I think our idea of healthy is way off the mark, mainly because it doesn’t START with a focus of what’s happening in our minds, hearts and emotional bodies. It’s more about the exterior, which is more about comparison versus our own parameters. I’ve always said, working out keeps me sane, looking good in a bathing suit is just a perk!

Also, health is great, but well-being should be the mountain top.

Love what another commenter said about Laura, how she was healthy until she wasn’t. It’s not black and white, there’s no prescriptive that works for every person, and folks need to realize that the best way to live a great life is to feel good doing it. Thereby, eating in moderation — mostly good, but leaving room for guilty pleasures. Workouts the same — mostly good, but plenty of enjoyment in those movements. Outside of that, filling our lives with beautiful relationships, fun, and rest.

We have things like screens in our faces everyday, less overall movement, and such intense stress that I believe have an even greater impact on our health. It’s not fair to blame it all on food/exercise because it’s not that simple!

Also, I just wrote about how food can’t make us gain weight because it’s just energy — might be worth your time.

But all of this just gave me head swirls. Like you, I’ve got some extra fluff around my corners, but before my bout with Covid in January, it had been 15 years since I’ve gotten sick. No flus. No colds. Nada. Mainly because I make myself a priority if I begin to feel sick and put myself to bed knowing it’s a signal I’m going too hard. But I’ve always been infinitely healthier than people around me, regardless of my exterior look.

Bottom line, I think what’s most important is to develop a relationship with our OWN body—figure out what feels good and what doesn’t when we eat it. Move our body doing things we love. And make the general care of our bodies a loving endeavor versus just something else we have to do.

I love all your questioning and comparisons either way — that puts you far outside most — it tells me you’re on the way to simply doing what’s best for you. And that’s the winning solution in my mind :))