Ep. 6: Health is Wealth

Welcome to another episode of Black Girl Fly. My name is Tenisha Nicole. And I'm Tashaunda Dixon, and we talk about demystifying millennial wealth. And so today we're gonna be talking about health is wealth. Now, again, there's so much to talk about here, but what is it that you want to talk about today? For me, it's how most people don't equate those two together. Right? Yeah, I think a lot of people think that there are two different things. Yeah. But they're very much so related. Yeah, I'd say so I have studied wealth and finances forever. And I have never read that I would say until like the last two years with kind of the, the increase in the workout and health and all those initiatives that were going on.

Yeah, working out has definitely, I mean, in my mind become a trend or like a fad to do. Yeah, I think the reason that people are doing it is kind of for more of the superficial reasons, rather than the actual health benefits and purposes behind it. Yeah. And so you know, when I think about it, like I started really getting into health and fitness when our mom passed away in 2017, like, you know, one of the ways that I tried to justify in my mind I'm like, well, maybe if she was a little bit healthier, she would have lived longer and to some degree, I actually do still believe that but of course there are so many other such you know, things going on around you know, hereditary and just environment and everything else. So, when that happened, like I got really into fitness did my did yo like crazy, crazy low grade, I'm a person of extreme. Like, if I'm in I'm all in okay, but so I got really into orange theory, orange theory. fitness, if you've never heard of it is crack. Like, it's how you describe it. But, but that was the I mean, I've always been like an athletic person. No, but that was the first time in my life where I was actually working out just to be working out and like doing it on a daily basis. And so in that in my first like, I would say my first six months I lost 30 pounds in like crazy. real crazy like my diet was always kind of healthy, but I was like more conscious about my diet. I lost the weight, and I was a little brolic last month I did think your arms look like Tina Turner and well Angela Bassett in you know, I'm gonna get those back. I'm gonna give him back. Yeah, but I would say fast forward. Now it's been about like a year and a half. I would say two, two and a half years later, I can't remember the numbers.

Health is an Investment

But I've really fallen off now. And now we're in this quarantine life and I gave my location 13 pounds and I don't say how many. But, you know, in this period of me having fallen off, like I definitely have gained the weight back because it's no longer part of my lifestyle. Yeah, I would say so. So so your earlier statement was it's usually been so when I worked out it was vain. I can tell you the last time that I was serious, I was young, my early 20s dating, and I was like, I gotta look good, right? Okay, I got a trainer at the time I was going to LA Fitness. I was I was steady. I was working it and quite honestly, I hate to admit this, but as soon as I was in a relationship that was going and I didn't think about it as much I didn't dwell on it. I didn't spend a lot of time with it. And honestly, I was so focused on the financial aspect of wealth that I didn't equate it as to being an equal priority in my life. And I mean for some people, you look at health like, you know, or theory is not cheap, but their personal training is also not cheap now, so some people can categorize it as just an expense, or really, it's actually an investment in the most important asset you have, which is yourself. No, I agree, honestly, from that time to now. What got me I was actually just trying to support a friend doing an outdoor workout. And I almost died. When I say yeah, most recently, yeah, most recently, I was always a person who, like you said, I was naturally fit for most of my life. And I played sports, and I did those things growing up, and I never really considered what I'd have to do to stay in shape. So I went through everything in my life. And I was worried about other things, finances, family, taking care of other people not taking care of myself. And it wasn't until I went through this camp, and I was so out of shape. I couldn't finish it. And not only That this was the first time that I realized that my mind couldn't outperform my body and what I was capable of. And that it actually reminds me a mom. That's what my mom said she felt when she got sick. That in her mind, she could do all the things she could always do. But her body just wouldn't let her know. And for me, just recently, I was like, I gotta do better. Yeah, I have to change that. I can't. I am too young to be in that position. And that was really an eye opener for me. Yeah, I mean, I was there also. And I was she was like, mark my words. You better hope. And I was like, Yo, this is good, because that's exactly what I needed to like, again, I you know, I have been falling off the wagon further. I'm not even gonna blame COVID but, you know, I also need somebody to hold me accountable as well. You know, I'm glad we can When it came to this, like wake up at the same time, and now it's all about forging the priority, right, we got to make sure that our health is a priority.

Increased Risk Factor

And to that point, what I had to remember is I've always been so focused on the financial aspect. But if I don't do things to keep my body attuned and capable, it's hard. Like, I get tired, fast. Yeah, I can't I have a three year old and a five year old, and they're like, Mommy, Mommy, let's play hide and go seek. And I'm breathing hard on my mommy side, and I'm going and it's also about just being here, being able to do what you can to lower your odds. Yeah. And I mean, there. I think being fit is we cannot play God with our fitness, right? Like we can do everything that we can do in our power, but there are some things are just going to happen. Just because we run every day does not mean we're not gonna get hit by a car. You know what I mean? Like there are going to be things that happen. But the, your chances are decreased for many illnesses. We talked about like heart disease, obesity, I mean more crazy.

They actually add obese people to the risk category for COVID. Yeah, these are people who could die from COVID. So it's no longer the elderly. It's no longer the people who have respiratory issues only. Just think about that. Right? Yeah. Because obesity puts you into so many other, you know, at risk for so many other things, you're likely to be susceptible, you know, you are more vulnerable in that situation, which is great. I mean, we don't think about it, because I think in our society, it's actually more normal now. And it's, it's not just about being vain, you know, is is about life and death we're talking about now. So, I mean, that's certainly why I have started to think about health as part of my wealth.

The Age of Wealth

Because, you know, if you're not healthy, like you can't even enjoy the money that you have, right? Like, I think about most of the millionaires and like famous and rich people that we see on TV, they might think 70s No, but they still get it though they're still, you know, because they're still fit in live on their own, but you think about 70 year olds who are in the nursing home, they, okay, even if you have money, you're not really enjoying it. Yeah. So the reality is, most people hit their financial strides. That's what I was gonna say in their 40s even like, career wise, if you are at a point in your life, my mom, my mom was 50 when she got hit, most people are having their most productive years and 40 to the 50s you know, Yeah, they are. They have more time to pay. your mortgage is paid off, right? Yeah, many of these things, and so we have to acknowledge the importance of sticking around, of being capable. While You're around to move around and really have the energy and, and all of those things as part of your ability a lot of the millionaires in their seven day still working, they still go to work. You know, it may be for their own business or whatever, but like they are not in a wheelchair, you know, they're not being pushed around or they're not, you know, in a nursing home, they're still making money at that age. So, so what do you do now? What What is the thing that we know that now? What do you do now to make sure that you're considering that a priority?

Our Wealth Philosophy Revisited

So I mean, what we're doing now is that we are we've hooked up with a local personal trainer so he is working with us on getting back into workout routine, but he's also helping us with our nutrition. And honestly we've been doing it for like a week in like we have to log every meal that way. We are budgeting our calories. I'm like, I have only 500 more calories to spend. Not only that, but you know my sugars for the day. So I'm like maxed out or sugar like I can't, you know, it's I think it's a funny way to think of it like a budget but it's it's still the same principle is finances it is. But I think so speaking of that when we talk about wealth on this show, it's not just about your money. It's about living a full life. Yeah, back to our principle about wealth is like it's being fulfilled living in your purpose, but it's also this aspect of risk mitigation. Yes, that's key. And so taking on your health making it a priority, that's just a part of risk mitigation so you could fulfill and live your purpose and do it in what it is that you desire. Yeah, because if your dream is to be you know, going to some Island and like walking around if you tired walking around you have not or if you get bad B's, and tips. You can't get around. You can't even walk in the walk, like a little cart or something you can't. Really it all comes back full circle. It does. It really does. Yeah. And so is there anything else that you will want to talk about in terms of wealth? I mean, that's pretty much for me my wealth and health. Yeah. It's just that it's full circle, that you can't be financially fit and be starving. Right? Yep. Yeah, that's new. For me. It's new. And understanding the balance.

Conclusion

And I will tell you that getting older in your body changing and realizing the restriction is fuel to make some different decisions. Now that I'm in my 30s now, my body has definitely changed. So when I think about when I was in my young 20s now just hitting my 30s I'm like metabolism. Is that I wake up and crack. Right? Right. Yes. Like I oh my goodness. I remember a few weeks ago I tried to go on that bike. Yo, like I used to ride she used to be a major biker. I used to bike every day, miles on miles on miles and I pulled the bike out a few weeks ago and I tried to do a pretty hard bike like it was up some hills. It was like five miles, but I hadn't been doing any physical activity. Yeah. And y'all my I was supporting her with icepacks slalom, so bad like, my knees have never swell up like that. Like I was out for like three days. ice pack, like elevating my, my legs like, I was like, wow, maybe I am. Finally it hit me. I am not 22 anymore. I can't just get up and do stuff like that. So we have to take care of our bodies. You got to end it. consistent thing you have to continue to maintain. I mean, the recommendation is, I think 150 minutes of like, rigorous activity or like, a week, right where your heart rate is up for a sustained amount of time. And so you can break that down to 30 minutes a day, five days a week. And that makes it easy. But yeah, that's at a minimum. Yeah. But that's not hard. Think about how much TV how much scrolling we do on social media right about? We just got to do it. 30 minutes is not hard when you say it's one episode. one episode of listening. Exactly. So while you walk or while you you know, jog, you can have the conversation. Exactly. So until next time, I'm Tenisha Nicole, and I'm Tashaunda Dixon and we are Black Girl Fly.