As defined: “n. A way of life or style of living that reflects the attitudes and values of a person or group.”
I’ve been hearing a lot of talk lately about lifestyle… lifestyle as the key to healthy living. It makes sense to me that dieting or sporadic bouts of exercise are not the best recipe for being happy and healthy. I know from experience that, in order to eat well and exercise, it’s got to be part of what I do every day… or “way of life” to use the definition above. And it’s got to be fun, too.
This week, I traveled to Tampa for a meeting with Women’s Running magazine at their headquarters in St. Petersburg. My friends Matt and Andrea Baldwin were kind enough to put me up the night before the meeting. After taking me to a yummy Mexican restaurant and giving me the dime tour of their neighborhood, we stood around chatting in their kitchen.
“You know the Baldwins go to bed early,” Matt said, very matter-of-factly and moving towards the bedroom. I looked at the clock… 9:30 p.m.!
Matt and Andrea aren’t lazy – far from it. This is part of their lifestyle, which I came to realize the following morning. As I stumbled out of bed to the bathroom to get dressed for my meeting around 7:00 a.m., a respectable waking-hour in my mind, I heard…
“Brae – you up? Time to get up!” Matt shouted at me through the door. I answered in a groggy voice as best I could as upbeat music bounced loudly throughout the house. Matt and Andrea buzzed around the kitchen, packing a healthy lunch to take to work, and generally exhibiting much more energy than I can usually muster at that hour.
As we sat around the table eating breakfast (healthy, low fat, high protein foods), I heard about Matt’s 5:45 a.m. rowing workout on Tampa Bay with friends, and Andrea’s 45-minute run with a running group… all before I had even thought about stirring from my deep slumber.
As I said goodbye and drove to St Pete later that morning, I thought about Matt and Andrea. I left their house feeling upbeat and optimistic, and I tried to figure out why. Here’s what I surmised:
1. To me, they are a perfect example of a LIFESTYLE. Working out with friends and eating healthy is their “style of living” – and believe me, it is a style. On the weekends, they run or swim or bike with their friends. At night, they cook healthy dinners. (Andrea even shared with me about her idea for a healthy-eating cookbook.) For vacations, they travel to fun destinations to participate in triathlons or marathons. Active living is definitely a LIFESTYLE for these guys, and seeing how happy they are in an incredibly healthy way of living was inspiring to me.
2. They do it together. Matt and Andrea are best friends, and they obviously love being together. They are both passionate about sports and being active, and they push and challenge each other. I think it’s important to have a partner in your healthy “play” – maybe it’s a spouse, a sister or a neighbor. The important part is that working out becomes more fun because it’s more than just a sweat fest – it’s a social outing.
My trip to Tampa only confirmed my belief that enjoying healthy living is the only way to truly be happy and healthy. Finding some way to “play” that keeps us moving and keeps us coming back for more. There is nothing more “stylish” than that!
My husband and I just finished running a race together and it was really nice to be able to do something active together. I’m looking forward to our next active activity together.