I have been recording a chronicle of my efforts to reach my fitness goals. One of the things that I wanted to take the time to address is the idea of a "fitness lifestyle" or healthy lifestyle." A lot of people use catch phrases like, 'fitness is a way of life' or 'you have to have a healthy lifestyle' to really succeed. But what does that truly mean? I'm sure a lot of people get flashes in their heads of masochistic people who enjoy the pain of extreme exercise and the torture of eating foods they hate. Perhaps there are a few people like that out there, but they certainly are not the norm, and that kind of 'lifestyle' does not appeal to most people.
That begs the question, does having a 'healthy lifestyle' require me to make some sort of major change in my life? For me, personally, no. And I don't believe it should for most other people, either. I strongly believe that fitness and health are meant to fit into our lives comfortably. We should not have to make major life changes to be healthy. Even now, my workout is meant to reset my basal metabolism, yet each strength workout is roughly 30 minutes long and each cardio is 35 minutes. For my strength exercises, I chose things that target the areas I want in the most efficient way. I wouldn't say that I enjoy my workouts, but they're quick, to the point, and get the job done. For cardio I chose something that I will enjoy: dance. I have Dance Central 2 for X Box Kinect. Under the fitness section I use the 35 minute long intervals compilation. For now I'm keeping it on medium difficulty. Once I've mastered the moves well enough, I'll pop it up to hard.
A lot of people think that eating healthy is hard; that it means giving up the foods you like. That isn't always true. Knowing the basics about food can help people make better choices when they eat. There are a few questions that need to be answered about food before making informed decisions. What is a proper portion size? What is a calorie? Where should I get my calories from? How can I make better choices?
What is a proper portion size?
Not only do I live in America, I live in Texas, so If I were to attempt to rely on local ideas of portion sizes, I'd be really screwed. The US, in particular, has completely inflated natural portion sizes to ridiculous amounts. The average healthy male in his late 20s-early 30s should be eating between 2100-2300 calories per day. The average female around the same age should be eating between 1700-1900 calories per day. Restaurants are likely to serve meals that contain that amount of calories in just one meal! So, what can people do to mitigate these issues? To begin with, fast food places often offer burgers without buns now. Buns at these places offer no nutritional value at all. They are 200-300 empty calories, so I order the burger without the bun and nix the empty calories. Fries are often a lot more calories than they are worth (especially when you can make them at home, way better, for a fraction of the calories). If you substitute apples or a salad for the fries you can cut out another 200 calories. I know that I'm going to get some blow back for this one, but here goes--replacing the ranch with some vinaigrette shaves off a chunk of calories, too. The biggest piece of advice I can give to people though is: listen to your body. When you feel full, stop eating. It doesn't matter if there is food left, take it home. In fact, what I do is order a to-go box at the beginning of my meal, put half of the meal away before I start, eat slowly so that my body has enough time to digest the food, then take the neatly packed meal home to eat the following day.
As far as how many calories a person should eat per meal, I think that's a personal decision. Some schools of thought say people should eat several 300-400 calorie meals throughout the day. Other schools of thought believe that eating should be done during a specific window of time during the day. I believe that eating is a personal joy to be done how each individual chooses. The trick is maintaining a balance. Each person needs to understand his/her body enough to take in enough calories to get the energy needed, but not too much, because then it will be stored as fat.
What is a calorie?
A calorie is a unit of measurement. It is how much energy contained in food. Not all calories come from the same sources in food, which is why food labels say things like "__ calories from fat" or "__ % of calories from fat." Food companies started doing this because in the 1980s there was wide widespread belief that eating fat would make a person gain fat. That isn't necessarily true. There are several different kinds of fat, and not all of them are bad. Some are actually good, promoting healthy weight loss and heart health. Nuts, olives, and avocados are great sources for healthy fats.
Another source for calories is protein. Most of the time when people think about protein sources, they think meat, which makes sense; protein builds muscle. But there are a lot of other sources, too. Milk, eggs, nuts, and beans are all great sources for protein, and it's important to give your body an assortment of different types of protein to build strong, healthy muscles.
Most people get the bulk of their calories from carbohydrates. This category is a bit complex. There are a lot of nuances. Most people know about simple carbohydrates or 'simple sugars.' This is where the term 'sugar rush' or 'sugar high' comes from. Simple carbohydrates found in sugary snacks, candy, table sugar, honey, agave, corn syrup, and lots of other sweet treats offer a quick burst of energy that quickly burns off leaving people feeling 'burnt out' or 'spent.' Complex carbohydrates have larger molecules that take longer to break down. This results in sustained energy for longer periods of time. These can be found in a lot of foods including: whole grains, squash (like yellow squash and zucchini), leafy green vegetables (like spinach and kale), beans, oatmeal, and quinoa.
Where should I get my calories from?
Again, where a person gets their calories from is a personal choice, but it is usually determined by their goals. For example, a marathon runner training for a distance run will probably want to get most of his/her calories from complex carbohydrates because s/he will need to build up an excess of stored energy to tap into while running. A body builder will probably want to increase the amount of calories s/he gets from protein to build muscle. The ratio I have set for myself is tough to hit, but what is life without goals, right? I try for 35% carbs 35% fat and 30% protein. That is a high point mark for protein, higher than normal for fat, and low for carbs. This is by no means keto level. (I don't think a keto diet is healthy by any stretch of the imagination; there is nothing healthy about tricking your body into starvation mode.)
How can I make better choices?
We already talked about some things we can do in restaurants to control portion sizes, but there are a lot of other things we can do, too. Simple substitutions at home and in restaurants can make a big difference. A simple switch from white bread to whole grain bread changes those carbs to complex instead of simple. The same thing with pasta. Whole grain makes a big difference. When getting rice, opt for brown instead of white. When at a restaurant, ask if there are grilled options; they often have a lot less calories. I used to go to Bone Daddy's a lot (before Covid), and their grilled okra is not on the menu, but if I asked for it, they would get it for me...and it is to die for, yum.
It's funny, I started this blog to make a point and got completely sidetracked. Having information is great, but the point I set out to make is that you shouldn't have to change to 'become' healthy or fit. It's likely that you're already doing the things you need to do, and with some minor alterations in your already established routine, you can optimize your habits to make them work even better for you. There are plenty of apps out there that can help. Like I mentioned before, I use Workout for iPhone to record my exercise progress. I also use Myfitnesspal to track my meals. Myfitnesspal has a section for exercise, but I found it to be...lacking, so opted for a different app. Others may find it more useful to do everything in the same place. I'm cheap, so I use the free version of both of those apps. Others may prefer to open up more features with the paid version. Other apps, like Noom, offer a paid subscription with access to peer groups who can help with encouragement and motivation.
I truly believe that living healthy and happy is easily within our grasp. By taking the things we like (pasta, dance, bread), and using them to create a healthier lifestyle, we can feel better, look better, and be happier.
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