Women are 3 times more likely to speculate in a healthy weight-reduction plan than men.
What is your healthiest habit and why are you investing in it? For the ladies featured here, the reply begins with food. A sudden loss, a diagnosis, a heartbreak, or health issues within the family pushed nutrition from the background to the foreground.
Now they cook from scratch and spend more cash on quality food. They set limits on what they will and can’t eat. These women don’t speak about weight-reduction plan trends. They speak about having the energy to think clearly and take care of what comes next. The following excerpts from “Health is Wealth: What is your healthiest habit?” have been frivolously edited for clarity.
Melek Gür, a health and longevity coach in Istanbul At the age of 35, I used to be diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. “That was a real wake-up call for me. After 18 years in high-stakes finance, I knew how to function under pressure. I was disciplined, consistent and always fit,” explains Gür.
“But I was also constantly hungry – physically and mentally. I lived in gyms and offices, counting every calorie and spending years compensating for every meal,” she admits. On paper, she was nice. But she grew bored with pursuing health through restriction and control. “That’s when I decided to develop a different approach – one that works with the body, not against it.”
What is Gür’s healthiest habit today? “I never eat junk.” In Turkish culture, it is taken into account polite to eat what is obtainable, she explains. “But I set boundaries now and say, ‘No, I won’t eat that.” Gür has completely modified her weight-reduction plan and not eats gluten or refined sugar. “The important thing is that I prefer nutrition over convenience, even if it comes with a price tag. Healthy foods are expensive in Turkey.”
Azielia Anne, corporate strategist at Group Maybank Islamic in Kuala Lumpurrediscovered her passion for exercise when she began her profession in finance. “Long working hours have made physical activity a much-needed outlet. In the fast-paced world of finance, where Type A personalities often dominate, health is not just a habit, but a way of life. We need to be conscious of what we eat, how we rest and how we exercise.”
Anne’s healthiest habit recently is prioritizing nutrition. That’s a challenge in the company environment of Kuala Lumpur, she says, where irresistible food is each inexpensive and in every single place. “After-work culture often encourages people to stay away from nutritious alternatives, and healthy options are both rare and expensive.” Small efforts like selecting higher meals are part of a bigger commitment to living with intention, Anne emphasizes. “Health, clarity and mindful choices shape what I define as a rich and fulfilling lifestyle.”
Cheryl Evans, director on the Milken Institute in Washington, DCHe was an only child whose parents ate healthy foods. They focused on the worth of eating vegetables and eating a balanced weight-reduction plan.
Evans’ mother earned a level in business administration and later passed the state nursing exam with the very best rating. “Because she was very interested in health and science, I was able to ask her medical questions and because of her influence I know a lot about health.”
Her mother died suddenly on the age of 67 from a cerebral hemorrhage. “It got me thinking about the uncertainty of life. I did a lot of introspection and focused even more on fitness and nutrition.”
Evans says her healthiest habit is being conscious of what she eats. “I try to take note of it every day. Sometimes I avoid eating things I like, but try to maintain balance. I eat dessert, but try to do it right after a meal so my blood sugar doesn’t spike. Most days I prep food, and that can be time-consuming.” Evans says she spends more cash on quality food and eats out less often than most of her friends.
Based in Montreal Sévrine Labelle, diedGeneral Director at Lab Excelles and Fonds Excelles Repreneuriat, BDC CapitalShe was influenced by her father’s health problems. He was diabetic, had heart surgery on the age of 45 and never worked again. He ultimately died of colon cancer on the age of 67.
“I was pretty sure I had bad genes, so I decided to improve my chances by doing some research. When I was 39, I watched a documentary about the benefits of a whole-food plant-based diet and decided to go vegan at that time. I started exercising a little later in life, but now I do yoga almost every day, strength train a few times a week, and walk a lot.”
Labelle says her healthiest habit is a plant-rich weight-reduction plan with fresh, organic foods. “I see this as an investment. I know that an omnivore diet probably costs even more, but when I look in my fridge, I realize that I am a privileged person with all of my colorful and sometimes expensive fresh food. I have the responsibility of leading some intense work projects, and the way I eat gives me the energy I need to thrive.”
Elizabeth Frank, a business consultant in Torontofirst became aware of the importance of health in highschool. “My brother Damian was super fit and a marathon runner. I baked him ‘marathon muffins’ and that inspired me to start running occasionally.” However, just a few years later, Frank spent the summer within the UK along with her other brother Vincent and gained about 15 kilos.
“When I got home Damian said, ‘Oh my God, what happened to you?’ That was the beginning of a rather unhealthy relationship with my body. I felt like I was constantly fighting my weight.” Frank broke this trend when she met her first husband at the age of 21. “He helped me move away from my weight. Instead, I started to concentrate on self-acceptance and proper self-care.”
Frank says her healthiest habit is eating super fresh, homemade and healthy food. “My only eating rule today is that I cook everything from scratch.” She combines recipes and uses her intuition when choosing ingredients. “I particularly enjoy making sourdough bread, granola or pasta. My favorite dish is orecchiette with rapini and fennel sausage in homemade chicken broth.”
For Frank, good food is a contribution to financial responsibility. “I don’t compromise on the quality of my food – I only buy the best meat and fish. When I compare that to the alternative of eating out, my food is a savings.”
Monique Kavanagh, co-founder of Camp Joy Retreats in TorontoShe admits that she has at all times had a fancy relationship with health. “My mother was beautiful and thin, a woman of her time who dieted, drank black coffee and smoked. When I was 14, she asked me if I wanted to go to Weight Watchers.”
It wasn’t until she was 36, at the top of a relationship, that Kavanagh began to think more seriously about her health. “I was heartbroken, suddenly realizing that I can be in control of my own decisions. ‘I’m an adult, I don’t have to have kids and I can eat vegetables,’ I told myself.”
Although Kavanagh took a keen interest in her health later in life, she says that for the past decade she has began every morning with a healthy juice consisting of a celery root, half an apple, ginger and three handfuls of spinach. “I mostly eat protein-rich salads for lunch or dinner at home. I especially enjoy meatballs and chicken. Eating well has become my consistently healthy habit. Chocolate and ice cream are my kryptonite.”
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Across industries and cultures, these women describe the same shift. Nutrition isn’t any longer a coincidence. It is planned and prioritized. In a demanding skilled life, nutrition is less about enjoyment and more about staying energetic, focused and resilient in the long run.
FIf you desire to know more about this topic, read the total report: “Health is Wealth: What is your healthiest habit?“ It accommodates insights from interviews with 25 women and 25 men from different cultures and professions.
