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A Fit Mom's Life

Fitness, Health & Well-being

Health and Fitness, Healthy Living

Stop looking at getting healthy as a punishment 

January 25, 2018

Why I’m so tired of hearing people complain about having to eat well and exercise. And why you should be loving on your body.

So this post is a bit of a rant.  We all love a good rant every now and then, right?  Well, this is something that has been on my mind for some time, and I just couldn’t let it slide anymore.

ALL THE TIME I hear people say, “I need to exercise more but it’s so hard.  I need to go on a diet but it’s so hard.”  And honestly, I just don’t understand it.  I mean I do, sort of.  Eating well and exercising takes thought.  And a lot of people don’t want to put the work in to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

But here’s the thing: The vast majority of people know what they should and shouldn’t eat.  And they know that exercise in any form is good for the mind and body.  What I don’t understand is why people feel like they’re being punished when they have to eat healthy food and get some exercise.

Y’all, eating well and exercising is freaking awesome if you do it for more than half a second!  If you’re consistent, and give it a little bit of time it can be very life-changing; to the point of not wanting to go back to your old ways.  Now, we all have moments of weakness.  I totally get that and am not immune to it by any means (Kellen and I shared a Blizzard from Dairy Queen on our drive home earlier this week).  But what I don’t understand is how people are able to let those weaknesses override their better judgement.  To me, that starts with mental toughness.  You are in control of what you eat; nobody else.  You know that you shouldn’t be eating fast food and pizza every day, and drinking soda and eating cookies and ice cream and cake all the time.  If you don’t, let’s talk!  I’d love to help you understand more about nutrition and how to fuel your body properly.

But the truth is, I think the majority of us know.  So why, when it’s time to think about healthy food and exercise, do people complain so much?  That’s the part I really don’t understand.

Did you know that many processed and packaged foods are engineered to make you crave more, and ultimately get you addicted (source)?  One example: chips.  And refined sugar is another one.  Refined (white) sugar is as addictive as illegal drugs. (source)  Don’t believe me?  Check out this photo of a brain on sugar vs cocaine.

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Pretty freaking scary right?  Did you know: There are 600,000 food items in America. 80% of them have added sugar. (source: Dr. Robert Lustig, the University of California in San Francisco’s professor of pediatric medicine).  Do you struggle with sugar addiction?  You aren’t alone!  I used to have a MAJOR sugar addiction up until my mid 20s, when I learned more about nutrition.  I share about how I was able to kick my sugar addiction in THIS POST.  But I am proof that food addictions can be overcome!

So since we know we should be shopping the outside of the grocery store, why don’t more people do it?  I mentioned metal toughness above, and I understand that a lot of us have limited time in our days (and many people think making healthy food takes a lot of time….spoiler: it doesn’t!), but there has to be something more to it.  Or is it purely the addiction piece?  If it is, getting addicted to exercise is a way better addiction to have than junk food (although that’s a topic for a whole ‘nother post).  And why, when someone mentions eating well or exercising, do so many people instantly think negative thoughts?

I think people make a bigger deal out of living a healthy lifestyle than it really is.  I believe that people think it’s hard to make smart food choices and find 15-30 minutes a day to exercise (another spoiler: it’s not, it just takes intentional planning).

Instead of looking at eating healthy and exercising as a punishment, we should be cheering ourselves on!  Instead of having the mindset of I HAVE to do this, we should have the mindset of I GET to do this! We should be praising ourselves for getting healthy; and then continue that praise as we continue to live a healthy lifestyle.  We should be so thankful that we finally came out of the fog and saw how important it is for us to make smart food choices and to be active!

If you need someone to cheer you on, let me know!  I am more than happy to help when it comes to learning proper nutrition and exercise!  One of my goals is to help people lead healthier lives.  If you are a mom, make sure you check out my 8 week health and fitness program.  It has helped so many women get fit and healthy already and I know it can help you as well.

If you are someone who looks at getting healthy as a punishment, let me know why in the comments.  I’m always curious to hear others’ perspectives.

by Tiffany 

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Comments

  1. Paige @ An Uncomplicated Life Blog says: January 25, 2018 at 6:37 am

    All the praise hands for this! Interestingly enough, I was a part of a cleanse group on facebook via Young Living (which I actually didn’t do because you had to replace all three meals a day with a protein shake… And I hate protein shakes) and followed along the women’s journey. So many of them had an emotional attachment to food! Most of them had an emotional breakdown (dramatic sounding, probably not that bad) at some point because they all had food as a vice for emotional trauma. I think that’s what it’s become in America – we have access to cheap, addictive foods so it’s become a drug of choice for some. I don’t understand it because food is NOT my drug of choice, but I think these people know what eating healthy is… They’re just legitimately addicted to the bad stuff.

  2. Jaelan says: January 25, 2018 at 7:24 am

    It’s definitely a mental game. Some people really just don’t possess the strength to go through those withdrawals and the tough parts, even though it would benefit them in the end. As someone who I wouldn’t define as “fit” (though I wouldn’t categorize myself as UNfit, either), it is really tough to start a workout regimine when it’s new. It takes a lot of mental effort to get out there and go for those runs when you’re not in running shape. As for why people (ahem – I) stop after they’re already in a groove? Priorities. Probably misappropriated priorities, but that’s an argument for another day. 😉

  3. Lindsay says: January 25, 2018 at 8:05 am

    I couldn’t agree more and before I got to the part about your brain on sugar and cocaine, I was going to comment about that- great minds. I’ve been doing a lot of research on this and my findings are alarming. The switch in mindset is absolutely necessary and I hope lots of people read this and take it to heart, mind, and stomach.

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