When asked about my fitness and weight management lifestyle, I explain its gradual, consistent, and purposeful ascent into habit. With focus and intention on “clean” eating, allowing it to penetrate physically and psychologically, it becomes a consistent routine. Not a diet, I defensively deny the depiction of the boxed definition of deprivation, restricted calories, and control over food intake.

Instead, my lifestyle requires a new mindset, viewing food as fuel, consuming an abundance of healthy real food, and practicing self-respect and care for what enters my body. As for fitness, boot camps, and specialty strength classes work the core, muscles, and mental toughness. Yet subtle describes the process, like a dot-to-dot puzzle, connecting one action to the next. When exchanging old habits for new ones, fresh seeds grow. They orchestrate the winds of change.

Twelve months concentrating on altering my actions, mindset, and knowledge, establishing a sustainable lifestyle is transformative. Yet time is the deciding factor, judge, and jury. Is it sustainable for a year, two years, five years, or a lifetime? Embracing this lifestyle and engaging in extensive emotional healing with significant physical, mental, and emotional strength adds a meaningful dimension to life.

A newly conceived body, a healed heart, and a committed mindset lead the line of longevity. Making the habits what I do, who I am, and how I live, allow the winds of change to wash over me and require continued motivation, inspiration, and intention towards each day’s actions. Can I do this for a lifetime? At the end of my life, I will know. For now, moment by moment, I embrace the change while a lifetime passes.