Introduction

It was late 2007 and with our wedding date looming we did what most newly engaged couples did: we started a diet.  We wanted to get in the best shape of our lives to look good and feel good on our big day.  At first we tried everything: the Superfood Diet, the Smoothie Diet, even 8 Minute Abs (no, seriously).  We made a little progress with each, but we got our first major breakthrough with what was then a little-known regimen called CrossFit.  We quickly fell in love with these workouts and the results that we were seeing.  Soon we were doing WODs and competing with each other to see who could do more double-unders and pull ups.  At the same time we were watching what we ate, and specifically set out to eliminate refined sugars in our diets.  In the end, we each lost weight and got in great shape for the wedding and honeymoon.

But as we reflect back on this phase in our lives, it’s clear that we did more than just get in shape for our wedding; we started to develop our health habits.  Since day 1 of our marriage, health, well-being, fitness, and faith have been part of our foundation.  We’ve learned a lot on this journey, and continue to learn more each day about our lifestyle and health choices.  So now, after 10 years of developing our health habits, we are launching OurHealthHabit.com to share some of the things we’ve learned along the way about optimizing quality of life–through food, fitness, family, and faith.  We are excited to introduce this blog with the goal to inspire, encourage, and challenge others to make healthy living a habit.

We would be remiss in introducing this blog without giving credit to the man who inspired our quest for self-improvement and provided much of the resources along the way: Dr. Matthew T. Smith.  It’s an understatement to say that Matt influenced the direction of our lives, especially as it related to health.  He was the one who introduced us to CrossFit, Paleo, and barefoot running.  He introduced us to the writing of Gary Taubes, Mark Sisson, and Nassim Taleb.  He got us into grassfed meats, podcasts and (briefly) homebrewing.  He sparked so many passions in so many people, and we are proud to be among them.  Sadly, we lost Matt a year ago after his second battle with cancer.  We dedicate this blog to Matt—your spirit, passion and vision live on here at Our Health Habit.