Page 40 - South Mississippi Living - January, 2016

PHYSICAL & FISCAL FITNESS a way of life TESTIMONY:
what fitness means to me
by Chantal Sullivan
photo by James Edward Bates
When I was asked to be one of the people featured on this South
Mississippi Living cover and write about what fitness means to me,
I had to think about just what “fitness” does mean to me. It has a lot to do with how I feel and how
functional my body is. It’s a great feeling to dedicate yourself to being active and eating right and to look in the mirror and see positive results and,
most of all, just feel great about yourself. I see results that push me to continue further
and to expand my thirst for knowledge on how to continue my journey.
For most of my life, I have enjoyed being active. That includes running, working out with weights, mountain bike riding, rock climbing, ice climbing, skiing, and mountaineering. While my reasons for being active and exercising have changed over time, I can’t really think of a time in my life when I didn’t value physical activity. As a younger adult, I valued exercise because I wanted to look a certain way. Like most people, when I was younger I didn’t think a lot about long-term health. Now at almost 48, I have the perspective that there is much more to exercise and physical activity than looking a certain way.
As a registered nurse, I’m very aware of how important it is to keep physically fit with not only exercise but proper diet. I want my body to feel like it’s working for me (rather than against me) and I want to feel strong and capable in carrying out the tasks of everyday life at home and at work.
Sometimes I joke that I exercise so I can avoid making two trips with groceries (I am one of those must-carry-20-bags-in-each-hand type of people). While this involves some sarcasm, the truth is that working on my fitness helps me to feel that I can handle things such as carrying groceries, picking up heavy luggage, cleaning the house, or simply living life with less chance of injuring myself while at the same time looking and feeling great!
40 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • January 2016
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