Heatlhy.  You’ve heard of and so have I.  In the past, when I’ve applied this word to eating, the focus has been on the first syllable: Hell.   Eating healthy is Hell, right?  Yet being healthy is Heaven.  It seems like a contradiction and, somehow, many of us have hoped to be healthy without eating healthy.  Has this worked for you?  Because it didn’t work for me.

I recently learned that this whole healthy eating thing isn’t Dante’s Inferno.  In fact, I can actually say that healthy eating is- get this!- kind of heavenly.  Those of you who know me are probably sitting there wondering how Kraft Macaroni and Cheese or Choco Tacos are somehow part of a nutritious diet.  Well, I’m here to explain, tell my story, and maybe, just maybe, inspire others to try the change of eating just as I did.

It’s hard to start at the beginning when you don’t know where the beginning in.  Perhaps, for me, there were a few beginnings.  The first one that comes to mind is throwing my back out in November 2010.  Though that back went out quite easily, it sure didn’t come back easily!  In the spring of 2011 I was told that there was a good chance I’d never walk again and I was told that I might want to consider getting a scooter.  At the age of 35, this didn’t set well with me.  So, I went in to the hot tub and heated pool to do some exercise.  Thankfully, I was given a second chance and today I’m walking great and without any back pain.  Yay pool!  Or, maybe more accurately, yay exercise!  While my body size might not have been the total cause of my back issues, having a lot of excess weight certainly didn’t help.  This has been weighing on my mind- just as that extra weight weighed on my back.

I also have felt just plain unhealthy for several years now.  This was an enigma to me until this past week or so, when I realized that OF COURSE I was feeling unhealthy: I am what I eat and what I was eating was unhealthy.  For someone who claims some level of intelligence, this was a “well, duh!” realization for me.  If I’m living on soda, chips, ice cream, and such, there’s no way I’m going to feel healthy.  Feeling unhealthy did finally catch up with me and I realized I needed a change.

Thankfully, it was at this time that I was able to look around and see people around me who had made lifestyle changes and were an inspiration.  My friends Kayla and Eric (Eric is the writer of The Family Naturist blog), had recently made really amazing changes in their eating and activity habits and report that they look and feel fabulous.  Plus, I learned that Corky Stanton, founder of ClothesFree.com, has lost over 100 pounds in under 10 months and is feeling great!   If others can do it, surely pig-headed me can do it, too!

The big change occurred last week, when I asked my friend Marisa a health question and she connected me with Kevin Daugherty of Greater Life Health Coaching via Facebook; Kevin had been her Health Coach for a short time and she was really feeling the results.  Kevin sent me a message via Facebook about my pup, Little Bare, and the rest just kind of happened.

So last Friday Kevin came down to Nakedtown (I was dressed, out of courtesy) and had a free consultation with me.  I figured I had nothing to lose: the price was right and I didn’t even have to drive there, so even the laziest of lazy could accomplish this meeting.  As it turned out, Kevin has a clue.  Shoot, he might even be our very own Hasbro and OWN the whole Clue Game!  He’s not some guy who has been Mr. Healthy all his life and is now a Health Nazi (or any other Nazi, from what I can tell.)  He’s been in my shoes and he’s traveled the path that I’m newly choosing.  Now, after getting all sorts of fancy shmnanzy training, he is a professional Health Coach and filled with even more amazing thoughts and ideas.

After our session, I decided to make some major life changes and it’s been great so far.  Those vegetable things actually taste good, believe it or now!  And water?  It’s not just for swimming, water volleyball, or the hot tub… you can drink it!  I’m learning that eating healthy isn’t nearly as expensive as I thought and it also tastes really good.  Choco Taco good?  Ummm… in many ways, yes, though I confess that I will still be eating a Choco Taco now and again.  And I’m ok with that: it’s not about being perfect, it’s about being better.  However, a Choco Taco isn’t nearly as cool-looking as some of the fun healthy meals that I’ve created, especially my recent veggie happy face.

Today was my first “real” session with Kevin and it was amazing. Amazing enough that I’m ready to tell the world about the path I’ve chosen without fear that a week from now I’ll be back with my old buddies Choco Taco and Junk Food.  How do I have such confidence?  I have the tools now to have a clue of how to eat healthy and I have a Health Coach to guide me in the process of doing a whole lifestyle overhaul.  (In case you can’t tell, I strongly recommend contacting Kevin for a free consultation to see how your life can change if you’re in the Upstate NY area!)

Being a nudist means body acceptance and I think I’ve achieved that.  But that doesn’t mean giving up on my body and eating out of control.  No, body acceptance is accepting the body I have while also respecting it enough to take care of it.   For me, this isn’t about weight loss- though I am proud to report that I’m down eight pounds- it’s about living a healthy life.  I’m confident the weight will fall off on its own as I do my durnedest to live the healthy life that I am intended to live and which will help me to feel comfortable in my skin and living my dream even more than I do now.

What say you?  How does body acceptance relate to healthy living?  Is healthy living only in effect to create the body that looks good, which is contrary to body acceptance?  I’d love to hear your thoughts on living healthy and how this relates to body acceptance.  So…  speak to me, people!