my five health loves.

Very fittingly, the Healthy Living Tuesdays theme for February over at Healthy Living Blogs is Health Loves.  Even more fitting, I’m sharing my thoughts on the topic on, of course, Valentine’s Day!  It is the day of love after all.  Since I started my journey towards a healthier life in 2006, my life has changed drastically.  Today’s healthier Mindy is such a different person that I was at the beginning of this road.  I thought I’d share five of the things I love about this healthier me, and how being healthier has enriched my life.

I love the healthy living blogging community.  Since I started blogging in May 2010 (sidebar:  what?!  has it really been almost three years?!), this community has improved my life for the better by leaps and bounds.  I traveled to Washington DC for a blogger half marathon weekend, I’ve attended the Healthy Living Summit three times (2010, 2011, 2012).  Many of my blog friends have become real life friends.

I love that exercise has turned from something I have to do, into something I get to do.  When I was overweight and living an unhealthy lifestyle, I hated exercise and avoided it at all costs.  These days, I look forward to getting out for a run or some hot yoga.  Okay, okay, that’s true most days.  Sometimes it still takes an act of God to get my booty out the door.  I might be healthier these days, but I’m not perfect!  Still, I love that I can do these active things that I never thought possible.  The fact that I’m training for my third and fourth half marathons, and my third 25k is still a bit unreal!

I love that my relationship with food has improved so drastically!  The produce section is my first stop at the grocery store, and I’ve learned so much about eating in moderation.  I will gladly have pizza or a red velvet cupcake or pumpkin pie, but I’m satiated with a small portion, now.  Choosing better foods helps me feel better:  I have more energy, my skin is clearer, I sleep better, and the list goes on.  I realize so much more today that when I nourish my body with good things, I feel good.

I love that people in my life think of me as a trusted resource when they have health and fitness related questions.  I truly enjoy helping those around me learn to live the best kind of life, and I’m excited to see how my time as a student with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition will help me do that even more effectively.  I’m honored that I represent the FitFluential and Greatist communities as an Ambassador, and Healthy Living Blogs as a staffer.

I love the my self-confidence.  When I was overweight, I had very little self-confidence, although I didn’t quite realize it at the time.  I was terribly uncomfortable in my own skin.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m still so much more critical of myself than I should be, but it’s an awesome feeling to look in the mirror and be happy with the strong, fit, happy person looking back at me.

These days, the healthier, happier me is wiling to step out of my comfort zone and experience things I never would have imagined before.  Attending a blogging conference where I don’t know a soul.  Racing in a triathlon.  Buying (and wearing in public!) a bikini.  The Old Mindy never, ever would have done any of that.  The New Mindy?  Bring it on.

The best part of Healthy Living Blog’s HLT series is the open-invitation to participate. Here’s how you can play along: Sometime in the next few weeks, write a post on your own blog under the “Health Loves” theme. When the last Tuesday of February shows up, HLB hosts a link up.

Tagged as: Healthy Living Tuesdays