Where Health meets Hedonism

Health often comes out sounding like a dirty word. When something on a restaurant menu is labeled as a "healthy option" the taste of cardboard may come to mind. The assumption is, if it is healthy it is boring.

Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary defines it this way:

health
noun (/helθ/ n [U] )

1. the condition of the body and the degree to which it is
   free from illness, or the state of being well to be in good/poor health
   Regular exercise is good for your health.
   I had to give up drinking for health reasons.
   He gave up work because of
   ill-health.
   


2. the condition of something that changes or develops, such
   as an organization or system
   the financial health of the
   business

(Definition of health noun from the Cambridge
Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

Essentially health is strength and the freedom to move as we desire because there are no physical constraints due to illness or injury. Unfortunately, health takes on the conotation of being a buzzkill when it means having to give up things that you may enjoy like drinking. As is noted in the definition exercise is also often given the same wrap. The idea of leaving the cozy couch to run around, cause your heart to race and sweat to pour sounds like the furthest thing from enjoyable.

On the other hand we have hedonism:

hedonism
noun
/ˈhed.ən.ɪ.zəm/ n [U]
living and
behaving in ways that mean you get as much pleasure out of life as possible, according to the belief that the most important thing in life is to enjoy yourself

(Definition of hedonism noun from the Cambridge
Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

When you think of hedonism, you may get an image of some one running full force at life. Some one doing things he or she enjoys at the moment the impulse occurs. Contrary to giving up drinking you would expect a person to engage in a lot of drinking.

Perhaps it is partly these conceptions that make it so hard for some people to truly lead a happy and balanced life. Then everything that is healthy sounds like the antithesis of fun and pleasure is taking fun things to the extreme.

From the front desk of our gym I see people at different stages of physical fitness and happiness everyday. Honestly, I think the biggest thing that separates some one who is successful in their fitness goals with some one who is miserable and not getting results is a basic mental shift. If you can make a switch in your brain that working out feels good because it releases endorphins, that it's time you can clear your head, that it makes you feel alive and that you can't wait to work yourself out; it's going to have a very different impact. If you enjoy exercising it becomes pure pleasure. Also, when you are done you can enjoy a kind of relaxation that you won't appreciate if you are relaxed all the time.

Also, a fit is often someone who experiences feelings from excessive eating or drinking as being distinctly un-pleasurable. It becomes easier to stop eating when the idea of being full sounds more uncomfortable than soothing.

Drinking and eating in themselves are pleasurable things, which is why some one with a healthy attitude is not some one who is trying to restrict those things entirely. It is more about the recognizing when something pleasurable becomes excessive. It is also knowing when something that seems difficult in the beginning will make it more rewarding with a little work.

Everyone has good days and bad days at the gym. A commitment to fitness is not easy and you often have to chip away at it for years to get to that sense of physical freedom. Still, an attitude that exercising is indulging in something that is extremely pleasurable and empowering is a big ally. Along with the notion that constant consumption to the point of excess and lack of motion will lead to weakness, lethargia and lack of control. In that state of mind it is the latter that becomes dull and boring.

The thing to strive for is a state of well-being:

well-being
noun
/ˌwelˈbiː.ɪŋ/ n [U]
(also wellbeing)
the state of feeling healthy and happy
People doing yoga benefit from an increased feeling of well-being.
(Definition of well-being noun from the Cambridge
Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

Apparently this Thursday afternoon I'm feeling philosophical. Next week I'll have to take on something more practical like a description of one our classes here at Silhouette.