Yesterday I had a coffee date with a friend who is certified in functional diagnostic nutrition. An hour and a half flew by as we chatted about adrenal glands, food sensitivities and environmental toxins. Don’t we sound like buckets of fun?
I left our talk feeling inspired, jazzed up and ready to never eat anything processed or buy canned foods again. Unfortunately I know I’m being unrealistic. Come tonight I’ll be ready for a take-n-bake pizza and a glass of wine. Or nachos.
Sometimes this frustrates me because I care so deeply about my health and the health of my family. I’m against processed foods, food dyes, pesticides, BPA-laden cans, GMOs, excessive sugar, added hormones, antibiotics and unpronounceable ingredients. However, I’m also human. I’m a busy wife and mom and though I try to do my best, sometimes I fall short.
Does that make me a hypocrite? I hope my message on this blog says ‘here is how I do the best I can’ and not ‘this is how I am perfect’ because, if you don’t know it already, I’m far from a perfect eater.
I like to think, however, that I am pretty healthy. Though over time my definition of what that means exactly has evolved. It started in middle school with healthy meaning choosing tortillas over chips to dip into nacho cheese sauce. It changed to meaning eating hotdogs and pork rinds so I’d be low carb in college. It then morphed into Lean Cuisines and counting calories after college. And now, healthy to me means eating simple, whole ingredients with local origins (when possible).
However, healthy to me also means being mentally healthy. As much as I’d love to never put another GMO or additive in my body, it’s not possible. To strive for that kind of perfection would mean giving up my sanity.
Health is personal. It’s what works for you. While dairy is the devil to one person, it may be the healthiest thing another person eats. Running might give you a thrill, but tear apart another person’s knees. So instead of trying to live by what the healthy thing to do now is (AKA, what is trendy), educate yourself and define what healthy means to you.
My healthy is defined by balance. A balance of detesting artificial sweeteners and loving hole-in-the-wall Mexican food. And I’m OK with that.
What is your definition of healthy?
Jane Preston says
Great thought-provoking question and I would love to have been in on that conversation! 🙂
My definition of healthy is feeding my body the things that build it up, rather than tear it down. (Non-GMO, vine-ripened fruits and veggies, no processed foods, trying to eat organic, no farm raised fish, no antibiotics in food, no artificial sweeteners, etc.). However, it isn’t always easy, so I try to adhere to the 90/10 rule, because we don’t always have control of the food when we eat out and you do have to enjoy life.
Also, being healthy is not only what you put in your body, it’s physical and mental.
Thanks and have a great weekend!
Kristen@Change of Pace says
I feel like being healthy means being happy. Being happy with your fitness routine. Being happy with the foods you are eating. Being happy with yourself. If you aren’t eating right you won’t be happy and you won’t feel good. You are right about finding that balance… 🙂
Brittany says
Oh, I like that! I guess where people get ‘happy weight’ from, too. It’s when all things align and leave you in a place of feeling happy and healthy. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Lee says
I think balance is key. Like you said, striving for perfection would drive you crazy and anyway, our definitions of healthy always change. One day carbs are bad, the next year it’s wheat, the next it’s fat, etc. We all have to have our vices though or life wouldn’t be as fun. Maybe it’s Mexican for you, processed ice cream for me (honestly, I really love low-fat ice cream treats more than real ice cream, which I know is weird.)
Lindsay @ The Lean Green Bean says
i have a post that kind of addresses this question coming up next week! i think healthy is different for everyone and that’s ok!
Paulina says
I like your 80/20 rule. I mean, not trying to be cliche, but you only live once (cringing that I just typed that)! It’s true though, you can spend your life striving for perfection or you can live your life striving for happiness. And if happiness for you means the occasional nachos and glass of wine, that’s a good thing.
Tiff @ Love, Sweat, & Beers says
I am sooooooo with you here. I feel guilty about processed stuff, crazy ingredients, whatever, but it happens to the best of us. Lately I’ve been feeling badly about my canned foods habit, but I really really really like *some* canned veggies, and my belly really really really doesn’t like home-cooked beans. Eh, what’s a girl to do? I figure stressing about it is worse than BPA, but that’s just me.
Anni @ And Babies Make Four says
Love this post! I have 9 month old twins and I’m on a mission not to feed them processed foods. I want to make sure they are “healthy”. The thing is, the doctor told me just to feed them what I am eating in small pieces. For someone who considers herself to be healthy it is amazes me the things that I eat that I will not feed my kids. This post makes me think about ensuring I eat better but also cutting myself some slack on what I am feeding my kids- my definition of healthy 🙂
Brittany says
Hailey opened my eyes a lot, too. I try to make sure that things I eat, I’d be comfortable feeding her. It’s amazing how much that helps keep me focused!
And twins? You’re my hero 🙂
blackhuff says
I love this post of yours. A friend also told me this morning, that I need to decide what I want now. Whether I want to just live a healthy life with exercise regularly or following a regious program for body building and hard training.
My point being, one need to decide what it best for them, like you said here.
Lindsey @ Pas de Deux says
Great post, Brittany–“educate yourself and define what healthy means to you.”– I could not agree more! So important to be well-informed, but to do what works given your life circumstances. Healthy living should be joyful and should nourish body, mind, and spirit 🙂
Brittany says
Ah, yes, I love your addition of nourishing the mind, body and spirit!
Sandy says
Great Post! I by no means consider myself a healthy eater, but I do consider myself to be pretty healthy overall. My husband and myself have come a long way from when we were eating pizza at least once a week. We had already started making changes for the better, but once the little one started eating the food we eat, it really made us take a step back and make changes to how we eat. My point is that even though others wouldn’t consider me to be a healthy eater, with the changes I’ve made and regular exercise, I feel healthy and that’s all that really counts 🙂
Danica @ It's Progression says
love it…and I completely agree – “healthy” can mean very different things for people, but that doesn’t make it “wrong.”
Heather says
Definitely a good post. While I try to be healthy, yeah, there are plenty of times where I eat something processed or feed my family canned veggies if I ran out of time to go buy fresh. We try to buy organic and as healthy as we can, but I don’t have the time or the sanity to keep track of each brand and whether or not they may use genetic engineering. I do my best overall, but can’t stand it when you meet those people who go on and on about what a bad person you are if you ever feed your child these things. Quite frankly, it can be expensive to avoid some things and the cost of organic fruit alone versus other fruit can be huge at times. I’m content to do my best to change my diet and to try and introduce healthy foods to my son as often as possible and keep him away from as much junk as I can.
Bethany says
Love that perspective: “health is personal it’s what works for you…” true, true!
Rachel McIntyre says
This is a great post!
I agree that balance is the key to living healthily. Sometimes it’s easy to become obsessed with eating perfectly and, as you said, this can affect your happiness. In my opinion this totally defeats the point.
I try to eat things that I know make me and my body feel good, but I’m learning not to feel guilty if I eat something processed.
Jen says
Awesome post, friend! Jeff and I really struggle with this, too. We both tell people to be or write about being healthy all day long, and tonight I know we’ll order pizza. It’s a struggle for sure. I often wonder if Wyatt is going to grow up super confused b/c we send him so many mixed messages.
Sarah@ making thyme for health says
I totally agree with your definition. I try my best to eat things that I know are in their most natural form but sometimes convenience trumps that. Although I think it’s important to try hard to eat right, I also think that making peace with your imperfections is truly the healthiest way to live!
Brittany says
Love the way you put that- making peace with you imperfections. Beautiful and so true!
Sarah says
My sister and I were just discussing this the other day – she is making herself crazy trying to only use local organic meat, while living in a rural area where that is not really available unless you purchase an entire animal. It’s one thing to know what “the best” is, but another to be realistic and figure out how it fits into your life. You just have to do the best you can!
Lauren says
My definition pretty much lines up with yours. Healthy most of the time, splurges the rest (though I struggle with splurging too much!). I see a homeopathic doctor who is more extreme and insists that we follow exactly her lead. I couldn’t do it… It may work for her, but it would be completely out of balance for me.
Maria says
Haha. Funny you mention Lean Cuisine, as I had one of their french bread pizzas for dinner last night …and then went out for a milkshake! But I agree with a lot of your sentiments. Healthy is personal and it’s whatever works for you – and therefore we have no right to compare OUR healthy to someone else’s.
Healthy to me means that I’ll gorge in Chili’s queso/salsa and chips today (seriously – the best restaurants tortilla chips ever), but will eat healthy all day long and order an lighter entree. Healthy means that I’ll try my best to get my workout in today, but won’t beat myself up if I have to move it to tomorrow. Healthy means calling my mom and chatting for an hour to make me laugh and calm some anxiety instead zoning out in front of the TV or eating my feelings. Moderation, balance, and definitely not taking ANYTHING too seriously. Life’s too short for that.
Hope you kids have a great weekend!
Kim @ Cooking in the City says
I love this question because people sometimes say to me… I thought you ate healthy food, why are you eating pizza/chocolate/ribs. I define healthy as unprocessed foods made from whole ingredients that are primarily plant-based. Sometimes that involves pizza with ingredients I can recognize (whether I made it or not) and sometimes it includes BBQ ribs that I buy from the farmers market and make with a sauce (that again, has recognizable ingredients). But most of all- I don’t criticize myself and I don’t critique others! I wish everyone would understand that just because these are the choices I make for myself, doesn’t mean that I’m internally judging others! I REALLY appreciate the paragraph about that in your post.
Nicole @ FruitnFitness says
I think a huge part of being healthy that many people forget is mental health. I try to eat healthy whole foods as much as possible. I also try to workout multiple times a week, working out makes me feel good physically and mentally!
Heather @fitncookies says
It’s so nice to hear you talk about balance. I try to live a healthy life, but sometimes things get in the way, and you have to do what you can at that point. I wish my dinners could be healthier sometimes, but again, I don’t have all day to be in the kitchen! Thanks for reminding me that it’s ok not to be perfect!
Ali says
I would love a post one day about GMOs – what, where, when, why, how to avoid, big name brands who use or where most often found….etc….
Another idea – how to help keep our parents healthy as they age? What do they need….
Maybe one day?
Avery @ YoungAspirations says
Loved this post! So true. It’s taken me a long time (and still is!) to figure out what foods my body does and doesn’t like.. and it’s not always what’s “trendy”! Everyone’s bodies work differently! 🙂
Lauren B. says
My definition of healthy has changed a ton over the years too. Out of college (and after getting my health promotion and wellness degree! ha) I thought I was super healthy because I exercised almost daily and was strong. But I also filled my body with fat-free and processed anything and everything, along with all of the chemicals that go along with it, and turned down offers to eat out (or I would eat beforehand) so that I could obsessively maintain a 1200 calorie or less daily intake. At one point, I weighed 108 pounds at 5’6″ and had 11% body fat. I THOUGHT I was healthy.
Until I lost my menstrual cycle for 3 1/2 years and discovered that my hormones were all out of whack, making it very difficult to get pregnant, the one thing I wanted most in life. My body was suffering and not functioning properly because of my “healthy” lifestyle. Once I accepted that, I cleaned up my diet and my act, and although it took time, I can say that I am truly healthy today.
Today, I may have more body fat, may not get to the gym quite as often, and may wear one size up. But, I discovered a balance that allows me to enjoy the pizza on a Friday night date and not feel guilty. I eat clean most of the time and enjoy daily chocolate, and I don’t obsess over calorie counts. Most of all, I don’t obsess over the little imperfections in my body, because I finally got it healthy enough to carry my healthy baby to term and I love my body for it.
Lauren B. says
Sorry that was long, but typing it out is actually quite cathartic! 🙂
Brittany says
Thanks so much for sharing! Yes, it’s easy, especially when younger, to define healthy by a certain number on the scale or pant size. I weighed less than I do now at one point, but I am a BILLION times healthier (physically, mentally and emotionally) now than I was then. Once I started seeing health as a goal to live well, have energy and enjoy life, it helped me focus on a pathway to get there. And it didn’t include counting calories 🙂 Really, thanks for sharing!
sarah says
I read your blog quite often I too have a 19 month old toddler and another on the way. I work full time, try to keep the house clean and make meals with as many healthy ingredients as possible. Sometimes your blog annoys me because you always obsess about being perfect, you are constantly hitting us over the head with the fact you’re aren’t perfect – no one is!!!. I get that health is your hobby, and it’s your blog you can write about yourself all day long but I think you have too much time on your hands. Who cares if you eat pizza or drink wine occasionally-seriously….
Brittany says
Hi Sarah, thanks for your comment. I’m a little confused why you read often if I annoy you, but I appreciate the feedback nonetheless. To clarify, I actually don’t obsess about being perfect; that’s kind of my point of the post. I mention it because in the blog world (and even in the real world) it’s easy to get the feeling that everyone else is doing “healthy” better than you are. I get that feeling sometimes and don’t believe I’m the only one. When I used to health coach people, I found that people felt this way and would give up because they didn’t do healthy living “well enough.” So my point in this post is that a person needs to find what works for them and know that that’s ok- actually, better than ok, it’s great!
I think you sound amazing for being able to juggle so much, so well and still have time to read and comment. Thanks for your feedback!
Sarah @ The Smart Kitchen says
Hello, fellow Sarah! As a long-time reader of Brittany’s blog, I have to say that she is one of the only ‘moms’ whose blogs I read simply because she takes the time to write about a whole bunch of different issues and NOT just herself all of the time. Also, I think she is incredibly real and not preachy about being ‘normal’ or ‘not perfect’ and in her lack of pointing out, it gives me something to aspire to. She wrote a post awhile back about not worrying about calories/numbers when eating, although she used to, and I still think about it often as I deal with overcoming my own numbers game.
I know she doesn’t need defending, and I have no idea what other blogs you read, but Brittany is one of the most natural and refreshing ‘voices’ in this whole HLB world, and I think that you are being strangely critical for someone who sounds like she has a very similar lifestyle to yours.
Jane Preston says
AMEN Sarah@The Smart Kitchen!!! Brittany is THE BEST and most authentic, caring person.
Chantal says
My definition of health has changed similarly to yours. Now, I strive to eat as many fruits, veggies and meats as I can, and stay away from processed foods, dairy and wheat. Not that I don’t have the occasional sandwich while I’m out, or not that there isn’t ice cream sitting in my freezer… because there is.
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl says
To me, eating healthy is all about finding a good balance. I try to eat healthy, whole foods the majority of the time (about 80-85% of the time), and then I indulge on the “not-so-healthy” foods about 15-20% of the time. Without this balance I would go crazy. And my body would likely be very unhappy!
Mike @ Midwestern Bite says
Every now and then the wife tells me where she hides the Oreos.
Not very often though…
Sarah @ The Smart Kitchen says
I have been dealing with this idea for the past few weeks. After going cold turkey on calorie counting, I’ve had to think a lot about ‘where I went wrong’ and how someone who felt so healthy became so…NOT. Mental health had never been something I thought about (is that an oxymoron? irony?) and that really is such a crucial aspect of overall well-being. I think it is different for everyone…and yet, for some reason, in this blog world we are in, SO many people seem to be having the same ‘issues’ so what is the definition we are all working under? What is it that is making us all have the same reactions/problems/etc.? [And by all of course I don’t really mean ALL.]
Anyways, I’ve been mulling over my own definition, and I don’t have a clear answer yet, but I like to think one is formulating…or at least one that has the flexibility to stand-in and then, probably/definitely/necessarily, change.
Dawn says
You absolutely DO sound like buckets of fun. I love conversations like that. And I totally agree — educate yourself and define what healthy means to you. For me it is a journey that continues, and I keep learning more.
Kelli H (Made in Sonoma) says
I kind of love your definition and think that it’s very similar to mine! Hence why I love your blog. 🙂 It’s allllll about balance.
Parita @ myinnershakti says
Love this post. I think every person’s definition of healthy will vary and that’s a good thing because what works for one will not always work for another. I like to think of health in terms of mind, body, and soul. You really do need to take of all 3. And let me tell you, my soul craves a lot of chocolate! 🙂
Giselle@myhealthyhappyhome says
Goodness Brittany I feel like we are one in the same! I went through the same “healthy” phases while growing up and am now much happier with my healthy balanced life. I too am human and while I feel I eat healthy most of the time, there are always room for those splurges or last minute meal choices of frozen yogurt for dinner 🙂
Amanda says
Love this post and your whole attitude on healthy foods!
Katie says
My friend and I were just having a similar discussion this morning! She was saying how she usually uses turkey bacon, and I said I prefer to have a little bit of the good stuff, but try to find the companies that are nitrogen free, and a little better than the average stuff!
Molly says
I think its wonderful how our definition of health is constantly evolving. I’m with you on a lot of those transitions phases like Lean Cuisines (and happy not be be back peddling!). And right now I’m at a phase in life where I’m doing the best I can. We try to have well rounded and balanced meals but with a 4 month old and work that means lots of leftovers. I think true health is nourishing your body and mind and sometimes that means cutting yourself some slack. Thanks for another great post!
Liz @ iheartvegetables says
SUCH a great post, Brittany! This weekend, my boyfriend and I went to visit his sister and some friends in washington dc and I couldn’t eat anything at the ballpark except for french fries, beer, and popcorn… so that’s what I ate! Was it good for me, no! But I didn’t worry about it. I knew my body would be just fine. That was huge progress for me!
Neil Butterfield says
You hit the nail on the head, it’s all about balance. That way you are less inclined to go overboard after trying to deny yourself of all your favorite treats.