Health is a marathon, not a sprint

Rachel Miles
2 min readAug 26, 2021

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Getting personal here! Right around the time the pandemic started, I began a serious health transformation. The most noticeable difference was that, in less than six months, I lost around 60 pounds!

At first, I felt complicated about the weight loss. It felt weird to have noticeably lost so much weight after spending so long thinking I couldn’t.

Before and after! Kinda feel vulnerable posting this, but it’s quite the difference.

Now, I’ve realized that was not my full potential. My skin, hair, and nails look great! I rarely have to deal with inflammation. I’m able to manage my energy levels. I’ve found ways to incorporate movement into my previously sedentary lifestyle.

The secret? Diet, exercise, and a thirst for improvement.

I went through this initial transformation with the guidance of my husband, who is a health coach.

But I got tired of listening to just him, so I decided to educate myself and enrolled in Functional Diagnostic Nutrition, where we learn to look at the overall function of the body and not isolated symptoms.

Woo! I’m a health coach now!

I learned the body is a complex ecosystem, so where one area is out of balance, another will compensate. When we chase symptoms, we’re not looking at the whole picture.

I’m grateful that I went through a practical journey of health first, which was then boosted by theory later. I realized nothing beats experience.

Health is a marathon, not a sprint. The “once size fits all” approach may work for some, but it does not work for all.

I’m still working toward my potential, but I’m a lot closer now.

I’d like to share what I’ve learned! Let me know some of the things you’re struggling with and what topics you’re interested in by taking this survey I made!

Pssst… I started a podcast called “A Day in the Life” where I help share the stories of everyday people. Check out our Medium Publication and follow us!

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Rachel Miles

UX Researcher | Writer | Artist| Running 2 blogs: renaissancerachel.com (tech and wellness) | rowenapendragon.com (myths and legends)