How to Start a Health Journey That Won't Lead to Burn-out

Your journey to nourishment and health starts with your why

We each have our own reasons for wanting to live healthier lives, but living a healthy lifestyle is a journey that comes with its ups and downs. What I have come to realize for myself is that when I hit a point in my journey where it feels hard to continue to make healthy choices, the only thing that keeps me going is my why. This is my point of motivation and reason for continuing that I can fall back onto when nothing else makes sense.

What is my why?

When I first started my health and fitness journey, my motivation was to look good and feel good. As I’ve continued in my journey and fallen short of reaching the goals I set for myself, I’ve realized that my motivation for wanting to live a healthy lifestyle has to go beyond surface level things like looks and feelings. It has to go beyond myself. Left to my own wants and desires, my flesh will choose indulgence and momentary pleasure over dedicated work.

Coming to this realization helped me understand that God has to be my why. We can only achieve true victory over our flesh when we look past ourselves and towards God instead. In the Bible it says that when we accept Jesus into our hearts as our Lord and savior, that our bodies become a temple in which His spirit dwells. I don’t know about you, but when I think of my body as a home for the King I get pretty motivated to make sure it is the best home it can be. That doesn’t mean that it needs to look the best on the outside or to weigh a certain amount. To me, it means that my body needs to be functional and nourished. It needs to be able to be hospitable. It needs to be able to love people well. It needs to be able to think clearly and learn. It needs to be able to do whatever it takes for someone to hear the Gospel.

Eating nutrient-dense foods, moving my body, and filling my mind with things that glorify God keep my body functional and energized. A side benefit might be muscles and a pretty instagram feed, but I don’t care about that because I know what they are really doing. They are honoring my why. They are honoring the “yes” I gave to God when He graciously asked to dwell inside my heart.

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Taking the first steps

I think reflection is a really good place to start and to continue throughout your journey of leading a healthy life. Taking time to determine your motivations and goals will be really helpful for when you don’t feel like going to the gym or choosing the healthier food. Whether you are someone who is knee-deep into their healthy lifestyle, someone who has gone all or nothing with diet and exercise time and time again, or someone who has never really thought of health and fitness as a priority, I challenge you to take time to reflect on the following questions. Get a journal or simply take a moment with yourself to think about your answers to these questions. This is something you can do once, or every single morning if you need to.

What is motivating you to make healthier choices?
What is your definition of “healthy”? Is this definition realistic and does it actually mean good things for your health?
Do you find yourself trying to live up to a certain idea or goal?
- If yes, what is that idea or goal? Is it honoring to the Lord?
How could you view the healthy choices you get to make as something to celebrate because of what they do for the Glory of God and those around you?
What is your “why”?
- How can you remind yourself that this “why” is worth all of your attention and dedication?

Got your answers? Now make some goals! Set some benchmarks so that you can measure your health and fitness progress as you continue to say yes to your why. Let your why become your motivation and your achievement of the goals you set become the byproducts of faithfully showing up for that why.

Practicing mindfulness

This is where your why can become a tool to help you stay on track. What I mean by mindfulness is checking in and realigning your actions based on where you find yourself. For example, whenever you are faced with a choice between something that will detract from your health goals or something that will move you in the right direction towards balanced nourishment, take a moment to remember your greater purpose for beginning your journey. Take a moment to get still (Psalm 46:10) and pause before you make a choice. Reflect on 2 Corinthians 12 and know that God’s power is made perfect in our weakness to remember that you don’t have to shoulder through these hard choices with grit. You can take a breath and lean on God for strength because He will sustain you. See the healthier choice as a way to honor the Lord, and your why, and act on it out of service to Him.

You’ve got this, have fun!

Remember that living a healthy life is so fun and rewarding. Choosing to prioritize your health and your focus on God over anything else leads to a life that is fulfilling and full of energy. Try new recipes, join a workout class, hike a mountain, learn new things, and return to your why as your foundation through it all. In no time, I believe you’ll find yourself celebrating things that you once dreaded and feeling connected with yourself and the God that made you in a new way.