Running will hurt your knees. Too much exercise will make you sick. You shouldn’t eat more than two eggs per week as they will cause high cholesterol. Eat eggs every day. Milk causes cancer. Make sure you drink a glass of milk per day. Pork is healthier than poultry. Fish contains too much mercury. Eat fish three times per week. Drink eight glasses of water per day. Follow your thirst.
These conflicting views and opinions on what constitutes as healthy are bombarding the pages on our magazines and the online world. Even the daily news has something to say about the latest diet or health craze going about. Personally, I’m over it.
In the last week I’ve been told that red wine has too much acid and I shouldn’t drink it. When I talk about my excitement about an upcoming triathlon I get told that so and so read that sports that cause a lot of exertion are bad for my health and can make me sick. I shouldn’t drink coffee because it can lead to cancer. Spicy food is bad for my gut. Turning vegan is the best choice.
I really don’t care.
Enjoying a glass of wine a few times a week is not going to kill me (at least I hope not). Competing in triathlon and fun runs makes me happy – why would I want to stop that? A day without a workout just doesn’t seem complete. I love the taste of coffee so why would I deprive myself one cup a day (sometimes two if I really want one). I love hot Thai curries and Nando’s Peri Peri sauce – spices satisfy my tastebuds. Occassionally, I take pleasure in cutting into a juicy eye fillet.
Most of these I don’t have every day or every other day, however I do like to indulge from time to time in things that aren’t necessary healthy. Like today, I had a Time Out bar just because I felt like it. I drank two coffees because that’s what I was craving. But at the same time I also ate fruit – papaya and rockmelon. I had rice with vegetables for lunch. I drank water with lemon in the morning. I enjoyed a freshly made fruit and veg juice in the evening. And for dinner I indulged in some salt free baked beans. Now I’m contemplating a glass of wine but I might save it for tomorrow night – it always tastes better on a Friday night.
Being healthy isn’t about depriving yourself of the things you love. It’s not about gorging yourself on take out or over indulging on ‘healthy’ foods. Too much of anything can’t be good for you. As I get older I find that moderation works best. Sure, I probably should cut down on certain food groups; increase the amount of vegetables and legumes I eat. But that’s not going to happen overnight, nor is it going to mean that I’m going to eliminate food and drink that I love. Instead I will;
Eat a piece of chocolate rather than the entire block
Have a glass of wine instead of the whole bottle
Indulge in fast food once a month not once per week
Increase my exercise load gradually rather than overnight
Aim to eat more fresh produce instead of telling myself not to eat any processed stuff.
Have a glass of wine instead of the whole bottle
Indulge in fast food once a month not once per week
Increase my exercise load gradually rather than overnight
Aim to eat more fresh produce instead of telling myself not to eat any processed stuff.
What I’ve found is that whenever I try to go on a diet I just crave stuff that I’m telling myself not to have. When I tell myself I will exercise compulsively I end up exercising hardly at all. The trick for me is to take each day as it comes, follow my cravings and listen to the signals my body is sending out. At the moment it’s all about moderation and that includes eating, drinking and training. Some weeks are better than others but what I’ve found is that I am much more balanced and less likely to beat myself up over a burger at Nando’s or a chocolate bar at work or even sleeping through the alarm and not going for a run or cycle. Then again, next week I might decide my body needs a couple days of detox – that’s fine too as long as it feels right to me at the time.
What does being healthy mean to you?
Monika said: Kasiu masz rację, że trudno jest znaleźć jedną dobrą drogę: ja też często czuję się zdezorientowana, gdy raz słyszę np: że ryby są zdrowe a inne źródło twierdzi, że tylko wybrane ryby a nie wszystkie i czasem czytam że należy jeść dużo warzyw a za chwilę inne źródło przestrzega przed warzywami, bo mają dużo środków konserwujących, jakis czas temu wmawiano nam ze tylko margaryna jest zdrowa a teraz znow maslo jest popularne 🙁 Niestety coraz trudniej jest znaleźć produkty, które są zdrowe/naturalne a poza tym takie produkty często są mniej smaczne niż te “przetworzone”… Ale tak jak piszesz trzeba w tym wszystkim znaleźć jakąś równowagę i słuchać własnego organizmu – on nam podpowie na co ma ochotę, czego mu w danej chwili brakuje 🙂 Czekolada i wino też sa potrzebne jesli nie dla ciała to na pewno dla dobrego samopoczucia :)buziaki m.