What do all of these things have in common?
In one form or another, they are all
quantified. By nature, humans seem to
have a better sense of importance when things are weighted or categorized by
numbers. The question that this post will
address is this: Are the numbers the only
thing that matters?
Recently, one of my clients made a social media post about the
wellness journey being 80% nutrition and 20% physical fitness. At the end of the day, her point was that,
yes, the nutrition is vitally important; however, the fitness is what keeps her
motivated. My take is that she is
willing to eat well to complement the fitness, but it is the fitness journey
that is near and dear to her heart. It
is the “nitty gritty” sweat and energy that tugs on her heart strings and makes
her feel good about her accomplishments.
That is where her passion is, and that is what gives her a positive
quality of life.
Another of my wonderful clients is committed to healthy
balanced nutrition. Her mission is to
balance her nutrition first to protect her heart, and that makes her feel more
motivated to include the physical activity component. She is determined to condition herself to
maintain a healthy lifestyle, and she is working hard to balance what she
enjoys with what she needs to maintain her quality of life.
Both of these ladies live in the same world that is
quantified by those same numbers.
Simultaneously, they are motivated by different components of the
equation. At the end of the day, the
numbers are the facts. They are quantifiable
assessments, and although one factor might be greater than another, they show
us that they are all important for healthful success. We need to eat healthy and exercise to have
optimal health. Eating healthy and exercising
together can decrease our risk for becoming one of the 61,000 people who have
died from heart disease.
But where does quality come in?
I have learned that regardless of the scientific facts of
life, QUALITY OF LIFE, reigns supreme.
When I work with clients, I try to find the glimmer within those facts
that will motivate them to improve their quality of life. My client who “does it for the fitness” has
better success focusing on the workouts first, and as she becomes more
motivated to do better, the nutrition component will be her next step. The same works in the reverse for my
nutritionally motivated client. She has
been learning how to balance what she eats, and she now has the desire to
achieve more results by stepping up her workouts.
This is a key reason why assessments are crucial when
helping clients achieve success. It is
not just about body measurements. It is NOT
about using numbers to convince people that they are broken and never doing
the right things. It is about figuring
out what is important to that client and using those factors to help them maintain
or improve their quality of life.
At Tonicity Fit, it is my job to focus on the quantifiable aspects of health
and wellness, but it is also important that I get to know WHO my clients are. Once I figure out what motivates them to
improve, I can teach them the quantity of balance they need to have optimal
quality in their lives.