The older I get the more I realize that our health is so much more than what we look like on the outside. Our health on the inside accounts for so much or our happiness, longevity and quality of life.
A little background...
I come from a family who has a history of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and heart disease. My grandfather had his first heart attack when he was only 58 years old! We were lucky that the medical team was able to revive him, and he was able to be with us for many years after that, but I'm still very aware of the risk.
Knowing that I'm predisposed to these risk factors is one reason that I choose to invest in my healthy daily! I want to lead by example for my babies and be around for them and my (hopefully someday) grandchildren for many years to come. But there's more to life than "just being" around. I want to truly live and experience life with them! Without my health I wouldn't be able to do that.
I was doing my morning workout today with BODi Super Trainer Autumn Calabrese and she said something that hit me like a ton of bricks. "When you have your health, you have a million dreams. When you don't have your health, you have ONE dream."
Wow, think about that. It's so powerful because it's true. When we don't feel well, all we can think about is getting better. Getting out of the discomfort. But when we feel good - we have the freedom to dream big dreams. That's what I want and that's what I want for my family.
Ok, back to how I got my cholesterol down. I went to the doctor in February of 2023 for a routine checkup that included a cholesterol check. At the time my cholesterol came back as "borderline" high and the doctor said we'll have to keep a close eye on it, or we may need to consider medication.
Part of me gave myself the excuse that it was hereditary and that it wasn't "my fault." But part of me knew that I could try harder with my nutrition and be more consistent with my fitness.
Here's what I did:
For the first time in my life I began strength training consistently and I introduced supplements. On a daily basis, I take Beachbody Recover, Beachbody Collagen, Beachbody Shakeology and Beachbody Energize. In addition, I made an intention to get more steps in, aiming for 300,000 steps a month! These are all a part of my health esteem routine.
I personally believe it's the combination of strength training, Beachbody Shakeology, and the walking that brough my total cholesterol down 61 points! Now, I want to insert this here. The scale has not changed! It is the same, but my body composition has changed! I have more muscle and less fat and that's because of the consistency of my strength training.
Want to know something even crazier? My total cholesterol is 20 points lower than it was in 2018 when I was 15 pounds lighter and five years younger. Change can happen at any age and our health is dictated by more than the scale. I've shared this before, but my lowest weight on the scale 8 years ago was also my lowest time in my life. Let's start measuring our life by more than the scale!
I hope that you can be encouraged that you are capable of changing your story or your outcomes. Our daily habits and daily actions are POWERFUL. If you're on a journey trying to regain your health and happiness, I would love to help you! I have a passion to encourage, educate and support people who are ready to live a healthy and happy life. Sometimes we're not ready to believe in ourselves, so we need someone else to! Let me be that person for you!
Please reach out! I'd love to hear from you!