How do YOU define 'healthy'?

no1dragn

As I was starting over (again) this morning I thought to myself, maybe you shouldn't be going for 'goals'. Goals like to lose XX pounds, to be able to do XX sit ups, push ups, to be able to wear XX size clothes. Maybe, just maybe, you should just aim for healthy. So me being me, I hit the internet (after all if it's on the internet, it must be true right? LOL!). However, I could not find a definition/explanation of healthy (specifically for a 50 yo woman). Healthy eating, healthy workouts, health stats, etc. yes, but nothing that said a healthy 50 year old woman is: one that ___________ and has ________________ and does ___________. Yes, I expected to find everything spelled out and in a perfect world the exact map as to how to get there. :ohwell:
So, how do YOU define healthy?

JamesDanek

Is my quality of life better than it was yesterday, last week, last month, last year, before i started?

Yes

Then i am healthier.

I don't get sick easily, out of breath, cramps or unexplained pain.

I am healthy

I can run when i need to, carry my little girl when she is tired, pick up what i need to pick up without any issues?

I am healthy.

This is all relative.

Bottom line is if you feel healthy and you act healthy you are healthy

ChrisLindsay9

It's probably going to be different based on the person. It sounds to me like you're using "healthy" to describe "fitness?" I don't think you'll find a definitive meaning, because it's probably more of a spectrum, in which healthiness and fitness are relative and variable.

An objective way to determine this is blood pressure monitoring, resting heart rate, passing various fitness assessment tests, stress tests, etc. A less than objective way to determine health is how one feels when doing activities that range from normal, daily activities to those that require some exertion.

Trying to put myself in your shoes, the first thing that comes to mind would be that "healthy" is being able to do everyday activities without shortness of breath, discomfort or pain, or loss of consciousness (haha). And then from there, you are more healthy if you can perform activities with some intensity for lengthy periods of time.

WendyTerry420

Absence of disease or illness.

Mslmesq

I was in a car accident that left me with chronic pain for a little over a year of my life. Thank God I'm pain free now! When you have experienced pain or illness and you no longer have it, you don't take health for granted. Healthy to me is waking up with no pain and feeling normal today. And I'm very grateful.

taunto

RIght before I hit rock bottom in terms of fitness, I was living in an apartment for which I had to climb about 15ish steps to get to my door. I was eating 6,500+ calories daily and I was too fat and lazy to even go outside to my car to drive to the fast food place to pickup my food. Because on the way to the car and back, I would be completely out of breath. So I had to ask everything to be delivered.

Then I started focusing on my fitness. The main goal always was and always will be to move around easier and better. I now weight lift and walk all the time and climb my 7 story building multiple times (I have moved since I started) and THAT to me was the real progress. Sure the scale showing smaller number and pants fitting better felt awesome but the first time I climbed that 7 story building 4 times (4 times up + 4 times down) was the day I felt like the biggest NSV for me.

GadgetGuy2

Google search "definition of healthy" returns a fair number of hits, many from dictionaries.

So....it appears the definition of health IS on the Internet.

I like the beginning of the World Health Organization definition:

"Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."

thepetiterunner

For me, being "healthy" is..

... Making the best possible nutritional choices in the moment, whenever I can.
... Getting out and being active on a regular basis. Going for a little 2-3 mile run on any given day should not wind me or make me so sore I'm incapacitated for days to come.
... Having a solid, positive sense of self-worth.
... Being disease free and not being prone to sickness.

And MOST importantly... Not allowing myself to obsess over being "healthy" and my diet all the time.

BeachIron

My definition has continued to evolve. Like Taunto above, there was a time I would get winded simply walking out of my apartment and up our little hill. Now I'm looking at targeting a low body fat percentage, hitting my increased weight lifting goals, and am currently working on getting my running distance back up to where it was a bit over a year ago. Let your goals evolve as your body changes, but definitely set goals for yourself.

micheleb15

Working out 5 days a week, increasing my weights, running farther and making sure that all of the levels in my blood tests every year are in the healthy range. Other than that, there is not much I can control.

Supern0va81

I would define healthy as having a balance of energy across the different aspects of my lifestyle and to feel that I am making improvements at managing that more effectively with each effort.

I include food and exercise as part of this, and in managing stress and anxiety both from everyday situations as well as stress from physical or mental exertion.

At the end of the day all it is is energy in versus energy out so it's down to the quality of the energy that you put in (stress management, sleep and fluid included) and the ways that you choose to expend that energy that determines the quality of your output.

e.g. clean eating + water + sleep + exercise = better sex, sleep, work, rest, and play

v's

poor nutritional balance + little water + minimal/no sleep + sedate lifestyle = little energy left to make any effort

I actually get more from life now that I've realized that to do everything that I need/want to do to balance up my lifestyle often means that I have to accept slower progress athletically because this isn't the principle focus of my lifestyle, and I am not/don't strive to be paid as an athlete so can't afford for it to be either (being an athlete takes a lot more than just a great nutritiously packed diet!).

I am doing much better in managing a healthy lifestyle since I've taken to working out less than I always used to and prioritizing where and how I expend my energy. It depends what you want to achieve

Supern0va81

As I was starting over (again) this morning I thought to myself, maybe you shouldn't be going for 'goals'.

Goals are great , but just be satisfied with making progress on getting closer to each one, and then make a load more goals when you achieve the other one's if that's what keeps you on track!

no1dragn

Thanks all for your insight!

Yes, 'healthy' is relative and evolving.

I told my younger brother last week that I feel better at 50 than I did in my 20's. He called BS, but it is true. My weight and diet aren't perfect but I have completed a half marathon, climbed the highest peak in Idaho (12,662 ft), and completed a century ride. I couldn't have done that in my 20's and 30's. Mentally it would have knocked me on my butt. Now, meh. I can do it again and again.

Being a quantitative type of person, I look at my numbers to help determine if I am moving in the right direction. While my HDL is improving, I am still struggling with my LDL, VLDL, and my A1C numbers. Which tells me that I need to stop playing at this fitness stuff and take it seriously otherwise my kids are going to have to say goodbye a lot sooner than I would like.

Thank you all for your input. It was very helpful!