In today’s society, it can sometimes be difficult to be as healthy as you want to be. Whether you’re going out for dinner with friends or experiencing a lazy day where you’d rather pick something up than cook or exercise, healthy choices aren’t that easy. They require work. Besides that, “healthy” has recently become too synonymous with “skinny,” and what sucks is that they’re not the same. I feel like this is a problem many of us have and the only good options are salads and other “diet” foods, right? Wrong. While healthy eating is important, you don’t have to plan every meal’s caloric intake and track it in your notes. Eating is supposed to help make us happy and productive, not stressed.
Health isn’t all about what you eat. The amount that you work out matters too. Sure, people can be thin and not exercise, but they’ll never be toned. Simply watching what you eat isn’t the best way to see improvement and exercise won’t really do anything if your nutrition is lacking. Finally, starving yourself isn’t going to do anything but make you sick. What’s truly necessary to live a long, happy and healthy life is an incorporation of both fitness and nourishment.
I was curious this past week about what various websites say about the ordeal of discovering food options that are nourishing rather than harmful, as well as the tips that they provide for those seeking to lose weight. My readings ranged from beauty magazines that are sold in stores to workout sites geared toward a wholesome lifestyle. To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised by what I read. For the most part, these pages seemed to promote exercise rather than the crash dieting that so many people seem to be enamored with. As a matter of fact, magazines like Women’s Health and Fitness and Cosmopolitan cited exercise as their number one source for thin, toned bodies. I thought that they would promote the ideal of practical starvation that seems to be running rampant through Hollywood, modeling and other skinny-dependent industries. I was wrong.
Granted, there were some sources, like Business Insider’s article on “The Science of the Fast Diet” and Jenny Craig that focused only on food and restrictions. The article in Business Insider was what put me off the most. It tells readers to either eat only five days a week or every other day. This diet isn’t going to do anything but cause your body to retain more food as fat because it won’t know when the next meal is coming. If you’re going to focus on what you eat, don’t skip meals. Simply consume what you want in moderation and exercise on a regular basis.
Plans such as Kayla Itsine’s Bikini Body Guide, Bender Fitness’ Bikini Body Competition Program, Beach Body’s Insanity and Ace Fitness’ Custom Workouts seemed by far to be the best choices for anyone looking to be healthy. They not only provide recipes for healthy meals, but they also give you a means of establishing a weekly workout routine. This is crucial if you’re afraid of the options at restaurants. With these programs, you can still enjoy the foods you love while becoming more toned in the process. It helps you balance treats and lazy days with the work that’s necessary to see the results that you want.
Shultz is a junior journalism major at PLNU.
Grace Gaines