Wellness Isn’t What You Think It Is
It isn’t just green smoothies and gym selfies. It’s not about being perfect for 30 days, only to ‘fall off track’ again. So why does it feel like no matter what you do, you’re always starting over? Maybe it’s not you. Perhaps it could be how you are defining wellness that’s keeping you stuck.
The Problem: What Most People Get Wrong When Defining Wellness
For many, wellness is seen as a temporary fix—a strict diet, an intense workout plan, or a structured challenge designed to “reset” their health. The common thought process sounds like this:
- “I just need to get this weight off.”
- “I just need to jumpstart my metabolism.” (Side note: you can’t, you’re not a car.)
- “Once I finish this program, I’ll be back on track.”
But here’s the problem: If your version of wellness is something you can only maintain for a few weeks, is it really wellness at all?
The Truth: What Wellness Actually Is
Wellness isn’t something you start and stop. It’s how you live your life—every single day. Even on the messy, busy, stressful ones. It’s not about flipping a switch; it’s about creating a lifestyle that supports your health in ways that feel sustainable.
So, what does that actually look like? It boils down to three key pillars:
1. Consistency Over Perfection
The biggest mistake people make is trying to overhaul their entire routine overnight. They sign up for an intense bootcamp, go hard for two weeks, then disappear for three months. The reality? A few short, consistent workouts each week will always yield better long-term results than sporadic, all-or-nothing efforts.
2. Small, Sustainable Habits
Before I give examples, think about the last time YOU taught someone a new skill. Maybe you trained a new employee at work. Maybe you taught your child how to tie their shoes. Did you overwhelm them with every single detail and then say, “Okay, now replicate that perfectly?”
Probably not. Because that’s not how we learn.
Now, apply that same thinking to your health. Instead of setting extreme goals, break them into bite-sized, manageable steps:
|
Instead of… |
Do This |
|
Committing to cooking 5 dinners per week |
Start with 1 healthy dinner that gives you leftovers |
|
Going from no workouts to 6 per week |
Commit to 2 workouts and add as you go |
|
Cutting out sugar entirely |
Start by swapping one sugary snack for a healthier option |
This is how habits stick. Not through extreme discipline, but through small, repeatable actions.
3. Mindset Shifts (Not Just Actions)
Wellness isn’t just about what you do—it’s about how you think. If you approach your health like a test you’re either passing or failing, you’ll always feel like you’re falling short. But when you start viewing it as an ongoing journey, where small improvements matter, you create space for progress that actually lasts.
The New Path: Defining Wellness for Yourself
If you’ve ever felt like you’re failing at wellness, it’s probably because you’ve been following a broken system. The truth is:
- Research shows that 95% of people who lose weight on a diet regain it within a year. Why? Because their approach wasn’t built to last.
- About 80% of individuals who lose significant weight fail to maintain it for 12 months, highlighting the need for sustainable change.
- Gym statistics show that 67% of memberships go unused, proving that traditional fitness models don’t work for most people.
Long-term success comes from building habits that fit into your life, not forcing yourself into someone else’s plan. When you stop chasing quick fixes and start creating a lifestyle that works for YOU, everything changes.
Your Next Step: Make It Simple
Defining wellness isn’t about overhauling your entire life overnight. It’s not about waking up tomorrow and suddenly becoming a morning workout person, a meal prep pro, and a stress-management guru all at once. That’s the kind of thinking that keeps people stuck in the cycle of starting over.
Instead, real progress comes from small, sustainable changes—the kind that feel almost too easy at first but add up in powerful ways over time. If you like this approach, check out a recent podcast where we talked about getting away from the “all or nothing” approach to health and wellness.
So let’s start there:
💡 What’s one small change you can commit to this week?
•Adding an extra glass of water to your morning routine.
•Swapping one takeout meal for a home-cooked one.
•Setting a bedtime reminder so you actually get some sleep.
•Including a 10-minute walk after lunch instead of scrolling your phone.
Whatever it is, make it doable. Make it something you can repeat. And most importantly, make it something that fits into your life, not a version of wellness someone else told you was right.
Drop it in the comments—I’d love to hear how you’re redefining wellness on your own terms!
👉 Not sure where to start with your fitness? Let’s fix that. In a 30-minute Fitness Roadmap Call, we’ll pinpoint what’s missing in your training, nutrition, and recovery—so you can stop spinning your wheels and start seeing real progress. Book your call today!
References
https://www.exercise.com/grow/unused-gym-memberships-percentage/
https://extension.usu.edu/nutrition/research/the-dieting-dilemma
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/unexpected-clues-emerge-about-why-diets-fail/
