"How can I lose weight in fast?"
This is probably one of the most searched things on the internet. Okay, maybe not in that exact format but you get the point. There's this obsession to look a certain way and the pressure seems to significantly increase when there’s an upcoming event. You want to still fit in that particular dress.....
Such feelings easily cause us to spiral and end up adopting unhealthy habits to get quick fixes. How ironic, using unhealthy means to get healthy.
The fact that we are still mostly in quarantine hasn’t made it any easier. Food has been one of those things that we’ve been reaching for a little too often and the results truly have been showing.
But it's not the end of the world…
You can still develop healthy attitudes towards food, fitness and health in general. Attitudes that will you see adopt habits that become part of your lifestyle.
Guilt free health ?
What's that ?
I first came across this term from a lady on Instagram who goes by the username Aunty Nimu. She advocates for guilt free health.(She also has a website with all the wellness content you will ever need : https://www.auntynimu.com/ ).
Basically, guilt free health means being able to eat and exercise without actually feeling guilty. Where you come out of the cycle of calling days where you indulge in goodies as "cheat days" or meals that consist of maybe extra sugar or fats as "cheat meals". Because what these do is make you feel guilty for "cheating on" your diet.
Practising guilt free health is coming to a point where you stop punishing your body for say the treats you had. Such punishment can usually take the form of over exercising or under eating so that you rid off all the "extras". This slowly leads to developing unhealthy relationships with food and is detrimental to your health.
Is it even possible to practice guilt free health though?
Yes ! It is possible to practice guilt free health but like anything, it requires practice too. Certain habits here and there can assist in practising guilt free health but being informed is one of the main starting points.
The information you should have includes :
Knowledge of the different types of food groups that exist. From then only can you be able to know the kind of foods that you need to eat to sustain your health. You’ll also understand that different types of food groups offer different types of nutrients to the body. Thereafter, you can decide which food you should be eating more often and which ones you shouldn't have too much of. Additionally, in the quest to getting informed, widen your scope so that you have as many options as possible, because let's face it, sometimes we try out foods dubbed as healthy but we just don't like how they taste and we could do with alternatives.
Knowledge of much is enough for you to eat. There is this notion that as long as there’s food on your plate you have to finish it. This can easily lead to overeating because you could easily end up consuming more than what is enough for you. A way to beat this practising intuitive eating whereby you listen to the cues that your body gives you so that when you feel full you just stop eating whether or not there's food left. In the same way, when you feel hungry you eat; your body will always communicate what it needs.
Guilt Free health looks like :
Eating enough amounts of food - no restrictive diets, no cutting off entire food groups or occasional starvation.
Enjoying your occasional slice of cake or chocolates without having to later work it out or deprive yourself of a meal to "compensate".
Enjoying the meals you eat because they are tasty - meals don't have to be boring and tasteless to be considered healthy.
Being okay with missing a work out day(s) because your body needs to rest.
Seeing your current eating habits plus exercise routines if you have any, as sustainable. You can see yourself actually living like that long term.
General health tip : Adding movement to your daily routine can go along way in ensuring that you stay healthy and fit. This can be done in so many different forms eg: daily walks, home workouts, playing a sport among others. Don't sit all day everyday.
Leave a comment and share your thoughts on this post with us.
See you on the next post !
コメント