Good morning to all!
The Prevention’s are safely in Vegas having a bit too much fun, and the wonderful Jessie is taking over today! Thanks, girl! I’ll be out of touch the rest of the weekend. Mr. Prevention is requesting my undivided attention the rest of the weekend, so catch ya on the flip side! 😀
Be well,
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Hi everyone! I’m Jessie from The Happiness in Health, and I am so thrilled that Nicole is having me do a guest post. I love reading her wonderful insights into healthy living AND just plain living!
I’m currently studying to be registered dietitian (only 1.5 years to go!). I’ve traveled a long road on my two feet to get here, starting from when I was a wee tot:.
Even back then, I was always running around. You can’t see it here, but I have a huge smile on my face. I was HAPPY. I was HEALTHY. I instinctively knew of the happiness in health 😉
I grew up loved, full of wholesome food, and running as fast as my two feet would carry me. It was not until much later that I could look back and see how closely health and happiness were intertwined. Being healthy is easy to take for granted, because the happiness you naturally feel as a result of being healthy makes you forget otherwise.
And then, I went to college. I loaded my schedule with science classes, because I thought that it was expected of me. I missed my father, I missed my sisters, I missed my friends. I tried out for the orchestra, and ended up in the second violin section. What?? I had always been a first violin! Worse of all, academically, I had moved from a big fish in a little pond, to a tiny fish in the ocean. To my type A-personality, this change was devastating.
The freshman 15? How about the freshman NEGATIVE 15? As someone who has been the same size since she was 15, I was shocked to find my clothes hanging off me. I hardly slept and I lived off of increasingly stale homemade cookies that my father had sent me in the mail. As my happiness level dropped, my health soon followed.
Then, I met this guy:
(Let’s not get into why Peter’s hair was so long and messy in college. On a completely unrelated note, I used to cut his hair.)
Peter was so chill, so cool, so relaxed, that I couldn’t help but follow. Relaxing my rules meant not being perfect, but being relaxed let me have fun! I learned to not take everything so seriously. I learned to try new foods in the cafeteria, and heck, they were a lot better than stale cookies. I happily plumped up into health. 🙂
Now, I’m not saying that we all need another person in our lives to inspire us to be happy and healthy. We can each act as our OWN inspiration, to seek beauty and happiness in what we love, even if we need to search long and hard.
As a future dietitian, I am learning about the science behind our bodies and the individual nutrients that are important for such and such. But, I never forget that we humans need something beyond vitamin D and omega-3’s – we need happiness. Actively search for it, and your best health will follow.
So, get out there and climb that mountain! Your two feet (or two wheels, or cane, or…) will lead you to where you need to go.
Good post.I find now that I’m getting healthier I’m also happier or maybe I didn’t realize I was getting healthier because I was happier? hmmmmmmmmmmmm 🙂
Such a great story! I don’t think we need another person to define us either, but I do think that other people have ways of bringing out parts of ourselves we didn’t know were there and also challenge our ways of thinking. Plus, when you’re happy, you’re healthy!
I love this post. Nice work. I didn’t know you and Peter met in college!! SO cute. And, I have a similar story about “plumping up” after meeting a guy. I plumped up after having an eating disorder for three years. When I met Nick I was much better, but still needed to put on about ten pounds, and I did!! Men have that power to make us healthy. Strange, huh? Or maybe it’s love!
To me, good health brings happiness. But good health isn’t just physical. It’s mental, social, emotional, AND physical. That’s what life’s all about, striving to find that happy balance. Nice post!
Great guest post, I <3 Jessie!! You and Peter look like so young in that picture, so sweet!! It sounds like the 2 of you balance each other out quite beautifully. Andrew is much like Peter in that he helps me slow down, relax, and smell the roses. I'm totally type A/borderline OCD, but Andrew knows when to grab me and tell me a funny joke or something to get me to loosen up and just RELAX. The connection you make between health and happiness is spot on and beautiful!! 🙂
I have been asking myself the same question as John, am I getting healthier because I was happier or happier as I got healthier and I think it is a bit of both. I started to get healthier when I met my husband and we were no longer living 800+ miles apart and seeing each other every 3rd weekend(ie happier). Then I started to get happier when I was healthier and could do alot of the things that weight made challenging before. The 2 are definitely linked for me at this point. Here’s to keeping them both up!
Great post.
What a beautiful, inspiring post!
Thank you so much for sharing your healthy story, Jessie. 😀
Hugs,
Michele
Great guest post!! 😀
Very nice and different.
I like what you said about happiness–that we have to actively look for it. It’s sad but true. Some people just need to make the extra effort to find the happiness that’s right before their eyes.
Glad you learned how to relax and de-stress—Any tips??? I’m working on that and improving. I think many who are/ become RD are super hardworking people 🙂
Good luck with your college degree and hopefully you’ll join the RD crowd!
Thanks for the good wishes! I’m looking forward to finally being able to put “RD” after my name 🙂 As for de-stressing – besides trying to carve out time for the things I enjoy, I also try to keep bad things in perspective. If something stressful happens to me, I think to my self “will this matter in 10 years? In 20 years?” I find the answer is usually “No”. 🙂
Love this post!
That is such an incredible story, thank you for sharing!
Such a great story! I actually lost weight in college too. I hated the rubbery icky stuff that they served in our DC and tried to survive off the salad bar, soft-serve ice cream and what I could fit in my mini fridge 🙂 I also turned around for the better after meeting my other half Chris and loosened the reigns a bit 🙂
Lovely post jessie, and beautiful pics too
Loved this post from Jessie. Thankfully, I am not losing weight in college…but I certainly understand feeling overwhelmed by all the talented, beautiful, intelligent individuals in school! I loved the positive message behind this post. Awesome post, Jessie! 😀
Thank you for sharing!
I love Jessie wherever I can find her! Her messages are always so uplifting. I love how she’s all about health rather than a specific number on a scale.
Have fun this weekend Nicole!
Awesome guest post, Jessie! Loved it! 🙂
What a great guest post and a wonderful story. Adorable toddler pic, Jessie!
Hope you have a wonderful Easter!
Great post!!!
Yea for a future RD! Good luck, keep studying hard and plan for that internship. I worked in clinicals for 5 years before moving overseas with my husband (military) and now I stick to teaching because there is no facility where I live that needs a RD. Thanks for sharing your story. Sounds like you are at a happy place. Oh, and with a type A personality, you will fit right in as a dietitian! I hope Nicole and the hubby are enjoying Vegas, I am so jealous…that is where I worked as a dietitian!
Great post. I can see how happiness leads to health & balance. Most of the time our un healthy habits are a result of ourselves being un happy!