In this four-part series, I’ve written about what staying in shape should look like. You’ve probably noticed that I’m not a fan of diets, and I believe that exercising and eating shouldn’t be anxiety-starters; love what you eat and love what you do. Your body plays a big part in your life, and taking care of it should be a big priority! So, besides diet and exercise, keep these in mind when getting into shape:
Your health is a lifestyle, not a one-time deal. You shouldn’t live your life going on and off of diets, or spending all your time at the gym in random intervals. Find that reasonable routine (I’ll say it just a few more times, I promise!) and stick to it. Eat healthy, balanced, not-so-processed, low-sugar meals and snacks on a regular basis. Indulge yourself here and there, but eat healthy foods for the majority of the time that you eat. Don’t eat to feel, eat to fuel, and never EVER seriously restrict yourself. Pay attention to what your body really needs! Food is what your body needs more than anything (besides water, which you should drink a LOT more of than anything else), and you have the choice of what to feed it. Your diet has a huge impact on what your body looks like; if you want it to look good, eat good, and do so a lot more often than not!
Find the motivation (and/or time) to get movin’. Exercise should be a regular thing; so, figure out what you love to do so you don’t hate working out so much. If it’s dancing around your dorm room vigorously for 30 minutes to your favorite jams (I highly recommend it after a frustrating day) or grabbing your friend to go a yoga class, do it! Working out doesn’t have to be a formality with multiple steps; it doesn’t even have to be at the gym or outside. It just needs to be an almost-everyday thing so that your body can keep running the best that it can for as long as it can.
The results are NOT instant. Those diets online telling you that you can drop 15 pounds in one week are NOT. HEALTHY. If you do that to your body, you are much more likely to regain the lost weight, and then some, relatively soon after quitting that diet. You’ll do a lot more harm than good, I promise. Your results aren’t something that you’ll see immediately. That’s why healthy diet and exercise habits should be a lifestyle rather than every once in awhile. A healthy weight loss amount is typically one to two pounds per week, but that can vary greatly depending on the person. Over a year’s time, however, if you keep up the regular exercise and eating healthy the majority of the time, you will see great results. It’s impossible to take good care of your body and not see the results.
Find the joy in living a healthy lifestyle. If you don’t like cauliflower, don’t force yourself to eat it (been there, done that, still hate cauliflower). If you don’t like salads, there are plenty of other healthy things that you can eat to take care of your body! If you’re a super picky eater, don’t let that be an excuse. I’m sorry to say it, but you’re going to have to go out of your comfort zones (especially if that consists of our typical American “comfort foods”) to find a variety of wholesome foods that you’ll eat. Find good, healthy food that you actually like to eat instead of making it torturous. If you don’t like it, you won’t make it a routine.
Stop making it about numbers. When we think of the word “healthy”, our minds immediately go to numbers; more specifically, those few digits that go into how many pounds we weigh. Weight can be such a huge obstacle to overcome when you start trying to live a healthy lifestyle. Friends, if there’s anything that you get out of this article, please let it be this: your weight is NOT the end-all-be-all determining factor of whether or not you’re “healthy”. Good health is not just measured by how much you weigh; it’s measured by your blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and so many other complex forms of measurement used by medical professionals. Please, please stop comparing yourself to a number. Not to be cheesy or cliche, but you’re worth so much more than that.
Well.. that’s all I got, folks! I’m not a diet guru (yet, hopefully someday I can be that legit), but I really hope that these Dieting 101’s have given you a little bit more of an insight as to what a “diet” should be. Take care of yourself and be confident in your body; you’re going to have it for your entire life, so LOVE IT!