrounded by them in the check-out line.

If you’ve been waiting for the perfect time to start, this is it. How do I know? Because no other time is going to be more perfect than right now. This is because there is never a “perfect” time. Often we want to wait until other things in life settle down so we can better focus. But the truth is that starting in the middle of chaos can teach us great lessons.

If we wait until the perfect time, when everything is calm (which we’re never guaranteed) to start, we won’t learn how to stick with it when life is hard. But if we start the journey as best we can and lean into it in the midst of everything else we’re trying to juggle, we’ll develop truly strong health habits that can withstand life’s ups and downs.

In order to make true change, you have to commit. This is simple, but it’s not easy. Your mind literally tries to keep you from making changes. But as you develop new habits, the changes become part of who you are and what you do and then it isn’t as much of a struggle. Committing to the first 30 days will set you on the right path to continued success.

There’s something about writing down a commitment and signing your name to it that makes it more real and more likely to happen. For this reason, I’ve included a contract to yourself in the back of this book (see Appendix A). In this contract, you will commit to goals you want to achieve within the next 30 days and then sign your name to it. I encourage you to fill in the contract and then make a copy to keep in a visible place (or in several visible places) so you are reminded of your commitment to yourself as you go about your day.

Your contract will be a great place for you to begin your journey. But please know that the road to health isn’t a quick fix and that real health doesn’t take place only within a certain timeframe. It’s a lifestyle. A lifestyle of freedom and purpose.