The 2 words health and fitness are used interchangeably however they 2 are very very different…

Health is being free of illness, or injury or disease. No high cholesterol, no diabetes, no issue at all. It’s possible to be healthy but have a high BMI, be overweight or even obese…are you then still healthy?

Surprisingly If you are simply overweight, with no ailments or disease, you are considered healthy.

 There seems to be a weight, age correlation; For example, while consulting with many potential clients, it’s commonplace to have a 26-year old that is 20 kilos overweight, to be healthy – No disease at all. The same extra 20 kilos on a 40 or 45-year-old is usually accompanied with the discomfort of sorts such as aching knees (arthritis), back pain, sleep disorders – sleep apnea, restlessness or insomnia etc.

I’ve deduced that carrying excess weight overtime for a 45-year-old might lead to wear and tear in the body and symptomatic and indicative that disease is not too far away. Most 45-year-olds that have been overweight for a while will usually suffer lifestyle conditions (HBD, Diabetes, High cholesterol etc)

Conversely, skinny people can also be unhealthy…

Very true. They too can have high cholesterol, heart attacks or type 2 diabetes amid many other ailments. In the US health and fitness industry, we call them “skinny-fat” cause they appear physically ‘healthy’ but are might not free of disease. Skinny-fat people have low levels of subcutaneous fat – hence why they never seem to gain weight – and high accumulation of visceral fat (fat in organs), that is not visible to the naked eye. Most times, they get very shocked when diagnosed with a disease since it’s always assumed, they’re skinny which is synonymous to “healthy”

What then is Fitness?

Fitness is the quality of being suitable to fulfill simple tasks such as walking up stairs without panting, playing with your children, performing life’s simple tasks without it being a big deal AND looking the part by having a bit of muscle definition, flat belly etc then you are considered somewhat fit. To achieve this, some form of exercise, usually strength training or anaerobic workouts are needed.

 2 days ago, I carried a 36 pack of water bottles and my biceps weirdly burned and I wondered why…duh? I just resumed working out 2 weeks ago after a 9-week hiatus while recovering from a sprained ankle. I’ve lost 75% of strength and don’t consider myself fit but now that I’m back in the gym, I’m working towards my fitness.

Can you be fit and unhealthy?

ABSOLUTELY…you’re probably wondering how is that possible? I know, it’s cognitive dissonance at it’s best 🙂

Meet my friend and my fitness sister from back in 2010, Janae Veal…

We had the same bodybuilding coach, worked out together, competed together, then out of nowhere in 2012, she got diagnosed with breast cancer. The shock…

She was in tip-top shape, as fit as a fiddle and at the top of her IFBB bodybuilding game almost turning pro, but out of nowhere, her health went sideways.

The 2 pictures are taken a couple of months apart. She lost all her hair in what seemed to be a blink of an eye as she fought for her dear life. Her positive attitude got her through the worst of it and she was cancer free in 18 months.

If you are healthy (disease free) and all you’re tiring to do is lose weight, then Nutrition is what you need to pay attention to. If you are healthy and trying to lose weight and ALSO tone, build muscle, then you are talking about fitness and need to focus on not just nutrition to keep body fat low, but strength training to build muscle for tone.

Now that you know the difference between the 2, the question is, are you pursuing health or fitness?

The common denominator for either health or fitness: NUTRITION CHANGE IS A MUST

95% of my clients come to me for weight loss to look better, or sometimes because their doctor advised them to lose weight in order to manage the disease. As we speak, I’m working with clients that suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, and their best progress indicator is improving their health, how they feel before we can begin to focus on weight loss.  I’ve always preached, that food can be the best form of medicine or the worst poison. As my clients feel better weight loss naturally takes care of itself.

If you don’t have my FREE nutrition ebook, grab your copy from this link -> Janemukami.com/free-ebook

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Question for you: What is the easiest yet most underrated physical activity of ALL time? Drop your answer in the comments too. The answer will be revealed next week and you will be super surprised 🙂

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Have an awesome Friday Transformers!

 

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