Fitness is Not About Eating Whatever You Want

In this post I want to discuss the misconception that being healthy means you can eat what ever you want. This is not the case. In the early stages of my health journey I also thought this way. Eating whatever and whenever I wanted, however, had been the reason for my initial weight gain. Changing my diet to be more healthful made me realize that eating in such excess was not and should not be the end goal. Before we get into it, I want to define what I mean by “diet”.

Defining Diet

When talking about diet I do not mean the different fads that are labeled as a “diet”. Diet is simply the foods that one consumes every day. So, everyone has a diet, and all those diets are unique to those individuals’ needs and preferences. Diet is very personal to an individual. Certain foods that make one person feel 100% may not work for another. This all comes down to how one’s body reacts with different foods and their genetics. It is important to learn what does and does not work for you.

Now, back to our scheduled program.

Fitness Means Balance

Being fit means that one usually has a well-balanced diet. This means that they eat a wide variety of fruits, veggies, healthy fats, complex carbs, as well as eating in moderation. Moderation means that they allow themselves to consciously enjoy the foods that one should not eat in excess. They are not restrictive but still strict with their diet.  The fact of the matter is you cannot eat whatever you want whenever you want.

Junk food, fast food, sweets, candy, and ice cream all taste good (I would be lying if I said they did not). These foods, however, are DESIGNED to taste this way. Companies focus on how to make their food taste good down to a science such that the body finds them highly desirable. Being highly processed also means that these foods are very calorie dense with very little nutrients. This is not a good combination to consume if you want to be healthier.

There Are Exceptions

I should also point out that there are exceptions. There are those who naturally have a fast metabolism or those who may have jobs that are greatly physically demanding. These people may be burning a lot more calories than the average person because of their higher activity level or higher metabolism. Therefore they may need more calories in general, and may be naturally smaller. Remember every individual is unique and their diet is as well.

This, however, is not a reason to eat as much processed food as you can. I also want to point out that being smaller does not always mean healthy. The size of one’s body is not always reflective of good health. Genetics is the biggest key factor in the body’s reaction to food consumption.

Stop and Think

Now, I am not here to tell you what you should or should not do (the only person who knows you the best is yourself), and at the end of the day you are the only one in charge of your own decisions. I simply want to point out that this way of eating is unhealthy, and those who are healthier usually eat in balance and moderation.

Using myself as an example, I have mentioned in a previous post that my diet and the food choices I make now are very different from how it used to be. Currently, I do not want to eat whatever I want because it makes me feel sick and uncomfortable. This is my body’s way of telling me that the foods I had eaten are not the foods I should be eating.

Chocolate for instance makes me rather nauseous now. No matter how delicious chocolate may be, feeling unwell is not worth the temporary pleasure. Working towards a balanced approach with moderation has allowed me to understand what does and does not work for my body.

Take Away

With living a healthy lifestyle, it is important to take care of your diet and be conscious of the foods you use to fuel your body. If you are not feeding your body the proper nutrients that it needs, then your body will have a difficult time working optimally for you. A healthy lifestyle where the goal is to take care of one’s body is not sustainable from a diet composed mostly from processed foods. It requires a great variety of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that whole foods can provide.

Let’s Chat!

Do you have any personal experience with focusing on a balanced diet? Let me know in the comments down below!

Check out my last post: Let’s Talk About Turmeric