As a personal trainer you work with clients from all walks of life, some who want to get stronger, have better endurance, lose weight, build muscle, and more.

In my experience, the majority of the clients I worked with were overweight or were trying to get fit. Many of them were focused on the size of their waist, back of their arms, or their stomach not getting in the way while they had sex.[1]

During my career in the health & wellness space, I have helped over 4,000 people lose weight. Weight loss was the majority of my work, and from my vantage point I believe the majority of the world is this way. Majority of people are looking to lose weight.

With societal health benchmarks of optimal health, this has led more people to have poor relationships with food, and a self deprecating mindset about health and wellness, because it’s either you’re not thin enough or lean enough.

Sad part is this goes on for decades until people are unable to meet the unrealistic expectations they've set for themselves.

If we were to define health, everyone has a different definition, from small waists, to muscular arms, to running a four minute mile. Issue with all of these definitions is that they are (1) limited, and (2) they all require different tactics to accomplish.

Let’s zoom out a bit and think bigger.

Instead of trying to fit societal benchmarks, what is the true meaning of health?

As I see it, health is the fundamental currency of life. Literally without our health we would not exist. If it is that important, then why have we limited health to slimmer waist and bigger arms?

In this article I want to help people:

1. Redefine the definition of health.

2. View the world from a health first approach.

3. Introduce a new paradigm for health.

Redefine Health

True definition of health is a condition in which someone or something is thriving or doing well. And to thrive & do well, the only way to do that is to improve quality of life.

Quality of Life is defined as a degree to which a person is healthy, comfortable, and able to enjoy activities of daily living.

Health fundamentally then is about improving the quality of life not just now, but well into the future.

What determines our Quality of Life? 3 things:

1. Our health

2. Our level of comfort with our current state

3. Our ability to enjoy activities daily.

Health First Approach

For people who don’t prioritize their health this becomes a sore subject. They’ll say something like, “There is more to life than just health.” Addressing the vulnerable topics in others gets them reactive because they refuse to face the truth themselves.

But let’s humor this idea for a second. “There is more to life than just health.”

Let’s say you had a magic lamp, and a genie could grant you any wish. And you wished that you could have everything you wanted, but it came at a price:

The price is you can’t move without pain, you have medical issues, you’re on blood pressure meds, you have type 2 diabetes, you take cholesterol medication, you have to watch what you eat 24/7, and you can have a heart attack any second…

Is that a trade you’d be willing to make?

But many of us live life making that trade, thinking that the choices we make around our health will not impact us at all in the future, thinking that we have more time. Time is the single thing we do not have. All living things are in a state of entropy, where time is not on our side.

If we don’t take the reins of our health sooner than later, at some point it will be too late.

“Man…sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.” - Dalai Lama

The Romans had this saying “Mens Sana In Corpore Sano” which means a sound mind in a sound body, where a person is only healthy when he is occupied both intellectually and physically.

In order to be the best version of ourselves we must be both mentally and physically healthy.

However evolutionarily our physiology can alter our state no matter how mentally healthy we are. Your brain is an extension of your body. If you treat your body like garbage, don’t provide it with the right nutrients it needs, what do you think that does to your mental state.

We can only function at our best if you are healthy both internally and externally.

“Your mind is incapable of peace when you’re body is fighting for survival” [2]

Without our health we are nothing. We don’t think about it because we take it for granted, but as soon as we have a tough wake up call that's when things come into perspective. So to say that “There is more to life than just health” my argument is that there is no life without your health.

New Paradigm For Health

If the new definition of health is about improving your healthspan, and having a better quality of life, the question now is how does one actually achieve that? What are the inputs to health which will improve our quality of life?

From researching & studying the material of Peter Attia MD, it comes down to 3 things:

1. Cognitive Health

2. Physical Health

3. Emotional Health

Cognitive health is the ability of our brain to function, focusing on memory, our ability to learn new things, and how we process information as we age.

Physical health is the well being of our body, focusing on nutrition, movement, recovery, sleep, and avoidance of harmful behaviors.

Emotional health is the well being of your thoughts, managing your feelings/emotions, and involves healthy relationships.

Part of this new paradigm is looking at health holistically and not just independently.

People who are trying to fix their relationships with food, shouldn’t eat whatever they want to invoke metabolic syndrome.

Or people in the bodybuilding culture who just focus on muscle mass, while they ingest 300mg of caffeine per day and have body dysmorphia.

Or therapists treating mental illness separately without addressing sleep, nutrition, and movement.

When we treat things independently, it usually leads to a temporary fix not a permanent one. This is the problem that we run into today. 50% of people who suffer from depression will go back into depression and 80% of those will experience it regularly.

80% to 90% of people who lose weight gain it back within a year.

If this seems like a lot to take in, I understand, my goal here is to introduce a new paradigm, or a new way of approaching how we see our health. The reason for this is because there are tons of tactics that are out there for improving physical health, emotional health, and cognitive health, but without a long term objective, all of the tactics go out the window. I do plan on sharing tactics but now that you understand the objective and the principle behind them, the tactics will be more effective.

TL;DR

Our definition of health has been skewed to societal benchmarks.

Let’s zoom out a bit and think bigger. Instead of trying to fit societal benchmarks, what is the true meaning of health?

Redefine Health

True definition of health is a condition in which someone or something is thriving or doing well. And to thrive & do well, the only way to do that is to improve quality of life. Quality of Life is defined as a degree to which a person is healthy, comfortable, and able to enjoy activities of daily living.

Health fundamentally then is about improving the quality of life not just now, but well into the future.

Health First Approach

Without our health we are nothing. We don’t think about it because we take it for granted, but as soon as we have a tough wake up call that is when things come into perspective.

To say that “There is more to life than just health” my argument is that there is no life without your health.

New Paradigm For Health

If the new definition of health is about improving your healthspan, and having a better quality of life, the question now is how does one actually achieve that?

3 Essential Principles for Long-Lasting Health:

• Cognitive Health

• Physical Health

• Emotional Health

Health is one of the infinite games of life. And if we can approach it with the right mindset and perspective I truly believe that we can be healthier and have significantly better quality of life, especially as we age.

If you found this article helpful, feel free to share it with someone who might find this valuable using this link: https://mohammedmalik.com/newsletters/b/atgonhealth

Until next time, your friend.

M. Malik

Notes:

[1] I had a client who I worked with who wanted to lose weight, and when I asked him why, point blank looked at me and said “Because when I have sex with my wife, I am tired of my stomach hitting her first.”

[2] From “Stillness is the Key” by Ryan Holiday