I grew up with a father that struggled with weight loss my entire life. I always heard him complain about how the doctor wanted him to lose weight, and I watched him struggle with various diets. These diets restricted a bunch of foods, and in most cases, they caused more harm than good. Still, I grew up emphasizing the association between being skinny and being healthy. I assumed that they were a mutually inclusive concept, and I wanted to write an article about my experience changing to a healthy lifestyle
I had a busy schedule, so I got into the habit of eating out frequently. This trend carried on into my university life. I ate unhealthy foods pretty much every meal. I would substitute a Frappuccino or an Ice Capp for breakfast, and I would rely on take-out food otherwise. I consumed high sugar drinks such as Iced Capp’s, Frappuccino’s, soda’s, and slushes daily. Plus, I binge ate when I was stressed. Luckily, I have a naturally high metabolism, and I didn’t see any significant weight gain. I perceived myself as healthy because I was skinny. Skinny was what I grew up associating with healthy. Mainstream media sell skinny as healthy across all forms, and this gave me a distorted perception of healthy.
Once I started University, I stopped working at my labour-intensive job and stopped playing regular sports. People still told me how skinny I was all the time, and this gave me even more validation about my health status. Being a naturally athletic person, I was usually of equal or greater athletic ability as my peers. I didn’t think about how unhealthy I was being at the time because there weren’t any immediate consequences. I want to touch on a couple other areas of my life that were unhealthy and how I ended up changing them.
This past summer I ended an extremely toxic relationship: This relationship enabled this lifestyle further. I was unhappy in this relationship and repeating the unhealthy routine I created for myself. We ate out almost every meal and frankly didn’t do much physical activity. I spent the months prior to the breakup unhappy, and I even expressed this on multiple occasions. He would get emotional, and he would guilt me into staying together. This took a toll on me emotionally. I was left feeling physically and mentally crappy. I decided to take the first step and end the relationship. It was an instant weight off my chest, and I began to focus on myself. A little bit afterwards, I asked out the co-worker I had a crush on, and we’ve been in an incredibly healthy relationship since. Even if I didn’t enter this relationship, I think I would still be in a healthier mindset.
I Surrounded Myself with Positive People: After I had begun feeling increasingly better after becoming single, I started to associate with the positive influences in my life more. I stopped drinking as frequently and stopped attending huge parties or the bar as much. Not that there is anything wrong with these things but I just don’t enjoy them as my friends do. With that, I stopped hanging out with the friends that I only hung out with when I wanted a night of heavy drinking, and that was okay because everyone different lifestyles. I have nothing against anyone who drinks a lot; I just hang out with them and have a drink or two, or we do something else. Either way, the point I am making is: I stopped hanging out with the people that negatively influenced my life in any way, friends that I would only drink with, people that brought unnecessary drama in my life, people that claimed to be my closest friends but would facilitate horrible rumors about me, and other unhealthy relationships. I’ve been trying to make more genuine connections with new friends too.
I Started Eating Healthy: I knew that I needed to stop eating out all the time and start making healthier choices. I didn’t want to approach this with the same mindset as a diet. Diets make you feel restricted and put so much emphasis on what you cannot have. I decided that I would approach this by trying to eat healthier. I started cooking more, and I ate real breakfast. I began selecting healthier options grocery shopping or as takeout. Instead of always going for a burger and fries, I decided to go for a salad with chicken. At 21, I don’t want to live a lifestyle driven by restriction because my body is young and healthy enough. Plus, most things are fine in moderation. I am making conscious choices not to pick up fast food on the way home or take food home from work. I feel so much better, and I have way more energy. This is all because I chose to make healthier choices. My boyfriend and I live together now, and we shop and cook together a lot. This makes eating healthy fun because we can do it together. Healthy eating becomes less of a chore and more of a positive lifestyle.
I don’t drink my calories: Any co-worker I’ve ever worked with has seen me regularly consuming some blended sugary drink. In the past three years, there would be some days where I would drink multiple a day when I was studying. A Frappucinno has over 500 calories, and if I got a cookie with it, it would be significantly more. This year, I started using a Keurig at home when I study and choosing other options such as hot coffees. I still treat myself, but I prioritize my health first.
I got a Personal Trainer: I pay for my own school, rent, and a new car that I am currently paying off. When looking for a gym membership, I could’ve went with the free option at U of A or just have bought a general membership. Originally, I was looking for my cheapest option that was off campus. I know most people like having the gym on campus, but it’s not for me. I want my time at the gym to be a break from school. I invested in a personal trainer through the gym I joined. She spoke with me about my fitness goals, and I meet with her every Monday evening. This starts my week off right and doesn’t give me the option of skipping the gym on a dreadful tired Monday. I find I am more motivated to work individually later in the week.
Before getting a trainer, I associated going to the gym with trying to lose weight. In mainstream media, the fitness industry is largely marketed using weight loss as the end goal. This reinforces the concept of skinny being healthy. This year, I have switched my perception of fitness and working out. Since going to the gym, I gained a pound or two. I couldn’t be happier. I don’t even look at the scale anymore because the number isn’t a measure of my health. I have always weighed under 120 lbs, and I have always been skinny. I ensure I am eating enough healthy food, consuming enough water, and enough calories to balance my active lifestyle. Working out is how I reduce my stress levels, and it gives me more energy. It has done wonders for my strength and my flexibility.
I prioritized my Mental Health with Self Care: Self-care is different for everyone, and you must find what works for you. The “treat-yo-self” mentality is negatively correlated with self-care. When I used to binge eat my stress, I would justify it by claiming it was self-care. I was doing what was “good for me”, and it was healthy to “treat-my-self”. This wasn’t doing anything for my mental and physical health. It made me feel worse. Now, I focus on self-care that has a positive effect on my life. I talk out my stress with friends or family, go to the gym, read a book, or choose to hang out with someone. There are endless options when it comes to self-care, but you just must be sure that the self-care you choose isn’t actually harmful.
There are numerous dynamics when it comes to health. Healthy is different for each person. I was talking to my dad the other day, and he has been quite successful changing to a healthier lifestyle. He has lost a significant amount of weight over a long period trying. He has tried numerous diets, but his doctor referred him to a legitimate resource in healthy weightless. He has been associating his healthy lifestyle changes as a necessary step to increasing his health. Realistically most individuals are responsible for their own health to some extent.
There are exceptions where autonomy is not possible, and an individual’s health is not in their control. But, the everyday majority I am referencing have some control over their health. We are the ones who choose to consume the fast food, deep fried treats, sugar concentrated drinks, and greasy delivery when we are too lazy to cook. We are the ones staring at a screen for most of the day instead of doing something active. Our modern world has integrated technology into every aspect of our lives. It’s almost convenient to a fault. I don’t want to sound like your parents, but our technology has decreased the amount of personal relationships people have. We rely on electronic communication in place of in person exchanges or are too absorbed in technology to connect with our peers. There are multiple dimensions to being healthy, and that is one thing I want to emphasize about my experience. Everyone is going to have a different experience and a different healthy lifestyle. It is all about being honest with yourself. At the end of the day, you are only lying to yourself when you cheat on your diet. No one in your life is going to hold you truly accountable develop your own personal version of healthy, so it’s up to you.
All in all, I feel excellent both physically and emotionally. I will take further steps towards a healthy lifestyle, but I will do it gradually. I consider being healthy to be strong, positive, active, healthier, and happy. I look for opportunities that will contribute to my personal development. I stopped lying to myself about my health, and I made a change. I know my perception growing up was slightly wrong, and I knew that as I grew older I was just choosing to ignore my unhealthy habits and rely on my metabolism. In my opinion, the most important aspect of my journey was the level of honesty it required. Not honesty to others, but honesty to myself. Like I mentioned a couple times, the responsibility for your own health falls on you. It’s up to you to commit to a healthy lifestyle and stop lying to yourself.